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November 23, 2016

Note from the Assistant Managing Editor:

On Sunday, I prayed the final prayer of the Christ the King novena: "I pray that You will reign in every area of my life."  We begin this week with a reflection on faith — that it must not simply be knowledge of the truth, but a personal practice.  See "Getting Interested in Faith vs.  Seeking Signs."

In the aftermath of the US election, we have reprinted two worthwhile pieces below.  Fr. George W. Rutler's "A Populist Election and Its Aftermath" and George Weigel's "Good News, Bad News" are balanced — and hopeful.  As Weigel says, "We have to hope for the good news that Mr. Trump proves himself as adept a leader as he has been a demagogue."

And if you need a break from all the media chatter, read "The Quiet Courage of Cardinal Robert Sarah," who "urges us to be mastered by a silence which liberates us from the Babel of distractions surrounding us.  It is indispensable if we really want to come to know the God who would allow himself to be nailed to a tree to atone for our sins."

Our final piece is on Mother Teresa, who personifies the great lesson of the Year of Mercy, which has just come to a close: that we do not "think ourselves superior to those we serve, but recognize ourselves for who we are: one of the poor, identified with them in some way, being in some way in the same condition."  Christ, have mercy on us.  - Meaghen Hale



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"Holiness does not consist in never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again and, especially, for reconciliation and forgiveness." - Pope Benedict XVI



New Resources


 
Getting Interested in Faith vs. Seeking Signs - Father Bede Jarrett, O.P. - Meditations for Layfolk

I never cease to be moved by the story of the man born blind.


 
A Populist Election and Its Aftermath - Father George W. Rutler - Crisis Magazine

Some who trusted pundits were shocked that their perception of the American populace was an illusion.


 
Good News, Bad News - George Weigel - National Review Online

The good news is that she lost. The bad news is that he won.


 
The Quiet Courage of Cardinal Robert Sarah - Samuel Gregg - Catholic World Report

In his new book, La Force du Silence, Cardinal Robert Sarah speaks with serene strength to a world consumed by self-referential chatter and to Christians who have lost their awe of God.


 
Queen of Katwe - Steven D. Greydanus - National Catholic Register

There are so many reasons Queen of Katwe shouldn't even exist.


 
Herbert Kappler - John Janaro - Magnificat

Herbert Kappler is perhaps best known as the villain of a dramatic World War II rescue story that is well attested historically and perhaps most memorably dramatized by Christopher Plummer in the 1983 movie The Scarlet and the Black.


 
Oh, That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down! - Pierre-Marie Dumont - Magnificat

In the early 8th century, all of Spain fell under Islamic domination.


 
"A Call To Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve" from the Introduction - Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, Ph.D. - A Call To Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve

In Mother Teresa's life (1910-1997), as in the lives of many other saints, we are offered a lived theology.

Editorials of Interest:

Respecting Traditional Catholics - The Catholic Thing
Is Grief a Disease? - The Atlantic

Editorials of Interest


Pope Francis: Homily on the Solemnity of Christ the King - Vatican Radio

"The grandeur of Christ's kingdom is not power as defined by this world, but the love of God, a love capable of encountering and healing all things."


Pope Francis: Message to US bishops' conference (full text) - Catholic Herald

We need to become ever more fully a community of missionary disciples, filled with love of the Lord Jesus and enthusiasm for the spread of the Gospel.


Pope Francis: We Must Practice What We Preach - NC Register

"The need to advise, admonish and teach should not make us feel superior to others, but first of all oblige us to return to ourselves to see if we are consistent with what we ask of others."


Latest Pope-Scalfari 'interview' again written from memory - NC Register

Director of a semi-official Vatican news site says interview in which the Pope is supposed to have said "communists think like Christians" was not recorded.


Respecting Traditional Catholics - The Catholic Thing

A newly published interview with Pope Francis by Fr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ has caused much anguish and bewilderment among a group of Catholics who prefer to attend the Tridentine Latin Mass.


Four cardinals formally ask pope for clarity on Amoris Laetitia - NC Register

The senior Church leaders have referenced the controversial aspects of the Holy Father's apostolic exhortation, relating to reception of Communion.


USCCB president's parting message - CNA

The main focus of Archbishop Kurtz's remarks was not the political elections, but the tasks facing the US bishops today.


Archbishop Chaput: How to fix our broken sexual culture - CNA

"I don't think anybody can be chaste alone, so you need to pick a spouse who helps you to be that way."


Msgr. Charles Pope: The Election is Over, But There is Much Work to be Done - NC Register

This election was but a small part of a vast battle, so don't give up the fight to bring the light of the gospel to a darkened age.


In wake of elections, Archbishop Gómez calls for peace amid protests - Catholic News Agency

"Now is the time to build unity and heal communities, through our love for our neighbor and our care for those in need."


Trump's Triumph Powered by Religious Voters - NC Register

Trump's successful appeal to evangelical and many Catholic voters was a crucial factor in his presidential victory.


Legal, But Moral? A Reminder of Why the Catholic Church Opposes Recreational Drug Use - Epic Pew

"The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense."


Mysteries surround the opening of Christ's tomb - Aleteia

"Sweet aromas" and "electromagnetic disturbances" surprised the observers of this historic event.


Spanish court upholds "right" to desecrate - CNA

A judge in Pamplona has ruled that a man broke no law when he stole hundreds of consecrated Hosts for his perverse "art." Appeals are underway.


Dawn Eden on allowing God to heal our memories - Catholic World Report

"My memory, and all it contains, binds me to the love of Christ in the most intimate way," says author and abuse survivor Dawn Eden.


Feeling excluded because of marital breakdown could be good - Mary's Advocates

The Church should welcome those who are working toward avoiding sin, but that is different than tacitly condoning, with silence, the sins that cause measurable harm to faithful spouses, children, and the whole community.


Hell: Real and Freely Chosen - Catholic Stand

As we approach the end of this liturgical year, the Church reminds us to contemplate life after death.


Is Grief a Disease? - The Atlantic

A new theory is challenging the way psychologists understand mourning.


The strategies of Satan, Part 1: The "Jezebel" tactic - Aleteia

First in a series on spiritual warfare: The satanic attack that exploits our fear, lust, wounds and lukewarmness.


Word of the Year: Post-Truth. So That's a Thing Now? - NC Register

Although the term "post-truth" first came into use back in 1992, Oxford Dictionaries calculated a 2000% uptick in the number of usages of "post-truth" in 2016.


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

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