Unam Sanctum - One Holy (Church)

This posting is in response to a participant on the Catholic Debate Forum whose allegation is that Unam Sanctum, especially the last sentence of it, is "evil."

Unam Sanctum:
http://www.americancatholictruthsociety.com/docs/unamsanctum.htm

> Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the
> Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in
> her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there
> is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, as the Spouse in the
> Canticles [Sgs 6:8] proclaims: 'One is my dove, my perfect one./
> She is the only one, the chosen of her who bore her,/' and she
> represents one sole mystical body whose Head is Christ and the
> head of Christ is God [1 Cor 11:3]. In her then is one Lord, one
> faith, one baptism [Eph 4:5]. There had been at the time of the
> deluge only one ark of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, which
> ark, having been finished to a single cubit, had only one pilot and
> guide, i.e., Noah, and we read that, outside of this ark, all that
> subsisted on the earth was destroyed.

Nothing evil here. Pope Boniface VII here is just defining WHY
we believe the Church is One. You may disagree with his opinion
here, but this is not "evil."

> We venerate this Church as one, the Lord having said by the
> mouth of the prophet: '/Deliver, O God, my soul from the
> sword and my only one from the hand of the dog/.'
> [Ps 21:20]

He again presents a case for the Church being the "one and
only" of the Lord. Still nothing "evil" here.

> He has prayed for his soul, that is for himself, heart and body;
> and this body, that is to say, the Church, He has called one
> because of the unity of the Spouse, of the faith, of the
> sacraments, and of the charity of the Church.

More of making a case for the Church being one, just as when
husband and wife are one in marriage and love. (Nothing
evil here).

> This is the tunic of the Lord, the seamless tunic, which was
> not rent but which was cast by lot [Jn 19:23- 24].

Another analogy to the unity of the Church, not being divided,
just as Jesus' tunic was not divided. (Still nothing evil).

> Therefore, of the one and only Church there is one body
> and one head, not two heads like a monster; that is, Christ
> and the Vicar of Christ, Peter and the successor of Peter,
> since the Lord speaking to Peter Himself said: '/Feed my
> sheep/' [Jn 21:17], meaning, my sheep in general, not
> these, nor those in particular, whence we understand that
> He entrusted all to him [Peter].

He gives support to the fact that a living body is one, with
only one head - not some two-headed monster. He
furthers with the fact Jesus spoke to Peter, and Peter alone
when He said "Feed My sheep," entrusting them all to
Peter. (Again, nothing "evil" here. You can disagree with
his interpretation, but what he's said is not "evil.")

> Therefore, if the Greeks or others should say that they are
> not confided to Peter and to his successors, they must
> confess not being the sheep of Christ, since Our Lord
> says in John '/there is one sheepfold and one shepherd/.'

More affirmation that the Church, or sheepfold, is to be
one. (Still nothing evil).

> We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this
> Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the
> spiritual and the temporal. For when the Apostles say:
> '/Behold, here are two swords/' [Lk 22:38] that is to
> say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking,
> the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but
> sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the
> temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not
> listened well to the word of the Lord commanding:
> '/Put up thy sword into thy scabbard/' [Mt 26:52].
> Both, therefore, are in the power of the Church, that
> is to say, the spiritual and the material sword, but the
> former is to be administered for the Church but the
> latter by the Church; the former in the hands of the
> priest; the latter by the hands of kings and soldiers,
> but at the will and sufferance of the priest.

In the ideal world, there are two swords - one is
administered FOR the Church, by kings and soldiers,
and the other is BY the Church, through priests.
The first one is material - for defending the Church
against material foes; the second is for defending the
Church against spiritual foes. Spiritual foes are
defeated by and fear the Eucharist - at the hands of
priests. (Still nothing evil here).

> However, one sword ought to be subordinated to
> the other and temporal authority, subjected to
> spiritual power. For since the Apostle said:
> '/There is no power except from God and the
> things that are, are ordained of God/'
> [Rom 13:1-2], but they would not be ordained if
> one sword were not subordinated to the other
> and if the inferior one, as it were, were not led
> upwards by the other.

More explanation of the two swords and how they work
together - not opposed to each other. (Still nothing
evil).

