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[Catholic Caucus] What’s Missing From the SynodThe sincerity of a person is often shown by the sacrifice he is willing to make. For instance, if a student tells a teacher he wants a better grade but won’t do the work necessary to get it, he is being insincere. If the teacher says he is willing to help but won’t put in some extra time himself, he is being insincere. If the student still wants a better grade without the work, what he really wants is, in modern parlance, to be enabled. If the teacher gives a better grade without the...

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part...

Many of us are finding it difficult to discern who is a sinner and who is an evil doer. A look at Scripture can help us understand better: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In other words, every individual person has done something wrong and not lived up to God's perfect moral standard. Sin is in the nature of every individual; we’re born in it (Psalm 51:5).But I can’t remember any verse in the Bible that says that we are all evildoers. Evil is much deeper and more terrible than sin. Even though...

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.So what exactly is blasphemy against the Spirit, what many call the unpardonable sin?

Recall, Christians, what Sacred Scripture declareth: "Pride goeth before destruction: and the spirit is lifted up before a fall." [Proverbs 16:18]And also: "Pride is the beginning of all sin. He that holdeth it, shall be filled with maledictions, and it shall ruin him in the end." [Ecclesiasticus, 10:15]Pride is numbered in the Catholic Catechism among the Seven Deadly Sins [CCC 1866]. Writing in the early Seventh Century AD, Pope Saint Gregory the Great reflected on the sin of pride in his epochal Moralia in Job, saying: "Whoever extols himself above his proper condition, is weighed down by the very burden...

A California reparations task force leader has ordered taxpayers to pay their 'sin bill' and fork out because of 'what has been done to black people'. Dr Amos Brown, the vice-chair of California's reparations task force, said people need to 'chill out' about the group's radical proposals, which includes handing cash payments to black residents of up to $1.2 million. 'You cannot put a dollar sign on what has been done to black people,' he added to Fox News. 'Our sin bill in this nation has been so high, and because of the long years of doing nothing, the interest...

Love me, love my fentanyl habit. If you’re really a Christian, you’ll accept and embrace my lifestyle, which includes playing Russian roulette.If your church really wants to reach out and offer the Gospel to white racialists, you ought to allow us to wear our Klan hoods and serve as greeters at your church.Do any of those claims rankle with you? Good. They’re meant to.But now I can make it all better. For all those unfashionable, socially unpopular sins above, plug in “gay” or “transgender” sins and their outward trappings.Suddenly you have the official policy of most Mainline Protestant churches. And...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican cardinal highlights contradiction between Pope Francis’ remarks on confession, Catholic doctrineThe Vatican's prefect of the Apostolic Penitentiary warned that ‘it is not mercy to lie about sin.’VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — In yet further evidence of the tumult of Pope Francis’ Vatican, a rift in teaching on confession was recently highlighted when the head of the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary warned against false “mercy” with regard to forgiving sins, indirectly condemning a rhetoric of “mercy” commonly espoused by Francis.The comments were delivered by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza last week, as part of the 33rd Course on the Internal Forum promoted...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday responded after President Biden criticized Florida for making efforts to protect children from transgender surgeries and so-called “gender-affirming” treatments. “It is not ‘sinful’ to prohibit the mutilation of minors,” DeSantis said in response to Biden, who lamented the state of affairs in Florida during an interview on The Daily Show. “What’s going on in Florida is, as my mother would say, close to sinful. It’s just terrible what they’re doing,” Biden told Kal Penn. “It’s not like a kid wakes up one morning and says, ‘You know, I decided I wanted to become...

New Ways Ministry Praises German Church’s Unprecedented Vote for LGBTQ+ BlessingsToday, the assembly of the Synodal Way in Germany formally and overwhelmingly approved a document that calls for the church to bless same-gender couples. 92.6% of the assembly’s members, which include both bishops and lay leaders, voted for the document, including 80.1% of participating bishops. The document, which you can read more about here, also objects forthrightly to the Vatican’s ban on such blessings, too. Bondings 2.0 will offer further reports on the Synodal Way’s final assembly now underway, including discussions of a document on gender identity, in the coming...

