Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
A few years back, in my post If You Really Want to Get Into Trouble, Read the Mediaevals, I quoted Carl Boyer's A History of Mathematics as follows: The son Georg (Cantor) took a strong interest in the finespun arguments of medieval theologians concerning continuity and the infinite, and this militated against his pursuing a mundane …
Continue reading "The Challenge from Aquinas That Changed Mathematics"
In this week Bossuet shows the nature of Jesus Christ from a human standpoint. Many of the earlier elevations discuss his divine origins, but now Bossuet connects him with Israel’s institutions: its monarchy, its priesthood, and its own bloodline, which were necessary preparations for his mission. The elevations: Anointing of Jesus Christ. His Royalty. His […]Anointing …
Following this reading from the Gospel: Luke 2:41-52 The Boy Jesus in the Temple 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And… Continue reading → In Celebration of the Ordination of Calvin Robinson – a brief catechesis following St Luke- Gavin Ashenden.In Celebration of the Ordination of Calvin Robinson – a brief catechesis …
From Bossuet's Elevations on the Mysteries: To publish the Gospel law, he renewed these four things, but in a much more excellent way. The work began with a great noise: but it was neither the violence of thunder, nor the sound of trumpets, as we hear in a fight; the noise which God sent was …
Continue reading "The Contrast Between the Giving of the Law and the Coming of the Holy Spirit"
On Saturday mornings my youngest daughter (who was at Beaulieu as a teenager) and I have taken to having zoom calls with coffee, so we… … 13 more wordsWhy They Should only Hate a Few Old White Men — Gavin Ashenden
In this series of elevations Bossuet explores Jesus’ time in the wilderness, his fast and his encounter with Satan, who tempted him. It includes his …The Fast and Temptation of Jesus Christ
Today Charles de Foucauld is being canonised. The Frenchman who turned away from God and then back toward him in a way that led to his martyrdom in Algeria in 1916 will now be known as St. Charles de Foucauld. I've noted my own contact with Muslims over the years, but in the case of …
The cry for relief goes unanswered: Priests of the Knoxville diocese asked a papal representative last year for “merciful relief” from the leadership of Bishop Rick Stika. More than six months later, they have received no response to their request, and there has not been any conclusion to a Vatican investigation into Stika’s leadership.“Our experience …
Bossuet’s elevations on the Baptism of Jesus–which began his ministry–are as follows: The baptism of Jesus. 1, First approach of Jesus and Saint John. The baptism of Jesus. 2, Jesus Christ commands John to baptize him. The baptism of Jesus. 3, Jesus Christ is plunged into the Jordan. The baptism of Jesus. 4, Manifestation of Jesus Christ. The baptism […]The …
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These elevations are about St. John the Baptist’s preaching, discussing the time before Our Lord came to him for his own baptism. Bossuet also discusses John’s place in Old Testament prophecy. The elevations are as follows: The Preaching of Saint John the Baptist. 1, The word of God is addressed to him. The Preaching of Saint […]The …
Continue reading "The Preaching of St. John the Baptist — The Bossuet Project"
Positive Infinity 