Free Republic

The parents of Eliza O’Neill, the little girl with an incurable and deadly brain disorder, are making one final desperate push to raise funds for the clinical trial that will test a gene therapy for the disease—and perhaps offer hope for Eliza. The O’Neills have already raised $1.3 million through a viral video and hope that by Eliza’s fifth birthday on Sunday they’ll hit their $1.8 million goal. While there is no guarantee that Eliza will be among those chosen to participate in the trial, which could start sometime in the middle of 2015, its organizers say that at this...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jobs In The Bible Servant (New International Version (NIV) 1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to...

Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us. Psalm 68:28

November 18, 2014Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Rv 3:1-6, 14-22 I, John, heard the Lord saying to me:“To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this: “‘The one who has the seven spirits of Godand the seven stars says this: “I know your works,that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die,for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent.If you are not...

The Incarnational Drama of the Our Father Stephen BealeThere once was an Eastern Church spiritual adviser who suggested beginning the Our Father backwards.We should begin with the last petition so that we end with Our Father, he said. Such is the pathway to Easter: from temptation in the desert to forgiveness and manna in the desert to our arrival in the promised land—so goes the thinking in an anecdote Pope Benedict XVI recounts in Jesus of Nazareth.There is some sense to this: we often approach God in prayer in times of temptation, to seek deliverance, to ask for a...

The Eternal Goal " By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing…I will bless you… —Genesis 22:16-17 " Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.My goal is God Himself… At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.“At any cost…by any road” means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result....

Isaiah 26:3,4 He will Keep in Perfect Peace All those who Trust in the Lord, Whose Thoughts Turn Often to the Lord. Trust in the Lord God Always, For in the Lord Jehovah is your Everlasting Strength.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jobs In The Bible Scribe (New International Version (NIV) 6 The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.. (1 Chronicles 24:6)

November 17, 2014Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious    Reading 1 Rv 1:1-4; 2:1-5 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him,to show his servants what must happen soon.He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,who gives witness to the word of Godand to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw.Blessed is the one who reads aloudand blessed are those who listen to this prophetic messageand heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near. John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace to you and...

WASHINGTON – An Islamic imam led the U.S. House of Representatives in prayer ‘in the name of Allah’ this week, as those representing the people from states across America stood with their heads bowed and eyes closed. Imam Hamad Ahmad Chebli of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey in Monmouth opened the day on Thursday, being introduced by Speaker John Boehner. “In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful,” he began. “Praise be to Allah, the cherisher, the sustainer of the world, the most gracious, the most merciful master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we...

Still Human! " …whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31 " In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jobs In The Bible Satrap (New International Version (NIV) They also delivered the king's orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God. (Ezra 8:36)

November 16, 2014Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 When one finds a worthy wife,her value is far beyond pearls.Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,has an unfailing prize.She brings him good, and not evil,all the days of her life.She obtains wool and flaxand works with loving hands.She puts her hands to the distaff,and her fingers ply the spindle.She reaches out her hands to the poor,and extends her arms to the needy.Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.Give her a reward for her labors,and let her...

The United States House of Representatives allowed a Muslim imam to give the opening prayer on Thursday morning, in which he praised Allah, the demonic god of Islam, who is the enemy of Christ and America. Imam Hamad Ahmad Chebli of the Islamic Society of New Jersey was invited by Democrat Rep. Rush Holt (NJ). Chebli praised Allah as, "The most gracious, the most merciful" and then declared "Praise be to Allah, the cherisher, the sustainer of the world; the most gracious, the most merciful master of the day of judgment." He then went on to declare, "Thee do we...

“What Is That to You?” " Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22 " One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jobs In The Bible Robber (New International Version (NIV) "Very truly I tell you..., anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)

November 15, 2014Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 3 Jn 5-8 Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters,especially for strangers;they have testified to your love before the Church.Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey.For they have set out for the sake of the Nameand are accepting nothing from the pagans.Therefore, we ought to support such persons,so that we may be co-workers in the truth. Responsorial Psalm Ps 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.or:R. Alleluia.Blessed the man who...

Discovering Divine Design " As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me… —Genesis 24:27 " We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jobs In The Bible Refiner (New International Version (NIV) 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. (Malachi...

Pray For Our American Heroes and Our Nation Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. Luke 11:17 (NIV) ----