(AsiaNews) - Financial, not technical or weather factors are behind higher prices. Inflation is the by-product of huge liquidity injected into the markets by central banks, in particular the US Federal Reserve, as AsiaNews has pointed over the years. For a long time, the price of raw materials has for the most part not reflected the interaction of supply and demand for real goods. By far, the main factor in shaping the price of almost all raw materials is trading by financial operators who can quickly shift huge amounts of money from government bonds to securities, stocks and so-called goods. For those with the right connections, profits are huge and risks relatively low. Since they have access to almost unlimited resources, they can get what they want. Market values are systematically distorted in large measure, but not exclusively, by the ‘Plunge Protection Team’, a colloquial term used by newspapers for a little known body with an exclusive membership that has a major impact on markets. Set up in 1988, its official name is the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. It includes the secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In addition, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which oversees the nation's open market operations, is now routinely involved as well. A small number of institutional groups rotate around the aforementioned bodies as well. They include big business banks, like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, and hedge funds. Movement of personnel between these institutional groups and big private groups are commonplace; thus, no one should be surprised if a handful of managers in charge of speculative funds can earn huge annual pays, a billion dollars just in fees in some cases.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: It has been said that when America catches a cold the world catches pneumonia. Our financial crisis in the United States, coupled by massive government spending, and the willingness of the Federal Reserve to float the debt with trillions of dollars in funny money, is now coming back to bite us. The world will suffer first, and then Americans are not far behind.
The riots currently going on around the world may have political underpinnings, but it is inflation and food shortages that has sparked them. These economic woes are in great part the direct result of our own government's criminal negligence.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: There is a foreboding spirit in the air lately, the "something big is about to happen" kind of spirit. Something that is likely to change the United States of America forever. We cannot know what exactly it will be, but we can know what the underlying causes are.
The American people are guilty of one great sin which will be our undoing. That sin is APATHY. We have allowed the success of our nation to make us decadent, and in becoming decadent we put our own personal desires above the good of our nation and our people. We stopped going to church (well most of us anyway) and we forgot about God. We elected politicians based on their promises of what they would give us, rather than on what was best for the country. We looked for what we could get out of America and the system, rather than what we could contribute and put back in. We allowed our courts to remove all trace of Christianity from our public schools and public square. We allowed our courts to decide that killing the helpless was "okay" so long as they couldn't speak for themselves. We permitted our courts and our politicians to promote all forms of abominable immorality and we looked the other way. When our politicians committed scandalous acts of immorality we laughed. They became part of our entertainment, while we looked for entertainment everywhere. We tuned into "American Idol" and "ESPN" while the fabric of our nation burned around us. Then in late 2008 the economy completely collapsed, and rather than make the sacrifices necessary to allow for it's slow recovery, we elected politicians that promised a quick fix with more government spending and entitlement programs.
Now the other shoe is about to drop and nothing can stop it. We have amassed a national debt topping $14 trillion with an annual deficit topping $1.4 trillion. This cannot be sustained. The end of our way of life is now upon us.
In a previous blog entry I gave a short summary plan for how to save Europe. Europe's social and cultural problems are far more serious that America's, and so my recommended plan had to be short and simple. For the United States of America, we are in much better shape socially and culturally. Yes, our nation has sustained significant damage, and these things are quickly eroding, however our situation is not as bad as Europe's and in spite of whatever economic and political catastrophe awaits us, America does have the resources to recover both socially and culturally. Unlike Europe, we do not need to import our cultural salvation from somewhere else.
The following points are designed to restore American society and culture to it's historic Christian standard. I honestly don't know if any of these suggestions will ever be implemented, but I do know this. If something akin to them is not implemented soon, the United States WILL FRACTURE into multiple smaller nation-states. Some of those nation-states will implement the suggestions below, and those nation-states will recover and thrive eventually. As an American however, I would prefer my nation stick together, so here is the plan...
