Free Republic

ROC will call for a war against "aggressive liberalism" The Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted a circular, calling on believers to fight the "anti-clerical forces" and "false values ​​of aggressive liberalism." According to the April 7 blog post on the website of radio station "Ekho Moskvy" religious scholar and journalist Valery Retired, the document will be read from the pulpits of orthodox churches on April 8, the feast of Palm Sunday. Next Retired leads the full text of the circular. According to the report, the ROC believes that in Russia there are "anti-clerical forces" who do not...

April 8, 2012 The Resurrection of the LordThe Mass of Easter Sunday  Reading 1 Acts 10:34a, 37-43 Peter proceeded to speak and said:"You know what has happened all over Judea,beginning in Galilee after the baptismthat John preached,how God anointed Jesus of Nazarethwith the Holy Spirit and power.He went about doing goodand healing all those oppressed by the devil,for God was with him.We are witnesses of all that he didboth in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be...

 Divorce and Remarriageby Sebastian R. FamaIt is a sad fact of life that divorce has become an all-too-common occurrence. Many marriages that began with joy and hope end in bitter separation. Unfortunately, the Church is not immune to this problem. As with marriage, many view the Church’s position on divorce and remarriage as archaic and unrealistic. But the Church’s position is nothing more than the direct teaching of Christ. In Luke 16:18 we hear Jesus saying: "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."Paul says essentially...

The buzz on the new "Exultet": here come the bees! Mar 15th, 2011 by Deacon Greg Kandra With Easter rapidly approaching, deacons everywhere will be clearing their throats and getting ready to give voice to the great hymn of the Paschal Proclamation — also known as “The Exultet,” a seven-minute a capaella chant that fittingly, as the lyric proclaims, “humbles earthly pride.”    It is the Mother of All Chants, an epic best approached with a strong heart and steeled nerves.(For those interested, there’s an excellent downloadable version here that I’ve used for the last three years.)My pal Elizabeth...

Follow Me… Apr 1st, 2012by Gary Zimak.  As Jesus passed on from there,He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)As we head into the final 2 weeks our Spiritual Exercises retreat, I just wanted to reach out and share a few thoughts. Today, with the celebration of Palm Sunday, we enter into the holiest week of the year. Over the next five days, on my nightly radio show, we’ll meditate on Our Lord’s Passion and death. As we do this, we’ll recognize...

  The Fifteen Promises Granted to those who Recite the Rosary The Fifteen Promises of Mary Granted to those who Recite the RosaryThe Glory of St DominicGuido Reni 1613 A.D. FrescoSan Domenico, Bologna The Blessed Virgin Mary promised to Saint Dominic and to all who follow that "Whatever you ask in the Rosary will be granted." She left for all Christians Fifteen Promises to those who recite the Holy Rosary. Imparted to Saint Dominic and Blessed Alan Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. I promise my special protection and the greatest...

Meditating on Good Friday with St. Francis de Sales But could God not have provided the world with a remedy other than that of His Son's death? Certainly, He could have done so, and by a thousand other means. Could He not have pardoned human nature with absolute power and pure mercy, not invoking justice or the intervention of any creature? Doubtless He could, and who would have dared to question or criticize Him? No one, for He is Sovereign Master and can do all He wills. Besides, if He had wanted some creature to undertake our redemption, could He...

April 7, 2012   Holy Saturday - Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter   Reading 1 Gn 1:1; 2:2 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said,"Let there be light," and there was light.God saw how good the light was.God then separated the light from the darkness.God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night."Thus evening came, and morning followed-the first day. Then God said,"Let there be a dome in the middle of the...

The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy Novena of Chaplets A novena is typically nine days of prayer in preparation of a celebration of a feast day. At the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy Novena is recited perpetually at the Hour of Great Mercy — the three o'clock hour. The Chaplet can be said anytime, but the Lord specifically asked that it be recited as a novena. He promised, "By this Novena (of Chaplets), I will grant every possible grace to souls." Intentions For each of the nine days, our Lord...

No Greater Love… Apr 6th, 2012by Gary Zimak.   Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)On this day, approximately 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ suffered and died on a cross so that you and I can one day live in the eternal happiness of His kingdom. He gave everything, holding nothing back. As we look over our lives, what have we done to express our gratitude? Speaking for myself, I have to admit that the answer is “not much”. As a matter of fact, not only haven’t I...

