Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 201
August 20, 2012
Refilling the Empty Pews: NFP and Evangelization
Refilling the Empty Pews: Can an NFP course be an agent of evangelization? | John F. Kippley | Homiletic & Pastoral Review
The problem of the rare use of NFP is not a lack of information. The basic problem is a two-fold lack of faith, and faith-based love. Catholics may never hear this teaching from the pulpit, or see it in the parish bulletin. But the main issue is that most Catholics today simply don’t believe the teaching.
While visiting the Twin Cities in June 2011, I learned that my home parish is slated for closure in mid-2012. The Church of the Visitation in southwestMinneapoliswas created in 1946 because married couples were having babies. It was carved out of Annunciation Parish, our former home, and Incarnation Parish, each about a half mile from the new church. Fortuitously, in that June visit, I met a former pastor who agreed with me on the root cause for the closure: contraception. To be sure, in the last 65 years there have been some changes in demographics, but the area is still middle-class, with the homes well-kept.
In the spring of 2009, Father Timothy Sauppe, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Westville, Illinois, a rural parish in the far west of the Diocese of Peoria, was forced by economics—too few children—to close the parish school. He wrote to Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., to his parishioners, and posted on the parish website, that the root cause of the closure was the practice of contraception, including sterilization.
Over the last decade, I have read several articles accusing the users of natural family planning for the empty pews, but that is simply not the case. The 2010 statistics make it clear that less than 2 percent of church-going Catholics are practicing any form of systematic NFP. But, those numbers do not take into account couples at the time of the survey, who were already pregnant, breastfeeding, or just accepting babies as they came. 1 With appropriate adjustments, it appears that the statistics are really saying that at least 90 percent of fertile-age, church-going, Catholics are using unnatural forms of birth control. Statistics from once-Catholic countries in Europe indicate birth rates well below replacement levels, except among Muslim immigrants. The Catholic Church in the West is closing its schools and churches. In short, it is contracepting itself, either out of existence, or into a minor sect.
No one who cares about the Church, as the visible body instituted by Christ for the salvation of the world, can be happy about this. In fact, no one who appreciates the great contribution to the public square made by well-formed Catholics can by pleased by this self-destructive diminution of its influence.
On Music and the Priestly Life
On Music and the Priestly Life | Fr. Gary Selin | Homiletic & Pastoral Review
Since music imitates the inner life of the soul, it follows that good music imitates and evokes sentiments that are consistent with a virtuous life, while music that evokes vicious sentiments is detrimental, and even destructive, to the soul.
The subject of music is a great pastoral challenge for priests, who often realize that what they preach at Mass can be quickly undone by the destructive forms of music which the baptized faithful listen to at home. Modern culture operates on the unquestioned premise that we will be massaging our emotions throughout the day by listening to music. This explains why music is being blared in virtually all places, from malls, to grocery stores, to restaurants, to doctors’ offices, to personal music players, and in almost every car driving down the highway. This noise-filled world of ours profoundly undercuts virtue, for God is heard primarily in silence, as the saints continually tell us. Having to be continually plugged in to music makes us “affective cripples,” unable to live in joy without having some sound going into our ears. 1 What is more, the type of music we listen to also has an impact on our life of virtue.
Priests need to be aware of how to engage, with courage, the people on this topic while maintaining authentic pastoral charity and understanding. It is my hope that this essay will help priests—and seminarians—to reflect deeply on the type of music they listen to and the role it plays in priestly life.
At the moment of priestly ordination, the candidate prostrates himself at the foot of the altar. This is an act symbolic of dying to the world and its delights, even to those things that are not in themselves sinful, yet may not be fitting for a priest, in that they would hold him back from an intimate union with the Triune God. The priest has the supreme duty of striving for, and achieving, with God’s grace, divine contemplation and resplendent holiness. In imitation of St. John Marie Vianney, the priest must be fully immersed in a life of prayer in his ministry. Here, we look to the Holy Eucharist as the source and goal of all priestly ministry, as well as the exemplar for the priest in his relationship to the world:
August 19, 2012
Save 20% off homeschooling resources from Ignatius Press
Homeschooling Resources and
the Classically Catholic Memory Series at 20% off!
