Catholicism Series - Ep. 5 - The Indispensable Men (Peter & Paul)

 

Peter the Rock & Papacy

• Peter the Rock
• What the Early Church Believed: Peter’s Primacy
• What the Early Church Believed: The Authority of the Pope

Paul & Catholic View of Justification

• Overviews:
• Catholic and Protestant Views on Justification and Sanctification
• Justification: Process or One-Time Deal?
• In-depth:
• What Catholics Believe About Faith and Works
• Catechism - Grace and Justification (para. 1987-2029) 

Mary, Womanhood, and Nuptial Theology

Note: Links on this page go to www.Revelation215.com, a blog I use to collect quotations and stuff I like.

The items linked here touch on two related themes: 

• Mary as representative of the feminine principle and model for all women.
• The feminine/Marian principle as defining of Israel, the Church, and the life of the Christian.

Astell - Edith Stein & Gertrud von Le Fort on Mary's Embodiment of Womanhood - Mary encompasses both mother & virgin

Jordan - Only Power is in Surrender - From Preface to Le Fort's 'The Eternal Woman' - This book is one of the sources for previous article - Jordan draws on images from Le Fort's novels

Ratzinger - Women in the OT Central to Spousal Theology of Christianity - Includes Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Judith as types

C.S. Lewis - Passages From His Works

Links on this page go to www.Revelation215.com, a blog I use to collect quotations and stuff I like.

The Great Divorce

Lewis - The Great Divorce Ch.4 - The Bleeding Charity (God doesn't give us what we deserve)

Lewis - The Great Divorce Ch. 8 - Fear of Exposure ("Nakedness") Prevents Progress

Lewis - The Great Divorce Ch.12 - Least on earth, greatest in heaven

Catholicism Series - Links to Episodes Online (experimental)

NOTE: The links below are the ones I received via email, except for Episode 1, which is on Bishop Barron's YouTube channel. The Episode 2-9 links should work, but I'm not sure if maybe they'll only work once, or only for a certain period of time. Please let me know if any/all of them don't work for you.

Episode 1 Amazed and Afraid (Jesus as God, Messiah, & Lord)

Episode 2  Blessed Are We (The Beatitudes and Parables)

Episode 3  The Ineffable Mystery of God

Episode 4  Our Tainted Nature's Solitary Boast (Mary, the Mother of God)

Episode 5  The Indispensable Men (Saints Peter and Paul)

Episode 6  A Body both Suffering and Glorious (The Church)

Episode 7  Word made Flesh, True Bread of Heaven (The Eucharist)

Episode 8  A Vast Company of Witnesses (The Saints)

Episode 9  The Fire of His Love (Prayer and the Life of the Spirit)

Episode 10  World Without End (Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell)

Catholicism Series - Ep. 4 - Mary, The Mother of God

Here are some links, etc. related to things we discussed last week (scroll down for Apologetics Regarding Marian Dogmas & Outline of the Episode that I posted before we met).

A Few More Catholic Answers Links

Praying to the Saints

Saint Worship?

Are Catholics Accidentally Worshipping Mary?

The Angel Gabriel

Angel - Catholic Encyclopedia article

Gabriel - Catholic Encyclopedia article

What Are Saints and Angels (video)

Choirs of Angels, Archangels, & Guardian Angels (video)

Mary Embodying All Womanhood

I'm reading a lot about this now, but only have one link so far. This is pretty long and theological, but I think quite beautiful. I'm working on the short book The Eternal Woman by Le Fort that's being referred to, and will have more from that at some point:

Astell - Edith Stein & Gertrud von Le Fort on Mary's Embodiment of Womanhood

Perpetual Virginity of Mary (Jewish Vows of Virginity; Jesus's "Brothers")

• Support for the idea of Jewish women taking vows of virginity (even continuing into marriage) can be found in Numbers chapter 30. The word for "vow" here can be used for vows of fasting or virginity. From the context, it seems pretty clear that the latter is being discussed. Among other things, vows of fasting would have to be pretty short-term so the woman doesn't starve, and there is no mention of these vows ending at any time.
• The tradition of Mary being a vowed virgin in the temple is found in The Protoevangelium of James, and extra-biblical book from the 2nd century.

