Ave Maria Living.com
Ave Maria, Florida – the town with a Catholic heart.©™ Stories & information for residents & visitors.Archive for Culture of Life
McTeigue: Goals, resources and allies in the battle to restore the male soul (all present in Ave Maria)
In his latest column, Father Robert McTeigue “identif[ies] assets both spiritual and natural that we can bring to bear in this great struggle for men.” Father sent AveMariaLiving.com a note requesting that we link readers to it because in it he favorably mentions the town of Ave Maria, Florida. This is the second of three columns in which McTeigue addresses the cultural and spiritual battle for the male soul. The first column described “some of the academic, legal, social, cultural and economic forces arrayed against men as men, and pointed to [the battle’s] spiritual root.” In the upcoming third column he will “describe a concrete plan of life for the cultivation of authentic masculinity, addressing a man’s role as pilgrim, warrior and king.” The fourth column will discuss distinctively Christian friendship among men.
UPDATE:
1st column in this series: Modern culture has declared war on masculinity.
2nd column in this series: Goals, resources and allies in the battle to restore the male soul.
3rd column in this series: Male role models from Scripture, not GQ.
4th column in this series: Distinctively Christian friendship among men.
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Pope Francis names Theology of the Body expert Mary Healy, daughter of AMU’s founding president, to Pontifical Biblical Commission
Congratulations to Nick and Jane Healy upon today’s Vatican announcement that Pope Francis has named their daughter, theology professor Mary E. Healy, to the Pontifical Biblical Commission. This is a most interesting appointment, given the ongoing Synods on Marriage and Mary Healy’s expertise in Pope Saint John Paul II’s papal teaching on Marriage and Human Sexuality that is known as the Theology of the Body. Nick Healy was the founding president of Ave Maria University and he and Jane spend part of the year at their home in Ave Maria.
Professor Mary E. Healy
Icons of Christ: extolling the deep meaning of every mother’s suffering
Catherine Pakaluk is our neighbor, friend, and a professor at Ave Maria University. She is a mother, and this week that is the focus of her column:
…But I think we should talk more about the negatives. Not to be dour, of course, but to help people understand the fundamental meaning of the Christian vocation, a message that is central to Mulieris Dignitatem and the Second Vatican Council. You just can’t advance these majestic teachings on a cartoon image of the pregnant woman that sweeps away hardships. People do not want to escape from sufferings. They want to know that their sufferings have meaning…
This is my favorite line from the column: “And just like pregnancy—Christianity seems to make sense and be cool for a while at the beginning, right up to the point when you realize, and you always do, that running the race to the finish calls for laying down your life.”
This Madonna and Child shows them pausing during the flight into Egypt – see Caravaggio’s original painting for the full scene. This painting is by Cornelius Sullivan, a member of the Ave Maria community.
That’s what every mom MUST do while pregnant and usually does after the child is born. That is what is so compellingly beautiful about every mom. That is why motherhood is the best icon of Christ – and that is precisely why motherhood is rejected by so many. According to Catherine, maybe talking about it more will help more women understand the meaning of that suffering instead of simply dreading it.
Thank you to all the mothers in Ave Maria. Thank you for your witness – for being icons.
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Comments, Chronology & Video: Ave Maria University President Towey reacts to Hobby Lobby decision
Today’s Supreme Court news in the Hobby Lobby HHS contraception mandate case reverberated in Ave Maria rather loudly. While the impact the decision will have on lawsuits by non-profits such as AMU is not clear, AMU president Jim Towey (an attorney) sees today’s decision as a good development. AMU is represented by the Becket Fund, the same law firm that prevailed in today’s Hobby Lobby case. The Ave Herald’s coverage is here.
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McTeigue: on lust, nursing babies, serving 2 masters, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s example of purity
St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s example of caring for plague victims resulted in his being adopted as the patron of those who have AIDS and their caregivers
Ave Maria’s Father Robert McTeigue, S.J., preached this homily on the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. He is currently finishing a collection of homilies and essays on preaching entitled, I Have Someone to Tell You: A Jesuit Heralds the Gospel.
Why should we care about Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, who was a young Jesuit saint who died at the age of 22 in 1591? Well, he’s long been known as a “patron of youth”, which is a fine thing, because your youth today need plenty of patrons, but I suspect some people may find Saint Aloysius difficult to market to today’s youth. After all, he doesn’t have a cool street name like others admired by young folks today, such as “Jay Z” or “Righteous B.” We don’t have photos of him looking like an Italian fashion model, as we do of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. And to make Saint Aloysius a reall hard sell in today’s world, he’s known as a patron of youthful purity.
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FOCUS cherishes summer in Ave Maria
They call it a “Summer to Remember“.
