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November 16, 2022
Note from the Managing Editor
Happy feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland!

This week, we bring you several pieces on the education of children. "Restoring the Catholic in Catholic Schools" by Gary Houchens is an excellent primer on the orientation of Catholic educaiton towards God.

And Michael Knox Beran's "In Defense of Memorization" is necessary reading for anyone who has come into contact with modern educational philosophies.

For your own edification, I highly recommend Amy Giuliano's beautiful art essay of the month from Magnificat on the Pieta. It serves both as instruction and as meditation on Michaelangelo's masterpiece.

God bless you all this week! - Meaghen Gonzalez
 
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  "[Learn] to think rigorously, so as to act rightly and to serve humanity better." - John Paul II  
 
New Resources
 
To Attain Perfection We Must Patiently Endure Our Imperfection
St. Francis de Sales, Consoling Thoughts on Trials of An Interior Life
We must have our mind settled on two points: one, to expect the growth of weeds in our garden; the other, to have courage to witness their removal, and to lend a hand ourselves.
 
Art Essay of the Month: Pietà (1497–1499) by Michelangelo (1475–1564)
Amy Giuliano, Magnificat
When twenty-three year old Michelangelo Buonarroti arrived in Rome to complete his very first public commission, he was provided with a single block of marble, a one-year timeframe, and a sacred theme: the Pietà.
 
Restoring the Catholic in Catholic Schools
Gary Houchens, Missio Dei
It's time for Catholic education to rediscover its core purpose.
 
In Defense of Memorization
Michael Knox Beran, City Journal
Progressive educators call it "drill and kill," but learning poetry by heart empowers kids.
 
In Memoriam: Ian Ker (1942-2022)
Edward Short, CWR
The great biographer of Newman, a convert from Anglicanism, always inspired fondness in those who reveled in his wit, his bonhomie, his learning, and his very real, if inconspicuous pietas.
 
Boys: Fighters So They Can Be Fathers
John Cuddeback, LifeCraft
"Whether these people will endure it, I do not know; but I know very well that no man will who has a sword!" - Lucius Verginius, in Livy's History of Rome
 
 
Editorials of Interest
 
In Memoriam, Father John Horgan: 'Faith Was the Driving Force of His Whole Life'
NC Register
Remembering the expert on saints and angels who was a dedicated 'priest of Jesus Christ,' according to those who knew him.
 
Responding to God's Call: A Priest, a Monk and a Religious Sister Reflect During National Vocations Awareness Week
NC Register
The Register speaks with Father Paul Hedman, Brother Leven Harton, and Sister Alicia Torres share how they discerned and what they love most about their vocation.
 
Russian ambassador confirms pope helped facilitate prisoner exchanges
OSV
Russia's ambassador to the Vatican confirmed Pope Francis helped facilitate recent prisoner exchanges with Ukraine and said the Vatican is ready to act as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia.
 
Russian Catholic Bishops Courageous Under Putin
OnePeter5
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Putin in February this year, the Russian Catholic bishops have shown the courage incumbent upon successors of the Apostles.
 
The hermeneutic of rupture is absurd
The Catholic Thing
It can be said that Christianity, at its birth, brought the principle of religious freedom into the world.
 
Three pontificates and Vatican II
CWR
Pope Francis has spoken of his respect for the Council. Yet the present pontificate has diverged from the Council's teaching in several ways.
 
Apologizing for hard truths
Catholic Culture
What is the Christian position on abortion? On homosexual acts?
 
Survey: Many Catholics want to share faith, but need tools and training
Aleteia
DeSales Media found that the greatest barrier to Catholic lay evangelization is a lack of education and formation training resources.
 
The Gift of Spiritual Directors
Neal Obstat
Five ways that spiritual directors have benefitted me.
 
Love of the World
Pilgrim Priest
How can we love individuals in the world while despising the world itself?
 
Marriage Is a Team Sport
The Atlantic
Approach disagreements with your partner not as a "me," but as a "we."
 
How Weed Became the New OxyContin
Tablet
Big Pharma and Big Tobacco are helping market high-potency, psychosis-inducing THC products as your mother's 'medical marijuana.'
 
The links between cannabis and psychosis can no longer be ignored
CWR
We are encouraging the legalization and consumption of a substance that can send increasing numbers of people into some of the most painful experiences of mental illness possible.
 
The Grave Evil of "Recomposting"
Crisis Magazine
There is a movement to promote "recomposting" humans after death, but this process inherently devalues the human person by actively choosing to break down the difference between a person and a thing.
 
Does Affirming a Student's Transgender Identity Constitute Mental-Health Counseling?
NC Register
In a case that could have national implications, answering that question may help determine parents' lawsuit in Massachusetts against public-school officials over 'gender transitioning.'
 
The Art of Statue Restoration with E.A Hayes Studio
LAJ
How right Plato was when he wrote that at the sight of beauty the human soul grows wings. The beauty of statues inspires awe and raises our minds to heavenly ascents.
 
These 7 people saw the earth from space and this is the surprising thing they all said
Aleteia
"Everything I thought was wrong. Everything I had expected to see was wrong." - William Shatner
 
St. John Henry Cardinal Newman
and St. Justin Martyr, pray for us.
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