St. Justin Martyr, in his First Apology (written between 153 and 155 A.D.), lays out one of the earliest descriptions of the Mass. It’s great, because it’s a dumbed-down version of Catholic theology intended for those who had no idea what a “bishop” was, or even what “Amen” meant. It’s like stumbling upon a children’s… Continue reading St. Justin Martyr on the Eucharist
Author: Joe Heschmeyer
Priests Online in the New Evangelization
It’s “official”: The spread of multimedia communications and its rich “menu of options” might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled. Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses… Continue reading Priests Online in the New Evangelization
March for Life Recap
I. The March ItselfThe March for Life on Friday was pretty excellent. I’ve heard it was the largest ever, which is more surprising, because the weather was expected to be pretty bad. Literally tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands (estimates range between the obviously-too-low 50,000 to the probably-too-high 300,000 for the number of… Continue reading March for Life Recap
The Catholic Church’s Gallows Humor
The now-late Avery Cardinal Dulles penned a brilliant essay on the death penalty. I’d say it’s the single best summation of the history and theological implications of the death penalty I’ve ever read – I sent it to my dad (who favors the death penalty) and my brother (who opposes it), and both attempted to… Continue reading The Catholic Church’s Gallows Humor
March for Life Today!
At March for Life today. It’s a great experience, so come if you can make it! I’ve got a post set to auto-post later today- otherwise, I’ll be back Monday!
Touché!
Chris sees my “In the late 60s, dissident theologian Charles Curran lead a revolt against Humane Vitae, and was largely successful in the US: how many birth control homilies have you heard?” …and raises me, “I’ve heard Fr. Andrew (as in your co-blogger) blasting birth control from the pulpit a few times now at Prince… Continue reading Touché!
Beckwith v. TurretinFan on Sola Scriptura
TurretinFan attacks Frank Beckwith’s excellent article on sola Scriptura by calling it a “bait and switch.” I’m interested in this subject, since I was quite impressed with how simply Beckwith made his case the first time I encountered this. He just says things so succinctly that you’re left to mull it over a bit before… Continue reading Beckwith v. TurretinFan on Sola Scriptura
On the Goodness of Punishing Sin
We live in a culture which has lost sight of the goodness of retributive punishment, and the whole thing seems suspicious. But I think that we’re still aware of this truth in some way, deepy down. There’s a famous law hypothetical: a man robs and rapes a woman. In the week before he’s arrested, a… Continue reading On the Goodness of Punishing Sin
Number 41
As I’m sure everyone (at least in the US) is well aware, Scott Brown just became the newest Senator from Massachusetts. His seat was opened when Sen. Ted Kennedy (who lead much of the push for the healthcare bill, and was a political mentor to Obama) died. His death increased the demand for a comprehensive… Continue reading Number 41
Being Skeptical About the Skeptics
So this is pretty cool. Biblical skeptics have long argued that the Bible can’t be older than the 6th century B.C. because that’s when Hebrew was first written down. If true, this would mean that much of the Bible was either (a) originally oral history, or (b) falsified, and made to seem older than it… Continue reading Being Skeptical About the Skeptics