Free Republic

The latest media person to fail to think and count to ten before hitting the "Tweet" button is Matthew Dowd. Once a Democrat, Dowd came over to the Republican Party in 1999, and was George W. Bush's chief campaign strategist during the 2004 campaign. He became an independent in 2008 and is currently a Chief Political Analyst at ABC News. He also claims to be Catholic, but clearly has a politically twisted understanding of the first Christmas.

.....But that's exactly what churchgoers in Sri Lanka saw in booklets at a carol service on December 11. What they expected was the words to the Hail Mary, a common Christian prayer. What they got instead was the profanity-laced lyrics to rap legend Tupac Shakur's Hail Mary. Andrew Choksy, who attended the Joy to the World service where the lyrics were distributed, said he recognized the Tupac song straight away. Father Da Silva said the printer had been a "young boy" who had simply downloaded the wrong version of the song. WARNING LANGUAGE

December 26, 2016 Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr Reading 1 Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 Stephen, filled with grace and power,was working great wonders and signs among the people.Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,Cyrenians, and Alexandrians,and people from Cilicia and Asia,came forward and debated with Stephen,but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. When they heard this, they were infuriated,and they ground their teeth at him.But he, filled with the Holy Spirit,looked up intently to heavenand saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,and he said,“Behold,...

Japanese rice farmer Masatsugu Tanimoto doesn’t think of himself as a Christian, and you’d almost never find him in a church. But every so often, he and others meet to recite prayers drawn from another time and place. The group, dressed in sober kimonos and sandals, rapidly make the sign of the cross as they sing a mish-mash of Portuguese, Latin and Japanese—evoking the memory of their ancestors, the so-called “hidden Christians”, who were brutally persecuted in the 17th century, when Shoguns ruled Japan. Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese is bringing their harrowing story to the big screen just before Christmas...

Humility Lessons from the Nativity – A Homily for Christmas Msgr. Charles Pope • December 24, 2016 • The Christmas Gospel from Luke provides us with many teachings. One thing that surely stands out, however, is the permeating theme of humility. Throughout the account, God confounds our prideful expectations and insists on being found in the lowest of places.The newborn Christ is not found where we expect Him to be nor does His birth conform to any script we would design. Right from the start, He gives us many lessons in humility and begins His saving work of healing...

May all Christians on this rejoice that the Lord Jesus is born.

December 25, 2016 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)Mass During the Day Reading 1 Is 52:7-10 How beautiful upon the mountainsare the feet of him who brings glad tidings,announcing peace, bearing good news,announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,“Your God is King!” Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,together they shout for joy,for they see directly, before their eyes,the LORD restoring Zion.Break out together in song,O ruins of Jerusalem!For the LORD comforts his people,he redeems Jerusalem.The LORD has bared his holy armin the sight of all the nations;all the ends of the earth will beholdthe salvation of our God. Responsorial Psalm...

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while...

December 25, 2016 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)Mass at Dawn Reading 1 Is 62:11-12 See, the LORD proclaimsto the ends of the earth:say to daughter Zion,your savior comes!Here is his reward with him,his recompense before him.They shall be called the holy people,the redeemed of the LORD,and you shall be called “Frequented,”a city that is not forsaken. Responsorial Psalm Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12 R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;let the many isles be glad.The heavens proclaim his justice,and all peoples see his glory.R....

December 25, 2016 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)Mass during the Night Reading 1 Is 9:1-6 The people who walked in darknesshave seen a great light;upon those who dwelt in the land of glooma light has shone.You have brought them abundant joyand great rejoicing,as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,as people make merry when dividing spoils.For the yoke that burdened them,the pole on their shoulder,and the rod of their taskmasteryou have smashed, as on the day of Midian.For every boot that tramped in battle,every cloak rolled in blood,will be burned as fuel for flames.For a child is...

December 25, 2016 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)At the Vigil Mass Reading 1 Is 62:1-5 For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,until her vindication shines forth like the dawnand her victory like a burning torch. Nations shall behold your vindication,and all the kings your glory;you shall be called by a new namepronounced by the mouth of the LORD.You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD,a royal diadem held by your God.No more shall people call you “Forsaken,”or your land “Desolate,”but you shall be called “My Delight,”and...

