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The question by many Jews today is why is anti antisemitism so rampant and where is the G-d of Israel to intercede on the Jews behalf? The Jew today has hardened their hearts against the G-d of Abraham , Isaac, Jacob and Moses and possess a resentment of heart and a bitterness against Almighty G-d for their horrific treatment over the centuries since 586 B.C. Whenever one talks to a son of Jacob today it almost seems that they feel that Almighty God is Himself is an anti - Semite! Oh my dear Jewish friends, nothing could EVER be farther...

Featured Term selected at random:BLUE LAWS Very strict legal prohibitions affecting moral conduct that originated with the Puritan adherents in England. The term "blue" was probably associated with constant and faithful persons who were considered "true blue." All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

“Those who annoy Allah and His Messenger – Allah has cursed them in this World and in the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating Punishment. Truly, if the Hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and those who stir up sedition in the City, desist not, We shall certainly stir thee up against them: Then will they not be able to stay in it as thy neighbours for any length of time: They shall have a curse on them: whenever they are found, they shall be seized and slain (without mercy).” — Quran 33:57–61 Pope Francis...

Mystery Is Deep and Yet Vertical – A Brief Meditation on the Christian Meaning of Mystery By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn the secular world, a “mystery” is something which baffles or eludes understanding, something which lies undisclosed. And the usual attitude of the world toward mystery is to solve it, to get to the bottom of it, or to uncover it. Mysteries must be overcome! The riddle or “whodunit” must be solved!In the Christian and especially the Catholic world, “mystery” is something a bit different. Here, mystery refers to the fact that there are hidden dimensions in things, people, and situations that...

Iain Murray, in his classic, ‘The Puritan Hope’, points out that the Puritan era was a period of many local revivals. He writes, ‘Following as it did so closely upon the Reformation it is not surprising that the Puritan movement in England believed so firmly in revivals of religion as the great means by which the Church advances in the world.’ (The Puritan Hope, Iain Murray, Banner of Truth, p.3) 16th Century Breakthrough In 1559 a general revival broke out in Scotland. The conversions were so rapid that John Knox wrote, ‘God did so multiply our number that it appeared...

Featured Term selected at random:UNIVERSAL DOUBT The state of suspension of positive judgment on any and every truth. Normally it is only a methodical form of doubt; when real, general doubt is pure skepticism. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Should People Stop Saying “Absolutely” So Much? Absolutely! – A Short Rant on an Overused Expression and Why it Should be Avoided By: Msgr. Charles PopeOne of the most overused terms in modern speech is the word “absolutely.” As in, “Do you want some gravy with those potatoes?” “Absolutely!” Or, “Would you agree that solution ‘X’ is the best solution to problem ‘Y’?”  “Absolutely!” What to call this … an expression? A semantic substitution for “yes?” A logism? A hyperbole? A grandiloquence? A periphrasis? Why this obsession with saying “absolutely” or its strange step-sister, “exactly”?It is a strange paradox...

Few points of faith can be more satisfactorily traced back to the earliest ages of Christianity than the veneration of relics. The classical instance is to be found in the letter written by the inhabitants of Smyrna, about 156, describing the death of St. Polycarp. After he had been burnt at the stake, we are told that his faithful disciples wished to carry off his remains, but the Jews urged the Roman officer to refuse his consent for fear that the Christians "would only abandon the Crucified One and begin to worship this man". Eventually, however, as the Smyrnaeans say,...

EWTN Global Catholic Television Network: EWTN Live - Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. - Sr. Margherita Marchione - Pope Pius XII

Wielding astonishing influence over Scotland in the sixteenth century, John Knox (c.1514–72) was one of the most heroic leaders and towering figures in the annals of church history. Regarded as ‘the Father of the Scottish Reformation’ and ‘the Founder of the Scottish Protestant Church,’ Knox was a spiritual tour de force of unmatched vigor in spreading the kingdom of God. With resolute convictions, this fiery Reformer established his native land as an impenetrable fortress of biblical truth, one that would reverberate throughout the known world. If Martin Luther was the hammer of the Reformation and John Calvin the pen, John...

