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History (Religion)

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  • What Does the Ascension Accomplish for Us? A Homily for the Feast of the Ascension

    05/13/2018 7:44:16 AM PDT · by Salvation · 3 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-12-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    What Does the Ascension Accomplish for Us? A Homily for the Feast of the Ascension Msgr. Charles Pope • May 12, 2018 • The Ascension of the Lord, Giotto (1304-06)This marvelous feast is not merely about something that took place two thousand years ago, for although Christ our Head has ascended, we the members of His body are ascending with Him. Because He ascended, we too have ascended. In my own life as a Christian, I am brought higher every year by the Lord, who is drawing me up with Him. This is not some mere slogan; it is...
  • Delaying the end

    05/12/2018 8:06:09 AM PDT · by Salvation · 9 replies
    OSV.com ^ | 05-09-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    Delaying the end Question: People in the early Church expected Christ to return in glory during their lifetimes. Are the Gospel quotes of Christ saying he would be back before they finished evangelizing all the towns of Israel part of this tradition, and if so, why didn’t he come? — Joann Capone, via email Answer: It is inaccurate to say that the early Church universally expected Christ’s imminent return. Just like today, there were some who announced his quick return. But there were also cautionary rebukes from the Church regarding this. For example: “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus...
  • “Just a Little While Longer” – A Meditation on the Brevity and Urgency of Life

    05/11/2018 8:39:23 AM PDT · by Salvation · 1 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-10-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    “Just a Little While Longer” – A Meditation on the Brevity and Urgency of Life. Msgr. Charles Pope • May 10, 2018 • There is a passage in John 16 that is unusual for its repetition. This past Sunday it was the assigned Gospel in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The expression “in a little while” is repeated seven times in the brief passage. In fact, its repetition is almost to the point of being annoying, such that the reader is tempted to say, “Alright, already! I get it! In a little while!” But obviously John, Jesus,...
  • A Jewish response: Three Old Testament Biblical Passages Misinterpreted as Referencing Jesus

    05/10/2018 9:32:56 AM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 60 replies
    PJ Media ^ | 05/10/2018 | Avner Zarmi
    Recently, PJ Media published a piece purporting to demonstrate that three Biblical passages refer to the crucifixion of the Messiah. The piece erroneously refers to all three of these passages as “prophecies,” and wrenches them out of context in the attempt to make the point. I have been asked to offer a response indicating what these passages really mean.The first, which is not a “prophecy,” is Psalms XXII, 16-18. The salient passage is actually at the end of verse 17, which the author renders as follows: “They have pierced my hands and my feet.” On the basis of this...
  • Love on the Move: Of the Divine “Dance” In the Holy Trinity

    05/10/2018 7:58:00 AM PDT · by Salvation · 2 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-09-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    Love on the Move: Of the Divine “Dance” In the Holy Trinity Msgr. Charles Pope • May 9, 2018 • There is a kind of tension in some of the imagery we use for God. On the one hand we call Him the “Unmoved Mover.” We also say that God is everywhere. If He is everywhere then there is nowhere for him to go, no need for Him to move because He is already there. Yet we also speak of “processions” in the Trinity.St. Thomas artfully and with precision speaks of the Trinity and the two “processions” as Gentori...
  • The Fading Glories of the World, as Seen in an Attic

    05/09/2018 9:19:46 AM PDT · by Salvation · 21 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-08-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    The Fading Glories of the World, as Seen in an Attic Msgr. Charles Pope • May 8, 2018 • The photo at the right, which I took in the attic of our parish school, reminds me of the ancient Latin phrase Sic transit gloria mundi (Thus passes the glory of the world). These are the symbols of victory in sports events, much trained for and fought for. Once they were proudly displayed in the trophy case of the main hallway. Over time they were shifted behind the newer trophies, then relocated to less prominent locations in the school, then...
  • Love is Not About Abstractions

    05/08/2018 8:01:03 AM PDT · by Salvation · 11 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-07-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    Love is Not About Abstractions Msgr. Charles Pope • May 7, 2018 • In the Office of Readings during the sixth week of Easter, we celebrate the Word becoming flesh. We read from the First Letter of John, which emphasizes the Incarnation of Jesus and demands that we experience the Word becoming Flesh in a practical way in our own lives.Fundamentally, the Incarnation, the Second Person of the Trinity becoming flesh, means that our faith is about things that are tangible. As human beings, we have bodies. We have a soul that is spiritual, but it is joined with...
  • The Battlefield of our Mind

