How Old Was the Theotokos When She Reposed?

 

How Old Was the Theotokos When She Reposed?

By Professor Dr. Spyridon Kontoyiannes,

Professor of Theology at the University of Athens

As the tradition of our Church teaches, the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos took place at the house of John the Evangelist, where the All Holy Virgin stayed, together with his brother James and their mother Salome who was related to the Theotokos, according to the known consignment of Christ from the Cross (John 19:26-27). The Theotokos was informed about her imminent falling asleep by an angel three days before the event, and so she was able to prepare herself and to give her two garments to two widowed neighbors.

When the All-holy Virgin fell asleep and her eyes were closed, the Apostles, who had been miraculously gathered together in Jerusalem from the “ends of the earth,” raised her bier and carried it to the garden of her family in Gethsemane, where her parents, Joachim and Anna, had been buried, and buried it there. During the transportation of the bier, fanatical Jews tried to overturn it, but they were miraculously blinded. Only one of them was able to touch the bier, but an invisible sword cut his two hands.

Many of the faithful, however, on many occasions have raised the question: how old was our All-holy Lady when she fell asleep? To find the age of the Theotokos at the time of her falling asleep we need to take the events of her life one by one, as they are delivered by the New Testament and the tradition of our Church.

1. As regards the date of the birth of the Theotokos, the Menaia of the Church record according to the tradition the 8th of September of the year 16 BC.

2. Her betrothal by Zachariah her relative (Luke 1:36) to Joseph who was also her relative (Luke 1:27 3:23ff), occurred when the All-holy Virgin was 14 years old.

3. Her Annunciation that she would give birth to the Son and Word of God by the Archangel Gabriel occurred in the year 1 BC, i.e. when the All-holy Virgin had completed her 15th year.

4. Therefore, when she gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ she was 16 years old.

5. At the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, in May of the year AD 33, the All-holy Virgin had completed her 48th year and was present together with the Apostles at the Upper Room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14, 2:1ff).

All the above-mentioned pieces of information concerning the life of the All-holy Theotokos are supplied by Luke the Evangelist in his Gospel and in his book the Acts of the Apostles, in combination with the great and sacred events of the Church, because the All-holy Virgin was the most venerable person in the early Church as the Mother of our Savior and God.

So, when in the year AD 48/49, another great and sacred event took place in the Church, the Apostolic Synod, Luke does not say whether our All-holy Lady was present. He does so, not out of contempt or irreverence towards her holy person but simply because by his silence he indicates that she had fallen asleep a little earlier than the summoning of the Apostolic Synod in AD 47 or 48/49. It would have been unthinkable and irrational if the first historian of the Church willfully ignored the person who gave birth to the Redeemer of the world; the person to whom human beings for over two thousand years “have been turning, after God” and regard her as their “indissoluble fortress and protection.” The silence of Luke the Evangelist in this case means nothing else than that our All-holy Lady had fallen asleep. She fell asleep and was transported to heaven as the Mother of our God and our Mother to Life at the age of 62/63.

The only Apostle who was absent from the funeral of the Theotokos was Thomas. However, when he arrived three days later and went to grave of the Theotokos, he did not find her body there but only her sepulcher clothes. At the grave of the Theotokos a magnificent temple was erected which is attributed to St. Helen. After the destruction of this temple the Byzantine emperors Marcian (450-457) and Pulcheria erected the temple which still exists today.

It was at this temple in Gethsemane that Saint John Damascene delivered his celebrated Orations on the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos. It is with him that we too sing today: “Let us praise her today with sacred songs… Let us honor her with an all-night vigil… Let us thank her with purity of soul and body… Let us cry with Gabriel, the first leader of the angels… Rejoice, you through whom death is being pushed aside and life has been brought in” (Oration II on the Dormition of the Theotokos, 16).

(Original: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2015/08/how-old-was-theotokos-when-she-reposed.html )

Closing of churches - Catholicism dying in Europe (including Malta)

The below is just a sample. The situation is much worse:

The Netherlands

In the Dutch province of Friesland, more than 250 of 720 existing churches have been transformed or closed. 

