Theology

14 12, 2023

Telling the Truth Will Set You Free
Telling the Truth Will Set You Free

Telling the Truth Will Set You Free

By Father David Nix|2023-12-14T15:46:17+00:00December 14th, 2023|Theology|

p/c Catholic Arena, Dublin. Recently, Tucker Carlson gave a talk in Las Vegas, found in-part here. Below in italics are my favorite quotes from his talk. Following each quote, I apply it to the current situation in the Catholic Church, especially in relation to the clergy. Tucker Carlson: I can't think of a single case where someone was destroyed for lying. There's no penalty for lying...What they did was tell the truth. And that is the case everywhere...But go through the last fifteen famous people who were canceled for "saying the wrong thing" and ask yourself: "Is the thing they said wrong?" Me: Do a little experiment on paper with [...]

12 12, 2023

“Mortal” Only If Done With Full-Knowledge?
“Mortal” Only If Done With Full-Knowledge?

“Mortal” Only If Done With Full-Knowledge?

By Father David Nix|2023-12-22T11:31:44+00:00December 12th, 2023|Theology|

Probably daily across this country a few conversation go like this between young Catholics: -Catholic 1: Did you know pre-marital sex is a mortal sin? -Catholic 2: Well, did you know for a sin to be mortal you have to have full-knowledge and full-consent? -Catholic 1: I guess so, but does that mean it's not a mortal sin to have pre-marital sex? -Catholic 2: Not if you didn't know it. Catholic 2 is a smarty-pants who takes St. Thomas out of context, but is still morally wrong. Here's why: Even the new Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) admits that you don't get a "pass" from God (so to speak) [...]

7 12, 2023

Immaculate Conception: The Temporal and Eternal One
Immaculate Conception: The Temporal and Eternal One

Immaculate Conception: The Temporal and Eternal One

By Father David Nix|2023-12-06T22:29:49+00:00December 7th, 2023|Theology|

Here's a text I got from a friend yesterday: "Okay, also, how is the Holy Spirit the uncreated Immaculate Conception, as Maximilian Kolbe says? Any good ideas on explaining it?" My reply: "Yes it's because the Holy Spirit proceeds in eternity (not time) from the Father and the Son that one can even use the term 'ETERNAL Immaculate Conception' but one has to be very careful to extricate any sense of sex or time from it, since it's spiritual, there's no genders involved and the spiration of the Holy Spirit is in eternity ('Spiration' is the old school way to describe how the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father [...]

5 12, 2023

Levate Capita Vestra Ad Redemptio Vestra
Levate Capita Vestra Ad Redemptio Vestra

Levate Capita Vestra Ad Redemptio Vestra

By Father David Nix|2024-08-31T03:39:59+00:00December 5th, 2023|Theology|

What did it mean to pray for the Jews to pray for the First Coming of the Messiah? What does it mean for Christians to pray for the Second Coming of the Messiah? Notice that for the former, it was not a matter of despair, but rather of hope, to pray for the first coming of the Christ. This is revealed in the life of St. Anne as seen in a vision by Ven. Mary of Agreda in the Mystical City of God: The most fortunate Anne had a house in Bethlehem and was a most chaste, humble and beautiful maiden. From her childhood she led a most virtuous, holy [...]

30 11, 2023

A “Springtime” of Vocations
A “Springtime” of Vocations

A “Springtime” of Vocations

By Father David Nix|2023-11-30T14:32:41+00:00November 30th, 2023|Theology|

I found a website called Christendom Restoration that graphed vocations before and after the Council, as seen above. It used very advanced calculus on the growth of American seminarians versus years, such as S(t)=47247.8e -0.0846t and S(year) = 47247.8e -0.0846(year-1965) in order to reveal only significant statistics. The above chart shows the Pre-Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Growth functions of seminarians in the United States. As you can see, it uses "Springtime" in a sarcastic sense for what has happened since 1965. Earlier this year. Fr. Z posted the above graph. Notice again that American priests were on the rise until Vatican II. After that, it tanked... ...not so for tradition in [...]

28 11, 2023

“Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough.”
“Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough.”

“Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough.”

By Father David Nix|2023-11-28T15:24:52+00:00November 28th, 2023|Theology|

One of the unknown connections between so-called "transgender" surgeries and forced sterilizations in early 20th century American history is the targeting of children with mental-health problems. Many people are now familiar with Miss Chloe Cole (top right.) She is a young woman born in 2004 who went on puberty blockers at age 13. She had a double mastectomy at age 15. She is now suing Kaiser Permanente of California. The beginning of the lawsuit filed reads thus: "This case is about a team of doctors (i.e., the Defendants) who decided to perform a mutilating, mimicry sex change experiment on Chloe, then a thirteen-year-old vulnerable girl struggling with complex mental health [...]

23 11, 2023

Should You Recall Past Sins?
Should You Recall Past Sins?

Should You Recall Past Sins?

By Father David Nix|2023-11-23T11:10:34+00:00November 23rd, 2023|Theology|

Should you recall past sins? The basic answer to this is one that most of you already know: Do not beat yourself up about sins you have confessed because those sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. (Or, if you are an adult convert, your sins were washed away in baptism.) Keep in mind in St. Luke chapter 15, we have the Prodigal Son parable: After a significant stint of sin, he returns to the Father and he is planning on saying, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your [...]

22 11, 2023

The Life and Death of St. Cecilia As Told By St. Alphonsus
The Life and Death of St. Cecilia As Told By St. Alphonsus

The Life and Death of St. Cecilia As Told By St. Alphonsus

By Father David Nix|2023-11-22T17:55:30+00:00November 22nd, 2023|Theology|

St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr, has always been most celebrated in the Church of God; even from the fourth century a Church has been dedicated to her honor in Rome; and honorable mention is made of her, not only in all the martyrologies, but even in the Canon of the Mass. In the eighth century there was a report that Astulphus, King of the Longobards, had carried off the body of our saint from Rome; but she appeared, in a vision, to Pope Paschal I, assured him that the report was false, and encouraged him to seek her relics. The holy pontiff found them, in the cemetery of Prætextatus, Prætextatus, [...]

21 11, 2023

The Ladder of Divine Ascent for Lay People
The Ladder of Divine Ascent for Lay People

The Ladder of Divine Ascent for Lay People

By Father David Nix|2023-11-15T10:34:36+00:00November 21st, 2023|Theology|

One of the greatest works of the early Desert Fathers is The Ladder of Divine Ascent. It is considered to be a masterpiece of ascetical theology, but it is primarily for monks. Thus, I was surprised when a married man with children started telling me about how this is one of his favorite books. This layman (about my age) usually does one hour of mental prayer a day and lives very impressive asceticism. (He was not bragging to me, but he admitted he and his family try to make their home a little monastery.) Nevertheless, I still wondered if The Ladder of Divine Ascent should be the goal of the [...]

16 11, 2023

A 60 Year Old Pastor’s View of Priesthood in America.
A 60 Year Old Pastor’s View of Priesthood in America.

A 60 Year Old Pastor’s View of Priesthood in America.

By Father David Nix|2023-11-16T13:04:55+00:00November 16th, 2023|Theology|

My article earlier this week is called Are Young Priests More Orthodox? In it, I explained that young guys enter seminary pretty conservative, but slowly become more liberal after ordination. I asked a 58-year-old Catholic Priest friend in the South of the United States for feedback. (He belongs to a different Southern diocese than the one featured in the picture above.) I half-expected him to tell me I was too cynical, so I was surprised that he texted back 21 points much more critical of the American bishops' interactions with their priests than anything written in my blog two days ago. I asked him if I could use it in [...]