Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Faith Resources Newsletter - Number 75 - November/December 2017

Faith moves mountains but you have to keep pushing while you are praying.
Mason Cooley



Message from the Manager
Cardinal Newman Faith Resources extends a very warm welcome to all our readers. 2017 has flown quickly and we are combining our November and December Newsletters this year. Father’s move took place on 9th November 2017. His new address is Rockview 143 New Trunk Road, The Rock NSW 2655. Please ring the shop on 0296732235 if you wish to contact Father Tierney by phone and leave your phone number and details. Father will then contact you. He has described the process of packing up and departing from Goulburn as chaotic and anticipates unpacking and settling in with everything with even less relish so let us pray that it will be smooth sailing for him from now on. 
We had the wonderful privilege of being present at the annual Chesterton Conference at Campion Conference at the end of October. Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a “Complete Thinker”. His appreciation of and profound insights about life in general and the beauty of the world around him have given him a reputation as a man of intelligence, integrity, innocence, understanding and humility. He read widely and was eventually led into the Catholic Church. His many books and articles cannot be recommended highly enough. Not only will you find yourself engrossed in the detailed subject of each of his works, his style and humour will keep you entertained for hours.
Chesterton’s friend, Hilaire Belloc is another incredible writer who said that he wrote prolifically "Because my children are howling for pearls and caviar." He wrote more than 150 books about his love of Europe, its history and its grounding in the Catholic Faith. His books can indeed be described as “pearls and caviar” and are well worth reading.
Both Chesterton and Belloc were clear thinkers and their works are easily understood and precise. Their subjects are varied but always grounded in reality with a full knowledge history and morality evident. They stand in stark contrast to the Marxist principles which the media and many governments, even our own, adopt today. We should keep ourselves informed as our secular world is trying to destroy the family and create confusion throughout society. The young people of today need good works to open and educate their minds and the relevance of Chesterton's and Belloc’s books make a marvellous beginning.  Their vast writings are even more appropriate today than they were a century ago. There are a large number of affordably-priced books on our shelves which would make great Christmas presents this year especially for teenagers and young adults. Works by Tolkien and C S Lewis and modern-day writer Joseph Pearce cannot be underestimated either.
Christmas is almost upon us. Many schools, including some Catholic schools, no longer teach children the importance of the feast of Christ’s birth. It is up to parents and grandparents to foster a deep love of the Holy Family. Children warm to stories and Nativity scenes. We have a large range of Advent and Christmas activity, colouring, sticker and craft books along with Holy Cards, spiritual reading booklets, DVDs, CDs and story books to help families prepare for and celebrate the birth of Christ. This year some old favourites have been remade. We have 3D Paper Nativity Scenes and a small luminous Baby Jesus with a Holy Card for Catechists. There is a wide range of very beautiful Nativity sets available in a different sizes. We also have single figures of Baby Jesus available for those families who have the tradition of placing him under the Tree on Christmas morning. Many people find the cost of postage daunting so we have maintained the cost of our boxed and packaged Christmas Cards so that we can still send greetings to relatives and friends. Please come and view our beautiful range of gifts that will delight both adults and children. Anyone who spends more than $300 before Christmas will receive a free packet of Nativity baubles valued at $22.70.
May the Christ Child shower you and your families with many blessings this Christmas and may 2018 be a fruitful year for all our readers and supporters. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support and for being there for all of us in 2017.

Gai Smith
Manager

Featured items

Advent and Christmas
Advent marks the commencement of the Church's liturgical year, ensure that you are able to participate fully at Mass with the assistance of these two books:
Daily Mass Book 2018 $26.50
God’s Word 2018 $15.95

Other books and CDs to assist us to use the season of Advent to prepare properly for Christmas include:
Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Pope John Paul II compiled by John V Kruse $19.95
Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Padre Pio compiled by Anthony F Cliffolo $19.95
The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Advent and Christmas $23.00
Light in the Christmas Season by Benedict XVI $7.00
The Mystery of Christmas CD by Fr Larry Richards $5.00
The True Meaning of Christmas CD by Fulton J Sheen $5.00
God Made Man CD by Fr Shannon Collins $5.00
Prepare the Way of the King CD by Scott Hahn $5.00

