Source
Following the meeting with Cardinal William Levada, Bp. Bernard Fellay will consult the Superiors of the SSPX about the doctrinal preamble, given to him by the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Society’s Superiors will meet together behind closed doors at the Italian District Headquarters, in Albano, October 7-8.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Possible Next Assignment
I'm still waiting on the official word, but preliminary reports are that when I complete my current project based out of Hartford, CT, there is a good chance I will be working on the redesign of this site:
http://www.nascar.com/
A while back my company sponsored an office outing to the local karting track. Out of a pool of almost 100 people, I had the fastest single circuit time. Having completed my training, I think I'm ready for my next assignment.
Wish me luck.
http://www.nascar.com/
A while back my company sponsored an office outing to the local karting track. Out of a pool of almost 100 people, I had the fastest single circuit time. Having completed my training, I think I'm ready for my next assignment.
Wish me luck.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
20 Years
The year 2011 is the 20th since I graduated from college (undergraduate); 13 years have passed since I finished graduate school.
This evening I was compiling a list of all the clients I've worked with over the years on various consulting assignments, and I came up with a list of 38 names (there were a few more, but I counted only the ones for whom I did a substantial amount of work).
I did the math on the number of employers I've had as well, and my present company makes a baker's dozen -- thus, I've topped the American average of 7-10 job changes in a career. This frequent change of jobs was not by design, mind you: in my first professional job after college, I had notions of retiring there; that idea lasted only six months until my first of three layoffs (I beat out another layoff by hitting the exit before the curtain dropped).
Sounds awful, doesn't it? Yet my former manager (who quit just last week) said that I always over-delivered on my work, and that I was a dependable person in a business not known for dependable people. Go figure.
About the only thing I'm confident of regarding my employment is that I don't expect to retire doing what I do today. We'll see how it goes.
This evening I was compiling a list of all the clients I've worked with over the years on various consulting assignments, and I came up with a list of 38 names (there were a few more, but I counted only the ones for whom I did a substantial amount of work).
I did the math on the number of employers I've had as well, and my present company makes a baker's dozen -- thus, I've topped the American average of 7-10 job changes in a career. This frequent change of jobs was not by design, mind you: in my first professional job after college, I had notions of retiring there; that idea lasted only six months until my first of three layoffs (I beat out another layoff by hitting the exit before the curtain dropped).
Sounds awful, doesn't it? Yet my former manager (who quit just last week) said that I always over-delivered on my work, and that I was a dependable person in a business not known for dependable people. Go figure.
About the only thing I'm confident of regarding my employment is that I don't expect to retire doing what I do today. We'll see how it goes.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Poll: Battle of the Ages
In the spirit of this post, I've dredged up this bit of nonsense inspired by the meanderings of my misspent youth.
=======
What fantasy character match-up would make for the battle of the ages?
(1) Gandalf vs. Merlin
Middle Earth meets King Arthur’s Court
(2) Tom Thumb vs. the Gingerbread Boy
The tiny tot tries to catch his running nemesis
(3) Robin Hood vs. Legolas
One shot, patch over the right eye, triple ricochet off two trees, between the hobbit’s legs, and through the opening of the spinning bee hive
(4) Queen of Hearts vs. Glenda the Good Witch
Caged grudge match between the champions of Wonderland and Oz
(5) Cthulhu vs. Apocalypse
But who really cares?
=======
What fantasy character match-up would make for the battle of the ages?
(1) Gandalf vs. Merlin
Middle Earth meets King Arthur’s Court
(2) Tom Thumb vs. the Gingerbread Boy
The tiny tot tries to catch his running nemesis
(3) Robin Hood vs. Legolas
One shot, patch over the right eye, triple ricochet off two trees, between the hobbit’s legs, and through the opening of the spinning bee hive
(4) Queen of Hearts vs. Glenda the Good Witch
Caged grudge match between the champions of Wonderland and Oz
(5) Cthulhu vs. Apocalypse
But who really cares?
