De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

A reflection on Father's Day & ontology from the Rev Dr. Michael Halsall. I have seen a few posts leading up to this weekend's Fathers' Day, displaying a strange misreading of what it means to be human, pre and postmortem : before and after death. I am talking about the phenomena of humans 'transitioning' to Angels, upon death, and at God's divine will and providence. Whilst this may be well-meaning, it displays on the one hand a human desire to want the best for those whom we love, yet on the other hand it displays also a misunderstanding of human anthropology. A recent mobile phone provider - O2- marketed the catchphrase, 'Be More Dog'. Whilst this was an amusing concept, it betrays an ontological (essential) truth about cats. A cat can only be a good cat by being more feline, not more canine. To be good, truly good, is to be raised up in our own natures. In Aristotle's language, we are moving from a state of potentiality to actuality, a...

Today is the Feast of Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, Archangels In the new calendar today three Archangels are celebrated, while in the older, traditional calendar we focus on St. Michael. This has been the time of year to honor angels for a long time in the Roman Church. The ancient Veronese Sacramentary has an entry for “ Natale Basilicae Angeli via Salaria ” for 30 September. The Gelasian Sacramentary has a feast for “ S. Michaelis Archangeli ”. The Gregorian Sacramentary has “ Dedicatio Basilionis S. Angeli Michaelis ” for 29 September. In the presence of the angels, come, let us adore the Lord. St Michael He is mentioned in the Apocalypse as the leader of the heavenly host. He is a patron of soldiers. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia . St Gabriel He appears in the book of Daniel to explain some of the prophet’s visions, and was also the bearer of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia . ...

This week I am talking at Walsingham House about the Archangel Michael prayer. I have thus been reminding myself of what I have learnt and what I have read about Angels. Providentially, Paul Priest who blogs as On The Side of the Angels, has posted a couple of links to really useful talks on the subject of Angels. I always find this sort of coincidence a blessing, and so cannot but consider that God & my Guardian Angel want me to impart some of this information in my talk. To this end, I have had a good listen to the talk Paul links to by Fr. Chad Ripperger here . I would highly recommend you take the opportunity to do so also. I should warn you at 1:03ish, he answers a question about demons threatening him during exorcism which is a bit scary! Fr. Ripperger is a member of The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) a society of apostolic life of pontifical right founded with the approval of His Holiness John Paul II. He is also a professor of Dogmatic and Moral Theo...

Well, here we are at the final episode of Fr. Robert Barron's wonderful Catholicism series. It has been a fantastic journey that has really opened up the beauty and majesty of the faith for us. I know from speaking with many of you how much you have gained from the series and how much you have enjoyed it. If you are interested in continuing your study, please do let Fr. Kevin or myself know and we will be very happy to put on something else in the near future. Tonight, rather appropriately, we are considering the Last Things: Death, Judgement, Hell, and Heaven, something we may not have heard much of lately, but things which are vital for all of our understanding of the faith. I have some more on my blog about this if you are interested, just click here . Here is an overview of the topic: World Without End~Eschatology: The Last Things "God is the 'last thing of the creature. Gained, he is paradise; lost, he is hell; examining, he is judgement  purifying, ...