> For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of
> the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest
> place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order
> of the universe, all things are not led back to order
> equally and immediately, but the lowest by the
> intermediary, and the inferior by the superior. Hence
> we must recognize the more clearly that spiritual
> power surpasses in dignity and in nobility any
> temporal power whatever, as spiritual things surpass
> the temporal.

Here we have an explanation of the "order" of things in
the universe and that is compared to the Order of God.
(Still nothing evil).

> This we see very clearly also by the payment,
> benediction, and consecration of the tithes, but the
> acceptance of power itself and by the government
> even of things. For with truth as our witness, it
> belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial
> power and to pass judgement if it has not been good.

The above is an explanation of the need for spiritual things
to be above terrestrial or material things. (Still nothing
evil).

> Thus is accomplished the prophecy of Jeremias
> concerning the Church and the ecclesiastical power:
> '/Behold to-day I have placed you over nations, and
> over kingdoms/' and the rest. Therefore, if the
> terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual
> power; but if a minor spiritual power err, it will be
> judged by a superior spiritual power; but if the highest
> power of all err, it can be judged only by God, and
> not by man, according to the testimony of the Apostle:
> '/The spiritual man judgeth of all things and he
> himself is judged by no man/' [1 Cor 2:15].

This is an explanation of why the pope is not judged by
any other man on earth. The a pope is judged by God.
(Again, you might disagree here, but this statement is
not "evil").

> This authority, however, (though it has been given to
> man and is exercised by man), is not human but rather
> divine, granted to Peter by a divine word and
> reaffirmed to him (Peter) and his successors by the
> One Whom Peter confessed, the Lord saying to
> Peter himself, '/Whatsoever you shall bind on earth,
> shall be bound also in Heaven/' etc., [Mt 16:19].
> Therefore whoever resists this power thus ordained by
> God, resists the ordinance of God [Rom 13:2],

Here he explains the divine origin of Peter's authority and
that of his successors.

> ...unless he invent like Manicheus two beginnings, which
> is false and judged by us heretical, since according to
> the testimony of Moses, it is not in the beginnings but in
> the beginning that God created heaven and earth [Gen 1:1].

The analogy to one beginning and one Church. (Still
nothing "evil" here).

> Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that
> it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human
> creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.

This is just the logical conclusion of the earlier statements.
It is the dogmatic definition of this document, and based
on the premise - there is no other logical conclusion.
Since the Church is to be one - and there is one sheepfold
and one shepherd, there can be no validity to separated
churches. It is through the Church that we receive the
sacraments - especially those of Eucharist and Confession
(Reconcilliation), outside the Church neither of these
sacraments are valid. It is through these that we are
given the grace of salvation. Only priests recognized by
the successor of St. Peter to have valid orders can validly
administer these sacraments. These priests are under the
pope - so logically speaking, all the faithful are under or
subject to the pope.

In conclusion, there is nothing "evil" here - it's purely a
logical argument for the EENS (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla
Salus - Outside the Church there is No Salvation).

Catholic Church "dissing" the Bible?

> THE hierarchy of the
> Roman Catholic Church
> has published a teaching
> document instructing the
> faithful that some parts of
> the Bible are not actually
> true.
>
> The Catholic bishops of
> England, Wales and
> Scotland are warning their
> five million worshippers,
> as well as any others
> drawn to the study of
> scripture, that they should
> not expect "total
> accuracy" from the Bible.

First off, "the Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland" do
not make this a "teaching from the Catholic Church." Yes, they are
PART OF the Magisterium, but they are not THE Magisterium.

Second, the article/position is actually somewhat accurate in that
many parts of the Bible are figurative or even poetic, and not
intended to be a literal history lesson. That being said, many of the
verses quoted at the bottom do not fall into that category. Hence, I
detect some bias in the reporter's claims. I'd like to see the
original statements from those bishops before we can comment much
further.

