Free Republic

On Sunday, May 26th, solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Pope Francis will visit the Parish of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah in Rome where he will preside over the morning Mass.During the celebration, the Holy Father will give First Eucharist to 16 children and will distribute Communion to 28 others.“For May 26th, we had planned for the First Communion on third Sunday [of the month] but given the extraordinary circumstances of the event, we thought it would be good for the children who received Communion last year to participate in this feast with our Bishop. That way all plus 44 more...

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Holy Father is full of surprises, born of true and faithful humility. On Wednesday he declared that all people, not just Catholics, are redeemed through Jesus, even atheists. However, he did emphasize there was a catch. Those people must still do good. In fact, it is in doing good that they are led to the One who is the Source of all that is good. In essence he simply restated the hope of the Church that all come to know God, through His Son Jesus Christ. Francis based his homily on the message...

This is now a total farce, blasphemy, actually. A lie. Dishonorable. Immoral.When I was a kid, holding up one’s hand and saying “on my honor” was the thing to do.Did the vote result the way it did by dishonorable means?Since a secret ballot is against BSA policy, the vote is invalid.The entire executive committee should be thrown out.But none of that’s going to happen, unless the executive committee is brought to court.Who will do that?Certainly not the Mormon leadership, who wanted to homosexualize the BSA.Perhaps the Baptists?I think that the Catholic crowd ought best to start local gatherings of the...

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- A Chinese priest who recently arrived in the Philippines said that, this year, he did not make his usual May trek up Sheshan hill outside Shanghai, where thousands of pilgrims offer special prayers to Mary, Help of Christians. Speaking to Catholic News Service on the condition of anonymity, the priest said that, until he left China, Shanghai priests -- who currently have no bishop -- were still discussing how to proceed with the month's largest pilgrimage, May 24. Shanghai Bishop Jin Luxian died April 27; his Vatican-approved successor, Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, is under house arrest....

(Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Catholics in China to remain loyal to the Vatican, whose authority is challenged by China's Communist rulers. China's Catholics number between 8 and 12 million and are divided between the state-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association, which has installed bishops without Vatican approval, and an "underground" wing loyal to the Vatican that rejects state control. Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, made May 24 a day dedicated to prayer for China's Catholics. Francis said at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square that he prayed that China's Catholics would receive "the grace to announce Christ with...

Psalm 149:1 Sing to the Lord a New Song, Praise Him in the Assembly of His Saints.

From a reader: we will be on a Greek island without a Catholic church on a Sunday:can we attend the Greek mass and/or receive the Sacrament? You can, and I think should, attend the Greek Divine Liturgy if attending a Catholic Mass is not possible. The impossibility of attending a Catholic Mass in a Catholic church or chapel that day absolves you of your obligation (no one is bound by law to do what is impossible).Even though you can’t fulfill your canonical Sunday obligation, and therefore you are absolved of that obligation, you still have an obligation in natural law...

Warning: this is very obscure and somewhat turgid. Only read it if you are Biblically and historically hardcore. Dear Rev. Know-it-all, Apollos is said to have “vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.� Do you know any resource where the argument that Apollos made can be found? Thanks, Judy Eizer Dear Judy, First let’s look at the passage you quote from Acts the 18th Chapter (24-28):  Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although it has taken more than 400 years, the sainthood cause of Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci, the 16th-century missionary to China, appears to be back on track. Bishop Claudio Giuliodori, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Macerata, Italy, where Father Ricci was born in 1552, formally closed the diocesan phase of the sainthood process May 10. The cause now moves to the Congregation for Saints' Causes at the Vatican. Bishop Giuliodori had met Pope Francis, a Jesuit, at the Vatican the first week of May. He wrote in the Macerata diocesan newspaper, "I never imagined I'd...

*** Russia has no honest allies in issues relating to the prevention of aggressive IslamismMoscow, May 22, Interfax - Radical Islamism is now present in 55 regions of Russia, General Anatoly Kulikov, former interior minister of Russia and president of the Russian Military Commanders Club, said at the conference Islamism and National Security of Russia held on Wednesday. "Of all existing threats, the most real threat to Russia is radical political Islam, or Islamism, which has declared a jihad in our country," Kulikov told the conference. Kulikov recalled that "Islamist centers have been at war with us since the time...

