The Arrow's Path

 I had a question/comment posed to me:  I wanted to discuss a couple points of theology. What really made me want to convert was a fundamental disagreement with Protestantism on two things: Grace and "total depravity. Concerning the former, I don't view grace as a one and done deal. I believe we have to cooperate with it via our free will. We have to put our money where our mouths are and show up. When I found the Church actually teaches this it was a massive breath of fresh air, as I had lived in the tension of seriously disagreeing with Protestantism on this point. Concerning the latter, I think people are generally good, as we were made in the image of God, but have a tendency to sin. The Church, of course, conceptualizes this as Original Sin. The idea that we're totally depraved is refuted by the fact that we're not totally depraved. That one is kinda easy. And again, living in that tension. Some protestant denominations believe it more than others, but that notion...

 Had an interesting question posed on the meaning of the Council of Trent's teaching on marriage: Good morning! I’m really struggling with a teaching expressed by the Council of Trent and wonder if you can help me understand it: “If any one saith, that the marriage state is to be placed above the state of virginity, or of celibacy, and that it is not better and more blessed to remain in virginity, or in celibacy, than to be united in matrimony; let him be anathema.” My difficulty isn’t that I think marriage should be considered superior to celibacy. I don’t have any problem saying that both are good gifts from God or even that virginity for the sake of the Kingdom has a unique significance. What I’m struggling with is the idea that one vocation is objectively more blessed than the other. If God genuinely calls some people to marriage and others to celibacy, why would faithful obedience to one divine vocation be considered more blessed than faithful obedience to another? If a woman ...

I just finished reading the second chapter of Magnifica Humanitas , continuing my series of reflections upon it in real time as I read it. Chapter 2 was entitled, "Foundations and Principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church." Largely, Pope Leo XIV attempts to set forth the framework of how Catholic Social Teaching is understood and applied to the Church itself. I presume so as to then be able to pivot in the next chapter on how these same principles might be applied to greater society outside the Church. There was nothing too remarkable, in my opinion, about this chapter. He sets about laying the foundations of Catholic Social Doctrine. He grounds this Social Doctrine in paragraph 48 in being centered and following out of the Trinity. Being an Augustinian priest, this does not surprise me as St Augustine wrote an entire book on the Trinity where he partially goes through nature looking for triads found in all levels of society and nature that prove the Triune nature of Go...

As I stated previously , Pope Leo XIV has released his first encyclical entitled Magnifica Humanitas . I opened with a reflection on the Introduction to this teaching document. The opening was concise but theologically solid, as it presented the core of Catholic Social Teaching from the 1890s onward. I am continued to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this encyclical chapter by chapter in real time. I have not read the entire document yet, but rather reading it privately in sections and then commenting on it before reading more. I find it helpful to engage in pieces and not read the entire thing and then start my analysis, as that tends to lead to a more broad overview and not looking at each section in it's unique own right.  Today, I read through Chapter 1 of the document. My initial reaction to the 1st chapter is not quite as positive as my enthusiasm for the opening introduction. It gets a little theological squishy in the early middle section (more on that in a moment), ...

I had an interesting question posed, that I would like to respond to:  I have a question...when in a public space and prayer is offered...do we make the sign of the cross if the person does not pray "in the name..." My response:  I think one way to look at this question is to start from the place of asking what is the making of the sign of the Cross? These actions are on one level what is known as a sacramental. We often think of sacramentals as physical objects (holy water, a wooden rosary, etc.,) but sacramentals can also be liturgical acts like the making of the Sign of the Cross. What is the purpose of a sacramental? A sacramental is, as the name suggests, something that points us to the Sacraments. More precisely, a sacramental is a sacred sign that signify spiritual effects and prepare us for the sacraments. For example, a rosary points us towards Christ, who is present in the sacraments like the Eucharist. Likewise, holy water points us towards the sacrame...

We have been hosting a foreign exchange student. A few weeks before she went back to France, we took her up to my old stomping grounds in a city I worked as an intern in the Episcopal church before going to seminary. We happened to drive by my old parish near a local Air Force base. I had a great experience there as a Episcopal Youth corps pre-seminary formation year, circa 2003-2004. The priest was amazing and theologically very solid, dare I say even conservative. The congregation was healthy and active. They had a great youth group and a women's group that met for a bible study every week. It was truly a great parish-not huge but healthy. There was a lot of Air Force base families and those in the local community who lived there permanently. I loved the parish so much, I specifically requested the bishop to allow my Diaconal ordination to happen there when I got out of seminary. In a lot of ways, it was my home parish that sponsored me to go to seminary and not my actual home pa...