Free Republic

A rabbit hole in the UK conceals the entrance to an incredible cave complex linked to the mysterious Knights Templar.New photos show the remarkable Caynton Caves network, which looks like something out of the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” The shadowy Knights Templar order is said to have used the caves.The Sun reports that the caves are hidden beneath a farmer’s field in Shropshire. The site was visited by photographer Michael Scott after he saw a video of the caves online. “I traipsed over a field to find it, but if you didn’t know it was there you...

ST. JOHN OF GOD: THE WAIF—1495-1550 Few people in this world who have made any name for themselves in any sphere began life under such adverse conditions as did St. John of God. He was born in Montemayor-el-Novo, in Portugal, in 1495. His parents were respectable, but not of the richest class; they looked upon their only son as the chief treasure they possessed. But they were not to possess him long. One day, when John was eight years of age, he disappeared. Whether he had been deliberately kidnapped, or whether he had been seduced from his home by...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Statue of John of God in Rome | photo by Livioandronico2013 Saint John of God Saint of the Day for March 8 ( March 8, 1495 – March 8, 1550)  Saint John of God’s Story Having given up active Christian belief while a soldier, John was 40 before the depth of his sinfulness began to dawn on him. He decided to give the rest of his life to God’s service, and headed at once for Africa where he hoped to free captive Christians and, possibly, be martyred.He was soon advised that his desire for...

Three Teachings on Temptation Msgr. Charles Pope • March 7, 2017 • Sunday’s Gospel about the temptation of Jesus in the desert by Satan evokes several questions. The answers I propose are not intended to be a theological treatise, but rather a pastoral reflection. I. Why does God permit temptation? God does not permit any evil or problem unless it can serve some greater good. In the case of temptation, He permits it because it summons us to love Him while giving us the freedom to reject or accept that call. God seeks sons and daughters who can love...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Mary and Child with Saints Felicity and Perpetua (Sacra Conversazione) | Anonymous Saints Perpetua and Felicity Saint of the Day for March 7 (d. 203)  Saints Perpetua and Felicity’s Story “When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—waterpot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?’ ‘No,’ he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what...

God’s Law is Personal, Loving, and Tender Msgr. Charles Pope • March 6, 2017 • In Monday’s first reading (Monday of the First Week of Lent) there is a recitation of the law that features the refrain “I am the Lord.” What does this expression mean and why is it appended to each command?When we think of God’s law, there is a danger that we might think of it as we do of any secular law: as a sort of impersonal code written by nameless legislators or bureaucrats. We have not met them; we do not love, trust, or...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Print of the Ecuatorian Saint Mary Ann of Jesus | photo by Jojagal Saint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes Saint of the Day for March 6 (October 31, 1618 – May 26, 1645)  Saint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes’ Story Mary Ann grew close to God and his people during her short life.The youngest of eight, Mary Ann was born in Quito, Ecuador, which had been brought under Spanish control in 1534. She joined the Secular Franciscans and led a life of prayer and penance at home, leaving her parents’ house only...

The Truer Purpose of Fasting Msgr. Charles Pope • March 5, 2017 • There is an interesting passage in Isaiah, in which God turns the tables on us and reminds us of the truer purpose of fasting. The key verses come in Isaiah 58, but in order to see them in context, let’s first consider the whole passage.Thus says the Lord GOD: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways,...

A common question among Catholics today is: “What was the Holy Spirit doing during the conclave that elected Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis?” The answer, of course, is that the Holy Spirit was doing what He is always doing, prompting all involved to cast their votes for the good of the Church, just as He has prompted all involved to form a proper understanding of the good of the Church. But the Holy Spirit does not choose the pope; that is left to the vagaries of men, and the vagaries of their response to grace. In other words, the Holy...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Saint John Joseph of the Cross | Engraving by Alessandri after P.A. Novelli Saint John Joseph of the Cross Saint of the Day for March 5 (August 15, 1654 – March 5, 1734)  Saint John Joseph of the Cross’ Story Self-denial is never an end in itself but is only a help toward greater charity—as the life of Saint John Joseph shows.John Joseph was very ascetic even as a young man. At 16, he joined the Franciscans in Naples; he was the first Italian to follow the reform movement of Saint Peter Alcantara. John Joseph’s...

