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Pair green-lighted by NY Catholic leadersNEW YORK (ChurchMilitant.com) - New York's Catholic leaders marked the city's 257th St. Patrick's Day Parade by spotlighting openly gay marchers, chief among them, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland. The prime minister and his boyfriend helped lead the parade, marching alongside Governor Andrew Cuomo and Congressman Peter King, both self-described Catholics. Varadkar hailed the significance of the event. "It was a real privilege to march with my partner at this parade in New York," he said after the parade. "Only a few years ago, people couldn't march under the rainbow banner but that has...

"Thy kingdom come" (Matt. 6:10). The only acceptable response to Christ’s offer of the Kingdom is to receive it, value it, and pursue it! Many people who think they're kingdom citizens will someday be shocked to discover they aren't. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Some people think highly of the kingdom but never receive the King. They call Jesus "Lord" but don't do His will. Lip service won't do. You must receive the...

“But emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). As part of His humble descent from Heaven to earth, Jesus set aside the exercise of His divine privileges. The next step in Jesus’ pattern of humility as He came to earth and lived among mankind was His emptying of Himself. But Scripture is clear that while on earth our Lord claimed to be God: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). At no time did He stop being God. The Greek word for “emptied” gives us...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Story of The Exodus 
 (Old Testament) Exodus 4 Signs for Moses 4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses...

MEMPHIS — A pastor accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Texas 20 years ago resigned from his ministerial post Tuesday at a Memphis megachurch. Andy Savage, teaching pastor at Highpoint Church and part of the church's senior leadership team, follows a leave of absence and lengthy investigation by Scott Fredricks, a Fort Worth lawyer whose specialties include assisting churches with child-abuse investigations. Savage's fall culminates more than two months of accusations and soul-searching over a case that became symbolic of the #churchtoo offshoot of the #metoo movement. While the investigation found no other instances of abuse, "the leadership...

Author Mary Eberstadt told students at the University of Notre Dame Tuesday that a 50-year-old document on contraception is critical to understanding the state of contemporary culture. Eberstadt, a senior researcher at the Faith and Reason Institute, spoke at Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics and Culture, explaining that the prophetic message of Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae has become a reality.“Contraceptive technology, as Paul VI foresaw, opens a Pandora’s box of mischief in which the stronger have the advantage,” Eberstadt told Notre Dame students March 20.“For some while now, it’s been apparent that the sexual revolution that began...

Of all the theological squabbles that have plagued evangelical Christianity over the years, especially in the West, a particularly profound division centers on the power of the Holy Spirit and the ways in which He is at work today.Charismatics and noncharismatics who spoke with The Christian Post all concurred that steps can be taken toward mending this division, even as differences remain.Those who believe that the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit — such as prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, the working of miracles, and the others listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 — have continued to this day,...

Proverb 21 (NKJV) The LORD Considers the Heart 01 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, 00 Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. 02 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, 00 But the LORD weighs the hearts. 03 To do righteousness and justice 00 Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. 04 A haughty look, a proud heart, 00 And the plowing of the wicked are sin. 05 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, 00 But those of everyone who is hasty,...

The Grumblings in the Wilderness Have Much to Teach Us (Lesson Three) Msgr. Charles Pope • March 20, 2018 • We have been surveying several incidents in which the ancient Jewish people grumbled against Moses and God. We have done so not merely to survey their sins but to learn of our own tendencies to do the same. What makes grumbling so obnoxious is that it comes so soon after astonishing blessings and demonstrations of God’s love for us and His will and power to save us. Trust, it would seem, is something very difficult for us to learn.Lesson...

Lettergate produces a casualty: Msgr. Viganò. Well… not quite. Posted on 21 March 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf Lettergate has produced a casualty… another casualty, the first being the Truth.Or did it?The Prefect of the Secretariate for Communications, Msgr. Dario Viganò  – who so botched the the handling of the pro-Francis booklet roll out by unscrupulously slicing and dicing Benedict XVI’s letter and then weaponizing it – has resigned.  The Bolletino has a declaration from the Holy See Press Office’s Greg Burke.  It includes links to Viganò’s letter and Pope Francis’ response.Not content with writing just a resignation letter Viganò extends the agony with...

