Book Review - The TimeOut Papers, by Sally E. Follett, Sophia Institute Press, 2020

 Reviewed by Rosa M. Sautner - Catholic homeschooling mom of two.

When I first read the title of The TimeOut Papers, I thought, what an interesting title for a book!  Now that I have read it, I thought, what an inspired idea, why didn't I think of that!

    Sally E. Follett, has done us all a favor and has put together a spiral bound book filled with copywork "papers"  that address each particular fault or infraction a child may commit. 

    The first section of the book is entitled, TimeOut to Teach and it addresses the faults committed by younger children.  Some of the pages include, Pouting, Whining, Calling Names, Slamming the Door, Feeling Mad or Bitter, Gossiping, Being Late, Being Lazy, Boasting, Lacking Gratitude, and many more.  On each "paper" that focuses on a fault, there is a gentle lesson on the correction of that fault, a short heart-felt prayer, and a Scripture quote.  These are to be read to very young children, with them repeating each line, or given to a good reader to read for himself.  Sally states that if an older child who knows better commits one of these faults, they are to copy the whole page, except for the Scripture quote.

    The second part of the book, TimeOut to Write, deals with sins or faults committed by older children.  Some of TimeOut Papers for the older children include, Lying, Cheating, Stealing, Teasing, Bullying, Swearing, Not Keeping My Word, and many others.  Since these are faults usually committed by older children, they are to write out the Paper to help the lesson sink in more effectively.

    A fault that is quite common in the best of homes is complaining about going to Church.  Sally's TimeOut Paper for this fault is:  "We must keep holy the Lord's Day; that is one of God's commandments.  We go to God's house on earth to worship Him and receive the life of Jesus in the breaking of the bread."  The TimeOut copywork concludes with this short and encouraging prayer:  "Dear God, I want to stay in communion with you!  Help me go to church joyfully, to show you that I'm happy to be Your child." 

    When raising children we often wonder, "Why can't they just obey, why can't they learn from their mistakes!"  As Sally says in the Note from the Author, "In speaking of the Gentiles in his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul explains why mercy and gentleness are encouraged in using the The TimeOut Papers, for he teaches, '...For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.' (11:30-31)"

    This is really a very practical way of raising virtuous children.  The habit of identifying the fault committed, repeating out loud the reason it is wrong and how to do better, and a prayer for help in improving, as well as writing out these papers will surely instill in a child a willingness to do better.  This is a highly recommended resource for all parents.

ACN-USA News - One million children praying the rosary can change the world

 

AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED (ACN) once again invites parishes, nurseries, schools, and families to participate in the initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” on Oct. 18 or 19. The focus of the prayer campaign is worldwide unity and peace. This year provides a special context, because never before has there been such a worldwide healthcare crisis and worldwide anxiety.

 

“A crisis in which the entire world has been and continues to be exposed to an invisible virus that has brought death to hundreds of thousands of people and devastating, and as yet unforeseeable, economic and social consequences.”

 

“Our world is no longer the same world, and what was taken for granted until now will no longer be so,” said Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, president of ACN International.

 

In a letter to children he said that in difficult situations it is especially important to work together and help one another. “But we must also not forget that the biggest help of all comes from God.”

 

That is why ACN again has issued the invitation to take part in the worldwide prayer initiative “A Million Children Praying the Rosary,” on Oct. 18—or, alternatively, to pray the rosary with children in schools or kindergartens on Monday Oct. 19 (since Oct. 18 falls on a Sunday this year).

 

“Our materials for the prayer campaign are available in 23 languages, including, for example, Arabic and several African languages. Children from around 80 countries and on all continents will be participating, from Ghana to Syria to Papua New Guinea.”

 

“May this joint worldwide rosary prayer initiative fill us all with new courage and confidence in God‘s loving protection, which He wishes to bestow on us through His Holy Mother,” Father Martin Barta, the ecclesiastical assistant of ACN International said.

 

The children’s rosary campaign was initiated in 2005 in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

 

While several children were praying the rosary at a roadside shrine, some of the people present recalled that Saint Padre Pio had said: “When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change.”

 

The campaign quickly spread across the world. ACN has supported the campaign since 2008 and took over the organization of the entire global event two years ago.

 

The organization provides a free prayer leaflet for parishes, children's groups, or families. It contains instructions on how to pray the rosary, child-friendly reflections on the mysteries of the rosary, and a child consecration to the Mother of God. Posters for the prayer campaign are also available as well coloring pages.

 

For more information and to order the materials, please click here.

 

 

With picture of 2020 poster (© ACN)

 

 

Editor’s Notes:

 

 

Directly under the Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need.  ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

 

Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work in over 145 countries throughout the world.

 

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

 

For more information contact Michael Varenne at michael@churchinneed.org or call 718-609-0939 or fax 718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard Street, PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384.  www.churchinneed.org

ACN-USA News - In Pakistan, the struggle for justice for kidnapped girl

 

14-YEAR-OLD PAKISTANI GIRL’S struggle to be free of the man who raped her—and blackmailed her into marriage and religious conversion—has taken an unexpected turn after the defendant failed to appear in court.

