Theology

26 12, 2016

St. Stephen and Rogue One
St. Stephen and Rogue One

St. Stephen and Rogue One

By Father David Nix|2016-12-26T19:03:03+00:00December 26th, 2016|Theology|

Spoiler alert on Rogue One for the second half of this blog post. Today is the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Catholic Church. His martyrdom is found in Acts chapter 7 and it contains the jarring testimony of a young deacon who chooses God’s religion over man’s intertwined religious games. Although engaging the high-powered Jewish religious leaders of Christ’s own time, St. Stephen is fearless in proclaiming how Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of all the Hebrew Scriptures. Before being stoned to death, Stephen recounts to the Pharisees all of Salvation history. Then he accuses them: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. [...]

25 12, 2016

Christmas Prose
Christmas Prose

Christmas Prose

By Father David Nix|2016-12-25T08:27:13+00:00December 25th, 2016|Theology|

This is a poem/prose that I wrote in seminary. I quoted this poem in my Sunday Midnight Mass Christmas homily. The homily was only four minutes, and it's found here: “One will be sent in the flesh,” thundered the most beautiful Trinity to the angels and all the courts of heaven eons ago. In perfect harmony they rejoiced. But later they wondered if anyone but a lowly archangel like Raphael (still more glorious than a burning star) could dare condescend again to take flesh as Raphael did for Tobit. Their best guess for the new assignment was Gabriel. God said “Gabriel will go…but in spirit as preparation. One much higher [...]

20 12, 2016

Why Catholic Men are Bored in Church
Why Catholic Men are Bored in Church

Why Catholic Men are Bored in Church

By Father David Nix|2018-07-13T02:22:22+00:00December 20th, 2016|Theology|

Although Colorado’s Supermax is the federal prison that is featured on all the TLC shows, Colorado’s death row for our homegrown felons is actually on the Eastern Plains. For my second assignment as a priest, I was sent to a parish containing within her bounds that very Correctional Facility. Upon arrival, I had a plan to reach not just the Catholics, but all the semi-professed Christians at the prison. I would hold a Bible Study called “What the First Christians Believed,” but not write “By Padre Peregrino” on the flyer. It was an immediate success. Many people from all denominations arrived. Great discussion ensued for the first two weeks. However, [...]

30 11, 2016

Were the Apostles Buffoons before Pentecost?
Were the Apostles Buffoons before Pentecost?

Were the Apostles Buffoons before Pentecost?

By Father David Nix|2016-11-30T15:58:01+00:00November 30th, 2016|Theology|

I must admit that there is something attractive and even accurate to the thesis that the Apostles were buffoons before they had the full transformation that happened at Pentecost. First, Mother Angelica points out that they never seemed to catch anything on their own even as fishermen! "Jesus chose a bunch of stinky fishermen" she reminds us as to why God chose someone like her to be a cloistered-evangelist to the nations in founding EWTN. We have Christ's disciples' obvious sins, like Peter's threefold denial of Jesus. And yet, after the Resurrection, Jesus does not say "Peter, about denying me three nights ago...You can still remain my disciple, but I'm going to have [...]

29 10, 2016

Martin Luther, Catholics and Jews
Martin Luther, Catholics and Jews

Martin Luther, Catholics and Jews

By Father David Nix|2017-10-23T12:41:45+00:00October 29th, 2016|Theology|

Luther's rebellion against the Apostolic Faith turns 500 years old, and yet some Catholics actually consider his "reforms" to be a cause of admiration and celebration. Instead of theological alarms, lets just do some myth-busting of bad European history. Let's consider the truths of German history, both medieval and 20th century. The First Myth to be busted is that Martin Luther was a gentle, reforming monk. The truth is that by any modern standards, he was a sociopath. Like Hitler, Luther chose to incite violence by declaring that "Jews and Papists are ungodly wretches. They are two stockings made of one piece of cloth." He once wrote a book called The [...]

19 10, 2016

Same Sex Attraction: Bearing the Beams of Love

By guest|2018-07-13T02:28:29+00:00October 19th, 2016|Theology|

I asked a close friend to write about his experience with same-sex attraction. His life reflects a poem by William Blake: And we are put on earth a little space, That we may learn to bear the beams of love, And these black bodies and this sun-burnt face. —The Little Black Boy Each of us has different set of beams of love to bear, so I'm sure that you'll find his life an inspiration.—Padre Peregrino By CJ: I am a child of a God. I am a traditional Roman Catholic. I am a traditional Roman Catholic, a child of God who has same-sex attraction. I have known that I was different since I was young. Ironically, [...]

14 10, 2016

St. Paul and the Blessed Virgin
St. Paul and the Blessed Virgin

St. Paul and the Blessed Virgin

By Father David Nix|2017-01-10T06:38:35+00:00October 14th, 2016|Theology|

Everyone knows that Catholics love the Blessed Virgin Mary and everyone knows that Protestants love the Apostle Paul. But did you know that a 17th century woman saint was shown in a vision the life of Mary? Venerable Mary of Agreda (ok, almost a saint) was a Spanish Franciscan nun. She was given the private revelation of the entire life of Mary (from her Immaculate Conception to past her Assumption and Coronation) all of which she recorded in a book called The Mystical City of God (not to be confused with a similar title of St. Augustine, written 1200 years earlier.) This Franciscan nun's private revelation of the life of Mary is [...]

4 10, 2016

On the Separation of Church and State
On the Separation of Church and State

On the Separation of Church and State

By Father David Nix|2016-10-04T21:29:54+00:00October 4th, 2016|Theology|

When Thomas Jefferson used the term "separation of Church and State" it was to assure a group of Baptists that the State would not trample the rights of their community. He wrote: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of [...]

22 09, 2016

7 Priest-Myths Unveiled
7 Priest-Myths Unveiled

7 Priest-Myths Unveiled

By Father David Nix|2016-09-29T15:02:25+00:00September 22nd, 2016|Theology|

Myth #1: A priest can give you permission to skip Sunday Mass if you had a very busy weekend (for example, a Saturday wedding.) Truth: Sunday Mass is part of the Third Commandment. A priest can not dispense you from God’s commandments. No sooner could a priest give a frisky married man a dispensation on the 6th commandment for his travels than he could give a person a dispensation for fulfilling a matter of Divine Law. I blogged recently on the different levels of authority here. If you are sick or having a baby or travelling (i.e Mass would be impossible) then there is no sin in missing Sunday Mass. [...]

16 09, 2016

Sacred Heart in the Eucharist
Sacred Heart in the Eucharist

Sacred Heart in the Eucharist

By Father David Nix|2016-09-20T04:08:46+00:00September 16th, 2016|Theology|

One of the reasons I love the Traditional Latin Mass is because the Collect (the beginning prayer to God after the Introit and the Kyrie) usually links heaven and earth. For example, the collect of the votive Mass of St. Joseph reads: Oh God, who in Thine unspeakable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph for Thy most holy Mother’s spouse, grant we beseech Thee, that we who revere him as our protector upon earth, may become worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven. I have wondered for a few years why the old Mass always ties heaven to earth in the opening prayer. It has to be [...]