August 10-Dale Ahlquist on "The Orthodoxy of G.K. Chesterton"

This is an event you won't want to miss!

People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum and safe. There never was anything so perilous or so exciting as orthodoxy.

Dale Ahlquist fell in love on his honeymoon – with G.K. Chesterton.

Yes, that’s right: a newlywed Evangelical Protestant took with him on his honeymoon Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man, a hefty book written as a direct answer to H.G. Wells Outline of History. Now, this is not easy reading. Dale concluded that his entire college education had been a fraud, and he started his journey with Chesterton.

Today Dale is a Catholic, the president and co-founder of the American Chesterton Society, creator and host of the Eternal Word Television Network series, G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense broadcast locally on KEFN Sunday nights at eight. He is the publisher of Gilbert Magazine, author of Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton, editor of The Gift of Wonder: The Many Sides of G.K. Chesterton, and associate editor of the Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton. He has been called “one of the most respected Chesterton scholars in the world” and has delighted audiences around the country with his talks on the great English writer. And yes, his wife stuck with him: they live near Minneapolis with their five children.

On his honeymoon, Ahlquist found Chesterton to be a complete thinker – Chesterton contradicts the notion that topics can be considered as independent questions or subjects. In fact, there is only one subject and only one question: “Are the claims of the Catholic Church true or not?” Which brings us to the greatest apologetical book ever: Chesterton’s Orthodoxy.

This is not the book you expect: it approaches the one and only question from a much different angle than the classical apologetic, a much wider angle, that of a quest. And when Chesterton the agnostic set off in search of his own truth (which he later called his own heresy) he discovered that his heresy was traditional Christianity:

“I have kept my truths but I have discovered, not that they were not truths, but simply that they were not mine. When I fancied that I stood alone I was really in the ridiculous position of being backed up by all Christendom.”

The rest of his life, Chesterton’s writing would expound this discovery with a wonder and wit that entertains, challenges, and sparkles.

This gem of a book was written 100 years ago this year: 1908, fourteen years before Gilbert Keith Chesterton was received into the Catholic Church, and is more relevant today than it was then. Chesterton does not repeat formulas found in catechisms – he shows how a sense of wonder and experience have led to the truths that were not his own. He is funny, he is convincing, most of all he is right, and he presents the case with verve in a style seekers today will appreciate.

Don’t miss this opportunity!
Join Credo of the Catholic Laity at 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 10th for a delicious sit down dinner and a talk by Dale Ahlquist on the Orthodoxy of G.K. Chesterton at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 7750 Carondelet in Clayton. $25 per person.

CLICK and PRINT the Coupon below:

Meal choices are Roast Beef Bordelaise or Baked Whitefish. Free inside parking: take a ticket as you enter at 7750 Carondolet or 7777 Bonhomme. The gate will be open when you leave. To make a reservation, call Howard Brandt at 314-894-6003 or e-mail hcbrandt@att.net.

Check out more on Chesterton:

The American Chesterton Society

The St. Louis Chesterton Society

A Short Biography of Chesterton

Women for Faith & Family Event in June

On Saturday, June 28^th Women for Faith & Family is hosting a Day of Recollection to mark the 20^th Anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem with Bishop Robert Hermann at the Cardinal Rigali Center beginning with Lauds at 8:30 a.m. and going all day. Breakfast & Lunch are included in the $35 registration fee. Family pricing is available. Click here and scroll down a bit for more information.

Liturgical music aficionados will be pleased to know that Fr. Samuel Weber is leading the music for the Divine Office and Holy Mass. For more information read the Adoremus article on Fr. Weber.

To be Catholic is to be Missionary

CREDO OF THE CATHOLIC LAITY

Is proud to present

Msgr. Francis X. Blood Speaking on

To be Catholic is to be Missionary

Sunday April 6^th 6 p.m.

Once again Credo is pleased to partner with the Central Catholic Union in the annual St. Joseph Dinner.

Our speaker is Msgr. Francis X. Blood, Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Msgr. Blood is a native born St. Lousian who entered the seminary right out of Catholic Grade school. Recognizing his potential Cardinal Carberry sent him to study in Rome. He lived at the Pontifical North American College Seminary while he studied theology at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas. There he earned a S.T.B. and an M.A. in Theology. Both degrees were suma cum laude.

