By admin, on May 5th, 2012
I has a discussion with the seniors about the relationship between faith and reason. An important topic for them to consider, especially since the narrative they’ve been fed is the perceived antagonism between the two. A couple of their insights from a reflection assignment:
“Science doesn’t have to be the enemy of faith. Instead, it should be the part of faith that has always been missing, and should be used to better understand the glory of God and his creation.”
“Without evidence, there is no reason and that is why looking at the world with a rational viewpoint, a person is almost always right about their understanding, but is severely limited as to what he can understand.”
“People see faith as inferior to reason but it’s actually the other half of life. Instead of seeing faith as not capable of explaining the world, it should be looked at as explaining the parts of the world which science can’t.”
By admin, on January 18th, 2012
It is a fact that Christians are the recipients of 75% of all religious persecution in the world. About 200 million Christians are living under conditions in which their religious freedom is threatened. This story is a reminder that these statistics are real.
According to reports, a Kuwaiti royal prince has become a follower of Jesus Christ. In an audiofile posted with his name, he affirms that if he is killed because of a recording he made where he talks about his conversion, he firmly believes that he will meet Jesus Christ face-to-face. The news comes from Middle Eastern sources which state that al-Haqiqa – a Christian satellite TV channel in Arabic that transmits Christian religious programmes – broadcast an audio file attributed to the Kuwaiti prince, identified as Abdullah al-Sabah. The al-Sabahs are the royal family of Kuwait, a country rich in oil. The name Abdullah (servant of God) frequently appears in the Emir’s family tree.
In his audio file, Abdullah declared: “First of all, I fully agree with the distribution of this audio file and I now declare that if they kill me because of it, then I will appear before Jesus Christ and be with him for all eternity.” In this statement, the prince demonstrates his awareness of the fate in store for a martyr of the faith, according to Christian doctrine. The television channel stated that Abdullah is a member of the royal family, and that he recently renounced his faith in Islam and became a Christian, without specifying which particular branch of Christianity he had chosen. After stating his full name, the prince declared: “I will accept whatever they do to me, because the truth in the Bible has guided me towards the right path.”
Remember the Fides report: 26 Catholics killed as missionaries in 2011. Some parts of the world are hostile to our faith and it may cost you your life. This is real life. We are one body. Let’s keep our brothers and sisters in prayer.
By admin, on January 18th, 2012
“Since God offers to manage our affairs for us, let us once for all hand them over to his infinite wisdom in order to occupy ourselves only with himself and what belongs to him.”
- Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, SJ (from today’s Magnificat)
By admin, on January 18th, 2012
Move over Emily Post! I always the knew the Church had class!
We often forget that the brainchild behind the rules of etiquette was a 16th Century cleric, the Archbishop Giovanni Della Casa who was an Apostolic Nuncio, diplomatic representative of the Holy See.
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During these years he wrote a a great deal of poetry. But when Julius III was elected Pope, Della Casa’s fortune changed. He decided to retire to a Villa in the March of Treviso where he devoted himself to his studies. Here he wrote his most famous work the ‘Galateo overo de’costumi’ (the Book of Etiquette). This was in 1558. The book was published posthumously and became instantly very popular, its fame spreading across Europe.
Later, Pope Paul IV, successor to Julius III, called Monsignor Della Casa back to Rome as Vatican Secretary of State. Della Casa died soon after in Rome, on November 14th, 1556. His ‘handbook’ on good manners made him famous throughout history.
Read the rest at Vatican Insider.
By admin, on December 19th, 2011
Saw this interesting story at Vatican Insider about a Latin exam being given in Austria and Lichtenstein:
Students will sit the Latin exam, which will be divided into two parts, either individually or in twos. In the first part, they will be asked to translate liturgical texts focusing on Christmas. They will then have to answer questions about the Church. The hard-to-believe part of the news, concerns the use of cellphones: not only are they allowed, but their use is practically mandatory. During the test, as a matter of fact, students answering questions about the Church will be able to rely on a “special help, calling – with their cellphones – eminent religious figures in the Vatican, in Austria and in other Countries”.
