source: fr. raul caga, svd (2016), the Word in other word: bible diary 2017. manila: logos publications.
"A young man who had been raised as an atheist was training to be an Olympic diver. The only religious influence in his life came from his outspoken Christian friend, whose sermons the diver never really paid much attention to but simply heard them often.
One bright night the diver went to the indoor pool at the college he attended. He climbed up to the highest diving board and as he turned his back to the pool on the edge of the board and extended his arms out, he saw the cross-shaped shadow of his body on the wall. Feeling as if someone was speaking to him, he knelt down, instead of diving, and finally asked God to come into his life. As he stood up, a maintenance man waked in and turned the lights on. The pool had been drained for repairs."
Monday, November 6, 2017
Sunday, April 16, 2017
"ex opere operato" principle: the preeminence of Christ in the sacraments
about a week ago, i accidentally met and had a discussion with my friend, former classmate in the novitiate in the SVD, mike asis, phd theology, who is current chair of the dept of theo at ateneo at christ the king seminary where we grew up! re: infant baptism & the historical evolution of the worship of the blessed sacrament & the eucharist. being a lay theologian, i allowed for his "theologizing", but already in midlife and having had years of life experience about my own faith and spirituality, i just generally stuck to what he called my "conservative" views.
in the process of the discussion, i spontaneously quoted "ex opere operato" (without the technical knowledge about it!:-), appearing as though i knew what i was talking about.
i first heard about this from fr. mike padua, svd, long-time rector of christ the king mission seminary & my rector-kababayan during my high school years there, when he taught us (by choice so that he would get to know us better daw) religion class in i think HS IV or III or both.
anyway, here's my summary of my research just now from wikipedia:
(a) Sacraments
as far as the sacraments are concerned, it is christ who is the primary author and presider. thus, "ex opere operato christi" is the operant principle.
"... while PROPER DISPOSITION (caps mine) [openness] {subject} is NECESSARY to exercise the efficacious grace in the sacraments, it is NOT THE CAUSE of the sufficient grace. catholic christians believe that what god offers is in the sacraments is a GIFT, freely bestowed out of god's own love {object}. a person's disposition, as good as it may be, DOES NOT automatically bring god's blessing."
NB: historically, this argument arose between the donatists and cacelian, who was ordained by three bishops, one of which was claimed by the donatists to be unworthy because he was a "traitor." caecilian & followers replied: "the VALIDITY of the sacraments and of other such acts cannot be made to DEPEND on the worthiness of the one administering them, for in that case all christians would be in constant doubt regarding the validity of their own baptism or of the co munion of which they had partaken" (gonzalez, 2010, the story of christianity, vol. 1, p. 175).
b) sacramentals
but as far as sacramentals are concerned, the operant principle is "ex opere oprantis (Eclesiae & Christi)"
"... operate ex opere oprantis Eclesiae (i.e., from the work of the working Church) as well as ex opere oprantis (i.e., from the work of the working one, Christ).
... their efficacy is derived from the prayer and good works of the Chruch {subjects} as well as the disposition of the one making use of the sacramentals {subject}...."
MV: "Sacramentals DISPOSE the soul to receive grace and MAY REMIT VENIAL SIN when used prayerfully."
in the process of the discussion, i spontaneously quoted "ex opere operato" (without the technical knowledge about it!:-), appearing as though i knew what i was talking about.
i first heard about this from fr. mike padua, svd, long-time rector of christ the king mission seminary & my rector-kababayan during my high school years there, when he taught us (by choice so that he would get to know us better daw) religion class in i think HS IV or III or both.
anyway, here's my summary of my research just now from wikipedia:
(a) Sacraments
as far as the sacraments are concerned, it is christ who is the primary author and presider. thus, "ex opere operato christi" is the operant principle.
"... while PROPER DISPOSITION (caps mine) [openness] {subject} is NECESSARY to exercise the efficacious grace in the sacraments, it is NOT THE CAUSE of the sufficient grace. catholic christians believe that what god offers is in the sacraments is a GIFT, freely bestowed out of god's own love {object}. a person's disposition, as good as it may be, DOES NOT automatically bring god's blessing."
NB: historically, this argument arose between the donatists and cacelian, who was ordained by three bishops, one of which was claimed by the donatists to be unworthy because he was a "traitor." caecilian & followers replied: "the VALIDITY of the sacraments and of other such acts cannot be made to DEPEND on the worthiness of the one administering them, for in that case all christians would be in constant doubt regarding the validity of their own baptism or of the co munion of which they had partaken" (gonzalez, 2010, the story of christianity, vol. 1, p. 175).
b) sacramentals
but as far as sacramentals are concerned, the operant principle is "ex opere oprantis (Eclesiae & Christi)"
"... operate ex opere oprantis Eclesiae (i.e., from the work of the working Church) as well as ex opere oprantis (i.e., from the work of the working one, Christ).
... their efficacy is derived from the prayer and good works of the Chruch {subjects} as well as the disposition of the one making use of the sacramentals {subject}...."
MV: "Sacramentals DISPOSE the soul to receive grace and MAY REMIT VENIAL SIN when used prayerfully."
Saturday, February 25, 2017
"malignant narcissism" (scott peck)
Fr: People of the lie, as cited by Abesamis, T. S. (2017 feb 22) in Business World (Opinion section),
Re: Personality Traits of Malignant Narcissists
1. centered on self
2. incapable of accepting blame for wrongdoing
3. incapable of empathy
4. tend to blame others for their "sins" ("scapegoating")
5. tend to be vengeful and greedy
6. HABITUAL LYING, even to self
7. skillful at projecting an illusion of caring about others,
even if love for constituents and neighbors
E.g., Erap, Gloria, D30, Trump
Re: Personality Traits of Malignant Narcissists
1. centered on self
2. incapable of accepting blame for wrongdoing
3. incapable of empathy
4. tend to blame others for their "sins" ("scapegoating")
5. tend to be vengeful and greedy
6. HABITUAL LYING, even to self
7. skillful at projecting an illusion of caring about others,
even if love for constituents and neighbors
E.g., Erap, Gloria, D30, Trump
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)