Free Republic

It may be asked, then, how the ten commandments can be called "the covenant." We answer, That is just where the people are misled. They are never called "the" covenant, referring to the first or old covenant. That the ten commandments are called "a" covenant, we admit; but what kind of a covenant? and in what sense are they so called? Ex. 19:5: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant", etc. Then God had something which he called his covenant, which antedated the covenant made with Israel. It was already in existence, before any...

Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said many white churches do not reflect the Jesus described in the Gospels and argued that black churches have a “deeper and more accurate” understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. Speaking on the September 2024 podcast titled “Holy Conversation: Faith and Politics,” Talarico said too many white churches focus on the afterlife instead of on “freeing the oppressed and healing the sick and feeding the hungry.” “Too many white churches are focused on the afterlife and not really much on this life,” Talarico said. “In my opinion, a lot of white...

26 June 2026Friday of week 12 in Ordinary TimeSt. Josemaría Escrivá Temple (Guadalajara) Jalisco State, MexicoReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading2 Kings 25:1-12The sack of Jerusalem and the final deportationIn the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with his whole army to attack Jerusalem; he pitched camp in front of the city and threw up earthworks round it. The city lay under siege till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, when famine...

Actor and YouTuber Atticus Shaffer knows firsthand the power of praying for others. “A story that I have from set is that there was a guy, one of the electricians, he had a very bad event happen to him right near the end of the show, and he was devastated, and I could see it,” THE MIDDLE star recalled. “I mean, the only thing you could relate it to is a soldier going through PTSD, really, is what ended up happening, and I noticed it, and he kind of did things that I knew he was being sucked up into...

Since Islam’s arrival upon the world stage 1,400 years ago, when an illiterate Arab by the name of Mohammad, born in Mecca, claimed to be a messenger sent by God (whom he called “Allah”) to spread Allah’s word, approximately 270 million human beings have been slaughtered in Islam’s and Allah’s name, according to the Center for the Study of Political Islam. (Approximately 120 million Africans, 80 million Hindus, 60 million Christians, and 10 million Buddhists.) Until fairly recently, Westerners were unfamiliar with Islam or its practitioners. However, since Congress enacted America’s Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, our doors have...

25 June 2026 Thursday of week 12 in Ordinary Time Basilica di San Prospero, Reggio Emilia, ItalyReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading2 Kings 24:8-17The first deportation into captivity in BabylonJehoiachin was eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. He did what is displeasing to the Lord, just as his father had done. At that time the troops of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon himself came to...

37 year old Japanese farmer Ishii Ryōtarō has been arrested for burning down a illegally constructed mosque by Pakistanis in Ebetsu, Hokkaido. The mosque was there for over 5 years & the local government did nothing to demolish it. Vigilantism was Inevitably going to happen.

Sudan, June 23, 2026: In a region where fear and violence have become part of everyday life, one Catholic priest chose to remain beside the people he served. Father Youhanna Al-Amin, parish priest of St Vincent Parish in Kauda, in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, was killed along with two others in an attack that has left the Christian community mourning a servant who stood with the vulnerable until his final moments. A priest who remained with his parish in Sudan despite growing violence was killed after the theft of vital medicines intended for local people. Fr Youhana Alamin, parish priest of...

24 June 2026 The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist Solemnity Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson, NJ Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.These readings are for the day of the feast itself.These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.First readingJeremiah 1:4-10Go and say whatever I command you and do not fearThe word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying,‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;before you came to birth I consecrated you;I have appointed you...

June 23, 2026 Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time St. Etheldreda’s Parish Church, Hatfield, United KingdomLectionary: 372Reading 1 2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiahwith this message: “Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah:‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive youby saying that Jerusalem will not be handed overto the king of Assyria.You have heard what the kings of Assyria have doneto all other countries: they doomed them! Will you, then, be saved?’”Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it;then he...

22 June 2026 Monday of week 12 in Ordinary Time St Albans Cathedral, England Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading2 Kings 17:5-8,13-15,18There was none left, but the tribe of Judah onlyThe king of Assyria invaded the whole country and, coming to Samaria, laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah on the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. This happened because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their...

