Free Republic

The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces THE HISTORY OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS IN WORLD WAR I   Welcoming Sign at Knights of Columbus Hut Father Duval, DSC KOC & 104th Inf. "Everyone Welcome, Everything Free" was the motto of the Knights of Columbus clubhouses which sprung up in Doughboy training camps, in major U.S. cities and wherever a Doughboy could be found. Manned by K of C secretaries who were affectionately known as "Caseys" the clubhouses provided recreation and a few of the amenities of home to any serviceman regardless of race or religion. And to Catholic...

"CLAY, Ala. — A high school student in Alabama jumped to his feet and took the podium Thursday night to lead those gathered for the senior graduation ceremony in prayer as a medical emergency took place in the stands." [exerpt]

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 “Such is the message of the Cross to each one of us. However far I have to travel through that valley of the shadow of death, I am never alone.” +Metropolitan Kallistos Ware Much of my young adult life has been a deep struggle with depression. One wouldn’t be too far amiss to say it is virtually a plague in today’s world; in fact, most people I know suffer from...

Sequence for the Solemnity of Pentecost From A Catholic Prayer Book Veni, Sancte Spiritus From A Catholic Prayer Book Ascribed to Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (+ 1228) Holy Spirit, Lord of Light, From the clear celestial height. Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, thou Father of the poor, Come, with treasures which endure; Come, thou Light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Thou, the soul's delightful guest, Dost refreshing peace bestow. Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Light immortal, Light divine, Visit thou these hearts...

Serious evangelical dialogue with Roman Catholicism finds it virtually impossible to avoid the issues raised by the institution of the papacy. These issues were central in the sixteenth-century division, and they remain problematic for modern discussion as well. It is hard for many Catholics in the West to understand the serious concerns evangelicals have regarding the papacy, since they often think of John Paul II as a benevolent and kind gentleman who warmly radiates love for Christ and non-Catholics. In a special commentary on the Feast Day (1971) honoring St. Peter and St. Paul, the Vatican radio declared, “The Church...

Have a look at this article, whose nominal subject is academic freedom and whose implicit subject is the crudity and ineptitude with which a professor at a third tier state university can go about instructing his students: [Liberty Counsel’s] complaint relates to Grace Lewis, a high school student enrolled at Polk State through the Florida Virtual School Full Time program … Liberty alleges that Russum is a “radical ideologue, bent on imposing his views on students, in violation of acceptable academic standards and the U.S. Constitution.” As evidence, it cites multiple elements of the syllabus and assignments for the...

Ireland, for so long the most overtly Catholic state in Western Europe, has voted for gay marriage by a stupendous margin – 62 per cent. Never before has a country legalised the practice by popular vote. It would be naive to ask: how could this happen? Hatred of the Church is one of the central features of modern Ireland, thanks not only to the paedophile scandals but also to the joyless quasi-Jansenist character of the Irish Church, which was handed complete control of education in the Free State after partition in 1922. (Many of its priests were outstandingly holy and...

This Memorial Day we think of those who gave their last full measure on our behalf as Americans; to preserve our freedoms and liberties, which only come from Almighty God (John 8:32, 36, Gal. 1:4, 3:13, 5:1, Titus 2:14). There can NEVER be TRUE liberty without a saving relationship to our Creator and apart from the firm adherence to Almighty God's moral absolutes (Prov. 14:34). Our Founding Fathers knew this to be true and have communicated it to us in their writings and in our nation's birth certificate. Today, America has full well rejected our founder's vision and have squandered...

The UK’s Daily Mail published a news story last weekend speculating on the source of a “strange sound from the sky” that has been heard across the globe for nearly a decade. Witnesses told the Mail that what they heard sounded very much like the blast of a trumpet. And that it was so loud it shook the ground beneath them. In a sidebar, the Mail listed seven possible theories, from the unremarkable to the fantastical, that could account for the strange sound from the sky. The first six included (in order) tectonic plates grinding, atmospheric pressure, trains shunting, construction...

The Fire Next Time – A Homily for Pentecost By: Msgr. Charles PopeWhat a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost! A feast like this challenges us, because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy, hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus said to the Apostles and still says to us, “I have come to cast a fire on the earth!” (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire—about a transformative, refining, and purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us and in this world. It is about a necessary fire, for as the...

