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Featured Term (selected at random:NOSSA SENHORA APARECIDA Shrine of Our Lady, patroness of Brazil, at the Basilica of Aparecida, near the city of São Paulo. The statue venerated here was drawn out of the water by a group of fishermen in 1717. At first housed in a small chapel, the image became the source of so many favors that eventually it was placed in the present church, declared a basilica in 1929. More than a half million pilgrims come to the shrine annually. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used...

No, the Maryknoll Sandinista priest Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, 81, who had his suspension a divinis -- first decreed by Pope John Paul II -- removed by Pope Francis in the past few weeks did not leave his absurd statements and government positions in the past, as one might gather from various news reports of the past couple of days that repeated his statements from many years ago. He repeated such statements yesterday on Nicaraguan television, and now on a whole new unheard-of level. For those who are unaware of its real meaning in practice and behind the theological fog, this...

August 6, 2014Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord    Reading 1 Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 As I watched: Thrones were set upand the Ancient One took his throne.His clothing was bright as snow,and the hair on his head as white as wool;his throne was flames of fire,with wheels of burning fire.A surging stream of fireflowed out from where he sat;Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,and myriads upon myriads attended him.The court was convened and the books were opened. As the visions during the night continued, I saw: One like a Son of man coming,on the clouds of heaven;When...

Featured Term (selected at random:ERASTIANISM The system of Church-State relations named after Thomas Erastus (1524-83), who was a follower of Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) and whose real name was Thomas Lieber. Its main thesis is the supremacy of civil rulers in matters of religion. The basis for this theory is the alleged analogy between the Jewish and the Christian dispensations. Erastianism became the theological justification for the established churches in England and elsewhere. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. 

Colin Collette, former music director at Holy Family Catholic Church in Illinois, says his partner, William Nifong, asked to “marry” him while they stood in front of St. Peter’s Basilica on a recent trip to Rome. In Illinois and Chicago, thanks to Catholic Democrat politicians, same-sex marriage is legal, so the two men planned a wedding. When Colin returned to the Chicago area, Father Terry Keehan of Holy Family Catholic Church, asked Collette to resign. Colin refused, and was subsequently fired. According to Collette, someone sent Francis Cardinal George a Facebook picture of him and his husband to be. That...

August 5, 2014Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22 The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book. For thus says the LORD:Incurable is your wound,grievous your bruise;There is none to plead your cause,no remedy for your running sore,no healing for you.All your lovers have forgotten you,they do not seek you.I struck you as an enemy would strike,punished you cruelly;Why cry out over your wound?your pain is without relief.Because of your great...

Featured Term (selected at random:ROMAN ROTA Originating as an extension of the Apostolic Chancery, it is essentially a tribunal of appeal for all the ecclesiastical cases in which the Roman Curia is competent and that are not reserved to other jurisdictions. It also receives cases of appeal for Vatican City State, and is a tribunal of first instance in cases reserved to the Holy See, or that the Pope has reserved for himself by means of a special rescript of the Apostolic Signature. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used...

August 4, 2014Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest    Reading 1 jer 28:1-17 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,in the fifth month of the fourth year,the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon,said to me in the house of the LORDin the presence of the priests and all the people:“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.Within two years I will restore to this placeall the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar,king of Babylon, took away from this place to...

In this episode of The Terry & Jesse Show on mp3: 1) Get the facts on what the Church really teaches on Immigration from the CCC. 2) Learn what Jesse Romero has learned about immigration and gangbangers as a former Los Angeles deputy. 3) The morality of fathers leaving their families in their country of origin and its dangers. 4) The moral obligations of immigrants. 5) Hear callers voicing their concerns (including one from Murrieta, CA. 6) Learn what the "The Cloward–Piven Strategy" is and more...

The Trouble With Calvin – Pt. 3 In my last two blog posts, we examined the first two of the “five points” of Calvinism popularly known by the acronym, TULIP, which represents 1. Total Depravity 2. Unconditional Election 3. Limited Atonement 4. Irresistible Grace 5. Perseverance of the Saints (“once saved, always saved”). In this post, we will tackle the third point:Limited AtonementNo Christian that I know of would deny that some doctrines are more or less clear than others in Scripture. When it comes to the atonement of Christ, the Scriptures are most clear: Jesus Christ died on the...