Scott Windsor
Founder of http://www.americancatholictruthsociety.com

Original article:

"Catholic Church no longer swears by truth of the Bible" By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent THE hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church has published a teaching document instructing the faithful that some parts of the Bible are not actually true. The Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland are warning their five million worshippers, as well as any others drawn to the study of scripture, that they should not expect "total accuracy" from the Bible. "We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision," they say in The Gift of Scripture. The document is timely, coming as it does amid the rise of the religious Right, in particular in the US. Some Christians want a literal interpretation of the story of creation, as told in Genesis, taught alongside Darwin's theory of evolution in schools, believing "intelligent design" to be an equally plausible theory of how the world began. But the first 11 chapters of Genesis, in which two different and at times conflicting stories of creation are told, are among those that this country's Catholic bishops insist cannot be "historical". At most, they say, they may contain "historical traces". The document shows how far the Catholic Church has come since the 17th century, when Galileo was condemned as a heretic for flouting a near-universal belief in the divine inspiration of the Bible by advocating the Copernican view of the solar system. Only a century ago, Pope Pius X condemned Modernist Catholic scholars who adapted historical-critical methods of analysing ancient literature to the Bible. In the document, the bishops acknowledge their debt to biblical scholars. They say the Bible must be approached in the knowledge that it is "God's word expressed in human language" and that proper acknowledgement should be given both to the word of God and its human dimensions. They say the Church must offer the gospel in ways "appropriate to changing times, intelligible and attractive to our contemporaries". The Bible is true in passages relating to human salvation, they say, but continue: "We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in other, secular matters." They go on to condemn fundamentalism for its "intransigent intolerance" and to warn of "significant dangers" involved in a fundamentalist approach. "Such an approach is dangerous, for example, when people of one nation or group see in the Bible a mandate for their own superiority, and even consider themselves permitted by the Bible to use violence against others." Of the notorious anti-Jewish curse in Matthew 27:25, "His blood be on us and on our children", a passage used to justify centuries of anti-Semitism, the bishops say these and other words must never be used again as a pretext to treat Jewish people with contempt. Describing this passage as an example of dramatic exaggeration, the bishops say they have had "tragic consequences" in encouraging hatred and persecution. "The attitudes and language of first-century quarrels between Jews and Jewish Christians should never again be emulated in relations between Jews and Christians." As examples of passages not to be taken literally, the bishops cite the early chapters of Genesis, comparing them with early creation legends from other cultures, especially from the ancient East. The bishops say it is clear that the primary purpose of these chapters was to provide religious teaching and that they could not be described as historical writing. Similarly, they refute the apocalyptic prophecies of Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible, in which the writer describes the work of the risen Jesus, the death of the Beast and the wedding feast of Christ the Lamb. The bishops say: "Such symbolic language must be respected for what it is, and is not to be interpreted literally. We should not expect to discover in this book details about the end of the world, about how many will be saved and about when the end will come." In their foreword to the teaching document, the two most senior Catholics of the land, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, and Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrew's and Edinburgh, explain its context. They say people today are searching for what is worthwhile, what has real value, what can be trusted and what is really true. The new teaching has been issued as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council document explaining the place of Scripture in revelation. In the past 40 years, Catholics have learnt more than ever before to cherish the Bible. "We have rediscovered the Bible as a precious treasure, both ancient and ever new." A Christian charity is sending a film about the Christmas story to every primary school in Britain after hearing of a young boy who asked his teacher why Mary and Joseph had named their baby after a swear word. The Breakout Trust raised £200,000 to make the 30-minute animated film, It's a Boy. Steve Legg, head of the charity, said: "There are over 12 million children in the UK and only 756,000 of them go to church regularly. That leaves a staggering number who are probably not receiving basic Christian teaching." BELIEVE IT OR NOT UNTRUE Genesis ii, 21-22 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man Genesis iii, 16 God said to the woman [after she was beguiled by the serpent]: "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." Matthew xxvii, 25 The words of the crowd: "His blood be on us and on our children." Revelation xix,20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone." TRUE Exodus iii, 14 God reveals himself to Moses as: "I am who I am." Leviticus xxvi,12 "I will be your God, and you shall be my people." Exodus xx,1-17 The Ten Commandments Matthew v,7 The Sermon on the Mount Mark viii,29 Peter declares Jesus to be the Christ Luke i The Virgin Birth John xx,28 Proof of bodily resurrection (Link to article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1811332,00.html )

Sola Scriptura (2)

Just another quick note on the subject. I have recently received "Scripture Alone" by James R. White and also the same title from R.C. Sproul. Look forward to a response!

