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The Third Temple That Wasn’t

A couple of weeks back, Rich Leonardi put me onto The Jerusalem Post’s feature on Julian the Apostate. To mark the ninth of Av, a fast day that recalls the destruction(s) of the Temple(s), the paper commemorated “the Third Temple that wasn’t,” the emperor Julian’s abortive project to rebuild the Temple. He had no great love for the Jews, but rather he wished to show Christian claims to be false. The project met with several calamities, amply recorded by the Fathers of the Church, and soon enough Julian met his end on the battlefield.

We’ve mentioned Julian often here, and warmly recommended a recent biography.

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From Basil to Baden Powell

Last week I somehow missed it when the pope resumed his patristic audiences with a continuation of Basil:

After this three-week break, we are continuing with our Wednesday meetings. Today, I would simply like to resume my last Catechesis, whose subject was the life and writings of St Basil, a Bishop in present-day Turkey, in Asia Minor, in the fourth century A.D. The life and works of this great Saint are full of ideas for reflection and teachings that are also relevant for us today.

First of all is the reference to God’s mystery, which is still the most meaningful and vital reference for human beings. The Father is “the principal of all things and the cause of being of all that exists, the root of the living” (Hom. 15, 2 de fide: PG 31, 465c); above all, he is “the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ” (Anaphora Sancti Basilii). Ascending to God through his creatures, we “become aware of his goodness and wisdom” (Basil, Adversus Eunomium 1, 14: PG 29, 544b).

The Son is the “image of the Father’s goodness and seal in the same form” (cf. Anaphora Sancti Basilii). With his obedience and his Passion, the Incarnate Word carried out his mission as Redeemer of man (cf. Basil, In Psalmum 48, 8; PG 29, 452ab; cf. also De Baptismo 1, 2: SC 357, 158).

Lastly, he spoke fully of the Holy Spirit, to whom he dedicated a whole book. He reveals to us that the Spirit enlivens the Church, fills her with his gifts and sanctifies her.

The resplendent light of the divine mystery is reflected in man, the image of God, and exalts his dignity. Looking at Christ, one fully understands human dignity.

Basil exclaims: “[Man], be mindful of your greatness, remembering the price paid for you: look at the price of your redemption and comprehend your dignity!” (In Psalmum 48, 8: PG 29, 452b).
Christians in particular, conforming their lives to the Gospel, recognize that all people are brothers and sisters; that life is a stewardship of the goods received from God, which is why each one is responsible for the other, and whoever is rich must be as it were an “executor of the orders of God the Benefactor” (Hom 6 de avaritia: PG 32, 1181-1196). We must all help one another and cooperate as members of one body (Ep 203, 3).

And on this point, he used courageous, strong words in his homilies. Indeed, anyone who desires to love his neighbour as himself, in accordance with God’s commandment, “must possess no more than his neighbour” (Hom. in divites: PG 31, 281b).

In times of famine and disaster, the holy Bishop exhorted the faithful with passionate words “not to be more cruel than beasts… by taking over what people possess in common or by grabbing what belongs to all (Hom. tempore famis: PG 31, 325a).

Basil’s profound thought stands out in this evocative sentence: “All the destitute look to our hands just as we look to those of God when we are in need”.

Therefore, Gregory of Nazianzus’ praise after Basil’s death was well-deserved. He said: “Basil convinces us that since we are human beings, we must neither despise men nor offend Christ, the common Head of all, with our inhuman behaviour towards people; rather, we ourselves must benefit by learning from the misfortunes of others and must lend God our compassion, for we are in need of mercy” (Gregory Nazianzus, Orationes 43, 63; PG 36, 580b).

These words are very timely. We see that St Basil is truly one of the Fathers of the Church’s social doctrine.

Furthermore, Basil reminds us that to keep alive our love for God and for men, we need the Eucharist, the appropriate food for the baptized, which can nourish the new energies that derive from Baptism (cf. De Baptismo 1, 3: SC 357, 192).

