A Holiday of Writing: Venite

I am presently on holiday until Saturday. My plans are to finish my chapter on Eucharistic presence in Andrewes' theology by Saturday night! So, please remember me in your prayers! I have been revisiting the sermons on the Incarnation and today I read the well-known sermon on the coming of the Magi to the Christ-child that was preached on Christmas Day, 1620. I am particularly struck by Andrewes' realism within this sermon as he describes the presence of Christ in Bethlehem who was worshipped in the venite of the Magi with our own venite to Christ in the Sacrament. This is not a typical understanding of Eucharistic presence flowing out of the C16 from Cranmer or even Hooker. Something altogether changed in the scope of Andrewes' writings that were to become the Sacramental realism found in the Catholic movement of Anglican theology. Ecce venerunt, is it! For as the Magi came so we follow them in our coming. How do we do that? How do we express our faithfulness to follow the star of the Gentiles and come to the Christ-child to worship? When Christ came into the world (Ps. 40:6) he comes to establish a body that had been ordained for him. The way we come to the crib to worship the Christ is by coming to the ‘offering, breaking, and partaking of which body, ‘we are all sanctified, so many as shall come to it. For given it is, for the taking away of our sins. Nothing is more fit than at the time His body was ordained Him, and that is to-day, to come to the body so ordained.’

It is important to note the Sacramental realism of Andrewes when he describes our coming in connection to the coming of the Magi from the East. There is a real coming to the Christ-child as we approach the Altar of sanctification. So, for Andrewes, we join the journey of the Magi and their coming into the presence of Christ when we approach him in the elements of the Eucharist. Andrewes defends his realism by way of Tradition found within the ancient ritual of the Church where in the cover of the ciborium, ‘wherein was the Sacrament of His body, there was a star engraven, to show shew us that now the star leads us thither, to His body there.’

What Novels are you Reading and What is Really Good?

If you could provide a list of good novels that you are reading that would be very much appreciated. The Steels have settled into everything by Michael O'Brien including this latest novel. Please leave a list of your favourites in the comment box. Thanks!

Future Possibilities at de cura: Can you help?

I am not making any sort of a definitive announcement at this time nor am I going to name the names who have been asked to join the team at de cura animarum at this time. But, my hope is to add a few good theologians to the blogging team here from the Roman Catholic Church and scholars within the Anglican Communion. This will be a place where serious ecclesiological discussions can be had without the fear of "being banned" for bringing up tough issues in respectful ways.

What I am in need of is a Roman Catholic priest/theologian from England to join the team as well as those I've asked who live on the other side of the pond in North America and hopefully an Aussie Anglican will be receptive. If any of the readers know of a Roman Catholic priest/theologian in England who would like to be a part of de cura animarum, please do have him send me an email as soon as possible. I hope to have this sorted within the near future. Possible announcements forthcoming!!

The Feast of Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, once You embraced and placed Your hands upon the little children who came to You, and said: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and their angels always see the face of my Father!" Look now with fatherly eyes on the innocence of these children and their parents' devotion, and bless them this day through our ministry. In Your grace and goodness let them advance continually, longing for You, loving You, fearing You, keeping Your commandments. Then they will surely come to their destined home, through You, Savior of the world. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Christ and the Restoration of All Creation

The Pope's Christmas message this year touches the heart of why God became man. In his typical fashion, Pope Benedict XVI gives hope to a world that quite often says 'no' where Christmas joy says 'yes.' I imagine that Bishop Tom Wright would appreciate these words very much after looking at his new book Surprised by Hope. Benedict said,

