CERC Weekly Update

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New Resources     Gird your loins  - Father Peter John Cameron, O.P. - Magnificat  Matthew the Evangelist, in the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent, introduces us to John the Baptist.     I'm a Muslim But Here's Why I Admire  the Catholic Church  - Tamer Nashef - Strange Notions  I have not written this essay to whitewash Catholic history. My aim was to express admiration for the prodigious achievements that Catholicism and the Catholic Church deserve credit for — credit that is not often given to it due to deep-seated bias and firmly established myths.     Father Edward Dowling, S.J.  - Heather King - Magnificat  His funeral was packed. From society matrons in mink coats to Skid Row drunks, people came from around the country to pay homage.     The official trailer for Martin Scorsese's "Silence" is breathtaking  - Matthew Becklo -Aleteia  Few films this year have been as highly anticipated as Martin Scorsese's "Silence."     Is Your Child Getting Enough  Vitamin N?  - John Rosemond - Prager University  I want to tell you about an essential vitamin you've probably never heard of.     Anthony Esolen Faces the P.C.  Onslaught  - Alexandra DeSanctis - National Review Online  Is Providence College the latest in a line of Catholic universities to demean authentically Catholic speech in favor of modernity's divisive vision of diversity?     Ideology is the Enemy of True Faith  - Anthony Esolen - Crisis Magazine  Events at the college where I teach have me thinking about the ersatz religion known as ideology.     The curious saga of the salamander  - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor  In the winter months, it would be salutary for people young and old to put down their iPods and other electronic devices and tell each other stories.     1st Sunday of Advent  - Father John Horgan - CERC  This is a dynamic time for us. A time to advance in grace.

Editorials of Interest Pope Francis: To All Who Read This Apostolic Letter, Mercy and Peace - Vatican Nothing of what a repentant sinner places before God's mercy can be excluded from the embrace of his forgiveness. Pope Francis: We all have doubts, but living the faith helps - CNA "Doubts that touch the faith, in a positive sense, are a sign that we want to know God." Pope Francis: Drugs a 'new form of slavery' - CNA "Drugs are a wound that traps many people in the networks. They are victims have lost their freedom to fall into slavery; slavery of a dependency we can call chemistry." Latest Papal Interview - Vatican Insider Francis talks about the fruits of the Jubilee, the relationship between mercy and justice, the "temptations" a Pope faces, the "grace" of humor, and the secret to managing one's commitments without getting stressed. Why does Pope Francis want us to watch the movie Babette's Feast? - Aleteia The Holy Father's favorite film challenges us to look outside of ourselves in service to mercy. Bishop Athanasius Schneider's open letter on "prophetic voice of four Cardinals" - Catholic World Report The "Four Cardinals only did their basic duty as bishops and cardinals, which consists in actively contributing so that the revelation transmitted through the Apostles might be guarded sacredly and might be faithfully interpreted." Cardinal Cupich is Mistaken: Synod Fathers Did Reject Communion for Remarried Divorcees - NC Register Critics argue that to say two-thirds of synod fathers supported the proposition is therefore very misleading. Martin Scorsese's Silence Set for Advance Screening at Vatican - Variety Martin Scorsese's passion project Silence, about Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in 17th-century Japan, is set to be screened at the Vatican this month. Attention priests, acolyte trainers and liturgists: Your new resource is online. - Rorate Caeli The new Romanitas Press website offers a wealth of resources for the traditional Mass. Fellow Trump Critics, Maybe Try a Little Listening - NY Times I've been thinking a lot about the best imaginable Trump voter. Victorious but Wary, Pro-Life Movement Views the Post-Election Landscape - NC Register Pro-life leaders say the Republican sweep gives them an opportunity to roll back legal abortion — but others warn the movement needs to expand heavily at the cultural level. France bans video showing happy Down syndrome children - Aleteia The State Counsel said that allowing people with Down syndrome to smile was "inappropriate" because people's expression of happiness was "likely to disturb the conscience of women who had lawfully made different personal life choices." Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend on It. - NY Times In a capitalist economy, the market rewards things that are rare and valuable. Social media use is decidedly not rare or valuable. Every Campus Has a Safe Space Already - First Things It's called the chapel. Have Public Universities Lost Their Focus? - The Atlantic The problem with higher education is that colleges are operating more like businesses and less like a social good. Mea Maxima Culpa: Who Am I to Judge? - The Catholic Thing Impulsive judgments, directed by uncritically inherited prejudices, formed by one's own narrow experience, may themselves be manifestations of unjustified rigidity, even when they claim to be advancing the cause of human liberation. Reason and the Existence of God - Public Discourse Are traditional arguments for the existence of God at least suspect — if not false — in the light of what modern philosophy tells us about the limits of human understanding? The strategies of Satan, Part 2: The "Ahab" tactic - Aleteia Second in a series on spiritual warfare: The satanic attack that exploits our passivity, weakness and shame. The Inspirational Trey Gowdy Speech You Have To See - Daily Wire "I am asking you to live a quiet life of conviction and virtue and actually live out what you profess to believe. If you can do that, you will be a leader, you will be persuasive, and your generation will be the one that gets our country back on the right path." Talks to Heal Catholic Rift in China Gain Momentum Under Francis - New York Times Pope Francis has spoken of his admiration for Chinese culture. He has greeted a delegation from China, accepting a silk imprint of an ancient inscription about Christianity. Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman and St. Justin Martyr, pray for us