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Wearing religious garb publicly, whether cassock, biretta, habit, etc., was at one time a no-brainer act for all priestly and religious vocations. It was always understood to give a public witness to the Faith, and serve as a tool for evangelization. Even Hollywood has picked up on this, and invariably portrays priests and religious in traditional habits. But many in the Church have forgotten this elemental truth over the past few decades. A very handy post from Fr. Peter Carota – who you should read daily! – notes the conversion experience of one secular woman who found herself having a...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible Jonah 7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and...

Imagine an earthly situation where the heir-apparent to the throne meets with his closest friends on the eve of his own coronation. The new king’s friends would hardly desire that the king skip his own coronation. There is no greater benefit to the new king’s friends than that he ascends to the throne. When Jesus left this world, He was not departing in exile. He was leaving for His coronation. He was passing from humiliation to exaltation. The extraordinary benefit in this for every Christian is that he can live in the full assurance that at this very moment the...

. . . from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God. Ps. 90:2

August 25, 2015   Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Thes 2:1-8 You yourselves know, brothers and sisters,that our reception among you was not without effect.Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated,as you know, in Philippi,we drew courage through our Godto speak to you the Gospel of God with much struggle.Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives,nor did it work through deception.But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,that is how we speak,not as trying to please men,but rather God, who judges our hearts.Nor, indeed,...

I am posting only an excerpt here because this written debate is pretty long. Read the excerpts to find out what a Synecdoche is if you do not already know. I am the baptist in the debate and think I won hands down because the CoC guy could not even prove that verbs can be synecdoches, but I did finish weakly. I am posting this to FR because in my research I found this to be the only debate on the subject even though the argument is often used by more advanced CoC debaters. Here is opening clips of my...

The city approves an initiative to honour the Reformer that challenged the ‘capital of Catholicism’ five centuries ago. Politicians waited for the approbation of Vatican authorities.Rome will have its own ‘Piazza Martin Lutero’ in the centre of the city. The Italian capital approved an initiative proposed by the Union of the Seventh Day Adventist Churches back in 2009. Vatican authorities have not opposed the project, evangelical sources said. “Next September 16 at 17.00, will take place the naming of a square in Rome to the German reformer Martin Luther, close to the Colosseum”, Stefano Bogliolo, board member of the Italian...

Four years after the legalization of divorce in Malta, the head of one of the nation’s two dioceses has issued a pastoral letter on mercy for those who have divorced and entered into a civil marriage outside the Church. “It is no secret that there is expectancy about the conclusions of the Synod regarding the pastoral situation of those who are divorced and are in a second relationship,” Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo said in his August 15 letter. “Those who propose that certain barriers between those who are in an ‘irregular relationship’ but who believe in Christ as Savior,...

To the courageous headline in yesterday’s “Libero” (“The Pope’s Party. The Vatican’s Political Shift”.) only one idea should be added: the Bergoglio Party is one thing (which is its doing harm, but will fade with him), the Catholic Church is another. The other day Matteo Salvini* rightly noted this in the polemics he had with Monsignor Galantino. Plus, the very caustic interview with Giovanni Sartori - the king of political analysts - helped clarify it all: “For me this Vatican that utters such nonsense is a disaster. They aren’t interested at all in the real facts and focus on very...

The events took place at the El Goloso military base, located near the Spanish capital, seat of the nation's armored infantry brigade "Guadarrama." According to several Spanish news sites, including Infovaticana and Religión en Libertad, a fire broke out that was impossible to control, burning most of the surrounding vegetation. Once the flames were extinguished, to the soldiers’ surprise, in the middle of the charred area, stood a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes—totally undamaged! What's more, the soldiers were shocked to see that the grass near the statue had not been touched by the flames and that it was...

African bishops continue to fight for life, marriage and family in their country. Following a pro-life rally that drew more than 1,000 supporters, the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference (GCBC) issued a statement resolving to resist evils such as abortion, population control, adulterous remarriages, promiscuity and sodomy. 1. Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26–27). Human life is God's gift and this life begins at conception. Thus, every nation, every institution, every man and woman must respect, protect and uphold the dignity and sanctity of every human life from the moment of conception until...

