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Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg receives communion as a Lutheran for the first time in St. Nikolai Church in Spandau (Carl Röhling, 1913).The following letter was written by a friend of mine and forwarded to me. I thought it was so good that I asked if I could publish it, knowing that the topic of “closed communion” is an oft-discussed— and oft-misunderstood— topic among Lutherans and non-Lutherans alike. Though I have long been meaning to write something about it, myself, I cannot imagine that anything I might have to say would do as much justice as what here follows.Without launching...

The Vatican's cardinal in charge of liturgy and the sacraments has strongly defended the Church's tradition on reception of Communion in the wake of Pope Francis' comments to a Lutheran woman suggesting she could choose in conscience to receive. Speaking with Aleteia reporter Diane Montagna, Cardinal Robert Sarah said, "Intercommunion is not permitted between Catholics and non-Catholics. You must confess the Catholic Faith. A non-Catholic cannot receive Communion. That is very, very clear. It's not a matter of following your conscience." ...

I AM the Author of My WORD there is no other and though others place man in this place by names, occasions or people "I AM THE WORD" and it MY SPIRIT speaking directly to you as these verses are read and spoken , yeah even meditated on. So Truly as My Word "It is written" it was only as these men journaled out My Heart that today it is given to you! So be my Scribe and sit at my feet for I have fresh Manna for each of you daily and it is I that desire you to...

The Church of England has appointed as Bishop of Sherborne a leading advocate of Christian nudism. On 26 Nov 2015 the Prime Minister’s Office announced the The Queen had approved the nomination of the Ven Karen Gorham, the Archdeacon of Buckingham, to the Suffragan See of Sherborne in the diocese of Salisbury in succession to the Rt Rev. Graham Kings. Archdeacon Gorham was educated at the University of Bristol and trained for the ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. She served her title at Northallerton with Kirby Sigston in the diocese of York from 1995 to 1999 and went on to...

Fr Raniero Cantalamessa preached during the inauguarion of the Tenth General Synod in Westminster Abbey The Pope's personal preacher has praised the Reformation and said that moral issues such as sexuality, should not "divide us more than Jesus unites us." Speaking at Wesminster Abbey, during the inauguration of the Church of England's Tenth General Synod, Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, who has served as Preacher to the Papal Household since 1980, praised the "theological and spiritual enrichment" of the Reformation. He said: "We need to go back to the time of the Apostles: they faced a pre-Christian world, and we are facing...

POST IS TOO LONG TO POST ALL HERE - A F.A.I.R. Mormon Apologist by the name of CC (CleanCut) submitted a response to ALL 17 of the claims in this post 17 Little Known Facts About the Mormons What follows is,,, 1. the 17 facts as stated by Challengemin.org 2. CCs comments. (You see CCs original comments for verification on the above post comments section) 3. my (Damons) counter comments. FACT #1 The Mormon Church teaches ALL other Churches are WRONG; ALL their creeds are an ABOMINATION in the sight of God; and ALL their teachers are corrupt. One of...

This little jem was posted in a forum and a friend pasted it to his facebook page, so I am sharing it here. The authors name is Amanda Hadaway. —————————————— 1. God uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways. Proverbs 20:30 2. God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags . . . if you...

Martin Luther, as a herald of the Reformation, exclaimed that the church must be profane. It must move out of the temple and into the world. Luther looked to the Latin roots of the word profane, which comes from pro-fanus ("outside the temple"). If Christ is not relevant outside the church, He is insignificant inside the church. If our faith is bound to the inner chambers of the Christian community, it is at best a disobedient faith and at worst, no faith at all. It was the Pharisees who developed the doctrine of salvation by separation. They were practicing segregationists,...

THIS POST IS FAR TOO LONG TO FIT HERE. HERE IS A SNIPIT! Is the Bible as violent as the Koran? The answer is YES, if you talk to many Muslims and Liberals. But are they really? The following is a short discussion I had with a liberal about the subject. I hope to show you that they are not and that all non-Muslims should be uniting and working against Islam, not only because it is an institution that is a Human Rights nightmare, but because Islam really does have the submission of the whole world to Islam as it’s...

