Immagini

His Infernal Highness Arcibaldo

Pubblicato da catholicafides

C.S. Lewis wrote in his preface to The Screwtape Letters that there are two similar although complementary pitfalls into which one can fall when it comes to devils: either doubting their very existence or believing in them, but with an excessive interest – almost an obsession. The devils themselves delight in both and welcome a materialist as wholeheartedly as they do a magician. Their technique consists in convincing someone to be one or the other and then separating him from everyone else forever. Is it not true that the arts of the materialist and of the magician are back in fashion? Thus the devil’s existence is denied by portraying him as a mere symbol of evil, or else, by attributing all man’s misfortunes to him – including those of the Church – to the point of clouding the responsibility of men and of pastors. As St Augustine brilliantly said in one of his discourses (163B):

“The devil must not be blamed in every instance; sometimes, in fact, man himself is a devil towards himself. So why must we beware of the devil? Precisely for this reason: so as not to deceive ourselves.”

Nonetheless, one thing prompted me to pay close attention to this correspondence and to ensure that it was not lost. Above all, the devil and the priest do the same job: they go in search of souls. And both of them could, without difficulty, make their own the motto of St John Bosco: Da mihi animas, cetera tolle – “Give me souls and take away all the rest”.

And so the time has come to take a look at this correspondence and to get to know that ancient craft, of which the practitioners have a predilection for the soul above all else: the soul, the real man as he is himself, who will be forever himself and cannot be confused with anyone else.

One last word to the wise reader. The names chosen do not correspond to any particular person. They are rather the free expression of a way of thinking which, by some strange coincidence, brings the world of mortals closer to that of the hereafter.

Super Hanc Petram: The Pope and the Church at a Dramatic Moment in History

Pubblicato da catholicafides

What does it mean to say that the Apostle Peter—and each of his successors—is kepha, the rock on which Christ has built His Church? Could this rock ever be allowed to crumble, without the Church herself crumbling? Can a successor of Peter fail in his office, or even in his faith, without negating the Church’s indefectibility? What are the nature—and limits—of the pope’s infallibility and primacy? Has the role of the supreme pontiff sometimes been exaggerated or distorted?

Today questions like these are asked with greater urgency than ever, owing to the pontificate of Pope Francis. In Super Hanc Petram, Fr Serafino Lanzetta answers them with balance and realism, never wavering in his serene confidence in Divine Providence. Lanzetta investigates Pope Francis’s remote and proximate sources, magisterial leitmotifs, operative methods, and avowed goals, examining in particular the return of nominalism and pragmatism; the elevation of pastoral care over doctrine; the proclamation of a mercy that severs charity from truth; the substitution of “a people on the move” for “the mystical body” and of a panreligious humanistic fraternity for the salvific Christian mission; the inversion of hierarchy by synodality; the selective and conflictual use of Vatican II as model of and impetus for “paradigm shifts”; an evolutionary vision of doctrinal development driven by sociological-cultural theories; and the replacement of the traditional themes of sin, grace, hell, and heaven by an emphasis on “ecological conversion.”

Pastors of souls, theologians, faithful laity, converts, non-Catholics interested in the Catholic Church and her relationship with modernity—all will find Fr Lanzetta’s study valuable for the light it sheds on the age-old office of the papacy and on the tempestuous reign of its most recent incumbent.

“Super Hanc Petram provides clarity on the nature of the papal office together with an accurate analysis of the sources, aims, and problems of Pope Francis’s theology. A timely gift for a storm-tossed Church.” —Most Rev. Athanasius Schneider

“A serious and important critical work on the theological and philosophical roots of Pope Francis’s thought…. not only scholars but also theologically interested laity will profit by wrestling with this learned study.” —Eduardo J. Echeverria

“Fr Lanzetta combines theological scholarship of the first order with extensive pastoral experience… This book is convincing and clear; it satisfies our need for understanding.” —Roberto de Mattei

