For Thoughts Like These On Confession

What follows are thoughts on the Sacrament of Reconciliation written by Kenhelm Henry Digby in his classic, Mores Catholici.

For Archishop Fulton Sheen's Thoughts on Vatican II

The good folks over at Catholic Answers have the scoop:

Q: "Did Fulton Sheen support Vatican II? Sheen is a favorite of some who reject the Council, so a quote from him citing his support for Vatican II would be quite helpful for discussions with them."

Because of St. Thomas Aquinas' Thoughts On War

Have I mentioned lately that I've been taking a shine to the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas? It's difficult not to, seeing how much of the Angelic Doctor's work undergirds many of the doctrines of Holy Mother Church.

Did you realize that another title given to St. Thomas Aquinas is that of the Common Doctor? That was the sobriquet that Blessed Pope John XXIII bestowed upon him when he addressed a Thomistic Conference back in September of 1960. Regarding Aquinas he writes,

His teaching was, more than any other, fully in keeping with the truths that God has revealed, with the writings of the Holy Fathers, and with the principles of right reason and therefore Holy Church has adopted it as her own, and has given the name of common or universal teacher to its author.

For Thoughts Like These by George Santayana

—Feast of St. Jerome Emiliani 

Let me preface this post with an acknowledgement of the fact that philosopher George Santayana died as an atheist. But as an atheist, Santayana put pen to paper on some Catholic ideas that lack only one thing, really. And that one thing is the simple faith of a child in order to believe them.

As minds of adults go, George had an intellect that was top notch. But as Our Lord said,

Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

For Thoughts On Freedom Like These By Fulton Sheen

—Feast of St. Macarius the Great 

A little while ago, I shared a few of the Catholic ideas that have been consistent since Our Lord's Advent and yet are paradoxical. Today, when you have a spare half-hour, have a listen to Archbishop Fulton Sheen in the audio clip below.

Don't let the title fool you though, because this talk is about freedom.

For Thoughts On the Bride of Christ Like These, Circa 1906

For the past few days, I've had my nose buried in some very good books. I found a book written by a fellow named W. J. Williams that includes the names "Newman" and "Pascal" in the title, and as Blaise is one of my favorites, I got carried away by it.

The book is entitled Newman, Pascal, Loisy and the Catholic Church. It turns out that Loisy was excommunicated in 1909, but he doesn't figure prominently in the book so I'm mystified as to why he is included in the title. Maybe it was for "sizzle" when it was published.

Because of Fully Baked Thoughts Like These by Algar Thorold

—Feast of Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen 

I've been pretty quiet as the year 2010 wound down and the New Year approached. Here is one of the reasons why: I have been searching for treasures that I can share with you.

My final post of 2010 was on resolving to choose, or more accurately, resolving to being open to being chosen by, a patron saint for the New Year. I hope many of you took me up on that resolution because the witness of the saints is one of the reasons that continually answers the question of the title of this blog.

Because His Real Presence Cannot Be Destroyed

During a recent family tour of colleges in the Carolinas, it became clear that Duke University isn't exactly a center of Catholic culture. The interdenominational chapel at this university founded by Methodists features statues (I found that deliciously ironic), including one of John Wyclif, who, in 1380 attacked the Eucharist by calling it merely "an effectual sign."  The chapel crypt is where they bury dead university presidents and their wives. The God worshiped here feels distinctly different to me.

During the same visit of Duke, we stumbled on a lovely trove of medieval art at the Nasher Art Museum. The Duke University Art Museum began in 1969 when members of the Brummer family donated their extensive collection of medieval art to the university. The Nasher Art Museum, an architectural showpiece which opened in 2005, is a great place to explore. I was particularly provoked by the beauty of the medieval art in the collection. (Such as the statue of martyr Saint Sebastian, pictured here.)

For Purgatory, Thank Heavens

—Feast of All Souls

When I was straddling the fence on whether or not I should become a Catholic, I never had a problem with Purgatory. It just makes the most sense to me, not that my personal opinion about this doctrine means anything.

I'll admit that I thought I would have a big problem with it at first. Because, you see, it isn't mentioned specifically in the Bible (along with many other details). But where did all the people who died go, for example from the Old Testament times? Assuming that all the people who had died before the Incarnation were just, ahem—out of luck, is ridiculous to me. And that was before I knew the doctrine of purgatory very well.