Featured Term selected at random:MONITION An official warning, provided by canon law, either personally or through a third person. The purpose of a monition is to warn a person that if he or she does not amend, certain formal measures will be taken against them, e.g., canonical censure; suspension of a priest from his pastoral duties; removal of a bishop from his office; dismissal of a religious from his or her institute. Monitions may be given either publicly or secretly. If public, they should be made before a notary, or before two witnesses, or by letter. (Etym. Latin monitio, from...

A Parable on the Lies of the Devil and the False Promises of the World By: Msgr. Charles PopeOne of the great illusions under which we labor is that if we just get one more thing from this world, then we’ll be happy. Perhaps if we just had a little more money, or a better job, or the latest iPad, or if we were married to so-and-so, or if we just lived in a better neighborhood … then we’d be satisfied and content at last. But “at last” never comes, even if we do get some of the things...

As I was sitting down to write about the atrocity in France, my wife Barbara hove into view, always a delicious sight, and announced that she was writing elsewhere on the same subject and that I could not do it. So I will not, other than to say that France had to admit more than a million Algerian Muslims in the mid-sixties, who had been loyal to France in the savage war of independence in that country, as well as a million European Algerians. It has been comparatively indulgent of Muslims since then, but this incident, or a few others...

Guiding Our Children to Discover Their Vocation Jessica Archuleta We all know there is a vocations crisis in the Church. We have a shortage of priests, deacons, and religious. Fewer people than ever want to get married or stay married (I would also add, there is a shortage of single people who are living out holy lives).To add to the problem, there is a lot of talk about discerning one’s vocation that can be confusing to young people. Some are waiting for a sign–some great experience that will leave them without a doubt as to God’s calling in their lives. Others feel they must follow a...

I’ve been plowing through season five of “Downton Abbey,” the saga of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in early 20th-century Britain, which premieres on Sunday, Jan. 4, on PBS’ “Masterpiece Classic,” and a few thoughts have come to mind. They’re not particularly organized, but here goes (warning, if you want to remain utterly spoiler-free, you may want to stop now. I don’t tell, but I do hint).Creator and writer Julian Fellowes is a Catholic, and while not born to British aristocracy, he married into it (meeting his wife while having an affair with someone else’s), and has become...

Wading in the Troubled Water Saves You, Not Taking a Bridge Over It – A Homily for the Baptism of the Lord By: Msgr. Charles PopeToday’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord provides a moment to reflect not only on the Lord’s baptism, but also on our own. For in an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of His body. As Christ enters the water, He makes holy the water that will baptize us. He enters the water and we follow. And in these waters He acquires gifts to give us, as...

“Father Benedict”: Five Must-Reads James Day “If we look closely, in every moment, we are at a crossroads: do we want to follow the self, or God?”—Pope Benedict XVI, 13 February 2013As the two-year anniversary of Benedict XVI’s resignation from the Chair of St. Peter approaches, a decision that ultimately gave the church and the world the papacy of Francis, the impact of Joseph Ratzinger—Benedict XVI’s canon of thought to both theology and culture is only beginning to dawn. Dr. J. Steven Brown, the editor of the essential compendium A Reason Open To God, which features dozens of Benedict’s greatest...

Featured Term selected at random:VOW OF CHASTITY The vow by which a person freely gives up the right to marriage, and adds the obligation of the virtue of religion to the duty of abstaining from all indulgence of sexual pleasure. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Check out this 2-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast series originally airing in October 2012 by clicking on the following links: Part 1 Part 2When the Constitution “Hangs by a Thread” – The White Horse Prophecy in Modern MormonismFollowing the Mormon expulsion from Missouri in 1838, Joseph Smith made a trip to Washington, D.C. “to present to the National Congress the petition of the Saints for a redress of their grievances, suffered in Missouri” (History of the Church 4:xxvi). Arriving in November 1839, Smith met with several powerful politicians of that day, including President Martin Van Buren, and left Washington in...

One of the profound changes wrought by LBJ's landmark program was a huge increase in government-sponsored family planning at home and abroad. President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Medicare Bill at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri. [Wikipedia.com] President Lyndon Baines Johnson had spoken the words “Great Society” before, but on January 4, 1965 he brought the pieces together as a legislative package for Congress. His State of the Union message stirred a remarkable flurry of congressional activity that in short order produced major new programs in civil rights, health care, and anti-poverty. In the half-century since then,...