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July 21, 2015   Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 14:21—15:1 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,and the LORD swept the seawith a strong east wind throughout the nightand so turned it into dry land.When the water was thus divided,the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. The Egyptians followed in pursuit;all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after themright into the midst of the sea.In the night watch just before dawnthe LORD...

Moderator Frank Luntz asked Trump whether he has ever asked God for forgiveness for his actions. "I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don't think so, he said. ... I don't bring God into that picture." Trump said that while he hasn't asked God for forgiveness, he does participate in Holy Communion. "When I drink my little wine - which is about the only wine I drink - and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of asking for forgiveness, and I do that...

All Have Fallen Short of the Glory of God – A Reflection on the Need to Remember That Heroes Are Still Human Msgr. Charles Pope • July 19, 2015 • Throughout my youth, my father had many teachings and expressions that we came to call “dad-isms.” They were memorable little sayings packed with truth. One of them I recall him saying to me in the aftermath of a disappointment I had experienced regarding a friend. He simply said, “Charlie, people disappoint.”Yes, they do. We need not be cynics to understand and accept that people cannot always come through for you....

July 20, 2015 Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 14:5-18 When it was reported to the king of Egyptthat the people had fled,Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them.They exclaimed, “What have we done!Why, we have released Israel from our service!”So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiersBsix hundred first-class chariotsand all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all.So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaohthat he pursued the children of Israeleven while they were marching away in triumph.The Egyptians, then, pursued them;Pharaoh’s whole army, his horses, chariots...

On arrival in La Paz, Pope Francis was presented by Bolivian President Evo Morales with a wooden crucifix carved in the form of a hammer and sickle, the symbol of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Fidel. Had Pope John Paul II been handed that crucifix, he might have cracked it over Evo’s head. For John Paul II had seen up close what communism did — to his country, his church and his people in 45 years of Bolshevik rule. On his arrival in the Nicaragua of Daniel Ortega in 1983, Pope John Paul castigated a priest-collaborator who dared to serve that...

That's not the purpose of FR and not the purpose of our Religion forum. Trashing religion is not debate. Those who cannot live with this are welcome to post elsewhere.

The Empire State Building has a message for Mother Teresa - you don't deserve to be honored in lights. "As a privately owned building, ESB has a specific policy against any other lighting for religious figures or requests by religions and religious organizations," said Anthony Malkin, head of the family company that owns the building.

Four Teachings on Personal Prayer – A Homily for the 16th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • July 18, 2015 The gospel today speaks to us of the priority of personal prayer. You may recall that in last week’s gospel, Jesus sent them out two by two to proclaim the Kingdom. Now they return, eager to report the progress and the graces they encountered.But as Jesus listens, he urges them (perhaps because they are overjoyed) to come aside and rest awhile, for they have labored long. In so doing, Jesus also teaches us about prayer. Let’s consider four...

July 19, 2015   Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jer 23:1-6 Woe to the shepherdswho mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,against the shepherds who shepherd my people:You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them,but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flockfrom all the lands to which I have driven themand bring them back to their meadow;there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for...

From the Catholic News Agency, we read that this conference will occur next week, July 21-22. Ostensibly its purpose is to demonstrate a linkage between "climate change" and slavery. Well, I daresay other linkages are made even more manifest by this conference. The title of the conference is one indicator. "Modern Slavery and Climate Change: the Commitment of the Cities" is the title of the workshop in question that will be held during the conference entitled "Prosperity, People and Planet: Achieving Sustainable Development in Our Cities". The conference is sponsored by (surprise!) the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Let's focus on...

Spanish Inquisition Question: What was the Church’s involvement with the Spanish Inquisition? It seems clothed in shadows. — Dorothy Perez, San Antonio Answer: This brief column cannot cover all the details and provide extensive references. However, the Spanish Inquisition was run by the secular government, not by the Church. The Church did have its own inquisition, distinct from the secular government of Spain. Most people preferred the Church’s inquisition and often appealed cases there since it was more clement and just by their estimation. The term “inquisition” simply refers to an inquiry into charges leveled against a person, usually of...

