Virtus In Medio Stat

Excerpts from  A Liturgy from Hell FEBRUARY 2024  BY GEORGE A. KENDALL https://chroniclesmagazine.org/society-culture/a-liturgy-from-hell/?fbclid=IwAR0IEJz64LXby5tXQ8GufuxhMejJKyzkEXf6E4dWgxke2Kh--ZIR-hrQuNI Responses by Laurence Gonzaga "Clearly, the Novus Ordo is not the work of the Holy Spirit, and that leaves only one other possibility—that it is the work of Satan. The Traditional Latin Mass has the authority of the Holy Spirit behind it. The Novus Ordo does not. Just as clearly, neither the Novus Ordo itself nor Traditionis Custodes has legitimate authority behind it, and we are not obliged in conscience to obey either. They are null and void." Laurence: Clearly? Says who? Who is George Kendall to conclude this as if it's an infallible truth revealed to him by God. The Devil didn't give us the Novus Ordo, don't be ridiculous. The real question here is, who hurt you, George Kendall? "The Novus Ordo has been with us only half a century. During ...

From:  Laurence Gonzaga  Sent:  Thursday, November 29, 2007, 1:55:39 PM PST Subject:  The Literal Interpretation of the  Scriptures : How I Understand It The Literal Interpretation of the  Scriptures : How I Understand It By: Laurence Gonzaga   I think it is very important, especially in this age, to reflect upon how we read the Sacred  Scriptures . I would recommend that the reader abandon their preconceived notions and labels for a few moments as they read further.   Personally, I think the word "fundamentalist" is a term popularized by a spirit in the Church which seems to be influenced by the doctrines of  Gnosticism (Hidden knowledge)  and  Modernism (Denial of the Supernatural) , which therefore fosters a  sense  of  relativism (Truth is not objective and universal, it is subjective and particular) . After all, the "fundamentalist" asserts there is a concrete and exact  sense  of the...

DEVELOPING A SUMMARY OF THE ATONEMENT In some parallel universe I might have chosen theology as my career field. Alas, not in this universe. It's simply a hobby of study. I came across an old post of mine summarizing the atonement. I couldn't find it in any of my digital archives. Luckily my post had a screenshot and I was able to find it in an email chain between me and Catholic apologist and author Robert Sungenis. This exchange is what led to my brief summary of the atonement which earned his seeming approval. Here's the exchange. Some edits had to be made due to some personal commentary. My summary of the atonement is at the bottom. Enjoy. Or not. 😞 - Laurence Gonzaga, MA,  Child Development Psychology  Gonzaga:  I just watched this from NT Wright. It was pretty compelling. It sounds like Christus Victor. Eastern Catholics/Orthodox seem to favor Christus Victor.  Can Vicarious Satisfaction be coupled with Christus Victor? https://youtube.com/watch?v=...

LITURGY WARS: THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY I read the first part here from Andrew Likoudis. I appreciate the balanced view he offers. Here's a few thoughts. https://wherepeteris.com/the-liturgical-path-of-the-church-after-vatican-ii/  "The council’s reforms made the liturgy more accessible and engaging for the laity in many cases." I'm not sure I agree with this piece here. At the very least, I don't think it's a universal thing. I can see how the Novus Ordo can be seen as more accessible to the vast majority of folks now, perhaps as a reinterpretation of the post concilar reactions of the common folks, by way of our own current present day biases. After all, why wouldn't we assume that having a liturgy in our vernacular language is naturally more engaging and accessible than a mysterious foreign language I don't understand. But I would argue psychologically, and perhaps this has to do with certain personality styles or types, but there'...

  *Click on the links of the times below to skip to that topic 0:00 Introduction: Why I'm making this video 2:30 Why this video? Responding to a local anti-Catholic Protestant friend 5:20 Detachment in apologetics 5:50 Predestination 7:10 Start of the topic: Catholic Tradition 10:00 Why practice apologetics and evangelization? 12:30 Teach and think with the Church; Vincentian Canon 14:30 Church vs sola scriptura and the Reformation 18:15 What do I need to KNOW, what do I need to DO, as a Christian? 19:45 How can I understand what I'm reading in the Scriptures, unless someone who KNOWS, teaches me? 21:00 Standing on the shoulders of giants 22:10 Interpreting the Bible in the context of 2000 years of ancient Christian belief and practice 23:25 When you listen to the interpretation of your pastor you aren't accepting the "Bible Alone", you are subscribing to some form of "tradition" 25:25 Catholic Tradition or Protestant Tradition, take your...

Purgatory and the Judgment of our Works Laurence Gonzaga A coworker came to my desk. She asked where purgatory is taught in the Bible. I showed her 1 Corinthians 3:12-15. She read it. "Oh, there it is..." Exactly. That simple when you don't assume it's not there. It's pretty clear, once you have been taught by 2000 years of history and tradition. Not by some 2022 sola scripturist that hasn't been taught or sent by the Church to teach. Here are some ideas and passages to note... We are salted by fire: "49 For everyone will be salted with fire.[a] 50 (A)Salt is good, (B)but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? (C)Have salt in yourselves, and (D)be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:49, ESV) We are tested by fire: "12 Beloved, do not be surprised at (A)the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you." (1Peter 4:12, ESV) Our works will be judged: "God “wi...

Prima Ecclesia By Laurence Gonzaga For many years now I've been sharing a concept which I don't think has been coined or written on. I'm thinking of finally writing something about it in a brief booklet. It's probably not worth the effort to get it printed. It's a simple enough concept. The Protestant Reformation had it's doctrine of sola scriptura, that the Bible is the sole/only rule of faith for the Christian. Protestant Calvinist Dr. James White claimed that Catholics practiced what he coined to be sola ecclesia, that the Church alone has the authority. In a Catholic debate in the 90s, Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid explained the concept he called prima scriptura, that the primary authority is the Sacred Scriptures. His Catholic teammates didn't agree to endorse such a concept. In a recent debate between Trent Horn and Gavin Ortlund, Trent Horn used the phrase "prior, not higher" of Scripture. I disagree. If anything is prior, Sa...