Useful Books I Keep At Hand

I see many people online asking about the best way to begin to learn the Catholic faith. I looked over my shoulder to the stack of books I keep at hand nearly all the time, even when I must dig through piles of books, these three stay on top: The frog helps to prevent other books from being placed on top to annoy me when I reach for my Bible.  That is THE DIDACHE BIBLE put out by Ignatius Press in partnership with the Midwest Theological Forum. The translation is the RSV-CE, considered by many Catholic scholars to be one … Continue reading

One Mom’s Search for Kindergarten Social Activities

What a difficult decision! I want more good adult influences on my Kindergartener, and reinforcement of her Catholicism. The main groups suggested by other home school moms are Girl Scouts (GS), American Heritage Girls (AHG), and the Little Flowers.  The last has no group here. Leaving Girl Scouts and American Heritage Girls as the sole options at this time. Girl Scouting, at the national level, holds many positions and alliances with which I do not agree. I will leave the listing of them up to other persons. On the up side, the local troop is run by Catholic Moms, meets … Continue reading

Review of Magnificat magazine: Depth of devotionals in a practical package.

Magnificat  is a monthly magazine of daily devotionals for Catholics published Yonkers, NY. The issue I have in my hand is the April issue with a special supplement included for Holy Week. My first impression is positive, the paper cool and smooth in my hand, the pages easy to flip, the text easy on the eyes, and the size just right to keep handy. There is a richness to the material that feeds the soul. The cover art is lovely and a commentary on that art is found near the back of each issue. A brief greeting from the editor … Continue reading

Why Catholic?

 “Why be Catholic?  The dogma is so narrow and limiting.  Catholicism denies other ways of living even exist! It is so bigoted.” –anonymous To which I responded,  “We are freed by the dogmas to live in light and not in darkness. This freedom is available to anyone courageous enough to embrace Christ. Truth is GOOD. We know there are many other ways to live- but we refuse to accept less than the GOOD which God has given us through Jesus. Why should anyone prefer darkness to light? We choose light, and hope others will choose it too.” I find it … Continue reading

First Causes of a Catholic/Orthodox Crisis

Today, over at LifesiteNews, I read a very very good post by a priest who sadly had to close their elementary school. It is an excellent article about how most parishes have contracepted themselves nearly out of existence and then people object to schools and parishes closing. This good man has written an article for discussion that is worthy of discussion. Here is a bit from the article: In my January 2010 letter to my bishop asking his permission to close our school, I wrote: Bishop, it is with a heavy heart that I request this of you. As you … Continue reading

THE WAY a movie about living

THE WAY, “Written and directed by Emilio Estevez, THE WAY was filmed entirely in France and Spain along The Way of St. James, also known as “El Camino de Santiago.” ” [from the back of the DVD case], stars Martin Sheen, father of the director/writer Emelio Estevez.  Its a family affiar of a film including cameos of several members of Martin Sheen’s family. I LOVED this movie about a grieving father, a fallen away Catholic, who walks the Way for his son.  The movie included some interesting people, each struggling with their own pain, who join the main character along … Continue reading

Style, Sex and Substance: a review

I almost didn’t read Style, Sex and Substance because the title seemed flippant. On the other hand, I won’t readily forget the title!  Hallie Lord selected chapters (submitted by women bloggers, editors and writers) which were edifyingly about women struggling to live their vocations.  I found this to be a very effective book. All 10 ladies who wrote chapters for this book touched my heart deeply. I laughed, cried, and found myself making new commitments to aspects of my vocation that I had neglected.  I found this spirituality applied to everyday lives an effective way to communicate the importance of … Continue reading

No Compromise

George Weigel write a most excellent article titled, NO COMPROMISE, that sums up the entire attack by our government on our religious liberty. “We are not allowed to place the things of God on the altar of Caesar, Non possumus! [We cannot!].” — Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński “Indeed, this is not about the Church wanting to force anybody to do anything; it is, instead, about the federal government forcing the Church . . . to act against Church teachings.” — “United for Religious Freedom” The battle against evil in the spiritual realm is manifesting itself in the material realm through the … Continue reading