Make a Donation
June 22, 2016

Note from the Managing Editor:

In "Living in the Present Instant" the Venerable Father Francois-Marie-Paul Libermann explains how important it is for us to keep ourselves at peace and then gives us some advice on exactly how to do that.

Elizabeth Scalia knows about little sins and why we need to pay attention to them.  We have the introduction to her book, Little Sins Mean a Lot: Kicking Our Bad Habits Before They Kick Us.

Fathers matter. Yes, they do. In "Black Fathers Matter", Larry Elder focuses on the absence of fathers in so many black households, which the author claims is a much bigger threat to black communities than is racism.

This week the Holy Father made some rather controversial comments which caught the attention of the secular world.  We don't like to get down in the mud here at CERC, but when something the Holy Father has said, stirs up the likes of the Washington Post, The Week, and many other media outlets, it's time for a little deeper analysis and some context.  On opposite sides of the question of whether the Holy Father's comments are even worth thinking about are John Allen, jr., who holds that it's all a tempest in a teapot, Phil Lawler who thinks it's not, Edward Peters who thinks John Allen has made some mistakes of fact and logic, and Father Alexander Lucie-Smith who thinks Pope Francis has made an important point. - J. Fraser Field



Web version of this CERC Weekly Update here
Previous CERC Weekly Update here
Subscribe/unsubscribe here
Visit the CERC website at www.catholiceducation.org

"We are entitled to require a consistency between what people write in their studies and the way in which they live their lives. I submit that no-one lives as if science were enough. Our account of the world must be rich enough — have a thick enough texture and a sufficiently generous rationality — to contain the total spectrum of human meeting with reality." - John Polkinghorne



New Resources


 
Living in the Present Instant - Venerable Father François-Marie-Paul Libermann - from Lettres du Venerable Pere Libermann

Be docile and pliable in the hands of God. You know what you must do to achieve this.


 
Introduction - Elizabeth Scalia - from Little Sins Mean a Lot

When Bert Ghezzi approached me about writing this book, I gave him a bemused look and said, "you've got to be kidding me. I am a walking, breathing billboard for bad habits, and a cautionary tale against little sins, unattended and left to run rampant"


 
Black Fathers Matter - Larry Elder - Prager University

Which poses a bigger threat to black communities: Racism? Or the absence of fathers?


 
The EU's Unholy, Un-Roman, Un-Empire - Robert Royal - The Catholic Thing

One of the world's most militantly secular and haplessly bureaucratic entities — which also labors mightily to spread its errors to the world — is facing a test and perhaps a defeat this week.


 
The Metaphysics of the Bathroom - Robert R. Reilly - Catholic World Report

What accounts for the prominence of the issue of transgenderism and the passions that it ignites?


 
Waving, Not Drowning - Roger Scruton - The American Spectator

When the self-policing regime of morality breaks down, the state must take charge of the mess.


 
Squirrel Nutkin and the Art of Mischief - Sean Fitzpatrick - Crisis Magazine

The world of Beatrix Potter is the real world: moral, but not moralistic; a world of pursuit and prey, of dangers and delights, of existence and enchantment.


 
St Anthony's Wisdom and Ours - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor

The first Christians knew well the degrading course of systemic moral corruption.


 
12th Sunday of OT - Father John Horgan - CERC

Who do you say that I am?

Editorials of Interest:

The Ugly Present - The Feminine Gift
Terrorism is not hate - First Things

Editorials of Interest


Full Text and Synthesis of Iuvenescit Ecclesia (The Church Rejuvenates) - NC Register

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith letter to bishops covers the relationship between hierarchical and charismatic gifts in the life and mission of the Church.


Mary Magdalene, 'Apostle to the Apostles,' Given Equal Dignity in Feast - Aleteia

It is precisely in the context of the Jubilee of Mercy that our Holy Father Pope Francis has taken this decision, in order to underline the relevance of this woman "who so loved Christ and was so greatly loved by Christ."


Are We Special? New Thoughts about the Anthropic Principle - Rational Catholic

If you do believe in God or if you are an agnostic, fine tuning can be evidence for God's creating hand. If you're an atheist, this will not be sufficient evidence.


Evangelization Requires Authentic Catholicism - Liturgy Guy

Authenticity requires that we live with a sense of the supernatural. Frequent the sacraments. Remain in a state of grace. Hate sin. When you fall, run to Confession. Rinse. Repeat.


Blaming Christianity for Islamic Terrorism - Crisis

Every form of chastity depends on and fosters essential self-mastery.


Hamilton, Temptation, and Grace - Aleteia

Unless we can have faith in the unimaginable depth of mercy, there's nowhere to run from temptation.


The Ugly Present - The Feminine Gift

No matter my vocation, the fact is that I will still have to deal with my ugly present, my daily struggle to be holy. And that orientation towards holiness happens in the present moment, not in some idyllic future.


What the Hook-up Culture Has Done to Women - Crisis Magazine

We fail an entire generation when we withhold from them the "wisdom not to do desperate things."


How lack of reverence for the Eucharist puts people off Catholicism - Catholic Herald

Patrick Madrid recalls the Mormon who told him: 'I've never seen Catholics show awe. So I guess they don't believe it.


After Orlando shooting, Chick-fil-A opens on Sunday to help - Get Religion

Chick-fil-A opened their doors Sunday to donate food to those donating blood following the Orlando attack.


Entire plane full of strangers comfort grandmother of Orlando victim flying to her family - Some News

It can be difficult to feel hopeful after a tragedy of the magnitude of the Orlando nightclub shooting this past Sunday.


Lt. Gov. Cox speaks at vigil for Orlando: 'My heart has changed' - KSL

The greatest generations in the history of the world were never innately great. They became great because of how they responded in the face of evil.


Orlando: The truth will set us free - The Catholic Thing

America cannot defend herself with false pretenses.


Terrorism is not hate - First Things

The truth is that terrorism has its roots in politics, not in hate.


Brexit stands or falls on values, not money - Mercatornet

This is about much more than economics; it's about the human person.


Like the Rest of the UK, Catholics Appear Divided Over Brexit Vote - NC Register

Voters go to the polls on June 23 to decide whether or not Britain should leave the European Union.


Where would Brexit leave Catholic organisations reliant on EU funding? - Catholic Herald

Regardless of what happens, I think this situation gives rise to an even bigger question: should Catholic organisations depend at all on government sources of money?


UN rules that Ireland's abortion ban violates human rights - CNA

Pro-life groups in Ireland are charging that a United Nations human rights committee contradicted its mission when it ruled that the Republic of Ireland's laws against abortion violated a woman's rights.


There will be a sequel to The Passion of the Christ - Epic Pew

Mel Gibson and Randall Wallace are working on a sequel to The Passion of the Christ that will tell the story of the resurrection of Jesus.


Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman and
St. Justin Martyr, pray for us

Subscribe / Unsubscribe
Copyright © 2016 Catholic Education Resource Center