Row over messianic red heifer divides Jewish activists 14 Aug 2015 00:00 Peter BeaumontAgriculture researchers, US exporters and Jewish activists clash over plans to breed a holy cow. Sacred, profane: Hopes to build the Third Temple at the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, are controversial. (Spencer Platt/Getty) A Jewish activist group dedicated to controversially building a Third Temple in Jerusalem has launched a crowdfunding appeal to scientifically breed the perfect “red heifer”. The creation of a Third Temple as a permanent house in which God will reside was prophesied by Ezekiel, and most orthodox Jewish authorities regard it as something...

Genesis 49:24 His Bow Remained Strong and Steady and Rested in the Strength that does not Fail him, For the Arms of his Hands were Made Strong and Active by the Hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, By the Name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

*******THERE ARE MANY IMPORTANT LINKS EMBEDDED IN THE POST. ARE THERE REALLY 38,000 DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS? by Damon Whitsell Is Christianity really as divided as some people say it is? Are there really around 38,000 differing denominations? These questions are relevant to the Word of Faith movement because its teachers can be quite anti-denominational at times. And since some in the Word of Faith movement such as Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen along with the Pope and many others are calling for Charismatics and the Roman Catholic Church to unite, saying the Protestant protest is over, these questions are really important...

Gestures are funny things. Gestures have no intrinsic meaning, but they do have very important assigned meanings. Here in North America the simple thumbs-up gesture means “well done,” but in some other cultures it carries a meaning that is vulgar and offensive. Or just think of George W. Bush at his 2005 inauguration flashing the “hook ‘em horns” gesture of the Texas Longhorns. Italians were shocked because they use that same gesture to indicate that a man’s wife is cheating on him. The gesture is the same, but it carries a very different meaning. In many places in the world,...

FULL TITLE: Father Pavone’s Abolishing Abortion hits bookshelves today – Pro-life manifesto calls upon the Church and State to protect unborn children Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and a long-time pro-life activist, has long said he’s not just fighting abortion, he’s working to end it. His new book, Abolishing Abortion: How You Can Play a Part in Ending the Greatest Evil of Our Day (Thomas Nelson, HarperCollins Christian Publishing), released today, outlines a strategy to end abortion in the United States. In the book, Father Pavone explores biblical, moral, historical, and legal reasons Christians belong in...

When someone ask the question WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CHURCHES they usually are not interested in seeking an honest answer to the question. But rather they ask the question to go on to say (1) Christianity is divided. (2) God wants unity in His church not division (3) and their group is the Only True Christian Church. This is the case with the video above and the website WhyAreThereSoManyChurches.com that is produced by the hardline Church of Christ (CoC) organization World Video Bible School. This site seeks to examine that video and it’s exclusive claims and inferences in detail....

Biblical Teaching on the Use of Colorful and Harsh Language Msgr. Charles Pope • August 23, 2015 • In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord warns of using uncivil and/or hateful words such as “Raqa” and “fool.” And yet the same Lord Jesus often used very strong language toward some of His opponents, sometimes calling them names such as vipers and hypocrites.We live in a world that often insists on the use of gentle language and euphemisms. While doing so is not a bad thing, we also tend to manifest a kind of thin-skinned quality and a political correctness...

"... be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23). Ashley. Madison. Two words that will not be forgotten by millions of people for as long as they live. Divorce lawyers in some cities are not even answering their phones. Computer hackers are being celebrated and vindicated. Millions of men and women are in a state of panic. People are being blackmailed. Josh Dugger is a self-admitted hypocrite. And spouses and children of married couples are about to have their lives ruined. Why? Because almost 39 million people are anonymous members of the "Ashley Madison" website that allows affairs...

“‘Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on’” (Matthew 6:25). To worry about the future is to sin against God. Someone has said, “You can’t change the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future.” Worry does ruin the present, but even more important for the believer is to recognize that worry is sin. Let’s look at why that is so. Worry means you are striking out at God. Someone might say, “Worry...