Classically Catholic Memory is a Catholic homeschool memory work program, that is both Catholic and classical in nature, that guides parents and children in mastering challenging and inspiring material in eight subjects: Religion, Latin, History, Science, Math, Timeline, Geography, and Great Words. Memory work is simply the mastery of core facts in a given subject, or the mastery of a certain body of work (poetry or Scripture, for example) using the tool of one’s memory.
Sale items are below the "fold":
Classically Catholic Memory Teacher's Manual Alpha Year
The Teacher Text contains introductory material explaining the importance of memory work to a classical education; a full explanation of the Classically Catholic Memory program; teaching techniques and strategies for each subject; the entire student text in a smaller size form; background information for subjects; suggested activities; and more.
Regular price: $35.95, sale price: $28.76
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Teacher's Manual Beta Year
Regular price: $35.95, sale price: $28.76
Classically Catholic Memory Student Text Alpha Year
The Student Text contains the memory work for each subject, broken down by week, and includes a weekly summary sheet for each week.
Regular price: $31.95, sale price: $25.56
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Student Text Beta Year
Regular price: $31.95, sale price: $25.56
Classically Catholic Memory Maps
and Stickers Alpha Year
Maps and Stickers: The map set consists of five laminated maps of either one or two continents for the student to label with the included stickers. A map of the entire continent is included on the back of all maps so that the child can trace country and continent borders to gain familiarity with the geography of each continent.
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Maps and Stickers Beta Year
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Classically Catholic Memory CD Set Alpha Year
3-CD set: All of the memory work is contained on a set of three (3) audio CDs. CDs 1 and 2 contain the memory work broken down by week, while CD 3 contains the memory work broken down by subject for easy review and mastery.
Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory CD Set Beta Year
Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96
Classically Catholic Memory Timeline Cards
This set contains 144 4 x 6 full-color cards depicting events and persons from Creation through Pope John Paul II. 15 essential dates are included on certain critical events in the timeline. The cards are clearly labeled in numerical order.
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Alpha Year
This Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Alpha Year includes Teachers Manual, Student Text, Maps, CDs, & Timeline cards.
Regular price: $119.95, sale price: $95.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Beta Year
Regular price: $119.95, sale price: $95.96
Classic Catholic Memory Basic Set Alpha Year
This Classically Catholic Memory Basic Set Alpha Year includes Teachers Manual, Student Text, Maps and CDs (no cards)
Regular price: $99.95, sale price: $79.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Beta Year
Regular price: $99.95, sale price: $79.96
Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum
Laura M. Berquist
Home educator Laura Berquist presents a modern curriculum based on the time-tested philosophy of the classical Trivium— grammar, logic and rhetoric.
Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36
The Harp and Laurel Wreath
Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum
Laura Berquist
Berquist presents this wide selection of the greatest poetry ever written for every age level from grades one to twelve.
Regular price: $21.95, sale price: $17.56
A Landscape with Dragons
The Battle for Your Child's Mind
Michael O'Brien
In this study of the pagan invasion of children's culture, O'Brien's analysis of the degeneration of books, and film for the young is incisive and detailed.
Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96
YOUCAT
Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn
YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. 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.
Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96
Because God is Real
Peter Kreeft
Atheistic and agnostic writers are aggressively attacking traditional religious beliefs. Philosopher and prolific writer Peter Kreeft is up to the challenge in this work of popular apologetics aimed at both teens and adults.
Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56
Issues of Faith and Morals
Cardinal George Pell
This book is written for Catholic youth of high school and college age, addressing key issues and concerns that are important to youth today about faith and life.
Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56
Real Love, 2nd Edition
Mary Beth Bonacci
In this newly updated and expanded edition of Real Love, Mary Beth shares questions-and her answers-in an even more comprehensive guide which addresses the details of the very real struggle we all face in trying to live real love in a world gone mad.
Regular price: $15.95, sale price: $12.76
Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture
Michael O'Brien
Master storyteller, best-selling novelist and artist Michael O'Brien - the man to whom CNN went for comment on Harry Potter - has penned the definitive work assessing the Potter phenomenon.
Regular price: $15.95, sale price: $13.56
Catholic Education: Homeward Bound
Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson
Two homeschooling moms present a very thorough guide to the merits of home education and the important resources and curriculums to home school.
Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36
Flowers of Heaven
One Thousand Years of Christian Verse
Compiled by Joseph Pearce
This anthology provides some of the finest Christian verse. All of the great ones are here: Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi, Dante and more.
Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56
Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church
Peter & Catherine Fournier
This is an illustrated book full of wonderful activities for children and families to help better understand and celebrate the Lent and Easter seasons.
Regular price: $15.95, sale price: $12.76
Also available:
Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church
Your Questions, God's Answers
Peter Kreeft
Kreeft uses Scripture to provide God's answers to the most common and important questions young people ask about the deeper meaning of life, their own identity, overcoming failure and temptation, the mystery of God's love, and much more.
Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $10.36
Desiderata
David Eich
Aimed at teenagers and young adults, this book uses the 15 mysteries of the Rosary as a means of understanding all the important Christian virtues and how to live them in our daily lives.
Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96
We're on a Mission from God
Mary Beth Bonacci
In this book, Mary Beth Bonacci joins with John Paul II in bringing young Catholics a clearer understanding of the Church and their role in it. She takes his quotes from the five World Youth Day events and "unpacks" them, explaining the truths of the faith clearly and concisely.
Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $10.36
New Testament
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible
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.
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Also available:
Hardcover, $34.95, sale price $27.96
Leather, $44.95, sale price $35.96
A Man of the Beatitudes
Lucianna Frassati
A beguiling and moving biography of Pier Giorgio Frassati, a handsome, athletic and fun-loving young man from a rich, aristocratic Italian family in the 1920's who was recently beatified by Pope John Paul II.
Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $10.36
Ignatius-Angelicum LIberal Studies Program in the News!The Liberal Arts Go Online: The Angelicum Academy brings the study of the Great Books into the 21st century!
Read about why the Academy was started and more in The Catholic World Report article: Interview with Angelicum Great Books Program President
The Angelicum Great Books Program is the first part of the Liberal Studies Program.
Great Books Program Classes begin August 30, 2012.
Classes are filling now with record enrollment numbers - reserve your student's class time. To begin the LSP simply enroll in the Angelicum Great Books Program.
For Additional Sale Items Click HERE!
Items are not sold on approval.
Periodically we make available -- only to you, our valued repeat customers -- special offers which are not available to the general public. We offer these discounted prices as our gift to those who help us by using Ignatius.com. Please do not ask for retroactive price consideration. We cannot accommodate those requests. Many thanks.
Homeschooling Resources and
the Classically Catholic Memory Series at 20% off!
Classically Catholic Memory is a Catholic homeschool memory work program, that is both Catholic and classical in nature, that guides parents and children in mastering challenging and inspiring material in eight subjects: Religion, Latin, History, Science, Math, Timeline, Geography, and Great Words. Memory work is simply the mastery of core facts in a given subject, or the mastery of a certain body of work (poetry or Scripture, for example) using the tool of one’s memory.
Classically Catholic Memory Teacher's Manual Alpha Year
The Teacher Text contains introductory material explaining the importance of memory work to a classical education; a full explanation of the Classically Catholic Memory program; teaching techniques and strategies for each subject; the entire student text in a smaller size form; background information for subjects; suggested activities; and more.
Regular price: $35.95, sale price: $28.76
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Teacher's Manual Beta Year
Regular price: $35.95, sale price: $28.76
Classically Catholic Memory Student Text Alpha Year
The Student Text contains the memory work for each subject, broken down by week, and includes a weekly summary sheet for each week.
Regular price: $31.95, sale price: $25.56
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Student Text Beta Year
Regular price: $31.95, sale price: $25.56
Classically Catholic Memory Maps
and Stickers Alpha Year
Maps and Stickers: The map set consists of five laminated maps of either one or two continents for the student to label with the included stickers. A map of the entire continent is included on the back of all maps so that the child can trace country and continent borders to gain familiarity with the geography of each continent.
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Maps and Stickers Beta Year
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Classically Catholic Memory CD Set Alpha Year
3-CD set: All of the memory work is contained on a set of three (3) audio CDs. CDs 1 and 2 contain the memory work broken down by week, while CD 3 contains the memory work broken down by subject for easy review and mastery.
Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory CD Set Beta Year
Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96
Classically Catholic Memory Timeline Cards
This set contains 144 4 x 6 full-color cards depicting events and persons from Creation through Pope John Paul II. 15 essential dates are included on certain critical events in the timeline. The cards are clearly labeled in numerical order.
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Alpha Year
This Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Alpha Year includes Teachers Manual, Student Text, Maps, CDs, & Timeline cards.
Regular price: $119.95, sale price: $95.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Beta Year
Regular price: $119.95, sale price: $95.96
Classic Catholic Memory Basic Set Alpha Year
This Classically Catholic Memory Basic Set Alpha Year includes Teachers Manual, Student Text, Maps and CDs (no cards)
Regular price: $99.95, sale price: $79.96
Also available:
Classically Catholic Memory Complete Set Beta Year
Regular price: $99.95, sale price: $79.96
Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum
Laura M. Berquist
Home educator Laura Berquist presents a modern curriculum based on the time-tested philosophy of the classical Trivium— grammar, logic and rhetoric.
Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36
The Harp and Laurel Wreath
Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum
Laura Berquist
Berquist presents this wide selection of the greatest poetry ever written for every age level from grades one to twelve.
Regular price: $21.95, sale price: $17.56
A Landscape with Dragons
The Battle for Your Child's Mind
Michael O'Brien
In this study of the pagan invasion of children's culture, O'Brien's analysis of the degeneration of books, and film for the young is incisive and detailed.
Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96
YOUCAT
Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn
YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. 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.
Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96
Because God is Real
Peter Kreeft
Atheistic and agnostic writers are aggressively attacking traditional religious beliefs. Philosopher and prolific writer Peter Kreeft is up to the challenge in this work of popular apologetics aimed at both teens and adults.
Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56
Issues of Faith and Morals
Cardinal George Pell
This book is written for Catholic youth of high school and college age, addressing key issues and concerns that are important to youth today about faith and life.
Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56
Real Love, 2nd Edition
Mary Beth Bonacci
In this newly updated and expanded edition of Real Love, Mary Beth shares questions-and her answers-in an even more comprehensive guide which addresses the details of the very real struggle we all face in trying to live real love in a world gone mad.
Regular price: $15.95, sale price: $12.76
Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture
Michael O'Brien
Master storyteller, best-selling novelist and artist Michael O'Brien - the man to whom CNN went for comment on Harry Potter - has penned the definitive work assessing the Potter phenomenon.
Regular price: $15.95, sale price: $13.56
Catholic Education: Homeward Bound
Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson
Two homeschooling moms present a very thorough guide to the merits of home education and the important resources and curriculums to home school.
Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36
Flowers of Heaven
One Thousand Years of Christian Verse
Compiled by Joseph Pearce
This anthology provides some of the finest Christian verse. All of the great ones are here: Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi, Dante and more.
Regular price: $16.95, sale price: $13.56
Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church
Peter & Catherine Fournier
This is an illustrated book full of wonderful activities for children and families to help better understand and celebrate the Lent and Easter seasons.
Regular price: $15.95, sale price: $12.76
Also available:
Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church
Your Questions, God's Answers
Peter Kreeft
Kreeft uses Scripture to provide God's answers to the most common and important questions young people ask about the deeper meaning of life, their own identity, overcoming failure and temptation, the mystery of God's love, and much more.
Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $10.36
Desiderata
David Eich
Aimed at teenagers and young adults, this book uses the 15 mysteries of the Rosary as a means of understanding all the important Christian virtues and how to live them in our daily lives.
Regular price: $14.95, sale price: $11.96
We're on a Mission from God
Mary Beth Bonacci
In this book, Mary Beth Bonacci joins with John Paul II in bringing young Catholics a clearer understanding of the Church and their role in it. She takes his quotes from the five World Youth Day events and "unpacks" them, explaining the truths of the faith clearly and concisely.
Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $10.36
New Testament
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible
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.
Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $19.96
Also available:
Hardcover, $34.95, sale price $27.96
Leather, $44.95, sale price $35.96
A Man of the Beatitudes
Lucianna Frassati
A beguiling and moving biography of Pier Giorgio Frassati, a handsome, athletic and fun-loving young man from a rich, aristocratic Italian family in the 1920's who was recently beatified by Pope John Paul II.
Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $10.36
Ignatius-Angelicum LIberal Studies Program in the News!The Liberal Arts Go Online: The Angelicum Academy brings the study of the Great Books into the 21st century!
Read about why the Academy was started and more in The Catholic World Report article: Interview with Angelicum Great Books Program President
The Angelicum Great Books Program is the first part of the Liberal Studies Program.
Great Books Program Classes begin August 30, 2012.
Classes are filling now with record enrollment numbers - reserve your student's class time. To begin the LSP simply enroll in the Angelicum Great Books Program.
For Additional Sale Items Click HERE!
Items are not sold on approval.
Periodically we make available -- only to you, our valued repeat customers -- special offers which are not available to the general public. We offer these discounted prices as our gift to those who help us by using Ignatius.com. Please do not ask for retroactive price consideration. We cannot accommodate those requests. Many thanks.
August 18, 2012
You are Who you eat: "Let Christ be eaten..."
A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for August 19, 2012, the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Carl E. Olson
Readings:
• Prv 9:1-6
• Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
• Eph 5:15-20
• Jn 6:51-58
“You are,” my mother—like most other mothers—used to tell me, “what you eat,”
“You are Who you eat,” says my Mother, the Church, as she has for two thousand years. The Eucharist, wrote Ignatius of Antioch on his way to martyrdom, “is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death …” The person “who receives the flesh of our Savior Christ and drinks his precious blood,” wrote Cyril of Alexandria, “shall be one with him.” Augustine put it boldly and simply: “Let Christ be eaten; when eaten he lives because when slain he rose again.”
“Let Christ be eaten”—that is the essence of today’s Gospel reading. It contains the fourth and final “Amen, Amen” statement from Jesus in his Bread of Life discourse. With each statement (Jn. 6:26, 32, 47), Jesus took his listeners deeper in the mystery of his person, mission, and gift of salvation—a mystery rooted in the Incarnation, pointing to his death and resurrection, and given to the Church in the Eucharist.
As Jesus revealed more, he met more resistance. At first his listeners asked questions (v. 30), then made demands (v. 34), then murmured openly (v. 41), and then began to quarrel over his words. Jesus’ claim that the bread of life he offered was somehow closely linked with his actual flesh was deeply offensive. It smacked of cannibalism, which was an offense providing evidence God had cursed his covenantal people (cf. Lev. 26:27-29). So if Jesus, in saying that “the bread that I will give is my flesh”, was using metaphorical or poetic language, surely he would have cleared up any misconceptions created by his startling language.
Jesus did clear up misconceptions, but not as many of his listeners probably hoped or expected. He clarified his remarks by emphasizing that, yes, he was speaking of his actual flesh and of real eating: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do have life within you.”
These words, more than any other in Scripture, stopped me cold in my tracks many years ago. As a Fundamentalist and, later, as an Evangelical Protestant, I had never heard a sermon or attended a Bible study that grappled with these words. The various books and commentaries I studied did not address satisfactorily the meaning and purpose of Jesus’ declaration, “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” I asked the same question as those listening to Jesus in person: Whatever did he mean?
Part of the answer is found in how Jesus described himself as the “living bread that came down from heaven.” G. K. Chesterton, in The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic, expressed it well, “Heaven has descended into the world of matter; the supreme spiritual power is now operating by the machinery of matter, dealing miraculously with the bodies and souls of men.” Put simply, the Eucharist is a continuation of the Incarnation. By becoming man, the Son of God took on flesh—not in appearance only and not for just a few years, but in actuality and for all of eternity.
The Creator, having taken on flesh, now brings about a new creation by inviting man to receive his flesh and blood in the Most Holy Eucharist. Having become man, the Son gives himself to us so that we, made sons of God through baptism, might continue growing in truth and grace and divine life, feeding on his life-giving flesh and blood. The Eucharist does not just sustain us, but transforms us; it does not just fill us, but completes us.
John Paul II, in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, wrote, “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist”, and explained that those who receive the Eucharist become “the Body of Christ—not many bodies but one body.”
How do we remain in Christ and become more Christ-like? By eating his flesh and blood. You are Who you eat.