    05/07/2018 7:06:58 AM PDT · by Salvation · 28 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-06-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    The Battlefield of our Mind Msgr. Charles Pope • May 6, 2018 • There is a war we must wage in our mind. Indeed, the mind is the central battlefield of our Christian journey. The mind is where we “live,” where we are alone with our thoughts and with God; it is where we think, deliberate, and decide. Our “thought life” determines our ultimate destiny:Sow a thought, reap a deed. Sow a deed, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.It all begins in the mind. If you can get a person...
  • Is Christianity Just Wishful Thinking?

    05/06/2018 1:49:30 PM PDT · by pcottraux · 90 replies
    Depths of Pentecost ^ | May 5, 2018 | Philip Cottraux
    Is Christianity Just Wishful Thinking? By Philip Cottraux Sigmund Freud devoted his life to studying the intricate workings of the human mind. He is responsible for many of the common psychological terms saturating modern culture: the id, the ego, the superego. The Oedipus complex. But in recent years, many of Freud’s ideas have come under scrutiny. Some have taken it as far as to suggest that most of his theories were made up. His influence has been so strong, however, that it’s hard to sort out what might have been pseudo-science. But I want to focus on Freud’s other notorious...
  • On the Paradoxical Connection Between Love and Law - A Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter

    05/06/2018 8:02:09 AM PDT · by Salvation · 58 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-05-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    On the Paradoxical Connection Between Love and Law - A Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter Msgr. Charles Pope • May 5, 2018 • In the Sunday Gospel, Jesus cuts right through the modern Western tendency to place love in opposition with law, and law in opposition with joy. Jesus joins all three concepts and summons us to a new attitude. I. Connections – Jesus says, As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s...
  • Nicholas II's Murdered Family Is the Key to Russia's Revival (Fr Artemy Vladimirov)

    05/05/2018 6:45:08 PM PDT · by marshmallow · 3 replies
    Russian Faith ^ | 4/23/18 | Fr. Artemy Vladimirov
    "For those who do not respect the history of their country, and consign the labors and accomplishments of their fathers and grandfathers to oblivion, are deprived of human dignity and, in all fairness, cannot even be called a people, which God calls us to become with faith, love for our land, and willingness to sacrifice at least something small in service of others"Ekaterinburg Golgotha. Who among us is not aware of this sorrowful but high collocation? It is not just a collocation, but the main tragedy of the twentieth century, which determined the shift in the world-historical process. Thanks be...
  • Loving the Spirit

    05/05/2018 1:41:50 PM PDT · by Salvation · 4 replies
    OSV.com ^ | 04-25-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    Loving the Spirit Holy Spirit may be harder to relate to as a person, but we can know him through his fruits and works Msgr. Charles Pope Question: I have difficulty relating to the Holy Spirit. Is the Spirit a person? Are there any suggestions that you can make? — Name, location withheld Answer: Many do struggle to relate to the Holy Spirit as a person for two reasons. First, the images of Father and Son speak to our human experience of personhood. A father or a son is person whom we can see and relate to. But in English,...
  • Artificial Intelligence Is Cracking Open the Vatican's Secret Archives

    05/04/2018 5:22:34 PM PDT · by marshmallow · 11 replies
    The Atlantic ^ | 4/30/18 | Sam Kean
    A new project untangles the handwritten texts in one of the world’s largest historical collections.The Vatican Secret Archives is one of the grandest historical collections in the world. It’s also one of the most useless. The grandeur is obvious. Located within the Vatican’s walls, next door to the Apostolic Library and just north of the Sistine Chapel, the VSA houses 53 linear miles of shelving dating back more than 12 centuries. It includes gems like the papal bull that excommunicated Martin Luther and the pleas for help that Mary Queen of Scots sent to Pope Sixtus V before her execution....
  • Jimmy Carter Says His Mideast Peace Push Drove Evangelicals To GOP

    05/04/2018 1:18:05 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 52 replies
    The Jewish Daily Forward ^ | April 13, 2018 | Avichai Scher
    Ex-President Jimmy Carter says his push for Middle East Peace played an important role in turning the evangelical voting bloc into the arms of the Republican Party. Carter told the Associated Press, that he, “took a position of wanting to see balance between Israel and the Palestinians.” Carter wasn’t able to bring about a final peace deal and was seen by some as not being pro-Israel enough. He claims that this was a major factor in evangelicals aligning with the Republican Party, which has since adopted a hardline pro-Israel stance. They were a major factor in President Trump’s shocking upset...
  • Why is a Psalm About Creation Proclaimed on the Feast of the Apostles?

