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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St. Augustine on Good and the Evil in the Church

09-22-2021From the desk of Fr. Villa

The same [Church] is spoken of, when, in regard to the fewness of her numbers as compared with the multitude of the wicked, it is said: Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leads unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:14 And again, it is of the same Church that it is said with respect to the multitude of her members: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore. Genesis 22:14

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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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Join the St. Paul the Apostle Purgatorial Society

09-02-2021From the desk of Fr. Villa

A Purgatorial Society is an association of Catholics who pledge to pray for the souls in Purgatory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the following: #1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

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