Clear Creek Benedictine Monastery

We found this great little video on New Liturgical Movement. Enjoy!

Lecture on the Eastern Schism

Tonight the ITI hosted a lecture by Prof. Christoph Suttner, one of the world's leading historians of the Greek churches. Although it will force me to make gross simplifications of all he had to say, I'm going to keep this very short. Bascially, he said that the Orthodox are neither schismatics nor heretics.

1. There is no schism because Vatican II said that wherever the Eucharist is celebrated there is a true particular church. If they are true particular churches then they are in the one Church of Christ, hence no schism.

2. Furthermore, if they are true churches, and the church is infallible, then they can't be heretics, and you are a heretic if you say they are.

To the first I reply: Nonsense. Although Vatican II does recognize Orthodox churches as true particular churches, the whole point is that their union is imperfect inasmuch as they refuse submission to the Roman Pontiff. To the extent that they are true churches they are already Catholic; to the extent that they refuse obedience to Rome they are in schism.

To the second I reply: Hogwash. Infallibility certainly does not apply to particular churches. On this account even the Arians wouldn't be heretics. The only real leg that he had left to stand on after a few pointed questions is the fact that the Orthodox church hasn't really taught anything ever since the Council of Florence (1439) where they agreed to the Catholic doctrine of the Holy Spirit's procession from the Son, the legitimacy of unleavened bread in the Eucharist, the existence of Purgatory, and the primacy of the Pope. This is the last official Orthodox teaching because the emperor (Caesaropapism was always a problem in the East) was eliminated in 1453 when Constantinople was taken by the Turk. Well and good, but if the denial of a dogmatically defined doctrine of the Church (such as the Filioque clause or the Immaculate Conception) doesn't make for heresy nothing does.

Update: A certain Boniface mentioned in the comments box the pertinence of the papal bull Unam Sanctam (1302); See also the bull Cantate Domino of Pope Eugene IV (1441). Interestingly enough, Unam Sanctam came up in the questions period and the Prof. had never heard of it! When informed of its contents, he replied that it was not infallible! If this is not an ex cathedra statement I don't know what is: "We declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff." Now, we can discuss interpretation if you like, but this is a dogma of the Catholic Church (de fide).

Maria meets St. Nicholas

Today the lucky children at the Kartause received a visit from St. Nicholas himself! He was accompanied by an attendent and his Guardian Angel - the one all in black :)

After the children sang St. Nicholas Advent songs and answered his questions all about his life, they were able to get their pictures taken with him, as well as receive bags of candy! Maria had quite a lot of chocolate today! You can see from the picture below there are many children at the ITI, and this is not all of them! Maria is the one all the way to the right being held by a girl in red.

Unfortunately, the picture I took of Maria receiving her candy from St. Nicholas only shows her arm.

St. Nicholas, Bishop, Confessor

The Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor is one of the most popular oriental saints. The spiritual and temporal needs of his flock were the first object of his pastoral care. This worker of miracles died in 342; his body was eventually enshrined at Bari in Italy.

As you can see from the pictures below, St. Nicholas visited Maria last night! She woke up this morning surprised, but very happy, to find her shoes filled with chocolate euros! We had Divine Liturgy today at noon, together with Steubenville, to celebrate the Feast Day.

Commemoration of St. Sabbas, Abbot

St. Sabbas organized monastic communities in Palestine and was famous for his virtues and austerities. He died in 531.

Above is the local blacksmith at work in his shop in the Kartause courtyard for the Adventmarkt. Below is Maria exiting tonight's concert through the medieval doorway of Kartause Maria Thron.

Licht aus dem Osten

Chorkonzert mit Musik der Ostkirche
Mit dem byzantinischen Chor des Seligen Woldymyr Pryjma
5. Dezember 2007, 17:15 Uhr
In der Kirche der Kartause Gaming

"Das Licht aus dem Osten hat die Gesamtkirche erleuchtet, seitdem über uns 'ein aus der Höhe aufstrahlendes Licht' (Lk 1,78), Jesus Christus, unser Herr, erschienen ist, den alle Christen als Erlöser des Menschen und Hoffnung der Welt anrufen." - Papst Johannes Paul II, Orientale Lumen

Above is the Byzantine chapel in which we regularly attend the Divine Liturgy. This evening the Byzantine rite choir offered a concert in the main Kartause chapel as part of the ongoing Adventmarkt taking place in the Kartause courtyard. Below is a picture of our Eastern priests, and some other men, singing liturgical chants.