And for children:
Advent Calendars – A Variety available for Children $5.95
My Advent Activity Pack $14.95
Holy Heroes: Advent Adventure (activity book) $24.95
The Story of Christmas by Rev Jude Winkler OFM Conv $10.95
The Story of Christmas from Catholic Book Publishing presents a treasury of information about Christmas for young readers. Written by popular author Rev. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv, The Story of Christmas tells of how Jesus fulfilled the promises God made to the Chosen People, retells the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, and describes the various customs with which people around the world celebrate Christmas. Richly illustrated in full colour, it is an ideal gift for the children.
Silent Night A Christmas Story by L E McCullough $11.95
This is the story behind the writing of the famous Christmas Carol.
My Look and Point First Christmas Stick-a-Story Book $9.95
My Very First Christmas Story Sticker Book $9.95
Colouring Book about Christmas by Emma C McKean $3.00
Colouring Book about Advent by Michael Goode $3.00

25 Crafts for Christmas by Christina Goodings $7.95

There is a range of calendars available including:
Mary and the Saints 2018 Calendar $22.50
2018 Divine Mercy Wall Calendar $9.95
2018 Columban Wall Calendar $9.00

 

My Golden Christmas Book by Rev Thomas J Donaghy $16.95
The Story of Christmas (Carry-Me-Along) by George Brundage $8.95
The Story of the Birth of Jesus by Rev Jude Winkler $3.00
The Christmas Journey Storybook with Pop-Up Play Scenes $24.95

Nicholas The Boy Who Became Santa DVD $15.00
The Christmas Candle DVD $24.95
Come to the Stable DVD starring Loretta Young $13.95
The Star of Bethlehem DVD $13.95
Merry Christmas CD by Dana $29.95
Christmas at Ephesus CD $24.95
The Mystery of Christmas CD by Fr Larry Richards $5.00
The True Meaning of Christmas CD by Fulton J Sheen $5.00

 
Brother Francis:The Story of Christmas CD $13.95
This is an engaging, heart-warming, dramatization that recounts the story of Christ's birth. The story-telling, music and songs give the children a deep understanding of Christmas.
Brother Francis: The King is Born CD $13.95
This CD is a collection of hymns and praises that helps children understand the beauty and wonder of Christmas.
Brother Francis 7: O Holy Night - Colouring and Activity Book $4.25
DVD $14.50
Brother Francis: The First Christmas Colouring Book $4.25
Brother Francis - The Story of Saint Nicholas - A Colouring Storybook $4.25