Immediately implement a federal subsidiarity plan (i.e. "federalism") in which the federal government gradually turns all social programs and regulations over to the state governments, while the federal government takes a subsidiary role to the state governments. This plan should take no more than five years, and by it's end the state governments will be the supreme governments over the people of the United States, while the federal government will be almost invisible to them.
Remove all federal powers to tax the people directly (namely the income tax and entitlement taxes) and leave these matters for the states, while the federal government receives all of it's funding from tariffs and excise taxes.
Remove all federal court jurisdiction over issues related to religion, marriage, abortion, cloning and euthanasia, allowing the states to decide these issues for themselves.
Close all foreign U.S. bases, except in those countries that are willing to PAY US for our presence, and redeploy our troops to protect and patrol American borders.
Adopt a constitutional balanced-budget amendment for the federal government.
English should be made the official national language, and most-favored immigration status should be given to Mexico, provided immigrants learn English and how to assimilate into American society.
The federal government should enforce antitrust laws vigorously, break up monopolies in all industries including the banks and media, and pull out of NAFTA and GATT.
Each state should then make some formal declaration OFFICIALLY recognizing the historic significance of Christianity in the development of each state and the United States in general. If changes need to be made to the state constitutions to allow for this, than those changes should be made.
Each state should publicly fund alternatives to abortions and work toward eliminating all public funding of abortion. Some states are ready to ban abortion completely, and they should do so immediately.
Each state should adopt Sweden's model of subsidized school choice. If changes need to be made to the state constitutions to allow for this, than those changes should be made.
Each state should adopt a method of taxation that is non-intrusive to the American people and does not impose upon their religious or social freedoms.
Each state should print it's own currency. This is permissible under the U.S. Constitution and U.S. law. What is forbidden is minting coins for legal tender. Paper notes are legal to print under U.S. law, provided the appropriate federal regulations are followed. This is necessary to create alternatives to the U.S. dollar that promote spending at a local level on local goods and services rather than imported and interstate goods and services. This is vital toward the restoration of local economies.
Each state should encourage local cities and communities to adopt regulations (as they see fit) that prevent big corporate takeovers of local economies. The states should vigorously back these communities, while the federal government takes a subsidiary role to the states.
I know it is unlikely these measures will be enacted in the United States, and that is very unfortunate indeed, as they are necessary to save this nation from economic and political ruin. The good news is that American Christian culture and society is still strong enough to rise from the ashes without the need for importing Christians from other countries. The failure to implement the above suggestions will ultimately result in the economic and political collapse of the United States. What will arise from the ashes of the "Late Great United States" will be several smaller nation-states, made up primarily of like-minded states from the former Union. These like-minded states will likely combine to form new political unions, and some of them will likely implement measures similar to the suggestions above. When that happens, those new nations-states will prosper and thrive. As for the others - who knows?
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The fact that Europe is careening toward cultural suicide is indisputable. Muslims are already the fastest growing demographic group in Europe and in many European nations Muslims threaten to become the majority within a matter of decades. The German government has already publicly admitted that Germany is well on it's way to becoming an Islamic republic. While other European nations are not as openly honest about their future, some of them are actually heading toward that goal much faster than Germany. Failure to correct this course now will only accelerate the demise of Europe as we know it. It's not that I expect any of these suggestions to be implemented, but I thought it would be nice to spell out some simple solutions in one blog entry. Now I understand this is not a comprehensive plan, and it omits many key issues that readers of this blog will naturally recognize as necessary to European recovery. Indeed, my readers will recognize that some of these suggestions don't go nearly far enough. I acknowledge that. However, what I'm trying to do is outline a basic framework for the slow long-term and organic recovery of traditional European Christian identity. If the following policies were implemented by the European Union, and European nations respectively, it would (over time) correct the entire course of Europe toward a much more Christian society that is more consistent with European history and culture....
Each European country, along with the general European Union, should OFFICIALLY recognize the historic significance of Christianity in the development of modern Europe.
