In April 2005, I was asked why excerpts from a particular encyclical, Militantis Ecclesia, from which I quoted (in a 1997 article) did not match with online versions of that same encyclical. The answer appears to lie in a matter of a "new" and "improved" English translations, but none of the online encyclicals make any note of such a change. My moderators and I referenced older hard copies and sought for online renditions. What we discovered is that there is quite a difference between previously published translations and the recent online versions.
Since at least 2005 (if not earlier), it seems almost all of the online sources for papal encyclicals are now using the "updated" translations. Some lines and paragraph remain the same as the former translation; those most pertinent and oft-quoted and which reinforce tradition are those revised. When you see the difference between the examples provided below, you also may wonder if the real problem is only "a matter of translation."
My original response to the question:
I am aware that at least two online sources for Militantis Ecclesiae (e.g. - EWTN Library and Papal Encyclicals Online) feature a different translation from the older version which I referenced at the time. Why there is such a variation in the newer translations is a matter of conjecture.
At any rate, it appears the your problem is rooted in a difference in the encyclical's more recent translation. In my book, Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guide (Volume I), I also quoted particular excerpts taken from paragraph #18 of Militantis Ecclesia as follows:
"Religion must not be taught to youth only during certain hours, but the entire system of education must be permeated with the senseof Christian piety. If this is lacking, if this holy spirit does not penetrate and inflame the souls of teacher and pupil, small benefit will be derived from any other sort of education; instead damage will be done." And finally, it states: "Religion must permeate and direct every branch of knowledge."
Now compare those few excerpts from the newer online version (below) of the same paragraph #18:
"18. Secondly, it is necessary to teach religion to children, butnot only at specified times. All their teaching should occur in anatmosphere of Christian piety. If it is otherwise, if this sacredinspiration does not penetrate the spirits of the teachers and ofthe students, the instruction will produce only little fruit andwill often even have seriously harmful consequences."
The paragraph then closes as follows: "The knowledge of many subjects should always go hand in hand with the care of the spirit. Religion should give shape and direction to all branches of knowledge. Its majesty and sweetness should strike home and inspire the souls of the young."
Again, there is QUITE a difference between my older hard copy version [which I acquired some time before 1990, from the Daughters of St. Paul] and the "newer" online versions.
Also, if you read paragraph #80 in the encyclical Il Divini Magistri (On Christian Education of Youth, 1929) it also quotes two sentences from Militantis Ecclesiae, which was promulgated by Pope St. Leo XIII. However, you will notice the sentence in which Il Divini Magistri quotes from the Militantis Ecclesiae encyclical does not match the updated online versions of the latter. This once more indicates a change in translation between older and newer versions.
Below, I shall include the former English translation from paragraph #80, Il Divini Magistri in its entirety excerpt from Pope St. Leo XIII in Militantis Ecclesiae:
From Il Divini Magistri, the older version:
#80. For the mere fact that a school gives some religious instruction (often extremely stinted), does not bring it into accord with the rights of the Church and of the Christian family, or make it a fit place for Catholic students. To be this, it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole organization of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and text-books in every branch, be regulated bythe Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church; so that Religion may be in very truth the foundationand crown of the youth's entire training; and this in every grade of school, not only the elementary, but the intermediate and the higher institutions of learning as well. TO USE THE WORDS OF LEO XIII: It is necessary not only that religious instruction be given to the young at certain fixed times, but also that every other subject taught, be permeated with Christian piety. If this is wanting, if this sacred atmosphere does not pervade and warm the hearts of masters and scholars alike, little good can be expected from any kind of learning, and considerable harm will often be the consequence. [Footnote 50, which refers in Latin to to Ep. enc. Militantis Ecclesiae, 1 Aug. 1897: Necesse est non modo certis horis doceri iuvenes religionem, sed reliquam institutionem omnem christianae pietatis sensus redolere. Id si desit, si sacer hic halitus non doctorum animos ac discentum pervadat foveatque, exiguae capientur ex qualibet doctrina utilitates; damna saepe consequentur haud exigua.]
Again, why there is such a difference from previous and more recent translations is anyone's guess. Yet the change seems to be a Red Flag. Is it possible that new version is due to the modernist infiltration of the Church? Modernism has tinkered with everything else; it would certainly explain why there are now "updated: translations of various papal encyclicals - which, in their original form and even in the former English translation, clearly outlined that which most helped the hierarchy and faithful "keep it Catholic."
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Real Scoop on KIC
From time to time, someone will alert me or one of my Keeping It Catholic (KIC) list moderators to another blog, board or list discussion which only serves to obfuscate others about KIC’s mission or its stance on certain topics. Although I’m made aware of most of these exchanges, I refrain from involvement with them. However, after a decade of hearing of the same old misconceptions, I decided it was best to clear the air – at least once.
The subject was Catholic Homeschooling, discovered on another board, and the very first message introducing the topic also brought up erroneous ideas [stated as fact] about KIC:
What does this [e.g. - Catholic homeschooling] mean to you? All texts being Catholic? Catholicism infused into every subject? God's truth in all things? There is great debate in the Catholic homeschool movement over this. Some (like Keeping it Catholic) state that everything must be Catholic in text and content) and recommend programs such as OLV and Seton. Others say using your own style (and your child's) is fine and take a much more relaxed approach, pulling in books from all sources and making sure to include God's truths in all areas. I know Keeping it Catholic also proclaims things such as Charlotte Mason homeschooling is heretical along with Montessori homeschooling and are to be avoided. What is your take?
A few posts followed – including two from a KIC list moderator who corrected the misconceptions aired about KIC. At that point, I decided it was time that I also enter the discussion.
For future reference, the following clarification was my response:
As the founder of Keeping It Catholic (KIC), I appreciate the opportunity to respond to what appears to be some common but erroneous assumptions in regard to our apologetics on the Christian education of youth.
As the KIC home page at www.keepingitcatholic.org states: “Our general mission is to share and defend the Catholic Church's perennial teachings, especially those in regard to marriage and education. KIC's special focus is Catholic education at home, also known as Catholic homeschooling. Because we are faithful Catholics, our philosophy is the authentic philosophy of the Catholic Church - that is, it is scholastic. KIC imitates the Catholic Action apostolate of old, adopting its motto as our own: Pray. Study. Act.”
With that said, please note that it is not KIC’s intention to share opinions in regard to the noble task of Catholic education. Rather, KIC is guided by, and consistently points to, Divini Illius Magistri (1929), which teaches and expands upon the Church’s doctrine on Christian Education.
In regard to the first entry’s remark about KIC on Charlotte Mason:
One of KIC’s web pages, entitled “ ‘Catholicizing’ Charlotte Mason” features excerpts from one of my books (Keeping It Catholic's Home Education Guide, Vol. 1), in which ten or more pages outline Mason’s errors. To elucidate further, Divini Illius Magistri and other papal teachings collectively make clear various truths as well as condemned errors (e.g., heresies). A great number of the latter form the basis of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy.
Divini Illius Magistri (#18) declares that “every form of instruction, no less than every human action, has a necessary connection with man’s last end, and therefore cannot be withdrawn from the dictates of the divine law, of which the Church is guardian, interpreter and infallible mistress.”
In opposition to this doctrine, Mason claimed her educational methods (which were, in truth, an entire system of child upbringing and education) were based on natural law, which was unfortunately subjected to her personal opinions and interpretations. Mason’s Educational System covered almost everything - how a child should be brought up, how to train children in habit, how to clothe a child, with what materials a child should be clothed, how much free time a child should enjoy, and how to give the child various opportunities.
In reality, Mason was expounding on her philosophy, which was rife with various heresies, including – but not limited to - the heresy of rationalism (which is the false belief that reason is sufficient without the truth of the Catholic faith), the heresy of pantheism (which is the belief that God is somehow immanent in Nature and NOT to be sought outside it), the heresy of naturalism (which denies that which is not evident to the senses), the heresy of humanism (the advancement of the human race without need of God.), and, last but not least, the heresy of Romanticism (which denies absolute truth but relies solely on an exaggeration sentimentalism or affectation).
As for an educational system based on naturalism, the Church is also clear:
“Hence every form of pedagogic naturalism which in any way excludes or weakens supernatural Christian formation in the teaching of youth, is false. Every method of education founded, wholly or in part, on the denial or forgetfulness of original sin and of grace, and relying on the sole powers of human nature, is unsound. Such, generally speaking, are those modern systems bearing various names which appeal to a pretended self-government and unrestrained freedom on the part of the child, and which diminish or even suppress the teacher's authority and action, attributing to the child an exclusive primacy of initiative, and an activity independent of any higher law, natural or divine, in the work of his education. (#60, Divini Illus Magistri) In this one paragraph alone, Mason’s entire philosophy of education is revealed as “false” and “unsound.”
Mason’s notions on “mother culture” issues not from the Church’s teachings on the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony, but from Protestant and secular worldviews. (For more on this topic, please see the KIC blog entry entitled “Charlotte Mason – For Whose Sake?”)* In truth, the parental vocation to beget and educate children for God’s sake is attained only by the means of supernatural grace, which come from the Sacraments of the Church, our Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher).In other words, those supernatural graces help Catholic mothers and fathers raise their children with supernatural "mother culture"!
But Mason, a Protestant enraptured with Jean Jacques Rousseau and other heretical philosophers, cared nothing for the true Church. In fact, there is compelling evidence that she despised it. Her desire was for a set of her own followers, for she wrote: “No man sets himself up for a following of disciples who does not wish to indoctrinate these with certain principles or, at the least, maxims (rules of life). He who would draw disciples does not trust to force but to these three things: to the attraction of his doctrine, to the persuasion of his presentation, and to the enthusiasm of his disciples.”
Mason knew how to attract and persuade in her own time but, unfortunately, her false doctrines are still met with enthusiasm today. She developed her own maxims, which she called her “18 Articles of Education,” and which our contemporary Protestant adherents call Mason’s “18 Articles of Education Faith” (my emphasis). To provide just one example: In Mason’s 17th Article of Education, she insisted children must be taught that their chief responsibility is the acceptance or rejection of initial ideas. Compare that to the Church’s doctrine that our chief responsibility as Catholics is to accomplish the will of God.
