Free Republic

And now… the rest of the story. Every year, families across America gather around the television. They’ll watch a bald kid try to kick a football. They’ll watch a beagle dance on a dog house. They’ll watch Charlie Brown get a rock instead of candy. They’ll laugh. They won’t know they’re watching a man’s autobiography. When Charles Schulz was a little boy, the other children called him “Sparky.” It wasn’t a term of affection. Sparky was the name of a horse in the comic strip Barney Google. A dumb horse. A joke horse. They were calling him an animal. And...

20 August 2026 Saint Bernard, Abbot, Doctor on Thursday of week 20 in Ordinary Time St. Bernard Of Clairvaux Catholic church, Scottsdale, AZ Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingEzekiel 36:23-28I will remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of fleshThe word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I...

"Remove St. John' Passion from Lectionary" - Jewish Woman New President of Catholic Biblical Association On July 20, at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, the 88th Annual Meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association (CBA) elected Amy-Jill Levine, 70, as president for 2026–2027.She is the first Jewish president in the CBA’s history.Founded in 1936, the CBA is an independent association with longstanding institutional ties to the U.S. bishops. Its constitution says it pursues biblical scholarship “in conformity with the teaching of the magisterium of the Catholic Church.”Levine is a New Testament scholar and is a longtime member of the CBA. In...

19 August 2026 Wednesday of week 20 in Ordinary Time St. John Eudes Church, Chatsworth, CA Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEzekiel 34:1-11An oracle against bad and selfish shepherdsThe word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘“Shepherds, the Lord says this: Trouble for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock, yet you have fed on milk, you have dressed yourselves in wool, you have sacrificed the fattest sheep, but failed to feed the flock....

Sometimes it's those with the least that give the most. Jesus used a widow's offering to teach a lesson of giving from the heart. Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them; "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put...

18 August 2026 Tuesday of week 20 in Ordinary Time more than 100 volunteers from the Hogar de Cristo, gather in the Shrine of Father Hurtado, to celebrate Volunteer Day. Santiago, Chile Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEzekiel 28:1-10Against the arrogance of the king of TyreThe word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre, “The Lord says this:Being swollen with pride,you have said: I am a god;I am sitting on the throne of God,surrounded by the seas.Though you are a man and not a god,you consider yourself...

17 August 2026 Monday of week 20 in Ordinary Time St. Hyacinth Church, Detroit , MI Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEzekiel 24:15-24The Lord will profane his sanctuaryThe word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, I am about to deprive you suddenly of the delight of your eyes. But you are not to lament, not to weep, not to let your tears run down. Groan in silence, do not go into mourning for the dead, knot your turban round your head, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your...

16 August 2026 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Saint Stephens Cathedral Budapest Hungary Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 56:1,6-7I will bring foreigners to my holy mountainThus says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest. Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful...

“In the third grade our teacher wanted us to draw a picture and then write a story to read to the class based on the picture. I don’t remember what picture I drew, but I know the story I wrote on the paper was not what I had ended up reading to the class. Later that day after grading the papers, my teacher asked me, “Where is the story I had read to the class and why was it different than what I wrote?” She said the one I had read was much better and she wished I had written...

15 August 2026 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Solemnity Pfarrkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt, ca. 1715, BavariaReadings 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 reading1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16,16:1-2They brought in the ark of God and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for itDavid gathered all Israel together to bring the ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together...

Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV - by Bishop Robert MutsaertsWe have often published the great texts of Bishop Rob Mutsaerts (Auxiliary of s-Hertogenbosch /Bois-le-Duc), Netherlands. He has just published (in English and Dutch) an open letter to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the need for concern for the salvation of souls amidst the confusion of synodality and other trends.Holy Father,With reverence for the office entrusted to you as successor of Saint Peter, and in communion with the Church which Christ built upon the apostles, I address you with this open letter. I don't do so lightly....

14 August 2026Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest, Martyr on Friday of week 19 in Ordinary Time Saint Maximilian Kolbe Church, Toms River, NJ Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red. Year: A(II).Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingEzekiel 16:1-15,60,63I clothed you with my own splendour but you made yourself a prostituteThe word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her filthy crimes. Say, “The Lord says this: By origin and birth you belong to the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite....

Did you know that the Bible has more to say on laziness than drunkenness? Yet, how often are we quick to judge someone when they've had a bit too much to drink, but neglect to chastise another person who sits around all day and does nothing? Laziness is a pervasive, insidious disease in our society, one that seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. No one seems to want to work hard anymore. They want the easy life, the easy job that doesn't require much of them, the cushy couch and big screen TV and fancy vacations, but work??...

13 August 2026 Thursday of week 19 in Ordinary TimeSan Ponziano, RomeReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEzekiel 12:1-12The oracle of exile against the whole House of IsraelThe word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, you are living with that set of rebels who have eyes and never see, ears and never hear, for they are a set of rebels. You, son of man, pack an exile’s bundle and emigrate by daylight when they can see you, emigrate from where you are to somewhere else while they watch. Perhaps they will admit...

Interesting subject • There IS Life After Death – NO FEAR OF DEATH after this experience of being clinically dead for hours, then coming back. • Thousands of cases documented by doctors & the individual o All across the world not just in certain countries. o Medical records confirm the declared deaths o NO compensation for a person’s recorded interview. o Some can describe the operation that was performed in great detail. o Some described friends and family in the visitation room. o A common description of the other side was how brilliant light is seen, peacefulness, no shadows, a...

12 August 2026 Wednesday of week 19 in Ordinary Time Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vukovina, CroatiaReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEzekiel 9:1-7,10:18-22The cross marks the foreheads of all who are pureAs I, Ezekiel, listened, God shouted, ‘Come here, you scourges of the city, and bring your weapons of destruction.’ Immediately six men advanced from the upper north gate, each holding a deadly weapon. In the middle of them was a man in white, with a scribe’s ink horn in his belt. They came in and halted in front of the bronze...

While Americans were having abortions in 1776, America’s founders in Philadelphia put their names on a statement that all, created equal, are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” One of the Declaration of Independence signers, James Wilson, specified several years later that “with consistency, beautiful and undeviating, human life, from its commencement to its close, is protected by the common law.” Life often hasn’t been protected. But decade after decade, Americans who are now largely forgotten made noble sacrifices to help the least among us. Some pro-life...

11 August 2026 Saint Clare, Virgin on Tuesday of week 19 in Ordinary Time Daniel Island (Charleston), South Carolina: Saint Clare of Assisi Catholic ChurchReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingEzekiel 2:8-3:4He gave me the scroll to eat and it was as sweet as honeyI, Ezekiel, heard a voice speaking. It said, ‘You, son of man, listen to the words I say; do not be a rebel like that rebellious set. Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give you.’ I looked. A...

10 August 2026 Saint Laurence, Deacon, Martyr Feast St. Lawrence, Lafayette IN Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red. Year: A(II).First reading2 Corinthians 9:6-10God loves a cheerful giverDo not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver. And there is no limit to the blessings which God can send you – he will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance,...

9 August 2026 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Sta. Candida Maria de Jesus Parish - Naic, the Philippines Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading1 Kings 19:9,11-13The Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fireWhen Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God, he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was...