Costanza Miriano, è un caso internazionale per i suoi libri anticonformisti sulla ‪#‎famiglia‬.

Il segreto dello straordinario potere delle donne

di Costanza Signorelli


Scrivere la recensione di un libro di Costanza Miriano non è affatto semplice. Se dovessi trovare un aggettivo per definire i suoi libri direi senz’altro che sono esplosivi. (Sarà per questo che il Catholic Herlad l’ha recentemente definita «la scrittrice cattolica più pericolosa del mondo»?). Ad ogni modo, sono esplosivi perché, pagina dopo pagina, la Miriano ti trascina nella sua vita a dir poco movimentata, e anche in quella degli altri. Ti fa conoscere un sacco di persone, ti porta in casa di amici, parenti e conoscenti e ti ci fa pure ficcare un po’ il naso. E poi ti fa ridere (tanto) e piangere (poco), riflettere e scherzare, soffrire e gioire e chi più ne ha più ne metta. Tutto questo lo fa, tendenzialmente, sempre di corsa: ha quattro figli, un solo marito (precisa lei), è giornalista, scrittrice e ha molte, moltissime altre cose da fare.

Se a tutto questo, si aggiunge il fatto che la sua ultima fatica letteraria, Quando eravamo femmine. Lo straordinario potere delle donne (Sonzogno editore), ha per tema l’universo femminile e il ruolo della donna nella società (detto in altre parole, si tratta di un libro in cui una donna parla a due donne - le sue piccole figlie - di altre donne), ebbene, capirete anche voi che riassumerne i contenuti non sia cosa facile. Ma accetto di buon grado la sfida. E siccome sono donna anch’io – dunque le cose semplici e lineari non fanno per me – partirò dalla fine.

É un libro da leggere? Assolutamente sì. Perché quando si chiude la quarta di copertina, ti rimaneaddosso una contagiosa voglia di vivere, di fare sul serio, di andare sino in fondo. Di entrare nella vita con fiducia, qualsiasi sia la tua condizione. Di imparare ad amare di più e in modo più vero tuo marito, tua moglie e chi ti è affidato. In un certo senso sì, Costanza Miriano è pericolosa, perché dice la verità. Specialmente la dice sulle questioni più “scomode”. E la verità rende l’uomo libero dal potere e dalle mode, rende l’uomo se stesso. Soprattutto, a me pare, questo suo nuovo libro racconta la verità sul rapporto tra uomo e donna. Sul loro amore e sulla verità dell’amore.

Scrive la Miriano: «Amare il destino dell’altro ogni giorno e farlo sotto le pieghe dell’abitudine è robaforte. Non è per pesi piuma, per chi è fuori allenamento, per chi si spaventa davanti alle difficoltà. Una vera storia d’amore non si arrende di fronte all’apparenza dei giorni sempre uguali, delle dinamiche che sembrano cristallizzate, della fatica che si fa a sorprendersi ancora. (…) Questi nostri cuori così limitati e fragili si confrontano con il desiderio illimitato di un amore che sia perfetto, che non si distragga né tradisca mai, che sia costante e sempre al massimo. (…). Il fatto è che un amore così nella realtà non esiste, ognuno di noi, uomo o donna, lo vuole ma nessuno di noi è capace, per quanta buona volontà ci possa mettere». Allora la questione fondamentale è capire che «il vero nome dell’amore è il perdono. Infinite volte al giorno, donne e uomini, ci dovremmo perdonare a vicenda per come siamo, cioè povere persone». E, insieme, è scoprire che «l’amore non è solo sentimento, ma è un comandamento» e che «il matrimonio si fa in tre: l’uomo, la donna e Dio».