It is no mere coincidence that Charlotte Mason chose words like “disciples,” “indoctrinate” and “doctrine.” She had her own reasons for her educational “doctrine,” but they were not to bring children to God. No, Mason had another god – the god of SCIENCE.
Mason looked to science as the arbiter (e.g. - the final judge) of all truth. In fact, Mason often mentioned what she called “the science of relations.” What she meant by science was mere human reason. In her view, the human mind was the final judge of everything. It could not be corrected by anyone, not even God or the Church, but only by itself. Of course, a person who views science in such a skewed way will never look to the Church in order to submit his opinions to Divine Revelation.
Need I say that Mason’s philosophy neither includes Catholicism nor does it allow any room for it, much less Catholic character training, or an educational curriculum permeated with the Catholic faith and the Catholic conscience of history?
When all is said in regard to the Church’s doctrine and Charlotte Mason (and there is much more that could be said), the question is very simple and straightforward: Which should Catholics choose - the pure, clear source of Divine Revelation, which God entrusted to the Church, or the muddied philosophy of Charlotte Mason, a Protestant whose own philosophy was imbued with those of various heretics?
If that question does not pinpoint the real problem, please allow me to ask just a few more. Why would Catholics willingly follow a Protestant ideology when we have the rich educational doctrine of the Catholic Church? Would we exchange diamonds for dust, or trade a mess of pottage for our birthright?
To respond to a few other remarks – e.g., that KIC holds “everything must be Catholic in text and content” or, as implied, that we recommend only Seton or OLVS, or that we favor a “workbook” only approach – I will clarify. To those Catholic parents who wish to use the services of a home study program, we do recommend that parents seek only Catholic sources. However, KIC has never insisted that “homeschoolers must use these programs…believing that these methods are the be-all and end all of Catholic education.” Neither is KIC opposed to eclectic homeschooling (e.g. – customizing or designing a Catholic curriculum) but, again, we always recommend first seeking out Catholic sources. (For more information on these topics, please see “How to Keep Your Homeschool Catholic” or “Building Your Own Catholic Curriculum” or our “FAQ” page.
KIC encourages our fellow Catholics to “keep it Catholic” in the homeschool because the Church teaches, “Religion must not be taught to youth only during certain hours, but the entire system of education must be permeated with the sense of Christian piety. If this is lacking, if this holy spirit does not penetrate and inflame the souls of teacher and pupil, small benefit will be derived from any other sort of education; instead damage will be done.” (Militantis Ecclesia, 1897)
On the other side of the same coin, KIC also warns against heavy reliance on heretical sources of programs, books, and ideologies because the Church, in her official capacity, teaches thusly:
“…there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Christian education.” (#7, Divini Illius Magistri)
“…it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole organization of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and textbooks in every branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church; so that Religion may be in very truth the foundation and crown of the youth’s entire training; and this in every grade of school, not only the elementary, but of the intermediate and higher institutions of learning as well.” (#80, Divini Illius Magistri)
Lastly, the person who initiated this discussion began it with the following question: “What does this [Catholic homeschooling] mean to you?” Truly, this question is the heart of the division within the Catholic homeschooling movement. My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, Church doctrine is not a matter of opinion or personal meaning but a matter of loving obedience to God and His Church’s Magisterium. For that reason, I ask my fellow Catholics who wish to know, love and defend the Church’s doctrine on the Christian education of youth to often read and study the Church’s encyclical – Divini Illius Magistri, 1929.
In the love of Christ and His Virgin Mother,
Marianna Bartold
We’re “Keeping It Catholic” on the Net
at http://www.keepingitcatholic.org
++++++++++++++++++++++++
FYI: Here’s the direct link to the discussion, as it took place then
The subject was Catholic Homeschooling, discovered on another board, and the very first message introducing the topic also brought up erroneous ideas [stated as fact] about KIC:
What does this [e.g. - Catholic homeschooling] mean to you? All texts being Catholic? Catholicism infused into every subject? God's truth in all things? There is great debate in the Catholic homeschool movement over this. Some (like Keeping it Catholic) state that everything must be Catholic in text and content) and recommend programs such as OLV and Seton. Others say using your own style (and your child's) is fine and take a much more relaxed approach, pulling in books from all sources and making sure to include God's truths in all areas. I know Keeping it Catholic also proclaims things such as Charlotte Mason homeschooling is heretical along with Montessori homeschooling and are to be avoided. What is your take?
A few posts followed – including two from a KIC list moderator who corrected the misconceptions aired about KIC. At that point, I decided it was time that I also enter the discussion.
For future reference, the following clarification was my response:
As the founder of Keeping It Catholic (KIC), I appreciate the opportunity to respond to what appears to be some common but erroneous assumptions in regard to our apologetics on the Christian education of youth.
As the KIC home page at www.keepingitcatholic.org states: “Our general mission is to share and defend the Catholic Church's perennial teachings, especially those in regard to marriage and education. KIC's special focus is Catholic education at home, also known as Catholic homeschooling. Because we are faithful Catholics, our philosophy is the authentic philosophy of the Catholic Church - that is, it is scholastic. KIC imitates the Catholic Action apostolate of old, adopting its motto as our own: Pray. Study. Act.”
With that said, please note that it is not KIC’s intention to share opinions in regard to the noble task of Catholic education. Rather, KIC is guided by, and consistently points to, Divini Illius Magistri (1929), which teaches and expands upon the Church’s doctrine on Christian Education.
In regard to the first entry’s remark about KIC on Charlotte Mason:
One of KIC’s web pages, entitled “ ‘Catholicizing’ Charlotte Mason” features excerpts from one of my books (Keeping It Catholic's Home Education Guide, Vol. 1), in which ten or more pages outline Mason’s errors. To elucidate further, Divini Illius Magistri and other papal teachings collectively make clear various truths as well as condemned errors (e.g., heresies). A great number of the latter form the basis of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy.
Divini Illius Magistri (#18) declares that “every form of instruction, no less than every human action, has a necessary connection with man’s last end, and therefore cannot be withdrawn from the dictates of the divine law, of which the Church is guardian, interpreter and infallible mistress.”
In opposition to this doctrine, Mason claimed her educational methods (which were, in truth, an entire system of child upbringing and education) were based on natural law, which was unfortunately subjected to her personal opinions and interpretations. Mason’s Educational System covered almost everything - how a child should be brought up, how to train children in habit, how to clothe a child, with what materials a child should be clothed, how much free time a child should enjoy, and how to give the child various opportunities.
In reality, Mason was expounding on her philosophy, which was rife with various heresies, including – but not limited to - the heresy of rationalism (which is the false belief that reason is sufficient without the truth of the Catholic faith), the heresy of pantheism (which is the belief that God is somehow immanent in Nature and NOT to be sought outside it), the heresy of naturalism (which denies that which is not evident to the senses), the heresy of humanism (the advancement of the human race without need of God.), and, last but not least, the heresy of Romanticism (which denies absolute truth but relies solely on an exaggeration sentimentalism or affectation).
As for an educational system based on naturalism, the Church is also clear:
“Hence every form of pedagogic naturalism which in any way excludes or weakens supernatural Christian formation in the teaching of youth, is false. Every method of education founded, wholly or in part, on the denial or forgetfulness of original sin and of grace, and relying on the sole powers of human nature, is unsound. Such, generally speaking, are those modern systems bearing various names which appeal to a pretended self-government and unrestrained freedom on the part of the child, and which diminish or even suppress the teacher's authority and action, attributing to the child an exclusive primacy of initiative, and an activity independent of any higher law, natural or divine, in the work of his education. (#60, Divini Illus Magistri) In this one paragraph alone, Mason’s entire philosophy of education is revealed as “false” and “unsound.”
Mason’s notions on “mother culture” issues not from the Church’s teachings on the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony, but from Protestant and secular worldviews. (For more on this topic, please see the KIC blog entry entitled “Charlotte Mason – For Whose Sake?”)* In truth, the parental vocation to beget and educate children for God’s sake is attained only by the means of supernatural grace, which come from the Sacraments of the Church, our Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher).In other words, those supernatural graces help Catholic mothers and fathers raise their children with supernatural "mother culture"!
But Mason, a Protestant enraptured with Jean Jacques Rousseau and other heretical philosophers, cared nothing for the true Church. In fact, there is compelling evidence that she despised it. Her desire was for a set of her own followers, for she wrote: “No man sets himself up for a following of disciples who does not wish to indoctrinate these with certain principles or, at the least, maxims (rules of life). He who would draw disciples does not trust to force but to these three things: to the attraction of his doctrine, to the persuasion of his presentation, and to the enthusiasm of his disciples.”
Mason knew how to attract and persuade in her own time but, unfortunately, her false doctrines are still met with enthusiasm today. She developed her own maxims, which she called her “18 Articles of Education,” and which our contemporary Protestant adherents call Mason’s “18 Articles of Education Faith” (my emphasis). To provide just one example: In Mason’s 17th Article of Education, she insisted children must be taught that their chief responsibility is the acceptance or rejection of initial ideas. Compare that to the Church’s doctrine that our chief responsibility as Catholics is to accomplish the will of God.
It is no mere coincidence that Charlotte Mason chose words like “disciples,” “indoctrinate” and “doctrine.” She had her own reasons for her educational “doctrine,” but they were not to bring children to God. No, Mason had another god – the god of SCIENCE.
Mason looked to science as the arbiter (e.g. - the final judge) of all truth. In fact, Mason often mentioned what she called “the science of relations.” What she meant by science was mere human reason. In her view, the human mind was the final judge of everything. It could not be corrected by anyone, not even God or the Church, but only by itself. Of course, a person who views science in such a skewed way will never look to the Church in order to submit his opinions to Divine Revelation.
Need I say that Mason’s philosophy neither includes Catholicism nor does it allow any room for it, much less Catholic character training, or an educational curriculum permeated with the Catholic faith and the Catholic conscience of history?
