On Beauty and Imitation

On Beauty and Imitation by Daniel McInerny at The Imaginative Conservative. Once upon a time, art was the handmaid of religion. Culture was understood as society’s “address to sacred order,” and art was at the very heart of that “address.” The cave drawings of Lascaux and Peche Merle, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles, the architecture of the Parthenon, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, and Palestrina’s polyphony—each of these works was the product of a believing community giving praise to the divine and seeking to understand itself as existing under sacred order. Read

Three Fairy Tales on Goodness and Beauty by Dr. Vigen Guroian at Memoria Press. When I decided to write a second, expanded edition of Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination, my thoughts went through many iterations of the stories I might discuss in three new chapters…Here below are my thoughts about three of those stories, two concerning beauty and a third about goodness. Read

Why Every Student Should Study the Constitution of the United States by Mary Frances Loughran at Cana Academy. Knowledge of our Founding documents clarifies our political disagreements and illuminates discussions about our national identity. Sadly, many have never even read, much less studied, the Constitution of the United States. The legal expression of our unity and outline of our protections, the Constitution is an inspiring and necessary document, especially in fractious times. It is deep and rich, but three elements are perhaps most salient for our current crises: consent of the governed, liberty, and limited republican government. Let the following brief description of each serve as an encouragement for teachers to lead their students in a careful study of this consequential document with your students. Read

A Catholic Family Summer, Part III: Bringing Liturgy to the Home by Lucy Frain at Holy Spirit Preparatory School. Our faith is rich with liturgical seasons, Feast Days, stories of the Saints, and more. When we invite Christ into the mundane, he makes life joyful, deep, and adventurous. Our faith isn’t limited to Sundays; when we genuflect and walk out of the sanctuary, we carry holiness home with us. Children especially need the Truth of the Gospel to echo through their daily lives—from the kitchen to the wardrobe, from bedtime stories to family traditions rooted in the life of Jesus and His Saints. After all, the Truth is the Good News, and the greatest story ever told. Read

Opponents of Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Want Judge to Block it Before New School Year Starts by The Associated Press. Opponents of a new Louisiana law requiring that a version of the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms have asked a federal court to block implementation of the requirement while their lawsuit against it progresses and before the new school year starts. A group of parents of Louisiana public school students, representing various faiths, filed the lawsuit last month, soon after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the new law. Read

Virginia Governor Orders Cell Phone-Free Classrooms Amid Youth Mental Health Concerns by CatholicVote. Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order on July 9 instructing the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to create guidance for public school divisions to implement local policies and procedures establishing cell phone-free classrooms. Citing the growing evidence of the alarming impact social media and cell phone use has on education and youth mental health, Executive Order 33 directs VDOE to engage with parents, students, teachers, and administrators to work together to develop policies for age-appropriate restrictions on cell phone use during classroom time, as well as protocols for parents to contact their children in emergencies. Read

Children Given Digital Devices to Stop Tantrums Won’t Learn to Regulate Emotions, Study Shows by Aldgra Fredly at Epoch Times. A recent study has found that frequent use of digital devices to calm children during tantrums could hinder the development of self-regulatory skills. The research, published in Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on June 28, emphasized that early childhood is a critical time for learning self-regulation skills—affective, mental, and behavioral responses. Read

A New Wave in Catholic Education by Susannah Pearce at Crisis Magazine. People are losing their admiration for higher education. A degree from Harvard or Princeton doesn’t mean much anymore, as the Ivy League falls into the slumber of woke-ism. College graduates are less and less learned and deeper in debt than ever before. Why bother spending (or borrowing) the money and time to go to college if one leaves uneducated, unemployable, and impecunious? Read

Throwback Thursday

Why the Liberal Arts Matter by Bishop Barron and Dr. Matthew Petrusek at Word on Fire Show on April 10, 2023. What are the liberal arts, and why are so many schools getting rid of them? A recent article in The New Yorker titled “The End of the English Major” revealed that during the past decade, the study of English and history at the collegiate level has fallen by a full third. Do the liberal arts still matter? Why should people study them? That’s what I discuss with Brandon Vogt on today’s episode of “The Word on Fire Show.” Listen