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Lyrics Hallelujah - Easter version by Kelley Mooney Lyrics To Hallelujah by Kelly Mooney Adapted to the music of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah A crown of thorns placed on His head He knew that He would soon be dead He said did you forget me Father did you? They nailed Him to a wooden cross Soon all the world would feel the loss Of Christ the King before His Hallelujah Hallelujah x4 He hung His head and prepared to die Then lifted His face up to the sky Said I am coming home now Father to you A reed which held...

Cuba has now made Good Friday an official national holiday after restoring that Catholic feast as an "exceptional" measure when Pope Benedict XVI visited the island in 2012. The new Labor Code, passed by the National Assembly in December, established Good Friday as a holiday "every year," Communist Party daily Granma said Tuesday.

An atheist group is combatting a Christian Easter display at Wisconsin's Capitol building in Madison by setting up a sign that reads "Nobody died for our 'sins,' Jesus Christ is a myth." The Freedom From Religion Foundation says it rushed to get a permit for their display after seeing that the Concerned Women for America group was able to set up their own display at Wisconsin's Capitol building. The CWA group's display reportedly included a Christian cross and pro-life literature. The conservative women's group says on its website that it's dedicated to bringing "biblical principles into all levels of public...

Who is ultimately responsible for the ongoing attacks on Christians and their churches throughout the Islamic world? Focusing on one of the most obvious nations where Christians are regularly targeted—Egypt’s Coptic Christians—one finds that the “mob” is the most visible and obvious culprit. One Copt accused of some transgression against Muslim sensibilities—from having relations with a Muslim woman, to ruining a Muslim man’s shirt—is often enough to prompt Muslim mobs to destroy entire Christian villages and their churches.Recently, for example, after her cross identified Mary Saleh George as a Christian, a pro-Muslim Brotherhood mob attacked, beat, and slaughtered her. However,...

Pope Benedict received a birthday cake at the White House April 16, 2008, when he turned 81. (CNS photo/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo) VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has yet to reveal what retired Pope Benedict has planned for his 87th birthday today.It will definitely be low key and most probably include a friendly phone call from Pope Francis, who is always picking up the phone on people’s birthdays.While Pope Benedict usually liked to keep celebrations simple, the people around him liked to splurge, especially when he visited Washington, D.C., in 2008.April 16 was his first full day in the...

Protesters against SB175 gather outside the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on April 15, 2014. Credit: Peter Zelasko/CNA. Denver, Colo., Apr 16, 2014 / 12:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Archbishop of Denver on April 15 rallied opposition to a Colorado bill he says is “both extreme and dangerously ambiguous� in its ban on all abortion regulations and other pro-life laws. “Coloradans are not against common sense regulations on abortions, and they should have the opportunity to be able to debate and pass those regulations,� Archbishop Aquila Samuel J. Aquila said to a crowd of hundreds at an assembly and prayer...

President Barack Obama has announced the names of the members of the presidential delegation to the April 27 Mass of canonization of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. John Podesta, current Counselor to the President and White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, will lead the delegation. The other members of the delegation are Rep. Xavier Becerra, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, and Katie Beirne Fallon, Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs. According to Vogue, Fallon was a leading strategist in the effort to garner political support for the HHS mandate. Additional...

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter of complaint to Clemson University, citing concerns about how much religious influence coaches have on football players, according to The Greenville News. According to the foundation, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney has promoted a culture in the program that violates constitutional stipulations of the separation of church and state.

WAY OF THE CROSSAT THE COLOSSEUMLED BY THE HOLY FATHERPOPE FRANCISGOOD FRIDAY Rome, 18 April 2014 “The Face of Christ,the Face of Man�MEDITATIONS by H.E. Msgr. Giancarlo Maria Bregantini,Archbishop of Campobasso-Boiano  INTRODUCTIONHe who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth. These things occurred so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “None of his bones shall be broken�. And again another passage of Scripture says: “They will look on the one whom they have pierced� (Jn 19:35-37).Loving Jesus, you went up to Golgotha without hesitation, in...

Staunchly Catholic Malta has legalized same-sex civil unions and has given gay couples the right to adopt children. The vote comes nearly three years after the Mediterranean island nation legalized divorce The Maltese parliament legalized same-sex unions and gay adoption on Monday in a 37-0 vote, signaling a major change in social policy for a conservative country where Catholicism is the state religion. "Malta is now more liberal and more European, and it has given equality to all its people," Labour Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said. The opposition Nationalist Party abstained from the vote, saying that although it supports civil...