It is a cause of immense joy to be able to take part in the Eucharist (cf. Moralia 21, 3: PG 31, 741a), instituted “to preserve unceasingly the memory of the One who died and rose for us” (Moralia 80, 22: PG 31, 869b).

The Eucharist, an immense gift of God, preserves in each one of us the memory of the baptismal seal and makes it possible to live the grace of Baptism to the full and in fidelity.

For this reason, the holy Bishop recommended frequent, even daily, Communion: “Communicating even daily, receiving the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is good and useful; for he said clearly: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life’ (Jn 6: 54). So who would doubt that communicating continuously with life were not living in fullness?” (Ep. 93: PG 32, 484b).

The Eucharist, in a word, is necessary for us if we are to welcome within us true life, eternal life (cf. Moralia 21, 1: PG 31, 737c).

Finally, Basil was of course also concerned with that chosen portion of the People of God, the youth, society’s future. He addressed a Discourse to them on how to benefit from the pagan culture of that time.

He recognized with great balance and openness that examples of virtue can be found in classical Greek and Latin literature. Such examples of upright living can be helpful to young Christians in search of the truth and the correct way of living (cf. Ad Adolescentes 3).

Therefore, one must take from the texts by classical authors what is suitable and conforms with the truth: thus, with a critical and open approach – it is a question of true and proper “discernment”- young people grow in freedom.

With the famous image of bees that gather from flowers only what they need to make honey, Basil recommends: “Just as bees can take nectar from flowers, unlike other animals which limit themselves to enjoying their scent and colour, so also from these writings… one can draw some benefit for the spirit. We must use these books, following in all things the example of bees. They do not visit every flower without distinction, nor seek to remove all the nectar from the flowers on which they alight, but only draw from them what they need to make honey, and leave the rest. And if we are wise, we will take from those writings what is appropriate for us, and conform to the truth, ignoring the rest” (Ad Adolescentes 4).

Basil recommended above all that young people grow in virtue, in the right way of living: “While the other goods… pass from one to the other as in playing dice, virtue alone is an inalienable good and endures throughout life and after death” (Ad Adolescentes 5).

Dear brothers and sisters, I think one can say that this Father from long ago also speaks to us and tells us important things.

In the first place, attentive, critical and creative participation in today’s culture.

Then, social responsibility: this is an age in which, in a globalized world, even people who are physically distant are really our neighbours; therefore, friendship with Christ, the God with the human face.

And, lastly, knowledge and recognition of God the Creator, the Father of us all: only if we are open to this God, the common Father, can we build a more just and fraternal world.

Further extending the patristic theme, he ended the audience with a little tribute to Lord Robert Baden Powell, on the centenary of the Scouting movement.

While we’re on the subject: please pray for Junior the Webmaster, who’s very close to obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout, but perilously close to the deadline birthday. It’s gonna be a photo finish.

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The Fathers Are Back

Yesterday Pope Benedict XVI resumed his audience talks on the Fathers with a gem on St. Gregory Nazianzen. The Vatican has not yet published full text in English. But Italian is up, and so is the English summary:

Today I want to reflect with you on Saint Gregory of Nazianzen, a great theologian, preacher and poet from fourth-century Cappadocia. A friend and admirer of Saint Basil, Gregory was inspired to seek Baptism and to enter monastic life, devoting himself to prayer, solitude, and meditation. He loved to leave behind the things of this world and enter into intimate communion with God, so that the depths of his soul became like a mirror reflecting the divine light. Reluctantly, but in a spirit of obedience, he accepted priestly ordination. He was sent to Constantinople, where he preached his five Orations: beautifully reasoned presentations of the Church’s teaching. Known as “The Theologian”, he stressed that theology is more than merely human reflection: it springs from a life of prayer and holiness, from wonder at the marvels of God’s revelation. Gregory was elected Bishop of Constantinople and presided over the Council that took place there in the year 381, but he encountered so much hostility that he withdrew once more to lead a life of solitude. His spiritual autobiography from this final period includes some of his most beautiful poetry. As we admire the wisdom with which he defended the Church’s doctrine, let us be moved by the love that is conveyed in his poetry.

