Beholding the Beauty

Introduction There are many who seems to think that having material worship, and ritual, and discipline, constitutes some kind of bondage. They like to quote St. Paul's letter to the Galatians, which reads as follows: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 5:1 By quoting that verse, they are accusing us of practicing a religion of "bondage", opposed to "liberty", because we have material things and rituals and stuff. If one just takes select snippets without context, it's possible to weave them together to craft just such a narrative. But we ought not: St. Peter says that those who do so, especially taking from the letters of St. Paul, do so to their own destruction. 2 Pet 3:16 Rather, we should seek to understand the whole counsel of God, and rightly divide the word of truth. To do so, ignore the chapter and verse

The 16th Council of Toledo, held in AD 693, gave us (among other things) the following: 296 Let the designation of this "holy will"-although through a comparative similitude of the Trinity, where it is called memory, intelligence, and will-refer to the person of the Holy Spirit; according to this, however, what applies to itself, is predicated substantially. For the will is the Father, the will is the Son, the will is the Holy Spirit; just as God is the Father, God is the Son, God is the Holy Spirit and many other similar things, which according to substance those who live as protectors of the Catholic faith do not for any reason hesitate to say. And just as it is Catholic to say: God from God, light from light, life from life, so it is a proved assertion of true faith to say the will from the will; just as wisdom from wisdom, essence from essence, and as God the Father begot God the Son, so the Will, the Father, begot the Son, the Will. Thus, although according to essenc

The pattern of things in the heavens was shadowed in the pattern of the things of the Law (Heb. 10:1), and Christ, being the very image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15) is the Beginning and End ( Rev 1:8 ; 21:6 ; 22:13 ) of those things which are to come , the End of the Law ( Rom 10:4 ), and the Beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven ( Col 1:18 ). Christ, therefore, Who is shadowed in the Law, is revealed to us in it when the veil of unbelief is taken away from our eyes by faith ( 2 Cor. 3:13-18 ). He was not alone. Eternally He was without mother ( Heb 7:3 ), yet He was not alone, but with the Father ( 1 John 1:2 ) in the bosom of the Father ( John 1:14, 18 ; Heb 1:5 ). He came among us without father ( Heb 7:3 ), yet He was not alone, but from His mother, born of a woman ( Luke 1:35; 2:7 ; Gal 4:4 ), being found with Mary His mother ( Matt 2:11 ) by the wise men. They did not find Him only, but Him together with Mary. They fell down, it says, and worshiped H

Introduction In my previous post on this topic , I gave ample proof from the Scripture that Jesus was in fact crucified on a Friday, and that to use the sign of the prophet Jonah to say otherwise introduces irreconcilable contradictions. After posting it, I linked to it on a few discussion threads online. Some good points were raised in objection, which although I addressed them in those places I thought it might be prudent to include in this followup post, so as to gather them together in one place. Additionally, I have included below at least one observation that I forgot to include anywhere else. Finally, as a housekeeping note: rather than do additional posts when/if new followup information becomes available, I will simply edit this one. Regarding the polemical nature of the previous post One of the readers imagined that because I chose to use mildly polemic language, I was engaging in either Ad Hominem or else an Appeal to Author

Today I was humbled a bit to be reminded that I don't know everything, and I always have more to learn. I have read John 6 probably more times than I could reckon up, especially since it's a "go to" in debates about the Eucharist. (This post is not about that.) However, I have always had the idea of the conversation recorded in vss. 25-58 as being an outdoor scene. Perhaps this is because in vs. 25 we are told, when they had found Him on the other side of the sea , and I must have just thought subconsciously, OK, they were standing on the one side of the sea (vs. 22), and now they have found Him on the other side of the sea, at the land (vs. 21). But no. Today, a verse that I'm sure I've read at least a dozen times finally hit my stupid brain. Verse 59 says plainly, These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum. Well paint me red and call me a firetruck. If it'd been a snake, it would've bit me! This is an indoor

Today, we celebrate the memory of the Holy Prophet Joel. The epistle reading is from St. Peter's quotation of him at Pentecost. I have often thought it strange that St. Peter continues the quotation, of which he says Pentecost was the fulfillment, with the statement that there would be blood and fire and vapor of smoke, and that the Sun would be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Regarding the blood and fire, the Fathers are unanimous that this refers to the Incarnation, for the fire of the divinity came and dwelt bodily -- that is, in flesh and blood -- among us, and returned in this same body, and with the blood He shed for us, into the heavens, from whence He sent forth the Spirit. Likewise, the sun being darkened refers to both the darkening of the Sun at the crucifixion, and also that the pure doctrine of Christ would be obscured by the noxious smoke of heresies in the history of the Church from that day to this, particu