Catholicism: Pure and Simple (a review)

As a teacher I’m always happy to find resources I can share with students when they're interested in digging more deeply into a subject. That’s especially true when the subject is my Catholic faith. Fr. Dwight Longenecker’s book Catholicism: Pure and Simple  is a welcome addition to my list of such resources.

Fr. Longenecker promises to introduce Catholicism “in simple, straightforward language” without scholarly references or complicated terminology, and he delivers. This book provides easily readable treatments of complex philosophical and theological issues such as revelation, the origin of evil, the Trinity, and the sacraments. It could be profitably read by a wide variety of students, not to mention many others who might be unfamiliar with Catholicism and are looking for a ground-up explanation of what it’s all about.

Longenecker does not begin his text by discussing beliefs unique to Catholicism, but with more fundamental questions concerning the existence of God and the true nature of humanity and the world we live in. His treatment of these topics is lucid and much easier to read than many philosophical texts that cover the same material. Of course, in comparison to many such texts, Longenecker also has the great advantage of giving the right answers to the questions he considers!

Though as promised in its opening pages the book does not contain a single footnote, readers who know the intellectual ground that Longenecker is covering will quickly realize that he’s familiar with standard arguments and sources and could provide such references if he wished. When, for example, we read Longenecker’s comment that “things I want to do, I can’t; and the things I don’t want to do, I do,” we hear Paul in Romans 7, and when we read that Catholics look forward to a reunion with all Eastern Christians “so that the whole Church may once again breathe with two lungs” we hear Blessed John Paul II in Ut Unum Sint. Longenecker’s phrasing throughout the book makes it clear that he is basing his presentation on such classic sources even though he does not delay his readers by citing them.

A few spots in the text appear to have escaped careful editing, at least in the electronic version of the book that I read. For example, the statement that the sacrament of Holy Orders “is reserved for men who are called by God and his church to be priests” seems to exclude those of us who are, or look forward to being, ordained to the permanent diaconate. A reference to “thousands” of “holy popes” was confusing as well (perhaps “bishops” was meant?). But fortunately such comments are only infrequent distractions from a generally solid presentation.

Catholicism: Pure and Simple is available at Fr. Longenecker's website. It’s worth having if you need a book to pass on to someone who’s asking basic questions about the faith, and recommended reading for anyone who wants a consideration of these questions written in refreshingly direct and contemporary language.

One year with the new Missal

I love arriving at the beginning of a new liturgical year for many reasons. I love Advent and Christmas liturgies and music, I love the anticipation of the Christmas break from school, I love the visits with family that happen each year at this time. I am old enough to remember with nostalgia Christmases before cell phones and the internet, and I love these memories as well.

This year as I thought about the church year that is ending, I remembered that as it began we (English-speaking Roman Catholics) were celebrating Mass using the new English translations of the Missal for the first time. Many of you might agree with me that another year seems to have passed quickly. The cards in the pews with the new Mass responses are now well-worn; many of us can make it through Mass without glancing at them once, even if sometimes we still do.

In thinking about the past year with the new Missal,  I have been trying to decide which of its readings has been the most meaningful to me. While I welcome some of the brief, now-familiar changes such as the more literal response “and with your spirit” and the Creed's use of “consubstantial,” which I initially resisted, I think that the most notable change for me might be the new translations of the Prefaces.

All of the Mass Prefaces can be rich sources of meditation and can help focus us during the Eucharistic Prayers. I was reminded of this again at mass last Sunday when we heard the new translation of the preface for Christ the King, or as it is more accurately called, the “Preface of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.”

Here's the new translation of that preface, in case you missed it:

“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.

For you anointed your Only Begotten Son,

our Lord Jesus Christ, with the oil of gladness 

as eternal Priest and King of all creation, 
so that, by offering himself on the altar of the Cross 
as a spotless sacrifice to bring us peace, 
he might accomplish the mysteries of human redemption
and, making all created things subject to his rule, 
he might present to the immensity of your majesty 
an eternal and universal kingdom, 
a kingdom of truth and life, 
a kingdom of holiness and grace, 
a kingdom of justice, love and peace.

And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory
as without end we acclaim: ”

It can be easy to let the language of the Preface slip by without noting it; please don't. Although after a year we might be familiar with the new Mass responses, probably few of us are as aware as we could be of the new translations of the the Prefaces (or other parts of the Mass). As another liturgical year begins, we have our past year's experience with the new Missal to be thankful for, and another year of its riches to look forward to.

Vermeer: Catholic artist (Italy 2012, part 3)

While in Rome on my recent trip, I visited the Vermeer exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale. This was a welcome opportunity to see eight paintings by Vermeer along with several others by his contemporaries. While this is not the largest Vermeer exhibition in recent years, only 35 or so Vermeers are known to exist, and I had not previously seen most of the works on display in Rome.

Most interesting to me were two works with explicitly religious content, Saint Praxedis and Allegory of Faith (in this exhibition given the title Allegory of the Catholic Faith). The Saint Praxedis painting shown here has been attributed to Vermeer but this attribution is questioned.

In Rome it was displayed next to a nearly identical painting by Felice Ficherelli, of which it is thought to be a copy. Vermeer's version, if it is indeed by Vermeer, adds a crucifix but is otherwise essentially the same image. This painting intrigued me because it has not often been on view in recent years, because of the questions about its attribution, and because on my trip I visited the church in Rome dedicated to St. Praxedis (Santa Prassede), as mentioned in an earlier post. Whether or not the Saint Praxedis is by Vermeer, it was valuable to see the two versions side-by-side. I was led to wonder whether similar paintings of saints by Vermeer, perhaps less novel than his domestic scenes but commissioned by faithful patrons, might exist unrecognized, attributed to other artists. Meanwhile, I believe the Allegory of Faith, the attribution of which is not doubted, is a masterwork and should be recognized as such even though its subject is atypical when compared to Vermeer's better known domestic scenes.

I'd wanted to see the Allegory of Faith in person for some time; it's slightly ironic that I first saw it in Rome, since it is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, much closer to home for me. The arrangement of the exhibition was such that this painting was the last work encountered when passing through the galleries, and so was positioned to serve as a final visual statement from Vermeer to visitors. I appreciated this since in my opinion Vermeer's faith and the role it played in his work has not always been adequately respected by critics and curators.

Repeated efforts to explain Vermeer's conversion to Catholicism as motivated by something other than sincere religious conviction have troubled me. It seems that some of the critics who are willing to acclaim Vermeer as a great painter are at the same time willing to assume that he was moved by rather banal motives when it comes to his religious life. For example, it has often been implied, if not stated outright, that his conversion was to some extent a scheme to please his wealthy future mother-in-law. The text accompanying the display at the Scuderie del Quirinale is not as harsh as some; it states that Vermeer “converted to Catholicism in order to marry a young Catholic woman...” but points out that the names of Vermeer's children “and other biographical details suggest that Vermeer took his new religion seriously.”

What I've read indicates that the factual evidence regarding Vermeer's conversion and its motivations (like much else about his life) is slim. In regards to the evidence available it seems unjust to repeat the suspicion that Vermeer converted for improper motives. To allow these assumptions to color our appreciation of his religious art likewise seems unjustified. In fact, the entire distinction between paintings with overtly religious subjects and what initially appear to be non-religious paintings may be overstated in the case of Vermeer. If the Catholic home is the “domestic church (see CCC 1655-1658),” then ignoring or attempting to explain away Vermeer's faith may lead to inadequate interpretations of his exquisite domestic scenes as well as his obviously religious ones.

A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal, Vermeer