Theology on Tap, December 18th, 2012

Title: 'The Year of Faith: An introduction to using Scripture'

Synopsis:  St. Paul tells St. Timothy in his second letter to him that "All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice: That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17) During this wonderful 'Year of Faith' lets discuss how to effectively read, understand,  and use the Word of God in our personal faith lives, as well as in catechetical and evangelistic contexts.

Please join me at Henry Louis in Mapunapuna! Register at the link below:



CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE EVENT DETAILS

Mahalo e Ke Akua! St. Marrianne Cope!

Mahalo e Ke Akua! 

The Diocese of Honolulu embraced its second saint today, St. Marianne Cope, the patron saint of outcasts, for her work throughout Hawaii and on the Kalaupapa Peninsula, where she cared for those suffering with Leprosy. 
Here is the Holy Father speaking on St. Marrianne Cope as exemplifying the best tradition of Catholic nursing sisters



In honor of her here is a clip of ʻThe Song of St. Marrianeʻ, composed using her own words in the 1800ʻs and with the help of some native hawaiian influence.

St. Marriane, Ora pro nobis! 


'Father, forgive me' - The Biblical Basis for the Sacrament of 'Confession' at the Benedictine Monastery

The cult of 'emotionalism' and the protestantization of the Church in the west has blinded us from the power of God's Grace given through His Church. How frequently we forget the great power of the sacraments, the visible and outward sign of God's invisible and inward Grace. Penance is one of these sacraments. The fact is that the priestly forgiveness of sins is a far great miracle than even raising the dead because it restores our sanctifying grace and can restore us into communion with the Church saving us from eternal hellfireHere is a link of a lecture I had the honor of doing recently at the Benedictine Monastery in Wailua on the island of Oahu on the Biblical basis of Confession.

* In Summary it says that we must confess our sins to God (1 Jn 1:9). We are to confess to 'one another' in the presence of the presbyters (priests)(Jas 5:16). The OT prepares us for the process of confessing to priests (Lev 5:5-6). We see that Christ has the authority to forgive sins (Mt 9:6-8), gives the authority to his disciples (John 17:18, John 20:21-23) who now are ambassadors for this ministry of forgiveness (2 Cor 5:18 -21)* Listen to the Bible study on the biblical basis for the sacrament of Confession.

image from the 'Public domain' via wikimedia commons. St. Benedict, From a fresco by Fra Angelico

Mary Most Holy: 'Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit!'

This audio lecture was recorded at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ewa Beach as part of the 'Ongoing Formation' program from the Diocese of Honolulu. The lecture was titled 'Mary Most Holy'.

The depth of this Tradition teaches us not only about the wondrous role that Mary plays in salvation history but also reveals to us the amazing love that Jesus had for his mother. This undoubtedly teaches powerful truths about Jesus and gives us insight into the mystery of his Divinity, the Incarnation, and the Trinity. To learn about His mother is to learn about Him.

Blessed Johannes Duns Scotus, O.F.M, most known for his beautiful defense of Mary's Immaculate Conception, quoted St. Anselm when he exclaimed "Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit" Which means that Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin because God "Could do it, it was appropriate, therefore He did it!" In this class we covered the 4 defined Marian Dogma and see that Mary, as the Mother of God, was preserved from original sin, was perpetually virgin, and was assumed body and soul into heaven where she sits as the Queen of Heaven.


Click Here for the Printed Class Material


image from the 'Public domain' via wikimedia commons. L' Annonciation, 1644, peinture de Philippe de Champaigne

Restless Heart (St. Augustine of Hippo)

I am looking forward to this movie. The Diocesan Young Adult Office is working on getting this movie screened here on Oahu. I am particularly excited that certain parts of St. Ambroseʻs life (my Patron Saint) are highlighted as well!

His Excellency Larry Silva at Iolani Palace (2009)

This video is from quite some time ago but I enjoyed watching our Bishop speak about St. Damien at Iolani Palace. St. Damien is the not only the Patron of Hawaii but the Patron of the Hawaiian people. He spoke the language, knew the culture, and loved the people.

My Book Recommendations

Resource books
Catechism of the Council or Trent - http://amzn.to/2mSpLBM

Fundamentals of Catholic Dogmahttp://amzn.to/2n9nvId
*A list of Catholic Beliefs and the level of theological certainty that the Church attributes to it.

Sources of Catholic Dogmahttp://amzn.to/2mWB2Sx
*The documents and councils from which we receive our defined doctrine.

Baltimore Catechismhttp://amzn.to/2mSA09f

My Catholic Faithhttp://amzn.to/2n9uNvE

Some of my favorite Books
Theology and Sanityhttp://amzn.to/2n9mXBY
* This is the very first theology book I was assigned as Freshman at Steubenville. A short look at not only catholic teaching but of an entire catholic worldview. Hands down my favorite theology book. 

Belief of Catholicshttp://amzn.to/2mSljmG

The Fathers Know Besthttp://amzn.to/2n9mnUL
* This one is more of a resource book too BUT its great to read cover to cover as well. 


