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The Three D's One of the casualties of the Modernist revolution has been Catholic education in this country and throughout the world. As we know this is a part of the strategy the Modernists have used to further their agenda of creating a church within the Church. One of the aspects of the ignorance of most Roman Catholics today is their inability to distinguish between 3 essential elements of the Faith. These 3 elements are discipline, doctrine and dogma. They are related to each other but separate in terms of importance and effect within the structure of the Church....

Featured Term (selected at random):DOGMA Doctrine taught by the Church to be believed by all the faithful as part of divine revelation. All dogmas, therefore, are formally revealed truths and promulgated as such by the Church. they are revealed either in Scripture or tradition, either explicitly (as the Incarnation) or implicitly (as the Assumption). Moreover, their acceptance by the faithful must be proposed as necessary for salvation. they may be taught by the Church in a solemn manner, as with the definition of the Immaculate Conception, or in an ordinary way, as with the constant teaching on the malice of...

The Riches of the Destitute ". . . being justified freely by His grace . . ." —Romans 3:24 The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to...

continued from Part I Themes in Jewish/Christian Divergence on Prayer Before we continue, let us check my assumptions: first, and as I stated before, I am assuming that post-Biblical, post-second Temple Judaism developed independently from, and in many instances in opposition to, Christianity: it is then to be expected that many commonalities as well as many differences came to the fore after 2,000 years of separate development. Second, I only had a chance to peruse a very small number of Jewish primers on prayer and they all seem to me to emphasize liturgical prayer, whether in a synagogue or in...

Jesus gave generic signs regarding His Second Coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Advent: Awaiting God's Justice Pope Benedict XVI Advent watchfulness means living in God's presence and according to his criteria in order to prepare a worthy dwelling-place for the promised SaviourOn Wednesday, 19 December 2007, at the General Audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Auditorium, the Holy Father reflected on the Season of Advent and the justice we await. The following is a translation of his Catechesis, which was given in Italian.Dear Brothers and Sisters, In these days, as we come gradually closer to the great Feast of Christmas, the liturgy impels us to intensify our preparation, placing at our...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray First Petition:  “ Hallowed Be Thy Name” Table of Contents     The Latin words of the first petition bring out clearly what we are here asking for: “Sanctificetur Nomen tuum.” What we are asking is that the Name of God may be sanctified. This calls for some explanations. We are not asking that God might become more holy. That would be blasphemy. He is the All-Holy One because He is the Totally Other. He alone is the Necessary One, the Infinite One; there is no other God than He.Our petition is rather that God might...

The End Of The World As We Know It By Carl E. OlsonThe End Of The World As We Know It What the Catholic Church teaches about the last days T.S. Eliot, at the conclusion of his 1925 poem “The Hollow Men” wrote, “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.” That’s a far cry from the cosmic crisis depicted in recent apocalyptic books and films, including the heavily touted and recently released “2012” (see sidebar below), which is crammed full of bangs, computer-generated explosions, earthquakes and floods.Curiosity about the end of the...

Featured Term (selected at random):RESPONSORY A psalm or part of one, sung or said between the readings at Mass and in the Divine Office. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Constant Gratitude Today's Scripture "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever" (I Chronicles 16:34 AMP) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Gratitude is a powerful force in the life of the believer. No matter what may be happening in the world around you, you can always find something to thank God for. Having constant gratitude shows that you have faith in God because not only do you thank Him for what He has done in the past, you thank Him for what He will do in the future. It's...

The Consecration of Spiritual Power ". . . by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" —Galatians 6:14 If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ’s interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so...

Open Ears, Open Heart November 26th, 2009 by Tucker Cordani How do we prepare ourselves to receive the Word of God when we come to Church on Sunday?  Do we show the same reverence for the Holy Scriptures as we do for the Body of our Lord?  Do we come to be fulfilled, body, soul, and divinity, or are we just looking to fulfill our Sunday obligation?After we die, God is going to examine our conscience.  Sharp knife in hand, he will conduct a spiritual post-mortem.  Under the knife, our innermost secrets and thoughts of the heart will be exposed. ...

Since most of us have grown up with the Thanksgiving Holiday it is easy for us to assume that this is the way things are and should be but it has not always been so nor is it necessarily so. The American Thanksgiving holiday is the result of a series of presidential proclamations. It became a federal holiday in mid-20th century. The apostolic churches in the first century, however, experienced no such national or official affirmation of their faith. The Apostle Peter called the Christians of Asia Minor “strangers and exiles” (1 Pet 2:11). Indeed they were. They had much...

