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Featured Term (selected at random:QUIRINAL PALACE Before 1870, a papal residence where conclaves were held. Also used as a summer home. built by Pope Gregory in 1574, it was taken over by the Italian Government at the time of the confiscation of the Papal States. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Our Lord Jesus Christ: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet." St. Matthew 12:39 And He repeats: "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet." St. Matthew 16:4 The Tomb of Saint Jonah the Prophet in Nineveh (Mosul) VIDEOOnce an Assyrian Church, converted into a mosque after the Muslim invasions, the tomb of the famous Old Testament Prophet who made the Ninevites do penance and recognize the...

"One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic." (Friendly Friday Post, by David Ozab) May 13, 2011 By Kurt Willems I am excited to have a post here by David Ozab. He is a writer and recently converted to Roman Catholicism. While I do not share his convictions, certainly it is beneficial to hear from others outside of our own sphere of experience. I am pleased to have his guest contribution on the blog…—————————————photo © 2005 Jo N | more info (via: Wylio) There was once a guy who was stranded on a deserted island. After many years, a passing ship found him....

The Infant of Prague Fr. William Saunders Q: My grandmother has always had a statue of Jesus as a child dressed up like a little king with a crown. She even has different outfits for him which are very elaborate. Can you tell me anything about this?From the description given in the question, the statue is one of the Infant of Prague. Devotion to the Holy Child Jesus is a long-standing tradition in our Catholic spirituality. The early Church Fathers, like St. Athanasius and St. Jerome, had a special devotion to the Holy Child Jesus. Some of the later great...

Featured Term (selected at random:WORLD WITHOUT END The terminal phrase of many prayers, equivalent to "eternal" or "everlasting." In the doxology of the Gloria Patria it means that God, who has always existed, is now being praised by a human being who hopes to continue praising God forever in heaven. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

A fierce row between Catholics and Protestants in Germany is the result of a misunderstanding, a German theologian has claimed. Lutheran leaders had invited the Catholic Church to join them in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther published his 95 theses. Luther was opposed to the sale of indulgences, to the Bible not being in the vernacular and to the Church’s doctrinal position on justification through faith – all issues which have seen significant changes over the years. In 1999 the Catholic and Lutheran Churches issued a joint declaration on the doctrine of justification which...

Day by day, we hear new horrors about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Now, believers living under ISIS control in northern Iraq must choose between conversion to Islam, payment of protection money, or death. Ancient churches and shrines are already in flames. I want to concentrate on a unexamined aspect of this problem, one that has done much to shape what we know about the history and nature of early Christianity. In one particular historical era, anti-Christian violence did irreparable damage to our historical sources.   The story goes back to the dual origins of monasticism,...

Pope Leo XIII, born in 1810, is credited with being the founder of Catholic social teaching. (CNS/Library of Congress) By Carol GlatzCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Going by the pseudonym "X," Pope Leo XIII anonymously crafted poetic puzzles in Latin for a Roman periodical at the turn of the 19th century. The pope created lengthy riddles, known as "charades," in Latin in which readers had to guess a rebus-like answer from two or more words that together formed the syllables of a new word. Eight of his puzzles were published anonymously in "Vox Urbis," a Rome newspaper...

Featured Term (selected at random:ANTIOCHENE RITE A ritual used throughout the Patriarchate of Antioch. The pure Antiochene, in its oldest form, eliminated the Pater Noster and the names of the saints in the Mass. This form was early displaced by the Liturgy of St. James from Jerusalem, which became the ritual of all Western Syria. Originally Greek, the Liturgy of St. James was later translated into Syriac. The Greek version is now used twice a year by the Orthodox; the Syriac version by the Jacobites in Syria and Palestine and by the Syrian Catholics. A Romanized form of this liturgy...

Over the last several years I have encountered a fair number of Christians who claim they are “spiritual but not religious.” In other words, they do not identify with a particular Christian denomination, using the Bible alone to guide their faith. It’s an ideology that says religious institutions are outdated and unnecessary. People may reach this conclusion for a multitude of reasons. Some are disillusioned by what they perceive to be corruption and hypocrisy in religious institutions. Others may feel like they are not being “fed.” Others yet may feel that these intuitions teach something contrary to their beliefs regarding...

