Whose Standards?

Not every teacher has the gift of discerning souls, but it is natural to notice the character, temperament, and personality of one’s students.

Saint John Henry Newman kept detailed notes of his students’ virtues and vices. https://t.co/V9yWh3W1hm

— Josh Hochschild (@JoshHochschild) January 27, 2024

Gerondism

If taken literally and not as hyperbole that excludes the fact that the only way to become an orthodox Christian is to be incporated in Christ, then how can this be not wrong? We are first grafted into Christ and His Life, and we learn from others and their experiences. How does this differ from what St. Justin Popovic said: "Christians today can become true Christians only if they're guided on adaily basis by God's saints"? Teachers, guides, mentors are important -- but can these mentors be found outside monastics?

“And there really is only one way to become Orthodox, one way to become a Christian, and that is to become disciples of the contemporary Elders, Saints, and spiritual fathers. To be grafted into their experience, to become one with that.” -@frpeterheers pic.twitter.com/ilJ3svUZRG

— Timothy Honeycutt (@AudioScribeOW) March 26, 2021

The End of Education

Church Life: Education Should Aim at God, Not the Job Market by Daniel Drain

The Importance of Memorization

A Pedagogical Question

If a school has co-education, when is the right time to end it? At the age of reason (between 7 and 8 years old), so second or third grades? Or at the beginning of puberty (which can be as low as 9 years of age if stressors are present, otherwise 11 to 13), 6 to 8 grade? Or somewhere in that range? It seems middle school (6 to 8) is a convenient point for dropping co-education, but perhaps it should be done at an earlier age, like at 9 years.

New Vision of Science

FPR: Avoiding “A World Without Women,” or Porches

A review of Transfiguration: Notes Towards a Radical Catholic Reimagination of Everything by Michael Martin

Old School is Better than New School

CWR: Memorization and Catechesis: What really works? by Nicholas Senz
Too many catechists have neglected to teach the meaning of the key words of our faith, only to lament that the children do not understand them, and then declare that they must be set aside.

Addressing the Mechanical Reception of the Eucharist

and lukewarmness among children.

Even if the traditional Christian initiation for infants is adopted/restored in the West (Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist), what should be done by parents to catechize their children? Should there be a "coming-of-age" ceremony, with first confession and a special rite for Eucharist for children, so that they can renew their promises and show their rational acceptance of faith? This idea does not sound right, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were to advocate it.

What then? Those who do have their children initiated have a special responsibility to catechize their children well, and thus they have the burden to make sure that they themselves are properly catechized, rather than relying on others to catechize their children for them. Catechesis through the liturgy should probably be the primary way for doing this, and parents should explain the importance of a feast before Divine Liturgy, or after if necessary. They should be modelling prayer in the temple and at home. And if they do not have the requisite knowledge or prayer life to model for their children? Maybe they shouldn't have their children initiated, unless in danger of death.

Strategic Priorities Workshop - Dr. Anthony Esolen

Anthony Esolen: Lecture at "Your Imagination Redeemed" 2018

Changing the Practice of the Sacraments of Initiation for Children?

In areas where infant morality is low, can a case be made that for some children, the giving of the sacraments of initiation should be delayed until they have been properly catechized and can choose to receive them? Here I am thinking of children whose parents have been poorly catechized and have a non-existent prayer life, and have very little to give to their children. Is it proper to expect the parish priest (or parish community) to shoulder the burden of preparing their children to become Christians? Should there be a more serious examination of whether parents are actually ready to educate their children before administering the sacraments of initiation to the children?

Choosing Christ

Was reading some books about the history of Confirmation in the Patriarchate of Rome. Not it would follow that if children were to not be given the sacraments of initiation as infants, that the number of Catholics who fall-away later in life would decrease, as the total number of Catholics would decrease, and the only neophytes would be of adult age, or close to it.

Still, if it is necessary, as Baptists claim(?), for people to make a deliberate decision to become Christian before being initiated, then is there a case to be made, in light of the number of Catholics who fall away from the practice of the faith in their adolescence and young adulthood, that Catholics (and Apostolic Christians in general) should refrain from initiating their children until they've attained the age of reason or after? Or are we merely seeing the effects of generations of poorly-catechized Catholics who've never been properly introduced to the practice of prayer and Christian spirituality and made them their own just doing with their own children what their parents did?

The Remnant: World Youth Day: Vatican Venue for Sex Education by Michael Matt
Tuesday, August 30, 2016

So the Vatican has ramped up its preoccupation with sex. As has been widely reported here and elsewhere, they've now got their very own sex-education program up and running. Published by the Pontifical Council for the Family, “The Meeting Point: The Adventure of Love,” purports to bring young people up to speed on the question of sex and chastity. And who better to do that than those paragons of virtue over at that Vatican.

Blueprints for the Little Church

the book
announcement
Faith Encouraged Live with Fr. Barnabas Powell

What Orthodox Families Must Do to Keep the Kids Orthodox by Fr. Geoffrey Korz