McGrath Institute Blog

Looking for new ideas or resources to engage your faith or your ministry? Here are our weekly curated links, including offerings in each of the following categories: Prayer for the Home, Educational Opportunities, Resources (for ministers, educators, parents, etc.), and Flourishing and Fun. 

Over the past several months the deep cracks and fissures of inequality in our country have come to the forefront of our national conversation. We have been reminded once again of the daily burdens our brothers and sisters of color encounter on a daily basis by virtue of the color of their skin. The Catholic Church condemns every form of social and cultural discrimination, including racism, as incompatible with the Gospel and a threat to human dignity (CCC §1935). In a 1999 homily in Saint Louis, Pope Saint John Paul II decried racism as a plague and called it “one of the most persistent and destructive evils of the nation.” While talking about systemic racism with family members, colleagues, and friends can be challenging, it is necessary if we hope to overcome this national scourge. 

In the last contribution to this series, I addressed the need for a liturgical interruption relative to Catholic school curricula. These curricula often presume that human beings are made for work and thus contribution to industry. This assumption is at the heart of STEM curricula. A ST(R)E(A)M curriculum simply adds religion and arts to the mix, without awareness that this addition might upset the whole basis of the curriculum to begin with.

Experiencing anxiety is a common problem that leads many people to seek counseling and therapy. Whether about work, family life, unexpected setbacks, one’s future, or one’s children and their problematic behaviors, anxiety-inducing events abound. Anxiety is the result of threats existing in our lives, whether real or perceived. For those experiencing problematic anxiety, it may be hard to distance from these threats. In the fortunate case that one is able to do so successfully, it is often not long before the threat and associated emotion returns. As a result, we may struggle to be the person God sees within us. We may experience less joy or be more likely to negatively impact the lives of those around us. Outbursts of anger, disputes, and dissension are also common with anxiety. We know that this anxiety is burdensome, but what is there to do about it?

Looking for new ideas or resources to engage your faith or your ministry? Here are our weekly curated links, including offerings in each of the following categories: Prayer for the Home, Educational Opportunities, Resources (for ministers, educators, parents, etc.), and Flourishing and Fun.