Monday Morning Musing about Philosophy

The human mind puzzles me, especially my own. I get up in the morning with no idea where my mind will take me -- down what rabbit holes. Will I end up in fairyland, a dystopian chaotic horrorscape, or just wander in the garden meditating on my tomato plants?

Last night I attacked one of my "hot spots" filled with back issues of magazines and newspapers. I threw out several old issues of Chronicles after looking at the table of contents and deciding I could go on living without reading any of the articles. In the slightly reduced stack were a half dozen copies of The Traditionalist, Roger McCaffrey's publication. I wanted to look at those more closely before relegating them to the recycle bin. 

Sunday Meditation: "We Are Catholics First!"

This morning we got to Mass early and I had a few minutes to read Anthony Esolen's article in Magnificat on Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, a great Catholic political figure of the mid 20th century. One incident in Adenauer's life occurred in 1933 after he was removed as mayor of Cologne by the Nazis. He applied to an abbey for prayer and rest. Adenauer, a critic of the rising German Reich and Hitler listened to the abbot, a friend, say, "Many of our monks disagree with you about Herr Hitler. German soil, German blood." 

This was not a unique position among German clerics as Dietrich von Hildebrand relates in his great work, My Battle against Hitler. Sadly, many men in roman collars and other German Catholics defended the tyrant long after his evil plan was clear.

Adenauer wasn't one of them. He replied to the abbot, "We are Catholics first, Germans second."

Pope or Anti-Pope? Frankly, Friends, I'm with Rhett Butler -- "I don't give a damn."

Peter or Judas? Who is Pope Francis?

The Lord is in charge of handling the "damn" part!

I'm writing this because of a rather acrimonious discussion on my friend and colleague Susan's post the other day about whether Francis is the pope or an anti-pope.

I don't agree or disagree with Susan. I just don't know and have decided to set that particular fight aside because it doesn't change anything for me.

All I have to do is live according to the teachings of the Church as handed down from the apostles and the magisterium throughout the millennia.

It's that simple!

So I study doctrine. I read the Scripture. I pray and receive the sacraments. I talk to my spiritual director. And I resolve to be among the sheep rather than the goats. And...I fight for the true faith.

Book Review: Liturgy and Personality by Dietrich von Hildebrand

Book Title: Liturgy and Personality

Author: Dietrich von Hildebrand

Publisher:The Hildebrand Project

$14.26 at Amazon 

Dietrich von Hildebrand was one of the leading Catholic philosophers of the 20^th century, a man Pope Pius XII called a modern “Doctor of the Church.” Von Hildebrand’s recently republished work, Liturgy and Personality, (hereafter referred to as L&P), demonstrates the justice of the pope’s respect. First published in 1933, L&P is a journey into the heart of the liturgy of the Tridentine Mass, now described as the extraordinary rite. The book helps explain its ongoing popularity even among the young who are often, in their youthful idealism, the most eager to encounter the fullness of Christ in the liturgy and to be transformed by Him. Unfortunately, in view of his recent remarks describing young people who love the extraordinary rite as “rigid,” even Pope Francis fails to understand the timeless attraction and deep mystery of the Church’s ancient liturgy shared by most of the saints. One of the great tragedies of the post Vatican II Church was the denigration and suppression of the Tridentine Mass.

It CAN Be Wrong -- Even if it Feels So Right!

I grew up in the fifties and sixties. Talk about a confusing time. From the stable fifties where family life was revered and authority respected to the topsy-turvy sixties and seventies: Woodstock, sex, drugs, rock and roll, let it all hang out, do your own thing, don't trust anyone over thirty.

Why am I thinking about that? I just read a chapter in Dietrich von Hildebrand's Trojan Horse in the City of God titled "Sham Honesty," Under the subtitle, Behavior does not always have to mirror feelings, the chapter reads in part:

Educating Children in the Faith

I thought this quote from Dietrich von Hildebrand on teaching children the faith was totally on target. 

"Religion has often been taught to children in the same way as history or spelling. Instead of presenting the mysteries of Christian faith in a way proper to their unique and extraordinary character, teachers of religion have often taught them with a kind of neutral objectivity suitable to any purely academic matter. 

"The real teacher of religion, on the contrary, communicates the realization that religion is something completely different from any other topic. He appeals to the entire person. He creates a truly religious atmosphere which evokes feelings of wonder and awe in the child and at the same time corresponds to the longing for God that lives in every human soul. The real teacher of religion attempts to awaken and develop a sense of mystery and reverence in his pupil." (From Trojan Horse in the City of God)

When I was home schooling I used to like to start our religion class by looking at a beautiful work of religious art and asking my daughter what she thought the artist was trying to say about God in his picture. It was one of my favorite parts of our religion class. Beautiful objects are just a pale reflection of the beauty of God. When we are awestruck by a natural wonder, it is only a dim reflection of the wonderfulness of God. Teaching religion isn't about a subject, but about a person, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful gift to our children to help them know Him and approach him with a sense of wonder, awe, mystery, and reverence.