(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the August 16, 2009, issue of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)
40% off Vivian Dudro's Employee Pick of the Week
40% off Vivian Dudro's Pick of the Week*
Sigrid Undset was one of the greatest twentieth-century novelists, famous for her fabulous, epic trilogies set in Norway during the Middle Ages—Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken—which won her the Nobel Prize for literature in 1928. 
She is less well known for her shorter, modern tales such as Ida Elisabeth. Though more modest in scope (and length) than her historical fiction, Ida Elisabeth is just as rewarding.
The story of how Ignatius Press discovered Ida Elisabeth is worth repeating. A friend of Father Fessio was encouraging us to reprint The Eternal Woman, a profound and impressive work about the meaning of the feminine by Gertrud von le Fort. As I was reading The Eternal Woman to form an opinion for our acquisition committee, I came across these thought-provoking lines about Ida Elisabeth:
In Ida Elisabeth’s husband and his family an extreme case is described, but that which applies to them, at the final issue, applies everywhere and always. The world has need of the maternal woman; it is, for the most part, a poor and helpless child.
Von le Fort argues that the calling to motherhood that is given to all women— whether or not they become biological mothers—involves caring for all who are weak. I was so intrigued by this theme that I tracked down Ida Elisabeth, and the story moved me as deeply as von le Fort had hinted that it would. I confess that I was in tears by the end.
Ida Elisabeth is not a girly and emotional melodrama. Rather, it is a subtly and masterfully told story about a clever, talented and hardworking woman who foolishly marries a man incapable of shouldering his responsibilities. The reader sympathizes with Ida when she finally leaves her husband after discovering his infidelity, and the reader roots for Ida when she meets a man of strong character who wants to marry her and adopt her children. The reader has no clue as to where Undset is going with this plot, and I am not going to ruin the story by telling more.
Undset entered the Catholic Church in 1924. She fiercely opposed Nazism and was forced to flee Norway when the Germans invaded in 1940. How the Nazi-- and one could say simply, pagan--contempt for the weak shows up in this novel, I will also leave for the reader to discover. Ida Elisabeth is also available as an e-book.
Vivian Dudro is a senior editor at Ignatius Press. Her husband, Glenn, also works for Ignatius as the director of finance. They have four mostly grown children and live in San Francisco.
*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. Each week, an Ignatius Press employee will select a favorite book, movie, or other Ignatius Press product and write a few sentences about why he/she thinks customers will enjoy the particular selection. A short bio of the selecting employee will also be included, giving customers a chance to learn a bit more about the people who are Ignatius Press.
Pope Benedict XVI, the "Mediocre" Marksman
by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Catholic World Report
“Of course, the Gebirgsschüzen (Territorial Marksmen), whom I was only able to her in the distance, deserve special thanks, because I am an honorary ‘Schütze,’ (marksman) even though I was once a mediocre Schütze."
— Pope Benedict XVI, Bavarian Evening, Castel Gandolfo, August 3, 2012.
“Now, as we ‘thank you,’ I can only impart my blessing to you, but let us first sing the Angelus together, and if we can the ‘Andachtsjodler’ (a hymn in the form of a yodel).”
— Pope Benedict XVI, Last Words in German at the Bavarian Evening.
The present pope, we know, is a man of many talents. We usually think of these talents as primarily intellectual, even his taste in music is classical. No one ever told us that he was a marksman, albeit mediocre, or that he could yodel. The idea of yodeling a hymn would go over big on country and western stations of the old school, no doubt. Google has many sung versions of this quite beautiful hymn that anyone can listen to. After listening to it, I can see why the pope added “if we can” as the music is quite lovely.
On August 3, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich arranged at the Pope’s Villa at Castel Gandolfo for an evening of music and friendliness in the Holy Father’s honor. In his remarks, the Pope said that he was truly dahoam, which means in German to be “at home.” He kidded Cardinal Marx a bit over the word: “I must compliment Cardinal Marx because he always pronounces the word (dahoam) so well.”
The Holy Father took the occasion to recall his homeland. Bavarian culture is “a joyful culture.” It is not “rowdy” but it is “full of fun.” Anyone who has been to an Oktober Fest in Munich will have a suspicion of what this means. Of the Bavarians, Benedict says, “we are not a boorish people.” He does not mean “amusement,” that they merely amuse themselves. The people are “joyful.”
