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Archives for 2015
New Evangelists Monthly – May 2015, Issue #29
Saturday, May 2, 2015 A.D. Leave a Comment
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Resources: Convert Journal Audio Library
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 A.D. Leave a Comment
A new feature of Convert Journal is a curated library of brief audio clips, each focused on a single topic. The clips are excerpts from Catholic radio shows of top apologists. I listen to a lot of these shows and come across exceptional responses to callers’ questions and comments. The shows are then saved, I extract just the clip, then add it to the library for your convenience.
One of my favorite apologists is convert Dr. David Anders of Called to Communion. The CJ audio library is therefore launched with 43 clips from him. Those initial topics are:
- Are Only Catholics Saved?
- Assurance of Salvation (#1)
- Assurance of Salvation (#2)
- Baptism and Justification
- Catholic Church
- Catholic Social Teaching
- Eucharistic Belief
- Good Person
- Holy Matrimony
- Homosexual Marriage
- How Are We Saved
- In Virtro Fertilization
- Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Justification
- Male Priesthood
- Man Woman Marriage
- Marriage in Heaven
- Mary Perpetual Virginity
- Mary’s Predestination
- Mass Liturgies
- Must Priests Marry
- Nature of God
- Nature of Mass
- Not Baptized and Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Once Saved
- Penal Substitution vs. Sacrifice
- Praying to Saints
- Presuppositionalism
- Priesthood
- Purgatory (#1)
- Purgatory (#2)
- Relationship with God
- Sacred Tradition
- Salvation Views
- Salvation thru the Church
- Scientism Confession the Dead
- Sign of the Cross
- The Good News
- The Orthodox
- The Sabbath
- Unbloody Sacrifice
- Upon This Rock
- Why Mass is a Sacrifice
I highly recommend these! Just listen to one (they are only a few minutes long) and I bet you will be hooked. Go ahead, which topic in that list do you have questions about or an interest in?
The library is listed under the Archive tab as one of my special projects and appears as a “badge” in my sidebar. Go there now!
7 Quick Takes Friday (set #169)
Friday, April 24, 2015 A.D. Leave a Comment
This week: The Benedictine Monks of Norcia have a new Marian chant CD. Exploring “free will” and the nature of the human soul. Jeff Harris recalls Bishop Fulton Sheen’s words on the soul. Another Chosen preview video, this time on the Sacrament of Baptism. Lumen Entertainment’s short video on the altar rail. Lutheran Satire meets Mormon missionaries. Some interviews with young voters.
The Benedictine Monks of Norcia have a new Marian chant CD. Amazon (probably De Montfort Music, the producer) describes it thus:
Inspiring, beautiful music of Chant at it’s very best – from Italy by The Monks of Norcia. BENEDICTA: Marian Chant from Norcia is the title for this new recording of 33 tracks of Gregorian chant, including favorite Marian antiphons such as “Regina Caeli” and “Ave Regina Caelorum” but also previously unrecorded chant versions of responsories and a piece originally composed by the monks.
Frank Pastore looks at the nature of “free will” for Prager University. This is good stuff, essentially exposing the human soul as distinct from the body’s biological machine.
Speaking of the human soul, Jeff Harris at Sword of Peter recalls Venerable Fulton Sheen’s words:
Sarah Swafford talks about symbols and baptism. This is a preview video from the Ascension Press Chosen faith formation course.
Skiff and AJ continue to explore the interior of a church. In their latest episode (#4), the look at the altar rail. They really only touch on what it is, not why it is important. Research this and when your parish renovates, ask that it be put back.
Lutheran Satire meets Mormon missionaries:
It is amazing how many people, particularly young people, want to use their vote to “make history” vs. choosing the best candidate. In the next presidential election, the best candidate may or may not be black, white, Hispanic, male, female, whatever. Voting for them because of these physical traits is just as bad as voting against them for any such trait.
Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was begun by Jennifer Fulwiler and is now continued by Kelly Mantoan. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Kelly for hosting this project!
Elsewhere: R.I.P. – LCWR
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 A.D. Leave a Comment
The saga is finally over and while they aren’t dead yet – last rites have been given. I am speaking of the US LCWR, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Beginning under Pope Benedict and continued under Pope Francis, a 7 year effort had been undertaken to return them to the fold. Last week, that effort was abandoned without any significant healing of the LCWR. In all likelihood they are too far gone to be saved.
The LCWR is one of 2 organizations representing religious women in the United States. The other, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) representing faithful Catholic women religious, is solidly loyal to the Magisterium, usually habited and often living in community. Their members are YOUNG, VIBRANT and in GROWING orders such as the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, Sisters of Life, Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara, Discalced Carmelite Nuns and so many more.
