This weekend, we put on our second all-night vigil, this time for the feast of Christ the King.
The evening began with mass at 8 pm, in which we heard a wonderful homily about the Blessed Sacrament and how adoration strengthens us and prepares us to proclaim the good news. At the conclusion of mass, the Blessed Sacrament was immediately exposed, and utter silence filled the chapel at the end of Adoro te devote.
This silence remained almost entirely unbroken throughout the whole evening, with the exception of a midnight recitation of the Sorrowful Mysteries (in Latin!). It was truly an amazing spectacle: amidst all the hubbub of a typical Saturday night at the college, there was a small pocket of silence, reverence and awe, as we knelt in silent adoration of Our Lord. Silence in today's world is a rare gift, and that night there was an abundance of it.
There is no doubt that this was truly an enriching experience for everyone who came. With several priests offering confession for first hour of the night, anyone who wished was able to receive the sacramental grace of God's forgiveness, and then proceed to adore Him, made present in the Eucharist. The chapel was never empty, and even in the wee hours of the morning there were always several people adoring. It was wonderful to see students, whom we had never even seen before, coming in to spend a few minutes with the Lord. I firmly believe that He was calling to everyone to come in and bask in His glow.
Adoration concluded the next morning with Benediction and a mass celebrated for the Feast of Christ the King. The homily that morning reminded us of Christ's supreme rule, and how is he is the perfect and just king, an anchor to Truth and the pinnacle of self-sacrificing rule.
The all-night vigil was a wonderful experience for everyone who came; between the beautiful organ and music, the enlightening sermons, and the precious gift of an entire night of prayer with the Lord, all were enriched who came to adore. We sincerely thank everyone who made the vigil possible, and look forward ot seeing everyone again for the Lenten vigil next semester!
Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth, and more than that: Death. By the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet by the taste -or foretaste- of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained, or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man's heart desires. -J.R.R. Tolkein
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Theology by the Slice: "Ecce Homo: How Reading Nietzsche Can Make Us Better Catholics"
On Wednesday night we were treated to an engaging and thought-provoking talk by Prof. Matthew Dinan of the Holy Cross Political Science Department. Prof. Dinan's presentation was titled "Ecce Homo: How Reading Nietzsche Can Make Us Better Catholics."
Prof. Dinan began by stating that it is currently a very bad time to be an atheist. The reason for this is that the New Atheists, led in their charge by Richard Dawkins, the Cambridge biologist, fail to provide any thoughtful criticism of Christianity. Dawkins employs a very narrow form of "science" to refute Christianity, a definiton of science based solely upon human genetics.
Darwin's main argument against God's existence, as portrayed in his book The God Delusion. The argument presented is that, for God to have been creator, He must have been more complex than His creation, putting
Him at the wrong end of the evolutionary spectrum. This argument is very flimsy, because it fails to take into account that God is eternal and creation is temporal, and the same sort of evolutionary standard cannot be applied to God's infinitude. In effect, the Dawkins argument focuses not on the particulars of Christian belief, but is merely a polemic contempt for Christianity. The New Atheists have no interest in serious dialogue.
In contrast with these weak arguments, the nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proposes far more difficult challenges to Christianity - namely that Christians are unable to deal effectively with the comforts of bourgeois society and that they lack the joy of the Gospel.
The first challenge is manifested in Nietzsche's work Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In the book, the character Zarathustra emerges from a cave high atop a mountain and descends to the land below. in the forest, Zarathustra encounters a pious hermit who, thinking Zarathutra is a fellow hermit, warns him that the nearby townspeople dislike hermits. Zarathustra, meanwhile, is shocked because the hermit does not realize that God is dead. Nevertheless, Zarathustra doesn't inform the hermit of this, but instead proceeds on to the town.
In the town, the locals, who are very hedonistic and petty, think that Zarathustra is a tightrope walker coming to entertain them. Zarathustra then announces to them that God is dead. The people, however, are unaffected and confused, and fail to understand his message.