Sola Scriptura

One of the chief premises, if not THE chief premise, of Protestantism is sola scriptura, or the teaching that the Bible alone is the sole infallible rule of faith. The fatal flaw of that teaching is the teaching itself is not found in the Bible! By it's own standard the teaching of sola scriptura is fallible, and due to the fact that it is NOT taught in Scripture, we'd have to say it's inherently flawed.

Where is this teaching first found? Let's not be satisfied with references which speak to sufficiency - because sola scriptura is not about sufficiency - rather it is about "sola."

Comments anyone?

Sola Fide?

Is sola fide a true teaching of the Church, or is it an invention of heretics in the 16th century? Does the Bible teach sola fide, or does it flat out deny it? This is one of the pillars of Protestantism - and one of the key pillars at that, but is it truth or fiction?

When we look to what the Apostle James wrote in chapter 2 verse 24, we clearly see that faith alone is flat out denied by Scripture! "You see, a man is justified by works and NOT BY faith alone." Can it get any clearer than that? If one reads this objectively, without the presuppositions of Protestantism getting in the way, then one must totally reject the concept of sola fide on the basis that the ONLY place in Scripture where the two words are used together is in flat out denial of the concept!

Your servant in JMJ,
Scott<<<
http://www.americancatholictruthsociety.com

Donate to Help Hurricane Katrina Victims

Mail Checks To:
Catholic Charities USA
2005 Hurricane Relief Fund
PO Box 25168
Alexandria, VA 22313-9788

Call:
(800) 919-9338

What can truly be used right now is cash! Send whatever you can afford to help the victimes of Hurricane Katrina which has devastated the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida (and keep in mind, it's not just New Orleans! The "direct hit" was in Mississippi). There's so much that must be done, and too much for the local communitees to do alone - it's going to take ALL of us chipping in to get these people back on their feet.

Was St. Augustine Catholic?

Was St. Augustine Catholic?
YES!

"I should not believe the Gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church."

(Against the Epistle of Manichaeus Called Fundamental, 5,6)

Catholic Understanding of the Eucharist

"That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God IS THE BODY OF CHRIST. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, IS THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Through that bread and wine the Lord Christ willed to commend HIS BODY AND BLOOD, WHICH HE POURED OUT FOR US UNTO THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS." (St. Augustine, Sermons 227)

"The Lord Jesus wanted those whose eyes were held lest they should recognize him, to recognize Him in the breaking of the bread [Luke 24:16,30-35]. The faithful know what I am saying. They know Christ in the breaking of the bread. For not all bread, but only that which receives the blessing of Christ, BECOMES CHRIST'S BODY." (St. Augustine, Sermons 234:2)

"What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that THE BREAD IS THE BODY OF CHRIST AND THE CHALICE [WINE] THE BLOOD OF CHRIST." (St. Augustine, Sermons 272)

"How this ['And he was carried in his own hands'] should be understood literally of David, we cannot discover; but we can discover how it is meant of Christ. FOR CHRIST WAS CARRIED IN HIS OWN HANDS, WHEN, REFERRING TO HIS OWN BODY, HE SAID: 'THIS IS MY BODY.' FOR HE CARRIED THAT BODY IN HIS HANDS." (St. Augustine, Psalms 33:1:10)

The Priest and the Mass

"Christ is both the Priest, OFFERING Himself, and Himself the Victim. He willed that the SACRAMENTAL SIGN of this should be the daily Sacrifice of the Church, who, since the Church is His body and He the Head, learns to OFFER herself through Him." (St. Augustine, City of God 10:20)

"By those sacrifices of the Old Law, this one Sacrifice is signified, in which there is a true remission of sins; but not only is no one forbidden to take as food the Blood of this Sacrifice, rather, all who wish to possess life are exhorted to drink thereof." (St. Augustine, Questions on the Heptateuch 3:57)

