Category Archives: WDTPRS

EXCERPT:
Sometimes we think we know what words mean. As I considered how to render that ad aeternae redemptionis augmentum I decided to check out the massy L&S, since I was catching a hint of something interesting in the choice of the word. (Aside for you critics of anything “new” like the “new Mass”: Clearly it was no slouch who wrote this prayer for the 1970MR, for it is obvious that he did his homework, checked his sources, and chose these words with great care.) The substantive augmentum means, as you might guess, “an increase, growth, augmentation”. It also means, in the language of religion “a kind of sacrificial cake”. Augmentum is from augeo which means “to increase, to nourish”. It is related to our friend vigeo, by the way. By extension it also indicates, “to magnify, to exalt, to extol, embellish, to praise” and therefore (this is fun) “to honor, reverence, worship by offerings.” Think of the concept of Mary “magnifying” the Lord. Different word, same concept. So, augmentum would by a thing that “augments” in the sense of worship. Still, lest we push our prayer a little too far, augmentum, or “increase”, is found in different contexts in Scripture, such as in Eph 4:15-16: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth (augmentum corporis) and upbuilds itself in love” (cf. also Col 2:19). Read More →

EXCERPT:
Confirmation, one of the sacraments of initiation, is rightly associated with Pentecost. Just as the sacred mysteries of the Lord’s life from the Passion, Resurrection, Ascension and Decent of the Holy Ghost and all interrelated, so too are the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. In the ancient Church when catechumens were brought into the Church, they were baptized, confirmed and given the Eucharist on the same night of Easter. During the time that followed, especially the octave but also after, they were given further instruction concerning many things that had been kept secret from them as catechumens aspiring to membership in the Church. This bond of secrecy and the post-baptismal instruction of newly initiated Christians was called the disciplina arcani. This was correctly thought to sharpen and peak the catechumen’s interest, curiosity and longing for what was sacred. As St. Augustine says, “The sacraments of the faithful are not divulged to (catechumens)…; that they may be more passionately desired by them, they are honorably concealed from their view” (Io. eu. tr. 96, 3). This partly explains why the “orientation” of the altar and silent canon in the West and the iconostasis in the East were and are still so effective. Recall that the super oblata was once called the “secret” prayer and that at this point in the Mass, in the older, traditional Roman rite, the priest would have just called down the Holy Spirit on the offerings: Veni, Sanctificator omnipotens aeternae Deus: et bene+dic hoc sacrificium tuo santo nomini praeparatum…Come, O Sanctifier, Almighty and eternal God, and bless + this sacrifice prepared for the glory of Thy holy name. Read More →

Perhaps this shot of the head of the representation of The Nile on G.L. Bernini’s Fountain of the Rivers in the Piazza Navona might stir you to think of a caption? Read More →

EXCERPT:
Today perhaps there is rather too much emphasis in preaching and literature on the Resurrection aspect of our Christian lives to the detriment of the reality of the Cross. Remembering that we are all destined for the Resurrection is of great importance in all we do, course, especially in the way we treat others. It helps in our daily dealings with people to see them also as people destined for the Resurrection. At the same time, there is no resurrection without the Cross. We also have our daily crosses to bear, and so do those around us. In our words and actions both the Resurrection and the Cross must be evident. There will sometimes be more emphasis on the one than the other, depending on the circumstances. Read More →

EXCERPT:

This is a time of year when many are being received into the Church and young people are being confirmed. Sometimes, very often as a matter of fact, confirmation winds up being the exitus sacrament rather than the aditus sacrament bringing them into deeper participation in the Church. Many of our brothers and sister, once their formal catechism ended, have never bothered to continue their Christian formation in the faith in which we believe, so that the faith by which we believe could also increase. So, they come to their 70th year with the “faith” of a 17 year old, or even a 7 year old, and not in the sense Jesus’ was talking about in Mark 10:13-16!

Going back to the roots of this prayer, I am lead to muse on the issue of being an enemy of the faith. Enemies are not only those who take up arms and wickedly fight against you. They are also those who stand around and do nothing. Read More →

EXCERPT:
The Gifts are supernatural infused habits. We distinguish them, however, from the virtues and from actual graces. They are wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. The first four habits affect the intellect and the last three the will. You could also say that the first four relate to contemplative life with the corresponding intellectual virtues and the last three to the active life with the corresponding moral virtues. Among the first four, which concern the intellect, understanding helps us to attain to the truth of things, while wisdom, knowledge and counsel help us to make good judgments about, respectively, divine things (wisdom), created things (knowledge) and practical conduct (counsel).The last three concern more the appetites.Piety helps us in relation to others, namely, God, parents/family and country. Fortitude and fear of the Lord, however, concern the appetites and our own selves, namely, in regard to dangerous things (fortitude) and disordered concupiscence (fear of the Lord). By these supernatural Gift/habits the intellect and will are better disposed to receive the help of the Holy Spirit and then, with that illumination and help, act properly. By contrast, virtues dispose the faculties to act properly according to reason). Read More →

EXCERPT:
Augustine was deeply, passionately, fiercely interested in love. Often and appropriately he is depicted with a burning heart. For Augustine, belief and love were intertwined. He described love as a gravitational force pulling us to where we by nature belong. Some people think the old man was a terrible pessimist about the human condition, especially as he got older, was worn down by constant theological battles and pastoral burdens and deteriorating health. If he saw the negative side of the human condition, he knew with absolute conviction that love was its solution. This conviction grew as the years passed. The great Augustinian scholar A.-M. La Bonnardiere found that between 387-429, Augustine (+430) quoted Romans 5:5 at least 201 times. Augustine rarely used Romans 5:5 before 411 (the year Rome was sacked by Alaric). Romans 5:5 is found more frequently between 411-421 when he was fighting with Pelagians about grace. Many references continue from 421 until his death while he was engaged in his bitter fight with the bête noir of his old age Julian of Eclanum.

What is Romans 5:5? Read More →

COLLECT: Praesta, quaesumus, omnipotens et misericors Deus, ut Spiritus Sanctus adveniens templum nos gloriae suae dignanter inhabitando perficiat. LITERAL VERSION: Grant, we beseech You, Almighty and merciful God, that the Holy Spirit, now coming, will by the indwelling of His … Read More →

EXCERPT:
What you do outwardly can have an enormous impact on the faith of others. You can jump start a dormant faith life, strengthen another, or perhaps spark someone else into seeking answers to the questions they have. On the other hand, you can damage people too. Read More →