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Featured Term selected at random:DIALECTICAL THEOLOGY A system of thought, developed by Karl Bath, which holds that the main feature of the Christian religion is an inherent opposition among its revealed mysteries. The fundamental opposition, or dialectic, is between God and man. Other oppositions, such as time and eternity, finite and infinite, creature and Creator, nature and grace, are derived from the primary conflict. Moreover, dialectical theology claims that these oppositions cannot be reconciled by the human mind. Only God can bridge the gap that separates them. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary,...

What Do the Scriptures Mean which speak of “the flesh?” By: Msgr. Charles PopeThere is a common misunderstanding of the meaning of the Biblical phrase “the flesh.”  There are many references to “the flesh” in New Testament Scripture, especially in the letters of St. Paul. The phrase confuses some, who think it synonymous with the physical body or merely with sexual sin.It is true that there are many times when Scripture uses the word “flesh” to refer to the physical body. However, when the definite article “the” is placed before the word “flesh” we are most often dealing with something...

January 9, 2015Friday after Epiphany    Reading 1 1 Jn 5:5-13 Beloved:Who indeed is the victor over the worldbut the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,not by water alone, but by water and Blood. The Spirit is the one who testifies,and the Spirit is truth. So there are three who testify,the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord. If we accept human testimony,the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this,that he...

Featured Term selected at random:PARACHURCH An unconventional religious assembly, generally of only a few people or of persons who are unsatisfied with any of the established churches. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Living on the Dark Side of the Cartesian Divide – A Reflection on the Gnosticism of our Times By: Msgr. Charles PopeThere is a line in the first letter of John, read this week at Mass, that is of critical importance to many difficulties we see today with heresy, unbelief, and moral decay. The line says:Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in...

If anyone’s to blame for the execution-style murder of a dozen people at a French satirical magazine, the Catholic League’s president says it’s the paper's slain publisher. In a stunning article titled ’Muslims Are Right to be Angry,” Bill Donohue blasted Charlie Hebdo’s “intolerance” for repeatedly depicting and insulting religious figures which he said provoked Wednesday's mass shooting at their Paris office. Donohue, whose New York City-based conservative organization is not part of the Catholic Church, said “it is too bad” that Charlie Hebdo’s editor, Stephane Charbonnier, “didn't understand the role he played in his tragic death.” …

January 8, 2015Thursday after Epiphany    Reading 1 1 Jn 4:19–5:4 Beloved, we love God becausehe first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,”but hates his brother, he is a liar;for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him:Whoever loves God must also love his brother. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,and everyone who loves the Fatherloves also the one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of...

Featured Term selected at random:SUFFRAGES The prayers prescribed or promised for specific intentions. More particularly, suffrages are the Masses, prayers, or acts of piety offered for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

If the Second Vatican Council Had Never Happened, Would We Still Have a “New Mass?” … Quite Possibly By: Msgr. Charles PopeOne of the unfortunate couplings with those who lament the loss of the “pre-Conciliar” Mass (a.k.a. Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), Extraordinary Form, 1962 Missal, etc.) is the linking of the “New Mass” (a.k.a. Ordinary Form) wholly with the Second Vatican Council. This connection, while understandable given the emergence of the Ordinary Form just after the Council, is too simplistic and is unhelpful for a number of reasons. Without the Second Vatican Council, would the Ordinary Form of the Mass be...

CHICAGO — Cardinal Francis George has asked for continued prayers after being dropped from a cancer drug’s clinical trial, which was determined to be ineffective for him. “He is at peace, but he counts on everyone’s prayers that he might be of service to the Lord and His Church in the time left to him,” the Archdiocese of Chicago said Dec. 31. “Cardinal George would like to thank all those who have been praying for him, and asks them to continue to do so. You and those you love are remembered in his prayers as well.”

January 7, 2015Wednesday after Epiphany    Reading 1 1 Jn 4:11-18 Beloved, if God so loved us,we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testifythat the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,God remains in him and he in God....

People across the nation are mourning the death of Mario Cuomo, the passionate Italian-American Catholic who served as the governor of New York from 1983-1994. Cuomo’s political career was deeply formed by his Catholic faith. During his famous 1984 speech at the University of Notre Dame, he said as much: “The Catholic Church is my spiritual home. My heart is there, and my hope.” But Cuomo’s relationship with the Church in the United States, particularly its bishops, was at times strained, especially over the issue of legalized abortion. At Notre Dame and elsewhere, Cuomo maintained that -SNIP-

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said Monday he rejected an invitation this past weekend to attend Governor-elect Gina Raimondo’s inauguration, because of her stance on “the grave moral evil” of abortion. “Over the weekend I did receive a formal written invitation to the Inauguration, the courtesy of which I appreciated,” Tobin wrote in an email Monday night in response to a Providence Journal inquiry.

A longtime Catholic school priest at a renowned New York City school has admitted to sexually abusing minors in the 1970s and 1980s, and local prosecutors are now investigating, authorities say. Father Robert Harrison, a priest who taught for 26 years and coached basketball for more than 20 years at the all-boys Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, has been removed from the school and is barred from any sort of ministry as church and law enforcement officials investigate.

Recently, I had the great honor to have an audience with His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to discuss the state of Catholic men in the United States. Here is the full transcript: Matthew James Christoff of the New Emangelization Project: Your Eminence, we are delighted and blessed to be here with you. Today, we are here to talk about the state of Catholic men in the United States and how we might draw more men into the New Evangelization. Maybe to start, how would Your Eminence describe the state of men in the Catholic Church today? Cardinal Raymond Leo...

December 29, 2014 - Every December, Barna Group compiles its top findings and trends from research conducted in the past year. From legalizing marijuana to increasing secularization trends to America’s complicated relationship with sports—2014 was an interesting year. 1. Bible Skepticism Is Now Tied with Bible EngagementFor the first time since Barna Group and American Bible Society’s Bible engagement tracking began, Bible skepticism is tied with Bible engagement. The number of those who are skeptical or agnostic toward the Bible—who believe the Bible is “just another book of teachings written by men that contains stories and advice”—has nearly doubled from...

Featured Term selected at random:FRAGRANT ODORS Sometimes called the odor of sanctity, they are the perfume-like scent given forth by the bodies of saints during their lifetime or after death. They are considered, as it were, symbols of the fragrance of extraordinary virtue. Thus the stigmata of St. Francis were reported occasionally to emit a sweet perfume. When St. Theresa died in 1582, the water in which her body had been bathed retained a noteworthy fragrance. During nine months a mysterious perfume rose from her grave. Both phenomena were carefully studied in the process of her canonization. Among the conditions...

Overcoming Life’s Storms: A Teaching From St. Paul to Some Storm-weary Souls By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn the midst of a great storm in Acts 27, St. Paul finds himself among desperate and defeated people. Though the storm is from nature, their problems are of their own doing and are rooted in a foolish refusal to listen to either natural warnings or God. All of this foolishness was described in yesterday’s post. Is there a way out of their situation? With God there is, but only with God and only by turning to Him in obedient faith. As long as we live,...

EWTN Live - Protestant Theology - Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. with David Anders - 06-23-2010

January 6, 2015Tuesday after Epiphany    Reading 1 1 Jn 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another,because love is of God;everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.In this way the love of God was revealed to us:God sent his only-begotten Son into the worldso that we might have life through him.In this is love:not that we have loved God, but that he loved usand sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Responsorial Psalm PS 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8 R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on...