Each European country, along with the general European Union, should publicly fund alternatives to abortions and work toward eliminating all public funding of abortion.
Each European country should STOP their liberal indiscriminate immigration policies, and instead implement a fast-track "Law of Return," for the descendants of Europeans who left the continent within the last 100 years. Case in point, American descendants of German immigrants going back to 1911 (one-hundred years ago from 2011), should be permitted to return immediately with entitlement toward basic housing and employment, along with fast-track citizenship within 2 to 3 years. The same would go for English immigrants to America, Canada, Australia, etc. Each country should implement it's own "Law of Return" based on the one-century model and preferential treatment should be given to such people under 50 years of age, as these people are most likely to bring children and/or produce more. Each country should implement it's own "Law of Return" as it sees fit, offering various enticements (as the country feels necessary) to make the law effective. These enticements should take into consideration the "type" of returning immigrants each country wants - preferably professional and skilled individuals with a good work ethic.
The European Union should adopt a model of subsidiarity in dealing with it's member-states.
As I said above, there is so much more that can (and should) be done, but this would be a good starting point. Mark my words, if something like this is not implemented soon, all of Europe will be lost within one generation. Also as I said above, I don't expect any of these suggestions to be implemented, as it seems it is within the very nature of liberal democracies to commit social and cultural suicide.
So with that, understanding that European nations probably WON'T do what needs to be done, The Catholic Knight would like to say one thing to my European brothers and sisters...
THANK YOU
Thank you Europe for everything you have given to the world. Thank you for the middle ages, and the rise of Christendom, which gave us all the technological, social and cultural Renaissance that made Western Civilization possible. Thank you for the invention of the printing press and modern science. Thank you for the social foundation upon which North and South America were built, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa and Asia. Thank you for your great and vast contribution to the history of the world. Thank you and God bless you. You will be sorely missed.
Watch this primer on Judaism by Michael Voris, then read The Catholic Knight's article below.
The Conversion of St. Paul on the Road to Damascus
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Today (January 25) is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. It's generally not one of the major feasts we look forward to in the Church, but it is nevertheless a very important commemoration, and it's one that is extremely applicable to our time. You see, one of the biggest problems in Christianity today is a fundamental lack of understanding of what the Church really is. By "Church" I mean the "Catholic Church" directly, and those who are tied to the Catholic Church through baptism indirectly.
First, let me clarify that last sentence. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly teaches that those who are baptized according to the Trinitarian formula, that is in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, have effectively received an authentic Catholic baptism, even if the baptism was not performed by a Catholic priest or deacon. "Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: 'For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.' 'Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.'" - (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1271) So what does that mean? It means that virtually every Protestant has received an authentic baptism recognized by the Catholic Church! It means that virtually every Protestant is in a similar situation to a Catholic who was baptized in the Church, but walked away from the Church before receiving confirmation and holy Eucharist. It means that virtually all Protestants (Evangelicals, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, etc.) effectively have one foot in the door of the Catholic Church, by virtue of their Trinitarian baptism alone. Their communion with Rome does exist, by virtue of our common baptism, but that communion is imperfect and impaired. In addition to that, there are also the Eastern Orthodox Christians, who's sacraments Rome recognizes entirely, who are only separated from Rome simply by canonical issues that can be remedied when the time comes. So when I say the "Church" I am speaking primarily of the Catholic Church directly, and other Christians united to her in baptism indirectly. The Catholic Church can be compared to a great ship with many small rafts tethered to it. There is only one ship, which is the "bark of Peter," but many small rafts tethered to her. The rafts contain groups of Christians, who for whatever reason, are not in full unity with Rome, and the tethered ropes are like the common bond of baptism that unites us. Now that I've defined things a bit, let's move on to the topic at hand...
The Catholic Church is Israel.
