Free Republic

November 8, 2009                                 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 11 Kgs 17:10-16 In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.As he arrived at the entrance of the city,a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her,"Please bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives,I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jarand a little...

Monday and Thrsday morning, 11/9 and 12Kohen--Genesis 23:1-7Levi--vs. 8-12Yisra'el--vs. 13-16 Strday 11/14--Shabbat Parashat Chayyei SarahMORNING Kohen--Genesis 23:1-16Levi--23:17-24:9Shelishi--24:10-26Revi`i--24:27-52Chamishi--24:53-67Shishi--25:1-11Shevi`i--25:12-18Maftir--25:16-18Haftarah--I Kings 1:1-31 EVENING Kohen--Genesis 25:19-22Levi--vs. 23-26Yisra'el--25:27-26:5

The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . ." —Romans 8:28 The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances...

November 7, 2009                                 Saturday of the Thirty-first Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 Brothers and sisters:Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,who risked their necks for my life,to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;greet also the Church at their house.Greet my beloved Epaenetus,who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.Greet Andronicus and Junia,my relatives and my fellow prisoners;they are prominent...

St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church of Louisville, Ky., offers so much in terms of historical significance, an orthodox faith community, and sheer physical beauty. My friend Sue said it best, shortly after my husband, Ken, and I moved to the parish: “This is the center of all things Catholic.” The parish is one of the oldest in the Louisville Archdiocese. Located east of downtown in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood, it was founded in 1853 by Bishop Martin John Spalding to help nearby St. Boniface parish serve its overflowing German-immigrant population.The bishop named the church in honor of his...

<p>PLEASE continue to pray for MarySecretary and her recovery from a successful kidney transplant operation.</p> <p>THANKS to everyone who has prayed. Please continue.</p> <p>From: April T. Subject: Mary Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, 8:41 AM I called the hospital this morning. They just brought Mary into her room a little before 8:00. Due to the out break of H1N1 in the Syracuse area visiting hours are restricted to 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.</p>

GANDEACTEUA (Gandeacteüa, Gandeaktena, Gandeaktewa, Gandiaktua, Ganneaktena), Catherine, an Erie belonging to the Cat nation, responsible for the founding of the Saint-François-Xavier mission at Prairie-de-la-Magdelaine (moved in 1717 to Caughnawaga); d. 1673 at the mission. In the autumn of 1654 the Mohawks completely razed Gentaienton, a Cat village, and before the end of the year they had annihilated this people of Iroquois stock, which had been established on the south shore of Lake Erie. Gandeacteua and her mother were carried off as slaves to the Oneida village of Ganouaroharé. The story is told that she soon won everyone’s heart. Towards 1656...

Speak Life Today's Scripture "The tongue has the power of life and death…" (Proverbs 18:21, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria God has given every person incredible power through the use of our words. Maybe you aren't where you want to be in life today, but could it be because of the words you've spoken in the past? Have you spoken words of death by saying things like, "I'll never rise any higher; I've gone as far as I can go"? Or maybe you've said, "I'll never break this addiction. I've had it too long. It's too hard."...

Russian Monasticism After Communism Interview With Orthodox Monk on Old and New Challenges By Antonio Gaspari ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Having survived Soviet Communism, Russian Orthodox monasticism now faces the new threat of secularization as it passes through a period of testing that only time can heal. Father Petr Mescerinov expressed these ideas as he discussed with ZENIT the new and enduring challenges of Russian monasticism. The hegumen (a title similar to abbot) of the St. Daniil Monastery of Moscow was in Italy for a conference on Eastern and Western monasticism. Father Mescerinov is vice-director of the Center for...

Intimate Theology "Do you believe this?" —John 11:26 Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— "Yes, Lord, I believe that You...

November 6, 2009                                     Friday of the Thirty-first Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 15:14-21 I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,that you yourselves are full of goodness,filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,because of the grace given me by Godto be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentilesin performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,so that the...