U.S. President Barack Obama. Washington D.C., Apr 15, 2014 / 12:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking at the 2014 Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama reflected on his recent meeting with Pope Francis, whom he described as an inspiration. “I’ll tell you, I felt this spirit when I had the great honor of meeting His Holiness, Pope Francis,� the president said, recalling his March 27 meeting with the Holy Father at the Vatican. “I think it’s fair to say that those of us of the Christian faith, regardless of our denomination, have been touched and moved...

An aerial view of the Old City of Jerusalem. An organization of Israeli temples is preparing priests for the the reconstruction of the city's historic third temple. On April 10, at 5 p.m., hundreds of Jews will gather at the Maimonides rabbinical institution plaza in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood in Jerusalem and start learning the Jewish laws of Passover. Rabbis and experts, including Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the head of the Temple Institute in the Old City of Jerusalem, the leading body preparing for the establishment of the third temple, will teach the audience the laws of the Passover sacrifice. Alongside Ariel, the ritual...

A British Catholic journalist has said she was astonished when major world news outlets mistook an Vatican April Fool’s report she wrote for a genuine news story. The Guardian, which this week won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting of Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency leaks, was one of the organisations that reported the hoax story that the Vatican employed a hawk called Sylvia to protect the doves periodically released by the Pope. Other outlets to reproduce the story include Agence France-Presse and the Washington Times.

The holy monastery of St. Catherine at Mount SinaiA retired army general says he has filed a court case pushing for Egypt's historic Saint Catherine's Monastery to be demolished and its Greek monks deported on the grounds that they pose a threat to national security. In May 2012, Ahmed Ragai Attiya obtained 71 administrative orders regarding the demolition of the monastery's multiple churches, monk cells, gardens and other places of interest on the grounds, which he claims were all built in 2006 and thus not historic, according to Ihab Ramzy, the monastery's lawyer. However, in an interview with private channel...

Vatican City, Apr 12, 2014 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis has appointed Lady Margaret Scotford Archer as president of a group of scholars dedicated to studying issues in the social sciences in order to offer reflection and advice to the leadership of the Church. According to an April 12 press release from the Holy See, “the Holy Father has named the most illustrious Professor Lady Margaret Scotford Archer President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.� The new president was born in Grenoside, U.K., and holds a Ph.D. from the University of London. She is currently a professor...

I can remember when Colorado was a normal state. Conservative, even. Then hundreds of thousands of Californians, having wrecked their own state, moved in. The state is now really divided, but the leftists have the upper hand in the state government. Lord, please never let that happen here. The radicals, who have also passed stupid laws against certain kinds of firearms, have a new bill called Senate Bill 175. According to Archbishop of Denver Samuel Aquila, it basically seeks to enshrine abortion in Colorado law forever, and forestall any future pro-life legislation: If you haven’t yet heard, there is a...

VATICAN CITY (RNS) While millions of pilgrims are expected to attend the Catholic Church’s first-ever double canonization at the end of April, the Vatican is preparing its most ambitious TV and social media campaign for the millions who don’t make it to Rome.View down Via della Conciliazione to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Harris via Flickr City officials are expecting more than 5 million people to attend the ceremony when Pope Francis declares his predecessors Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII saints in St Peter’s Square on April 27.For the first time viewers will...

Bill Donohue comments on the latest developments in the Catholic League’s boycott of Guinness: We have amassed over 7,000 email addresses from the Knights of Columbus, constituting over 1,500 councils across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Today, we are asking the Knights to join us in our boycott of Guinness. We are confident that many Knights will participate. How do we know? Because we have been contacted by many councils already, anticipating our appeal to them. When Guinness pulled the plug on its sponsorship of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City—over the bogus argument...

Five Jewish Israelis were arrested Monday after allegedly attempting to sacrifice a goat at the Temple Mount in honor of the Passover holiday. The suspects were brought in to a nearby police station for further questioning. The goat was transferred to representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ynet reported. In the bible,a special ritual sacrifice is commanded on the Passover holiday and the custom was practiced by Jews during the First and Second Temple periods when their central shrine stood on the same site that today houses the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock . However, most rabbinic authorities...

My native place of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has its large share of loony dissent. Some of it is so strange that you wonder if you are actually imagining it. That said, I am not making this up. From the Minneapolis Star Sickle comes this big puppet liturgical horror for Palm Sunday at the über-weird St. Joan of Arc parish, in the running for the weirdest parish in these USA. QUOTE Actors and musicians presented Palm Sunday Family Mass with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre [apt mane] at Saint Joan of Arc...

