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Vatican II, 'Gaudium et Spes' Just as it proceeds from man, so human activity is ordered toward man. For when a man works, he not only alters things and society, he develops himself as well. He learns much, he cultivates his resources, he goes outside himself and beyond himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is of greater value than any external riches which can be obtained. A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has. Similarly, all that men do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, a more humane disposition of social relationships has...

Q: A coworker was talking loudly at work about an article she’d read, endorsing the ordination of women as deacons, and she was all for it. It didn’t sound right to me, though, but I couldn’t put my finger on why not. Would it be possible for the Church to ordain female deacons? If not, what’s the argument against it? –Katie

Some people are educated beyond their intelligence and others are educated way beyond their intelligence. Craig Considine a Ph.D candidate from Dublin, who describes himself as a Catholic, has written an essay about how wonderful the teachings of Muhammad are and thus proved himself part of the latter group. This dimwit gushes over what he has “learned” about how wonderful Mohammad was. He makes no mention of Mohammad’s “marriage” to Aisha who was 6 years old at the time, or that ole Mo told the little girl’s father Allah had come to him in a dream saying he should be...

From an account of the martyrdom of Saint Paul Miki and his companions, by a contemporary writer The crosses were set in place. Father Pasio and Father Rodriguez took turns encouraging the victims. Their steadfast behaviour was wonderful to see. The Father Bursar stood motionless, his eyes turned heavenward. Brother Martin gave thanks to God’s goodness by singing psalms. Again and again he repeated: “Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my life.” Brother Francis Branco also thanked God in a loud voice. Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our Father and Hail Mary. Our brother, Paul...

From a homily on Saint Agatha by Saint Methodius of Sicily, bishop My fellow Christians, our annual celebration of a martyr’s feast has brought us together. She achieved renown in the early Church for her noble victory; she is well known now as well, for she continues to triumph through her divine miracles, which occur daily and continue to bring glory to her name. She is indeed a virgin, for she was born of the divine Word, God’s only Son, who also experienced death for our sake. John, a master of God’s word, speaks of this: He gave the power...

From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop The Word of God became man, the Son of God became the Son of Man, in order to unite man with himself and make him, by adoption, a son of God. Only by being united to one who is himself immune could we be preserved from corruption and death, and how else could this union have been achieved if he had not first become what we are? How else could what is corruptible and mortal in us have been swallowed up in his incorruptibility and immortality, to enable us to receive...

Did Belarusian programmers supply some of the Obamacare network software? Inquiring minds want to know..... Programmers linked to the government of Belarus claim to have supplied some of the code used in the Obamacare website. Valery Tsepkalo, of the Belarus government backed High Technology Park in Minsk, claimed (on Voice of Russia radio) that the HHS "is one of our clients" and that "we are helping Obama complete his insurance reform..... Our programmers wrote the program that appears on the monitors in all hospitals and all insurance companies- they will see the full profile of the given patient". MORE at...

From a treatise on the psalms by Saint Hilary of Poitiers Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity! It is good and pleasant for brothers to dwell in unity, because when they do so their association creates the assembly of the Church. The term “brothers” describes the bond of affection arising from their singleness of purpose. We read that when the apostles first preached, the chief instruction they gave lay in this saying: The hearts and minds of all believers were one. So it is fitting for the people of God to be brothers...

The New York Times reported last week on a May 2013 meeting between Hoboken Mayor, Dawn Zimmer and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The Times article cites email obtained from meeting attendees and states that the first item on the meeting agenda was a “‘review of concepts for flood control measures at Rockefeller property’”. The NY Times article suggests that Mayor Zimmer’s pleas were going unheard and is claiming that the email quote from the May 9th meeting shows a preference for the Rockefeller Group. But, does it? It certainly appears as though Zimmer was getting everything that...

Several years ago I heard someone make the statement that "To help someone accept Christ, just show them that they already use faith in their everyday life, and explain to them that all they have to do is use the same faith to believe in Jesus." Well, I didn't know why at first, but that statement just didn't seem to ring true, especially in light of what the Bible actually says about faith. So, I began to search it out more carefully, and that's how I came to realize that there are actually two kinds of faith, and that they...

