Vidimus Dominum: Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

Friday, March 2, 2007

Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

(By St. John of Damascus, via Medieval Sourcebook; thanks to Karen)

St. John the Climacus, St. John of Damascus, St. Arsenius

An Excerpt:

We proclaim Him also by our senses on all sides, and we sanctify the noblest sense, which is that of sight. The image is a memorial, just what words are to a listening ear. What a book is to the literate, that an image is to the illiterate. The image speaks to the sight as words to the ear; it brings us understanding. Hence God ordered the ark to be made of imperishable wood, and to be gilded outside and in, and the tablets to be put in it, and the staff and the golden urn containing the manna, for a remembrance of the past and a type of the future. Who can say these were not images and far-sounding heralds? And they did not hang on the walls of the tabernacle; but in sight of all the people who looked towards them, they were brought forward for the worship and adoration of God, who made use of them. It is evident that they were not worshipped for themselves, but that the people were led through them to remember past signs, and to worship the God of wonders. They were images to serve as recollections, not divine, but leading to divine things by divine power.

Read the full Apologia.

Labels: Apologetics, Catholic Belief, Icons, Links, Saints

# posted by Vidimusdominum : Friday, March 02, 2007

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I'm an independent and conservative person who has a consistently positive demeanor. I'm easy to get along with as long as you are not intensely socially awkward... Though I'm mostly introverted unless I am in a comfortable crowd, I can open up very quickly to those who care to strike a conversation. For better or for worst, there are times where I enjoy being away from everyone just to be alone with my thoughts. Though I'm not judgmental, I do draw conclusions based on the things people say or the way they act. I can be blunt if I am not dancing around an issue. My Catholic faith plays a big part in the playing fields of my life. Reserved yet spontaneous, optimistic yet realistic, serious yet goofy, that's me- or at least that's what I think!

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I remain faithful to the Roman Catholic Church and her magisterium. At any point should I stray of the path of revealed truth, please do not hesitate to:
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To be an orthodox witness for Christ Jesus and His Holy Roman Catholic Church through: Fidelity to Divine & Ecclesiastical Traditions, Reverent Adoration of the Eucharist, Ardour for the Gospel, and Deovtion to Our Blessed Mother.

"A man who fails to love the Mass fails to love Christ. We must make an effort to "live" the Mass with calm and serenity, with devotion and affection. And this is why I have always suspected that those who want the Mass to be over with quickly show, with this insensitive attitude, that they have not yet realized what the sacrifice of the altar means" (St. Josemaria Escriva)

"At that hour of the Sacrifice, at the words of the Priest, the heavens are opened, and in that mystery of Jesus Christ, the choirs of Angels are present, and things below are joined to things on high, earthly things to heavenly, and the service is both a visible and an invisible event" (St. Pope Gregory the Great)

"... He would rise again to be our perpetual Host of propitiation, the Host of our Communion, the Host of our Adoration. Heaven was enraptured at the sight of this mystery. The Most Holy Trinity contemplated it with love. The angels, struck with awe, adored it. And with what rage were not the demons seized in hell!" (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

"It would be easier for the world to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass." (St. Parde Pio)

The Mass: Core of our Faith

Testimony of Catalina On The Holy Mass

Cardinal Newman's Declaration

VIDEO: History of the Mass

True knowledge is being struck by the arrow of Beauty that wounds man, moved by reality, how it is Christ himself who is present and in an ineffable way disposes and forms the souls of men. (Pope Benedict XVI)

"The beauty of the liturgy is part of this mystery; it is a sublime expression of God's glory and, in a certain sense, a glimpse of heaven on earth. ... Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should make us realize the care which is needed, if the liturgical action is to reflect its innate splendour." (Pope Benedict, Sacramentum Caritatis)

"...we ought to get back to the dimension of the sacred in the liturgy... the essential in the liturgy is the mystery, which is realized in the common ritual of the Church; all the rest diminishes it. Men experiment with it in lively fashion, and find themselves deceived, when the mystery is transformed into distraction, when the chief actor in the liturgy is not the Living God but the priest or the liturgical director." (Pope Benedict XVI in sermon to Chilean Bishops, 13 July '88)

"Who's going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops, and your religious act like religious." (Abp. Fulton Sheen)