The Complete Thinker: The Marvellous Mind of G K Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist $28.95
To be a “Complete Thinker” means being able to take on a wide variety of ideas and disciplines and put them all together in a way that they work together. It means thinking like G K Chesterton (1874-1936) who was one of the most prolific and well-known writers of his time, and one of the most widely quoted in our own. For newspapers and magazines, he wrote social commentary, literary criticism, and poetry with poignancy and wit. Creator of the beloved detective Father Brown, Chesterton also wrote novels and short stories. Thinking, wrote Chesterton, means connecting things. His ideas are not only connected to each other, they are also connected to us, showing that the thought of Chesterton is timeless. In a world of increasing specialization, Chesterton connects us to the big picture by helping us see how the many and varied elements within our experience fit together. He sheds light on almost every subject and opens doors from one thing to another with dazzling clarity. Drawing on literally hundreds of references from Chesterton's vast writings, Dale Ahlquist conducts a symphony, with Chesterton playing all the instruments in perfect harmony. Chesterton's thoughts on almost everything from east to west, from old to new, from politics to economics, from Shakespeare to Dickens, are woven together to create an illuminating whole.
The Wisdom of G K Chesterton Edited by Dave Armstrong $27.95
Editor and renowned apologist Dave Armstrong has scoured Chesterton's voluminous writings, even the most obscure, gathering together his choicest quotes and meticulously organizing them by topic. Sure to delight readers with its wit and charm.
Lepanto by G K Chesterton $22.00
Hilaire Belloc called “Lepanto” Chesterton’s greatest poem. Lepanto brings together the poem, the historical background of the famous battle, a riveting account of the battle itself, and a discussion of its historical consequences. Here is the story behind the modern conflict between Christianity and Islam, between Protestant and Catholic Europe, and the origin of the Feast of the Holy Rosary. It is a must read if we are to fully realise what is happening in Europe and Australia today.
The Ballad of the White Horse (Student Ed.) $24.95, (Dover Ed.) $14.95
The Apostle of Common Sense by Dale Ahlquist $28.95
Father Brown and the Ten Commandments by G K Chesterton $26.95
The Secret of Father Brown by G K Chesterton $14.95
The Incredulity of Father Brown by G K Chesterton $14.95
The Poet and the Lunatics by G K Chesterton $19.95
Orthodoxy by G K Chesterton $24.95
Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc (HB) by Joseph Pearce on special $42.50 (RRR $50)
Hilaire Belloc is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century. At turns reviled or revered, depending on the audience, he was a razor sharp social commenter and a master of both poetry and prose, who continues to captivate readers. In "Old Thunder," Joseph Pearce examines Belloc's enduring impact on British intellectual life. Paperback is available for $34.95.
The Essential Belloc Edited by Rev C John McCloskey, S Bloch and B Robertson $27.95
The Essential Belloc, a timely new compilation of his insights on religion, politics, Western history and culture, is perfect for Catholics struggling against secularism. Included are his lighter musings on the particular charms of towns and peoples throughout the world, the love of good food and drink, and the songs of camaraderie that go with them.
Survivals and New Arrivals by Hilaire Belloc $22.00
Here Belloc analyses the various intellectual attacks on the Church in the last two centuries, showing how each thrived for a time before disintegrating; then he analyses the two ultimate enemies which we see everywhere today! He says the temporal fate of the world depends upon the health of the Catholic Church showing essential ideas to understand where we are and where we need to go from here to rebuild civilization.
The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc on special for $23.95 (Highly recommended)
The Path to Rome is one of the most well-loved travel books of the past century. Legendary writer Hilaire Belloc tells of his walk from Southern France to Rome. But it is so much more than a travelogue. It is amazing: a history of Europe, and exploration of the English language, and journey to Christ and His Church. The Path to Rome is both the story of Hilaire Belloc and his path to becoming one of the most celebrated writers of the modern era; and the story of Christians, as we navigate the divide between history and our own age in seeking Christ. In this book you will discover Belloc's undying love for Europe and for the Church, which will reinvigorate your own love for Western Civilization and Catholicism. (An ideal Christmas present).
The Crisis of Civilization by Hilaire Belloc $22.00
Essays of a Catholic by Hilaire Belloc $22.00
Characters of the Reformation by Hilaire Belloc $22.00
The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc $21.95
The Crusades by Hilaire Belloc $23.10
William the Conqueror by Hilaire Belloc $13.95
Europe and the Faith by Hilaire Belloc $23.95
How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc $21.00



Cardinal Newman Catechist Consultants — 30th November, 2017 — HANDOUTS n. 152
“Clear, brief and easily assimilated by all”
Vatican II versus Satanic Sabotage
Download as a PDF
THE GLORIES of Vatican Council II are especially in its major documents (see Handouts n. 40):-
• Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium on the Church
• Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum on Divine Revelation
• Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium on the Sacred Liturgy
• The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes on the Church in the World of Today (in the Modem World).
 
PURPOSE NOT ACHIEVED!
Today’s mess is that VC II is rarely implemented, so its purpose is not achieved: see Handouts n. 1, “A Catechism [in 50 q&as] About Catechisms” :-
17. What did St John XXIII say in 1962 was the greatest concern of the Second Vatican Council
St John XXIII said “the greatest concern of the Second Vatican Council is that the Sacred Deposit of Christian Doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously.”
(Opening Speech, 11-11-62, quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, p. 2, and in Abbott’s Documents p. 713.)
 
18. At the 1985 Extraordinary Synod what did the Bishops say about the Second Vatican Council?
At the 1985 Extraordinary Synod the Bishops said, inter alia, there had been “a defective understanding and application of the Second Vatican Council.”
This text is an accurate translation of defectuoso intellectu et applicatione, whereas the Final Report (FR) in the St Paul Edition p. 19 is defective: “an incomplete understanding and lack of application” as though all we needed was “more of the same”.
 
19. At the 1985 Extraordinary Synod (20 years after VCII) what did the Bishops say about the state of catechesis?
At the 1985 Extraordinary Synod the Bishops said that “everywhere in the world today the transmission to the young of the faith and moral values deriving from the Gospel is in peril.
The knowledge of the faith
and the acceptance of the moral order
are often reduced to a minimum.” fr p. 31.
 
