Catholic Sensibility

Easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful. That is why the Church from the very beginning accepted as her own that very ancient Greek translation; of the Old Testament which is called the septuagint; and she has always given a place of honor to other Eastern translations and Latin ones especially the Latin translation known as the vulgate. But since the word of God should be accessible at all times, the Church by her authority and with maternal concern sees to it that suitable and correct translations are made into different languages, especially from the original texts of the sacred books. And should the opportunity arise and the Church authorities approve, if these translations are produced in cooperation with the separated (believers) as well, all Christians will be able to use them. And concludes with a good ecumenical thought. Comments?

Now the council bishops turn to a final chapter, "Sacred Scripture In The Life Of The Church." Let's read it:

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body. She has always maintained them, and continues to do so, together with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since, as inspired by God and committed once and for all to writing, they impart the word of God Himself without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spirit resound in the words of the prophets and Apostles. Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her (children), the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life. Consequently these words are perfectly applicable to Sacred Scripture: "For the word of God is living and active" (Heb. 4:12) and "it has power to build you up and give you your heritage among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32; see 1 Thess. 2:13).

Some things of note:

- The Scriptures are referred to as the "bread of life," in direct association with a reference to the Eucharist - The Scriptures communicate and facilitate the grace of the Holy Spirit. In other words, they are a "s"acrament. - A reinforcement of this sacramentality is given, especially that the preaching ministry of the Church is to arise from the Word of God.

This underscores the value of Scripture in liturgy, and is undoubtedly the basis for the primacy of post-conciliar Bible preaching at Mass and at other liturgical celebrations.

Starting Points

Well, Shawn and I have a few.

“If I read you correctly, to you, Church documents and decrees are mere ‘starting points.’ This says something. And yet you then try to claim that it is I whom is over-inflating his positions.’”

In the sense that the overall purpose of liturgy is twofold: the worship of God and the sanctification of the faithful, yes, even the texts of the liturgy itself are the starting point. As a liturgist, I also believe that the Church’s liturgy and rubrics are at least on a par with documents and decrees. “You mention going through the Vatican II documents, but thinking about it, I haven't seen you do as such, at least over at the NLM, I've only seen you criticize these things.”

I’m unsure about the problem here. First, as I stated above, I think the liturgical rites themselves are part of a set of foundational guidelines for worship and sanctification. To use a timely example, the current English translation of the Mass is heavily criticized, yet it went through an even more rigorous approval process than, say, Musicam Sacram. The notion that liturgical documents for implementation are above criticism, yet the liturgy itself is not—this seems to be off kilter. One example: I can criticize the English translation of the Gloria. Am I being a hypocrite for using it on Sunday? Or for enjoying the particular setting I use because the people sing it and the choir and musicians have fun with it? Sometimes we live with imperfection. Often, it’s an occasion for turning it over to God. Your point about, “and with your spirit” illustrates this I think.

“The question is, when we do make these arguments and critiques and propositions, do we do so earnestly trying to be formed by the mind of the Church as seen through the Magisterium, through her decrees, through the letter of this Council and those before it, and through her living tradition? Or on the other hand do we do it based solely upon what we happen to like, what we feel and so forth.”

I would add two important aspects to this list, with which I would agree in principle. First, would be the actual texts and rubrics of the liturgy. And second would be the baseline objectives of worship and sanctification. I cannot help but bring the pastoral element into the discernment. And given the near-universal tenor of liturgical criticism, we cannot help but consider the obstacles to sanctification, and address those issues, even if it means a criticism of particular points presented in particular documents.

"To put it in the words of Pope Benedict, are we acting in a spirit and hermeneutic of continuity, continuity with the 2000 year tenure and tradition of our Church, or are we acting within a spirit and hermeneutic of rupture?"

I think there are other choices, and I’ve blogged about them. There is also a hermeneutic of resistance at work in the Church: a distrust of change and reform, and a willingness to work against them whenever possible. "Second, your listing of this past few days posts is quite silly, as though I've suggested that every post pertains to Church decrees. Please Todd, let's not stoop to such pettiness and elementary level of ‘argument.’"

Not silly at all. There is room in all of those posts for a lively discussion under the umbrella of orthodoxy. “Finally, you act as though you've never been engaged. Indeed you have been. The problem is, we often cannot get beyond this first point. If you haven't figured it out yet, that is our topic, and until we get that one down, there cannot be any further points argued.”

Good enough. This particular exchange hasn’t been as focused on one topic as I would have liked, but it’s a good start. I think there's a possibility for a more focused format, but this hasn't worked out too badly.

Shawn wrote, "As for a discussion and debate, until we have the Church and her organic tradition and official decrees as our common point of reference, it cannot happen." Yet I don't see a problem with taking an official decree as a starting point for discussion. Visitors to my web site are bored with -- I mean they notice I'm covering all the Vatican II documents. Been at it over a year now. I also don't have a problem with taking a historical point of reference and going from there. "I haven't lost any nerve, but I'm also not terribly keen on wasting my time and breath, when I already have posted positions quite publically and thoroughly elsewhere, and where you have the ability to respond, including in private email if you deem it necessary." I don't think your blog nor your responses are a waste of breath. However, if your expectation is to convert me to your opinions on prudential judgments or matters of taste, then I think you have your priorities out of kilter. I happen to think our discussions are helpful for the present and future state of worship in our mutual parishes and a little bit, in the Church as a whole. My blog traffic goes up when I post on liturgy. I'm sure my forays at NLM poke your hit counter a bit, too. "Ultimately, Todd, who you are going blow by blow with is the Church, her tradition, and her decrees not with me." This is where I would worry about myself if I were elevating personal opinions to the level of Tradition. Here's a list of Shawn's posts on NLM the past few days: - An interview with three persons about the upcoming CIEL conference - A criticism of a published commentary favorable to liturgical dance - The story behind the founding of a FSSP parish in the Netherlands - A reprint of an editorial by architect Duncan Stroik - A link to angry Anglo parishioners upset with their bishop for having a mostly Spanish Confirmation Mass and some commentary - The discovery of a Psalter manuscript from the first millennium Nice stuff, but nothing of the stature of the Church, tradition, or decrees. In fact, I'm probably in agreement with Shawn regarding dance as professional performance in liturgy. But there's nothing in the main topics of these posts that has anything directly to do with big-T Tradition. What there is room for interesting discussion on would be any of these topics: - the place of metrical psalmody anywhere in liturgy - how would one introduce congregational plainsong in non-Eucharistic services, especially baptism and weddings - which traditional chants are best suited for the catechumenate rites - Trappist architecture - the merits of particular music programs in any parish I'm sure our readers could think up a few more. Let me say the excuse that I'm not sufficiently orthodox is ... um, well, baloney. At least you can't say the progressive side was never willing to engage you.

