We covered chapters 12, 13, & 14 in the USCCA.
By the way, what a wonderful class last night. Great participation, and an eagerness to learn our faith always blesses my socks off! Also, I'm wanting all of you to be on the lookout for "Holy Spirit moments", where you have experience God's presence, intervention, or answer to prayers in your life, whether in private or public times, at work or at home, in the most mundane or sublime moments. The Holy Spirit is with you at all times. Develop that sensitivity to His leading, His voice, His promptings and make a point of remembering. You'll be blessed at how active the Holy Spirit is in your life. Okay?
Now for the recap.
Chapter twelve deals with Mary, our Blessed Mother. She was chosen by God to bear His Son, the Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Below are some De Fide doctrines you must believe as a Catholic:
1. Mary as Mother of God--Declaration by Council of Ephesus, 431 A.D. Defended an attack against the divinity of Christ by the Nestorians, who believed that the Word of God rested on Christ after birth, but ascended before Christ's death. Based on a Neo-Platonic belief that the Word of God is entirely transcendent and could never become human. A later council at Chalcedon in 451 would finalize the dogma of the divinity and humanity of Christ in one Person. Here, the Nestorians were attacking Christ's mother...da bums.
2. Immaculate Conception, declared ex cathedra by Pope Pius IX in 1859: For Christ to be sinless and human, he had to acquire his humanity from Mary. It would mean that Mary had to be sinless too, but how? By grace. Because of the grace from the redemption in Jesus, Mary was prevented from having Original Sin. She was "full of grace". The USCCA says that Mary was redeemed, which did raise the hackles of a few students. Upon further discussion, we identified that we think of redemption in terms of saving sinners. Mary didn't sin, so how could she be redeemed? Redemption is a purchase. In fact all of humanity, past, present and future have all been redeemed. But, not all are saved. That is an important distinction. So, Mary, being fully human, needed grace like we all need grace. However, the grace she received was prior to sin; we on the other hand, after our sin. Her choice of Motherhood of the Son of God was a gift to her. She received this honor because of grace. Remember, folks, Mary is a human being. She's not a goddess--she's one of us, but without sin. She's a creature of grace, like us, yet without sin.
3. The Perpetual Virginity of Mary: Beware, there are Catholic theologians who cunningly lead their readers to conclusions to doubt this de fide doctrine. You cannot doubt this and have Catholic faith!! Mary was virginal prior to the Annunciation, during birth, and afterward until the end of her earthly life. She conceived of the Holy Spirit, so she did not have relations with Joseph. She gave birth Jesus in her virginity, so her virginity was not violated by Christ's birth. Virginity is lost in sexual intercourse. Afterward, she remained a virgin. Think of it, you have a woman who has a child. There is a husband involved in the creation of this child. In the case of Mary, who is the husband? Think...RIGHT! The Holy Spirit! Mary is called the spouse of the Holy Spirit, so in terms of fidelity, Mary had to maintain her spousal integrity. She could not join to another, in this case, Joseph. Another thing, since she carried the Second Person of the Trinity in her womb for 9 months, she became a living tabernacle of God. Literally! For that matter, one could never profane such a glorious womb with a human being. Lastly, a student reminded me that the term "brothers ?of Jesus mentioned in the Scriptures were not actual brothers, born of Mary, but were cousins. The names James, Joses, Jude were sons of Mary, wife of Clopas. Jesus action on the cross to give Mary to John is the action of an only child. After His death, no sibling would take care of Mary since none existed. John, and ultimately, you and I, are to take Mary in. Thank you Jesus for giving us your Mother!
4. Assumption of Mary, excathedra pronouncement by Pope Pius XII in 1950: A declaration not found in Scripture, BUT not contrary to Scripture. We have two, perhaps three people in Scripture who were bodily assumed into heaven. Do you remember? Yes, Elijah, who went up in a fiery chariot. The other one is Enoch, in the Book of Genesis, who pleased God so much that God took him without dying. The other possibility was Moses, who appeared with Elijah to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. So, is it possible that God can do this without it having to be written down and verified by an Affidavit, made official by a notary public? Sure. Also, if God can do it with those who have sin, it is even more possible that God can do it with those without sin, right? Besides, another student remarked to me last night that if you're Jesus, do you leave the one person who gave you your humanity, to death and decay that is the result of sin, which this person does NOT have? Of course not.
