Roman Catholic Worship

[Pegasus]

The flail made me think of Iacchus' fly whisk. Actually, when I looked it up, the fly whisk may have been derived from the flail.

http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl...-8&sa=N&tab=iw

Iacchus posted a Zen koan in a discussion forum in 2003, long before I discovered the Dionysus Forums.

http://www.interfaith.org/forum/zen-...one-130.html#7

I also found it again in the Physics Forums in the same time period. You must have liked it a lot.

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthr...4758&page=3#35
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthr...288&page=7#109

You posted it in at least two threads at JREF.

[Pegasus]

The feast day of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15th. I saw a short film on EWTN this morning on the Assumption. At the end of the film, the stone is rolled away from the tomb, and Mary's body was gone.

Catholics and Protestants are in disagreement about the Assumption of Mary. I found an interested article in a blog on the subject, written by a Catholic.

The Assumption is the Fourth Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary.

We’ve looked, already, at Mary’s perpetual virginity. Now let’s look at her assumption, just briefly. One main objection, from Protestants and Evangelicals, to the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary is that it is not taught in Scripture. This is true.

I’ll say that again: it is true that the Assumption is not taught in Scripture; Mary appears for the final time in the first chapter of Acts, and nothing more in Scripture tells us what fate ultimately befell her. But that’s a blade that cuts both ways; Scripture does not profess to us that Mary was assumed, bodily, into Heaven, but neither does it tell us that she suffered and died a mortal death. Ultimately, whatever conclusion we draw about Mary is an act of faith, which we must justify with other (and then indirect) evidence.

So, we have to ask: is there indirect evidence in Scripture that points toward Mary’s assumption?

The answer: yes, and then quite a lot of it.

The above quote is just an excerpt. Follow the link to read further.

http://www.kennethhynek.net/2008/08/...the-assumption

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary

[Pegasus]

You don't need to be a Catholic to benefit from Saint Augustine's writings. His two most famous works are Confessions and City of God. Here's a review:

Augustine, our friend.

Dear friends,

After reading two books by St. Augustine (Confessions and The City of God) and the great biography of him by Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo (University of California Press, 2000), I think if I were given the chance to go back in history and meet and live in company with any great person, I would choose Augustine of Hippo. He was so human and such a man full of love. After his conversion at the age of 32, he still wanted to live with a community of friends, and every one of them would eat at his table. What conversations they must have had! His insights are so incredibly enlightening! No matter what he talks about in his books, you constantly find jewels to take with you on the path of life. The present Pope (Benedict XVI), when he was asked what books he would take to a desert island if he were allowed only two, replied: "The Bible and the Confessions of St. Augustine." I think Augustine is the most underrated author in history.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confess
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.toc.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1201.htm
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/mo...c/AugCity.html
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin...ublic&part=all