Free Republic

St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Parish is preparing to receive 47 people into the church, a dramatic increase over the 21 welcomed this time last year. Now the church is working to get to the heart of the surge. Dozens of soon-to-be Catholics and those reaffirming their faith in the church are preparing for their big welcome in Hinsdale. St. Isaac Jogues Church is reporting a more than 124% increase from 2025. "It's an incredible number that we haven't seen in years," Father Burke Masters said. Jaden Ternand, 16, says his journey began with a search for truth. "I was more...

God chose a small group of women to share the greatest news of all time. Why did Jesus appear to the women first instead of the disciples? One thing we see immediately is that Jesus valued and respected women. We also know from the Gospels that many of Jesus’ followers were women. They traveled with the disciples, financially supported their ministry, and served Jesus however they could. The main argument posited for the historicity of the appearance to the women, and the empty tomb for that matter, is that the early Christians would not have invented the story, since the...

Over 20,000 catechumens in France are expected to be baptized during the Easter Vigil, marking a 20% increase compared to baptisms in 2025. According to an annual survey published by the French bishops’ conference March 25, over 13,200 adults and over 8,100 adolescents will be baptized during the April 4 Easter Vigil. The new figures mark a sustained increase in overall baptisms, particularly adults, compared to 2016, when just over 4,100 adults were baptized. Numbers ‘continue to surprise’ In a letter published with the survey, French Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon said the increased numbers “continue to surprise.” Read...

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4). Human sorrow is a natural and healthy emotion, but beware of mourning over unfulfilled sinful desires. Most people in our society have an amusement-park mentality. They spend much of their time and money on entertainment, wanting to enjoy life and avoid problems whenever possible. To them, Matthew 5:4 is a paradox. How can someone who mourns be happy? The answer lies in the difference between godly sorrow and human sorrow. Godly sorrow is sorrow over sin; human sorrow is sorrow over some tragic or disappointing turn of events...

In the vast tapestry of Christian traditions, few ceremonies hold the weight and antiquity of the Great Vigil of Easter. Rooted in the earliest days of the Church, this solemn ritual traces its origins back to the second century, embodying a profound journey from darkness into light. It begins with the Service of Light, where a new fire is kindled, illuminating the darkness and symbolizing Christ's triumph over death. The lighting of the Paschal candle and the exultant proclamation of the Exsultet further herald the arrival of Easter joy. This portion of the vigil invites worshippers to reflect on the...

"It's going unnoticed because so much other news is happening but the war drums are beating again in D.C. The warmongers worry this is their last chance to get the white whale they've been chasing for thirty years, an all out regime change war against Iran. A new war in the Middle East would be a catastrophic mistake..."-Charlie Kirk "X" Post April 3, 2025... Intense fighting reported in southwestern Iran Saturday night amid a US effort to rescue a second crew member of a downed US warplane. Video was posted claiming to show Iranian civilians in vehicle convoys seeking to...

Sixty years ago, I first gazed out on the Strait of Hormuz from the Musandam peninsula of Oman. I was there as private secretary to my godfather, Selwyn Lloyd, who had been Britain’s foreign secretary during the Suez Crisis. The previous evening our host, Sultan Said bin Taimur, the ruler of Oman for nearly 40 years, commented gloomily: ‘When two fish are fighting in these waters, the British are behind it.’ I estimate that I must have made at least 250 visits to the Gulf states in the intervening six decades. The key question which would surely now be asked...

Daily Readings from the USCCBOn the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” John 20:1–2Have you ever misunderstood something, even when your intentions were good? We all experience moments when we act with love but still get things wrong. Even our good actions...

UPDATED ALREADY! I'm writing a new post since the last one got so messy. In fact, I've had to edit this post twice already, less than an hour after I first posted it. Never done that before, I think. First things first, neither the Air Force nor CENTCOM has made an official announcement, but there are now multiple fairly credible reports that the Weapons System Officer from the F-15 shot down in Iran has been recovered. His condition is unknown, although several reports say he is "safe," implying that he is alive and not mortally wounded. BREAKING: "WE GOT HIM!...

We had 550,000 troops and over 4,000 combat aircraft based right in South Vietnam in 1968. Ten minutes from takeoff to mission. 2 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans died. AND WE LOST THE WAR.So anybody who even suggests that invading Iran can work, is retarded. Especially when all of our potential force assembly locations are in proven missile and drone range. (This ain't Desert Storm. Examples: The US Navy has completely fled the region. Our critical aircraft are destroyed on the ground from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia.)Iran is 10X bigger than South Vietnam, with 6X its 1970 population. Its bigger...

