Free Republic

7 December 2025 2nd Sunday of AdventSt. Ambrose Catholic Church, Elkton, FLReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 11:1-10A shoot springs from the stock of JesseA shoot springs from the stock of Jesse,a scion thrusts from his roots:on him the spirit of the Lord rests,a spirit of wisdom and insight,a spirit of counsel and power,a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.(The fear of the Lord is his breath.)He does not judge by appearances,he gives no verdict on hearsay,but judges the wretched with integrity,and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land.His...

Daily Readings from the USCCBSecond Sunday of Advent“I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11–12This passage comes just before Jesus is baptized and begins His public ministry. John the Baptist had been ministering in the desert of Judea, preaching,...

6 December 2025 Saturday of the 1st week of AdventSt. Nicholas Catholic Church St, Elko New MarketReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 30:19-21,23-26The Lord God will be gracious to you and hear your cryThus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and...

By Dr, John BergsmaEvery year on this, the Second Sunday of Advent and thus the second Sunday of the new liturgical year, the brash and burly figure of the Baptist bursts onto the liturgical stage, bellowing his characteristic charge, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” As we know, the First Sunday of Advent is always given to reflection on the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world whereas the Second and Third Sundays always focuses on John the Baptist, one of the most pivotal yet underappreciated figures in salvation history. In the context of...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.” Matthew 9:35This one line speaks volumes about Jesus’ public ministry. He didn’t just preach a few sermons or heal a few who were sick. He “went around to all the towns and villages…teaching…proclaiming the Gospel…” and cured “every disease and illness.” It’s important to contemplate that Jesus’ public ministry lasted approximately three years. Three years of constant preaching, healing, and relating to people. During this time, Jesus encountered many thousands of...

Raking In Hundreds Of Millions For Trafficking Kids Destroys U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Credibility On ImmigrationIn its special message, inaccurate wording disguises the USCCB’s self-interested opposition to the deportation of illegals.arlier this week, Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC) crooned: “As we enter the Advent season, we remember that the Holy Family themselves were migrants seeking safety.” It is a recurring motif to validate the resistance of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to curtailment of illegal immigration.In November, the USCCB prepared for Advent by declaring war on the Trump administration with a “Special...

Rome’s Failure to Correct Germany’s Bishops has Emboldened Their Pro-LGBT AgendaAs the country’s bishops issue a new document encouraging diversity of sexual identities in Catholic schools, German Catholic sociologist Gabriele Kuby explains the full extent of the crisis.A recently published document from the German bishops encouraging Catholic school pupils to self-identify according to their “sexual identity” is the latest significant departure of the bishops’ conference from the Church’s teaching, re-igniting talk of a possible new, German-born schism.The “orientation aid,” published on Oct. 30, states that Catholic schools should consider “diversity of sexual identities is a fact,” effectively normalizing any pupil...

Daily Readings from the USCCBAs Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” Matthew 9:27Picture these two men for a moment. Just before this passage, Jesus had cured a leper, healed a Roman centurion’s servant, restored Peter’s mother-in-law to health, made a paralytic walk, and stopped a woman’s years-long hemorrhages. He had cast out demons, freeing people from their oppression, and even raised a twelve-year-old girl from the dead. This context is crucial as we imagine these two blind men crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” Word was...

5 December 2025 Friday of the 1st week of AdventTomb of Saint Sabbas, Mar Saba, the West BankReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 29:17-24In a very short time, the deaf will hear and the eyes of the blind will seeThe Lord says this:In a short time, a very short time,shall not Lebanon become fertile landand fertile land turn into forest?The deaf, that day,will hear the words of a bookand, after shadow and darkness,the eyes of the blind will see.But the lowly will rejoice in the Lord even moreand the poorest exult in the Holy One of Israel;for tyrants...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.” Matthew 7:24 & 26Jesus’ words remind us that each of us will inevitably face hardships: “The rain fell, the floods...

