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Click to PRE-ORDER I have been posting about the soon-to-be-released book by five cardinala and four scholars called Remaining In The Truth Of Christ. This book is a defense of the Catholic doctrine marriage. It is an important book, some of it may be hard for all readers to read, but it is worth the effort.It is still available for 25% off as a pre-order. HEREThus, I was please to find an EXCELLENT comment in the other entry, so good that I reproduce it here as a separate post.I want to thank PaterAugustinus for his honest evaluation of Orthodox oikonomia....

It is an unprecedented innovation in the history of the Church. With many unknowns still unresolved, and with serious risks already in play. An analysis by Roberto de MatteiROME, September 15, 2014 – That the figure of “pope emeritus” is an unprecedented innovation in the history of the Church, “instituted” by Benedict XVI himself in his act of resignation, has been recognized by Pope Francis himself, during the press conference on the airplane that brought him back from Korea to Rome last August I8. This does not change the fact that from both the juridical and the doctrinal point of...

Reading Scripture as a modern Catholic is a perpetual balance between extremes; among them, the extremes of farfetched skepticism and equally farfetched supernaturalism. For, unlike these extremes, the Faith takes both the unseen realities of the Spirit and the ordinary life of human beings seriously. It believes in both accountants and angels. But many people, seeing only one of these truths clearly, then proceed to use that pet truth as a cudgel against the truth they don't see. This came through to me loud and clear recently when a skeptical acquaintance (whom we shall call "Clarence") wrote on the Internet...

The Vocation To Love James Day “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child.”-          1 Corinthians 13:11There was life before the engagement and life after the engagement. For years, the thought of marriage was walled off as something unthinkable, remote. An unimaginative life choice for others, not for me. My reasoning, that only until a successful career had been established, ambitions realized, life lived, would I consider the married life.A rationality very much along the lines of childish thinking and reasoning.Little did I know beforehand—or even care to...

God has always existed, and He was perfectly fine without man. He always was, is and will always be. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were already having a good time together. Everything they do is good and fulfilling, and so they didn't need man in order to be complete. Nevertheless, God chose to create man and, through worship, allow him to get in on the joy. Man tends to think in wrong ways about this entire arrangement. Man is prone to assume that it's all about him. How foolish of man. It's always been about God, and...

Featured Term (selected at random:UNIAT CHURCHES Eastern Christians who profess the same doctrines as the rest of the Roman Catholic Church. Their rites and discipline, however, vary greatly from those of the Latin Rite. Their liturgies originated in Antioch, Alexandria, and Byzantium, and they usually have a married clergy. Nearly all Non-Uniat churches possess corresponding Uniat groups who have reacknowledged their allegiance to the Pope. the expression "Uniat," though found in theological literature, is seldom used by Eastern Catholics. They feel that it implies something less than complete allegiance to the Holy See. All items in this dictionary are from...

Arguments or Obedience " . . . the simplicity that is in Christ. —2 Corinthians 11:3 " Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put...

Is the Abrahamic Covenant Unconditional? Amillenarians believe that the Abrahamic Covenant is based on certain conditions, and its fulfillment hinges on these conditions being met. Premillenarians hold that the Abrahamic Covenant is a declaration of God’s intention which is not conditional upon the obedience of individuals or nations for its fulfillment—an unconditional plan of God. As given in the Scriptures, the Abrahamic Covenant is hinged upon only one condition. This is given in Genesis 12:1, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land...

In the post-Summorum world, the ancient Roman Rite can no longer be considered forbidden, dubious, marginal, or obsolete. It enjoys equal rights of citizenship with the Novus Ordo: two forms of the Roman Rite—one called Ordinary because most recently promulgated and more widely used, the other called Extraordinary, the usus antiquior, deserving respect for its venerable use—with each able to be freely celebrated by any priest of the Roman Rite, no special permission needed. One would think that, as a gesture of reconciliation at the heart of the Church, the two forms would be flourishing side by side, with Catholics...

One of the differences between Christians is that some believe in tradition -- Catholics and Orthodox -- and others -- the Protestants -- do away with tradition and believe in scripture, or Sola Scriptura. For the Catholics tradition is an important tool for understanding and they point to the fact that both Jesus -- who didn't leave written word -- and Apostles taught by tradition. So my question is, "Why were the Protestants so keen on removing tradition and relying so heavily on scripture, on Sola Scriptura?" Neither Paul nor Jesus ever said "You will only believe only what is...

Grace, Faith, and Works    Real Audio Lessons on this Topic Justification by Faith Alone? IJustification by Faith Alone? IIJustification by Faith Alone? IIIJustification by Faith Alone? IVWhat it means to be born againAre you saved? The Catholic position on salvation can be summed up thus: We are saved by Christ's grace alone, through faith and works done in charity inspired by the Holy Spirit.Sola gratia! Grace alone -- but a grace we have to co-operate with. Thinking that all one has to do is pray the "Sinner's Prayer" once to be saved is wrong. Thinking that all one...

Featured Term (selected at random:WHOLE CHRIST Christ in the fullness of his human and divine natures present in the Holy Eucharist. This means that the same Christ numerically is now present in heaven and in the Blessed Sacrament. There is nothing objectively lacking in the Eucharist of what constitutes Christ. He is there entirely. The only deficiency is the subjective one on the part of the believer, who cannot perceive him with the senses or even reason to his presence, but can only assent on faith that what seems to be bread and wine is really Jesus Christ. Moreover, Christ...

After Surrender— Then What? " I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4 " True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . ....

According to Latter-Day Saints (LDS, Mormon) President Orson Hyde, Jesus was married to several women, including Mary Magdalene, and had biological children. "..[In John 2,] Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and he told them what to do. Now there was actually a marriage; and if Jesus was not the bridegroom on that occasion, please tell who was. ... We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified. ... I do not despise to be called a son of...

Kerala, India, Sep 11, 2014 / 05:03 pm (CNA).- A former Muslim imam who converted to Christianity believes that God protected him from death threats and torture at the hands of his family members. “The holy Quran converted me to Christianity,” said Mario Joseph, a former imam who shared the story of his conversion and subsequent persecution with the HM Television program “Changing Tracks,” broadcast by the EUK Mamie Foundation run by the Home of the Mother religious community. The English-language interview, first posted in April 2014, now has more than 250,000 views on YouTube. Mario Joseph grew up in...

Ascend Today's Scripture “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (Psalm 24:3–5, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria You were meant to rise high in heavenly places. You were meant to stand with God above the cares of this life. But notice that this verse tells us that in order to...

Going Through Spiritual Confusion " Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ —Matthew 20:22 " There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.The Shrouding of His Friendship...

Featured Term (selected at random:JUBAL The son of Lamech and Adah in the line descended from Cain. He is described in Genesis as "the ancestor of the lyre and the flute." In modern parlance he might be called the Patron of the Musical Arts (Genesis 4:21). All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

He Makes All Things New Today's Scripture “And He Who is seated on the throne said, ‘See! I make all things new...’ ” (Revelation 21:5, AMP) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria When God puts a dream in your heart, when He puts a promise on the inside, He deposits within you everything you need to accomplish that dream. He wouldn’t give you the desire to do something without giving you the ability to fulfill it. In fact, the scripture tells us that God gives us the desires of our heart. In other words, He puts the desire inside...

Missionary Weapons (2) " If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet —John 13:14 " Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.The things Jesus did were the most menial...