United Nations agencies have refused to provide key personnel records to U.S. investigators in an ongoing probe into potential Hamas ties inside U.S.-funded aid programs.A report sent to Congress this week by the USAID inspector general’s office says multiple UN agencies failed to fully respond to requests for employee data tied to the programs. The requests sought names, basic identifying information, and employment history for people working on U.S.-funded awards, records investigators say are necessary to determine whether individuals with known affiliations were able to move between organizations without detection.Some agencies offered only partial responses, while others did not respond...

This week, Christians around the world of all strands celebrate what we consider some of the most significant events in world history — the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on behalf of the salvation for those who believe in the Lord.There are many historical reasons to believe in these events, which I’ve addressed in previous columns, such as this and this.Meanwhile, as a student of American history, I find it fascinating that, for the most part, the vast majority of our nation’s settlers and founding fathers also believed it.Here are some examples just from the founding era. Special...

[UPDATES BELOW]They’re going to make a movie about this rescue. An F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iranian airspace on Good Friday. One pilot was recovered, but the other was missing. A massive search-and-rescue operation commenced, leading to another aircraft, an A-10 Warthog, taking fire and ditching in the Persian Gulf. That pilot was safely rescued. To recap, from the standpoint of local time:Shot down early on Good Friday. Rescued Easter Sunday morning.If it were a movie plot, we'd roll our eyes at it for being too on the nose but here we are in real life... https://t.co/YxPKiVdGJB— Amy...

King Charles III has prompted concern from members of the public and some Christian leaders in the United Kingdom for declining to issue a formal Easter message to his subjects this year, despite offering one last year and commemorating Ramadan with a statement in February.King Charles III and Queen Camilla held the Royal Maundy service on Thursday in Wales for only the second time in its 800-year history, though the king's lack of an Easter message, which was confirmed by Buckingham Palace, raised eyebrows from many on social media, including some who speculated he might have secretly converted to Islam.Ceirion...

On March 18, 2026, the House of Representatives voted on H.J. Res. 139, a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. The roll call was 211-207. Every Republican voted yes. Every Democrat voted no, save one — a defection that will presumably not be celebrated at the next caucus retreat. Under suspension of the rules, passage required 291 votes. The final count was 80 votes short. This is not a near miss. It is a structural diagnosis rendered as a procedural vote.AdvertisementThe same week, gross national debt crossed $39 trillion — $39,016,762,910,245.14 on March 17. That milestone arrived five months...

For all his lightweight intellect and vanity-oriented preoccupations, Rep. Eric Swalwell is a very angry man.He's put out this threat to FBI agents who investigated his romance with a communist Chinese honeypot trapper and those who would release those files to the public as he runs for governor of California, saying he's got friends in Congress who will come to get them if they don't "come forward" as if they were guilty culprits:Swalwell is now threatening to haul FBI agents who don’t “come forward right now” before congress if Democrats retake the House: “To the FBI agents who are being...

In her one short year on the job, Pam Bondi has been very successful in many ways.AdvertisementHer DoJ has successfully defended the administration against a barrage of lawfare, including winning 24 defenses at the Supreme Court.Her DoJ has likely done more damage to drug cartels and other transnational organized crime groups than any in the past.Her DoJ has successfully secured agreements with a number of major universities to end bigoted practices and make reparations for past offenses.Her DoJ has led a bunch of major busts of human-trafficking networks and other kinds of immigrant-related financial criminals, from Medicaid fraud to daycare...

Gold prices dropped sharply following comments from Donald Trump late Wednesday evening, after he addressed the nation on the ongoing Iran conflict but failed to provide clarity on how or when it might end. At a time when geopolitical tensions are escalating and uncertainty remains high, gold would typically surge as a safe-haven asset. After Trump’s latest speech failed to provide clarity on how or when the conflict with Iran might end, gold fell more than 2–3% in early trading, while oil prices surged and markets began pricing in a very different economic outcome.For investors, this shift is critical. It...

My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND! This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of...

US forces have successfully extracted a downed American airman from Iran, with the rescued crew member and the special operations team now “safely out of Iran,” according to reports. The airman was one of two aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down earlier this week. Both had ejected over southwestern Iran, triggering a high-risk rescue mission. The second crew member was recovered following intense fighting near the crash site, as US forces carried out a complex operation deep inside Iranian territory, according to Fox News. The airman and the rescue team that pulled him “from behind enemy lines in Iran...