177

Christ’s Commission and Obama’s Mandate: A Teachable Moment

The big news in American Catholic circles is the Obama administration’s “contraceptive mandate.” This latest unethical intrusion of big governmnet stipulates that employers, including religious institutions, provide their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and specific abortifacients such as Ella and Plan B.

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle summarized the situation: “If this unprecedented aggression against the religious freedom rights of Catholics is allowed to stand, then virtually all Catholic institutions — colleges, universities, secondary schools, hospitals, charities, service providers, fraternal orders, and advocacy organizations — will be forced to pay for procedures, devices, and chemicals abhorrent to the consciences of Catholics.”

by Brother André Marie February 4th, 2012

College President’s Letter to NH Legislators on HHS Mandate


Brian Kelly

The following is an open letter that Dr. William Fahey sent to New Hampshire’s senators and Congressman Guinta voicing his outrage over President Obama and the HHS  mandate requiring submission of all employers to provide contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortions under so-called health insurance for employees.


Restore Communion On The Tongue Only


Brother André Marie

Two priests, Fr. Andrew Wise and Fr. John Speekman, have started a petition effort on their blog called “Restore Communion On The Tongue Only.” They, and the 2484 (so far) signatories to their petition, are asking the Pope to restore the ancient and traditional Roman practice of reception of Holy Communion that was obligatory until Pope Paul VI approved the 1969 Vatican Instruction, Memoriale Domini.


Color Flyer of Chapel Project


View the new color PDF flyer on our IHM Chapel building project.

chapel_color_pdf.jpg


Brother André Marie to Speak in Louisiana


The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

On Wednesday, February 8, 2012, Brother André Marie will be speaking at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Lacombe, Louisiana. The title of his talk is “Penance and the Conversion of America.” It will begin at 6:30 PM.

The talk is sponsored by the Mysterium Fidei Latin …


Mystic Monk Coffee



Obama Says Social Policies Motivated by Bible and Teaching of Jesus


Brian Kelly

When most of our foreign aid goes to the militarization of bogus allies and population reduction of African nations through so-called health care, one is again stunned to hear the president ignore these facts and pretend that the purpose of foreign aid is to help feed the poor and the refugees and provide medicines for the sick.


Temporary Fruits of Ecumenical Reflection


Brother André Marie

From the Holy Father’s Address to the Participants of the Plenary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:
Also the study documents produced by the various ecumenical dialogues have great relevance. Such texts cannot be ignored, because they are an important, though temporary, fruit of the common reflection matured throughout the years. Nevertheless, they are to be recognized


Obama and Administration Wage War Against Pro-Lifers Freedom of Conscience


Brian Kelly

By imperial edict, and as a dark insult to pro-lifers who were preparing their annual march to the Capitol to protest Roe v Wade and the ensuing murders of the pre-born, President Obama and self-deluded “Catholic” Kathleen Sabelius of the Department of Health and Human Services  have given new meaning to the word dictatorial. Genuinely Catholic and pro-life employers have been issued an ultimatum. They have one year to decide if they will serve God or the leviathan state. What boldness! What injustice!


Is There Fight Left in Hungary?


The Philosopher

We hope so. Daniel McAdams exposes the reheated communist apparatchiks and their fellow revolutionary travelers who run the European Union, and who are trying to bring the nation of Saint Stephen to its knees. Now the Hungarians are taking to the streets to insist that their government not be cowed by the threats of a despotic EU leadership.
Are the Hungarians at it again? Fifty-six years ago Hungarians landed what was ultimately the fatal blow to Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.


Multiracial Protest against SPLC ‘Bigots’


The Philosopher

Said one black pastor to homosexual activists: “how dare you compare your wicked, deviant, immoral, self-destructive, anti-human sexual behavior to our beautiful skin color.” What merited such a lambasting? The SPLC’s smearing pro-family organizations as “hate groups” for opposing the homosexual agenda.

Wouldn’t it be good to hear Catholic priests speaking with such conviction?


Resources
Affiliated Sites

News

RSS Feed RSS Feed

Arts and Culture

The term “art” covers a broad spectrum of creativity.  In the absolute sense only God can “create,” because creation implies making something out of nothing.  Man can imitate his Creator by being creative, however it is more accurate to say that man “produces” or “makes.” In “making” (faciendo) man must work with matter that already exists.

