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October 23, 2019

Note from the Assistant Managing Editor:

"The essential truth of a serious conversion [is that] God meets a soul at a crossroad of life and in some unexpected way makes his real presence known."  Our reflection this week introduces a common theme: prayer.

"Prayer alone is the blood that can course through the heart of the Church," writes Cardinal Robert Sarah in his new book, The Day Is Now Far Spent.  And pray we must, for "the Church is experiencing the dark night of the soul."

"Newman's faith [may] sound cold and severe.  But on the contrary, if someone really has faith, they must believe that God is entirely good, and that he loves us.  The submission to divine truth is the foundation of a love affair."  John Henry Newman was canonized on October 13, and Dan Hitchens writes a beautiful piece on his "Shocking Faith."

I definitely heard Betsy Kerekes' "6 Phrases to keep in your back pocket when raising teens" while I was growing up.  Her ultimate advice: "During every stage, remember to cover the relationship, and your child, in prayer."

We end with Fr. Rutler on Saint John Henry Newman, and their take on "Catholic-Lite," which "has taken the brighter side of the gospel, its tidings of comfort, its precepts of love; all darker, deeper views of man's condition and prospects being comparatively forgotten. ... Religion is pleasant and easy — and therefore is neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm."

Saint John Henry Newman, pray for us! - Meaghen Gonzalez



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"It is as absurd to argue with men, as to torture them, into believing." - Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman



New Resources


 
"As he was entering a village..." - Fr. Donald Haggerty - from Conversion: Spiritual Insights into an Essential Encounter with God

A conversion is never planned or conceived as a personal project.


 
Cardinal Robert Sarah: A Prophetic Voice for the Catholic Church - Father Paul Scalia - National Catholic Register

Reading the cardinal's The Day Is Now Far Spent, one has the sense of encountering an Old Testament prophet.


 
Alas, Judas Iscariot - Cardinal Robert Sarah - from The Day Is Now Far Spent

Why speak up once more? In my last book, I invited you to silence. However, I can no longer be silent.


 
Newman's Shocking Faith - Dan Hitchens - First Things

How was the interfaith meeting?


 
Hispanics Should Revere Columbus, Not Revile Him - Christopher M. Ortega - Crisis

"I am so for this!" exclaimed a Facebook friend, linking to a headline about the Los Angeles City Council's vote to replace Columbus Day with "Indigenous Peoples' Day."


 
6 Phrases to keep in your back pocket when raising teens - Betsy Kerekes - Aleteia

Raising teenagers can be a challenge, so it helps to have some effective go-to phrases for the moments you may be stumped.


 
A patron saint for the disappointed - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor

Last week's canonization of Saint John Henry Newman will have universal influences that I trust will include our own parish.

Editorials of Interest:

Pachamama Sleeps with the Fishes - The Catholic Thing
Holiness for Busy Moms - Catholic Exchange
The Apostolate of Example - Spiritual Direction
Ideology is Moral Blindness - Crisis Magazine

Editorials of Interest


Letters from the Synod 2019 #4 - First Things

George Weigel delivers the opening address at a conference hosted by the Thomistic Institute at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in anticipation of the canonization of John Henry Newman.


Letters from the Synod 2019 #5 - First Things

Eco-theology of a liberationist sort intersects at Synod-2019 with what can only be described as a kind of embarrassment at the history of evangelization in Latin America.


Letters from the Synod 2019 #6 - First Things

George Weigel talks about the shift from man as "ruler" of creation to "guest" on Earth, and Anna Halpine of the World Youth Alliance talks about the Human Dignity Curriculum and Fertility Education and Medical Management.


Letters from the Synod 2019 #7 - First Things

Mary Rice Hasson writes about the topic of "women" which has surfaced regularly in discussions at the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazonia Region.


Pachamama Sleeps with the Fishes - The Catholic Thing

So. . . . The greatest headline from yesterday: "Pachamama sleeps with the fishes."


In synod's married priests debate, somebody finally names elephant in the room - Crux

Is the problem really that there aren't enough priests? Or, is the problem at least partly that the priests we do have are in the wrong places?


The Amazon Synod is a sign of the times - First Things

The church "called to be ever more synodal," to be "made flesh" and "incarnated" in existing cultures, is a Bergoglian church. And this church, not to put too fine a point on it, is not the Catholic Church. It is a false church.


The U.S. Bishops and Vatican Heartburn - Russell Shaw

"I expect this will cause a bit of heartburn at the Civiltà Cattolica," a man who writes about Church affairs recently remarked to a colleague.


To promote strong families, America needs a shift in economic policy - Catholic Herald

The breakdown of marriage hurts the poor especially. It should be seen as the social justice issue of our time.


'No one ever talked about McCarrick and the boys' - CWR

Media reports have detailed a string of allegations made against McCarrick since the announcement of a Vatican investigation in June 2018.


The Mysterious Resignation of Vatican Police Commander Giani - NC Register

Ostensibly his resignation was a consequence of the leaking of the names of five suspended Vatican officials, but sources tell the Register it was actually triggered by other issues.


Dr. Peter Kreeft: How To Begin Praying & Meditating - Catholic Exchange

When, where, and how are not as important as just doing it.


Holiness for Busy Moms - Catholic Exchange

I would love to go to daily Mass every day, but it isn't what God is asking of me right now. He's asking for me to give myself — my whole self — in a very different way.


The Apostolate of Example - Spiritual Direction

There is no one who cannot contribute to the spiritual good of his neighbor by giving the example of a life which is integrally Christian: holding to the principles one has professed and faithfully fulfilling one's duties.


These are the four women who were canonized with John Henry Newman - Catholic Herald

Pope Francis canonized four women — a stigmatist, a mystic, a Roman orphan, and Nobel Peace prize nominee — alongside John Henry Newman.


Ideology is Moral Blindness - Crisis Magazine

Allegiance to an ideology like political correctness, or simply the desire to be on the "cutting edge," can be self-defeating.


The South Bronx School That Outscores the Suburbs - City Journal

A new book profiles the rigors and achievements of New York City's Success Academy.


"Celibacy isn't the problem" - CWR

"I don't see celibacy as a main problem, the problem is we need more ordained. There is a lack of holiness and scandals which prevent people from following the path [to vocation]."


The realities and challenges of the married priesthood: An Eastern Catholic perspective - CWR

Seven points of caution for those who support or hope for possible alterations to the requirement of clerical celibacy in the Latin Church.


Being Christ's bride in the world - OSV

An espousal to Jesus Christ is a marriage that endures even in heaven, and spiritual motherhood means an ever-expanding family, welcoming and nurturing the spiritual lives of many.


Dating Unscripted: Ending the Endless Text Conversation - Verily

Your time (and his) is valuable.


Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman and
Saint Justin Martyr, pray for us

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