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God and God Alone: A Homily for the 29th Sunday of the Year By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe Gospel today contains lots of interesting juxtapositions: hatred for Jesus but grudging respect for him,  real questions versus rhetorical ones, politics and faith, duties to Caesar and duties to God. The word  “juxtaposition” is from the Latin juxta (meaning “near”) and positio (meaning “place or position”). Hence juxtaposition is the placing of two things near to each other in order to see how they are similar and yet different.  In English, usually a juxtaposition emphasizes differences more than similarities.Let’s look at these one...

The Unheeded Secret " Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world —John 18:36 " The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden,...

Among the Biblical covenants of the Old Testament, the new covenant with Israel takes its place in importance with the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants as determining the course and destiny of the nation Israel. In the study of premillennialism it is another important evidence for a future millennial kingdom in which its promises can find literal fulfillment.The Promises of the New Covenant with Israel The promises of the new covenant with Israel are among the most specific of the Scriptures. The major passage is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34: “Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a...

Professor Odon Vallet is an expert in the history of religions and civilizations and, since he is deemed a strong and radical "Progressive", he is a favorite in the French media to speak as a secular-friendly voice on Catholic issues. He was interviewed by popular daily "20 Minutes" on the results of the 2014 assembly of the Synod of Bishops: In what sense did the provisional text [the Forte relatio] signal an important step? The provisional text included two overtures. One regarding the remarried divorcees. The other regarding homosexuals. It was not a revolution, but an evolution. It was not...

There have been a lot of news stories recently about students in middle school, high school, and even college,protesting dress codes that they say are sexist and discriminate against women. However, as I read the articles about these incidents I noticed three common fallacies, or errors in reasoning, when it comes to modesty and the need for dress codes. Either/Or Fallacy Also called “the fallacy of the false dilemma,” it occurs when only two solutions for a problem are presented while other solutions are neglected or excluded. When it comes to the distraction caused by immodest dress, this fallacy occurs...

The fact that these three points remain in the document despite only having a “qualified majority” has surprised some observers. In common law in the Anglophone world, these paragraphs would be rejected from the final document. “This is moving into new territory,” a legal expert told the Register on condition of anonymity. “Where now is the legitimacy of these causes as an expression of the synod? They should be fully rejected.”

Today, Pope Francis beatified Pope Paul VI, who served the Catholic Church as the bishop of Rome 1963-1978. (“Beatification” is one step below being canonized a saint.) Paul VI had a jam-packed papacy, including finishing the Second Vatican Council, traveling to all six inhabited continents (a first for popes), and historic ecumenical break-throughs. But today he’s probably most remembered for his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, which confirmed the Catholic Church’s long-standing teaching against contraception, abortion, and sterilization. Outside of the Catholic Church (and, unfortunately, by a large number of people within the Church as well), the teaching of Humanae Vitae...

Vatican City, Oct 18, 2014 / 04:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis' address at the conclusion of the Synod on the Family, delivered Saturday, was responded to with a four-minute standing ovation on the part of the bishops attending the Vatican meeting. In the Oct. 18 speech, the Pope thanked the bishops for their efforts, and noted the various temptations that can arise in such a synod setting. He encouraged the bishops to live in the tension, saying that “personally I would be very worried and saddened if it were not for these temptations and these animated discussions; this movement...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jobs In The Bible Interpreter (New International Version (NIV) 8 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do. 21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because...

"I Am the Pope, And I'm Here" – In the Aula, Francis Brings Down the Curtain... And Lowers the Boom While the vote on this Synod's final report (Italian fulltext) was the expected business at tonight's closing session, even the crucial summary text was overshadowed by one last speech from the Pope, containing some of his strongest language to date as he reflected on the several "temptations" he saw at play over the last two weeks. A full English translation still in the works, again, Page Three has the live blow-by-blow – the text will be posted here once...

To be sworn to by all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries. I . . . . firmly embrace and accept each and every definition that has been set forth and declared by the unerring teaching authority of the Church, especially those principal truths which are directly opposed to the errors of this day. And first of all, I profess that God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason from the created world (see Rom. 1:19), that is, from the visible works of creation,...

October 19, 2014Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Is 45:1, 4-6 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,whose right hand I grasp,subduing nations before him,and making kings run in his service,opening doors before himand leaving the gates unbarred:For the sake of Jacob, my servant,of Israel, my chosen one,I have called you by your name,giving you a title, though you knew me not.I am the LORD and there is no other,there is no God besides me.It is I who arm you, though you know me not,so that toward the rising and the setting of the sunpeople may...

Good News - in fact great news: The dissident push to embracing adultery as a good and precious vocation of family life in the Church and sacrilegious Communion was officially squashed. Michael Voris states, and I agree, the shove to the push back seems to have had an effect. As it always does. The victory won't last long. Though the disturbing paragraphs were voted out of the Relatio, the Pope ordered the Relatio to be published as if the vote and removal never took place. Supposedly: as for the rejected paragraphs, they will still be sent out (!) as part...

The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion " . . . they went forth for His name’s sake . . . —3 John 7 " Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said, “Feed My sheep.” In effect, He said, “Identify yourself with My interests in other people,” not, “Identify Me with your interests in other people.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love...

Pope Francis' address to the Synod Fathers at the conclusion of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family: Dear Eminences, Beatitudes, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, With a heart full of appreciation and gratitude I want to thank, along with you, the Lord who has accompanied and guided us in the past days, with the light of the Holy Spirit. From the heart I thank Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod, Bishop Fabio Fabene, under-secretary, and with them I thank the Relators, Cardinal Peter Erdo, who has worked so much in these days of family mourning, and the Special Secretary...

Bishops Reject Shift in Tone for Gay, Divorced Catholics Bishops Reject Language Highlighting ‘Precious Support’ Committed Gay Couples Lend Each Other DEBORAH BALL Oct. 18, 2014 ROME—Catholic bishops voted Saturday to water down a report earlier this week that advocated a significant shift in the church’s approach to gays and divorced Catholics, reflecting a deep split within the church’s leadership. In a vote Saturday evening, an assembly of nearly 200 bishops, who have been discussing issues concerning the family at a special meeting known as a synod, took their final vote on a working document released Monday. That document, released...

[This is part of Catholic Analysis' special series on Pope Alexander VI. This part, the fifth, explains Alexander's connections with the Italians. Read the fourth part.] Once his installment was settled, the pope set about making many changes. Alexander was a reformer. He despised the corruption prevalent in some ranks of clergy, and so he proclaimed, "We are well aware that morals have notably fallen back. No longer can we tolerate the way in which the former salutary measures instituted by our predecessors to keep sensuality and avarice within bounds have been violated so that we fall headlong into corruption....

All of these are from the Things Jesus Never Said Facebook Page.

Roman Catholic bishops have failed to reach consensus on opening the Church's doors to remarried divorcees and gays after a special synod on the family, in a blow to Pope Francis. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said participants had approved a "re-balanced" final report that took into account the concerns of the most conservative members. In a final vote on Saturday after two weeks of heated debate, three paragraphs touching on the hot-button issues of a more welcome stance towards gays and divorcees did not receive the two-thirds majority needed. The vote closed a synod of bishops from around the world...

Pope Francis appeared to have lost out to powerful conservatives in the Roman Catholic church on Saturday after bishops scrapped language that had been hailed as heralding a historic opening towards gay people. In the final report of an extraordinary synod on the family which has exposed deep divides in church hierarchy, there is no mention – as there had been in a draft version – of the “gifts and qualities” gay people can offer. Nor is there any recognition of the “precious support” gay partners can give each other. A paragraph entitled “pastoral attention to people of homosexual orientation”...