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Pray for the SSPX-Rome Meeting Today
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Pray for a successful outcome to the SSPX-Rome meeting that is taking place today.
On August 15, while at the Universite d'Ete de la FSSPX held at St-Malo, France, the SSPX’s Superior General, Bp. Bernard Fellay, confirmed the news that he and his two Assistants have been invited to meet with Cardinal William Levada, Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (and the Ecclesia Dei Commission) in Rome on September 14.
On June 17, during his sermon for the priestly ordinations held at Winona, MN, Bp. Fellay stated:
"The truth is that Cardinal Levada has called me to Rome and it appears that it will be around the middle of September. That’s the only thing I know. It’s about the discussions we had with Rome. After these discussions, it had been said that 'the documents will be given to the higher authorities.' These are the exact words..."
According to the agenda given to the Superior General, the purpose of this meeting is to give a final evaluation of the doctrinal discussions between Rome and the SSPX which have occurred since October 2009.
Prayer
"O God Who, for the defense of the Catholic faith and the restoration of all things in Christ, filled St. Pius, the Supreme Pontiff, with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fearlessness, mercifully grant that, by following his teachings and examples, we may receive Your eternal rewards. Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen."
- Collect from the Mass of St. Pius X, September 3
Pray for a successful outcome to the SSPX-Rome meeting that is taking place today.
On August 15, while at the Universite d'Ete de la FSSPX held at St-Malo, France, the SSPX’s Superior General, Bp. Bernard Fellay, confirmed the news that he and his two Assistants have been invited to meet with Cardinal William Levada, Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (and the Ecclesia Dei Commission) in Rome on September 14.
On June 17, during his sermon for the priestly ordinations held at Winona, MN, Bp. Fellay stated:
"The truth is that Cardinal Levada has called me to Rome and it appears that it will be around the middle of September. That’s the only thing I know. It’s about the discussions we had with Rome. After these discussions, it had been said that 'the documents will be given to the higher authorities.' These are the exact words..."
According to the agenda given to the Superior General, the purpose of this meeting is to give a final evaluation of the doctrinal discussions between Rome and the SSPX which have occurred since October 2009.
Prayer
"O God Who, for the defense of the Catholic faith and the restoration of all things in Christ, filled St. Pius, the Supreme Pontiff, with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fearlessness, mercifully grant that, by following his teachings and examples, we may receive Your eternal rewards. Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen."
- Collect from the Mass of St. Pius X, September 3
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Origins of Genesis
What was Moses up to in Genesis when he described the Creation of the world? The universe came together in six days? First came light, and then water, and then the sun and the moon? Small wonder that people these days ignore the Bible as just an irrelevant collection of myths and fables.
So say the moderns fixated on the gamut of minutia for fantasy football but who don’t know the answer to the first question in the basic school-kid catechism.
Yet one cannot help but feel some some sorrow for people these days who are not provided with much in the way of religious instruction. They’re told that silly religious people think the world was created in six 24-hour periods, and aren't we glad we're not like them.
Even back when people were better educated in the domain of religion, there was still plenty of discourse on the proper meaning of some Biblical verses. St. Augustine (AD 354 - 430) in his Confessions spends the final three books of his composition discussing the many ways to interpret Genesis. Thus, “In the beginning God made heaven and earth,” what is meant allegorically by Heaven is the spiritual creation, while by “earth” is meant the formless matter of which the material world was to be made.
In Book XIII Augustine lays out a more complete interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis:
Day One: The light which God created on the first day is the spiritual creation, which became light by the reflection of God’s glory; and in this instance the darkness is the soul without God’s grace in it.
Day Two: The firmament separating the waters above and below is the Scriptures.
Day Three: The sea is the human race given way to sin, while the dry land is the good souls that stands out from the sea and produces plants and trees.
Day Four: The lights that shine in the firmament are the wisdom and knowledge given to men so that those who possess them are the lights of the world.
Day Five: The waters bring forth moving creatures, which are signs and Sacraments by which souls come to know and love the truth.