Gregory of Nyssa, in his Christmas homilies, developed the same vision setting out from the Christmas message in the Gospel of John: "He pitched his tent among us" (Jn 1:14). Gregory applies this passage about the tent to the tent of our body, which has become worn out and weak, exposed everywhere to pain and suffering. And he applies it to the whole universe, torn and disfigured by sin. What would he say if he could see the state of the world today, through the abuse of energy and its selfish and reckless exploitation? Anselm of Canterbury, in an almost prophetic way, once described a vision of what we witness today in a polluted world whose future is at risk: "Everything was as if dead, and had lost its dignity, having been made for the service of those who praise God. The elements of the world were oppressed, they had lost their splendour because of the abuse of those who enslaved them for their idols, for whom they had not been created" (PL 158, 955f.). Thus, according to Gregory's vision, the stable in the Christmas message represents the ill-treated world. What Christ rebuilds is no ordinary palace. He came to restore beauty and dignity to creation, to the universe: this is what began at Christmas and makes the angels rejoice. The Earth is restored to good order by virtue of the fact that it is opened up to God, it obtains its true light anew, and in the harmony between human will and divine will, in the unification of height and depth, it regains its beauty and dignity. Thus Christmas is a feast of restored creation. It is in this context that the Fathers interpret the song of the angels on that holy night: it is an expression of joy over the fact that the height and the depth, Heaven and Earth, are once more united; that man is again united to God. According to the Fathers, part of the angels Christmas song is the fact that now angels and men can sing together and in this way the beauty of the universe is expressed in the beauty of the song of praise. Liturgical song still according to the Fathers possesses its own peculiar dignity through the fact that it is sung together with the celestial choirs. It is the encounter with Jesus Christ that makes us capable of hearing the song of the angels, thus creating the real music that fades away when we lose this singing-with and hearing-with.

In the stable at Bethlehem, Heaven and Earth meet. Heaven has come down to Earth. For this reason, a light shines from the stable for all times; for this reason joy is enkindled there; for this reason song is born there. At the end of our Christmas meditation I should like to quote a remarkable passage from Saint Augustine. Interpreting the invocation in the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father who art in Heaven," he asks: what is this Heaven? And where is Heaven? Then comes a surprising response: "who art in Heaven that means: in the saints and in the just.

The Feast of St. John the Apostle

Today is the patronal festival of our parish church, St. John the Evangelist. There will be a 7 o'clock sung Mass followed by some cake and wine. If you are in the area, please do come by!

Christmas Fun and New Additions to the Family

We have a big (actually little) surprise added to the family as I went on Christmas Eve to get an 8 week old Jack Russell puppy. We are calling him Wolsey! Yes that would be after the late Cardinal Wolsey. For many reasons, this name fits a Jack Russell. I hope all of you are enjoying Christmastide.

Happy Christmas to All

To all of my faithful readers, friends and family, I hope that all of you have a very happy Christmas and that God pours out His many blessings upon you this New Year!

Happy Christmas!

Fr. Jeffrey

England Becoming a Catholic Country

With the news of Tony Blair converting to Rome this weekend and the figures of Mass attendance in comparison to those who attend C of E services does this give Anglicans any sort of an alarm? Before anyone gets too excited about anything, what is most depressing about these figures is that between Anglicans and Roman Catholics there are barely 1.6 million people in Mass each week. Those figures ought to alarm us more than anything else! But the question does remain, why have Catholics now outnumbered Anglicans in weekly worship? The Catholic Church is now at the heart of British life! Read it all in the Telegraph.

This means that the established Church has lost its place as the nation's most popular Christian denomination after more than four centuries of unrivalled influence following the Reformation.

If you want to get a real sense of the diverse views in the UK, read these very interesting comments that answer the question 'What can the C of E do to gain its worshippers back?' The amount of comments about the directions that the C of E has taken in the past two decades on issues such as morality, sexuality and women priests are very interesting.

The Beauty of Orthodoxy is in the Divine Liturgy

Tony Blair Converts to Rome

Here is the story from the BBC:
Blair has left the Anglican Church to become a Roman Catholic.

His wife and children are already Catholic and there had been speculation he would convert after leaving office.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, who led the service to welcome Mr Blair, said he was "very glad" to do so.