THE LONG MARCH OF THE MODERNISTS through Catholic educational organizations
cf. Kengor, TakeDown on “the long March of the Left” (Freud/Marx) through education at all levels, pre-school, primary, secondary, tertiary.
The collapse of Catechetics, Nuns, Brothers, Priesthood, Marriage and its morals, Confession, Mass attendance, vocations is largely due to ignoring, distorting or contradicting the Sacred Deposit of Christian Doctrine and not guarding and teaching it more efficaciously, i.e. failure to implement VCII in its very terms of reference by its initiator, as above.
The new Louvain (Leuven) Project is the Relativism of Political Correctness. It is the latest outbreak of the Modernism condemned by St Pius X, and a new fad of some diocesan Catholic Education Offices;
(cf. Handouts n. 89 “Pandora’s Catechetics: Fads, Fashions & Falsehoods”):
 
SATAN’S Espionage, Sabotage and Subversion (see Handouts n. 120, p. 2) has been and still is the ultimate cause of the evils of certain Church members, especially in the last 50 years from Vatican II.
Today’s evils cannot be blamed on the Council, nor on its documents. They did not cause them. Rather, they were occasioned by the euphoria and by some Satan-inspired false implementation of its documents.
The difference between a cause and an occasion is vital. A cause has a positive influence on the being or becoming of something else; whereas an occasion has an influence, not inevitable, because of our free will and the Devil’s alluring temptations.
The fall-out since VCII is contradictions:
• the total rejection of the Council, especially exemplified by refugees from the liturgical abuses of the Novus Ordo Mass; (see Handouts n. 71, p. 2).
• the gullible acceptance of an elusive “spirit of VC II” to justify any aberration one cares to embrace.
The truth stands above the opposing errors. Truth does not stand between errors as a sort of compromise. It is virtue that often stands between two extremes, e.g. prudence standing between as well as above rashness and cowardice.
False mindsets occasioned by Vatican II led to a rapid collapse of many good things. False doctrines from visiting gurus and local trendies corrupted:
• catechetics in Catholic schools, public schools;
• adult education, marriage preparation;
• seminary theology courses;
• Religious Life of Nuns, Brothers and Religious Order Priests.
• Diocesan Priests, especially conferences & live-ins.
 
SELF-ESTEEM
Self-esteem or self-estimation is often simply self-deception — Nemo iudex in sui causa, “No one is judge in his own case”:
Self-esteem is often mistaken for self-respect, but self-respect has the basic humility of honesty, that we are God’s creatures, with God-given dignity, duty and destiny, His children.
Atheists often tout self-esteem as a value. It is not a virtue, and it fails to enhance charity and self-abnegation:
We who are strong
ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves;
let each please his neighbor for his good, to edify him. For Christ did not please Himself.  Romans 15:1-3
 
A man is really approved
when the Lord thinks well of him,
not when he thinks well of himself. 2 Corinthians 10:18

A New Life at The Rock
Dear Friends,
My address from 9th November, 2017 is:
The Rev. B.J.H. Tierney
Rockview
143 Old Trunk Road
The Rock NSW 2655
and the phone/recorder/fax is 02 6920 2000.
The village of The Rock is named after the outstanding geographical feature of the flat country all around it, The Rock Hill, height 554 metres (about 1800 feet). It is 30 km southwest of Wagga Wagga on the Olympic Highway and a whistle stop on the main southern railway. Dare I utter the fatal words, “You can’t miss it”?
Once more I am living with the Vieira family and we are 1.43 km from the post office at The Rock. Please do not lob in on me without notice. Please do not expect quick responses to letters, fax or phone calls. For six months I have been packing up the paraphernalia of my retirement apostolate at Tarlo near Goulbum and it will be another six months getting organized efficiently once more. This page is being composed in surroundings which normal people would call untidy and philosophers might call the fringes of chaos.
Yours sincerely in Our Lord,
Father James Tierney

NEW BOOK
Life Under Compulsion, ten ways to destroy the humanity of your child, by Anthony Esolen, who is author of Ten Ways to Destroy the imagination of your child.
The author asks: How do you raise a child who can sit with a good book and read it? Who is moved by beauty? Who doesn’t have to buy the latest this or that vanity? Who is not bound to the instant urge, wherever it may be found?
His answers come in ten chapters, after an Introduction to the title, Life Under Compulsion:
1.    Courses in compulsion: The School.
2.    Contempt for humanity: The Corpse.
3.    Rush to Work: The Treadmill.
4.    Forgetting How to Think: The Idiot.
5.    Lusts, not Love: The Itch.
6.    Condoning Everything and Forgiving Nothing: The New Pharisee.
7.    No History but the Inevitable: The Minitaur.
8.    Fleeing the Family: The Orphan.
9.    Giving In: The Mob.
10. Fear of Contemplation: The Box, plus an Epilogue and an Index.
2015, 222 pp, $44.95that’s 20 cents a page and worth it!
See also Handouts nn. 113 (122, 123) on Anthony Esolen Defending Marriage; 115 (118) on Imagination, and 119 on Social Teaching.
 