As to our Devotion to Mary, all true devotion to Mary will ALWAYS have devotion to Christ as the central focus. There is NO competition between the Mother and Son. The Mother, as a human creature, adores Her Son and urges us to do the same. True devotion to Mary honors her as the greatest disciple and follows her example in devotion to her Son. She shows us how to adore Him perfectly! Second, we love Mary as Christ loves her. In this case, we have much room for growth, do we not. Here's a link to St. Louis DeMontfort's "True Devotion." Take some time to look it over. See if you too, can become a slave to Jesus through Mary. If you want to consecrate yourself, go St. Louis DeMonfort Act of Consecration. For more on what DeMontfort thinks, read, Love of Eternal Wisdom. Good stuff!
By the way, what a wonderful class last night. Great participation, and an eagerness to learn our faith always blesses my socks off! Also, I'm wanting all of you to be on the lookout for "Holy Spirit moments", where you have experience God's presence, intervention, or answer to prayers in your life, whether in private or public times, at work or at home, in the most mundane or sublime moments. The Holy Spirit is with you at all times. Develop that sensitivity to His leading, His voice, His promptings and make a point of remembering. You'll be blessed at how active the Holy Spirit is in your life. Okay?
Now for the recap.
Chapter twelve deals with Mary, our Blessed Mother. She was chosen by God to bear His Son, the Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Below are some De Fide doctrines you must believe as a Catholic:
1. Mary as Mother of God--Declaration by Council of Ephesus, 431 A.D. Defended an attack against the divinity of Christ by the Nestorians, who believed that the Word of God rested on Christ after birth, but ascended before Christ's death. Based on a Neo-Platonic belief that the Word of God is entirely transcendent and could never become human. A later council at Chalcedon in 451 would finalize the dogma of the divinity and humanity of Christ in one Person. Here, the Nestorians were attacking Christ's mother...da bums.
2. Immaculate Conception, declared ex cathedra by Pope Pius IX in 1859: For Christ to be sinless and human, he had to acquire his humanity from Mary. It would mean that Mary had to be sinless too, but how? By grace. Because of the grace from the redemption in Jesus, Mary was prevented from having Original Sin. She was "full of grace". The USCCA says that Mary was redeemed, which did raise the hackles of a few students. Upon further discussion, we identified that we think of redemption in terms of saving sinners. Mary didn't sin, so how could she be redeemed? Redemption is a purchase. In fact all of humanity, past, present and future have all been redeemed. But, not all are saved. That is an important distinction. So, Mary, being fully human, needed grace like we all need grace. However, the grace she received was prior to sin; we on the other hand, after our sin. Her choice of Motherhood of the Son of God was a gift to her. She received this honor because of grace. Remember, folks, Mary is a human being. She's not a goddess--she's one of us, but without sin. She's a creature of grace, like us, yet without sin.
3. The Perpetual Virginity of Mary: Beware, there are Catholic theologians who cunningly lead their readers to conclusions to doubt this de fide doctrine. You cannot doubt this and have Catholic faith!! Mary was virginal prior to the Annunciation, during birth, and afterward until the end of her earthly life. She conceived of the Holy Spirit, so she did not have relations with Joseph. She gave birth Jesus in her virginity, so her virginity was not violated by Christ's birth. Virginity is lost in sexual intercourse. Afterward, she remained a virgin. Think of it, you have a woman who has a child. There is a husband involved in the creation of this child. In the case of Mary, who is the husband? Think...RIGHT! The Holy Spirit! Mary is called the spouse of the Holy Spirit, so in terms of fidelity, Mary had to maintain her spousal integrity. She could not join to another, in this case, Joseph. Another thing, since she carried the Second Person of the Trinity in her womb for 9 months, she became a living tabernacle of God. Literally! For that matter, one could never profane such a glorious womb with a human being. Lastly, a student reminded me that the term "brothers ?of Jesus mentioned in the Scriptures were not actual brothers, born of Mary, but were cousins. The names James, Joses, Jude were sons of Mary, wife of Clopas. Jesus action on the cross to give Mary to John is the action of an only child. After His death, no sibling would take care of Mary since none existed. John, and ultimately, you and I, are to take Mary in. Thank you Jesus for giving us your Mother!
4. Assumption of Mary, excathedra pronouncement by Pope Pius XII in 1950: A declaration not found in Scripture, BUT not contrary to Scripture. We have two, perhaps three people in Scripture who were bodily assumed into heaven. Do you remember? Yes, Elijah, who went up in a fiery chariot. The other one is Enoch, in the Book of Genesis, who pleased God so much that God took him without dying. The other possibility was Moses, who appeared with Elijah to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. So, is it possible that God can do this without it having to be written down and verified by an Affidavit, made official by a notary public? Sure. Also, if God can do it with those who have sin, it is even more possible that God can do it with those without sin, right? Besides, another student remarked to me last night that if you're Jesus, do you leave the one person who gave you your humanity, to death and decay that is the result of sin, which this person does NOT have? Of course not.
