March 26, 2014

The Modernist Theologian – Topics of Faith

Since theologians talk of faith, Pope St. Pius takes §§21-28 to delve deeper into topics related to faith. Dogma Dogma has been discussed earlier in the encyclical. First the Modernist believer has religious impulses. These impulses prompt secondary reflections that eventually evolve into dogma. Theological speculation, while not itself Modernist dogma, can help “harmonize religion to science” and “defend religion from without” (§21). Worship Modernists view sacraments as the result of “inner impulses”.

March 25, 2014

The Modernist Theologian – Foundational Concepts

The portion of Pascendi expounding upon the Modernist theologian is by far the longest and most involved section. It can be roughly divided into two parts. The first spells out the foundational concepts on which Modernist theology is built. The second speaks on other, non-foundational topics of Modernist faith. In the interests of length, this post focuses on just the foundational concepts. Foundational Concepts Modernist theology is built around three concepts: theological immanence, theological symbolism, and divine permanence.

March 22, 2014

The Modernist Believer

There is a contradiction between the Modernist philosopher and the Modernist believer. The believer thinks that the divine is something external, outside of himself. The philosopher thinks that the divine is completely internal to the believer, and does not exist outside of the believer. The believer concludes that the divine is external and real on the basis of personal religious experiences. The Modernist would claim that if one does not have these personal religious experiences, one is not a believer.

March 15, 2014

The Modernist Philosopher

The Modernist philosopher begins with Agnosticism. Many people think that agnosticism is simply acknowledging that one does not know whether or not God exists. But in the Modernist system, agnosticism is a denial that anyone can even know whether God exists. All we can reason about is phenomena: things that appear to us, and the way they appear to us. Since the existence of God is not a phenomena, we can’t reason about it.

March 13, 2014

The Seven Personalities of Modernists

In Pascendi Dominici Gregis, Pope St. Pius X aims to show that Modernism is “the synthesis of all heresies”. It is not just a scattered bunch of heresies here and there, but rather a coherent program on the march to destroy the Catholic faith. But on the surface Modernism appears to be a mess of unrelated tactics. It is not exactly easy to see how it is organized and coherent.

March 13, 2014

Pascendi And Modernism

Below, please find a series of posts on this site on the encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis of Pope St. Pius X. Bookmark this page as a reference for this study of the encyclical. If you want to be notified of new posts on this site, subscribe to the RSS feed. Introduction Subvert the Faith With This One Weird Worldview Modernist Personalities The Seven Personalities of Modernists - a brief overview of the Modernist system.

March 10, 2014

Temptation In The News

A follow-up to the previous post regarding the seventh commandment: “And immediately there came to mind the thief we all have inside ourselves and while I arranged the flowers I took the cross and with just a bit of force I removed it,” Pope Francis said. The idea to steal a crucifix from a priest’s corpse was a temptation. The “thief we all have inside ourselves” is likely a demon tempting its prey, although it is quite possible the temptation was natural and occurred without any demonic prompting.

March 8, 2014

The Seventh Commandment In The News

From what I can see, not one Catholic commenter has tackled a news story that made the rounds 6 March. According to the AP account, which matches Rome Reports' video of the event, Pope Francis told the priests of Rome that some years prior he had removed the crucifix from the rosary of his late confessor, whose corpse was clutching the rosary in its casket. Francis claims to have kept the crucifix on his person ever since as a reminder of mercy.

March 6, 2014

Just How Long Is A Rosary Anyway?

This may seem like an unusual question, but just how long is a rosary? How many prayers does it take to pray the rosary? The Short Answer The rosary consists of fifteen mysteries, three sets of five each: the Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious. For each mystery, also referred to as a “decade”, one prays one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and a Glory Be, meditating on that mystery throughout.

March 4, 2014

Pope Pius XI On Marriage Laws

From Casti Connubii §5: … let it be repeated as an immutable and inviolable fundamental doctrine that matrimony was not instituted or restored by man but by God; not by man were the laws made to strengthen and confirm and elevate it but by God, the Author of nature, and by Christ Our Lord by Whom nature was redeemed, and hence these laws cannot be subject to any human decrees or to any contrary pact even of the spouses themselves.

March 3, 2014

The Mass Is Not A Bludgeon

Rorate has presented a leaked letter from the Bishop of Fort Worth, Michael Olson, in which he prescribes that the Traditional Latin Mass not be said on the campus of Fisher More College, in his diocese. Under the provisions of Summorum Pontificum, he cannot forbid the saying of the Traditional Latin Mass; in canon law, it is not his to permit or forbid. So, in this letter, instead of illegally forbidding the Traditional Latin Mass, he legally threatens to remove the chapel from campus entirely.

March 2, 2014

There Is No Such Thing As “Remarriage” After Divorce

“Remarriage” is a word that is being used very imprecisely in an important public discussion about reception of Holy Communion. In reality, a remarriage is a marriage that is contracted by someone whose previous marriage ended with the death of the other spouse. This is the only sense in which the word “remarriage” has any meaning, because the death of the spouse is the only way a marriage can end.

February 27, 2014

The Story of Christian Unity

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, founded one Church, and one Church only. The members of that Church are called Christians. In the 11th century, some people broke away from the Christian Church. They are rightly called schismatics. In the 16th century, new groups of heretics and schismatics flourished. By the present day, these schismatics have managed the neat trick of persuading everyone to call them Christians, even though they have not renounced their heresies nor rejoined the one Christian Church founded by Christ.

February 11, 2014

The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

The eleventh of February is the Feast of the Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at Lourdes. Her apparition to St. Bernadette was a great gift to the Church. Without it, we might not recognize Mary as the Immaculate Conception. We must make sure to honor her on this her feast day. 11 February is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sick. It was instituted by John Paul II in 1992.

December 13, 2013

Old Evangelization Leads To Persecution

When you evangelize and present the Catholic faith as it has been taught for centuries, you will be persecuted. Some of that persecution will be from within the Church. A most trenchant example is the latest persecution of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate (FFI). That Rorate Cæli link has a thorough explanation of what’s gone on most recently. The problems started when a small group within the order petitioned Rome, complaining that the order was too traditional.

December 12, 2013

The Prophet Elias Re-Converts Israel (Again)

From the Douay-Rheims translation of the Third Book of Kings (1 Kings): [21] And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long do you halt between two sides? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. [22] And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.

December 10, 2013

It's OK To Speak Harshly Sometimes

One of the more striking things I’ve come across reading Pascendi Dominici Gregis is the tone. Pope St. Pius X writes many words, and he minces not a one of them. But we have not yet come to the end of their philosophy, or, to speak more accurately, their folly. (par. 8) By most measures, that is a sick burn! Blind that they are, and leaders of the blind, inflated with a boastful science, they have reached that pitch of folly where they pervert the eternal concept of truth and the true nature of the religious sentiment; (par.

December 6, 2013

Subvert The Catholic Faith With This One Weird Worldview

Modernism is a silent killer of souls. The problem with modernism is that unless one has been trained in where to look for it, it is fiendishly difficult to notice. Its effects are obvious: religious indifferentism seemingly constant change in religious practice loss of faith Modernism’s practices, how it produces these effects, are much more obscured. A modernist does not write articles titled “Subvert The Catholic Faith With This One Weird Worldview”.