I hope that last sentence stands out for you. Here is the scripture reference to back it up. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And whosoever shall follow this rule, peace on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." - (Galatians 6:15-16) Here St. Paul tells his readers that in Christ neither circumcision (Jewish law) nor uncircumcision (Gentile custom) matters. What matters are those who follow the gospel, and those who follow the gospel are the "Israel of God." It is absolutely essential that Christians (not just Catholics) fully understand this. We, the Church, are the "Israel of God." We are Israel. We are the spiritual remnant of ancient Israel, expanded and multiplied, to encompass the whole world. This was (and is) God's plan of salvation. It has not changed. For in the Church, it matters not whether you are Jew or Gentile. What matters is that you are in full-communion with that one Jew who unites us together. I'm speaking of the Jewish rabbi who is both Messiah and King - Jesus of Nazareth. "In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy.'" - (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 877)
Artist Sketch of an Olive Tree
The Church, particularly the Catholic Church, is Israel. There is no other Israel today, in a Biblical sense, than the Church. The Church is also Zion. There is no other Zion, in a spiritual sense, than the Church. The Church is also the New Jerusalem. There is no other "Jerusalem," in a spiritual sense than the Church. This is a fundamental teaching of the New Testament. Without this understanding, everything becomes convoluted. If you read Israel and the Church as being two separate entities than you've missed the boat, and one of the most fundamental teachings of the New Testament just went right over your head. In the eleventh chapter of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans he uses the illustration of an olive tree to make his point. He compares the Church to a tree that has its roots in the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), and its trunk representing the Law and Prophets in the Old Testament. No tree trunk grows upward into infinity. At some point it must sprout branches, and so St. Paul's "olive tree" does the same. These branches make up the modern Church in Jesus Christ. Some branches are Jewish Christians. Many branches are Gentile Christians. Both are precious in the eyes of God. This is the "Israel of God."
What about those Jews who refused to believe in Jesus Christ? St. Paul himself tells us those are the branches that were cut off from the tree - at least for the time being. These branches can however be grafted back in at any time, and indeed he assures us that someday they all will be, in the fullness of time. As far as we're concerned anyway, Christianity (neither Judaism nor some piece of real estate in the Middle East) makes up the new "Israel of God," and it's been this way ever since Christ initiated the New Covenant some 2,000 years ago.
This is how we Christians are to understand ourselves, and the Church, in the context of Israel and the Old Testament. I cannot stress how incredibly important this is, because if it is not understood, the errors that will arise from it will be nothing short of monumental!
Where does this put the Church in relation to the rest of the Jewish people? Simply put, we (the Church) are Zion! We are Israel! That is what it explicitly says in the New Testament and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. To become complete as a Jew is no different than what it takes to become complete as a Gentile. We all must be "grafted in" to Israel - which is The Catholic Church! The path is no different for a Jew than it is for a Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Wiccan. We are all the same in God's eyes now, and the door is open to all of us equally.
It had to be this way you see. Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant, and established a New Covenant that puts us all on equal footing. He didn't destroy the Old Covenant - he FULFILLED it! The Old Covenant still remains, but is fulfilled in Christ, and must be understood fully in the context of Christ.
