Book Review: The Christian Alphabet Book

Delightfully illustrated, authentically Catholic, and spiritual food for the Domestic Church. Those are the words that encapsulate my review of the book: The Christian Alphabet Book: Teaching Children about Jesus, Prayer, and the Bible by Tracy Sands.

When I was offered a review copy, I thought I was receiving a children's book. Once I received it and had the opportunity to skim the pages, I quickly realized that it is a whole family book. Much more than a book to teach your preschooler the alphabet, this is a tool that will become a family heirloom - seriously.

In a nutshell:

• Each letter of the alphabet is a beautiful illustration containing ancient and modern Christian symbols used to teach a lesson
• Every page highlights a different letter, and more important, a lesson for family discussion
• For each letter, the right-hand page has a 'seek and you shall find' activity using the symbols. On the left-hand page, there is a basic lesson and fun activity. The primary lesson is highlighted in red and a prayer closes out the page. 
• Scripture quotes taken from: 
• New American Bible Revised Edition  
• Revised Standard Version - Second Catholic Edition
• NIV
• and excerpts/references were used from Youcat

Having said all this, though I have found nothing contrary to orthodox Catholic teaching, it is important to note that it is for all Christian families.This book contains no hot-button theological topics that separates Catholic theology from the theology of other Christian communities. It is entirely Christo-centric, teaching families about the loving God who sent His Son, our Savior. I cannot recommend this book enough.

The author also offers various items at her website, including a cd with songs to go with the book and personalized frameable name art.  

On Parental Priorities: The Event Planner

If you were to ask parents what their number one priority in life is, all would answer "my children." Who would admit to anything else? If you were to ask those same parents what hopes they have for their children, they would include health, success (whatever that means), and happiness, among other things. Parents can sometimes have peculiar ways of attempting to secure those hopes for their children.

Is it just me or is there peer-pressure among parents to have every child involved in year-round sports, travel leagues in addition to local teams, spend countless hours per week learning karate, dance or another activity every week? I suspect this is because the parents are concerned about their children becoming couch potatoes. Are the kids or families any better because of it? Some kids who are bounced from one activity to another on a daily basis seem to enjoy life and have fun doing what they do. Other kids offer a vacant stare when I casually ask them if they are enjoying their 20+ hours per week in extracurricular pursuits. I almost asked a parent whose sole focus seemed to be on their disrespectful son's sporting prowess if they realized he was more likely to be hit by lightning than be a professional athlete. Thankfully, I held my tongue.

Now I will offer a quasi-fictional scenario based upon several encounters with other parents and their children. 

"Mary, did you have fun at your piano lesson and jazz dance class this morning?"

"Yeah, they were okay."

"Maybe you can play piano for us later and show us what you've learned. It's been a long time since I've played the piano. You can probably teach me a thing or two!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. H. After lunch Mom is picking me up because I have an indoor soccer tournament from three o'clock until nine."

"Oh, well maybe you can come over tomorrow and hang out with Suzie after church. She's been wanting to show you the bracelet kit she got for Christmas."

"I'll have to ask my mom. I don't know if I'll have time because I have a riding lesson sometime in the afternoon, I think. Maybe we can have a sleepover next weekend because it's a long weekend and Suzie can spend the night on Sunday! Is that okay?"

"I'll talk to your mom about it when she gets here. Sounds good to me!"

After lunch, Mary's mom arrives to pick her up and thanks me. Then she asks, "What is Johnny going to do now that baseball is over?"

"Well, he's pretty busy with school activities and is in Boy Scouts. He'll be busy enough until Basketball season comes along." I consider my sudden impulse to run out and sign Johnny up for several activities in order to fill in perceived blank spots in our planner. Then I reconsider.

With a puzzled look, she offers a polite smile and presses Mary to gather her things so that they won't be late to the soccer tournament. On their way out door, Mary asks if she and Suzie can have a sleep over next Sunday. Her mom said, "We'll see. I have to get your brother to indoor lacrosse sign-ups on the way home from karate and have no idea how long that is going to take." With a wave and a "Thanks again!" they're out of the driveway and off to their next event.

I was a kid in the 1970's and of course our parents considered us to be their number one priority just as parents do today.  There was also something more, something beyond the fact that just a generation or two ago "kids could be kids." What is missing today? Is it because most households have both parents working outside of the home? Do you think it may be because God is non-existent in most households today? Are parents trying to compensate their children out of guilt? Is it a competition to out-do other parents? Do they honestly think that Johnny and Suzie will be better because they had a childhood with no idle moments?

My next entry will continue to look at parental priorities and in particular, secular influences on them.

*Part Two is HERE and Part Three is HERE.

