God's gift at Pentecost

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, May 20, 2018):

Pentecost. You'd be right to think that with the prefix pent- this day has something to do with the number five. It actually concerns the fiftieth day, or the seventh week, from the beginning of the harvesting of grain in Old Testament times. An agricultural feast, it had other names as well: the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the First Fruits. It was at this time, that is, seven weeks (fifty days) since Easter, that the Holy Spirit descended upon Our Lady, the Apostles, and the other disciples of Christ. As a Christian feast it ranks higher in significance than it did for Jews since the first Christians on this day were given "power from on hight," as our Lord promised them before ascending into heaven. The "power" received was of a supernatural kind which strengthened their souls to convert the nations and to face a world that would be unwelcoming of their message. To this end they were given the grace needed to withstand opposition, and they were consoled in advance for the time when imprisonment, torture, and death for the sake of Christ would be their lot. Immediate visible signs attended the Holy Spirit's arrival: a violent wind, fiery tongues, and the much-disputed tongues by which the disciples could speak of Christ in various languages of the peoples. As it is in many places of the New Testament, Saint Peter is the champion of the day, appearing fearless and speaking with extraordinary conviction to the Jews about the new faith in Christ.

The gift of the Holy Spirit for Christians who are already baptized is not the vocalization of unintelligible babbling but the Sacrament of Confirmation which perfects the graces conferred in baptism, much as in the order of nature adulthood completes childhood. The red vestments in use this day in the Roman rite are reminiscent of the flames ('tongues') of fire that alighted upon the heads of those present on Pentecost day, and for us it is also a reminder of the blood which must sometimes be shed as the sole convincing sign to unbelievers of the truth of Christ and which won for the sufferers the highest places in heaven.

Pentecost's flames were consuming. Fire has a purifying quality which, in the spiritual sense, burns away the corrosive residue of sin by its painful heat. Our Lord's disciples had not yet known the suffering of martyrdom but the experience of Pentecost gave them the fire which consumed the self love that inhibits a consummate witness to Christ. For us, the metaphorical fire of the Holy Ghost is the purifying, toughening, and inuring of the soul against the inevitable trials, temptations to sin, and hostility to Christian truth which at times must greet every sincere witness to the Lord.

If these themes seem forbidding and weighty, one may also draw attention to the joyfulness of Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. Like Adam in the beginning of the human story who was first formed in clay and later came to birth upon receiving the breath of God's Spirit, so was the Church first formed by Christ when He promised to build it upon St. Peter's rock but fully animated with Spirit on Pentecost. It is a birthday and the cause of great happiness. (We will give full vent to our joy in the Latin mass today with the exuberant music of Bach.)

In the liturgical calendar formerly universals observed in the Latin Church, and now once again in use for the traditional Latin liturgy, Pentecost was deemed a day too great for a single day of celebration. Eight days are set aside for it to be celebrated and contemplated. I already announced that Pope Francis has designated Pentecost Monday as a commemoration of the Holy Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church. Mother of Christ on Christmas, Mother of all Christians on Pentecost -- both instances of a spiritual maternity which depended on the fertility of the Holy Ghost. There is a mysterious collaboration of Mary and the Holy Spirit both in the Son of God made man and in the making of us as other sons of God, reborn by the Holy Spirit and of Mother Church.

Fr. Perrone

The Magi and Star in Old Testament prophecies

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, January 7, 2018)

The wonders of Epiphany seem never to end for me. I thought I had pretty well combed this fascinating story with its menacing subplot in years past. It is a narrative replete with supernatural unfolding and malicious intrigue. Here are a few "new" things about Epiphany that I never considered before, as far as I can recall, in my sermons of years past.