There is a stark contrast between the hermit and the townspeople. To the hermit, because of his strong belief, God is still alive. To the townspeople, however, God is already dead, because they instead worship pleasure and comfort. They are what Nietzsche terms "last men." The theme here is that modern Christians don't understand the call to distinction presented by the Gospel. In effect, we must change our lives, like the hermit, and not fade away into hedonism like the last men. Thus, we are challenged to ask: do we put too much stock in petty things? Are we distinct?
Beyond this, Nietzsche argues that modern Christians are about hatred and selfishness, rather than charity and joy. He argues that when modern Christians act charitably, they do so not to help the poor, but to bring down the powerful. thus, by helping the powerless, they validate their own weakness. Thus, modern Christian charity is merely envy of the powerful, and resentment. This in turn makes them joyless, and obscures the good news of the gospel.
Finally, Nietzsche threw in the caveat that, by throwing out God, people everywhere will fail to appreciate truth. Although he probably believes truth is more subjective, he still acknowledges that out ideas about truth have a firm foothold in God, and with God's "death", the basis of truth will be destroyed - in effect, modern atheists are unprepared to deal with the consequences of God's "death."
In sum, the thought of Nietzsche challenges modern Christians to look past resentment, even resentment for Dawkins, and instead to answer the call for a changed life based upon the joy of the Gospel. He also challenges us to approach science not as a threat, but as a part of God's Truth.
We thank Prof. Dinan very much for his time and effort in preparing this presentation. It is very good to be aware of the challenges levied against Christianity today, and how to answer them through examples of right Christian life.
Prof. Dinan began by stating that it is currently a very bad time to be an atheist. The reason for this is that the New Atheists, led in their charge by Richard Dawkins, the Cambridge biologist, fail to provide any thoughtful criticism of Christianity. Dawkins employs a very narrow form of "science" to refute Christianity, a definiton of science based solely upon human genetics.
Darwin's main argument against God's existence, as portrayed in his book The God Delusion. The argument presented is that, for God to have been creator, He must have been more complex than His creation, putting
Him at the wrong end of the evolutionary spectrum. This argument is very flimsy, because it fails to take into account that God is eternal and creation is temporal, and the same sort of evolutionary standard cannot be applied to God's infinitude. In effect, the Dawkins argument focuses not on the particulars of Christian belief, but is merely a polemic contempt for Christianity. The New Atheists have no interest in serious dialogue.
In contrast with these weak arguments, the nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proposes far more difficult challenges to Christianity - namely that Christians are unable to deal effectively with the comforts of bourgeois society and that they lack the joy of the Gospel.
The first challenge is manifested in Nietzsche's work Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In the book, the character Zarathustra emerges from a cave high atop a mountain and descends to the land below. in the forest, Zarathustra encounters a pious hermit who, thinking Zarathutra is a fellow hermit, warns him that the nearby townspeople dislike hermits. Zarathustra, meanwhile, is shocked because the hermit does not realize that God is dead. Nevertheless, Zarathustra doesn't inform the hermit of this, but instead proceeds on to the town.
In the town, the locals, who are very hedonistic and petty, think that Zarathustra is a tightrope walker coming to entertain them. Zarathustra then announces to them that God is dead. The people, however, are unaffected and confused, and fail to understand his message.
There is a stark contrast between the hermit and the townspeople. To the hermit, because of his strong belief, God is still alive. To the townspeople, however, God is already dead, because they instead worship pleasure and comfort. They are what Nietzsche terms "last men." The theme here is that modern Christians don't understand the call to distinction presented by the Gospel. In effect, we must change our lives, like the hermit, and not fade away into hedonism like the last men. Thus, we are challenged to ask: do we put too much stock in petty things? Are we distinct?
Beyond this, Nietzsche argues that modern Christians are about hatred and selfishness, rather than charity and joy. He argues that when modern Christians act charitably, they do so not to help the poor, but to bring down the powerful. thus, by helping the powerless, they validate their own weakness. Thus, modern Christian charity is merely envy of the powerful, and resentment. This in turn makes them joyless, and obscures the good news of the gospel.
