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By Dr. John Bergsma [Pentecost Vigil Readings: Genesis 11:1-9 (Babel); Exodus 19:3-8a; 16-20b (Sinai); Ezekiel 37:1-14 (dry bones); Joel 3:1-5 (old men will dream, dreams…); Romans 8:22-27 (Spirit prays for us); John 7:37-39 (rivers of living water).(see separate thread for these readings)] Let's discuss the Readings for Pentecost Sunday Mass during the Day. The First Reading is the account of Pentecost itself, from Acts 2:1-11. 1When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. 2And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in...

PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - Plymouth Public Schools food services director Patrick Vancott has been arrested, officials say. The 62-year-old is accused of stealing food from the school district and sold it at his Cape Cod restaurant for profit. “There’s usually lots of lines here, so I’ve seen a lot of people enjoying food here on the beach,” said Ken Dautrich, who is familiar with the restaurant. At Vancott’s “Snack Shack” in Barnstable, there are items on the menu like hamburgers and lobster rolls. Investigators say Vancott used federal funds meant to feed children and ordered premium angus beef and lobster...

By Dr. John BergsmaPentecost is a very important feast in the liturgical life of the Church, and it has its own vigil. Not only so, but the Readings for the Vigil are particularly rich. I cannot think of another that has such a wide variety of options, for example, for the First Reading. Even though only one First Reading will be proclaimed in any given Mass, it is well worth pondering them all, in order to come to understand the significance of Pentecost more deeply: The First Reading Options for the Vigil: 1. Genesis 11:1-9, the Tower of Babel: The...

Trump's border czar has said the National Guard is mobilizing to enter the city of Los Angeles within hours amid tense standoffs between protesters and ICE agents. The dramatic move by the Trump administration came amid rising tensions between locals and immigration authorities as raids targeting illegal migrants take place at businesses across the city. 'We are going to bring the National Guard in tonight,' Tom Homan, President Trump's point man on border security, said on Fox News on Saturday evening. 'We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor (Karen) Bass should be thanking us.' But California Governor Gavin Newsom suggested...

Filthy street Marxists are currently battling ICE agents in Los Angeles as they conduct mass arrests of illegal aliens around the city. Five years ago, the weak, easily controlled apparatchiks were burning the nation's big, blue toilet cities in honor of saintly George Floyd. Today, they fight over the "rights" of illegal immigrants to remain in our country, where many are living on taxpayer dollars. As expected, some of the usual suspects have shown up. Check out the yobbo with the Palestinian flag. Why would someone bring a Palestinian flag to a riot over illegal immigrants? Because this riot isn't...

President Trump has rebuked California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s criticism of the administration’s handling of protests against ICE in Los Angeles County. Trump took to Truth Social following comments from Newsom on X, where the governor said, “the federal government is sowing chaos.” In a Truth Social post on Saturday night, the president wrote: “If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” A release from the White...

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Democratic candidate for Illinois' ninth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, said "every single person in the world deserves healthcare," even illegal immigrants. "How is it controversial?" Abughazaleh asked a CNN "NewsNight" panel on Thursday night. The young progressive candidate, with a campaign website that reads, "I don't have health insurance, and I'm running for Congress," repeatedly told the panel that every person is entitled to healthcare when asked if that includes illegal immigrants. "I'm such a monster… How is it controversial that I don't want someone to die in the hospital if they...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its drone attack last weekend has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, U.S. officials told Reuters.The timing of the full Russian response was unclear, with one source saying it was expected within days. A second U.S. official said the retaliation was likely to include different kinds of air capabilities, including missiles and drones.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity. They did not detail Russia's expected targets nor elaborate on intelligence matters. The first official said Moscow's...

Praying daily since 2015:Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (I John 5:14) Religion forum threads labeled (Prayer) are closed to debate of any kind.

At the moment, as a particularly depressing and financially insolvent “Pride Month” continues to trudge along, there is no greater illustration of this phenomenon than the so-called LGBT movement. These activists understand that they’ve been discredited. All of their narratives about alleged hate crimes — from Matthew Shepard onward — have collapsed under the slightest scrutiny. All of their claims about not having “equal rights” and “just wanting to live their own lives without bothering anyone” have fallen apart as well. That’s why “Pride Month” is dying. And in response, rather than engage in any introspection, LGBT activists have predictably...

