Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton

I never finished this--it was written two years ago--but here it is.   I have no idea where I was going with the last sentence.


Prior to reading Orthodoxy the first time, my expectation was that it would be a grand apologetics for Catholicism and Christianity, and I was greatly disappointed.  But near the end of that first reading, however, I had read somewhere that G.K. Chesterton had never intended to write an all-encompassing apologetics but rather to simply explain why Catholicism appealed to him. That is, it was his personal witness to the faith and to the truth. After that first reading, I accept and respect that.

Reading the text was like sailing to a far-off corner of the world and then going on an extended journey through an unfamiliar jungle--it was vast and strange.  The first reading was just an immersion.  The logic overwhelmed and drowned me.  For sure, his criticisms of evolution are obsolete.  He criticizes evolution from a philosophical viewpoint, and he seems to conflate science and philosophy.  When I finished, I knew that I would have to read the book again to understand it.

In the chapter, "Maniacs," Chesterton destroys the idea that people who are absolutely sure of themselves carry authority, are necessarily credible, or are otherwise to be trusted.   His analogy of the lunatic reminds me Luigi Giussani's statement that logic can be configured to prove anything.   He mentions religious thinkers who, in an effort to deal with the issue of sin, decided that the concept should be eliminated altogether.  That reminds me of the quote from Reinhold Neibuhr, often by Giussani that, "Nothing is so incredible as the answer to a question that is not asked."

The chapter afterwards is "The Suicide of Thought,"  but I think he already proved that in the previous chapter.

Christianity--Not a Doctrine but an Adventure

“However that may be, the present situation is characterized by a strong polarization in the Church, so much so that a dialogue between 'progressives' and 'traditionalists' succeeds only rarely. The camp of the progressives seeks to conquer the center; that of the traditionalists holds the fortress tenaciously as if it defended the center. Both sides distance themselves from the men in office and the small number of theologians who seek to maintain the true center. Where should one look to see a dawn? One should look to where in the tradition of the Church something truly spiritual appears, where Christianity does not seem a laboriously repeated doctrine but a breathtaking adventure.”

― Hans Urs von Balthasar, A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen, 1956

Saint Thomas Knanaya Church

Sunday Mass: Since my wife was in Hong Kong, I decided to go to Mass at the Saint Thomas Knanaya Church which is next door to my apartment complex (I wouldn't drag my wife on a field trip like this). The Internet said they were Jewish-Christians from Syria who migrated to India in 310 AD, and they were in union with the Pope of Rome. They have one peculiar practice which if a member marries outside of the sect, they are excommunicated, and the Pope was trying to get them to get rid of that rule. I asked some Catholic friends from India about this sect, and they gave me the impression that they are considered a funky bunch, even in the Catholic community in India.

When I walked in the vestibule, I saw pairs of shoes on the floor. I asked a man at the door if I needed to take my shoes off, and he said, not really. But I felt kind of oafish after I went in because almost everyone had removed their shoes.

I sat in an empty pew in the middle of the church. Less than a minute later, a woman from a pew behind me scooted into my pew and told me that I had to move to the other side of the aisle, that the sexes were separated. All of the women in the church were in native Indian dress. Almost all were veiled.

It turned out this community was Eastern Orthodox, and the Mass was 2 hours and 15 minutes long, with most of it sung. The Mass was said mostly in the Malayalam language, some ancient Syrian, and a tiny bit in English. At least some of the homily was in English. I have never been to an Orthodox Mass before, and that this was an Indian cultural experience made it very exotic. I chose not to receive communion. After not taking my shoes off and sitting on the wrong side, I decided to receive Communion, in order to not risk offending anybody or drawing too much attention to myself. I felt self-conscious enough as it was.

After Mass, I joined the congregation for coffee and doughnuts in the parish hall. They said it would have been O.K. if I received communion. According to them, there is a branch of the Knanaya which is Eastern Orthodox and a branch which is Western, and some decades ago, the Pope of Rome, the Eastern Orthodox, and the Western rite Knanaya agreed on mutual communion. At coffee time, I was obviously an outsider, and people came up and introduced themselves to me. I did speak with one of the priests, and I thought was a bit smug and aloof. But the lay people were very friendly, very Christian.

Christianity as an Announcement

(After reading the Communion and Liberation movement's Beginning Day text, titled, "Alive Means Present! from Sept. 29, 2018)

Referencing the beginning chapters of Luke's gospel:

The angel Gabriel made an announcement to Zechariah.

The same angel then made an announcement to Mary.

The Holy Spirit inspired John the Baptist to begin his public ministry--an interior announcement of sorts. 

As John the Baptist baptized Jesus, God the Father announced, "You are my own dear son.  I am pleased with you."

In the synagogue in Nazareth, after Jesus read from the book of Isaiah, He announced, "This passage of scripture has come true today, as you heard it being read." 

And after this cascading series of announcements, Jesus begins his public ministry.

The Beginning Day text speaks of, "living the announcement." 

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.