The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 372 – 11 August 2021

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 8 August 2021 to 11 August 2021.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

Angelus

General Audiences

Papal Tweets

  • “In #TheGospelOfTheDay (Jn 6:41–51), Jesus reveals Himself as the Bread of life. For He alone nourishes the soul, He alone makes us feel loved even if everyone else disappoints us, He alone gives us the strength to love and forgive in difficulties, He alone gives eternal life.” @Pontifex 8 August 2021
  • “God does not come in extraordinary events, but works amid the apparent monotony of our daily life, in the frequently dull rhythm of our activities, in the little things that, working with tenacity and humility, we achieve in our efforts to do his will.” @Pontifex 10 August 2021
  • “The external law cannot bring life because it does not change the heart. The radical newness of the Christian life is life according to the Holy Spirit who frees us from the law and at the same time brings it to fulfilment in the commandment of love. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 11 August 2021

Papal Instagram

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Thoughts so far on Chesterton’s “St. Thomas Aquinas”
Book Review

Thoughts so far on Chesterton’s “St. Thomas Aquinas”

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

So I have been going through G.K. Chesterton’s “St. Thomas Aquinas” again since it is the next book we are looking at as part of our local Chesterton society.

The first chapter “On Two Friars” is superb with the comparisons between St. Aquinas (sometimes St. Dominic) and St. Francis.

I have repeated the following quote quite a lot over the last two decades and it is nice to see I usually quoted it correctly.

“It is an old story that, while we may need somebody like Dominic to convert the heathen to Christianity, we are in even greater need of somebody like Francis, to convert the Christians to Christianity.”

Still, the image I have in mind of the comparisons between Francis and Aquinas is of St. Laurel and Hardy. This kind of works on some levels.

I also enjoyed this point:

“St. Francis is called humane because he tried to convert Saracens and failed; St. Dominic is called bigoted and besotted because he tried to convert Albigensians and succeeded.”

Along with this analysis:

“St. Thomas takes the view that the souls of all the ordinary hard-working and simple-minded people are quite as important as the souls of thinkers and truth-seekers; and he asks how all these people are possibly to find time for the amount of reasoning that is needed to find truth. The whole tone of the passage shows both a respect for scientific enquiry and a strong sympathy with the average man. His argument for Revelation is not an argument against Reason; but it is an argument for Revelation. The conclusion he draws from it is that men must receive the highest moral truths in a miraculous manner; or most men would not receive them at all. His arguments are rational and natural; but his own deduction is all for the supernatural; and, as is common in the case of his argument, it is not easy to find any deduction except his own deduction. And when we come to that, we find it is something as simple as St. Francis himself could desire; the message from heaven; the story that is told out of the sky; the fairytale that is really true.”

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 371 – 04 August 2021

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 6 July 2021 to 4 August 2021.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Papal Tweets