Wednesday’s St. Pius X graduation ceremony was at least one student short. Transgender student Damian Garcia elected to stay home after the school told him he had to wear a white robe, for girls, instead of the black worn by male students. Garcia was born a girl named Brandi until he legally changed his name last year. He said the school and archdiocese told him they would refer to the gender on his birth certificate, which is female, and require him to wear the white robe. The archdiocese did not return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday. Although Garcia has...

That Christians might spread the spiritual salt of faith, hope and charity: this was Pope Francis’ exhortation at Mass Thursday morning in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence in the Vatican. The Pope warned against the risk of becoming insipid, “Museum-piece Christians.” In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the savour that Christians are called to give to their own lives and to others’. The Holy Father said that salt the Lord gives us is the salt of faith, hope and charity. But, he warned, we must be careful that this salt, which is given to us by...

Gay activists love to point to the changes in public opinion regarding same-sex marriage, announcing triumphantly that this is a sign of moral and even spiritual advancement. In reality, it is part of a larger trend towards immorality, a sign of moral bankruptcy and spiritual apostasy. According to a May 13th Gallup report, “Just three years ago, support for gay marriage was 44%. The current 53% level of support is essentially double the 27% in Gallup's initial measurement on gay marriage, in 1996.” But let’s put that data into a larger, cultural perspective. A May 20th Gallup report is headlined,...

Featured Term (selected at random):BATH-SHBEBA The wife of Uriah the Hittite. She was coveted by King David, who connived with his military leader, Joab, to send Uriah into such a dangerous part of the battlefield that he would be killed. His plot succeeded, and then he made Bath-Sheba his queen. A child resulted from this unholy union, but Yahweh was angered by the king's shameful conduct (II Samuel 11:14-27). The prophet Nathan appeared in David's court and delivered a stinging rebuke. David's repentance was expressed eloquently in Psalm 51, and he willingly offered penance for his crime, but the...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 66 To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm. 1. Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! 2. Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3. Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 4. All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah 5. Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men....

Remain Confident of This Today's Scripture “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria When David wrote Psalm 27, he was going through a tough time. Things weren’t going his way. But he said in effect, “I’m not worried. I’m not upset. I am confident that I will see God’s goodness.” In other words, “This situation I’m in may be rough, but that’s not going to steal my vision. That’s not going to cause me to give up on...

Our Careful Unbelief ". . . do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on" —Matthew 6:25 Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as unbelief. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?� And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first...

My dear friend, the great Fr. George Welzbacher (Class of 1951!), on my list of the smartest men I’ve ever known, has one of the best “Pastor’s Page” weekly offerings you’ll find in any parish bulletin.Before you read what I posted below, you should know that very soon Father’s parish is going to be closed, thus rendering him “retired”, though he would have liked to keep going.  He accepted the decision with a serene attitude.  He is 62 years a priest, well into his 80′s, and he writes things like the following every week.May I give you a pleasant “action...

God's word in your mouth is your salvation. His word in your mouth and spoken out properly will produce your salvation. The word says the word of God is powerful(Hebrews 4:12), but for it to be powerful on your behalf it has to come out of your mouth. Romans 1:16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Notice, it's the power of God unto salvation. That word salvation is translated heal, preserve, save, make...

May 23, 2013   Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Sir 5:1-8 Rely not on your wealth;say not: “I have the power.”Rely not on your strengthin following the desires of your heart.Say not: “Who can prevail against me?”or, “Who will subdue me for my deeds?”for God will surely exact the punishment.Say not: “I have sinned, yet what has befallen me?”for the Most High bides his time.Of forgiveness be not overconfident,adding sin upon sin.Say not: “Great is his mercy;my many sins he will forgive.”For mercy and anger alike are with him;upon the wicked alights his...

