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Homily #110214l ( 12min) Play – Father Peter reflecting upon seeking miracles from Christ with faith rather than cynical eye.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Sts. Cyril and Methodius – Memorial – Form:
Readings: Monday 6th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: gen 4:1-15, 25
Resp: psa 50:1, 8, 16-17, 20-21
Gsp: mar 8:11-13

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Homily #110213 ( 26min) Play – Today Fr. Bonaventure preaches on how Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament law as Christ himself teaches in today’s Gospel. This is not only the fulfillment of all the aspirations of the Jewish tradition but he is the fulfillment of the natural law and so fulfills the highest aspirations of all men. He is, then, the foundation of any true and sustainable morality and so too of a lasting civilization. We should, therefore,  resist the most recent attempts to put aside this teaching  (even among Catholics) by dividing Christ into the Jesus of history and the Jesus of faith. This is used to suggest that somehow the accounts in the Bible are not historical but are rather the writings of Christians much later and so we can discount any accounts that portray Jesus as being divine or something special since this is just later additions and this is used to ignore His challenging moral teachings.
Ave Maria!
Mass: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: sir 15:15-20
Resp: psa 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
2nd: 1co 2:6-10
Gsp: mat 5:17-37

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Homily #110206t ( 08min) Play – Christ calls us to be the salt of the earth and to give light to those in darkness. Those who fall away from the faith loose their flavor, they’ve lost their identity.
Ave Maria!
Mass: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: isa 58:7-10
Resp: psa 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
2nd: 1co 2:1-5
Gsp: mat 5:13-16

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Homily #110130 ( 27min) Play – In today’s homily Fr. Angelo explains how often the things that Jesus said that seem to be contradictions are really paradoxes. The hallmark of the Catholic Religion is that Faith is reconcilable with reason.
Ave Maria!
Mass: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: zep 2:3; 3:12-3
Resp: psa 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
2nd: 1co 1:26-31
Gsp: mat 5:1-12

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Homily #110107 ( 07min) Play – Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the miracle of the curing of the leper in today’s Gospel. He explains that Our Lord performs miracles in order to enable people to have confidence in Him. This confidence builds on the prerequisite confidence in God, a trust that the Creator can recreate by physical healing and by saving souls. By such miracles God shows his mastery over the physical and moral order and leads us closer to Him.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Raymond of Pennafort – Optnl Memorial – Form: OF
Readings: Fri post Epiphany or Jan 11
1st: 1jo 5:5-13
Resp: psa 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
Gsp: luk 5:12-16

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Homily #101221 ( 07min) Play – Today the Gospel recounts the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. Fr. Dominic preaches on how she provides very human assistance to St. Elizabeth in her time of need, bearing the precursor of Christ who will prepare Israel for His coming. Thus, Mary demonstrates her central role in the preparation that we all must do in this season of Advent.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Tuesday in the 4th Week in Advent – – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: son 2:8-14
Resp: psa 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21
Gsp: luk 1:39-45

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Alice von Hildebrand’s recent article entitled “Revelation and Curiosity” goes a long way to place the debate over the true meaning of modesty in the larger context of philosophical and theological thought.  She highlights the basic distinction between supernature (God and the order of grace) and nature.  The precise character of that distinction has always been essential to theological discourse, and the relation between grace and nature has often been the subject of unfettered speculation, to the detriment of the faith.  (See, for example, Pelagianism and Jansenism.)

Faith and Reason

I believe that the distinction and relationship between supernature and nature is at the basis of much theological controversy today.  I have often made the point, for example, that at times apologists do not sufficiently distinguish their work from Theology and Catechesis.  Apologetics is the work of natural reason used to prove the existence of God and the possibility of supernatural revelation, and to show that supernatural truths revealed by God are compatible with reason.  Sometimes, when we speak of Apologetics we refer to “proving the faith.”  But strictly speaking the faith cannot be proven by reason because by reason alone supernatural truths, such as the Virgin Birth, cannot be comprehended.  Ultimately, grace is the cause of Theological Faith.  We are only certain of the supernatural truths God has revealed because He has given us the grace and we have assented to that grace. (more…)

Conferences #105 – Fr. Peter in his Second Lecture for the Symposium ( 64min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Lecture 5 of the Newman-Scotus Symposium is by Rev. Dr. Fehlner: Scotus and Newman in Dialogue: Examples of Scotistic Affinities in Newman, the Will, the Critical Question (of Interiorization) and Faith

Fr. Peter first comments on Dr. Noone’s last talk that Newman and Scotus disagrees with each other on process of assent. But this is not the starting point. Going to God given the differences is difficulty. Scotus term simplicite simplex, Perfect being, that is God and so radically different. But they have a common starting point in their Christology and Mariology.

