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May 15, 2019

Note from the Assistant Managing Editor:

We have a couple must-reads this week.

The first is the opening chapter of "From Fire by Water" by Sohrab Ahmari, once an atheistic teenager living under the Iranian ayatollahs and now a Roman Catholic.  It is a fascinating account of a foreign world—and you won't want to put it down.  You can purchase the book here.

Then, in remembrance of the great man who died on May 7th, a selection of messages from Jean Vanier.

And finally, an incredible interview with Robert Cardinal Sarah on his new book, "The Day is Now Far Spent."  He diagnoses the problems we are facing with clarity and truth: "Our contemporaries are convinced that, in order to be free, one must not depend on anybody ... Western man is afraid of losing his freedom by accepting the gift of true faith."  But he does not leave us without hope.  "I see families, monasteries, and parishes that are like oases in the middle of a desert.  It is from these oases of faith, liturgy, beauty, and silence that the West will be reborn."

God bless you all this week.  - Meaghen Gonzalez



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"To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living."- Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman



New Resources


 
Prophet, Messiah, Friend - Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson - from The Friendship of Christ

We read of his works of power and are conscious of awe and adoration.


 
"You Brought the Imam with You" - Sohrab Ahmari - chapter one from From Fire by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith

I thought I was an American before I ever set foot in the United States.


 
A Special Message From Jean Vanier - Jean Vanier - Convivium

Jean Vanier passed away on May 7, 2019. Here, in these video excerpts, is a touching and uplifting reminder of who Jean Vanier was and what he stood for.


 
How the Church has changed the World: Seeds of Life - Anthony Esolen - Magnificat

In the days of the father of microbiology, Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), the atheistic view of the world and its organization and history was called "positivism."


 
Why God Is a He - Dennis Prager - Prager University

One of the criticisms many people make against the Bible is that it depicts God in male terms.


 
"As a bishop, it is my duty to warn the West" - Robert Cardinal Sarah - Catholic Herald

The Vatican cardinal discusses his hard-hitting new book in this exclusive interview with La Nef.


 
Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world - Barbara Kay - National Post

It is estimated that about one-third of the globe's population suffers from religious persecution.


 
In His humanity He did a human thing - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor

The English priest John Colet was influenced by his friends Erasmus and Saint Thomas More.

Editorials of Interest:

The New Family Violence - First Things
The Big Tech Threat - First Things

Editorials of Interest


Pope issues norms for reporting abuse - CNA

It establishes the so-called "metropolitan model" for the investigation of accusations against bishops and their equivalents, as proposed by Cardinal Blase Cupich.


Archbishop Chaput on the harassment of prayerful protesters outside Planned Parenthood - Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Our elected officials represent all of their constituents — not just the ones with whom they agree.


Benedict's essay broadens conversation on causes of crisis - NC Register

Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: The pope emeritus' essay invites examination of three particular causes of the sex-abuse problem that has plagued the Church.


A Crisis of Faith Cannot Be Met by Liturgical Protocols - Crisis Magazine

What is true of the clergy is true of the whole Church. The weakening of a faith in the sacraments results in a religion that is individualistic or merely social and emotional.


Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Signs Heartbeat Bill into Law - NC Register

The Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act will limit abortion in the state of Georgia to about the first six weeks of gestation. Presently, abortion is legal in the state until the 20th week of a pregnancy.


They Are Children, Not Problems - National Review

"Some kids are unwanted, so you either kill them now or kill them later." That was an Alabama Democratic representative a few days ago, during debate about an abortion bill.


Asia Bibi arrives in Canada after leaving Pakistan - The Guardian

Bibi, a Roman Catholic, was sentenced to death in 2010 after being accused of blasphemy by Muslim villagers.


Care for the Common Good Requires Sexual Morality - Crisis Magazine

So we come to the relationship of a right sexual morality to social justice. The former is insufficient to secure the latter. But it is a sine qua non.


8th Place: A high school girl's life after transgender students join her sport - The Stream

A junior, Selina missed qualifying for the 55-meter in the New England regionals by two spots. Two spots, she said, that were taken by biological boys.


The Eclipse of Sex by the Rise of Gender - Church Life Journal

In the new contraceptive paradigm, our procreative capacities became incidental, optional add-ons to manhood and womanhood, rather than an integral aspect — indeed, the defining feature — of those very identities.


The New Family Violence - First Things

"Family violence" can now take the form of refusing to accept a family member's chosen gender identity.


Twitter banned psychologist for tweeting clinical opinions on trans identity - Christian Post

Ray Blanchard, a Ph.D. psychologist who is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, published a thread explaining that transsexualism and more mild forms of gender dysphoria are kinds of mental disorders.


Fear and the Benedict Option - First Things

In order to pray for the people the Devil wants us to see as enemies, we need to see them as people.


The Big Tech Threat - First Things

What is the actual worth to the American economy and to American society of these social media platforms and the social media business model?


What makes men men (Part Two) - Mercatornet

A wise father teaches his wife and family that in order to love you must be strong; a wise mother teaches her husband and family that in order to be strong you must love.


Does Day Care Harm Rich Kids? - IFS

The more money you make at work, the more likely it is that day care will damage your children.


Harvard Study Shows the Dangers of Early School Enrollment - FEE

Are ADHD rates rising because we send children to school at younger ages?


From above and within, how fire hit Notre Dame—the heart of Paris - ABC

See what was lost when this cultural cornerstone went up in flames, and what is now left to build upon as Paris takes stock after the Notre Dame fire.


St. Joan of Arc, real-life superhero, to star in new comic book series - Aleteia

"Joan of Arc is one of those rare saints who is held up by both the Church and the secular world as an inspirational hero."


Why We Need Frog And Toad More Than Ever - Circe Institute

Children's books have become increasingly squeamish when it comes to addressing genuine human problems, let alone the idea that vice must be painfully overcome through virtue.


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

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