July 18, 2015 Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 12:37-42 The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth,about six hundred thousand men on foot,not counting the little ones.A crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them,besides their livestock, very numerous flocks and herds.Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened,they baked it into unleavened loaves.They had rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunityeven to prepare food for the journey. The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egyptwas four hundred and thirty years.At the end...

Three Words That Can Change Your Life Msgr. Charles Pope • July 16, 2015 • Sometimes we like to complicate things. Every now and again it is good to simplify, to make it plain and simple. The other day it occurred to me that three words describe the well-being I have discovered in my physical, emotional, and spiritual life. They are, respectively, move, breathe, and trust.Let’s look at each in turn. “Move” pertains to the physical, “breathe” to the emotional and psychological, and “trust” to the spiritual. I. Move – Some years ago, my doctor told me that the...

July 17, 2015   Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 11:10—12:14 Although Moses and Aaron performed various wondersin Pharaoh’s presence,the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate,and he would not let the children of Israel leave his land. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,“This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;you shall reckon it the first month of the year.Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this monthevery one of your families must procure for itself a lamb,one apiece for each household.If a family is too...

Things Are Often Not as They Seem – A Lesson from the Life of Moses Msgr. Charles Pope • July 15, 2015 • We are currently reading the story of Moses in daily Mass. The story reminds us that not all things are as they appear, and that God’s ways are not our ways.Moses’ early years are marked with clear signs that he is gifted and chosen. Drawn from the water by Pharaoh’s own daughter, Moses’ very own mother is chosen to be his caretaker and is paid for that privilege by getting to live in Pharaoh’s palace. Pharaoh pays...

  July 16, 2015   Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 3:13-20 Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him,“When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”God replied, “I am who am.”Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:I AM sent me to you.” God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:The...

The head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is weighing in on the firing of teacher from a Montgomery County Catholic school, who allegedly lost her job because of her same-sex marriage. Margie Winters says she lost her job as the religious education director at Waldron Mercy Academy because of her marriage to Andrea Vittori. More than 100 people gathered together in support Winters at General Wayne Park in Lower Merion Township on Sunday afternoon. "I'm here to support Margie and let her know what was done to her was unjust, discriminatory and unfair," said Anthony Arechavale, parent. "I think it's...

MERION STATION, PA, July 15, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – The homosexual partner of a woman fired from a Philadelphia-area Catholic school has written to Pope Francis asking for a meeting during the pope's U.S. visit, and for his intervention in the couple's situation so they will not be "condemned to live a life of exile from (the) Church."Pope Francis has been accused of sending confusing signs on the issue of homosexuality and the Church's teaching about it, and homosexual activists have frequently used him by claiming he supports their cause. But the pope has repeatedly criticized the homosexual agenda and gender...

There are lots of reasons why I decided, as an otherwise happy Evangelical Protestant, to become a Roman Catholic. Among these reasons were aesthetic and spiritual appeals—the beauty of the liturgy and the plethora of centuries old spiritual practices—and these were, indeed, powerful motivators. But alongside the sometimes esoteric motivations were some fundamentally, concretely intellectual reasons to join the ranks of the ancient Catholic Church. Chief among the intellectual appeals stand the towering figures of the Early Church Fathers. Christians who lived, and wrote, some of them contemporary with the writings of the New Testament. Many of them, in the...

“Neither the government nor priests can handle El Chapo” was a warning sent by Joaquin Guzman (El-Chapo) to what he considered his two biggest threats at the time: Christian priests and the government. To ensure he was taken seriously, the note accompanied two corpses: soldiers that he arranged to be killed so everyone gets the message: you need to fear the drug cartel of Sinaloa, especially the infamous El Chapo. The message was sent in response to Hector Gonzalez, the archbishop of the northern state of Durango, who raised fears of attacks on the clergy. Indeed, according to the Catholic...