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Thursday 13 September 2012

Catholicism is a Religion of History

Thanks to Wiki-Bede's Ecclesiastical History
Yesterday, even though there were some soft articles on cute, I set a record for posting. 13.

Today, I shall "go light" and let you all catch up on the posts of the last several days.

I am a member of the last generation of classical education until the revival in the 1990s and 2000.  What I got in high school are courses which some schools have revived.

History was a key course and not just one type of history but several years of history.



Sadly, people who have not studied world history, American history or European history are doomed not to see current events in the correct light.

There is a context for all political events. One may disagree on the nature of that context but one cannot deny it.

I see a lot of British and American people in denial because they do not have a historical framework for understanding current events.

I am very discouraged by this, especially when those people are Catholic.

Since Christ came into the world, we are a people of history. Our Church is historical.

We are based in history because of the Incarnate Christ.

If we do not understand this, we are basically not Catholic, but something else. We must remember and memorize. Even our Mass is a Memorial, as well as the event of Calvary, the Passion of Christ offered in an unbloody manner over and over again.

“To be steeped in history is to cease being Protestant”

wrote Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman.

He was not merely referring to the Fathers of the Church but the entire Incarnational history of the Catholic Faith.

We are a people of history. You can decide if you are a Catholic or not.
But, you cannot deny the history created by the Trinity for our salvation.

Salvation History is real. That term means we have a duty to learn history.

Or, the Church will disappear in areas around the world.

This is your decision as a Catholic.