Duncan Stroik has a great article on a new reformation. Press the title above for the full article. Here's an excerpt:
The New Counter-ReformationAnd not just in our church-building and our ideas of church architecture. In the Counter-Reformation bishops were commanded to return to their dioceses and to take care of their flock, to become the chief teachers of the diocese. Priests were to celebrate mass daily, laity go to mass and receive Communion more often, and better preaching and more confession were promoted. Eucharistic adoration was emphasized through the joining of the tabernacle to the altar, as well as the forty-hours devotion. There was a new emphasis on catechesis and education, including the invention of the seminary for the training of priests.
These developments pushed the Church to renew her commitment to making her churches and her liturgies as beautiful as the Faith itself. She employed art, architecture, music, and liturgy to draw all to the church and then to uplift their minds to those things that are eternal. Elizabeth Lev brilliantly tells the story of Counter-Reformation Art in her new book, How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art.
6 comments:
But we are getting a Reformation in the form of the "Francis" agenda.....
It is clear that relativism and mobilism, have a solid footing in Catholic theology since V-2. Recent example we see in
AM.Let on invalid second marriages as taught by Pope Francis. With time this trend will become more dominant. 16th c. reformers were not obviously heretical in the beginning of their career. In later teachings early questioning ended in clear break from Catholic Church. Certainly, centuries later we see that Luther wouldn't have to leave the Catholic Church because he would feel right at home in it.
For many years after the 95 Theses, Luther never considered himself to be anything but a Priest who got in trouble with the Church. It was only much later in life that he renounced his vows. He and Leo X were both kind of tragic figures...both mule-headed and cantankerous. The Reformation was a terrible thing for the Church and for all Christians. Only Vatican Two rivals it in the terrible effects it has had on the Faith. There is absolutely no hope for any kind of rapprochement between protestantism and Catholicism until God re-unites us all in His time and with who knows what kind of righteous judgement upon us all.
The Eastern Orthodox like to note they never had a Reformation, but looks like they have another big problem these days---the rapture between the Ukraine and the Russian Orthodox Church. And the Orthodox witness in the US has always been limited because of multiple Orthodox jurisdictions---like in the Atlanta area for instance, Greek Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, even Romanian! There is no national church in America uniting most of the Orthodox, unlike in other countries.
The Orthodox' biggest problem is that their theology has non-Trinitarian elements. Pelagius is also waving to us from the edges of their thinking.
Anon at 10 58, Ideally, the US would be under 1 patriarch, and there'd be one jurisdiction. This is one of those wonderful ideas, but horrible in practice the more I think about it. A big central government model has made Rome nearly (if not already) impossible to govern. It is better to have the principle of subsidiarity (term from the CCC) applied for the Church.
The reason jurisdiction is a big thing, is because effectively, what one says by allowing another jurisdiction is that the Catholic Faith that has been passed on, is incomplete, or lacking. I have found way fewer hurdles crossing jurisdictions in Orthodoxy than I ever did when I was Catholic.
FYI, there is zero rupture between the Ukrainian church and the Russian church. This new group is schismatic by a power-hungry careerist who was jealous when he didn't get elected patriarch of Moscow and has fathered 3 children (Denishenko). The other group does not have a valid bishop (Markay's group), In Orthodoxy once one has been defrocked, one is not a priest, or bishop, permanently, and one has to be re-ordained to exercise authority again. (differences from Roman theology which are too long for this post)
Yes, the East had their problems of various heresies. They did not have an attack on the substance of the Faith though. Heck, even the Nestorians believed in the Eucharist. The Reformation was an attack on the Faith as a whole, and a sad time, and I think if certain things went differently, could (should) have been avoided.
Gene, have you gone to an Orthodox Liturgy? The Liturgy is entirely Trinitarian,(We Orthodox have a saying, if you want to know what we believe, come to the various services....Lauds, Vespers, the Divine Liturgy) The Faith is presented in its whole.(We never end prayers without a reference to the Trinity, The Trinity is one and undivided after all)...Pelagius was a problem, but much of it was misunderstandings of certain things.
I would argue, that we don't need a counter reformation at all. The west needs a restoration...not a reformation, the Post Vatican II hurricane is well documented and well known amongst everyone who comments here. The west needs to recognise it is not alone. The west needs to recognise it needs help. The problems are much too big to handle alone.
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