Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 185

20% off Best-selling Books, Films and Music

20% off Best-selling Books, Films and Music 
| Offer ends Tuesday November 13th, 2012 at 12:00 midnight EST.

These prices are available online only through Ignatius.com

Each month Ignatius Press features top selling DVDs, books and music
on our website. It's always interesting to see who's reading what,
isn't it? Well, we've decided to take a selection of our top selling
titles from the month of October, and are making them available to you
at 20% off! From The Price to Pay, the highly acclaimed feature film The 13th Day, to the inspiring new music album His Love Remains by Collin Raye, we're excited to share some of our best-selling books, films and music albums at 20% off.

The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest

John Gerard

This autobiography of a Jesuit priest in Elizabethan England is a
most remarkable document and John Gerard, its author, a most remarkable
priest in a time when to be a Catholic in England courted imprisonment
and torture; to be a priest was treason by act of Parliament. Also available as an e-book.

Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36

 

The Price To Pay

A Muslim Risks All to Follow Christ

Joseph Fadelle

The Price to Pay is the true story of Joseph Fadelle's
conversion to Catholicism. He risks everything-family, friends, his
inheritance and home, and even his life-in order to follow Christ. In a
dramatic and personal narrative style, Fadelle reveals the horrible
persecution endured by Christians living in a violent and hostile Muslim
world. Also available as an e-book.

Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96

 

Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives

Pope Benedict XVI

The momentous third and final volume in the Pope's international
bestselling Jesus of Nazareth series details the stories of Jesus'
infancy and boyhood, and how they are relevant today in the modern
world.

Regular price: $20.00, sale price: $16.00

The Seven Big Myths about the Catholic Church

Christopher Kaczor

The Roman Catholic Church has long been the target of suspicion
and hostility. But how much of this is based on ignorance and prejudice
and how much is the fruit of thoughtful consideration of the facts? This
book separates fact from fiction. Also available as an e-book.

Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36

YOUCAT

Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church

Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn

Developed with the help of young Catholics and written for
high-school age people and young adults, YOUCAT is an accessible,
contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith.The questions are direct
and honest, even at times tough; the answers straightforward, relevant,
and compelling. YOUCAT will likely become the "go-to" place for young
people to learn the truth about the Catholic faith. Also available as an e-book.

Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96

 

The Imitation of Christ

Translated by Ronald Knox and Michael Oakley

Thomas a Kempis

The spiritual classic by à Kempis, the second most widely read
spiritual book after the Bible, has had an astonishing impact on the
spiritual lives of countless saints, peasants, and popes for centuries.
This beautiful translation by Ronald Knox and Michael Oakley is
considered by many teachers, writers, and readers to be the best English
translation ever, and one that greatly enhances the life-changing
insights of Thomas à Kempis.

Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96



7 Secrets of the Eucharist

Vinny Flynn

Pope John Paul II referred to the Holy Eucharist as "the greatest
treasure of the Church," and yet even many devoted Catholics have a very
limited understanding of this powerful sacrament. This book will change
all that. The reader will come away with a completely new awareness
that the Eucharist is not just about receiving Communion; it's about
transforming your daily life.

Regular price: $9.95, sale price: $7.96

Fatima for Today

The Urgent Marian Message of Hope

Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.

Because of the prophetic nature of her messages, Our Lady of
Fatima has been the subject of much controversy and speculation. In this
book, Father Andrew Apostoli carefully analyzes the events that took
place in Fatima and clears up lingering questions and doubts about their
meaning. Also available as an e-book and audio download.

Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56

 

Adam and Eve After the Pill

Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution

Mary Eberstadt

This ground-breaking book by noted essayist and author Mary
Eberstadt contends that sexual freedom has paradoxically produced
widespread discontent. Drawing on sociologists Pitirim Sorokin, Carle
Zimmerman, and others, Eberstadt makes her contrarian case with an
impressive array of evidence. Also available as an e-book.

Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96

Father Elijah

An Apocalypse

Michael O'Brien

Father Elijah, a Carmelite priest, is called from the solitude of
his monastery by the Pope himself to penetrate into the inner circles of
a powerful man the Pontiff believes to be the Antichrist. Also available as an e-book and audio download.

Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36

 

The Jeweler's Shop

Karol Wojtyla

Love is "one of the greatest dramas of human existence," writes
Pope John Paul II. In this illuminating three-act play--here in the only
English translation authorized by the Vatican--he explores
relationships between men and women, the joys--and the pain--of love and
marriage.

Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96

New Testament

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch

The only Catholic Study Bible based on the Revised Standard
Version 2nd Catholic Edition, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New
Testament brings together all of the books of the New Testament and the
penetrating study tools developed by renowned Bible teachers Dr. Scott
Hahn and Curtis Mitch. Also available as an e-book.

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

Films

October Baby

As the curtain rises, Hannah hesitantly steps onto the stage for
her theatrical debut in college. Yet before she can utter her first
lines, Hannah-unscripted-collapses in front of the stunned audience.
After countless medical tests, all signs point to one underlying factor:
Hannah's difficult birth. This revelation is nothing compared to what
she then learns from her parents: she was actually adopted ... after a
failed abortion attempt. Hannah joins her friend Jason and his group of
friends on a Spring Break road trip, embarking on a journey to discover
her hidden past ... and find hope for her unknown future.

Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36

 

For Greater Glory

What price would you pay for freedom? In the exhilarating action epic For Greater Glory
an impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it
all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as the
film's adventure unfolds against the long-hidden, true story of the
1920s Cristero War ­the daring people's revolt that rocked 20th Century
North America.

Regular price: $26.95, sale price: $21.56

 

The 13th Day

In a world torn apart by persecution, war and oppression, 3
children in Fatima, Portugal were chosen by God to offer an urgent
message of hope to the world. Based on the memoirs of the oldest seer,
Lucia Santos, and many thousands of independent eye-witness accounts, The 13th Day
dramatizes the true story of three young shepherds who experienced six
apparitions of Our Lady between May and October 1917, which culminated
in the final prophesied Miracle of the Sun on October 13th.

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

 

Padre Pio

Miracle Man

This movie captures the Capuchin friar's intense faith and
devotion, and deep spiritual concern for others, as well as his great
compassion for the sick and suffering. It reveals the amazing details
and events in Padre Pio's life as a boy and throughout his 50 years as a
friar, dramatizing the frequent attacks of the Devil on him, as well as
the persecution he suffered at the hands of people, including those in
the church.

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

 

The Reluctant Saint

The Story of St. Joseph of Cupertino

Maximilian Schell stars as the "flying friar", St. Joseph of
Cupertino. Joseph's mother convinces the reluctant abbot to accept her
son into the monastery. Yet some, including the sceptical Don Raspi, are
convinced that it is the devil, not God, who is responsible for
Joseph's amazing powers— and it will take a miracle to change their
minds.

Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96

 

Pope John Paul II

This epic film follows Karol Wojtyla's journey from his youth in
Poland through his late days on the Chair of St. Peter. It explores his
life behind the scenes: how he touched millions of people and changed
the face of the Church and the world; how he defended the dignity of
mankind.

Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96



Bakhita

From Slave to Saint

Born in a village in Sudan, kidnapped by slavers, often beaten and
abused, and later sold to Federico Marin, a Venetian merchant. Bakhita
comes to Italy and becomes the nanny servant of Federico's daughter,
Aurora. She is treated as an outcast but Bakhita is kind and generous to
others and gradually comes closer to God. She requests to join the
Canossian sisters, but Marin doesn't want to give her up as his servant.
This leads to a moving court case where she wins the freedom to follow
her vocation.

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Servant of All

This special double DVD film package includes an acclaimed new film on the great Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Servant of All, along with five of his most popular television programs from his #1 rated TV series, Life is Worth Living. The powerful film Servant of All
introduces the beloved Archbishop to a new generation that greatly
needs his inspiring example of love for God and neighbor. The five
remastered films from his award-winning TV series present Sheen himself
with his unique, captivating teaching style on the crucial importance of
faith, love and spirituality.

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

 

Saint Philip Neri

I Prefer Heaven

An epic feature film on the famous "Apostle of Rome" and great
friend of youth in the 16th century. One of the most popular saints of
all time, St. Philip Neri was widely known for his great charity, deep
prayer life, and tremendous humor. This captivating film highlights
Neri's great love for youth, his warm sense of humor, contagious joy,
deep mystical spirituality, and his amazing gift for miracles.