Be One of the First to Read Dietrich Von Hildebrand's Book

My Battle Against Hitler

I've ordered the book and eagerly await its arrival. After reading Alice Von Hildebrand's biography, Soul of a Lion, which briefly addressed the Nazis' attempts to assassinate the great philosopher, I'm eager to read an extended account of his adventures which included nearly miraculous escapes on several occasions. If you don't have any of Dietrich Von Hildebrand's books on your Catholic bookshelf, you must remedy that situation as soon as possible. I've read The Devastated Vineyard more than once and it's a regular source of reference. Right now I'm reading Transformation in Christ which is difficult but worth the effort.

Happy reading! I'd love to discuss this book with other interested parties.

What Book's on your Nightstand? I'm reading Transformation in Christ.

After reading Soul of a Lion, the biography of Dietrich von Hildebrand by his wife Alice, I decided to tackle his Transformation in Christ. It's not an easy read, but it sure is an important subject -- our life's work. Isn't transformation in Christ what we are all called to accomplish from the day we are baptized until we return to God? I'm only on the fourth chapter but the first three give the blueprint for the journey's start.

• Be willing to change -- not in the sense of progressives who see everything in flux and value nothing as substantial -- but to be malleable like the clay in the potter's hand. We must open every part of our being to God's grace, even the deepest recesses where we nurture and protect those things we really don't want to change, the little vices we love and to which we are so attached. It is this willingness to change every part of ourselves to conform to the will of God that is the essential beginning of transformation.

• Be contrite -- All who have reached the age of reason have sinned. The only human creature who never did is Mary, "Our tainted nature's solitary boast." Recognizing our sinfulness before God without minimizing or excusing it draws us to humility, and only humble people can be transformed. We all tend to forget our past sins with the sense that, "Well, that was then and we'll just forget all that and move on." But periodically examining our entire life and our pattern of sins helps us recognize how much we owe God for his mercy and His never-failing love. I remember a story about a man who sat in the church for hours gazing at the crucifix. When the priest asked him what he did there, the man replied, "I look at Him and He looks at me." What do we see when we set our gaze on Christ and His wounds? Do I see the depth of His love, a love willing to suffer torture and death for ME? Do we see the consequences of our sins? My sins put the nail marks in His hands and feet. My sins were the force that sent the spear into His side. My sins were the thorns penetrating the Sacred Head. Reflecting on our sins and what they did to Jesus invites us to deep penitence, and deep penitence is a prerequisite to a transformed heart. 

• Know yourself -- To truly know ourselves we must put ourselves in direct self-confrontation before God. "Who are you and who am I?" Von Hildebrand reminds us of St. Augustine's statement, "Could I but know Thee, I should know myself." As we move into the light of Christ we see ourselves more clearly. Christ shows us all our sins, faults, and shortcomings, even those we may subconsciously hide from ourselves. Knowledge of ourselves in the light of the desire to change and "become a new man in Christ" represents not a source of depression and despair over our vileness, but an invitation.  "We must appreciate it as a great gift of grace from God when He opens our eyes to the actual danger, and shows us where the battle has to be fought." Instead of "tilting at windmills" we put serious effort into fighting our real enemies. Those who foster illusions about themselves focus on inconsequentials. They never achieve the real change they seek. Knowing oneself is not easy and the seeker of truth must constantly pray, "Cleanse me of my hidden weaknesses."

Let's prepare for Sunday Mass by resolving to begin the journey to transformation in Christ by a deep desire to change, contrition for our sins, and a determination to know ourselves in the light of Our Loving Lord.

Of Noisy Mass and Quiet Parking Lot

We just returned from 11:30 Mass -- a very noisy Mass, I might add. The funny thing was at the end of the Mass we walked out amidst little groups of laughing and talking families and friends who couldn't wait 90 seconds to take their conversations out of the church. Once we threaded our way through the chattering throng we found ourselves in the blissful peace of....the parking lot. What's wrong with this picture?

Perhaps it's because I just read the article on the Mass by Dietrich Von Hildebrand which I posted earlier this morning, but I found the experience particularly disturbing. So I came home and reread Dietrich Von Hildebrand's article. Let me highlight some points he made and questions he asked that were illustrated by this morning's Mass which was certainly not unorthodox:

The Wisdom of Dietrich von Hildebrand

Visiting my granddaughter, a freshman at the University of Steubenville, I took a turn around the bookstore and picked up Alice Von Hildebrand's biography of her husband Dietrich, The Soul of a Lion. Pope Pius XII called Dietrich Von Hildebrand the "20th century doctor of the Church." As I was reading the initial chapters I remembered he wrote a book called Trojan Horse in the City of God. I haven't read it, but plan to.

Recently, I've been in a few discussions where traditionalists are being trashed and it made me ponder what this great traditionalist defender of the faith said about the changes to the Mass after Vatican II.
Actually, he had plenty to say. The article below was written in 1966, but remains relevant today. Despite the "reform of the reform" that we have seen in recent years, many of Von Hildebrand's criticisms accurately describe our modern Mass. (Hat tip to Traditional Catholic Priest):

“The arguments for the New Liturgy have been neatly packaged, and may now be learned by rote.