St. Ignatius of Loyola who coined the phrase, "Think with the mind of the Church" was mentioned in our sermon this Sunday. I was unfamiliar with this quote and with the help of a friend discovered this Rules for Thinking with the Church that are part of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.
I noticed that the blog Pontifications had posted these Rules and they had inspired all sorts of dismay from neo-cons. In a twisted sort of way it was amusing to read. The major complaint seemed to be that Ignatius was expressing our relationship to God as a "servile" one. That just doesn't jive with us as a "Resurrection" people who bow our knee to no one.
We have a distinct choice. Do we say "Fiat"? or "Non serviam"? Think of it as one of those books where you choose the ending. See where it takes you.
11 comments:
What a neo-cons?
" If we wish to proceed securely in all things, we must hold fast to the following principles: What seems to me white, I will believe black if the hierarchical Church so defines. For I must be convinced that in Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and in His spouse the Church, only one Spirit holds sway, which governs and rules for the salvation of souls. For it is by the same Spirit and Lord who gave the Ten Commandments that our holy Mother Church is ruled and governed."
This is a good rule to remember.
This has a pretty good definition of a neoconservative by Fr. Chad Ripperger, FSSP.
http://www.latinmassmagazine.com/articles/articles_2001_SP_Ripperger.html
The key is that though conservative and often orthodox, neocons do not see the value of restoring Tradition.
neoconservative
Thanks. Now that you spell it out, I have heard of that term, but I thought it applied to American politics not to religion.
It couldn't be more plainly spelled out:
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Psalms 18:10 The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves.
Amazingly there is an exact analogy between neo-con Catholics and neo-con conservatives. For short, I call them neo-Catholics. In some cases, they are the same exact people in both enterprises, whether it is infecting the Church or infecting the conservative movement.
Their behavior is much like that of a virus that mimics the characteristics of a benign organism within their host, while their very presence destroys their host.
"Amazingly there is an exact analogy between neo-con Catholics and neo-con conservatives. "
Can you elaborate on that? Your comment was too terse to get the full implication of this.
The Neo-s are accused having no principles, the crave power and will change their position to suit their ends.
They draw curious lines in the sand when it comes to their take on tradition .
Consider George Bush: pro-illegal immigration, zero fiscal restraint, supported racial hiring/admissions quotas (Michigan State Law case). Curious stances for a "conservative."
Wikipedia nails Neo-Catholicism: Since Vatican II, Neo-Catholicism has become a mildly derogatory term most often used by traditional Catholics to describe neoconservative Catholics who they believe fully accept typical interpretations of Vatican II documents that prescribe major changes to Catholic practice, liturgical life, and presentations of Catholic teaching. They accuse contemporary Neo-Catholics of having an exaggerated view of Papal authority and of being concerned with politics over liturgical and doctrinal matters. For example, the typical Neo-Catholic might be actively involved in the pro-life movement, but favor contemporary liturgical practices, such as folk guitar Masses, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, altar girls, and the blending of Protestant soteriology and eschatology with Catholic teaching. They would also likely be more in favor of ecumenism with conservative evangelical Christians and inter-religious dialogue with Jews.
Going BTTT:
St. Ignatius of Loyola who coined the phrase, "Think with the mind of the Church" was mentioned in our sermon this Sunday.
In the same sermon the priest mentioned the Protestant revolt and described how it spawned the era of everyone acting like their own Pope.
That's a lot of pressure on people. Personally, I don't want that job.
"it spawned the era of everyone acting like their own Pope."
Things haven't changed much!
Pax Christi!
The line "Sentire cum Ecclesia" from St. Ignatius of Loyola was not just coined for no reason at all! I mean that we need to take into account the historical context of St. Ignatius which was the Reformation era with a number of sects defecting the Roman Catholic Church. And for St. Ignatius, the "sentire cum ecclesia" was the binding force, as it were, that would prevent further schism.
In short, the phrase means fidelity to the Church which ultimately spells out fidelity to Christ. may we follow the spirit of Ignatius then, to be truly faithful to Christ and to His Church.
God bless you all.
Br. Orbeta, S.J.
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