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I am coming up on my first year as an ordained minister in a continuing Anglican church, and I have noticed that participating on political forums (even when the topic is religious) I find that my opinions and postings more often than not generate more hatred than anything else. Among the things I often hear are that the laity are the real priests and that I am a Pharisee, that my vocation disqualifies me from offering an opinion on anything Christian because I am too narrow minded, and (my personal favorite) because I look too Catholic I must be a...

In Desire of the Everlasting Hills, the most powerful moments occur when the action of grace breaks through and changes a life. In a film that’s attempting to change the ground on which the discussion of same-sex attraction in the Church takes place, these little epiphanies are a potent witness to the truth of Catholic teaching. Desire of the Everlasting Hills is a 60-minute documentary from Courage International, the apostolate helping people with same-sex attraction to live chaste lives. The film was showcased at Courage’s national conference, July 17-20, in Philadelphia.

July 26, 2014Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary    Reading 1 Jer 7:1-11 The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD,and there proclaim this message:Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judahwho enter these gates to worship the LORD!Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:Reform your ways and your deeds,so that I may remain with you in this place.Put not your trust in the deceitful words:“This is the temple of the LORD!The temple of the LORD! The temple...

The highest human rights court in Europe shattered hopes that it would judicially impose same-sex marriage when it told a male to female transsexual and his wife that a civil union should be good enough for them. European human rights law does not require countries to “grant access to marriage to same-sex couples,” according to a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in a case that tests the remote boundaries of possibility in law and fact. The parties to the litigation and supporters of same-sex marriage acknowledge the result was predictable. Nevertheless the judgment has a devastating effect...

Back in May, I offered some general comments on the question of communion for divorced and remarried Catholics — which looms over the Synod on the Family scheduled for this autumn in Rome, and may represent one of the defining controversies of Pope Francis’s pontificate — and then wrote what was intended to be the first of two posts addressing Cardinal Walter Kasper’s high-profile case for admitting the remarried to the sacrament. That post offered theological and sociological reasons to be skeptical of Kasper’s broad suggestion, offered in an interview with the editors of Commonweal, that Catholic marriage generally is...

ROME — Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian who was flown to Rome after her death sentence was overturned, is now dreaming of building a future in the U.S. “We will begin a new life,” Ibrahim told Antonella Napoli, head of Italians for Darfur, according to the daily La Repubblica. “My husband, a chemist, lost his job because of my event. Now we will go to New Hampshire where my brother-in-law Gabriel lives. They will help us. We will be all together as a true family.” Ibrahim, 27, was spared a death sentence for apostasy and then barred from leaving Sudan....

The Saint of the First Red Cross St. Camillus of Lellis By: Louise PerrottaIf you’ve ever been tempted to think that you’re not cut out for sanctity, consider the case of Camillus of Lellis. Here is a saint—the patron of hospitals, health care workers, and the sick— whose burning love for God effected a widespread reform of patient care.“I’ll never forget the sight,” wrote one person who saw six-foot-six Camillus in action. “When he was attending a sick person, he looked like a hen with her chicks or like a mother at her child’s bedside.”And yet for the first...

Okay, so I was challenged below: "Read the Bible! God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people." So....I may get crucified for this but I have started to say it -- most recently (terrified, trembling) to warm welcome in a synagogue in LA: Actually if you read Genesis Exodus and Deuteronomy in Hebrew -- as I do -- you see that God did not "give" Israel to the Jews/Israelites. We as Jews are raised with the creed that "God gave us the land of Israel" in Genesis -- and that ethnically 'we are the chosen people." But actually...

DES MOINES, Iowa – A newspaper editor who was fired earlier this year for opining on his personal blog that the Queen James Bible is an attempt by homosexuals “to make their sinful nature ‘right with God’” has filed a complaint with the federal government. As previously reported, Bob Eschliman has worked as the editor of the Newton Daily News since 2012, and has served as the publisher of the Clarinda Herald-Journal. But he found himself out of a job this past May when he spoke his mind about the Queen James Bible on his personal blog. “It’s pretty easy...

LOS ANGELES – A legal defense organization filed a lawsuit this week against California State University, alleging that the school fired a biologist for discovering scientific evidence that contradicted evolutionary theory. Mark Armitage was a scientist at California State University—Northridge (CSUN), where he worked as a researcher and supervised the school’s electron microscope laboratory. He was also a member of several scientific organizations, including the Microscopy Society of America, the American Society of Parasitologists, and the Southern California Academy of Sciences. However, CSUN suddenly terminated Armitage’s employment two years ago after he discovered soft tissue on a Triceratops fossil. Evolutionists...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – A prominent atheist organization has convinced an Indiana school district to end teacher-led prayer at area public schools following a complaint from an anonymous parent. The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) contacted the Vigo County School Corporation in Terre Haute last May after receiving a complaint from a parent after teacher Jeffrey Burress at Sarah Scott Middle School allegedly led prayer at an awards banquet. “Any prayers led by teachers at school-sponsored events must be stopped immediately,” the letter, addressed to Superintendent Daniel Tanoos, read.