When all is said in regard to the Church’s doctrine and Charlotte Mason (and there is much more that could be said), the question is very simple and straightforward: Which should Catholics choose - the pure, clear source of Divine Revelation, which God entrusted to the Church, or the muddied philosophy of Charlotte Mason, a Protestant whose own philosophy was imbued with those of various heretics?
If that question does not pinpoint the real problem, please allow me to ask just a few more. Why would Catholics willingly follow a Protestant ideology when we have the rich educational doctrine of the Catholic Church? Would we exchange diamonds for dust, or trade a mess of pottage for our birthright?
To respond to a few other remarks – e.g., that KIC holds “everything must be Catholic in text and content” or, as implied, that we recommend only Seton or OLVS, or that we favor a “workbook” only approach – I will clarify. To those Catholic parents who wish to use the services of a home study program, we do recommend that parents seek only Catholic sources. However, KIC has never insisted that “homeschoolers must use these programs…believing that these methods are the be-all and end all of Catholic education.” Neither is KIC opposed to eclectic homeschooling (e.g. – customizing or designing a Catholic curriculum) but, again, we always recommend first seeking out Catholic sources. (For more information on these topics, please see “How to Keep Your Homeschool Catholic” or “Building Your Own Catholic Curriculum” or our “FAQ” page.
KIC encourages our fellow Catholics to “keep it Catholic” in the homeschool because the Church teaches, “Religion must not be taught to youth only during certain hours, but the entire system of education must be permeated with the sense of Christian piety. If this is lacking, if this holy spirit does not penetrate and inflame the souls of teacher and pupil, small benefit will be derived from any other sort of education; instead damage will be done.” (Militantis Ecclesia, 1897)
On the other side of the same coin, KIC also warns against heavy reliance on heretical sources of programs, books, and ideologies because the Church, in her official capacity, teaches thusly:
“…there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Christian education.” (#7, Divini Illius Magistri)
“…it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole organization of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and textbooks in every branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church; so that Religion may be in very truth the foundation and crown of the youth’s entire training; and this in every grade of school, not only the elementary, but of the intermediate and higher institutions of learning as well.” (#80, Divini Illius Magistri)
Lastly, the person who initiated this discussion began it with the following question: “What does this [Catholic homeschooling] mean to you?” Truly, this question is the heart of the division within the Catholic homeschooling movement. My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, Church doctrine is not a matter of opinion or personal meaning but a matter of loving obedience to God and His Church’s Magisterium. For that reason, I ask my fellow Catholics who wish to know, love and defend the Church’s doctrine on the Christian education of youth to often read and study the Church’s encyclical – Divini Illius Magistri, 1929.
In the love of Christ and His Virgin Mother,
Marianna Bartold
We’re “Keeping It Catholic” on the Net
at http://www.keepingitcatholic.org
++++++++++++++++++++++++
FYI: Here’s the direct link to the discussion, as it took place then
*The previous link to the article, Charlotte Mason: For Whose Sake? which was first posted on the original Keeping It Catholic - with Marianna Bartold blog has been replaced with a new link to the same article, which is also placed on this blog.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
St. Gabriel's in PA: Catholic Parents Note More Red Flags
One may wonder how or why St. Gabriel's "Catholic" Academy dares to present itself as Catholic. Let's examine the problem - it's called sophistry (which means "false reasoning").
As I made clear years ago, Christian means Catholic and Catholic means Christian. But thanks to modernism and its child, ecumania, the unthinkable is happening: Protestantism, erroneously believing itself to be Christian, now begins to call itself "Catholic." We should have seen this one coming.
Christian means Catholic and Catholic means Christian; that much is clear from all of the long-standing Church documents. So modernism, that schizophrenic heresy which is so adept at changing and adapting in order to sustain itself while simultaneously deceiving the unwary, coyly steps in. (Yes, it's "Modernism and the Borg Queen" all over again.) Still, all the semantics in the world cannot change the unchanging Truth that Christianity and Catholicism are one and the same. We are not speaking of Protestantism, which thinks itself Christian but is not.
The non-acceptance of that one truth - even amongst Catholics from all walks of life - is one reason why so-called "Christian" educational academies (that are only singular entities which cling to the heresy of Protestantism, which itself takes hundreds of forms) are gaining Catholic adherents. Since Protestantism is an erroneous "belief system," it is a false religion yet one that wrongly considers itself "Christian."
Today, the serious error has progressed even further, to the point that at least one of these false Christian organizations now calls itself Catholic. What a twist on "Catholic means Christian, and Christian means Catholic" - and that twist is nothing but a flagrant example of the modernist heresy at work.
Over a dozen years ago, armed with clear and concise Church doctrine, I warned my fellow Catholics that so-called "Christian" materials are "Red Flags" for Catholic homeschooling families. Why? There are many reasons, the first and foremost being the Church's doctrine on the Christian education of youth.
The key words in that last sentence above are "the Church" and "Christian." There is only one Church established by Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, and His Church bears four marks. The Church is one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic - and these very words are used in The Apostles' Creed of the Church. Therefore, the one and only Church of Jesus Christ is the Catholic Church, simply known as "the Church" for many centuries. Today, however, Catholics are practically forced to say "Catholic Church," since those who accept the various Protestant heresies (and its many variations) and gather together to "worship" call themselves "churches."
To continue with the theme of Christianity means Catholicism and Catholicism means Christianity: Neither term means Protestantism. Protestantism is a heresy; it is not Christian, because it refuses to acknowledge that Jesus Christ founded the Church, which is one, holy, Catholic and aposstolic - e.g., the Roman Catholic Church. Protestantism is a heresy because it rejects one or more of the tenets of Divine Revelation. Protestantism, therefore, is not Christian because it is not Catholic, which means universal. Even with the word universal, we must now be careful, due to its new modernist definition.
The heresy of modernism redefines all the truths, down to every minute detail, of the Faith. Catholics hoping to avoid the traps laid by modernism should often refer to Pascendi Dominici Gregis; it is an infallible papal document, issued by the Holy Office, in which the "Doctrines of the Modernists" are well-explained and condemned. Modernism is the foundation of ecumania (literally, "a mania for ecumenism"), but ecumenism itself has been redefined by modernism! The modernist definition of ecumenism wrongly teaches all sorts of errors (heresies) as true doctrines of the Church - e.g., that all religions are good and equal; that the Church must conform herself to modern times; that the Mystical Body of Christ can learn a few good and worthy things from heretics (forgetting that if they teach anything that is good, it is because they retained a few Catholic truths); that the Church must seek for deeper understanding not only of herself but also of other "churches," and much more nonsense. Most of all, modernism insists that the Church must assimilate heresies into her very doctrines. Of course, the true Church (meaning Eternal Rome, the kingdom of God on earth, the Bride of Christ) will never officially define heresy as Truth, but individual Catholics within the Church can and do accept (and spread) modernist errors. Why? They dismiss the teachings of Tradition as "not relevant to today" (which itself is a modernist teaching!).
The end result is that modernism claims that the "universal" Church is one in which all belief systems are accepted as true, valid and acceptable to God. This claim is an evil deception; modernism is the worst heresy that has ever afflicted the Church. In fact, one of the popes succinctly defined modernism as "the synthesis of all heresies," and so it is.
One may wonder: What does all of this have do with Catholic homeschooling? Too much, actually. We have long known that Protestant home study programs, academies, and services wrongly proclaim themselves to be Christian. With modernism so prevalent, it follows that it was only a matter of time before we began to see Protestant organizations daring to present themselves as "Catholic." Modernism is usually subtle but always cunning. We've already seen at least one example in which a Protestant home study organization pretends to be Catholic by including the word "Catholic" in its legal name... and it may be there shall be more to follow.
To clarify a previous blog entry under the Red Flag section, the legal name of St. Gabriel’s is St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy. The mailing address is 10 Shurs Lane Philadelphia, PA 19127.
Catholic parents familiar with “Red Flags” sent the following information and/or personal testimonies in regard to the allegedly Catholic online service:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: July 31, 2009 UPDATE! Before continuing, it must be said at this particular juncture that since this post was first written in April 2008, St. Gabriel's "Catholic" Academy (SGCA) changed its website from www.stgabrielcatholicacademy.org page to another server. Its NEW home page is http://studioanino.com/clients/lbg/stgabriel/index.php?
Please take a look at St. Gabriel's Catholic Academy's "Homeschool Web Site Copyright Notice" which is now at [http://studioanino.com/clients/lbg/stgabriel/index.php?page=copyright]. The notice clearly displays the strong Protestant affiliation of this “Catholic” academy, including use of a Protestant "Bible":
Materials, code, scripts, html, Uniform Resource Locators and other materials located on or associated with this homeschool web site are copyright © 1999–2008 ELRN, Inc. and/or Learning By Grace, Inc. and/or other copyright holders. All rights reserved. Duplication is permitted, on public domain etexts only, other site content may NOT be copied. Some material may be © Copyright 1999–2008 J. Banfill, IDG, Inc., EVS, Inc., Christian Liberty Press, Inc., Learning By Grace, Inc., Learning By Grace Delaware Inc., Oliver Schulz, Tutorbots, Inc., TheSchoolResources.Com Foundation, How Great Thou Art Publications, Glory Math Education, Inc. and other copyright owners. Some content is a trademark of or a registered trademark of Learning By Grace, Inc. and/or ELRN, Inc. and/or St. Gabriel Catholic Academy. (sic) and/or other trademark holders. The St. Gabriel Catholic Academy (sm) is a service mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. ‘Exploring Creation’ is a registered trademark of ELRN, Inc. used with permission. Scriptures marked as “(GNT)” are taken from the Good News Translation – Second Edition © 1992 by American Bible Society (www.americanbible.org, www.bibles.com). Used by permission. We thank American Bible Society for their generous provision and their historical mission. We thank Gutenberg Project for their massive contributions to the advancement in the worldwide availability of literature.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I saw red flags on the St. Gabriel site, too. Dr. Bill Bright (now deceased) was well known in Protestant circles, but he was not Catholic. He was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization on college campuses all over the country which evangelizes college students to Protestantism. Catholics not firm in or not understanding their faith have been lost to the Church due to this ministry.