The Magi. It's become theologically "correct" not to speak of the three "kings" since nowhere in the Gospel are they said to be kings, but rather magi ("wise men" would be an acceptable expression). They may have been mere governors of some small eastern lands. However, there is a prophecy from (Vulgate) Psalm 71 which indicates that "Kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. All kings shall pay homage, all nations shall serve Him." In keeping to this term "kings" we see a drama unfolding among the various kings: these magi "kings," King Herod, and the King-of-Kings, Christ. The number of magi is not specified in the Gospel. Three is taken to be their number on account of their three gifts. It may have been that several such men each brought with him the three gifts, rather than one gift by each of three. Magi they were nevertheless, that is, men who studied the heavens for knowledge. They must have known the Hebrew scriptures and the prophesies about the birth of their Messiah as well since they will ask upon their arrival in Jerusalem about the whereabouts of the newborn king of the Jews. It's remarkable that these men would have simultaneously had knowledge of who Christ was (Messiah, Son of God and man), and the time of His birth, and had met each other from their various lands and made their united way to Judea to see Christ. It's probable that angels informed them of all these things, though the scriptures are silent on this. The appearance of the star gave the men the direction needed for their way.

The Star. In the Book of Numbers there is a prophecy: "A star shall advance from Jacob (=Israel)" and in Isaiah it is told that by Jerusalem's light kings would walk (Is. 60), bearing gold and frankincense, and that caravans of camels would fill the land. The idea of a light leading people on a journey is familiar from the Exodus wherein God guided the path of the people through the desert either by a cloud or by a pillar of fire. That was a miraculous light. Similarly, one may reason that the star leading the magi was a miraculous star, made for the purpose, and not one of the existing heavenly bodies, a star which shone both day and night and whose light moved indicating direction. In the end, the star "stood over the place" where the infant was.

Bethlehem. It was another prophecy, from Micah, that identified Bethlehem as the birth place of the Messiah to be. (One might have otherwise thought it to be Jerusalem.) It's a marvel to contemplate that Mary and Joseph journeyed to Bethlehem only on account of a decree of Caesar Augustus -- a pagan -- ordering a census, without which our Lord's birth would have taken place in Nazareth, according to the natural course of events.

Faith. The magi had Christian faith: they adored Christ. It had to be by a divine revelation (by an angel?) that they know the identity of this Infant. This faith led them to great acts: leaving home, parting with their treasures to serve as gifts, traveling goodly distances, and adoring the God-man upon seeing Him.

Other things. The visit of the magi certainly must have included much talk among all persons in the cave. None of this has been recorded. One wonders about what was said and done those days (one presumes a stay of some days after the journey). We would like to now some of that holy conversation.

While the Star has dissolved, the light of the Catholic faith with all its guiding truth remains for us. Our Lady too is a star, the Star of the Sea, who shows us the sure way to Christ. The star's progression to Bethlehem is a lesson about the advancement in faith -- from first beginnings even unto spiritual perfection by practicing the virtues. In this sense, the Epiphany story is replicated in every Christian's life.

Fr. Perrone

A Krehbiel classic: the Bible and the Catholic apologist

A tune-up for Catholic apologetics

By  Greg Krehbiel (Crowhill Weblog, July 1, 2004)

Back in 1992 I had a near miss with the Catholic Church. I almost converted. For the next seven years or so I couldn't shake the habit of falling into online discussions, arguments, dialog and, let's face it, fights, with other Christians. This nasty habit is usually called apologetics.

My almost-Catholic-yet-vigorously-and-reluctantly-Protestant status was like a bull's eye painted on my email address.  Apologists of every stripe tried to do their best and some to bring me into the church and some to pull me away from the precipice. I learned what it's like to be apologetic prey. Generally speaking, I didn't mind. I like a good fight. But the experience has given me a taste of the ugly side of apologetics. From almost eight years of struggling to be an almost Catholic, I developed a unique perspective on both the Protestant and Catholic versions of this nasty business.

But before I share my reflections on apologetics, let me clarify one thing. I am a Catholic and I believe everything the Catholic Church teaches. That doesn't mean I accept every garden-variety argument used to support those teachings, and I hope you can keep that distinction in mind as I criticize some common apologetic arguments.

One more thing. Yes, I know the Protestants make their mistakes too. When I was a Protestant, I picked on them. But let's get the log out of our eye before we take the splinter out of our brother's.

The Church is Infallible and So Am I

The Church is the community of those people who have been called out of the world and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the Body of Christ in the world, and certain things are true of the church because of its participation in the life of Christ. For example, it cannot fail, and it will come to know all truth. (Jn 16:13) One manifestation of this is the infallibility of the church's Magisterium in certain cases.

Of course the doctrine of infallibility is a big subject of dispute between Catholics and Protestants. But there's another side to it, which could be illustrated by a fight on the playground.

