Catholic Education Resource Center

"Surely every care should be taken on behalf of our own children's mother." - Aristotle, Economics It can seem a flaw in nature's plan. Those that attend most to the needs of others—especially children, and the weak and suffering—often want for such attention to their own needs. I think here of course of women. You can see how this happens. A man feels that all is well in the world, finding himself and his children the object of his wife's special care. He finds she has a feel, a greater...by John Cuddeback

Get the latest content and resources from CERC in your inbox.

Editorials of Interest

The word “noise” in English comes from about the eleventh century, and according to the Oxford English Dictionary, most probably derives from the Latin words nausea (upset, seasickness) or possibly noxia (harmful behavior). From its earliest uses, “noise” has a negative connotation: disturbance, quarrels, discordance, general unpleasantness. We may not fully realize that the exhortation in Psalm 100 to “make a joyful noise to the Lord,” as it is rendered in many translations, is a paradoxical...by Dr. Holly Ordway

New Year’s resolutions are typically an effort in self-control. But what if the best resolutions are those by which we relinquish control? Allow me as a philosopher to begin with a taxonomy of resolutions, since some kinds of resolutions are better than others. If I resolve not to eat between meals, or to put away machines when spending time with my family, I am making a merely “corrective” resolution. If I am successful, I simply put myself back to where I should be. I don’t improve myself...by Michael Pakaluk

by The Catholic Thing

Popular Right Now

Latest

After seven months of recrimination and denunciation, where are the remains of the children buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School? The Canadian Press has just honoured the children of residential schools as the “Person of the Year 2021.” The huge media story last summer grew out of the scanning of part of the site in the British Columbia interior where the school operated from 1890 to 1978. The “discovery” was first reported last May 27 by Tk’emlúps te secwépemc First Nation Chief...by Professor Jacques Rouillard

Knights on the front lines offer their service—and their lives—to defend the country they love. In the buildup to the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, much of the public discussion was about the size and strength of Russia’s military. How could Ukraine stand up to such overwhelming force? A Russian takeover of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the installation of a puppet government seemed all but inevitable. But for more than eight months, Ukraine has surprised the world with its tenacity and...by John Burger

Join the worldwide Magnificat family by subscribing now: Your prayer life will never be the same! When twenty-three year old Michelangelo Buonarroti arrived in Rome to complete his very first public commission, he was provided with a single block of marble, a one-year timeframe, and a sacred theme: the Pietà. The young artist's rendition confounded expectations and catapulted him into the limelight. The image of Mary cradling the lifeless Christ fascinated the artist—a devout Third...by Amy Giuliano

by Edward Short

Featured

by Michele Chronister

"[T]he whole of man, soul and body, is nourished sanely by a multiplicity of observed traditional things." - Hilaire Belloc, A Remaining Christmas Real festivity, like a human person, has a soul and body. A person's thriving is most of all in the well-disposed soul, which can be profoundly alive even when the body is ailing. And similarly, if the soul of a feast is in place, a great festivity can be had even with a minimum of externals. Christmas celebrations through history make this...by John Cuddeback

In what we all hope is the emerging wake of COVID-19, many are urging Catholic schools to take advantage of the admirable adaptiveness, dedication and resourcefulness they demonstrated during the crisis to enhance the appeal of Catholic education by finding ways to bring all of the unique offerings of their Catholic character center stage. "Mary, Model of Christian Love, we know that we cannot heal every ill or solve every problem, but with God's grace, we intend to do what we can. May we be...by Edward Short

Anger is an inordinate desire of revenge. Against this vice the Apostle strongly speaks: "Let all bitterness and anger, and indignation and clamor, and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ" (Eph. 4:31-32). And Our Savior Himself tells us: "Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire"...

Get the latest content and resources from CERC in your inbox.

Marriage & Family

"Surely every care should be taken on behalf of our own children's mother." - Aristotle, Economics It can seem a flaw in nature's plan. Those that attend most to the needs of others—especially children, and the weak and suffering—often want for such attention to their own needs. I think here of course of women. You can see how this happens. A man feels that all is well in the world, finding himself and his children the object of his wife's special care. He finds she has a feel, a greater...by John Cuddeback

by John Cuddeback

This is a book about discernment of spirits in daily married life. For many of us, the term "discernment of spirits" is both inviting and mysterious. If asked to explain it, we might struggle a little. What it means is this. We all know that as we live our spiritual lives, we experience ups and downs. At times, we feel God's closeness. Our prayer is alive. We find Mass engaging and participate willingly. Church activities are nourishing, and we look forward to them. Scripture speaks...

Even in the current culture, most young people still dream of being happily married someday — of finding someone they'd like to share their life with. When I'm invited to talk to young persons about romantic relationships, I always start by asking, "How many of you would like to get married someday?" The great majority of the hands go up. "How many of you would like to have children?" Again, most raise their hand. UCLA's annual American Freshman survey has consistently found that...by Thomas Lickona

Social Issues

You've probably never heard of the Waupoos Family Farm. I hadn't either, until I met some folks involved in it during a recent visit to Ottawa. Their story vividly illustrates the dictatorship of relativism at work. The farm is a vacation site for poor families who can't afford a holiday together. It's run by Christians who apply only one criterion to their potential guests: applicants must have an income below Statistics Canada's poverty line. That's it. No religious requirements. No...by George Weigel

As the November USCCB meeting demonstrated, the bishops find themselves in a bind as they strive to foster a coherent Gospel witness among Catholics. Events inside and outside the Church continue to outpace and obstruct their efforts. Additionally, the institutional failure to instill personal and ecclesial discipline during the last half-century has deprived them (and us) of the experience needed to guide the Church through the ensuing crisis. There is a path forward, but the way is...

Facebook or Google taking over the world is a distant, speculative fear. Being harassed, humiliated, shunned and unemployed are immediate fears. We increasingly live in a digital panopticon ruled as much by mobs as by the overseers. Facebook is in trouble. In Congress, the great and the good — or at least the powerful and the not-yet-disgraced — profess themselves astonished and appalled at how the company collected and sold user data. If only there had been warning signs — such as, say,...by Nathanael Blake

The issues of prostitution and its evil twin human trafficking can be overcome only by a renewed understanding of what it is that money can't buy. In the opening paragraphs of his first encyclical written a decade ago, Pope Benedict XVI went to the heart of the current issue of Convivium Deus Caritas Est — God is Love — delineates Catholic teaching on the relationship between justice and charity, and the Church's role in cultivating the latter in order to ensure the former. It begins,...by Peter Stockland