Advent

            




For the First Sunday of Advent Fathers Whitehead and Hanvey are looking at Carlo Crivelli’s 1486 painting ‘The Annunciation with Saint Emidius’. - Podcast



For the Second Sunday of Advent, Fathers Whitehead and Hanvey are looking at 'The Visitation of the Virgin to Saint Elizabeth’ crafted around 1515 from the Workshop of the Master. - Podcast



For the Third Sunday of Advent Fathers Whitehead and Hanvey are looking at 'The Birth of Saint John the Baptist Predella Panel' by Giovanni di Paolo, painted in 1454. - Podcast



For the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Fathers Whitehead and Hanvey looked at 'The Nativity at Night' by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, painted in 1490. - Podcast







United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Advent Season

The First Christian Art and its Early Developments - Lord Richard Harries

2015 Magnificat Advent Companion





Free Salesian Online Course for Advent









Advent is our "personal journey toward a meeting...with God" - Alfred Delp 
















"St. Joseph is an important figure in the Catholic Church, best known as Mary’s husband and Jesus’ earthly father. This collection provides an in-depth look at Joseph’s life, starting with his birth and studying his iconic role in the Church as the head of the Holy Family..." - Logos.com


Additional Resources





"The role of the laity is to sanctify the world." - Bishop Robert Barron





Published: 11.30.2013
Updated: 12.08.2013; 11.30.2014; 12.11.2014; 11.29.2015

Religious Freedom - Politics 2016








Until the Whole World Hears









"[T]he Church, 'cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.'" - Pope Francis

bit.ly/OSV_Guide_to_Catholic_Voting

@HillaryClinton & @realDonaldTrump





"Brunnel Donald-Kyei of the Trump National Diversity Coalition on
the Clinton campaign emails mocking Catholics and evangelicals." - Fox Business, 10.13.2016




Priests for Life: Comparison of the 2016 Republican and Democratic Platforms






Father Morris: Clinton camp mocking Catholics is 'bigotry'





Fr. Frank Pavone on Voting and Defending Life

A Comparison of the 2016 Republican and Democratic Platforms - Priests for Life





SaveSave

Parenting Teens



















"Families are much more than groups of individuals. They have their own goals and aspirations. They also are places where every child and adult should feel that he or she is special and be encouraged to pursue his or her own dreams; a place where everyone's individuality is permitted to flourish." - HealthyChildren.org





"Parents' respect and affection are expressed by the care and attention they devote to bringing up their young children and providing for their physical and spiritual needs. As the children grow up, the same respect and devotion lead parents to educate them in the right use of their reason and freedom."  - Catechism of the Catholic Church


Resources

  • Best Catholic Apps to Change Your Life - Pinterest
  • "Does Your Teen Want More Privileges? Sign a Contract First" - Amy Morin
  • Depression - National Alliance on Mental Illness
  • Family Honor - "Family Honor will prepare and empower parents, the primary educators of their children, and church leaders to evangelize about the truth and meaning of God’s gift of sexuality."
  • How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk - Audible
  • Parenting - "When parents take the time to learn and grow in their own faith, they can pass valuable treasures onto their children and build a family centered on love." - CatholicsComeHome.org
  • "Parenting Your Catholic Teen" - TheFaithExplained
  • Positive Parenting with a Plan - "All families are uniquely beautiful in their own way. Dr Johnson seeks to help families become as vibrant, functional, and healthy as possible." - Family-Rules.com
  • Surviving Your Adolescents - "A registered clinical psychologist, Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D. has worked with children, adults and families for over 35 years." - 1-2-3 Magic Parenting
  • "The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction" - National Institute of Mental Health
  • "When Teens Know One Parent Will Say Yes" - ForYourMarriage.org




The heavens declare the glory of God

NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STSCI)














The heavens declare the glory of God: the firmament proclaims the works of his hands.  Day unto day pours forth speech; night unto night whispers knowledge.Psalms 19:1-3




Without faith in a Creator God, one who looks at His universe and declares it Good, how can you justify the belief that this universe is worth studying; indeed, that the universe even makes enough sense to be able to be studied? - Guy Consolmagno (as in Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist).

Modern scholars reject the old idea the Catholic Church was nothing but an opponent of the sciences.  You would be considered almost beyond help, if you continue to argue that to a professional historian of science.Thomas E. Woods

Significant updates in rational approaches to God have been achieved...in physics and cosmology. - Robert J. Spitzer




1 Corinthians 15:12-19




"Welcome aboard, your Holiness..."
 - Pope Benedict XVI Greets Shuttle, Station Crew (2011)






Fr. Barron on Atheism and Philosophy



God: Supreme Being or Imaginary Friend?