    05/04/2018 8:06:12 AM PDT · by Salvation · 3 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-03-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    Why is a Psalm About Creation Proclaimed on the Feast of the Apostles? Msgr. Charles Pope • May 3, 2018 • Thursday’s feast of Saints Philip and James, like that for almost all the apostles, contains passages from Psalm 19. This has always intrigued me because this psalm is not a reference to human preaching or witness at all, but rather a reference to the wordless witness of creation.The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor...
  • King David's city discovered? Ancient site linked to biblical kingdom, archaeologists say

    05/03/2018 7:51:09 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 11 replies
    Fox News ^ | 05/02/2018 | JamesRogers
    Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered an ancient site that may offer fresh insight into the ancient biblical kingdom of David and Solomon. Researchers from Bar-Ilan University have been excavating the remains of a large house dubbed the “Governor’s Residence” that was destroyed by a fire in an 8th century B.C. Assyrian military campaign. The impressive four-room home, located at Tel ‘Eton in the Judean foothills, had at least two stories and its ground floor extended over 2,420 square feet. Occupying high ground at the top of a mound, the house was carefully built with deep foundations. Large masonry stones were...
  • Ancient Christian Ruins Discovered Under Former ISIS-Held Territory

    05/03/2018 7:00:25 PM PDT · by marshmallow · 8 replies
    Fox News ^ | 5/2/18 | Hollie McKay
    MANBIJ, Syria – For more than two years, ISIS forces who occupied this northern Syrian city paid little attention to the tip of an old gate on an empty mound of land where they dumped trash. They were clueless the gate ran several feet into the ground down to something they might well have destroyed had they known: The ruins of an ancient Christian refuge, or early church, possibly dating back to the first centuries of Christendom’s existence, under the Roman Empire. “I was so excited, I can’t describe it. I was holding everything in my hands,” Abdulwahab Sheko, head...
  • Of Mice and Men - Pondering the Strange Loss of Faith in an Age of Science

    05/03/2018 8:32:11 AM PDT · by Salvation · 15 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-02-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    Of Mice and Men - Pondering the Strange Loss of Faith in an Age of Science Msgr. Charles Pope • May 2, 2018 • One of the more perplexing claims of the growing number of agnostics and atheists among us is that there is no evidence of an intelligent creator of the universe. Clearly, the created universe manifests intelligibility and order from the farthest reaches of outer space down to our small planet and further down into the “inner space” of cells, atoms, and molecules. Science affirms the existence of a creator by uncovering the inner order and intelligibility...
  • Genocide: Christian Population in Iraq Drops by 80% Since 2003

    05/02/2018 2:14:50 PM PDT · by Sontagged · 21 replies
    Breitbart ^ | March 30, 2016 | Thomas D. Williams
    The Christian population in Iraq has been decimated, dropping from 1.4 million in 2003 to just 275,000, according to a report released this month (2016). The report, compiled by the Knights of Columbus/IDC, tells a horrific story of religious/ethnic purge in the Middle East that has produced the systematic eradication of Christians... Christianity’s roots in Iraq date to the first century and has fallen prey to Islamist militants committed to their extermination. The Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil testified for many centuries Christians of Iraq experienced hardships and persecutions “but what we have now experienced are the worst acts of genocide...
  • A Most Vivid Description of St. Athanasius

    05/02/2018 8:58:50 AM PDT · by Salvation · 11 replies
    Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-01-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope
    A Most Vivid Description of St. Athanasius Msgr. Charles Pope • May 1, 2018 • A couple of brief thoughts about St. Athanasius whose feast we celebrate today.I have served in African-American parishes for most of my priesthood and have often wondered why there don’t seem to be any black parishes named for this North-African saint. There are many named for Augustine and Cyprian, both of whom were likely of Berber stock despite hailing from northern Africa. Athanasius, on the other hand, while certainly not a sub-Saharan African, is described as having dark — even blackish — skin. Yet...