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Proverb 23 (NKJV) In Proverb 20 I wrote about the fact that God does not condemn drinking. Well Proverb 23 has more warnings about the deceptive nature of strong drink. Wine can be abused. It can intoxicate. The wine used by the church at Corinth was real wine - not grape juice. We know this because Paul had to admonish them for being drunk at the Lord's table! (1 Corinthians 11:21). Over and over we are warned in the Scriptures about the consequences of abusing wine. It can lead us astray. Deceive us. Cause us to harm ourselves and...

Addressing the opening of the Italian Bishops’ Conference General Assembly on 22 May, Francis implored the gathering:“The first of these gifts [of the Holy Spirit] is already in the convenire in unum (coming together in unity), willing to share time, listening, creativity and consolation. I hope these days will be crossed by open, humble and frank confrontation.  Do not fear the moments of opposition: entrust yourselves to the Spirit, who opens to diversity and reconciles what is different in fraternal charity.”As His Humbleness spoke, nearly a month had already passed since he had received a letter written on behalf of...

Socci on the new, non-Christian version of the Church by Christopher A. Ferrara June 22, 2017 Antonio Socci’s commentary on current affairs in the Church has taken on a mordantly apocalyptic tone, and rightly so in the midst of the growing Bergoglian tumult. As he observes in an article appearing at ImolaOggi.it, dated June 21 (translation mine): “Now the episodes increase, almost daily. The slow, progressive disintegration of two thousand years of Faith and History has undergone an acceleration. They [the liberal prelates allied with Francis] know that, with a Capo [boss] more than 80 years old, they now have...

Fortnight for Freedom: Please Spend Some Time Working and Praying to Protect Your Religious Liberty Msgr. Charles Pope • June 22, 2017 • There has been a steady erosion of religious liberty in the United States in recent years. It has been challenged through a broad range of incidents, requirements from the medical world, health insurance mandates, and court decisions. We often take our religious freedom for granted, but it is under substantive though sometimes subtle challenge. We are in the midst of a sea change; we are being told that religion has no place in the marketplace, in...

It’s a Glorious, Glorious Life Christopher Baker • June 22, 2017 • Last week, in preparation for our celebration of the Archdiocese of Washington’s Marriage Jubilarian Mass, we produced this video about Bob and Laurin Balkam, a husband and wife from the Greatest Generation.Before the interview could start, Bob said, “I’ll tell you my life story and you see what you think. And I’ll try to do it in about five minutes.” But you can neither tell a 75-year love story in five minutes, nor help but take away some life lessons.The first lesson to take away is the...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Isaiah Isaiah 63 God’s Day of Vengeance and Redemption 63 Who is this coming from Edom,     from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor,     striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory,     mighty to save.” 2 Why are your garments red,     like those of one treading the winepress? 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone;     from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger     and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments,     and I stained all my...

"If . . . you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well" (James 2:8). Love is the only antidote for partiality. In Matthew 22:36 a lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest. Jesus answered, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets" (vv....

“Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God’” (Daniel 6:4-5). Live so as to silence your critics. Whenever God exalts a righteous person, there will be those who are jealous and...

June 23, 2017 Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Reading 1 Dt 7:6-11Moses said to the people:"You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earthto be a people peculiarly his own.It was not because you are the largest of all nationsthat the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,for you are really the smallest of all nations.It was because the LORD loved youand because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,that he brought you out with his strong...

What motivated the Dominicans in the 18th century to establish a community at the heart of the Nineveh Plains?An exposition at the Dominican friary of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, which runs until June 17, offers a collection of Iraqi manuscripts never shown to the public before—dating from between the 13th and 19th centuries—as well as exceptional photographs from the old photo archive of the Dominican friary in Mosul (Iraq). These are the treasures that, along with the desire to live the Gospel in a land of ancient Christianity, inspired the Order of Preachers to establish a residence in...