You’ll find Catholic News Service’s coverage here.

You’ll find a fine edition of St. Gregory’s poetry (shamefully low-priced) here.

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Intro to the Fathers, Part 2

Through much of Christian history, the study of “the Fathers” meant the study of all our theological ancestors — no matter how remote or recent. In the thirteenth century, St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, often cited the ancients — both the Greek and Latin Fathers — and indeed he committed some of their works to memory. But he also counted as “Fathers” the great teachers of the generation immediately before him.

With the fifteenth-century Protestant Reformation, however, scholars and churchmen in the West began to narrow the scope of their study of the Fathers. It was a necessary consequence of the nature of the Reformation. Martin Luther and John Calvin claimed that their movements were not novelties, but retrievals of the most ancient faith — the faith of the New Testament. Both men often cited texts of the Fathers to buttress their arguments. But Luther especially was ambivalent about the Fathers. He charged that they “often erred,” and he acknowledged that some of his own doctrines could not be reconciled with a consensus of the Fathers. For the first time in history, a theologian was arguing that Scripture opposed the collective witness of all his ancestors in the faith.

Yet the Fathers themselves claimed only to be passing on the interpretation of Scripture that they had received from the apostles. So the argument was really about biblical interpretation, and the Fathers provided a valuable witness, a perspective that was closer to the time and culture of Jesus Christ than any speculation of the late Middle Ages. At first, both Protestants and Catholics hoped to marshal the Fathers as evidence for their theological positions. Erasmus — Luther’s sometime foil and sometime friend — published translations of Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, John Chrysostom, and Jerome.

Before long, the study of the ancient Fathers became a thriving academic specialty, called “patrology” or “patristics,” from that same Greek word used in the New Testament, pateres.

In the nineteenth century, the English-speaking world enjoyed an abundant harvest from the field of patristics. There arose in the Church of England another retrieval movement, this time including the Fathers in its purview. They called themselves the Tractarians, after the controversial religious tracts they published. They would eventually become known as the Oxford Movement, for the university where many of them taught, and their influence extended far.

At mid-century, some of the movement’s leaders converted to Catholicism, most notably John Henry Newman. Newman’s last work as an Anglican, An Essay on the Development of Catholic Doctrine, really details how the Fathers led him to the fullness of Catholic faith: “of all existing systems,” he concluded, “the present communion of Rome is the nearest approximation in fact to the Church of the Fathers … Did St. Athanasius or St. Ambrose come suddenly to life, it cannot be doubted what communion he would take to be his own.”

Reading the Fathers has led many other patristic scholars and Protestant clergymen to the same conclusion — and to the same communion. In Newman’s lifetime, there were many, including Thomas W. Allies and Henry Wilberforce. In the twentieth century, there were many more, including Louis Bouyer and, very recently, the dean of America’s Church historians, Robert Louis Wilken.

In the last fifty years, there has been a great flowering of patristic scholarship in the United States. It began, really, when some of the great European scholars fled here from Nazi and communist persecution. From their academic work came a wealth of publications. There are currently three extensive series of translations of the Church Fathers available in English. Two arose simultaneously at mid-twentieth century and continue to publish volumes every year: the Ancient Christian Writers series (currently published by Paulist Press) and the Fathers of the Church (published by Catholic University of America). Two Protestant series from the nineteenth century — the Ante-Nicene Fathers, and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers — are available in a reprint edition from Hendrickson, an evangelical publisher. A smaller set, the Popular Patristics series, is published by the Orthodox St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

Two Protestant publishers have recently launched series that focus exclusively on the Fathers’ biblical interpretation. The first out of the gate was the Ancient Christian Commentary, edited by Methodist scholar Thomas Oden and published by InterVarsity Press. The second, called The Church’s Bible, is published by Eerdmans and edited by Robert Louis Wilken.

