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Proverb 22 (NKJV) The Value of a Good Name 01 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, 00 Loving favor rather than silver and gold. 02 The rich and the poor have this in common, 00 The LORD is the maker of them all. 03 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, 00 But the simple pass on and are punished. 04 By humility and the fear of the LORD 00 Are riches and honor and life. 05 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; 00 He who guards his soul...

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,...

Archdiocese of Washington Living the Lessons of Love – A Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter Msgr. Charles Pope • May 20, 2017 • In the Gospel for today’s Mass, Jesus gives us three lessons on love meant to prepare us for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They also go a long way in describing the normal Christian life.Too many Christians see the Faith more as a set of rules to keep than as a love that transforms—if we accept it. Let’s take a look at the revolutionary life of love and grace that the Lord...

A new Gallup poll shows that only 24% of Americans believe the Bible is the “literal word” of God, which is a decline from the 1970s, but the survey also shows that the number of Americans who think the Bible is the “inspired word” of God, 47%, has stayed pretty steady over the last 40 years. In addition, an overwhelming majority of Americans, 71%, believe the Bible is a holy document, inspired by God or containing God’s own words. “Fewer than one in four Americans (24%) now believe the Bible is ‘the actual word of God, and is to be...

Remaining in the Lord Msgr. Charles Pope • May 16, 2017 • The text from today’s Gospel (Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter) speaks of the need to remain in the Lord.Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me...

Proverb 20 (NKJV) Wine Is a Mocker 01 Wine is a mocker, 00 Strong drink is a brawler, 00 And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. 02 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; 00 Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life. 03 It is honorable for a man to stop striving, 00 Since any fool can start a quarrel. 04 The lazy man will not plow because of winter; 00 He will beg during harvest and have nothing. 05 Counsel in the heart of man is like...

It is “the big mistake” that is likely to be made at all levels of the Church. Pope Francis reiterated today, May 19, 2017, in the homily at Casa Santa Marta: true doctrine unites, but if instead it becomes ideology, it divides.   The Pontiff – as reported by Vatican Radio - meditates on the First Reading of the Acts of the Apostles, in which the so-called Jerusalem Council , around the year 49, establishes that pagans converted to Christianity should not circumcise according to what the Mosaic Law requires. The Pope notes that even in the first Christian community there...

Note: My learned EWTN “Papal Posse” colleague, Fr. Murray, dissects today a phenomenon all too common in the Church just now – Churchmen who, on the basis of no one knows what, casually change Catholic teaching and practice. He directs us back to the saving and safe reality of truth. This is something that, in one way or another, we try to do every day at The Catholic Thing. Our fund drive is doing well so far and thanks again to all of you who have made generous contributions to this work. Let me remind the rest of you...

When a Priest Should Not Sing - A Reflection on an Often-Forgotten Rubric Msgr. Charles Pope • May 14, 2017 • I received a question last month in my Question and Answer Column at Our Sunday Visitor that I answered only briefly. I’d like to expand on it here.The new priest in our parish just stands there at the altar when we sing the acclamations such as the mystery of faith, the great Amen, Lamb of God, etc. The previous pastor sang loudly with us. Should he not participate more fervently in these acclamations? – Name withheldActually, his stance...

The twelve apostles included "James the son of Zebedee" (Matt. 10:2). Zeal without sensitivity can destroy your life and ministry. There's the story of a Norwegian pastor whose motto was "All or nothing!" His life and preaching were stern, strong, powerful, uncompromising, and utterly insensitive. Reportedly the people in his church didn't care much for him because he didn't care much for them. In his zeal and ambition to advance the kingdom and uphold God's standard, he neglected everything else—including his own family. One day his little daughter became so ill the doctor warned him that if he didn't move...

“‘And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock’” (Matthew 7:25). Faithfulness in discipleship will mean we are prepared for the worst possible adversity and trial. People are often unprepared for life’s unexpected upheavals. This was vividly illustrated by the once-in-500-year floods that struck the Northern Plains of the United States in the spring of 1997. One community on the Red River in North Dakota was especially devastated by the surprising events. After working diligently for days to...

