tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post4677337976808781108..comments2024-01-08T10:10:48.074+00:00Comments on That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill: Catholic Parishes Now Embracing Protestant CatechesisThe Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271719805983763595noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-4483749940893484712020-03-04T03:53:06.609+00:002020-03-04T03:53:06.609+00:00Ditto in NYC......never a mention of Sacrament, of...Ditto in NYC......never a mention of Sacrament, of true right and wrong, ........the death of Catholic traditions is upon usCamillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05854952355873654396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-83945513771591990962020-01-18T22:33:17.206+00:002020-01-18T22:33:17.206+00:00The fullness of Divine Revelation was committed to...The fullness of Divine Revelation was committed to writing; and we have it in Scripture. The Catholic Church recognizes this. Vatican II, in Dei Verbum 21 says: "Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life. Consequently these words are perfectly applicable to Sacred Scripture: "For the word of God is living and active" (Heb. 4:12) and "it has power to build you up and give you your heritage among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32; see 1 Thess. 2:13)."<br />The Church wouldn’t be saying this if Scripture was lacking or incomplete in any way. Paul didn’t see that there was anything more needed for our perfection (2Timothy 3:16-17). Emphasizing Scripture may be something that Protestants do more of than Catholics; but Scripture is neither Catholic nor Protestant. If Alpha presents it accurately, then there is no problem.Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-10821549425211335072020-01-05T13:54:47.930+00:002020-01-05T13:54:47.930+00:00This is now spreading like wildfire in the English...This is now spreading like wildfire in the English Catholic Church. It is extremely disturbing that our useless Catholic priests and bishops are lazy and clueless and are letting this happen because of their laziness in coming up with a strong foundation about what our churches need to be doing about evangelisation rather than piggy backing on Protestant Catechism. There are several courses which we could as Catholics promote. But no, apparently a "Christian course" promoted by Catholics should suffice. Shame.<br /><br />This happened in the last few weeks in our church. And most clueless namesake catholics in our parish are delighted. They are not worried that the course itself is happening in an Anglican church. They are not worried that there is no "Catholic" emphasis in the course. They are not worried that we are losing our own Catholic identity and merging with protestant dogma that just "knowing Jesus" through some non-catholic course should be enough.<br /><br />I am absolutely appalled. How do we counter this? Our priests and Bishops should be held to be more accountable. It is a total disgrace.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-11154971184797992462017-08-02T00:23:58.256+01:002017-08-02T00:23:58.256+01:00Thank you for printing my comment.
Father Michael ...Thank you for printing my comment.<br />Father Michael O'Carroll can he seen on YouTube.<br />See: 'Vassula 1996 - Introduction 1 by Theologian Fr. Michael O'Carroll'.<br />At the end of his homily Father Michael brings in St. Augustine.<br />A good moment for me to recommend the recent biography of Augustine by Robin Lane Fox, published by Penguin.<br />A scholar and agnostic, Mr Lane Fox is scrupulously fair. <br />One reviewer said the evocation of Augustine's world is 'almost Proustian' in its richness of detail.<br />I liked the chapter on Augustine's deliverance from the Manichean cult, and the way in which his mother had been praying for his conversion.<br />There is a feature film on Augustine's life, also on YouTube.<br />Jack HaggertyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-56762306769601867242017-07-30T14:46:53.531+01:002017-07-30T14:46:53.531+01:00Why has your parish priest even considered introdu...Why has your parish priest even considered introducing the Alpha course? <br />Why doesn't he begin by teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church as promulgated by Pope John Paul in 1990? <br />I have a copy of the 1990 edition together with earlier Catholic catechisms, all of which are clear and comprehensive.<br />The hierarchy in England should be leading the faithful in the basics of Catholic teaching, without the need to resort to Alpha.<br />(I imply no criticism of Alpha, which has saved many who were without Christ and without hope.)<br />A dear lady of my acquaintance, born in 1914, was converted at age 18, before the Second World War, through the Oratory fathers in Birmingham.<br />In her long life she reconciled many lapsed Catholics to the Church through her humility and joyfulness as well as her profound love of Catholic theology.