Day Six: The living soul is produced, which has Faith, Hope, and Charity. Man is in the image of God in the sense that he has the gift of reason by which he can know God’s truth. Man’s rule over animals is a symbol of this reality.
So what of Moses? Did he intend an allegorical meaning in accord with what Augustine described? More to the point of the original line of questions above, was he writing a historical and chronological account of the origins of the universe?
If we say no, I trust that the example of Augustine’s writings is sufficient to refute any charges of reworking the story to make it seem plausible to modern ears. You’ll note that St. Augustine – who lived over 1,000 years before America was discovered by Europeans – cannot rightly be accused of modifying Church teaching to accommodate 20th century scientific discoveries.
Moses, then, did not intend to provide a chronological order. Rather, he described the Creation story in accord with a literary convention that was adapted to a popular style of speaking. It’s identical to the way we say the sun rises in the east – a scientist or a pedant will remind you that the sun isn’t actually moving; rather, the earth rotates and the sun only appears to rise. The real scientist, for the record, will allow you to proceed with your point if you explain that you are not speaking scientifically, but only in a popular form; the real pedant will not.
According to Moses' formula, eight acts of creation are described that span a six-day period.
* In the first three days, the creation of unmovable things is described, ending with two works on the final day.
* In the second three days, the ornamentation of the unmovable things is described, ending with two works on the final day.
Further, during each day there is a command from God, its fulfillment, and an approbation of its results.
On the seventh day God is said to rest – not that God can ever be tired. Rather, this bookend served as an admonition that on one day man should rest and give himself to honoring in a public and special way his debt to the Creator of all things.
Thus, neither the time nor the order corresponded to objective events of the creative process itself (Cf. rising sun example above).
Q: Does that mean we are free to read Genesis – and by extension the rest of the Bible – as nothing but allegory?
A: No. That the Scriptures can be read with an allegorical meaning does not mean that the work is nothing but allegory. God did create the universe and us. He does want us to keep the Sabbath day holy. We are all descended from a man and a woman who fall from grace and were banished from a terrestrial Paradise. God did take the form of a man and walk the earth 2,000 years ago, then rise from the dead and ascend into Heaven. We will meet our maker one day and be judged, and then end up in either Heaven or Hell.
Deus spes nostra.
So say the moderns fixated on the gamut of minutia for fantasy football but who don’t know the answer to the first question in the basic school-kid catechism.
Yet one cannot help but feel some some sorrow for people these days who are not provided with much in the way of religious instruction. They’re told that silly religious people think the world was created in six 24-hour periods, and aren't we glad we're not like them.
Even back when people were better educated in the domain of religion, there was still plenty of discourse on the proper meaning of some Biblical verses. St. Augustine (AD 354 - 430) in his Confessions spends the final three books of his composition discussing the many ways to interpret Genesis. Thus, “In the beginning God made heaven and earth,” what is meant allegorically by Heaven is the spiritual creation, while by “earth” is meant the formless matter of which the material world was to be made.
In Book XIII Augustine lays out a more complete interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis:
Day One: The light which God created on the first day is the spiritual creation, which became light by the reflection of God’s glory; and in this instance the darkness is the soul without God’s grace in it.
Day Two: The firmament separating the waters above and below is the Scriptures.
Day Three: The sea is the human race given way to sin, while the dry land is the good souls that stands out from the sea and produces plants and trees.
Day Four: The lights that shine in the firmament are the wisdom and knowledge given to men so that those who possess them are the lights of the world.
Day Five: The waters bring forth moving creatures, which are signs and Sacraments by which souls come to know and love the truth.
Day Six: The living soul is produced, which has Faith, Hope, and Charity. Man is in the image of God in the sense that he has the gift of reason by which he can know God’s truth. Man’s rule over animals is a symbol of this reality.
So what of Moses? Did he intend an allegorical meaning in accord with what Augustine described? More to the point of the original line of questions above, was he writing a historical and chronological account of the origins of the universe?
