Free Republic

The idea that wisdom is found through exploration has long been with us. It is a cornerstone of many cultures and the driving force behind scientific inquiry. We venture forth into the undiscovered, leaving behind the familiar, and the distractions and temptations therein, as the early Christian desert fathers and mothers did in Egypt. One need not travel far to satisfy this impulse. Extremes of experience have long fueled enlightenment, as memoirs of exile, debauchery, and disaster promise to this day. Many of the adventurers had no choice, however. Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy while imprisoned, facing execution on...

“With the Rosary, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, model of faith, in meditating on the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel, so that it shapes all our lives,” said Pope Benedict XVI in October. He was recommending praying the Rosary daily during the Year of Faith. These scriptures and meditations, a version of which first appeared in the National Catholic Register in the Year of the Rosary, can help. Rosary Meditations: The Joyful MysteriesRosary Meditations: The Sorrowful MysteriesRosary Meditations: The Luminous MysteriesRosary Meditations: The Glorious Mysteries

Daily Rosary Prayer for Lent:  The Least of TheseIt is in the mystery of the Cross that the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Father's mercy is revealed in all of its fullness. In order to win back the love of his creature, he accepted to pay a very high price: the Blood of his Only Begotten Son. ~from the Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for Lent 2007  The reason why God requires service from man is this:  because he is good and merciful he desires to confer benefits on those who persevere in his service. In proportion to...

Daily Rosary Prayer for Lent:  You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone!Dear Brothers and Sisters! “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced” (Jn 19:37). This is the biblical theme that this year guides our Lenten reflection. Lent is a favourable time to learn to stay with Mary and John, the beloved disciple, close to Him who on the Cross, consummated for all mankind the sacrifice of His life. With a more fervent participation let us direct our gaze, therefore, in this time of penance and prayer, at Christ crucified who, dying on Calvary, revealed...

Daily Rosary Prayer for LentDear Brothers and Sisters! “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced” (Jn 19:37). This is the biblical theme that this year guides our Lenten reflection. Lent is a favourable time to learn to stay with Mary and John, the beloved disciple, close to Him who on the Cross, consummated for all mankind the sacrifice of His life. With a more fervent participation let us direct our gaze, therefore, in this time of penance and prayer, at Christ crucified who, dying on Calvary, revealed fully for us the love of God.~from the Message His Holiness...

Daily Rosary Prayer for our Universal Shepherd, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the Vicar of Christ, the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the Servant of the Servants of God. Let us love being with the Lord! There we can speak with him about everything. We can offer him our petitions, our concerns, our troubles. Our joys. Our gratitude, our disappointments, our needs and our aspirations. There we can also constantly ask him: "Lord send labourers into your harvest! Help me to be a good worker in your vineyard!"  ~from the Homily for the Marian Vespers, Altötting, Germany,  September...

Daily Rosary Prayer for our Universal Shepherd, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the Vicar of Christ, the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the Servant of the Servants of God. Let us love being with the Lord! There we can speak with him about everything. We can offer him our petitions, our concerns, our troubles. Our joys. Our gratitude, our disappointments, our needs and our aspirations. There we can also constantly ask him: "Lord send labourers into your harvest! Help me to be a good worker in your vineyard!"  ~from the Homily for the Marian Vespers, Altötting, Germany,  September...

This reading on the Assumption of Mary is taken from the first homily of St. John Damascene on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “But even though, according to nature, your most holy and happy soul is separated from your most blessed and stainless body and the body as usual is delivered to the tomb, it will not remain in the power of death and is not subject to decay. For just as her virginity remained inviolate while giving birth, when she departed her body was preserved from destruction and only taken to a better and more divine tabernacle,...

Excerpts from (then) Cardinal Ratzinger's Meditations and Prayers for the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum, Good Friday 2005: The First Station: Jesus is condemned to death: (Meditation) [J]ustice is trampled underfoot by weakness, cowardice and fear of the diktat of the ruling mindset. The quiet voice of conscience is drowned out by the cries of the crowd. Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think. (Prayer) How many times have we ourselves preferred success to the truth, our reputation to justice? Strengthen the quiet voice of our conscience, your own voice, in...

MEDITATION ON PSALM 91 VERSE 1 - He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH I sought the Lord as to the meaning of the "Secret Place of the Most High" in verse number one. I looked in the dictionary as to the meaning of "secret" to get an overview understanding of its meaning. I then got quiet with Him and started to write the following: The "Secret place of the Most High" is a place of intimacy where only you and...

Meditation for This Morning Friday, May 17 C. H. Spurgeon "So to walk even as He walked." --1 John 2:6 Why should Christians imitate Christ? They should do it for their own sakes. If they desire to be in a healthy state of soul--if they would escape the sickness of sin, and enjoy the vigour of growing grace, let Jesus be their model. For their own happiness' sake, if they would drink wine on the lees, well refined; if they would enjoy holy and happy communion with Jesus; if they would be lifted up above the cares and troubles of...

Meditation for This Evening Tuesday, May 14 C. H. Spurgeon "He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom." --Isaiah 40:11 Who is He of whom such gracious words are spoken? He is THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Why doth He carry the lambs in His bosom? Because He hath a tender heart, and any weakness at once melts His heart. The sighs, the ignorance, the feebleness of the little ones of His flock draw forth His compassion. It is His office, as a faithful High Priest, to consider the weak. Besides, He purchased them with blood,...

title>Meditation for This Evening -- Spurgeon Meditation for This Evening Wednesday, May 08 C. H. Spurgeon "Acquaint now thyself with Him." --Job 22:21 If we would rightly "acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peace," we must know Him as He has revealed Himself, not only in the unity of His essence and subsistence, but also in the plurality of His persons. God said, "Let us make man in our own image"--let not man be content until he knows something of the "us" from whom his being was derived. Endeavour to know the Father; bury your head in His bosom...