Free Republic

Capital Punishment 1231. You insist that the State has the right to inflict capital punishment? The State possesses the right on the same principle as an individual who may kill an unjust aggressor, if there be no other efficacious way in which to preserve his own life. Those whose crimes gravely threaten the well-being of society may be put to death by social authority when lesser penalties prove inefficacious as a control upon them. God Himself sanctioned this law in Hebrew society, and it is entirely reasonable. If the extreme penalty could not be lawfully inflicted by the State upon...

Featured Term (selected at random):BIOGENESIS The theory that all life has its source only in pre-existing life. Organisms, even the minutest, arise from similar organisms, never from inorganic matter. It is reasonable to affirm, and experience offers proof that "what is without life cannot generate life." Life in its origin is due to God's creative act. Opposing this theory is abiogenesis, which is without scientific basis. (Etym. Greek bios, life + genesis, origin, source.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Sent to me on Facebook by a pastor friend of mine.... **************************** Let me begin by saying I absolutely LOVE Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. (Gonna go ahead and tell you that Oatmeal Cookie Chunk is THE BEST flavor I’ve EVER had!!) A few years ago I went to Wal Mart (the closest thing to hell I can imagine…that and the DMV), found my favorite flavor and decided to tweet that I was purchasing some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream…and doing so “unleashed the hounds” in a sense. Honestly, I’ve never experienced anything like it, “Christians” began @ replying me...

Don’t Take The Our Father So Personally! Jul 26th, 2012by Gary Zimak.  Are you kidding me? How can I not take the Lord’s Prayer personally? It allows me to communicate directly with my Heavenly Father and has been called the “Perfect Prayer”. Why shouldn’t I take it personally? Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me explain what I mean. While it’s important (and encouraged) to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, we want to make sure we don’t limit the effectiveness of this powerful prayer by focusing solely on our own personal intentions. Although...

Featured Term (selected at random):GRIDIRON Symbol of St. Lawrence the deacon. Martyred in A.D. 258 by being roasted alive on a gridiron. By the fourth century venerated as one of the famous martyrs of Rome, he included in the Canon of the Mass. St. Vincent (d. 304), a Spanish deacon martyred in the same way, also has the gridiron for his emblem. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Preamble The statement of the Lutheran churches in Africa on MFHS takes place in the context and background of on-going discussions within the LWF communion of churches officially established in Lund, in 2007. According to the statement of the Africa region LWF preassembly meeting in Abuja in March 2010, the African churches participate in this process for the purpose of (a) strengthening the communion, (b) clarifying the generally shared position of the Lutheran churches in Africa, and (c) also to state clearly that this is not THE pressing issue for the Lutheran communion in Africa region. The Lutheran communion in...

Featured Term (selected at random):SHEPHERD OF HERMAS An ethical treatise of the mid-second century. It is a work of major historical importance, preaching penance and consisting of five visions, twelve mandates, and two parables. It witnesses to the high moral principles of the early Church. The authorship has been attributed to Hermas, mentioned by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (16:14), but it was more likely written by a brother of Pope St. Pius I. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

I have written here before on the reality of Hell, as revealed in Scripture. And though many dismiss Hell as either non-existent or a very remote possibility, no Biblical figure spoke more of Hell than Jesus, who also taught that “many” go there. It is a sober and straight-forward teaching of Scripture that there is a Hell and that many mysteriously choose to live apart from God and the values of God’s Kingdom.Yet, while fully asserting all this, I do wonder why the teaching on Hell is so unambiguously “hellish” and why the focus of the Lord’s teaching is almost...

Featured Term (selected at random):CANON An established rule for guidance, a standard, or a list of such rules: 1. in biblical usage the catalogue of inspired writings known as the Old and New Testaments, identified as such by the Church; 2. in ecclesiastical usage, a short definition of some dogmatic truth, with attached anathema, made as a rule by general councils; 3. the Eucharistic Prayer, which is the essential part of the Sacrifice of the Mass. In religious life, certain orders of men with specific duties often attached to a particular church, shrine, or ecclesiastical function; 4. in music a...

From Speed Skating to Religious Life Former Olympian on the Call to Join Franciscan Order By Ann SchneibleLONDON, JULY 27, 2012 (Zenit.org).- With the London summer Olympics commencing today, a former Olympian – now a sister with the Community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in Leeds, England – shared with ZENIT her journey toward answering the call to the religious life.For CFR Sister Catherine Mary of the Holy Trinity the Olympics were a family affair. The Wisconsin native -- whose legal name is Kirstin Holum -- is the daughter of Dianne Holum, who gained international fame by becoming the first...

