Author: Mike Aquilina

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Go Directly to Jail

Surely the most way-cool discovery in the last couple years — and the rare discovery whose hype has withstood scrutiny — was the “world’s oldest church” dug up by prisoners working at the jail in Meggido, Israel (the biblical Armageddon). It came with intact inscriptions hailing the divinity of Christ, and even an altar.

Now Haaretz reports that Israel is going to open the site to tourists.

Megiddo prison, surrounded by prison guards on horseback supplemented by guard dogs, is not a place that many people would care to approach. But if a plan now in the final stages comes to fruition, it could become a tourist attraction drawing Israelis and tourists from around the world.

Behind the prison walls, the remains of the oldest Christian house of worship ever discovered were unearthed four years ago in the course of prison renovations. The plans that are coming together call for the relocation of the prison to a site a short distance away so that the archaeological site can be opened to the public.

Some prisoners, including both common criminals and security prisoners, were allowed to dig below the prison – jailbreak style – as part of the archaeological research. The ancient finds on the site have led to an agreement in principle involving the prison service, the Megiddo Regional Council and the Antiquities Authority for the relocation of the detention facility.

In 2005, work was undertaken to replace a tent encampment for prisoners with detention cells, and because the Megiddo area is known for its rich archaeological finds, the Antiquities Authority required a salvage dig be carried out.

At the edge of the site, a magnificent mosaic floor featuring important inscriptions, including a reference to Jesus, was found, along with the foundation of a building from the 3rd or 4th century C.E.

The finds were evidence that the site was used for Christian religious worship before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, and it is thought to contain the remains of the oldest church in the world.

Officials involved in the dig explained that the finds show a link between the Roman army that encamped there then and communal Christian activity. At the center of the site remains of an altar or prayer table were found.

The site is also identified with the Talmudic-era Jewish village of Kfar Otnai, mentioned in Hebrew sources. The headquarters of the sixth Roman legion was established there along with the town of Maximilianopolis, which is mentioned in historical sources.

According to Hanan Erez, head of the regional council, “the discovery of the finds created great excitement in the Christian world and among researchers of early Christianity. The discovery was even a main topic of a conference of researchers in Washington three years ago.”

Shortly after the discovery at the site, the Antiquities Authority quickly recommended the relocation of the prison so the site could be opened to the public. An agreement to that effect is now being worked out.

Megiddo council head Erez said: “On the site, a tourism complex is to be built, the central focus of which will be the ancient house of worship, alongside, of course, the Tel Megiddo archaeological site, which is also a significant site for the Christian world.”

He noted that the plans for the funding of the project have been presented to the Finance Ministry. The plan calls for the state to guarantee the financing package.

The construction of the new nearby prison is part of a larger plan to build new prison facilities around the country.

Thanks to Jim Davila for pointing us this way. He also points to some background material on his own excellent site.
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Milano Mysteries

Today is the memorial of the great St. Ambrose. Bishop of Milan, friend of Augustine and Monica, great teacher of the Milanese clergy, and great mystagogue for the laity, Ambrose is one of my favorite figures from the era of the Fathers. From the first post on this blog, I’ve returned to him again and again (sometimes in friendly disagreement with Adrian Murdoch, esteemed fellow of the Royal Historical Society). You can read selected backposts here, here, here, and here. (Adrian has posted the ancient accounts of Ambrose’s episcopal consecration.)

Here’s a fascinating recent study of Ambrose’s approach to the formation of the laity: Ambrose’s Patriarchs: Ethics For The Common Man.

I recommend celebrating the day with great quantities of these.

UPDATE: Father Z has posted a lovely appreciation of Ambrose: St. Ambrose: silent reader, croaking crow – beloved of Augustine, hated by Jerome.

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Free Music, in Perpetuity

Over the last couple years I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working on a couple monuments to St. Perpetua, the much-beloved third-century martyr. I served as script consultant for the excellent animated feature The Story of Saint Perpetua. Reviewers have praised its production values, comparing it to Disney (see what Rod Bennett and Carl Sommer had to say, and Binks and Happy Catholic).

