October 25, 2018: Mari Pablo @ St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church
About the speaker: Mari grew up in a Hispanic family in Miami. She graduated from Franciscan University with a double major in theology and psychology has her master’s in theology from the Augustine Institute. She has worked in ministry for over 15 years. She is passionate about St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, and was recently featured in Ascension Press TOB programs. Mari has a deep love for food but an even greater love for Christ and is dedicated to helping others encounter him.
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I recently wrote a series of posts (Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4) on the doctrine of Sola Scriptura and thought I’d write a quick follow-up post to address one objection I’ve recently heard…
Solo or Sola?
Some Protestants draw a distinction between Sola Scriptura and Solo Scriptura. They assert that there is huge difference between the two. For example, in the book, The Shape of Sola Scriptura, the non-Catholic author Keith Mathison defines Solo Scriptura as the belief that:
“Scripture [is] not merely the only infallible authority but that it [is] the only authority altogether”
The Shape of Sola Scriptura, Keith Mathison
In contrast, he defines Sola Scriptura as the conviction that:
“Scripture [is] the sole source of revelation; that it [is] the final authoritative norm of doctrine and practice; that it [is] to be interpreted in and by the church, and that it [is] to be interpreted according to the regula fidei”
The Shape of Sola Scriptura, Keith Mathison
The difference he tries to assert in his book is that Solo Scriptura says that the Bible is the highest authority, being both inspired and infallible, but that Sola Scriptura does not declare it to be the only authority.
A distinction without a difference?
I would suggest that there is no principled difference between the two. I say this because they both pretty much boil down to the same thing: the locus of final interpretive authority ultimately lies with the individual Protestant.
Has the decree of his denomination or a council ever overruled his personal interpretation of Scripture?
His denomination may “suggest”, the creeds of the early Councils may “guide”, but the final interpreter of Scripture is still that individual Protestant. Unfortunately, this produces as many “final authorities” as there are Sola Scriptura Christians.
Or, put another way, if nobody is Pope, everybody is Pope.
I haven’t written a Bucket List entry in quite a while, so I thought I’d come back with a nice simple one:
Bucket List Item #3: Light a votive candle
In virtually every single Catholic church you’ll find a place where there are a collection of lit candles, often in front of a statue or icon. Every now and then you’ll see someone go up and light a candle, usually lingering for a few moments in prayer.
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: November 13, 2011
The readings this week continue with the theme of the Second Coming, particularly focusing upon how we should “spend” our time waiting for the Lord to return…
In the First Reading we hear praise of the “worthy wife”. She is holy, conscientious and industrious. In the Second Reading, St. Paul explains to the Thessalonians what we learnt in last week’s Gospel, that the Lord will come when we least expect, but also that He should find us ready. In the Gospel Reading this readiness is spelt out in concrete terms – we should be using our God-given gifts in the service of the Master. He will someday return and we shall be called to account concerning our stewardship of His gifts…
Today is a particularly special chapter of the Qur’an, the one dedicated to Mary (“Miriam”), the Mother of Jesus (“Isa”):
Surah 19 – “Mary” (Maryam) We begin this chapter with the story of Zechariah. As in the Bible, we are told that he and his wife had failed to have children. He is told through an angel that he will have a son named John. However, we soon start seeing a departure from the Biblical narrative…. Zechariah asks Allah to “make for me a sign”. He is then told that the sign will be that he will not be able to speak for “three nights”. However, in the Bible Zechariah cannotspeak until John’s circumcision. An interesting side note is that Allah tells John to “take the Scripture [i.e. adhere to it] with determination”, which shows that, at least in this chapter, the Old Testament is assumed to be preserved without corruption (contrary to the claim of most Muslims with whom I’ve spoken).
We now come to the story of Mary. We’re told that she withdraws from her family, heads eastwards and takes seclusion behind a screen – it’s not clear to me why. At this point, Gabriel visits her to give her “[news of] a pure boy [i.e. son]”. As in Luke’s Gospel, she does not understand how this will happen. There is a conspicuous absence of St. Joseph in this story – he is not mentioned once.
We’re currently having some venue issues, but I’m pleased to announce that 