"Well my daddy's an engineer, and he says ...," by which Junior wants you to hear "I know what an engineer knows, and I say …."

The Church's decrees on doctrine and morals are infallible, but how do you know you understand and apply them properly? Furthermore, sometimes the church holds to a doctrine without necessarily endorsing how we should prove or demonstrate it. Even if you understand the church's position, the argument you use to convince others may be faulty. There is such a thing as a bad argument to support the right conclusion.

The Catholic apologist has to guard against believing that his methods are right because his conclusions are right. A more healthy approach would say, "This is the Catholic faith as I understand it, and this is why I find that position reasonable. But please go to the church's official documents and check it out for yourself."

BAD HABIT: Assuming that you are right because the church is right.

REMEDY: Listen to your critics. Yes, even to non-Catholics. You may not know as much as you think you know.

Proper Conclusions Don't Fix Bad Arguments

Come to Norcia, Italy, for two weeks this July!

While you're there, study St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews, and enjoy visiting Italy! See the Summer Program for 2016, "The Transcendent Christ: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews" Albertus Magnus Center for Scholastic Studies. Participate in a seminar, and hear lectures by the 'masters' of theology, who are this year members of the monastery of St. Benedict in Norcia, with a keynote by Fr. Cassian Folsom. Cost is only 900 Euros, with texts included. Norcia is a small town in the beautiful mountain region of southeastern Umbria near Perugia. Registration deadline is May 16, 2016.

Also, see the photographs posted HERE, including images of the local wine of choice.


[Hat tip to P.K.]

Why are the best Catholic study Bibles by Protestants?

Michael Brendan Dougherty, "Why Can't Catholics Speak English?" (American Conservative, November 20, 2012):

It is an odd thing to go to the Bible section of the few remaining big box booksellers. You can get Bibles in metallic covers with notes directed at randy teenagers. You can get your dispensationalist “Left Behind” style Bibles, with equally appalling notes. You can find Bibles for law enforcement officers, or for nationalists seeking prophecies about America in the book of Daniel.

More seriously you can lose yourself in debates about translation style. “Formal equivalence” seeks to translate the Scriptures word for word and gives you phrases that can seem obscure. What is it to “cover his nakedness?” On the other side “dynamic equivalence” tries to go thought for thought but will usually desecrate Genesis with Clintonian phrasings like “have sexual relations with.”

But if you are an earnest Protestant you can junk all the cruft and debates, buy unbotched versions of the New American Standard or the English Standard Version and encounter the word of God. And there is always the King James.

What you can’t find is a good Catholic Bible in English. Well, let me explain.... Read more >>

Then there's the comment by Guy Noir in the message wrapped and tied to the carrier pigeon, which, when I unwrapped it, released a small bit of pigeon poop as it fell smack dab in the middle of my desk:

This remains painfully true, in terms of translations, in terms of design and binding, and in terms of editions aimed at specific audiences -- most especially youth audiences. By far and away the best among the few youth editions for Catholics published in the last 20 years, ironically, was The Student Bible issued by Zondervan and edited by evangelical Phillip Yancey! (Of course Protestants are Bible people, and Catholics, though they get indignant at the obvious verdict on the evidence presented, just simply...aren't, especially.)  

TSB was quite Catholic-conscious product-wise, in that it contained the Deuterocanonicals (!), and even used a rather tin-eared translation with the CET, trying to keep in tune with Mass, I guess. (LOL. If they'd used anything else, it would have been disparaged as talking above people. Even if they did forget those Good News for Modern Man-style line drawings YouCat refuses to realize are so very 'That 70s Catechesis.') 

But it didn't matter either way, since it quickly tanked. Maybe youth aren't going to be doing much Bible studying if priests and parents aren't. And if they are lured by more important churchy things like effusing over whoever happens to be Pope or whatever is the newest announced destination for WYD. At least liturgical dance is no longer the rage. 

"Change a culture, keep the doctrine"

Fr. Ray Blake has an interesting analysis of an Italian Communist thinker and the bearing his ideas may have on the thinking of the "shadow synod," or those teutonic bishops hell-bent on getting their way in the upcoming Synod. The title of his piece is "Change a Culture, Keep the Doctrine" (Fr. Ray Blake's Blog, October 1, 2015).

