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June 3, 2020

Note from the Assistant Managing Editor:

Even though there aren't many external distractions right now, there are still internal distractions that can make prayer difficult.  St. Philip Neri's words in our reflection this week are particularly helpful: "We must not leave off our prayers because of distractions and restlessness of mind, although it seems useless to go on with them.  He who perseveres for the whole of his accustomed time, gently recalling his mind to the subject of his prayer, merits greatly."

I really enjoyed "The Mighty Nine: Reflections on Beethoven's Symphonies."  This would be an excellent series to read while listening to each symphony in turn.

Fr. Paul Scalia's homily on the Risen Christ reminded me of Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia.  "Easter is not like Christmas.  We can come and adore the baby in the manger as we wish.  He's not going anywhere.  The risen Christ is, in a certain sense, untamed and dangerous.  He might enter our lives and upset everything."

Finally, Heather King's piece on Servant of God Blandina Segale — a nun who saved a member of Billy the Kid's gang and "talked Billy the Kid out of shooting the four doctors who had refused to treat his friend" — is a wonderful example of the power of even one woman who acts boldly and trusts in Christ.

God bless you all this week! - Meaghen Gonzalez



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"I'm not a materialist anymore. I don't think the world's made out of matter, I think it's made out of what matters. It's made out of meaning. Look at it from the perspective of modern brain science. What we orient towards unconsciously, which means what captures our attention, is meaning, and it captures our attention before we know what it is." - Jordan Peterson



New Resources


 
Entering into the Prayer of Christ - Saint Philip Neri - from If God Be With Us: The Maxims of St Philip Neri

We must pray incessantly for the gift of perseverance.


 
The Mighty Nine: Reflections on Beethoven's Symphonies - The editors - The Imaginative Conservative

Please enjoy this symposium on the nine symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven.


 
Out of This World We're In - Father Paul Scalia - The Catholic Thing

We are not so much against the world as alienated from it because in Christ we have gone beyond it.


 
Jewels for the Lord - Anthony Esolen - Magnificat

A man lies back against a wooden cradle, high in the apse of the ancient church of Saint Clement in Rome.


 
Newman on Education - Father Ian Ker - Mission and Governance Analysis and Commentary, St. John Henry Newman

The training of the mind for Newman does not consist either in studying logic (though it may include that) or in the study of "how to think":...


 
Servant of God Blandina Segale - Heather King - Magnificat

Servant of God Blandina Segale, American missionary, sister, and Western Frontier figure once dubbed "the nun with spurs," befriended Billy the Kid and, it is said, saved many from being lynched.


 
Christ had a perfect sense of humor - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor

In a letter Sigmund Freud wrote to his friend Edoardo Weiss on April 12, 1933, he reminisced about a visit to the Roman church of San Pietro in Vincoli:

Editorials of Interest:

Christianity Gets Normal - Crisis Magazine
There's No Law Without Order - Crisis Magazine
Islam's Trojan Horse - Crisis Magazine
Queer Times - First Things
Pentecost Handout - The Dlucs Collection

Editorials of Interest


Extraordinary evangelization in extraordinary times - CWR

What Father Alexander Sherbrooke has done at St. Patrick's in London in his 17 years as its pastor is little short of miraculous.


Still Waiting for Full Accountability on Abuse - The Catholic Thing

The horror of the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests has been compounded in many cases by the decision of Church leaders to downplay grave allegations, and to refuse punishing priests found guilty of criminal behavior.


A March for Eternal Life, A Holy Crusade for the Conversion of California - NLM

Charlie Deist organized a 50-mile march in the San Francisco Bay Area in order to focus on two secular cults, exercise and nutrition, and to Christianize them so that they are in harmony with a Christian spiritual life.


Christianity Gets Normal - Crisis Magazine

The fact that mankind has become estranged from God — from all that's Good, and True, and Beautiful — isn't something we should relish because it makes us "edgy." It's something we should mourn — and, in time, rectify.


The Anatomy of a Pathology - CWR

An attempt at explaining the unhinged hatred displayed by Cardinal George Pell's enemies.


'For better or worse, in sickness and health' from day one - NC Register

As the world endures the worst global sickness in a century and millions are enduring truly difficult times, those words take on added meaning.


There's No Law Without Order - Crisis Magazine

Catholics have an ever-growing duty to remain reasonable in the face of rage and riot.


We Need More Spiritual Mothers - Crisis Magazine

Something is missing at the parish level when there is no nun or Sister present.


Shy NYC Cabbie Combats Evil with a Cell Phone - Catholic Stand

I may not be like St. Paul who marches into the public square in Athens and proclaims [but] the Lord in his goodness provides a way.


Islam's Trojan Horse - Crisis Magazine

Islam's Trojan horse-like infiltration of Western society.


California allows places of worship to partially reopen - Fox News

Governor Newsom has been weighing the public health implications of reopening places of worship, as he faces pressure from more than 1200 faith leaders who signed a petition calling on him to act quickly.


How Fear, Groupthink Drove Unnecessary Global Lockdowns - Real Clear Politics

In the face of a novel virus threat, China clamped down on its citizens. Academics used faulty information to build faulty models. Leaders relied on these faulty models. Dissenting views were suppressed. The media flamed fears and the world panicked. That is the story of what may eventually be known as one of the biggest medical and economic blunders of all time.


Is living without risk really living at all? - The Spectator

Hysterical safety-ism is the mark of a society that has passed its peak. The West has subsided to a geriatric phase of high anxiety and low expectations.


Queer Times - First Things

If traditional feminists and lesbians cannot meet the exacting standards for recognition set by the practitioners of queer theory, what hope do those who maintain the Christian metanarrative of creation, fall, and redemption have in the public square?


Pentecost and the Power of the Holy Spirit - NC Register

User's guide to Sunday, May 31st: Pentecost Sunday.


Pentecost Handout - The Dlucs Collection

Check out this new resource for youth (grades 2-8) about the great Feast of Pentecost.


10 pioneer-era apple varieties, thought extinct, found in Pacific Northwest - LA Times

The Vietnam veteran and former FBI agent who make up the nonprofit Lost Apple Project recently rediscovered 10 apple varieties that were believed to be extinct.


Hidden Viking trade route emerges from melting ice in Norway - Science Mag

In 2011, hikers in the snowy mountains of central Norway came across a 1700-year-old wool tunic, likely belonging to a Roman-era hypothermia victim. As ice in the region has continued to melt, researchers have made hundreds of additional finds.


The Bankrupt Irishman Who Created the Dollar Sign by Accident - Atlas Obscura

Oliver Pollock was the "Financier of the Revolution in the West."


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

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