Obama Not 100% 'Pro-Choice' - Refuses D.C. Children Good Education

In a previous entry, I posed the question "Is his dedication to the inner-city poor as great as he wants us to believe?" It appears he has now answered the question. His support is only offered when the mood strikes him.

Mr. President: Did you not benefit from scholarships yourself? You seek to control private businesses who don't want your 'help' yet refuse to reach out a hand to give these children a chance. Shame on you, again.

Knownothingism and other Anti-Catholic Gems in U.S. History

Perhaps the 'Native Americans' may have been better served by a warning against turning the letter 'N' backwards, but it was the motto which served the 'American Party' or 'Know Nothing Party' in mid-19th America. Oddly enough, they did not see the oxymoron they were attempting to jam down the throats of a 'Puritan' nation - one that referred to the real Native Americans as savages and nearly wiped them out. In their paranoia, they seemed to forget that they were a foreign influence and not native to America themselves.

From Wide-awake! Romanism: its aims and tendencies. The sentiments of a "Know-nothing." by L.W. Granger:

Fellow citizens of America! What a field for contemplation! Are you not competent to manage the affairs of a government of which you are the main pillars and embodiment? We are not willing yet to believe that you have fallen so low, or degenerated so fast, as yet to give up to the demands made upon you by Romanism. Before your very eyes in the light of day, is this spirit of insubordination and anarchy ripening into maturity. The storm cloud is brooding; your enemies are marshalled on every hand. Let every American be on his guard against the restless foe, by securing well of his country's honor and integrity.

This book, like many others of the day, goes on spreading lies which took on a life of their own and caused the burning of many Catholic Churches -- and plenty of deaths as a result. Tall tales included that Bishops asked that the Protestant Bible be replaced with the Douay-Rheims in public schools (Fact: it was requested that Catholic children be allowed to use their own Bibles if they wished); Catholic churches were fortifying themselves with canons and muskets (there were indeed weapons at the church - after they were notified that mobs of 'nativists' were planning to riot including the the burning of churches and any occupants. 'Nativists' were warned that they must arm themselves and "shoot down the first Irish rebel, that dare insult your person as an American citizen!"

When asked about being a 'Nativist', they were expected to reply with a resounding, "I know nothing." I tend to agree with the statement but not within the context they intended. It is quite obvious that they were mired in paranoia so vast that it would rival any diagnoses in the most recent DSM.

From page 296 of The American Pageant textbook:

Older-stock Americans were alarmed by these mounting figures. They professed to believe that in due time the "alien riffraff" would "establish" the Catholic church at the expense of Protestantism and would introduce "popish idols." The noisier American "nativists" rallied for political action. In 1849 they formed the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, which soon developed into the formidable American, or "Know-Nothing," party - a name derived from its secretiveness. "Nativists" agitated for rigid restrictions on immigration and naturalization and for laws authorizing the deportation of alien paupers. They also promoted a lurid literature of exposure, much of it pure fiction. The authors, sometimes posing as escaped nuns, described the shocking sins they imagined the cloisters concealed, including the secret burial of babies. One of these sensational books — Maria Monk's Awful Disclosures(1836) — sold over 300,000 copies.

'Maria Monk' is still quoted today by virulent anti-Catholic individuals - and I have witnessed this first-hand while engaging in online conversations with self-professed evangelical Christians.

The city of Philadelphia witnessed much death and destruction at the hands of 'nativists' against Catholics and their churches. In 1844, the 'City of Brotherly Love' failed miserably to live up to the nickname. On May 7th of that year, a mob marched into the Irish section of the city and set some 30 homes ablaze. Included in the destruction were St. Michael's and St. Augustine's churches as well as a monastery and library. Firemen were not allowed to go to the scene and when the Mayor called for calm, he was struck and knocked unconscious. At least 14 souls were lost on that one day.

The Bishop, Most Rev. Kenrick, ordered all churches closed the following Sunday in order to calm the riots. He let it be known that it was better for all of the churches to be burned to the ground than to have one more drop of blood spilled. Urging Catholics to let the courts deal with those who perpetrated the violence and to not seek vengeance, it appeared at first that justice would be handed out. When the jury delivered its verdict, it found in favor of the 'Nativists' and pointed the finger at the Irish Catholics instead. That verdict only served to embolden the 'Nativists' who planned an even bigger display of hatred at an Independence Day parade. The Southwark Riots ensued and the eventual result was the laying of the foundation for a Catholic school system by Bishop Kenrick.