WASHINGTON -- How much skin can a girl show before it's a sin? Modesty can be a sticky subject, even among Christians. But experts say being modest doesn't mean a woman can't let her beauty shine. In fact, that's the point. If you look around, it's easy to think modesty is dead. Everywhere we look images tell us less is more, and the pressure for young girls to look sexy has never been more potent. . . . "It all has to do with beauty, but beauty should really come from the inside out," explained Jaime Jamgochian, a worship leader...

There's no question that Emmy-winning sitcom "Modern Family" is influencing American cultural opinions on same-sex relationships through its characters Mitch and Cam, and that influence goes all the way up to the most powerful people on the planet. . . . "President Obama mentioned in an interview like three weeks ago, just casually, that Michelle and the kids watch Mitch and Cam and they're in tears," Stonestreet said. "To hear the leader of the free world, the president of the United States, say that and to know we have that sort of reach with people and that the people in...

Following the controversy sparked by his remarks against voodoo, Haitian Cardinal Chibly Langlois specifies in a note, that the fragments of his interview published in The Guardian newspaper, does not accurately reflect his vision of voodoo. Without however put these "fragments" in the context of this interview, Cardinal Langlois today recognizes that voodoo is "an undeniable part of the culture of the Haitian people." Explanations of Cardinal Chibly Langlois : "1 - In an article in the British newspaper The Guardian Sunday, July 13, 2014 titled - Vodoo won’t save Haïti, says Cardinal - it was reported fragments of an...

Archbishop Charles Chaput has disclosed the Pope Francis plans to attend the World Meeting of Families, to be held September 2015 in Philadelphia. Although the Vatican has not made an official announcement, the Pope "has told me he is coming," Archbishop Chaput said. He said that the Pontiff would be in Philadelphia for the final 3 days of the meeting, September 25-27. (As a rule, the Vatican does not formally confirm papal trips until a few weeks before they take place.) The archbishop also announced that Pope St. John Paul II and St. Gianna Molla are the patron saints of...

Pope Francis blesses Meriam Ibrahim yesterday (via @bettapique) Yesterday Pope Francis received Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian woman who is condemned to death, while pregnant, for alleged “apostasy”. The touching encounter gained worldwide media attention and, in the words of writer Fr Dwight Longenecker, enabled millions to “put a face to the thousands of persecuted Christians around the world“.The meeting also drew attention to the Pope’s role in raising awareness of Christian suffering. But what exactly is Francis doing and how effective is it?Why does the problem warrant the Pope’s attention?Even those who follow current affairs closely sometimes fail to...

Hi - I come to you humbly asking for your thoughts and prayers for our daughter. She just went abroad as she starts her Junior year from Gettysburg College and is in Melbourne, Australia. She has been there just over 2 weeks.Things were going great until she called this morning to say she was in the ER because she hasn't felt well, has had a headache for 2 days, and feels like she has been hit by a truck.Long story short, she is being treated for a bacterial infection and the hospital is bringing in infectious disease doctors. Her temp...

Today in America, many Protestant theologians and missionaries continue to believe that Christian apologetics should rely upon the use of sound reason or logic. A Protestant Christian radio program about apologetics even took the name, “Sound Reason.” But Orthodox apologetics is not based upon reason, because Christian faith is actually unreasonable. Christianity is faith in Jesus Christ—or, to be more accurate, being faithful to Christ. Jesus of Nazareth, called the “Christ” or Messiah, manifested Himself as the eternal God in the flesh, the salvation of all humanity through His incarnation, death and resurrection. None of this is “reasonable.” None of...

Featured Term (selected at random:QUIRINAL PALACE Before 1870, a papal residence where conclaves were held. Also used as a summer home. built by Pope Gregory in 1574, it was taken over by the Italian Government at the time of the confiscation of the Papal States. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Proverb 25 (NKJV) Rule Your Spirit 01 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of 00 Judah copied: 02 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, 00 But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. 03 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, 00 So the heart of kings is unsearchable. 04 Take away the dross from silver, 00 And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry. 05 Take away the wicked from before the king, 00 And his throne will be established in...