From the Library

Click on the link below to access a copy of:

St Augustine: The Confessions
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1101.htm

St. Augustine's Tractates (Lectures) on the Gospel of John

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6sOlTOKQPDAJ:www.newadvent.org/fathers/1701.htm+John+21+-+the+early+church+fathers&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

The Brothers of the Heralds of the Gospel join in prayer with the The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.

On 21 October 2010 The Brothers of the Heralds of the Gospel took part in an afternoon of prayer in Reading, with the The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.

What is the point of Life?

In 1936 a young American student had an experience which changed his life. Though nominally a Christian, the young no longer believed that the cosmos had been brought into being by an intelligent and purposive Creator or that the human soul had any destiny to look forward to except that of oblivion or that there was any real moral meaning to life except one based on the pleasures and preferences of this or that individual or group.

“However, like many other seminal shapers of Christian thought, including Justin Martyr, St. Augustine, and C. S. Lewis, Dulles was led through the study of philosophy to question the certitude of his doubts and denials. Aristotle taught him to appreciate the dignity of reason and to see the design at the heart of the created world. Through Plato he came to see that moral value—things true and beautiful and good—were more than mere whims of preference; they had an objective basis in that which was ultimately real. All of this came together for him one gray rainy February afternoon when he left his carrel in Widener Library (where he had been reading a chapter from St. Augustine's City of God that he had been assigned in a course on medieval history) and began to trudge through the melting snow and mud along the banks of the Charles River:

As I wandered aimlessly, something impelled me to look contemplatively at a young tree. On its frail, supple branches were young buds attending eagerly the spring which was at hand. While my eye rested on them the thought came to me suddenly, with all the strength and novelty of a revelation, that these little buds in their innocence and meekness followed a rule, a law of which I as yet knew nothing. How could it be, I asked, that this delicate tree sprang up and developed and that all the enormous complexity of its cellular operations combined together to make it grow erectly and bring forth leaves and blossoms? The answer, the trite answer of the schools, was new to me: that its actions were ordered to an end by the only power capable of adapting means to ends–intelligence–and that the very fact that this intelligence worked toward an end implied purposiveness–in other words, a will. It was useless, then, to dismiss these phenomena by obscurantist talk about a mysterious force of "Nature." The "nature" which was responsible for these events was distinguished by the possession of intellect and will, and intellect plus will makes personality. Mind, then, not matter, was as the origin of all things. Or rather not so much the "mind" of Anaxagoras as a Person of Whom I had had no previous intuition.

This epiphany was for Dulles not so much a moment of mystical illumination as an insight or recognition of the then-and-thereness of the created order and of the reality that sustains and governs it by a beneficent providence, the same reality Dante referred to as "the Love that moves the Sun and the other stars". In time, through personal friendships, through the study of the Holy Scriptures, through the witness of a believing community, Avery Dulles would learn the name of that Love: Jesus Christ, the Son of Man of the four canonical Gospels, the eternal Son of the heavenly Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, the Savior of the world, the Lord of the Church, the coming King and judge of all. “

This young man was the future Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ, (died 2008)a prominent post-Vatican II American Catholic theologian.

…
Every thinking person wonders within themselves about the meaning and purpose of human life. They all ask themselves the same questions:

“Who am I? Where did I come from and where am I going? What is the meaning of my life, and of life itself? How should I live in this present world? Is there life beyond the grave and where will I be thirty seconds after I am dead? Such questions, of course, are not unique to Christians. Indeed, they are the property of all persons everywhere. But the Christian faith does not shrink from the task of considering such questions in the light of our common human strivings and with the aid of reason. illumined by faith.

In the opening lines of his encyclical letter Fides et Ratio, Pope John Paul II put it this way:

Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth-in a word, to know himself-so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fulness of truth about themselves.”