No One Goes Away from Jesus Unchanged Msgr. Charles Pope • December 23, 2016 • The video below is a 2008 Coca-Cola commercial that takes up the theme of the star of Christmas.Let us review the impact that the star of Christmas had on the wise men, the Magi. The star moved them to seek meaning outside themselves; it made them look out and up.The star called them beyond what was familiar in their own country and world and expanded their horizons toward Christ and His Kingdom.The star summoned them to seek Christ, and when they found Him, to...

Trump names a Catholic who was mocked on Ash Wednesday to be his press secretary December 22, 2016 It’s Sean Spicer, who should quickly emerge as one of the most visible members of the administration: Spicer, the Republican National Committee’s communications director and chief strategist, has worked as a senior communications adviser to Trump during the transition. He had told reporters Thursday morning they could expect “further announcements on appointments and staff later today” and additional announcements “in the near future on fulfilling the final Cabinet positions.” He also garnered some attention earlier this year on Ash Wednesday: A slew...

December 24, 2016 Saturday of the Fourth Week in Advent Reading 1 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 When King David was settled in his palace,and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,he said to Nathan the prophet,“Here I am living in a house of cedar,while the ark of God dwells in a tent!” Nathan answered the king,“Go, do whatever you have in mind,for the LORD is with you.” But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:Should you build me a house to dwell...

Truncated title. Full title: Bishop Tobin: Tim Kaine’s Abortion, Gay Views ‘Clearly Contrary’ to Catholic Teaching and Pope Francis Although some analysts describe Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), as a devout, “Pope Francis Catholic,” whose faith is “central” to his work, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said Kaine’s pro-choice position on abortion and support for gay marriage and women priests are views “clearly contrary to well-established Catholic teachings.” Bishop Tobin, head of the diocese of Providence, R.I., added that Kaine’s positions on those issues are also “opposed by Pope Francis.”

PARIS (RNS) The French delight in exceptions to the rule, until one comes along that they don’t like. One such case has emerged in Alsace, where a Catholic priest has been elected president of the state-run University of Strasbourg. Michel Deneken, 59, headed the university’s Catholic theology faculty from 2001 to 2009 and was then first vice president of the university before being elected by a wide majority last week to preside over one of the country’s leading centers of higher learning. His appointment has stirred up a storm of controversy. Six professors signed an open letter warning that Deneken’s...

Why Was Jesus Born When and Where He Was? Msgr. Charles Pope • December 22, 2016 • In preparation for the coming of Christmas, we have been discussing some of St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings. In today’s last installment we’ll be looking at his commentary on the time and place of Jesus’ birth.We live in a culture today that tends toward a kind of temporal pride. We think that we have come of age, that we are smarter and wiser than our forebears. Scientific, technical, and medical knowledge are more highly developed to be sure, but there is more to...

The “global left” is looking to 80-year-old Pope Francis for leadership, but his progressive political leanings could alienate more conservative Catholics in the United States and elsewhere, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Pope Francis really inspires a lot of people to want to fight,” Florida minimum-wage activist Bleu Rainer told the Journal. “I’m pretty sure if he weren’t the face of the Catholic Church, he’d be out in the street with us. He reinforces our issues and makes them moral issues.” Pope Francis has taken strong stands on migration, climate change, economic equality and the rights of indigenous peoples...

December 23, 2016 Friday of the Fourth Week in Advent Reading 1 Ml 3:1-4, 23-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:Lo, I am sending my messengerto prepare the way before me;And suddenly there will come to the templethe LORD whom you seek,And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.But who will endure the day of his coming?And who can stand when he appears?For he is like the refiner’s fire,or like the fuller’s lye.He will sit refining and purifying silver,and he will purify the sons of Levi,Refining them like gold or like...

In his annual Christmas address to the Vatican bureaucracy, Pope Francis on Thursday (Dec. 22) warned that those engaged in “malicious resistance” to the reform of the Roman Curia are inspired by the devil. It marked the third consecutive year that the pope has slammed the highest levels of the Catholic Church’s administration in his annual holiday greeting at the Vatican. In his address this year, Francis urged the prelates who work with him to undergo “permanent conversion and purification” to modernize the church and serve it better. “Without a change of mentality, efforts at practical improvement will be...