<br />Newman's Apologia Vita Sua was one of her treasured books along with the spiritual works of Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, Maisie Ward, Meriol Tevor, Frank Sheed, Belloc and Chesterton.<br />She attended public debates between Belloc and Bernard Shaw, and talked in person to Chesterton.<br />She heard Father Ronald Knox and Father D'Arcy address meetings in pre-war Birmingham together with the Catholic Evidence Guild.<br />But first and foremost in life was her daily attendance at Mass, her receiving of the Eucharist, her reading of her Catholic Missal, and her daily recital of the Rosary for the conversion of souls. <br />Always in her prayer life and conversation she commended the example of the Saints.<br />The Saints bore their crosses and fought with temptation as must we, she said.<br />The Catholic hierarchy should be encouraging priests to instruct the young in the lives of the Saints.<br />Do priests preach on Patrick of Ireland, Columba, Kentigern (or Mungo), Cuthbert, Jerome, Benedict, Bernard of Clairvaux, Catherine of Sienna, Thomas Aquinas, Ignatius Loyola, Martin de Sales, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Vincent de Paul, Philip Neri, Alphonsus de Liguori, Jeanne Jugan, Therese of Lisieux, Bernadette of Lourdes, Gemma Galgani, Margaret Sinclair, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)?<br />In my experience young people are fascinated by lives such as these.<br />In these evil times they need role models; as you rightly say, they don't need 'dumbing down'.<br />When John Ogilvie was being burned at the stake in Glasgow Cross, he flung his Rosary into the crowd; it was caught by a Calvinist who later converted to Catholicism.<br />A true story I like to tell my Calvinist friends.<br />History has many such inspiring stories.<br />Catholics need to hear about them.<br />My late father left me with several pamphlets published by the Catholic Truth Society including a pre-War booklet, written by a Jesuit, on the troubling figure of John Knox.<br />I have many of his old Catholic Book Club editions. <br />In his parish church in Glasgow in the 1950s, my father was an active member of the Men's Sacred Heart and the Vincent de Paul Society.<br />If he were alive today my father would be following 'Defeat Modernism', on YouTube<br />Why haven't the Catholic hierarchy encouraged the Sacred Heart movement?<br />Why haven't they encouraged the Women's Legion of Mary in every parish?<br />My friend from Birmingham was cut off from her family after converting from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism.<br />But her mother and father and her brothers all followed her to Rome years later.<br />I thought of her last night while reading 'A Priest in Changing Times' by Father Michael O'Carroll (Columba Press, Dublin, 1998).<br />Father Michael dedicated his wide-ranging memoirs (he knew almost everyone in the Catholic world) to the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.<br />I recommend his book to all your readers.<br />It can be ordered on the internet.<br />J Haggerty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-153796076726191402017-05-15T11:24:32.357+01:002017-05-15T11:24:32.357+01:00Physiocrat: I use the KJV because of the reference...Physiocrat: I use the KJV because of the reference books associated with it. I can go to the Lexicon and find the Hebrew or Greek word behind the English word. I have found this to be handy.Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-2974309177512538332017-05-15T11:19:12.054+01:002017-05-15T11:19:12.054+01:00Physiocrat: Being a successor of Saint Peter doesn...Physiocrat: Being a successor of Saint Peter doesn't necessarily mean that the pope needs to be a monarch. It has been viewed that way, but it may not be true.Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-18327213435961670702017-05-15T11:02:03.565+01:002017-05-15T11:02:03.565+01:00@Peter Aiello
Why are you quoting from the KJB in...@Peter Aiello<br /><br />Why are you quoting from the KJB in this day and age?Physiocrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13682019625346594568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-29885791407571273172017-05-14T23:40:56.281+01:002017-05-14T23:40:56.281+01:00Physiocrat:
You bring up an interesting point of ...Physiocrat: <br />You bring up an interesting point of how monarchial the Church is supposed to be. <br />Saint Paul, in 2Corinthians 1:24 says: "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand".<br />1Peter 5:3 says to the elders: "Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock". <br />We ourselves are supposed to be vigilant and discerning of what we are presented with. 1John 4:1 says: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world".Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-18904085486017283482017-05-14T18:56:42.755+01:002017-05-14T18:56:42.755+01:00 @Peter Aiello