But ex-Tory minister Ann Widdecombe - herself a Catholic convert - said Mr Blair's voting record as an MP had often "gone against church teaching".

Last year, Mr Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, said he had prayed to God when deciding whether or not to send UK troops into Iraq.

And one of Mr Blair's final official trips while prime minister was a visit to the Vatican in June where he met Pope Benedict XVI.

Question: What will he do about his public voting record now that he is in the Roman Catholic Church? He had to make a first confession; will his penance include public renouncing of his past views and votes concerning abortion and issues in human sexuality?

Andrewes: Incarnation and Eucharist

Sermon Christmas Day 1606

Esay 9.6 ‘For unto us a Child is born, and unto us a Son is given; and the government is upon His shoulder; and He shall call His Name Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.’

The classical approach to Christology is very clear in this sermon. Andrewes describes both the need of God as Son and the Child as human. God did not have shoulders, man did but man did not have the power to carry the burden, God did. Yet he argues that there is one person in both natures and that person is divine. It is in the Incarnation that we find heaven and earth meeting. He writes,

A meet Person to cease hostility, as having taken pledges of both Heaven and earth—the chief nature in Heaven, and the chief on earth; to set forward commerce between Heaven and earth by Jacob’s ladder, ‘one end touching earth, the other reaching to Heaven;’ to incorporate either to other, Himself by His birth being become the ‘Son of Man,’ by our new birth giving us a capacity to become the ‘Sons of God.’

Andrewes is emphatic that Christ’s humanity is ours but we do not a have right to his deity. That comes by way of God’s gift. So those by participation in both natures—human and divine—both are ours. Therefore, if the tree is ours then the fruit also is ours. Everything that Christ was and did is ours. Andrewes draws from Cyprian in this sermon and says, ‘As faith to His conception, beata quae credidit; so humily to His birth, et Hoc erit signum. Fieri voluit in vita primum, quod exhibuit in ortu vitae, (it is Cyprian;) that ‘He would have us first to express in our life, that He first shewed us in the very entry of His life.’

In this sermon where Andrewes describes how it is that we have nothing to give back but only that which was given. There is a recapitulation of exchange going on in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. We give back that which he gave us, i.e., himself—human and divine—and so he gives us back that which we gave him, i.e., his flesh. He gave his flesh in sacrifice and he gives it back to us in the sacrament [John 6.51] so that by the sacrifice of the Church in the Sacrament, the sacrifice is truly applied to us.

Again we find Andrewes drawing from themes in Byzantine theology (see Meyendorff on Eucharist and eschatology) where Andrewes speaks of Christ being given to us in praemium; that is our eschatological reward. Where he is we shall be and what he is we shall be. So the Eucharist for Andrewes brings us to experience our state in expectancy. Following the thought of Augustine he says, ‘Sequamur 1. exemplum; offeramus 2. pretium; sumamus 3. viaticum; expectemus 4. praemium; ‘let us follow Him for our pattern, offer Him for our price, receive Him for our sacramental food, and wait for Him as our endless and exceeding great reward.’ &.’

Revd Peter Ould to the Church Times

I am happy to be able to post Revd Ould's letter here. His transparency and willingness to talk about his own personal struggles while continuing to live by the teaching of the Church on sexuality is a breath of fresh air. These are difficult struggles for people and his loving-pastoral approach is one that I greatly admire! Below is his letter to the Church Times!