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

God's Mighty Servant

Sister Pascalina Lehnert, Secretary of

Pius XII

This is the amazing story of Sister Pascalina Lehnert (1894-1983)
who was the personal confidant and secretary to Pope Pius XII for 40
years, when he was the Papal Nuncio in Germany, and then after for his
whole Pontificate. The Pope had great confidence in her wisdom, energy
and loyalty, and she became known as "the most powerful woman in the
history of the Vatican."

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

 

The Way of Saint James

Over the lovely "Camino de Santiago", the Way of St. James, which
is the ancient route leading from the Pyrenees to the famous and ancient
shrine of Santiago de Compostela, this documentary follows the journey
of several pilgrims who differ in culture and religious faith, united
only by a mysterious attraction towards the same spiritual destination.

Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96

Clare and Francis

This outstanding movie is unique among films on St. Francis because
of the historical accuracy of the story and its authentic spirit of joy
and piety Francis was known for, as well as the major role played by
Clare who is given equal stature with Francis. The two leads give
genuinely inspiring and beautifully moving performances of the daughter
of a patrician family and the son of a rich merchant who leave all to
follow Christ.

Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96

Music

Heavenly Christmas

Jackie Evancho

Heavenly Christmas is young Jackie's first full-length Christmas album, picking up where her first holiday record, the chart-topping EP O Holy Night,
left off. On this new album, Jackie performs a collection of
heart-warming, beloved traditional Christmas carols that have a fresh
new take with her amazing angelic voice.

Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96

 

Chant

Music for the Soul

This chant album is from an ancient Cistercian monastery (1133) in
Vienna, Austria, which happens to be a favorite abbey of Pope Benedict
XVI. The album has become an international sensation, and it presents
the deep spiritual beauty of the monks' chants that are very peaceful,
poignant, and connects heaven and earth.

Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36

 

His Love Remains

Collin Raye

His Love Remains, captures for the first time the source
of Raye's rock solid personal inner strength which carried him "through
it all" during many trials of personal suffering, including the loss of
his precious granddaughter Haley, who died from a rare neurological
disease.

Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56

I Dreamed a Dream

Susan Boyle

The debut album from the British singing sensation who stunned the
judges, audience and TV world, coming out of nowhere to audition for
"Britain's Got Talent" with a powerfully moving rendition of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables. Includes I Dreamed a Dream, Wild Horses, Amazing Grace and many more jewels.

Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96

 

Josh Groban

This young, 21-year-old American tenor burst onto the scene with
this debut album of sacred music that showcases his stunningly rich,
beautiful voice that many have compared to Andrea Bocelli. Immediately
topping the best-selling charts, this album features Groban's powerful
rendition of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, The Prayer; You're Still You, and ten more songs.

Regular price: $18.95, sale price: $15.16

 

Andrea Bocelli

Sacred Arias

Taking the music world by storm, this acclaimed Italian tenor sings
sacred arias by Verdi, Rossini, Schubert, Franck, Bach, Mozart and
others. Includes Ave Maria, Panis Angelicus, Ave Verum Corpus, Pieta Signore, Domine Deus, Der Engel, and others totaling 16 in all.

Regular price: $18.95, sale price: $15.16



Marian Grace

Ancient Hymns and Chants

A gorgeous recording by Marian Grace, a very talented young
Nashville-based musical group whose lofty goal is to uncover the
Church's richest musical treasures and to transform culture through the
marriage of beauty and truth. In addition to Marian Grace, the various
chants on the album are sung by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and
the FRATERNUS brothers of Nashville, TN. Hymns include O Salutaris, Let All Mortal Flesh, Salve Regina, Tantum Ergo, Agnus Dei, Holy God We Praise Thy Name, Faith of Our Fathers and 6 more gems.

Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96

Alma Mater: Songs & Prayers to Mary

Pope Benedict XVI with the Vatican Choir

This unique and amazing new recording features Pope Benedict
singing or reciting hymns and prayers to Our Lady accompanied by The
Vatican Choir. His Holiness uses several languages in this recording
including Latin, Italian, French, all recorded at St. Peter’s Basilica
or during his Papal trips abroad. The album also features classical
music by an international group of composers performed by the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra at London’s Abbey Road studios. Hymns include Regina Coeli, Mater Ecclesiae, Sancta Dei Genitrix, Benedicta Tu, Advocata Nostra and more.

Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $8.95

40% off Mike Amparan's "Employee Pick of the Week"

40% off Mike Amparan's Pick of the Week*

“You
are going to die!”  That is the opening line for this book. It sounds
like one of those books that talk at you and not with or to you. Well, I
was very wrong and I thank my dear friend and colleague Terese for
suggesting I read this book.



Fr. Larry talks about his own personal life experiences while touching
on the lives and writings of those in the scriptures. “Call no man
father!” I hear this all the time from my non-Catholic but Christian
friends and Fr. Larry describes issues such as this in a down to earth
way. While providing a self examination when reading, it also reinforces
core teachings with providing tasks and Q&R/Reflection summaries at
the end of each chapter.  I will debate with anyone that I am a man
that stands up for what is right, what is wrong but I didn’t realize
that while doing so, I could be doing more harm.  Fr. Larry changed my
way of thinking. Our actions do speak louder than words, therefore, what
I say, do and live, not only affects me but others as well.



This book has helped me to see that there are many more ways to strive
to be a saint. I would highly recommend this book to young or first time
fathers but not limit it to just them.  I believe that the power of the
message in Be A Man! is strong enough to open the eyes of all people and help them move closer to Christ. Be a Man! is also available as an e-book and audio download.
 



Mike
joined Catholic Word in 1996 and started out at that time as a Sales
Rep. for Ignatius Press. 

Mike has been made Assistant Sales Manager for
Catholic Word and Bookstore Sales Manager for Ignatius Press. Along
with handling sales to Catalog Companies, Chain Stores and Distributors
he also plays a key role in the planning and execution of Marketing to
the trade. Mike lives outside of Madison WI, in Wisconsin Dells with his
family which includes his wife, 4 boys (Damian, Nicholas, Matthew,
Alex) and 1 girl, Kali Marie.



 *Employee
Pick of the Week program features savings of 40% off a book, movie, or
compact disc personally chosen and recommended by an Ignatius Press
employee.

Sex, Lies, and HBO Documentaries: A Review of "Mea Maxima Culpa"

Sex, Lies, and HBO Documentaries | David F. Pierre, Jr. | Catholic World Report



Mea Maxima Culpa is long on vitriol, short on facts

Catholic
and non-Catholic moviegoers alike should be concerned about a new film that
purports to document decades-old abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.

Mea Maxima
Culpa: Silence in the House of God, created by HBO Productions, attempts to chronicle the Church’s
response to the crimes of the notorious pedophile priest Lawrence Murphy, who
is alleged to have abused dozens of innocent boys at St. John’s School for the
Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin from the 1950s to the 1970s. The episode was the
subject of a series of high-profile articles by the New York Times’ Laurie Goodstein during Lent of 2010.

The
film also recounts the criminal episodes from a while back involving Irish
priest Tony Walsh and Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ.

Indeed,
the abusive crimes committed by the profiled priests were abominable. Murphy,
Walsh, and Maciel wreaked immeasurable damage to their victims and brought
tremendous shame to the Church. We always must be mindful of this.

In
fact, one redeeming aspect of Mea Maxima
Culpa is that the film allows the victims themselves to effectively
describe the grievous harm and criminal activity that was perpetrated upon them
and the devastating impact that the abuse had on their lives. The stories from
Murphy’s victims are at the same time stomach-turning, heart-rending, and
maddening. In this sense, the film has delivered an important service to
viewers.

The agenda
creeps in

However,
the film takes the unfortunate yet predictable turn in simply using the
scandals as a tool to advance a nasty anti-Catholic agenda.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

New edition: "Hallowed Be This House: Finding Signs of Heaven in Your Home"

Now avaiable from Ignatius Press:

Hallowed Be This House: Finding Signs of Heaven in Your Home (new edition)

by Thomas Howard | Foreword by Peter J. Kreeft

• Also available as in Electronic Book Format

Thomas Howard shows us that every room of your house-the living room,
the kitchen, the bedroom, and even the bathroom-is a holy place where
God's grace awaits you, if only you know how to recognize His presence
there. With a rich awareness of  God's all-encompassing love, Howard
takes you on a spiritual tour through your own home and shows you how
everything in it can lead you closer to God.

