Blog Update and New Projects at Catholic Lane

With the baby coming up in February, I find myself having less and less time to do blogging.  As a result, this blog will see a real decrease in posting, even more than it already has.  I'm asking people to subscribe via the button on the right so they can receive posts by email.  If you write for Catholic Lane, please subscribe, as I will frequently announce projects on this blog.

Speaking of which, time for another project!

Far too often Catholics don't know their Church Fathers.  When they do, it is talking points for an apologetics argument.  Knowing the Greek meaning of "presides in charity" in the thought of St. Ignatius is a cool nugget to have (hint, it proves the papacy in the early church), but it is kind of limited in telling you how to best live your life as a Christian trying to follow the Gospel.  That's what I want to fix.

After Lent, we will be tackling a different work by a Church Father per month.  For example, June might be where we discuss St. Ignatius' aforementioned Epistle to the Romans.  The writer would provide short commentaries (or maybe a 1,000 word short essay) a few times a month to help us understand how this writer teaches us to live the Gospel. 

As always, the rule of Pius X will be strictly enforced.  What is the rule of Pius X?  I've quoted it so many times, I've simply made it a rule.  When talking about how to teach Christian doctrine, St. Pius X stated the following in Acerbo Nimis:

The task of the catechist is to take up one or other of the truths of faith or of Christian morality and then explain it in all its parts; and since amendment of life is the chief aim of his instruction, the catechist must needs make a comparison between what God commands us to do and what is our actual conduct. After this, he will use examples appropriately taken from the Holy Scriptures, Church history, and the lives of the saints -- thus moving his hearers and clearly pointing out to them how they are to regulate their own conduct. He should, in conclusion, earnestly exhort all present to dread and avoid vice and to practice virtue.

If anyone is interested in this, please let me know.  As always, you can find me on Twitter @CatholicSmark if you have any questions, or the other ways of contacting me listed on this blog.

Blessings,
Kevin Tierney
Associate Editor, Learn and Live the Faith
Catholic Lane