VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is appealing to the media to educate children "in the ways of beauty, truth and goodness," not of violence and vulgarity.
The Holy Father's appeal is in his message for World Communications Day 2007, which will be observed May 20 with the theme "Children and the Media: a Challenge for Education." The papal message for the media day is traditionally published today, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists.
The message calls for reflection on two aspects: the first is "the formation of children," and the second, "perhaps less obvious but no less important, is the formation of the media."
The Pope explains: "The relationship of children, media, and education can be considered from two perspectives: the formation of children by the media; and the formation of children to respond appropriately to the media.
"A kind of reciprocity emerges which points to the responsibilities of the media as an industry and to the need for active and critical participation of readers, viewers and listeners."
The Pontiff adds: "Within this framework, training in the proper use of the media is essential for the cultural, moral and spiritual development of children.
"Educating children to be discriminating in their use of the media is a responsibility of parents, Church, and school.
"Media education should be positive. Children exposed to what is aesthetically and morally excellent are helped to develop appreciation, prudence and the skills of discernment."
Mirroring the divine
Benedict XVI's statement recognizes the importance of the example of parents and encourages them to introduce youth to "children's classic literature, to the fine arts and to uplifting music."
"Beauty, a kind of mirror of the divine, inspires and vivifies young hearts and minds, while ugliness and coarseness has a depressing impact on attitudes and behavior," the papal message continues.
The media industry can support the education of children in the ways of beauty, truth and goodness "only to the extent that it promotes fundamental human dignity, the true value of marriage and family life, and the positive achievements and goals of humanity," the Pope says.
Benedict XVI acknowledges that communicators often face "'special psychological pressures and ethical dilemmas' ... which at times see commercial competitiveness compelling communicators to lower standards."
"Any tendency to produce programs and products -- including animated films and video games -- which in the name of entertainment exalt violence and portray anti-social behavior or the trivialization of human sexuality is a perversion, all the more repulsive when these programs are directed at children and adolescents," he says.
The Holy Father appeals in his message "to the leaders of the media industry to educate and encourage producers to safeguard the common good, to uphold the truth, to protect individual human dignity and promote respect for the needs of the family."
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Franciscan University of Steubenville is pleased to announce the creation of a Bachelor of Arts in Sacred Music to begin in the fall of 2007. The degree may be pursued in either the program in voice or the program in organ. Pianists may audition for the program in organ on the piano. Courses will include private instruction on the major instrument, music theory, music history, conducting and a year-long course in Gregorian Chant. In addition, students will participate in the Schola Cantorum Franciscana, which concentrates on polyphony and chant and sings for occasional services on and off campus.
Interested students may apply for admission to the university at:
Franciscan University of Steubenville Admissions 1235 University Blvd. Steubenville, OH 43953
Students interested in auditioning may contact Prof. Paul Weber at the above address or by telephone at 740.284.5884.
The purpose of Homeschoolers For Life is to create a coalition of homeschooling families dedicated to promoting the principle that life is to be respected at all stages of development from conception to natural death.
Heavenly Father, today is the anniversary of our son's birth, the day on which You allowed him to enter this magnificent world that You have made.
We thank You for the child that You have entrusted to us.
We want to cooperate with You fully in helping him grow into a free and responsible person and mature in the faith received at Baptism.
Grant us the grace to be able to guide him in the practice of virtue and the way of Your commandments-- by the good example of our lives, and by the loving observance of Your law and that of Your Church.
Most of all, however, guide him with Your Spirit so that he may know the vocation You will for him and be open to genuine self-giving and true Christian love.
“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.”
“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength”
“Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.”
Recently, I've been doing a lot of thinking about humility. I've come to the conclusion, that I really need to learn to be humble. The real humility, and not the insincere, "look at me, look how humble I am" humility.
Dean recently posted on this topic. He did a really good job on tackling the issue of humility from a different perspective.
The following is an excerpt:
..."I hope by now the shock has worn off and you realize that I do not mean for you to physically cease to be. Physically dying would be a much easier but much less fruitful task. No, what we want to do is empty ourselves, to the point that we lose ourselves. Why would we want to do that? Well, let’s take a look at who we are. We are all selfish, self-righteous, prideful, arrogant, unloving, lying, envious and jealous people. In other words, “somethin’ done went wrong with us.” Do you not find any of those traits in you?...
...Now, in order for us to get anywhere, we have to start with the virtue that begins the dying process. Humility is the key to all of the other virtues. Without humility one cannot take any of the other virtues to heart because there is no space left inside the heart because it’s full of self. Now humility does not mean that you have to walk around telling people how lowly and unworthy you are. In fact, if you were to meet a truly humble person, you would most likely say to yourself, “Wow, he (or she) really listened to me and cared about what I was saying.” Humility gets rid of the you, while raising up others. This is one of the reasons why it is so hard, because it helps you to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around you!
Humility truly allows us to gain wisdom and knowledge. This is because it helps us to rid ourselves of what we think we know, so that others can fill our minds and hearts with the true knowledge that we don’t know. In other words, humility is the softener of hard-hearts, and hard-heads.
"SGT Hess, We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq. Discount-Mats.com is run out of Khetani's home in West Allis, Wis. In a
telephone interview Tuesday with FOX News, Khetani said he had fired the employee who sent the email, a claim that FOX News has not been able to confirm. He also said he has received thousands of phone calls to his home and business from people protesting the email exchange.
Hess said that he has since found two mat suppliers who shipped to an APO address in Iraq.
Meanwhile, FOX News has received thousands of emails asking how to
donate mats and other items to U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
Rob Timmons, an Iraq veteran and a veteran outreach coordinator, recommended the following Web
sites:
