Dignitas Infinita and the Idolization of Man

 ewel of a fully-entrenched anthropocentrism, one that stains the window panes of the post-conciliar Church.

• 
  John A. Monaco

In this current age of mass mediaand constant Internet access, the process of theological reception can oftentimes be rushed and clumsy. The race is on, as it were, to forge and brandish one’s latest “hot take” on any given Church topic, document, or papal interview. Merely minutes after the introduction of Dignitas Infinita by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Catholic social media circles were ablaze with knee-jerk reactions, especially given the document’s opening line: “Every human person possesses an infinite dignity…”

I believe there is an important conversation to be had regarding the concept of human dignity and to what degree we can say humans possess “infinite” dignity, even if in a very limited, analogous way. There have already been solid analyses of the document and its possible limitations. But by fixating almost exclusively on the meaning of the word “dignity,” we may lose sight of something far more important—namely, that with Dignitas Infinita we see the crown jewel of a fully-entrenched anthropocentrism, one that stains the window panes of the post-conciliar Church.

Read the rest: https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/dignitas-infinita-and-the-idolization-of-man

Ss Cleti and Marcellini, Pp et Mm: “This is the Faith which maketh men free of the world“

In the universal Church it is as if Peter were still saying every day: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. For every tongue which confesseth the Lord is taught that confession by the teaching of Peter. This is the Faith that overcometh the devil and looseth the bonds of his prisoners. This is the Faith which maketh men free of the world and bringeth them to heaven, and the gates of hell are impotent to prevail against it. This is the rock which God hath fortified with such ramparts of salvation, that the contagion of heresy will never be able to infect it, nor idolatry and unbelief to overcome it. And therefore, dearly beloved, we celebrate today’s festival with reasonable obedience, that in my humble person he may be acknowledged and honoured who doth continue to care for all the shepherds as well as sheep entrusted unto him, and who doth lose none of his dignity even in an unworthy successor.

When, therefore, we address our exhortations to your godly ears, believe ye that ye are hearing him speak whose office we are discharging. Yea, it is with his love for you that we warn you. And we preach unto you no other thing than that which he taught, entreating you as did he: Gird up the loins of your mind; be sober; be ye holy in all manner of living; pass the time of your sojourning here in the fear of God. My disciples, dearly beloved, ye are to me as the disciples of the Apostle Paul were to him, namely: My crown and joy; if so be that your faith, abide, still in all lowliness and holiness, like unto the first times of the Gospel. For although the whole Church, which is in all the world, should indeed abound in all the virtues, it becometh especially you among all others to excel in acts of piety, founded as ye be on the very citadel of the Apostolic Rock ye who have not only been redeemed with the rest of men by our Lord Jesus Christ, but who have been instructed by the blessed Apostle Peter far beyond all others.

- St Leo the Pope

Orémus.
Gregem tuum, Pastor ætérne, placátus inténde: et per beátos Cletum et Marcellínum Mártyres tuos atque Summos Pontífices perpétua protectióne custódi; quos totíus Ecclésiæ præstitísti esse pastóres.
Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum.
℟. Amen.

Online how to for Traditional Mass getting response

 Find and sign up for the free course here: https://latinmass.getlearnworlds.com/course/celebrating-the-latin-mass

Saint Thomas Aquinas on man's twofold loss of dignity through sin

“By sin, man loses a twofold dignity, one in respect of God, the other in respect of the Church. In respect of God, he again loses a twofold dignity. one is his principal dignity, whereby he was counted among the children of God, and this he recovers by Penance, which is signified (Luke 15) in the prodigal son, for when he repented, his father commanded that the first garment should be restored to him, together with a ring and shoes. The other is his secondary dignity, viz. innocence, of which, as we read in the same chapter, the elder son boasted saying (Luke 15:29): “Behold, for so many years do I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy commandments”: and this dignity the penitent cannot recover” (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II, Q.89, A3).

Priest stabbed during liturgy in Sydney by Muslim

 

Witness heard the assallisnt yelling Allahu akbar. He later smiled while being held for arrival of police.

It’s a war.

Which civilization will win?

Three types of confessors

 

Scripture for today from the Breviarium

… I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them that are evil, and thou hast tried them, who say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And thou hast patience, and hast endured for my name, and hast not fainted.
4 But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity.
5 Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance, and do the first works. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate.
7 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him, that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God.

… These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead, and is alive:
9 I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich: and thou art blasphemed by them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison that you may be tried: and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life.
11 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: He that shall overcome, shall not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 2, 2-7; 8-11

Flannery O’Connor on nihilism

 

La Tavolozza di Dio

Tutta la natura 

Indossato colla primavera

I colori dovunque 

Cantando dappertutto 

Del Creatore che c’e.

