Hanging in there
Whenever someone is struggling with a family member in some way, Catholic friends will often make mention of of St. Monica..but who was she?
Category: Catholicism
Astrology Refuted…in the Third Century
Well this is kinda cool! I had no idea that Hippolytus wrote a refutation of astrology!
What does it mean to “gird up your loins”?
In Scripture the reader is often told to “gird up your loins”, but what does that actually mean?
“…Thus to tell someone to ‘gird up their loins’ was to tell them to get ready for hard work or battle. It was the ancient way of saying ‘man up!’…”
David Bentley Hart
A couple of months ago a reader mentioned David Bentley Hart, an Eastern Orthodox Christian philosopher. I’ve been listening to his lectures online and been quite enjoying them:
Did the Apostles screw up when they appointed Matthias?
A while ago we were studying Colossians in Bible study. In preparation for this I downloaded sermons and podcasts on this epistle of Paul to aid me in my study. One such MP3 I downloaded was a sermon series by a Protestant pastor in which he said something that rather shocked me.
During his presentation, he spoke for some time about the apostleship of St. Paul. He then spoke about the replacement of Judas following the Resurrection:
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet… In those days Peter stood up…and said, “Brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled…concerning Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us, and was allotted his share in this ministry… So one of the men who have accompanied us…must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
And they put forward two…and they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthi′as; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles. – Acts 1:12-26
What shocked me was that, after recounting these events from the Acts of the Apostles, the pastor said that the Apostles made a mistake! He claimed that it was not Matthias who should have been selected, but they should have waited until the conversion of Paul! Wait…what?!
How to make an icon
Have you ever wondered how icons are made?
The Pascal Homily
I went to Vigil Mass last night and we were up late afterwards celebrating with the new members of the Church.
As a result, I didn’t get to Byzantine Liturgy this morning, which meant that I missed out on hearing St. John Chrysostom’s Pascal Homily. For those of you that don’t know, in the Byzantine Church, this Fourth Century homily is read by the priest at the Liturgy every Easter Day.
Since I didn’t get to hear it today, I decided to read it myself and put it up here for you all to enjoy. Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!
Pascal Homily (Download)