• Jesus's "Brothers"
• Did Jesus Have Brothers? - Overview of the whole issue, including that neither Aramaic or Hebrew have a word for cousin.
• Why Does the Bible Refer to Elizabeth as Mary’s “Cousin” but Not Use That Term When Referring to Jesus’ Brothers? 

This article shows that the translation of the Greek word suggenes as "cousin" is incorrect—should be "relative" or "kinswoman". If you look at the verse (Luke 1:36) at Bible Gateway, you'll see that the King James uses "cousin" but the other major translations—RSV (ecumenical), NAB (Catholic), NIV (Protestant), ESV (Protestant)—all say "relative".

Since there are no separate mentions of what the relationship is between Jesus and John the Baptist, the practice of call John the "cousin" of Jesus seems to be entirely based on the idea that Elizabeth is the "cousin" of Mary.

So apparently we have all been incorrect whenever we have used the word "cousin" to refer to either of these relationships. Unfortunately, even Catholic Answers, where the two articles above come from, uses this language elsewhere.

Protestant Ministers Who Became Catholic

Over past 50 years or so, hundreds of Protestant ministers have converted to Catholicism. A lot of them have gotten involved in ministry as Catholics. Below are a few that I recommend in particular.

Scott Hahn is by far the best known Protestant minister who became Catholic in recent years. Not only has he written many books, but has also founded the St. Paul Center at Franciscan University and overseen the production of the new Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. Lots of great videos from him on YouTube.

Marcus Grodi not only converted, but made his ministry helping other ministers convert by founding The Coming Home Network. Through this organization he has helped over 200 Protestant ministers in their moves into the Catholic Church. Most of them, along with lots of other converts, have been on his EWTN show The Journey Home. Watching these stories is a great way to learn about non-Catholic beliefs and how they differ from ours.

Jeff Cavins has written a number of books, but is best known for his Great Adventure course and study Bible. His stuff can be found at Ascension Press and at their YouTube channel.

John Bergsma is a scripture scholar who works with Scott Hahn at the St. Paul Center. He has written some great books and has a lot of videos on YouTube. Highly recommend his two appearances with Matt Fradd on Pints With Aquinas.

Apologetics Regarding Marian Doctrines

Here are some resources on Catholic Answers about the Marian doctrines:

Immaculate Conception

Divine Motherhood (Mother of God)

