Free Republic

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year, because it calls our attention to one of the most beautiful teachings of Scripture — the Incarnation of Christ. When you realize the incredible truths behind the reality that God came and dwelt among us, it can’t help but impact the way you live. Plus, it’s an awesome reminder that God kept His promises from the Old Testament to send a Messiah to rescue His people from their sins.However, since that time, many myths have been added to the greatest story ever told.Here are nine common myths Christians believe at...

Franciscan Media Image: Patron of Sailors | photo by Lawrence OP | flickr Saint Nicholas Saint of the Day for December 6 (March 15, 270 – December 6, 343)  Saint Nicholas’ Story The absence of the “hard facts” of history is not necessarily an obstacle to the popularity of saints, as the devotion to Saint Nicholas shows. Both the Eastern and Western Churches honor him, and it is claimed that after the Blessed Virgin, he is the saint most pictured by Christian artists. And yet historically, we can pinpoint only the fact that Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of...

Do You Want to Have a Good Christmas? Then Listen Carefully to this Advent Message: “You Need a Savior!” Msgr. Charles Pope • December 5, 2018 • One of the goals of Advent (in many ways a penitential season) is to meditate on our need for a savior. In daily Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours, we read lengthy passages from Isaiah and the other prophets, who speak boldly and bluntly about the people’s sin. Some of the passages are even a bit humorous. Here are a few: Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD...

Franciscan Media Image: Relics of St. Sabbas the Sanctified in the Catholicon (main church) of the Eastern Orthodox Mar Saba monastery in Palestine | photo by adriatikus Saint Sabas Saint of the Day for December 5 (439 – December 5, 532)  Saint Sabas’ Story Born in Cappadocia, Sabas is one of the most highly regarded patriarchs among the monks of Palestine, and is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism.After an unhappy childhood in which he was abused and ran away several times, Sabas finally sought refuge in a monastery. While family members tried to persuade him to...

Hi everyone! It's Wednesday night Bible study!For this week's Why the New Testament was Written video, we're talking about why Paul wrote the second letter to Timothy. I consider it to be the saddest book of the New Testament, as Paul's farewell letter to the church and to the world in general. This is part 15 of the series (should be three more to go...next week is II Peter, then Jude, then finally Revelation).Why Paul Wrote II TimothyVideo clocks in at 9:29.

Is It as Good to Pray the Breviary from Electronic Devices as It Is from Traditional Books? Msgr. Charles Pope • December 4, 2018 • It is hard to overestimate the convenience of praying the Liturgy of the Hours from an online breviary. Not only are they convenient but they also help to lessen the complexities that often go with setting up the traditional book. For example, Do the psalms come from the day or the Common?Do we use the Common of Pastors or that of the Doctors of the Church?Do the Advent weekday prayers and antiphons outrank the...

Franciscan Media Image: Saint John Damaskinos | unknown Saint John Damascene Saint of the Day for December 4 (c. 676 -749)  Saint John Damascene’s Story John spent most of his life in the Monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem, and all of his life under Muslim rule, indeed protected by it.He was born in Damascus, received a classical and theological education, and followed his father in a government position under the Arabs. After a few years, he resigned and went to the Monastery of Saint Sabas.He is famous in three areas:First, he is known for his writings against the...

Father Alfred Delp was in the midst of his studies to become a Jesuit priest when Hitler took power in Germany in 1933. Despite increasing difficulties under the regime, he was ordained a priest for the order in 1937. The priest eventually was imprisoned in 1944 and executed in 1945 by the Gestapo, as he was falsely believed to be involved in the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler. Even though he was able to prove his innocence, he was hung for high treason for his involvement in resistance activities. He was offered his freedom if he left the...

The prime minister of Pakistan, a tenuous U.S. ally, contends Jesus was not a historical figure, reports Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. The Middle East Media Research Institute reported Prime Minister Imran Kahn made the assertion in a speech on the day marked as the birthday of Muhammad. Khan also lobbied for a worldwide law that would protect Islam from any criticism. The prime minister said there is little mention of prophets of Allah other than Muhammad, and there is “no mention of Jesus in history.” “Moses is mentioned, but there is no mention of Jesus in history,” he said. “But...

Creation, Too, “Longs” for the Healing That Christ Will Bring Msgr. Charles Pope • December 3, 2018 • In the first reading for Tuesday of the first week of Advent is expressed the implicit longing of all creation for healing. Isaiah tells us of the healing that will one day come to creation when prey lie down in peace with their predators:The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear,...