Sir,

Canon Blyth complains about the “weekly psychological onslaught which is so highly damaging to lesbian, gay and bisexual people”. May I suggest to him and others that it is often when one is in the position of fighting against the clear teaching of scripture that someone places themselves under spiritual stress. [As Kierkegaard so clearly said, “The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers.” Or perhaps the words of the teacher. Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Or is a burden, Or the duty of all mankind (Eccl 12) would be more to his comfort - “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”]In contrast to those who have seemingly dedicated their lives to rejecting the words of Scripture and are therefore obviously troubled by those who might call them to a holy life, many of us with same-sex attraction have lived simple, celibate lives in the full knowledge that the surrender of our desires to God is not “psychological onslaught” but rather the path of grace. Some of us have then, by the mercy of God, moved from the single life to one of marriage as the church teaches and others have remained unmarried but content in a singleness that glorifies Christ in its surrender to him. Such a path is not without its struggles, but ultimately it is the journey that the Archbishop of Canterbury himself commends when in a recent interview he clearly stated “Our jobs mean we have to adhere to the bible, gay clergy who don’t act upon their sexual preferences do, clergy in practicing homosexual relationships don’t.”

The Church’s statements about healing, wholeness and pastoral care only ring hollow to so many because countless clergy up and down the breadth of this country do not in any way support the ministries of those like myself who seek to come alongside people struggling with issues of homosexuality and other sexual brokenness. Perhaps now is the time therefore for the Church and its Bishops to put its money where its mouth is and make specific diocesan stipendiary appointments of men and women who can encourage those with same-sex attraction to live a life faithful to the teachings of Scripture?

New Vestment Arrived

I ordered the pictured vestment from Luzar Vestments this week and it arrived Wednesday.

Muslims tell Britons to Keep Christ in Christmas

It is not always the Muslims who are actually the ones offended by Christians and our message but the radical secular government is against it. Listen to this report where Muslims are telling us Britons to keep Christ in Christmas even if it offends non-Christians. So, the question is, who is it that is really offended? The urging comes amid reports of our schools cancelling nativity plays so as not to offend Muslims and yet Muslims are telling us to keep Christ in our Christmas. Is anybody actually seeing what is going on here? Listen to it all here!

St Clement's Philadelphia

This parish church and its beauty in worship is incredible!! Lessons to be learned here! The choir is amazing!! The pictures and the music are simply amazing...Take a look for yourself! Anglo-Catholics often do it best in instances like this! Watch and listen to this!

A Light in Darkness: The Idea of Joy!

Have you ever had those moments of quiet in your life where you were really able to hear yourself think and ask those deep philosophical questions concerning the ideas that fluttered about your head? It's the quiet of sitting in a room in complete silence and hearing nothing save the secondhand tick on a clock. It often happens when something has troubled us in our lives and we enter into deep contemplation and thought. Periodically I have these moments of quiet where a couple of hours will go by without realising it. I hear the clock ticking now even as I write in the silence of my study. My thoughts were on the Church and why some in the Church see that it has too many walls and work to tear them down without ever noticing the tremendous playground within its walls to experience.

So much of this is going on, not only in the Anglican Communion, but also in Roman Catholic communities and Orthodox as well--though I know of less in the Orthodox communities. Many see the ethical views of the Church Catholic as keeping us in the Dark Ages. Ironically, Chesterton was correct when he reminded us that it was only the Church that brought us out of the Dark Ages. But the question is, which Church did it? One may notice that having convictions about certain "issues" today does not seem to accomplish much more than land one with the label 'fundamentalist' for merely believing what the Church has said. Why is this other than the possibility that some in the Church seem to prefer the Darkness to the Light?

This brings me to my question about what it means to be a Catholic Christian. Do we simply choose the bits we like (the Eucharist, Mary, liturgy, etc) but throw out the bits we don't like-- such as the discipline that is a consequence of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Mary's 'no' so that she could say 'yes,' and the rubrics of the Mass that demonstrate the meeting of the mystery that unites heaven and earth? To be a Catholic Christian is to embrace all of the Faith once deleivered and visit and experience every piece of furniture in the playground of the Church. Why do I believe the Church Catholic? G.K. Chesterton answers it for me.