Several days ago I blogged that Evangelical churches are successful not because people are attracted to their strong moral stands, but because they, in fact, make few demands on worshippers. Tony of Catholic Pillow Fight would like to talk about this:

So how do you make few demands on "casual Christians" who come to check things out? Do you not preach uncomfortable truth from the pulpit? Or are you talking about demands made by other members of the community?

I've worked in Catholic parishes near evangelical megachurches. Though I've never gone spying, I have had reports from people who have attended. And I've read a book or two about the philosophy of attracting seekers to bolster the numbers in the seats. Seeker worship makes no demands on newcomers. They are not asked to sing. Production values are often high: good sound systems with oratory and great music are the norm. Sit back and listen seems to be the way to go once you get there. Although there might be an opportunity to donate money, go up for an altar call, or get invited to a mid-week worship/catechetical event, none of that commitment is mandatory. There might even be a comfort in knowing that if one chose, one could go deeper. But right now, one doesn't have to. My sense of mass-market evangelical/conservative Christianity is that the message is generally positive. I think of the best-selling Prayer of Jabez as one example. Billy Graham, from what I remember of his televised crusades, seemed to be another. He spoke of moral values, but he appealed to people basically because God desires them and they were free to respond in love to God's call. That's not to say that evangelical preachers don't preach conservative values. Graham did. But I suspect they know their audience. I'm not sure there's much of a problem preaching against gay marriage. Most Americans are against it. I suspect (but I admit I don't know) that evangelical sermons on abortion are scarce. Again, I've heard liberal Catholics preach against it in liberal parishes. I suspect (but again I don't know) that evangelicals avoid sermons on contraception. I think evangelicals reel in newcomers slowly. That's what they say in their books, anyhow. If you went to a megachurch worship on Wednesday, you might hear sermons urging you to take more of a personal stand. However, at some point, such sermons become an exercise in preaching to the choir. A challenging sermon would look different in different communities. If you went to a liberal parish and preached a conservative value or to a conservative parish and preached a liberal one: stuff like that. The commonality for any challenging sermon or homily would be in addressing a shadow in a particular community: racism, alcoholism, a lack of generosity, a lack of welcome, or some aspect of prudential judgment that a preacher felt was getting a particular group of people into spiritual trouble. A sermon on contraception? Sure, some people might fidget. But it wouldn't be challenging at all to those who agreed. And the people who disagreed? They probably wouldn't stand up to challenge the preacher, so the words would remain as they were preached. An effective preacher might make a few converts. An ineffective one would accomplish little or nothing. In the long run, preachers are creatures of human desires. They would want to be effective in some way in their community. If a preacher felt he could maintain a level of confrontation in a community, I'd applaud his tenacity. If there were a group of people who always loved those homilies and another who felt consistently alienated, I'd wonder if the preacher was really doing his job. You'd have a group of folks who would feel very comfortable on the premises. And that would reinforce my point about preaching a message of comfort, "Thank God I'm not like that dirty sinner ..." And what would be set up would be one portion of the community very self-satisfied with their virtues reinforced and their sins ignored. And another who would be alienated to the point of boredom or departure. So I think conservative preachers often preach what their people want to hear: a message of comfort. The real difference is how much that soup is spiced by a message of challenge. And I suspect that liberal preachers are all over the map just like the conservatives. That's enough for now.

Blogging will be light over the next few days, then pretty much non-existent till the 10th. I'll be off on retreat here, and I'm looking forward to it. I'll be rubbing shoulders with Dick Vosko (among others) this coming week at the Form Reform Conference. Any nice things to say to him from St Blog's? No? I thought not.

A question, mostly directed at other bloggers out there: What would be your recommendation for software to upgrade a blog? These are the items I'm interested in doing: - Organizing archives by subject material - Designing my own blog look--something unique - Adding some rather common features on the sidebar: last comments, last ten post links I can't see anything offered in Blogger that does this. Am I missing something, or will I have to switch providers?

Remember that kid--the basketball manager who was put in the game with four minutes to go and sunk six three-pointers? EArlier this month Jason's twenty point performance outpolled Kobe's 81 to win an ESPY for Best Moment In Sports. 3,000 people received free J-Mac bobbleheads earlier this week in Rochester at a AAA baseball game. Now a few have been put up for sale on eBay. I leave it for your comments.

I confess my apathy to commenting on this week's run-of-the-mill internet fodder on things Catholic, especially liturgy. Too much complaining, and frankly, I'm too busy to bother complaining these days. Except perhaps complaining about the complainers. Here's a sample: Conservatives wish liturgical dance would just shrivel up and go away, but they just can't resist giving it blog space. At times, I think criticism has become a security blanket for some Catholics. If they can't dredge up old hurts and wounds, there's nothing worth saying. George Weigel is another case in point. He's harboring hurts from over a decade ago, but Archbishop McCarrick's retirement has floated past him. Oh wait, let's take a pot shot and get my buddy Chaput to dunerwrite it. McCarrick's reply is scooped on dotCommonweal, so if you want to bother with the particulars (if you can follow Weigel, that is) check it out here. A more interesting exchange is when two fairly liberal Catholics go at it over the health of liberal Catholicism. Beliefnet has it. Let me lapse into a bit of complaint here. Three rounds? That's all it's worth? The Catholic blogosphere's St Commentariat has shown it's ability to maintain strength for over 300 rounds on the big blogs. But I do see their point. I've never been able to tempt any conservative into a substantive blow-by-blow discussion in over two years of trying. Shawn Tribe came the closest earlier this summer, but seems to have lost his nerve. So I repeat my challenge to anybody out there who thinks they have something to say on a sustained and focused level. You pick the topic you think I'm blowing hot air about: architecture, liturgical music, liturgical language, whatever. We focus it down to a manageable level: Where to put a tabernacle? or How to employ a liturgical guitar? or Is the Sign of Peace Optional? Then we go point for point in brief exchanges. They can be posted here, on your own web site, or at some neutral location, or any combination of the above. Maybe I'm just tired of parroting the good news/bad news out there. Let's try something more interesting.