To enhance the experience of the animated feature, the producers made a documentary as well: The Passion of Saint Perpetua: Martyr of the Faith (also available for online rental). I’m the face and voice on that production, but it’s redeemed by lots of footage shot on-site in North Africa. The camera takes you into all the relevant ruins,

I absolutely love the musical theme, “Perpetua’s Song.” It’s haunting in an indie kind of way — a setting of Psalm 86, in both Latin and English. It can be downloaded FREE at CatholicHeroesOfTheFaith.com. All you have to do is register. There are lots of other goodies on the site, including illustrated bios on St. Damien of Molokai and St. Nicholas.

Patristics and matristics for kids. Who knew?

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Holy Patrologist, Batman!

I’m late getting this up, of course. Still catching up.

Pope Benedict plans to beatify Newman during visit to Britain

By Simon Caldwell

The Pope is to waive his own rules so he can preside in person over the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman during a papal visit to Britain next year, according to sources close to the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI will personally take charge of the ceremony to declare the Victorian convert Blessed when he visits England in early September at the invitation of Gordon Brown.

The Pope has previously insisted that all beatifications are carried out by a Vatican official in the diocese in which the candidate died, which in Newman’s case is Birmingham.

But because the Pope has such a strong devotion to Cardinal Newman and his theological writings he has decided to break his own rules and beatify the cardinal himself.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster refused to either confirm or deny the report: “The details of the Pope’s visit are far from clear,” he said. “What is clear is that the Holy Father has a great and long-standing devotion to Cardinal Newman and the beatification of Cardinal Newman is due.”

Fr Ian Ker, author of the definitive biography of Cardinal Newman, said: “By breaking his own rules Pope Benedict clearly shows he regards Newman as a completely exceptional case, one of the great theologians of the Catholic Church. Many of the popes have been anxious to canonise Newman. They look to him as a man who welcomed modernisation but in fidelity to Church authority and in continuity with the traditions of the Church.”

Pope Benedict announced the beatification in July after Vatican theologians ruled that the inexplicable healing of Jack Sullivan, an American with a severe spinal condition, was a miracle brought about by praying for help to Cardinal Newman.

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Archeological Updates

Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin

Syrian archeologists unearthed a Roman and Byzantine-era cemetery.

An update on that Israeli cave quarry: “Among the markings were crosses that were carved into the stone … the site had once served as a monastery or place of refuge between the years 1 – 600 CE.”

The Crux Vaticana — a 6th-century reliquary containing what is revered as fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified — has been restored to its Byzantine-era glory.

Ancient churches: interiors and artworks. (Thanks, Binks!)

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Vanity Post

Alicia Van Hecke at Love2Learn Blog posted a very kind profile of Yours Truly, for Catholic Speakers Month.

Primeros Cristianos (EarlyChristians.org) are promoting their “exclusive interview” with the host of this blog.

The brilliant and charming Karen Edmisten displayed her brilliance and charm by posting an appreciative review of my book Fire of God’s Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist.

A blog called One Billion Stories posted an extremely appreciative review of my book The Mass of the Early Christians.

A discussion group at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Sherman, Texas, is reading my book Sharing Christ’s Priesthood: A Bible Study for Catholics.

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Outside the Walls, But Now on DVD

One of my all-time favorite books is Margaret Visser’s The Geometry of Love: Space, Time, Mystery, and Meaning in an Ordinary Church, a noted art historian’s study of Rome’s fourth-century Church of St. Agnes Outside the Walls. Regular readers know that I’m deeply devoted to St. Agnes, having both a mom and daughter who bear her name. Last week I thrilled to learn that Margaret Visser has taped a feature-length documentary on the church. You can view excerpts here. The program’s not available on Amazon, but I learned that it’s for sale on DVD from Les Productions Colin Neale, Inc., in Quebec. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to purchase it online.

I’ve never visited St. Agnes Outside the Walls — yet — though it’s been a dream of mine.

It will be a dream come true, God willing, next May when Scott Hahn, Kimberly Hahn, Steve Ray, Elizabeth Lev, and I lead a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. It would be awesome if you could join us.

You’ll find an itinerary and registration details here.

