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October 16, 2019

Note from the Assistant Managing Editor:

We begin this week with a reflection on "Asking Daily for the Grace to Strive."  "We may have desires, longings, purposes, wishes; but that is not having a strong and determined will.  Everything depends upon perseverance."

On October 13, Cardinal John Henry Newman was canonized.  Rev. Peter Stravinskas writes an inspiring overview of this saintly man in "The Model Priest for a Church in Crisis."

Then an excellent interview with Mike Rowe of the television show "Dirty Jobs," in which he jumps into the trenches alongside hardworking men and women who do jobs nobody wants — but are necessary for civilization.  "As a group, they don't say 'Follow your passion.'  By and large, the people we featured on the show understood that passion is too important to 'follow.'  They brought their passion with them."

Finally, a beautiful piece from Anthony Esolen on the persevering faith of the Japanese who "without the benefit of books, priests, schools, and the sacraments, kept what they could recall of the Faith, in secret, against the cruel enmity of the ruling shogunate.  With all our liberties we should do so well."

God bless you all this week.  - Meaghen Gonzalez



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"She fights and she suffers, in proportion as she plays her part well; and if she is without suffering, it is because she is slumbering.  Her doctrines and precepts never can be palatable to the world; and if the world does not persecute, it is because she does not preach." - Saint John Henry Newman



New Resources


 
Asking Daily for the Grace to Strive - Father Jean-Nicolas Grou, S.J. - Manual for Interior Souls

The first means of attaining virtue, which seems the most easy, and is in reality the most difficult, is to will it; but with a sincere, entire, efficacious, and constant will.


 
The Model Priest for a Church in Crisis - Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas - Crisis Magazine

In his spiritual autobiography, Apologia pro Vita Sua, Saint John Henry Newman informs us: "When I was fifteen (in the autumn of 1816), a great change of thought took place in me."


 
Dirty Work - Mike Rowe - Plough Quarterly

Mike Rowe talks to Plough's Susannah Black about practical work, why college is overvalued, and how he found redemption in a San Francisco sewer.


 
Foreword: Taking Faith Seriously - Francis J. Beckwith - from Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism

Too smart to believe in God? The twelve philosophers in this book are too smart not to, and their finely honed reasoning skills and advanced educations are on display as they explain their reasons for believing in Christianity and entering the Roman Catholic Church.


 
The wonderfully counter-cultural message of Toy Story 4 - Don Johnson - Catholic World Report

Here is why I will be picking up a copy for my family when it is released on video this week.


 
Feeling & and Healing Your Emotions - Father Emmerich Vogt, O.P. - The Twelve Step Review

Something I always like to cover in my missions is the role of feelings and emotions in our moral lives.


 
Hidden in the Mother's Womb - Anthony Esolen - Magnificat

The priest looked about this strange and beautiful land.


 
Newman in a time of spiritual combat - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor

Over forty years ago, I told a wise Protestant theologian that I had been reading the Apologia pro Vita Sua of John Henry Newman (1801-1890).

Editorials of Interest:

What Kind of 'Believers'? - Crisis Magazine
It's okay to be normal - Catholic Stand

Editorials of Interest


The Amazon Synod Has Begun, and Pandora's Box Is Opened - Crisis Magazine

The Synod of Bishops on the Amazon is off to an ominous start.


Even a cardinal close to Bergoglio is condemning the dangers of the synods of the Amazon and Germany - L'Espresso

Cardinal Marc Ouellet has come out against the "Instrumentum Laboris."


World-record winning gymnast Simone Biles leans on her Catholic faith - Aleteia

The 22-year old gymnast, who broke the world record for medals earned on Sunday, has been open about the role her faith has played in her life.


The "Process" Begins - The Catholic Thing

In the end, we're either with Christ and the Gospel, or we're kind of with Him, but also really would rather belong to our all-too-human cultures.


Why "Indigenous Peoples' Day" isn't indigenous - Mercatornet

The tribal people of the Americas lacked an understanding of our common humanity


What Kind of 'Believers'? - Crisis Magazine

Much of the Catholic Church in Germany (and in other German-speaking lands) is in a de facto state of schism.


St. Thomas on Faith and Reason (Aquinas 101) - YouTube

Faith and reason will never truly contradict each other.


This good news for Christianity in America may surprise you - The Stream

New research summary shows Christianity holding strong in America.


World-record winning gymnast Simone Biles leans on her Catholic faith - Aleteia

The 22-year old gymnast, who broke the world record for medals earned on Sunday, has been open about the role her faith has played in her life.


The Lights Are Out in California, And That Was the Plan All Along - The Federalist

The power is out in Northern California.


Why Communist China's rise will be short-lived, and its fate is already sealed - Mercatornet

Fake statistics mask an impending collapse.


'Woke' NBA kowtows to Chinese communists - Acton

The NBA demonstrated its fundamental ethical bankruptcy by using its power and privilege to shield a totalitarian regime from even indirect criticism in the form of a tweet in solidarity with a courageous protest movement whose only crime is standing up for human rights and the rule of law.


Interview: Photographer Documents 33 Women Before and After They Became a Mom - My Modern Met

Motherhood is a door to something sacred, something outside the commonness, and it is only us who can (re)open it.


John Henry Newman - YouTube

Learn about the Church's newest saint, St. John Henry Newman, in this FREE episode from Bishop Barron's "CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players."


It's okay to be normal - Catholic Stand

We are not meant to live perpetually on top of mountains. For most of us, the work is on the ground, and it can be quite ordinary and seemingly mundane.


A blinkered view of pornography leads to disaster for children - Mercatornet

Tolerated cruelty leads to intolerable cruelty.


Abortion a woman’s choice? It wasn’t for Judy Garland - Mercatornet

The uncomfortable truth is that the rapid growth in child pornography is connected to the cultural normalization of online pornography as a whole.


Smart Phones, Computers Creating Generation Of Porn Addicts; Some States Call It 'Public Health Emergency' - DFW

A young North Texas man tells his story about his pornography addiction. Gabe Deem says he was first exposed to porn when he was 8.


Ask the female rugby players if biological sex is the same as perceived gender - The Stream

"Rugby referees are quitting the women's amateur game because they fear rules allowing transgender women to play will lead to serious injuries. Referees say they have been warned not to challenge bearded or heavily muscled players."


"Born That Way" No More: The New Science of Sexual Orientation - Public Discourse

A new study adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that the dominant narrative about sexual orientation — that it is genetically determined — simply cannot be true.


How gay rights empower the rich - First Things

The signal cases for gay rights follow a clear trend of powerful people using civil rights for their own benefit. They involve rich people litigating for what they want.


'Human Dignity': A Bible Scrap, Used as a Pagan Spell - The Stream

The spell is cast by atheists, Darwinists, climate fanatics who want to stop people from having children, and other pagans with no shred of an argument in favor of humans actually having any dignity.


Justice Ginsburg, a Woman Isn't a 'Demiboy' - WSJ

If the Supreme Court redefines 'sex' to include 'gender identity,' the female sex will suffer.


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

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