A communist official in China has condemned the rapid growth of Christianity in the region as "excessive", but has denied allegations of increased persecution. Officially an atheist state, the right to freedom of religious belief is guaranteed under Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution but protections are limited to those who worship within state-sanctioned bodies. Chinese Christians often suffer at the hands of government authorities, and the Asian superpower is ranked the 37th worst country in the world for Christian persecution by the Open Doors World Watch List. Despite this, reports suggest that between 3,000 and 10,000 people are turning...

It’s not a secret the church has been in decline for a number of years and for a variety of reasons. You can read some statistics and views on why, here and here and here. Everyone has their opinions.Abuse, apostasy, and irrelevance are just a few of the words that keep coming up in the search for reasons for the decline. There are a variety of compelling opinions and I even have a few of my own.But I suggest there is another area of decline more significant and perhaps much less obvious—and one that certainly contributes to the church’s decline...

Why did Alex Hribal do it? Why did the 16-year-old sophomore at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania stab and slash 20 of his classmates (and a security guard), leaving at least four of his victims in critical condition? WTAE in Pittsburgh reports that “investigators continue to explore bullying as a possible motive.” NBC News cites criminologists who suggest Hribal was driven “by rage and adrenalin.” The Associated Press reports “[t]he boy’s family is just as puzzled as police about what triggered the attack.” But there is an obvious explanation of Hribal’s murderous rampage, which has been ignored by...

Something for the weekend. One of the most powerful depictions of Christ on film from the movie Ben Hur (1959). A wonderful melding of music and dialogue as Christ goes silently to the aid of Ben Hur and gives him water. The wordless encounter between Christ and the Centurion was amazing, as the Centurion’s face registers bewilderment, shame and curiosity as he has a totally unexpected encounter with the Divine. Whatever the actor who played the Centurion was earning that day, it wasn’t nearly enough.

A fine young man, a father of children and a professional, approached me at church: "What do you think of that Pope John-Paul? He's no good." Others also didn't like him. I put a magnetic sign on my car, it was met with sneers: 5 pictures of the Pope immediately after being shot, in 1/6th of the space, "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood." – Hebrews 12:4 Yet I also didn't like Pope John Paul II, not in himself, but because of the cult of personality around him. I love...

REGINA, Saskatchewan, April 11, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A prominent U.S. pro-family activist was detained by the Canadian Border Services Agency Thursday for alleged violations of Canada’s “hate propaganda” l Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, had flown into Regina International Airport to speak at the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association provincial conference this weekend. LaBarbera had been targeted by a makeshift group known as “Intolerance Free Weyburn,” which pressured the government to deny him access to the country. LaBarbera believes he was flagged by customs as a result. LaBarbera provided LifeSiteNews with a formal document issued by CBSA agent...

As the America celebrates Palm Sunday, let us not forget about the history of the false perception that 2.7 million visitors of Jesus' day had (Jews and Gentiles) from all over the land of Israel and the known world during the Week of the Passover. Countless multitudes in Jerusalem at that time had totally misunderstood who Jesus was (Matt. 23:27; Luke 19:14). These countless multitudes that Jesus healed from demonic oppression and all kinds of diseases had soon forgotten His wonderful works for them. His 3-1/2 year preaching ministry was beginning to wear thin, and they had had enough of...

The Muslims Will Invade The Vatican, And Try to Destroy The Roman Catholic Church By Ted on April 12, 2014 inFeatured, General SHOEBAT EXCLUSIVE By Theodore Shoebat I remember a few years ago spending time with an Evangelical friend of mine. Within our conversation, somehow, the subject of the Crusades came up. Of course, I defended the Crusades, explaining that they were fighting off Islamic invaders in the Middle East. He, on the other hand, vehemently condemned the Crusaders as evil and barbarous people. I asked him, “Who would you rather win, the Muslims or the Crusaders?” He said,...

Today I saw on the front page of the Holy See’s daily that the Holy Father reconfirmed Msgr. Guido Marini as Master of Ceremonies for another term. Good sign. Pope Francis is keeping certain of Pope Benedict’s people pretty close.

Well, that didn't take long. As my colleague Edward Malnick reports, the first gay Church of England priest – a canon, no less – today married his boyfriend. Canon Jeremy Pemberton, 58, a divorced hospital chaplain and father of five, wed his long-term partner Laurence Cunnington, 51. We're not told where, but obviously it wasn't in an C of E church. That's against the law. But they may well be able to have their marriage blessed in church because that's only "against the rules" as opposed to illegal.Campaigners predicted that Canon Pemberton would be the first of many. I think they're...