On Ad Orientem: "... When a general leads his troops into battle does he face them? When a representative of the people approaches the Ruler on their behalf does he face them? When a priest is going to the Lord on behalf of his people should he face them? When the priest is acting as the intermediary between the people and God he faces the Altar. When he is dispensing the gifts of God, or speaking to the people, he faces the people." (Fr. Joseph Santos)

"Bad theology is supported by bad liturgy and together they spawn bad morality. As Catholic clergy and as baptized members of the Church, we ask that across the board, our shepherds enforce the universal laws of the church; to protect and serve the people of God by ensuring that every ordained deacon, priest or bishop will act morally, properly and pastorally; defend the deposit of faith as taught by the Magisterium; and insist that reverent and proper celebrations of the sacred liturgy be done everywhere, from seminaries to parishes to cathedrals." (Confraternity of Catholic Clergy)

"Christ’s Cross is an eternal paradox. A life brutally cut down in the fullness of maturity. A failed, naked and abandoned man, his life ebbing in the death rattle of a slow and horrible agony ... Everything about the Cross beckons us to the pit of despair; and yet there, precisely in the densest and bitterest darkness, Christ realizes the most luminous and meaningful act open to a man, offering himself to his Father and each one of us in an act of perfect love. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (Fr. Marcial Maciel)

"When we have to reply to anyone who has insulted us, we should be careful to do it always with gentleness. A soft answer extinguishes the fire of wrath." (St. Alphonsus)

Traditional Catholic Apologetics

Scripture Catholic

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

O Immaculate Mother, Queen of Heaven, hear the cries of your suffering children in purgatory and intercede for them at the throne of the Almighty. Behold in them, O Mother most faithful, the image of your Divine Son Who offered Himself in their behalf. Recall His bitter passion and death, and see in them His very sufferings. We feel confident, then, O Mother of Mercy, that you will obtain their liberation; so that they, in union with you and the choir of Heaven, may contemplate the Beatific Vision in heaven forever. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek them when tasting life's woes.
At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness;
Their dignity stands all alone;
And when we are tempted and wander,
To pathways of shame and of sin,
It's the hand of a priest that will absolve us--
Not once, but again and again.
And when we are taking life's partner,
Other hands may prepare us a feast,
But the hand that will bless and unite us--
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress;
When can a poor sinner do better,
Than to ask Him to guide thee and bless?
When the hour of death comes upon us,
May our courage and strength be increased,
By seeing raised over us in blessing--
The beautiful hands of a priest.

"The priest is the minister of Christ,
an instrument, that is to say,
in the hands of the Divine Redeemer.
He continues the work of the redemption
in all its world-embracing
universality and divine efficacy,
that work that wrought so marvelous
a transformation in the world."

O Jesus, Eternal Priest, keep all Thy priests within the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart, where none may harm them. Keep unstained their anointed hands which daily touch Thy Sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips purpled with Thy Precious Blood. Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime marks of Thy glorious priesthood. Let Thy holy love surround them and shield them from the world's contagion. Bless their labors with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they have ministered be here below their joy and consolation and in Heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, in Your infinite love You instituted the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, You continue to pour forth the same graces and spiritual blessings that once flowed from the Sacramental Fountain of Your opened side. Lord, we thank You for manifestating Your Divine Love for us by becoming Sacramentally present in the Eucharistic Species. We beseech You, our Almightly Lord and King, to defend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from all abuses and sacrileges. Arise Lord, and deliver us, we humbly pray, from these detestable and abominable acts of impiety that threaten the blessed memory of Your sorrowful passion, cruel death, and glorious resurrection. Send forth Your Holy Spirit to illuminate the hearts of all Your priests. Give them a spirit of reverence, humility, patience and love. Enkindle in their hearts a more fervent love for the Eucharist. Lord, You are the True Light of the world, radiate Your Light now to dispel the traps and snares that the evil one has set before Your priests. We pray especially pray for Your priest(s), N., the shepherd(s) to whom You have entrusted the duty of the salvation of souls. O Lord, grant all of us true faith. May we always celebrate the Eucharist in reverence, love, care, devotion, and orthodoxy. St. Peter Julian Eymard, St. Francis Fasini, St. Padre Pio, St. Josemaria Escravia, St. Benedict, and all ye other Eucharistic Saints, pray for us! Amen.

-Paul Domingo Molina

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Vidimus Dominum

Friday, March 2, 2007

Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

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