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“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad; you are not like us.” ― St. Antony the Great
Responsorium Eph 2, 13-14. 17℟. Vos, qui aliquándo erátis longe, facti estis prope in sánguine Christi.* Ipse enim est pax nostra, qui fecit útraque unum.℣. Et véniens evangelizávit pacem vobis, qui longe fuístis, et pacem iis qui prope.* Ipse enim.Responsory
You who used to be far away have been brought near by the death of Christ, for he himself is the peace between us; he has made Jews and Gentiles into one people.Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all – to you Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to him, for he himself is the peace between us; he has made Jews and Gentiles into one people.
Christe, Deus et homo, qui Dóminus es David et fílius eius, prophetías adímplens,— te rogámus, ut Israel te Messíam agnóscat.Christ, Son of David, fulfilment of the prophecies, may the Jewish people accept you as their awaited Deliverer.– Lord, have mercy on us.
Reply to Latest Attacks from a Radical Catholic Reactionary
This guy refused to link to my piece that sent him into the stratosphere (heaven forbid someone actually read my side of this nonsense), so I won't name him or give a link to his post (from 12-30-15), either. But I will respond (in brackets) to some of the sillier stuff.
"There is an American self-appointed lay "apologist" now writing beyond his own blog, at Patheos. His name is Dave Armstrong. It seems Patheos picks up all of these sorts." ["self-appointed" huh? This is one of the favorite lines of "usual suspect" slanderers. Let's see, for starters, I have twenty officially published books with six different publishers, including most of the largest Catholic ones (including four bestsellers in the field). My first book has a Foreword by Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, who was Blessed Mother Teresa's catechist and a close adviser to Blessed Pope Paul VI. My second book has a Foreword by Dr. Scott Hahn. I've been endorsed by virtually all of the leading apologists, have been interviewed on Catholic radio over 20 times, including twice on "Catholic Answers Live". I have Imprimaturs, including from my own bishop, a column every other week for "The Michigan Catholic," worked for The Coming Home Network for three years, but I am merely self-appointed and not even entitled to use the title "apologist" to describe myself. What the heck am I, then? I've made my living by writing apologetics these past 14 years. Oh, I forgot: I'm just one "of these sorts." That's what I'll put on my tax form, for occupation]
[Note: this guy favorably cites Fr. Hardon in articles dated 9-20-14, 1-17-14 (in the title), 1-4-13, Fr. Hardon loved my work and called it "very Catholic." I studied with him for many months in 1990-1992. He received me into the Church and baptized my first two sons]
"His [sic] claims to be an "apologist," yet he takes relish in bashing other Catholics."
[I am an apologist; see the above. I take no relish in critiquing Catholics who have gone astray. I criticize the ones who want to bash the pope almost daily, and the Novus Ordo Mass, and Catholics who prefer it, who are slanderously characterized as modernists and neo-Catholics.]
"He can go on about how he has no "objection" to the traditional Mass," [yes I can, since I have attended a traditional Latin Mass since 1991, attended the Tridentine Mass at midnight on Christmas (obviously because I hate it so much) and was in favor of widespread access to it 16 years before Pope Benedict XVI decreed it. I've also written many articles favoring liturgical positions taken by mainstream traditionalists: one of whom -- a person with a major traditionalist website: Unam Sanctam Catholicam -- I invited to my house a few weeks ago to give a talk on the TLM. This guy prominently links to that website on his own sidebar. Sounds very hostile, doesn't it?]
"He is typical of this neo-catholicism that is as destructive to the faith as modernism and the heresies that stem from it." [that's me! Worse than a modernist. All my readers know that: how much I love theological liberalism, folks like Hans Kung, and heresies like Jehovah's Witnesses, that I was refuting over thirty years ago before I was even a Catholic.]
"He is pathetic dot coms latest poster-boy for neo-catholicism. Mad-trads. Trads behaving badly. Rad Trads." [as is well-known, I stopped using the term, "radtrad" a couple of years ago, because it was falsely being perceived as implicating mainstream traditionalists (which it never did). I even went to the trouble of changing the language in dozens of old papers and in a few of my books, which required revisions. I make a stark contrast between mainstream, legitimate traditionalists (with whom I usually agree), and radical Catholic reactionaries, which is what this guy clearly is. But one would never know that about me, reading his babbling ravings.]
"His bombastic, arrogant, uncharitable attacks on Catholics has gone on for years . . ."
[Right; in great contrast, of course, to the measured, charitable, nuanced, soft-spoken, humble, unassuming pontifications of folks like him . . . ]
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Dave Armstrong |
At the end of that pilgrimage, Jesus returned to Nazareth and was obedient to his parents (cf. Lk 2:51). This image also contains a beautiful teaching about our families. A pilgrimage does not end when we arrive at our destination, but when we return home and resume our everyday lives, putting into practice the spiritual fruits of our experience. We know what Jesus did on that occasion. Instead of returning home with his family, he stayed in Jerusalem, in the Temple, causing great distress to Mary and Joseph who were unable to find him. For this little “escapade”, Jesus probably had to beg forgiveness of his parents. The Gospel doesn’t say this, but I believe that we can presume it. Mary’s question, moreover, contains a certain reproach, revealing the concern and anguish which she and Joseph felt. Returning home, Jesus surely remained close to them, as a sign of his complete affection and obedience. Moments like these become part of the pilgrimage of each family; the Lord transforms the moments into opportunities to grow, to ask for and to receive forgiveness, to show love and obedience.So Jorge says that being "about his Father's business" was an "escapade. I guess he was galavanting around Jerusalem, too. Such a disobedient, uncaring child to do such a thing. If the Pope believes that Jesus needed to "beg forgiveness" then that means that he must have done wrong, that he committed a sin!
"As successors of the apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ’s representatives on earth; we receive the honour belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labours. It must therefore be our endeavour to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.There are a great many bishops in the Church, but would to God we were the zealous teachers and pastors that we promised to be at our consecration, and still make profession of being."
51"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."
Church of Christ the King |
"In the late 1920's the Parish Committee of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish filed a complaint in Italian with the archbishop regarding their pastor, Father Stephen Auad."
Old St. Patrick's - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church |
"The committee was highly critical of Auad; he was too busy to hear confession; it was difficult to find him in the rectory or in the church; he rarely visited school children; his masses were too short, etc."It wasn't only the local Italians that criticised the poor beleaguered priest unbelievably, even American Evangelical Pentecostals chimed in. It was August 5, 1933 at Springfield in the State of Missouri and the Pentecostal Evangel displayed its bigotry and ignorance in its story, "Paganized Christianity” writing:
“The following item taken from the Toronto press will show how it is possible for Christianity to catch the diseases of the old pagan religions: "What has become an annual public religious function in Toronto will take place tomorrow, when Rev. Father Stephen Auad, pastor of Mount Carmel Church (notice that they left "Our Lady" out of the title!) St. Patrick Street, will bless motor cars and other conveyances after the 11 o'clock Mass. The vehicles will thus be placed under the patronage of St. Christopher,' patron saint of travelers. The time is coming when Christianity will be purged of all alien additions. Matt.13:41.”
James Cardinal McGuigan |
Saint Maroun |
Our Lady of Mount Lebanon |
Father Stephen Auad, 1884 -1944
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