I do it because the thing has not merely told this truth or that truth, but has revealed itself as a truth-telling thing. All other philosophies say the things that plainly seem to be true; only this philosophy has again and again said the thing that does not seem to be true, but is true. Alone of all creeds it is convincing where it is not attractive; it turns out to be right, like my father in the garden. Theosophists for instance will preach an obviously attractive idea like re-incarnation; but if we wait for its logical results, they are spiritual superciliousness and the cruelty of caste. For if a man is a beggar by his own pre-natal sins, people will tend to despise the beggar. But Christianity preaches an obviously unattractive idea, such as original sin; but when we wait for its results, they are pathos and brotherhood, and a thunder of laughter and pity; for only with original sin we can at once pity the beggar and distrust the king. Men of science offer us health, an obvious benefit; it is only afterwards that we discover that by health, they mean bodily slavery and spiritual tedium. Orthodoxy makes us jump by the sudden brink of hell; it is only afterwards that we realise that jumping was an athletic exercise highly beneficial to our health. It is only afterwards that we realise that this danger is the root of all drama and romance. The strongest argument for the divine grace is simply its ungraciousness. The unpopular parts of Christianity turn out when examined to be the very props of the people. The outer ring of Christianity is a rigid guard of ethical abnegations and professional priests; but inside that inhuman guard you will find the old human life dancing like children, and drinking wine like men; for Christianity is the only frame for pagan freedom. But in the modern philosophy the case is opposite; it is its outer ring that is obviously artistic and emancipated; its despair is within.

And its despair is this, that it does not really believe that there is any meaning in the universe; therefore it cannot hope to find any romance; its romances will have no plots. A man cannot expect any adventures in the land of anarchy. But a man can expect any number of adventures if he goes travelling in the land of authority. One can find no meanings in a jungle of scepticism; but the man will find more and more meanings who walks through a forest of doctrine and design. Here everything has a story tied to its tail, like the tools or pictures in my father's house; for it is my father's house. I end where I began -- at the right end. I have entered at least the gate of all good philosophy. I have come into my second childhood.

But this larger and more adventurous Christian universe has one final mark difficult to express; yet as a conclusion of the whole matter I will attempt to express it. All the real argument about religion turns on the question of whether a man who was born upside down can tell when he comes right way up. The primary paradox of Christianity is that the ordinary condition of man is not his sane or sensible condition; that the normal itself is an abnormality. That is the inmost philosophy of the Fall. In Sir Oliver Lodge's interesting new Catechism, the first two questions were: "What are you?" and "What, then, is the meaning of the Fall of Man?" I remember amusing myself by writing my own answers to the questions; but I soon found that they were very broken and agnostic answers. To the question, "What are you?" I could only answer, "God knows." And to the question, "What is meant by the Fall?" I could answer with complete sincerity, "That whatever I am, I am not myself." This is the prime paradox of our religion; something that we have never in any full sense known, is not only better than ourselves, but even more natural to us than ourselves. And there is really no test of this except the merely experimental one with which these pages began, the test of the padded cell and the open door. It is only since I have known orthodoxy that I have known mental emancipation. But, in conclusion, it has one special application to the ultimate idea of joy.

++Rowan's Advent Letter

So, the ABC has sent his Advent letter to the Primates of the Anglican Communion. What do the readers think about this letter? There are polar positions between those at Standfirm and those at Thinking Anglicans to name two blogs that contain heavy traffic with this sort of news. I am not certain the ABC has his finger on the pulse of the situation in America and I find that a bit puzzling to be honest. Advent is about waiting in hope but do the readers on either side of the issue find hope in this letter? A quick read of the comments around the blog world does not seem to communicate much hope for many concerned. Let's keep talking about it, yeah?