Queste parole, nel libro, prendono carne nelle storie di tante donne (e uomini) che tutti i giorni ri-scelgono di dirsi di “sì”. Dentro alle fatiche, alle contraddizioni e alle incomprensioni, alle malattie e ai rancori. Storie di matrimoni che rifioriscono, di amori che si rinforzano in modo sorprendente, proprio quando tutto sembra esser perduto. Anche se la società intera vuol farci credere che l’amore “per sempre” sia roba da femminucce illuse, che se la fatica è troppa, allora è meglio lasciar perdere, e che poi - se addirittura si arriva a soffrire- non se ne parla proprio di continuare a stare insieme, ecco, questo libro racconta esattamente tutto il contrario. Ma si badi bene, non si parla di gente un po’ castrata e sfigata o addirittura un po’ masochista, questa è gente bella da far invidia.

Come la storia di Anna che si trova a fare i conti con la sterilità e l’impossibiltà di avere figli.

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Leggi tutto:www.lanuovabq.it

Comment procédez-vous dans votre évangélisation auprès des musulmans ? Observez-vous des conversions de l’islam au christianisme ?

Les conversions en masse dans plusieurs pays musulmans sont uniques dans l'histoire de l'islam


Les Missionnaires de la Miséricorde, accueillis par Mgr Rey dans le diocèse de Fréjus-Toulon, ont fêté leur dixième anniversaire en septembre dernier. Leur croissance les a obligés à acheter une maison en centre-ville. 

Leur fondateur et supérieur, l’abbé Loiseau, est interrogé dans La Nef. 

Extrait :


"[...] Notre communauté est encore modeste : cinq prêtres, onze séminaristes et un frère. Nous souhaitons, dans un premier temps, conforter nos lieux d’apostolat et développer une assistance variée dans nos paroisses. Les après-midi missionnaires avec les paroissiens sont un objectif important : il s'agit de missions de rue et de porte-à-porte avec des laïcs. Vous savez que notre souci est de développer la mission particulièrement auprès des musulmans. Cela demande une formation régulière sur l'islam et la création de liens d'amitié, c’est un investissement important pour nous. La création de groupes alpha (dîners missionnaires) est aussi une priorité. Vous voyez les projets sont nombreux… [...]

Je pense que la liturgie dans sa forme extraordinaire est un moyen privilégié aujourd’hui pour redonner la dimension sacrificielle et contemplative à la messe. On a trop oublié le caractère sacrificiel de la messe. Comme le disait Mgr Gamber, on a trop voulu privilégier la dimension anthropologique plutôt que la dimension théocentrique. L'homme moderne ne sera pas forcément touché par des enseignements, il a besoin du sacré pour s'élever vers Dieu. De plus, la forme extraordinaire s'inscrit dans la perspective de l'herméneutique de la continuité. En effet, le maintien de la messe traditionnelle rappelle qu’il ne peut y avoir de ruptures dans la foi et la liturgie. Cela doit être la même Église qui prie et célèbre avant ou après Vatican II : un rit millénaire nous permet de vivre cette continuité. Pour ce qui est du monde traditionaliste, je pense qu’il doit avoir une place importante dans l'Église aujourd'hui pour manifester cette continuité, son apport en liturgie et en doctrine étant capital. Mais nous avons tous un effort à réaliser pour avoir un élan missionnaire et pour travailler à l'unité suivant les perspectives de l'herméneutique de la continuité. L'enseignement du concile Vatican II à la lumière de la Tradition doit nous permettre de mieux vivre nos charismes et renouveler la vie spirituelle de nos communautés. Il est important pour la vie ecclésiale que nous soyons attentifs au renouveau missionnaire de nombreuses paroisses et communautés nouvelles. Mais il est aussi important de ne pas s'enfermer dans une réserve traditionaliste, la messe dans la forme extraordinaire s'adresse à tous, avec un souci de participation des fidèles comme le souhaitait le cardinal Ratzinger dans sa conférence de 1998 pour les dix ans d’Ecclesia Dei.

Nous sommes dans l’Année de la Miséricorde voulue par le pape François : qu’est-ce que cela signifie pour vous ?