What does the word itself mean? The schoolmen define art as “the right method of producing,” (recta ratio factibilium) in contrast to ethics or morals, which is “the right way of acting, or doing.”

The arts can be visual, as in painting and sculpture; performing, as in music and dance; or literary, as in poetry. Nowadays the term is used in a much wider sense than in past centuries. The crafts, writing, film making, photography, and other media which exhibit what is beautiful, are all styled “art” today.

Culture, on the other hand, is specific and, usually, but not always, ethnic. Father Hardon’s Catholic Dictionary defines culture as “the personality of a society.” Notice he uses the broader term “society” rather than “race” or “people.” One cannot, therefore, speak of a “nation” as having a culture, because a nation is abstract; it is the people of a nation that produce a culture. Italy does not have a culture, but Italians do. And Italians certainly have subcultures within their generic culture, as Sicilians have personal characteristics far different than Florentines.

Cultures are not created, they are “cultivated.” And that maturation often takes centuries. Is there a “Catholic” culture?  Most definitely, but it is not that of a people, but of a religion. The Incarnation of the Son of God, who was born into the Jewish culture, elevated all cultures. He who was not image able, became image able. Culture and art could now express that image ability in a thousand different ways. The best expressions make the matter that we all know, intuitively, as Catholic culture.

THE AMERICAN ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW, Feb, 1944.

THE LEONARD FEENEY OMNIBUS. A Collection of Prose and Verse Old and New. New York, Sheed and Ward, 1943. Pp. xiv + 399. $3.00. Read More »

The text comes from the Church’s sacred liturgy: it is the Benedictus antiphon at the office of Lauds for the Feast of the Circumcision.

Learn about the composer here. Read More »

Catholic Culture: Religion News Service has drawn attention to the major sacred art collection at Bob Jones University, the fundamentalist college in South Carolina that lifted its ban on interracial dating only in 2000. Read more here.

Tags: , ,

I’d like to thank Dan Guenzel, a long-time friend of Saint Benedict Center, for sending this poem for us today. Read More »

Tags:
Sep 13
The Philosopher

A Kinder, Gentler Maccabee

by September 13th, 2011

Far be it from me to question Abraham Foxman’s right to complain about Mel Gibson’s latest film venture. This is something he has every right to do. In fact, it’s how he makes his living.

But he might like to have a logician check out his press releases first:

[W]e do not argue with Mel Gibson’s right to make this film. Read More »

On the web site Taki’s Magazine, Charles Coulombe has a brief, thoughtful essay on the immigration question. In it, he summarizes the thinking of Archbishop José Gomez — his own Ordinary, since Coulombe resides in the L.A. Archdiocese. After touching on various points of view in the immigration debate, Charles favorably cites the Archbishop’s, then goes on to consider certain demographic facts that have been discussed on Catholicism.org. He does so with his usual wit: Read More »

CNA reports: Hollywood actor Matt Marsden said that young Catholics need to get involved in movie-making and other artistic ventures if they want to change the culture. Full report is here.

Tags: ,
Aug 13
Gary Potter

The Advent of a New Dark Age?

by August 13th, 2011

Many years ago, when the Catholic magazine Triumph existed and I was one of its editors, Malcolm Muggeridge stopped by our Washington offices one day. Several of us joined him for drinks on the rooftop terrace of the nearby Washington Hotel. Read More »

Tags: ,

Here is a clip from Zenit’s interview with Ray Herrmann: Meeting Ray Herrmann, a humble man of deep faith, elicits an obvious question: how does he live out his faith in what is notoriously a hedonistic and irreligious environment? “Some days are more difficult than others, I must be honest,” he replies. “But I think that through the Church and the sacraments, it’s easy really when you think about it. All the tools are there — you just have to sort of follow the Church’s teachings.” Read full story and part of the interview here.

Tags: , ,

If this trailer is any indication, Cristiada is at least an attempt to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. The URL for the film’s web site is http://www.cristiadafilm.com/.

This is a teachable moment, folks. Tell all your friends about Gary Potter’s article: Valor and Betrayal – The Historical Background and Story of the Cristeros. View the trailer: Read More »