Don’t Just Feel Sorry For Jesus… Apr 4th, 2012by Gary Zimak  For several years, my reaction to Our Lord’s Passion was the same:How could the authorities do this to Jesus?How could people cry out “Crucify Him”?What did He ever do to deserve this?How could Peter and Judas betray their friend?These people were really nasty!But eventually the sadness passed (usually by the evening of Good Friday) and nothing really changed in my life. As I started to learn more about my faith, however, I realized that my sins were responsible for the Lord’s suffering. Although that was a big revelation, the...

This week before Easter, I chanced upon the following two quotations. The first says: “Not for 2,000 years has it been possible for society to exclude or eliminate Christ from its social or political life without a terrible social or political consequence.” The second says: “Religion taught by a prophet or by a preacher of the truth is the only foundation on which to build a great and powerful empire.” The first is by Margaret Thatcher, opening her foreword to a book called Christianity and Conservatism, which appeared in 1990. The second appears in Tom Holland’s outstanding new book...

Bread from Heaven The Eucharist Sustains Us and Lifts Us Up From the very beginning of time, when God first created the universe, his intention was that we would all come to him to receive the grace, wisdom, and strength we needed. The Book of Genesis uses the image of the two trees in the Garden of Eden to convey this central truth: The tree of life held all the treasures of his divine plan, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil supported the philosophy that we could decide for ourselves what was right or wrong—we...

And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.  And sitting down they watched him there;  And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. . . . . Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My...

Hillsdale College First Principles on First Fridays lecture: “Obamacare's Assault on Religious Liberty” Funding for this month’s First Principles on First Fridays program has been provided by the Philip M. McKenna Foundation.Paul A. RaheCharles O. Lee and Louise K. Lee Chair in Western Heritage, Hillsdale CollegeDownload the Flier.Tuesday, April 10, 201212:00 - 1:00 p.m.Please note that this month’s program will take place on a Tuesday in deference to Good Friday.Paul A. Rahe holds the Charles O. Lee and Louise K. Lee Chair in Western Heritage and is Professor of History at Hillsdale College. He earned his Ph.D. from Yale University...

April 6, 2012   Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord   Reading 1 Is 52:13-53:12 See, my servant shall prosper,he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.Even as many were amazed at him—so marred was his look beyond human semblanceand his appearance beyond that of the sons of man—so shall he startle many nations,because of him kings shall stand speechless;for those who have not been told shall see,those who have not heard shall ponder it. Who would believe what we have heard?To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?He grew up like a sapling before him,like...

April 5, 2012 Holy Thursday: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper   Reading 1 Ex 12:1-8, 11-14 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 month every one of your familiesmust procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.If a family is too small for a whole lamb,it shall join the nearest household in procuring oneand shall share in the lambin proportion to the number of persons...

April 5, 2012 Holy Thursday: Chrism Mass   Reading 1 Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,because the LORD has anointed me;He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captivesand release to the prisoners,To announce a year of favor from the LORDand a day of vindication by our God,to comfort all who mourn;To place on those who mourn in Ziona diadem instead of ashes,To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning,a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. You yourselves shall...

TORONTO, Ontario, April 4, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholic schools will no longer be allowed to teach the Catechism’s doctrine that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered,” says a cabinet minister in Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government. As politicians debated a bill that would force Catholic schools to launch gay clubs on March 29th, Member of Provincial Parliament Glen Murray (Toronto Centre) lashed out against Ontario’s bishops over Catholic teaching on homosexuality. “I have to say to the bishops: ‘You’re not allowed to do that anymore,’” said Murray, an open homosexual who serves as McGuinty’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, according...

 Marriageby Sebastian R. FamaIn recent years the institution of Marriage has increasingly come under attack. Some consider it to be an outdated relic from the past. Some think of it as an unnecessary formality while still others see it as something that "was created for the benefit of men at the expense of women."Isn’t it true, critics will ask, that women are required to vow blind obedience to their husbands? No they aren’t, at least not in the Catholic Church. To begin with the Church does not allow people to write their own vows. Marriage is an ecclesial affair, not...