28 March AD 2024

THVRSDAY EDITION

An open letter to Cardinal Reinhard Marx

Your Eminence, the German Church — the Catholicism of my ancestors — is dying. ☩ George Weigel at The Catholic World Report

The Pope and the Pendulum: The First Mechanical Clock Was a Medieval Catholic Invention

The clock reveals to us the passage of time, but telling time wasn’t always as easy as it is today: from sundials to the hourglass, no method was very accurate until the first mechanical clock – a medieval Catholic invention by Pope Sylvester II. ☩ Billy Ryan at uCatholic

Marian Blue, Gold & White Vestments from Benedicamus

For those who admire blue vestments for Marian feasts but who do not live within locales where this privilege is available, take heart, there are some options available to you that remain within both the letter and spirit of the law. ☩ Shawn R. Tribe at Liturgical Arts Journal

What’s Really Behind the Vatican Newspaper Controversy?

Andrea Monda said he did not interfere in the printing of the monthly companion magazine Donna Chiesa Mondo (Women Church World), in the wake of the resignation of the founder of the multilingual magazine, Lucetta Scaraffia, and its all-female board. ☩ Edward Pentin at National Catholic Register

How secularization is killing middle America

Tim argues that the root cause of our problems; crumbling families, despair, political dysfunction, is the erosion of community and local, civil institutions, most especially church. ☩ Caroline Roberts at Acton Institute Powerblog

How to eliminate 99% of all poverty

☩ Rev. Ben Johnson at Acton Institute Powerblog

Where do exorcists go to school?

☩ Philip Kosloski at Aleteia

Catholic Modesty

☩ Jacinta Boudreau at Ignitum Today

What Became of the Spirit of the Liturgy? Implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium A.D. 1963—1965

Considering that so much of the debate about liturgy today is concerned with the rite of Mass itself—Ordinary vs. Extraordinary form, or the merits of proposed changes in the rite—the following statement from a book by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) may be surprising ☩ Susan Benofy at Adoremus

Hack Your Way to Holiness – Off the Shelf 117 with Patti Maguire Armstrong

Leading a holy life doesn’t have to be difficult. Simply put we just need to persevere. ☩ Pete Socks at Catholic Stand

The mental health crisis among America’s youth is real – & staggering

Social media has drastically restructured their daily lives. ☩ Jean Twenge at Mercatornet

Jim Caviezel gave what may be the greatest Catholic address of the 21st century

The famed actor of 'The Passion of the Christ' called for the next generation to “send Lucifer straight back to hell.” ☩ J.P. Mauro at Aleteia

Book review: 'Rethinking Poverty' by James P. Bailey

Although the book shares the same title as Barry Knight’s Rethinking Poverty, Bailey’s argument takes a markedly different approach. He starts from the premise that the role of assets and asset-building has been vastly undervalued in the development of public policy on poverty and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in society. ☩ Andrei Rogobete at Transatlantic Blog via Acton Institute

Science Is Never Settled

In his 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore promotes the view that anthropogenic (man-made) global warming (AGW) is fact and has caused nearly every malady in recent history from hurricane Katrina to the spread of malaria. . . ☩ Regis Nicoll at Crisis Magazine

A natural fertility app is found to be as effective as other family planning methods -

A first-of-its-kind prospective study. ☩ Shannon Roberts at Mercatornet

“Strive” offers men a challenging, unique 21-day detox from porn

The STRIVE program, says Bill Donaghy, is a “progressive journey for men, taking them deeper into their own lives and then out into the wider circles of accountability and fraternity.” ☩ Jim Graves at The Catholic World Report

The Catholic Position on the Electoral College

Is there a Catholic position on the Electoral College? Is there a “Catholic algebra” or a “Catholic chemistry”? ☩ Deacon James H. Toner at Crisis Magazine

Saint Patrick the Musical

☩ Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American Catholic

Your Closet: More Chant Less Chaos

☩ Meghan Ashley Styling

Pope Leo XIII Teaches Fundraising

☩ CatholicFundraiser.net