"...I turn to Christ, because it is He whom I seek here; and I discover how the earth is adored without impiety, how without impiety the footstool of His feet is adored. For He received earth from earth; because flesh is from the earth, and He took flesh from the flesh of Mary. He walked here in the same flesh, AND GAVE US THE SAME FLESH TO BE EATEN UNTO SALVATION. BUT NO ONE EATS THAT FLESH UNLESS FIRST HE ADORES IT; and thus it is discovered how such a footstool of the Lord's feet is adored; AND NOT ONLY DO WE NOT SIN BY ADORING, WE DO SIN BY NOT ADORING." (St. Augustine, Psalms 98:9)

The Mass, The Eucharist and Purgatory:

"But by the prayers of the Holy Church, and by the SALVIFIC SACRIFICE, and by the alms which are given for their spirits, there is no doubt that the dead are aided that the Lord might deal more mercifully with them than their sins would deserve. FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH OBSERVES THIS PRACTICE WHICH WAS HANDED DOWN BY THE FATHERS that it prays for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own
place in the Sacrifice itself [part of the Mass mentions the Saints who have "gone before us"]; and the Sacrifice is OFFERED also in memory of them, on their behalf. If, the works of mercy are celebrated for the sake of those who are being remembered, who would hesitate to recommend them, on whose behalf prayers to God are not offered in vain? It is not at all to be doubted that such prayers are of profit to the dead; but for such of them as lived before their death in a way that makes it possible for these things to be useful to them after death." (St. Augustine, Sermons 172:2)

"There is an ecclesiastical discipline, as the faithful know, when the names of the martyrs are read aloud in that place at the altar of God, where prayer is not offered for them. Prayer, however, is offered for other dead who are remembered. It is wrong to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we ought ourselves be commended" (Sermons 159:1 [A.D. 411]).

"Temporal punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by some after death, by 'some both here and hereafter, but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will come to eternal punishments, which are to follow after that judgment" (The City of God 21:13 [A.D. 419]).

"The prayer either of the Church herself or of pious individuals is heard on behalf of certain of the dead, but it is heard for those who, having been regenerated in Christ, did not for the rest of their life in the body do such wickedness that they might be judged unworthy of such mercy [as prayer], nor who yet lived so well that it might be supposed they have no need of such mercy [as prayer]" (ibid., 21:24:2).

"That there should be some fire even after this life is not incredible, and it can be inquired into and either be discovered or left hidden whether some of the faithful may be saved, some more slowly and some more quickly in the greater or lesser degree in which they loved the good things that perish, through a certain PURGATORIAL FIRE" (Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Charity 18:69 [A.D. 421]).

"The time which interposes between the death of a man and the final resurrection holds souls in hidden retreats, accordingly as each is deserving of rest or of hardship, in view of what it merited when it was living in the flesh. Nor can it be denied that the souls of the dead find relief through the piety of their friends and relatives who are still alive, when the Sacrifice of the Mediator [Mass] is offered for them, or when alms are given in the Church. But these things are of profit to those who, when they were alive, merited that they might afterward be able to be helped by these things. There is a certain manner of living, neither so good that there is no need of these helps after death, nor yet so wicked that these helps are of no avail after death" (ibid., 29:109).

Augustine on Mary

Mary, a disciple of Christ

"But look here, my brothers and sisters, concentrate more, I beg you, on what follows, concentrate more on what Christ the Lord said as he stretched out his hand over his disciples: This is my mother and these are my brothers; and whoever does the will of my Father who sent me, that person is a brother to me and a sister and a mother (Mt 12:49-50). Didn't the Virgin Mary do the will of the Father? I mean, she believed by faith, she conceived by faith, she was chosen to be the one from whom salvation in the very midst of the human race would be born for us, she was created by Christ before Christ was created in her. Yes, of course, holy Mary did the will of the Father. And therefore it means more for Mary to have been a disciple of Christ than to have been the mother of Christ. It means more for her, an altogether greater blessing, to have been Christ's disciple than to have been Christ's mother. That is why Mary was blessed, because even before she gave him birth, she bore her teacher in her womb.

