-The Pope is seeking to restore the prayers that were said at the end of Mass. This is something that needs to happen, i do not see why they were ever stopped. Perhaps this will stop people from running out of church as soon as the Mass is over.
-The Pope is also seeking to encourage Bishops to actually have Exorcists in their diocese. Considering what I am currently reading in the book "An Exorcist Tells His Story" I think that this is a good move. Many liberal Catholics hardly believe in the devil anymore.
- I really like Pope Benedict. He is solid in his theology. He is amazingly knowledgeable, yet at the same time makes his knowledge really practical. He is also good at moving things forward in the Church, and preparing the Church for the future, though he is doing this by reaching into the past and emphasizing the truths that the Church has always taught.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
An Observation
So.... I have noticed that Christmas is the time when Protestants are the most like Catholics. During Christmas, both Protestants and Catholics talk about Mary, Protestants have nativity sets(which are the closest they get to having statues and the such as Catholics do). In other words, Christmas, focusing on Christ's birth, is a time for Catholics and Protestants to come together and realize what we do have in common.
In other news.
- I think that I have discovered a better explanation for why Christmas became so prominent in the Church around the time that it was growing more in the Roman Empire- It was to combat the heresy of Arianism, which was also gaining prominence at that time. Since Arianism denied Christ being divine and human, a special celebration of his birth would help fight back against this heresy.
-St Nicolas, the person from whom we derive "Santa Claus", was actually incredibly AWESOME. He was a middle eastern bishop of the church, who was imprisoned during persecutions of the Church. He also was from a wealthy family, yet donated all of his inheritance to the poor. Perhaps the coolest thing about him though, is the fact that at the Council of Nicea(in 325 ad), he punched Arius when Arius was trying to win others over to his false beliefs. He was kicked out of the Council, but eventually was let back in. I think that last point is pretty sweet.
In other news.
- I think that I have discovered a better explanation for why Christmas became so prominent in the Church around the time that it was growing more in the Roman Empire- It was to combat the heresy of Arianism, which was also gaining prominence at that time. Since Arianism denied Christ being divine and human, a special celebration of his birth would help fight back against this heresy.
-St Nicolas, the person from whom we derive "Santa Claus", was actually incredibly AWESOME. He was a middle eastern bishop of the church, who was imprisoned during persecutions of the Church. He also was from a wealthy family, yet donated all of his inheritance to the poor. Perhaps the coolest thing about him though, is the fact that at the Council of Nicea(in 325 ad), he punched Arius when Arius was trying to win others over to his false beliefs. He was kicked out of the Council, but eventually was let back in. I think that last point is pretty sweet.
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