Extremism in Educational Enthusiasm
The Australian for 2-9-97 had Stewart Fist’s article, “Books still best for reliable information.” The heading was clearly that of a sub-editor because Stewart Fist mentions the idea directly only in his last paragraph: “However, most of the best and most reliable information is still held in book libraries.” What follows is a summary:
 
HIGH technology as a way of solving educational problems is a theme repeated every decade.
Here’s a 1922 quote from Thomas Edison: “I believe the motion picture is destined to revolutionise our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks. I should say that on the average we get about 2 per cent efficiency out of schoolbooks as they are written today. The education of the future, as I see it, will be conducted through the medium of the motion picture... where it should be possible to obtain 100 per cent efficiency.”
Radio was similarly seen as a key component in this modem technology... Radio, as a substitute for normal classroom instruction, began in 1932... “to bring the world to the classroom, to make universally available the services of the finest teachers, the inspiration of the greatest leaders... the unfolding world events which through radio may come as a vibrant and challenging textbook of the air.”
A Los Angeles high school experimented with the use of television in 1939... but the main push to bring TV to the classroom came from the Philadelphia public school system in 1947...
American Samoa... Traditional classroom work became subservient to either preparing for broadcasts or following them up with project work.
American... Cable TV... 1970... One primary task was to promote the use of video equipment... Closed Circuit TV would allow the best lectures to be presented by the best teachers... It was seen as a way to cut costs and boost the quality of education... However the ‘process’ (rather than the product) was believed to be all-important and self-empowering: video was seen as creative, liberating, inspirational and strongly motivational. The next phase was videodisc and interactive self-paced learning... Self-paced learning is a great theory, but the potential is rarely achieved in practice... High expectations have migrated to CD-ROM and the Internet... “Many enthusiasts believe immense education benefits will eventually be realised...
They always look to the future as a way of rationalising the failures of today—never backward at past experience... One of the great fallacies in ed-tech is believing more is always better... very often the opposite is the case... novelty for a tune... But teaching isn’t the same as learning... Certainly computers and the Internet have a role to play in education, but possibly the main benefit students will get from their computer labs is the ability to touch-type.”
 
Editorial comment:
Over the last 70 years, Australia has gone from radios, strip film and slide projectors, 16mm movie projectors, overhead projectors, TVs, through to computers for each pupil and power presentations by teachers from electronic whiteboards.
Never before has so much money been spent for so little benefit to show for it, rather often it is slipping backwards. The weightier matters of real teaching have been neglected, matters which would have put the new and lesser helps to teaching in their lesser and proper place.
Father James Tierney

© The Rev. B.J.H. Tierney. Handouts are free and may be copied for any non-profit teaching purpose. However, donations to defray costs are welcome and should be made to the publisher and distributor, the Cardinal Newman Faith Resources Inc. PO Box 359, St Marys NSW 1790; phone 02 9673 2235; fax 02 9623 3181 email <fr@eardinalnewman.com.au>



THIS APOSTOLATE NEEDS YOUR HELP
All donations large or small are gratefully received from benefactors to assist in our valuable apostolate. Please be assured that you are remembered in our prayers. To help you, we have purchase an extensive new range of stock and are upgrading our on-line services. You can assist by:
  1. Being a Volunteer on a roster for a few hours a week; a regular 2 hours or more would be great
  2. Making a donation, either by direct deposit or by using the form below
  3. Buying books and religious goods from us
  • Direct Deposit - ANZ Bank: BSB 012408  Account: 227329572  Please cite your name as our reference. For notification of the direct deposit  remittance: fr@cardinalnewman.com.au or fax: (02) 9623 3181
  • credit card, cheque, money order - please return the form below to: Cardinal Newman Faith Resources Inc  PO BOX 359 ST MARYS  1790

No comments:

Post a Comment