“L’Osservatore Romano” names a few of them: “let us mention cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, emeritus president of the Governorate, bishop Joseph Clemens, Secretary of the Pontifical Council of Laymen, Mgr. Waldemar Turek, from the Secretariat of State, and Flaminia Giovanelli, Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. “Prompters” will also be able to ask pupils questions about Christmas and the Catholic Church.”
In brief, students, besides being allowed to use their cellphones, will be also provided with the phone numbers of bishops and cardinals who will be on hand to help them. According to the Holy See’s newspaper, “the aim of this examen pubblicum Vaticanum is to acknowledge and promote both the historical role played by Latin in the development of European languages, both the role played by the Catholic Church in the preservation of Latin language itself. With this respect, this public initiative means to foster the encouragement of the teaching of Latin at high school, and the comprehension of Latin liturgy by all the faithful.”
Not much of a Latinist myself but I love these new words:
Pope Benedict XVI’s social encyclical, Caritas in veritate, published two years ago in July, quite puzzled the Latin translators, who had to tackle the lexicon concerning the economical crisis and globalization. Thus, delocalization has been translated as “delocalization”, while liberalization was rendered as “plenior libertatis”. Unemployment is “operis vacatio”, sub-employment is “operis subvacatio” and the drop in birth rates is expressed as “natorum imminuitio”.
“Fontes alterius generis” is the syntagmatic expression used for alternative energy sources, while the non-renewable ones have been called “fontes energiae qui non renovantur”. One of the most used words is “globalizatio” (globalization, of course), a word which does not belong to ancient Latin but was constructed on the word “globus”, world.
By admin, on November 5th, 2011
Some great questions with answers that have evolved greatly over the years…
One of the most common questions you’ll hear raised in Catholic circles is whether a Catholic can attend a wedding that the Church does not consider valid. For example, perhaps your brother is divorced, without an annulment and is getting remarried. Or your child was baptized Catholic but is getting married in a non-Catholic setting. And more recently, another possible situation has arisen: the same-sex wedding.
Are Catholics allowed to attend such weddings? If so, should Catholics attend these weddings?
Go read the rest. He proposes St. John the Baptist and St. Thomas More as models at the end.
This is something that would make a great discussion with students after you’ve covered these topics. I am ANNOYED beyond words with those who try to have discussions with kids before they’ve been taught anything. It’s like asking me what I think the Patriots’ season is looking like. I have no clue! Don’t lead discussions with those who are ignorant of the topic.
Consider using this article after a unit on marriage and sexuality. Warn kids to be careful what they reveal in terms of personal anecdotes and beware the parent who will be offended by this discussion. It only takes one kid to go home and say, “Mr. Lepage says we shouldn’t have gone to Uncle Joe and Uncle Larry’s wedding!” Welcome to an uncomfortable conversation that has little hope of a positive outcome.
A great enrichment activity would be to read and research JBap and TMore and their respective martyrdoms.
By admin, on October 31st, 2011
A sad story out of Egypt. You have to wonder if this is what all those people in Tahrir Square were fighting for. Hopefully an investigation will lead to some form of justice. From AINA:
In mid-October Egyptian media published news of an altercation between Muslim and Christian students over a classroom seat at a school in Mallawi, Minya province. The altercation lead to the murder of a Christian student. The media portrayed the incident as non-sectarian. However, Copts Without Borders, a Coptic news website, refuted this version and was first to report that the Christian student was murdered because he was wearing a crucifix.
“We wanted to believe the official version,” said activist Mark Ebeid, “because the Coptic version was a catastrophe, as it would take persecution of Christians also to schools.” He blamed the church in Mallawi for keeping quiet about the incident.
Today the parents of the 17-year-old Christian student Ayman Nabil Labib, broke their silence, confirming that their son was murdered on October 16, in “cold blood because he refused to take off his crucifix as ordered by his Muslim teacher.” Nabil Labib, the father, said in a taped video interview with Copts United NGO, that his son had a cross tattooed on his wrist as per Coptic tradition, as well as another cross which he wore under his clothes.
Both parents confirmed that Ayman’s classmates, who were present during the assault and whom they met at the hospital and during the funeral, said that while Ayman was in the classroom he was told to cover up his tattooed wrist cross. He refused and defiantly got out the second cross which he wore under his shirt. “The teacher nearly chocked by son and some Muslim students joined in the beating,” said his mother.