Mary and the Mystery of the Incarnation

56. The Father of mercies willed that the incarnation should be preceded by the acceptance of her who was predestined to be the mother of His Son, so that just as a woman contributed to death, so also a woman should contribute to life. That is true in outstanding fashion of the mother of Jesus, who gave to the world Him who is Life itself and who renews all things, and who was enriched by God with the gifts which befit such a role. It is no wonder therefore that the usage prevailed among the Fathers whereby they called the mother of God entirely holy and free from all stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature.(5*) Adorned from the first instant of her conception with the radiance of an entirely unique holiness, the Virgin of Nazareth is greeted, on God's command, by an angel messenger as "full of grace",(286) and to the heavenly messenger she replies: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word".(287) Thus Mary, a daughter of Adam, consenting to the divine Word, became the mother of Jesus, the one and only Mediator. Embracing God's salvific will with a full heart and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her Son, under Him and with Him, by the grace of almighty God, serving the mystery of redemption. Rightly therefore the holy Fathers see her as used by God not merely in a passive way, but as freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience. For, as St. Irenaeus says, she "being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race."(6*) Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert in their preaching, "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith."(7*) Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her "the Mother of the living,"(8*) and still more often they say: "death through Eve, life through Mary."(9*)

Lumen Gentium

Parish Thanksgiving Pics

About a fortnight ago, Rhea and I hosted an American Thanksgiving at our parish church. It was an absolute success with somewhere over 80 fed! We went through seven turkeys! Being that Thanksgiving is not celebrated over here, (for obvious reasons) we used it as a time to have a gathering at the church hall. Everyone really enjoyed it.

You can see the pictures on our church web site.

Vestment/Chalice Fund

For any readers interested in donating to the chalice and vestment fund, please click on the paypal donate button on the right column. I have received some funding for which I am very grateful. I still have quite a bit yet to raise! So, if interested, please follow the link and thank you for your generosity!

Archbishop of York Cuts up Collar on TV

The Archbishop of York cut his collar up on TV yesterday (Read story here) and will not put it back on again until the tyrant Mugabe is removed from rule in Zimbabwe. Every time anyone sees the Archbishop without his collar, they will be reminded of all the wicked stuff going on in Zimbabwe. The Archbishop of York is known for his willingness to stand up to tyrants. Is this silly or something legit? How long will the Archbishop be without his collar?

Benedict XVI on John the Baptist

Well, after reading this from the Holy Father, I am happy that I was not too far off in my homily today! Good news from John the Baptist!

Zenit News.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the liturgy invited us to turn our gaze to Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, Star of Hope for every man. Today, the second Sunday of Advent, the liturgy presents us with the austere figure of the precursor, whom the evangelist Matthew introduces in this way: "John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 3:1-2).

His mission was to smooth out the roads before the Messiah, calling the people of Israel to repent of their sins and to correct every iniquity. John the Baptist announced the imminent judgment with demanding words: "Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). He challenged the hypocrisy of those who felt secure simply because they belonged to the chosen people: Before God, he said, no one has a right to boast, but must bear "good fruit as evidence of conversion" (Matthew 3:8).

As we pursue the journey of Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, John the Baptist's call to conversion resounds in our communities. It is a pressing invitation to open our hearts and welcome the Son of God who comes into our midst to make the divine judgment manifest.

The Father, writes the evangelist John, judges no one, but rather has entrusted the power to judge to the Son of Man (cf. John 5:22, 27). And it is today, in the present, that our future destiny is at stake; it is the concrete way we conduct ourselves in this life that decides our eternal fate. At the sunset of our days on earth, at the moment of death, we will be evaluated according to whether or not we resemble the Child who is about to be born in the lowly cave in Bethlehem, since he is the criterion by which God measures humanity.

The heavenly Father, who in the birth of his only-begotten Son manifests his merciful love to us, calls us to follow in his footsteps, making our existence, as he did, a gift of love. And the fruits of love are the "good fruits of conversion" to which John the Baptist refers, when he directs his pointed words at the Pharisees and Sadducees who were in the crowds at Christ's baptism.

