Archive for December, 2008
Glory to God in the Highest!
Thursday, December 25th, 2008From all of the staff at Catholics United for the Faith, we wish you and yours a blessed Christmas!
On this beautiful feast day, a word from Pope St. Leo the Great (found in the Lay Witness archives):
This is the day our Savior was born: What a joy for us, my beloved! This is no season […]
Magnificent
Monday, December 22nd, 2008Jeff Ziegler suggests Botticelli’s Madonna of the Magnificat for our contemplation as we approach Christmas. Here’s just one beautiful detail: the Christ Child’s hand on top of His mother’s hand, as she writes the Magnificat.
Jeff points us to the Web Gallery of Art, which has the full image, as well as some notes on the […]
Persecution and Inspiration
Friday, December 19th, 2008You may have heard about the persecution of Christians in Orissa, India, that has been going on since late August. As WorldNetDaily summarizes:
The violence began after Christians were blamed for the death of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on Aug. 24. They continue to be persecuted even though Maoists openly admitted to murdering Saraswati.
Hindus have […]
Sex, Violence, Teens, and the Media
Thursday, December 18th, 2008We’ve long suspected it. With some common sense and observation, you might come to a similar conclusion: The media can–and does–negatively affect our children.
(I’m reminded of the TV show my parents let me and my siblings watch–until they realized that we were picking up bad habits from the way the children on the show behaved.)
The […]
Now That’s a Christmas Tree
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008The Vatican is decorating for Christmas. That includes a HUGE Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square. The AP reports:
The Vatican says the 109-foot (33-meter) red spruce from Austria’s Piesting Valley is the tallest since Pope John Paul II started the tradition of setting up a tree in the square in 1982. . . .
It is […]
From the Vatican: New Instruction on Bioethics
Friday, December 12th, 2008Today the Vatican released Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of a Person; opens as PDF in new window), an instruction from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on bioethics. Dignitas Personae is a “sequel” to the 1987 instruction Donum Vitae (On Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of […]
ERP Author Benjamin Wiker on EWTN
Friday, December 5th, 2008We wanted to give you a heads-up: Benjamin Wiker, co-author with Scott Hahn of Answering the New Atheism, will be on Franciscan University Presents this Sunday, Dec. 7, at 10:00 PM. (Franciscan University Presents airs on EWTN.) He’ll be talking about the New Atheism and discussing its claims and flaws. If you haven’t brushed up […]
Advancing a Heterosexual Agenda
Thursday, December 4th, 2008There has been extensive upheaval following the passage of California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. In the wake of the election, some supporters of same-sex marriage have vandalized churches, made threats, boycotted and harassed businesses whose owners or employees contributed to the “Yes on 8″ campaign.
As Christians, we’re not going to respond […]
Family Resources for Advent and Christmas
Monday, December 1st, 2008Over at CUF.org, we’ve collected some family activities and blessings, along with a few great articles, to help you have a fruitful Advent and a blessed Christmas.
Advent and Christmas Crafts and Activities