People are fleeing the institutional church and there should be no question as to why this exodus is happening. The vast majority of people who claim to represent God in the United States have been perpetuating a Biblical misconception that has been leading the church into decline for decades. That erroneous notion is Escapism Theology. Escapism theology is the concept that humanity needs to get away from this mess we call Earth and go "home" to Heaven. I hear this kind of verbiage all of the time from church leaders almost everywhere. They say things like: "Accept Jesus as your...

After Monday’s article about the Anglican Church in North America’s  Anglo-Catholic section, the Missionary Diocese of All Saints contemplating leaving the ACNA we received a statement from the Sufferage Bishop of MDAS, Richard W. Lipka: ” I want to be clear that we have not made any decision to leave ACNA. We have simply begun to explore relationships with other  non-papal Catholic entities”An ACNA clergy source, which wishes to remain anonymous, has stated they do want to leave, but they need some place to go to. Despite members of the MDAS clergy making enquires with the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair...

“Don’t worry—be happy!” From popular music to a cultural slogan, this adage is stated in the form of an imperative. It reflects the idea that happiness can be evoked by an act of the will. Yet the prevailing assumption among us is that happiness is something that happens to us or in us. It is a passive experience. We may be active in seeking it, as its pursuit is considered to be an inalienable right of Americans. But the thing itself, as elusive as it may be, is often regarded as something involuntary. There is a difference between happiness and...

1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. 5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6 And Annas the...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. Please join us in prayer.

March 21, 2018 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent Reading 1 Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said:"Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,that you will not serve my god,or worship the golden statue that I set up?Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,and all the other musical instruments;otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,"There is no need for us...

White Greater Double FORTY DAYS AFTER the white dove of Cassino had mounted to heaven, Benedict, her glorious Brother, ascended by a bright path to the blissful abode where they were to be united forever. Both of them reached the heavenly country during that portion of the year which corresponds with the holy Season of Lent. It frequently happens, however, that St. Scholastica’s feast is kept before Lent has begun; whereas St. Benedict’s day, the twenty-first of March, always comes during the Season of Penance. God, who is the Sovereign Master of time, willed that the Faithful, while practicing...

Violet Simple AT ROME, THE STATION, is in the Church of Saint Marcellus, Pope and Martyr. This Church was once the house of the holy lady Lucina, who gave it to the Pontiff, that he might consecrate it to God. COLLECT Sanctificato hoc jejunio, Deus, tuorum corda fidelium miserator illustra: et quibus devotionis præstas affectum, præbe supplicantibus pium benignus auditum. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. Enlighten, O God of mercy, the hearts of thy people by means of this holy fast; and since all our devotion is the effect of thy bounty, mercifully hear the petitions we make. Through...

Europe’s march towards a post-Christian society has been starkly illustrated by research showing a majority of young people in a dozen countries do not follow a religion. The survey of 16- to 29-year-olds found the Czech Republic is the least religious country in Europe, with 91% of that age group saying they have no religious affiliation. Between 70% and 80% of young adults in Estonia, Sweden and the Netherlands also categorise themselves as non-religious. The most religious country is Poland, where 17% of young adults define themselves as non-religious, followed by Lithuania with 25%. Religious affiliation in European countries In...

Members of Feminist Group In Favor of Female Cardinals Invited to Youth-Synod Preparations Maike Hickson March 20, 2018 0 Comments On 8 March, Mary McAleese, the former President of Ireland, caused a stir at a women’s conference in Rome. In her opening remarks at the event, held on the occasion of International Women’s Day, McAleese — who is notably pro abortion and an advocate of the LGBT movement — called the Catholic Church  “one of the last great bastions of misogyny”, and claimed that a hierarchy that is “homophobic and anti-abortion is not the church of the future.” She also lamented that women...