Fr. Peter mentions:

• Key is to find where Newman fits in the Franciscan view (more…)

Conferences #104 – Dr. Timothy Noone ( 49min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Lecture 5 of the Newman-Scotus Symposium is by Dr. Noone: Bl. Duns Scotus and Bl. John Newman on Knowledge, Assent, and Faith

Dr. Noone basis his lecture on Scotus’ Tenet Philosphi Perfectionem Naturae addressing the need for natural and supernatural knowledge in faith and the place for each. Scotus teaches that natural intellect can come to some knowledge of God but cannot come to certainty that God is truly Triune and that we are destined to enjoy the beatific vision of Him.  A person can however at least understand what these concepts are saying.

Scotus deals with Philosophers pointing out the limits of their reasoning and conclusions and to use persuasion to show the continuity of the different elements of faith and so demonstrate its credibility. Some consider Scotus to be skeptical on this point but he is simply exhibiting his concern to maintain the distinction and coherence between reason and faith.

Newmanesque Intimations – Acquired natural faith is when we believe others on a natural level like the fact that Rome exists even if we have never seen it. This relates to Newman’s arguments that we accept that England is an island even without rowing around it, also, similarly argued by Augustine.

Dr. Noone then covers Scotus’ teaching on infused faith, how we believe with certainty, experiencing the higher forms of assent. He first outlines other forms of knowledge showing how complete Scotus’ analysis typically is. He then covers many points of comparison and contrast between Scotus and Newman.

Q and A

Fr Ed points out for reflection, if no universities start any earlier than Kant for philosophy and leave out Medieval Philosophyentirely, then how can we prepare our seminarians for ministry? And there are other interesting questions as well.

Ave Maria!

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Conferences #94 – Rev. Dr. Ford, editor of Newman Studies and Professor of Historical Theology at the Catholic University of America ( 54min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

In this 1st talk of the Newman-Scotus Symposium presented by the Conventual Franciscans at the Washington Theological Union on Oct 22-24, 2010, Rev. Dr. John Ford of the Catholic University of America gives a talk titled “Newman’s Reasonable Approach to Faith.” Dr. Ford discusses the search of Cardinal Newman for the Via Media between the two extremes of his day, the hyper-rationalism of the Evidentialists that said reason is the only thing that is important in knowledge and the hyper-pietistic position of the Evangelicals that said faith is impenetrable to reason. He discusses how Newman sees the meeting place of these two seemingly incompatible positions is the personalist approach that shows the rational process is very personal and has many stages that lead to many different conclusions by different people even if given the same data. Dr. Ford explains how this resolution led him to the Catholic Faith and, further, what its ramifications are for evangelizing, using a car salesman analogy. This has many similarities to Scotus who was doing the same between the Franciscan Platonic tradition and the Dominican Aristotelian tradition as Dr. Noone alludes to in the question and answer period. Dr. Ford then connects these personalist concepts with Newman’s motto, Cor ad cor loquitor, Heart speaks to heart.

Ave Maria!

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Homily #101115 ( 07min) Play – Our Lord cures the blind man in today’s Gospel and says, “Receive your sight: your faith has made you whole”. Fr. Dominic relates this to the blindness of sin that blinds us to spiritual goods and to the needs of our neighbors.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Albert the Great – Optnl Memorial – Form: OF
Readings: Monday in the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
1st: rev 1:1-4; 2:1-5
Resp: psa 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6
Gsp: luk 18:35-43

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Homily #101113 ( 07min) Play – We must turn to the Virgin of perfect faith, asking for the grace to serve God in faith until our last day.
Ave Maria! St. Frances Xavier Cabrini – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: 3jo 1:5-8
Resp: psa 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Gsp: luk 18:1-8

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Ave Maria!

Pope Benedict has issued the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini [The Word of the Lord], the most important Church document devoted to Sacred Scripture since the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), which was promulgated in 1965.

via Catholic Culture : Latest Headlines : Pope Benedict issues major document on Sacred Scripture (link to full text).

Full text is over 200 pages. The ending is included here on AirMaria since it relates to Mary, Mother of God and so Mother of Joy:

“ Mater Verbi et Mater laetitiae ”

124. This close relationship between God’s
word and joy is evident in the Mother of God.
Let us recall the words of Saint Elizabeth: “ Blessed
is she who (more…)

Face of Pro-Life #120 – Friar Gabriel Cortes and Corinn Dahm ( 30min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Friar Gabriel Cortes of the Franciscans of the Immaculate relates his journey in faith that led to his ministry with youth in Australia. He first talks about his early life, how he started to get serious about his faith and his calling to the Franciscans. He mentions the devotion of his parents, the rosary and Eucharistic adoration as factors in his conversion.

Ave Maria!

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Variety #98 – Bsp. Bruskewitz of Lincoln Nebraska ( 09min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fr. Elias Mills of our Bloomington, Indiana friary recently interviewed the renowned Bishop Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska on current issues of faith and Church in America. In this last part of five they discuss:

• Need for clarification on organ transplants
• Assisted suicide
• Excommunication of pro-abortion politicians,
• Salvific purpose of excommunication
• Two types of excommunication Latae Sententiae and Ferendae Sententiae
• Absolution of excommunication
• Relevance of excommunication for today’s Church

Ave Maria!

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