…... “ As he later reflected on that initial step of faith and all that has followed since, Cardinal Dulles, in words that echo St. Augustine's Confessions, celebrates the grace of God in the life of the mind and invites others to taste and see that the Lord is good and faithful and true:

That I did eventually make this act of faith is attributable solely to the grace of God. I could never have done so by my own power. The grace which I received was a tremendous and unmerited privilege, but I sincerely believe that it is one which God, in His faithfulness, will deny to none who earnestly seek Him in prayer. I found Him to be exactly as Our Lord had described Him–a Father Who would not give a stone in place of bread, or anything but the Holy Ghost to those who asked for it. "Knock, and it shall be open unto you."

This is from a review of Cardinal Dulles' book - A History of Apologetics
on the 'Ignatius Insight' website The full article may be read on their website at:
http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/tgeorge_forewd_dulles.asp

Purgatory - a Loving Reality.

"THIS IS PURGATORY, AN INTERIOR FIRE"
by Benedict XVI

From the general audience of January 12, 2011


[...] Catherine's thought on purgatory, for which she is particularly known, is condensed in the last two parts of the book mentioned at the beginning: "Treatise on Purgatory" and "Dialogues on the Soul and Body."

It is important to observe that, in her mystical experience, Catherine never had specific revelations on purgatory or on souls that are being purified there. However, in the writings inspired by our saint purgatory is a central element, and the way of describing it has original characteristics in relation to her era.

The first original feature refers to the "place" of the purification of souls. In her time [purgatory] was presented primarily with recourse to images connected to space: There was thought of a certain space where purgatory would be found. For Catherine, instead, purgatory is not represented as an element of the landscape of the core of the earth; it is a fire that is not exterior but interior.

This is purgatory, an interior fire. The saint speaks of the soul's journey of purification to full communion with God, based on her own experience of profound sorrow for the sins committed, in contrast to the infinite love of God. We have heard about the moment of her conversion, when Catherine suddenly felt God's goodness, the infinite distance of her life from this goodness and a burning fire within her. And this is the fire that purifies, it is the interior fire of purgatory.

Here also there is an original feature in relation to the thought of the era. She does not begin, in fact, from the beyond to narrate the torments of purgatory – as was usual at that time and perhaps also today – and then indicate the path for purification or conversion. Instead our saint begins from her own interior experience of her life on the path to eternity.

The soul, says Catherine, appears before God still bound to the desires and the sorrow that derive from sin, and this makes it impossible for it to enjoy the Beatific Vision of God. Catherine affirms that God is so pure and holy that the soul with stains of sin cannot be in the presence of the Divine Majesty. And we also realize how far we are, how full we are of so many things, so that we cannot see God. The soul is conscious of the immense love and perfect justice of God and, in consequence, suffers for not having responded correctly and perfectly to that love, and that is why the love itself of God becomes a flame. Love itself purifies it from its dross of sin.

Theological and mystical sources typical of the era can be found in Catherine's work. Particularly there is an image from Dionysius the Areopagite: that of the golden thread that unites the human heart with God himself. When God has purified man, he ties him with a very fine thread of gold, which is his love, and attracts him to himself with such strong affection that man remains as "overcome and conquered and altogether outside himself." Thus the human heart is invaded by the love of God, which becomes the only guide, the sole motor of his existence.

This situation of elevation to God and of abandonment to his will, expressed in the image of the thread, is used by Catherine to express the action of the divine light on souls in purgatory, light that purifies them and elevates them to the splendors of the shining rays of God.

Dear friends, the saints, in their experience of union with God, reach such profound "knowledge" of the divine mysteries, in which love and knowledge are fused, that they are of help to theologians themselves in their task of study, of "intelligentia fidei," of "intelligentia" of the mysteries of the faith, of real deepening in the mysteries, for example, of what purgatory is. [...]

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The Most Revd Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster - Christian faith gives society the means to act together for the common good.

Archbishop of Westminster’s Reflection on the impact of the Christian Faith on society.

‘O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.’

These are the words of a special anthem for this evening in the Prayer of the Church. They add to the beauty of our evening celebration. But they also raise a question. As we enjoy the splendour of this celebration, do we think of ourselves among those who sit ‘in darkness’? It doesn’t seem too appropriate, really!

