I would like to address the subject of Catholic home schooling in the tradition of the Catholic Church, and my plan is to cover three areas of a large subject.
What has the Catholic Church considered as home schooling in the Church's history? Secondly, why is home schooling necessary? And thirdly, how should home schooling be done most effectively?
The focus I would like to take is of home schooling as authentically Catholic. I would like to begin first with a general definition of Catholic home schooling, and then distinguish various kinds of home schooling in the Church's history...
"The true stories highlighted in this vignette confirm that this world is not as it should be. Jesus declared that we would encounter struggles and pain, but He also urged us to never despair for He has overcome this world. Music by Jars of Clay." produced by CatholicMediaHouse.Catholiques
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"Behold, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world."-St. John 16
The Holy Mass is the highest form of worship. It is the sacrifice of Calvary renewed. One Mass gives God more praise and thanksgiving and makes more atonement for sin and pleads more eloquently than does the combined eternal worship of all the souls in heaven, on earth and in purgatory. In the Holy Mass, it is Jesus Christ, God, as well as Man, who is our Intercessor, our Priest and our Victim. Being God as well as Man His prayers, merits and His offerings are infinite in value.
The Mass is the best means we have:
1. To render God the highest form of worship
2. To thank Him for all His blessings
3. To obtain reparation for all our sins.
4. To obtain all the blessings we desire.
5. To release souls from purgatory and shorten our own time there.
6. To preserve us from all dangers to soul and body
7. To be consoled at the hour of death, for at that moment their memory will be our greatest consolation
8. To intercede for us at the Judgment Seat of God
9. To bring down God's blessings; therefore try to assist at Mass every day, or as often as possible
10. To better understand the sublimity of the Passion of Christ, and therefore, to increase our love for Him
The memorial of the Presentation of Mary is celebrated on November 21. This feast corresponds to the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. This feast refers to Our Lady's presentation at the temple in Jerusalem as a small child. When she was only three years old, the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem by her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne. There she was taught, lived with other little girls and was cared for by pious women.
Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning this event. However, we do have the testimonies of tradition which are based on accounts which come to us from apostolic times. That which is known about the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple is found in the Apocrypha, principally in chapter seven of the Protoevangelium of James, which has been dated by historians prior to the year 200 AD.
On this feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary let us ask Our Lady to help us to consecrate ourselves entirely to God.
"Hail, holy throne of God, divine sanctuary, house of glory, jewel most fair, chosen treasure house, and mercy seat for the whole world, heaven showing forth the glory of God. Purest Virgin, worthy of all praise, sanctuary dedicated to God and raised above all human condition, virgin soil, unplowed field, flourishing vine, fountain pouring out waters, virgin bearing a child, mother without knowing man, hidden treasure of innocence, ornament of sanctity, by your most acceptable prayers, strong with the authority.
...She died Wednesday night, surrounded by family, succumbing after six years to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that had progressively robbed her of mobility, communication and the ability to breathe on her own.The Honolulu Advertiser
Throughout those six years she was a signpost for a good life — a life of generosity, humor, zest, resilience, sensitivity, passion, insight, deep inner strength and sense of adventure.
Chun has left Hawai'i a legacy of her artwork — she was known for her watercolors of Island life, her whimsical paintings and loving portraits of Mother Marianne Cope and Father Damien. But perhaps even more importantly, she has left a legacy of how to smile at and with life in all its ups and downs, and how to fully embrace the preciousness of our time on Earth, whatever challenges it holds for us...
The Cardinal Newman Society has launched a tour of the Vatican’s Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit which includes a stop at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota at Morris, the academic home of a biology professor who displayed his desecration of a Host on his web site.
According to a letter from Father Benedict Groeschel published in the Cardinal Newman Society newsletter, the exhibition at the University of Minnesota at Morris (UMM) was accompanied by an evening of Eucharistic Adoration, Bible study, a Communion service, and Sunday Mass...
...Now, the man known as the "Rosary Priest" for his penchant to use rosary beads to say Roman Catholic prayers for even activities like riding in a car, Peyton is being considered for sainthood. The Archdiocese of Baltimore will celebrate a Mass on Thursday to mark the start of the investigating process...
Dear Friends of Life,
It's been a little over a month since I last sent out an ALL Report, but that's because we spent that time puting together a very special and very important video report on Margaret Sanger and her racist ideologies which drove her eugenic agenda. This report is more like a mini-documentary, exposing Sanger's call to clear out "human weeds" by use of birth control, and I do hope that of all the ALL Reports you have helped promote, you give this one your most attention!
