Blogposts

Morality and Media

09-26-2021Weekly Reflection

What is the moral influence of film, theater, TV and so forth?

The influence is largely psychological. Media can exert an extraordinary power on habits. Images affect body, soul, and the powers of the mind: the sensitive powers, the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual.

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Against Impurity

09-12-2021Weekly ReflectionDominic Pino (Edited)

Pornography is a spiritual disaster, and the euphemisms of Sunday sermons aren’t getting at the problem. It’s not a secret that we have a pornography problem. By “we,” I mean American males, but also American Christian males. It’s also a problem for females, but not as big a problem and I can’t speak to it very well, so I’m focusing on the male side of things. If you need survey data to back up the claim that American males have a pornography problem, you haven’t been paying attention.

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The Mission of the Piarist Fathers in Central Africa

09-05-2021Weekly Reflection

Dear brothers and sisters,

After the Ebola pandemic that claimed thousands of lives in some Sub-Saharan African countries from 2013-2016, Judy Kuriansky, a psychologist, said that, “Education is a vital part in the redevelopment of affected countries and mitigation against negative impacts of future crisis.” I think we can all agree with that statement. In 1648, our Religious Order was founded in Rome by a Spanish priest called St. Joseph Calasanz (feastday = August 25th). He wanted our religious Order to be present where the human and spiritual welfare of the poor were threatened. He wanted us to respond to God’s call to work for social transformation and human integral development through education.

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The Saint Paul the Apostle Purgatorial Society: What Is It?

08-29-2021Weekly Reflection

In the history of the Church there have been associations of the faithful called Purgatorial Societies. Purgatorial societies are Catholic associations or confraternities which aim to assist souls in purgatory to get to heaven. One of the crises following the Second Vatican Council was ceasing to preach and teach the doctrine of the Church about souls in Purgatory and clergy and people starting placing the deceased at funerals in heaven, which is really Protestant doctrine.

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The Continuing Persecution in China and the Damage of the Vatican-China Agreement

08-22-2021Weekly Reflection

On July 30, 2021, the same day a bishop was consecrated under the agreement between China and the Holy See, a Chinese priest was tortured by the Chinese police to force him to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (ACPC), a division of the Chinese government's Religious Affairs Bureau. The consecrating bishop was a government puppet, a prominent member of the ACPC and president of the Chinese Bishops' Conference. This name must not be misleading, because this "conference" is also an emanation of the Chinese government.

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On the Passing of Sr. Eileen Treanor P.V.B.M. 1929-2021

08-15-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Leonard F. Villa

My first thoughts on the passing of Sr. Eileen was the Scripture passage: “Well done, good and faithful servant…. come and share your master’s joy,” Matt 25:23, the parable about the talents showing us that we are to use our talents for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. I, then went to look at an essay on Venerable Nano Nagle the foundress of the Presentation Sisters, to which Sister belonged, because Sister Eileen frequently mentioned her and was rightly devoted to the vision of Nano Nagle that she devoted her life to. Here are some highlights of that vision:

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Dealing with Evil

08-08-2021Weekly Reflection

In the Divine Office, also called the Liturgy of the Hours, there was a reading from an early document of the Faith called the Letter of Barnabas. Chapter 2 says the following: Since, therefore, the days are evil, and Satan possesses the power of this world, we ought to give heed to ourselves, and diligently inquire into the ordinances of the Lord. Fear and patience, then, are helpers of our faith; and long-suffering and continence are things which fight on our side. While these remain pure in what respects the Lord, Wisdom, Understanding, Science, and Knowledge rejoice along with them.

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Hell, the Devil, Exorcisms, the Persecuted

08-01-2021Weekly Reflection

Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil. – 1 John 3:8

Our contemporaries, including many Christians, reject the notion of hell as something incompatible with God’s love and mercy. In fact there have been those who have maintained that at the end even Satan will be reconciled to God, a theory called apocatastasis, meaning a restoration to the original state, that the Church has rejected as contrary to the teachings of the Faith. There is no contradiction between hell and God’s mercy because God will not force mercy on anyone Satan included.

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