Illumination

Throughout the middle ages the monks would copy down and often illuminate the Bible. It is a tradition that was picked up and influenced due to the Jews and the Hebrews. They would illuminate their scriptures and often borrow stylistic flourishes from one another, which later influenced the Christians who began to illuminate their Bible.[1]

The material often used before the 14^th century was vellum which was a paper made of calf skin, tempera paint, which was made with an egg base, and other natural pigmentations for color, such as precious stones, berries, etc., and finally gold leaf. It was primarily Gospels and other important religious books that received the gold, and the extravagant colors.[2] They were trying to separate the simple from the sacred, and the sacred deserved to be made even more beautiful.

After doing the reading from the assigned books, and having the pretty pictures of illuminated scripture passages, as well as prayers, bouncing around in my mind, I decided to try my hand at it. While I did not use vellum, tempera based paint, or gold leaf, I was able to create something rather pretty. I chose to illuminate the Nicene Creed, as it was such an important part of our church, as well as the first half of the course. To do the illumination I used, colored pencils, a gold paint pen, and black tea.   

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[1] Cahn, Walter. 2009. "Early Medieval Bible Illumination and the Ashburnham Pentateuch/Jewish Book Art between Islam and Christianity; The Decoration of Hebrew Bibles in Medieval Spain." Jewish Quarterly Review 99, no. 2: 285-290. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed June 27, 2014).

[2] 2013. "Illumination, in art." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition 1-2. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed June 28, 2014).

Saint Clare of Assisi - A Brief Biography

Throughout the last few weeks of the course St. Francis of Assisi kept popping up, as he often does, as an important figure. While I in no way deny the importance of St. Francis I feel it is important to also acknowledge his friend, St. Clare as well. She was a strong and persistent person, very close to God, and someone whom we should try to model our lives after.

Clare was born in 1194, to a rather wealthy Italian family. Apart from the knowledge that her mother cared for the less fortunate, there is not much known about Clare’s early years, or her family life. When she was around eighteen she attended a Lenten course at a local church. It was preached by St. Francis, roughly five years after his conversion, and it was this that struck Clare’s heart.

Clare and Francis quickly became friends; he led her into a deeper relationship with God. One story that kept cropping up throughout my research of the saint was the story of how she came to choose the life of a religious. One year, on Palm Sunday, Clare chose to attend the mass at the Cathedral in Assisi, everyone went up to the alter rail to receive their palms, and Clare remained behind, feeling unworthy. The Bishop noticed that she did not go up, so he left the alter and went to her. It was that same night that Clare left her father’s house and went to the Portiuncula where Francis and his friars were living. Francis cut her hair, and presented her with a robe made of sackcloth. He quickly connected Clare to a convent of Benedictines where she first began to live the life of a nun.

It was believed that Clare was going to marry, and live a life of wealth and prosperity; at least that was the plan of her family. Upon her leaving and joining the convent there was great distress, the family came after her, trying to convince her to return home and marry, but Clare quite obviously had other plans. In the end several of her family members, including her mother, her sister Agnes, and one of her aunts, joined the Order of the Poor Ladies throughout the years.

Francis requested that Clare become the abbess of the Poor Ladies, and out of obedience she obliged, though it was not something she desired. The Order was moved to San Damiano, and it was here that they stayed and developed rules. After much perseverance Clare succeeded in convincing Pope Gregory IX that she and her ladies wished to live a life of complete poverty, never owning anything, as Francis had also insisted. The Pope finally consented presenting the ladies with this letter

It is evident that the desire of consecrating yourselves to God alone has led you to abandon every wish for temporal things. Wherefore, after having sold all your goods and having distributed them among the poor, you propose to have absolutely no possessions, in order to follow in all things the example of Him Who became poor and Who is the way, the truth, and the life. Neither does the want of necessary things deter you from such a proposal, for the left arm of your Celestial Spouse is beneath your head to sustain the infirmity of your body, which, according to the order of charity, you have subjected to the law of the spirit. Finally, He who feeds the birds of the air and who gives the lilies of the field their raiment and their nourishment, will not leave you in want of clothing or of food until He shall come Himself to minister to you in eternity when, namely, the right hand of His consolations shall embrace you in the plenitude of the Beatific Vision. Since, therefore, you have asked for it, we confirm by Apostolic favour your resolution of the loftiest poverty and by the authority of these present letters grant that you may not be constrained by anyone to receive possessions. To no one, therefore, be it allowed to infringe upon this page of our concession or to oppose it with rash temerity. But if anyone shall presume to attempt this, be it known to him that he shall incur the wrath of Almighty God and his Blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul.[1]