Yet there is a sobering thought that will not leave us. It will return the minute we step outside this Cathedral: our society is experiencing some hard times. And during them some are being hurt, and some are angry, as we have already seen.

So as we absorb this Christmas message, as we proclaim that the ‘Rising Sun is the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice’, we must reflect on how we are responding. As a society we are, more often than not, capable of great generosity in the face of adversity. Every disaster illustrates this. Charity appeals are met with generosity. When hardship is before our eyes, a sense of solidarity will emerge. This is surely one of our sources of hope.

But it is difficult to sustain. In an emergency, we trust that life will quickly get back to normal so that we can each resume our customary patterns and get back to our own business. But what if this ‘emergency’ lasts? What if it becomes a lasting reality? Do we, then, simply turn back to our own and turn our backs on those in need? Or does the very nature of ‘our own business’ actually change?

In facing this challenge, the truth we proclaim this evening has something to say. Religious truth may not be particularly popular at the moment and easily mocked. Yet it has resilience. Our Christmas story is being told and retold at this time, in the half remembered words of the carols, in many homes as families set up a crib or display their Christmas cards. It is sung and celebrated in churches up and down the land. And it contains a message which is immediately relevant to the times we are facing.

The figures in the crib form a community. They come together in adversity and are there for each other. At their centre is the most vulnerable of their number: the child Jesus. Even the natural world, in the shape of ox and ass, seems to play its part.

At the heart of this story is a revelation of something crucially important about our nature. In contrast to a prevailing culture, here we learn that we are made for each other, that we belong together. In contrast to the view that puts the individual first, constantly emphasising the importance of individual needs and rights, and well practised in the culture of blame, this story tutors us in the priority we are to give to each other and to our common good. Here the call to community is the fundamental good, and not seen as a necessary constraint on individual freedom. Here fulfilment is found in the service of others, rather than in the pursuit of self-interest, especially the service of those who are vulnerable and dependent.

The true impact of this story and the truth it conveys are only fully grasped if its deeper religious truth is also remembered. Here, in the manger, is a child who is not just caught in poverty and so attracting our sympathy; here is a child who will not just grow into a preacher of extraordinary power and gain our admiration; here, rather, is a human being who is also and totally God. This truth, the truth of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, raises the lessons of the crib to a new and transforming height. The child, in his birth, and the man in his teaching, his death and his resurrection, is proclaiming the truth about us with all the authority that is of God. It is the ultimate authority, for God is the ultimate author of life.

Here we come to sources of strength and inspiration whatever we face. Here, in the presence of the Christ, we are not only taught about our solidarity with one another but we are also given the where-with-all, the grace, to sustain that solidarity even in the most taxing of times.

Faith has an important contribution to make. This Christian faith not only makes clear the challenge facing us – to act together, consistently, in community for the common good – but also gives us the means to sustain that effort through a power that is not our own. Rather that power, that grace of God, comes to us always as a gift of love that is for our good. We come to Christ to receive that love. We open our hearts that it may fill them. Then we know how we must act in our world today.

The full text of this message may be found at:
http://www.rcdow.org.uk/archbishop/default.asp?library_ref=35&content_ref=3162

"Let the celestial trumpets" from"Samson" (Georg Friedrich Hándel)

Imitating Baby Jesus Isn't Enough - a Call to a Total Transformation

ZE11010708 - 2011-01-07
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-31387?l=english
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 7, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The Christ Child incarnates a host of virtues, but Christmas is a call to more than imitating the goodness of Baby Jesus, says Benedict XVI. Instead, it is an invitation to a total transformation wrought by participation in divine nature.

The Pope made this reflection Wednesday during the first general audience of the new year, held in Paul VI Hall. He dedicated his address to a consideration of Christmas, saying it "is not only a remembrance but is above all a mystery; it is not only a memory but also a presence."

The Holy Father's meditation emphasized the "today" of the feast, explaining that "in the liturgical celebrations of these holy days we lived in a mysterious but real way the entrance of the Son of God into the world and we were illumined once again by the light of his brilliance. Each celebration is an actual presence of the mystery of Christ and in it is prolonged the history of salvation."

