The Importance of Exposing Children to Sacred Art

Our children are growing up in a world that no longer appreciates true beauty. When they are finally exposed to true beauty through the various mediums of fine art, they are unable to process and critique it. And instead of appreciating it, it all seems to them to be – quite frankly – boring.

Many studies have shown the intellectual benefits of stimulating a child’s brain through the fine arts, whereas constant exposure to the simplistic and base entertainments inhibits their growth. This in itself is something parents should be concerned about. But now consider what a constant diet of ‘junk art’ must do to their souls... Read entire article here.

Pope Francis: Satiating The World's Desire To Feel Love

I have to admit that I get very uncomfortable when people get googely-eyed over Pope Francis and praise him excessively, as if he were the first good Pope in history. Don't get me wrong - I love Pope Francis...but I also love Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II. I have great affection for many popes who have gone before us. These vicars of Christ have the weight of the world on their shoulders but have managed to remain extraordinarily holy, wise, disciplined, and humble. The world will never fully realize the struggles of the papacy, with all of its challenges, anxieties, and responsibilities. Maybe I read too much into things, but it sometimes seems as though people's obsession with Pope Francis is an indirect negative critique of previous popes. But this article reminded me that in a world literally starved for authentic love, Pope Francis makes it tangible for us.

From Little Catholic Bubble:

Pope Francis burst into our comfortable neatness and encouraged us to "make a mess" -- by leaving our books and debates and pristine doctrines for a time and going out into the streets and byways to meet our fellow human beings exactly where they are.

The world "likes" this pope, not for the doctrine and morality he teaches and preaches (which is no different from what came before), not because of ordered thought and careful words, but because he seems to care and listen and love. He seems relatable and real, and more like a loving grandpa in the neighborhood than a Supreme Pontiff on a throne.

But let me stop right here, lest anyone misunderstand: It's not that his predecessors did not love and care for and ache for every soul on the planet! Oh, how it boils my blood when people misunderstand the mystical, saintly JPII who embraced all mankind, or when they malign the shy and kindly Benedict, a quiet and gentle introvert. It's simply that Francis moves the world in a different way, and I think it's that he makes people feel something first, before he makes them think something.

For so many reasons, the soul of modern man is desperate to feel, and feel profoundly.

Read entire article here.

Against Black History Month by Charles C. W. Cooke

The question here is not so much whether blacks have disproportionately suffered historically — they have — or whether we still feel the legacy of that — we do — as it is whether the correct response to that suffering is to segregate black history into a separate branch of the curriculum or a single month on the school-year calendar. On most indicators — income, employment, education, incarceration, homeownership, etc. — black Americans still do worse than white Americans. But the notion that Black History Month must remain in force because there are still racial problems in America is a non sequitur. If there is still too little “black history” taught in America’s schools — or if “black history” is being taught incorrectly — then we should change the curriculum. If black Americans remain unfairly in the shadows, then the solution is to bring them out, not to sort and concentrate them by color.
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Persecuted Church in Pakistan

Says Archbishop Saldanha, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, “Haroon’s story illustrates a new trend that underlines the difficulties and pressures of living in a land where extremism is growing and there is little tolerance for people who are non-Muslims.” To demonstrate just how real the threat is, 500 Christians recently received anonymous letters warning of violence if conversion to Islam was not completed within 10 days. In addition, Christian girls are being abducted, forced into marriages with Muslim boys and told to convert or else. “We Christians are citizens, just like everyone else, and wish to have the same rights,” adds Archbishop Saldanha.

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