The Bible informs the wise that the Shroud Of Turin is a Fake. There is no room for debate. The matter is settled. End Of Story

Archdiocese of Washington Triumph in Temptation – A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope • March 4, 2017 • The Gospel today says that Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert. Hebrews 4:15 also affirms, For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.How exactly a divine person, with a sinless human nature, experiences temptation is somewhat mysterious, and yet the text affirms that He does. A Lenten antiphon from the Breviary teaches that...

Today, March 5, marks the fiftieth anniversary of “Musicam Sacram,” the last great document on this subject, published in 1967 with the joint signature of Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro, archbishop of Bologna and president of the “Consilium” for the implementation of the conciliar constitution on the liturgy, and of Cardinal Arcadio Larraona, prefect of the sacred congregation of rites, with the approval of Paul VI.And now the declaration presented below, published today all over the world, sketches an overview of the current state of sacred music in the Catholic Church half a century after that document, an overview that is inevitably...

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday received the participants in a major international conference on sacred music, a half-century after the promulgation of the Conciliar document, Musicam sacram on music in the sacred liturgy. Over 400 people taking part in the gathering organized by the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Culture around the theme: Music and the Church: cult and culture fifty years after Musicam sacram, met in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace to hear the Holy Father. “Certainly,” said Pope Francis, “the encounter with modernity and the introduction of [vernacular] tongues into the...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Reliquary of Saint Casimir | Vilnius Cathedral | photo by Albertus teolog Saint Casimir Saint of the Day for March 4 (1458 – 1483)  Saint Casimir’s Story Casimir, born of kings and in line to be a king himself, was filled with exceptional values and learning by a great teacher, John Dlugosz. Even his critics could not say that his conscientious objection indicated softness. As a teenager, Casimir lived a highly disciplined, even severe life, sleeping on the ground, spending a great part of the night in prayer and dedicating himself to lifelong celibacy.When nobles...

A Short Meditation on Truth, as Inspired by a Commercial Msgr. Charles Pope • March 3, 2017 • truth word in mixed vintage metal type printing blocks over grunge woodEven in a relativistic culture we like to think categorically about a lot of things. Is a person good or bad? Is an idea liberal or conservative? Are we a divided nation or a united one?Truth be told, we are all a mixed bag, individually and collectively. God alone is wholly good. Even in the midst of our struggles and flaws there still lurks something good, something true and beautiful....

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Saint Stephen, Martyr Roman Catholic Church, Chesapeake, Virginia | Stained glass of Saint Katharine Drexel | photo by Nheyob . Saint Katharine Drexel Saint of the Day for March 3 (November 26, 1858 -March 3, 1955 )  Katharine Drexel’s Story If your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer, it is...

The Battle Theme of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope • March 2, 2017 • A brief observation of the first two days in Lent reveals militaristic, even violent imagery in the battle against sin and the unruly passions of the flesh. The Collect (opening prayer) of Ash Wednesday provides an image of troops mustering for battle:Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with...

Organiser says the Eastern Church, started by the 'Newman of Russia', is in danger of being lost to history. One of the smallest Eastern Catholic churches in the world, the Russian Catholic Church, faces some big issues, including its survival. That’s the issue that will dominate at a Congress of Russian Catholic delegates from around the world meeting in northern Italy in June. It has been organised by an Australian-based Russian Catholic priest, Fr Lawrence Cross, a retired lecturer in theology at Australian Catholic University. The congress, the first in Russian Catholic history, follows last year’s historic meeting in Havana...

You know you are in a Catholic town when, only during Lent, every single restaurant advertises one item on their menu: fish! I have even noticed how major fast-food chains point out on their fliers the date of Ash Wednesday! Suddenly everyone cares about the liturgical seasons of the Church!So why is it that the Church instructs Catholics to abstain from meat on Fridays (as well as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), but gives the “thumbs-up” for Catholics to eat fish? Sounds fishy to me!First of all we must ask the question, “why Friday?” The USCCB gives a succinct explanation:Catholic peoples from time immemorial...