Finally, Nietzsche threw in the caveat that, by throwing out God, people everywhere will fail to appreciate truth. Although he probably believes truth is more subjective, he still acknowledges that out ideas about truth have a firm foothold in God, and with God's "death", the basis of truth will be destroyed - in effect, modern atheists are unprepared to deal with the consequences of God's "death."
In sum, the thought of Nietzsche challenges modern Christians to look past resentment, even resentment for Dawkins, and instead to answer the call for a changed life based upon the joy of the Gospel. He also challenges us to approach science not as a threat, but as a part of God's Truth.
We thank Prof. Dinan very much for his time and effort in preparing this presentation. It is very good to be aware of the challenges levied against Christianity today, and how to answer them through examples of right Christian life.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Theology by the Slice: "The Mystery of History in St. Augustine's Confessions"
Tonight we were treated to a fantastic and thought-provoking talk by Prof. Fr. John Manoussakis of the Holy Cross Philosophy Department. His presentation was about the meaning of "history" found in the Confessions of St. Augustine of Hippo, and how the concept of history relates to the overall presentation and meaning of the work. This presentation drew largely from a seminar Prof. Manoussakis taught in the Spring of 2013 on St. Augustine.
Prof. Manoussakis began by defining the ancient concept of "history." The ancient world didn't have our future-driven concept of history, because they believed that the world was eternal. Due to this notion, history was even thought to have a cyclical, repetitive nature, meaning that events had already happened, perhaps countless times. Further, upon examining the English future phrase "I will", we see that the future and "will" are a unified concept, and thus will is what fuels history. For St. Augustine, however, who lived in a time between this ancient concept of history and the emerging Christian era, there was a third element integral to history: divine grace. Thus, for St. Augustine, will and grace are the two forces which fuel and propel history, sometimes working with each other, sometimes in opposition.
The single work of St. Augustine which lends itself most to the study of history is the Confessions, because within it will and grace are central themes. While the Confessions are often thought of as a "spiritual autobiography", the work is in fact a thirteen-book doxology, a prayer of praise. Thus, it cannot be read in the same manner as any other book, for, as a prayer, it seeks not so much to comprehend but to be comprehended.
Much of its meaning can be understood through an analysis of the Latin of the first line of the work: magnus es, domine, et laudabilis valde (Great you are, Lord, and exceedingly to be praised, 1.1.1). The words magnus (great) and valde (exceedingly) both refer to God's greatness. However, it is important to see that this line is not the work of St. Augustine, but rather a line from on of the Psalms. Thus, St. Augustine is speaking to God with God's own words. Thus, seeing as he must rely on God to speak to God, St. Augustine shows that we are never alone in matters of faith, but rather we are receiving God's aid. Relating this to history, the use of God's words show that the Confessions are not so much a beginning but rather part of a continuity within the context of history. Further, the work is not just about St. Augustine, but is rather about all of us and our pursuit of God.
The word domine (Lord) also bears interpretation. In the word domine we see the Latin word domus, meaning "home". St. Augustine's choice of this word produces the image of God as the Lord of a house. As such, the Confessions are a work about going home to God.
The homecoming image is most prominently displayed in St. Augustine's use of the Prodigal Son parable, which he writes about at the end of the first book. The journey home is not so much one through space, but rather through time. When the son asks for his father's property, the Greek word used is actually ousia, which means "essence." Therefore, the split is one of essence, being, and so the son proceeds to dissipate his being by wasting his inheritance. Looking at this tale in the New Testament, we see that the son, after realizing he has squandered his inheritance, "came to his senses" (Luke 15:17). Literally, this passage means "he returned to himself." Thus, when one begins to turn back to God, he must first return to himself. The term for this repentance is called "metanoia", which literally means "mind affected by the after." Thus, repentance occurs when the mind is affected by history - the past, present and future.