The literature about the Fathers is simply too vast to mention. And there’s no shortage of good books aimed at ordinary Catholics who are put off by scholarly tomes.

* * * * * * * * *

Over the past twenty years, hundreds of Protestant clergy, in the United States alone, have experienced the “catholicizing” influence of the Fathers and entered full communion with the Catholic Church. High-profile converts include Scott Hahn, Marcus Grodi and Alex Jones, among others. Grodi’s apostolate, the Coming Home Network, has made patristics the bedrock of its apologetic efforts. And his own catch-phrase, “Deep in History,” is straight out of Newman.

Sooner or later, every thinking Christian discovers the duty to study the Fathers. It presents itself as a matter of religious literacy, if not a debt of family honor. They fought the first culture wars; we should at least learn from them. Many of them died to preserve and preach our faith; we should at least remember them with gratitude.

Non-Catholics turn to them increasingly for insight into Scripture — but then it’s hard to ignore the Fathers’ biblical reflections on the Mass, the papacy, veneration of the saints, and other Catholic distinctives. They are indeed — as the Catechism put it — “always timely witnesses” to Catholic tradition, and their witness is invaluable today.

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Archeologizing the Areopagite

I’ll bet you can’t say that headline five times fast.

Israeli archeologists have discovered a sixth-century Byzantine villa with mosaic floors, 15 kilometers south of Jaffa. The area was, at the end of the fifth century, “home to a monk known as Peter the Iberian — a charismatic bishop of Georgian origin who gathered around him a circle of intellectuals. His biography, ‘The Life of Peter the Iberian,’ provides a glimpse into the nature of the community.” Some scholars tag Peter the Iberian (an anti-chalcedonian rebel) to be the real genius behind the works of “Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.”

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Mystagogy for the Masses

I cannot count the number of times I’ve recommended The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You, by Michael Dubruiel. I’ve lost count of how many copies I’ve given away. I recommend it to Catholics who want to know why they do the things they do every Sunday. I recommend it to Protestants who are just dropping in, or who are dating Catholics and bewildered by the unfamiliar round of sit-stand-kneel.

The book does for modern Christians what Cyril and Ambrose did for our ancient forebears. It’s a modern-day mystagogy — an easy-to-follow step-by-step walk through the ritual, revealing the meaning of all the words, gestures, postures, furniture, and vestments. Dubruiel also gives you the history and doctrinal significance of the various parts of the Mass. He draws testimony from the abundance of patristic material on the liturgy — the Didache, St. Justin Martyr, the Apostolic Constitutions, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan. He’s also careful to lay the scriptural foundation for all the important prayers and actions.

And now Dubruiel has followed up with a pocket version — one you can carry to Mass with you. A Pocket Guide to the Mass doesn’t have anywhere near the detail available in The How-To Book of the Mass, but it’s a handy little cheat-sheet that can be carried in the pocket or pocketbook.

Both books are highly recommended for Catholics, the significant others of Catholics, seekers, and the merely curious.

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Cyril on Divinization

From Oxford University Press I received a gem: The Appropriation of Divine Life in Cyril of Alexandria, by Daniel A. Keating. The author, an American theologian at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, examines the classic texts on divinization in Cyril of Alexandria (fifth century). One of history’s greatest biblical theologians, Cyril presented salvation in terms of sanctification and divinization, the appropriation of divine life. Keating develops these ideas, for the most part, as they appear in Cyril’s volumes of biblical interpretation. Keating pays close attention to Cyril’s exegeses of the accounts of Jesus’ baptism and resurrection as well as the institution of the Eucharist. Among the key scriptures considered is 2 Peter 1:4: “that you may become partakers of the divine nature.” Cyril’s biblical approach can be especially helpful for Protestants who wish to understand Orthodox and Catholic doctrines of salvation. Keating also applies Cyril’s thought effectively to “perceived east-west differences.” This is an important book for ecumenically minded Christians. The writing is extraordinarily lucid, making difficult ideas accessible even to us non-professionals.