Sunday, August 15, 2010 \AM\.\Sun\.

1. The most bountiful God, who is almighty, the plan of whose providence rests upon wisdom and love, tempers, in the secret purpose of his own mind, the sorrows of peoples and of individual men by means of joys that he interposes in their lives from time to time, in such a way that, under different conditions and in different ways, all things may work together unto good for those who love him.[1]
2. Now, just like the present age, our pontificate is weighed down by ever so many cares, anxieties, and troubles, by reason of very severe calamities that have taken place and by reason of the fact that many have strayed away from truth and virtue. Nevertheless, we are greatly consoled to see that, while the Catholic faith is being professed publicly and vigorously, piety toward the Virgin Mother of God is flourishing and daily growing more fervent, and that almost everywhere on earth it is showing indications of a better and holier life. Thus, while the Blessed Virgin is fulfilling in the most affectionate manner her maternal duties on behalf of those redeemed by the blood of Christ, the minds and the hearts of her children are being vigorously aroused to a more assiduous consideration of her prerogatives.
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Uncategorized | Tagged: Annunciation, Assumption of Mary, Baptism, Blessed Virgin, Blood of Christ, Charlemagne, Christianity, Divine Word, Dormition, End Times, Holy Bible, Holy Spirit, Immaculate Conception, Incorrupt, Jesus Christ, Liturgical Calendar, Mary, Munificentissimus Deus, Nativity, Pope Adrian I, Pope Pius IX, Pope Saint Sergius I, Purification, Rosary, Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Saint Albert the Great, Saint Bernardine of Siena, Saint Francis de Sales, Saint John, Saint John Damascene, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Peter Canisius, Saint Robert Bellarmine, Son of Mary, Theology, Theotokos, Venerable Pope Pius XII, Virgin Mary, Virgin Mother of God |
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Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Monday, May 25, 2009 \PM\.\Mon\.
The perpetual virginity of Mary has always been reconciled with biblical references to Jesus’ brethren by a proper understanding of the meaning of the term “brethren.” The predominant view in Latin Christianity is the “cousins theory” mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea as a belief of some Christians, but more widely supported by St. Jerome in De Viris Illustribus in the 4th century, as he sought to defend the doctrine of Mary as Ever-Virgin. This biblical interpretation found favor with the Pope at the time and became widely promulgated, eventually becoming the non-official, but majority view of the Roman church.
With great respect and love of St. Jerome, a celebrated saint and Father of the Church, dare I say, I would like to boldly make a theological argument against his position and that of the majority of Catholics and delineate a just as valid, but arguably more reasonable theological opinion.
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Uncategorized | Tagged: Biblical Interpretation, Brethren of the Lord, Catholicism, Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Exegesis, Historical Jesus, Jesus Christ, Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Saint James, Saint Joseph, Theology, Virgin Mary |
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Posted by Eric Brown