This repentance is famously depicted by Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, in which the miserly Scrooge is made generous through an experience with the ghosts of past, present and future. Although this transformation occurs in the course of a day, the point is that time is what causes the metanoia.
For St. Augustine, history is time, and so time is personalized by narration. The Confessions amounts to a history of salvation, from Eden to Gethsemane.
The image of trees depicts this well in the Confessions. In Book II, St. Augustine steals pears from a pear tree, which represents the tree in the Garden of Eden. From the beginning of the work to Book V, there is a long descent depicted, in which St. Augustine wallows deeper and deeper in sin. He reaches his low-point in Book V, when he leaves Carthage and heads to Rome. This crossing of the sea is figurative of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, moving from idolatry to the Promised Land. This is also a foreshadowing of his eventual Baptism. Further, in the first half of the narrative (Books I-V), when St. Augustine is in Africa, very few names are mentioned, showing a lack of individuality, whereas after (Books V-IX) an abundance of names are used, showing God working through various people to touch Augustine's heart.
In Book VIII, St. Augustine is found in a garden of agony, representing the Garden of Gethsemane. It is there when Augustine realizes that he can only accept God's will because Christ has accepted it first, even unto death on a cross. This is where history ends, for Christ says "it is finished." Our history ends with our salvation, and Augustine's. In Book IX, we have an eschatological book, in which uncorrupted bodies of two martyrs are raised up, representing the Resurrection.
In a question afterward, the topic of happiness was raised. Prof. Manoussakis explained that, while we all want to be happy, we have no actual experience of happiness because of the imperfection of our lives. What St. Augustine tells us is that instead, we have a memory of happiness, but in fact that memory is not of the past, but rather of the future, for our happiness is only to be found in the future when we rest in God.
We sincerely thank Prof. Manoussakis for his time and energy in preparing for this talk; it was a most enlightening experience for everyone.
Prof. Manoussakis began by defining the ancient concept of "history." The ancient world didn't have our future-driven concept of history, because they believed that the world was eternal. Due to this notion, history was even thought to have a cyclical, repetitive nature, meaning that events had already happened, perhaps countless times. Further, upon examining the English future phrase "I will", we see that the future and "will" are a unified concept, and thus will is what fuels history. For St. Augustine, however, who lived in a time between this ancient concept of history and the emerging Christian era, there was a third element integral to history: divine grace. Thus, for St. Augustine, will and grace are the two forces which fuel and propel history, sometimes working with each other, sometimes in opposition.
The single work of St. Augustine which lends itself most to the study of history is the Confessions, because within it will and grace are central themes. While the Confessions are often thought of as a "spiritual autobiography", the work is in fact a thirteen-book doxology, a prayer of praise. Thus, it cannot be read in the same manner as any other book, for, as a prayer, it seeks not so much to comprehend but to be comprehended.
Much of its meaning can be understood through an analysis of the Latin of the first line of the work: magnus es, domine, et laudabilis valde (Great you are, Lord, and exceedingly to be praised, 1.1.1). The words magnus (great) and valde (exceedingly) both refer to God's greatness. However, it is important to see that this line is not the work of St. Augustine, but rather a line from on of the Psalms. Thus, St. Augustine is speaking to God with God's own words. Thus, seeing as he must rely on God to speak to God, St. Augustine shows that we are never alone in matters of faith, but rather we are receiving God's aid. Relating this to history, the use of God's words show that the Confessions are not so much a beginning but rather part of a continuity within the context of history. Further, the work is not just about St. Augustine, but is rather about all of us and our pursuit of God.
The word domine (Lord) also bears interpretation. In the word domine we see the Latin word domus, meaning "home". St. Augustine's choice of this word produces the image of God as the Lord of a house. As such, the Confessions are a work about going home to God.