A recent convert recounted a conversation he had in his shop. It went something like this: A friend came in and said, "Hey, I hear you're a Mormon now." "Yep." "So, you worship Joseph Smith?" "Nope." "But other Mormons do, right?" "Nope. Not a one of 'em." The convert explained that Joseph needed a Savior like the rest of us do. He was "just a prophet." "Just a prophet?" "Yep. But a really great one." "How so?" "Had a big job on hand, putting things back that were lost for, like, centuries. Had to do it all before he died...

Pope Benedict XVI (C) arrives to lead a mass to commemorate cardinals and bishops who died this year, in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican November 5, 2009. Vatican City, Nov 5, 2009 / 11:17 am (CNA).- This morning, Pope Benedict celebrated a Mass for the souls of the cardinals and bishops who have died over the past year.  In his homily, the Holy Father described death as “an enigma charged with anxiety,” and noted the importance of faith, hope and mercy in times “of human sadness and distress.”The Mass, which is a traditional November occurrence, was concelebrated by members...

This alone might put an end to liturgical dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxwV08YsKCg&feature=player_embedded

In Everything Today's Scripture "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (Thessalonians 5:18, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Are you giving thanks in every circumstance? This might seem like a stretch at first, especially when you are going through a season of difficulty. But notice today's verse doesn't say to give thanks "for" everything, it says give thanks "in" everything. In other words, no matter what's going on, find something to be thankful for. Don't just focus on what's wrong in your life; focus on what God will do...

Partakers of His Suffering ". . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . ." —1 Peter 4:13 If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, "Oh, I can’t deal with that person." Why...

November 5, 2009                                    Thursday of the Thirty-first Week                                in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 14:7-12 Brothers and sisters:None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Why then do you judge your brother or sister?Or you, why do you look down on...

Find a Reason Today's Scripture "For this I will give thanks and extol You, O Lord, among the nation; I will sing praises to Your name" (II Samuel 22:50, AMP) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Any time you're tempted to get discouraged, the quickest way out is to stop focusing on what you don't have and start thanking God for what you do have. You have to find a reason to be grateful! Being grateful will lift you out of depression and discouragement. Being grateful can help turn a relationship around. It can even save a marriage! It's...

The Authority of Truth "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" —James 4:8 It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds...

November 4, 2009                                 Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week                                 in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 13:8-10 Brothers and sisters:Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;you shall not kill;you shall not steal;you shall not covet,and whatever other commandment there may be,are summed up in this saying, namely,You shall love your neighbor as yourself.Love does no evil to the neighbor;hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Responsorial...

Retrain Your Mind Today's Scripture "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind…" (Romans 12:2, AMP) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Many people today don't realize that the reason they're not happy, the reason they're not enjoying life is simply because they've trained their minds in the wrong direction. They've trained their mind to worry. They've trained their mind to complain. They've trained their mind to see the negative. But just as we can form these negative...

A Bondservant of Jesus "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . ." —Galatians 2:20 These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my...

November 3, 2009                                     Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week                             in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 12:5-16ab Brothers and sisters:We, though many, are one Body in Christand individually parts of one another.Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,let us exercise them:if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;if ministry, in ministering;if one is a teacher, in teaching;if one exhorts, in exhortation;if one contributes, in generosity;if one is over others, with diligence;if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness....

ELCA Resource Addresses 'Worship in Times of Public Health Concerns' CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The declaration of a national emergency has raised a number of questions across the United States about safely assembling for school and worship during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Worship and Liturgical Resources answered many of those questions in a resource titled "Worship in Times of Public Health Concerns." U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Oct. 24 proclamation that "the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the United States constitutes a national emergency." The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services had...

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once said so well, one major difference between Protestants and Catholics is that Catholics pray for the dead: "My view is that if Purgatory did not exist, we should have to invent it." Why? "Because few things are as immediate, as human and as widespread—at all times and in all cultures—as prayer for one"s own departed dear ones." Calvin, the Reformer of Geneva, had a woman whipped because she was discovered praying at the grave of herson and hence was guilty, according to Calvin, of superstition". "In theory, the Reformation refuses to accept Purgatory, and...

Finished with Fear Today's Scripture "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline" (II Timothy 1:7, NLT) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria So many people today are living with less than God's best because they've allowed fear to stop them from pursuing their dreams. We have to remember that fear is not from God. It's a lie from the enemy to paralyze us and steal our power. Today's verse tells what God has given us: power, love, and self-discipline or self-control. When you are confident in God's promises,...