Through the Gospel, John the Baptist continues to speak down the centuries, to every generation. His clear and hard words are more than ever salutary for us men and women of today, in whom even the way to live and perceive Christmas is, unfortunately, very often affected by a materialistic mentality.
The "voice" of the great prophet asks us to prepare the way of the Lord who comes in the deserts of today, external and interior deserts, thirsty for the living water that is Christ.

May the Virgin Mary guide us to a true conversion of heart, that we may make the choices necessary to make our mentalities to be in tune with the Gospel.

East and West Reunion: What Would Anglicans Do?

The Catholic Churches of both East and West are in serious dialogue and a process of healing to see the reunion of the Church. There is a very interesting question that Taylor Marshall of Canterbury Tales asks: Would Anglicans consider a serious move into union with the Church when/if the two were to come together? Read all of Patriarch Bartholomew's letter to the Catholic delegation at Zenit.

Thus, we believe that Western and Eastern Europe must cease regarding themselves as foreign to one another. Contact among Christians of the Latin tradition and the Orthodox faith may be rendered most productive for both sides. The feast of the Apostle Andrew, whom we commemorate and celebrate today, constitutes a vocation for all Christians of the world to return to the fullness, youthfulness and purity of the Christian tradition of the early Church. The example bequeathed to us by the Apostle Andrew, who remained faithful to his teacher throughout even the most grueling circumstances, preferring the Cross of Christ in place of any other compromise, invites us to an uncompromising resistance before the destructive consequences of the consumer culture today, before the increasing relativization of our doctrine and faith, before "the diverse forms of exploitation of the poor, migrants, women and children," as we declared again last year, as well as to "joint action to preserve a respect for human rights in every human being created in the image and likeness of God."

Roman Catholic and Anglican Talks Melt Here and There

Well, after other ecclesial and sacramental novelties, should we be surprised by the following story? So, not only is the women's ordination issue hurting our talks with the Church in Rome, but now our present crisis has stalled ecumenical talks. As one who is committed to ecumenical discussions with Rome in the area of Eucharistic theology, this saddens me greatly. Not because I agree with the direction of us Anglicans in these areas but because we seem to care so little about our talks with our ecumenical partners even after they warn us. Worse yet, we treat Cardinals who come to see us appallingly. Read this story!

The Anglican Communion’s divisions over sexual ethics have harmed its ecumenical dialogue with Rome, the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has claimed.

Speaking to the Pope and 123 cardinals in a private meeting at the Vatican on Nov 23, Cardinal Walter Kasper said that while relations with the Orthodox and some Evangelical groups were improving, talks with the Anglicans had stalled. “What we held to be our common heritage has begun to melt here and there like the glaciers in the Alps.”

Dads dot Org

I cannot recommend enough this site of Steve Wood's called Dads.org. Steve Wood is a Roman Catholic layman who runs the ministry that I have linked here for you the reader. Formally, Steve Wood was my wife's pastor when he was a Presbyterian minister some 20 plus years ago. This website has so many great resources for families and helps that are intended to build Christian homes. In our present culture, it is ministries like dads dot org that will help bring an improvement to our marriages, rearing of children and the focus of the Christian family as the basis for a healthy society.

I have just ordered a bunch of resources from his site for myself and use for future courses in parish work in England. I hope you enjoy the site and find it VERY useful!

Taylor Marshall Reports on Steenson's Reception in Rome in Rome!

See the link here. He was received at the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Congratulations to the 'former' Bishop Steenson.

Cold Water on TAC and Rome Reunion

In Friday's Catholic Herald, the headline read 'Cardinal Kasper pours cold water on union with rebel Anglican group'. In a discussion that took place below on the Pope wooing Anglicans home, this cold water from the Vatican's most senior Cardinal does not bode well for the breakaway Anglican group. One commenter said I was wrong about my predictions with the TAC but I am not sure I am. As Cardinal Kasper said, 'There are still many questions to solve first.' What say you?