(Cartoon: Pope's Dream - Catholic America)

A bit of trivia on the Know Nothing Party: Our 13th President was a member of the Know Nothing Party - Millard Fillmore and Ulysses S. Grant was also a member of the party for a time prior to the Civil War. In 1875 President Grant called for a Constitutional amendment that would mandate free public schools and prohibit the use of public funds for "sectarian" schools. We have heard of the so-called 'Blaine Amendments' recently when school vouchers were a hot topic. Just a last note to anyone who has read this far: The Puritans who fled Europe and came to America seeking religious freedom brought their Geneva Bibles (NOT the King James Version) and were fleeing the Church of England - not the Popish Roman Church. Gosh, you'd think only a couple hundred years after the Puritans landed, the 'Nativists' would have known their history.

When slavery became a dividing issue among the 'United States', anti-Catholicism was alive but slid to the back burner for a time. In the beginning of the 20th century, enter the Ku Klux Klan and other 'gems'. Most people know that the KKK targeted African Americans, but many do not realize that Catholics were equally despised. In Oregon, the Klan had few minorities to deal with and seized the opportunity to target Catholics almost exclusively. The Masonic Grand Lodge of Oregon, with the full support of the KKK, sponsored a bill with the sole intent to wipe out parochial schools. The Compulsory Education Law was passed in 1922 and thankfully was found to be unconstitutional in 1925 by the United States Supreme Court case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters.

Anti-Catholic bigotry is, in my opinion, just as Philip Jenkins suggests: The Last Acceptable Prejudice. Having experienced it myself in a most shocking way in online forums and discussion rooms. The luxury of anonymity seems to allow for a 'no holds barred' mentality for many people. I have been called a pagan, pew mushroom, cultist, droid, robot, Mary worshiper, popish, a wafer idolater and told that the Church to which I cleave is the Whore of Babylon. One 'Christian' told me that he hoped 'Mother Teresa was rotting in hell' because of the way she cared for pagans in her ministry (she did not force them to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior in order to receive treatment). Folks like Jack Chick abound and derive plenty of income from attacking Catholicism, fueling the ever-present fire in America. I have found that most of the people who are extremely anti-Catholic were Catholic themselves in the past. Much can be said about the lousy catechesis of the past 40 years and that many of us have been made to suffer because of it. Maybe another entry - another day.

If you are interested in learning more about Anti-Catholicism or apologetics, consult the following links:

Catholic Answers Anti-Catholic Library
Bible Christian Society
Anti-Catholicism on the Internet - Catholic League
Dave Armstrong's Blog
Catholic Answers Practical Apologetics

'I Believe' - The Nicene Creed

A bit of advertising for what should be an outstanding program. Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio has created a 4-part series on the Nicene Creed and it is going to be broadcast on EWTN beginning March 30, 2009 for four consecutive days beginning at 6:30 pm EST and then again at 3 am. I would have passed the information along to you sooner, but I just received the note in my inbox.

From Dr. D'Ambrosio's website:

"I Believe" follows the outline of the Nicene Creed, but don't be mistaken--it is far from a stuffy, academic presentation of the basic beliefs of Roman Catholicism! Full of enlightening metaphors and colorful anecdotes, "I Believe" leads its audience not only to clearer understanding of the articles of faith Roman Catholics profess, but a deeper love relationship with God the Father, Son, and Spirit.

The Creed is one of the most important of Catholic prayers. And this series, since it is a commentary on the Creed, has an inspiring, spiritual impact, leading its viewers to prayer and deeper conversion. In fact, it was originally presented in an RCIA purification and enlightenment retreat.

But "I Believe" is also a very effective mini-course in Catholic apologetics, discussing the basic beliefs of a Roman Catholic and providing Catholic answers to many of the questions that the Creed was composed to address:

• Why would the Creator of the Universe be concerned with my trifling problems and preoccupations? Doesn't He have better things to do?
• How can we calll God "Father" in this age so preoccupied with the equality of the sexes?
• Do Catholics still believe in angels and demons, or are these just relics of a pre-scienfitic age?
• Are we saved by faith or by our own good deeds?
• What is faith anyway, and how is it different from irrational superstition?
• Isn't it enough just to believe in God and try to be a good person?
• Isn't Jesus only a great moral teacher? If he is the Savior, how is it that he saved us?
• Why did Jesus have to die?
• Isn't the resurrection of Jesus just a symbolic way of saying that he lives on in our hearts?
• Who is the Holy Spirit and what difference does he make in our lives?
• What is the Church and why is it necessary? Why do I need organized religion?
• Is the afterlilfe about finally being liberated from the body and enjoying life as pure spirits?

Is His Dedication to Inner City Poor as Great as He Wants us to Believe?

March 3, 2009

"If there was any argument for vouchers, it was, 'Let's see if it works.' And if it does, whatever my preconception, you do what's best for kids."

___________________________

A crushing storm is about to blow through the District of Columbia and let us be sure that Mr. Obama and our US Congress are listening to the forecast.