The St. Gabriel Catholic Academy religion course includes a [Protestant] book by Dr. Bright called "Living Supernaturally in Christ," so that tells me this could be a site with a hidden agenda or a very confused protestant (sic) trying to gain some Catholic homeschoolers…
If you compare the grade 9 Bible course of the [Protestant] Grace Academy with St. Gabriel Catholic Academy, you will see they are EXACTLY the same….[but]the Catholic faith and protestantism are not interchangeable. May we all be one in Christ one day, but it hasn't happened yet...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Check this link:
http://www.learningbygrace.org/LBG_academies/compare1.php
St. Gabriel's [Catholic Academy] appears to be identical to the above linked "sister" academies. Although St. Gabriel’s isn't mentioned, it has [an] identical mission statement, objectives and curriculum. The webpages all seem too similar to be coincidence.
I wonder if Mimi Rothchild is behind it? Please see: http://www.learningbygrace.org/mimi_rothschild.php
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is [the info] I sent to my home school group [on St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy). In addition, all these other [Protestant "sister"] schools [with which St. Gabriel's is associated] have a variation on their statement of faith.
The woman I spoke with was very evasive. She never answered my questions [in a satisfactory fashion]. She sounded as though she was saying what she was told to say. [e.g. - “canned” replies]
[It appears that] Mimi Rothschild is involved with this. She and her husband were involved in starting a virtual charter school in PA a few years ago that was a flop. Perhaps someone in PA could provide more info on that?
There are also numerous complaints I found on other blogs. There were red flags everywhere![St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy] is associated with Learning By Grace, Inc., which also runs other online Protestant schools. (All the schools share the same address in PA.)
I called to talk to someone at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy and while on hold I was treated to very holy music with monks chanting, etc. The woman with whom I spoke said they [St. Gabriel’s Academy) are an online curriculum provider. They do not give diplomas. You must register as a home schooler and they provide teacher "support.”
She said that the teachers are "trained in Catholic teaching" but are not necessarily Catholic. I could not get a straight answer as to who exactly runs this school or who started it or how they can claim to be Catholic.
So I asked about the other “Christian” schools run by them. She said that they "support those other academies as well.” I pointed out that they all appear to have the same curriculum. She said it is not the same [but] the "content is conducive to each religion." (!)
I then questioned her again as to whether the teachers at St. Gabriel's were Catholic and she said that "each teacher is an expert" in their area of study. (Why not let your "yes" be "yes" and your "no" be "no"?)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
St. Gabriel's [Catholic Academy]…is identical, right down to the curriculum, to Learning by Grace which is very protestant. [sic]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy uses the same curriculum as Morningstar Academy, which is an Anabaptist/Sola Scriptura (“Bible only”) provider. St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy is not Catholic, so why is it pretending to be? Presenting itself as a "Catholic academy" is an outright deception.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The shared observations above are the latest information to date. As one can see, there appear to be extremely valid concerns in regard to the Protestant heresy which permeates the curriculum of this alleged “Catholic” academy.
This grave error only serves to once more prove that the Church's doctrine on the Christian (meaning Catholic) education of youth is our sure and sound mooring. The four pillars of true Catholic education (toward which Keeping It Catholic has consistently pointed for over a dozen years) must be present. For many years, I have explained the details of these four pillars on the Keeping It Catholic list, in my books, and in my various speeches.
The four pillars are solid anchors, but it seems that there are those who dare to use the Church's very documents in order to defraud Catholics. This is easily done when the word "Christian" is wrongly assumed to include Protestantism. Thus, when a Protestant site features excerpts from Catholic Church documents like Divini Illius Magistri or Militantis Ecclesiae which refer to "Christian" or "Religion," what other conclusion can we reach, other than their self-representation is a purposefully disingenous facade?
"...it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole organization of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and text books in every branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church; so that Religion may be in very truth the foundation and crown of the youth's entire training; and this in every grade of school, not only the elementary, but the intermediate and the higher instituions of learning as well." (#80, Divini Illius Magistri - "On Christian Education of Youth" - 1929)
Always remember...a Catholic is a Christian, and a Christian is a Catholic, but be on guard any "new" definitions of the meanings!
As I made clear years ago, Christian means Catholic and Catholic means Christian. But thanks to modernism and its child, ecumania, the unthinkable is happening: Protestantism, erroneously believing itself to be Christian, now begins to call itself "Catholic." We should have seen this one coming.
Christian means Catholic and Catholic means Christian; that much is clear from all of the long-standing Church documents. So modernism, that schizophrenic heresy which is so adept at changing and adapting in order to sustain itself while simultaneously deceiving the unwary, coyly steps in. (Yes, it's "Modernism and the Borg Queen" all over again.) Still, all the semantics in the world cannot change the unchanging Truth that Christianity and Catholicism are one and the same. We are not speaking of Protestantism, which thinks itself Christian but is not.
The non-acceptance of that one truth - even amongst Catholics from all walks of life - is one reason why so-called "Christian" educational academies (that are only singular entities which cling to the heresy of Protestantism, which itself takes hundreds of forms) are gaining Catholic adherents. Since Protestantism is an erroneous "belief system," it is a false religion yet one that wrongly considers itself "Christian."
Today, the serious error has progressed even further, to the point that at least one of these false Christian organizations now calls itself Catholic. What a twist on "Catholic means Christian, and Christian means Catholic" - and that twist is nothing but a flagrant example of the modernist heresy at work.
Over a dozen years ago, armed with clear and concise Church doctrine, I warned my fellow Catholics that so-called "Christian" materials are "Red Flags" for Catholic homeschooling families. Why? There are many reasons, the first and foremost being the Church's doctrine on the Christian education of youth.
The key words in that last sentence above are "the Church" and "Christian." There is only one Church established by Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, and His Church bears four marks. The Church is one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic - and these very words are used in The Apostles' Creed of the Church. Therefore, the one and only Church of Jesus Christ is the Catholic Church, simply known as "the Church" for many centuries. Today, however, Catholics are practically forced to say "Catholic Church," since those who accept the various Protestant heresies (and its many variations) and gather together to "worship" call themselves "churches."
To continue with the theme of Christianity means Catholicism and Catholicism means Christianity: Neither term means Protestantism. Protestantism is a heresy; it is not Christian, because it refuses to acknowledge that Jesus Christ founded the Church, which is one, holy, Catholic and aposstolic - e.g., the Roman Catholic Church. Protestantism is a heresy because it rejects one or more of the tenets of Divine Revelation. Protestantism, therefore, is not Christian because it is not Catholic, which means universal. Even with the word universal, we must now be careful, due to its new modernist definition.
The heresy of modernism redefines all the truths, down to every minute detail, of the Faith. Catholics hoping to avoid the traps laid by modernism should often refer to Pascendi Dominici Gregis; it is an infallible papal document, issued by the Holy Office, in which the "Doctrines of the Modernists" are well-explained and condemned. Modernism is the foundation of ecumania (literally, "a mania for ecumenism"), but ecumenism itself has been redefined by modernism! The modernist definition of ecumenism wrongly teaches all sorts of errors (heresies) as true doctrines of the Church - e.g., that all religions are good and equal; that the Church must conform herself to modern times; that the Mystical Body of Christ can learn a few good and worthy things from heretics (forgetting that if they teach anything that is good, it is because they retained a few Catholic truths); that the Church must seek for deeper understanding not only of herself but also of other "churches," and much more nonsense. Most of all, modernism insists that the Church must assimilate heresies into her very doctrines. Of course, the true Church (meaning Eternal Rome, the kingdom of God on earth, the Bride of Christ) will never officially define heresy as Truth, but individual Catholics within the Church can and do accept (and spread) modernist errors. Why? They dismiss the teachings of Tradition as "not relevant to today" (which itself is a modernist teaching!).
The end result is that modernism claims that the "universal" Church is one in which all belief systems are accepted as true, valid and acceptable to God. This claim is an evil deception; modernism is the worst heresy that has ever afflicted the Church. In fact, one of the popes succinctly defined modernism as "the synthesis of all heresies," and so it is.
One may wonder: What does all of this have do with Catholic homeschooling? Too much, actually. We have long known that Protestant home study programs, academies, and services wrongly proclaim themselves to be Christian. With modernism so prevalent, it follows that it was only a matter of time before we began to see Protestant organizations daring to present themselves as "Catholic." Modernism is usually subtle but always cunning. We've already seen at least one example in which a Protestant home study organization pretends to be Catholic by including the word "Catholic" in its legal name... and it may be there shall be more to follow.
To clarify a previous blog entry under the Red Flag section, the legal name of St. Gabriel’s is St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy. The mailing address is 10 Shurs Lane Philadelphia, PA 19127.
Catholic parents familiar with “Red Flags” sent the following information and/or personal testimonies in regard to the allegedly Catholic online service:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: July 31, 2009 UPDATE! Before continuing, it must be said at this particular juncture that since this post was first written in April 2008, St. Gabriel's "Catholic" Academy (SGCA) changed its website from www.stgabrielcatholicacademy.org page to another server. Its NEW home page is http://studioanino.com/clients/lbg/stgabriel/index.php?
Please take a look at St. Gabriel's Catholic Academy's "Homeschool Web Site Copyright Notice" which is now at [http://studioanino.com/clients/lbg/stgabriel/index.php?page=copyright]. The notice clearly displays the strong Protestant affiliation of this “Catholic” academy, including use of a Protestant "Bible":
Materials, code, scripts, html, Uniform Resource Locators and other materials located on or associated with this homeschool web site are copyright © 1999–2008 ELRN, Inc. and/or Learning By Grace, Inc. and/or other copyright holders. All rights reserved. Duplication is permitted, on public domain etexts only, other site content may NOT be copied. Some material may be © Copyright 1999–2008 J. Banfill, IDG, Inc., EVS, Inc., Christian Liberty Press, Inc., Learning By Grace, Inc., Learning By Grace Delaware Inc., Oliver Schulz, Tutorbots, Inc., TheSchoolResources.Com Foundation, How Great Thou Art Publications, Glory Math Education, Inc. and other copyright owners. Some content is a trademark of or a registered trademark of Learning By Grace, Inc. and/or ELRN, Inc. and/or St. Gabriel Catholic Academy. (sic) and/or other trademark holders. The St. Gabriel Catholic Academy (sm) is a service mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. ‘Exploring Creation’ is a registered trademark of ELRN, Inc. used with permission. Scriptures marked as “(GNT)” are taken from the Good News Translation – Second Edition © 1992 by American Bible Society (www.americanbible.org, www.bibles.com). Used by permission. We thank American Bible Society for their generous provision and their historical mission. We thank Gutenberg Project for their massive contributions to the advancement in the worldwide availability of literature.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I saw red flags on the St. Gabriel site, too. Dr. Bill Bright (now deceased) was well known in Protestant circles, but he was not Catholic. He was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization on college campuses all over the country which evangelizes college students to Protestantism. Catholics not firm in or not understanding their faith have been lost to the Church due to this ministry.
