Richard John Neuhaus has died
Wednesday January 7, 2009
Categories: Catholicism, Religion (general)
[was: Richard John Neuhaus near death] The sad news comes from First Things editor Jody Bottum: Fr. Richard John Neuhaus slipped away today, January 8, shortly before 10 o'clock, at the age of seventy-two. He never recovered from the weakness...
Filed Under: Richard John Neuhaus
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Advertisement
Advertisement
Search This Blog
Recent Posts
About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
Subscribe
Archives
Blogs Worth Reading
- Front Porch Republic
- The American Conservative
- Patrick Deneen
- Conventional Folly
- The American Scene
- First Things
- Andrew Sullivan
- The Plank
- Eunomia
- Get Religion
- Postmodern Conservative
- Alex Massie
- The Corner
- Contentions
- Sharon Astyk
- Barry Ritholtz
- The Oil Drum
- Mere Comments
- First Principles (ISI)
- Brian Kaller
I'm not Catholic, but what is a "holy death"? I will pray for peace during his passing and peace for his family and loved ones.
I am Catholic and I am assuming by that statement that he has received his last rites and that we should pray he dies without committing some form of sin...especially the rejection of Christ. Many saints of old have been attacked by the devil on their death bed. The time of death can be the weakest time in ones life. It might be easier to give into despair etc. I hope this makes sense. We should pray that he clings to Christ during his last hours.
Rod, many thanks for sharing this information. I will pray hard tonight for this courageous Christian man. We've just lost Avery Cardinal Dulles and now we're about to lose Fr. Neuhaus. Good grief :-(
As for your relationship with Fr. Neuhaus, I remember the very decent and kind comments he posted about you on the First Things blog at the time you switched over to the Orthodox church. A man of charity as well as a great intellect.
This is a bit off topic. Rod, your strongest prayer requests on this blog seem to be on behalf of those you feel have done good things and thus have earned the reward of the benefit our prayers offer. I would love to see you, in addition to this, have as much desire of our prayers on behalf of the people who desperately need them, like the wicked or lost. Does your heart desire a good outcome for them as strongly as it does for those you feel have already contributed to religious life? Jesus wants and loves people even when they have no good deeds yet to their names at all. I would praise God to see you also appeal us like this to pray for dying Palestinians and their surviving loved ones, or even for disturbed women who make dolls into children.
What’s this that steals, that steals upon my frame
Is it death? Is it death?
That soon will quench, will quench this vital flame,
Is it death? Is it death?
If this be death, I soon shall be
From every pain and sorrow free
I shall the King of Glory see;
All is well, All is well.
May the Viaticum of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve him from the malignant Enemy and bring him to life eternal. Amen. (from the older Rite of Extreme Unction.)
A great mind and a great soul. I shall miss his wisdom and his charity.
"I am Catholic and I am assuming by that statement that he has received his last rites and that we should pray he dies without committing some form of sin...especially the rejection of Christ."
I do not get this at all. Even if he rejects Christ, Christ will not reject him. Jesus died for his sins to be forgiven, so one last minute sin won't change that. Was Christ's death and resurrection effective or not?
"Many saints of old have been attacked by the devil on their death bed. The time of death can be the weakest time in ones life."
So what? After that "weakest time," they pass into the presence of the Lord. Of course a person is likely to be weak when he dies of natural causes. Is Jesus Christ incapable of understanding that, and having mercy? The focus should be on Christ and His faithfulness, not on our fallen nature with all its difficulties.
"It might be easier to give into despair etc. I hope this makes sense. We should pray that he clings to Christ during his last hours."
Christ will cling to him, regardless. If ever there was a good description of why I am not a Catholic, this is it. That must be a tremendous burden, to always wonder whether we are clinging to Christ enough, or whether one sin will undo our faith in Him. Just believe in Him and be at peace. if you do something foolish on your deathbed, He still loves you and will forgive you. He will receive you. He doesn't expect you to be triumphant when your brain is turning dead.
Treebeard,
That is a very unique and creative outlook. The Bible is very clear that man can (and some do)reject Christ. Jesus will not force anyone to accept Him. We have freewill, and with that freewill we can choose life or death, Heaven or Hell.
One of the main reasons I rejected my father's Protestantism and accepted my mother's Catholicism is because "once saved, always saved" is a dangerous doctrine.
But this is not the place to argue such things. Prayers for Father John Neuhaus.
In the Orthodox Church, we pray for the salvation of the world, so do not fear dear poster "E", Rod prays daily for those palestinians etc you mentioned. However, when a particular person comes to our attention, we do pray for their souls to achieve a Holy Death. We ask God to send his angels to their aid to assuage their pain and give them a clear mind to prepare their souls to meet their dear Lord. We pray that their families receive peace and strength at this time. I learned just what a Holy Death means last Feb. as I was priviliged to be at my Mother's bedside as prayers and songs and Scripture escorted her sould to be with the One she prepared to meet. Lord, grant Father Niehaus this also. His life touched so many-my husband for one read him often.
Treebeard,
I forgot to post my name earlier but looks like you responded to me. I would much rather not use this post a forum for debate. I think our time would be better spent praying for Fr. Neuhaus. I think it is very obvious that Catholics ( and I am sure some if not many Protestants) beleive you can lose your salvation if you deny Christ. I will say that I find it stunning to think that I can blaspheme Jesus and deny Him yet still go to Heaven. Good to know!