“OMG! Call Sam and Dean Winchester!”, was the comment on a YouTube video about the Illuminati and the music business. I thought this was funny! I watch the CW show “Supernatural”, where the Winchester brothers fight evil monsters and demons with the help of sometimes flawed angels. But we all know that demons (and the Illuminati) are not real, don't we? Many news services are beginning to rethink that. A story is circulating through the news outlets about a haunting and possession in Gary Indiana. The report tells of an single mother and two of her children who have been...

Please join me for a Live Chat with Shaun McAfee TONIGHT (30 January 2014) @ 8 PM Eastern time / 7 PM Central time.

The Bible is the most popular and most important book in the world. It has also led to the changing of many lives, cultures, and influences both on a very broad scale and on a small one as well. Find out how and why, as some of these reasons may enable you to give it another look, and thus help change your life in a unique and dynamic way on this edition of “Making Sense with Rob Case.”

From a sermon by John the Serene, bishop The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? How great was that servant who knew how he was given light, whence it came, and what sort of man he was when he was favoured by that light. The light he saw was not that which fades at dusk, but the light which no eye has seen. Souls brightened by this light do not fall into sin or stumble on vice. Our Lord said: Walk while you have the light in you. What other light did he mean but...

It is often pleasant to wish ourselves to a magical world where all is good. It's our "happy place" and I'm sure we all have one. Mine used to include music and I would anticipate "music's biggest night" as a high point in the year. At one time the Grammys was about music. But like MTV, it is not about music anymore, but rather theatrics and agenda. There is a controversy over this year's broadcast about whether it was offensive to Christians. Not that anyone in the Academy of Recording Arts or the industry cares about offending anyone. Christians were...

Douglas Kniec has always been a man who thinks a whole hell of a lot about himself. He has an ego a big as the sky. In 2008 he sold his Catholic faith out as a prominent supporter of Barack Obama a man he knew had sponsored a bill in the Illinois State Senate to murder miracle abortion survivors by leaving them on a stainless steel table to die of hunger and thirst. In his insulting rhetoric arguing for the election of Obama he maintained that, “Obama’s desire to “alleviate social conditions that correlate with abortion”, such as poverty, was...

From a sermon on the Song of Songs by Saint Bernard, abbot Where can the weak find a place of firm security and peace, except in the wounds of the Saviour? Indeed, the more secure is my place there, the more he can do to help me. The world rages, the flesh is heavy, and the devil lays his snares, but I do not fall, for my feet are planted on firm rock. I may have sinned gravely. My conscience would be distressed, but it would not be in turmoil, for I would recall the wounds of the Lord: he...

From a conference by Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest Why did the Son of God have to suffer for us? There was a great need, and it can be considered in a twofold way: in the first place, as a remedy for sin, and secondly, as an example of how to act. It is a remedy, for, in the face of all the evils which we incur on account of our sins, we have found relief through the passion of Christ. Yet, it is no less an example, for the passion of Christ completely suffices to fashion our lives. Whoever wishes...

Anti-gay: a misleading charge used by gay activists to attach a negative label to anything a born-again Christian says that opposes the “gay agenda.” We are anti-sin (of all kinds) and pro-people (of all kinds). It is a blessing to be called “anti-gay” by a gay activist. Bigot: a born-again Christian who steadfastly refuses to deny anything that the Bible says about homosexuality. It is a blessing to be called a “bigot” by a gay activist.

Vatican II, "Gaudium et spes" A man and a woman, who by the marriage covenant of conjugal love ‘are no longer two, but one flesh’, render mutual help and service to each other through an intimate union of their persons and of their actions. Through this union they experience the meaning of their oneness and attain to it with growing perfection day by day. As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate union, as well as the good of the children, imposes total fidelity on the spouses and argues for an unbreakable oneness between them.