Show Notes
Christ and the Church Militant The Church is the community of all the baptised. But there are three parts of the one Church. First, there is the Church Triumphant – that’s the saints in heaven. Then there’s the Church Suffering or Expectant – that’s the Church in Purgatory. Finally, there’s the Church Militant – that’s us. Every Catholic who is living and breathing in this world right now is the Church Militant. But why are we called “Militant”? The Roman Catechism has a compelling answer. In the section on the “Parts of the Church” the Catechism says this: It is called militant, because it wages eternal war with those implacable enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil. So while the Church Triumphant and Suffering is done fighting, the Church Militant fights on against these enemies. These three enemies are the three sources of temptation in the spiritual life. The world (temptation from outside man), the flesh (temptation from inside him, his fallen nature) and the devil (Satan and his fallen angels). So we are all the Church Militant because we wage “eternal war” against these temptations. But are we really the ones waging the war? In fact, it is the Lord Who is waging the war against these enemies through His Body, the Church. In fact, it was Our Lord Who was Himself first tempted by these three sources, and overcame each one already. St. Thomas identifies these three aspects of Our Lord’s temptation in the desert with the following words: For at first [Satan] tempted Him to that which men desire, however spiritual they may be—namely, the support of the corporeal nature by food [the flesh]. Secondly, he advanced to that matter in which spiritual men are sometimes found wanting, inasmuch as they do certain things for show, which pertains to vainglory [the world]. Thirdly, he led the temptation on to that in which no spiritual men, but only carnal men, have a part—namely, to desire worldly riches and fame, to the extent of holding God in contempt [the devil] (III q41 a4). So if Christ already faced these temptations and conquered, He can also face those temptations through us and conquer through us as well. The Church Militant is His Body, waging war against temptation and conquering the devil in every person. This is the essence of the spiritual life and the essence of the Church Militant. But in order to allow Christ to do this, we must know Him through the Sacraments. And here we see how the Lord fights His battles within our own persons. Sacramentum, a Military Oath Now in Greek, the word for Sacrament is mysterion. This is where we get the term “mystagogy” which means “to lead into the mystery,” i.e. the Sacrament. In Latin, the word that was used for this was sacramentum. This was the word that the ancient Romans used to describe a military oath ceremony for a Roman soldier. The soldier swore an oath of allegiance – a sacramentum – to the gods and to the empire. This was the word chosen by the early Christians to describe what is taking place in the mysteries. We can see this in the Sacrament of Baptism, for the soul is freed from the dominion and allegiance to the devil, renounces him, and pledges his allegiance to the Holy Trinity. Henceforth the Baptized Christian is a member of the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of Satan. This is the foundational military oath for every member of the Church Militant. Henceforth, Our Lord Jesus Christ fights the good fight from within that soul. In many dioceses, the next Sacrament received is First Holy Communion. This is the intimate knowledge of Christ, so that Christ can dwell in our hearts and bodies, and fight these battles for us in our person. The Eucharist cleanses venial sins, and thus pushes out the kingdom of Satan to make room for the Kingdom of God in every part of us. Confession does the same, but in a deeper way, removing every mortal sin. Confirmation: the Initiation of the Christian Soldier But then there is a final Sacrament of initiation which also leaves an
More from The Meaning of Catholic
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaningofcath.substack.com
Above: Titian, The Archangel Raphael and Tobias (c. 1512−1514) XXI Week after Pentecost XXIX Week Tempus per annum (aka “Ordinary Time”) MONDAY October 19 · Holy Prophet St. Joel (East Roman) · North American Martyrs (USA and General new Roman rite calendar) · St. Peter of Alcantara, one of the spiritual directors of St. Teresa of Avila
Painting above: Santa Teresa de Jesús (1868) by Benet Mercadé. * The new Complete Works edition of St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) from CUA Press. The first volume published is a new translation of St. Teresa Benedicta’s metaphysical magnum opus: * Edith Stein, Finite and Eternal Being An Attempt to Ascend to the Meaning of Being, new translation by Walter Redmond * Edith Stein encountered St. Teresa of Jesus and was immediately converted.[1] * St. Teresa of Jesus, “Doctor of the Council of Trent”[2] * Against the false spirit of Trent, which is an excessive militarism against Protestantism * The true spirit of the Church Militant and of Trent is St. Teresa of Jesus * This is the same spirit which animated Pope St. John XXIII (who was inspired by Tridentine saints) and thus the true spirit of Vatican II, following the Tridentine saints like St. Francis de Sales, St. Philip Neri, St. Peter Canisius * Vatican II: St. Teresa of Jesus was proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1970 * Lumen Gentium sided with the Dominicans on the dubium regarding the interior life for the laity[3] * Every saint practiced the “Three Ages of the Interior Life” * But the Carmelites systematised this and explained it more than any other tradition within the Church * The new Roman rite Collect for St. Teresa is more strict than the old Roman rite (aka the Latin Mass) * St. Edith Stein says that St. Teresa of Jesus “says what is unsayable” about the interior life, creating a “coherent work of art.”[4] * Not even St. Thomas Aquinas could speak about his own mystical life as St. Teresa did * “Is there any tradition more important than the Latin Mass? Yes. And it’s the ‘One Thing Necessary’” * The Avila Institute & Apostoli Viae has changed my life * This institute and confraternity pass down the Christian mystical tradition under the patronage of St. Teresa of Jesus [1] Teresia Renata Posselt, Edith Stein: the Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2005), 63. [2] Edith Stein, The Hidden Life: Essays, Meditations and Spiritual Texts (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2014), 13-15. [3] Taylor Patrick O’Neill, “Vatican II and the Lasting Influence of Garrigou-Lagrange’s Mystical Theology,” Church Life Journal (January 31, 2022). [4] Edith Stein, Finite and Eternal Being: an Attempt to Ascend to the Meaning of Being, trans. Walter Redmond (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2023), 471.
XXVIII Week Tempus per Annum (aka “Ordinary Time”) XX Week after Pentecost Romanitas - a new framework for Meaning of Catholic * Romanitas is a note of the Church * The east Roman rite * Against the term “Byzantine” * The old Roman rite is the tradition of Romanitas of the city of Rome * Due to the false spirit of Trent, the entire Latin tradition was suppressed de facto and replaced by the old Roman rite = against Romanitas * The new Roman rite has been judged Roman by six Roman Pontiffs to be the Roman rite celebrated by the city of Rome but this should not mean that the old Roman rite should be suppressed but rather cherished, preserved, promoted and spread more and more among Latin bishops. * The new Roman rite restores Romanitas in relation to the local rites and customs if it is grounded in Tradition, especially the old Roman rite, as envisioned by Pope St. Paul VI. * The new Roman rite (in the context of Lumen Gentium and St. Teresa of Jesus) answers the most pressing dubium of modernity, which is the debate between the OPs and SJs about holiness. * The Collect for St. Teresa of Jesus - compare with the old Roman rite * Doctor of the Church in 1970
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaningofcath.substack.com