The upshot? You need have no fear that doctrine will be changed. It won't. But what the teutonic clique has learned ever since the Rhine flowed into the Tiber during Vatican II is that you don't exactly need to change doctrine to get your way. All you need to do is change the culture. How do you do that? By changing the language. Getting bishops and priests and other Catholics to sideline doctrine (it's not going to change anyway, so what of it?) and concentrate on talking about "pastoral provisions," "mercy," "compassion," etc. It's a lot like what Christopher Ferrara talks about under the heading of "viruses." Things like "religious liberty," "ecumenism" and "dialogue" are not doctrinal novelties. You can't really make accusations of "heresy" stick in reference to Vatican II documents, no matter what some traddies suggest. Rather, they are "viruses." What does he mean? New emphases that cannot be stated in clear propositions but can muster a shift in Catholic culture. "Dialogue" suggests all sorts of things. It is rich with an impressive plethora of connotations. Without casting a single shadow on any doctrine, it can shift us away from Tridentine "triumphalism" to a culture of relativism in which we no longer talk about the Catholic Church as the Church outside of which there is no salvation. That just doesn't sit well anymore. Like hell. Who talks about hell and the devil anymore. It's like brining up sex and politics in polite company: simply rude. These ideas needs finessing. Thus we're off and running.

Read the lives of the saints. Read Holy Scripture. Read St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine. And, above all, pray; and I mean spend some serious time everyday in prayer and meditation. Communicate with God almighty. This will keep you grounded, unlike synodical reports, as entertaining as they may be.

[Hat tip to Sir A.S.]

Mother's Day hilarity and profundity from Fr. Perrone

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, May 10, 2015)

In a home school reading class we are reading a book which has certain passages in Elizabethan English. Such texts are charming to read and–at times–intriguing to decipher. I offer to you here a text in celebration of today’s secular observance taken from a pastor’s column from some legendary past time–first in contemporary English for your easy comprehension, and then in its original form. In my modern translation it reads:

To whom it may concern: Happy Parent B Day! you birthing persons and child-care givers. Though you were selfish in your inability to control your desires to have offspring, and though you have, as a result, burdened the environment and consumed precious resources of Earth–Blessed be It!–in order to provide for them, have nice day, all the same.

I now quote the original text:

To those irreplaceable ladies deserving of praise: Happy Mothers Day! you who gave birth to and loving cared for your children. How generous of you in sacrificing yourselves to become mothers and in providing for your children at great personal expense in feeding, clothing and educating them with all that almighty God–Blessed be He!–gave you. May you be specially honored and blessed for this today!

Ah, yes! It is with nostalgia that we look back to former times when motherhood was honored, not as a means of personal fulfillment for certain women who made that their choice, but for the noble and indispensable role mothers have in God’s plan for the human race.....

In a more sober vein, I will have a word about Holy Mary, our spiritual mother and Mother of Christ, about Her own indispensable part in God’s plan for the human race, precisely as a mother–not only in the obvious sense of Her divine maternity through consenting to what was revealed to Her by the Archangel, but also in the sense of Her place in establishing, with and under Christ, the new order, the new Testament, the new religion of Christ. I’m thinking here of the fascinating event that took place at the wedding in Cana. Notice that it was Mary’s astute observation which precipitated the miracle our Lord was to perform. “They have no wine,” She said. As in the case of Saint John’s writings, there is a deeper significance to this than may appear at first. Our Lady was not only noticing an approaching predicament for the wedding guests, but one for all of Israel whose people had become spiritually depleted. The miracle of Christ made the new and superior ‘wine’ of the New Testament: a new faith, a new sacrifice, ceremonies and sacraments. But what concern was this of Hers? Indeed, that’s the very question Christ put to Her, not in order to belittle Her (as some have thought) but to indicate that She indeed has that concern because She has claim to the graces Christ imparts. The interceding, mediating role of Mary is one part of Her spiritual maternity. (The greater part is being the literal Mother of Christ.) We will meet with Her again on Pentecost Sunday where Her maternal position in the Church is highlighted further. Although She was not one of the apostles, She was there with them, mothering them and through them the entire Church. This event was somewhat of a parallel to the incarnation: Mary, by the fertility of the hovering of the Holy Spirit, brought about a conception and a birth: the first time to Christ; at Pentecost to the Church, His mystical body.