This is amazing news. According to internet activity it would seem that Christianity is a lot more popular than Communism in China right now. There is something beautiful going on in one of the most oppressive countries on the globe. That's the odd thing about Christianity -the more you try to stamp it out the more desirous it becomes. I seem to remember the apostles weren't treated very well in their travels. But they did pretty well. World Mag: Foreign Policy released a fascinating infographic today, based on a compilation of information from Weibo, China’s huge social media platform that...

Today I saw on the front page of the Holy See’s daily that the Holy Father reconfirmed Msgr. Guido Marini as Master of Ceremonies for another term.Good sign.Pope Francis is keeping certain of Pope Benedict’s people pretty close.

Homofascist Tyranny The tyranny of homofascism must be opposed By Michael Voris The Vortex April 9, 2014 Grab a pen and write the word down as quickly as you can and start using it everywhere – the word is .. homofascists .. as in homofascism. A working definition you ask? How’s this for starters? Homofascism – “a way of organizing a society in which homosexualists impose their agenda with which no one is allowed to disagree or have any appeal to the contrary without being subjected to severe consequences of ridicule, slander, libel, fines, public demonstrations, distortions, denial of free...

I was exposed to an expression I had never heard before,in a troubling article in the Christian Post.The expression is “Sexual Atheism” and it refers to the cavalier attitude toward sexual activity among professing Christian youth. In a recent study conducted by ChristianMingle.com, Christian singles between the ages of 18 to 59 were asked, “Would you have sex before marriage?” The response? Sixty-three percent of the single Christian respondents indicated yes. In my 30 years of youth and adult ministry experience, this is as unfiltered, direct and honest as a question and answer can be.It is equally honest to say...

      Donald Trump is a great businessman, a media genius and a fearless political tactician.  He is the rare voice that won’t back down and bow to the media elite.  So when Trump announced in 2011 that after some serious reflection he had reconsidered his position on abortion and was now prolife, it was great news for those fighting to protect the sanctity of the unborn.     Trump explained his conversion to CBN News’ David Brody as follows:     One thing about me, I’m a very honorable guy. I’m pro-life, but I changed my view a number of years ago. ...

Finally! Hey, you know I was thinking that it was almost Easter and there hasn't been some shocking new revelation that Jesus wasn't real or he was real but was actually just a plumber from Poughkeepsie (which oddly enough was the name of a small town in Israel.) ((Not really)) So a new study has come out saying that the proof that Jesus had a wife is kinda' old. Yeah, that's actually what the study said. A piece a parchment supposedly says "Jesus said to them my wife." That's old news. But the new news is that the parchment is...

ALBANY, New York — The cathedral filled with applause as New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan placed the bishop's miter on the head of the Rev. Monsignor Edward Scharfenberger, ordained Thursday as the 10th bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Albany.Hundreds of white-robed priests and 34 bishops from across New York and New England participated in the Ordination Mass at the red-stone neo-Gothic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception near Albany's capitol complex.Scharfenberger, 65, of New York City, was appointed by Pope Francis to succeed Bishop Howard Hubbard, who was the longest-tenured bishop of a single diocese in the nation when...

Beginning Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014, and running through Easter, April 20, the Church is launching an Easter initiative called “Because of Him,” focusing on the hope, healing, and salvation made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Elder David F. Evans, Executive Director of the Missionary Department, said, “As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek to do as He has instructed: ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ The ‘Because of Him’ Easter initiative is part of an ongoing effort to follow the Savior’s admonition.” Using the Internet and social media, the Church...

A High School and an Army Base; places which should be known as places of safety, were turned into killing fields. A Nation pauses, grieves and seeks to make sense of what seems to be a growing epidemic of violence. Efforts to point to guns as the cause of the problems at Fort Hood had become the rallying cry among some lawmakers. However, now the weapon was knives. So far, no-one has called for banning or restricting knives. That is because this is not about guns or knives.

Pope Francis aims to unite conservative and reformist strands of Catholicism with the first canonisation of two popes this month -- an impressive masterstroke that has already stirred dissent in some quarters.

In a statement issued today, Bishop Peter J. Jugis called the controversy over a recent presentation on human sexuality at Charlotte Catholic High School “a difficult time” that has caused everyone “a great deal of pain.” The all-school assembly March 21 featured a presentation by Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, a Dominican from Nashville, Tenn., and a frequent speaker in the Diocese of Charlotte. Sister Jane spoke on “Masculinity and Femininity: Difference and Gift,” which explained Catholic teaching about gender using Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Sister Jane’s March 21 address to students, which was arranged by...