According to Ayman’s father, eyewitnesses told him that his son was not beaten up in the school yard as per the official story, but in the classroom. “They beat my son so much in the classroom that he fled to the lavatory on the ground floor, but they followed him and continued their assault. When one of the supervisors took him to his room, Ayman was still breathing. The ambulance transported him from there dead, one hour later.”
Prosecution arrested and detained two Muslim students, Mostapha Essam and Walid Mostafa Sayed, pending investigations in the murder case.
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After the funeral service for Ayman, over 5000 Christians marched along the streets of Mallawi, denouncing the killing of a student whom they described as “Martyr of the Cross,” and the repeated killings of Copts in Egypt.
Prominent columnist Farida El-Shobashy wrote in independent newspaper Masry Youm “I was shaken to the bones when I read the news that a teacher forced a student to take off the crucifix he wore, and when the Christian student stood firm for his rights, the teacher quarreled with him, joined by some of the students; he was beastly assaulted until his last breath left him.” She wondered if the situation was reversed and a Muslim was killed for not removing the Koran he wore, what would have been the reaction.
Farida pointed out that the gravity of the incident is where it took place and who incited the attack (the teacher). She went on to blast the Ministry of Education for neglecting the education syllabus to prevent discriminatory contents but instead “left it to teachers to spread the fanatic Wahabi ideology.”
This is something I will be sharing with my students for sure.
By admin, on October 13th, 2011
There are few things I love more in the classroom than busting up common myths. The reliable and insightful John Allen addresses a few common ones in regard to the Vatican. They are also a bit apologetic in nature (some of these are used as common criticisms of the Church). They also remind us that the Catholic media is far more trustworthy because you have to have some expertise and experience when reporting on Church matters. These nuances are almost always missed in mainstream reporting.
From the B.C. Catholic of the Archdiocese of Vancouver:
The Catholic Church is “top-down on doctrine” but “bottom up on everything else,” when it comes to administration, finances, personnel and management, he said.
On these other issues, “Rome is not even aware they are happening,” he said.
The total workforce for the Roman Curia is 2,170 people who serve 1.2 billion Catholics.
“The Vatican does not have the tools to micromanage,” he said.
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Another myth is that the Vatican is ultra-wealthy, he said. The annual operating budget of the Vatican City State is $270 million, he said, comparing that with the annual operating budget of Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana which is $1.2 billion.
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Allen also criticized the myth of careerism that assumes that most people in the curia are angling for a step up the ladder. “Nobody applies to work in the Vatican and most have no idea how they got there,” he said. Some people do make a career out of working there, but most rotate out after five years or so.
He also dismissed the popular view that cardinals are “jockeying or scheming to become pope.”
Cardinals are “true believers,” he said, who regard the Pope as the Successor of Peter. Thus, they know the saintly requirements for the job and are very aware of their own humanity.
And “grubby human reasons” also come into play, he said. Cardinals know being pope is “a tough gig,” and a “life sentence,” that requires you to be a living saint, CEO of one of the largest organizations in the world, and a representative of the whole Christian family, “a bone-crushing impossibility.”
I like to keep articles like this handy for those days when you finish the lesson early and need something to fill five minutes. The kids always find this stuff interesting and informative and it leads to great questions and discussion that otherwise would be too practical to ever be considered part of the curriculum. Another homerun for John Allen!
By admin, on October 12th, 2011
The historian Eusebius wrote that Origen castrated himself. So when I teach Origen I always mention that fact because, well, it’s interesting! So during the test last week, the seniors were asked to identify Origen in a few sentences. One whippersnapper asked if could draw a diagram for Origen. We all started snickering.
Ummm. No.
By admin, on July 31st, 2011
Wishing all of our Jesuit brothers a happy feast day today, here’s another joke:
A Dominican and a Jesuit were arguing about whether the Dominicans or the Jesuits were more favored by God. Finally, they decided that the only one who could settle the matter was God. So they prayed, the heavens opened up, and a piece of paper came fluttering down. When they picked it up, this is what it said,
My children,
Please stop quarreling about such absurd and trivial matters.
Sincerely,
God, O.P.
[Source]
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