If we say no, I trust that the example of Augustine’s writings is sufficient to refute any charges of reworking the story to make it seem plausible to modern ears. You’ll note that St. Augustine – who lived over 1,000 years before America was discovered by Europeans – cannot rightly be accused of modifying Church teaching to accommodate 20th century scientific discoveries.
Moses, then, did not intend to provide a chronological order. Rather, he described the Creation story in accord with a literary convention that was adapted to a popular style of speaking. It’s identical to the way we say the sun rises in the east – a scientist or a pedant will remind you that the sun isn’t actually moving; rather, the earth rotates and the sun only appears to rise. The real scientist, for the record, will allow you to proceed with your point if you explain that you are not speaking scientifically, but only in a popular form; the real pedant will not.
According to Moses' formula, eight acts of creation are described that span a six-day period.
* In the first three days, the creation of unmovable things is described, ending with two works on the final day.
* In the second three days, the ornamentation of the unmovable things is described, ending with two works on the final day.
Further, during each day there is a command from God, its fulfillment, and an approbation of its results.
On the seventh day God is said to rest – not that God can ever be tired. Rather, this bookend served as an admonition that on one day man should rest and give himself to honoring in a public and special way his debt to the Creator of all things.
Thus, neither the time nor the order corresponded to objective events of the creative process itself (Cf. rising sun example above).
Q: Does that mean we are free to read Genesis – and by extension the rest of the Bible – as nothing but allegory?
A: No. That the Scriptures can be read with an allegorical meaning does not mean that the work is nothing but allegory. God did create the universe and us. He does want us to keep the Sabbath day holy. We are all descended from a man and a woman who fall from grace and were banished from a terrestrial Paradise. God did take the form of a man and walk the earth 2,000 years ago, then rise from the dead and ascend into Heaven. We will meet our maker one day and be judged, and then end up in either Heaven or Hell.
Deus spes nostra.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Babies in Space
A friend of mine was exasperated because a persistent chap wouldn't quit asking her out. She'd politely but clearly said no many times, and he kept on calling. Aggravated, she sent me a tongue-in-cheek text message asking if she should just tell the guy she had a boyfriend so that he would leave her alone.
Don't do that, I texted back. Say no, and stay firm. Telling a lie just complicates things, and can also lead to bigger problems later that aren't worth the temporary relief. I added that she should seek a bit of extra moral support from her friends to weather the storm.
It was the right thing to say, and my friend knew it. She hadn't been serious after all; she was just blowing off steam. Sensing an opportunity to bring a bit of levity to the grim campaign, however, I embellished.
Never lie, I continued. But if you did want to color the facts, show some originality. "I already have a boyfriend" is old and hackneyed; at least try to have some fun with it.
For example, start wearing an engagement ring. If anyone asks, say, "I can't talk about it."
Tell the guy you seem to suffer from amnesia. Add that you're not sure, but you think you might already be married.
Tell him you're thinking about being a mail-order bride, and ask if he'll serve as a reference.
Say that you want to be the first woman to have a baby in space.
No problems were solved with that string of suggestions, but my friend got a few laughs out of it.
Mission accomplished Houston.
Don't do that, I texted back. Say no, and stay firm. Telling a lie just complicates things, and can also lead to bigger problems later that aren't worth the temporary relief. I added that she should seek a bit of extra moral support from her friends to weather the storm.
It was the right thing to say, and my friend knew it. She hadn't been serious after all; she was just blowing off steam. Sensing an opportunity to bring a bit of levity to the grim campaign, however, I embellished.
Never lie, I continued. But if you did want to color the facts, show some originality. "I already have a boyfriend" is old and hackneyed; at least try to have some fun with it.
For example, start wearing an engagement ring. If anyone asks, say, "I can't talk about it."
Tell the guy you seem to suffer from amnesia. Add that you're not sure, but you think you might already be married.
Tell him you're thinking about being a mail-order bride, and ask if he'll serve as a reference.
Say that you want to be the first woman to have a baby in space.
No problems were solved with that string of suggestions, but my friend got a few laughs out of it.
Mission accomplished Houston.
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