The St. Gabriel Catholic Academy religion course includes a [Protestant] book by Dr. Bright called "Living Supernaturally in Christ," so that tells me this could be a site with a hidden agenda or a very confused protestant (sic) trying to gain some Catholic homeschoolers…
If you compare the grade 9 Bible course of the [Protestant] Grace Academy with St. Gabriel Catholic Academy, you will see they are EXACTLY the same….[but]the Catholic faith and protestantism are not interchangeable. May we all be one in Christ one day, but it hasn't happened yet...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Check this link:
http://www.learningbygrace.org/LBG_academies/compare1.php
St. Gabriel's [Catholic Academy] appears to be identical to the above linked "sister" academies. Although St. Gabriel’s isn't mentioned, it has [an] identical mission statement, objectives and curriculum. The webpages all seem too similar to be coincidence.
I wonder if Mimi Rothchild is behind it? Please see: http://www.learningbygrace.org/mimi_rothschild.php
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is [the info] I sent to my home school group [on St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy). In addition, all these other [Protestant "sister"] schools [with which St. Gabriel's is associated] have a variation on their statement of faith.
The woman I spoke with was very evasive. She never answered my questions [in a satisfactory fashion]. She sounded as though she was saying what she was told to say. [e.g. - “canned” replies]
[It appears that] Mimi Rothschild is involved with this. She and her husband were involved in starting a virtual charter school in PA a few years ago that was a flop. Perhaps someone in PA could provide more info on that?
There are also numerous complaints I found on other blogs. There were red flags everywhere![St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy] is associated with Learning By Grace, Inc., which also runs other online Protestant schools. (All the schools share the same address in PA.)
I called to talk to someone at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy and while on hold I was treated to very holy music with monks chanting, etc. The woman with whom I spoke said they [St. Gabriel’s Academy) are an online curriculum provider. They do not give diplomas. You must register as a home schooler and they provide teacher "support.”
She said that the teachers are "trained in Catholic teaching" but are not necessarily Catholic. I could not get a straight answer as to who exactly runs this school or who started it or how they can claim to be Catholic.
So I asked about the other “Christian” schools run by them. She said that they "support those other academies as well.” I pointed out that they all appear to have the same curriculum. She said it is not the same [but] the "content is conducive to each religion." (!)
I then questioned her again as to whether the teachers at St. Gabriel's were Catholic and she said that "each teacher is an expert" in their area of study. (Why not let your "yes" be "yes" and your "no" be "no"?)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
St. Gabriel's [Catholic Academy]…is identical, right down to the curriculum, to Learning by Grace which is very protestant. [sic]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy uses the same curriculum as Morningstar Academy, which is an Anabaptist/Sola Scriptura (“Bible only”) provider. St. Gabriel’s Catholic Academy is not Catholic, so why is it pretending to be? Presenting itself as a "Catholic academy" is an outright deception.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The shared observations above are the latest information to date. As one can see, there appear to be extremely valid concerns in regard to the Protestant heresy which permeates the curriculum of this alleged “Catholic” academy.
This grave error only serves to once more prove that the Church's doctrine on the Christian (meaning Catholic) education of youth is our sure and sound mooring. The four pillars of true Catholic education (toward which Keeping It Catholic has consistently pointed for over a dozen years) must be present. For many years, I have explained the details of these four pillars on the Keeping It Catholic list, in my books, and in my various speeches.
The four pillars are solid anchors, but it seems that there are those who dare to use the Church's very documents in order to defraud Catholics. This is easily done when the word "Christian" is wrongly assumed to include Protestantism. Thus, when a Protestant site features excerpts from Catholic Church documents like Divini Illius Magistri or Militantis Ecclesiae which refer to "Christian" or "Religion," what other conclusion can we reach, other than their self-representation is a purposefully disingenous facade?
"...it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole organization of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and text books in every branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church; so that Religion may be in very truth the foundation and crown of the youth's entire training; and this in every grade of school, not only the elementary, but the intermediate and the higher instituions of learning as well." (#80, Divini Illius Magistri - "On Christian Education of Youth" - 1929)
Always remember...a Catholic is a Christian, and a Christian is a Catholic, but be on guard any "new" definitions of the meanings!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Catholic Action: What It Was, What It Can Be
On the Keeping It Catholic website, it is clearly stated that "KIC imitates the Catholic Action Apostolate of old. That means we PRAY, STUDY, and ACT - in that order - and we encourage others by offering support in sharing the Church's perennial teachings."
FYI, this message contains the entry on Catholic Action from A Catholic Home Encyclopedia (included in the Holy Bible - Family Rosary Edition, 1954, 1953, 1952, 1950) stating that the "articles dealing with general Catholic information are, with few exceptions, from 'A Catholic Dictionary,' edited by Donald Attwater (Copyright 1931, 1949, by the Macmillan Company and are here used by permission of the copyright owner." (Please Note: Italics below were in the original entry.)
CATHOLIC ACTION. [Defined as] The participation of the laity in the apostolate of the hierarchy. Since the beginning of Christianity the laity have had a real obligation to aid in the work of the Church. Now, as much as at any time in history, there is a pressing need for the organized initiative of the laity if the world is to be Christian; and the recent popes, especially Pius XI and Pius XII, have urgently called the laity to participate in apostolic work with the hierarchy.
Catholic Action, as used by recent popes, designates certain organized groups doing apostolic work. It is applied in the strict sense only to an organized group of the laity that is: (1) approved by and dependent upon the hierarchy; (2) apostolic in purpose; (3) mandated or commissioned by the pope or the local bishop: (4) mandated as a real collaborator with the hierarchy in the apostolate of the Church. Therefore, only those groups (and their activities) specifically designated as such by the pope or local bishop can rightfully be called Catholic Action. For example, in one diocese a bishop may commission the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine to be the Catholic Action; in another any apostolic organization of laymen. But the bishop's mandate is essential for Catholic Action.
In English speaking countries, the term has been used by many in a much wider and less strict sense than its technical meaning in papal documents. For any apostolic group or its activity, whether commissioned by the hierarchy or not, is sometimes spoken of as Catholic Action. However, it should be noted that among organized apostolic groups and activities only those have a genuine right to the name Catholic Action which have been constituted as such by a mandate from the hierarchy.
Recent popes have stressed the importance of Catholic Action for the Church today. Pius XI, in a letter written to the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon in 1934, said that "of all forms of the apostolate, Catholic Action is the most suited to the need of our epoch"; and to the Argentine hierarchy in 1931, he wrote that 'Catholic Action is the form of the apostolate that corresponds best to the needs of the times.'
The various forms of organization that might be mandated by a bishop as Catholic Action can be divided into general and specialized forms. General Catholic Action includes all the Catholics of a given parish, diocese, etc. Specialized Catholic Action, in a wide sense, includes the laity grouped according to age and sex. In the strict sense, specialized Catholic Action includes the laity grouped according to class or environment, e.g., industrial workers, seamen, professional men, nurses, students, etc.
Pope Pius XI gave strong impetus to the movement toward specialized Catholic Action by his directives in the Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (which see): "Undoubtedly the first and immediate apostles of the workingmen must themselves be workingmen, while the apostles of the industrial and commercial world should themselves be employers and merchants." And the same pope, on April 6, 1934, congratulated a specialized group on their program which, he said, presented "the closest analogy with the method that we indicate for missionaries: native priests for the native people. Each situation will then have its corresponding apostle: the apostles of the workers will be workers, the apostles of the farmers will be farmers, the apostles of the seamen will be seamen, the apostles of the students will be students."
The best known example of specialized Catholic Action is the "Young Christian Workers" (also called the "Jocists" or the J.O.C. from their French name, Jeunesse Ouvriere Chretienne), founded in Belgium by Canon Cardijn and now active throughout the world. One of the specific features of the Young Christian Workers is the inquiry technique which they employ. Using this method ("see, judge, act") at each meeting, the Jocist observes the workers' environment, judges it according to Christian standards, and plans some action to correct it. The same technique has been used with success also by other specialized groups: teachers, lawyers, students, farmers, etc.
[KIC INTERJECTORY NOTE: The notation above, positively marking the method of "see, judge, act" highlights where the original Catholic Action apostolate went astray. Due to the pervasive modernist infilitration, the imperative Catholic principal of "Pray, Study, Act" was erroneously changed to depend solely on human reason. By abandoning the practice of "Pray, Study, Act" - in that exact order - the true Catholic Action apostolate floundered.)
The purpose of Catholic Action coincides with the purpose of the Church itself, which is to bring about the reign of Christ in individuals, in families, and in society. Its aim, therefore, is spiritual and religious, not temporal or political. The form that the organization takes in various places and the specific tasks that it undertakes will depend upon the decisions of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
Love of God and of one's neighbor is one foundation on which is based the obligation of all, the laity included, to engage in the apostolate. It is founded also on the membership of all in the organic structure of the Mystical Body of Christ (the Church). For the laity, by reason of the sacramental characters of Baptism and Confirmation, participate in their own way in the priesthood of Christ and are called to the apostolate of prayer, sacrifice, example, and works. Moreover, in the sacramental characters lies (sic) the possibility that the laity may be called upon to give immediate assistance in the ecclesiastical apostolate to which the hierarchy alone is directly called. When a commission or mandate is given to the organized laity to do apostolic work, that possibility becomes actual. That group and its work is then known as Catholic Action. [End of Entry]
Catholic Action, as an organization with humble fealty to the Church and a filial love for the Holy Father, no longer exists. However, since the Church also teaches that Catholics may join together in free association, KIC imitates the original Catholic Action apostolate, stressing prayer, sacrifice, example and good works. Just as the purpose of Catholic Action once coincided "with the purpose of the Church itself, which is to bring about the reign of Christ in individuals, in families, and in society" and just as its "aim is spiritual and religious, not temporal or political," such is the Keeping It Catholic's purpose.