Over the years St. Clare had many discussions with the Bishops and the Popes. The Popes would somtimes attempt to pass a rule with which Clare did not agree. Through her stubbornness and perseverance, she would lead them to see why it went against how the order was supposed to run. Apparently, after St. Francis passed away, the Pope told the friars that none of them were to enter the convent. Clare began to refuse the food which they were bringing because she felt no need for the things of the earth when “they were not providing spiritual food as Francis had promised they would do. The pope soon relented.”[2]

These were not the only circumstance in which Clare persevered, on the other occasions she not only protected her Ladies, but the city of Assisi as well. During two separate occasions, Assisi was under attack and Clare and the Poor Ladies conquered through prayer. The first assault occurred late one evening, the convent was under attack. Clare rose from her bed and returned with the monstrance from the chapel. The invasion stopped, the men left rather “dazzled.” Weeks later a second invasion occurred, this one larger. Clare and the Poor Ladies began to pray, asking God to protect their city, and their home. As a result of their prayers, a large storm began, preventing the attack and sending the troops on their way. During both of these situations, it is said that Clare and the protection God granted due to her prayer, performed miracles.

Clare died in 1253 in San Damiano. In 1255 Clare was canonized a saint by Pope Alexander IV. A church, Santa Chiara, was erected in her name. Centuries later St. Clare’s coffin was excavated. It turns out that her bones remained whole, complete, and unblemished. She now resides for all to see in the crypt of Santa Chiara, in Assisi.   

Sources Used –

Baker-Johnson, Sharon. 2012. “Saint Clare: The Anchored Soul.” Priscilla Papers26, no. 2: 16-18. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed June 27, 2014).

“Saint Clare of Assisi.” Accessed June 27, 2014. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04004a.htm.

Butler, Alban. Butler's Lives of the Saints. concise ed. Edited by Michael J. Walsh. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985.

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[1] “Saint Clare of Assisi,”, accessed June 27, 2014, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04004a.htm.

[2] Baker-Johnson, Sharon. 2012. “Saint Clare: The Anchored Soul.” Priscilla Papers26, no. 2: 16-18. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed June 27, 2014).

The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas - A Book Review

Many Catholics today are familiar with the names of Saints Perpetua and Felicity. The two women martyrs, as well as the names of many other saints, are included in the Eucharistic Prayer I[1], said at the mass. Apart from the names however, how many people actually know much, if anything about the two saints? For me, they were just names connected to the mass, I knew that they were martyrs but I did not know much besides that. They share the feast day of March 6^th,[2] with many other saints, and are often not celebrated, allowing St. Colette to be known for the day.[3]

The Passion of the Holy Martyrs was primarily written by St. Perpetua. It was written centuries ago, while Catholics in Rome were still being persecuted for their faith. It documents the tale of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, as well as many others, few of whom were actually mentioned by name, and the trials and temptations they endured before their martyrdom.

Throughout the rather short story, only hitting about six chapters, one can easily identify the faith which these martyrs had. Each chapter, rather than receiving a simple title, received a rather brief description of what was covered within the pages of the chapter. The temptations touched upon within the story were fascinating. Had any of the martyrs chosen to follow through with any temptation it appeared as though they would have been granted peace from Rome. If they had denied their faith they would never have had to endure martyrdom.

Perpetua was in constant battle, first she had to make peace with denying her father, a rather well off Roman citizen who begged her to return home to care for her son, and then had to follow through with what she knew God was calling her to participate in. More than once it appeared that if she were to renounce her faith and turn to her father she would be spared. Christ kept her strong throughout these temptations, and blessed her with visions reminding her of His plan.

Saint Felicity had an equally beautiful faith. The story was documented by Saint Perpetua, so what we hear of Saint Felicity, is rather small, though not unimportant. Felicity is quite obviously the other main martyr of the book. A servant girl[4], condemned for not denying her faith. She sees the beauty in suffering and longs to meet Christ, and share in His suffering. It becomes quite evident how deeply she longs to be united to God through this act of faith and sacrifice. She, like Perpetua, had to deal with temptations, and in her case, the possible prevention of her martyrdom for a period of time.