The Fatih Camii Mosque in Amsterdam once was the Saint Ignatius Church.

The Church of St. Jacobus, one of the oldest of the city of Utrecht, was converted into a luxury residence. 

A library opened in a former Dominican church in Maastricht.

Belgium

In Mechelen, Flanders, in place of a famous church, a luxury hotel now stands. Catholic arches, columns and windows still soar between menus and tables for customers.

In Tournai, the Church of St. Margherita has been transformed into apartments.

Eight centuries after its founding, the Church of the Blessed Sacrament at Binche, a majestic building in the heart of a medieval town close to Brussels, was put on sale for the symbolic sum of one euro. 

The Church of St. Catherine, built in 1874, dominates the historic centre of Brussels, the only religious building created in the city at the end of Ancien Régime, and today one of the most protected in the EU's capital, especially after the terror attacks there in 2016. Brussels, however, wanted to convert the church into a fruit market. Only the mobilization of the faithful hindered the city's plan.

The Church of Saint-Hubert in Watermael-Boitsfort now accommodates apartments. 

In Malonne, the chapel of Piroy has been transformed into a restaurant. 

In Namur, the Saint-Jacques Church was transformed into a clothing store and the Church of Notre Dame, built in 1749 and deconsecrated in 2004, is now a "cultural space."

France 

Some years ago, Muslim French leader Dalil Boubakeur suggested turning empty churches into mosques. 

In the French region of Vierzon, the Church of Saint-Eloi has become a mosque. 

The diocese of Bourges had put the church on sale, and a Muslim organization made a most generous offer to buy the site. 

In the Quai Malakoff, in Nantes, the old Church of Saint Christopher became the Mosque of Forqane.

A few years ago, Niall Ferguson, the brilliant contemporary historian, wrote about Europe's future as "the creeping Islamicization of a decadent Christendom." 

It is easy to find images of the decay of Europe's Christianity and the growth of Islam in the heart of the old continent. 

Every traveller in any modern European city can notice the new mosques being built alongside abandoned and secularized churches, some converted into museums.

BREAKING NEWS: Suppression of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite expected soon!

Sources in Rome have told this Blog that next month Pope Francis will issue an Apostolic Exhoration to suppress the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.  The only Mass in Latin allowed would be the Novus Ordo Missae. 

At this stage it is still unclear what would become of priestly societies, like the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and the Institute of Christ the King. They might be given some leeway, although since Traditionis custodes pressure has been building up to curtail the Tridentine Mass. 

It is pertinent to note that the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Bishop Vittorio Francesco Viola OFM, has recently written to the Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia, forbidding him from celebrating the Tridentine Mass in his cathedral and instead allowed him to celebrate the Novus Ordo Missae but in Latin.

Quotes to reflect upon (26)

 

"Unlike the Orthodox Church and various Protestant Churches, the Latin Church practically abandoned the ministry of exorcism as far back as three centuries ago. We're looking at entire bodies of bishops who are contrary to exorcisms, and entire nations without an exorcist, like Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. A truly frightening shortage! When a priest becomes a bishop, he will have before him an article from the Code of Canon Law which gives him absolute authority to nominate exorcists. Given that he has to make such an important decision, the least any bishop should do is assist at an exorcism, but unfortunately, this rarely happens."

Gabriele Amorth S.S.P.  (1925-2016) was an Italian Catholic priest of the Paulines and an exorcist for the Diocese of Rome. 

Leave behind Tridentine model of priesthood, embrace synodality

 

As has been the trend during Pope Francis' pontificate, any occasion is good to attack the Catholic Church's pre-Vatican II's teachings. The latest occasion was the following. Original article here. 

CWN Editor's Note: On the last day of Parish Priests for the Synod—an international meeting of parish priests at the Vatican — Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, encouraged participants “to become ambassadors of synodality, to be full participants in a synodal Church, to become with all the people of God, missionary disciples of Jesus.”