Above all, the center of KIC's mission is the whole, entire message of Fatima, which underscored all of the Church's key doctrines - from the existence of angels, heaven, purgatory, hell, and the absolute necessity of faith and good works (which means prayer and sacrifice to make reparation to God for sin; to ask for heaven's graces which assist the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his high office as the Vicar of Christ; for the conversion of sinners, the prayers of the daily Rosary; the wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and living chastely according to our state in life; the devotion of the Five First Saturdays), and the role of the Virgin Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces - our dear Mother who still awaits the collegial consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
To further understand Catholic Action as it was, what it can still be, and what the virtuous habits of "Pray, Study, Act" mean to our personal interior lives (the life of grace in our souls), you might also wish to read "Light a Single Candle: The Secret of the Catholic City."
FYI, this message contains the entry on Catholic Action from A Catholic Home Encyclopedia (included in the Holy Bible - Family Rosary Edition, 1954, 1953, 1952, 1950) stating that the "articles dealing with general Catholic information are, with few exceptions, from 'A Catholic Dictionary,' edited by Donald Attwater (Copyright 1931, 1949, by the Macmillan Company and are here used by permission of the copyright owner." (Please Note: Italics below were in the original entry.)
CATHOLIC ACTION. [Defined as] The participation of the laity in the apostolate of the hierarchy. Since the beginning of Christianity the laity have had a real obligation to aid in the work of the Church. Now, as much as at any time in history, there is a pressing need for the organized initiative of the laity if the world is to be Christian; and the recent popes, especially Pius XI and Pius XII, have urgently called the laity to participate in apostolic work with the hierarchy.
Catholic Action, as used by recent popes, designates certain organized groups doing apostolic work. It is applied in the strict sense only to an organized group of the laity that is: (1) approved by and dependent upon the hierarchy; (2) apostolic in purpose; (3) mandated or commissioned by the pope or the local bishop: (4) mandated as a real collaborator with the hierarchy in the apostolate of the Church. Therefore, only those groups (and their activities) specifically designated as such by the pope or local bishop can rightfully be called Catholic Action. For example, in one diocese a bishop may commission the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine to be the Catholic Action; in another any apostolic organization of laymen. But the bishop's mandate is essential for Catholic Action.
In English speaking countries, the term has been used by many in a much wider and less strict sense than its technical meaning in papal documents. For any apostolic group or its activity, whether commissioned by the hierarchy or not, is sometimes spoken of as Catholic Action. However, it should be noted that among organized apostolic groups and activities only those have a genuine right to the name Catholic Action which have been constituted as such by a mandate from the hierarchy.
Recent popes have stressed the importance of Catholic Action for the Church today. Pius XI, in a letter written to the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon in 1934, said that "of all forms of the apostolate, Catholic Action is the most suited to the need of our epoch"; and to the Argentine hierarchy in 1931, he wrote that 'Catholic Action is the form of the apostolate that corresponds best to the needs of the times.'
The various forms of organization that might be mandated by a bishop as Catholic Action can be divided into general and specialized forms. General Catholic Action includes all the Catholics of a given parish, diocese, etc. Specialized Catholic Action, in a wide sense, includes the laity grouped according to age and sex. In the strict sense, specialized Catholic Action includes the laity grouped according to class or environment, e.g., industrial workers, seamen, professional men, nurses, students, etc.
Pope Pius XI gave strong impetus to the movement toward specialized Catholic Action by his directives in the Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (which see): "Undoubtedly the first and immediate apostles of the workingmen must themselves be workingmen, while the apostles of the industrial and commercial world should themselves be employers and merchants." And the same pope, on April 6, 1934, congratulated a specialized group on their program which, he said, presented "the closest analogy with the method that we indicate for missionaries: native priests for the native people. Each situation will then have its corresponding apostle: the apostles of the workers will be workers, the apostles of the farmers will be farmers, the apostles of the seamen will be seamen, the apostles of the students will be students."
The best known example of specialized Catholic Action is the "Young Christian Workers" (also called the "Jocists" or the J.O.C. from their French name, Jeunesse Ouvriere Chretienne), founded in Belgium by Canon Cardijn and now active throughout the world. One of the specific features of the Young Christian Workers is the inquiry technique which they employ. Using this method ("see, judge, act") at each meeting, the Jocist observes the workers' environment, judges it according to Christian standards, and plans some action to correct it. The same technique has been used with success also by other specialized groups: teachers, lawyers, students, farmers, etc.
[KIC INTERJECTORY NOTE: The notation above, positively marking the method of "see, judge, act" highlights where the original Catholic Action apostolate went astray. Due to the pervasive modernist infilitration, the imperative Catholic principal of "Pray, Study, Act" was erroneously changed to depend solely on human reason. By abandoning the practice of "Pray, Study, Act" - in that exact order - the true Catholic Action apostolate floundered.)
The purpose of Catholic Action coincides with the purpose of the Church itself, which is to bring about the reign of Christ in individuals, in families, and in society. Its aim, therefore, is spiritual and religious, not temporal or political. The form that the organization takes in various places and the specific tasks that it undertakes will depend upon the decisions of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
Love of God and of one's neighbor is one foundation on which is based the obligation of all, the laity included, to engage in the apostolate. It is founded also on the membership of all in the organic structure of the Mystical Body of Christ (the Church). For the laity, by reason of the sacramental characters of Baptism and Confirmation, participate in their own way in the priesthood of Christ and are called to the apostolate of prayer, sacrifice, example, and works. Moreover, in the sacramental characters lies (sic) the possibility that the laity may be called upon to give immediate assistance in the ecclesiastical apostolate to which the hierarchy alone is directly called. When a commission or mandate is given to the organized laity to do apostolic work, that possibility becomes actual. That group and its work is then known as Catholic Action. [End of Entry]
Catholic Action, as an organization with humble fealty to the Church and a filial love for the Holy Father, no longer exists. However, since the Church also teaches that Catholics may join together in free association, KIC imitates the original Catholic Action apostolate, stressing prayer, sacrifice, example and good works. Just as the purpose of Catholic Action once coincided "with the purpose of the Church itself, which is to bring about the reign of Christ in individuals, in families, and in society" and just as its "aim is spiritual and religious, not temporal or political," such is the Keeping It Catholic's purpose.
Above all, the center of KIC's mission is the whole, entire message of Fatima, which underscored all of the Church's key doctrines - from the existence of angels, heaven, purgatory, hell, and the absolute necessity of faith and good works (which means prayer and sacrifice to make reparation to God for sin; to ask for heaven's graces which assist the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his high office as the Vicar of Christ; for the conversion of sinners, the prayers of the daily Rosary; the wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and living chastely according to our state in life; the devotion of the Five First Saturdays), and the role of the Virgin Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces - our dear Mother who still awaits the collegial consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
To further understand Catholic Action as it was, what it can still be, and what the virtuous habits of "Pray, Study, Act" mean to our personal interior lives (the life of grace in our souls), you might also wish to read "Light a Single Candle: The Secret of the Catholic City."
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Age of Mary: Take a Peek Right Here!
With "The Age of Mary" Catholic Internet-based Study Guides...
I personally designed these beautiful electronic Catholic Study Guides so that you can much more easily give your older children a thoroughly Catholic home education, in which Tradition and Scripture permeate all the subjects!
- Economical full-color electronic syllabi with graphics & interactive links
- Each Guide covers 9 weeks (4 Guides per year, 36 weeks total)
- Syllabi subjects are Religion, Language Arts (Composition, Literature, Poetry), History, Geography and Science
- Everything needed is included!
- Perfect for jr. high and high-school age students - making for a smoother transition into high school, when switching from another curriculum, and for those brand-new to homeschooling
- Great for Catholic teachers and catechists looking to supplement Religion, Language Arts, etc.
- A wealth of info for Marian catechists, budding Mariologists, and history buffs!
- Quick electronic delivery
- Receive your first Guide within 24 hours (or less) of your order
- Spring 2008 Offer: Currently 50% off the total price for the full one-year curriculum
WHAT is an electronic Guide? You'll get a good idea as you scroll this page and view screenshots of the first Age of Mary Catholic Internet-based Study Guide, "Our Lady of Paris and the Medal of the Immaculate Conception."
With just two tools - your home computer and Internet access - "The Age of Mary Catholic Internet Study Guides" are easy to use every day! Watch student interest soar as they click and type their way through their studies! (Btw, if you want to see a quicker overview, please see this page.)
The screenshot above displays the first thing you'll see when you receive and open the complete email version. Currently, the first Catholic Study Guide arrives in your emailbox (in the near future, it will be a downloadable, Windows-only ebook). With the email version, all you need do is keep it in a safe folder within your email box! The downloadable version (coming soon) includes the same contents, but in a "virtual book" format that opens on your computer desktop.
Each installment of our Catholic Study Guide includes syllabi (lesson plans) and active links - enough to cover 9 weeks! (Note: There are 4 quarterly installments through the year)
By scrolling through the Age of Mary Catholic Study Guide, you or your student will reach the first section, A Year with Our Lady and Materials and Links.
Please note the column format: The left side displays the central articles & syllabi.
The right side features: Resource lists - like "Recommended for the Entire Age of Mary Series," plus screened links to free online books, articles, and virtual tours! Also included: A list of Catholic living books and supplementary history titles (all very helpful but not strictly necessary because everything needed is included within each electronic Guide!)
