Doctrine

24 12, 2023

What Are We Waiting For?
What Are We Waiting For?

What Are We Waiting For?

By Father David Nix|2023-12-24T05:39:29+00:00December 24th, 2023|Theology|

p/c St. Alphonsus parish, Baltimore. In Advent, you already know that we are waiting for the first coming of Jesus as He comes in gentleness and the Second Coming of Jesus in justice. But I want to admit some misunderstandings I had of world history—specifically the state of the world in waiting for the First Coming of Jesus.—that may shed some light in how we look for the Second Coming of Jesus. For my thanksgiving after Mass, I am now using a 19th century book of Jesuit Meditations from Angelus Press called "Practical Meditations For Every Day of the Year." It is old-school Jesuit, not new. Every day of the [...]

9 11, 2023

St. Thomas on the Resurrection of the Body
St. Thomas on the Resurrection of the Body

St. Thomas on the Resurrection of the Body

By Father David Nix|2023-11-09T07:58:41+00:00November 9th, 2023|Theology|

I only recently discovered a treasure from St. Thomas Aquinas called the Compendium of Theology. I first wrote a commentary on his book here a month ago. St. Thomas continues the richness of his teaching today on the resurrection of the body in chapters 151-168. I was going to comment on it like last time, but the teaching of the Angelic Doctor will stand alone today. This is what you and I have to look forward to in both body and soul if we make it to heaven: CHAPTER 151 REUNION WITH THE BODY REQUISITE FOR THE SOUL’S PERFECT HAPPINESS We should note that the disquiet of the will cannot be [...]

31 10, 2023

Nuchurch’s “Counter-Syllabus” of Errors.
Nuchurch’s “Counter-Syllabus” of Errors.

Nuchurch’s “Counter-Syllabus” of Errors.

By Father David Nix|2023-10-31T19:22:24+00:00October 31st, 2023|Theology|

With providential foresight, Pope Pius IX (top left) saw in the 19th century the heresies that would come upon the Church in the 20th century. So, in 1864, he wrote the Syllabus of Errors. Over one hundred years later, Cardinal Ratzinger (top right, before he was Pope) unfortunately admitted that Vatican II was "a Counter-Syllabus" of Errors. By this, he meant Vatican II was good and the Syllabus' condemnation of heresies was bad, or at least outdated. This is found in his book Principles of Catholic Theology. More specifically, Cardinal Ratzinger said Gaudium Et Spes was a Counter-Syllabus. He meant Catholics needed to get with the times in making peace [...]

5 10, 2023

Six-Aspects of Modernism
Six-Aspects of Modernism

Six-Aspects of Modernism

By Father David Nix|2023-10-05T00:13:50+00:00October 5th, 2023|Theology|

"Modernism" is not an adaptation of some ancient Gospel to a needy modern man. Neither is modernism living a healthy Catholicism that simply rejects a rad-trad time-warp. Rather, modernism is "the synthesis of all heresies, "as Pope St. Pius X has written, and we know heresy leads to hell. What are these heresies? I have included two or three aspects of modernism in past writings, but as I now want to include up to six deadly aspects found at the heart of modernism: A Man-Centered Religion: Modernism replaces a vertical-religion for a horizontal-religion. One example of this is how the Mass of the modernist faces man, not God. Or, at [...]

21 09, 2023

“Your Commandments Are Weapons.”—St. Augustine
“Your Commandments Are Weapons.”—St. Augustine

“Your Commandments Are Weapons.”—St. Augustine

By Father David Nix|2023-09-19T14:56:23+00:00September 21st, 2023|Theology|

We are in a very interesting time in Church history when some Catholics have a great desire to recognize the spiritual warfare into which they have been born. Yet, other Catholics seem interested in legalistic loopholes about how everyone (including themselves) has no responsibility towards their salvation. They hold this because the erroneously believe that either everyone is saved -or- anyone who can prove reduced-culpability or invincible-ignorance is thereby saved. There might even be overlap between these two groups! In other words, there may be Catholics doing binding prayers against demons who are at the same time looking for excuses not to keep the Commandments. But Our Lord Jesus said [...]