Featured Term (selected at random):LAMB A symbol of Christ. Rendered in many forms as early as the fourth century. Various aspects show the animal balancing a staff by its right front leg, with a wound in its chest pouring blood into a chalice, representing Christ's Blood in the Passion; the staff bearing a flag signifying Christ's victory in the Resurrection; the lamb resting or standing on a closed book with its seven sealed streamers symbolizing Christ as the judge. The lamb is the emblem of docility; "harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly, he never opened his mouth like the...

It is mind-boggling to think that our generation alone is uniquely standing on the precipice of time and where no generation has ever stood. We are living in the days spoken of by the ancient prophets. These prophets spoke of the Israelites being gathered back into their own land, in passages such as Ezekiel 37:21: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. This began in 1948. The “dry bones” of Ezekiel 37...

A Door of Opportunity Today's Scripture "I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close" (Revelation 3:8, NLT) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria I believe that God is ready to present you with new opportunities. He wants to open new doors before you. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world around you, God’s Word remains true! Remember, in an instant, God can bring the right people into your life, the right opportunities, and the right resources to take you to a whole new level. But in...

The Focal Point of Spiritual Power ". . . except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . ." —Galatians 6:14 If you want to know the power of God (that is, the resurrection life of Jesus) in your human flesh, you must dwell on the tragedy of God. Break away from your personal concern over your own spiritual condition, and with a completely open spirit consider the tragedy of God. Instantly the power of God will be in you. "Look to Me. . ." (Isaiah 45:22). Pay attention to the external Source and the internal power...

The vast majority of U.S. women religious are not complying with a Vatican request to answer questions in a document of inquiry that is part of a three-year study of the congregations. Leaders of congregations, instead, are leaving questions unanswered or sending in letters or copies of their communities' constitutions. "There's been almost universal resistance," said one women religious familiar with the responses compiled by the congregation leaders. "We are saying 'enough!' In my 40 years in religious life I have never seen such unanimity." The deadline for the questionnaires to be filled out and returned to the Vatican-appointed apostolic...

Hugh and Richard, of the Abbey of St. Victor "Love Alone Makes Us Happy" VATICAN CITY, NOV. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave during today's general audience in Paul VI Hall. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, During these Wednesday audiences, I have been presenting some exemplary figures of believers who have been determined to show the harmony between reason and faith, and to witness with their life the proclamation of the Gospel. Today I would like to speak to you about Hugh and Richard of St. Victor. Both are among those...

Featured Term (selected at random):PRO ARMENIS A dogmatic decree of Pope Eugenius IV (November 22, 1439) addressed to the Armenians on the conditions for union with the Roman Catholic Church. Its most important feature is a lengthy declaration on the seven sacraments in general and on each one of them in particular. Among other provisions are the necessity of integral confession of sins for the sacrament of penance and the indissolubility of marriage. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Crescent Project says Eid Al-Adha is a great time to witness to Muslims. USA (MNN) ― An advertisement in the United States has been greeted with praise and condemnation. This week, a major electronics retailer got flack for including with its circular advertising Thanksgiving Day sales a note saying "Happy Eid Al-Adha," a Muslim holiday, which begins this week. According to the founder and president of Crescent Project Fouad Masri, Eid Al-Adha is a holiday created by Mohammed as he attempted to trace his roots back to Abraham. "He made the celebration to remember that Abraham took his son to...

The Keys of the Kingdom Today's Scripture "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 16:19, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Keys represent access. They represent authority. Whether it's a key to a building, car, or safety deposit box; if you've been given a key to something, it means you have a right to use it. You have access to whatever that key will open. Friend, because of Jesus, we have the...

The Secret of Spiritual Consistency "God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . ." —Galatians 6:14 When a person is newly born again, he seems inconsistent due to his unrelated emotions and the state of the external things or circumstances in his life. The apostle Paul had a strong and steady underlying consistency in his life. Consequently, he could let his external life change without internal distress because he was rooted and grounded in God. Most of us are not consistent spiritually because we are more concerned about being consistent...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray The Invocation:  “ Our Father, Who Art in Heaven” Table of Contents     We open the Lord’s Prayer by addressing God as Father. The Pater Noster is addressed to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But we speak to Him as Father because God is our Father by every possible title. He is our Father because He is our Creator, who brought us into existence out of nothing. He is our Father because He is our Redeemer and therefore the source of our supernatural life. He is our Father because we are His...

On Praying for Priests November 25th, 2009 by Br. Innocent Smith, O.P. One of the decisive moments in the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux was when she realized that priests could sin. As a fourteen-year-old girl, Thérèse had a great desire to enter the Carmelite monastery at Lisieux where several of her sisters were already nuns. The local bishop, despite her pleadings, was cautious about allowing such a young girl to enter religious life. Nevertheless, he encouraged her to take part in a pilgrimage to Rome to strengthen her vocation. Near the end of her life, Thérèse reflected on...