Now the Gospel was given first to the Jews - that is to the apostles and disciples of Jesus - and then to the rest of the world. It was delivered to the synagogues first, where the apostles would gather a small remnant of faithful Jews who would in turn help them deliver the gospel to the Gentiles. "The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: 'theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh' (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people." - (Nostra Aetate, 4; Second Vatican Council, October 28, 1965) The one and only boasting privilege of being a Jewish convert to the Church is knowing that God came in the flesh as one of your own kinsmen, and he gave the Gospel to your kinsmen first, and they in turn gave it to the world. That is what it means to be a Jewish Christian - a Hebrew Catholic. Yet there is more, St. Paul tells us that the rejection of the gospel by the majority of Jews is actually a blessing to the world, because by doing so, the gospel has been given to the Gentiles, and it has allowed the Church (God's Israel) to expand to the farthest reaches of the earth. That is not the end of the story though, St. Paul gives us a prophetic glimpse of the future of the Jewish people. While the Church gains more Jewish converts in every era, Paul tells us that a day will come when the Jewish people will accept the gospel en mass, thus completing the Church and bringing the final epic of human history to a close. He more than hints that the fullness of Israel (the Church), by the inclusion of all the Jewish people together with the Gentiles, will result in the Second Advent of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting! But there is more, the apostle also tells us that there will never be a time in human history when the Church will be vacant of faithful Jewish Christians. He assures us that throughout all of history, God always has a remnant of his original covenant people in the Church. No other race or ethnic group has been given such a promise. It is unique only to the Jews. So we Gentile Christians must never be haughty or nasty toward the Jewish people, whether they are believers or not, for God has promised their tribe more than any of us. One day they shall ALL be our Christian brethren, so we must treat them appropriately, and until that day comes, there will always be a faithful remnant of them in God's Israel - that is The Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church (Israel) has soundly condemned all forms of hatred or bigotry toward people of Jewish heritage and culture. Specifically, some corrupt individuals throughout history have tried to collectively blame ALL Jews for the crucifixion of Christ. This is unfair. The only people responsible for this were the people who actually condemned Jesus Christ to death - meaning the Jewish Sanhedrin of 33 AD. We're talking about a group of no more than 71 men here - and not all of them agreed. Some of them actually rose to Jesus' defense. However, the majority of these 71 men (at least 37 to 50 men) found Christ "guilty" of blasphemy and condemned him to death. These are the only men we should ever hold fully responsible, and all of them have been dead for some 20 centuries now. To hold the Jewish people of today collectively responsible for a crime that was committed by about 50 men some 2,000 years ago is irrational and prejudice. The Catholic Church has categorically condemned such irrational prejudice and specifically teaches: "although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures" and "furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone." - (Nostra Aetate, 4)
A great fallacy has been circulating the globe for the last century and a half. It has particularly taken root in Anglophone (English-speaking) countries. It is the fallacy called Dispensationalism. It is a heresy that not only permeates many Protestant denominations and affiliations, but it has even penetrated the Catholic Church. Yes, there are Dispensationalist groups even among Catholics. The fallacy teaches that God has formed two covenant peoples. There are the Jews of the Old Covenant, and the Church of the New Covenant. The fallacy continues to teach that the modern day Jews of today are still "Israel" and that Israel is a completely separate entity from the Church. So the fallacy goes, God has one plan of salvation for ethnic Israel (the Jews), and another for the Church (primarily Gentiles). As the fallacy of Dispensationalism has played out over the last century and a half, the national State of Israel is incorrectly assumed to be the "true Israel" while the Church is simply considered "the Church" having no real connection. Some Christians use this rationale to blindly support the State of Israel, regardless of it's politics that often harm both Palestinian Christians and Muslims. This ideology is called "Zionism" and it is contrary to the gospel. Jesus, the rightful King of Israel, plainly stated that his Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), because if it were his servants would fight. Jesus however, did not instruct his apostles to fight. He instructed them to pray and to teach instead. This teaching upset some of his followers, perhaps even Judas Iscariot (who eventually betrayed him), because they were waiting for years for a Messiah that would violently take back the old Kingdom of Israel from the Romans. They dreamed of a glorious battle of liberation not seen since the time of the Maccabees. Jesus had different plans. The Kingdom of God (Israel) is not about a piece of real estate and who owns it. That is not why God gave them the promised land in the first place. The promised land wasn't about the promised land, it was about providing a nursery suitable for God to raise up his people for a much greater task ahead. That being the task of taking the gospel to the world, and expanding Israel (the Church) to cover the whole planet. It was not to be a kingdom of laws and men, but rather a Realm of Spirit and Truth, founded on Jesus Christ and built on Peter the rock. To focus on real estate in the Middle East is to completely miss the point. The ancient Land of Israel was merely a nursery to raise God's people for something bigger and better. It was a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. The problem with Zionism is that it focuses completely on the land - real estate - and ignores the role of the Church.
