Free Republic

Three Aspects of Anxiety and How to Overcome Them Msgr. Charles Pope • November 12, 2015 • Worry is a universal human problem. Jesus speaks to it in Matthew 6 and His advice amounts to more than just "Don't worry." He actually sets forth how we can avoid it. Let's see how by looking at three problems He describes that bring about worry.No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell...

November 13, 2015 Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin Reading 1 Wis 13:1-9 All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than...

Events of recent memory have left my head spinning in disbelief—“Caitlyn,” same-sex so-called “marriage,” three women “marrying” in South America, and, yes, “gay Catholics” and “chaste gay couples.” With me, you may wonder how all this has emerged in a short few decades of social upheaval. I may have an answer: Society has constructed an unreal cultural landscape in which things that are not sexuality are passed off as sexuality. Even a majority of Catholics are, perhaps unwittingly, swallowing this unreality, hook, line, and sinker.The fabric of this false landscape is language—language that frames everyone and everything in a...

The Myth of the War Between Science and Religion For the past several years, I've been posting short commentaries on YouTube, probably the most popular website in the world.  I've covered everything from movies and music to books and cultural trends, but I've given special attention to the New Atheism. Among other videos, I've posted three answers to Christopher Hitchens' book God is Not Great, a brief presentation of some classical arguments for God's existence, and a response to Bill Maher's movie Religulous. As you might know, people are able to post comments in response to videos, and I’ve received a huge...

Hyperstimulation Is an Increasing Evil Whose Influence We Must Combat Msgr. Charles Pope • November 11, 2015 • We live in an age of such overstimulation that it would be unimaginable to people even a mere hundred years ago. In fact, it is probably more accurate to say we are not simply overstimulated, we are hyperstimulated. The number and kind of diversions available to us and imposed upon us are almost too numerous to mention. Silence and quietude are as unknown to us as is real darkness. We are enveloped in such sea of light that we are no longer...

In a stunning interview, the Maronite patriarch of Antioch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, has contended that Islam has a clear, two-pronged strategy to take over Europe: religion and procreation. The cardinal said that Muslims look on Christians as weak and believe that since they have no children and barely practice their faith, Islam will easily conquer them. Sadly, he said, Muslims take their faith more seriously than most Christians, and they are gaining ground because of it. "I have often heard from Muslims that their goal is to conquer Europe with two weapons: their faith and their birthrate," al-Rahi said......

November 12, 2015 Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr Reading 1 Wis 7:22b–8:1 In Wisdom is a spiritintelligent, holy, unique,Manifold, subtle, agile,clear, unstained, certain,Not baneful, loving the good, keen,unhampered, beneficent, kindly,Firm, secure, tranquil,all-powerful, all-seeing,And pervading all spirits,though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.For she is an aura of the might of Godand a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.For she is the refulgence of eternal light,the spotless mirror of the power of...

What are Beauty and Peace? The Ancient Philosophers Had Simple, Objective Definitions Msgr. Charles Pope • November 10, 2015 • Every now and then we all run across a description or definition of something that captures its truth, yet at the same time respects its mystery. For indeed mere words can ever really be, or take the place of, the thing or person they describe. The reality is always richer than the descriptions we attempt with the grunts and scrawls we call "words."Such were my thoughts when I was rummaging through some old philosophy notes and came across two classic...

November 11, 2015 Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop Reading 1 Wis 6:1-11 Hear, O kings, and understand;learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse!Hearken, you who are in power over the multitudeand lord it over throngs of peoples!Because authority was given you by the Lordand sovereignty by the Most High,who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly,and did not keep the law,nor walk according to the will of God,Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you,because judgment is stern for the exalted -For the lowly may be...

Europe is the Faith–so Hilaire Belloc declared in 1920. Nearly a century later, the faith burns as bright as it did then, but it is Africa, not Europe, that is carrying the torch of orthodoxy.Such is the unavoidable take-away from last month’s synod on the family. With prominent Western traditionalists like Cardinal Raymond Burke sidelined, the prelates from sub-Saharan Africa became the outspoken voices of orthodoxy.Cardinal Robert Sarah, a Guinea native and the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship, made headlines in a floor speech (fittingly, in this context, they are called “interventions”) likening gender ideology and ISIS to...