Chaos erupted on Saturday evening after right-wing Colombian Presidential candidate Miguel Uribe was shot in the head during an event in Bogota, according to Colombian media. Uribe was rushed to a hospital after being shot in the head. According to Colombian media, Miguel Uribe is in serious condition. The 15-year-old shooter is in custody according to Bogota mayor Carlos Galan. Multiple shots rang out as Miguel Uribe delivered remarks to a crowd in the Fontibon district.

A Blackhawk helicopter landed near a DHS building in Compton and allegedly, according to the news, is there to “resupply” Federal agents.https://x.com/joeyneverjoe/status/1931509019942006812Also..US CBP HH-60L Black Hawk N819KB/TROY212 Compton>KLGB@Borrowed7Time @toystark6886 pic.twitter.com/rAK4hNavhR— 1776Girl (@sipjack1776) June 8, 2025

Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty won the 157th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, surging past favored Journalism just as he did at Churchill Downs to finish with two legs of this year's Triple Crown. After sitting out the Preakness, won in scintillating fashion by Journalism, Sovereignty returned to win the anticipated rematch in convincing fashion, pulling away in the final straight to relegate Journalism to second again. Baeza was third to complete the repeat of the Kentucky Derby one-two-three. Italian jockey Umberto Rispoli guided the Michael McCarthy-trained Journalism to the front as they turned for home, closely tracked by Sovereignty -- who...

DARE TO DREAM Someone once commented that "One of the most powerful things in the world is a dream. Not those dreams that come to us while we sleep, but those we consciously pursue while we are awake." Think of how dreams have shaped our modern life. Of Martin Luther King whose famous speech began, I have a dream today." And of Robert Kennedy who said, "Some men see things as they are and ask "Why?"; I dream things that never were and ask 'Why not?'" Think of how children's lives are often shaped by their parent's dreams. I...

Greta Thunberg recently emerged from the cultural wilderness to board a boat destined for Gaza. Clutching a microphone, tears running down her face, she announced that she was there to raise “international awareness”. Cameras clicked, the Palestinian flag fluttered, and the sea swallowed the horizon. To some, it was courage. To others, a shameless stunt. But for anyone who’s been watching closely, this was the final contortion of dissent into something pre-packaged and painfully self-serving. Let me be very clear. One doesn’t need to defend Israel to find this spectacle deeply absurd. Greta has not grown into a mature moral...

Matthew's dad had brown eyes and black hair. His grandparents had piercing blue eyes. There was a running joke in his family that "dad looked nothing like his parents", the teacher from southern England says. It turned out there was a very good reason for this. Matthew's father had been swapped at birth in hospital nearly 80 years ago. He died late last year before learning the truth of his family history. Matthew - not his real name - contacted the BBC after we reported on the case of Susan, who received compensation from an NHS trust after a home...

Far-right anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, was asked to leave a London restaurant after the business said guests and staff felt uncomfortable. The 42-year-old said he and four others were told to leave the Hawksmoor steakhouse, near Piccadilly Circus, on Thursday. Yaxley-Lennon has accused the restaurant of "discriminatory behaviour" due to his political beliefs. Hawksmoor, which did not name Yaxley-Lennon in its statement, said the group left the restaurant "politely", adding that its decision was "not about politics or belief" and it was "not trying to engage in a public debate". The restaurant chain has been...

A tiny Pentagon office had spent months investigating conspiracy theories about secret Washington UFO programs when it uncovered a shocking truth: At least one of those theories had been fueled by the Pentagon itself. The congressionally ordered probe took investigators back to the 1980s, when an Air Force colonel visited a bar near Area 51, a top-secret site in the Nevada desert. He gave the owner photos of what might be flying saucers. The photos went up on the walls, and into the local lore went the idea that the U.S. military was secretly testing recovered alien technology. But the...

On Saturday on MSNBC’s “Velshi,” one of President Donald Trump’s former lawyers, Michael Cohen, said Tesla CEO Elon Musk will lose in his feud with the president. Cohen said, “Elon said that he’s the one that delivered the election. I’m not so sure we can say that, but he certainly didn’t hurt.” He continued, “You know where Elon Musk is making a mistake? The feud should not have gone on the way that it did. And I say that because while Elon Musk may be the richest man in the world, Donald Trump is the most powerful man in the...

Federal agents were executing a lawful judicial warrant at a LA worksite this morning when David Huerta deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle. He was arrested for interfering with federal officers and will face arraignment in federal court on Monday. Let… pic.twitter.com/GIFD34LIcF — U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 7, 2025