If even in today’s radically secularized world we have a remnant of recognition for the indispensable place of mothers, we Christians ought not to forget as well the necessary place of Holy Mary (by God’s choosing) in bringing about the salvation of mankind.

Today, at the noon Mass, we will celebrate First Holy Communion for some of our children. How much we wish this to be a memorable day for them with their beloved Jesus, and the first of many devout receptions of the Holy Sacrament! In an image from the Book of Revelation, one can see a dragon ready to devour the offspring of the woman–the evil one scheming to snatch these innocent ones from the hand of God. May Holy Mother Mary keep them ever near Christ through His sacraments!

Fr. Perrone

The magi's gifts as sacrifice ... and the Sacrifice of the Mass

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, January 11, 2014):

At one time in the liturgical life of the Church, Epiphany, like Christmas, was celebrated for a whole week (actually for an ‘octave,’ or eight days). This longer celebration was suppressed many years ago leaving us with Epiphany day only. In the Tridentine breviary (the priests’ daily prayer book) however there is still in the days following Epiphany a remnant of prayers and antiphons which refer to the magi, their three gifts, the star, and King Herod. I find it profitable to have this lingering remnant of the Epiphany octave since there are many things in that event to think about, things that would otherwise not get adequate time for reflection.

One of these concerns the more subtle meanings of the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I’m thinking particularly here of the reference to sacrifice which is hidden in them. We often call them the magi’s gifts, but we ought to think of them better as sacrificial offerings. Sacrifice is something having a double aspect. There’s a part that one can see and touch (the material aspect of the sacrifice) and there’s the interior part, the intention of the one making the sacrifice. This latter aspect, though not often given due prominence, is actually the more important of the two. An example. If one were to offer to God some of his money to help the poor (alms) in compensation for his sins, the more important value in that act would not be the dollar value of the offering but the intention for which the offering was made. From this one can see that a material thing offered can have supernatural value, that is, a value far exceeding its material worth. (How different, for example, would be an alms given out of religious reasons from a government handout!)

The centrality of sacrifice has been vanishing from Catholic consciousness. This is a result, I believe, of having lost sight of the Mass as sacrifice. At one time Catholics were commonly aware that at Mass they were participating in the renewal of the Calvary’s sacrifice. Mass was then indeed a serious, if joyful, act. This aspect of the Mass has now been ignored for a rather nebulous ‘celebrating.’ This tendency evacuates the Mass of its essential and necessary meaning and leaves the participants bored. [Emphasis here mine -- PP]

Here’s the significant point. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross (renewed at every Mass) already had joined to it other, lesser sacrifices of the Church to come. We can perhaps see this in the role of Holy Mary at the cross. There She co-offered herself along with Her Son’s offering of Himself. IN a like manner, the magi’s gifts had a sacrificial meaning in view of Christ’s future crucifixion. These were given the Infant Christ in anticipation of Calvary, finding their significance in an event yet to come, just as the sacrifices of ourselves today with Christ at Mass are the continuation of His sacrifice.

If I were to search for words that are the opposite of sacrifice, they might be covetousness or selfishness, or self-esteem–things antithetical to true religion but which are much lauded by the world. As a result we’re become ego-centric rather than self-giving Christians. Holy Mary is, of course, the unparalleled model here of what we must do–She who kept nothing for Herself, desired nothing for Herself but who offered all to God.

Original sin did us a great deal of harm in many ways, but particularly in giving us a natural bent to self love. The practice of religion is supposed to help curb that tendency and make us selfless and generous towards God and neighbor. We’re forgetting this because of the sins which feed our egos. The magi teach us to be joyful givers not self-centered keepers.

When you come to Mass you should join yourself internally to Christ who is offered at Mass. Then your presence and participation in the liturgy will be meaningful indeed. You will have put in your portion as Mary once gave (and still gives) Hers, and as the magi once put theirs before the Lord through their gifts. Epiphany thus reminds me to be a sacrificing person at Mass and in many other ways outside Mass....

Fr. Perrone