C’est une année de grandes grâces offertes par l'Église. La Miséricorde est la spiritualité du troisième millénaire, comme le rappelait saint Jean-Paul II. L'ultime planche de salut pour l'humanité, comme le dit Notre Seigneur à sainte Faustine. Il y a donc une urgence eschatologique à annoncer au monde la Miséricorde Divine. C'est tout l'amour qui jaillit du Cœur du Christ pour l'humanité blessée par le péché. La Miséricorde est dans la continuité du culte du Sacré-Cœur avec une accentuation sur le pardon qui relève l'homme anéanti par le péché. Face aux structures de péchés et à la culture de mort, la Miséricorde divine nous apporte la délivrance et l'espérance d'une résurrection. Elle est l'ultime rempart face à la progression du mal, elle annonce le triomphe de l'amour du Christ. Le pape François touche le cœur de personnes loin de l'Église, cette année peut être l'occasion de mieux vivre le sacrement de réconciliation dans nos paroisses.

Comment procédez-vous dans votre évangélisation auprès des musulmans ? Observez-vous des conversions de l’islam au christianisme ?

Il est important de relever ce défi de la progression de l'islam en Europe. Il faut d'abord s’instruire de cette religion et prier afin que les musulmans puissent découvrir le vrai visage du Christ déformé par les textes du Coran et de la Sunna. Nous sommes dans trois villes où la population musulmane est très présente. Il nous suffit de nous promener dans la rue en habit pour que le contact puisse s'établir. Beaucoup de musulmans possèdent cette qualité de simplicité pour aborder les questions religieuses, ils n'ont pas de mauvais respect humain pour parler de Dieu en société. Nous nous rendons régulièrement dans les librairies musulmanes ainsi que dans les bars à Narguilé, le porte-à-porte reste aussi un moyen privilégié. Cette année, une famille entière nous a demandé le baptême, la personne de Jésus les a bouleversés ; un autre, c'est au cours d'une messe de Requiem que la grâce l'a touché. Il est difficile de chiffrer le nombre de demandes de baptême en France, beaucoup deviennent évangéliques d’ailleurs. Mais c'est dans les pays du Maghreb que nous assistons à des conversions en grand nombre, suite à des phénomènes mystiques comme rêver de Jésus ou de Marie. Au Maroc, les convertis sont rejetés par l'Église catholique, ils deviennent alors tous évangéliques. En Algérie et en Tunisie, ils peuvent être acceptés en petit nombre par la hiérarchie, mais ces nouveaux convertis sont souvent menacés. En tout cas, ces conversions en masse dans plusieurs pays musulmans comme en Indonésie sont uniques dans l'histoire de l'islam.

Comment analysez-vous la position de l’Église à l’égard des musulmans et notamment vis-à-vis de leur conversion ?

Souvent la hiérarchie est bloquée pour accueillir ces conversions pour trois raisons. La première c'est que l'islam interdit ces conversions, parfois sous peine de mort. La hiérarchie craint d'être expulsée. La deuxième raison est théologique, il s'agit d 'une mauvaise conception du dialogue interreligieux : l'islam leur apparaît soit comme une voie de salut, soit comme un chemin authentique vers Dieu. Enfin dans certains pays musulmans, le clergé craint que la demande de baptême ne soit pas sincère et soit liée à une possibilité d’immigration. S'il peut y avoir du vrai au moins pour deux de ces raisons, la hiérarchie est quand même très frileuse. Nous ne sommes pas, contrairement à ce que demande le magistère, dans une culture de la Mission. Je suis sûr que cela évoluera un jour. [...]"

Source: lesalonbeige.blogs.com

On the deformation of art

Beauty and Ugliness

by Theodore Dalrymple

London is among the best cities in the world for art exhibitions, and whenever I go there, which is rarely, I try to see as many as time and energy will permit. Recently, for example, I saw two in a single day, the contrast between which seemed to cast a light on the soul of modern humanity, or at least of that part of it that concerns itself with art and aesthetics.