Many American Christians were shocked on Friday morning as they turned on their radios. The popular radio station known as "K-Love" had suddenly switched from their familiar format of contemporary Christian music (CCM) and praise and worship music to a cappella unaccompanied psalms, with recordings taken from various congregations of the Free Church of Scotland. "I was expecting Chris Tomlin when I loaded up the kids for school this morning." Said Kathy Valen, mother of four. "Instead I got a jarring rendition of Psalm 109:10, 'Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out...

(Vatican Radio) “Doing good” is a principle that unites all humanity, beyond the diversity of ideologies and religions, and creates the “culture of encounter” that is the foundation of peace: this is what Pope said at Mass this morning at the Domus Santae Martae, in the presence of employees of the Governorate of Vatican City. Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, concelebrated at the Mass. Wednesday’s Gospel speaks to us about the disciples who prevented a person from outside their group from doing good. “They complain,” the Pope said in his homily, because they say, “If...

(RNS) Nothing upsets the folks in the pews as much as changing the liturgy that theyÂ’re accustomed to, and that seemed likely to be the case when the Vatican ordered revisions to the familiar prayers and rubrics of the Catholic Mass.But now, more than a year after the changes took effect in U.S. parishes, a survey of American priests shows that they are more disturbed by the innovations than their flocks.Congregants pray during Catholic mass at St. Therese Little Flower parish in Kansas City, Mo. on Sunday, May 20, 2012. RNS photo by Sally Morrow This image available for Web...

It is often believed that people who have PhDs are possessed of higher self-esteem and greater independent thought than the average population. As a PhD myself, I fully understand why people believe this. The rigorous studying, testing, and writing required to receive a doctorate should free the PhD's mind from the idols of the marketplace and teach him that great truth that Socrates discovered: the more we learn, the more we realize what we do not know. That's what should happen. What I have more often found (in myself, as well as in others) is that the knowledge acquired puffs...

In this post I am trying to continue our celebration of the lost “Octave� of Pentecost. Today I want to consider three gifts of the Holy Spirit.As you may recall, there are seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude and Fear of the Lord. Most Catholics cannot define them well in any sort of articulate way. This is due to poor catechesis but also to the fact that modern English has tended to use several of these terms interchangeably, almost as synonyms, though they are distinct theologically.There are also secular usages of these terms that...

“Freemasonry, Vatican II and 1960” By John Salza Consecration Now Conference Rome, May 13, 2011 There is a body of clear and compelling testimony from the likes of Cardinal Pacelli (future Pope Pius XII), Fr. Fuentes, Fr. Alonso, Fr. Schweigl ,Cardinal Oddi, Cardinal Ciappi, Fr. Malachi Martin, and even Cardinal Ratzinger (the future pope Benedict XVI) that the Third Secret of Fatima, not yet revealed by the Vatican, predicts a spiritual crisis in the bosom of the Church. In this presentation, I am going to elaborate on this theme, by demonstrating that this crisis is nothing less than a world...

It’s ironic to me that my recent article, “Fifty Years Later—Vatican II’s Unfinished Business,� has provoked anger among many traditionalists, because for most of my priesthood I have angered liberals who consider me an arch traditionalist. Nevertheless I want to respond to those traditionalists who include both the SSPX and my fellow Catholics still fully united to the Church. I assure you of my prayers and support for your passionate defense of Church practices through the ages.Nevertheless, I stand fully by my article and support the Second Vatican Council, called by one pope, John XXIII, and brought to a close...

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A Muslim political candidate suspected of murdering a Christian has instigated calls from mosque loudspeakers for attacks on Christians, whom he blames for his May 11 election loss. Tensions were high in Punjab Province’s Okara district after provincial assembly seat candidate Mehr Abdul Sattar, sought by police in connection with a 2008 murder, on May 13 arranged for mosque calls for violence against Christian villages.