In each room, Howard shows you the surprising ways you can meet God
there. With wonderful insights, he reveals how, even in your daily
activities you can meet the same God who came to Israel in the terror,
smoke and fire in the Tabernacle, and the God who died for us on Cross.
But they're by no means confined to a lofty spiritual plane: Howard sees
chances to love and serve God, and sees His gentle hand, in the most
seemingly dull and ordinary of places and actions.

So take up this book to find out how cooking and cleaning, having family
dinners together, and all the other commonplace actions that make up
the fabric of your daily life can actually disclose God's presence to
you. Your daily life as well as your devotional life will be forever
transformed by this unusual look at how lovingly God awaits us even in
the smallest things.

"Howard's vision is the quintessential Catholic, sacramental vision. To read this book is to see with the eyes of Christ."

- Peter Kreeft, Handbook of Christian Apologetics

"Plain-spoken spirituality inviting us to come closer to God and showing us more about Christ in a most appealing manner."

- Alfred McBride, O.Praem., Fr. McBride's Family Catechism

"Tom Howard, an accomplished writer of great distinction, has the rare
gift of being able to express profound truths in whimsical terms. In Hallowed Be This House,
he explores with charm and wit the sacramental aspect of our daily
lives. I found the book vastly entertaining and, what is more, felt
refreshed and the happier of having read it. So, I am sure, will all its
readers."

- Malcolm Muggeridge

Thomas Howard was a Professor of English and Literature for over 30 years. He is the author of numerous popular books including Chance or the Dance, Dove Descending: T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets, On Being Catholic, Lead Kindly Light and Evangelical is Not Enough.

Paul Horgan’s Priests

Paul Horgan’s Priests | Daniel J. Heisey, O.S.B. | Homiletic & Pastoral Review



Rediscovering the acclaimed historian and novelist Paul Horgan (1903-1995)

Soon twenty years will have passed since the death of Paul Horgan. 
In his heyday, Horgan (1903-1995) was an acclaimed historian and
novelist, receiving the Bancroft and Pulitzer prizes (the latter twice),
as well as several fellowships, medals, and honorary degrees.  In 1957,
Pope Pius XII made him a Knight of Saint Gregory, acknowledging
Horgan’s contributions to Catholic literature; and in 1960, Horgan
served as president of the American Catholic Historical Association. 
Now, however, Horgan seems to be known only to a few aficionados; most
of his nearly forty books, once bestsellers, are out of print.  This
essay seeks to dust off Horgan’s name by focusing on his depiction of
Catholic priests, in particular in two short stories.  Since Horgan
wrote history as well as fiction, this study will close by considering
priests in some of his historical works.

Perhaps, Horgan’s disappearance from public, if not critical,
appreciation derives from his identification as a regional, and a
Catholic, author.  He disliked such categorization, but Paul George
Vincent O’Shaughnessy Horgan was Catholic and wrote mainly about one
geographical area.  As a regional writer, he ranks with his
contemporaries Louis Auchincloss (1917-2010), Conrad Richter
(1890-1968), and Eudora Welty (1909-2001).  As does any serious writer,
each had a variety of interests, but these three authors are best known
for writing about their home regions.  Auchincloss in his essays and
stories brought to life the upper-crust society of New York City, and
Richter and Welty conveyed the small-town and rural worlds of
Pennsylvania and Mississippi, respectively. Just so, Horgan captured the
stark lives of the settlers and natives of New Mexico. Nevertheless,
despite their excellent prose and profound understanding of human
nature, these authors all seem to fall into the second rank; somehow,
Horgan has not survived in literary memory even to stand alongside
another contemporary Catholic, regional author, Flannery O’Connor.  A
British literary critic, Sir Frank Kermode, surmised that although
Horgan “wrote with care and precision,” he “was not much interested in
the kind of formal experiment that helped elevate [William] Faulkner
from the category of regional novelist.” 1

So, just as one must haunt used bookshops for copies of books by once
ubiquitous authors such as John O’Hara and John P. Marquand, so, too,
must one mount a bibliophile’s safari and hunt high and low for editions
of works by Paul Horgan.

Continue reading at www.HPRweb.com.