  • “The Lord is aware of all that we have been through in this time. He is close to those who felt isolated and alone, feelings that became more acute during the pandemic. He is not indifferent to this. #IamWithYouAlways” @Pontifex 23 July 2021
  • “The Lord is always close to us: through new invitations, new words, with His consolations. The Lord is eternal. He never, ever retires. #IamWithYouAlways” @Pontifex 24 July 2021
  • ““I am with you always” are the words as Bishop of Rome, elderly person like you, want to address to you on the first World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. The Church is close to you, to us. She loves you and doesn’t want to leave you alone! #IamWithYouAlways
    @laityfamilylife” @Pontifex 25 July 2021
  • “The significance of this Day is that every grandfather and grandmother, every older person, especially those among us who are most alone, might be visited by an angel! #IamWithYouAlways
    @laityfamilylife” @Pontifex 25 July 2021
  • “Dear grandparents, what is our vocation today, at our age? To preserve our roots, to pass on the faith to the young and to care for the little ones. Let’s never forget this. #IamWithYouAlways
    @laityfamilylife” @Pontifex 25 July 2021
  • “It would be good to ask ourselves every day: “What do I bring to Jesus today?”. He can do a lot with one of our prayers, with a gesture of charity for others. This is how God loves to act: He does great things, starting from those small things. #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 6:1–15)” @Pontifex 25 July 2021
  • “In this time of pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics are a sign of hope, a sign of universal brotherhood marked by a healthy competitive spirit. #Tokyo2020” @Pontifex 25 July 2021
  • “On this #WorldDayAgainstTraffickingInPersons, I invite everyone to work together with the victims to transform the economy of trafficking into an economy of care. #CareAgainstTrafficking #EndHumanTrafficking #TalithaKum” @Pontifex 30 July 2021
  • “The invitation in the #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 6:24–35) is this: rather than being concerned only with material bread, let us welcome Jesus as the bread of life and, starting out from our friendship with Him, learn to love each other. Freely and without calculation.” @Pontifex 1 August 2021
  • “Let us pray for the Church, that she may receive from the Holy Spirit the grace and strength to reform herself in the light of the Gospel. []” @Pontifex 3 August 2021
  • “The Gospel is the Good News and the force that changes our lives and hearts for the better. For this I ask you to read the Gospel every day and meditate on a short passage to be nourished from this inexhaustible source of salvation. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 4 August 2021
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for all priests so that, following the example of #SaintJohnVianney, they may bring to all their brothers and sisters in difficulty the living Gospel of their witness of love, mercy, and solidarity.” @Pontifex 4 August 2021
  • “Today, a year after the terrible port explosion in the capital Beirut, I appeal to the international community to offer #Lebanon concrete assistance in undertaking a journey of “resurrection”, so that Lebanon may once more be a message of peace and fraternity.” @Pontifex 4 August 2021

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conversion

My interview with Eddie Trask and Broadcast Date for The Journey Home.

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

About a month ago I was interviewed by Eddie Trask of the “Catholic RE.CON.” YouTube channel.

The interesting thing about being interviewed by him was how often I forgot that this was even being recorded. I was at ease as if we were just talking among friends.

In other news, The Journey Home episode I was on is being broadcast on August 9th.

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Reporter Turns Back On People at Latin Mass
HumorLiturgy

Reporter Turns Back On People at Latin Mass

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Here’s a headline

“Latin Mass Held in New Orleans Despite Pope’s Restrictions”

It included this boilerplate of articles of this type.

“a solemn and ancient form of Catholic worship spoken almost entirely in the Latin language by a priest who faces away from the congregation.”

Just in case you missed this fact:

“Latin intonations are spoken by a priest who mostly faces away from the congregation.”

I was awaiting them saying “The Mass is held at 9 AM by a priest who faces away from the congregation”

This misunderstanding is because so many bishop’s have installed “Adblock Orientum”

The article itself is not totally without merit, just odd emphasis and idiotic headline.

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Other

Thoughts on the 2021 Chesterton Conference

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

I am back from the Chesterton conference, and it was as great an experience as the last two conferences I have attended.

This year they also had a simultaneous virtual conference where talks were broadcast live. I am glad they are doing this for those unable to attend. The talks are diverse and informative.

Yet it is not the talks that primarily draw me.

I want to take notes from conversations of people I met and the extended ones into the wee hours during the Afterglow. While Chesterton comes up, you never know what else will come up. Sometimes I am just willing to be the fly-on-the-wall listening to conservations where I would have nothing to contribute intelligently. So much is interesting to me, more so the people that attend the conference.

“The best way that man could test his readiness to encounter the common variety of mankind would be to climb down a chimney into any house at random, and get on as well as possible with the people inside. And that is essentially what each one of us did on the day that he was born.” – GKC “Heretics

If you climb down a chimney into a Chesterton conference, you will also “encounter the common variety of mankind.”, just with a lot less friction.

We also had a relatively large contingent of people from the Central Florida G.K. Chesterton Society I attend. It was great spending time with them.

A highlight is always Dale Ahlquist. I so appreciate his drive to promote Chesterton. However, what amuses me the most is his superb comic timing and comic body language.

I am already anticipating next year’s conference in Milwaukee.

Plus I am so glad I took the time to visit the Marion E. Wade Center. It was not far from the convention, and the people who work there were great in accommodating us. They had many of GKC’s books and some of his personal books laid out. It was fun to see his doodling in not just the margin of his books.

Another highlight was seeing C.S. Lewis’s copy of GKC’s Orthodoxy with marginalia.