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Wheaton’s New Patristic Center

Mark Sullivan, esteemed son of my sister Sue, has posted an interesting piece on the new Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies. It originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor newspaper. Here’s a snip:

“We are striving to create a center where discussions between Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox can happen. A place where we can come together and say, ‘What is this that we call our common faith, and how do we each contribute to a better understanding of that,’” George Kalantzis, director of the new Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies, told Our Sunday Visitor…

“What is missing in American Protestantism is an understanding of the richness of the early Church,” Kalantzis said. “One looks at reformers such as Calvin, Luther and Wesley and one sees the dependence on the early Church. The Reformation itself is a call to come back to the Church. It is a call to the Church to come back to the tradition of the Church.”

“Wheaton has always been at the forefront of that evangelical call to be faithful to the Bible and the faith of the Church,” Kalantzis said. “And now we have an opportunity to have a programmatic relationship with that.”

It looks great on paper — though it’s hard to imagine how “discussions between Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox” can happen if Wheaton continues to exclude Catholics from its faculty. It’s the college’s right, and I support that right. But it does render impossible the discussion they say they want to have. Or am I missing something?

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Stark Nepotism

It’s no secret to readers of this blog that I’m a fan of the sociologist Rodney Stark. His book The Rise of Christianity has influenced me probably more than any other book on the patristic era. His Cities of God is a worthy follow-up.

Dr. Stark has now marched on to the Middle Ages with his new book God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades. Mark Sullivan interviewed him recently on a wide range of matters, and has now posted the interview on his blog. (Mark is, by the way, my nephew, flesh of my sister Susie’s flesh and bone of her bones.)

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Hahnward

I’ve been so long in the Cave of Deadlines that my friend Scott Hahn has managed to publish two books since my last blog post! Both will interest readers of this blog.

First up is Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots. Scott’s using the patristic methods of mystagogy to see beyond the Church’s signs and rituals, to the things signified — to see beyond the symbols and glimpse the divine mysteries. He covers not only the sacraments, but also the sacramentals and other customs: holy water, scapulars, medals, icons, the Sign of the Cross, relics, incense, votive candles, feast days and holy seasons, reverence for the tabernacle, devotion to the angels, making a morning offering, saying a rosary, care for the dying, and prayers for the dead. The Fathers come in handy, of course, since they preached and practiced the devotions we love so well. So you’ll hear Sarapion of Egypt and Eusebius on Holy Water, for example, and St. John Chrysostom on almsgiving, and St. Augustine on prayers of aspiration. Though this book is advertised as “Catholic,” I can think of many non-Catholic bloggers who will dig it. Order yours today:  Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots.

Scott’s other recent publication is Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI. It’s out this month from Brazos Press/Baker Books (one of the leading Evangelical publishing houses in the United States). I’m heartened to see it recommended and reviewed effusively by Protestant and Catholic scholars alike (see the Amazon page). Benedict is intensely patristic because he is so profoundly biblical. The Fathers are among his favorite biblical scholars, as you already know if you’ve been following his audience talks or if you’ve read his book Jesus of Nazareth. Here’s the publisher’s summary of this great scholarly offering from my favorite scholar:
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s election as Pope Benedict XVI brought a world-class biblical theologian to the papacy. There is an intensely biblical quality to his pastoral teaching and he has demonstrated a keen concern for the authentic interpretation of sacred Scripture. Here a foremost interpreter of Catholic thought and life offers a probing look at Benedict’s biblical theology and provides a clear and concise introduction to his life and work. Bestselling author and theologian Scott Hahn argues that the heart of Benedict’s theology is salvation history and the Bible and shows how Benedict accepts historical criticism but recognizes its limits. The author also explains how Benedict reads the overall narrative of Scripture and how he puts it to work in theology, liturgy, and Christian discipleship.
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Marian Feast

David Mills has a new book out, Discovering Mary: Answers to Questions About the Mother of God, and I reviewed it for the Pittsburgh Catholic. Thusly:

In ordinary family life, no one is so near to us as our mothers. We emerge from their very bodies. As babies we feed in their arms and feed from their substance. No voice is so familiar to us as Mom’s. If there’s one person we know on this earth, it’s Mom.