Anglican Church in North America acting archbishop Julian Dobbs (left) and leader of the Anglican Catholic Reformed Church Bishop Derek Jones (right).The interim head of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) has filed a defamation suit against the leader of the breakaway Anglican Reformed Catholic Church. Bishop Julian Dobbs, who was appointed acting archbishop of the ACNA in November while Archbishop Steve Wood is under investigation, says accusations he misappropriated $47,862 are false and malicious. Dobbs submitted evidence to the U.S. federal court in Northern Alabama showing the disputed sum is actually $3,750. The money was put into...

The Episcopal Church headquarters building in Midtown Manhattan. (Photo by Zbig Jedrus Photography) The Episcopal Church, once the spiritual home of America’s founders, presidents and other members of the elite, announced Wednesday that it wants to sell or lease its 12-story New York City headquarters, a sign of the shrinking of mainline Protestantism and institutional religion in the United States as well as the way religious groups are radically reshaping their commercial footprint in the 21st century. The denomination — the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion — announced after a meeting of its executive council that the...

Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had a forceful rebuke of Democrat U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico’s radical claims about Biblical doctrine, warning that the far-left candidate is putting himself in danger of “going to Hell.” Democrats initially framed Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and current Texas state representative, as a mainstream figure and rising political talent capable of appealing across partisan lines due in part to his ostensible faith background, which was swiftly quashed not only by his strident left-wing stances on abortion, sexuality, and more, but by claiming Christianity endorses them. The Christian Post reports that, while addressing the...

21 June 2026 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time The altar of the Lancellotti Chapel, containing the relics of St Aloysius, the Jesuit church of St Ignatius in Rome Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingJeremiah 20:10-13He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil menJeremiah said:I hear so many disparaging me,‘“Terror from every side!”Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’All those who used to be my friendswatched for my downfall,‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.Then we will master himand take our revenge!’But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero;my opponents will stumble,...

20 June 2026 Saturday of week 11 in Ordinary Time Church of the Irish Martyrs, Ballycane, Ireland Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading2 Chronicles 24:17-25'You have deserted the Lord: now he deserts you'After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice. The Judaeans abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. He sent them prophets to bring them back to...

the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844. William Miller, a Baptist preacher, had meticulously calculated—and inaccurately predicted—Yeshua's return to Earth on that date. When the world did not end, and Yeshua did not appear, the Millerite movement was plunged into crisis. believers were devastated, their faith shattered. Instead of admitting fundamental misinterpretation of prophecy,a small group of Millerites concocted a new explanation. They posited that Miller's calculations were correct regarding the date, but incorrect regarding the event. Yeshua had not come to Earth, they argued, but had instead entered the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary to begin an "investigative...

19 June 2026 Friday of week 11 in Ordinary Time St Romald, Romaldkirk, UKReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading2 Kings 11:1-4,9-18,20Saved from the massacre, the true king is anointed by the high priestWhen Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah learned that her son was dead, she promptly did away with all those of royal stock. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, secretly took away Jehoash, her brother’s son, from among the sons of the king who were being murdered, and put him with his nurse in the sleeping quarters; in this way she hid...

Cardinal Ruini’s testament reveals ‘unease’ over the Francis pontificateThe late Italian cardinal praised Francis' ‘evangelizing zeal,’ but admitted his ‘struggle to understand’ policies he believed risked reopening ‘wounds’ left by Vatican II.Cardinal Camillo Ruini expressed “unease” over the “direction” of the Catholic Church during the reign of Pope Francis, a newly published “spiritual testament” published after his death reveals.On June 18, Italian blog Messa in Latino published the full text of Ruini’s testament, following his death the previous day at the age of 95. Within it, the cardinal expresses gratitude to God for all those who accompanied his formation and...

18 June 2026 Thursday of week 11 in Ordinary Time Kloster Schönau (near Gemünden am Main) Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEcclesiasticus 48:1-15The spirit of Elijah fills ElishaThe prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch.It was he who brought famine on the people, and who decimated them in his zeal.By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens, he also, three times, brought down fire.How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have? –rousing a corpse from death, from Sheol by the word...