Just see if it isn't as I say. While the Lord was passing by, performing divine miracles, with the crowds following him, a woman said: Fortunate is the womb that bore you. And how did the Lord answer, to show that good fortune is not really to be sought in mere family ties? Rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it (Lk 11:27-28). So that is why Mary, too, is blessed, because she heard the word of God and kept it. She kept truth safe in her mind even better than she kept flesh safe in her womb. Christ is truth, Christ is flesh; Christ as truth was in Mary's mind, Christ as flesh in Mary's womb; that which is in the mind is greater
than what is carried in the womb.

Mary is holy, Mary is blessed, but the Church is something better than the Virgin Mary. Why? Because Mary is part of the Church, a holy member, a quite exceptional member, the supremely wonderful member, but still a member of the whole body. That being so, it follows that the body is something greater than the member. The Lord is the head, and the whole Christ is head and body. How shall I put it? We have a divine head, we have God as our head." (Sermon 72/A, 7 source: http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20001208_agostino_en.html)

"It was not the visible sun, but its invisible Creator who consecrated this day for us, when the Virgin Mother, fertile of womb and integral in her virginity, brought him forth, made visible for us, by whom, when he was invisible, she too was created. A Virgin conceiving, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at this, O man?" (Sermons 186:1 [A.D. 411]
source: http://www.catholic.com/ANSWERS/tracts/_virgint.htm).

Reference to Ever Virgin Compared/Contrasted to Eve

The hoped-for day of the blessed and venerable Mary ever a Virgin has now come; therefore let our earth rejoice with great gladness, illuminated by the birth of so great a Virgin. For she is the flower of the field from which came forth the priceless lily of the valley; by her child-bearing the nature inherited from our first parents is changed, their fault wiped out. In her that sentence passed on Eve was remitted which said, "In sorrow shall you bring forth children," for Mary brought forth the Lord in joy.

Eve sorrowed, but Mary exulted; Eve carried weeping in her womb, but Mary carried joy, for Eve brought forth a sinner, but Mary innocence itself. The mother of our race brought punishment into the world, but the Mother of our Lord brought salvation into the world. Eve was the source of sin, Mary the source of merit. Eve by killing was a hindrance, Mary by giving life was a help. Eve wounded, Mary healed. Obedience takes the place of disobedience, faith makes up for faithlessness.

Mary may now play on her instruments, the Mother strike the cymbals with swift fingers. The joyful choruses may sound out and songs alternate with sweet harmonies. Hear, then, how she sings, she who leads our chorus. For she say, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; for, behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; because He who is mighty has done great things for me." And so the miraculous new birth takes away the cause of our increasing burden of sin, and Mary's song puts an end to the weeping of Eve. (From the Second Nocturn of Matins of the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
(Source: http://members.tripod.com/cathdev/virginmary.html)

Augustine on Apostolic Succession

"There are many other things which most properly can keep me in [the Catholic Church's] bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here. Her authority, inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love, and confirmed by her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the very see of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave the charge of feeding his sheep [John 21:15-17], up to the present episcopate, keeps me here. And last, the very name Catholic, which, not without reason, belongs to this Church alone, in the face of so many heretics, so much so that, although all heretics want to be called 'Catholic,' when a stranger inquires where the Catholic Church meets, none of the heretics would dare to point out his own basilica or house" (Against the Letter of Mani Called 'The Foundation' 4:5 [A.D. 397]).

"If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly, and safely do we number them [the bishops of Rome] from Peter himself, to whom, as to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, 'Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not conquer it.' Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by Clement . . . In this order of succession a Donatist bishop is not to be found" (Letters 53:1:2 [A.D. 412]).

Augustine on Baptismal Regeneration

"It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated ... when that infant is brought to baptism; and it is through this one Spirit that the infant so presented is reborn. For it is not written, `Unless a man be born again by the will of his parents' or `by the faith of those presenting him or ministering to him,' but, `Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit.' The water, therefore, manifesting exteriorly the sacrament of grace, and the Spirit effecting interiorly the benefit of grace, both regenerate in one Christ that man who was generated in Adam" (Letters 98:2 [A.D. 412]).

