Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This article has been re-uploaded under the title, Communion in the Hand & Biblical Reverence & Piety. *** Read more
Illustration from a medieval Spanish language astrology textbook attributed to Alfonso X the Wise (r. 1252-1284), King of Castile, León and Galicia. The image is meant to depict the effect various other stars or constellations have in concert with Gemini. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** St. Augustine (354-430) exhibits a remarkably scientific mind, by discussing the counter-example of twins, and how it destroys basic astrological assumptions. I believe this was mentioned in my book on science and Christianity, where I documented many scientific affinities... Read more
[Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] This article has been re-uploaded under the tile, Altar Girls: Consideration of Pro & Con Arguments. *** Read more
The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs (about 1423-24), by Fra Angelico [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] It’s understood in Catholic spirituality and theology that any of us can pray to God at any time. The Bible emphasizes relationship to God, as sons and daughters to a Father. That said, there is also the practice of praying for each other. Our Protestant brethren in Christ (who generally reject intercession of the saints) have the notion of “getting a... Read more
Holy Communion during Holy Matrimony (24 June 2006 in Poland) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] Briefly, my position, as (mostly) expressed in my recent related post, is this: 1. Neither communion in the hand nor on the tongue (and/or kneeling) can be argued as intrinsically superior, based on posture alone. 2. Communion in the hand, standing, was the norm in the Church in its first 6-9 centuries, depending on location. 3. Reverence and piety and holiness flow initially... Read more
[Pixabay / released under Creative Commons CC0] I was on “Meet the Author” with Ken Huck today, talking about my new book, Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical. He had sent me ten questions, so I could prepare some notes for the interview. We covered maybe 7 or 8 of them in our 23 minutes, but even then I didn’t always use all the material for any given question, so I thought I would make a paper out of it. I spent about... Read more
South facade of Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, northwest of Aleppo, Syria: the oldest surviving Byzantine church, dating back to the 5th century. It was built on the site of the pillar of St. Simeon Stylites, a famed hermit monk. [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license] *** This article has been re-uploaded, under the title, Holy Communion in the Hand (Norm till 500-900 AD). *** Read more
18th century caricature-engraving of Robespierre guillotining the executioner after having guillotined everyone else in France. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] The “enlightened” so-called”progressive” folks who supposedly worshiped the “goddess of reason” executed many Catholics, including, e.g., Antoine Lavoisier, the father of chemistry (no luxurious house arrest for him, as with Galileo). Who’s to say this couldn’t happen again in the future, coming from our new secular overlords, triumphant (and triumphalistic) almost everywhere in culture and jurisprudence? Ol’ Robespierre hated the Catholic Church and lost... Read more
Portrait of John Calvin (1858) by Ary Scheffer (1795-1858) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] Lo and behold, two Calvinists showed up in the combox of my paper, Top 15 “Catholic” Beliefs of John Calvin, and engaged in some of the worst, most wrongheaded, utterly illogical “argumentation” I have ever seen in my 34 years of apologetics (which is really sayin’ somethin’). They are likely anti-Catholics (i.e., those who regard Catholicism as a non-Christian belief-system, which leads people to hell and cannot help save men’s souls). The bizarre,... Read more
Poster from the 1880s, regarding the famous novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1886. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] This very day, I received the following two remarkably divergent replies from atheists or agnostics here at Patheos, within a few hours of each other: 1) “I have only had the pleasure of interacting with you on here for a few weeks, but from what I have seen you are a very fair and honest person. You just happen... Read more
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