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DAY 49 – MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE, PRAY FOR US LIVE A SUPERNATURAL LIFE Surveys by Gallup, the National Opinion Research Center, and the Pew Organization conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being “very happy” than the least religiously committed people. Secular analysts seem to be doing back flips trying to explain away the simple reality that there is no other authentic and fulfilling way to live other than a supernatural life. St. Paul writes, “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and...

Five Fundamentals for a Firm Faith – A Homily for the 27th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • October 1, 2016 • The readings for today’s Mass richly describe some essential qualities of faith. There are five fundamentals that can be seen:1. Wanting – The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5-6). There’s an old saying, “What you want, you get.” Many doubt this, thinking that they have wanted many things that they did not get. But it is likely that they just didn’t want it enough. When we really want something (provided it...

October 2, 2016 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4 How long, O LORD? I cry for helpbut you do not listen!I cry out to you, “Violence!”but you do not intervene.Why do you let me see ruin;why must I look at misery?Destruction and violence are before me;there is strife, and clamorous discord.Then the LORD answered me and said:Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,so that one can read it readily.For the vision still has its time,presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;if it delays, wait for it,it will surely come, it will not be...

An organization of committed lay Catholics is challenging Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine, who’s invoking his Catholic faith and the words of Pope Francis as a basis for his radical positions on abortion and marriage, as well as his embrace of liberation theology. Brian Burch of CatholicVote says faithful Catholic voters and leaders deserve to know the truth about Hillary Clinton’s running mate, and how the time he spent in Honduras – which he has referenced as a “turning point in my life” – helped to shape both his political and religious views.

Beauty in Word and Image: A Short Review of Bishop Barron’s “Pivotal Players” Series Msgr. Charles Pope • September 30, 2016 • On Fridays, I typically feature a short video that illustrates the faith, usually in some unintentional ways. Today, I’d like to call to your attention to a new series of videos by Bishop Robert Barron, which intentionally set forth the faith: Catholicism: The Pivotal Players. The first volume of the series has been released and covers St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, Michelangelo, Blessed John Henry Newman, and G.K. Chesterton. One or...

DAY 48 – MARY, QUEEN OF THE FAMILY, PRAY FOR US SHOCK TROOPS KING: As Jean-Baptiste Chautard recounts in his book The Soul of the Apostolate, Pope St. Pius X was conversing with a group of his cardinals one day. The pope asked them: “What is the thing we most need, today, to save society?” “Build Catholic schools,” said one. “No.” “More churches,” said another. “Still no.” “Speed up the recruiting of priests,” said a third. “No, no,” said the pope, “the most necessary thing of all, at this time, is for every parish to possess a group of laymen...

October 1, 2016 Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Jb 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things,and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.I had heard of you by word of mouth,but now my eye has seen you.Therefore I disown what I have said,and repent in dust and ashes. Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Jobmore than his...

A Picture of the Spiritual Life from Job Msgr. Charles Pope • September 29, 2016 • Consider a verse from the Book of Job that was read in the Liturgy earlier this week (Wednesday of the 26th Week of the Year):God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed? (Job 9:3)At first glance, we might read this to mean that we don’t dare talk back to God or resist Him lest He punish us, but this would be a superficial interpretation. The text surely speaks more richly, of the spiritual life and...

DAY 47 – MARY, QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY, PRAY FOR US BORN FOR COMBAT Prophet: Bishop Robert Barron says, “A prophet is someone who speaks for God. Their task is to speak God’s word, in season and out (whether that word is popular or not). It means you should be a reader of theology and spirituality that you might, as St. Peter put it, ‘give a reason for the hope that is in you.’ We’re living in a time when religion is under attack. If someone challenged you, could you give a reason for the hope that is...

September 30, 2016 Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morningand shown the dawn its placeFor taking hold of the ends of the earth,till the wicked are shaken from its surface?The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,and dyed as though it were a garment;But from the wicked the light is withheld,and the arm of pride is shattered. Have you entered into the sources of the sea,or walked about in...