You can watch the report on YouTube at: YouTube and you can watching it on blip.tv (higher quality) at Blip TV.
As always, thank you so much you do for the babies!
--Michael
Holy souls in Purgatory, is there anything you regret when you think of your life on earth?:You can read the rest at Ed's blog.
I deeply regret wasted time.... I did not consider it so precious, so fleeting, so irretrievable. For this reason my life is worth only half of what it might have been. Oh, had I but realized it then! Would that I could return to earth, how differently I would use the time given to me! Precious time! . . .
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.
Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did.
Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden.
Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.
Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy,but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.
Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.
God fed the Israel lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments.
These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's' stuff.
Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more:
Humor thy father and thy mother.
One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.
After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.
After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets.
One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league Prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.
After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn.
(I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying
To me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would Be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')
During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like The Pharisees and the Democrats.
Jesus also had twelve opossums.
The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.
Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.
But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.
Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again.
He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.
(1) Don't stop and kick every barking dog. Don't fill up your pastor's email inbox with excessive complaints about liturgical abuses or catechetical errors. Chances are he knows about them and either doesn't care or is too feckless to do anything about it.Thanks to the Ten Reasons Blog
(2) Get sanity checks. Just because you don't belong to a healthy parish doesn't mean you can't visit one. Make it a monthly habit to go Mass at a such a place.
(3) Remember you are a member of the universal Church. Follow the Church's liturgical calendar and take advantage of the wealth of resources available on the Internet, e.g., homilies, commentaries, saints of the day.
(4) Kick the big dog. If you want to reform your parish, focus on a big problem and recruit fellow parishioners to change it. Do not hesitate to involve your bishop or Rome if you have exhausted local options.
(5) Form apostolates. Ask your pastor if a Bible study or catechism group can meet at the parish center, or, if that is not an option, meet at parishioner homes.
(6) Pray for your parish. It all starts -- but doesn't end -- with prayer.
(7) Lead your domestic church. You are the primary educators of your children. Make it a practice to read the lives of the saints, review a weekly chapter from a solid catechism, and gather for some form of evening prayer. Responsibility for your personal formation is part of this too.
(8) Don't scowl too much. This is somewhat related to tip (2), and one that strikes a personal chord, especially as a father. A cheery witness is a good witness; a grumpy one isn't.
(9) Be a Vatican II Catholic. The primary message to the laity of the Council was to engage and sanctify the world. It is outward directed. So becoming an active Catholic doesn't necessarily mean joining parish commissions, serving as an extraordinary minister, or joining the PTO. There are plenty of Catholic apostolates and organizations that need your help.
(10) Be hopeful. By hopeful, I do not mean "optimistic," a natural disposition or outlook. Hope is theological -- close to God. Put it all in His hands. Do not engage in the sort of conspiracy theories that predictably and lamentably circulate in troubled dioceses. The problems out in the open are probably bad enough.
(11) Seek fellowship. A fellow parishioner is organizing an Advent Bible study for couples. Many of the participants in my Monday morning catechism group have become dear friends. Strengthen the bond with your fellow Catholics by celebrating your faith with them.
Picture source here
...I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames, which were burning them, did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God. I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls call Her “The Star of the Sea”. She brings them refreshment. I wanted to talk with them some more, but my Guardian Angel beckoned me to leave. We went out of that prison of suffering. [I heard an interior voice which said] ‘My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it. Since that time, I am in closer communion with the suffering souls.’” (Diary, 20)
All for Priests
A woman called to spiritual maternity in favour of priests keeps nothing for herself. All that she has received from Christ -- all that she has acquired by His grace in the way of victories over sin, virtues, and merits; all her prayers, her penances; and, above all, her confident surrender to Divine Providence in the little things of daily life -- all of these things belong no longer to her, but rather to the souls of priests.
A Kind of Dispensary
The spiritual mother of priests becomes a kind of dispensary wherein Christ places whatever remedies His priests may need in their spiritual infirmities and weaknesses. She offers her heart, in imitation of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, to Our Lord, saying, "Use me, O Lord, as Thou wilt for the healing and sanctification of Thy priests. Unite the offering of myself to Thine own Offering on the Altar of the Cross and, then, let the all the fruits of our union be dispensed to Thy priests, especially to the weakest and most wounded among them."
If you are looking for a gift for your children, I highly recommend The Littlest Gargoyle by T.S. Hays, Illustrated by Elizabeth Huffmaster with narration and music by Angelina.