This book does not meet the normal criteria of describing the author, or the index. The book is really just a documentation of what St. Perpetua experienced, whether it is the trials, the visions, the temptations to renounce God, the struggles of her friends and fellow martyrs, or the final piece of the tale, the actual martyrdom. It is a true testament to faith, and sacrifice. It leads the reader to reflect on how far they would be willing to follow God. Would it be to the death, or would the temptations win out? Would the pressure of family, friends, and society as a whole, would that be enough to make you fold on something as important as our God and our faith? I would like to say no, but deep down I know, after reading this book that there is still a lot I must learn and accept, I’m weak, and I take the fact that I can more or less freely practice my faith for granted. If it came down to it, would I be able to stand up for what I believe? These are the questions which managed to hit my heart while reading this beautiful book. I recommend reading it. The writing is deep, but short, well worth the read.

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[1] The magnificat

[2] Alban Butler, Butler's Lives of the Saints, concise ed., ed. Michael J. Walsh (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985), 451.

[3] Ibid (Pg. 69)

[4] Phillap Schaff, ed., Anf03. Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian, accessed June 25, 2014,http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.vi.vi.iii.html.

In Dialogue with the Father: Book Review: The Dialogue by St Catherine of Siena OP, Translated by Algar Thorold

You have to make God number one in your life.

The above statement is so simple to say and yet so difficult to live. In The Dialogue, St Catherine of Siena OP gives us the clue in how to make God number one in our lives. Throughout the whole book it gives us examples on how to live out the Spiritual Life, which is, the Real Life (Emphasis mine).

It is precisely this point that is not so clear (even ignored) in the modern world today. With the advancement in technology (art) we tend to think that we are in control of nature. More so, not only do we think we are in control of nature but at the same time movements are passing by today telling us to even worship nature[1]. Sadly, as the history of mankind has testified, this is not the reality at all[2]. Indeed it is because of our nature do we search (and continue to search since we are rational animals) for answers to life questions. And yet, the answer is given to us as stated in The Dialogue “Man is placed above all creatures, and not beneath them, and he cannot be satisfied or content except in something greater than himself. Greater than himself there is nothing by Myself, the Eternal God. Therefore I alone can satisfy him, and, because he is deprived of this satisfaction by his guilt, he remains in continual torment and pain. Weeping follows pain, and when he begins to weep, the wind strikes the tree of self-love, which he has made the principle of all his being”[3]

In his address on October 4^th, 1970 Pope Paul VI in declaring St Catherine as a Doctor of the Church[4] said that the ‘masterpiece of her work’ was her success in inducing Pope Gregory XI to go back to Rome[5]. This followed a previous remark that he (Pope Paul VI) elaborated on St Catherine’s feast day on the 30^th April 1964 in which he described her as “the humble, learned, undaunted Dominican virgin who loved the Pope and the Church with a loftiness and strength of spirit that no other is known to have equaled…Catherine is the Saint whose dominant characteristic lies in her love for the Church, and for the papacy in particular”[6] and this is precisely shown in The Dialogue.

St Catherine was born on the 25^th March 1347. As the 23^rd (or 24^th) child of 25 she was the joy (and baby) of the Benincasa family since her twin sister Giovanna had died at birth. Whilst growing up St Catherine had a great admiration for the Dominicans and it is claimed that she had a childish wish to disguise herself as a man so as it enter a community of friars.[7] God intended and wanted her however as a Dominican Tertiary.

The Dialogue was actually dictated by St Catherine to her secretaries when she was in a state of ecstasy sometime begun in October 1377 and finished by November 1378. Thus it is the dialogue that God The Father is having with St Catherine (her soul).

It is broken into four treatises; A Treatise of Divine Providence, A Treatise of Discretion, A Treatise of Prayer and A Treatise of Obedience. Each of these Treatises focuses on a particular aspect of the Catholic Faith that St Catherine treasured in her own heart.

The Treatise of Divine Providence highlights, as the name signifies, that you have to make God number one in your life. It is the journey that the soul has in the beginning, realizing that it is God that provides. Indeed, as Fr Garrigou Lagrange says, “providence is the conception in the Divine Intellect of the order of all things to their end. Divine Governance is the execution of that order.”[8] This parallels to the scriptural dictum “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His Justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.”[9] This first Treatise then is really a summary as it were of this Gospel passage. It is further elucidated with how the Gifts of the Holy Spirit Works. After all, it is God the Father that St Catherine is speaking to. Thus when the Gifts of the Holy Spirit act in us, it makes us do Divine Acts in a Divine Manner, but for this to occur in the soul you need to cleanse the soul from all evils. Thus this first treatise is looking at the social aspect of the soul, that the hatred of one’s neighbor is really an injury to oneself and you have to let in God and let Him do the rest. God The Father shows St Catherine how sin truly offends Him and how it is because of sin that stops people from reaching to their ultimate end.

