Augustine is the greatest of the Latin Church Fathers. His life is not just a contribution to Western Civilisation- it is part of its foundation. The West would not be what it is without Augustine; and in particular, without his contribution to the doctrine of the human person. In this Lesson we learn how the West was won.
- 28 November 2024
- ORIENS JOURNAL
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Augustine is the greatest of the Latin Church Fathers. His life is not just a contribution to Western Civilisation- it is part of its foundation. The West would not be what it is without Augustine; and in particular, without his contribution to the doctrine of the human person. In this Lesson we learn how the West was won.
In this wonderful article, Fr Pius teaches us something obvious; but long forgotten- both words and gestures matter. Whatever ideas we express and the language we use to express them must converge on the meaning we intend. This meaning is both captured and expressed in the actions we perform in the service of those ideas. This is perhaps nowhere more important than in those gestures that accompany the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In particular, how we orientate our worship.
In this article, Fr Paschal tackles the ever so misunderstood topic of self-love. He offers us an insight into how authentic self-love is ordered to human flourishing: because the origin and goal of this love, like all love, is not actually the self- but God alone.
One of the first signs of a resurgent Gnosticism in the Church is an absence of interest in virtue: moments of infidelity are always preceded by an upsurge in idleness. Whenever virtue is not the universal driving force of Catholic life, it is because we have abandoned grace in favour of ‘illumination’. We become obsessed with some ‘new idea’ or ‘new program’ that is really only a thinly veiled attempt at denying the Church’s teaching on a topic that is proving difficult for the present generation to accept. Ironically, in moments of gnostic revival, we go to great lengths to disguise our lack of will by displaying an excess of ‘intellectual’ effort. We have never the courage to admit that we do not want to be chaste, faithful or disciplined- we need some pesudo-intellectual excuse to camouflage our cowardice. And the first real sign of this impending trouble in the life of the Church is laziness. This is the enduring of 1st century Gnosticism, a kind of latent varicella virus lying dormant in the Body of Christ.
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This is the fifth Friday in the month of May, and so we do not have an essay from one of our writers, rather we turn to our good friend Fr Rizzo and his memoir. We have two stories from Fr Rizzo- the first is a story of the priesthood and the power of Holy Mass; the other is a rather wonderful meditation on our Blessed Mother- this being her month.
There is palpable excitement in the Church ever since Pope Leo emerged from the loggia. The crowds have cheered, the cardinals have voted and the rest of us now wait to see what will come next. There is a rush to define the Pope, to parse his every word and to predict his every next decision. That’s quite a bold move- to anticipate every effect of God’s grace. The reality is- we simply do not know enough. However, we do know that there is much work for him to do. This article is a reflection on what lies at the heart of the work to be done in the light of the legacy that Pope Francis has left us.
There is always, and understandably, an outpouring of commentary at moments like this. This article in that respect is no different. To not comment on the Pope’s death for any outlet dedicated to Catholic Tradition would be worse than remiss. And so, there is a rush to say something that sounds either vaguely spiritual or moderately insightful to keep yourself relevant.
Now that Pope Francis’s health seems to be improving, I am more confident in publishing this particular article. It can feel unbecoming to write about what happens after someone dies, before that someone is dead. It feels a bit like trying to get a quick peak at the will before the person has breathed his last. Yet the wheels of the Church, though they grind slowly, they do grind. The ancient and solemn custom of electing a new pope will begin the moment the Pope has breathed his last. This article however is not about that.
Fr Pius Noonan
In this wonderful article, Fr Pius teaches us something obvious; but long forgotten- both words and gestures matter. Whatever ideas we express and the language we use to express them must converge on the meaning we intend. This meaning is both captured and expressed in the actions we perform in the service of those ideas. This is perhaps nowhere more important than in those gestures that accompany the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In particular, how we orientate our worship.
Much has been written about the papacy of Pope Francis. Both during his life and now that his life is over. The only words that actually matter regarding his immortal soul are the words that the Lord will pronounce at his judgement. And in that light, our duty is clear- we pray for the dead. In this article, Fr Pius examines the complexities of the papacy of Pope Francis. The measuring rod with which he measures is the same one that applies to all popes and to all men- Sacred Tradition.
To teach anything is to teach with authority. And any teacher who does not teach with authority is not teaching you anything at all. Such was the idea as paraphrased by G.K. Chesterton. This is what we desire from the Church: to teach with conviction the truths that have been handed down from God Almighty for the salvation of souls. This kind of authority is born from the conviction that souls are in jeopardy and that they must be saved. This is the context from which Fr Pius instructs on how to pray and to act in this period of the Church’s history.