Some Christians use the Dispensationalist rationale to seek religious fulfillment in modern Jewish ceremonies and liturgies. This is a very ancient error called "Judaizing," an error strongly condemned by St. Paul. (Most Christians who do this today are Evangelical Protestants who often call themselves "Messianics" or "Messianic Jews.")
The above are the modern manifestations of the fallacy of Dispensationalism, but it is the fallacy itself that is most dangerous, because it denies the Biblical place of the Church in the divine plan of God.
Christians would do well to remember that St. Paul, and the apostles, thought the Greek version of the Jewish scriptures (Septuagint) was just as authoritative as the Hebrew and Aramaic versions. In fact it can be said they even thought it far more relevant to the New Covenant than any other version, as the majority of quoted Old Testament passages in the New Testament come from this Greek version. Christians would do well to remember that the word most commonly used for the Nation of Israel in this Greek Old Testament is "Ecclesia" which means literally "a called out people." It's the exact same word used in the original Greek New Testament for the Church. In the eyes of St. Paul and the apostles, Israel and the Church were one in the same. This was in perfect continuity with the Old Testament as demonstrated in St. Paul's "olive tree" illustration (Romans 11).
Let us remember today why St. Paul was on the road to Damascus some 2,000 years ago. Back then he was known simply as "Saul," a pious Jew who took it upon himself to persecute the Church. He was knocked off his horse and blinded by an apparition of the Lord Jesus Christ - who asked him "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" St. Paul was persecuting the Church, using Jewish laws, in a form of inquisition sanctioned by the scribes and pharisees in Jerusalem. These scribes and pharisees had no recognition of the Church being part of Israel, but the irony was that the reason why they did not recognize Israel in the Church was because the scribes and pharisees were no longer part of Israel - at least not in a spiritual sense. They had cut themselves out, through self-excommunication, by denying Jesus as the promised Messiah. In turn, Jesus revoked the authority of the Jewish leadership, by giving the "keys of the kingdom" to St. Peter (Matthew 16:18-19) effectively making the fisherman the King's prime minister - spokesman for all Israel. St. Peter later went to Rome and founded the Church there where he eventually met up with St. Paul, and together they led the Church there, and ultimately shed their blood for her.
Today a new kind of persecution of the Church is going on, and it's rooted in the fallacy of Dispensationalism. This fallacy leads to the worst form of anti-Catholicism, as is evidenced by the volumes of anti-Catholic writings produced by Dispensationalist authors. While in some cases, Dispensationalism actually causes Christians to support some very unChristian things - such as Zionism and Judaizing for example. Let's not beat around the bush here. Dispensational theology is physically harming Christians! How? This is how it works. Dispensationalism leads Christians to support Zionism. Zionism in turn leads to the blind support of the Nation of Israel and all its policies, regardless of their effect. Many of those policies are directed against the Palestinian people, regardless of their religion, and many of those Palestinian people are Christians. Those Palestinian Christians suffer poverty and physical infirmity because of those policies. The strange irony of our time is that many Christians in the West, (mainly Evangelical Dispensationalists), are blindly supporting a regime that is directly persecuting their Christian brethren (Palestinian Christians) in the very homeland of Jesus Christ, and they do this thinking Jesus somehow approves. The strange irony is that while St. Paul instructed Western Christians to take up collections to help Palestinian Christians during his time, Dispensationalist pastors actively take up collections to support a regime that persecutes them in our time. Dispensationalism is a fallacy that must be resisted, but this can only be effectively done by knowing and understanding the place of the Church as the new "Israel of God." This is what the New Testament teaches. It is not "replacement theology" as some have incorrectly labeled it. This is authentic "olive tree ecclesiology" as understood by the man who invented it - St. Paul himself - and has been historically called by the name "Covenant Theology."