Lots of new posts at the Cassini web page. Scientists attempt to size stones and pebbles on Titan. Remember these things are made of water ice, mostly. Careful about using them for your drink, though. Outside of the midwest's latest heat wave, they'd chill your lemonade rock solid. Nice shot of the 16-mile wide moon Pan floating amongst the rings, over on the right. It seems the cause of the Encke Gap, that dark band near the outer edge of the ring system. Pan seems to be shedding dust; at least that's the proposed origin for the faint ringlet (not seen here) that shares the gap with the city-sized moon. Back in 1980, the big news was spokes on Saturn's rings--a totally unexpected sight. When Cassini arrived in 2004, nothing like spokes were to be seen on the rings. Scientists believe a combination of electrically charged dust and the right angle of sunlight are needed. Back in March, University of Colorado astronomers predicted a reappearance this month. They got it right, as this image was posted yesterday: See the ghostly cloud-like slash a shade down from the center of the picture? That's one spoke. The black band near the outer ring boundary is the Encke Gap, by the way, the home of Pan. The larger dark band was first seen from Earth by the astronomer Cassini in the 17th century, andlike the spacecraft, is named for him. Everybody was excited that radar seems to have picked up Titan's elusive lakes. The dark patches are returning no radar signal to the probe, meaning they are smooth as a liquid surface. The thinking is that methane or a methane-ethane mixture have settled in these small depressions. They range from a fraction of a mile to a few dozen miles in width. They'll probably remain a mystery until some enterprising effort lands a probe there. These lakes are near Titan's north pole, which is currently in the grip of winter. More northern flybys will resolve some of the puzzle, and pick up clues for a few questions: Are these lakes seasonal? How much do they contribute to the orance hydrocarbon smog enshrouding the moon? Are these lakes formed by liquid bubbling up from below or precipitating from above, or both? Could radar pick up waves and ripples from Titan wind?

Nothing surprising here:

Besides the four Gospels, the canon of the New Testament also contains the epistles of St. Paul and other apostolic writings, composed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by which, according to the wise plan of God, those matters which concern Christ the Lord are confirmed, His true teaching is more and more fully stated, the saving power of the divine work of Christ is preached, the story is told of the beginnings of the Church and its marvelous growth, and its glorious fulfillment is foretold.

For the Lord Jesus was with His apostles as He had promised (see Matt. 28:20) and sent them the advocate Spirit who would lead them into the fullness of truth (see John 16:13).

Any thoughts?

Here the Church asserts that the gospel authors sifted through material, and used it not for the purpose of the most historical accounting possible, but for the greater good of developing the faith in the apostolic Church. The greatest truth is not to be found in a complete and historically accurate rendering, but in what best communicates the essentials of Jesus' message. Any problems with that? Holy Mother Church has firmly and with absolute constancy held, and continues to hold, that the four Gospels just named, whose historical character the Church unhesitatingly asserts, faithfully hand on what Jesus Christ, while living among (people), really did and taught for their eternal salvation until the day He was taken up into heaven (see Acts 1:1). Indeed, after the Ascension of the Lord the Apostles handed on to their hearers what He had said and done. This they did with that clearer understanding which they enjoyed (John 2:22; 12:16; cf. 14:26; 16:12-13; 7:39.) after they had been instructed by the glorious events of Christ's life and taught by the light of the Spirit of truth. (cf. John 14:26; 16:13.) The sacred authors wrote the four Gospels, selecting some things from the many which had been handed on by word of mouth or in writing, reducing some of them to a synthesis, explaining some things in view of the situation of their churches and preserving the form of proclamation but always in such fashion that they told us the honest truth about Jesus.(cf. instruction "Holy Mother Church" edited by Pontifical Consilium for Promotion of Bible Studies; A.A.S. 56 (1964) p. 715.) For their intention in writing was that either from their own memory and recollections, or from the witness of those who "themselves from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word" we might know "the truth" concerning those matters about which we have been instructed (see Luke 1:2-4).

In the days of Brown (Dan not Raymond), a reminder of the trustworthy origin of the four Gospels:

It is common knowledge that among all the Scriptures, even those of the New Testament, the Gospels have a special preeminence, and rightly so, for they are the principal witness for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our savior.

The Church has always and everywhere held and continues to hold that the four Gospels are of apostolic origin. For what the Apostles preached in fulfillment of the commission of Christ, afterwards they themselves and apostolic (witnesses), under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, handed on to us in writing: the foundation of faith, namely, the fourfold Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.(cf. St. Irenaeus, "Against Heretics" III, 11; 8: PG 7,885, Sagnard Edition, p. 194.)

Again, nothing novel; just a reiteration of long-held belief.

On to the New Testament, Chapter V, and a recounting of the significance of the "reality" of Jesus:

The word of God, which is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (see Rom. 1:16), is set forth and shows its power in a most excellent way in the writings of the New Testament. For when the fullness of time arrived (see Gal. 4:4), the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us in His fullness of graces and truth (see John 1:14). Christ established the kingdom of God on earth, manifested His Father and Himself by deeds and words, and completed His work by His death, resurrection and glorious Ascension and by the sending of the Holy Spirit. Having been lifted up from the earth, He draws all (people) to Himself (see John 12:32, Greek text), He who alone has the words of eternal life (see John 6:68). This mystery had not been manifested to other generations as it was now revealed to His holy Apostles and prophets in the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 3:4-6, Greek text), so that they might preach the Gospel, stir up faith in Jesus, Christ and Lord, and gather together the Church. Now the writings of the New Testament stand as a perpetual and divine witness to these realities.