In 1988 he volunteered to serve in the Latin American Apostolate in Bolivia where he served as Associate Pastor and Pastor at Christo Rey Parish in La Paz Bolivia for five years until 1993.

Upon his return to St. Louis in 1993 he was assigned to St. Mary Magdalen as Associate Pastor. In 1995 he was appointed as the first Director of Hispanic Ministries for the St. Louis Archdiocese and Pastor of St. Cecilia Church. In 2004 Archbishop Burke assigned Msgr. Blood as Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies for the Archdiocese.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear this outstanding priest tell his story.


Free inside parking. Take a ticket as you enter at 7750 Carondolet or 7777 Bonhomme. The gate will be open when you leave.

Join us for for a delicious sit down dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel 7750 Carondelet
in Clayton. Sunday April 6^th, 6:00 PM. Cost $25:00 per person. Dinner choices are Roast Beef Bordelaise or Chicken Parmesan. To make a reservation, call Howard Brandt at 314-894-6003 or e-mail hcbrandt [commercial at sign] att dot net.

Lenten Retreat March 7th & 8th

Credo of the Catholic Laity in conjunction with St. Francis de Sales Oratory will be holding it’s Lenten Retreat Friday and Saturday March 7th and 8th at the Oratory located on Ohio Avenue at Gravois.

The retreat presenters will be:

The Very Rev Michael Monshau, O.P., Prior of the Dominican Priory in St. Louis and professor of Homiletics at Kennrick Glennon Seminary.

The Very Rev Michael Schmitz, Vicar General and Provincial Superior for the US of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

The highlight of the retreat will be the third conference on Saturday when His Grace The Most Rev. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke will make the presentation.

We are delighted to be able to have these men for our 2008 retreat and we thank the Rev Karl Lenhardt, Rector of St. Francis de Sales Oratory and Vice Provincial of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, for obtaining these outstanding presenters for us.

Take advantage of this opportunity to make this Lenten Retreat one of your most efficacious. The full schedule for the retreat is shown below.

The charge for the retreat is $20.00 per person. If you have a problem covering this charge don’t hesitate to ask for help. We want to make this retreat available to as many people as we can. Children under 12 are free but we need to know they are coming so we can prepare enough food.

St. Francis de Sales is a magnificent church known as the Cathedral of the south, but continues to need significant repairs. Since the Archbishop assigned the church to the Institute of Christ the King for its use as an oratory many repairs have been made. But the most important repair still needs to be completed. The 300 foot steeple must be stabilized as it’s pulling away from the main structure of the church. The cost is estimated to be over a million dollars. Any profits from the retreat will go toward the fund to repair the steeple. If you are financially able we hope you will consider a generous donation for this worthy cause. Just add the donation to your retreat check.

This year we are asking that you mail your check directly to St. Francis de Sales oratory. For more information, contact Howard Brandt at 314-894-6003

Retreat Schedule

Friday March 7, 2008 - The Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

1:30 p.m.: Opening prayer: “Veni Creator” First Conference: Rev. Michael Monshau. (Hall)

2:30 p.m.: Stations of the Cross. (Church)

3:30 p.m.: Second conference with Father Monshau. (Hall)

4:30 p.m.: Light supper (Hall)

5:30 p.m.: Exposition, Adoration Benediction and, confession (Church)

6:30 p.m.: Solemn High Mass, Msgr. Michael Schmitz Church)


Saturday March 8, 2008 - Feast of Saint. John of God

9:00 a.m.: Confessions, Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy (Church)

10:00 a.m.: Solemn Adoration and Benediction with the Archbishop (Church)

11:00 a.m.: Third Conference by His Grace, the Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis (Hall)

12:00 p.m.: Lunch (Hall)

1:30 p.m.: Fourth Conference: Msgr. Schmitz (Hall)

2:45 p.m.: Closing Mass (Church)

Latin Liturgy Association Announcement

Our friends at the Latin Liturgy Association have sent the following update many Credo members will want to know about.

LATIN LITURGY ASSOCIATION
ST. LOUIS-BELLEVILLE CHAPTER
CAPITULUM SANCTI LUDOVICI et BELLEVILLENSIS

January 21, 2008

Dear LLA members and friends of the Latin Mass,

So much has been happening in the St. Louis-Belleville area since Pope Benedict’s moto proprio went into effect on Sept. 14, 2007, that I thought an update was in order. There are, to my knowledge, five different locations where one may regularly assist at the “extraordinary use” Latin Mass in the St. Louis archdiocese:

1. St. Francis de Sales Oratory, in the city of St. Louis, where our last LLA convention was held. The Oratory now publishes their weekly bulletins on-line, so that you may check on special Masses during the week, as well as the Sunday schedule.