“…a thorn in the flesh was given to me…” (2 Corinthians 12: 7). No one really knows what caused St. Paul to struggle, but there was something that really bothered him. He pleaded with the Lord that his difficulties be taken away, but Paul received an answer he was not looking for: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12: 9). True, Baptism washes away original sin, but we are left with the effects of original sin. We do not have complete control over ourselves. The spiritual life is a continual battle....

I know, this is hardly revolutionary or unique advice, but I was recently asked about this issue by a young Catholic man who called my "Open Line" radio show (heard every Thursday at 3:00 p.m. ET). He had been dating a devoutly Presbyterian girl, and her father didn't like it one bit that the guy was Catholic. I think my response to his "what do I do now?" question may have surprise him. (It apparently surprised and even dismayed a few of my listeners, judging from some of the e-mails that came in after that show.) My basic premise, which...

Featured Term (selected at random):DOCTRINAL DEMYTHOLOGY Critical evaluation of the dogma of the Catholic Church, similar to biblical demythology of the Bible. The basic premise is that doctrinal formulations are all time-conditioned. The definitions of the Councils of Nicaea, Chalcedon, and Trent are to be re-examined on the basis of what they really mean, by sloughing off what is unhistorical because mythical from what is historical and still true. On these terms nothing that the Church has ever taught in faith or morals would ever be substantially unchangeable, or at least the faithful can never be sure what this unchangeable...

He Holds the Keys Today's Scripture "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades" (Revelation 1:18, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Have you ever been locked out of your car or house? It can be very frustrating and inconvenient. Not having the right keys can keep you stuck and unproductive. It steals your time and can steal your peace and joy if you let it. On a spiritual level, we need keys to access what God has for us—eternal...

Direction of Focus "Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters . . . , so our eyes look to the Lord our God . . ." —Psalm 123:2 This verse is a description of total reliance on God. Just as the eyes of a servant are riveted on his master, our eyes should be directed to and focused on God. This is how knowledge of His countenance is gained and how God reveals Himself to us (seeIsaiah 53:1 ). Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray The Lord’s Prayer Table of Contents     By every standard of comparison, the most popular prayer in existence is the Our Father. One sign of its popularity is the number of polyglot collections of the Lord’s Prayer which have been published at various times since the invention of printing. Already in 1787 the Spaniard Hervaz printed the Pater Noster in three hundred and seven dialects and languages, and the practice of multi-lingual editions has been going on ever since. But the Lord’s Prayer is not only the most popular prayer in existence, it is...

Modernism and the Magisterium After analyzing the modernism in the Anglican Church it was pointed out that there's plenty of modernism in the Catholic Church too. True enough, and because blog posts should be short and punchy, I left this issue for another day. It is true that all the problems I outlined in the post on Modernism in the Anglican Church are present in the Catholic Church. In many ways the effects have been even more devastating. At least the Anglicans with their good taste have preserved beautiful liturgy, architecture and sacred music in the midst of the modernism. Many...

J.Lee Grady didn't wait for an economic recession to battle the prosperity gospel. He has been fighting it for years. Grady is the editor of Charisma, the magazine that serves as a gathering tent for Pentecostal and charismatic Christians. Its columns and advertisements feature some of the most prominent names in the movement—and some of the most frequent targets of Grady's criticism.Other evangelicals have long criticized the teaching that God promises his followers wealth and happiness. But few within the movement have made their calls for repentance so public."Martin Luther had to say something, or they were going to keep...

Sister Sobodka said: "Several times he (Pope John Paul) would put himself through bodily penance. "We would hear it – we were in the next room at Castel Gandolfo. You could hear the sound of the blows when he flagellate himself. He did it when he was still capable of moving on his own." The flagellation is also confirmed by another bishop who has given testimony. Emery Kabongo was a secretary for Pope John Paul. "He would punish himself and in particular just before he ordained bishops and priests," he said. "I never actually saw it myself but several people...

Let's stay with this rebirth. What is the Church supposed to be? What kind of body is she meant to be? Her nature is always specified as being apostolic and catholic. What does that mean? Apostolic signifies the horizontal cross-connection of the Church through all the ages. She is first of all fixed to the historical origin in the eleven men whom Jesus chose (eleven were left, plus Matthias, who was elected to the office). This is not just some mythology or other, an invented piece of ideology, but is truly anchored in the historical events concerned with Jesus...