Aside from some great music sites on the net, I'm listening to more of my cd's this summer. I used to buy fairly frequently, and many of them have since languished on my shelves. Last night, I had Rautavaara in the cd player. I really like his most famous work, Cantus Arcticus. So did Count. His ears and eyes perked up at the sounds of northern European birds. Silly cat. The disc over on the left is reviewed here. Early music is high on the list, and I've enjoyed a classic recording of Tallis which includes the massive Spem in Alium. A Josquin Desrez disc of motets (which had also been on the neglected shelf) has been getting a lot of play this past week, too. Any good listening for you?

It's probably one of the few ecclesiological aspects in which I trend toward traditionalism. Wouldn't you know the St Blog's con-commentariat trend modernist? Ann Rodgers vets her list of possible new bishops in the Steel City, and Amy picks up the link. My comment there:

Only problem with the list is that they're all bishops elsewhere. Careerism in the episcopacy is a problem worth addressing. It should be the rare bishop to get two dioceses and some today even have four. That's ridiculous.

The early popes and luminaries such as Augustine and John Chrysostom would be scandalized. Is it too much to expect that a few good priests in the diocese of Pittsburgh would be on the list?

Many of the following comments on that thread are instructive in that many of them betray more of an American corporate sensibility in looking at the office of bishop. You can read how a person is supposed to move up the "ladder," earn "qualifications" to return once he's been "seasoned" elsewhere. Talk like that. I'm sure Ann Rodgers, who has the rep for being a great religion reporter, isn't intentionally promoting modernism or American corporate training, so I hope her list isn't the real one being circulated where it counts. A few things to remember: Pittsburgh, though a fine, cultured, historic, and large city, with a good reputation in ecclesial circles, is not an archdiocesan see. The sitter in its cathedra does not pick popes. Considering the new bishops we've seen in Nashville and Upper Michigan, I'd be dismayed if Pittsburgh clergy (or even clergy in other dioceses) aren't on some lists to replace Wuerl. That's not to say some clergy wouldn't or don't benefit from experiences in management training, as it were. My own bishop was never the pastor of a parish. That's often quoted as being his most serious deficiency--a lack of pastoral experience. It would be easy enough for bishops to trade remarkable pastors if someone thought that out-of-area seasoning were a value. Clergy today serve as vicars general or chancellors--what other training ground is needed for the cathedra? Any why should small dioceses suffer a parade of long-serving mediocre bishops, interrupted by an occasional five-year squatting by an up-and-comer? Naturally, we should have outstanding bishops in every one of the world's dioceses. And if that were so, it shouldn't matter about moving guys around so much. That the current archbishop of Boston is on diocese number four. Two should be the max, and even that by way of exception, rather than the rule. I shouldn't need to point out that the current troubles in the episcopacy have been aggravated in part because bishops are less concerned with particular flocks they serve and more attentive to a system that reinforces loyalty to the clerical culture above adherence to Christ. Isn't it a time for the Barque to consider a course correction? Tradition and the modern approach: funny how the hats switch when a system gets comfy.

The great doctors of Christian antiquity are quoted, and the Vatican II bishops add yet more weight to the value of lectionary reform: God, the inspirer and author of both Testaments, wisely arranged that the New Testament be hidden in the Old and the Old be made manifest in the New. (St. Augustine, "Quest. in Hept." 2,73: PL 34,623.) For, though Christ established the new covenant in His blood (see Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25), still the books of the Old Testament with all their parts, caught up into the proclamation of the Gospel, (St. Irenaeus, "Against Heretics" III, 21,3: PG 7,950; (Same as 25,1: Harvey 2, p. 115). St. Cyril of Jerusalem, "Catech." 4,35; PG 33,497. Theodore of Mopsuestia, "In Soph." 1,4-6: PG 66, 452D-453A.) acquire and show forth their full meaning in the New Testament (see Matt. 5:17; Luke 24:27; Rom. 16:25-26; 2 Cor. 14:16) and in turn shed light on it and explain it.

It's not a hard principle, actually, given that the whole of God's activity in the human sphere has been and is directed at our salvation.

It's a busy day at the church, but not too busy to post more on Vatican II's take on the Old Testament:

The principal purpose to which the plan of the old covenant was directed was to prepare for the coming of Christ, the redeemer of all and of the messianic kingdom, to announce this coming by prophecy (see Luke 24:44; John 5:39; 1 Peter 1:10), and to indicate its meaning through various types (see 1 Cor. 10:12). Now the books of the Old Testament, in accordance with the state of (hu)mankind before the time of salvation established by Christ, reveal to all ... the knowledge of God and of (people) and the ways in which God, just and merciful, deals with (human beings). These books, though they also contain some things which are incomplete and temporary, nevertheless show us true divine pedagogy. (Pius XI, encyclical 'Mit Brennender Sorge," March 14, 1937: A.A.S. 29 (1937) p. 51.) These same books, then, give expression to a lively sense of God, contain a store of sublime teachings about God, sound wisdom about human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers, and in them the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way. Christians should receive them with reverence.

I like that "lively sense of God," the notion that we have been graced with a God revealing himself to us through history, through the Jewish people, through an opening up of that plan of salvation, through Christ and the Gospel mission. Naturally, anything of this world is incomplete and temporary when compared to the eternity of God.

Thoughts?

In carefully planning and preparing the salvation of the whole human race the God of infinite love, by a special dispensation, chose for Himself a people to whom He would entrust His promises. First He entered into a covenant with Abraham (see Gen. 15:18) and, through Moses, with the people of Israel (see Ex. 24:8). To this people which He had acquired for Himself, He so manifested Himself through words and deeds as the one true and living God that Israel came to know by experience the ways of God with (people). Then too, when God Himself spoke to them through the mouth of the prophets, Israel daily gained a deeper and clearer understanding of His ways and made them more widely known among the nations (see Ps. 21:29; 95:1-3; Is. 2:1-5; Jer. 3:17). The plan of salvation foretold by the sacred authors, recounted and explained by them, is found as the true word of God in the books of the Old Testament: these books, therefore, written under divine inspiration, remain permanently valuable. "For all that was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).