Love and Lament Alike – A Brief Reflection for All Who Care About the Church Msgr. Charles Pope • November 9, 2015 • As a priest and pastor I work very closely with others: clergy, religious, laity who work for the Church, and laity who volunteer. We all work for the Church because we love her and her people.But along with that love comes, at times, disappointment, hurt, or even disillusionment. Perhaps these feelings result from issues in the wider Church such as the betrayal of sexual abuse by clergy, the lack of courage and leadership from some bishops and...

BERUIT (Christian Examiner) - The leader of Maronite Catholics in Lebanon has said if the multiple wars in the Middle East do not stop, the region will be emptied of its Christians and Europe will eventually fall to Islam. Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, who leads the eastern Catholics still aligned with Rome, said in a recent interview with an Italian Catholic news magazine, Famiglia Christiana or Christian Family, the recent waves of immigration into Europe are only the beginning of Islam's expansion into the continent. Islam will eventually win the territory, he said, for two reasons. "I have heard many...

November 10, 2015 Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Wis 2:23–3:9 God formed man to be imperishable;the image of his own nature he made them.But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,and they who are in his possession experience it. But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;and their passing away was thought an afflictionand their going forth from us, utter destruction.But they are in peace.For if before...

Why Does Jesus Tell Us to Use "Dishonest Wealth"? Msgr. Charles Pope • November 8, 2015 • There was a puzzling reference in Saturday morning's Gospel (Saturday of the 31st week in Ordinary Time) in which Jesus says,I tell you, make friends for yourselves by your use of dishonest wealth, so that, when it fails, they will welcome you to eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9).What does He mean by "dishonest wealth"?The Greek expression μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας (mamona tes adikias) is more literally translated as “mammon of unrighteousness.” Mammon is a Hebrew and Aramaic word that has a wider meaning than just...

November 9, 2015 Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome Reading 1 Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 The angel brought meback to the entrance of the temple,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the facade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the southern side.He said to me,"This water flows into the eastern district down upon...

Archdiocese of Washington The Paradox of Poverty -- A Homily for the 32nd Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • November 7, 2015 • The first reading in today's Mass, from 1st Kings, speaks to us of the paradox of poverty. And the paradox is this: it is often our poverty, our neediness, that provides a doorway for God to bless us with true riches. It is our emptiness that provides room for God to go to work.Yes, in our riches we have "too much to lose." To the rich and worldly minded, the Gospel seems too demanding. But...

November 8, 2015 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 17:10-16 In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.As he arrived at the entrance of the city,a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her,"Please bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives,I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jarand a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a...

A higher calling The Bible doesn’t denigrate marriage; it acknowledges marriage can’t compare to the joy of heaven Msgr. Charles Pope 11/4/2015 Question: I cannot escape the conclusion that the Bible denigrates marriage. We are told by Paul by that we should live as though we had no spouse (1 Cor 7:29), and Jesus says that in heaven there will be no marriage. The Church also calls priesthood and religious life “higher callings.” What am I to make of all this negativity?— Joseph Harris, Washington, D.C. Answer: The solution is to understand the statements you reference in their wider context....

November 7, 2015 Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 Brothers and sisters:Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,who risked their necks for my life,to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;greet also the Church at their house.Greet my beloved Epaenetus,who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.Greet Andronicus and Junia,my relatives and my fellow prisoners;they are prominent among the Apostlesand they were in Christ before me.Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.Greet Urbanus, our co-worker...

Parables Aren’t Just Stories, Many Are Riddles – Here Are Two Msgr. Charles Pope • November 5, 2015 • To most of us, parables are stories told by Jesus to illustrate and clarify what He teaches. We have read the parables in the context of two thousand years of a tradition that interprets them in a certain way. But in their original context, parables are really more like riddles. The apostles noted that while Jesus would speak to the crowds in parables, when He retreated into the house with the apostles He would explain the meaning (cf Mat 13:36). Plain...