"Baptism washes away all, absolutely all, our sins, whether of deed, word, or thought, whether sins original or added, whether knowingly or unknowingly contracted" (Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 3:3:5 [A.D. 420]).

Augustine on the necessity of Baptism for Salvation

"There are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptism, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance; yet God does not forgive sins except to the baptized" (Sermons to Catechumens, on the Creed 7:15 [A.D. 395]).

"[According to] Apostolic Tradition ... the Churches of Christ hold inherently that without baptism and participation at the table of the Lord it is impossible for any man to attain either to the kingdom of God or to salvation and life eternal. This is the witness of Scripture too" (Forgiveness and the Just Deserts of Sin, and the Baptism of Infants 1:24:34 [A.D. 412]).

However, Augustine allowed for exceptions, what he called baptism of desire or blood (martyrdom).

"That the place of baptism is sometimes supplied by suffering is supported by a substantial argument which the same blessed Cyprian draws from the circumstance of the thief, to whom, although not baptized, it was said, `Today you shall be with me in paradise' [Luke 23:43]. Considering this over and over again, I find that not only suffering for the name of Christ can supply for that which is lacking by way of baptism, but even faith and conversion of heart [i.e., baptism of desire] if, perhaps, because of the circumstances of the time, recourse cannot be had to the celebration of the mystery of baptism" (ibid., 4:22:29).

Augustine on the Communion of Saints and Intercession

"A Christian people celebrates together in religious solemnity the memorials of the martyrs, both to encourage their being imitated and so that it can share in their merits and be aided by their prayers" (Against Faustus the Manichean [A.D. 400]).

"At the Lord's table we do not commemorate martyrs in the same way that we do others who rest in peace so as to pray for them, but rather that they may pray for us that we may follow in their footsteps" (Homilies on John 84 [A.D. 416]).

"For even now miracles are wrought in the name of Christ, whether by his sacraments or by the prayers or relics of his saints ... The miracle which was wrought at Milan when I was there ... [and when people] had gathered to the bodies of the martyrs Protasius and Gervasius, which had long lain concealed and unknown but where now made known to the bishop Ambrose in a dream and discovered by him" (City of God 22:8 [A.D. 419]).

Augustine on Purgatory and Praying for the Departed

"That there should be some fire even after this life is not incredible, and it can be inquired into and either be discovered or left hidden whether some of the faithful may be saved, some more slowly and some more quickly in the greater or lesser degree in which they loved the good things that perish, through a certain purgatorial fire" (Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Charity 18:69 [A.D. 421]).

"We read in the books of the Maccabees [2 Macc. 12:43] that sacrifice was offered for the dead. But even if it were found nowhere in the Old Testament writings, the authority of the Catholic Church which is clear on this point is of no small weight, where in the prayers of the priest poured forth to the Lord God at his altar the commendation of the dead has its place" (The Care to be Had for the Dead 1:3 [A.D. 421]).

Augustine on the Sacrament of Penance

"When you shall have been baptized, keep to a good life in the commandments of God so that you may preserve your baptism to the very end. I do not tell you that you will live here without sin, but they are venial sins which this life is never without. Baptism was instituted for all sins. For light sins, without which we cannot live, prayer was instituted. ... But do not commit those sins on account of which you would have to be separated from the body of Christ. Perish the thought! For those whom you see doing penance have committed crimes, either adultery or some other enormities. That is why they are doing penance. If their sins were light, daily prayer would suffice to blot them out ... In the Church, therefore, there are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptisms, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance" (Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15, 8:16 [A.D. 395]).

"I realize what the incontinent can say: ... that if a man, accusing his wife of adultery, kills her, this sin, since it is finished and does not perdure in him [i.e., since he does not keep committing it], if it is committed by a catechumen, is absolved in baptism, and if it is done by one who is baptized, it is healed by penance and reconciliation" (Adulterous Marriages 2:16:16 [A.D. 419]).

