Author Archives: Derek A. Olsen

Not in Philly

I hadn’t said anything about it because it had been looking increasingly likely that a building set of crises and family obligations would make it impossible for me to go to Philly and present at the conference there.

Unfortunately, I was right… So I’m not there. I’m very bummed about this.

I was *really* looking forward to Jorge’s paper as well and the opportunity to meet him in the flesh. Alas, next year perhaps… (And send me a copy of your paper, Jorge–I stil want to read it!)

I did send in a copy of my own paper and handouts. Hopefully it will get to the right people by the right time and someone will be able to read it in my place.

That’s about the story of my life at the moment.

It’s Here…

Things have been really crazy here with work, the conference paper I’m trying to finish up, M’s very successful first half-marathon over the weekend (2:02!), and all the usual activities with the kids…. (I have e-mails waiting from some of you that I swear I’ll get to in the not too distant future…!)

You know that family in the neighborhood—the one with the obsessively anti-bacterial mother and despite that (or perhaps because of it), one or both of the kids is almost always sick? Both of the boys—the girls’ friends—have high fevers with vomiting. We’re pretty sure that the swine flu has come to our little cul-de-sac. I’m just praying the girls don’t catch it too.

Little Hours of the BVM Bleg

I had a question from a reader inquiring if I knew of an Anglican version/edition of the Little Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I’m occasionally intrigued by the Little Hours of the BVM and the accompanying Little Hours of the Cross which were often said after the regular office in Cluniac and other monasteries in my period and which would later form the core of the Books of Hours. However, I’ve never delved into them deeply. I keep thinking I’ll get around to them one of these days and just haven’t yet.

I’m aware of: The Hypertext Book of Hours which, to my mind, is the premiere spot on the web for the Little Offices,

Also the Baronius Press Little Hours of the BVM with chant,

But I don’t know of an Anglican version. Does anyone else?

Cyprian on Baptism

I ran across this excerpt over the weekend in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Mark while looking at Sunday’s Gospel text:

Even to the foulest offenders, when they afterward believe, remiussion of sin is granted. On this premise2 no one is prohibited from Baptism and grace. How much more should an infant be admitted, who, just born, has not sinned in any respect, except that, being born of the flesh of Adam, has in his first birth contracted the contagion of the ancient deadly nature. Would not such a child obtain remission of sins with the less difficulty, because not his own actual guilt, but that of another is so remitted? Our sentence therefore, dearest brother, in the Council was that none by us should be prohibited from baptism and the grace of God, who is merciful and kind to all. (Cyprian, Letters, Epistle 58)

Oh—CG, there should be a way to make the underlined blue items disappear at NewAdvent (linked to above), but it’s a little technical. I believe that a local style sheet would over ride their style sheet at which point you could (in essence) tell it not to display the hyperlinks. I’d have to research how you could do that; perhaps another reader with better css kung fu could comment…

What He Said. And Then Some

He being Christopher in this case.

And I’ll go a step further.

We have to have constant engagement between content and method. As Christopher reminds, at the end of the day it’s method that makes one patristic, not simply parrotting patristic content.

How about Scripture?

I will argue that Scripture is a different case as we recognize it to be of a higher order than the patristic writings. It is a more direct channel of God’s self-revelation. And yet Scripture points us continually beyond itself to God and the person of Jesus Christ the Word Made Flesh.

Content matters. Interpreting the content is a matter of method, however.

And watching Paul play with the Old Testament in passages like Gal 2 or Romans 4—or looking at the entire Book of Hebrews—we see them making unusual (even shocking) moves in light of the revelation of the reality of the Word Made Flesh.

That’s what keeps us Scriptural. Not just knowing the content but following the method to utilize the dead letter to assist us in encountering the Living Christ.

Of course, as I’ve said before and I’ll say again, I think Augustine totally nails method in On Christian Teaching, especially 3.10. That’s patristic content that delivers a key to the method.

Apocrypha in the Daily Office

In case you were wondering, the Daily Office contains:

  • Much of the first four chapters of 1 Maccabees (but none from the other 12),
  • 5 verses from 2nd Esdras,
  • Bits of Baruch 3 and 4
  • Quite a goodly selection from Ecclesiasticus,
  • Wisdom of Solomon gets some readings in there too.

Too, there are the stealth additions—Canticles 1/12, 2/13, and 14.

Thornton Thought for the Day

Do all members of the average Diocesan Conference, or of the House of Laity, live seriously and loyally by the Prayer Book pattern? Unless or until they do, those bodies are theologically incapable of making decisions of any real weight.

In the seventeenth century, individual liberty of conscience was firmly guarded, yet the “opinion of the Church” had real meaning. To-day it has not; not because individual Christians lack integrity or courage, but because they are not acting as, are not being, the Church. Our need is the same: spiritual guidance according to the Caroline pattern, based on the Catholic ascetical theology which the Prayer Book pattern embodies. To attain efficiency, we must either be true to our adult spirituality, or we must constitute a Sacred College through which the Archbishop of Canterbury can exercise total power!

Martin Thornton, English Spirituality, 238-9.

The Scotist–At It Again

The Scotist is attempting to bring forth yet another argument in favor of Communion Without Baptism. Frankly I’m not clear how this is different from his earlier attempt.

The fundamental flaw remains the same.

The Scotist has found himself a practice that he thinks has some merit. So he goes and tries to find a theology that will support it. Is this really the way we proceed?

How about this, Scotist: start with the fundamentals and work out. In most of your definitions so far you mention salvation—but you provide absolutely no sense of what you think this is or how it’s accomplished. I know what I think it is, but you’re clearly using another definition.

Start with that—then we’ll talk.