Light a Single Candle!
The screenshot above features the opening paragraphs to Light a Single Candle, a combination of historical study and syllabus.
Throughout the study-syllabus will also be found more inter-active links to additional resources, quotations from various historians or websites, etc.
More Features...
Proceeding through the Guide: Above, you can view another section of Light a Single Candle, as well as Historical Figures to Know (with more screened links to online resources for further study and research!) and our History Vocabulary List.
Why Students Love to Learn with "The Age of Mary"!
The main reason? No more disconnected studies! The FIVE subject lesson plans are inter-related! What is covered in Religion is connected to History, what is covered in History is connected to Language Arts (English, Composition, and Literature), Geography, and Science.
There is no other curriculum (designed for Catholics) which offers so much for so little!
NEXT: Lesson Ideas (The Central Syllabus)
- Lesson plans (syllabi) for all five subjects are based on the Marian theme and objective historical facts.
- Study Church dogmas and doctrines, delve deeply into history, soak in literature and poetry, create essays, reports and compositions, geographically explore specific parts of Europe, make virtual tours of shrines and other historic spots, and research various scientific branches.
- Learn Religious Terms to Know (with definitions provided!)
Other Student Benefits:
History Online!
*Whiz through colorful syllabi with screened interactive links to online resources for 5 main subjects, including: Religion, Language Arts (Composition, Literature, Poetry), History (with a "Catholic conscience," not a "perspective"), Geography, and Science.
*Strengthen independent study skills
*Enjoy quality time on the computer
Even More Benefits!
*Via study of the Marian apparitions declared "worthy of belief" by the Church, your students will better understand the historical events that both preceded and followed them.
*Learn more about saints, popes, & other respected historical figures who left their mark in history. Discover philosphers (saints and otherwise) who greatly impacted history - and the times in which we live.
*Study the lives and writings of saints and popes - all online! Cultivate a deeper interior life by learning how to daily live the Church's constant teaching: Pray, Study, Act!
As you can see from these examples, The Age of Mary Catholic Internet-based Study Guides mean serious study, yet offered in an innovative way which strongly appeals to youth.
BENEFITS FOR YOU, the PARENT and TEACHER
- SAVE MONEY! With the low price of our Early Spring Special, get everything needed for ONE SCHOOL YEAR of Religion, Language Arts, History, Geography and Science. (Everything is included except math.) The 4 quarterly installments provide enough material to cover 36 WEEKS of lessons! (Material can be thoroughly covered in either more or less time - depending on a student's individual pace.)
- No books or extras are needed for The Age of Mary. In each Catholic Study Guide, there is included a suggested supplemental list of living books or other items (which you may wish to purchase elsewhere). However, they are *not* strictly necessary.
- SAVE TIME! Discuss topics (provided in the syllabi) & review "The Age of Mary" assignments in about one hour a day.Your student(s) can then study, read through links, research or type assignments for the rest of the day.
- As your jr. high or high school student uses the computer for 5 core topics, you'll have extra hours to teach your little ones, take care of household tasks, or simply relax a bit
- Enjoy worry-free convenience! Just check over your students' shoulders as they zoom through each installment of the electronic 9-week "Age of Mary" syllabus.
- Easily provide parent-teacher guidance while encouraging independent study!
- Offer your students the best of both worlds - both classic and scholastic!
- Print out the complete syllabi for your records! No writing in lesson plans books or typing them into your word processor necessary!
- Relieve (or completely avoid) "homeschool burnout" (for both you and your students)!
- Most importantly, bring your family (or class) closer "to Jesus through Mary." The Age of Mary curriculum is designed for junior high and high school students, but is easily adaptable for middle grade students (grades 6-8).
- With The Age of Mary, your students will learn and retain so much more about religion, history, literature, and other subjects through study of Church-approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary - including Our Lady of Paris (the Miraculous Medal), LaSalette, Lourdes, and Fatima!
~EARLY SPRING OFFER~
The Age of Mary is a Keeping It Catholic exclusive and is available nowhere else. With over 400 hours required to create just one Guide, I personally create each installment with homeschooling parents and students in mind.
During this time of transition from e-mail to ebook format, I can personally offer a 50% discount on The Age of Mary when you order TODAY! You'll receive the first Catholic Study Guide within 24 hours, via email. The remaining Guides will be in a Windows-only format, for which I'll send you the download link as the appropriate time.
For a LIMITED TIME: Only $49.99 (in U.S. funds) - anywhere in the world!
(Please Note: Price will increase in late spring 2008)
To Save 50% now, please visit the Keeping It Catholic Order Page
In the love of Christ and His Virgin Mother,
Marianna Bartold
We're "Keeping It Catholic" on the Net!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Review - Union with God: Letters of Spiritual Direction
“All our perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ; and therefore, the most perfect of all devotions is, without any doubt, that which most perfectly conforms, unites and consecrates us to Jesus Christ. Now, Mary being the most conformed of all creatures to Jesus Christ, it follows that, of all devotions, that which most consecrates and conforms the soul to Our Lord is devotion to His holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to Mary, the more it is consecrated to Jesus.”-St. Louis de Montfort, Treatise on True Devotion, n. 120
It is always a joy to share sound spiritual sources which allow us to learn and practice Our Lord’s dictum, “Be thou therefore perfect, as also thy Heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 48). For the Messiah also taught, “The disciple is not above his master: but every one shall be perfect, if he be as his master.” (Luke 6: 40)
How are we to become perfect if we wish to be as Our Master, Jesus Christ? The only answer is repeated many times in both Tradition and Scripture – e.g., the two, inseparable sources in which Divine Revelation is given to us. Throughout the ages, Divine Revelation is expounded by many trusted Christian (which means Catholic) sources - including but not limited to St. Alfonsus di Liguori, St. Dominic, Blessed Alan de la Roche, St. Louis Marie de Montfort, the great Carmelite reformers St. Terese of Avila and St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux (the “Little Flower”), Blessed Columba Marmion, and Fr. Garrigou-LaGrange.
The works of St. Louis Marie include “The Secret of Mary,” “The Secret of the Rosary” and “True Devotion to Mary.” As we will see, a number of popes blessed this particular devotion, and they also spoke or wrote of “True Devotion to Mary.”
---Pope Pius XI declared that St. Louis’ teaching on devotion to Mary was the best and most acceptable form of devotion to Our Lady.
---Pope Leo XIII granted a plenary indulgence to those who make the Act of Consecration to Mary (which is truly an Act of Consecration TO Jesus through Mary). It was this same pope who, on his deathbed, renewed the Act of Consecration and asked for the intercession of the (then) Blessed Louis de Montfort, whom the pope had beautified in 1888.
---Pope St. Pius X: “I heartily recommend ‘True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin,’ so admirably written by Blessed De Montfort, and to all who read it [I] grant the Apostolic Benediction.”
---Pope Benedict XV: “A book of high authority and unction.”
---Pope Pius XI: “I have practiced this devotion ever since my youth.”
---Pope Pius XIII: “The greatest force behind all his (St. Louis de Montfort’s) apostolic ministry and his great secret for attracting and winning souls for Jesus was his devotion to Mary. (From the Canonization Address of July 20, 1947)
---Pope John Paul II: “…this Saint's Mariological thought ‘is rooted in the mystery of the Trinity and in the truth of the Incarnation of the Word of God.’ ”
The whole of St. Louis de Montfort’s teaching is that the “shorter way” to spiritual perfection is through the hands of the Virgin Mother. He taught that when we do everything by, through, and with Our Lady, we are the more quickly brought to a deeper spiritual union with God. This way – to Jesus through Mary – perfectly coincides with what the Lord manifested as His Divine Will to Sr. Lucia of Fatima, which is that the Immaculate Heart must be loved and honoured next to His Sacred Heart.
Now we shall examine the spiritual direction of the Blessed Columbia Marmion who, as we shall see, offered his humble opinion that the “Act of Consecration” to the Virgin (which is truly an act TO Jesus THROUGH Mary) is especially for souls chosen by the Holy Ghost to more speedily rise to perfect spiritual union with God.
To provide a spotlight biography of the Blessed Columbia Marmion: He had been a priest in Dublin, Ireland before finding a vocation to the monastery, where he eventually become Abbot in Maredsous Abbey, Belgium. One of the foremost spiritual masters of the 20th century, his books are acclaimed by popes and cardinals, including the well-known Cardinal Mercier, Pope Benedict XV, Pope Pius XII, and Pope John Paul II.
A recently republished book, “Union with God: Letters of Spiritual Direction” (http://www.zaccheuspress.com/) is a collection of letters first published 10 years after Blessed Columba Marmion’s death. These letters were written “to the many people who wrote to him with their spiritual problems – questions about prayer, faith, temptation, trails, and suffering. Blessed Columba’s advice is always simple and uncomplicated, yet deep and profound.” (From the back cover of “Union with God: Letters of Spiritual Direction by Blessed Columba Marmion”)What is “spiritually confirming” about this book (which I would recommend to any adult from high school age and up), is that the Blessed Columba Marmion urged sound interior practices (or even what might be called “interior non-action”), which are expounded in both the great works of the Carmelite reformers, St. Terese of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and also in the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux (of whom the Blessed Marmion became aware during the cause of her canonization). Blessed Marmion did not indulge in novelties, but with firm charity taught the Faith in all its integrity, whole and intact. In a word, he constantly urged that souls give themselves entirely to Our Lord, Jesus Christ – holding back nothing.
Blessed Marmion's spiritual advice conforms itself to “True Devotion to Mary” taught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort, in which the Christian souls gives themselves “To Jesus through Mary.” For that reason, most surprising was Blessed Marmion’s admission that he first found “The Secret of Mary” to be "distracting." Initially, such an admission is alarming to other Christian souls, since St. Louis Marie de Montfort and many other saints explain that a Christian’s honest attitude and devotion (or lack thereof) to the Mother of God, especially in regard to the Most Holy Rosary, reveals the true state of his soul.