“Complications arise when a Pope misinterprets his role, and chooses to judge—rather than to defend—the faith that the Church has always cherished…. Father Lanzetta explores the theological implications of the conflict that we now face, as well as its possible origins.” —Philip F. Lawler

“Masterfully tackles the thorniest questions of the current crisis in the Church and in the papacy, while maintaining a supernatural perspective.” —José A. Ureta

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Os Justi Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 4 Dec. 2023
Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1960711539
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1960711533

Stabat Mater: Co-Redemptrix – The Relevance of a Marian Doctrine for Our Time

Pubblicato da catholicafides

Edited by Fr. Serafino M. Lanzetta

The mystery of Mary’s unique cooperation in our salvation, enabling Her to become our spiritual Mother, has such a doctrinal depth that it requires a careful biblical-historical-theological investigation. Such was our goal in organizing a first Mariological Conference, held in Dundee, Scotland, from 14th to 16th September 2023, with the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows as the very apex of this 3-day study. It was an international panel of theologians, all of whom from different perspectives delved into the overarching theme of the Marian title ‘Coredemptrix’ and its relevance for our time. A strong point that emerged constantly is that Coredemption – thorny and unrewarding title if the discourse is merely ecumenical – is a doctrine belonging to the deposit of faith. Our Lady, as reiterated authoritatively by Lumen gentium 61, in a singular manner cooperated with Jesus “in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace.”

God’s Abode with Man: The Mystery of Divine Grace (Os Justi Studies in Catholic Tradition)

Pubblicato da catholicafides

There is only one way for God to be with us, to abide with man: the gift of His grace. The prophets’ sigh, begging the heavens to rend that God may come down, has been answered in Jesus Christ: He is the true temple, God’s living presence in our midst. The one who loves the Son will be loved by His Father, and the Triune God will come to him to make their “abode” with him. Grace therefore brings about the mystery of the inhabitation of the Most Holy Trinity in the soul. This surpassing gift stands at the heart of the Christian life and leads us into eternal life, the happiness for which we were created. Hence, we must safeguard that divine life poured out upon us and seek to grow in it with the help of theological and moral virtues, alongside the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What a treasure a soul possesses, to be in the state of grace, that is, to be beloved of God and a lover of Him! In this little work, Fr. Lanzetta distills the teaching of Sacred Scripture on the mystery of grace, assisted by the great Fathers and Doctors of the Church—above all, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas—and in light of the Church’s Magisterium. Grace is shown to be Christian theology’s inner structure, opening up the understanding of Divine Revelation and enabling us to live according to its demands. So far from being metaphorical, ethereal, or obscure, grace is as real as our lives: it is the life of the soul, as the soul is the life of the body.

Semper Virgo: Mary’s Virginity as the “Form” of Christian Life

Pubblicato da catholicafides

We are victims of a contagious amorphism which dilutes the mysteries of faith into a current of humdrum uniformity. We have lost the form, the principle that determines the essence of a thing, distinguishing it from all others. The invitation to become perfect is open to everyone, but we have forgotten that there is a hierarchy of levels in the states of Christian life. Consequently, both marriage and the consecrated life are going through a profound crisis, having been flattened into the same level to ease the universal call to holiness. It is a crisis that also afflicts the celibate life, which has for a long while been subjected to the epicurean transformation of our times.

A solution is found in looking to the Virgin Mary. Her perpetual virginity is the original form that molded Christ and, in Him, every Christian and every Christian vocation. In her unsullied virginity we have the beginning and the fulfillment. The mystery of Mary’s virginity is the assurance of God’s primacy in the world. It is the confirmation that the Kingdom that Christ brought forth does not begin in the flesh but in the spirit-“God is spirit” (Jn 4:24) -whereby the flesh is ennobled, and man elevated into a higher dimension: that of the Kingdom in its plenitude, where God “worketh all in all” (1 Cor 12:6). Mary is the virginal womb in which the mystery of Christ and of the Church are safeguarded, enshrined, and treasured.