“Many times their training and their reality have been oriented towards a Tridentine model of the priesthood,” Cardinal Hollerich, the relator-general of the synod on synodality, said of parish priests, in an address to Pope Francis in the presence of participants. “And now they see that the identity they had for centuries is crumbling, and sometimes this identity is lost ... and there is the danger of wanting to build a new identity based on the experience of the past.”

“The identity of priests and parish priests (even bishops) is given to us by the Holy Spirit when we walk with the people,” he continued. “Then the sacraments are no longer the expression of a ritualism in search of identity, but become a true rite where God communicates himself to his people.”

Cardinal Hollerich’s reference to the “Tridentine model of the priesthood” appears to be a reference to the Council of Trent’s teaching on the priesthood, and not simply a reference to the traditional Latin Mass.

The archbishop of Luxembourg, now 65, gained notoriety in 2022 when he said that Catholic teaching on homosexuality is “false.” In 2023, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Hollerich to his nine-member advisory Council of Cardinals.

International Campaign for the Total Freedom of the Traditional Liturgy

Being a Catholic in 2024 is no easy endeavor. The West is undergoing a massive de-Christianization, so much so that Catholicism appears to be vanishing from the public sphere. Elsewhere, the number of Christians being persecuted for their faith is on the rise. What’s more, the Church has been struck by an internal crisis that manifests itself in a decline in religious practice, a downswing in priestly and religious vocations, a decrease in sacramental practice, and even a growing dissension between priests, bishops and cardinals which, until very recently, was utterly unthinkable. Yet, among all the things that can contribute to the internal revival of the Church and to the renewal of her missionary zeal, there is, above all, the worthy and reverent celebration of her liturgy, which can be greatly fostered thanks to the example and the presence of the traditional Roman liturgy.

Despite all the attempts that have been made to suppress it, especially during the present pontificate, it lives on, continuing to spread and to sanctify the Christian people who are blessed to be able to benefit from it. It bears abundant fruits of piety, as well as an increase of vocations and of conversions. It attracts young people and is the fount of many flourishing works, especially in schools, and is accompanied by a solid catechesis. No one can deny that it is a vector for the preservation and transmission of the faith and religious practice in the midst of a waning of religious belief and a dwindling number of believers. This Mass, due to its venerable antiquity, can boast of having sanctified countless souls over the centuries. Among other vital forces still active in the Church, this form of liturgical life stands out because of the stability given to it by an uninterrupted lex orandi.

Certainly, some places of worship have been granted, or rather tolerated, where this liturgy can be celebrated, but too often what has been given by one hand is taken back by the other, without, however, ever managing to make it vanish.

Since the massive decline during the period immediately following the Second Vatican Council, every attempt has been made on numerous occasions to revive religious practice, to increase the number of priestly and religious vocations, and to preserve the faith of the Christian people. Everything, except letting the people experience the traditional liturgy, by giving the Tridentine liturgy a fair chance. Today, however, common sense urgently demands that all the vital forces in the Church be allowed to live and prosper, and in particular the one which enjoys a right dating back to over a millennium.

Let there be no mistake: the present appeal is not a petition to obtain a new tolerance as in 1984 and 1988, nor even a restoration of the status granted in 2007 by the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which, recognizing in principle a right, has in fact been reduced to a regime of meagerly granted permissions.

As lay people, it is not for us to pass judgment on the Second Vatican Council, its continuity or discontinuity with the previous teaching of the Church, the merits, or not, of the reforms that resulted from it, and so on. On the other hand, it is necessary to defend and transmit the means that Providence has employed to enable a growing number of Catholics to preserve the faith, to grow in it, or to discover it. The traditional liturgy plays an essential role in this process, thanks to its transcendence, its beauty, its timelessness and its doctrinal certainty.

For this reason, we simply ask, for the sake of the true freedom of the children of God in the Church, that the full freedom of the traditional liturgy, with the free use of all its liturgical books, be granted, so that, without hindrance, in the Latin rite, all the faithful may benefit from it and all clerics may celebrate it.

Jean-Pierre Maugendre, Managing Director of Renaissance Catholique, Paris, France (Original article here). Pro Tridentina (Malta) supports this initiative.