Obedience or Independence? "If you love Me, keep My commandments" —John 14:15 Our Lord never insists obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an "If," meaning, "You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so." "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . ." ( Luke 9:23 ). In other words, "To be...

November 2, 2009                                        The Commemoration of                                         All the Faithful Departed                                         (All Souls)                                                        (The following readings are selected                                                             from the options for this day.)             Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Wis 3:1-9 The souls of the just are in the hand of God,and no torment shall touch them.They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;and...

Pope Benedict prays the Angelus from the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square Vatican City, Nov 1, 2009 / 09:58 am (CNA).- To the faithful gathered on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI presented the communion of saints, a “beautiful and comforting” reality that says “we are never alone.”  In particular he held up the ancient cult of martyrs in the early Church, and in this Year for Priests, “the saintly priests, both those canonized…and those many more that are known to the Lord.” Pope Benedict also spoke of Monday’s commemoration of the...

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Psalm 103:1 This is the season when we in the United States tend to turn our thoughts to thankfulness for the blessings of prosperity and peacefulness. And well we should. Our country, with all of its struggles, is still the most emulated and sought after civilization of the modern world. And, in spite of the efforts on the part of some, it is still a nation of moral laws and religious stability. We have much to be thankful for...

"You Are Not Your Own" "Do you not know that . . . you are not your own?" —1 Corinthians 6:19 There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for...

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC LECTIONARY WEBSITE by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.Lectionary StatisticsHow much of the Bible is included in the Lectionary for Mass? Not as much as you might think, yet far more than was included in the Roman Missal before the Second Vatican Council!The bishops assembled at Vatican II declared, "The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly so that a richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God's word. In this way the more significant part of the Sacred Scriptures will be read to the people over a fixed...

November 1, 2009                                        Solemnity of All Saints       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Rv 7:2-4, 9-14 I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,holding the seal of the living God.He cried out in a loud voice to the four angelswho were given power to damage the land and the sea,“Do not damage the land or the sea or the treesuntil we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,one hundred and forty-four thousand markedfrom every tribe of the children of...

According to media reports, Pope Benedict XVI is continuing his efforts to return some disaffected Catholic traditionalists to the “fold.” In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) were at odds with the papacy on several issues resulting from the council, which both sides viewed as fundamental.  Lefebvre and five others were automatically excommunicated in 1988, when he consecrated four bishops. However, the excommunication of the four surviving bishops was lifted earlier this year as part of the present pope’s outreach to the Traditionalist Catholics. According to the Associated...

Monday and Thrsday morning, 11/2 and 5Kohen--Genesis 18:1-5Levi--vs. 6-8Yisra'el--vs. 9-14 Strday 11/7--Shabbat Parashat VaYera'MORNING Kohen--Genesis 18:1-14Levi--18:15-33Shelishi--19:1-20Revi`i--19:21-21:4Chamishi--21:5-21Shishi--21:22-34Shevi`i--22:1-24Maftir--22:20-24Haftarah--II Kings 4:1-37 EVENING Kohen--Genesis 23:1-7Levi--vs. 8-12Yisra'el--vs. 13-16

I donÂ’t recall his source, but Thomist scholar Dr. F. F. Centore used to point out to us that according to Aquinas, women make better saints than men. And back in the early 80s, I recall reading Butler's Lives of the Saints and being struck by just how much female saints outnumber male saints; I believe it is by about two thirds. And one cannot read the Latin Fathers for a reasonable stretch without coming across the notion that the Church is a woman. She is the bride of Christ and the Mother of Christians. As St. Augustine comments on...

Some of our priests, particularly those who are celebrating the modern Roman liturgy ad orientem liturgicum, may be interested to know that finding an altar card for the modern form of the Roman liturgy just got quite a bit easier. Myriad Creative Concepts, in close consultation with a few priests who have used this type of altar card, have just finalized development of just such a thing for the Latin version of the modern Roman liturgy. (The company could also easily produce customized vernacular versions or Latin-vernacular versions at request they also tell me.) Evidently, some priests may wish to...