[A.D. Series Biblical Figures | Rabban Gamaliel-YouTube Video] In this week's video, Marc Turnage, director of the Center for Holy Lands Studies, discusses the Chief Priests and Sadducees, the Jewish authorities referred to both in the Gospels as well as the Book of Acts. Marc clarifies their role in handing Jesus over to Pilate and why it was not widely known to the people. He further describes the tensions that erupt between these leaders and the early church, led by Peter and John. As many are watching the A.D. Series in the coming weeks, Marc will be recording additional short...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible David New International Version (NIV) 9 Throughout the tribes of Israel, all the people were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies; he is the one who rescued us from the hand of the Philistines. But now he has fled the country to escape from Absalom; 10 and Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?” 11 King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Ask...

A fellow named Danny Smith posted a street scene of Dublin on Twitter late afternoon on Saturday. In the background was a glimpse of that celestial phenomenon that appears after a storm, at the other end of which, it is said, there's a pot of gold.  "There's a big gay rainbow over Dublin," Smith tweeted. "If that's not Jesus giving the Yes vote I don't know what is." Danny Boy can be forgiven for his hyperbole. Though his Twitter page identifies him as being a resident of Manchester, England, he's joining in the enthusiasm being demonstrated in streets, squares...

Last week, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles told scholars at the Dorothy Day Conference at St. Francis University [in Fort Wayne, Indiana] that the social activist was not converted by ideology, but by love. “It was not the teachings of the Church that convinced her to leave the past behind and change her life. She was changed by Love, changed by the over-powering awareness of the reality of God’s love and mercy,” the archbishop said.... As a young woman ... Day embraced ... a life that included abortion, communism and “free love.” “Dorothy and many others thought they...

President Obama embraced the beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador Saturday ahead of celebrations in El Salvador over the controversial religious figure's progression toward sainthood. "I join people in El Salvador and around the world today in welcoming the beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero," Obama said. "He fearlessly confronted the evils he saw, guided by the needs of his beloved pueblo, the poor and oppressed people of El Salvador." Romero was shot while performing Mass in 1980 just one day after imploring the country's military to abandon their orders to violently repress a leftist uprising. Pope Francis called...

Twenty couples seal their commitment at City Hall(ANSA) - Rome, May 21 - Rome's brand-new civil unions registry kicked off Thursday as 20 couples - 14 of them gay and six straight - sealed their commitment to one another at City Hall. Actors Michela Andreozzi and Massimiliano Vado were first in line to celebrate their civil union on what center-left Mayor Ignazio Marino has called Celebration Day. Another couple tying the knot are Paola and Stella, both volunteers at Rome's Gay Center who have been together for 31 years. "Today a just, serene, peaceful and egalitarian Italy takes center stage,"...

It begins with a carefully chosen angle and a smartphone tilted somewhere above eye level. Background, lighting, and facial expression are then all considered—perhaps a doe-eyed stare in the restroom mirror or an enthusiastic smile sitting down to your favorite meal. The arm is carefully extended, smartphone in hand, the camera looks you in the face, and snap. Flattering filters soften the colors, fix the blemishes, and blur the outlines. This is the selfie. No true selfie is complete until it is offered up for public consumption via at least one of various available social media outlets. As your...

May 24, 2015Pentecost Sunday, Mass during the Day Reading 1 Acts 2:1-11 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,they were all in one place together.And suddenly there came from the skya noise like a strong driving wind,and it filled the entire house in which they were.Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,which parted and came to rest on each one of them.And they were all filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak in different tongues,as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.At this sound,...

The current trend of combining religion, business, governments around the globe, and the radical Climate “church” should be concerning to anyone who values liberty. The dangers of Agenda 21’s push for worldwide Sustainable Development is well documented. Though the dangers of the radical green agenda have been trumpeted by many, including Glenn Beck, their warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears even among those who surround the his holiness, the Pope. Catholic World reports that Catholic leaders recently held an international forum on economic growth and environmental sustainability in Rome. During the event Cardinal Wuerl made a disturbingly socialist...

The Silos School of Thought, Spain, will dedicate its next two international meetings to the study and dissemination of the thought and action of Pope Francis. It is the ninth encounter of the School which, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair in Spain, and under the auspices of the Benedictine Abbey of Silos, gathered together figures from the worlds of science and culture in an atmosphere of respectful pluralism and convergence in relation to universal values. In a letter to the Steering Committee of the School, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, writes: “In the two...