[Catholic Caucus] Lent 2023: Catholics and Francis Oppose Each Other in the War Over SinO God, Why by sin art offended and by penance appeased, mercifully regard the prayers of Thy suppliant people: and turn aside the scourges of Thine anger, which we deserve for our sins.” (Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Collect)“May our fasts be acceptable to Thee, O Lord, we beseech Thee: and by expiating our sins, may they render us worthy of Thy grace, and lead us to eternal Remedies.” (Tuesday in Passion Week, Collect)Every Lent, Holy Mother Church guides Catholics to make special efforts in the perpetual...

During an appearance on this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) discussed the division in the country and how to overcome it. The South Carolina Republican U.S. Senator said the left was responsible by attempting to create a “grievance culture.” However, he argued the country should not be defined by its “original sin, but instead by its story of redemption. “So, you talk with an optimistic message, and we talked about how you are highlighting faith not only in the religious sense but that you want Americans to have faith in each other,” host Shannon Bream...

There’s a lot to celebrate in Christian worship services. Singing hymns, prayers, and the learning of God’s Word are all part of corporate worship, and I happily participate in that. I also participate in confession. The Protestant tradition involves both a public and silent confession of sins. It’s an acknowledgement that we are sinful by nature, and have sinned by thought, word and deed. Through this confession and our earnest repentance, we seek and receive forgiveness through God’s grace. I sin every single day. I don’t like that I sin but as a member of the human race, it is...

I have been a long-time fan of Pastor Andy Stanley and his ministry. As a student at Liberty University in the early 1990s, I remember Pastor Andy coming and speaking to our student body in Chapel. The two things that stood out to me the most were: 1. His love for his dad, and 2. His love for God’s Word. He inspired me to want to know God’s Word.Fast forward to today, for the past five years, it appears Pastor Andy has been moving in a new direction. His statement, “You should unhook your plow from the Old Testament” has...

Perhaps the most intriguing passage in all of St. Paul’s writings is his description of an inner struggle in Romans 7. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Romans 7:18-20)...

[Catholic Caucus] Irish bishop restricts priest from saying Mass for calling abortion, homosexuality sinfulBishop Browne told Fr. Sheehy to stop saying Mass until the church’s parish priest returned. Fr. Sheehy accused the bishop of being ignorant of the Scriptures and of 'sacrificing the truth.'Bishop Ray Browne (L) and Fr. Sean Sheehy (R)LISTOWEL, Ireland (LifeSiteNews) – An Irish Catholic priest who outlined the Catholic prohibition of abortion and homosexuality in a recent homily has stated his bishop has temporarily restricted him from saying Mass in light of his comments.Father Sean Sheehy made media waves over the last weekend in October, when...

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. Ephesians 4:31 Anger and rage can do more harm to those those who practice it, than it does to the person the anger is targeted at. How many times have we witnessed someone so full of anger and rage that they end up doing something that only hurts themselves. I readily admit that for many years I walked with anger in my heart for those who did me wrong or hurt my loved ones. I chose to sin and be angry, rather...

“Sound Doctrine: Applying Law and Gospel” (1 Timothy 1:5-17)Sound doctrine: When you hear that phrase, what comes to mind? Maybe you think of a proud, triumphalistic claim: “We in the Missouri Synod have the pure doctrine, not like those other churches!” Maybe you think of sound doctrine as having all your facts in order, in your head, in a sterile, intellectual way, unrelated to real life. Or you think of sound doctrine as unloving, not caring about people, only about guarding the truth. Well, I’m here to tell you that nothing, none of that, could be further from the truth....

As diverse as the English language is, it really falls short when it comes to expressing the Biblical concept of Love. The Greek language has several words to express different types of love, everything from romantic love to brotherly love. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit introduces a new word for love – Agape. The word has been translated as love or charity, and those unfortunately miss the mark. Agape is divine, or sacrificial love. It is pure love, absent of any selfishness. Or as John explains, it IS God. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is...