The first, in the Wallace Collection, was called Sir Joshua Reynolds: Experiments in Paint; the second, across the city, was called Marlene Dumas: The Image as Burden. Reynolds, the most famous British artist of his day, was born in 1723 and died in 1792; Dumas was born in South Africa in 1953 and has worked in the Netherlands since 1976.

The Wallace Collection was once my favorite London gallery. My father had his office, where I worked during my school holidays, around the corner from it; I spent many a lunch hour in the collection, the run of which I often had almost to myself in those days. The courtyard had not yet been made into a restaurant, a transformation that altered the atmosphere of the collection profoundly. Nowadays, it seems almost like a restaurant with Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Velázquez attached.

It was in the Wallace Collection (1) that I first tried (without success, which eludes me to this day) to work out why some art was better than other art, why some pictures moved me while others did not. The picture to which I always returned, and that I never miss a chance to view even today, was Woman Peeling Apples, by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch. This small painting of a Dutch interior shows a seated woman peeling apples for her small daughter, who stands by her. The daughter is not beautiful—indeed, one could describe her as almost plain—yet the picture never failed to move me, however many times and for however long I looked at it.

Why was this the case? Was it the obvious technical mastery, the pleasing composition (the main figures to the right of center of the picture), the exquisite taste of the coloration, the evident love of the mother for her child, the sense of quietude and contentment conveyed, the celebration of the glory of existence in itself that the choice of so ordinary a subject implies? Was the intensity of my response affected by my personal biography, by the lack of tenderness in my own early life?

I came to the conclusion that while no definitive criteria could be given to distinguish good art from bad (and every gradation in between), neither was it impossible to say something about the basis—or rather, the bases—of artistic judgment.

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(1) http://www.wallacecollection.org/

Readmore: www.city-journal.org

The moral consensus is absent—and so the political battles have become ends in themselves.

Rebuilding our moral consensus

by Arthur C. Brooks

Everyone at AEI knows that we were built on the concept of “a competition of ideas.” But that competition also requires something to come first: a clear moral consensus.

Think of an atom. The outer field of electrons is full of chaotic activity. Electrons are rapidly orbiting and moving in a constant buzz. What contains that chaos and gives it structure? The fact that the whole chaotic cloud orbits one central nucleus.

National debates over politics and policy need a shared center of gravity like the atom. The electrons are like specific policy arguments or particular ideas— constantly moving and hard to pin down. From a distance, the swirling debates can look like barely-contained chaos. But it is the nucleus, our shared moral consensus, that lends it all shape and purpose.

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Read more: www.aei.org

Americans deserve all the facts that surround climate change

The Inconvenient Facts the Media Ignore About Climate Change


by Rep. Lamar Smith


Americans in large numbers are turning off TV newscasts, canceling subscriptions to newspapers, and seeking other sources of news. Distrust of the national media has hit an all-time high.

According to a recent Gallup poll, six in ten Americans now have little or no confidence in the national media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 65 percent of Americans believe that the national news media have a negative effect on our country.

Americans are frustrated because they know that many of the “news stories” they read are only opinion columns in disguise. If the story does not fit the liberal worldview, then facts are ignored, dissent is silenced, and Americans are told what to think. Perhaps one of the worst examples of one-sided, biased reporting involves global warming.

Those who reject the liberal viewpoint that climate change is the greatest threat to our country are ridiculed and ignored. For example, the Associated Press recently amended its stylebook to recommend that those who question the science behind global warming be called climate change “doubters” instead of “skeptics.” But this is inaccurate, since many “skeptics” don’t doubt that climate change has occurred.

Liberal groups continue to attempt to silence debate. The repeated claims that “the debate is over” and that “97 percent of scientists agree that human-caused global warming is real” are false and mislead the public. In testimony before the Science Committee, a lead author of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that the 97 percent estimate “just crumbles when you touch it.”

The source of this “97 percent” myth is a discredited study that attempted to categorize scholarly articles on climate change by the position the papers took on the issue. But most of the papers never took a position on climate change at all. This has not stopped the liberal national media from touting this illegitimate statistic.

