(Posted by Glaucon Jr)
Normally, I would
never post something like this for fear of squelching genuine discussion of
such huge issues , but this one comment took me back in a way that illustrates
the point we've been making all along:
To make sure everyone understands what's going on here (and this comment
doesn't get lost in the shuffle), here's my open reply to Mr Guile, but in
particular to all who may have reservations or confusions about things:
Timothy,
I must say I'm a little surprised and not a little concerned about your
comment. It's not even the wording of the comment as much as the assumption on which its grounded that is disconcerting.
When I speak of the Eucharist being the source of Faith, I use the capital F, not the small f. As such I would expect an educated man as yourself would understand I'm speaking of the Catholic faith in its entirety.
When I speak of the Eucharist being the source of Faith, I use the capital F, not the small f. As such I would expect an educated man as yourself would understand I'm speaking of the Catholic faith in its entirety.
We say that Pentecost is the birth of the Church, but in fact, the Eucharist is
really the DNA of the Catholic faith. In it are quite real-ly the mysteries of
our Faith – all of them: The Annunciation , the Nativity and the hidden life of
our Lord, His proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven, His prediction of His Passion, the Last Supper itself, His arrest, His trial, the condemnation by the
mob, His torture, His death on the Holy Cross naked for the world to see and
mock, His burial, His Resurrection, His Ascension and indeed His Second Coming
at the closing of the Age. All these are quite literally contained in the
Eucharist, for there HE IS. So when I say it is the source of the Faith– with a capital F – I
mean just what I say. And for any believer, Catholic or Orthodox, this is
necessarily true, and we know it to be true.
As for the Eucharist being a source of faith– little f – it is true that
God uses any manner of things to give the gift of faith to those who would have
it which is to say those who ask for it. But this does not make all means of
faith equivalent.
When my cousin first came to Guam, he took a plane. He did not walk
across the United States, then paddle a canoe to Alaska and wait till winter,
then walk across the Bering Strait, forage-hike down to China, lash
together planks of wood, and then catch a current to Guam hoping for the best.
He flew. On a plane. It's the fastest way. It's the safest way.
It's the most reliable way. It's the best way. If he wanted the most
scenic or circuitous route, he would've taken the long way. As it is,
he is not completely deranged, but rather came like a normal person with
some sense.
So as far as receiving faith, therefore, God does use all manner of
things for the giving of the gift of faith, but the Eucharist is the
means par excellence. It is the
means by which attachment to sin is purged, faith perfected, and any number of graces, but in particular, Man most fully
participates in God's divine love on a daily basis. The Eucharist is God's greatest gift to us through the
Church.
We are not Protestants and we are not NCW--both are scandalized by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and their jeering at it makes me want to vomit. You do well to remember both when commenting on this blog. I and others take enough abuse from those
openly hostile to the Church on a daily basis, both online and in particular in
real life. I can truthfully tell you I have zero patience for Catholics who
somehow feel a certain guilt over being Catholic, who feel like they have to
make excuses for the supremacy and primacy of the Roman Catholic faith, which
abides until Christ our God comes again, and we know at last as we are already
known. All faiths are not the same, and anyone who says they are has no business proclaiming that they are Catholic when their catholicity is grounded in disbelief in the True Faith revealed by God for the salvation of all.
As the time grows short and the list of the enemies of Christ lengthens, it is time
for Catholics to remember that while love cannot and must not grow cold--EVER-- neither should our faith become weak and flabby in the name of some ecumenical
doctrinal oblivion. And it is only by being bold in charity and courageous in faith, by not settling
for acquiescence to heresy, schism, and sin that we truly give our witness to
the Lord, and life and in death.
In other words: get with the program, and stop being ashamed of having
the One True Holy Roman Faith. If I needed that kind of Catholic self-loathing, I'd ask a habit-hating sister. They've perfected contempt of the Faith into an art form.
And I say that if
anyone anywhere doesn't get this and so do not share the same
opinion about Holy Mother Church, then kindly take a seat at the kid's table and let the grown-ups talk.
Coloring books and crayons are by the toy box.
It is Guile who is the protestant/neocat here, intimating that the Eucharist is just one of many channels of a faith. This is exactly neocat teaching. We receive Faith through our parents, but our parents are not God. We receive Faith through the Gospel, but the Gospel is not God. We receive Faith through our pastors, but our pastors are not God. And we receive Faith through the Eucharist and the Eucharist IS God. It is how Jesus desires to feed us: with himself, with his own flesh and blood. Only neocats and Mr. Guile see the Eucharist as only one "channel" of faith among many.
ReplyDeleteDear Glaucon and Tim Rohr,
ReplyDeleteAs I said before, Glaucon's posting got me to thinking about the source of faith. When I thought about my own Faith journey, I think I had that Faith before receiving my First Holy Communion, before I took in my first Eucharist. And I suspect the both of you did, too. As for other channels of Faith, I made no claim about them having equal status.
And after Glaucon expanded above on what he meant by "Eucharist," I see what he meant: the life and death of Christ, including His Second Coming. Still I maintain the ultimate source of our Faith is the love of God, without which there would not be much of anything, let alone Faith.
And therein lies the problem. You make this all about you.
DeleteI thank the Lord every Sunday morning for His sacrifice for my sins. I am not perfect but my Faith in God is first and foremost in my life. I may not be able to quote scripture as well as other denominations but my Faith is the size of a mustard seed and according to Gods word, my Faith is more than adequate.
ReplyDeleteI would also add the radical distinction between faith and love, faith being of the intellect and loving of the will according to Thomas. Even so we grow to know the Lord through faith which is a true kind of knowledge . Nevertheless, it is by love that we are united to Him.
ReplyDeleteI say this only because it is very Protestant idea to conflate faith and love, though many sincere Catholics do so as well. Such is modernity. But in light of our struggle with the NCW, we must be clear: outside of the simplest type of faith, which is that first step which is given by God to lead us to His very Presence, most particularly found in the Sacrament, faith and love are nowhere more enriched, more filled, more completeld than in the Holy Eucharist.
And no, I'm not being pious. I'm only saying that when everything boils down to brass tacks (tax?), what is most feared in the End Times is the Abomination of Desolation – this cessation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And if the Eucharist is so important to the evil one that he is compelled to stop its worship in his hate, how much more so should we be anxious, willing and out of love compelled to worship the same Eucharist .
That's the difference between us and the NCW, if nothing else
Dear Glaucon,
ReplyDeleteYou raise another good point, that we know the Lord through faith (being of the intellect). On the other hand, how do we grow close to the Lord but by acting, doing the will of the One who sent Christ. Faith has content whereas love involves warmth, intimacy, passion, action, and suffering. The Father, in His providence, provides us both love and faith, and a bunch of hope to boot. The Mass and the Eucharist bear on all three.
If and when we come to believe that Jesus is present body, blood, soul and divinity in the Most Holy Eucharist, we should get on our knees and thank him for this Grace, for it did not come from ourselves, nor is it of our actions, but all of God's Grace and desire that we have this discernment. Much like Peter confessing who Jesus was "You are the Messiah, the son of the living God." and Jesus replying "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. Mat 16:16-18
ReplyDeleteThe Eucharist is, as Glaucon expresses so eloquently, the Grace from which all graces flow!
ReplyDeleteWhen Christ said "No one comes to the Father but through me" He was alluding to the sacrament of Holy Communion. "Whoever feeds on my flesh & drinks my blood has eternal life. I will them back to life on the last day."
The NCW are simply PROTESTANTS!