Vatican City, Nov 24, 2015 / 07:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Steven Lopes, a Catholic priest from California, as the new bishop who will head the Anglican Ordinariate in the United States and Canada. Bishop-elect Lopes, 40, is originally from the Archdiocese of San Francisco in the United States, and currently serves as an official for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the FaithHe will be taking over for Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson, a former Episcopal bishop appointed by Benedict XVI in 2012 to shepherd the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. The Personal...

Jursidiction is when My Spirit overwhelms the rulers,thrones and principalities with the heavenlies and you shall always find this in worship and praise for it causes an immediate setback and hedge of Holy Fire for My Seraphim guard My Glory and such is the worship of My Children to their KING ! Job 1:6-10 6 Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the...

My opportunities come with decisions made from a righteous mindset and it is only as one decides to walk in Virtue NOT Guile that heavens open and the Highway of Holiness is then revealed before your very eyes as Stephen ~ ~ ~ Acts 6:8-15 8 Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing and favor) and power (strength and ability) worked great wonders and signs (miracles) among the people. 9 However, some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (freed Jewish slaves), as it was called, and [of the synagogues] of the Cyrenians and of the Alexandrians...

The Church of England said that it may sue the three largest cinema chains in the UK after they banned a 60-second advert promoting prayer. The short film Just Pray was passed with a U certificate by the British Board of Film Classification and received clearance from the Cinema Advertising Authority. But Digital Cinema Media (DCM) agency, which handles British film advertising for Odeon, Cineworld and Vue, which run almost 300 of the 750 cinemas in the UK rejected the advert because they said it would "offend" audiences. The Church of England planned to run the advert before the new...

The conversation surprised me. I was recently meeting with about a dozen members of a church that was on the precipice of closing. During their perceived "good old days," the average worship attendance was in the 40s and 50s. Now the church attendance was in the teens. The church was on metaphorical life support. I shared with them some items of urgency that might give them some glimmer of hope. So I was surprised when one of the members asked me a question that seemed to come from nowhere: "Will we have to sing from screens instead of hymnals?" she...

Organization of delight is here this day, The Body of Christ coming together to form The Bride, lock in and stay, Fear and Doubt is not part of this wardrobe, The Tailor of Virtue has bought this design of Virtue and this dress is sold, Bringing it together with the thread of Unity, Every part of The Body, All in agreement to walk down the isle and meet The Groom, A picture of Delight and The Bride is swooned, So in love with her Boaz and King! She begins to sing ~ ~ ~ The Song of The Lamb and...

Systematic changes are in effect now for all those accessing The Highway of Holiness for Truly as you meet each waypoint in Steps of Faith , your "Knowing" what has changed from where you were to where you are now shall be entrusted to you for your hands have been found clean and your hearts free from guile for this is the road for all those that "HAVE" Overcome ! 2 Peter 1:1-11 1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle (special messenger) of Jesus Christ, to those who have received (obtained an equal privilege of) like precious faith with ourselves...

Your substantiality will always be found in me for I will part the waters for you in all you come against! So never let something appear as impossible but "speak grace to your mountains" proudly for as My Blood was shed for you it is I that Rend the Heavens to aid you with My healing Balm of Grace. (( ( Declare ) )) My Children everything "into substance and Being" for I AM your Sword as you speak your needs into LIFE! Step up from faith into the "KNOWING" you CAN Trust , Lean on and Rest in the...

In a comment elsewhere, someone wondered about differences between Catholics and Lutherans.  HEREI cannot go into deep detail about these differences.  Books can be written about each point, and have been.Here are my lunch break reflections while the US Bishops are having lunch during their annual meeting.Keep in mind that I am a former Lutheran convert to the Catholic Church.  I was validly baptized as a Lutheran.  I rejected the Lutheran catechism and instruction when I was 7 years old because I couldn’t square their message about corruption with the beauty of the music of Mozart.  After a vaguely Christian time and a...

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Here we go again. Pope Francis has offered some confusing observations about the possibility of Lutherans receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church.I'm getting email… angry… alarmed… confused… sad… above all demoralized.Edward Pentin has the best press breakdown I have seen so far. HERE You can read the whole of the answer that the Pope gave to a Lutheran woman Anke de Bernardinis. Here's the video of the whole event in the original language, Italian. The part under discussion here starts at 21:00:Here below are the Pope's comments in context (Pentin's working translation): Question: My name is Anke de Bernardinis...