You can get a hard copy of it here - http://amzn.to/2n9hfjF

Hail Holy Queenhttp://amzn.to/2mWD1pS

Chesterton
Apostle of Common Sensehttp://amzn.to/2npnq5m
* An Excellent summary and introduction to GK Chesterton. Great way to start engaging his amazing body of writings


Orthodoxyhttp://amzn.to/2nELhhO

Whats wrong with the worldhttp://amzn.to/2mWBgZD

Man Alivehttp://amzn.to/2nfaqPm

* HONESTLY anything you can get from Chesterton is awesome! He wrote nearly 80 books and over 15000 articles! 

Excellent Audio Lectures
Lectures by Fr. Chad Rippergerhttp://www.sensustraditionis.org/multimedia.html

St. Damien of Molokai, Patron of Hawaii

I stumbled upon a short clip put together by www.realcatholictv.com on the life of St. Damien of Molokai. He is the Patron Saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii. The video is a bit older (as it was released right prior to his Canonization) but is still a wonderful brief look at his life. For more information on St. Damien please visit www.fatherdamien.com



A few months ago I had the honor of going on a pilgrimage to St. Damienʻs Church along with Fr. Joseph Lee, FSSP. Click Here to watch the video of our journey.

Ancient Truths in the Modern World

image from the 'Public Image Archive' at 
MorgueFile : San Francesco D Assisi 
I recently presented at the 2012 NCCL Conference in San Diego. My topic was to discuss effective ways to use modern technologies to deliver the perennial teachings of the Church. 



While in San Diego I had the privilege of fellowshipping as well as learning quite a bit from Carson Weber of CatholicBoard.com as well as Fr. Jarrod Lies of the Diocese of Wichita. I also had the opportunity to visit St. Anneʻs Parish of the FSSP for Mass. What a wonderful experience! 

'Where is God in your family?' - A mission in Molokai

I had the honor of visiting the island of Molokai several months ago for a lay catechetical mission. The theme for the gathering was 'Family & Marriage'.

I decided for my session to focus on the greatest of all families, the PERFECT family, the Holy Family. In this lecture I focus on the example given to us by the Holy Family and how we ought to strive, in our families, to mirror the beautiful relationship and powerful love that the Holy Family shared.

The second part of the talk focuses on The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as the Summit of our Faith (CCC 1324) and how worshipping together strengthens our families and allows us to aid each other in striving towards what the Blessed Sacrament itself foreshadows, the 'future eternal joy and glory, which, according to God's promises, we shall receive in our heavenly country.' (Catechism of the Council of Trent)



image from the 'Public domain' via wikimedia commons. Deutsch: Die sieben Schmerzen Mariä, Mitteltafel, Szene: die Flucht nach Ägypten (licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License)

October Baby movie comes to Hawaii

It opens on March 23, Friday at Ward Theaters in Honolulu and will have showings throughout Hawaii through April. Support it. Movies that make sense, that defend life and truth, find it hard to find good traction in our modernistic media culture. We can do our part by promoting this movie and others like it.

Sacramental Prep at Blessed Sacrament Church

TO GET STARTED PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE

Baptism Registration

1st Communion & Confirmation Sacramental Preparation

Important documents for Godparents/Confirmation Sponsors

Links to purchase the Baltimore Catechism

Current dates set for the reception of the sacraments
First Communion & Confirmation at Blessed Sacrament Church - TBD

His Excellency, Bishop Larry Silva and the Holy Mass in the Usus Antiquior (Tradtional Latin Mass)

An article at The Eponymous Flower details that 254 Cardinals and Bishops Have Celebrated the Tridentine Mass (Traditional Latin Mass) since Summorum Pontificum.

Though this number is sadly quite low in the context of how many Bishops the Church actually has, I wanted to express my gratitude for Bishop Silva supporting the celebration of the TLM in His Diocese and providing the sacrament of Confirmation to those who wish to receive the sacrament in the Traditional form. Please keep Bishop Silva, for his continued good health, and the Diocese of Honolulu in your prayers.

Te Deum laudamus!

Pilgrimage to Kalaupapa and Mass on the Altar of a Saint with Fr. Joseph Lee, FSSP

This is a video compilation of my journey with Fr. Joseph Lee, FSSP. on January 10th, 2012. Father offered the Traditional Mass on Saint Damien's altar. That evening I conversed with several older priests from the Sacred Hearts order who confirmed that the Traditional Mass had not been offered there in many decades!

'Anointed' - The Biblical Basis for 'Extreme Unction'

According to the Catechism of Trent, The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick has as its purpose the conferral of a special grace on the Christian experiencing the difficulties inherent in the condition of grave illness or old age.

And the CCC reiterates these immemorial teachings

1531 'The celebration of the Anointing of the Sick consists essentially in the anointing of the forehead and hands of the sick person (in the Roman Rite) or of other parts of the body (in the Eastern rite), the anointing being accompanied by the liturgical prayer of the celebrant asking for the special grace of this sacrament.'

1532 The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects:

- the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church; the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age; the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of Penance; the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul; the preparation for passing over to eternal life.

1499 "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ."

Mark 6:13; James 5:14 ; Gal. 4:13-14; 2 Tim. 4:20

image from the 'Public domain' via wikimedia commons. The Seven Sacraments (1445) by Roger van der Weyden.