Tag: featured

Ch-ch-chain…Chain of Fathers*

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A while ago I wrote a post where I listed all the resources I draw upon each week in the composition of my commentary on the Sunday Mass Readings. I realized today that I forgot to mention one very important resource: the “Catena Aurea”.

So what is this “Catena Aurea”? I first heard about it on an episode of the world’s greatest podcast, “Catholic Stuff You Should Know”. The Catena is a book, a Scriptural commentary whose name, when translated from the Latin, means “Golden Chain”.

Mr. T pities the fool who don’t read the Catena!

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Good Wednesday?

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This past week I was responding to someone in the comments section of my blog and I came across an issue I hadn’t encountered before…

It turns out that some groups will argue that Jesus didn’t die on Good Friday, but on the Wednesday before. I’ve noticed this chiefly among Fundamentalists and Messianic Jews. The case is made from Jesus’ own words in Matthew’s Gospel:

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Matthew 12:40

It is argued that in order for Jesus’ words to be true, we must work backwards three full days and three full nights from Resurrection Sunday. If we do this, we would conclude that Christ’s Crucifixion took place, not on Friday, but Wednesday:

Some of these folks will say that Christians of past generations simply made a mistake in placing the Crucifixion on Good Friday, but others go further, arguing that this was an attempt to Paganize Christianity (although, as is typical with such assertions, I’m rather at a loss as to what this achieves).

So, how might we respond to this claim?

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Guest Post: “Offer it up”

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Offer It UpA couple of months ago we had a guest post here at Restless Pilgrim from Tom Massoth. Well, today we have another guest post, this time from my long-time friend, John. I met John for the first time during a short stay in San Diego. A couple of years later, I returned to the USA and we had the chance to be neighbours. I take personal credit for him meeting his wife!

Today’s post is an abridged version of an article John wrote a while ago where he discussed the meaning of a phrase you commonly hear in Catholic circles…

It seems to be something of a catch-phrase in modern Catholic culture, but what do we really mean when we say “offer it up”? Is it more than just a religious way of saying “Suck it up” or “Quit complaining”?

“Offer it up” is more than a simple invitation to prayer. Those three words are an invitation to participate in the gospel.
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Qur’an Cover-to-Cover: Day 12 (“Ta-ha”)

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golden-calf

Today’s chapter of the Qur’an focuses on the life of Moses…

Surah 20 – “Ta-ha” (Taha)
We start with the origin story of Moses, starting with the Burning Bush. Unlike the Biblical account, Moses has his family with him at the time he encounters the bush. Allah calls to Moses and tells him to worship Him alone, to “establish prayer” and then warns him of Judgement Day. Allah instructs Moses in transforming his staff and hand, then tells him he’s going to go to Pharaoh who “has transgressed [i.e. tyrannized]”. Moses asks Allah to “untie the knot from my tongue” and to grant his brother Aaron as a minister. Allah grants his request.

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Help! What should we call this?

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Microphone

HELP PLEASE! My friend Nessa and I are starting a podcast, but we need help with the name…

We’ve been meeting up for the past few weeks to record some prototype episodes. Each one has been 15-30 minutes long and topics have been pretty broad-ranging:

  • “Worship in the Early Church”
  • “Dating non-Catholics”
  • “Getting more out of the Mass”
  • “13 Reasons Why”
  • “Getting to grips with the Old Testament”
  • “An introduction to Confession”

…what should we call the podcast?

Buffering the Vampire Slayer

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bufferingthevampireslayer_1000xI’ve always been an avid fan of podcasts, but in recent months my habit has been increasing somewhat. Even while I was walking the Camino De Santiago, I’d listen to a couple of podcasts each day, catching up on shows such as The Art of Catholic, The Catholic Man Show, and Hobo For Christ.

Early on in my journey across Spain, iTunes recommended a podcast called “Buffering The Vampire Slayer”. This was a podcast about the popular Joss Whedon show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which tells the story of a teenage girl who fights the forces of darkness who converge upon her town of Sunnydale.

I had seen the movie while I was still a teenager and, although it was a little goofy, I rather enjoyed it. I was initially unconvinced by the subsequent TV adaptation, but I soon grew to like it. Throughout university, my housemate Andy and I would always set aside time to watch the latest episodes, as well as those of Buffy’s companion show, Angel. It’s therefore not much surprise that I decided to heed iTunes’ recommendation and give the podcast a go…

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A most misunderstood doctrine: Purgatory

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Today I’d like to look at one of the most misunderstood doctrines of the Catholic Faith: Purgatory.

I’m not going to try and give a thorough theological treatment of this doctrine; others infinitely more qualified than I have done that. Rather, I would just like to offer a few thoughts that have helped me in my own acceptance and understanding of this teaching.

The doctrine of Purgatory is something that a lot of non-Catholics struggle with, yet in an odd twist, it was actually one of the first Catholic doctrines I came to hold during my return journey to the Catholic Church.  I came to believe in it because it’s a doctrine that is beautiful, Scriptural and profoundly logical.

Odd Ideas

Unfortunately, it’s also one of those doctrines which is often poorly understood. For example, I’ve come across Catholics and ex-Catholics who were under the impression that Purgatory is basically Hell, or that Hell is still a possibility for those in Purgatory.  The Catholic Catechism denies both of these ideas, saying:

“[Purgatory is a] purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven… [It is experienced by those]…who die in God’s grace and friendship, but [who are] still imperfectly purified…  This final purification of the elect…is entirely different from the punishment of the damned”

– CCC 1030-1031

The common objection you hear from non-Catholics is “But ‘purgatory’ isn’t even mentioned the Bible!” And they’re right.  The word “purgatory” does not exist in the Bible, but then again, neither does “Trinity” nor “Hypostatic Union”, yet all mainstream Christians believe in both of these doctrines. A simple word-search is not enough to understand this teaching…

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