4 December 2025Thursday of the 1st week of Advent St. Barbara, Tacoma Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 26:1-6Open the gates; let the upright nation come inThat day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:We have a strong city;to guard us he has setwall and rampart about us.Open the gates! Let the upright nation come in,she, the faithful onewhose mind is steadfast, who keeps the peace,because she trusts in you.Trust in the Lord for ever,for the Lord is the everlasting Rock;he has brought low those who lived high upin the steep citadel;he brings it down,...

High-profile conversions from figures like Shia LeBeouf, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Russell Brand followed by findings--church attendance picking up has led to stunned reaction from the commentariat press. In Britain, for example, Pentecostalism and Catholicism have been found to have reversed decades of decline and grown remarkably from 2018 to 2025 – drawing intrigue from the likes of the Guardian and Reuters. In France, since 2020, the bishops’ conference (typically assiduous in collecting and releasing data) have confirmed consistently remarkable and accelerating year-on-year increases in the number of adult converts they are drawing in and baptising – many from irreligion...

Daily Readings from the USCCBMemorial of Saint Francis Xavier, PriestAt that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. Matthew 15:29–30Why did Jesus perform so many miracles when He walked the earth? The Church Fathers and saints offer various insights. His miracles were personal acts of compassion, expressions of divine love welling up within His human Heart. They were also testaments to...

3 December 2025 Saint Francis Xavier, Priest on Wednesday of the 1st week of AdventBasilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville IowaReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingIsaiah 25:6-10The Lord will prepare a banquet for every nationOn this mountain,the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoplesa banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.On this mountain he will removethe mourning veil covering all peoples,and the shroud enwrapping all nations,he will destroy Death for ever.The Lord will wipe...

2 December 2025 Tuesday of the 1st week of Advent Santa Bibiana, RomeReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 11:1-10A shoot springs from the stock of JesseA shoot springs from the stock of Jesse,a scion thrusts from his roots:on him the spirit of the Lord rests,a spirit of wisdom and insight,a spirit of counsel and power,a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.(The fear of the Lord is his breath.)He does not judge by appearances,he gives no verdict on hearsay,but judges the wretched with integrity,and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the...

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” Luke 10:23–24We rejoice over many things in life. We might rejoice if we win a game, do well on a test, complete some task at home or work, or attend a celebration or party. Though rejoicing is an emotion tied to our human nature, true joy is spiritual in nature, a gift that overflows into human emotion. Try...

Late preaching professor Calvin Miller once quipped to Christianity Today that many Southern Baptist churches “probably could hardly spell Advent” in the early 1990s. Not so anymore. So why the shift? Church historian Stan Norman said Baptists have begun to see the usefulness of traditions once viewed as too liturgical or high church. Advent wreaths, calendars and readings “seem to provide a bit of structure in a tradition that has maybe gone too far without structure,” Norman, provost of Oklahoma Baptist University, told Baptist Press. The focus on Christ inherent in Advent celebrations is needed “in a cultural context in...

The Christmas tree tradition emerged from the “sacred trees” of Northern European mythology such as Yggdrasil, the giant ash tree at the center of the Norse cosmos that holds all the worlds in its roots and branches. It is said that St. Boniface came upon one such sacred tree during his mission to the Germanic tribes in 723. Upon finding devotees preparing to sacrifice a child to Thor at the “Thunder Oak,” Boniface intervened and miraculously chopped down the tree with one swift swing. He used its wood to build a Christian chapel, and in the spot where the oak...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 8:10–11Jesus looks into the heart, not just at one’s exterior. Today’s Gospel presents us with the profound faith of a Roman centurion—a pagan and Gentile. Though not of the Jewish faith, this centurion recognized Jesus’ spiritual authority to...

1 December 2025Monday of the 1st week of AdventLokeren, Flemish Region, BelgiumReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 4:2-6The fruit of the earth shall be the pride and adornment of Israel's survivorsThat day, the branch of the Lordshall be beauty and glory,and the fruit of the earthshall be the pride and adornmentof Israel’s survivors.Those who are left of Zionand remain of Jerusalemshall be called holyand those left in Jerusalem, noted down for survival.When the Lord has washed awaythe filth of the daughter of Zionand cleansed Jerusalem of the blood shed in herwith the blast of judgement and the...