Quote Of The Day

December 19th, 2009 MacAoidh

“I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had.”

—Nat Hentoff

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Inspired by the textbook from Christ the King Books--United States History: A Traditional Catholic Perspective

What if everything we as Catholics learned about history--from our textbooks, our media, even our Sunday homilies--was missing the most important piece?

What if the divide between “Church and State” wasn’t progress…but propaganda?

We’ve been trained to separate our faith from our public lives. We’ve been taught that religion is a private thing, something you do quietly on Sundays while pledging your ultimate allegiance to the flag. But is that what Christ taught? Is that how saints lived? Is that how Catholic monarchs like Queen Isabella saw their mission?

Or is that just the American compromise?

As we celebrate July 4th this weekend, let's look more deeply into who and what American is and can be.

This lesson, inspired by a US History textbook dedicated to the Traditional Catholic perspective, dives deep into the true story behind Catholic Spain, the evangelizing zeal of Queen Isabella, and the papal mandates that sent missionaries--not to enslave, but to save. It challenges the slogans of liberty inspired by the very State that props up life and the pursuit of happiness--as long as we follow their rules.

Is it just virtue disguising itself behind a unapologetic rejection of Christ?

Here we confront the myth of neutrality and tolerance with the reality of spiritual warfare.

And I ask all of us the most important question of all:

Are we Catholic first, or American?

Because if it’s really the former, then the way we see history, politics, education, and evangelization must radically change.

Just as I had to change what I taught in the classroom.

Exactly why I had to retire from the public classroom--it was Providence that brought my new wife along to allow it to happen.

Queen Isabella once said, when speaking on America and its exploration,“Even if there were nothing in that land but stones, I would go…so long as there are souls to save.”

Do we still think like that? Or have we traded the Gospel for comfort and the Cross for cliches?

This isn’t just a history lesson.

It’s a wake-up call.

And it’s about time we remembered who we are…and Whose we are.

Timeline of the video, available on YouTube under KNIGHT CATHOLIC ACADEMY.

00:00 Introduction & Opening: Are We More Catholic or More American?

01:08 From the Textbook: The Importance of Studying History

03:24 Catholicism in America: Challenges and Confusion

07:28 Catholic Giants and the Global Influence of Catholicism

11:46 Queen Isabella, Pope Alexander VI, & Obeying the Command of Christ

16:03 Explorers: Rugged, Flawed, Unapologetically Catholic. How Might We Be Like Them?

18:40 In Queen Isabella's Own Words

20:28 Pope Alexander's Command as Vicar of Christ

21:49 Separation of Church and State: A Modern Dilemma

26:38 Call to Action

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