Institute of Catholic Culture

The Institute of Catholic Culture is an adult educational organization, faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, and dedicated to the Church’s call for a new evangelization.

"This sketch of the human story began in a cave; the cave which popular science associates with the cave-man and in which practical discovery has really found archaic drawings of animals. The second half of human history, which was like a new creation of the world, also begins in a cave. But in that second creation there was indeed something symbolical in the roots of the primeval rock or the horns of the prehistoric herd. God also was a Cave Man, and had also traced strange shapes of creatures, curiously colored upon the wall of the world; but the pictures that he made had come to life."- G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

"How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn again to the Lord your God."- Lamentations

“Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.”- Isaiah 7:14

“It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death.”- Plato, Apology

“It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death.”- Plato, Apology

The Institute of Catholic Culture is an adult educational organization, faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, and dedicated to the Church’s call for a new evangelization.

“In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished; this is a real threat we face. The danger is that reason—so-called Western reason—claims that it has now really recognized what is right and thus makes a claim to totality that is inimical to freedom. I believe that we must very emphatically delineate this danger. No one is forced to be a Christian. But no one should be forced to live according to the ‘new religion’ as though it alone were definitive and obligatory for all mankind.”- Pope Benedict XVI

“Blessed be the Lord my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; My loving kindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer; My shield and He in whom I take refuge; Who subdues my people under me."- Psalms 144:1-2

“Blessed be the Lord my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; My loving kindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer; My shield and He in whom I take refuge; Who subdues my people under me."- Psalms 144:1-2

“Do not human beings have a hard service on earth and are not their days like the days of a laborer? ... My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out again ... Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul ... I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are a breath.”- Job 7:1, 5, 11, 16

Two and a half years after the eruption of the "Arab Spring," Egypt has once again engaged in a bloody civil war which has resulted in the burning of churches and persecution of the ancient Christian community of Coptic Christians.

“I am, in fact, convinced that what feminism promotes in its radical form is no longer the Christianity that we know; it is another religion.”- Pope Benedict XVI

"As [Jesus] walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed him."- Matthew 4:18-20

"As [Jesus] walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed him."- Matthew 4:18-20

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."- First Amendment, U.S. Constitution

“A great sign appeared in the sky, a women clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”- Revelation 12:1“Let the honoured festival of today, O Lord, bring us continued aid; on which the Holy Mother of God underwent temporal death, yet could not be holden by the bonds of death because she bore incarnate of herself Thy Son our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth with You, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.”- Collect from the Dominican and Sarum rite

“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”- Matthew 22:21

“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”- Matthew 22:21

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.” - Romans 8:29

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened. ”- C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.” - Romans 8:29

"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever."- Hebrews 7:1-3

“One thing is essential, one thing, simple in itself but horribly difficult for our human nature. It is that every member of the community consent to do his part, all his part and nothing but his part. Then and only then will everything be well.”- Rev. Pierre-Thomas Dehau, O.P.

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.”- Matthew 12:18

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.”- Matthew 12:18

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.”- Matthew 12:18

"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”- Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio

When Saint Vladimir the Great, Prince of Kiev, sent his ambassadors to find a religion for his people, they visited the Muslims of Bulgaria and welcomed Jewish envoys, but only when beholding the beauty of the Divine Liturgy at Constantinople did they proclaim: “We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty.”

"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”- Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio

"O Lord You shall open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. Had You desired sacrifice, I would have offered it, but You will not be satisfied with whole-burnt offerings. Sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit: a crushed and humbled heart God will not spurn."- Psalm 50

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."- Acts 2:1-4

“Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith and not by works of the law.”- Romans 3:28

“Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith and not by works of the law.”- Romans 3:28

Is Islam’s present its past? If so, what will its future be? And ours? Learn from Robert Reilly about the historical sources of friction between Islam and the West, what the recent past has brought that is new, and whether the hopes in the Arab Spring are solidly based or misplaced.

“I frankly confess that, for myself, even if it could be, I should not want ‘free-will’ to be given me, nor anything to be left in my own hands to enable me to endeavour after salvation; not merely because in face of so many dangers, and adversities and assaults of devils, I could not stand my ground ...; but because even were there no dangers ... I should still be forced to labour with no guarantee of success ... But now that God has taken my salvation out of the control of my own will, and put it under the control of His, and promised to save me, not according to my working or running, but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him or pluck me from Him.”- Martin Luther

Is Islam’s present its past? If so, what will its future be? And ours? Learn from Robert Reilly about the historical sources of friction between Islam and the West, what the recent past has brought that is new, and whether the hopes in the Arab Spring are solidly based or misplaced.

"I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if any one takes away from the words of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.”- Revelation 22:18-19

The Institute of Catholic Culture is an adult educational organization, faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, and dedicated to the Church’s call for a new evangelization.

Can bitter enemies ever be reconciled? What is the true root of conflict between Palestinians and Jews? What behind-the-scenes politics touched off the turmoil in the Middle East? Listen to Archbishop Elias Chacour as he tells his life story growing up as a Palestinian Christian and his lifelong quest for peace among all God’s people.This lecture was given at two different times and locations. The resources are listed as such.

"Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all who would be converted to Him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved. Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites; but they, repenting of their sins, propitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens [to the covenant] of God.”- First Epistle of Pope St. Clement to the Corinthians

"Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all who would be converted to Him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved. Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites; but they, repenting of their sins, propitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens [to the covenant] of God.”- First Epistle of Pope St. Clement to the Corinthians

“Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church.”- Lumen Gentium

"Nobis quoque peccatoribus, famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus: cum Ioanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Caecilia, Anastasia et omnibus Sanctis tuis: intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti, sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen."

“Behold, my brother, we have shared the same destiny, ploughing the same furrow; I now fall in the field at the end of my day. I know that you greatly love your Mountain; but do not for the sake of the Mountain give up your work of teaching.”- St. Cyril, Monk (on his deathbed) to St. Methodius, Bishop

"Nobis quoque peccatoribus, famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus: cum Ioanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Caecilia, Anastasia et omnibus Sanctis tuis: intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti, sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen."

“Behold, my brother, we have shared the same destiny, ploughing the same furrow; I now fall in the field at the end of my day. I know that you greatly love your Mountain; but do not for the sake of the Mountain give up your work of teaching.”- St. Cyril, Monk (on his deathbed) to St. Methodius, Bishop

"Wherefore our wills also have just so much power as God willed and foreknew that they should have; and therefore whatever power they have, they have it within most certain limits; and whatever they are to do, they are most assuredly to do, for He whose foreknowledge is infallible foreknew that they would have the power to do it, and would do it."- St. Augustine, City of God V.10

"When man comes into contact with God, mere speech is not enough. Areas of his existence are awakened that spontaneously turn into song. Indeed, man’s own being is insufficient for what he has to express, and so he invites the whole of creation to become a song with him: 'Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds' (Psalm 57:8f)."- Pope Benedict XVI

The Institute of Catholic Culture is an adult educational organization, faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, and dedicated to the Church’s call for a new evangelization.