(- Questa ho scritto io.)

Pray for hunility

Pater Noster

Ave Maria:

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.

Heart of Jesus, burning with love for me, inflame my heart with love of Thee.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, today I wish to live in Thee, in Thy grace, in which I desire, at all costs, to persevere.  Keep me from sin and strengthen my will by helping me to keep watch over my senses, my imagination, and my heart.  Help me to correct my faults, which are the source of sin.  I beg of Thee to do this, O Jesus, through Mary, Thy Immaculate Mother.  Amen.

Faith dies: “the rites are celebrated but people think and live like pagans”

 

Backfiring:

 Cardinal Burke, who regularly celebrates the Latin Mass, said that congregations at traditional liturgies ‘are getting bigger and bigger,’ with ‘people of all ages,’ including young families with many children.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, at a conference Oct 3, 2023.Michael Haynes

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Michael Haynes

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ROME (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Raymond Burke has noted that despite Pope Francis’ restrictions on the traditional liturgy, attendance at the Old Rite is “getting bigger and bigger” as the rite is “integral to the life of the Church.”

“This form of the Roman rite has been an extraordinary blessing through so many centuries,” said the American cardinal about the traditional liturgy, otherwise known as the Latin Mass or Usus Antiquior. 

Read the rest: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-burke-pope-francis-latin-mass-opposite/

Advertisers on Meta platforms abetting sexual harassment of minors

 

Seek First the Kingdom

 

UPDATE: Archbishop Lori’s letter to the faithful / Primatial see in total collapse: city down to 21 parishes

Cancelling what works and turning off the lights here:

N.B. No mention here of saving souls. Or of the insanity of requiring some people to “transition” on a geographical basis to the Novus Ordo and others not. The complete violation of pastoral solicitude is incredible.

Meanwhile:

The new springtime for the Church we’ve all been promised has now arrived: only 2,000 still attend Sunday Mass weekly in Baltimore.

The two parishes that offer the traditional Latin Mass and

 the Anglican use rite account, according to one source, for 41% of those still showing up in church.

“The blind lead the blind and both fall into a pit.”

. 

Source:

Proposal would radically reshape Catholic Baltimore, cut parishes by 66%

 https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/04/14/proposal-reshaping-catholic-baltimore/

(Paywall)

Dignitas Infinita: “The dignity is infinite, not the person”?

We’ve lost all the tools of philosophy, or never had them to begin with, if we can posit, or attribute, an infinite quality to a finite being.

People tap-dancing their way around the impossible on Twitter/X are responding to critiques of Dignitas Infinita, the latest sophomoric foray out of Rome, with arguments like the above: “the dignity is infinite, not the person”.

Just more of the same nonsense we got as a result of that other documental disaster “Fiducia Supplicans” with defenders claiming “we are blessing the persons, not the relationship”.

This is all simply a sustained rant against reality. 

A post in comments under Kennedy Hall’s account on Twitter/X:

The only Being with any infinite qualities, to include that of dignity, is God.

Tucho's Infinite Dignity Is "Sheer Balderdash"

Philosophers and journalists comment on social media on Tucho Fernàndez’ latest production entitled "Infinite Dignity" and its first line: “Every human person [allegedly] possesses an infinite dignity.”

Edward Feser: "No, as the Catholic faith has always taught, only a single human being possesses that – Christ, and only because He is God, not because He is human. God alone has infinite dignity."

Peter Kwasniewski: "No creature has an infinite dignity. That’s sheer balderdash. Only God has, or rather is, infinite dignity; and those who participate in Christ share, finitely, in his dignity as Son of God. Those who rebel against God lose the dignity."

And: "That which is ‘infinite’ is literally that which has no limits or definitio or end outside itself (that’s why God is rightly called infinite). But man’s dignity is very much tied to his nature and his end. If his dignity were truly infinite, then he would stand in no need of God or of redemption/salvation."

And: „Roma locuta, causa infinita est.”

Michael Hichborn: "Cardinal Fernández doesn’t even define 'dignity' at any point of the document."

And: "He is changing the nature of sin as offence to God into a violation of human dignity. This has no meaning."

Thomas Aquinas (+1274): "By sinning man departs from the order of reason, and consequently falls away from the dignity of his manhood, in so far as he is naturally free, and exists for himself, and he falls into the slavish state of the beasts" (Summa Theologiae, Secunda Secundae, Q. 64, A. 2).