A watershed election. A Weimar election?

by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Catholic World Report

The 2012
presidential election will be analyzed to death. Then, it will be commented on
for years or decades to come. Before the election, we heard various hypotheses
about its import: “The year 2012 will see the last ‘free’ election.” It will
reveal a deeply divided people, divided over the most fundamental issues of
right and wrong. It is a “Weimar Election.” That was the vote of the Germans in
the 1930s about who would rule the country. They did not read the party leader
carefully or watch what he did. “The majority in the country is not ‘white’ but
‘brown.’” They dance to a different tune. “No real unified Catholic vote
exists.” Some even think that Robert Hugh Benson’s 1907 novel, The Lord of the World, describes what next to
expect.

The notion
that some things, especially the important ones, should not fall within the
jurisdiction of the state is no longer to be taken for granted. The state, with
its main duties, the taking care of everyone, defines what is important from
now on. One might say that our people coldly looked the Leviathan in its eyes.
They did not flinch as he brought them into his body. These are dramatic
observations, no doubt. We now wait to see what happens next. We have established
who is in power. We will not pass this way again.

And in
establishing who is to rule us, we reveal our own souls. The liberty to do
whatever we want that Aristotle spoke of while describing democracies is now
firmly rooted among us. No real opposition will be tolerated. Liberty means
doing what state demands.

Generally
speaking, we prefer a political system, the result of which is that either
candidate could rule reasonably well. The vital principals of the regime would
remain intact, even with disagreement. In Australia, a citizen has to pay a
fine if he does not vote. This is a dubious law. It is much better to give a
citizen the freedom to vote or not to vote. After all, when it comes to the
crunch, a mandatory voting law doubtfully fares better than a less rigid one. A
democracy can in theory produce a wiser ruler than other systems. But in
practice it can do the opposite even if everyone votes freely with no worry
about being fined.

This
election was not an elections between two candidates whose vision of reality is
the same or even reconcilable. The election was about whether a “new” idea of
the state would replace the basic principles of the Founding of the country.
Most of the directions of this “new” state—its nature and roots—were already described
by Plato and Aristotle, but they knew them as disorders. The moral and
political tendencies were visible in the first term for everyone to see. Now
there is little reason to think such policies will not be carried out. The
courts and the House may still be something of a counter balance, as well as
the relative autonomy of the individual states. We can expect any new Supreme Court
justice will be appointed by the same ideology that won the election. No one
will ask if there are standards and principles that stand behind all
government, including democratic ones.

We may
need to be preparing for more direct persecution for religious doctrines and
prudential norms.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

Live Web Event with Dale Ahlquist, November 14th

EVENT: Author Dale Ahlquist, President of the American Chesterton Society, will host a live Web event to discuss and field questions about his new book, The Complete Thinker: The Marvelous Mind of G.K. Chesterton.

WHEN: 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012.

WHERE: Online at www.LiveStream.com/IgnatiusPress. RSVPs encouraged.

FORMAT: Ahlquist will open with general comments about the book and his reasons for writing it, then will take questions from participants through the website, Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Why do people consider Chesterton a “complete thinker?”
What sets Chesterton apart from other writers of his generation?
How is it that he was able to write about so many different things?
What are the valid criticisms of Chesterton’s body of work?

Ahlquist leads readers on a tour of Chesterton’s works – and thoughts. He masterfully combines Chesterton’s works with his own analysis to show how and why Chesterton was, indeed, THE COMPLETE THINKER.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dale Ahlquist is the president and co-founder of the American Chesterton Society, and co-founder of the Chesterton Academy – a high school in Minneapolis, Minn. He also serves as chairman of the annual G. K. Chesterton Conference at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minn.). He is perhaps best known for creating and hosting the EWTN television series:  “G. K. Chesterton:  The Apostle of Common Sense.”  The first episodes aired in 2000-2001. Ahlquist is one of the most respected Chesterton scholars in the world. His other books on the beloved 20th-century Catholic literary giant include Common Sense 101: Lesson from G.K. Chesterton (Ignatius Press); G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense- a bestseller (Ignatius Press); Lepanto (Ignatius Press); and In Defense of Sanctity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton.

For more information, to request a review copy of The Complete Thinker or schedule an interview with Dale Ahlquist, please contact Kelly Kracht (651-470-3854 or KKracht@MaximusMG.com) or Kevin Wandra (678-990-9032 or KWandra@MaximusMG.com) of The Maximus Group.