2. Oratory of Ss. Gregory and Augustine, in Creve Coeur, MO, on the campus of St. Anselm’s/St. Louis Abbey/St. Louis Priory High School. Daily (7:30 a.m.) and Sunday (7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.) Masses. (Photo is incorrect—Mass is offered in the Parish Center chapel)

3. Assumption Parish in south St. Louis County on Mattese Rd. Weekly Sunday Latin Mass at 3:00 p.m.

4. St. Joseph Parish (Apple Creek) and St. Maurus (Biehle, MO) rotate offering the Sunday Latin Mass at 11:15 a.m.

5. Little Flower Church in Richmond Heights, MO, at 9:15 a.m. every Sunday, usually offered by Father James Rodis, formerly of St. Agatha’s Church. (The front of the bulletin, showing the Mass schedule, is not included on-line).

In addition to the above list, the seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary regularly celebrate the Latin Mass in both forms (ordinary and extraordinary uses). Call the seminary at 314-792-6100 for the current schedule.

In the Belleville diocese, the extraordinary use Latin Mass continues to be offered every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at Holy Family Log Church. The Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest is now overseeing these Masses. Father William Avis is the usual celebrant.

Additionally, the once-a-month Latin Mass continues at Sacred Heart Church in DuQuoin, IL at 11:00 a.m. on the third Sunday of the month.

This [Sacred Heart --ed] is where our next LLA chapter meeting will be, on Sunday, April 20, 2008. We will attend the 11:00 a.m. Mass, and adjourn to Alongi’s Italian restaurant for lunch and a business meeting. A meeting notice, with detailed map and directions will be sent to all LLA members in mid-March.

NEWS FLASH!!!

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Monsignor John F. McCarthy, who celebrated Vespers for us during the convention, has been authorized by His Excellency, Archbishop Burke, to offer the Latin Mass, according to the ordinary usage (Novus Ordo) at St. Mary of Victories Church in downtown St. Louis (corner of Third St. and Gratiot), beginning on the first Sunday of Lent, February 10, 2008. The time will be at 9:30 a.m., so that it will not interfere with the English/Hungarian Mass at 11:30 a.m. Father Brian W. Harrison, OS, will be the usual celebrant. Worship aids will be provided, using the Ignatius Press publication, “The Mass of Vatican II” for the Latin responses.

I encourage all LLA members who are able, to attend the inaugural Mass on Feb. 10, as a show of support for this most historic “next step” in guiding Masses of the ordinary usage to a more reverent and holy celebration in the St. Louis archdiocese.

Yours truly,
Regina Morris, Chairman
LLA St. Louis-Belleville Chapter

Smallest of All

150^th Anniversary of Lourdes

Responding to Archbishop Burke's 2005 request, Theater of the Word, Incorporated will mark the 150^th anniversary of our Lady's apparitions at Lourdes with a production of St. Louis native Mother Mary Francis' play Smallest of All which shows how St. Bernadette as a 14 year old girl stood her ground with stubbornness, wit, humility, and faith in the face of cynicism, hostility, and skepticism from ecclesiastical and civil authorites, and ordinary folk. Archbishop Burke is a great fan of this play, and specifically requested the production.

Credo members may remember the founder and creative director of Theater of the Word, Kevin O'Brien, from the September Forum. And we know quite a few Credo members attended the first three shows at the Rigali Center. Credo board member Tom Leith will appear in Smallest of All as Jacomet, Lourdes' Chief of Police.

The show will be performed at the Rigali Center in Shrewsbury on two weekends in February; on Sunday the 17^th, and the entire weekend of the 22^nd. There will be a matinée both Sundays, and evening performances on the other days.

On Sunday February 24^th, Theater of the Word will hold its first fundraising event in St. Louis. After the performance, there will be a dinner and talk by Credo's friend, Fr. Joseph Fessio, on Reclaiming the Arts. Fr. Fessio and Ignatius Press have been great supporters of Theater of the Word. The price for the whole package: show, dinner, and talk is $35. But Fr. Fessio hopes you bring your checkbook. Space is limited, and tickets for the fundraising event are available only by calling Theater of the Word.