Perpetual Virginity

Assumption

Outline of the Episode

Part 1

I. The Annunciation

A. The angel Gabriel: “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Lk. 1:28)

B. Mary called to be the new Ark of the Covenant

C. Mary’s response is her fiat, her humble and holy “Yes” (Lk. 1:38)

D. Mary is the New Eve; she was conceived without sin, filled with divine life

E. The Ave reverses Eva: the attitude of fiat (“let it be”)

II. Mary and Zion

A. The Bridge between Old & New Covenant

B. Chartres Cathedral: Body of Mary

C. Mary is a daughter of Israel, a true Jew

D. Mary personifies Israel, the bridal people of God, faithful to the covenant

E. Mary responded to God’s call, promptly, quickly, and obediently

F. The model disciple

III. The Mother of God

A. The Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)

1. Convened to combat Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople

2. Christotokos (Christ-bearer) vs. Theotokos (God-bearer)

3. Twelve anathemas proposed by St. Cyril of Alexandria

B. Jesus Christ is one Person with two natures, human and divine

C. Mary is not the mother of a human nature, but a person: Jesus Christ

D. Calling Mary the Mother of God defends the Incarnation

Part 2

I. The Immaculate Conception

A. Declared a dogma of the Catholic Church in 1854, but has ancient roots

B. Pius IX (Ineffabilis Deus): Mary born “free from all stain of original sin”

1. This is why Gabriel says, “Hail, Full of Grace”

2. Mary gifted with “sublime grace” (Lumen Gentium, 53)

3. Mary is a perfect and holy vessel for reception of the Word

4. Mary’s salvation a matter of how, not if or what

C. St. Bernadette and Lourdes

II. The Assumption

A. Declared a dogma of the Catholic Church in 1950, but has ancient roots

B. Pius XII (Munificentissimus Deus): Mary’s body did not corrupt

1. Mary did not have to wait “for the redemption of her body”

2. Mary perfectly shared in her Son’s life, death, Resurrection

3. The Assumption is a “singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection” (CCC, 966)

III. The Mother of the Church

A. Mary continues to be active today

B. Dec. 9, 1531: Mary appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico

C. The sign given: tilma filled with roses, imprinted with miraculous image

D. The image of the Virgin echoes Revelation 12

IV. Mother of the New Covenant

A. Human Sacrifice

1. Rene Girard: The Scapegoat

i. The Scapegoat is at the foundation of society; provides communal cohesion

Ii. Satan is the Accuser

iii. Christ rejects Satan; thus he rejects a world ordered by violence

iv. Christ becomes scapegoat to show us our violence

v. Christ orders society through love and non-violence

Catholicism Series - Ep. 3 - The Ineffable Mystery of God

Here are some videos on Bishop Barron's channel related to this week's episode and discussion.

Arguments for God's Existence:

Bishop Barron on Thomas Aquinas and the Argument from Motion

Bishop Barron on God's Existence and The Argument from Desire

The Trinity:

Three Ways of Approaching the Trinity - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

What Is the Trinity? - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

Faith and Science:

Bishop Barron on Scientism and God's Existence

Why the Supposed Conflict Between Science and Religion is Tragic Nonsense

On faith and science, some of the best information out there right now is from Fr. Robert Spitzer. In addition to more general science/religion topics, his videos cover things like Eucharistic miracles, the Shroud of Turin, and the Guadalupe tilma. Here are a couple pages from his site with videos:

Magis Video Library - Talks, Documentaries, and Shorts

Fr. Spritzer Podcasts, Interviews, and Talks

Catholicism Series - Ep. 2 - The Teachings of Jesus

Hi all--here are some links related to last night's episode and discussion.

Note: Some books below are available free online at Internet Archive. If you read books on your computer, tablet, or phone, you should definitely check out that site. It's free and contains literally millions of books. The only thing you won't find there are new releases. It requires a free account to borrow books. Also note that certain books either can't be checked at all or have varying availability over time.

General

• The Key to Happiness (video) - Bishop Barron sermon on the Beatitudes that reviews some of the themes from the episode.
• Everything He Has Is Yours (video) - Bishop Barron sermon on the Prodigal Son.
• Litany of Humility
• Meditation of St. John Henry Newman (full version at Newman Reader (scroll down to "Meditations on Christian Doctrine")
• C.S. Lewis books (both also available free online in an anthology at Internet Archive - free account required)
  • The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
  • The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
    

Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, and the Catholic Worker Movement

• Dorothy Day, precarity, and the universal call to holiness - Article by Larry Chapp that talks about Day and "detachment", especially from wealth. Chapp and his wife are both Catholic theologians--Larry is retired, and Carmina is still active. About 10-15 years ago, they founded the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Farm in Harveys Lake, PA and are now in the process of moving their work to an urban setting in Scranton.
• Putting the ‘Catholic’ in Catholic Worker - Article about current Catholic Worker apostolates.
• Holy man who inspired Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker mission - Short article about Peter Maurin.
• Dorothy Day = An Introduction to Her Life and Thought - New book (2018) by Terrence Wright. Dr. Chapp (above) highly recommends this as an introduction to Dorothy Day.
• The Long Loneliness - Classic autobiography of Dorothy Day (also free online at Internet Archive)

John Paul II

• Pope St John Paul II vs Communists: The Mass in Front of Machine Guns (video) - Part of a talk by Chris Stefanick
• John Paul II and the Crisis of Humanism - Article by George Weigel about how John Paul II's affirmation of human dignity rooted in Christ (Christian Humanism) opposed the false humanisms of the 20th century, including communism.
• A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century - Book that Ed mentioned in our first meeting that seems appropriate for this week.

St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)

• Bishop Barron on Saint Teresa of Calcutta - Thoughts on Mother Teresa's spirituality
• Bishop Barron on Mother Teresa and Her Sisters - Reflections on his visit to Calcutta while filming the episode