In this ironic age, in which everything is a riff on something else, it’s hard to let go of the cynic and just enjoy something beautiful and good. In this case, a lonely-hearted traditional-style country music love song from a kid who isn’t wearing the hat and overalls as a costume. Those are the clothes Matt Curley wears when he works behind a horse-drawn plow. (He wears them for other less glamorous farm chores as well.) The montage looks like a home video shot... Read more
In response to my post the other day, I had a few comments from friends in the catechetical world. On the topic of good resources for teens, Charity Horinek writes: When Mark and I taught high school for six years, we used these books, and *I* think they are awesome: We did the first three in three-year cycles, then repeated, but used the fourth as a framework for discussing issues of morality that arose quite frequently since the teens in our group... Read more
New book out from one of my college friends* and her trusty colleague: Exploring Southern Appalachian Forests: An Ecological Guide to 30 Great Hikes in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia by Stephanie B. Jeffries and Thomas R. Wentworth. A few excerpts from an interview with the authors: CR: What makes your “ecological guide” different from other hiking books? TW: Many other hiking books are focused on the details of a trail as a way to get from point A to point... Read more
From my inbox: Hello! This is John McNichol You may or may not remember me, but if you are receiving this email, you and I have had positive dealings in the past. Please help me raise money for Our Lady of Lourdes School Endowment Fund. The fund is intended to provide financial stability for the students’ education. This page is intended for Susanna, Chris (red Shirt) and James (Hobbes costume) to help continue their excellent education at a wonderful school, Our Lady... Read more
A friend asked for a high school textbook recommendation, and it came to my attention she might not be the only one with a such a need. My go-to textbook series for teens is the Midwest Theological Forum’s Didache Parish Edition series. I’ve looked through a handful of these, and am pleased to report they hit that perfect balance between approachable and readable, but scholarly and never, ever, dumbed-down. I like the Parish Edition because it’s manageable for weekly one-hour get-togethers, but... Read more
The Synod for the Family is coming up, and one of the vexing problems it hopes to address is the situation of Catholic bigamists and polygamists. Vocabulary review: Digamy is the act of marrying again after one’s spouse has died, and is a topic that comes up among the early Church Fathers with respect to clergy marriage. It’s a non-issue for the laity (us normal people who aren’t ordained), but it’s fun to say out loud, so everyone should know... Read more
It is with great joy that I pass onto you the news of Dr. Greg Popcak’s latest book release When Divorce Is Not an Option: How to Heal Your Marriage and Nurture Everlasting Love. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my wish list. There’s a huge void in the marriage literature between the cliffs of Marriage is Wonderful! and Better Luck Next Time! I’m glad to see Dr. Greg making a stab at filling that chasm. You can read more about it... Read more
Linking around on human rights & Catholic social teaching: Brandon @ Siris debunks a few myths about the Church “changing” it’s teaching on usury. Summary: The answer is still no and will always be no, but maybe that word doesn’t mean what you think it means. H/T to Darwin for the link. Nestle, Cargill & ADM get to go to court in California on charges of using slave labor. Thank Simcha Fisher for pointing me to that one. I just... Read more
Why are some secrets worth dying for? The Jesuit Post blog has an excellent piece up on the case from Louisiana headed for the Supreme Court. If you read nothing else, go read that. Regular readers will recall I commented on similar lines in my review of I Confess earlier this summer. They say hard cases make bad law. Hard cases also force us to think seriously about what makes good law. Let’s look at possible outcomes if the Supreme Court... Read more
One of the reigning errors of our insecure, perpetually-offended culture is the Approval One is the Rejection of All Others fallacy. So allow me to be perfectly clear: My love of homeschooling is in no way a rejection of our Catholic schools. Not for a moment. Those who pay attention in real life know that I put quite a lot of effort into steering families towards their local Catholic schools whenever I can.* Thus in the busyness of getting the new... Read more
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