One part grad school.
One part retreat.
This is FOCUS New Staff Training.
FOCUS missionaries pack the Ave Maria Oratory for Mass
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McTeigue: Jesus tells us, “Do not make an idol or an instrument of people made beautiful by God.”
Ave Maria’s Father Robert McTeigue, S.J., preached this homily today for the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua. The scripture readings are here. Please pray for Father as he works towards completing a collection of homilies and essays on preaching entitled, I Have Someone to Tell You: A Jesuit Heralds the Gospel.
Michelangelo’s naked Adam and Eve just before the Fall, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. According to Ave Maria University’s Dr. Michael Waldstein, a renowned scholar on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body: “Some [naked] images push us to concupiscence, others do not. . . . Going to the Sistine Chapel and looking at the naked women on the ceiling is for this reason a very different experience than watching a pornographic movie. It is not presumption, but the experience of many men, that one can look with purity at Michelangelo’s nudes and take delight in their beauty. Michelangelo himself must have looked at his naked models in a pure way in order to be able to paint nudes in that pure way. . . . Of course, if one does feel a slide into concupiscence when looking at Michelangelo’s nudes, it is a good idea to look away. That need to look away should also be a trumpet blast for recognizing . . . that one is in need of a serious transformation.”
May I ask you a question? What if someone came to you and said this: “Oh! I just did a terrible thing! I was in an art museum, and I noticed that the paintings were beautiful!” You would think that a rather strange statement, would you not? Suppose your troubled friend went on to say: “And after I noticed that the paintings were beautiful, I praised the artists who painted them!” You would know right away that your friend is obviously quite confused. Going to an art museum, enjoying the beauty of the paintings, and then praising the painters—well, in terms of a purpose of a museum—it just doesn’t get any better than that.
But what if your friend says this: “Oh! I went to the art museum, and I saw the beautiful paintings, and I stole them!” Then you would know that your poor friend is more than just confused. And what if your friend said: “I went to the art museum, slashed the beautiful paintings, and used the shredded paintings to shine my shoes.” Then you would know for sure that your confused friend is very sick.
Now, let me ask you another question. What does this little parable of mine have to do with today’s gospel reading?
Fr. McTeigue: Invite God’s Providence & Accept His Paternal Authority
Ave Maria’s Father Robert McTeigue, S.J., preached this homily for the 5th Sunday after Easter according to the calendar of the Traditional Latin Mass. The Epistle was James 1:22-27, and the Gospel was John 16:23-30. Please pray for Father as he works towards completing a collection of homilies and essays on preaching entitled, I Have Someone to Tell You: A Jesuit Heralds the Gospel.
Did you ever wonder—what would the world look like if there were no fathers? Now, if you are biologically minded you might object and say, “‘No fathers’ = ‘no babies’” so a world without fathers would not last very long. True enough. But I am not talking about being a simple donor of genetic material; I am talking about being a true father. What would a world without true fathers look like?
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Ave Maria celebrates Holy Matrimony
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Philip Barrows.
Wedding season in Ave Maria is a great opportunity to reflect on marriage. As our pope, St. John Paul the Great shared these thoughts on matrimony in Familiaris Consortio:
Afternoon pilgrimage with Mother Teresa: “If there are poor on the moon we will go there”
I had wanted to see the new Mother Teresa exhibit in Ave Maria since it opened on April 2. After some good news at work, I walked downstairs and headed down the block toward the exhibit to make an act of thanksgiving to God. And I am so glad I did. The exhibit was very moving. For anyone who felt Mother’s absence when she left this world it will be hard not to well up with emotion at every information panel in the exhibit.
What a gift it is to have here in Ave Maria Mother’s Read the rest of this entry »
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What’s the population of Ave Maria?
At tonight’s annual AMU Founder’s Club Dinner in Naples, the chief operating officer of Barron Collier Companies, Brian Goguen, gave an Ave Maria town update to the nearly 300 attendees. No doubt, the Ave Herald has more details, but these are some highlights:
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Marriage means something in Ave Maria
Ryan T. Anderson, quite possibly the nation’s most articulate defender of the age-old understanding of marriage across cultures, eras and continents, will be in town today. Don’t miss it.
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Giorgio: Life is Beautiful
We love you Giorgio, and we love your father and mother Scott and Chelsea and all your brothers and sisters.
Giorgio Allan, child of God, beloved son of Ave Maria.
This video tribute was created by Giorgio’s brother, Dominic.
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THIS is how to promote the Culture of Life (Ave Maria University)
This week Ave Maria University celebrates the Culture of Life with a “Life Week” of programmed
events. Choose life!
LIFE WEEK – March 17-23:
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