Resources
The Bible
Getting to Know the Word of God
"Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these"
--Jesus
(Matthew 19:14)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Truth About the Catholic Faith
"(God) calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church,
Article 1, The Life of Man- To Know and Love God)
The Splendor of Truth
Understanding Objective Truth
"The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly-- and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being--must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ.
--St. John Paul II
(Veritatis Splendor, 8)
Theology of the Body
The Truth About Love, Marriage and Sexuality.
"In the beginning the Creator made them male and female...In the spiritual life of married couples, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are at work, especially the gift of piety, that is, the gift of respect for what is a work of God."
--St. John Paul II
(Theology of the Body, Original Unity of Man and Woman, and Respect for the Work of God)
The Bible Timeline
The Story of God's Love and Covenantal Design
"Even though the Bible is in essence a library of seventy-three separate books, running through them is a story that ties them all together and makes sense not just of them but of our lives as well. That story is God's plan as it has unfolded in history and continues today."
--Jeff Cavins
(The Bible Timeline, Introduction)
Matthew 18
Child Abuse and the Gospel Message
"Children belong to Christ and to His Church. If there's any way the Church can succeed in inviting them back, we must move heaven and earth to do so."
--Bishop Bill Muhm
(Matthew 18: a conversation between a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and a Catholic Bishop)
The Body Keeps the Score
The Truth About Trauma
"Exiles are the toxic waste dump of the system. Because they hold the memories, sensations, beliefs, and emotions associated with trauma, (we believe) it is hazardous to release them... Keeping the exiles locked up, however, stamps out not only memories and emotions but also the parts that hold them-- the parts that were hurt the most by the trauma... 'Usually those are the most sensitive, creative, intimacy-loving, lively, playful and innocent parts.'"
--Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
(The Body Keeps the Score, The Burden of Toxicity, pg. 291)
Truth and Repair
The Truth About Justice
"Tracing the recovery of survivors over time, a large body of research has now documented facts that make intuitive sense:
Social support is a powerful predictor of good recovery, while social isolation is toxic. People cannot feel safe alone, and they cannot mourn and make meaning alone."
--Judith L. Herman, M.D.
(Truth and Repair, Introduction, pg. 2)
Spe Salvi
Hope for the Innocent and the Suffering
A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through 'com-passion' is a cruel and inhuman society.
--Pope Benedict XVI
(Spe Salvi, 38)
The Spiritual Journey of Healing
Survivor Spirituality
"If I am ever discouraged that my wounds are so horrifying that no one would ever want to draw close to me, or could bear to see me, all I need to do is draw close to Christ crucified. He... knows how to love in this space."
--Carrie Bucalo
(The Spiritual Journey of Healing, The Memories of God, pg. 12)