Augustine on the deuterocanonicals

"The whole canon of the Scriptures, however, in which we say that consideration is to be applied, is contained in these books: the five of Moses . . . and one book of Joshua [Son of] Nave, one of Judges; one little book which is called Ruth ... then the four of Kingdoms, and the two of Paralipomenon ... [T]here are also others too, of a different order ... such as Job and Tobit and Esther and Judith and the two books of Maccabees, and the two of Esdras ... Then there are the Prophets, in which there is one book of the Psalms of David, and three of Solomon ... But as to those two books, one of which is entitled Wisdom and the other of which is entitled Ecclesiasticus and which are called `of Solomon' because of a certain similarity to his books, it is held most certainly that they were written by Jesus Sirach. They must, however, be accounted among the prophetic books, because of the authority which is deservedly accredited to them" (Christian Instruction 2:8:13 [A.D. 397]).

Augustine on The Rock / Papacy of St. Peter

“Number the bishops from the see of Peter itself. And in that order of Fathers see who succeeded whom, That is the rock against which the gates of hell do not prevail.”
(Psalmus contra partem Donati, 18 (A.D. 393),GCC 51)

“Let us not listen to those who deny that the Church of God is able to forgive all sins. They are wretched indeed, because they do not recognize in Peter the rock and they refuse to believe that the keys of heaven, lost from their own hands, have been given to the Church.” (Christian Combat, 31:33(A.D. 397), in JUR,3:51)

“For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken into account, with how much more certainty and benefit to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter himself, to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, the Lord said: ‘Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it !’ The successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in unbroken continuity were these: -- Clement, Anacletus, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Iginus, Anicetus, Pius, Soter, Eleutherius, Victor, Zephirinus, Calixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Antherus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephanus, Xystus, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, Gaius, Marcellinus, Marcellus, Eusebius, Miltiades, Sylvester, Marcus, Julius, Liberius, Damasus, and Siricius, whose successor is the present Bishop Anastasius. In this order of succession no Donatist bishop is found. But, reversing the natural course of things, the Donatists sent to Rome from Africa an ordained bishop, who, putting himself at the head of a few Africans in the great metropolis, gave some notoriety to the name of ‘mountain men,’ or Cutzupits, by which they were known.” (To Generosus, Epistle 53:2(A.D. 400), in NPNF1,I:298)

"When, therefore, He had said to His disciples, 'Will ye also go away?' Peter, that Rock, answered with the voice of all, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.’" (Homilies on John, Tract 11:5(A.D. 417), in NPNF1,VII:76)

“And the Lord, to him to whom a little before He had said, ‘Blessed thou art, and upon this Rock I will build my Church,’ saith, ‘Go back behind, Satan, an offence thou art to Me.’ Why therefore ‘Satan’ is he, that a little before was ‘blessed,’ and a ‘Rock’?" (In Psalms, 56[55]:14[PL 36, 656] (A.D. 418),in NPNF1,VIII:223)

“Peter, who had confessed Him as the Son of God, and in that confession had been called the rock upon which the Church should be built.” (In Psalms, 69:4[PL 36, 869] (A.D. 418), in Butler, 251)

“And if a Jew asks us why we do that, we sound from the rock, we say, This Peter did, this Paul did: from the midst of the rocks we give our voice. But that rock, Peter himself, that great mountain, when he prayed and saw that vision, was watered from above.” (In Psalms, 104[103]:16(A.D. 418),in NPNF1,VIII:513)

“[In my first book against Donatus] I mentioned somewhere with reference to the apostle Peter that ‘the Church is founded upon him as upon a rock.’ This meaning is also sung by many lips in the lines of blessed Ambrose, where, speaking of the domestic cock, he says: ‘When it crows, he, the rock of the Church, absolves from sin.’ But I realize that I have since frequently explained the words of our Lord: ‘Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church’, to the effect that they should be understood as referring to him Peter confessed when he said: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God’, and as meaning that Peter having been named after this rock, figured the person of the Church, which is built upon this rock and has received the keys of the kingdom of heaven. For what was said to him was not ‘Thou art rock’, but ‘Thou art Peter’. But the rock was Christ, having confessed whom(even as the whole Church confesses) Simon was named Peter. Which of these interpretations is more likely to be correct, let the reader choose.” (Retractations,1:21(A.D. 427),in GILES, 177)

(above papacy citations qtd in: http://www.catholic-convert.com/webster/augustinewebster.html )