St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church

The holy Bishop of Ravenna was one of the most eloquent preachers of the Church (Chrysologus means "golden speech"). He died at Imola in 450.

Now that Maria has learned how to say "please" we're going to start working on table manners...

St. Francis Xavier, Confessor

One of the first companions of St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, one of the greatest missionaries of all time, preached the Gospel in India and in Japan. He converted innumerable pagans and died in 1552 on his way to China.

During lunch this afternoon Maria experimented with a new recipe: spaghetti soaked in apple juice! She has also learned how to say "no" to her parents - now the fun really begins. She is still cute though, except when she's saying "no, no, no, no..." ad infinitum. She seems to have a bit of a fever right now, too. It's been a tough couple of days for the poor little schnitzel.

First Sunday of Advent

This first Sunday of Advent or the fourth before Christmas, is the first day of the Liturgical Year. The Mass prepares us this day for the double coming (adventus) of mercy and justice. That is way St. Paul tells us, in the Epistle, to cast off sin in order that, being ready for the coming of Christ as our Savior, we may also be ready for His coming as our Judge, of which we learn in the Gospel. Let us prepare ourselves, by pious aspirations and by the reformation of our lives, for this twofold coming. Jesus our Lord will reward those who yearn for Him and await Him: "Those who trust in Him shall not be confounded."

This morning after Divine Liturgy we had brunch at the home of the Sinitsin's who have a little girl, Amalia, just a few months younger than Maria. Amalia's mother Marlene is the German teacher and we are hoping that we will pick up some more German. Below is a picture of the Adventmarkt in the Kartause before it opened this morning.

Also, I uploaded a couple of new photo albums that you can view. One is pictures of Thankgiving and the other is pictures of Maria from November. In general you can always find my photo albums linked on the sidebar (mostly pictures of Maria); John's albums are linked there too (mostly pictures of our travels).

Happy Advent!

The liturgical texts used during the four weeks of the season of Advent remind the faithful of the "absence of Christ." Therefore, the Collects of Advent do not end with, "Through our Lord Jesus Christ," as during the rest of the year. In the spirit of penance and prayer we await the Mediator, the God-Man, preparing for His coming in the flesh, and also for His second coming as our Judge. The Masses for Advent strike a note of preparation and repentance mingled with joy and hope; hence, although the penitential violet is worn and the Gloria is omitted, the joyous Alleluia is retained. The readings from the Old Testament contained in the Introit, Gradual, Offertory, and Communion of the Masses, taken mostly from the prophecies of Isaias and the Psalms, give eloquent expression to the longing of all nations for a Redeemer. We are impressed by repeated and urgent appeals to the Messias: "Come, delay no longer." The lessons from St. Paul urge us to dispose ourselves fittingly for His coming. The Gospels describe the terrors of the Last Judgement, foretell the second coming, and tell of the preaching of St. John the Baptist "to prepare the way of the Lord."

In Advent, the Greek Church celebrates particularly the ancestors of our Lord - all the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Testament, but especially Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Latin Church also mentions them often in this period. In the Breviary, many texts are taken from Isaias (Introit of the Second Sunday, Communion of the Third Sunday).

The idea of Advent is "Prepare you for the coming of Christ." Therefore the very appeals of the Patriarchs and Prophets are put in our mouths in Advent. Prepare for the coming of Christ the Redeemer, who comes to prepare us for His secong coming as Judge.

When the oracles of the Prophets were fulfilled and the Jews awaited the Messias, John the Baptist left the desert and came to the vicinity of the Jordan, bringing a baptism of penance to prepare souls for the coming of Christ. The world took him to be the Messias, but he replied with the words of Isaias: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord."

During Advent we make straight for Christ the way to our souls - and behold, our Lord will come at Christmas.