In this excellent article, Fr Pius explores the true nature of our sin. And the true nature of the conversion of heart required to restore us to justice. Oftentimes, because of the secularism of the culture and the natural tendency of the human heart to be an idolator, we like to treat our sins as minor inconveniences or trifling peccadillos. We absolve ourselves with the mere wave of the hand, but we do so without the weight of the Cross. Fr Pius exhorts us to take this moment of Grace seriously that is presented to us in Lent.
Father Matthew Solomon
Augustine is the greatest of the Latin Church Fathers. His life is not just a contribution to Western Civilisation- it is part of its foundation. The West would not be what it is without Augustine; and in particular, without his contribution to the doctrine of the human person. In this Lesson we learn how the West was won.
One of the first signs of a resurgent Gnosticism in the Church is an absence of interest in virtue: moments of infidelity are always preceded by an upsurge in idleness. Whenever virtue is not the universal driving force of Catholic life, it is because we have abandoned grace in favour of ‘illumination’. We become obsessed with some ‘new idea’ or ‘new program’ that is really only a thinly veiled attempt at denying the Church’s teaching on a topic that is proving difficult for the present generation to accept. Ironically, in moments of gnostic revival, we go to great lengths to disguise our lack of will by displaying an excess of ‘intellectual’ effort. We have never the courage to admit that we do not want to be chaste, faithful or disciplined- we need some pesudo-intellectual excuse to camouflage our cowardice. And the first real sign of this impending trouble in the life of the Church is laziness. This is the enduring of 1st century Gnosticism, a kind of latent varicella virus lying dormant in the Body of Christ.
The Christian life is a life of grace. But that life of grace in the 1st century AD was still yet to be manifest to the first followers of Christ. They knew they had to be like Him- but what would that look like when they had no examples to follow? The Church had to navigate between two extremes- of re-creating an alternative system of laws to the Jewish system that it had abandoned; and the other extreme of just leaving it up to personal whim and inspiration. The Apostolic Church had to resist both the Judaisers and the Gnostics, for both wanted to pull Christianity in two different directions, either of which would have destroyed the early Church.
In this month’s article, we answer the last of our three original questions: how did the Church come to distinguish Her scriptures form other non-canonical Christian writings? Thus far, we have seen that the absence of express instructions from the Lord regarding Sacred Scripture, although seemingly a limit, is actually part of the Church’s intellectual and moral formation. The Church must receive what She is to hand on. And like all good mothers- she must exercise the virtues that she requires Her children to practice. Tradition demands that both the intellect be enlightened and the will quickened.
Father Peter Joseph
St. John Henry Newman, canonised in 2019, remains one of the most admired and studied intellectual thinkers of the 19th Century. His major work, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, remains one of the most influential works in recent history. In this essay we explore why that is, and why you should read.
Father Paschal Corby
In this article, Fr Paschal tackles the ever so misunderstood topic of self-love. He offers us an insight into how authentic self-love is ordered to human flourishing: because the origin and goal of this love, like all love, is not actually the self- but God alone.
In this excellent article by Fr Paschal, we trace the fall from grace that has occurred in the most basic of human experiences: of being created either male or female. Far from being a post-modern invention, Fr Paschal explains that the post-modern imperative of control and subjugation of all things does arise as s rejection of Modernity, but rather is its logical conclusion. Gender dysphoria is a condition that requires genuine care and charity; our present day obsession with transgender ideology is an something that must be resisted.
In Parts I and II of this essay, I outlined an approach to John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis splendor from the perspective of the eschatological orientation of morality. From his presentation of a deeply Christological morality, the saintly Pope offers an enlightened and robust morality that is oriented towards eternal beatitude.
It is only after having established this Christological/eschatological orientation of morality that John Paul then confronts certain neuralgic points within the moral theology of its time – points which do not seem to have disappeared of which have reemerged in the contemporary context. In this final part of the essay, I will consider how the eschatological focus of Veritatis splendor provides a hermeneutical key for interpreting such polemics, especially its response to questions of conscience, the immanentizing of moral theology and the so-called ‘teleological’ moralities.)
In Part I of this essay, I considered the eschatological orientation of morality as contained within John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis splendor. Following the Pope’s own outline, I drew on the encounter between Christ and the rich young man, and the latter’s question to the Lord, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). Now, in Part II, I will explore the necessity of this encounter for awakening the human subject to their moral agency, in orientating their lives toward their end in Christ.