This appeal is not a petition to be signed, but a message to be disseminated, possibly to be taken up again in any form that may seem appropriate, and to be brought and explained to the cardinals, bishops and prelates of the universal Church.

In defense of Fr Marc Andre Camilleri

The local media, at least some of it, tried to make a show out of a good proposal made by Fr Marc Andre Camilleri, parish priest of Christ the King Parish in Paola.

This article by the Times of Malta seems the most balanced from what we have read. Rev. Camilleri explains very well the proposal.

Let's hope that common sense prevails.

Remember the Fatima message!

The message of Our Lady of Fatima can be summed up in the following:

1. Our Lady came to warn the world that if people do not stop offending God another, worse war than the First World War (fighting was still going on in 1917, the year of the apparitions) will start. It did, the Second World War took place between 1939 and 1945. And it seems likely that we're on the eve of a more devastating World War (see further in points 6 and 8).

2. She asked for repentance and praying of the Rosary. 

3. Our Lady showed Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta hell when she outstretched the palms of her hands downwards. She said that most people go to hell because of the sins of the flesh which should be totally understandable given what godless age we live in where flesh dominates the actions of men. 

4. She indicated that God wishes to save sinners by consecration to Her Immaculate Heart.

(In later years Sister Lucia emphasized to Father Fuentes that Satan is engaged in a great battle with the Holy Virgin where one side will be victorious and other defeated. Everyone must choose sides, either with God or with Satan. Remember Revelation 12 which speaks of the great red dragon i.e. Satan waging war with the woman i.e. Our Lady).

5. She came to warn that Satan will succeed to reach up to the top of the Catholic Church's hierarchy.

6. She asked for consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart to prevent Russia spreading atheistic communism throughout the world, fomenting wars and causing persecutions including within the Church and annihilating nations. The consecration was not done as required so Russia did spread her errors throughout the world. She also said that God will use Russia as an instrument of punishment for the sins of mankind. She said that Russia will be a scourge of the world.

7. She asked for reparation to Her Immaculate Heart to be done on the first 5 Saturdays for the ingratitude of men. What ingratitude is she speaking of? Towards her as Our Heavenly Mother who intercedes on our behalf to mitigate punishments and to appease God’s wrath. Reparation also for the blasphemies against her. 

(In later years, Lucia specifically asked the Lord Jesus why was His Mother with 7 thorns around Her Immaculate Heart. He replied that these represent the 7 blasphemies against Her as a person including Her Immaculate Conception, Her perpetual virginity and all the dogmas concerning Her person).

8. She said that in the end Her Immaculate Heart will triumph. After all the cataclysm, Her Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Era of Peace will begin and as many Catholic Saints have prophesied Russia will be converted, i.e. the Russian Orthodox Church will submit itself to the Roman Catholic Church. 

9. She also asked that we should always be willing to perform acts of sacrifice in reparation for sins. That constitutes crosses and sufferings that God would send our way. When we accept them, we mitigate the effects of sins upon the world. It should be done in the spirit of humility and self-denial.

May all be given the grace to see Fatima in its true light which it deserves to be seen in and understood.

Quotes to reflect upon (25)

 

We are conscious today that many, many centuries of blindness have cloaked our eyes so that we can no longer see the beauty of Your Chosen People nor recognize in their faces the features of our privileged brethren. 

We realize that the mark of Cain stands upon our foreheads. Across the centuries our brother Abel has lain in the blood we drew, or shed tears we caused by forgetting Your love. 

Forgive us the curse we falsely attached to their name as Jews. Forgive us for crucifying You a second time in the flesh. For we know not what we did.

These phrases are taken directly from the fake 'prayer' that former Jesuit priest Malachi Martin published in the American Jewish Committee publication, Commentary, in January 1965. Malachi alsot attributed this fake prayer to Pope John XXIII and claimed that Pope John XXIII intended for the 'prayer' to be recited in all of the churches of the world. It is worrying that this fake prayer has been recited in many churches throughout the world, even regularly in some areas such as in Poland and the USA.

Nitolbu għall-Provinċja Karmelitana Maltija

 

A church to be turned into a mosque?

