I Highly Recommend This Book: Waugh’s Edmund Campion

I just finished Evelyn Waugh’s Edmund Campion: A Life (Ignatius Press, of course). This book is a must-read for the convinced Anglo-Catholic. It is a terrible reminder that the Elizabethan Settlement carried with it a rage against the Mass, which is difficult to explain. This book tells the story of the Oxonian Edmund Campion who [...]

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Israel, Dispensationalism, and the Epiphany

Recently, the evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Ariel Sharon’s stroke was divine retribution for “dividing God’s land” of Israel.
“The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who, quote, ‘divide my land.’ God considers this land to be his.”
“You read the Bible, God says, ‘This is my land.’ And for any [...]

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Southern Baptists at the Council of Nicea

Nicea, August 24, A.D. 325, 7:41 p.m. “That was powerful preaching, Brother Athanasius. Powerful! Amen! I want to invite any of you folks in the back to approach the altar here and receive the Lord into your hearts. Just come on up. We’ve got brothers and sisters up here who can lead you through the [...]

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Christmas Customs in the Sarum Rite

It’s the Eleventh Day of Christmas so I have to squeeze this one in before it is too late. There are some very interesting Christmas customs of the Sarum Rite.
On Christmas Day the geneology of St Matthew was solemnly recited. On Epiphany the geneology of St Luke was solemnly recited. In this way the season [...]

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Father Elijah – Recommended Novel

This novel is amazing. It is the only fiction book that I had to put down in order to pray. How can you not like a book that has all the usual POD elements: stigmatics, apparitions of Our Lady, Jewish Carmelite convert priest, the Anti-Christ, random exorcisms of evil places, secret conversations with Cardinals in [...]

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The “Local” Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

It is sometime assumed that St Thomas Aquinas’ doctrine of transubstantiation teaches that Christ’s Body and Blood are present in a physical and local way. A reading of Thomas will reveal that this is not what he means.
St Thomas Aquinas states plainly that Christ’s locus or place does not move when the Sacrament is moved [...]

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G. K. Chesterton on Atheists

If there were no God, there would be no Atheists.
- G.K. Chesterton

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Childermas

Today is the feast of Holy Innocents or Childermas, coming from “Childrens Mass.” The feast of the Holy Innocents commemorates the deaths of the babies in Bethlehem who were slaughtered by order of King Herod when he sought to destroy the Christ Child. Because they died on account of Christ’s life, they are accounted the [...]

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Doulia and Latria

Greek: doulia
Latin: servitusThe Greek term “doulia” (usually rendered in English as “dulia”) is the theological term for veneration or reverence in disctinction of “latria”, which is the theological term for worship given to God alone. St. Augustine (De Civ. Dei, X, ii, 1) recognized two kinds of veneration: “one which is due to men . [...]

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St Thomas Aquinas on Laymen Hearing Confessions

This is very interesting. According to the Summa Theologia, a layman may hear a confession in necessity when a priest is not available. Below is the answer to the question, “Whether it is ever lawful to confess to another than a priest?” from the Summa Theologia Supplementum Tertiæ Partis, 8, 2. Granted this is from [...]

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