Franciscan Media Image: The miracles of St. Francis Xavier Peter Paul Rubens | photo by mAG-VIH-g-_RNA at Google Cultural Institute Saint Francis Xavier Saint of the Day for December 3 (April 7, 1506 – December 3, 1552)  Saint Francis Xavier’s Story Jesus asked, “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Matthew 16:26a). The words were repeated to a young teacher of philosophy who had a highly promising career in academics, with success and a life of prestige and honor before him.Francis Xavier, 24 at the time, and living and teaching...

Preparing our Hearts for Mystery in Advent Msgr. Charles Pope • December 2, 2018 • As we look toward Christmas and ponder the incarnation, we ought to remember that so profound was truth of the incarnation that the early Church fell to her knees at these words: “and He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, from the virgin Mary, and became man.” This act of falling to one’s knees at these words is still practiced in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite; in the ordinary form, we are asked to bow.These gestures acknowledge the profound mystery of the...

Researchers have deciphered an ancient inscription on a bronze ring first found 50 years ago pointing to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who ordered Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Haaretz reported that the ring in question was first discovered at the site of Herodion near the West Bank’s Bethlehem by professor Gideon Forster from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, shortly after the Six-Day War in 1968-69. The owner of the ring had remained a mystery for some 50 years, however, but a recent cleansing and special camera work at the Israel Antiquities Authority labs found Greek writing on the ring, which translates...

Franciscan Media Image: Blessed Rafał Chyliński | photo by Mody76 Blessed Rafal Chylinski Saint of the Day for December 2 (January 8, 1694 – December 2, 1741)  Blessed Rafal Chylinski’s Story Born near Buk in the Poznan region of Poland, Melchior Chylinski showed early signs of religious devotion; family members nicknamed him “the little monk.” After completing his studies at the Jesuit college in Poznan, Melchior joined the cavalry and was promoted to officer rank within three years.In 1715, against the urgings of his military comrades, Melchior joined the Conventual Franciscans in Krakow. Receiving the name Rafal, he was...

A Recipe for Readiness – A Homily for the First Sunday of Advent Msgr. Charles Pope • December 1, 2018 • As we begin the Advent Season, we are immediately drawn into its principal theme of preparation and readiness for the coming of the Lord. His first coming has already been fulfilled at Bethlehem, and while we should prepare spiritually for the coming Christmas Feast, these first weeks of Advent bid us to focus even more on His second coming in glory.As the curtains draw back on the opening scene of Advent, we are warned by the Lord that...

Franciscan Media Image: Monument Charles de Foucauld | photo by Rabanus Flavus Blessed Charles de Foucauld Saint of the Day for December 1 (September 15, 1858 – December 1, 1916)  Blessed Charles de Foucauld’s Story Born into an aristocratic family in Strasbourg, France, Charles was orphaned at the age of 6, raised by his devout grandfather, rejected the Catholic faith as a teenager, and joined the French army. Inheriting a great deal of money from his grandfather, Charles went to Algeria with his regiment, but not without his mistress, Mimi.When he declined to give her up, he was dismissed...

Let God Find You – As Seen in a Touching Christmas Commercial Msgr. Charles Pope • November 30, 2018 • It may seem odd to say, “Let God find you.” After all, God knows just where we are. But there is something very respectful about a God who, as Jesus says in the Book of Revelation, stands at the door and knocks.Even back in the Garden of Eden, as sinful Adam and Eve hid, God walked through the garden and called, “Where are you?”Yes, God waits until we let him find us, until we open the door of our...

Franciscan Media Image: Saint Andrew | Jusepe de Ribera | self scanned from own book Saint Andrew Saint of the Day for November 30 (d. 60?)  Saint Andrew’s Story Andrew was Saint Peter’s brother, and was called with him. “As [Jesus] was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is now called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him” (Matthew 4:18-20).John the Evangelist...

On the Loss of Faith as a Cause of Our Current Crisis Msgr. Charles Pope • November 29, 2018 • In the Liturgy of the Hours this week, we read a remarkable attributed to St. Macarius, a bishop of the early Church. I marvel at its vivid imagery, and yet at the same time, questions arise in my mind as to the general application of the text. In effect, the text states that if the soul does not have Christ living within, it falls into utter disrepair and a contemptible state.Allow me to have Bishop Macarius speak for himself,...

Franciscan Media Image: Pope Saint Clement I | photo by Lawrence | flickr Saint Clement Saint of the Day for November 29 (d. 101)  Saint Clement’s Story Clement of Rome was the third successor of Saint Peter, reigning as pope during the last decade of the first century. He’s known as one of the Church’s five “Apostolic Fathers,” those who provided a direct link between the Apostles and later generations of Church Fathers.Clement’s First Epistle to the Corinthians was preserved and widely read in the early Church. This letter from the bishop of Rome to the Church in Corinth...