The Vampire State

The Vampire State | Anthony Esolen | Catholic World Report


Just loosen your collar—this will all be over in a moment.

“They live in the northernmost
community in Canada,” said the fellow at the hamburger joint. “They’re Inuit,
and have been living there for more than 2,000 years. They used to follow the caribou
herds from place to place, but the government has settled them down, and now
they have a permanent village, with the houses built up high, above the
permafrost.”

He then told me that the
government had given them a quota for fishing turbot, and if they fell short of
the quota, the government would make up for the shortfall by a cash grant. Until
recently, they’ve attached themselves to international fishing expeditions, but
now they have purchased a ship of their own. That was why they had flown the 4,000
miles from the 15th parallel to our island on the 46th—to take possession of
the ship. The cost of the ship was borne by the government. I don’t know
whether the $20,000 for four round-trip plane tickets was also borne by the
government—that is to say, by other people, with the government middlemen
taking their substantial cut—but it wouldn’t surprise me.

“I suppose,” I said, “that living
in such a forbidding place, they don’t have the social problems they have in,
say, Yellowknife,” the capital of the Northwest Territories, notorious for
alcoholism and family breakdown. My reasoning was simple. You can’t survive
from one year to the next unless you preserve moral order.

“No, they have the same problems
there that they have all over the Territories,” he replied, and he put the
blame squarely on Ottawa. “Paternalistic” was the word he used.

The conversation caused me to
consider what a place like Yellowknife has in common with, say, Detroit. Yellowknife
is a small town on the Great Slave Lake, in the midst of the richest mineral
deposits on Earth. It is, for all that, a deeply dysfunctional place. Detroit
used to be the jewel of the Great Lakes, the auto capital of the world. It is
now a pit of crime. Whole neighborhoods have been abandoned. The current mayor,
Dave Bing, has ordered some of them to be plowed under, to turn them back to
grasslands, perhaps for pasturing sheep.

It’s not just Detroit, and money
alone is not the problem.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

Mary Eberstadt named a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center

From the EPPC site:

The Ethics and Public Policy Center is delighted to announce that Mary Eberstadt
is joining EPPC as a senior fellow. She will continue her influential
writing on issues relating to American society, culture, religion, and
philosophy. 

• Adam and Eve after the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution (also available in e-book format)
• The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death, and Atheism (also available in e-book format)

Catholics and Evangelicals: Past, Present, and Future

Catholics and Evangelicals: Past, Present, and Future | Carl E. Olson | Catholic World Report



An interview with Kenneth J. Collins, author of Power, Politics, and the Fragmentation of Evangelicalism.

Kenneth
J. Collins, PhD is professor of historical theology and Wesley Studies at Asbury
Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of several books,
including The Theology of John Wesley
(Abingdon) and The Evangelical Moment
(Baker). His most recent book, Power,
Politics, and the Fragmentation of Evangelicalism (InterVarsity Press,
2012), is a history of American Evangelicalism from the late 19th
century to the present day, focusing on the cultural influence and political
fortunes of Evangelical Protestants; it also addresses many facets of
Catholic-Evangelical relations. Dr. Collins spoke recently with Carl E. Olson,
the editor of Catholic World Report,
about the history of Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism, Catholic and
Evangelical relations, and the common challenges facing Christians in the
United States today.

CWR:
Many Catholics aren’t very familiar with ecumenical relations between Catholics
and Evangelicals, or why such relations are important. How would you, as an
Evangelical, address the significance of those relations?

Collins:
I think there are a lot of ways that Catholics and Evangelicals can work
together. I want to strengthen those connections. What we are facing in the
days ahead is very important. Catholics are like canaries in a coal mine. We,
as Christians, weren’t supposed to bump against a modern liberal democracy; it
was supposed to be everyone choosing their own good. But the Catholic Church is
bumping up against it, in terms of the contraceptive issue, but also in terms
of what Catholic Charities faced in Massachusetts, where the collision between
the state government and the Church forced the closure of Catholic Charities,
which has had a wonderful history of service to the poor.

CWR:
Let’s go back to the beginning, historically. There is a lot of confusion,
isn’t there, with the term “Evangelical”? What are the roots of that term in US
history?

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.