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April 13, 2015Monday of the Second Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 4:23-31 After their release Peter and John went back to their own peopleand reported what the chief priests and elders had told them.And when they heard it,they raised their voices to God with one accordand said, “Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earthand the sea and all that is in them,you said by the Holy Spiritthrough the mouth of our father David, your servant: Why did the Gentiles rageand the peoples entertain folly?The kings of the earth took their standand the princes gathered togetheragainst the Lord...

A blessed feast to everyone!

“Faith, Fellowship, and Forgiveness” (John 20:19-31; 1 John 1:1 – 2:2; Acts 4:32-35) Did you get any gifts for Easter? Maybe an Easter basket, filled with chocolate bunnies and jelly beans and Easter eggs that you open up and there’s a coin inside? Well, I can think of some Easter gifts that are even better than that. And today I want to tell you about them. They’re right there in our readings for today, and they are these Easter gifts, three of them: “Faith, Fellowship, and Forgiveness.” Faith, fellowship, and forgiveness: three Easter gifts that we have because of the...

April 12, 2015Sunday of Divine Mercy    Reading 1 Acts 4:32-35 The community of believers was of one heart and mind,and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,but they had everything in common.With great power the apostles bore witnessto the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,and great favor was accorded them all.There was no needy person among them,for those who owned property or houses would sell them,bring the proceeds of the sale,and put them at the feet of the apostles,and they were distributed to each according to need. Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 R. (1)...

April 11, 2015Saturday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 4:13-21 Observing the boldness of Peter and Johnand perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men,the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed,and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them,they could say nothing in reply.So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin,and conferred with one another, saying,“What are we to do with these men?Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable signwas done through them, and we cannot deny it.But so that it may not...

April 10, 2015Friday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 4:1-12 After the crippled man had been cured,while Peter and John were still speaking to the people,the priests, the captain of the temple guard,and the Sadducees confronted them,disturbed that they were teaching the peopleand proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.They laid hands on Peter and Johnand put them in custody until the next day,since it was already evening.But many of those who heard the word came to believeand the number of men grew to about five thousand. On the next day, their leaders, elders, and...

As millions of Christians around the world were celebrating Easter Sunday, the Christians of the Muslim world were again under attack. The April 2 Islamic jihad attack on a Kenyan school—where the Islamic murderers made sure to slaughter only Christian students, sparing fellow Muslims—was only the most spectacular attack.

April 9, 2015Thursday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 3:11-26 As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John,all the people hurried in amazement toward themin the portico called “Solomon’s Portico.”When Peter saw this, he addressed the people,“You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this,and why do you look so intently at usas if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesuswhom you handed over and...

A few weeks ago, an Israeli geologist met with a reporter from the New York Times in the lobby of Jerusalem's King David Hotel. The geologist brought along evidence. Just before Easter, the Times came out with his story. The geologist, Aryeh Shimron, claims to have proof of a connection between a famous ossuary, or burial box for bones, and a tomb of in the environs of Jerusalem that, he believes, was the final resting place for Jesus of Nazareth, his wife and his family. If he were right, his theory would call into question the truth of the Resurrection. The Times...

As the Washington Times points out, the latest Obama signal of religious relativism came after his administration had issued a statement on the Kenyan massacre at a Christian college without once mentioning the religion of the victims - or the attackers. Addressing an ecumenical gathering at the White House of cardinals, ministers, pastors and the lay faithful, Mr. Obama was talking about the Apostle John’s call to love “with actions and in truth” rather than with words. The president then briefly gave in to temptation, and deviated from his prepared remarks. “On Easter, I do reflect on the fact that as...

President Obama appeared set to go after his political opponents on Tuesday during an Easter Prayer Breakfast, but he stopped himself before veering further off script. “On Easter, I do reflect on the fact that, as a Christian, I am supposed to love,” the president said during the breakfast at the White House. “And I have to say that, sometimes when I listen to other less-than-loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned.”

President Obama appeared set to go after his political opponents on Tuesday during an Easter Prayer Breakfast, but he stopped himself before veering further off script. “On Easter, I do reflect on the fact that, as a Christian, I am supposed to love,” the president said during the breakfast at the White House. “And I have to say that, sometimes when I listen to other less-than-loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned.” Obama paused, then remarked “that’s a topic for another day,” sparking laughter from the audience gathered in the East Room.

Tuesday at the White House’s Easter breakfast, President Barack Obama momentarily attempted to address the current religious freedom controversy but stopped himself after reactions from the crowd.

Towards the end of his speech at Tuesday morning’s Easter Prayer Breakfast, President Barack Obama appeared to veer off script to make some comments that implicitly referenced the fierce debate that has been raging over the last week about “religious freedom” laws in Indiana, Arkansas and elsewhere. “On Easter, I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian, I am supposed to love,” Obama said. “And I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less-than-loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned.” As the crowd began to murmur, the president backed off, saying, “But that’s a topic for...

President Barack Obama appeared to poke fun at his critics Tuesday during an Easter prayer breakfast speech at the White House. “On Easter I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian I am supposed to love,” Obama said. “I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less-than-loving expressions by Christians I get concerned.” The President didn't specify what those "less-than-loving expressions" were. "But that's a topic for another day," he added to laughter and applause from the audience. "I was about to veer off. I'm pulling it back." Obama faced a barrage of criticism from the...

April 8, 2015Wednesday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 3:1-10 Peter and John were going up to the temple areafor the three o’clock hour of prayer.And a man crippled from birth was carriedand placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple,he asked for alms.But Peter looked intently at him, as did John,and said, “Look at us.”He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.Peter said, “I have...

Courtesy of Freedom of Expression: “We are not bad guys, we are just here to make your Easter holiday better,” is what Garissa University College massacre survivor Maureen Manyego, 21, told Standard Media she heard taunting terrorists say to fellow students as she hid in a wardrobe. “(We are here to kill and die with you). We are not afraid of death. You are dying to pay for the arrogance of your political leader [President Uhuru] who has refused to pull out their military officers from Somalia. As long as Kenya’s military are in Somalia, it will be paid with...

Atheists should drop their easily dismissed scientific, philosophical or historical arguments against Christianity, and instead quiz believers about Old Testament violence and hell, writes John Dickson.

In case you didn’t have time to watch, yesterday’s Spring Sphere Roll was awesome! Big Guy improved his stats over 100% compared to last year’s hoops performance ( 2-for-9 - or 22.2%  - vs. 2-for-22 or 9.1% last year)! Although there was “a moment” as the press pool reported, when the basketball “very lightly hit POTUS in the face when he was standing under the basket catching rebounds.” As anyone around here can tell you, hitting Big Guy upside the head is still the best way to get his attention.Incoming!Basketballs weren’t the only incoming projectiles at the festivities; somebody forgot to...

April 7, 2015Tuesday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 2:36-41 On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people,“Let the whole house of Israel know for certainthat God has made him both Lord and Christ,this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,and they asked Peter and the other Apostles,“What are we to do, my brothers?”Peter said to them,“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins;and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.For the...