Free Republic

Dolly’s right that all should be treated with love and kindness, but when we refuse to label sin a sin, we’re doing more harm than good. Fifty years after her original rise to stardom, Dolly Parton has released her highest-charting album and is more beloved than ever before. Initially known for her songwriting skills and beauty, Parton has entered her golden years as a “secular American saint.” In a world where division is the default, she collects fans of every political stripe, refusing to denigrate anyone, and regularly proclaims, “I love everybody,” when asked how she does it. This response...

The Synodal Church is Shaping Up to be Protestantism in Union with a Bishop of Rome In his 1928 encyclical on religious unity, Mortalium Animos, Pope Pius XI wrote that Christian unity can only be achieved through the process of non-Catholics returning to the “one true Church”:“[T]he union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it. To the one true Church of Christ, we say, which is visible to all, and which is to remain,...

“Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. And as for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm” (Daniel 1:18-20). God always equips you for the tasks He requires of you. Daniel and...

“Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons – because they rebelled against the words of God…therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help” (Psalm 107:10-12, NKJV). They were bound in affliction because they rebelled against God and rejected his counsel (see Psalm 107:11). Beloved, could this be you? You have sat under godly preaching, and the Holy Spirit has convicted you, but still you are miserable and continue to sin. When a person willfully disobeys God, our tendency is to hide and...

Are you facing trouble in your business or career? As you read the following verses, be reminded that career people here are likened to seamen in ships. The great waters signify the big world of competition, an ocean of activity. “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. . . Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like...

“As for [Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego], God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17). Godly wisdom guards against the influences of a godless society. From the beginning of human history Satan has tried to confuse and confound God’s purposes by corrupting man’s thinking. In the Garden of Eden he succeeded by calling God’s character into question and convincing Eve that her disobedience would have no consequences. To this day he continues to deceive entire civilizations by blinding “the minds of the unbelieving, that...

This Sunday we pick up with the Tenth Sunday in Year B on this Lord’s Day. We are still near the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, following Our Lord’s early ministry. On this Sunday, the readings are tied together by the theme of defeating Satan. 1. Our first reading recalls the sorry introduction of Satan’s influence into human history: First Reading: Genesis 3:9-15After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was...

“So [the king’s overseer] listened to [Daniel and his friends] in this matter and tested them for ten days. And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables” (Daniel 1:14-16). All spiritual commitment will be tested. When God wants to prove the quality of one’s commitment, He tests it. The test may come directly from Him, as with Abraham when God...

“The commander of the officials said to Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.’ But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ‘Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in...

Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death” (Psalm 107:17-18, NKJV). According to the dictionary, a fool is someone who lacks judgment or good sense, one who does silly things without thinking of the consequences. What could be more foolish and unthinkable than indulging in sexual activity with an unknown person? The whole world knows that sexually transmitted diseases are an international problem, and yet people all over the world are still contracting them. People simply refuse to be alarmed....

Day of Reparation for the Crimes against the Most Holy EucharistEditor’s note: this is the original call for the Eucharistic crusade by Bishop Schneider from the year of the reign of Jesus Christ, MMXX, and this is the day which he calls every parish to embrace on the Octave day of Corpus Christi. The sins against the Blessed Sacrament and the need of a crusade of Eucharistic reparationTHERE HAS NEVER been in the history of the Church a time where the sacrament of the Eucharist has been abused and outraged to such an alarming and grievous extent as in the...

Making Reparation For the Offenses Against the Sacred Heart of Jesus That Have Grown Progressively Worse Since Vatican IIIn his June 5, 2024 General Audience, Francis announced his intention to publish a document on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in September:“We are passing through this month dedicated to the Sacred Heart. . . This is why I am pleased to prepare a document that brings together the precious reflections of previous Magisterial texts and a long history that goes back to the Sacred Scriptures, in order to re-propose today, to the whole Church, this devotion imbued with spiritual...

“Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials” (Daniel 1:9). God’s favor is the rich reward of obedience. God delights in granting special grace and favor to those whose hearts are set on pleasing Him. For example, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” and was spared the ravages of the Flood (Gen. 6:8). Joseph found favor in His sight and was elevated to prominence in Egypt (Gen. 39—41). God granted Moses and the children of Israel favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and they were able to plunder...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis Appoints Homosexualists to Shape DoctrineRecently, Pope Francis appointed three new members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Notably—according to the reporting of Vatican expert Edward Pentin—all three can be linked to concerning statements, actions, or alliances regarding the topic of homosexuality. The three prelates are Archbishop Bruno Forte, Cardinal Jose Tolentino de Mendonca, and Cardinal Marcello Semeraro.Archbishop Bruno ForteForte is well-known to those who followed the 2014-2015 Synods on the Family. In 2014, as the synod’s special secretary, Forte wrote a manipulated report on, among other things, the “precious support” found in same-sex relationships....

Isaiah chapter four opens with a concise and tragic description of what I call the church of forgiveness only. “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, ‘We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach.’” (Isaiah 4:1, NKJV). I believe we are living in the last days, and this chapter in Isaiah is one of the clearest prophecies about how the church will look just prior to the coming of the Lord. The seven would-be brides that Isaiah mentions...

“And the king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service. . . . But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself” (Daniel 1:5,8). Godly integrity is built upon the foundation of biblical authority. From the...

“Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abed-nego” (Daniel 1:6-7). You can’t always prevent personal loss, but you can respond to it in ways that glorify God. It was a quiet January morning in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California until suddenly and without warning the earth shook with such a violent force that many department stores, apartment houses, homes, and freeway overpasses crumbled...

[Catholic Caucus] The Bible is a 'love letter' says Francis in preface for Fr. James Martin's bookPope Francis has written a preface for the Italian edition of Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle, a book by Jesuit Fr. James Martin. Originally published in the U.S. in September 2023, Martin's work delves into the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, which he dubs "Jesus's greatest miracle." The pope's preface not only highlights the themes of the book, but also offers a glimpse into his own theological and pastoral perspectives."I was surprised, delighted and of course very grateful. It was...

“Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding, and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. . . . Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah” (Daniel 1:3-4, 6). Man values physical beauty and...

Pope Francis claimed Our Lady ‘unites’ Christians and Muslims. Here’s why that’s wrongPope Francis paid a visit to detainees at Verona’s Montorio Prison and stated to applause that 'the figure of Mary is a figure common to both Christianity and Islam. She is a common figure; she unites us all.'Catholics may be surprised to learn that the Vatican is exaggerating the similarities between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the figure of Mary, Mother of Jesus, as she appears in the Koran and Muslim hadiths (traditions about Muhammad, the founder of Islam).On May 18 this year, Pope Francis paid a visit...