As to our Devotion to Mary, all true devotion to Mary will ALWAYS have devotion to Christ as the central focus. There is NO competition between the Mother and Son. The Mother, as a human creature, adores Her Son and urges us to do the same. True devotion to Mary honors her as the greatest disciple and follows her example in devotion to her Son. She shows us how to adore Him perfectly! Second, we love Mary as Christ loves her. In this case, we have much room for growth, do we not. Here's a link to St. Louis DeMontfort's "True Devotion." Take some time to look it over. See if you too, can become a slave to Jesus through Mary. If you want to consecrate yourself, go St. Louis DeMonfort Act of Consecration. For more on what DeMontfort thinks, read, Love of Eternal Wisdom. Good stuff!
Chapter 13: Our Eternal Destiny
I will not take up much space here, other than to summarize. We have two choices, heaven or hell. Purgatory, though often viewed as a third option, is really a part of heaven. However, Purgatory, whether it has actual fire or not, is a place where the restitution we need to fulfill is finalized before we enter heaven. Status quo thinking among Catholics is that we expect to go to Purgatory. Going directly to heaven is very rare. One very precious doctor of the Church, St. Therese, the Little Flower, teaches that our expectations are too low because we don't believe. We have such a poor view of God and his grace that we grieve Him. We need to be children again. BELIEVE! Here are some links about St. Therese that you will enjoy: St. Therese's teaching on Purgatory and Von Balthasar's Take on the Little Flower. Good stuff!
Chapter 14: Celebrating the Paschal Mystery
We ran out of time on this chapter, but the salient points are these.
1. The Paschal Mystery is Christ's Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.
2. Our participation in this Mystery comes to us through the Liturgies, the Sacraments.
3. The term "liturgy" means a public work, and in our case, the public work is the work of Christ, the Christus Totus, the entire Body of Christ, lead by Christ in worship, thanksgiving, prayer and reparation to the Father. We are included in this glorious public act, which is obligatory, but more so, an infinite honor and privilege.
4. The Sacraments, or oaths, are the actions of Christ to us and in us.
5. The ministers of the Sacraments, the priests, act in persona Christi. So when your priest processes up to the altar in Mass, in faith, in reality, it is Jesus Christ who enters and leads us to worship. Kinda changes our viewpoint a bit, don't you think?
We'll be weaving this chapter in the next several classes.
NEXT WEEK'S READINGS: Chapters 15, 16 & 17, with a majority of the time spent in class on chapter 17, the Eucharist. The Eucharist, is the source and summit of all the Sacraments. So we will cover Baptism and Confirmation, but prep for the Eucharist.
Peace to all of you, dear family!!
Sam
I will not take up much space here, other than to summarize. We have two choices, heaven or hell. Purgatory, though often viewed as a third option, is really a part of heaven. However, Purgatory, whether it has actual fire or not, is a place where the restitution we need to fulfill is finalized before we enter heaven. Status quo thinking among Catholics is that we expect to go to Purgatory. Going directly to heaven is very rare. One very precious doctor of the Church, St. Therese, the Little Flower, teaches that our expectations are too low because we don't believe. We have such a poor view of God and his grace that we grieve Him. We need to be children again. BELIEVE! Here are some links about St. Therese that you will enjoy: St. Therese's teaching on Purgatory and Von Balthasar's Take on the Little Flower. Good stuff!
Chapter 14: Celebrating the Paschal Mystery
We ran out of time on this chapter, but the salient points are these.
1. The Paschal Mystery is Christ's Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.
2. Our participation in this Mystery comes to us through the Liturgies, the Sacraments.
3. The term "liturgy" means a public work, and in our case, the public work is the work of Christ, the Christus Totus, the entire Body of Christ, lead by Christ in worship, thanksgiving, prayer and reparation to the Father. We are included in this glorious public act, which is obligatory, but more so, an infinite honor and privilege.
4. The Sacraments, or oaths, are the actions of Christ to us and in us.
5. The ministers of the Sacraments, the priests, act in persona Christi. So when your priest processes up to the altar in Mass, in faith, in reality, it is Jesus Christ who enters and leads us to worship. Kinda changes our viewpoint a bit, don't you think?
We'll be weaving this chapter in the next several classes.
NEXT WEEK'S READINGS: Chapters 15, 16 & 17, with a majority of the time spent in class on chapter 17, the Eucharist. The Eucharist, is the source and summit of all the Sacraments. So we will cover Baptism and Confirmation, but prep for the Eucharist.
Peace to all of you, dear family!!
Sam
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