You are at odds with John Vasc on ... @Peter Aiello<br /><br />You are at odds with John Vasc on this point. However, your interpretation collapses the claims of the Catholic Church itself,in particular, since the claim of the Roman Pontiff to be the successor to Peter and assume a monarchical role within the hierarchy depends on a particular interpretation of Matthew 16:18.Physiocrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13682019625346594568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-39390281179645473282017-05-14T11:25:30.927+01:002017-05-14T11:25:30.927+01:00When Vatican II speaks of human conscience, I beli...When Vatican II speaks of human conscience, I believe that it is describing the way that we humans take in outside information, including objective truth. It is not an alternative to objective truth. This is true of Scripture, whether we hear it at the mass, or whether we read it in the Bible itself. It was compiled by the Catholic Church in the fourth century, and is now readily available for us to read directly if we want to. It is all Catholic teaching. In all cases, human conscience is involved in assimilating it.Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-46008664352574048432017-05-14T06:27:45.538+01:002017-05-14T06:27:45.538+01:00@John Vasc,
Yours is one interpretation. Like so ...@John Vasc,<br /><br />Yours is one interpretation. Like so many V2 documents, it is possible to argue for ever about what it means, and that is before establishing what is meant by "Catholic". The latter question has been the subject of dispute since long before the Reformation.<br /><br />Not a few Christians take the view that the followers of the Pope of Rome are as much heretics as followers of the Pope of Alexandria.<br /><br />Cutting through that argument is like finding a path through a jungle.Physiocrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13682019625346594568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-34463606685327218622017-05-14T02:21:16.752+01:002017-05-14T02:21:16.752+01:00No, personal conscience does *not* "have a ro...No, personal conscience does *not* "have a role in everything that we believe"! 'Dignitatis humanae' nowhere says that it has. (And it nowhere uses the phrase 'personal conscience')<br />You omitted the opening of that section on conscience, which puts it in its proper context: 'We believe that this one true religion subsists in the Catholic and Apostolic Church, to which the Lord Jesus committed the duty of spreading it abroad among all men...."teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined upon you" (Matt. 28: 19-20).'<br />The Council was here addressing the large number who do *not* believe, while insisting that even non-believers should use the conscience (that God implanted in 'all men') to seek the truth - which Catholics believe resides in the visible Church.<br /><br />Yet as Dei Verbum (the document relevant to scripture) makes clear: for any member of the Catholic Church, 'seeking the truth' does not mean having a licence to interpret Scripture contrary to the interpretation of the Church, or according to a personal whim, but (as Dei Verbum says) "through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, *and* through the preaching of those who have received through episcopal succession the sure gift of truth". The latter is an essential condition for any faithful Catholic. It has nothing to do with 'coercion' or 'psychological freedom'. To ignore the scriptural teaching of the Church and think one knows better than the magisterium, is to fall into grave error. <br /><br />Anyone who drifts off into his or her own personal interpretation of the Bible on the pretext that a document about Religious Freedom tells non-believers they are duty-bound to follow their God-given consciences and seek religious truth, is definitely confusing apples with plutonium.John Vaschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00335331585265267754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-68953130174585191282017-05-13T05:12:43.736+01:002017-05-13T05:12:43.736+01:00Personal conscience has a role in everything that ...Personal conscience has a role in everything that we believe according to Vatican II. <br />"On their part, all men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and His Church, and to embrace the truth they come to know, and to hold fast to it. This Vatican Council likewise professes its belief that it is upon the human conscience that these obligations fall and exert their binding force. The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power." (Dignitatis Humanae 1). <br />"It is in accordance with their dignity as persons-that is, beings endowed with reason and free will and therefore privileged to bear personal responsibility-that all men should be at once impelled by nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth However, men cannot discharge these obligations in a manner in keeping with their own nature unless they enjoy immunity from external coercion as well as psychological freedom." (Dignitatis Humanae 2).Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-24974733744789486602017-05-12T00:46:51.315+01:002017-05-12T00:46:51.315+01:00"and through the preaching of those who have ..."and through the preaching of those who have received through episcopal succession the sure gift of truth". That obedience to the Magisterium of Ages - from the Fathers to the present day - is a 'sine qua non'. The Alpha Course is entirely oblivious of the essential teaching role of the visible Church.<br /><br />The belief that every reader of the Word of God can believe whatever his 'personal conscience' tells him to, and reinterpret according to personal and entirely self-guided 'discernment' is as wrong today as it was in 1517.John Vaschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00335331585265267754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-79923210996144406382017-05-11T04:46:39.155+01:002017-05-11T04:46:39.155+01:00The hierarchy has its job to do in preserving Chri...The hierarchy has its job to do in preserving Christianity, but it is not an entirely top-down thing. The individual Christian can also contribute to tradition. <br /><br />Vatican II states in Dei Verbum 8: "This tradition which comes from the Apostles develop in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. (5) For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the preaching of those who have received through episcopal succession the sure gift of truth". <br /><br />Dei Verbum 21 states: "Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture". <br /><br />All of us need to be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture in order to be contributers to tradition. In order for this to happen, our own personal consciences and discernment also play a part in this.Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-28637704785246261862017-05-10T16:47:43.106+01:002017-05-10T16:47:43.106+01:00Alpha does not 'create more Christians' - ...Alpha does not 'create more Christians' - as I have already pointed out, it reduces and distorts the nature of the Christian faith. That does not give anyone a better understanding of the New Testament, of which the sole exegetical guardian is the Catholic magisterium, the visible Church being 'so immensely important and central...because it is primarily the means whereby the revealed truth of Almighty God is communicated to us,' to quote the late, great Msgr. Gilbey. <br />The Catholic Church *is* the only valid Christian ecclesia, and we assert our belief in the Holy Catholic Church explicitly in the Creed. The Holy Catholic Church does not include those ecclesial communities who deliberately reject or ignore Catholic teaching.<br />And in turn, any baptised Catholic who cannot say truthfully and wholeheartedly 'Credo in unam sanctam Catholicam et Apostolicam ecclesiam' is not a full member of the Church. No amount of politeness can gloss over this simple, basic truth.John Vaschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00335331585265267754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-52468562936372328942017-05-10T09:16:49.708+01:002017-05-10T09:16:49.708+01:00@Peter Aiello
Catholicism is indeed about us and ...@Peter Aiello<br /><br />Catholicism is indeed about us and Jesus ie it is about a relationship. The church has spent centuries trying to understand the nature of that relationship. It has frequently had to respond when people have led others astray with misguided teachings which can be harmful to them; bizarre and damaging cults have arisen even in the past few decades.<br /><br />Preserving authentic Catholic teaching is a primary function of the Catholic church and should be of the highest priority.<br /><br />Scripture and tradition go together. Authentic Catholicism focusses on both.Physiocrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13682019625346594568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-48895777939824651342017-05-09T22:11:34.991+01:002017-05-09T22:11:34.991+01:00If Alpha creates more Christians, isn't that a...If Alpha creates more Christians, isn't that a good thing? I thought that Catholics are supposed to be Christians first. It is about us and Jesus. I wish more Catholics would be aware of this. It is not a Protestant thing. It is a Christian thing. <br />Just because we get a better understanding of New Testament Christianity doesn't mean that we become Protestants. Catholics should not be proud of having an identity separate from this. <br />Paul scolds the Corinthians for being divided. He says "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (1Corinthians 1:12-13). <br />Maybe preserving a Catholic identity should not be our highest priority.Peter Aiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412959736819415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-17591764998940786042017-05-09T02:05:20.558+01:002017-05-09T02:05:20.558+01:00The Alpha course is essentially a simplified, redu...The Alpha course is essentially a simplified, reductionist, slickly-marketed version of fundamentalist protestantism. Its materials are tightly-controlled and disseminated by its founders, so a 'Catholic version' of Alpha is by definition a non sequitur.