However, further reading reveals that Blessed Marmion’s spiritual direction in regard to "True Devotion" was as follows: “For certain souls, drawn to [True Devotion] by grace, this devotion is doubtless fruitful and sanctifying. But for that it needs to be attracted to it by the grace of the Holy Spirit.” Yet he also claimed that for souls attracted to “The Secret of Mary,” he encouraged them, “for this devotion was propagated by a Saint, and [if] it seems to us exaggerated” it is because “perhaps…we are not yet at the diapason of holiness.”
This humble and holy observation should not cause pride in those who find themselves strongly drawn to "True Devotion" and "The Secret of Mary;" instead, it should stir a deeper love and gratitude to God for His great Mercy in calling us to give all to Jesus through the loving hands of His Virgin Mother.
In regard to “The Secret of Mary” – the "shorter" path of higher spiritual union with God via True Devotion to Jesus through Mary – various saints explain that Our Lord Himself wants all of us to give themselves to the Virgin, just as He did. Our Lord, Whose entire Life was an example for us to follow, submitted Himself in loving obedience to the Virgin Mother and his chaste foster-father, St. Joseph. Is Jesus not the Word who gave us the Commandments, including "Honor thy father and they mother"? Our Lord gave more glory to God in his first 30 years of filial submission to His Mother than if He had preached during his youth and early adult life.
We Christians know that Our Lord Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Holy Trinity and Who is both God and Man, allowed Himself to be nurtured, taught and instructed by the Virgin who was always, from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception, “full of grace.” The faithful Christian should do the same as did Our Lord throughout His Holy Life, striving to follow His example in regard to Our Lady, who was God’s “Mater et Magistra” (Mother and Teacher), the Spouse of the Holy Ghost, and Who is the perfect model for the Church.
These Marian doctrines are great mysteries, but we know they are true because God (Who can neither deceive nor be deceived) entrusted to the Church His Divine Revelation (Tradition and Scripture). Both Tradition and Scripture provide certain lights in regard to the Virgin Mary (Spouse of the Holy Ghost) and the Church (the Bride of Christ).
In embracing “True Devotion” to Jesus through Mary, we will find the Immaculate Virgin lovingly declares, as she did at Fatima, “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God.”
Each day, let us each remember that Our Lady invites us to come to her for all the graces we need, for she is indeed the Mediatrix of All Graces and She herself will intercede for us before Her Divine Son! Offer everything - every thought, word and action of the day - to Jesus through Mary, as sacrifices to God in reparation for sins and to ask for the conversion of sinners. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known
that any one
who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help,
or sought thy intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins, my Mother!
To thee I come,
before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate!
Despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.
(The Memorare of St. Bernard. Indulgence, 300 days, each time. Plenary, once a month, on the usual conditions: Confession, Holy Communion, and prayers for the intention of the Holy Father)
St. Gabriel's Academy in PA: At Least Five Red Flags
Keeping It Catholic recently received an inquiry about St. Gabriel's Academy, an online Catholic curriculum provider with a mailing address in the state of PA. The email received stated:
Hello,
I was recently made aware of the St. Gabriel Catholic Academy and wondered if anyone at "Keeping it Catholic" had any info on it. They claim to be an online catholic homeschooling curriculum, but I have serious doubts about their "Catholic" faith. Coming from an evangelical background, I can easily recognize similar language on this website. It would be interesting to know who is behind this curriculum and what their motivation is.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. I fear that some Catholic homeschooling parents may not search this out thoroughly and purchase this curriculum not knowing that it could be dangerous to their faith.
Thank you and God bless,
(Name withheld by KIC)
Keeping It Catholic's Response:
Dear XXXX:
Thank you so much for contacting me. Keeping It Catholic was not aware of St. Gabriel Catholic Academy. That fact alone is surprising, since their website states "Copyright 1999-2008" (which implies that the service was founded in 1999), but KIC is familiar with "services" and "home study programs" which are (or claim to be) Catholic. You have now brought a questionable one to our attention, for which I must thank you.
After looking at the website, it would seem there exists a number of "Red Flags," of which I will mention only five:
First, the service claims it is Catholic yet only reiterates that it is biblically-based. What is conspicious by its absence is any mention of Tradition. (There is, however, one web page in which excerpts from various papal encyclicals are displayed. This page might mislead a parent to think that since magisterial documents are referenced, Tradition will also hold its rightful place within the courses of study. That assumption is apparently negated by the website's repeated stance that the program is biblically based.)
Second, it appears that some license was taken with the Apostle's Creed, with the result that parts of their "statement of faith" conflicts with the true Apostle's Creed (not to mention the Nicene Creed). If this academy is Catholic, why not use the Apostle's Creed as the Church has given it to us?
Third, there are no names provided - not even for the director, much less any board, trustees, teachers or counselors. Such an omission strongly suggests that the individuals behind St. Gabriel's Catholic Academy are carefully concealing their real identities - but for what reason? One should not be ashamed to use one's good name for the cause of Christ.
Fourth, this academy is located in Pennsylvania, which (based on the state's laws) is one of the more challenging in which to homeschool. My personal inquiry made to the statewide Catholic Homeschoolers of PA network - which was founded years before the academy - revealed that St. Gabriel's Academy is not at all known to them.
Fifth, the academy's accreditation status appears to be questionable, since no real authority (church or state) holds responsibility for it. In fact, their FAQ page features the question, "Is the St. Gabriel Catholic Academy a licensed or accredited school?" The answer-that-is-not-a-clear-answer claims that St. Gabriel Catholic Academy is "accredited" by NAPCIS (National Association of Private Catholic Indepent Schools) - an entity which, contrary to popular belief, holds absolutely no authority within either the Church or the state to "accredit" any school of any kind. (FYI: The issue of "accreditation" and accrediting agencies has been covered on the Keeping It Catholic email list.)
Interestingly, St. Gabriel Catholic Academy doesn't answer the question about any "license."
Instead, their response continues: "Catholic homeschool parents who enroll in St. Gabriel Academy are encouraged to look into their local homeschooling laws for oversight." [Emphasis added]
Translation for those who have not yet learned how to read-between-the-lines: "Our NAPCIS accreditation only means that a self-appointed entity, with no real authority within the Church or the state, has approved our curriculum to be in line with its self-appointed standards. Our NAPCIS accreditation means that and only that."
With those five points alone, I would have to agree with your assessment that extreme caution must be employed when considering this allegedly Catholic academy.
Again, thank you so much for bringing St. Gabriel Catholic Academy to our attention.
In the love of Christ and His Virgin Mother,
Marianna Bartold
We're "Keeping It Catholic" on the Net at http://www.keepingitcatholic.org/
Hello,
I was recently made aware of the St. Gabriel Catholic Academy and wondered if anyone at "Keeping it Catholic" had any info on it. They claim to be an online catholic homeschooling curriculum, but I have serious doubts about their "Catholic" faith. Coming from an evangelical background, I can easily recognize similar language on this website. It would be interesting to know who is behind this curriculum and what their motivation is.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. I fear that some Catholic homeschooling parents may not search this out thoroughly and purchase this curriculum not knowing that it could be dangerous to their faith.
Thank you and God bless,
(Name withheld by KIC)
Keeping It Catholic's Response:
Dear XXXX:
Thank you so much for contacting me. Keeping It Catholic was not aware of St. Gabriel Catholic Academy. That fact alone is surprising, since their website states "Copyright 1999-2008" (which implies that the service was founded in 1999), but KIC is familiar with "services" and "home study programs" which are (or claim to be) Catholic. You have now brought a questionable one to our attention, for which I must thank you.
After looking at the website, it would seem there exists a number of "Red Flags," of which I will mention only five:
First, the service claims it is Catholic yet only reiterates that it is biblically-based. What is conspicious by its absence is any mention of Tradition. (There is, however, one web page in which excerpts from various papal encyclicals are displayed. This page might mislead a parent to think that since magisterial documents are referenced, Tradition will also hold its rightful place within the courses of study. That assumption is apparently negated by the website's repeated stance that the program is biblically based.)
Second, it appears that some license was taken with the Apostle's Creed, with the result that parts of their "statement of faith" conflicts with the true Apostle's Creed (not to mention the Nicene Creed). If this academy is Catholic, why not use the Apostle's Creed as the Church has given it to us?
Third, there are no names provided - not even for the director, much less any board, trustees, teachers or counselors. Such an omission strongly suggests that the individuals behind St. Gabriel's Catholic Academy are carefully concealing their real identities - but for what reason? One should not be ashamed to use one's good name for the cause of Christ.
Fourth, this academy is located in Pennsylvania, which (based on the state's laws) is one of the more challenging in which to homeschool. My personal inquiry made to the statewide Catholic Homeschoolers of PA network - which was founded years before the academy - revealed that St. Gabriel's Academy is not at all known to them.
Fifth, the academy's accreditation status appears to be questionable, since no real authority (church or state) holds responsibility for it. In fact, their FAQ page features the question, "Is the St. Gabriel Catholic Academy a licensed or accredited school?" The answer-that-is-not-a-clear-answer claims that St. Gabriel Catholic Academy is "accredited" by NAPCIS (National Association of Private Catholic Indepent Schools) - an entity which, contrary to popular belief, holds absolutely no authority within either the Church or the state to "accredit" any school of any kind. (FYI: The issue of "accreditation" and accrediting agencies has been covered on the Keeping It Catholic email list.)
Interestingly, St. Gabriel Catholic Academy doesn't answer the question about any "license."
Instead, their response continues: "Catholic homeschool parents who enroll in St. Gabriel Academy are encouraged to look into their local homeschooling laws for oversight." [Emphasis added]
Translation for those who have not yet learned how to read-between-the-lines: "Our NAPCIS accreditation only means that a self-appointed entity, with no real authority within the Church or the state, has approved our curriculum to be in line with its self-appointed standards. Our NAPCIS accreditation means that and only that."
With those five points alone, I would have to agree with your assessment that extreme caution must be employed when considering this allegedly Catholic academy.
Again, thank you so much for bringing St. Gabriel Catholic Academy to our attention.
In the love of Christ and His Virgin Mother,
Marianna Bartold
We're "Keeping It Catholic" on the Net at http://www.keepingitcatholic.org/
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