 

According to traditional Catholic sites, apparently American, the Archdiocese of Malta is considering the selling of one of the Carmelite churches that are expected to pass from the Carmelite Order to the Archdiocese. It is rumoured that it will be sold for usage as a mosque.

Fgura appears to be one of the churches that the Provincial Chapter of the Maltese Carmelite Province is considering to release. Hopefully, such drastic measures will not be put in place, considering also that Fgura is just one parish. 

As Pro Tridentina (Malta) we're not informed whether the above websites are correct or not. But, as Maltese Catholics, it's important that clarifications are made.

Biblical Concept of Time by Prof. Goswin N. M. Habets

 

I. The Hebrew Concept of Time and HistoryA. Israel had a concept of time very different from ours.The Western concept of time and history cannot be applied adequately to Israel.1. Our concept is linear: past - present - futureThe Western concept is also absolute and abstract.This is an a priori to every event; there is already time before the events.We can put any events on the time line.

Israel’s concept of time was not linear, absolute, abstract. No word exists in the Bible to express this. Some examples follow:

• Jer. 50:16 time of harvest
• Jer. 8:15 time of healing
• Gen. 38:27, Mic. 5:2 time of giving birth
• Gen. 29:7 time to gather animals
• Ruth 2:14 time of a meal
• Ps. 1:3 time for giving fruit
• Ps. 104:27 time to give food

‘et = “time” - not a line, but punctum temporis, a point of time that is a determinate moment, a period of time. It is relative, always in connection with other words which always indicate an event. The event is not possible without its time; time is not without its event. Time in Israel is not abstract, but concrete. Time is identified with its content. Time is never empty time, but concrete, filled time.

'yom = “day” - from dawn to sunset (as distinct from 'laylah, “night”); unity of the calendar; same value as ‘et.

• Gen. 2:4 day in sense of occasion, event of creation
• Dt. 4:32 day that God created man on the earth
• Dt. 9:7 the day when you came from Egypt - the occasion of Exodus.

This coincidence of time and event was not only valid for events of nature, but also for all human events, even internal movements of the soul.

• Qoheleth 3:1-8 time imposed on every circumstance. Every event is determined by the time assigned to this event.
• Ps. 31:16 “My times are in Your hands.”

Western concept of time is eschatological. Humanity is directed toward a final fulfillment.

• Gen. 8:22 “all the times of the earth.”

Contrasts - two contrary concepts indicate totality. Succession of times rhythmic - cyclical vision of time. This conception of cyclical, anti-eschatological time of Archaic Yahwism did not remain so. Israel gradually elaborated an eschatological concept of time. The point of departure was the Feasts: Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread, In gathering.

• Passover: pastoral origin; rite practiced by nomadic or semi-nomadic shepherds.
• Sacrifice of first fruits of the flock. Rite known before stay in Egypt.
• Unleavened Bread: feast of sedentary people, Canaanite origin; an agricultural feast.
• Periodic cycle of nature; beginning of Spring. Thanksgiving.

The Hebrew Concept of Time and History SummaryWestern Biblical1. Linear Punctum temporisAbsolute RelativeAbstract Concrete
2. Eschatological Non-eschatological in Archaic YahwismCyclical (Gen. 8:22)(Feasts) LinearEschatological (Dt. 16:1)

Passover given historical meaning: journey of Exodus a definitive journey.

Ex. 23:15 Feast of Unleavened Bread: symbolized Birth of People of Israel.

Passover and Unleavened Bread joined
a. Chronological coincidence:Nomads (1st full moon of Spring);
Unleavened Bread - (1st Gathering of grain)
b. Eating Unleavened Bread part of both rites.
c. Symbolism: strictly related
Passover - 1st event of Exodus
Unleavened Bread - Last event
Together - whole event

Israel’s Feasts:

Gilgal - conquest of the Promised LandSchechem - Covenant on SinaiFeast of Booths - Providence in the desertPassover - Exodus celebrated in familiesBethel - Patriarchs

Israel recognized these events as successive, as a “becoming” as history that was intelligible. Gestalt: each part takes its significance from being in relation with each other part and the whole.
Short biography: Born in the Netherlands in 1938, Fr. Goswin N.M. Habets became lecturer (professore incaricato) of Biblical theology within the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum (APRA) in 1977. He was highly esteemed by his students. One of his most interesting courses was the one on prophets. For decades, Fr. Goswin would go to the back entrance of the sacristy at 07:00 to celebrate Mass on the Altar of St. Pius X in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The Dutch priest travelled a lot and Malta was one of his favourite places. Here he had several friends, including former altar boys who had served at St. Peter's Basilica over the years.