The homecoming image is most prominently displayed in St. Augustine's use of the Prodigal Son parable, which he writes about at the end of the first book. The journey home is not so much one through space, but rather through time. When the son asks for his father's property, the Greek word used is actually ousia, which means "essence." Therefore, the split is one of essence, being, and so the son proceeds to dissipate his being by wasting his inheritance. Looking at this tale in the New Testament, we see that the son, after realizing he has squandered his inheritance, "came to his senses" (Luke 15:17). Literally, this passage means "he returned to himself." Thus, when one begins to turn back to God, he must first return to himself. The term for this repentance is called "metanoia", which literally means "mind affected by the after." Thus, repentance occurs when the mind is affected by history - the past, present and future.
This repentance is famously depicted by Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, in which the miserly Scrooge is made generous through an experience with the ghosts of past, present and future. Although this transformation occurs in the course of a day, the point is that time is what causes the metanoia.
For St. Augustine, history is time, and so time is personalized by narration. The Confessions amounts to a history of salvation, from Eden to Gethsemane.
The image of trees depicts this well in the Confessions. In Book II, St. Augustine steals pears from a pear tree, which represents the tree in the Garden of Eden. From the beginning of the work to Book V, there is a long descent depicted, in which St. Augustine wallows deeper and deeper in sin. He reaches his low-point in Book V, when he leaves Carthage and heads to Rome. This crossing of the sea is figurative of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, moving from idolatry to the Promised Land. This is also a foreshadowing of his eventual Baptism. Further, in the first half of the narrative (Books I-V), when St. Augustine is in Africa, very few names are mentioned, showing a lack of individuality, whereas after (Books V-IX) an abundance of names are used, showing God working through various people to touch Augustine's heart.
In Book VIII, St. Augustine is found in a garden of agony, representing the Garden of Gethsemane. It is there when Augustine realizes that he can only accept God's will because Christ has accepted it first, even unto death on a cross. This is where history ends, for Christ says "it is finished." Our history ends with our salvation, and Augustine's. In Book IX, we have an eschatological book, in which uncorrupted bodies of two martyrs are raised up, representing the Resurrection.
In a question afterward, the topic of happiness was raised. Prof. Manoussakis explained that, while we all want to be happy, we have no actual experience of happiness because of the imperfection of our lives. What St. Augustine tells us is that instead, we have a memory of happiness, but in fact that memory is not of the past, but rather of the future, for our happiness is only to be found in the future when we rest in God.
We sincerely thank Prof. Manoussakis for his time and energy in preparing for this talk; it was a most enlightening experience for everyone.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Welcome!
Welcome one and all to Praedicamus, the blog of the Society of Ss. Peter and Paul.
The title praedicamus- "let us proclaim" in Latin - was chosen to reflect the evangelical aspect of our group. It is the hope of the society, and of all Christians, to spread the Gospel as far and wide as possible. To this end, this blog has been set up to provide information about the various ways the society spreads the word. Primarily, this will be through summaries of our "Theology by the Slice" talks, which provide a fantastic breadth and depth of knowledge about our God. It will also be used, however, to provide information about the many activities we partake in around our campus, also having the purpose of spreading the Gospel.
Prayer to Ss. Peter and Paul:
O God, Whose right hand raised up blessed Peter, when he walked upon the water and began to sink, and thrice delivered his fellow-Apostle Paul from the depths of the sea, when he suffered shipwreck: graciously hear us and grant, by the merits of them both, that we also may attain unto everlasting glory: Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen
The title praedicamus- "let us proclaim" in Latin - was chosen to reflect the evangelical aspect of our group. It is the hope of the society, and of all Christians, to spread the Gospel as far and wide as possible. To this end, this blog has been set up to provide information about the various ways the society spreads the word. Primarily, this will be through summaries of our "Theology by the Slice" talks, which provide a fantastic breadth and depth of knowledge about our God. It will also be used, however, to provide information about the many activities we partake in around our campus, also having the purpose of spreading the Gospel.
Prayer to Ss. Peter and Paul:
O God, Whose right hand raised up blessed Peter, when he walked upon the water and began to sink, and thrice delivered his fellow-Apostle Paul from the depths of the sea, when he suffered shipwreck: graciously hear us and grant, by the merits of them both, that we also may attain unto everlasting glory: Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen
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