The Marion E. Wade Center museum features memorabilia and rotating displays with selections from our collection of books, letters, manuscripts, and artifacts. Through these exhibits we invite our visitors to explore more deeply the seven authors’ lives, writings, and the historical context in which they lived. Permanent pieces on display in the museum include: a wardrobe owned by C.S. Lewis, desks and pens belonging to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, bookshelves from Charles Williams, the eyeglasses of Dorothy L. Sayers, and Owen Barfield’s chess set and pipe.

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 370 – 21 July 2021

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 16 July 2021 to 18 July 2021.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

Angelus

Letters

Motu Proprio

Papal Tweets

  • “During summer time, let us learn how to take a break, turn off the mobile phone to gaze into the eyes of others, cultivate silence, contemplate nature, regenerate ourselves in dialogue with God. #GospelOfTheDay Mk 6:30–34” @Pontifex 18 July 2021
  • “Only a heart that is not taken over by hastiness is capable of being moved, that is, of not allowing itself to be caught up in itself and by things to do, and is aware of others, of their wounds, their needs. Compassion is born from contemplation. #GospelOfTheDay Mk 6:30–34” @Pontifex 18 July 2021

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After Humanity – Book Review
Book Review

After Humanity – Book Review

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Some years ago I read C.S. Lewis’ “The Abolition of Man” At the time I knew I probably only grasped a little of it.

So I was looking forward to reading it again side-by-side with this guide “After Humanity” by Michael Ward.

The initial intuition of my grasp of it was generous. There were so many literary illusions that flew over me along with the whole context. So I found this book invaluable in giving context to each of the three chapters from the lectures. That alone helped. There is almost a paragraph-by-paragraph guide to the intricacies of Lewis’s references and arguments. In the end, an overview since we were down in the weeds of the text.

As the book notes, it is interesting that Lewis writing this in 1943 in the midst of WWII focuses on subjectivism and scientism as being a danger. This has certainly been born out.d

I also appreciated that this was also a critical guide to when the author thought Lewis’ arguments were not presented well or other perceived defects.

Plus now I need to re-read Lewis’ Space Trilogy in light of any insights I gained.

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Contractually Obligated to Have Opinion on New Motu Proprio
LiturgyPunditry

Contractually Obligated to Have Opinion on New Motu Proprio

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Last Sunday, after the Latin Mass, we had our monthly Sunday Social, where we have a potluck and talk amongst ourselves.

So I heard a lot of speculation about what the Pope would do regarding the TLM. Most of this, I thought, was simply not going to happen. I even said that I didn’t think this would happen and that likely what would happen is that the Pope would give Diocesan bishops control over it.

Not that I think the new Motu Proprio is very prudential. I find it odd when there is dissent in other quarters of the Church that it is usually met with the long game of dialogue and listening together being proposed—kicking the ball down the road.

I joked earlier on Twitter “The new Motu Proprio name is Traditionis custodes. Which means `Throw oil on fire’”

The attitudes the Pope complains about in his letter are real ones. However, I do not believe they are the majority opinions in the TLM Community. I have never personally met someone who rejected VII. Most of the TLM goers I know also attend daily Ordinary Form Masses. Gripes about the implementation of VII, sure. Yes, this is anecdotal evidence from personal experience. However, I am not comfortable with all the attitudes I encounter, along with some beliefs. Some things I hear are just demonstrably false or often have more charitable explanations. In other words, these are people just like the people I meet in all circumstances.

I find the most annoying is that when you get a new bishop, you don’t know what he will do. It would be within his authority to suppress permission in his diocese, not a good situation. Still, if the TLM is suppressed in my diocese when my bishop retires shortly – I am not going to go crazy and rail against him. Sure, I have the option of going to the Ordinariate Mass instead, but even if I didn’t. I would rather be thankful that I still had access to Jesus in Mass regardless. Of course, I would have firm opinions about this, but I would not want to lose my peace.

I also know about myself that I could move in a radical traditionalist trajectory. That is a temptation for me I fight with, although more so before than now. I try to hold myself as a Glad Trad and see the examples of those with more extremists opinions as a warning to where I could head.

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