August 3, 2014Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Is 55:1-3 Thus says the LORD:All you who are thirsty,come to the water!You who have no money,come, receive grain and eat;Come, without paying and without cost,drink wine and milk!Why spend your money for what is not bread;your wages for what fails to satisfy?Heed me, and you shall eat well,you shall delight in rich fare.Come to me heedfully,listen, that you may have life.I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,the benefits assured to David. Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 R/ (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us;...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/national/pope-franciss-10-secrets-to-happiness/2014/08/01/ed283448-1996-11e4-88f7-96ed767bb747_video.html From this video it is apparent to me that he is talking to all people, even those who might have Sunday jobs. Words printed out the site.

Featured Term (selected at random:CENOBITE  A monk or nun living as a member in a religious group or community. Cenobitical life was instituted in the East by St. Pachomius (290-346) and modified by St. Basil (329-79). The greatest development, fitting it to Western needs, came through St. Benedict's Rule. (Etym. Latin coenobium, monastery; from koinos, common + bios, life.) See Also: HERMIT

August 2, 2014Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Jer 26:11-16, 24 The priests and prophets said to the princes and to all the people,“This man deserves death;he has prophesied against this city,as you have heard with your own ears.”Jeremiah gave this answer to the princes and all the people:“It was the LORD who sent me to prophesy against this house and cityall that you have heard.Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds;listen to the voice of the LORD your God,so that the LORD will repent of the evil with which he threatens you.As...

I have a co-worker I've known for many years (10), and all this time, from how spoke out against abortion, homosexuality & gay marriage, common sense, drugs, and so many other progressive ideals, that I assumed she was a Republican, until today. We got onto the topic of class warfare and poverty. Well.. I was stunned to find that she supported the Democrats wholly on this, that was the only reason she did, that the fact they supported everything else she stood against, didn't matter. Republicans, Conservatives, and especially the Tea Party were liars and were rich and hated the...

A music director at a Chicago Catholic parish was fired Monday after the pastor learned he had become "engaged" to his male partner. Colin Collette says his partner asked him to "marry" him in front of St. Peter's Basilica on a trip to Rome last week. On Sunday, after Collette directed the music at Holy Family Catholic Church, Father Terry Keehan asked Collette to resign. He refused, and was subsequently fired on Monday morning. Collete told the Chicago Sun-Times that he believes Keehan was pressured by Cardinal Francis George. The 23-year employee says Keehan was aware of Collette's sexuality,...

It was, of course inevitable, having ordained women to its “priesthood” that the Church of England, mother Church of the Anglican Communion, would in the end ordain women to its “episcopate” (I place the key-words in inverted commas, not to be insulting but to indicate simply that most Anglicans use the words to describe something very different indeed from our notions of priesthood and episcopacy).The General Synod has now decided on women bishops. All the obstacles are down. The mystery was why it took them so long: in the Catholic understanding, if a person is a priest, he is,...

JOHANNESBURG - A German Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse of children in his native country and in South Africa has been extradited to Germany, police said Wednesday. Georg Kerkhoff, who is in his 50s, was put on a plane to Germany on Tuesday night, South African police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini told AFP. "We took him to the airport and handed him over to the German police. He will face trial in Germany," he said.

Featured Term (selected at random:LEGATUS NATUS Holder of a certain office that conferred a legatine status ex officio, e.g., before the Reformation the Archbishop of Canterbury, who performed some of the functions now carried out by a papal nuncio. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Iraqi Christians driven from their homes by Islamist terrorists should not flee their country, a French cardinal reportedly said this week. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon celebrated Mass in St Joseph’s Church, Ankawa, and was quoted as telling the Iraqis that Pope Francis wanted Christians to remain there. Sahar Mansour, a refugee who attended the July 28 Mass for peace in Iraq, said the cardinal told the congregation of more than 1,000 people, many of whom had fled Mosul as the city fell to Islamic State fighters in June, that the Pope’s wish was for them “to be strong and...