It is of grave importance to realize that when we pray we have to pray with our whole selves. We cannot hold back at all (and yet we do). How many of us when we pray keep our mind on the job as such? Prayer is communicating with God. Just like how we communicate with each other is it not rude if we communicate with God but not listen? It is this warning that God the Father tells St Catherine since there are many lukewarm souls that are missing out on even greater gifts that the Father is willing to share.

 
The Treatise of Discretion follows from the Treatise of Divine Providence inasmuch as the theme of trust comes into play. Trusting in God. This indeed is a very difficult thing to really do in the practical life and since the Spiritual life is the real life, the true life, the life of the Soul it means that the focus is on the Indwelling of the Blessed Trinity and how He wants to make that soul his own. This parallels to a book this writer read many years ago titled ‘The Mystical Evolution in the Development and Vitality of the Church” by Fr. John Arintero, another Dominican. Fr Arintero OP outlines that when our soul is in the state of Grace, what the Father sees in that created soul (us men) is His only Divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is Who He truly loves[10]. This concept is quite phenomenal and yet this is precisely what St Catherine is telling us. Abandon ourselves and put on Christ!

The third Treatise, that of Prayer in many respects tells us on how to truly pray to God, Our Father. After all He is our Daddy, our Abba and the journey of the soul is now looking to arrive as it were at a pure and generous love. It is one thing to know that God loves you, but then it is quite another in how to love Him in return. There is a special section especially for Priests and the Sacraments. This is where you truly see St Catherine’s love for the Pope and for the Church and her Priests. This section in particular shines out like a beacon in a night-filled sky. St Catherine also finds the answer the Donatist objection, which states that the dependence on the sacrament (or rather the validity of the sacraments) depends on the personal sanctity of the Priest (thus if he is in a state of mortal sin, the sacrament is not valid).[11]  

The Fourth and final Treatise is that on Obedience. This treatise is more for men and women of religious orders who take the vow of Obedience and how God truly loves these people more since they are taking a vow that makes them in complete and utter control by God. They must decrease so that God may increase.[12]

As is throughout the whole Dialogue, the gems that come out are truly astounding. As a not-so-good (or rather secumdum quid good) philosopher the philosophical principles such as whatever is received is received according to the manner of the receiptant (which explains the workings of Grace in the soul), how love always follows knowledge (since every form is followed by some inclination) or how of the Unknown there is no desire; even how God cannot command the impossible and the range of Catholic teachings from Social Doctrine, The Sacraments right through to Eschatology[13] gives a taste of the majestic things that you discover when reading this book. It even gives details in how each soul receives its reward depending on how much it loved God in this life.

In terms of Catholic Social Doctrine I am reminded of a quote from Chesterton in which he said “I am all for socialism, as long as it is social.”[14] And this aspect of the Dialogue shows the great truth in what Chesterton remarked and conveyed by Our Heavenly Father to St Catherine. We are rational animals, thus we are social (precisely because we are rational).

It is such a wonderful read for those who are interested in developing their own spiritual life. After all ultimately it is between you and God. In the spiritual order there is no mistake that you have others to help you. For this parallels to what the true social life is. We are to help one another. Society is based on trust, so who more to trust than the perfect society?[15]

You have to make God number one in your life and a great place to start understanding in how to do this is to read ‘The Dialogue’.

  

The Dialogue is available free at: http://www.catholicplanet.com/ebooks/Dialogue-of-St-Catherine.pdf

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[1] The Environmental Movement today highlighted by Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth, to give just one example, of the movements that would want to see man worship nature. But this is just an example of the materialism that has been at the forefront of human folly since the rise of Newtonian Science (the Physic-Mathematical Science) in which the focus has been on Material Causality. As Aristotle did rightly state, focusing on the Material Cause is not wrong, it is just incomplete.

[2] As an example, Earthquakes and Tsunamis show that man cannot control nature. But such is the problem with the advancement of technology that it gives us the appearance of thinking we can control nature. It is certainly true we can control aspects of nature on some level. However I am speaking about the absolute control of nature, which is one of the major fallacies committed by modern day science and scientists

[3] The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena, Translated by Algar Thorold

[4] She is a Doctor of Mystical Theology. Her exact titles are The Seraphic Virgin, Mystic of the Incarnate Word and Mystic of the Mystical Body of Christ

[5] The 33 Doctors of the Church, Fr. Christopher Rengers OFM, Tan Books and Publishers 2000, Page 397

[6] The 33 Doctors of the Church, Tan Books and Publishers 2000, Page 400

[7] The 33 Doctors of the Church, Tan Books and Publishers 2000 Page 390

[8] Fr Garrigou-Lagrange OP, “Providence: God’s Loving Care for Man and the Need For Confidence in Almighty God”, Translated by Dom Bede Rose O.S.B Tan Books and Publishers 1937, Pages157 – 162

[9] Matt 6:33

[10] This book is available at Amazon.

