Oldest Known Icon of St. Paul Uncovered

From Michael Barber's blog "Singing In the Reign" comes this story from the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reporting that an icon of St. Paul has been uncovered in excavations being undertaken in the catacombs of St. Thecla, underneath the streets of Rome. See the story and photos here:

http://singinginthereign.blogspot.com/2009/06/oldest-icon-of-st-paul-discovered.html

The thing that strikes me is how icons and other traditional images of St. Paul (and other New Testament figures, like St. Peter and even Christ) are uncannily consistent compared with other ancient representations of the same person. Icons in the Eastern Orthodox tradition (based in turn on even more ancient traditions) have very strict guidelines how specific persons and stories are represented.

The image of St. Paul above, for example, is how he is always presented in traditional iconograpy. Compare that with the newly uncovered figure and with ancient written descriptions:

We know from Eusebius (Church History VII.18) that even in his time there existed paintings representing Christ and the Apostles Peter and Paul. Paul's features have been preserved in three ancient monuments:
1. A diptych which dates from not later than the fourth century (Lewin, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul", 1874, frontispiece of Vol. I and Vol. II, 210).
2. A large medallion found in the cemetery of Domitilla, representing the Apostles Peter and Paul (Op. cit., II, 411).
3. A glass dish in the British Museum, depicting the same Apostles (Farrara, "Life and Work of St. Paul", 1891, 896).

We have also the concordant descriptions of the "Acta Pauli et Theclae", of Pseudo-Lucian in Philopatris, of Malalas (Chronogr., x), and of Nicephorus (Hist. eccl., III, 37).

Paul was short of stature; the Pseudo-Chrysostom calls him "the man of three cubits" (anthropos tripechys); he was broad-shouldered, somewhat bald, with slightly aquiline nose, closely-knit eyebrows, thick, greyish beard, fair complexion, and a pleasing and affable manner. He was afflicted with a malady which is difficult to diagnose (cf. Menzies, "St. Paul's Infirmity" in the "Expository Times", July and Sept., 1904), but despite this painful and humiliating infirmity (2 Corinthians 12:7-9; Galatians 4:13-14) and although his bearing was not impressive (2 Corinthians 10:10), Paul must undoubtedly have been possessed of great physical strength to have sustained so long such superhuman labours (2 Corinthians 11:23-29). Pseudo-Chrysostom, "In princip. apostol. Petrum et Paulum" (in P.G., LIX, 494-95), considers that he died at the age of sixty-eight after having served the Lord for thirty-five years.

Source: New Advent Catholic Super-site
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm

"Oh Yeah? Well, What About the Inquisition?"

The Inquisition -- and a couple of other topics like the Crusades and the Galileo affair -- tends to function as a convenient conversation stopper for those who have an animus against religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular. The sad thing is that most people who invoke the specter of these topics have no idea of the historical facts behind them except the stereotypes and caricatures they picked up from ignorant or bigoted college instructors or from the popular media. Basically it is a handy stick to beat Catholics with when one is getting the bad end of a discussion about religion. All one needs to say is, “Oh yeah? Well what about the Inquisition?”

Well, what about it? This is actually one of my favorite topics, because once you learn the facts and the historical context surrounding these times you find that, despite its excesses, the Inquisition actually made a lot of sense for the people that had to live in those times (even if it might not to later generations who tend to judge people in the past by standards of which prior generations had no knowledege). In fact, I’m one of those who believe that the Spanish Queen, Isabella the Catholic (as she was called), who along with her husband King Ferdinand, requested the Inquisition as a means to root out political traitors after centuries of Moslem occupation and oppression, should be proposed for sainthood (there’s a great book about her available from TAN Books, found here: https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/284/keywords/isabella/

Serious writing on the roughly 300 year period in which the Inquisition was active has improved drastically as scholars, utilizing the exensive records kept by the Inquisition tribunals themselves, have revealed a far different (and less salacious) reality behind the bigoted "Black Legend" myths which originated in the polemics following the Reformation and that have been uncritically accepted as fact by even well-educated people ever since.

The only cure for ignorance is a balanced education. Here are some links to some of the best articles out there that I know of on the true history of the Inquisition, some of which I have used as handouts when I taught classes about this topic:

http://www.catholiceducation.org/links/search.cgi
http://www.catholic.com/library/Inquisition.asp

HT to my friend, Amy, who got me started on this by asking for some info! :)

Scripture Study on the Sunday Mass Readings - June 28

Here are the readings for this Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/062809.shtml

And my own study (and Don Schwager's meditations) from my web page:

http://members.cox.net/fidelis927/this_week.htm

Charitible comments and discussion are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

Happy Father's Day, Dad

One of the nice things about having a blog is that you have a platform for paying a small public tribute to those who have made a difference in your life. On this Father's Day I'd just like to stop and remember my own Dad, Vince Sr., who has gone on to be with the Lord.

Everyone who knew my Dad remembers him for his big heart and his sense of humor, especially his ability to laugh at himself and his own foibles. He had lots of friends and he loved his family, and he made sure we kids knew all our aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins on both sides of the family. Just like the rest of us, my Dad wasn't perfect, but he was a good Dad and I never doubted his love for me, my brother and my sister.

My dad was a hard worker and a good provider. We always had a decent roof over our heads, food to eat and clothes to wear. He worked aerospace most of his life. When he got laid off at Lockheed, he got his foot in the door at Rocketdyne as a janitor and worked his way back up in the company to a place where he could use his experience and skills.

