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By Dr. John BergsmaSlavery is not a good thing. God's liberation of the people of Israel from the condition of slavery—an event we call "the Exodus," literally, "the road out"—is one of the most important events and motifs in the whole Bible. Although loosely related, the Readings for this Sunday are linked by the theme of the Exodus. In the First Reading, the Exodus is prophesied; in the Gospel, Jesus begins a New Exodus that culminates in the Last Supper and Calvary. 1. Our First Reading is Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18: The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up...

15 March 2025 Saturday of the 1st week of Lent St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Catholic Church,, Rosedale, MD Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I).First readingDeuteronomy 26:16-19You will be a people consecrated to the LordMoses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. ‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:44–45Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus saying, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is a high calling! And it is clear that part of the perfection to which you are called requires a generous and total love even for those you may consider your...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(3/15/25)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit (Transporter) Revelation 4:1-24 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.King James Version________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

“‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God’” (Matthew 5:9). The result of peacemaking is eternal blessing as God’s children in God’s kingdom. Peacemakers “shall be called sons of God.” Most of you are thankful for your heritage, your ancestors, your parents, and your family name. It is especially gratifying to have been influenced by godly grandparents, parents, or both. But even the greatest human heritage cannot match our heritage in Christ (Rom. 8:17). After all, what could compare to being a child of God? Peacemaking is a hallmark of God’s children. Only God determines who...

A well-known San Francisco street preacher hardly flinched after a transgender woman held a gun to his face after he said: 'God made men to be men.' Kevin Kihara, 37, a pastor of Christian Forgiveness Ministries in San Francisco, was preaching 'the love of God' near 4th & Market Streets on Wednesday, when a person, believed to be a transgender woman, threatened him with a gun. While standing beside a table with a microphone in hand the sermonizing pastor delivered his blunt message. 'You need to try being less like somebody you are not and start to humble yourself and...

A far-left lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) who was filmed harassing a Christian street preacher was placed on administrative leave the day before, according to a report from Kera News cited by the Christian Post. Charles Hermes, who teaches philosophy at the school, was seen engaging in strange behavior towards a street preacher attending the Tarrant County International Women’s Day Unite and Resist Rally, which is about women defending “our rights, our bodies, and our future.” While attending the event, Hermes invaded evangelist’s personal space while shouting “No justice!” A day before he wrote on Facebook:...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

[Catholic Caucus] The Pope, the Poor, “Pageantry and Prominence”When the pope warns against “pageantry and prominence,” I want to know how he will also protect against tacky and tawdry because the latter has often been the practical upshot of post-Vatican II liturgical choices.Pope Francis sent a message February 28 to participants in a course at Rome’s Anselmianum for bishops’ masters of ceremony. The message was one of those usual ones dispatched for an event of which the Holy See somehow wants to take note, either because it likes the idea or somebody involved had a friend in the Curia. According...

Titus 2:10 "Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." Philippians 1:27 "Only let your conversation (Or, conduct) be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel:" 1 Thessalonians 5:22 "Abstain from all appearance of evil." 1 Peter 4:14-15 "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:26Was our Lord here giving legal advice regarding a criminal or civil case and how to avoid prosecution? Certainly not. He was presenting us with an image of Himself as the just Judge. And He was exhorting us to show...

During Lent, I usually attempt to limit my consumption of secular entertainment and shift over to works with more overt Catholic themes. With this in mind, I noticed a video pop up on my YouTube feed of a work that had long been familiar to me, but that I had never troubled myself to watch in its entirety. This was a production of Mozart’s great opera, Don Giovanni. Full disclosure: I’m not a huge fan of opera generally, select Gilbert and Sullivan works notwithstanding. Some of the extended Prima Donna arias can really get under my skin. In the case...

14 March 2025 Friday of the 1st week of LentRingelheim Monastery ChurchReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I).First readingEzekiel 18:21-28I prefer to see the wicked man renounce his wickedness and liveThus says the Lord: ‘If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(3/14/25)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit (Royalty) Revelation 3:2220 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.King James Version________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

“‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God’” (Matthew 5:9). Continuing from yesterday, let’s look at two more characteristics of peacemakers. First, a peacemaker helps others make peace with others. Once you see your duty as a peacemaker in the world, you’ll be looking for ways to build bridges between people and God and then to build them between persons. By definition, a bridge can’t be one-sided. It must extend between two sides or it can never function. And once built, it continues to need support on both sides or it will collapse. In any relationship...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

Pope Francis marks 12 remarkable years leading the Catholic Church from his hospital roomToday, March 13, marks the 12th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 265th successor of St. Peter. As he enters the 13th year of his ministry as bishop of Rome, Francis is not in the Vatican; he is instead a patient in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been treated for double pneumonia for the past 28 days and is now out of imminent danger and recovering.Gemelli Hospital has become a second Vatican, a Vatican 2, one might say, because Francis continues to govern...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘Have an abortion’: Alleged Rupnik victims detail abuse as Vatican slowly investigatesOver 500 days since Pope Francis was effectively shamed into opening an investigation into Father Marco Rupnik, alleged victims of the priest have revealed shocking new details of the abuse they accuse him of.Over 500 days since Pope Francis was effectively shamed into opening an investigation into Father Marco Rupnik, alleged victims of the priest have revealed shocking new details of the abuse they accuse him of.Painting his notorious icons naked from the waist down, raping the women under his charge, and telling one former nun to...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish?” Matthew 7:9–10Clearly this is a rhetorical question by Jesus. No parent would hand their son or daughter a stone or a snake if they asked for food. But that of course is the point. Jesus goes on to say, “...how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”When you pray with deep faith, will our Lord give you whatever you ask? Certainly not....

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland calls on Holy See to ‘reconsider’ appointment of Cardinal McElroy to DCAny bishop or cardinal who has enabled abuse, minimized its severity, or failed to act decisively to protect victims must be held accountable – not elevated to positions of greater authority.Editor’s note: The following is a statement from Bishop Joseph Strickland on the appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy to the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., first published on March 13, 2025, on Strickland’s Facebook page.As shepherds of Christ’s flock, bishops are called to be vigilant in safeguarding the integrity of the Church and the souls entrusted...