1. Gospel and legal mortification differ in their principles from which they proceed. Gospel mortification is from gospel principles, viz. the Spirit of God [Rom. 8. 13], 'If ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live'; Faith in Christ [Acts 15. 9], 'Purifying their hearts by faith'; The love of Christ constraining [2 Cor. 5. 14], 'The love of Christ constraineth us.' But legal mortification is from legal principles such as, from the applause and praise of men, as in the Pharisees; from pride of self-righteousness, as in Paul before his conversion; from the fear...

Featured Term (selected at random):PASCHAL CANDLE A large candle in which five grains of incense have been incased as a symbol of Christ's wounds. It is blessed on Holy Saturday in a special service and is symbolic of the Risen Savior, Light of the World. It is then used in the blessing of baptismal water and remains during the Paschal season in the sanctuary, where it is lighted during liturgical services. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Pope John Paul II regularly whipped himself in a sign of "remorse for his sins", a nun has claimed. The Pope, who died five years ago, is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church. As part of the Vatican's investigation thousands of documents have been collected and examined by officials from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Among them is the testimony of Tobiana Sobodka, a Polish nun of the Sacred Heart of Jesus order, who worked for Pope John Paul in his private Vatican apartments and at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome. Sister Sobodka...

Offer Praise Continually Today's Scripture "Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name" (Hebrews 13:15, NLT) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Praise is a powerful weapon. Many times in the Old Testament when God's people would go into battle, they would send the worshipers out first. That's because praise precedes the victory. When you live a life that offers Him continual praise, you are setting yourself up to see continual victory. Praise is more than just singing songs in church on Sunday. In fact, praise isn't even...

The Distraction of Contempt "Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt" —Psalm 123:3 What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. "Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously" ( Malachi 2:16 ). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we...

I Corinthians 10:1-13 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things...

Shallow and Profound "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" —1 Corinthians 10:31 Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others...

The Priesthood and the Mass Theologian Notes the Priest's Privileged Role By Father Mauro Gagliardi VATICAN CITY, NOV. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI proclaimed, as everyone knows, the Year for Priests (June 2009-June 2010), on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the "dies natalis" of the holy Curé d'Ars. The purpose is "to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world"[1]. St. John Mary Vianney, besides concretely representing a supreme model of the priesthood, always proclaimed with clarity and incomparable emphasis the...

The world is under attack on numerous levels. But Christians live, not under demonic attacks, but under God's grace. When you go to sleep at night, thank God for His protective grace. When you wake up in the morning, thank God for His fatherly mercy watching over you.

In the various Christian traditions Marian doctrine and devotion take shape in manifold and diverse ways. Since the Second Vatican Council the Church has striven to promote a new and more careful study of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the mystery of Christ and of the Church; to encourage theological faculties in the pursuit of knowledge, research, and piety with regard to Mary of Nazareth. The Mother of the Lord is understood as a "datum of revelation" and a "maternal presence" always operative in the life of the Church. [1] The history of theological reflection witnesses...

One of the more commonly shared experiences of Protestant converts to the Catholic Church is the discovery of verses “we never saw.” Even after years of studying, preaching, and teaching the Bible, sometimes from cover to cover, all of a sudden a verse “we never saw” appears as if by magic and becomes an “Aha!” mind-opening, life-altering messenger of spiritual “doom”! Sometimes it’s just recognizing an alternate, clearer meaning of a familiar verse, but often, as with some of the verses mentioned below, it literally seems as if some Catholic had snuck in during the night and somehow put that...

Featured Term (selected at random):CANONICAL AGE The age of reason, fixed by canon law, when a person is permitted or required to receive the sacraments. It differs for various sacraments. For penance and the Eucharist it is commonly assumed to be at the age of reason. For religious profession and holding certain ecclesiastical offices the canonical age if further specified and widely varies. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Presentation Of The Blessed Virgin MaryFeast, November 21(Novena, November 12-20)1. Mary, Mother of God, tradition tells us that when you were three years of age, your parents, Joachim and Anne, took you to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill their vow. The holy couple offered you to God by the ministry of the priest in charge, who invoked the blessing of God upon you and your parents. How fervently your mother and father thanked God for having given you to them and begged Him to accept the offering which they were making! They then left a small offering of...

  Folks, after several false stars, we continue now with our exploration of Jewish and Christian themes with an examination of Christian and Jewish similarities convergences and divergences on the subject of prayer. I found the subject matter vast, fascinating, but somewhat complicated. I apologize because this brief study will hardly do any justice to the subject but I hope it will serve as a starting point for further, deeper study and reflection on this matter. Also, please, note that I had to further subdivide this subject into three posts. Otherwise it would’ve become long, boring, and unwieldy. I expect...

'It is Finished!' "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" —John 17:4 The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in...