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Anglican Missal is an alternative to the Book of Common Prayer used by many Anglo-Catholics. It's based almost entirely on the pre-1962 Roman Missal (Tridentine mass), but revised slightly to reflect Anglican heritage. It is profoundly Catholic in form and style, as one would expect of a pre-1962 Roman liturgy. In many respects, the Anglican Missal is a perfect complement to the Anglican Breviary referenced in the previous blog entry. These in turn are prefect complements to the Roman Missal and Roman Breviary (pre-1962). It is widely speculated that these two texts (Anglican Missal and Breviary) will play a foundational role in the creation of a universal liturgy for the emerging Anglican ordinariates.
Various editions of the Anglican Missal are used by Traditional Anglican parishes throughout the world, this in conjunction with their older prayer books. Roman Catholics would do well to at least skim over this particular version of liturgy, as it will likely be one major foundation for the future mass of the emerging Anglican ordinariates. The Anglican Missal may be viewed online here should the iframe version below not function properly on your computer, or downloaded as a PDF here.
A Spanish version of the Anglican Missal has also been produced as well, and is used by some Traditional Anglican churches in Central America. Interestingly enough, the Anglican Missal is also used by some High-Church Lutherans in various European nations.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Anglican Breviary is based on the old Roman Breviary (1962, Tridentine, Extraordinary Form), except is it slightly revised in accordance with the Daily Office from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. All seven day-offices (plus Matins) are condensed into this one volume which is no larger than a standard personal Bible. It is perfect for personal or family devotion. (Official parish use of this book is not possible at this time.)
Both Anglican Catholics and (Traditional) Roman Catholics will love this Breviary. The arrangement of the book is a little different than the usual breviary, and takes some getting used to. However, once you've become accustomed to the method, it's actually more logical and reasonable than the usual Breviary. Certain portions of the breviary ought to be committed to memory for ease of use, such as the opening and closing prayers for example. One great advantage is that it's all contained into one book, as opposed to three, as is the case with the usual Roman Breviary. However, all the elements of the (Traditional) Roman Breviary are present. The language is set to Old English, and there is no Latin text. This is how space is saved. It's a highly functional book that is ideal for both personal and family devotion. The typeset is excellent, and though it is relatively small, it is gentle on the eyes. The book is currently priced under $70 U.S.D., which is considerably cheaper than most full breviaries of similar caliber. You need not take my word for it though, here's the link: www.AnglicanBreviary.net
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: One thing we've learned from the Anglican Use experiment is that calling an Anglican Use parish simply a "Catholic Church," helps to make the parish grow. Case in point, "Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church" in San Antonio Texas is an Anglican Use parish. In every sense it is fully high-church Anglican or "Anglo-Catholic," yet it is in full communion with the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. You'll notice that nowhere is the word "Anglican" mentioned in the official name. When mentioned at all, it is simply a subtitle - "Anglican Use of the Roman Rite." That's because the word "Anglican" simply describes what type of Catholic Church it is. Regardless of the type, it is still a "Catholic Church." That's important. Most Roman Catholic Churches these days no longer specify the word "Roman" in their parish signs either. They simply say "St. Joseph Catholic Church" usually with the subtitle "Diocese of ______" (fill in the blank). In the case of an Anglican Catholic parish, it might be prudent to simply list the official name as "St. _____ Catholic Church" (fill in the blank) with the subtitle "Anglican Ordinariate of the United States." This both specifies what type of Catholic Church it is, and it plainly lets people know it is a Catholic Church.
Few things will help the Anglican Catholic parishes grow faster than simply being listed as "Catholic" churches, with "Anglican Ordinariate" as the subtitle. Anglicans will know exactly what that is, while general Catholics will be more likely to visit and possibly make it their parish home. This is what happened to "Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church" as she drew in both Anglicans and Catholics in the San Antonio area, as well as people from other Christian traditions, and some with no religious background at all. It is now a full sized parish with it's own full sized academy. Here's their website.
