Free Republic

Why 2017 Will Be a Very Important Year - A Homily for The Solemnity of Mary Mother of God Msgr. Charles Pope • December 31, 2016 • Last week at Christmas we celebrated an event that was both pivotal and hidden. The conception and birth of Jesus Christ were events that changed human history. It was a daring, hidden raid by the Kingdom of Light into the kingdom of darkness, an incursion behind enemy lines, into enemy territory. Only some shepherds in Bethlehem and a few magi from distant lands were witnesses to this event, one which began the...

January 1 is the Solemnity (Holy Day) of Mary, Mother of God.  To call Mary the “Mother of God” must not be understood as a claim for Mary’s motherhood of divinity itself, but in the sense that Mary was mother of Jesus, who is truly God.  The Council of Ephesus in 431—long before the schisms with the Eastern churches and the Protestants—proclaimed “Mother of God” a theologically correct title for Mary.  So far from being a cause of division, the common confession of Mary as “Mother of God” should unite all Christians, and distinguish Christian orthodoxy from various confusions of...

December 8th is the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.It celebrates an important point of Catholic teaching, and in most years it is a holy day of obligation.Here are 8 things you need to know about the teaching and the way we celebrate it. 1. Who does the Immaculate Conception refer to? There’s a popular idea that it refers to Jesus’ conception by the Virgin Mary.It doesn’t.Instead, it refers to the special way in which the Virgin Mary herself was conceived.This conception was not virginal. (That is, she had a human father as well as a human mother.) But it was special...

This feast day, of January 1, is a very complex tapestry, both culturally in liturgically. Perhaps we can use the second reading by St. Paul to the Galatians as a way to weave through some of the many details. We can look at it in three parts.I. The Chronology of our celebration. The text from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians says, When the fullness of time had come… Most people, both in the wider culture and in the Church are going about today saying, “Happy New Year!” And rightfully so, for it is the beginning of the new year....

Statistics released Nov. 24 by the FBI show hate crimes against religious groups increased by 9% from 2007 to 2008.USA Today reported that in 2008, there 1,519 incidents against people based on their religion, the statistics show.The figures reveal that while anti-Jewish attacks made up the highest percentage of the attacks (17%), there was an increase in hate crimes against Catholics — 75, up from 61 in 2007.Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said the increase may be due to the Church becoming more vocal on life issues such as abortion and homosexual unions.As...

FORT COLLINS, Colorado, DEC. 1, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A new film about the Marian apparitions at Fatima is being released today, combining modern technology with a timeless message, only months before Benedict XVI's visit to the Portuguese shrine. "The 13th Day" is the first major movie in over 50 years detailing Our Lady's apparition to three shepherd children in Fatima in 1917. Filmed on location in Portugal, as well as in the United Kingdom, the movie weaves a story based on the memoirs of one of the children, who later became Sister Maria Lucia de Jesus, as well as thousands of...

God loves Our Lady so much, and would not refuse her, so please ask her to ask God to send us good leaders on Election Day!

In the middle of World War II, a young factory worker named Karol Wojtyla picked up a copy of a book by St. Louis Marie de Montfort titled, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He couldn't put it down. In fact, he read the book so often he memorized entire pages. That book would have a profound impact on the rest of his life, and especially on his papacy as Pope John Paul II. The late, beloved pope was only one among millions to have been profoundly influenced by the 33-day consecration to Jesus through Mary, recommended by the...

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.  Other Articles by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.Printer Friendly Version   Mary, Mother of God Marcellino D'Ambrosio December 31, 2006 The mother of the Messiah has been called many things in the last 2000 years — the Virgin Mary, Our Lady, the Blessed Mother.  But call her "the Mother of God" and you'll see some Christians squirm.This is nothing new.  One day in the early fifth century, a priest preached a stirring sermon in the presence of the patriarch of Constantinople.  His subject was the holy mother of Jesus.  The preacher continually referred to Mary as the "Theotokos"...

From Joseph Ratzinger’s Introduction to Christianity:The Old Testament contains a whole series of miraculous births, always at decisive turning-points in the history of salvation: Isaac’s mother, Sarah (Gen 18), Samuel’s mother (1 Sam 1-3) and the anonymous mother of Samson (Judg 13) are all barren and all human hope of their being blessed with children has been abandoned. With all three, the birth of the child who eventually contributes to Israel’s salvation comes to pass as a manifestation of the gracious mercy of God, who makes the impossible possible (Gen 18.14, Luke 1.37), elevates the lowly (1 Sam 2.7;1.11;...

December 20, 2006 Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent Psalm: Wednesday 50 Reading 1Is 7:10-14 The LORD spoke to Ahaz:Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!But Ahaz answered,“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”Then Isaiah said:Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men,must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and shall name him Emmanuel. Responsorial PsalmPs 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 R. (see 7c...

Folks, recently I was perusing some publications stored in the Association of Hebrew Catholic's website, when I stumbled upon the Hail Mary in Hebrew. As I read through the transliteration I was struck by its inner rhythm and coherence. It's poetic and beautiful. It is, in fact, probably as close as we are going to get to what the Archangel Gabriel actually said to the Blessed Mother – provided he didn't speak to her in Aramaic, which he probably did. Here's the prayer in Hebrew: Here's the transliteration:Shalom lakh Miryam habtulah hakdoshah m'leah khesed. Elohim imekh. At m'vorekhet beyn kol...

Through Mary to Jesus by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. When we say through Mary, to Jesus, we mean that: Through Mary’s voluntary consent we have received Jesus. Through Mary’s example we are better able to imitate Jesus. Through Mary’s intercession we obtain graces from Jesus. To better understand what these phrases mean, is to more deeply appreciate what it means to be a Catholic. We are so accustomed to thinking that what God wants, He also does, that we have to tell ourselves this must be qualified. There are two kinds of creatures in this world: There are those...

Mary, the Blessed Virgin by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Mary, the Blessed Virgin, mother of Jesus Christ and, according to Roman Catholic theology, the greatest of the Christian saints. The title “Mary” occurs only once in the Old Testament as the name of Moses’ sister (Exodus 15:20). Its etymology has been variously traced to mean beautiful, bitter, rebellion, illuminatrix, lady, and beloved of God. Scholars prefer the last meaning, derived from the Egyptian, which may be explained by the four centuries’ sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt. Life. The Gospel account of Mary's life begins with the appearance of...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Carrying rosary beads and cameras, the faithful have been coming in a steady stream to a church on the outskirts of Sacramento for a glimpse of what some are calling a miracle: A statue of the Virgin Mary they say has begun crying a substance that looks like blood. It was first noticed more than a week ago, when a priest at the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church spotted a stain on the statue's face and wiped it away. Before mass on Nov. 20, people again noticed a reddish substance near the eyes of the white concrete statue...