Silencing debate is contrary to the scientific method. If these groups were confident about their arguments, they would welcome more debate to test their theories. However, some media outlets, such as the Los Angeles Times, have changed their policies and no longer accept letters to the editor from those who question human-made climate change. That this would happen in a democracy where free speech is enshrined in the Constitution is unbelievable.

Scientists who are not alarmists agree that climate change is a complex subject with many variables. But the liberal national media instead chooses to focus on human contributions and usually fails to provide both sides.

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Read more: dailysignal.com

As much as Verdun symbolized the human element of war, it also encapsulated the particular horrors of the Great War

“The Slaughterhouse of the World” – The Battle of Verdun at 100

by Robert H. Clemm


The bones of these forgotten men serve as a noble challenge to every visitor to count the cost of any future struggle lest we permit another slaughterhouse to be created in our names.

The Battle of Verdun started 100 years ago this February, and lasted through the year, finishing in December 1916.

At 7:15 a.m. on February 21, the 1,200 guns of the German Fifth Army began a bombardment to signal the beginning of the Battle of Verdun. “Every new explosion is a new attack, a new fatigue, a new affliction,” related a French soldier about the experience of a barrage, leaving men with “hardly enough strength left to pray to God.” The affliction of the German barrage was beyond anything yet experienced in the Great War. Over the next 10 hours, literally a million shells were fired against French positions along a 19-mile front.

Verdun, in and of itself, was an inconsequential French hamlet in 1914. The name Verdun, however, became synonymous with the Great War because the town was vitally important in terms of where it lay. Ringed by modern fortifications, built at a furious pace by the French government to protect against a future German invasion, Verdun was the lynchpin of the French defensive system on the Western Front. Had Verdun fallen, there was little, at least in the way of natural obstacles let alone fortified positions, between the German army and the environs of Paris.

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Read more: www.visionandvalues.org

Catholic Educational Resource Center weekly Update

Source: www.catholiceducation.org

New Resources

Humbling Ourselves - Caryll Houselander 

- from Wood of the Cradle, Wood of the Cross: The Little Way of the Infant Jesus - To accept oneself as one is to accept life as it is: these are the two basic elements of childhood's simplicity and humility.

Forming Intentional Disciples - Introduction - Sherry Weddell 

- from Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus - "Sherry Weddell has supplied us with one amazing resource — "Forming Intentional Disciples" — which is must-reading for any Catholic who wants to be realistically, honestly and effectively engaged in the drama of making disciples." - Father Thomas Berg

Contraception, Congo Nuns, Choosing the Lesser Evil, and Conflict of Commandments - Janet E. Smith 

- Catholic World Report - The Church has never taught that if the harms are serious enough, it is permissible to use contraception.

Archbishop Chaput's Column: Of Lenten Films, and Faith Where it's Least Expected - Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. 

- The Catholic Thing - It's a pleasure this Lent to suggest a few current or impending faith-friendly films that do have the quality to deserve our attention.

Christ in the face of all - Charles Lewis 

- The Catholic Register - It was a sight of beauty. Perhaps as beautiful a thing as I have ever seen.

The Joy of the Martyrs - Anthony Esolen 

- Magnificat - Who can hold out against the father of lies, without the grace of God?

A Man for Our Season - David Warren 

- The Catholic Thing - You don't have to be Catholic to be fully sane, but it helps.

Kicking the Rock of Reality - Father George W. Rutler 

- From the Pastor - In normal usage, an idealist is someone with a lofty vision, possibly naïve but always noble in spirit.

3rd Sunday of Lent - Father John Horgan 

- CERC - He is saying to all of us, look at your own lives. Look at what you are doing. Look at how you are thinking.


Editorials of Interest

Pope Francis: Homily on the Jubilee for the Roman Curia - Vatican

We are called to be God's coworkers in an undertaking so basic and unique as that of witnessing by our existence to the strength of transforming grace and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.

