Undusted Texts

I was recently instructed that, as a catechist, I should blend myself into my students, to make myself one of them, in order to make them accept me.  If I was too "different" or too blatant in my Catholicism, I would not be accepted.  Instead, I should work from within them, almost in an undercover way.  The thing is, it is difficult to be undercover when your students know you are teaching them the faith.  I can understand my professor's point: the members of the Church should integrate themselves into society so they can change it from within.  It is not an outside force that will bring change, but a force hidden within, such as hidden yeast leavens dough.  We are to be Trojan horses: we must sneak under their radar and then slowly purify their drinking water with the nectar of the faith.  The problem is this: I do not see this as an effective method. I apologize if I am being proud: I am just giving my opinion on an issue that directly affects h...

  The copy of Our Lady of Kazan given by Pope Bl. John Paul II to the Russian Church Our Lady of Kazan (Virgin of Kazan, Theotokos of Kazan), Казанская Богоматерь (Kazanskaya Bogomater: "Theotokos of Kazan") in Russian, is a close-up version of a Hodigitria icon that is one of the most venerated icons in the Russian Orthodox Church.  It is difficult to determine the exact history of this icon due to the many copies that were made of it.  Of the numerous ancient copies that exist today, there is still debate which one (if any) is the original. According to tradition, the icon came to Kazan (a city in Russia) from Constantinople in the 13th century.  When Kazan was besieged by the Tartars in 1438, the icon disappeared until it was found buried in a garden by a young girl named Matrona on July 8, 1579, after the location was revealed by the Theotokos in a prophetic dream.  The icon was placed in the Church of St. Nicholas in Kazan, where it cured a blind m...

This is a collection of links to English translations of Church documents found on-line that relate to any topic I could not find a way to place under any other topic.  It is part of my Church Documents project. Nota Bene: If you have any good ideas on where to place these amid the other pages of my project, please let me know. Miscellaneous ?/?/1455: Romanus pontifex ad illorum by Pope Callistus III Bull: On the Ruined Churches of Cagliari 3/23/1534: [Untitled] by Pope Clement VII Bull: Against the Divorce of Queen Katherine of England 2/24/1581: Inter Gravissimas by Pope Gregory XIII Bull: Establishment of the Gregorian Calendar 12/25/1775: Inscrutabile by Pope Pius VI Encyclical: On the Problems of the Pontificate 8/1/1854: Apostolicae Nostrae Caritatis by Pope Bl. Pius IX Encyclical: Urging Prayers for Peace 4/27/1859: Cum Sancta Mater Ecclesia by Pope Bl. Pius IX Encyclical: Pleading for Public Prayer 10/27/1867: Levate by Pope Bl. Pius IX Encyclical: On th...

 This is a collection of links to English translations of Church documents relating to the Church's social doctrine found on-line. It is part of my Church Documents project. General Economics 11/1/1745: Vix Perveni by Pope Benedict XIV Encyclical: On Usury and Other Dishonest Profit 5/15/1891: Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII Encyclical: On Capital and Labor 5/15/1931: Quadragesimo Anno by Pope Pius XI Encyclical: On Reconstruction of the Social Order 10/2/1932: Nova Impendent by Pope Pius XI Encyclical: On the Economic Crisis 5/14/1971: Octogesima Adveniens by Pope Paul VI Apostolic Letter: On the Occasion of the Eightieth Anniversary of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum 9/14/1981: Laborem Exercens by Pope Bl. John Paul II Encyclical: On Human Work on the Ninetieth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum 5/1/1991: Centesimus Annus by Pope Bl. John Paul II Encyclical: On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum 12/30/2010: For the Prevention and Countering...

This is a collection of links to English translations of Church documents relating to the deposit of faith (that is, the teaching of the Catholic Church) and Christian thought found on-line. It is part of my Church Documents project. Catechisms ?/?/1566: Roman Catechism (Catechism of the Council of Trent/Catechism of Pope St. Pius V) ?/?/1908: Catechism of Pope St. Pius X 10/11/1992: Fidei Depositum by Pope Bl. John Paul II Apostolic Constitution: On the Publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Prepared Following the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council   8/15/1997: Laetamur Magnopere by Pope Bl. John Paul II Apostolic Letter: In Which the Latin Typical Edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Is Approved and Promulgated ?/?/1997: Catechism of the Catholic Church   6/28/2005: Motu Proprio for the Approval and Publication of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI   ?/?/2005: Compendium of the Catec...

This is a collection of links to English translations of Church documents relating to the Sacraments found on-line. It is part of my Church Documents project. General ?/?/1439: Exultate Domine by Pope Eugene IV Bull: Decree for the Armenians [on the seven Sacraments] 2/19/1987: Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments 4/30/2001: Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela by Pope Bl. John Paul II Motu Proprio: By Which Are Promulgated Norms Concerning the More Grave Delicts Reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Anointing of the Sick/Unction 11/30/1972: Sacram Unctione Infirmorum by Pope Paul VI Apostolic Constitution: On the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick Baptism 1/1/1973: Rite of Baptism for Children, Introduction (Second Edition) by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship 10/20/1980: Instruction on Infant Baptism by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the...