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December 11, 2019

Note from the Assistant Managing Editor:

So much of this world runs on people giving to other people — children giving their light and laughter to the elderly in retirement homes, moms helping other moms with all sorts of things, all sorts of people lending their time and effort to feed the homeless, and parents giving gifts to their children at Christmas.

We can't survive without each other's help, and CERC needs your help in order to keep bringing you this resource.  There are three weeks left in Advent — please help us reach our fundraising goal of covering our operating costs for 2020.  Many thanks to all of you who have generously donated so far. Everyone who donates over $5 will be entered to win a signed copy of either Father George Rutler's He Spoke to Us: Discerning God in People and Events or Peter Kreeft's new book Ask Peter Kreeft: The 100 Most Interesting Questions He's Ever Been Asked.  If you donate over $100, you'll be entered twice.  Please click below.

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God bless you all this week! - Meaghen Gonzalez


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"Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breadth of kindness blow the rest away." - Dinah Maria Craik



New Resources


 
The Path of Peace - Caryll Houselander - from Lift Up Your Hearts

Peace is Christ's culminating gift.


 
Advent and the Four Last Things - Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas - Catholic World Report

Truth be told, we don't hear much of any of those four last things at all anymore — and we are all the poorer for it.


 
Should We Teach Kids about Porn's Harms? Yes, and Here's How. - Thomas Lickona - excerpt from How to Raise Kind Kids

Children all over the world begin viewing hard-core Internet pornography long before their parents even consider discussing its dangers.


 
What makes Jacob Rees-Mogg tick? - Francis Phillips - Catholic Herald

Michael Ashcroft has written a shrewd yet sympathetic portrait of an intriguing politician


 
Being Leonardo - James Hankins - The New Criterion

On "Léonard de Vinci" at the Louvre.


 
Deadly Superstitions in London - Theodore Dalrymple - City Journal

If the most recent terrorist attack in London had been an episode in a novel by a social satirist, it would have been dismissed as too crude or absurd to be plausible.


 
Christians are obliged to judge - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor

Of the "Four Last Things," the Second Sunday of Advent treats Judgment.

Editorials of Interest:

An Advent Meditation - Catholic Culture
The Easiest Way to Pray as a Family - Integrated Catholic Life
Fr. Martin's Neighborhood - Crisis Magazine

Editorials of Interest


Can the Catechism Get It Wrong? - Crisis Magazine

When not repeating prior infallible teaching, any catechism is on its own.


A Reminder about the Date of the Immaculate Conception - NLM

This year, December 8th is on a Sunday, and I have already seen some posts on social media discussing what to do with the feast of the Immaculate Conception when it coincides with a Sunday of Advent.


12 practical tips for fruitful fasting - Eric Sammons

Here are some ways to make your fasting spiritually and physically fruitful.


An Advent Meditation - Catholic Culture

According to the Apostles' Creed, the Church is "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic." But when we factor in the reality of the members of the Church — like you and me — we're prone to disappointment. The litany of our grievances over the last 50 years just adds insult to injury. How do we recover from this mess?


What Our Blessed Mother (and My Sister) Teach Us About Hospitality - Catholic Exchange

Because of Our Blessed Mother's "Yes," Jesus lived within her. In a similar way, because of Abigail's endless streams of "Yes's," Jesus lives within the walls of her beautiful farmhouse.


While Embarrassing, Sheen Beatification Delay Could Turn Out Well - NC Register

The latest development may finally give the Sheen beatification the treatment it deserves.


Discernment Do's and Don'ts - NC Register

An Interview with Father George Elliott, author of Discernment Do's and Don'ts: A Practical Guide to Vocational Discernment.


How Gratitude Can Change Your Life - NC Register

Being grateful to God is a powerful exercise — one that can lift up the faces of the downtrodden, energize the lifeless and breathe a spirit of joy into the brokenhearted.


Moderation is key: Scripture's approach to drinking - OSV

Why do some Protestants treat drinking, smoking and gambling as the epitome of sin?


The Easiest Way to Pray as a Family - Integrated Catholic Life

The Catholic faith should not be a series of externally imposed experiences for our children. For catechesis to be effective, the Faith we pass on must be part of daily life — an organic way of living.


A Last Chance for Australian Justice - First Things

In 2020, the highest judicial authority in Australia will review the Pell case.


When we're feeling blue, this prayer from Padre Pio is a way to reach out - CWR

If you find yourself in a state of darkness, the key is "to reach."


As Free Speech Battles Rage on Campus, Dennis Prager Gives Parents This Advice - The Stream

To counter students being "brainwashed by Leftism," author Dennis Prager — star of new film No Safe Spaces rising at the box office — advocates taking this one step.


Fr. Martin's Neighborhood - Crisis Magazine

Mr. Rogers knew of life's monsters; his mission was to ennoble children before the monsters could strike. Fr. Martin seems to be enabling rather than ennobling. And it is for this reason that he has become one of the monsters.


6 Characteristics of happy people - Aleteia

Want to be happier? Pay attention to these key attitudes and behaviors.


Toronto's Catholic Schools Bow to the Rainbow Mafia - Crisis Magazine

On the night of November 8, 2019, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, after a long and heated debate, voted to adopt four gender terms into its code of conduct: "gender identity," "gender expression," "family status," and "marriage status."


Hafod Hardware Christmas Advert 2019 - YouTube

Be a kid this Christmas.


Saint Justin Martyr
Saint John Henry Newman, pray for us

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