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Featured Term (selected at random:ACACIANS Heretical sect named after Acacius of Caesarea (d. 366), who refused to accept the Nicene term homoousios (one in being with) the Father in reference to Christ. They claimed that Christ was merely homoios (like) the Father. Also called Semi-Arians and Homoeans. According to St. Jerome the leader of the Acacians was nominated Felix, the antipope, in 358. In the next century another Acacius, who was Patriarch of Constantinople (471-89), provoked the Acacian Schism with Rome by his compromise with the monophysites. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary,...

Courage and Encourage FR. JOHN HARVEYCourage is the Catholic Church's only pontifically approved ministry which is specifically committed to providing spiritual support for persons with same-sex attraction who are striving to live chastely, offering help to grow in understanding with others toward living more fully the Church's teachings. Notice to Reader: "The Boards of both CERC Canada and CERC USA are aware that the topic of homosexuality is a controversial one that deeply affects the personal lives of many North Americans. Both Boards strongly reiterate the Catechism's teaching that people who self-identify as gays and lesbians must be treated...

Does He Know Me . . . ? " He calls his own . . . by name . . . —John 10:3 " When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person’s soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never...

Unlimited Supply Today's Scripture “And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe. ...” (Ephesians 1:19, AMP) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria If someone had a thousand gallons of water to give you but you only had a one-gallon container, you wouldn’t be able to receive what they had for you. The problem would not be with the supply; it would be with your ability to receive. If you would get rid of the small container and get something larger, then...

The Evidence of the New Birth " You must be born again —John 3:7 " The answer to Nicodemus’ question, “How can a man be born when he is old?” is: Only when he is willing to die to everything in his life, including his rights, his virtues, and his religion, and becomes willing to receive into himself a new life that he has never before experienced (John 3:4). This new life exhibits itself in our conscious repentance and through our unconscious holiness.“But as many as received Him. . .” (John 1:12). Is my knowledge of Jesus the result...

Gary Sinise – actor, director, bass player, patriot, philanthropist and convert to Catholicism – was a surprise guest at the Knights of Columbus’ annual convention in Orlando earlier this month. The person who was most surprised about being there may have been Gary Sinise himself. He confessed that “he and his family weren’t part of any religion” until his wife returned to her mother’s abandoned Catholic roots in 2000 and he subsequently slow-walked his way to Confirmation in 2010. He recounted his initial shock and eventual support of his wife’s decision in an interview several years ago. He’d been filming...

Featured Term (selected at random:VICAR CAPITLAR A cleric appointed by the cathedral chapter to administer a vacant episcopal diocese. The bishop's ordinary spiritual and temporal jurisdiction becomes the responsibility of the chapter when a vacancy occurs. But the chapter in turn must elect a vicar to assume this authority within a specified short period of time. when a diocese has no chapter, the board of consulters or its equivalent elects an administrator. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. 

New Thinking, New Living Today's Scripture “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Are you ready for increase? Are you ready to go to the next level, spiritually, physically and emotionally? Many times, people hear that God has more in store and something resonates on the inside. Their spirit comes into agreement with God, but oftentimes, their natural mind will be bombarded...

The Discipline of the Lord " My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him —Hebrews 12:5 " It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. If our experience of being set apart from sin and being made holy through the process of sanctification is still very shallow, we tend to mistake the reality of God for something else. And when the Spirit of God gives us a sense...

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.(Leviticus 23:1-2)God has laid out in many ways the future of Israel and of the world. Prophecy is one of them, the Song of Moses for example, Another way that the Lord has clearly told His people and whoever has ears to hear, what the future would be, is in the Festal Holidays of Israel. The word ‘feasts’ in the above cited scripture, is literally,”Appointed...

In an emotionally charged meeting Wednesday, parishioners of Holy Family Catholic Church in northwest suburban Inverness voiced opinions over the firing of their longtime music director, who lost his job after announcing his engagement to his male partner on social media. Many of the roughly 700 people who attended appeared to support Colin Collette, who received a standing ovation when he entered the sanctuary. Members of the media were not allowed to attend, but parishioners described the scene afterward. Collette was terminated from the job he held for 17 years in late July, after being told that his same-sex relationship...

One of the favorite taunts of the New Atheists is that religious people believe in an “invisible friend.” They are implying, of course, that religion is little more than a pathetic exercise in wishful thinking, a reversion to childish patterns of projection and self-protection. It is well past time, they say, for believers to grow up, leave their cherished fantasies behind, and face the real world. In offering this characterization, the New Atheists are showing themselves to be disciples of the old atheists such as Feuerbach, Marx, Comte, and Freud, all of whom made more or less similar observations. Well,...

Featured Term (selected at random:MATERIALLY EVIL Something that is objectively a moral evil, and therefore sinful, but a person does it either without knowing it is wrong, or under duress and without internal consent to the evil. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

1 Timothy 5:17, James 5:14-15, and other verses refer to the (ordained) ministerial priesthood. 1 Peter 2:9 refers to the "priesthood" of the laity. The ministers handle preaching and the Sacraments. The laity simply participate. Scripture makes a strong distinction.ierateuma/hierateuma (lay priesthood, Greek, Strong's #2406) [1 Peter 2:9, Lexicon] sacerdotium (lay priesthood, Latin) [1 Peter 2:9] presbuteroi/presbyteros (ministerial priesthood, Greek, Strong's #4245) [1 Timothy 5:17, James 5:14-15, Lexicon] presbyteri/presbyteros (ministerial priesthood, Latin) [1 Timothy 5:17, James 5:14-15] —Follow me, Answering Protestants, and Catholic Analysis on Twitter, Like Answering Protestants and Catholic Analysis on Facebook, Add Answering Protestants and Catholic Analysis...

Delete & Repeat Today's Scripture “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Are you allowing negative thoughts to stifle your potential? Why don’t you start hitting the delete button? The experts may have told you that things are impossible or how it’s not going to work out, but those people don’t know what God has in store. He has the final say. He wouldn’t have placed that dream in your heart or given you that promise if He didn’t have a way to bring...

“Do Not Quench the Spirit” " Do not quench the Spirit —1 Thessalonians 5:19 " The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still...

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a...

Featured Term (selected at random:GLEBE  A land permanently assigned for maintaining a parish. A glebe house is a parsonage or manse.All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Believe God over the “Experts” Today's Scripture “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27, KJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Did you know that according to all the laws of aerodynamics, a bumblebee should not be able to fly? Its wingspan is too small for the size of its body. It can’t get enough lift. But here’s the key: Nobody told the bumblebee. It didn’t get the memo. No experts were...

The Theology of Resting in God " Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26 " When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do...