The Great Debate: Has Science Refuted Religion?



"Too often God as creator is overlooked..." (Fr. Tito) in favor of Modern Atheism.

Authors and Speakers





Research


Videos




Christ is the centre of creation, Christ is the centre of his people and Christ is the centre of history. - Pope Francis 








What Contemporary Physics & Philosophy Tell Us About Nature & God - Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, Ph.D. & Prof. Bruce Gordon, Ph.D.(Discovery Institute)


Published Originally: 05.03.12
Updated: 08.02.2014; 01.22.2015

Tongues as of Fire



"When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim" (Acts 2:1-4).







Pope at Pentecost: Newness, Harmony and Mission

"Today we contemplate and re-live in the liturgy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit sent by the risen Christ upon his Church; an event of grace which filled the Upper Room in Jerusalem and then spread throughout the world..." (Read more)

Pope Francis calls Movements to Rome for Pentecost Vigil (Podcast)


Fr. Robert Barron: Pentecost Sermons



Logos Catholic Bible Software: The Path to Your Life On Fire











Pray-as-you-go is a proposal that calls on the inner life.
Get your personal listening gospel here: Android App



Divine Mercy













Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.-  Psalm 90:14



Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC: Mary's Gift of Mercy:
The Second Greatest Story Ever Told















Published: 04.27.2014. Updated: 04.11.2015; 05.03.2016

The Solemnity of the Ascension














"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." -  Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:14-20




"What do atheists believe happens when we die? You are just no longer there..." - Hemant Mehta, FriendlyAthesist.com




"Christ in his human body is leaving the world for the last time...The Ascension is the final leg of the Paschal Mystery: Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into heaven (as mentioned in the Eucharist Prayer of the Mass). It is not until Jesus ascends and returns to His Father that His act of Redemption is completed." - CatholicCulture.org



"In the silence of the heart, you speak..." - Audrey Assad





Fr Barron comments on Why the Ascension of the Lord Matters - Word on Fire




The Ascension of Christ Gives us Joy and Confidence





Psalm 108.1




Published 05.29.2014.  Updated 05.07.2016

Who is Jesus?




Fr. Robert Barron



"Belief in Jesus, as God [is a] myth"

Atheists are called to "Make the decisions for the rest of your lives."

For, if the dead are not raised, neither is Christ; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is pointless and you have not, after all been released from your sins.  In addition, those who have fallen asleep in Christ are utterly lost. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are of all people the most pitiable... If the dead are not going to be raised, then let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead.
I Corinthians 15:16-19; 33

Even when we have everything, we have a deep awareness that points to the need for more.
The New Atheists, Fr. R. Barron


Pierced for Our Transgressions

"We've been able to reconstruct the text of the The New Testament with about 99% accuracy... It is the best attested book in ancient history."
William Lane Craig: The Evidence for Jesus' Resurrection, 2011. 1:27:25.

"The fact of Christ's Resurrection is attested by more than 500 eyewitnesses, whose experience, simplicity, and uprightness of life rendered them incapable of inventing such a fable."
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  New Advent.









"On Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary.  Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption...[W]e contemplate our own death to sin in the Death of our Lord" (Catholic.org).

Paraclete Press



Updated: 04.02.2015; 03.19.2016

Jubilee of Mercy






Pope Francis during the general audience explains why he convened the Jubilee of Mercy


"Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly
Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved...[read more ]"
- Prayer of Pope Francis for the Jubilee




"We should not stop praying for [dialogue among religions] and with those who think differently" - Pope Francis


Resources
  • Can You Forgive? Do you know how to forgive others and yourself? - Psychology Today
  • Confession
    • The Practical Wisdom of St. John Vianney: "Confession Part 1 and Part 2"

Apps / Tech.


"Find the strength to embrace God's Mercy..." - Cardinal Donald Wuerl









RealMenPrayTheRosary.org


Transformation: High schoolers, college students, graduates...
10,000 lives changed - Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS)



"Great God Almighty, He done changed me..." - MercyMe (Lyrics)




Who is this child? He is God!


O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear Christ the Lord.
Alleluia!





"Jesus compels a choice, in the way no other founder does...[The claims of Jesus] are the unique treasure of Christianity...If Jesus is who he says he is, I must give my whole life to him..." (Robert E. Barron).








"We hold on to things outside of us instead of concentrating on what is within that keep us noisy and agitated. We run from experience to experience like children...and  wonder how serenity has eluded us... Dwelling on inessentials and, worse, filling the minds of others with them distract from the great theme of our lives.  We must learn to distinguish between what is real and what is not" (J. Chittister, The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century, p. 290).


Published 12.24.2012
Republished 12.24.2013; 12.24.2014; 01.03.2016