God's plan of salvation began centuries before Christianity, and the witness of the early part of this plan is termed "permanently valuable." Why? For the simple reason is that it can cultivate hope in today's believers.

Ad Uxorem II, 8:7-8 [7] Quale jugum fidelium duorum unius spei, unius voti, unius disciplinae, eiusdem servitutis. Ambo fratres, ambo conservi; nulla spiritus carnisue discretio, atquin vere duo in carne una. Ubi caro una, unus et spiritus: simul orant, simul volutantur, simul ieiunia transigunt, alterutro docentes, alterutro exhortantes, alterutro sustinentes. [8] In ecclesia Dei pariter utrique, pariter in convivio Dei, pariter in angustiis, in persecutionibus, in refrigeriis. Neuter alterum celat, neuter alterum vitat, neuter alteri gravis est. Libere aeger visitatur, indigens sustentatur. Elemosinae sine tormento, sacrificia sine scrupulo, quotidiana diligentia sine impedimento; non furtiva signatio, non trepida gratulatio, non muta benedictio. Sonant inter duos psalmi et hymni, et mutuo provocant, quis melius Domino suo cantet. Talia Christus videns et audiens gaudet. His pacem suam mittit. Ubi duo, ibi et ipse; ubi et ipse, ibi et malus non est. To His Wife, book II, 8:7-8 [7] What kind of yoke is that of two believers, one hope, one vow, one formation, one and the same servitude? Brother and sister, both companions in service, no difference of spirit or of flesh; yet truly "two in one flesh." Where the flesh is one, one is the spirit. Together praying, together reverencing, together fasting; mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually sustaining. [8] In the Church of God; together they are found, together at the banquet of God, together in difficulties, in persecutions, in refreshments. Neither conceals from the other; neither avoids the other; neither is a burden to the other. Freely the sick are visited, the needy relieved. Alms given without consternation, sacrifices made without question, daily cares without hindrance: no secret affection, no trembling greeting, no mute benediction. Psalms and hymns resound between the two, and they call forth who shall better sing to their Lord. Christ sees and hears such things and rejoices. He sends his peace to them. Where these two are, he himself is; And where he is, evil is not.

A short conclusion to chapter III:

In Sacred Scripture, therefore, while the truth and holiness of God always remains intact, the marvelous "condescension" of eternal wisdom is clearly shown, "that we may learn the gentle kindness of God, which words cannot express, and how far He has gone in adapting His language with thoughtful concern for our weak human nature." (St. John Chrysostom "In Genesis" 3, 8 (Homily l7, 1): PG 53, 134; "Attemperatio" [in English "Suitable adjustment"] in Greek "synkatabasis.") For the words of God, expressed in human language, have been made like human discourse, just as the word of the eternal Father, when He took to Himself the flesh of human weakness, was in every way made like (a human being).

The "Golden Tongue" tells us God has adapted divine communication to fit human needs. The implication is that the Word of God is only part of the bridge reaching out to us, and that in some ways, it will be an incomplete rendering of God's wisdom. That said, it is also true that God's grace transcends any attempts at communication: that of holy authors, that of our prayers. Somehow God makes the connection. The essential aspect of our relationship with God is that we make the effort--an honest and committed one--and God provides the rest, though sometimes that aspect of our relationship is totally beyond human understanding or description.

It's Enceladus passing in front of its larger sister Rhea. In reality they're thousands of miles apart. The bright crescents are sunlight. The glow is planetshine from Saturn. Note the geysers pumping from the south pole of Enceladus. Too bad Star Trek: Voyager was saddled with such a silly premise to get the show off the ground. In the real universe, it's water, water, everywhere. Well, once you find some small moons at about 200 degrees below zero, that is. They seem to outnumber earthlike planets about ninety to one in our neighborhood.

As it should be. Zenit's art correspondent Elizabeth Lev with a success story from a Roman church not quite empty. From an interview with her pastor:

Don Carmelo told me that the spirit of renewal during Vatican II shaped his life as a diocesan priest. "I see the role of the priest as among the people," he explained. "From when I first began parish work, I visit the families at their homes, I go to the parks where the kids hang out and to the snack bars where workmen eat their lunches. I try to be in touch with as many people as possible." As anyone living in the area can attest, Don Carmelo practices what he preaches. He is a familiar figure on the local scene. Don Carmelo has done everything in his power to put the church at the heart of community life. The church sits at the end of Via Innocenzo XI, dominating the road. "On the right we have our social services center and on the left there is the playground and the sports fields," says the parish priest, "but in the center, there is the church."

I bring for your thoughtful minds this offer from a parishioner: to fully fund this 64" by 40" by 24" monument for our church grounds. Project Moses does a business in these marble monuments. Cost: up to $5,000. You're in the purple chair and the offer comes to you: yea or nay?

Or would it be, "Rock on Newmans?" In a post that must surely have the right end of the loggiaheads spinning in their soup, Rock gives it up for Catholic campus ministry in its incarnation as Newman Centers. Much of the post is devoted to the booming campus ministry at Arizona State, so read the link for the happy story. I spent two years as a campus minister at Michigan State University in the 90's, so I grok what Rock says:

It's a symptom that speaks to the truth of a moment in which you'll find two prevalent schools of ad intra thought when it comes to Catholic outreach on college campuses: 1. cut their funding, or 2. rejigger their priorities and disproportionately upping the emphasis on priestly/religious vocations, whilst cutting their funding. This is an unwritten scandal of the current state of the church in this country.