29 08, 2023

Who’s Your savior—The State or The Savior?
Who’s Your savior—The State or The Savior?

Who’s Your savior—The State or The Savior?

By Father David Nix|2023-08-28T05:17:59+00:00August 29th, 2023|Theology|

One headline I saw last week read “Biden says new covid shots ‘that work’ may be on the way for all Americans.” This is probably funny to most of my readers but the notion that a new injection “that works” obviously implies the last shot did not work. At all. Actually, it worked perfectly: It reduced the world's population as Bill Gates promised it would. And many of us lost a loved one who didn't listen to us. But why is a certain segment of leftists still blinded to this obvious truth? I think of when Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, trying to figure out the Truth (but still [...]

17 08, 2023

Maximalism and Minimalism
Maximalism and Minimalism

Maximalism and Minimalism

By Father David Nix|2023-08-16T18:35:04+00:00August 17th, 2023|Theology|

Recently, I read about a certain African female saint in the ancient Roman Martyrology: "At Cyrene, in Lybia, St. Cyrilla, a martyr, in the persecution of Diocletian. For a long while she held on her hand burning coals with incense, lest by shaking off the coals she should seem to offer incense to the idols. She was afterwards cruelly scourged, and went to her spouse adorned with her own blood." Notice that St. Cyrilla not only refrained from putting incense on idols (which certainly would have been enough to win her martyrdom under Diocletian) but many Catholics today might even add that she didn't "know her theology enough" to know [...]

8 08, 2023

On Divine Omnipotence
On Divine Omnipotence

On Divine Omnipotence

By Father David Nix|2023-08-08T03:21:03+00:00August 8th, 2023|Theology|

"God is so mighty that after creating man free, He rules and directs him according to His good pleasure, without prejudicing man's liberty in any way."—Divine Intimacy, Day #240 on "Divine Omnipotence." I recently came across the above quote again in Divine Intimacy (DI) but I had never noticed that it may be one of the best short explanations of man's freedom and the world's suffering in light of God's sovereignty. All of world history and modern man's doubts about God seem to be answered in that stunning quote. Here's why I think that quote from Fr. Gabriel of DI is so profound: The issue of theodicy is the question [...]

27 07, 2023

The Most Destructive Line in the New Catechism
The Most Destructive Line in the New Catechism

The Most Destructive Line in the New Catechism

By Father David Nix|2023-08-09T13:25:24+00:00July 27th, 2023|Theology|

Keep in mind as you read this blog post that the new Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) released in 1992 is not infallible. There are significant errors in the CCC, including the constant flip-flopping of the death penalty as I discussed in yesterday's video. In fact, Pope John Paul II never claimed it was infallible upon its release. He simply said it was a "sure norm." But he still released a highly-defective catechism. On the other hand, Pope Clement XIII said that the 16th century Roman Catechism of Trent (RCT) contains "that teaching which is the common doctrine of the Church, from which all danger of doctrinal error is absent." [...]

13 04, 2023

The Resurrection, Truth and Compromise
The Resurrection, Truth and Compromise

The Resurrection, Truth and Compromise

By Father David Nix|2023-04-13T15:02:20+00:00April 13th, 2023|Theology|

In Christ's Passion, we see what we ought to suffer for the truth, and in His resurrection, what we ought to hope for in eternity.—St. Thomas Aquinas. Jesus Christ died for love of every man and woman and child who would ever live, and this was done on occasion of our many sins throughout time. But if you look at the above quote from St. Thomas Aquinas, you see that the more immediate and historical cause of Christ's death was His defense of "the truth." That is, Christ would not compromise on the truth of His Father's religion or liturgy. The Sanhedrein had been targeting Christ for at least two [...]