Yet many of us — maybe most of us — would be hard pressed to state her basic biographical facts. Quizzed on them, we might fail outright.

We Catholics can be that way with the Blessed Virgin Mary. We’re effusive in our devotion to her, emotive in our prayer, constant in the upkeep of her icons and shrines and backyard statues. Yet sometimes we’re sketchy on the scriptural and historical foundations, the bottom-line doctrines spelled out in the simple and ancient formulas of the Church.

We’re lost, then, when we find ourselves having to explain ourselves, and our rosaries and scapulars, to non-Catholics who dismiss our practices as superstitious or idolatrous.

Author David Mills knows that the best thing to do when lost is to ask directions. That’s why he cast his new book, Discovering Mary: Answers to Questions About the Mother of God (Servant, $12.99) in a helpful question-and-answer format. He anticipates the most commonly asked questions, both curious and hostile, and in response he provides basic answers: just the facts, no embellishment, no speculation, no diversions, no raptures of purple prose or poetic flight. Mills sticks as close as possible to the official documents, from Scripture and the Church Fathers to the Catechism and the popes.

The questions range from “When was Mary born?” and “Did Mary die?” to “Does the Church teach anything about Mary that can’t be found in the Bible?” Sometimes the queries can be dispatched with a single sentence. Sometimes the answers require several pages. I am a cradle Catholic whose non-Catholic wife for years found Marian doctrine to be an insuperable obstacle to conversion. So I am quite familiar with the territory, and I can say with confidence that Mills anticipated all the major and minor objections I faced, faced them squarely, and answered them honestly and persuasively.

Along the way, he also explains the many mysterious titles of Mary as well as her feast days in the Church’s calendar.

Mills begins the book with his own testimony, the story of his personal migration from a nonreligious upbringing to evangelical Christianity, then to Anglicanism, and finally to Roman Catholicism. (Mills lives in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and was received into full communion at St. James in Sewickley.) For Mills as for many would-be convert, Marian devotions was a major stumbling-block on his road to Rome. Even when it was no longer an intellectual obstacle, he at first dismissed the traditions as “the sort of thing that some people liked and others didn’t but that no one had to practice” – especially not a “preppy” New Englander,” as he calls himself. “Some of it embarrassed me. It seemed a little too … Italian … It just wasn’t me.”

Even after his conversion to Catholicism, he scored himself “a C- in knowledge of Mary and a D- in devotion.”

Then a co-worker’s simple, natural affection for the Blessed Virgin inspired him to go deeper in his study and practice – and that eventually inspired him to write a beautiful book. It’s a useful book, too. It would be a perfect gift for RCIA candidates, new Catholics, middle-aged Catholics who don’t remember their CCD lessons, and Protestants who are puzzled by what the Catholic Church teaches.

God created Mary and called her for a unique place in the history of our salvation. The Scriptures testify to that fact. Mills shows us plainly that she is not, as some would have it, a woman whose “womb was merely the delivery system by which the Father brought His Son into the world.” Mary herself prophesied that “all generations” would call her “blessed” – and would have very good reasons for doing so. We fulfill that prophecy in our generation, by the traditional devotions. It is good, though, that we have David Mills to explain those very good reasons why we do what we do.

It would be good to have him address all life’s questions. His answers are simple and clear, brief when possible, but never cut short. He sticks to the facts and spares us his opinions. Such habits make this book the most valuable resource for discussions of a subject that is far more contentious than it should be. Civil conversations can proceed from these pages. Mother will surely be pleased.

Also check out David’s Discovering the Real Mary, Marian Diversity, and The Greater Blessings.

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No Migne Feats

A Russian site has posted Migne’s Patrologia Graeca in its entirety. Can it last? Hat tip: Adrian Murdoch.

Speaking of Migne … Were he alive today, maybe he’d be blogging. And if he were blogging, he’d maybe be as productive as Roger Pearse. If you haven’t been keeping up with Roger’s projects, do check in and read through the archives. A patristiblogger could do nothing but follow Roger’s work and still stay very busy.