Adventmarkt in der Kartause Gaming

Yesterday the annual Adventmarkt began in the Kartause. It will run until 9 December. The courtyard of the Kartause is filled with booths selling candles, cheese, smoked meats, hot sandwiches, and hot drinks. The rooms inside the Kartause are filled with Christmas articles. This evening Krampus will be out. He is the counter-part of Santa Clause, and while Santa gives presents to the good children, he beats the bad children. In Advent he (there will actually be many people dressed up as him) runs around chasing children to scare them into being good. I will not put a picture of them on the blog, as they are very ugly. If you must see a picture, type Krampus into Google images and you will get a good idea of what he looks like. Needless to say, we will not be taking Maria to the Kartause tonight, they have no mercy, even on the very little children.

The Adventmarkt is known for having the best Christmas trees around. We got there early to have our pick, as they go very quickly. It's kinda small, but it was easy to get home, and is the perfect size to put on a "bench" right in front of the windowsill. Tomorrow we will begin to decorate it, and we will slowly put more decorations on it in anticipation of Christmas.

While most of the festivities are taking place in the Kartause, we are lucky enough to have a Glühwein booth right outside in the courtyard in front of our flat. In the evenings people gather in the courtyard, and last night a brass quartet was playing Christmas songs throughout the evening.

Glühwein is mulled wine, and in the winter you can get it just about anywhere. Here is the recipe I use to make it:

1 bottle cheap wine (red or white)
1 stick cinnamon
6 whole cloves
2 lemon slices
2-4 Tbs. sugar (adjust to taste, more with dry wine, less with sweet wine)
Cardamon pod (optional)

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and heat over low heat for 1/2 - 1 hour. Do not boil. Taste and add more sugar if it needs it. Strain and serve. You may add a shot of brandy, rum or schnapps if desired.

Spe Salvi (an excerpt)

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

SPE SALVI

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF

BENEDICT XVI

TO THE BISHOPS

PRIESTS AND DEACONS

MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS

AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL

ON CHRISTIAN HOPE

38. The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society. A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through "com-passion" is a cruel and inhuman society. Yet society cannot accept its suffering members and support them in their trials unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept another's suffering unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of purification and growth in maturity, a journey of hope. Indeed, to accept the "other" who suffers, means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love. The Latin word con-solatio, "consolation", expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude. Furthermore, the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life itself becomes a lie. In the end, even the "yes" to love is a source of suffering, because love always requires expropriations of my "I", in which I allow myself to be pruned and wounded. Love simply cannot exist without this painful renunciation of myself, for otherwise it becomes pure selfishness and thereby ceases to be love.

39. To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love and in order to become a person who truly loves - these are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them would destroy man himself. Yet once again the question arises: are we capable of this? Is the other important enough to warrant my becoming, on his account, a person who suffers? Does truth matter to me enough to make suffering worthwhile? Is the promise of love so great that it justifies the gift of myself? In the history of humanity, it was the Christian faith that had the particular merit of bringing forth within man a new and deeper capacity for these kinds of suffering that are decisive for his humanity. The Christian faith has shown us that truth, justice and love are not simply ideals, but enormously weighty realities. It has shown us that God - Truth and Love in person - desired to suffer for us and with us. Bernard of Clairvaux coined the marvellous expression: Impassibilis est Deus, sed non incompassibilis [Sermones in Cant., Sermo 26, 5: PL 183, 906.] - God cannot suffer, but he can suffer with. Man is worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer with man in an utterly real way - in flesh and blood - as is revealed to us in the account of Jesus's Passion. Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God's compassionate love - and so the star of hope rises. Certainly, in our many different sufferings and trials we always need the lesser and greater hopes too - a kind visit, the healing of internal and external wounds, a favourable resolution of a crisis, and so on. In our lesser trials these kinds of hope may even be sufficient. But in truly great trials, where I must make a definitive decision to place the truth before my own welfare, career and possessions, I need the certitude of that true, great hope of which we have spoken here. For this too we need witnesses - martyrs - who have given themselves totally, so as to show us the way - day after day. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day - knowing that this is how we live life to the full. Let us say it once again: the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity. Yet this capacity to suffer depends on the type and extent of the hope that we bear within us and build upon. The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great hope.