Undusted Texts

In order to make this blog a better hub for all of my work, I have added a new page with links to my Publications and Unpublications , that is, draft papers.  Most of these publications are articles at the Homiletic & Pastoral Review ; a few are conference papers, which I have uploaded to Academia.edu.   I have also begun uploading some draft papers, or papers for which I don't think I'll ever find a publisher.  Each paper will be added to my Publications and Unpublications page once I have linked it. In my slow process of revising the layout of this blog, I have added this new page to the main navigation bar, and I have removed links to two prominent blog posts: "How to Discuss the Eastern Church: A Grammatical Primer," and the Table of Contents to my Church Documents Index.  The grammatical primer was written over a decade ago, and--though I have not yet taken time to review it--I assume I made some errors in it.  The Church Documents Index has not been ...

  Introduction It was long a tradition for unknown writers to sign a famous author's names to their works; sometimes, the work was half by the purported author anyway.  The homily translated below is nominally attributed to St. Augustine, but scholars reject it as spurious.  Some pieces of it can be traced to other writers: a large portion of §1 is copied from St. Gregory the Great's Homilies on the Gospels XXII.6 (PL76:1177B-D).  The editor of the Latin text claims portions of §§2-3 are taken, respectively, from the homilies on Pascha and on the Ascension by a certain Eusebius, but I have not yet located the source.   Sermon CLX On Pascha II The Biting and Slaying of Hell   The Passion or resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, beloved brethren, all of the volumes of the Old Testament spoke of beforehand in many ways, so that, even through the mouth of David the prophet, the Holy Spirit clearly shows this, ...

  Introduction St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) needs little introduction.  Famous for his zeal for the Cistercian reform and his mystical writings, particularly those on Mary, as well as his long series of homilies on the Song of Songs, and perhaps a little more infamous for his fervent preaching of the Crusades, he has often been given the title "Last of the Fathers."  He is also known by the more extravagant title of Doctor Mellifluus , "Honey-Flowing Doctor."  The sermon translated below is the last in a series of Lenten sermons. Lenten Sermons VII On the Pilgrim, Dead and Crucified   Happy are those who show themselves as worthless strangers and pilgrims to the present world , keeping themselves unspotted by it! For we do not have an enduring city here, but we look to a future one (Heb 13:14). Therefore, let us abstain from carnal desires, which fight against the soul, as strangers and pilgrims. A pilgrim, indeed...

  Introduction Antonio de Guevara (1481-1545) was born in Treceño, Cantabria, to a noble family.  Thanks to the influence of his uncle, he was educated in the royal court of Castille, where--so he claimed--he served as page to Queen Isabella I (r. 1474-1504), la Reina Católica .  Following her death, he entered the Franciscan Order, in 1505.  After some official roles in the order, he returned to court, becoming court preacher to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V (1500-1558), also known as Charles I of Spain, in 1521.  He served the emperor in many capacities, including becoming his chronicler beginning in 1527.  In 1528, he was named Bishop of Guadix, and then Bishop of Mondoñedo in 1537.  He died in his diocese in 1545 and was buried in the cathedral of Mondoñedo. De Guevara was a prolific writer, especially during his time in court.  Many of his books were about the courtly life, with his famous being the Dial of Princes (Reloj de príncipes) (...

    Introduction St. Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916) was a French cavalry soldier before deciding to resign from the military in order to go explore Morocco.  After publishing a well-received book about his travels, he returned to France and rekindled his childhood Catholic faith, deciding to join the Trappists in 1890.  His time with the Trappists led him to Syria, but he eventually left the order in order to become a hermit, in 1897.  After being a porter for Poor Clares in Nazareth and Jerusalem, he returned to France for ordination in 1901, then headed back to Africa, this time Algeria, to continue this eremitic life.  Though he hoped to attract others and form a community, none came.  Instead, he remained a hermit, living among the Tuareg people of Algeria, collecting their poems and writing a dictionary of their language.  A bandit raid on his hermitage--considered a martyrdom--claimed his life.  After his death, his writi...

  Introduction      The prayers of the Latin Rite Paschal Vigil are ancient, but they were not the only options.  The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary from Paris is another source of--often quite different--ancient liturgical prayers.  Among them is the prayer Deus Mundi Conditor , the prayer for the blessing of the Paschal Candle during the Paschal Vigil, somewhat equivalent to the Exultet .  Indeed, the Deus Mundi Conditor may have influenced the Exultet with its "praise of the bee" section, reflected in the Exultet 's description of the candle as "the work of bees" and the wax as "drawn out by the mother bees."  Below is a translation of the Deus Mundi Conditor , as well as the original Latin text. Deus Mundi Conditor   Prayer for the Blessing of the Paschal Candle from the Gelasian Sacramentary      God, the world’s creator, author of light, the stars’ maker, God Who perspicuously rewove with light the world fallen into...

    Introduction St. Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916) was a French cavalry soldier before deciding to resign from the military in order to go explore Morocco.  After publishing a well-received book about his travels, he returned to France and rekindled his childhood Catholic faith, deciding to join the Trappists in 1890.  His time with the Trappists led him to Syria, but he eventually left the order in order to become a hermit, in 1897.  After being a porter for Poor Clares in Nazareth and Jerusalem, he returned to France for ordination in 1901, then headed back to Africa, this time Algeria, to continue this eremitic life.  Though he hoped to attract others and form a community, none came.  Instead, he remained a hermit, living among the Tuareg people of Algeria, collecting their poems and writing a dictionary of their language.  A bandit raid on his hermitage--considered a martyrdom--claimed his life.  After his death, his writi...