Benedict then reflects on why this joyful characteristic might be present in Bavaria. “The joyfulness of the Bavarian culture is based on the fact that we are in tune with Creation.” That is an expression mindful of the English title of one of Josef Pieper’s books: A Theory of Festivity: In Tune with the World. The good is ultimately “a person.” This is where true joy can only be located.
August 17, 2012
Both Lungs
Both Lungs | Christopher B. Warner | Catholic World Report
Both the East and West are necessary to provide enough “oxygen” for the spiritual battle raging in today’s world.
In an overwhelmingly Muslim Middle East, it is surprising to note that one-tenth of all Syrians are Christian, and even more shocking to discover that almost half of the population of Lebanon is also Christian. It is a wonder there are any Christians left in that part of the world at all. But then, these are no ordinary Christians. Most Christians in the Middle East are not Roman Catholic or Protestant—they are Eastern Christians with a unique heritage distinct from Western forms of worship and practice. Perhaps their millennium-old customs make them robust enough to stay in countries where they are surrounded by hostile neighbors.
“It is their faith,” says George Baho, a native of Damascus, Syria. George told Catholic World Report, “Without a strong faith, Christians in Syria could not persevere under a Muslim majority.” His parents moved to Damascus from a small village in northern Syria called Mardeen. Mardeen is one of many small, isolated, Christian villages in the Middle East that heroically cling to their Christian culture and identity. The Baho family is Syriac Catholic—one of many Eastern Christian communities in the Middle East. Syriac Catholics have their own distinct monasteries, churches, liturgy, and hierarchy within the Catholic Church.
Lebanon is actually governed by the Christian majority of that state, the Maronite Catholics. But Syria and Lebanon are home to half a dozen other Eastern Christian communities as well, including Greek, Armenian, Syriac, Assyrian/Chaldean, and Coptic Christians. These communities celebrate liturgies that developed independently of one another more than a thousand years ago. They have preserved a cultural treasury of liturgical beauty and depth that is waiting to be explored by Western Catholics.
Blessed John Paul II called for the Church to breathe with “both lungs,” incorporating the rich traditions of both the East and West. In 2011, Pope Benedict’s general intention for the month of November was “that the Eastern Catholic Churches and their venerable traditions may be known and esteemed as a spiritual treasure for the whole Church.” Most Roman Catholics, however, have yet to discover how this can be practically achieved.
Paul Ryan's radical beliefs about budgets, politics, and society
This is, without doubt, brazen and even radical stuff, full of the sort of triumphalistic, jingoistic, and greedy rhetoric you expect from Republicans and conservatives:
[We] will confidently proceed to unshackle American enterprise and to free American labor, industrial leadership, and capital, to create an abundance that will outstrip any other system.
Free competitive enterprise is the most creative and productive form of economic order that the world has seen. The recent slow pace of American growth is due not to the failure of our free economy but to the failure of our national leadership. ...
Economic growth is the means whereby we improve the American standard of living and produce added tax resources for national security and essential public services. ...
The American free enterprise system is one of the great achievements of the human mind and spirit. It has developed by a combination of the energetic efforts of working men and women, bold private initiative, the profit motive and wise public policy, until it is now the productive marvel of mankind. ...
We will seek further tax reduction—and in the process we need to remove inequities in our present tax laws. In particular we should carefully review all our excise taxes and eliminate those that are obsolete. Consideration should be given to the development of fiscal policies which would provide revenue sources to hard-pressed state and local governments to assist them with their responsibilities.
Every penny of Federal spending must be accounted for in terms of the strictest economy, efficiency and integrity. We pledge to continue a frugal government, getting a dollar's value for a dollar spent, and a government worthy of the citizen's confidence.
Our goal is a balanced budget in a balanced economy.
Wow. That Ayn Rand-worshiping Ryan fellow is crazy! Oh, wait. My apologies; the quotes above were all taken from the 1960 and 1964 Democratic Party Platforms. How did that happen? Whoops. Well, consider it a quick journey down memory lane.