[11] The Donatist heresy is answered by St Catherine, and is also answered by St Thomas Aquinas as well as the Church Fathers. The Donatist error (and later heresy) was taught by the Bishop of Casea Nigrae, Donatus, and it developed as a result of the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian in 303. For a full treatment of this see  http://carm.org/donatism

[12] But this is also true for us. In the Spiritual Order we must decrease so that Christ may increase in us.

[13] Otherwise known as the Last Things – Judgment, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory

[14] Taken from Quotations of G K Chesterton found at http://www.chesterton.org/quotations-of-g-k-chesterton/

[15] The Perfect Society is none other than the Divine God Head – the Trinity Itself.

The East-West Schism

This small treatise will closely examine the theological controversies that resulted in the unfortunate Schism in 1054 (known also as the East-West Schism) which resulted in the final split between the Eastern Churches of Constantinople (Orthodox) and the Western Church (Roman Catholic). This split led to both the Eastern Churches of Constantinople and the Western Church to place mutual excommunications upon each other and these were not lifted until Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras revoked the excommunication decrees in 1964.

One of the principle problems related to terminological difficulties on both sides when dealing with understanding the Trinity. For the Eastern Church their approach was to start with the Three Persons in God and try to reconcile the Unity of God whereas with the Western Church they started with the Unity of God and were trying to reconcile the Three Persons in the Trinity.

From an historical perspective, the West looked upon some of the Eastern Fathers, as for example the Cappadocian Fathers Gregory of Nyssa and Basil of Caesareas with great suspicion of preaching as it were ‘Tri-theism’, that is, of three gods. This was due to terms that were employed by the East and misunderstood by the West[1].

For the Greeks (East), they applied the word hypostasis to mean person. For the Latins (West) the word hypostasis for them meant substance, which meant essence.  So the West thought that the Greeks were implying three gods. However the Greeks were using the word hypostasis to signify a concrete individual substance and when applied to God was translated as person[2]. Thus the terminological confusion that gave great misunderstandings and eventually a rupture between the West and the Eastern Churches.

Coupled with this however was also the doctrine of the filioque, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. For the East, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only whereas for the West the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. This doctrine of the filioque was also a point of contention.

However these differences consisted in approach, emphasis and terminology, not in doctrine. Thus if only both sides would have heeded with what St Augustine had said centuries earlier “Unity in essential matters, diversity in non essential matters but above all else, charity”

There can be no mistake that both sides were guilty of not taking heed, nor trying to understand each other. Thus they should have exercised charity when dealing with these terminological issues because after all, it was the terms used that caused confusion. However both sides were saying exactly the same thing but with a different approach, a different emphasis and different terminology, but in terms of doctrine there was and is unity in essential matters

What is also of importance to note is that whilst the theological controversies were central to the East-West Schism there were other factors such as political e.g. the Pope’s claim to universal jurisdiction, the place of Constantinople in relation to the Pentarchy and whether in the Eucharist use of leavened or unleavened bread is to be used.

With all these factors in mind and in hindsight (which is 20/20 vision) what expired on Saturday the 16^th of July, 1054[3] should never have happened. As is explained by Dr. George T Dennis, professor of history at the Catholic University of America “…Today no serious scholar maintains that the schism began in 1054. The process leading to the definitive break was much more complicated, and no single cause or event can be said to have precipitated it”[4]

Thus we must constantly pray for the reunification of the Eastern and Western Churches

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[1] What needs to be remembered here is that both sides were misunderstanding each other. The East misunderstood the Western Church because they preferred to leave things as great ‘mysteries’. Because the Western Church had more of a practical and legal understanding, the clarification of terms was of vital importance to the Western Church. This is because the West was having to deal with heresies that arose since the 3^rd Century AD and therefore needed clarification and strict terminologies. Furthermore the West misunderstood the East precisely because the Eastern mentality was more speculative, not practical.

[2] Lecture Series by Dr. Don Boland at the Catholic Adult Education Centre, Lidcombe Sydney on 5^th April 2010

[3] This is when the legate of Pope Leo IX, Cardinal Humbert placed a parchment that declared Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius, to be excommunicated

[4] Taken from http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1990/issue28/2820.html