The LCWR in contrast is old, still living a ’60s interpretation of the Vatican II “spirit” (“spirit” = what they wished it said), heavily involved in liberal political causes and severely lacking in vocations. Their members have been known for giving grave scandal such as escorting women into abortion mills, strong support for women’s ordination to the priesthood, backing “gay marriage,” promotion of new age spirituality, radical feminism, publicly opposing and undermining their bishops, protests against the Church and all manner of liberal political activism. Orders such as the Sinsinawa Dominicans, Loretto Community and Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart.
The liberal media and large political donors (ref: Nuns on the Bus) have frequently used the LCWR. They portrayed the Church in every bad light they could manufacture and the LCWR rescue effort as “punishing nuns”. The media will now have one less avenue of attack open to them. Liberal media have widely hailed this as a great victory. It’s not. In about 10 years or so the LCWR will be mostly gone as their already aged members die-out unreplaced. It is sad what has happened to these once great religious communities but it has been in the making for decades. The bright spot remains the CMSWR, founded as a faithful alternative to the LCWR and who is everything the LCWR is not.
Officially, Rome has put the best possible spin on this. The language is that the LCWR has “accepted Vatican reforms,” but the reality is oversight has ended with the LCWR somewhat promising to maybe do better. No substantive changes have been made in the LCWR. Instead, there are only reports and findings. No wonder the liberal press is all over this as a big victory against the Church. A typical analysis comes from Bustle:
The move isn’t necessarily a surprise. Pope Francis has been much more, shall we say, chill than his predecessor, and much more focused on the Church’s mission to serve the poor and lowly rather than on maintaining doctrinal purity. And given that nuns have historically been rather proactive when it comes to tending the sick, educating children, and generally doing good things for the community, it makes sense he’d be inclined to let them go about their business, even if they might be affected by the dreaded “feminist spirit.”
Because there’s also the fact that nuns have historically been pretty badass. They haven’t just sat by and meekly tended children and nursed the sick and fed the poor – they’ve also advocated on behalf of the people they try to help. Nuns have participated in momentous social movements, like the Civil Rights Movement. Some even openly support abortion rights. There are tons of badass nuns around today, like this one, or these ones, or these. In fact, some of the issues behind the most recent investigation were perceived stances on things like the all-male priesthood, birth control, sexuality, and the centrality of Jesus to the faith that differed from the official Catholic teachings. Can you say badass”
And now it seems the sisters will be able to continue going about their work in peace. So, three cheers for nuns!
Not recommended, but if you must, the entire piece is Vatican Halts Investigation of American Nuns For “Feminist Spirit,” So Score This Victory In The Lady Column!. (Note: its lead image is a stock photo of young habited Brazilian sisters, not an image of actual US LCWR members). There are many, many similar analyses in the MSM.
More useful is Father Zuhlsdorf’s piece: Of the LCWR and the end of the CDF “crackdown”.
For background see my piece American women religious, Fr. Z’s Nuns Gone Wild: A Trip Down Memory Lane and A study of the Sinsinawa Dominicans (hint: LCWR). Read and weep.
7 Quick Takes Friday (set #168)
Friday, April 17, 2015 A.D. Leave a Comment
This week: The true road to happiness. The problem of suffering. Can you be good without God? What is “Cruciform”? The fruits of a diversity focus above all else in academia. Selective media outrage. Scraping away the mold.
How many self-help books have been written on the road to happiness? There are so many theories. Everyone has their own take, but so many paths lead away from it.
Fr. Mark Toups addresses the problem of suffering. This is a preview video from the Ascension Press Chosen faith formation course.
Atheists often claim adherence to a moral code. Is it possible to be “good” without God? Who determines what “good” is?
In their third episode, Skiff and AJ (Lumen Entertainment’s What’s What In the Church animated characters) figure-out what Cruciform is:
America’s colleges and universities are rife with racism, sexism and homophobia — or so many are told. It’s a lie and it is costing you and your college-bound offspring a fortune to maintain. Heather MacDonald explains this oft-told claim for Prager University.
Jeff Harris at Sword of Peter captures the hypocrisy of the media:
Finally, from the safe food supply desk here at Convert Journal we have this story. Mold – just scrape it off… you know, the bit that grows on fruits and vegetables. Some mold is beneficial and it’s just on the surface, right?
Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was begun by Jennifer Fulwiler and is now continued by Kelly Mantoan. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Kelly for hosting this project!