When he fell ill, Fr. Goswin asked a young American priest if he would be able to keep the Altar of St. Pius X “warm” for him. Afterwards, one morning, Fr. Goswin came by the sacristy to ask the sacristan and some of the senior altar servers to be ready for the American priest with vestments and cruets as soon as he entered — the trick that the more experienced priests in and around the Vatican had perfected.

Fr. Goswin died on 7 March 2005. A few hours after his death, a person who had attended his lectures stated that, after teaching the Old Testament throughout his life, Fr. Goswin was now ready to be examined on the New Testament. 

FIUV's Reactions to Fiducia supplicans

Dr. Joseph Shaw, FIUV President

From the President: Pope Francis risks his authority over the blessing of irregular unions In this second President’s Bulletin I wish to consider international reactions to Pope Francis’ recent document, issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the blessing of irregular unions (same sex unions, illicit second marriages, and so on). I considered the meaning and intentions of the document in a message to supporters of the Latin Mass Society, here. Links to documents quoted below can be found here. Positive reactions The President of the German Bishops’ conference has welcomed the document, though his lay counterparts on the Catholic Central Committee see it only as a positive step. It is difficult to imagine what next step could be taken which is not explicitly ruled out by the document itself, but they tell us that 'to be Catholic in these times means to expect change.' The celebrity American homosexual priest James Martin SJ reacted by posting a photo of him blessing a same-sex couple. Neutral reactions Some conservative bishops in Europe and America have issued statements that welcome the document but emphasise its limitations rather than any new possibilities. Negative reactions from liberals A homosexual lapsed Catholic writer in the left wing secular British newspaper The Guardian was in no way mollified by the document. 'That’s not a blessing, it’s an insult.' Former Irish President Mary MacAleese said it was 'nowhere near enough', but nevertheless 'a massive climbdown by Pope Francis and the DDF.' Negative Reactions from Bishops’ Conferences What is most striking is the reaction of Bishops’ Conferences. A refusal to countenance the blessing of irregular unions has now been expressed by the bishops of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Malawi, Zambia, Cameroon and Nigeria. I will try to keep my collection of their comments here up to date, as more statements are being published by the hour. Similar is the statement of the English Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a conservative grouping with sister organisations in Australia and the USA.

Comment With Fidudia supplicans Pope Francis generated many positive headlines from the liberal Catholic and secular Western press, and reassured German liberals that he was still willing to advance their agenda, balancing recent statements which seemed to go against them. As the dust has settled, however, things have become more complicated. Conservative Western bishops instinctively avoid making statements on homosexuality and divorce, because of the attitude of the secular press and so many among of their own flocks. It is no surprise, therefore, that they have reacted to this latest document as they have. African bishops, by contrast, are very aware of the danger of public scandal on this issue. The bishops of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, again, are mindful of the attitude of Russian Orthodox believers, and of Vladimir Putin’s periodic attempts to present himself as the champion of authentic Christian values. Pope Francis and his advisers may have thought that a concession to sexual libertinism that is more symbolic than real would be an easy victory, but this ignores the non-Western perspective. The net result is that is that Pope Francis' authority being questioned as never before, with opposition coming from a new quarter: not Americans or liturgical traditionalists, but the 'peripheries', above all Africa. We must ask the Christ Child, whose coming into the world we are soon to celebrate, to maintain in all our bishops His purity of heart, and to hold them steady to the injunction of St Paul: nolite conformari huic sæculo: ‘Be not conformed to this world’ (Romans 12:2).