Amen, brother. Without criticizing over much the effort to have altar server fun fests and dinner parties with the Serra Club, let me second Rock's criticism of diocesan funding priorities. The Golden Age (cue angel songs) of Catholicism was a time in which people made their life commitment in their teens. They prepared to take over the family farm or business. They met a nice Catholic girl or boy while dancing a heavyweight nun's width apart at the high school hop. Age twenty, kids popping out, and set for life. It made sense in those days to target adolescents or younger because those kids were coming to the sunset of their time to choose up sides in the race of life. Needless to say, we've all grown more immature with the passing decades. Some young folks don't leave parental pastures till thirtysomething or more. The great dating market is now in college, if not e-harmony. Even people with college degrees don't feel like they're locked in to a particular career. They might be downsized. Or they might find something more suitable. And I don't have to tell you that marriage stability is supposedly taking a beating, too. The point is that today's college is yesterday's junior high, vocationally speaking. If the bishops were smart, they'd devote more resources for college-age Catholics at non-Catholic schools. It only makes sense. That they don't leaves me to believe they're not yet totally full-press serious enough about repopulating the younger flanks of the priesthood and religious life. Lacking funding for college campus ministry, this is probably more about regenerating a past generation than actively engaging the times in which we live and casting into the true deep. Put it another way: my Jewish grandmother could drum up vocations at Catholic colleges today. It takes real talent and drive to reach out to the unchurched masses deep in the heart of secular universitania.

A favorable review of modern Biblical scholarship follows:

However, since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through (authors) in human fashion, (St. Augustine, "City of God," XVII, 6, 2: PL 41, 537: CSEL. XL, 2, 228.) the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words.

To search out the intention of the sacred writers, attention should be given, among other things, to "literary forms." For truth is set forth and expressed differently in texts which are variously historical, prophetic, poetic, or of other forms of discourse. The interpreter must investigate what meaning the sacred writer intended to express and actually expressed in particular circumstances by using contemporary literary forms in accordance with the situation of (the author's) own time and culture. (St. Augustine, "On Christian Doctrine" III, 18, 26; PL 34, 75-76.) For the correct understanding of what the sacred author wanted to assert, due attention must be paid to the customary and characteristic styles of feeling, speaking and narrating which prevailed at the time of the sacred writer, and to the patterns (people) normally employed at that period in their everyday dealings with one another. (Pius XII, loc. cit. Denziger 2294 (3829-3830); EB 557-562.)

But, since Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written, (cf. Benedict XV, encyclical "Spiritus Paraclitus" Sept. 15, 1920:EB 469. St. Jerome, "In Galatians' 5, 19-20: PL 26, 417 A.) no less serious attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith. It is the task of exegetes to work according to these rules toward a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture, so that through preparatory study the judgment of the Church may mature. For all of what has been said about the way of interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgment of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God. (cf. First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Chapter 2, "On Revelation:" Denziger 1788 (3007).)

It seems to me that balance is called for: taking note of various (not a single!) type of exegesis. That the overall picture not be lost in examining aspects such as word studies, sociology, history, and so forth. Also note the expectation that the Church's judgment is to mature as scholars delve more deeply into the Word of God.

Comments?

Here we begin chapter III, a section titled, "Sacred Scripture, Its Inspiration And Divine Interpretation." Let's read about an authorship shared, an assertion that a believer won't be waylaid by the Biblical text (Catholics would have something to say about misinterpretation, though), and ultimately reflected in Paul's passage from his second letter to Timothy:

Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (see John 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.(cf. First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Chap. 2 "On Revelation:" Denzinger 1787 (3006); Biblical Commission, Decree of June 18,1915: Denzinger 2180 (3629): EB 420; Holy Office, Epistle of Dec. 22, 1923: EB 499.) In composing the sacred books, God chose (authors) and while employed by Him (cf. Pius XII, encyclical "Divino Afflante Spiritu," Sept. 30, 1943: A.A.S. 35 (1943) p. 314; Enchiridion Bible. (EB) 556.) they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, ("In" and "for" man: cf. Heb. 1, and 4, 7; ("in"): 2 Sm. 23,2; Matt.1:22 and various places; ("for"): First Vatican Council, Schema on Catholic Doctrine, note 9: Coll. Lac. VII, 522.) they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted. (Leo XIII, encyclical "Providentissimus Deus," Nov. 18, 1893: Denzinger 1952 (3293); EB 125.)

Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings (cf. St. Augustine, "Gen. ad Litt." 2, 9, 20:PL 34, 270-271; Epistle 82, 3: PL 33, 277: CSEL 34, 2, p. 354. St. Thomas, "On Truth," Q. 12, A. 2, C.Council of Trent, session IV, Scriptural Canons: Denzinger 783 (1501). Leo XIII, encyclical "Providentissimus Deus:" EB 121, 124, 126-127. Pius XII, encyclical "Divino Afflante Spiritu:" EB 539.) for the sake of salvation. Therefore "all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, for reformation of manners and discipline in right living, so that the (one) who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind" (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Greek text).

In this section, we see the melding of Scripture and Tradition as being a co-responsibility of bishops and the faithful:

Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort. (cf. Pius XII, apostolic constitution, "Munificentissimus Deus," Nov. 1, 1950: A.A.S. 42 (1950) p. 756; Collected Writings of St. Cyprian, Letter 66, 8: Hartel, III, B, p. 733: "The Church [is] people united with the priest and the pastor together with his flock.")

"Authentic" interpretation is reserved to the teaching office. Dei Verbum does not broach the subject of the role of the theologian in this "living teaching office," though we can conclude that bishops bear both catechetical and pastoral responsibilities. The role of the Spirit is vital, too, as we read:

But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, (cf. First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Chap. 3 "On Faith:" Denzinger 1792 (3011)) has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, (cf. Pius XII, encyclical "Humani Generis," Aug. 12, 1950: A.A.S. 42 (1950) pp. 568-69: Denzinger 2314 (3886).) whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed.

Not only are Scripture and Tradition linked, but a third leg of that tripod is the catechetical portion of the Church. Though each has an appeal to people and each has a distinctive role to play, the three aspects are closely joined:

It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God's most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.

Thoughts?

We have the Catholic explanation for the close relationship between Scripture and Tradition:

Hence there exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end. For Sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. Consequently it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence.(cf. Council of Trent, session IV, loc. cit.: Denzinger 783 (1501).)

One of the finest sights from The Hubble Space Telescope. I'm just posting it to show I'm not really a solar system isolationist. There are some fine sights around the universe that involve stars, gas and dust on a galactic scale. Information links and more images here, here, and here.

While combing through the Zenit archives, I ran across this piece from the World Meeting of Families held in World Meeting of Families held recently in Valencia, Spain. (Where Pope Benedict traveled to preside at the conference's closing liturgy.)

