Monthly Archives: June 2006

EXCERPT:

This is a time of year when many are being received into the Church and young people are being confirmed. Sometimes, very often as a matter of fact, confirmation winds up being the exitus sacrament rather than the aditus sacrament bringing them into deeper participation in the Church. Many of our brothers and sister, once their formal catechism ended, have never bothered to continue their Christian formation in the faith in which we believe, so that the faith by which we believe could also increase. So, they come to their 70th year with the “faith” of a 17 year old, or even a 7 year old, and not in the sense Jesus’ was talking about in Mark 10:13-16!

Going back to the roots of this prayer, I am lead to muse on the issue of being an enemy of the faith. Enemies are not only those who take up arms and wickedly fight against you. They are also those who stand around and do nothing. Read More →

EXCERPT:
The Gifts are supernatural infused habits. We distinguish them, however, from the virtues and from actual graces. They are wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. The first four habits affect the intellect and the last three the will. You could also say that the first four relate to contemplative life with the corresponding intellectual virtues and the last three to the active life with the corresponding moral virtues. Among the first four, which concern the intellect, understanding helps us to attain to the truth of things, while wisdom, knowledge and counsel help us to make good judgments about, respectively, divine things (wisdom), created things (knowledge) and practical conduct (counsel).The last three concern more the appetites.Piety helps us in relation to others, namely, God, parents/family and country. Fortitude and fear of the Lord, however, concern the appetites and our own selves, namely, in regard to dangerous things (fortitude) and disordered concupiscence (fear of the Lord). By these supernatural Gift/habits the intellect and will are better disposed to receive the help of the Holy Spirit and then, with that illumination and help, act properly. By contrast, virtues dispose the faculties to act properly according to reason). Read More →