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John 20: 1-16 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him!”So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the...

She went out for cigarettes. That's my favorite detail of the story of Elizabeth Ashley Smith. This was not a noble calling; it wasn't even a noble errand. But the craving for nicotine at 2 o'clock in the morning led Smith into the loaded gun of one Brian Nichols, a man who had already raped one woman and murdered four men. Acccording to Smith, Nichols forced her into her apartment, tied her up, put her in the bathtub and told her "I'm not going to hurt you if you just do what I say." What would you do under those...

Today, as Good Friday looms tommorow with another innocent victim being crucified by a mob on the liberal's cross of "laws" (that a hate-filled judge says can be ignored) and "laws" (that a hate-filled judge says can be ignored "must" be followed to the letter. The media is promoting her death, and is ignoring contrary news and information. That, we may not be able to overcome. But the publicisn't the only Witness to this murder. So, while she is being slowly starved to death to "preserve" our rights to abortion, hatred, revenge, pride, and to conceal previous assaults, let us...

Patron Saints of Desperate, Forgotten, Impossible or Lost Causes Saint Philomena Martyred at about age 14 in the early days of the Church. In 1802 the remains of a young woman were found in the catacomb of Saint Priscilla on the Via Salaria. It was covered by stones, the symbols on which indicated that the body was a martyr named Saint Philomena. The bones were exhumed, cataloged, and effectively forgotten since there was so little known about the person. In 1805 Canon Francis de Lucia of Mugnano, Italy was in the Treasury of the Rare Collection of Christian Antiquity (Treasury...

As a Christian Freeper, I am wasting my time as I follow each Terri thread, rather I should be praying for GOD WILL BE DONE. I am guilty as many others judging Terri's husband, his lawyer,Judge Geer and our congressmen who wish to see Terri die.In the end the "Lord's Will" will be done" Not mine, not yours, but "OUR LORD'S"! Mean while I wasted my time, as others here have, throwing slurs and ill wishes towards those I don't agree with, including some very dear Freepers. I should have been praying! Praying that "OUR LORD"S WILL BE DONE!Praying that...

Date: 2005-03-14Those in Mortal Sin Can't Go to Communion, Says PopeIn a Message to Priests at Course on "Internal Forum"VATICAN CITY, MARCH 14, 2005 (Zenit.org).- In keeping with Church teaching, John Paul II issued a reminder that no one who is aware of being in a state of mortal sin can go to Communion. The Pope confirmed the traditional teaching of the magisterium in a message published by the Holy See on Saturday. The message was addressed to young priests who attended a course last week on the "internal forum" -- questions of conscience -- organized by the tribunal of...

Following receipt of a letter from Tim Stoen, a former aide to Jim Jones, in which he apologizes for his behavior years ago when Jones' cult was based in Ukiah, Les Kinsolving, the San Francisco Chronicle reporter who was targeted by the group, offers forgiveness. For Stoen, who publicly disassociated himself from the cult a year before Jonestown, the Kinsolving letter is his most public admission yet of wrongdoing on behalf of the Peoples Temple. "I have asked God to forgive me for my wrongdoing in being a part of Peoples Temple. He has mercifully given me a second chance,"...

I really like Judith Regan, and I am a liberal democrat. I like her because she is a very passionate and deep woman. She has keen insight on human nature, but she is nevertheless an idealist who is very hurt by the tragic nature of reality. She is a great essay writer and has great understanding of the poetic nature of things. I think as person she has a lot to offer us if she is able to maintain a positive and constructive outlook of life. She strikes me as a person that may be given to distress and depression,...

Sixty-three years ago today, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor —an action that dramatically altered the course of history. Jacob DeShazer was on KP duty in California when he first heard the news. Furious at what the Japanese had done, he resolved to retaliate personally. And in April 1942, he got his chance—as a B-25 bombardier when Doolittle’s Raiders attacked Tokyo. During that fateful run, DeShazer’s plane ran out of fuel, and the crew bailed out over enemy territory. DeShazer was captured and spent the next forty months as a POW—including thirty-four months in solitary confinement. Three of his buddies were...