 

The court, in Rawalpindi, requested fresh evidence, including medical reports, as well as documentary material, including police records and birth and marriage certificates in the case of Maira Shahbaz, a Catholic girl from Madina Town, near Faisalabad.

 

Mohamad Nakash Tariq did not appear at the court, which heard a petition to cancel his marriage to Maira on grounds that she is underage and that it took place against her will.  The court’s request to review the evidence followed an earlier court decision, which sanctioned the former altar server’s marriage to Mr. Nakash on grounds that she had “embraced” Islam.

 

But, barely two weeks later, August 18, Maira went to police, saying she had escaped Mr. Nakash’s home in Faisalabad. She filed a series of complaints against him, accusing him of kidnapping her at gunpoint, drugging her, forcing her to marry him and convert to Islam.

 

Maira said he raped her and blackmailed her and threatened to release a video, understood to show her being gang raped. She also accused him of forcing her into prostitution. Maira said that Mr. Nakash had said he would kill both her and her family if she were to return to them.

 

Her defense centers on a birth certificate and other official documentation showing she was 13 at the time of her marriage to Mr. Nakash, which her abductor claims took place last October. The Muslim cleric, whose signature appears on the marriage certificate, has since dismissed the document as a fake.

 

The court, which met Sept. 23, requested Maira undergo medical tests to check for sexual abuse but there are concerns that such evidence may be weak given that the incidents in question took place at least six weeks ago.

 

In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Maira’s lawyer, Sumera Shafique, said: “Maira’s family is concerned that Mr. Nakash wants to re-kidnap her and kill both her and her family.”

 

Ms. Shafique said that, overall, the evidence was clearly in Maira’s favor but that, even if she wins the case, she will not be safe. She added: “By leaving Mr. Nakash and returning to her family, Maira will always be considered an apostate from Islam in the eyes of Mr. Nakash and mob groups, and they will continue to demand that she be killed.”

 

Ms. Shafique said that the girl and her family continue to receive death threats and that, even though they are in hiding and have 24-hour police protection as ordered by the court, their safety could not be guaranteed.

 

She said that in recent days neighbors have reported being approached by suspicious people asking for the family’s whereabouts. Ms. Shafique added: “The family is very afraid.”

 

—John Pontifex

 

 

With picture of Maira (l) and Ms. Shafique (© ACN)

 

 

Editor’s Notes:

 

 

Directly under the Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need.  ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

 

Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work in over 145 countries throughout the world.

 

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

 

For more information contact Michael Varenne at michael@churchinneed.org or call 718-609-0939 or fax 718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard Street, PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384.  www.churchinneed.org

 

EWTN to Hold Special Novena for the Nation Ahead of U.S. Elections

EWTN to Hold Special Novena 

for the Nation Ahead of U.S. Elections

 

The ‘Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation’ begins September 29th

 

(Irondale, AL) – EWTN Global Catholic Network will hold a special novena to pray for the nation ahead of the upcoming U.S. elections. The special “Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation” begins on Tuesday, September 29.

 

“As Catholics, we turn instinctively to our Blessed Mother in times of need,” said EWTN Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Michael P. Warsaw. “America’s first bishop, John Carroll of Baltimore, chose Our Lady as the patroness of the United States. And throughout our country’s history, we have always entrusted our nation to Mary’s motherly protection.

 

“In this present moment, when there is so much division and unrest in our country, and when many of the values that formed our nation seem to be at risk, we again need to turn to our Blessed Mother. We need to pray for her intercession that leaders and all who seek public office will follow the path of Truth, guarantee religious liberty, and ensure that all human life is valued and protected, most especially the unborn.”

 

The Novena begins Sept. 29, immediately following the daily televised Mass at 9 a.m. ET, with encores at 9:30 p.m. ET and 2:30 a.m. ET. The novena will continue through Oct. 7, the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. 

 

EWTN also has created a special eBook to help individuals as well as their family and friends to participate in this important devotion. The free eBook, “Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation,” is available in English at www.ewtn.com/novena, and in Spanish at www.ewtn.com/novenaesp. 

 

EWTN collaborated with one of the pre-eminent Marian theologians in the U.S. on the creation of this beautiful novena. Fr. Frederick Miller, a frequent EWTN guest and the Spiritual Director of the College Seminary of the Immaculate Conception at Seton Hall University, composed the meditations and prayers which invoke Mary’s intercession for our nation.

 

“In this critical moment, I hope that everyone will join in this powerful prayer for the nation and its leaders,” Warsaw said. “May God bless you during these days, and may God bless our nation.”

 

ABOUT EWTN

 

EWTN Global Catholic Network, founded in 1980, is the largest Catholic media network in the world. EWTN’s 11 global TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 350 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, Sky satellite radio, iHeart Radio, and over 500 domestic and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; several of the most visited Catholic web, digital and social media outlets in the world; EWTN News, its global news division; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book publishing group.