Parents should help educate their children by reading aloud and listening to music with them, says a marriage and family expert. Michael Waldstein, president of the International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family in Gaming, Austria, made this suggestion Wednesday, saying that the "entertainment industry" "attacks the most immature passions " of minors, "especially eroticism and anger." Waldstein, who addressed the Theological-Pastoral Congress being held in Valencia within the framework of the 5th World Meeting of Families, urged that "children's education not be abandoned to television, radio or music," as they can harm minors because of the counter values they present.

Quite true. It also got me thinking. Here are a few practical suggestions for you, but I leave readers to determine the specifics they might use with their own children depending on parental ability and the child's maturity. I think the best musical exposure one can provide is to sing for and with your children. Lots of people sing to their babies and toddlers, and this is an excellent introduction to music for a child. Even though they're not sung as much these days, traditional songs such as "Old MacDonald" or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" give a child an easy way to join an adult in singing. I used to make up new verses for the farm song when we sang it: eagles, bunnies, tractors, helicopters, etc.. It's important for children to sing with you rather than with a recording. There are subtleties in live music that require skills in listening and focusing attention. Singing to a tape can hamper later musical development. This is because a musical learner has not been exposed to the need for teamwork in music: matching pace, pitch, breathing, and so on. I've seen kids who memorized their taped accompaniment and sang great in practice. Then they were lost when they needed to sing or play with a live musician. Waldstein is right about listening to music with your child. If you know a lot about music, it will be easy to listen to and discuss music with your child. If you know very little, here are some hints: 1. Read liner notes for recordings. Educate yourself about the circumstances of the writing and performance of the music you share with your child. 2. Let your children see you listen to music. Play recordings instead of tv or videos. Listen to music while cooking, cleaning, or doing other tasks. Listen to music and just listen sometimes. 3. Attend school concerts whether your child has a part or not. It's actually good to attend musical performances at other schools. On occasion, my wife and I take Brittany to high school or college concerts. She gets to see older kids and young adults perform in a "professional" way. The quality is not nearly what you get from the symphony, but the audience is always enthusiastic and you help support the arts in your area schools. 4. Many colleges and churches have free concerts: organ recitals, faculty or student programs, and the like. Take advantage of these concerts which are free or have low ticket prices. 5. At least once a year, it's a good idea to take the whole family to the symphony or the ballet or the opera. I'd consider this an essential for a child of ten or older. While there won't likely be tailgating as at the stadium, you might not mind gong upscale with champagne and chocolate goodies in the concert hall vestibule. If the symphony offers a pre-concert lecture, take advantage of that. 6. Lots of colleges and symphonies have special events. Here in KC, both the city's university and the symphony have instrument "petting zoos," in which your child can get up close to the various instruments of the orchestra. Maybe other folks have additional ideas on this front. Feel free to share.

No, the Holy Father isn't playing "The Spirit Is a Movin'" from the Vatican edition of Glory and Praise. But there is a no-no in this photo. Can any pianists in the reading audience detect it? Check the first comment box for the answer. Thanks to Amy for the link and photo.

The "special" revelation of the Bible continues in a preaching rooted in discipleship. And as we read in this section of Dei Verbum, tradition has a twofold purpose: holiness of life and an increase in faith.

And so the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time. Therefore the Apostles, handing on what they themselves had received, warn the faithful to hold fast to the traditions which they have learned either by word of mouth or by letter (see 2 Thess. 2:15), and to fight in defense of the faith handed on once and for all (see Jude 1:3) (cf. Second Council of Nicea: Denzinger 303 (602); Fourth Council of Constance, session X, Canon 1: Denzinger 336 (650-652).) Now what was handed on by the Apostles includes everything which contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the peoples of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes.

A few important concepts: - We have a presumption that faith precedes intellect; the tradition of the Apostles builds on faith; it doesn't (necessarily) provide its foundation. - Teaching is only one aspect of the handing down of God's Word; worship is another. - The allusion to the "life" of the Church seems unclear at first. I believe it refers to caritas et amor, the lived example of Christians, especially the love they express to one another (community) and the love for the needy (justice and charity).

This tradition which comes from the Apostles develop in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. (cf. First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Chap. 4, "On Faith and Reason:" Denzinger 1800 (3020).) For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the preaching of those who have received through episcopal succession the sure gift of truth. For as the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her.

Note the threefold path in which a believer grows: - Not just study, but an integration of contemplation with intellectual learning. - Putting personal experience through a lens of a deep spiritual sensibility. - Preaching not just in an apostolic tradition, from the episcopal tradition, namely that of shepherd for flock.

Also note a whiff of progressive optimism, namely that the Church moves forward in insight and understanding as the experience of centuries of God's grace adds to what is already God's gift.

The words of the holy fathers witness to the presence of this living tradition, whose wealth is poured into the practice and life of the believing and praying Church. Through the same tradition the Church's full canon of the sacred books is known, and the sacred writings themselves are more profoundly understood and unceasingly made active in her; and thus God, who spoke of old, uninterruptedly converses with the bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel resounds in the Church, and through her, in the world, leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of Christ dwell abundantly in them (see Col. 3:16).

Dei Verbum 8 strikes me as an acknowledgement that Tradition is far beyond scholarship. It naturally incorporates liturgy as a means of passing on tradition and as a way to holiness for the baptized. It recognizes that active life (caritas et amor) is integral to the experience of grace in revelation. Revelation is also more than a passive reception of grace; this final portion speaks of a conversation between God and the Church.

Thoughts?