He like to cook, and he liked to eat and he liked to drink, but never alone and never to get into trouble. He loved his mariachis and he loved to dance. He wasn't a big movie-goer or a big reader, but he made sure there were lots and lots of quality books in the house for us kids. 

My Dad was also something of a sage in his own way. One adult memory I have of him is sitting together in a bar in Mexico City sharing a bottle of tequila. He said, "All I want after I am gone is for people to remember me, say a prayer for me, and sometimes put a flower on my grave."

I'm too far away to put a posey on his final resting place in San Diego, but I'm remembering him today and sending out the following prayer. Please pray for him as well -- and for your own father if he has also gone to his eternal reward :

V. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

R. And may perpetual light shine upon him.

V. May the souls of the faithfully departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

R. Amen.

If your dad is still around, make sure you call him, or if possible see him to give him a hug and say "Thanks Dad."

As for me, I say, "Thanks Dad. I miss you."

This Sunday's Mass Readings -- and Miracles

Once again, here are some resources for getting a deeper understanding of the readings we'll hear at this Sunday's Mass.

The readings, from the website of the U.S Catholic Bishops (USCCB):
http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/061409.shtml

And a study/meditation from my own website:
http://members.cox.net/fidelis927/this_week.htm.

This Sunday's Gospel reading, of course, relates the well known miracle of Jesus calming the stormy sea. But what about miracles? Specifically, how are we to understand the miracles of the New Testament -- as real events, as pious fiction, as helpful parables, or as just "nice stories" about Jesus?

To shed some light on the Church's teaching on this matter, here is an article by philosophy Professor Peter Kreeft on "Miracles":

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0021.html

Charitible comments and discussion are always welcome! Have a blessed Sunday.

Happy Father's Day, Atheists

Last night at my parish church, I had the pleasure of presenting the first of a series of 12 classes on apologetics - the defense of the Catholic Faith using Sacred Scripture, reason and historical fact. We had a good turnout (about 40 folks) and there was plenty of enthusiasm to go around. For a variety of reasons, attendance typically goes down after the first couple of nights on these courses, but I'm looking forward to a good series which I pray will result in fruitful blessings for those involved.

Anyway, the main topic for the class last night was "The Existence of God." We covered a wide range of proofs and arguments, but one of the questions that came up was how atheists become atheists. I recalled a book I read not long ago called "Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism." Here is the Amazon.com link and their product description:

http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Fatherless-Psychology-Paul-Vitz/dp/1890626252

Starting with Freud's "projection theory" of religion-that belief in God is merely a product of man's desire for security-Professor Vitz argues that psychoanalysis actually provides a more satisfying explanation for atheism. Disappointment in one's earthly father, whether through death, absence, or mistreatment, frequently leads to a rejection of God. A biographical survey of influential atheists of the past four centuries shows that this "defective father hypothesis" provides a consistent explanation of the "intense atheism" of these thinkers. A survey of the leading intellectual defenders of Christianity over the same period confirms the hypothesis, finding few defective fathers. Professor Vitz concludes with an intriguing comparison of male and female atheists and a consideration of other psychological factors that can contribute to atheism.

Professor Vitz does not argue that atheism is psychologically determined. Each man, whatever his experiences, ultimately chooses to accept God or reject him. Yet the cavalier attribution of religious faith to irrational, psychological needs is so prevalent that an exposition of the psychological factors predisposing one to atheism is necessary.

There is also a free downloadable mp3 talk by Professor Vitz on this topic found here:

http://www.veritas.org/media/talks/344

Professor Vitz examines the lives of several notorious atheists --Voltaire, Friedrich Nietzsche, Betrand Russell, etc -- as well as what he calls "political atheists" ---like Hitler, Marx, and Stalin --and points to the common denominator of a dysfunctional or deficient image of fatherhood in particular and manhood in general in their formative years. Especially interesting was the account of atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair (the one who successfully sued to take prayer out of public schools) who once publicly tried to kill her own father with a butcher knife and screamed at him "I'll live to dance on your grave!"

As a corrollary to this, I think there is good evidence that, even among believers, one's image of God as a fatherly image is greatly affected by how one percieves (or perceived) their earthly father. If one had an abusive or distant father, it is hard to relate to God as caring and loving. If one's father was there but not involved, it makes it that much harder to grow closer to God, our Father in heaven. This can be overcome, of course, by prayer and by growing in knowledge and trust of God over time, but it is still something a lot of folks have to overcome.

Bottom line: If you are a father or serve as a fatherly role model in some capacity, do not under-value or under-estimate your presence and example in your child's or other young person's developing image of God. Happy Father's Day!

Scripture Study For This Sunday, Corpus Christi

Once again, here are some resources for getting a deeper understanding of the readings we'll hear at this Sunday's Mass. This Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, commonly referred to as 'Corpus Christi."

The readings, from the website of the U.S Catholic Bishops (USCCB):

http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/061409.shtml

And a study/meditation from my own website:

http://members.cox.net/fidelis927/this_week.htm
.
And here are two very informative articles from The Rosary Light and Life page:
http://www.rosary-center.org/ll42n3.htm

http://www.rosary-center.org/ll42n4.htm

Charitible comments and discussion are always welcome! Have a blessed Sunday.