Course on GracePart Two - A Grace Considered Intensively by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.Chapter X. Deiform Life by Sanctifying Grace When a person is justified, does he have a new life? It would seem so, for if sanctifying grace makes us sharers of the divine nature, must it not also make us sharers of the divine life, since God's nature is nothing if not vital. And yet, a new life is a difficult concept.However, Sacred Scripture, the Father of the Church, Popes and theologians all join in proclaiming that in the just -- those born again of water and...

Featured Term (selected at random):ACTS OF THE MARTYRS Actual accounts of early Christian martyrdoms. The most reliable are those that follow the official shorthand reports of the trials and executions. Among the best known are the Acts of St. Ignatius, St. Polycarp, the Martyrs of Lyons, and the Passions of Sts. Perpetua and Felicitas, and St. Irenaeus. In the Western Church the Acts of the Martyrs were carefully collected and used in the liturgy from the earliest times, as witnessed by St. Augustine. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used...

Angels: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly! Part I Don Boys, Ph.D. In this first of three columns on angels, I will discuss Good Angels with the following two columns dealing with Bad Angels and Ugly Angels. It is obvious that good angels are messengers of God who are ministering spirits, “sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb. 1:14). In fact, “angel” means “messenger” and they are often seen in the Bible as delivering messages from God. They are seen throughout the Bible and are mentioned 297 times in the entire KJV. They...

The Catholic family that owns a Colorado-based company won a court victory in their battle to stop the Obama administration from requiring them to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception, a mandate they say violates their religious beliefs and First Amendment rights. Hercules Industries, a Denver-based heating ventilation and air conditioning manufacturer that employs nearly 300 full-time workers, got an injunction in federal court which stops enforcement of the controversial ObamaCare mandate. The company's lawyers said they needed the injunction immediately because if the mandate is enforced, it must begin immediately making changes to its health plan,...

Featured Term (selected at random):MISSALE ROMANUM Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI promulgating the new Roman Missal. The most significant features of this new missal are the addition of three new canons for the Mass, and the modification of the ritual. However, in each canon the Pope decreed that there be the same formula of consecration as follows: "We want the words to be pronounced thus: over the bread, "Accipite et manducate ex hoc omnes; Hoc est enim corpus meum, quod pro vobis tradetur'; and over the chalice, 'Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei, novi et aeterni testamenti, qui pro...

In this week's Torah portion, Devarim, Moses relates how G-d directed him not to have the Nation of Israel pass through the land of Edom, the descendants of Esau. G-d promised the land of Edom to Esau, and Israel was directed not to initiate any hostilities with his descendants. Even today, we cannot think of warring with America, Russia or Europe, all of whom are Esau's descendants. Our Sages teach that Jerusalem and Rome, which represents Edom's capital, have a symbiotically inverse relationship: When one ascends, the other descends. It will be reality, a.k.a. G-d, Who will avenge the rivers...

I often think we haven’t done a very good job in setting forth the doctrine of Eternal Life. For most people the concept seems a rather flat one, namely, that we shall live for ever and ever and ever…. And frankly for many such a concept seems rather unappealing even if the place of it is heaven. Heaven too is often poorly understood. It is reduced to a rather egocentric notion of a place where I will be happy. I’ll have a mansion, I’ll see my mother again, I won’t suffer…. But most moderns in their description never get around...

Featured Term (selected at random):FREEDOM OF THOUGHT In a correct sense, the capacity of the human mind to distinguish between truth and error. In this sense it is the foundation for freedom of the will, to choose between good and evil. but historically the term came into vogue as a motto for the Freethinkers, who were actually skeptics. Hume (1711-76) and Voltaire (1694-1778) in their day claimed to be Freethinkers, because they chose to disbelieve in divine revelation and, in fact, even to reject the basic dictates of sound moral reason. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John...

The year 2018 will mark the 50th, or Golden, anniversary of Humanae Vitae (HV), in which Paul VI restated what had been, until 1930, an unbroken and universal Christian teaching. Today, on HVÂ’s 44th anniversary, the Bellarmine Forum is launching The Campaign for Humanae Vitae. Our goal is to gather a million signatures on our petition conveying to the Holy Father and our bishops our prayerful gratitude, encouragement, and support for their efforts to preach and to defend this vital teaching of the Magisterium.Why now? Consider this: my colleague on the Notre Dame faculty, Professor Gary Gutting, has proclaimed in...

What is it that really holds us in bondage? What is it that is truly the source of our problem, our sins, our selfishness, our anger, our lust and pride? Original Sin? Yes but where does the wound of sin really set up shop in us and stay open for business? What does it tap into for its strength? Scripture has an interesting answer to this question: Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free...