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2009 / 12:13 pm (CNA).- In an extensive clarification released on Saturday by the Vatican press office, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. made clear, on behalf of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Levada, that there is no “celibacy issue” delaying the publication of the Constitution that will establish the context in which Anglicans can be received into the Catholic Church.In a statement released in English –breaking the common use of Italian- Fr. Lombardi explained that “there has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by an Italian...

The Trial of Faith "If you have faith as a mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible for you" —Matthew 17:20 We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith— faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a...

October 31, 2009                                 Saturday of the Thirtieth Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29 Brothers and sisters:I ask, then, has God rejected his people?  Of course not!For I too am a child of Israel, a descendant of Abraham,of the tribe of Benjamin.God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah,how he pleads with God against Israel? Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not!But...

ELCA NEWS SERVICE October 30, 2009 Paul Manz, Distinguished Lutheran Organist, Composer and Teacher, Dies 09-244-JB/FI* CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Paul O. Manz, a well-known Lutheran organist, composer, church musician and teacher, died Oct. 28 after several weeks of hospice care in St. Paul, Minn. Manz, 90, was surrounded by family at his death as they sang "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come," his most famous choral work. A memorial service is planned for Nov. 8 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, said Manz's son, the Rev. John C. Manz, a pastor at Gloria Dei, where the elder Manz attended....

Recently I attended a Catholic service in a church, and a diocese, which shall remain nameless. This is not because there is anything scandalous to report, but because I’m about to compare it to a 1970s department store. Then, after Vatican II, its interior was modernised. But we’re not talking savage reordering here: just the usual wall-to-wall carpeting of the sanctuary, removal of the altar rails and – unforgivably, not least because it makes a nonsense of the high altar – the removal of the tabernacle to… somewhere. Sometimes you walk into a modern Catholic church and think: this is...

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield announced this summer that 19 Catholic Churches are closing leaving many fighting to keep their places of worship open or looking for another church. We found local Catholic churches that are not part of the Roman Catholic diocese but are Catholic and run their church democratically. Laurie Costello, member of National Catholic Church, says, "We came from the Roman Catholic Church and we just weren't happy with the way things ran." Laurie Costello and her family changed churches 5 years ago when the Springfield Diocese closed the Roman Catholic school she grew up in....

Growing in Faith Today's Scripture "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Did you know that your faith in God can grow and increase every single day? Notice today's scripture doesn't say, "Faith comes because you have heard the Word of God one time." No, it says that "faith comes by hearing"–in the present tense. Sure, God's Word can transform us in an instant; but most of the time, we need to hear God's principles over and over again before they become active in our lives....

Faith "Without faith it is impossible to please Him . . ." —Hebrews 11:6 Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense and faith are as different from each other as the natural life is from the spiritual, and as impulsiveness is from inspiration. Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common...

October 30, 2009                                     Friday of the Thirtieth Week                                    in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 9:1-5 Brothers and sisters:I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witnessthat I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christfor the sake of my own people,my kindred according to the flesh. They are children of Israel;theirs the adoption, the glory,...

Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. It's easy to forget sometimes that being a child of God, having the privilege of calling God our Father is itself a gift -- that you and I have no personal claims, no right to be called a "child of God" apart from the grace that comes to us in our Lord Jesus Christ.  The fact that you and I have been made sons and daughters of our heavenly Father is pure gift.  As it says in...

Line up Your Heart Today's Scripture "…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (I Samuel 16:7, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria When the Lord looks at your heart, what does He see? Every one has an outer life and an inner life. The outer life is our public life that people around us see. The inner life is made up of our thoughts, attitudes, and motives. Only you and God know what's going on inside of you. Too many people...

Substitution "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" —2 Corinthians 5:21 The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was "made. . . to be sin. . . ." Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is...

October 29, 2009                                 Thursday of the Thirtieth Week                                     in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 8:31b-39 Brothers and sisters:If God is for us, who can be against us?He did not spare his own Sonbut handed him over for us all,how will he not also give us everything else along with him?Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?It is God who acquits us.Who will condemn?It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,who also is at the right hand of God,who...