I want to begin by saying Happy Mothers Day to each and every Freeper Mom at FreeRepublic. Proverb 14 (NKJV) The Ways of Life and Death 01 The wise woman builds her house, 00 But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. 02 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, 00 But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him. 03 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, 00 But the lips of the wise will preserve them. 04 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; 00 But much increase...

Mother’s Day is a joyous observance for most of the 85 percent of women who have borne a child by age 40. But not so much for women who have neither procreated nor adopted, who find Mother’s Day a painful reminder of their childlessness. Perhaps they squandered years on a relationship that resulted in neither marriage nor children. Perhaps they were so career-driven they had no room in their lives for a husband and offspring. Or perhaps they wed and tried to have children, but their wombs were barren. For women of faith despairing on this Mother’s Day that they...

Are You a Tombstone or a Living Stone? – A Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter Msgr. Charles Pope • May 13, 2017 • By His resurrection, Jesus has brought us from death to life. He has snatched us from this present evil age (Gal 1:4) and from the death-directed desires of our body (Rom 6:12), and made us into a new and living creation (2 Cor 5:17). As such, we have exchanged the tombstones that once indicated we were dead in our sins and have become living stones in the spiritual edifice that is the Body of...

♥MAY 14 MORNING ♥The fellowship of His sufferings. ♥It is enough for the disciple that he be as His master, and the servant as his Lord. ♥He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. ♥In the world ye shall have tribulation. ♥Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. ♥I looked for some to take pity, but there was none. ♥At...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Our Lady of Fatima Saint of the Day for May 13  The Story of Our Lady of Fatima Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese children–Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia dos Santos–received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. Mary asked the children to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners, and for the conversion of Russia.Mary gave the children three secrets. Following the deaths of Francisco and Jacinta in 1919 and...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: “Flavia Domitilla van Terracina, Nereus en Achilleus” | Peter Paul RubensSaints Nereus and Achilleus Saint of the Day for May 12 (? – ?)  Saints Nereus and Achilleus’ Story Devotion to these two saints goes back to the fourth century, though almost nothing is known of their lives. They were praetorian soldiers of the Roman army, became Christians, and were removed to the island of Terracina, where they were martyred. Their bodies were buried in a family vault, later known as the cemetery of Domitilla. Excavations by De Rossi in 1896 resulted in the...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Statue of Saint Ignatius of Laconi | Unknown Saint Ignatius of Laconi Saint of the Day for May 11 (December 17, 1701 – May 11, 1781) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMay11.mp3 Saint Ignatius of Laconi’s Story Ignatius is another sainted begging brother.He was the second of seven children of peasant parents in Sardinia. His path to the Franciscans was unusual. During a serious illness, Ignatius vowed to become a Capuchin if he recovered. He regained his health but ignored the promise. When he was 20, a riding accident prompted Ignatius to renew the pledge, which he acted on the...

I have been in the church for over twenty years now. I’ll never forget my first experience in a real Bible-believing, Spirit-filled, grace-singing church. I was surprised people enjoyed being there, floored that they knew the words to the songs, and freaked out that they talked about their faith when they weren’t at church. I saw spouses doting over each other, kids being respectful, and college students staying sober. It had a tremendous effect on me — I was sold on the church. Twenty years later, I have felt the pains of being in church. I have felt the pain...

The twelve apostles included "James the son of Zebedee" (Matt. 10:2). God can use overzealous and ambitious people for His glory. Like Peter and Andrew, James and John were fishermen. One day as Jesus walked the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He saw them in a boat with their father Zebedee and some hired servants. When Jesus called them to follow Him, they immediately left the boat and went with Him (Mark 1:19- 20). James and John were zealous and ambitious men—so much so that Jesus nicknamed them "Boanerges," which means, "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). At times their...