Featured Term (selected at random):ARCHBISHOP A bishop who presides over one or more dioceses. He may call the bishops to a provincial council, having the right and duty to do so, and he may act as first judge of appeal over a decision of one of his bishops. His immediate jurisdiction, however, pertains solely to his own diocese. He is often styled "metropolitan" because of the importance of his see city or ecclesiastical province. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

If a pastor says that he has prayed and sought direction from God, and yet is opposed by the deacon board, should the pastor be able to overrule them? Do deacons occupy a role beyond that of an advisor? Are they equal in authority to the pastor? I'm not saying that a deacon board is no better than dirt (by any stretch of the imagination, as they do have a necessary and Biblical role to fill), but I can't find any scripture where a deacon board has authority equal to that of a psator. It has been said that the...

First Prayer in Congress, September 1774, in Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Washington D.C., May 22, 2013 / 12:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a move that could have national consequences for prayer in public life, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a federal case challenging the constitutionality of opening prayers at the town council meetings of Greece, New York. “It is perfectly constitutional to allow community members to ask for God's blessing according to their conscience,� Brett Harvey, Senior Counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, told CNA May 21. “A Supreme Court ruling reaffirming this historic tradition and...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 74 A Contemplation of Asaph. 1. O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? 2. Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed— This Mount Zion where You have dwelt. 3. Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations. The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. 4. Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place; They set up their banners for signs. 5. They seem like men...

“Doing good” is a principle that unites all humanity, beyond the diversity of ideologies and religions, and creates the “culture of encounter” that is the foundation of peace: this is what Pope said at Mass this morning at the Domus Santae Martae, in the presence of employees of the Governorate of Vatican City. Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, concelebrated at the Mass. Wednesday’s Gospel speaks to us about the disciples who prevented a person from outside their group from doing good. “They complain,” the Pope said in his homily, because they say, “If he is...

The Place of Blessing Today's Scripture Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.’ 1 Kings 17:2-4, NIV. Today's Word from Joel and Victoria In scripture, God had a place of provision for Elijah. He gave specific instructions, and as long as Elijah obeyed, he would walk right in to His place of blessing. Just as God directed Elijah to his place of blessing, God is...

The Explanation For Our Difficulties ". . . that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us . . ." —John 17:21 If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you are— because Jesus has prayed that you “may be one� with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became...

Archbishop Eamon Martin, who will succeed Cardinal Brady as Primate of Ireland next year, has warned Enda Kenny and other Catholic politicians that if they vote for the legalisation of abortion they have excommunicated themselves, and must not present themselves to receive Holy Communion:‘“You cannot regard yourself as a person of faith and support abortion,” Martin said in an interview with The Sunday Times. “You cannot believe you are with your church and directly help someone to procure an abortion. This includes medical professionals and the legislators.’“If a legislator comes to me and says, ‘Can I be a faithful Catholic...

(Vatican Radio) Below a Vatican Radio translation of Pope Francis’ General Audience catechesis, Wednesday, May 22, 2013. [Original text Italian]: Dear brothers and sisters, good day! in the Creed, after having professed faith in the Holy Spirit, we say: "We believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church." There is a deep connection between these two realities of faith: the Holy Spirit gives life to the Church, guides Her steps. Without the presence and the incessant action of the Holy Spirit, the Church could not live and could not accomplish the task that the Risen Jesus has entrusted her; to...

May 22, 2013 Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Sir 4:11-19 Wisdom breathes life into her childrenand admonishes those who seek her.He who loves her loves life; those who seek her will be embraced by the Lord.He who holds her fast inherits glory;wherever he dwells, the LORD bestows blessings.Those who serve her serve the Holy One;those who love her the LORD loves.He who obeys her judges nations;he who hearkens to her dwells in her inmost chambers.If one trusts her, he will possess her;his descendants too will inherit her.She walks with him as a strangerand...

Foreign affairs Minister George Vella expresses government's concern at the instability afflicting Benghazi and the surrounding areas.Fr Alan Castillo and Fr Raghib Marzouk escaped unhurt after a bomb went off at the Catholic church in Via Torino, Benghazi, late Friday night. According to sources, a bomb was placed at the main of the church when an explosion rocked the area at around 11.30pm shattering several glass windows on the opposite side of the narrow road and also several windows in the building adjacent to the church housing the priests. Fortunately, Maltese bishop Mgr Sylvester Magro was not there as he...