Francis, Contraception, and the Zika Virus - The Catholic Thing

The pope's comments on contraception in the case of rape involves an issue that has not been explicitly defined by the Magisterium, but it represents no innovation in Catholic morality.

Intervention of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN on the Zika Virus - Catholic World Report

Not only is increased access to abortion and abortifacients an illegitimate response to this crisis, but since it terminates the life of a child it is fundamentally not preventative.

Felix Bissextilis! - F. Z's Blog

Some reflections on Pope Francis' remarks, in returning from Mexico, on contraceptives, Trump, walls, abortion, and same-sex unions.

Oscar-winning "Spotlight" Producer Tells Pope to "Protect the Children -NCRegister

But I was stunned to hear the producer's remark: "Pope Francis, it is time to protect the children and restore the faith."

Did Paul VI approve of Congo nuns using the Pill? Does it matter if he didn't? -Catholic World Report

If Pope Paul VI had approved of women in danger of rape using an anovulant or other non-abortifacient contraceptive, he simply would have anticipated what has become accepted.

Ukrainian Catholic archbishop expresses disappointment at pope-patriarch declaration - Catholic Herald

"This text has caused deep disappointment among many faithful of our church and among conscientious citizens of Ukraine. Many feel betrayed by the Vatican, disappointed by the half-truth nature of this document, and even see it as indirect support by the Apostolic See for Russian aggression against Ukraine."

John Paul II and His 'Secret Letters' to a Woman Who Was a Colleague and Friend - National Review

The Secret Letters of Pope John Paul II illuminates the misconceptions under which too much secular journalism operates when writing about the Catholic Church, its clergy, and celibacy.

A Salutary Corrective in Scalia's Funeral - The Catholic Thing

I have been waiting for fifty-two years for some corrective to the kind of Catholic funeral liturgy that began to take hold with the Funeral Mass for President Kennedy in 1963.

Is Cardinal Pell Facing a Prejudiced Inquisition? - NCRegister

Critics say the Australian cardinal is being presumed guilty until proven innocent.

After Justice Scalia - First Things

The death of Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13 unexpected and, for many reasons, tragic draws a curtain on the life and public service of one of the most important Catholic figures in America over the past half-century..

How the Church Helps Black Men Flourish in America - The Atlantic

The structure it provides, along with the values it instills, strengthens employment prospects, family life, and more.

Europe's Rape Epidemic: Western Women Will Be Sacrificed At The Altar Of Mass Migration - Breitbart

In Norway, recent statistics revealed that 100% of violent street-rapes in the capital city of Oslo were committed by "non-Western" immigrants. It's a similar story in Denmark.

ISIS, Genocide, and Us - First Things

Today, western politicians seem to fear that naming the genocide of Christians for what it is, or treating Christian refugees as refugees, will be taken as a gesture of disrespect for Islam.

Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me - NY Times

The prosperity gospel has taken a religion based on the contemplation of a dying man and stripped it of its call to surrender all. Perhaps worse, it has replaced Christian faith with the most painful forms of certainty.

Don't Give Up When You Fail - Epic Pew

When we screw up, we have to keep going. God does not expect perfection from us. He just expects us to give our all to Him.

Singles: Don't Pray Away Your Desire for Love - Aleteia

The end goal is always Christ, whether you get to him with the aid of a spouse or not.

The Secret Privilege of "Offering it Up" - Aleteia

One cannot participate, even infinitesimally, in Christ's agonies without participating in the expansion of his mercy toward all; a humbling lesson.

Gratitude for Spotlight - National Review

Spotlight brings with it an opportunity for closeness to those who suffer. It does so with respect and compassion. And it is an opportunity for faithful Catholics to do more in prayer and service for healing and renewal.

Making a Murderer Attorney Motivated by His Faith - Catholic Answers

In one episode, defense attorneys Jerome Buting and Dean Strang are seen strategizing at home about the case. Both men appear on screen with dark smudges on their foreheads.