The public schools of D.C. are the worst in the nation and thanks to former President George W. Bush, the families of D.C. have had a choice since 2004. A staunchly 'pro-choice' new leadership is faced with a big decision; continue the Opportunity Scholarship Program by including funds to support it in the budget or not. As the current budget is written, there are no funds for the voucher program included. Currently 1,700 children and their families benefit from school choice and it has really made a positive impact in their lives. Success stories abound with children being the first to graduate from high school in their family and going on to good universities and kids being shocked that there are no police stationed at the private schools or metal detectors at every door.

One guess as to who is most against school vouchers --- public school teacher's unions. Most of the children benefiting from the scholarship program attend Archdiocesan Catholic schools and the average cost to educate a student is close to $7,000 compared to the $14,000 it costs for a public education in D.C. where only half of the children can even read at the appropriate grade level. 99% of the children who receive a scholarship are either hispanic or African american and their household income tends to be less than $23,000 per year. The maximum voucher amount is $7,500 per year and if the child attends a high school where the tuition is higher than that amount, the school absorbs the added cost instead of passing it on to the family. Most of the schools cost less to attend and the amount of the voucher would be adjusted.

The people who were elected to serve our country do not send their children to public schools in Washington, D.C. Of course the Obama children are going to an expensive private school. With Senator Durbin leading the way, school choice and opportunity for these children will be crushed. Write your Senators, Representatives and the President. Tell them to include funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Program.

For further information on current news articles on the scholarship program click on the following links:

A Vote for Ignorance

Click here to listen to World Over Live Raymond Arroyo's interview with Superintendent of Washington Catholic Schools (last half of the recording)

Will Obama Stand Up for These Kids?

Obama's School Choice

_________________________

UPDATE: See this new blog entry with update - No, his dedication IS NOT as great...

Democrats and Poor Kids

Study Supports School Vouchers

Don't Pull the Plug Yet

The Right People to Decide D.C. Vouchers Fate

When a Juvenile is a Sex Offender

You may be asking yourself what this topic is doing on a Catholic blog--and that is a very good question. As a volunteer in our Catholic school, my husband and I had to take the course Protecting God's Children conducted by VIRTUS. Every single adult within our diocese who has any contact with children in the Catholic Church or Church operated organizations and schools must complete the training. This is a good thing, a very good thing. In a previous job, I was a state mandated reporter and had to take the state provided training. In that one we were basically instructed on signs to look for and how to report abuse. The VIRTUS program is very different; we are to know how to prevent it from happening in the first place. As part of the program, we must complete monthly online training bulletins and answer questions which follow.

I just received the training for this month and the topic is Managing the Child Sex Offender who is a Student. It raises some interesting things that I have not considered previously. I once reported a child for having abused his little brother in ways unimaginable while I worked for the Head Start program. I felt horrible doing so, but knew I must nonetheless. I knew that this abuser was just a young child himself and that something had most likely been done to him for him to even know the vocabulary and actions he carried out. Most juvenile offenders of sex crimes never serve any time in a correctional institution and are instead directed to intensive counseling. How do we protect the child who abuses as well as keeping them from abusing again? There may be no good answers, but some ideas shared in the bulletin will hopefully be helpful to someone who reads this.

The key for a school to manage the juvenile child sex offender is structure. This means that certain key people must be notified of the situation and be involved in monitoring all activities of the student sex offender.

In order for the “structure arrangement” to work, the school administration should also implement an approved School Safety Plan that the sex offender student must follow.

A School Safety Plan should include the following:

• The student must be required to check in at the principal’s office at start of school and check out at the conclusion of the day.
• The student can arrive at school only 15 minutes prior to the start of a class and must be off school property 15 minutes after attending the last class.
• The student’s school schedule should be created in such a way to allow no type of “free period” that could give the student the opportunity to travel around the school property in an unmonitored status.
• A member of the school staff must accompany the student during all bathroom breaks.
• The student must have a member of the school staff in the immediate vicinity whenever changing clothes for participation in a school activity.
• The student must never be allowed to swim or take a shower with other students.
• The student must follow certain prescribed routes to and from all classes, the gym, and the playground.
• If the student is required to commute on a school bus the student must sit in the first seat closest to the driver.
• The student shall not participate in school sanctioned class trips to the museum, park, etc.
• The student should never interact with a group of less than three students unless directly monitored.

Not a very pleasant topic to consider, I know. But, if you are ever presented with the situation as a parent you will know what issues must be addressed. We cannot leave it up to the schools to 'know what is best' and must assert ourselves when it comes to the protection of the God's children placed into our care. Child offenders? There are unfortunately more of them out there than you would care to imagine and because of their juvenile status, we may never know.