Kennedy Hall: “This new infinite dignity document from Rome is quite literally Satanic. It conflates Man with God - only God or ‘a god’ could claim to be infinite in the absolute sense.”

Damian Thompson: "Remember: unless there’s something radically new (Tucho’s gay blessings) no one in the outside world reads this stuff or is even interested."

And: "ChatGPT would produce something just as coherent and better written. Gender ideology condemnation plus human rights waffle."

Picture: Vatican Media 

Rectory flora

 

Happily Spring is in full swing here at the parish. May your garden of the soul always bloom thus with the graces of prayer and gratitude.

On capital punishment

 

Damning indictment of Francis by Benedict's biographer. Francis the Fork Tongued

Seewald contradicts Francis: Benedict was not a “transitional pope”

Was Benedict XVI. just a “transitional pope”? His successor Francis recently expressed this assessment. Now Benedict's biographer Peter Seewald contradicts the Pontiff and accuses him of "double-tracking" in his dealings with his predecessor.

The author Peter Seewald has assessed Pope Benedict XVI. (2005-2013) as “transitional pope” was contradicted by his successor Francis. Benedict XVI In the almost eight years of his pontificate, he set “decisive course” and made history as pope, said Seewald, who wrote a biography of Benedict XVI in 2020. published on Monday in an interview with the “Catholic Sunday newspaper for the Diocese of Regensburg” (this week’s edition).

“Many of the reforms that made Pope Francis popular were actually initiated by Benedict XVI,” Seewald continued. Examples he cited included the introduction of open synods of bishops and the restructuring of the Vatican's finances. "In addition, he is considered the greatest theologian who ever sat on the chair of Peter and as the modern doctor of the church." Benedict XVI made sure that the ship of Peter stayed on course. "Last but not least, his resignation, the first of a truly ruling pontiff, has changed the papacy in a way that it has never been changed in modern times. A 'transitional pope'? Well," explained Seewald.

Francis: After John Paul II, no change was initially possible

In a recently published book of interviews with the Vatican correspondent of the Spanish newspaper "ABC", Javier Martinez-Broca, Francis said with regard to the 2005 conclave that after the upheavals under John Paul II (1978-2005), who as Pope was dynamic, needed a Pope "who maintains a healthy balance, a transitional Pope". Against this background, Joseph Ratzinger was the only one “who could be Pope at that time.” According to Francis, if he had already been elected pope at the time, he himself would not have been able to achieve anything. At that time, no change in the Church was possible.

With regard to Francis' statements, Seewald said that he "always has two tracks." At one point he praises Benedict and even calls him a “great pope,” then again he belittles him, calling him a grandfather, a fatherly friend or even a “transitional pope.” This duality can be explained by the fact that Francis wanted to break “from the continuity of the popes” and cause chaos from the beginning. "He demonstratively showed who was the master of the house by removing the access to the Old Mass that Benedict had liberalized. The Pope Emeritus had to find out about this from the newspaper. This was due to the supposedly 'warm relationship' between the two," continued Seewald.

Source

Cathcon: Pope Francis thinks he is so powerful that he can revise the facts of history.  He does speak self-serving nonsense 

The Eclipse of God?

FR. GERALD E. MURRAY

CARDINAL ROBERT SARAH, CRISIS OF FAITH, EASTER, ECLIPSE

 

 

 

Today the West lives as if God did not exist . . . This estrangement from God is not caused by reasoning but by a will to be detached from him. The atheistic orientation of a life is almost always a decision by the will. Man no longer wishes to reflect on his relationship to God because he himself intends to become God. 

 

Cardinal Robert Sarah offered this stark analysis of the present crisis of the West in his 2015 book God or Nothing, in which he zeroes in on the nature of the contemporary loss of faith. It is, he says, the result of the choice to replace the worship of God and obedience to his law with self-worship and the anarchy-producing rejection of any limits upon one’s actions.

Of course, when man tries to become God, he always fails. No one can make himself into the Supreme Being and Creator. But he can attempt to give the impression of omnipotence by disregarding God’s law and daring anyone to stop him. Thus, people exempt themselves from the Seventh Commandment as they pile into duffle bags items they are stealing from CVS or Walmart. Crime and social anarchy are the predictable outcome when people are emboldened to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.

Cardinal Sarah observes that “the eclipse of God leads toward practical materialism, disorderly or abusive consumption, and the creation of false moral norms. Material well-being and immediate satisfaction become the only reason for living. At the end of this process, it is no longer even about fighting God; Christ and the Father are ignored.”

Read the rest: https://humanlifereview.com/the-eclipse-of-god/