I actually started writing this post three days ago, not long after the news broke that the most right-wing, narrow-minded conservative in the history of the world had been chosen by Mitt Romney as vice-president candidate for the "Hate the Women!" party (yes, I'm struggling to control the sarcasm). A man so radical that in the early 1960s he would have been reasonably positioned and perceived as a moderate to conservative Democrat. A man so far the the Extreme Right that he regularily is re-elected—by substantual margins—for office in a district that voted for Obama in 2008. Chew on that for a few seconds and then ask yourself, "Do the Dallas Cowboys have a shot at the Super Bowl this year? How much has changed in the U.S. in the past fifty years?"
I had intended to write a 20,000-word essay about the Righteous Rebukes of the Radical Ryan, but have decided to instead highlight some of the several dozen articles and posts I've read about the topic, adding in a few thoughts of my own. Here goes!
Living Catholic: An Overview
Ignatius Press collaborates with My Catholic Faith Delivered on a number of projects, including the online version of the Faith and Life catechism series for young people. For this reason we want to alert our friends to the following initiative.
My Catholic Faith Delivered is partnering with his Eminence Cardinal Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington, Father Mitch Pacwa and EWTN to provide the online Living Catholic program. This interactive experience is a short foundational course designed to reach Catholics looking to learn or re-learn the beautiful truths of the Catholic faith which we are all called to share as part of the new evangelization. It is a great diocesan response to the Holy Father’s call for the Year of Faith!
The content is based on the Four Pillars of the Catechism and has themes of prayer, parish life and evangelization interwoven throughout. The course can be used parish-wide, individually, or in a small group setting. The My Catholic Faith Delivered system tracks participant learning, answers and usage. The course goes live, October 1st , 2012.
Option 1: The Hybrid Course – Parish and Online
(detailed outlines and online course provided)
• Opening Registration and Online Survey
• Includes a 2-hour opening retreat at the Parish including:
1. Prayer
2. Overview and key objectives
3. Proclamation of the Gospel
4. An overview of salvation history from the Bible
• A four-week online catechetical component will follow covering the core teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church . During these four weeks, parish participants will share faith with others in the program and engage in simple evangelization opportunities.
• The four-week online portion is followed by a closing event at the parish which includes:
1. Prayer
2. Evangelization training / discussion
3. Additional learning opportunities and next steps
4. Closing Liturgy and Sending
5. Celebration
Option 2: Online Only
• Includes the same online course with content from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Father Mitch Pacwa, from EWTN, will present the opening and closing portions in an interactive online format
Pricing
• Individual (Option 1 or 2) - $9.99 per user
• Parish or Group (Option 1 or 2) - $8.50 per user for orders of 100 or more
• Diocese (Option 1 or 2) - $8.50 per user for orders of 1000 or more
Click here to hear from Cardinal Wuerl and learn more about our Year of Faith course Living Catholic
August 15, 2012
The Catholic Con Continues
The Catholic Con Continues | Anne Hendershott | Catholic World Report
Many left-wing Catholic political organizations use Soros funds and misuse social doctrine to promote anti-magisterial, pro-abortion messages
One of the ways you can tell it is a national election year is that left wing Catholic political organizations re-emerge with new strategies, new funding, and sometimes even new names. But, while the organizational names may change, the players stay the same as the agenda remains to elect Democrats who will expand the progressive economic agenda, strengthen the power of the unions, and increase women’s access to comprehensive health services—including abortion.
This con game began during the 2004 presidential campaign with the creation of the Catholic Voting Project. The founders claimed they simply wanted to “promote the US Catholic bishops’ 2003 document Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility” and “encourage a dialogue which would allow Catholics to learn how their political views matched up to those of the bishops.” But the reality was that the Catholic Voting Project was always a front for electing pro-choice Democrats.
Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
After Senator John Kerry lost his presidential bid, Chris Korzen, one of the leaders of the Catholic Voting Project blamed the defeat on Kerry’s messaging problems about abortion. A master at sophistry and community organizing (formerly an organizer for SEIU) Korzen realized that the cover had been blown on the Voting Project and disbanded—but kept the same agenda and leadership—reconstituting the Catholic Voting Project under the new name, Catholics United—a 501C-4. That same year Korzen also teamed up with left wing Catholics to help found the George Soros-subsidized Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good—a 501C-3. The two organizations shared staff members (Korzen’s 2007 salary of $84,821 as Executive Director of Catholics United was paid out of Catholics in Alliance donations).
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