Enrico Petrillo: “More than feeling that the world was against us, we knew that we were with the Lord."The cause of canonization for the Italian laywoman Chiara Corbella opened June 13, the fifth anniversary of her death. Here is a recent interview with her husband: When Enrico Petrillo and Chiara Corbella were expecting their son Francesco, Chiara was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. Together, they decided to postpone treatment so as not to put the child in danger. In the end, Chiara died at the age of 28, one year after Francesco was born (completely healthy). Enrico...

ome, June 22 (IANS/AKI) Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Wednesday said he will "in all probability" meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow in August. "Yes, we are verifying whether this visit will take place. It has been planned for a long time and now all the conditions are in place," said the Vatican second-in-command. "I believe I will meet President Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church's top officials because this needs to be a high-level visit," Parolin continued. Parolin made the remarks to journalists on the sidelines of...

The “Donald Trump/Mike Pence Prayer Vigil” and “Heroes and Nation Prayer Thread” have combined to form the AMERICA PRAYER VIGIL prayer thread! Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for our President and Vice President and for AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. US Independence Day Video But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues...

In a blog earlier this week, I commented on the publishing of Cardinal Caffara’s letter of April 25, 2017 to Pope Francis, wherein he requested an audience with the pope to discuss the five dubia previously sent to the Pope. The Cardinal went public with the letter earlier this week in June because the pope either ignored or expressly rejected that request made in April.  I speculated in my recent blog that the upcoming consistory might be an opportune moment for the four dubia cardinals, and other cardinals man enough to join with them, to confront the Pope on the...

China. Why the Agreement With Rome Is Slow In Coming > Italiano > English> Español> Français> All the articles of Settimo Cielo in English*Last summer, an agreement between the Vatican and China had been given as imminent. But not any more. Instead of the two sides issuing shared rules on the appointment of new bishops, news is coming from Beijing news of bishops who have been incarcerated and disappeared.Halfway through Lent, Mindong bishop Vincent Guo Xijin, recognized by Rome but not by the Chinese authorities, was arrested and taken to a secret location for the crime of not wanting to...

POST FALLS, Idaho — The nuns at St. Dominic's school and convent near Post Falls said teens have been trespassing on their property and verbally assaulted them for a long time. The nuns said the teens will come right into their main parking lot at St. Dominic’s. When nuns are just a couple of dozen yards away, the teens will swear and yell insults directly at them. The nuns who live at the convent said they believe the teens are going out of their way to harass them. "It's becoming more and more aggressive,” Sister Aimee Dominique said. The nuns...

Saint John Fisher, pray for us - "I die for the Faith of the Holy Catholic Church"After the lieutenant of the Tower had received the writ for his execution, because it was then very late, and the prisoner asleep, he was loath to dis-ease him from his rest. But in the morning, before five of the clock, he came to him in his chamber, in the Bell-tower, finding him yet asleep in his bed, and waking him, told him, he was come to him on a message from the king, to signify unto him, that his pleasure was he...

It is dangerous to the credibility of the Church, that what should be considered good in Germany should be considered wrong in Poland. The Four Cardinals show no sign of giving up, and neither should they. It might at this point be useful to present a chronology of the Four Cardinals and the dubia. It goes like this. - On 19th September 2016, four Cardinals – Caffarra, Burk, Brandmueller and Meisner – present 5 dubia or requests for clarification to the Pope concerning certain ambiguities in Amoris Laetitia. - On 19th November 2016, having received no answer, the four Cardinals...

Proverb 22:10 tells us to cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease. This refers to those who are bullies in the way they act. Church bullies are common in many churches. They are the wolfs in sheep's clothing who seem to thrive in situations where they can wreak havoc while creating dissension. They typically must have an “enemy” in the church, because they aren’t happy unless they are fighting a battle. They tend to maneuver to get an official leadership position in the church, such as chairman of the elders or deacons...

In typical Hollywood fashion, a pro-choice actress has claimed her views on abortion and Christianity go hand in hand — suggesting the pro-life crowd has “stolen” the Christian identity. Actress Amy Brenneman, star of the HBO show “The Leftovers,” describes her church’s philosophy on the “moral agency of women” as a mother’s right to keep or kill her baby — or to “decide what’s right for her fetus,” in Brenneman’s words. "In my church, we are prayerfully pro-choice, which means that we believe in the moral agency of women," Brenneman, 52, said in a video created by the "Lives of...