Dear TIA,

Salve Maria!

A little blurb in the September 21, 2011, Denver Catholic Register, bottom of the first page, on a saint of the week, today's saint being St. Matthew. According to this short article, scholars think that St. Matthew did not write the Gospel which the Church has always credited to him. And likewise, "There is no evidence for early Church traditions that Matthew evangelized in Judea, Parthia, or Ethiopia, or that he was martyred in Persia."

How edifying! What is there that we do know about St. Matthew? That he was also called Levi, and was a tax collector called by Our Lord. Well, good for that. But why is he not credited with writing his Gospel? Almost certainly because modern (and Modernist) Scripture scholarship believes that his Gospel was written in the '70's AD. And how convenient! Much of the Gospel's content is thus suspect, being merely a development of the original "kerygma," with additions made by the creative early Christian community.

I know, this is just gibberish, but it is gibberish that has passed for accurate scholarship for decades now. Notwithstanding, Donald Attwater's "Catholic Dictionary," from the 1930's, states that Matthew's Gospel was written about the year 50 AD OR EVEN EARLIER! And Abbé Georges de Nantes wrote an article years ago about a fragment of St. Mark's Gospel from the early 40's.

The Gospels are accurate, but the Modernists writing articles want later dates to discount their content. And it should be curious to Scripture scholars that nowhere in the New Testament is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD mentioned. To have written the Gospels after this event had occurred and not to mention it would be like writing a history of the Church a few years after the Vatican had been bombed by Islamic forces, and not mentioning that dire event (and may Our Lord preserve us from such a disaster.)

And regarding poor St. Matthew's career, this article would have us throw away Church traditions concerning all of his preaching. Good job, Matthew! What did you do until you were martyred, wherever and whenever that was?

I would not be surprised if this little blurb on St. Matthew appeared all over the country in various diocesan papers. The Catholic Church swims in a Modernist sea now, and without great caution, anybody is liable to get a little wet.

     P.O.B.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Greetings from India.

I happened to see your website and was put into confusion over certain questions your write ups and pictures portrayed. As you very well know, the Holy Catholic Church has followed the traditional ways of thinking for many centuries and there is a steady and a genuine search towards progress in all areas of life. When people try to inculturate, they do not denigrate Christ either for a survival sake or to accommodate this foreign Christ in the alien land. But rather, it is the deepening of one's understanding of Christ in the native land, not as a western Christ but wanting Him to be the avatar in the emerging culture.

I would be glad, if you could send me periodicals and materials to prove the uniqueness of Christ and salvation in a multi pluralistic country like India.

I heartily welcome your views on the above claims on Christ.

     With regards, thank you,

     D.A.

TIA,

Regarding "The Subtle Invasion of Satanism" by Marian T. Horvat:

This may not be very timely, since I don't know when the above-referenced piece was written. I jumped to the conclusion, perhaps incorrectly, that Dr. Horvat was referring to the Design Toscano catalog, which reaches me on an irregular basis.

My thought was that roughly 90% of the merchandise offered by this operation is merely pretentious overpriced junk. Including many items of laughably pornographic pseudo-art, as well as objects of an occult/Satanic flavor.

I thought once of trying to contact the owners to say what pop culture panderers they were, but the effort required to do so was excessive. It is indeed extremely obvious that there are many people around with money to burn and no level of cultivation.

     Very truly yours,

     J.C.



TIA responds:

J.C.,

It is not clear in your message whether you are implying that one should not take that Satanist propaganda seriously because it is "merely pretentious overpriced junk." If so, we believe your position is not good.

The Devil takes advantage of any opportunity to deceive people and catch them in his nets. Many cases of possession occur when persons visit cheap, vulgar places advertising voodoo, santaria or macumba; other possessions take place in very sophisticated circles such the castle of Satanist Alister Crowley. No matter how cheap, fake, pretentious or money-minded the promotion of the Devil may be, Catholics should avoid it at any price.

The only acceptable place for the Devil in art is to be shown as defeated or in humiliating situations like the depictions we find in medieval art.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

To whom it may concern,

Can you please tell me do you have the St. Michael prayer in the original Latin form?

In Christ,

     T.G.



TIA responds:

T.G.,

There are three main prayers to St. Michael: the short one in English and Latin is here; the long one in English is here, we don't have it in Latin; the Exorcism is also a prayer to St. Michael, you can find it in English and Latin here.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

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