Previous thread --- SUGGESTED LETTER TO AMERICA FROM BILL CLINTON Now, it is your turn. Bill Clinton faces his mortality and is about to undergo serious surgery. If you were his spiritual advisor (no, not Jesse Jackson), what you advise him? What has he done for what he should seek forgiveness? I am getting ready for Mass and hope to enjoy this thread when I get back. Have at it.

IT STARTED WITH THIS THREAD A LETTER TO AMERICA by Bill Clinton (ghostwritten by DFU) When one faces his mortality, things that were murky can become clear. No one likes to think of his mortality, but suddenly I have been forced to do so. I must use this opportunity to set the record straight. First, to my family, Chelsea and Hillary, I love you very much. I couldn't have been blessed with a better daughter. Hillary, throughout all the rocky times, I really have loved you. Because of my weakness of character, I cheated on you hundreds of times....

Iraqi Christians pray for their attackers (Filed: 03/08/2004) Adrian Blomfield in Baghdad finds the newly targeted minority community defiant yet calling for forgiveness With a tear rolling down his cheek, Fr Faris Toma stood amid the wreckage outside his Baghdad church yesterday, and prayed for the bombers who killed 10 of his congregation. An Iraqi woman passes a church bombed yesterday "We cannot understand why or how they could do something like this," he said. "All we can do is ask God to give them forgiveness and grant us peace." As American soldiers picked through the blackened remains of 19...

Bill Highlighting Unborn Child's Pain Introduced by Pro-Life Leaders in CongressWASHINGTON (May 31, 2004) - - Pro-life leaders in Congress, with the strong backing of National Right to Life, have introduced a major new legislative initiative that throws a spotlight on the pain inflicted on unborn children by abortion.The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act was introduced on May 20 by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Ks.) (S. 2466) and Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) (H.R. 4420), with numerous cosponsors.NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, who appeared with Brownback and Smith at a press conference in the U.S. Capitol announcing the new legislation, said, "There...

NEW YORK (AP) -- One sad voice says ''I'm sorry I was ever born.'' Another says he's sorry for turning his back on true love. Another confesses to an affair. These are the callers to the apology hot line, a college student's effort to offer solace to troubled souls. Critics worry the line might help people avoid the face-to-face closure needed for true healing. ''You might get something off your chest, but how really honest is that to the person you're trying to apologize to?'' asked Kevin Irwin, a Catholic University of America theology professor. The hot line's creator, 20-year-old...

Just when you thought CNN couldn't get worse...

It seems we serve a multi-purpose Jesus. Anyone can take the texts of Scripture and form it into any mold they choose. Jesus flipped over tables in the temple. Maybe Jesus had anger management issues? If it sounds ridiculous, that's because it is.

MONTEREY PARK - Harriet McClendon found closure this week, and she is working on forgiveness for the three alleged white-power followers accused of luring her 32-year-old son into a car in 1997, driving him down a secluded Palmdale road, beating and stabbing him to death and burying him in a shallow grave. McClendon also believes justice will be served in her son's 1997 killing. "I forgive you. How God feels is another issue," Harriet said as if speaking to the suspects during a press conference at Sheriff's Headquarters on Wednesday afternoon. "Get yourself saved! Then you will not need to...

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see. These lyrics were always among my mother's favorites, long before she ever heard the composer's name or knew that he had once been the captain of a slave ship. While the knowledge of the writer's background may have given the song, Amazing Grace, a little more meaning to this black woman who was the descendant of slaves and the victim of years of discrimination, I doubt it. You see, she already felt it so...

The saying is an old one. To fail is human. To forgive is, well, is probably the hardest thing in the world to do. This is the issue at the heart of inviting German veterans to the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France. Until now Canadian, British, American and other allied men and women have gathered together. In June there will be Germans there as well. The decision is, to say the least, controversial. I have to be honest here. Not too long ago I would have been revolted by the idea. Even now when I watch a...

"Not only Gianfranco Fini, but the entire world, including the Vatican and the pope, should beg forgiveness of Israel," Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Italy's World War II dictator and a member of parliament for the National Alliance party, declared in an interview with Haaretz on Sunday. The interview coincided with the arrival of Fini, her party's leader and Italy's deputy prime minister, for his first official visit to Israel, during which he has said he intends to apologize to the Jewish people for Italy's Holocaust-era crimes. Mussolini's statement is no small matter from someone who once declared: "My grandfather is...