<br />Alpha claims to give 'the basic Christian message' (itself also a dubiously protestant definition, for its simplistic personal theory of assured salvation is contradicted by Our Lord Himself in the Gospels, as well as by the Early Fathers). Yet in its exaggerated attempts to reproduce the physical and psychological healing properties of the Holy Spirit, it wanders ever further into the dubious realms of the rather creepy charismatic movement. <br /><br />Most dangerous seems to me the entirely artificial and false distinction between evangelisation and catechesis, which has no place in Catholic teaching. It is a typical of an underlying modernism, a cringingly deferential ecumenical indifferentism, and a neglect of Catholic tradition and the deposit of faith and moral teaching that have increasingly threatened the Church since the late 1960s, and even more directly and severely since March 2013. <br /><br />This online study by a Catholic writer (Gillian van der Lande)explores Alpha's dangers very well.<br />https://www.ourladyswarriors.org/dissent/alpha1.htm<br />As she writes:<br />' "Should ALPHA be used in a Catholic Context?" As a Catholic who has participated in full in an ALPHA Course in a Catholic parish and who has viewed, read and studied the ALPHA Course materials, my short answer to the above question is an unequivocal "No." 'John Vaschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00335331585265267754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-29722567613836809162017-05-08T20:30:33.506+01:002017-05-08T20:30:33.506+01:00Hello Pelerin, copy and paste the links below to s...Hello Pelerin, copy and paste the links below to see what happens when people receive this "blessing" most of the time they do not actually knowing what they are receiving, usually by the laying of hands or by touch which is how Nicky Gumbel, the founder of the Alpha course, came in contact with the Toronto blessing at the at the beginnings of Alpha. The manifestations when received include; pig snorting, uncontrollable laughter, convulsions, drunkenness, twitching, roaring like a lion etc. These manifestations are identical to the transference of the pagan kundalini demonic spirit and is undoubtedly is one and the same spirit. I would think that the participants exposed to this would need Exorcism and deliverance by a competent priest. This is the spirit in the Alpha course NOT the Holy Spirit no matter what they tell you. Barge poll indeed, a particularly large one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P5B5Brz_lc<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqwWvpwhf9UChris from London Englandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295555978384049803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-30894320581994145232017-05-07T23:19:53.864+01:002017-05-07T23:19:53.864+01:00Just looked up on Wikipedia 'The Toronto Bless...Just looked up on Wikipedia 'The Toronto Blessing' as mentioned by Chris from London. Never heard of it before. The mind boggles. If that is an integral part of the course I would not touch it with a barge pole.Pelerinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243859145007696053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-90315818926330293412017-05-07T22:32:18.683+01:002017-05-07T22:32:18.683+01:00I have just heard from a friend who was received i...I have just heard from a friend who was received into the Church at Easter that he has already been approached to join both the Alpha course and Acta. I shall refer him to your post!Pelerinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243859145007696053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-2513096164018842082017-05-07T17:33:35.608+01:002017-05-07T17:33:35.608+01:00P.S. Sorry Bones, forgot to say, suburb article by...P.S. Sorry Bones, forgot to say, suburb article by the way. Catholics truly need to be warned of the dangers of Alpha and I wish more faithful Catholic sites would do so .Chris from London Englandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295555978384049803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-30897115332419977552017-05-05T21:40:31.588+01:002017-05-05T21:40:31.588+01:00Hello Bones. The number one reason to avoid the Al...Hello Bones. The number one reason to avoid the Alpha course is because the highly dangerous and demonic "Toronto blessing" is an integral part of the course, which Nicky Gumbel freely admits, as well as the teachings from the course being erroneous from a Catholic perspective<br /><br />http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~emcd/index30.htm<br />https://www.ourladyswarriors.org/dissent/alpha2.htmChris from London Englandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295555978384049803noreply@blogger.com