Download [Right Click] Play in New Window
Smaller Version: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
[Right click to download]
Today we are joined by Dr. Robert Sungenis, author of Galileo was Wrong and the executive producer of the Science documentary The Principle, for an in depth discussion on Geocentrism. Continue reading
Just today is a historic day for Bellarmine. Today is the first time his work “On the Roman Pontiff” has been made available in English translation. This is a beautiful and fantastic polemical and apologetic work defending the Papacy from the attacks of 16th century Protestants, many of the arguments of whom are used today, even though Bellarmine actually refuted them quite well.
Now, I have a special offer for readers of this website. This work retails for $20.00 on Mediatrix Press, but I have arranged that readers of this website may purchase the book at a discount using the following link: Athanasius Contra Mundum Discount! That is, with the discount it will be less than the price of On the Marks of the Church even though it is twice the size! This offer won’t last forever.
Thanks again to everyone whose support has made this possible.
I apologize for the break in posting. I was hoping to keep things more regular. I have, however, been very busy. Later today, I hope to announce the publication of the first-ever English translation of St. Robert Bellarmine’s De Romano Pontifice, books 1-2. Books 3-5 are planned for next month, depending on the editors.
It is interesting. After I produce a rough draft, which isn’t usually as hard on grammar as on punctuation, I then go and edit and reformulate a bit. Then the editor gets it and I get it back with a ton of red. Most of it is punctuation. The problem is when you are looking at a book from the 1580s, you tend to use the punctuation you are looking at unless you can consciously stop and think about what you’re doing, which is hard when your managing making the English work. Usually, it is that commas and semicolons are in the exact opposite places they ought and things of that sort.Then there is the Oxford comma. I love the Oxford comma, no one else does. Then there are the differences between US and UK spelling, and I get mixed up as I admire UK English and so wish we used it over here. (btw, now would be a good time to apologize to any UK readers of my work for not using what I consider your superior style in spelling and punctuation).
Then I run spell check, which is tedious because of the large number names that you have to either add or skip, then I format it for a proof copy, then I read it over again. Then I control F and look for the common spelling errors as a result of my typing speed, such as hte for the, and the like, and surprisingly I always get at least one, even after all the aforesaid labor! Then I normally give things like this to my wife, because, though she is not theologically trained, she is sharp and has a good sense for what people will understand, and make further recommendations which are usually very good, unless it’s on an area of technical terminology or something. That saved my tail with the last Bellarmine translation, because I do my own translations from the fathers, and a few of them made sense to me because I looked at the Latin and the Greek and it made sense, but in plain English it was too harsh, so I had to discipline myself to take a careful look. The frustrating thing is I do the work of about five people who are normally involved in the production of the book, including the cover design.
At any rate, I hope to make this announcement later in the day, once the proof is approved and the Amazon page loads. You can also buy it direct from me, and I will have that page linked up as well.
Thanks to all for the prayers and support for the Robert Bellarmine project. I know most people will buy the book for Book II, Chapter 30 (loss of papal office), but that is a minor point. On that note, a sedevacantist e-mailed me demanding to know if I translated that particular section correctly. The cheek! One can rest assured that while I may make an error, I will never mis-represent something in translation. You will find that section better than it is currently found online.
But don’t get mired in a 7 page explication out of a 330 page book! There are so many amazing things in here. In fact, in the wikipedia page on Papal primacy, they list a number of arguments against Papal primacy as though they were unanswerable, yet they are all refuted by Bellarmine in this book. Things like did the African Bishops reject papal authority in the Sixth Council of Carthage? Did Peter go to Rome? The chronology and history of Peter. That only the Bishop of Rome has been held to be the head of the whole Church. Every argument is grounded in Scripture and the Fathers. Bellarmine also injects a good bit of humor into the book. For instance: “Illyricus (a Lutheran) has published a book on this subject, which is filled with lies, abuse, and besides two arguments.”
I might even have a special deal for all readers of this website.
I am preparing to publish volume 1 of my translation of De Romano Pontifice, which will embrace books 1 and 2, very soon. The editing has taken a little longer than I thought it would, though it has helped me to catch up on finishing books 3 and 4 and hopefully starting on 5 (the shortest one) for release as volume 2.
So today I have decided to post a snippet as a preview of the work, which will hopefully be published soon. Continue reading
Download (right click) Play in New Window
Today we welcome Rick Delano, the Producer of the movie: The Principle, to talk about issues relating to the same movie as well as the subject of Geo-centrism, and other topics relating to the movie, which I highly recommend irrespective of your views on the matter. Continue reading
This is one of the main reasons I have not posted anything in so long, the need to get the first book of the Bellarmine project complete! After going through all of my editor’s corrections, I had to do another read through, which takes a lot of time. Basically I am doing the work that in a traditional publishing company would be done by 5 or six different people, not just the translating, but post editing, corrections, cover, layout, and marketing. Now I am working on completing his Septuagesima Sermons, and then back to De Romano Pontifice. In the meantime I hope to return to semi-regular posting. Enjoy!
$15.99 Purchase on Amazon
$5.99 Kindle
St. Robert Bellarmine was not only the most prolific apologist of the 17th century, but of all time! Yet the loss of Latinity has relegated his valuable work to obscurity. Here at Mediatrix Press, we have proposed to change that.
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.
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.
Today we talk about new publications I’m working on for Mediatrix Press, as well as the importance of the Bellarmine Project. Continue reading
There are a lot of comments going about the internet attacking Cardinal Burke for his criticism of Pope Francis. Now in reality, Cardinal Burke’s criticisms have been mild, always minimizing Francis’ damage. Some have gone so far as to call Cardinal Burke Schismatic.
I wonder what they would have said about St. Robert Bellarmine, saint and Doctor of the Church, who said the following (to my knowledge, this has never been rendered into English before.
St. Robert Bellarmine makes an interesting comment in the famous chapter of De Romano Pontifice where he discusses the question of the loss of Papal office. It is in the article immediately before the one sedevacantists frequently use, namely in De Romano Pontifice, Bk II, Chapter 30:
“The third opinion is on another extreme, certainly, that a Pope cannot be deposed either through secret heresy, or through manifest heresy. This recalls and refutes Bishop Turrecremata (loc cit) [Bellarmine is noting in the previous point, citing this Bishop, where he rejects that a secret heretic can be judged] and certainly is an improbable opinion. Firstly, that a heretical Pope can be judged, is expressly held in Can. Si Papa dist. 40, and with Innocent III (serm. 2 de consec. pontif.) And what is more, in the 8th Council, (act. 7) the acts of the Roman Council under Pope Hadrian are recited, and therein contained, that Pope Honorius appears to be justly anathematized, because he had been convicted of heresy, which is the only reason permitted for inferiors to judge superiors. It must be noted, that although it is probable that Honorius was not a heretic, and that Pope Hadrian II was deceived from corrupt examples of the VI Council, and Honorius was reckoned falsely to be a heretic, nevertheless we cannot deny, in fact Hadrian with the Roman Council, nay more the whole 8th general council had sensed, in the case of heresy a Roman Pontiff can be judged. Add, what would be the most miserable condition of the Church, if she would be compelled to acknowledge a manifestly prowling wolf for a shepherd.”
Athanasius Contra Mundum 