Quick question. Why do some of my posts end up under my name and others under Your Name? I can't seem to get the name to go through each time.
Jeni
John 10:27-31
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one."
To believe a person can lose his salvation is to lack faith in both the Son and the Father. It means that the death of Christ has no efficacy. Once we receive eternal life (in this age, not in the next) by being regenerated, nothing can snatch us out of the hand of the Son or of the Father.
I don't need to pray for Mr. Neuhaus. He's in good hands.
Fr. Neuhaus died this morning, Jan 8. (http://www.firstthings.com/)
Requiem aeternam. Vechnaja pamjat.
Neuhaus and I have also had our differences, but I respect his work, and I pray that his passage into eternal life may be easy.
Most Catholics, when they pray the rosary,add at the end of each decade this prayer:"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls into heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy."
A long time ago I worked with Fr., then Pastor, Neuhaus on a committee of the IRD. He was a brilliant writer, incisive intellect, and a courageous warrior for the unborn and for the clarity of truth. As he goes to be with God we can be grateful for his mind and faithful life.
I totally agree. I have been reading First Things for years. While I disagreed with him on fine (and some large) points, he has a keen mind. Who will replace him? Among contemporary Christian writers, for me he was the most intellectually engaging-- never fadish. I see no rising intellect like his. The allure of media personality is too strong. A great mind, a large faith, a sense of humor.... what a loss for us. God grant him a full welcome into his arms.
Lord, have mercy.
Fr. Neuhaus, through First Things, played an important role in my growing out of the cultural liberalism/libertinism of my youth.
May his memory be eternal!
"I do not get this at all. Even if he rejects Christ, Christ will not reject him. Jesus died for his sins to be forgiven, so one last minute sin won't change that. Was Christ's death and resurrection effective or not?"
Treebeard, take your any debates you may have regarding last things and "once saved, always saved" to an apologetics forum where it belongs.
This is not the time or place.
As far as praying for people who we have some connection with as opposed to those we have not, that's pretty common. Pettiness comes to mind with regard to the prior poster's comment on this issue.
Treebeard, take your any debates you may have regarding last things and "once saved, always saved" to an apologetics forum where it belongs.
This is not the time or place.
Don't patronize me, Don Altabello. This was exactly the time and the place. If you disagree, deal with it. I loved and respected Neuhaus's writings for a very long time, and was troubled by the suggestion that we needed to pray for him as if everything he has already done for the Lord's work would not avail him at the end. As if the Lord would pull away the effectiveness of His salvation at the last minute based on one last sin. I reject that vehemently, and will continue to do so on this blog or any forum where I am permitted to comment. The idea that Neuhaus would reject Christ on his deathbed was ridiculous, but the notion that this would cause him to lose his salvation was deeply offensive. I trust that the Lord's love for him is much greater than that, and will reiterate that this is one reason I reject Catholicism. But I do rejoice in Catholics like Neuhaus.
I am glad that Richard Neuhaus is now with the Lord. My reasons for commenting were to assure people that this would be true regardless of his last minute experiences before death.
That prior post by Your Name was mine obviously.
"29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."
There's a diffenece between being snatched away and leaving. Free will, temptation, and all that. The Catholic believes that one can reject, both willfully and through weakness. Of course one would ask, "Can the individual reject the infinite goodness and mercy of Christ?" I presume Christ can, though His power, overwhelm the choices of sinners contrary to His will, but I've never seen or experienced that. And for Him to do so would not allow us to retain our created nature.
Treebeard, I appreciate your questions, but I think you have your answers, you just don't find them convincing.
In any even, Fr. Neuhaus was a Catholic, and Catholics belive in praying for the dead, EVEN those who die in Grace (a holy death).
Why?
Well, I hate to throw gas on this fire, but there's the doctrine of Purgatory. We also pray for those there.
O my Jesus
Forgive us of our sins
Save us from the fires of Hell
And lead all souls to Heaven
Especially those most in need of Thy Mercy.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
Max, thanks for your explanation.
Upon re-reading my comments I feel I went too far, especially under the circumstances. My apologies to Don, and to anyone whom I may have offended.
May Richard Neuhaus rest in peace, and may the Lord bless and comfort his family.
"Don't patronize me, Don Altabello. This was exactly the time and the place. If you disagree, deal with it. I loved and respected Neuhaus's writings for a very long time, and was troubled by the suggestion that we needed to pray for him as if everything he has already done for the Lord's work would not avail him at the end."
Treebeard, I was not patronizing you. I'm asking you to display a bit of social tact.
It is very telling that a farewell to Fr. Neuhaus turns into a discussion about the scandals and a hero-piece about the wonderful and sacrificial work of Rod Dreher. Dreher places himself in this piece as the one far wiser and morally superior to Fr. Neuhaus as if the esteemed priest was some cog in the the machinery of a wicked institution. This is inexcusable and atrocious.
I suggest that Rod Dreher do just an hour's research on the financial and sexual scandals among the Orthodox, but he would never do so, as that would not be nearly so self serving as continually bashing the Catholic Church as he so loves to do.
Take a moment if you are a praying person and pray for Rod Dreher, he needs your prayers far, far more than Fr. Neuhaus.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.