Tradicat

Conditions of mortal sin: knowledge, free will, grave matter Contrary to the teaching of  Baius  (prop. 46, Denzinger-Bannwart, 1046) and the  Reformers , a sin must be a  voluntary   act . Those actions alone are properly called  human  or  moral  actions which proceed from the  human  will deliberately acting with  knowledge  of the end for which it acts.  Man  differs from all irrational creatures in this precisely that he is master of his actions by virtue of his reason  and  free will  ( I-II:1:1 ). Since sin is a  human act  wanting in due rectitude, it must have, in so far as it is a  human act , the  essential  constituents of a  human act . The  intellect  must perceive and judge of the morality of the  act , and the will must freely elect. For a deliberate mortal sin ther...

Introduction While there appears to be a significant confusion within the Catholic Church on many aspects of sin, I'd like to highlight the Malice of Sin (see part D2). The Malice of sin is found in that it is a conscious and voluntary transgression of the eternal law of God.  When these conditions are met (conscious, voluntary transgession), it carries with it an implied contempt of the will of God and a turning away from Him who is the end for which we are designed. In short, we prefer to subject ourselves to a creature rather than to the Creator as such it is an offense offered to God and injures Him in that it deprives God of the reverance and honor due to Him.

I was recently reminded of the 'Stockdale Paradox' and have concluded that it is based upon  Catholic virtues.

Many people are familiar with geologic faults, such as the San Andreas fault. A fault line  is the where the discontinuity between the two sides of the geographic fault becomes visible as the stresses in the fault causes the two sides to slip past each other.

The Nature of the Devotion Devotion to the Holy Heart of Mary is a special form of  devotion to Mary . While the devotion is focused on  the physical heart of Mary, the devotion extends beyond this to include all that the human heart of Mary symbolizes her:  interior life, joys, sorrows, virtues,  hidden perfections, virginal  love  for her  God , maternal  love  for her  Divine Son , and her motherly and compassionate  love  for her  sinful  and miserable children here below.  The t wo parts of the devotion, the heart and her virtues are inseparable.

As noted in the first post  of this theme, The Devotion to the Sacred Heart has a strong focus on the Eucharist and reparation. What is also important is that there is a link to the Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, making, in a sense, this devotion an extension to that of the Sacred Heart.

Further on the Sacred Heart as the symbol of the love of Jesus for us, our pastor made an interesting comment as part of his sermon today - commenting on the Epistle of Today (16th after Pentecost): (Ephes. III. 13-21) Brethren, I pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory. For this cause I bow my knees. to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his Spirit with might unto the inward man, that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts: that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth:, to know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God. Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us:...

My wife mentioned that I should explain the significance of the 'Wedge'. This series is based on the analogy of using a wedge to separate two parts. In this case, I have made the assertion that the current culture within the Church is not quite Catholic due to the number of changes made since the Second Vatican Council. In order to separate the Catholic from  the non-Catholic elements we need to use a wedge. The wedge that I am proposing consists of a thin leading edge, a middle and finally a strong thick or back end. The thin edge is: Eucharistic Devotions of Reparation (Sacred and Immaculate Heart) The Middle is: Reception of Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue, solely from the priest or deacon The Thick is: The Tridentine Mass There are other devotions that support a truly Catholic culture, but these I see as the significant parts that will separate the Catholic from the non-Catholic, in person and culture.

This is my first draft of the first article in the wedge series.  I decided to not polish it ad nauseum in order to make some progress on this project. The next article will (predictably) be on Devotion to the Immaculate Heart. Introduction In a previous article, I discussed the crisis in the Church from the organizational behavior point of view, with an emphasis on organizational culture. In the follow on article titled “Don Bosco’s Two Pillars and Displacing Cultural Assumptions – A Role for Traditional Catholics”, I discussed what I believe to be some key elements pointing towards a way for Traditional Catholics to help reassert Catholic Culture within the Church.

Here's a book that I'm currently reading in order to draw the link between the Eucharist and the need for reparation. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Devotion_to_the_Sacred_Heart_of_Jesus The first thing that I've noticed is the strong link between Devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Eucharist. The second thing is that reparation to the Sacred Heart is the primary reason for the devotion. So I'm comfortable on this being one of the first steps used in trying to reassert Catholic Culture in non-traditional Catholics. Cheers! Tradical

My wife pointed out that knowing the basic fallacies that can be encountered in a discussion / argument would be useful. Here's the list we summarized from 'The Fallacy Detective' and other sources.

Originally Posted on Sandro Magister's blog source April 13, 2012 A THEOLOGIAN'S QUESTIONS by John R.T. Lamont In a communiqué of March 16th 2012, the Holy See has announced that Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior-General of the Society of St. Pius X, FSSPX, has been informed that the Society's response to the Doctrinal Preamble presented to them by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has  been judged to be "not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems that are at the basis of the rift between the Holy See and the aforesaid Society" (in the original French of the press release, "n’est pas suffisante pour surmonter les problèmes doctrinaux qui sont à la base de la fracture entre le Saint-Siège et ladite Fraternité.") The press release does not make clear whether this judgment is made on the part of the CDF and approved by the Pope, or is the judgment of the Pope himself. The judgement is the latest step in a process of discussion o...

This was originally posted on angelqueen.org and encapsulates some of my motivations for writing these articles. link Some forum members have been questioning my motivations for writing the articles focused the organizational culture issues surrounding this crisis in the Church.

“… Breaking through all resistance the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns and moors it to the two columns; first, to the one surmounted by the Host, and then to the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point, something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other.  … A great calm now covers the sea“ (Salesian society 1986)

Introduction The recent and continuing interactions between the Vatican and the SSPX have been a great opportunity for prayer and reflection.  The basis for the disagreement is theological and not liturgical. As noted by Dr. Lamont (2012), the SSPX theological position on the four key controversial aspects of the Second Vatican Council are base on prior theological work that resulted from relevant magisterial pronouncements.  So it is difficult to understand the apparent rejection of the theological position of the SSPX.