Evening performances are at 8:00, and the matinées are at 2:00. Doors open a half hour before the show. Tickets are available from Theater of the Word, Incorporated at 314-849-9673. $15 for all performances. Except for the fundraiser, tickets also available at all Metrotix locations, and on the Metrotix website , or charge by phone at 314-534-1111.

Modernism and Pope Pius X

A very timely article by Dana Cole
_________________________

The loss of faith is the rotten core of Modernism. The heresy of Modernism was identified and condemned by Pope Pius X in the early 20th century in his encyclical, “Pascendi Domenici Gregis.” Since this heresy was so pervasive at that time, reaching into the heart of the Church itself, the Pope took severe measures to root it out of the Church. While these measures stemmed the tide of the heresy and saved many young priests and the faithful from its effects, it continued to thrive in the secular world. However, once Vatican II provided a forum for broader theological inquiry, the virus of Modernism took hold in the Church once again, encouraged by an agnostic mind-set in the secular world.

What is Modernism? Pope Pius X analyzed various writings of the Modernists and identified three main themes: vital immanence, the historical-critical method of studying Scripture, and evolution of doctrine.

Vital Immanence: Essentially, agnosticism is a refusal to believe in anything beyond our five senses. If something cannot be seen, felt, heard, etc., it is not an objective phenomenon which can be studied by science and history. Therefore all past religious revelation and doctrine was only a collection of personal internal experiences, conjured up by the tension of man’s existence in an unpredictable world. This is the principle of religious immanence. Faith consists only in a sentiment originating in a need for the divine. Religious consciousness, then, is solely personal and unique to each individual. This is the philosophy permeating secular thought in the last two centuries, and when admitted into the seminaries and universities of the Church, it destroys faith.

The Historical-Critical Method: As Catholics, we read our Scripture with a trust that God’s Word is true and that Christ is Who He said He is: the Son of God. St. John the Evangelist most beautifully crafts his gospel to bring out the divinity of Jesus, the “Word made Flesh.” Where miracles occur in the historical records of the Old Testament and the New, we believe that God suspended the laws of nature to perform these.

However, the Modernists believe that the men who followed Jesus were so enthralled by His personal charisma and His teaching that they ascribed divine attributes to Him, elevating Him above His true condition, and embroidering the historical account with what seemed to be miracles. Because they are agnostics, the Modernists cannot accept what is not perceptible to the senses, and when they read the Scriptures they remove everything which raises persons or events above historical conditions. They must manufacture common, everyday reasons why things which looked like miracles occurred. As for Christ Himself, because the Modernists believe He was “transfigured” by men into a divinity, He must be stripped of all deeds and words not in keeping with the times and conditions in which He lived. Once stripped, He becomes just an itinerant preacher who suffered crucifixion and death because He fell afoul of the religious and political rulers of His day. There was no resurrection, they say. So this is the “Christ of history,” the real Christ, versus the “Christ of faith,” a fiction. Catechetical materials which present Jesus as a social revolutionary and downplay His divinity and His call to holiness betray the Modernist school of thought.

Evolution of Doctrine: Modernists believe that a living religion must change constantly, evolving with changing times and cultures. And, since for them religion is essentially a personal experience, they admit a wide variety of interpretations and modifications, all completely subjective without reference to an objective truth independent of time or culture. Today what matters is what one feels.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the recent “ordination” of two Catholic women in a synagogue in St. Louis. Despite two thousand years of unbroken tradition and the unambiguous words of Pope John Paul II that the Church is unable to ordain women, these two women pursued this objective because “it felt right to them.” And the female rabbi of the synagogue, against ecumenical protocol and common decency, provided them with a venue because “it felt right to her.”

Toward the end of his encyclical, Pope Pius X lists certain reforms advocated by the Modernists:

• Theology is to be reformed, based on modern philosophy.

• Historical methods are to be reformed consonant with modern methods and principles.

• Dogmas are to be harmonized with science and history.

• Regarding worship, the number of external devotions are to be reduced.

• Church authority must be decentralized and democratized.

• In morals the principles of “Americanism” must be adopted; i.e., the active virtues are more important than the passive (action more important than contemplation).

• Ecclesiastical celibacy must be suppressed.

Modernism is alive and well today.

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