Category: Catholicism

Wise Words on Wednesday: The Church is a whore?

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Today’s “Wise Words on Wednesday” is a correction of a quotation I’ll periodically see people quote on the Internet:

The Church is a whore, but she’s also my mother

St. Augustine?

This is a poor paraphrase of something which St. Augustine wrote in Sermon 213:

“Let us honor the Catholic Church, our true Mother, the true Bride of her Husband, because she is the wife of so great a Lord. And what shall I say? How great is that Husband and of singular rank, that he discovered a prostitute and made her a virgin. Because she should not deny that she was a prostitute, lest she forget the mercy of her liberator. How can it be said that she was not a prostitute when she fornicated with demons and idols?”

Sermon 213 on the Creed

The ordering is really important here. The Bride of Christ was once unfaithful, but she was liberated by Him – the emphasis is on Christ’s ability to heal, save, and sanctify the lost.

Summary of salvation History

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I’m sure many of you out there are following along with Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible-in-a-year podcast.

One of the things which I’ve learnt from reading The Silmarillion this year (the Old Testament of Middle Earth!) is that it’s really helpful to periodically review the story so far and to remind yourself how you got here.

With this in mind, I’d like to direct you to some recent episodes from my friend Richaél from the Clumsy Theosis podcast who is currently working through the story of Salvation History at a high level, covering in five episodes the material covered in the last fifty episodes of Fr. Mike’s podcast…

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Know Your Valar: Tulkas and Nessa

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We have another couple today, who get married early on in The Silmarillion, Tulkas and Nessa:

Tulkas

  • Type: Vala
  • Name meaning: “Strong” or “Steadfast”
  • Other titles: “the Wrestler”
  • Appearance: Golden hair and beard
  • Location: –
  • Notes:
    • Last of the Ainur to enter Arda who entered to fight Melkor.

Nessa

  • Type: Vala
  • Name meaning: “Young”
  • Other titles: “The dancer”
  • Appearance: Beautiful!
  • Location: –
  • Notes:
    • Loves to dance
    • Runs swiftly

Know Your Valar: Aulë and Yavanna

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It’s time to talk about more of the Valar! Today we look at another couple, Aulë and Yavanna…

Aulë

  • Type: Vala
  • Name meaning: “Invention”
  • Other titles: “The Smith”, “The Maker of Mountains”, “Mahal” (The Maker)
  • Appearance: –
  • Location: Central Valinor
  • Notes:
    • He is a master of all crafts who fashioned and crafted the substances of which Arda was made
    • He created the Dwarves
    • Made the Lamps of the Valar
    • Forged the vessels which hold the Sun and Moon
    • Taught the Noldor Eleves about stonework

Yavanna

  • Type: Vala
  • Name meaning: “Giver of fruits”
  • Other titles: “The Fruitful Queen of the Earth”
  • Appearance: Tall as a cypress tree and clothed in green
  • Location: Her gardens are in south Valinor
  • Notes:
    • Planted seeds of everything which grows
    • She thought of the Ents
    • She made the Trees of Light which lit Valinor,
    • She used the last fruit of those trees was used to make the Sun and Moon
    • She also made the White Tree of the Eldar in Tirion.

Know Your Valar: Ulmo

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Last time we looked at a couple, the King and Queen of Arda. Today we look at a bachelor…

Ulmo

  • Type: Vala
  • Name meaning: “Pourer”/”Rainer”
  • Other titles: “Lord of the Waters”
  • Appearance: A gigantic king with silver and emerald armour. Has sea-shell horns (the Ulumúri).
  • Location: Ulmonan, his palace, on the bottom of Vaiya.
  • Biography:
    • Helped bring the Elves to the Undying Lands during the Age of Stars.
    • Taught the Elves music and seacraft.

Know Your Valar: Manwë and Varda

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In an effort to establish more clearly in my mind the different Valar, I thought I would put together some memorable graphics and a short description for each of the main ones. Today’s post is about Manwë and Varda…

Manwë

  • Type: Vala
  • Name meaning: “The good”
  • Other titles: “King of Arda”, “Lord of the Air”
  • Appearance: His eyes and clothing are blue and his sceptre is made of sapphire.
  • Location: Lives in the mansions of Ilmarin atop the mountain of Taniquetil
  • Loves: All birds, particularly eagles, are sacred to him. He has a soft spot for the Vanyar Elves because of their skill in poetry.

Varda

  • Type: Vala
  • Name meaning: “Sublime”/”Lofty”
  • Other titles: “Queen of the Heavens”, “Queen of Light”, “Gilthoniel”, “Elbereth”, “Lady of the stars”
  • Appearance: Extremely beautiful
  • Location: Lives in the mansions of Ilmarin atop the mountain of Taniquetil
  • Loves: Light. She rekindled the stars, lit the Lamps of the Valar, and placed the Sun and Moon in the heavens.

Know Your Valar: Introduction

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I’m going to be doing a series of posts here as I read The Silmarillion to help me keep all the Valar straight in my head. This is an introductory post, giving an overview of the Valar…

The Main Valar

Not all of the Valar come up that often in The Silmarillion. Here are the main ones to remember:

…and here’s a slightly larger collection:

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