The Beginning of the End of Abortion 40 Days for Life is the largest internationally coordinated pro-life mobilization in history, helping people in local communities end the injustice of abortion through: Prayer & Fasting Knowing that “with God, all things are possible,” people of faith and conscience unite in 40 days of prayer and fasting Community Outreach The pro-life message is taken proactively to every corner of your community during a local 40 Days for Life campaign Peaceful Vigil A focused, 40-day, round-the-clock prayer vigil is held outside an abortion facility or public place in your city

DAY 46 – MARY, QUEEN ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN, PRAY FOR US BORDER WALKERS Priest: Bishop. Robert Barron says, “A priest prays for others, intercedes, and performs sacrifices. Priests are border walkers. They walk the border between heaven and earth. They are mediators as friends of God and friends of the human race. They bring divinity and humanity together. It means you must be a person of prayer — intercessory prayer — prayer on behalf of others. It pleases God to channel his providential care precisely through us and through the instrumentality of our prayer.” Recall the last line of the...

Starstruck: The Marveling of Job as He Looked to the Night Sky Msgr. Charles Pope • September 28, 2016 • The first reading for today (Wednesday of the 27th Week) says,The LORD alone stretches out the heavens. He made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south; He does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning (Job 9:8-10).Due to the light pollution common in our cities today, we urbanites really don’t have any idea what we’re missing when it comes to the night sky. Up until about a hundred years ago, the night...

September 29, 2016 Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels 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...

A Biblical Picture of Complacency and Its Tragic Results Msgr. Charles Pope • September 27, 2016 • The first reading from last Sunday’s Mass was a stunning and sobering analysis of the human tendency to be complacent. It also showed how this complacency is fueled by a series of denials that are listed in a tightly woven tapestry. Here is the passage, followed by some basic analysis.Thus says the LORD the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, They eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves...

DAY 45 – MARY, QUEEN CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN, PRAY FOR US YOU ARE A COMMISSIONED OFFICER Admission into Christ’s elite fighting force begins by knowing that by your baptism you have been “commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to fulfill a most dramatic mission; it is the mission of saving souls. This mission cannot be accomplished without entering into conflict with ‘the world, the flesh and the devil.’ It is not a mission for the fainthearted or for those who wish to take the wide road to heaven. It is the path of warfare, of spiritual battle.” “Holiness,” writes...

September 28, 2016 Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jb 9:1-12, 14-16 Job answered his friends and said: I know well that it is so;but how can a man be justified before God?Should one wish to contend with him,he could not answer him once in a thousand times.God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;who has withstood him and remained unscathed? He removes the mountains before they know it;he overturns them in his anger.He shakes the earth out of its place,and the pillars beneath it tremble.He commands the sun, and it rises not;he seals...

Job and Suffering Msgr. Charles Pope • September 26, 2016 • Job’s Tormentors’ by William BlakeWe are beginning to read from the Book of Job in daily Mass. One of its core issues is the problem of suffering and why God allows it. If God is omnipotent and omniscient then how can He tolerate evil, injustice, and suffering of the innocent? Where is God when a woman is raped, when genocide is committed, or when evil men hatch their plots? Why did God even conceive the evil ones and let them be born?The problem of evil cannot be answered...

DAY 44 – MARY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS, PRAY FOR US “CAN’T QUIT – WON’T FALL – PUT ME IN THE FIGHT!” The Soldier’s Creed of the United States Army states: “I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.” Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens said: “One of the things that makes a warrior into a warrior is that they are dedicated to developing their strength in service to others.” Whether it’s a Navy SEAL or a saint, we admire those who put it all on the line — go “all in!” —...

September 27, 2016 Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest Reading 1 Jb 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born,the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” Why did I not perish at birth,come forth from the womb and expire?Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth,like babes that have never seen the light?Wherefore did the knees receive me?or why did I suck at the breasts? For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;had I slept,...