ACTION ITEM BELOW!Some people in my native place, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, have in their bizzaro-world imaginations dreamed up a project to nominate the next Archbishop.Yes, the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, all four of them, have been busy.To get an idea of what these folks are about, look at the links on their side bar: Council of the BaptizedProgressive Catholic VoiceCatholics for Marriage Equality MNAmerican Catholic CouncilCall to Action MNCall to Action USFutureChurchRoman Catholic WomenpriestsSpirit of St. Stephen’s Catholic Community I think you get the idea.For some real fun, scroll down a bit and read their...

Faith Driven Consumer launched an #OpenZilla campaign in response to the recent resignation of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich whose support for California's Proposition 8 in 2008 caused uproar. The #OpenZilla campaign seeks to ensure the software company expresses inclusiveness and respect toward its religious employees who may oppose same-sex marriage. Faith Driven Consumer, a group that seeks to connect Christian consumers with faith-compatible companies, has requested the Silicon Valley-based software company provide clarification on its diversity policy to ensure employees will not be discriminated against for their religious beliefs. Recently, Eich resigned from his newly-appointed post as CEO of Mozilla,...

Actor Mickey Rooney (1920-2014) was a man of great patriotism and faith. These were his greatest roles. The number one box office star in America during the greatest years of the Hollywood Golden Age, 1939-1941, was not Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Judy Garland, or even Jimmy Stewart. It was Mickey Rooney. Rooney died Sunday at age 93. His acting career, begun on Vaudeville and matured in Hollywood, spanned over 90 years and ten decades. Mickey Rooney starred in over 300 films and was one of the last surviving stars of the silent film era. Rooney was awarded an Honorary Oscar...

“Toras Hashem temimah” – The Torah, in all aspects, is perfect and complete. It need not bend or comply with any other system. In fact, since the Torah is the blueprint according to which the universe was created, other systems should be judged by their agreement with the Torah. In recent years, however, Rabbi Moshe Meiselman notes that many unqualified authors have taken the liberty of challenging the classic mesorah of the Torah to accommodate the views of modern science. The authors are accused of relegating Chazal to a back seat in relation to modern-day scientific theories. Many of these...

BERKELEY, CA, April 7, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Oakland Bishop Michael Barber, Pope Francis’ first U.S. episcopal appointment, has drawn ire from Catholic progressives after replacing the priests serving the University of California at Berkeley campus, one of whom is “openly homosexual.” Newman Hall Holy Spirit Church, which functions as the parish church for Catholic students at the university, has been led by its pastor, Fr. Bernard Campbell, for the past seven years. Fr. Bill Edens, a self-identified homosexual, has served as student chaplain for the last five. Both are members of the Paulist order, which normally appoints priests at the...

Liberty University, in response to a heated Internet firestorm over the Benny Hinn Ministries' Liberty University Institute of Biblical Studies (LHBI), issued a statement regarding its firm lack of association with the Pentecostal televangelist:

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is reaching out to evangelical leaders as he considers a 2016 presidential run, and in early May, he will meet privately with Russell Moore, one of the country’s most prominent Southern Baptists. Moore, a frequent presence on television and at theological conferences, heads the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, which has more than 16 million members. Moore and an aide to Bush have confirmed the session, which will take place at Bush’s office in Miami. Bush, who has played down the idea that he is exploring...

After learning of the Chinese government’s plan to bulldoze a church in Wenzhou, China, thousands of people have gathered to form a 24/7 human chain to protect it: Officials claimed the church had been built illegally and used red paint to daub the words: “Demolish� and “Illegal construction� onto its towering facade. Wenzhou’s underground “house� churches – those unwilling to comply with Communist Party rules – have long been subjected to sporadic crackdowns, such as one in 2000 that saw hundreds of churches and temples demolished across Zhejiang province. However, the Sanjiang church is part of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, China’s...

VATICAN CITY — Parishioners in Rome gave Pope Francis a brand new black bag in the hopes that it would hold up for many years of traveling and serving as the successor of St. Peter.An unidentified parishioner at the church of St. Gregory the Great presents Pope Francis April 6 with a new leather bag, similar to the one he already uses for trips outside the Vatican. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) “We hope that you have a long and fruitful pontificate, therefore, we thought that the bag you have may not be enough,� Father Renzo Chiesa told the pope.The pope got...