"Today, as then," he said, "God reveals himself in the flesh, namely, in the 'living body' of the Church journeying in time, and, in the sacraments, he gives us salvation today."

...Pope Benedict declared that Christmas must be rescued from an "overly moralistic and sentimental mask."

"The celebration of Christmas does not propose to us only examples to imitate, such as the humility and poverty of the Lord, and his benevolence and love for men," he said. "But it is rather an invitation to allow oneself to be totally transformed by him who entered into our flesh."

The Pope cited St. Leo the Great to clarify his point: "The Son of God ... joined himself to us and joined us to himself in such a way that the abasement of God to the human condition became a raising of man to the heights of God."

Hence, the Holy Father explained, "God's manifestation has its purpose in our participation in divine life, in the realization in us of the mystery of his Incarnation. This mystery is the fulfillment of man's vocation."

Citing St. Leo another time, he noted: "Again St. Leo the Great explains the Christmas mystery's concrete and always present importance for Christian life: 'The words of the Gospel and of the Prophets ... inflame our spirit and teach us to understand the Lord's nativity, this mystery of the Word made flesh, not so much as a memory of a past event, but as an event that unfolds before our eyes ... it is as if it was proclaimed again in today's solemnity: "I give you the announcement of a great joy, which will be for all the people: today, in the city of David, a Savior is born for you who is Christ the Lord."'

"And he adds: 'Recognize, O Christian, your dignity, and, made participant of the divine nature, be careful not to fall again, with unworthy conduct, from such greatness into primitive baseness.'"

The Pope concluded with an invitation to live Christmastide "with intensity."

"After having adored the Son of God made man and placed in the manger," he said, "we are called to pass to the altar of the Sacrifice, where Christ, the living Bread come down from heaven, offers himself
to us as true nourishment for eternal life. And what we have seen with our eyes, at the table of the Word and of the Bread of Life, what we contemplated, what our hands have touched, that is the Word made flesh, let us proclaim him with joy to the world and witness to him generously with all our life."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: www.zenit.org/article-31386?l=english

Solemnity of the Mother of God

n the 4th and 5th centuries debates about the nature of Christ raged in the Church. The debate was about the relationship of Christ's divine and human natures. At the center of this debate was one particular title which had been given to Mary. From the 3rd century onward, Christians had referred to Mary as theotokos, meaning "God-bearer." The first documented usage of the term is in the writings of Origen of Alexandria in AD 230.

Referring to Mary as the mother of God was popular in Christian piety, but Nestorius patriarch of Constantinople from 428-431, objected. He suggested that Mary was only the mother of Jesus' human nature, but not his divine nature. Nestorius' ideas (or at least how others perceived his arguments) were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, and again at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451.

The Church decided that Christ was fully God and fully human, and these natures were united in one person, Jesus Christ. Thus Mary could be called "mother of God" since she gave birth to Jesus who was fully divine as well as human. Since this time, Mary has been frequently honored as the "mother of God" by Catholics, Orthodox, and many Protestants.

The Solemnity of Mary Mother of God falls exactly one week after Christmas, the end of the octave of Christmas. It is fitting to honor Mary as Mother of Jesus, following the birth of Christ. When Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God we are not only honoring Mary, chosen among all women throughout history to bear God incarnate, but we are also honoring our Lord, who is fully God and fully human. Calling Mary "mother of God" is the highest honor we can give Mary. Just as Christmas honors Jesus as the "Prince of Peace," the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God honors Mary as the "Queen of Peace" This solemnity, falling on New Year's Day, is also designated the World Day of Peace.

Rejoice Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb,
for thou hast borne the Savior of our
souls.
Meet it is in truth, to glorify thee,
O Birth-giver of God,
ever blessed, and all undefiled,
the Mother of our God.
More honorable than the Cherubim,
and beyond compare
more glorious than the Seraphim,
thou who without stain didst bear God the Word,
true Birth-giver of God, we magnify thee.