Introducing a music site many of you will find luscious: Angela Mariani's Harmonia, from Indiana University public radio. Just in case there's an early music geek wannabe planning a wedding surfing here today, check out the July 3rd show from the archives. You get nothing later than 1750. Here's the playlist for the wedding episode. It includes something by that one-hit wonder Johann Pachelbel that's not what's being played at everyone else's wedding. Personally, I'm looking forward to exploring this 16-part offering, The American Early Music Series. Just to give you a sense of the breadth of this show, consider two episode descriptions from part 1:

The musical sound-picture of the North American colonies could be compared to a quilt from the same era: all kinds of colors and shapes stitched together to make a unique whole. Part one of Harmonia`s American Series celebrates this heritage with an exploration of early American music: hymnody, psalm settings, fiddle tunes, shape-note singing, country dance, and ballads that tell of everything from murder and mayhem to home and true love. It is the music one might have heard in the homes, churches, taverns, and theaters of the North American colonies.

and part 9 (which I enjoyed this afternoon):

American Renaissance a CapellaAh, the sound of a Palestrina mass swirling around and through the gilded arches of an Italian Renaissance cathedral! One of the largest repertoires of a capella (unaccompanied) choral music can be found in the polyphonic vocal repertoire of the medieval and Renaissance eras. On this episode of Harmonia`s American Series: a sampling of some American a capella vocal ensembles specializing in the music of the medieval and Renaissance eras, from ancient Byzantine music to DuFay, Palestrina, and more. Includes excerpts from interviews with members of the New York-based ensemble Lionheart, and with Cappella Romana`s director Alexander Lingas.

Happy listening.

In His gracious goodness, God has seen to it that what He had revealed for the salvation of all nations would abide perpetually in its full integrity and be handed on to all generations. Therefore Christ the Lord in whom the full revelation of the supreme God is brought to completion (see Cor. 1:20; 3:13; 4:6), commissioned the Apostles to preach to all (people) that Gospel which is the source of all saving truth and moral teaching, (cf. Matt. 28:19-20, and Mark 16:15; Council of Trent, session IV, Decree on Scriptural Canons: Denzinger 783 (1501).) and to impart to them heavenly gifts.

Christ completed the plan for salvation, and God ensures that what is necessary for salvation has been and will be maintained as a heavenly grace for human beings of all ages. The New Testament/Apostolic era is thus summed up as follows:

This Gospel had been promised in former times through the prophets, and Christ Himself had fulfilled it and promulgated it with His lips. This commission was faithfully fulfilled by the Apostles who, by their oral preaching, by example, and by observances handed on what they had received from the lips of Christ, from living with Him, and from what He did, or what they had learned through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The commission was fulfilled, too, by those Apostles and apostolic (witnesses) who under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit committed the message of salvation to writing. (cf. Council of Trent, loc. cit.; First Vatican Council, session III, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Chap. 2, "On revelation:" Denzinger 1787 (3005).)

The role of the episcopacy in this is succinctly defined:

But in order to keep the Gospel forever whole and alive within the Church, the Apostles left bishops as their successors, "handing over" to them "the authority to teach in their own place."(St. Irenaeus, "Against Heretics" III, 3, 1: PG 7, 848; Harvey, 2, p. 9.)

And this handed-down tradition, along with the entirety of the Bible, is described as a reality in which we see a reflection of God. Suggested here also is that we see something of ourselves in these traditions:

This sacred tradition, therefore, and Sacred Scripture of both the Old and New Testaments are like a mirror in which the pilgrim Church on earth looks at God, from whom she has received everything, until she is brought finally to see Him as He is, face to face (see 1 John 3:2).

I don't really have the time, or especially, the energy to blog much about Middle East developments. I'll repeat the reality of the slippery slope from legitimate defense to retaliation against unjust or unfair attack to pre-emptive strike to save one's own people to all-out carnage. Stage four, I'd guess now, wouldn't you? Human beings seem wholly incapable of violence with nearly any kind of moral justification. To suggest that we can engage in a just struggle for any length of time seems to me to be narcissistic self-justification at best. And at worst? Just War theorists may be responsible for leading people morally astray, and accessories a few times removed to organized murder. So I think I'm off to stew about the news and attempt to cool off. More blogging tomorrow.

Elsewhere in the solar system, the New Horizons probe to Pluto is on target and operating well. The latest mission report describes a passing encounter with an asteroid, the naming of Pluto's newly discovered moons (Nix and Hydra--the fainter dots over to the right), Pluto's passing between a relatively bright star and the Earth, and assorted preparations for next year's Jupiter fly-by. Meanwhile, Messenger continues another long and careful approach to the innermost planet. Multiple fly-bys of Venus and Mercury are needed to save precious fuel. Otherwise, the direct approach to Mercury, the third-closest planet to the Earth, would require substantial slowing down to park a spacecraft in orbit there. The latest mission report tells:

MESSENGER had been flying with its back to the Sun since a March 8 “flop,” allowing it to maintain temperatures within safe operating ranges at Sun distances greater than 0.95 astronomical units (1 AU is Earth’s distance from the Sun). Mission plans call for the spacecraft to keep its sunshade facing the Sun for the remainder of its cruise and science orbital operations around Mercury. "Initial indications look very good” says MESSENGER Mission Operations Manager Mark Holdridge, of APL. "Spacecraft temperatures are coming down as expected and all systems and instruments are nominal.” The team will now turn its attention to preparing for the first Venus flyby on October 24.

Another Venus probe, this one from the European Space Agency (ESA), has been returning interesting results. Lots of movies on that page, if you care to view. Below, I've clipped images taken about an Earth day apart from high orbit that capture the thick atmosphere's double vortex over the Venusian south pole:

And there's Mars. There's always something going on at Mars, and probably will always be as long as some Earthling has a space program. You have MRO. You have two rovers still in operation.

I don't know how this image of Burns Cliff will turn out on my site, but if it's poor, just go to this link with your 3D glasses.

Mars Odyssey is still returning good science after five years. Here's a pretty picture over on the left. A full resolution image is here, and is much more spectacular.

Mars Express is an ESA effort and has equally impressive pictures, like this one on the right from the Tharsis region. Trust me; you want to go to the full size view for this one.

This area of Mars features shield volcanoes. The most well-known shield volcano on Earth is Hawaii's Big Island. Because of the drift of the Earth's crust over interior hot spots, our planet's shield volcanoes manifest as island chains when they pop up from the oceans.

Yellowstone is another shield volcano, and geologists have tracked its progress southwest from Idaho and Washington over the past millions of years. Closest approach to Kansas City will be in another 60 million years or so. Maybe I'd better not wait for Yellowstone to come to me.