The Perpetual Virginity of the Deipara

The Annunciation
-Fra Angelico

As we approach the Nativity of our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, it is good to take up the doctrinal realities and teachings on the Virgin Birth, as it is the second great jewel in the crown of the Deipara. (NB: Deipara is the classical Latin theological term which translates the Greek Θεοτόκος, and is used in theology as opposed to Dei genitrix, which is normally used in Liturgy). We will proceed by unfolding three Theses of this doctrine and their proofs, namely that Our Blessed Lady was a virgin a) before birth b) during birth c) after birth. While c was historically denied by many protestants, in modern times both a and b are denied, even by some claiming to be Catholic.

Thesis I
Maria purissima virgo ante gignentem Christum fuit. (De fide)
(Mary was a pure virgin before the birth of Christ)

This part of the doctrine holds that the Mary was a virgin from her beginning and through the moment when the archangel St. Gabriel was sent to announce to her the mystery of the incarnation. This should be logical, since in terms of effects if this were not the case, it would be very hard to prove that Jesus was the incarnate God as opposed to having his origin in some man. Therefore it is one of the first and obvious places to attack if one were going to disprove the Incarnation, validating the principle that authentic Mariology lays the foundation for authentic Christology.

Scriptural Proof Continue reading →

Interview 005 – Mike Duddy on 9/11

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(Right-click and “save as” to download)
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In my podcast, “Why Catholics should care about 9/11″, I laid the groundwork for what I consider one of the most important issues of our time, that the so-called war on terror, the huge increase of the police state, the erosion of our freedom, and so many other things all trace their roots to an excuse that they are needed because of 9/11. Continue reading →

The Immaculate Conception and the Orthodox Tradition

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The Immaculate Conception
-Peter Paul Rubens

The Immaculate Conception was formally declared as a dogma of the faith by Bl. Pope Pius IX in 1854 by a Solemn Definition with his document “Ineffabilis Deus“. Some people have gotten the idea that this came out of the blue, as it were, and elevated an old dispute into an article of faith, or created the liturgical celebration of it. This is actually not the case. Continue reading →

Interview 004 – Shield of Faith with Matthew Arnold

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On 2nd December, I appeared on Shield of Faith with Matthew Arnold to promote my translation of the life of St. Galgano, under the title: The True Story of the Sword and the Stone which you can view and/or purchase by following the link. Continue reading →

Now is the hour to rise from sleep

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I will salvage something from the Advent and Christmas sermons of St. Robert Bellarmine, which I announced just the other day will not be out this year, due to focusing on his other works. What follows is his sermon from the first Sunday of Advent, posted today to give place to the celebration of St. Andrew yesterday (as well as that I would rather not post on Sunday). NB: When he says briefly in the first line, that is to be taken in a 16th century sense of “brief”.

Sermon on the Epistle for the First Sunday of Advent
Given at the university of Louvain, 1571 (to the students)
Concio II (Opera Omnia)
St. Robert Bellarmine,
Doctor of the Church
Translated by Ryan Grant (see creative commons license for all questions about copying and citing)

Now is the hour we rise from sleep: now indeed, our salvation is nearer than when we believed. -Rom. XIII.

We will briefly explicate this beginning of today’s Epistle, by the Lord’s help: that which, in fact, is lead into one end according to the sense of the Apostle, but is adduced to another end by the Church; to be sure it has been proposed and also fittingly established. But what was proposed by Bl. Paul when he wrote, “Now is the hour we rise from sleep: now indeed, our salvation is nearer than when we believed”? The blessed Apostle wrote to the Romans, and also wished to wake them from the sleep of sin and from negligence, but he uses two arguments to carry this out, the second of which is from a due season; the other was taken up from the proximity of the end. How, indeed, if we should wish to wake someone, wouldn’t we say to him, “Hey you! Wake up!, it is time. For the dawn appears.” But what if he should be such a man from that lot which does not care much whether dawn should appear, but rather gladly sleeps until noon, then wouldn’t we say to him: “Hey you! Get up! The time is at hand to carry out a great business – namely lunch.” The Apostle Paul first exhorts the Romans in the same manner, that they should rise, because it is the hour of rising, for “Night has passed, and moreover, day approaches.” Therefore, because the time of that great meal, which is made in heaven, is near,: “Now indeed, is our salvation nearer, than when we believed.

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What did Francis really say?

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I have broken my ignore all Pope Francis news rule, to observe a few of the more interesting, yet less salubrious quotes (with respect to doctrine) of the Pope of late. One of the most irritating things, is when those who insist the Pope can do no wrong and we must get with it, will always look at something extremely damaging, and say “Oh, its a translation error.”

Being possessed of the ability to fact check this (provided he is speaking in Italian and not Spanish), I decided to look back at a few quotes. Let’s start with the most recent one.

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Update on St. Robert Bellarmine

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I’m closing in on book one of De Romano Pontifice, but it is turning out to be quite a job. I still need to get to book five.

As such, I need announce, that due to the work on that particular work of Bellarmine, has caused me not to finish a work I had announced over the summer, namely the Sermons of St. Robert Bellarmine for Advent and Christmas. Even before I undertook the major project to translate his dogmatic corpus, I have had too much work to be able to bring the sermons to completion. Even if I had kicked up the pace a few weeks ago, I could not have finished in time for it to be purchased before Advent, as I’m only at the third Sunday of Advent. The work was too lengthy, and sadly, the financial response to the Bellarmine project has been too limited to allow me to get the full time in. So I’m going to make the attempt to render his sermons for Septuagesima and Lent into English now, and have that ready for February. The sermons are rather long, there are two for each Sunday, one on the epistle, the other on the gospel. Its a lot of work, but I will try to work it in amongst Bellarmine’s sparring with Luther and Calvin in the De Controversiis. Therefore, help this work by prayer. Secondly, if you have not already donated, please consider $10 or $20. If you already have, or don’t find you can part with even a small sum, then please spread the project to other people who could:

Donate to the St. Robert Bellarmine Translation project

St. Thomas on what to do if a member of the magisterium errs

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Bene scripsisti de me, Thoma

“Because, as a man ought to obey a lower power in those things only which are not opposed to the higher power; so even a man ought to adapt himself to the rule in all things according to its mode; on the other hand, a man ought to adapt himself to the secondary rule in those things which are not at variance with the primary rule: because in those matters in which it is at variance, it is not a rule:

On that account, one is not to give assent to the preaching of a prelate which is contrary to the faith since in this it is discordant with the primary rule. Nor through ignorance is a subject excused from the whole: since the habit of faith causes an inclination to the contrary, since it teaches necessarily of all things that pertain to salvation.”1

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Preface to De Romano Pontifice

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In case anyone is wondering why I am not posting more regularly, it is because I have been hard at work on translating De Romano Pontifice. Today I am sharing an update, which I already placed on the go-fund me site, which is the full preface to the work.

It is still a work in progress, and the punctuation will be off, since when translating its natural to render the punctuation as you see it, then go back later and fix it. This isn’t so much to establish that I can do it for anyone I’m hoping will donate, as to give a preview of the work for those who have already donated (although if someone is on the fence about donating, I hope this convinces him of the former). You can read the preface here.