Questioning “the motive and the reasoning” behind support for regime change in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Libya, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church said that Islamic fundamentalist regimes are “even worse” than authoritarian ones. Under such regimes, Christians “will be considered second class because of their religion in a country in which Islam is the only standard,” said Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako. “I think moderate Muslims should be aware and assure Christians that they, indeed, will be respected as equal citizens.” The patriarch made his remarks amid rising violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq. The nation’s...

A Saint Pius senior was born a girl, but refuses to go graduate in a girl's gown. The Catholic school says too bad. At the Saint Pius High School graduation ceremony, the girls wear white gowns and the boys wear black. It is school policy and Saint Pius insists Damian is a girl. “I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends,” said Damian Garcia. “I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.” Damian Garcia was born Brandi...

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.(Genesis 1:1)This simple sentence, given to us as a Revelation from God through Moses, has launched hundreds of thousands of books, papers, sermons, and essays, and has underpinned our entire civilization. It is a theological statement, but it has also led to our modern concept of science, technology, philosophy, and our western epistemology (concept of truth). Thus the departure from Genesis 1:1 and all that follows it, has been the deepest and perhaps least appreciated reason for our current civilizational decline and pending collapse. Here in these spare words, selected by...

Footsteps is a Jewish organization that helps Hasidic Jews wishing to leave their ultra-orthodox community become integrated members of secular society and work through the profound difficulties of leaving behind their past and, in most cases, being disowned by their families.PBS and A Journey Through NYC Religions report the varying responses of current members of the Hasidic community and individuals who have chosen a new way of life.Sol Feuerwerker is glad he left. I think thatÂ’s what surprises most people, you know, most outsiders, is that how can something this insular be happening right here in the middle of New...

POPE Francis has been embroiled in a scandal after footage emerged today appearing to show him giving a man an exorcism in St Peter's Square. The astonishing incident between the Pontiff and the person in a wheelchair, took place immediately after Pentecostal mass on Sunday May 19. The video shows how a priest leans across the boy or young man to tell Francis something, at which point the Pope’s expression becomes more serious. (VIDEO-AT-LINK) The Pontiff then grips the top of the subject’s head firmly and is seen pushing him down into his wheelchair. As this is happening Francis recites...

May 21, 2013|8:34 am A Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans now believe that sexual relations between two men or two women, and unmarried women having a baby, are morally acceptable. In the new survey, 59 percent of American adults answered that gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable, a 19 percentage point increase since 2001 when only 40 percent said it was morally acceptable.Sixty percent of respondents said that having a baby outside of marriage was morally acceptable, a 15 percentage point increase since 2002 when only 45 percent said it was morally acceptable.Of the 20 issues which...

U.S. Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (far left) is seen next to Episcopal Auxiliary Bishop Nerva Cot in this 2007 photo. (CNS) The Anglican Ink site reports: The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has denounced the Apostle Paul as mean-spirited and bigoted for having released a slave girl from demonic bondage as reported in Acts 16:16-34 . In her sermon delivered at All Saints Church in Curaçao in the diocese of Venezuela, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori condemned those who did not share her views as enemies of the Holy Spirit. The presiding bishop opened her remarks with an...

Pope Francis asked those gathered for the Pentecost Vigil Mass at the Vatican to chant Christ's name instead of his own, highlighting his role as Christ's vicar on earth. "From now on no more 'Francis,' only 'Jesus,' alright?” he asked rhetorically during the Pentecost Vigil Mass said May 18 at Saint Peter's Square...."I want to hear you shout out 'Jesus, Jesus is Lord, and he is in our midst.'" ...The Pope told how his grandmother was the first to pass on the faith to him, and insisted that a person's faith begins through their family. "I received my first Christian...

Featured Term (selected at random):LEPER WINDOW A low window in the chancel wall of a church, found in medieval architecture. Often it was iron barred or shuttered. It was to enable lepers who had to remain outside the church to attend Mass. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said Tuesday that her state will rebuild, and she asked for prayers to aid the rescue and recovery.