Augustine and Prayer
This morning I gave a lecture on Augustine's idea of prayer at the CSA-Biñan as part of the school's program in understanding Augustinian core values. During the course of the preparation for the talk, I looked at the way the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes use of Augustine's works. I already knew that Augustine is the most quoted Father of the Church in the Catechism. I was surprised to find out that even in the fourth part of the Catechism, he is also quoted more than any of the Doctors, Fathers and spiritual writers referenced there.
The Mystical Geek
in Vessels of Clay
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How Does One "Konek-Konek"? III
The series of articles on this blog about "konek-konek" arose from a question regarding how certain pastors/popular preachers relate one passage of the Scriptures with another one. This phenomenon has its "Catholic" origins from the Fathers of the Church who sought to explain Scriptures using Scriptures. I have written an article about this with regards to Augustine of Hippo and Guy the Carthusian entitled "Parallel Texts, Textual Resonances and the Liturgy". My point in that article is that through the free association of ideas, one can -- like Guy the Carthusian -- link scripture passages with similar ones, and that these "links" are created through the combination of biblical texts heard in the liturgy, especially at Mass and the liturgy of the hours. One can also consciously create those "links" when one -- like a St. Augustine -- makes a concordantic study of the scriptures and associates one text with another by way of comparison and contrast. Not all can be Augustine however; he had a prodigious memory that allowed him to quote lists of passages even at a time when the Scriptures had no chapters and verses yet!
The Mystical Geek
in Sacra Pagina
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Joining a Great Adventure
This year's friars' retreat was held at the Carmelite Missionary Spiritual Center in Tagaytay with Fr. Pat Fahey, OSA as retreat master. The theme of the retreat is the Rule and its spirituality. The retreat master provided us with lists of texts from Augustine and other related materials arranged logically in topics like "Interiority", "Love and Friendship", "Prayer", the vows and about contemporary concerns like "Justice and Peace." In other words, the retreat master reviewed with us things that we were expected to know but from the perspective of one who has been living the life of a friar for more than fifty years.
The Mystical Geek
in Vessels of Clay
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Ephphata
Isaiah 35:4-7a is a prophetic oracle about the Peace that God will give to Israel at the time of its vindication. When the people who witnessed what Jesus did to the deaf-mute they said something that echoed this passage of Isaiah: He has done all things well: the deaf hear and the mute speak (Isaiah 35:5-6). Mark wanted to convey the message that in Jesus' healing miracle the Shalom that God reserves for those who love him has begun to break forth in human history.
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A Novena for Sts. Monica and Augustine
This year being "The Year for Priests", our celebration of the feasts of Sts. Monica and Augustine emphasizes the priesthood of the laity and the priesthood of the ordained. St. Monica is an example of the priesthood common to the baptized. By her prayers she was able to regain her son and bring him over to the Catholic Church. Augustine is the example from the ordained priesthood. The overall theme of the novena is a slightly modified Augustinian quote: "With you I am a Christian; for you I am a Pastor". So for a period of eleven days beginning on August 12 with the first day of the novenario, we at the Mother of Good Counsel Parish (San Pedro, Laguna PH) will be celebrating the memory of this mother and son team with a view to a more lively participation in the Church's Year for Priests.