Full title: The Philosophers and the Jews: Black Eggs and White Cheese The Secret of Jewish Resilience. The Inner Story of The Three Weeks Note: only 40 min long and the rabbi translates everything, very little 'yeshivish' (annoying mix of English, Hebrew, and Yiddish) A beautiful explanation on polar opposite sides of the Jewish calendar-- the 3 weeks between the 17th of the Jewsish month of Tammuz (the day the walls of Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar) and the 9th of Av (the day of the destruction of both Holy Temples) AND the 3 weeks between Rosh Hashana and [the day...

Featured Term (selected at randomKOIMESIS The feast of the "Falling Asleep" of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Mary's Dormition, as celebrated in the Byzantine Liturgy. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Muslims in Iraq have declared war against Catholicism, attacking monks and priests and forcing them to leave immediately. They forced monks and priests to leave the beautiful monastery of Deir Behnam. The history of the monastery of Deir Behnam goes back to the fourth century AD and is associated with the story of the Assyrian Prince Sennacherib II who built it after converting to Christianity with his sister Sarah and forty of his followers at the hands of St. Matthew.It was built by the Assyrian king Sennacherib II as penance for killing his son, Behnan. Today, the fate of St....

Featured Term (selected at random:THE UPPER ROOM This was the room in which Jesus and his Apostles shared the Last Supper the night before he was crucified. According to Mark it was a large chamber furnished with couches and suitable for a dining room (Mark 14:14-15). It may have been a room erected on the roof, because most homes were one-story structures. Possibly it became a meeting place, because after the Ascension of Jesus, Luke reports that the Apostles and Mary returned to Jerusalem and "went to the upper room where they were staying" (Acts 1:12-14). According to tradition, the...

The last Christian families still present in Mosul are leaving the city and are heading towards Iraqi Kurdistan. The exodus was caused by the proclamation on Thursday by the self-proclaimed Islamic Caliphate that Christians must pay a special tax or be killed. Islamists have for the past two days been marking the doors of homes belonging to Christians and Shia Muslims living in the city. “For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians,” said Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako in an interview with the AFP news agency. The Patriarch said as late as last...

Featured Term (selected at random: CALUMNY  Injuring another person's good name by lying. It is doubly sinful, in unjustly depriving another of his good name and in telling an untruth. Since calumny violates justice, it involves the duty of making reparation for the foreseen injury inflicted. Hence the calumniator must try, not only to repair the harm done to another's good name, but also to make up for any foreseen temporal loss that resulted from the calumny, for example, loss of employment or customers. (Etym. Latin calumnia, a false accusation, malicious charge; from calvi, to deceive.) All items in...

The Prodigal Father: Benedict XVI on Fathering July 18, 2014 Dave McClow The “prodigal father” is the story of our time.  It is the story of fatherlessness in our families.  Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is and has always been highly aware of the crisis of fatherhood and its implications for society (see my previous blog).  He knows that when fatherhood is gutted, “something in the basic structure of human existence has been damaged” (The God of Jesus Christ, p. 29).  But he is also supremely insightful about what happens in the family, both positively and negatively, because of fathers! Let’s start...

Featured Term (selected at random:HUR An Israelite aide to Moses. During a battle with the Amalekites, the Israelites fought bravely so long as Moses stood on the hilltop holding aloft the staff of God. But when his arms tired and the staff wavered, the efforts of his men waned. So Aaron, his brother, and Hur seated Moses on a stone to rest him, and supported his arms to that the staff remained high and steady (Exodus 17:10-12). The battle ended triumphantly for the Israelites. Further evidence of confidence in Hur: when Yahweh summoned Moses to climb the mountain to receive...

In a historic vote, the Church of England today approved female bishops. The vote was far from even being close. Women will be bishops in the Church of England after a historic vote in the General Synod, ending 40 years of not being able to do so. An overwhelming 81 per cent of Synod members backed the change, during the sitting in York, and 75 per cent of the laity supported the move.There will no doubt be a great push of the Feminist movement to use this event to further their causes for whatever reasons they may be. There will...

With hindsight, we can see that the real battle in the Church of England has been with her founding principles. She was founded in the Protestant Revolution on an essentially liberal principle: that the circumstances and situation in the current culture determine the identity and mission of the church. She was now, and always has been the Church of ENGLAND. Therefore, the circumstances, personalities and cultural factors determine which way she will go. As society became increasingly secular, liberal and antipathetic to a Catholic worldview, the Catholic tendency in the Church of England could not survive. From the first discussions...