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The campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. | Baylor University/Morty OrtegaBaylor University in Waco, Texas, has received a $643,401 grant from a liberal foundation to foster inclusion among LGBTQ-identified individuals in the church.The hefty grant to the private Baptist research university's Center for Church and Community Impact (C31) came from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, according to a press release from the school's Diana R. Garland School of Social Work.The grant's goal is "to foster inclusion and belonging in the church," with an emphasis on understanding "the disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations...

Praying daily since 2015:Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

By Dr. John BergsmaIn the Readings for this Sunday, Jesus continues his final journey, his fateful "death march" toward Jerusalem (Luke 9–19, the "Travel Narrative") that began formally in Luke 9:51. The past several Sundays have foreshadowed Jesus' coming suffering and death, but this Sunday we get a reprieve as themes of suffering recede into the background. We are temporarily caught up in the joy of Jesus' ministry, as he assembles around himself a congregation of disciples who constitute a spiritual "Jerusalem." In the healing ministry of Jesus and his disciples, we see a fulfillment of certain prophecies of peace...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16–17The parable above teaches us that even if someone were to faithfully understand and live the authentic Law that was given through Moses and the prophets, Jesus’ new teaching of grace, the New Law, was so...

5 July 2025Saturday of week 13 in Ordinary Time Santo Antônio Maria Zaccaria - Church in Rio de JaneiroReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: C(I).First readingGenesis 27:1-5,15-29Jacob obtains Isaac's blessing by fraudIsaac had grown old, and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see. He summoned his elder son Esau. ‘My son!’ he said to him, and the latter answered, ‘I am here.’ Then he said, ‘See, I am old and do not know when I may die. Now take your weapons, your quiver and bow; go out into the country and hunt me some game. Make...

“‘Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits’” (Matthew 7:19–20). We can spot false prophets by the kind of people they attract. Their converts will have the same kind of superficial, self-centered, unbiblical orientation as they do. Of this sort of attraction Peter says, “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned” (2 Peter 2:2). Many folks gravitate to false teachers because those men propagate what the majority of people want to hear and...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(7/5/25)[Prayer]Water, Rivers, and Streams in the BibleRevelation 22:1-6Eden Restored 22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and...

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) I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditionis Custodes: The Narrative Is All LiesWe must thank God today. Many secret documents in the Vatican will never see the light of day for many years, decades, or even centuries. Think about the following:The papers against Cardinal Rampolla as a member of the OTO, which caused him to be vetoed as Pope in 1903The 1978 dossier of Cardinal Gagnon, which documented the Masonic corruption of the Vatican and possibly caused the murder of John Paul IThe 2013 dossier which documented Vatican corruption which, Pope Francis admitted, was given to him by Pope Emeritus BenedictAlmost four years ago...

[Catholic Caucus] The Shifting Sands of Traditionis custodesFollowing Diane Montagna’s bombshell revelation of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's summary of the Bishops opinion on Summorum Pontificum, it was wondered by many how the defenders of Traditionis custodes would respond. While the first 24 hours saw a flurry of defenses call into question her reporting (none of them very compelling), defenders have received their talking points and have settled upon a defense. What they do not realize is this defense puts them into an even more precarious position.As a quick refresher, Montagna was given what could be described...

4 July 2025 Friday of week 13 in Ordinary Time St. Elizabeth of Portugal Church, Sacramento, CAReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: C(I).First readingGenesis 23:1-4,19,24:1-8,62-67'Choose a wife for my son Isaac'The length of Sarah’s life was a hundred and twenty-seven years. She died at Kiriath-arba, or Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn and grieve for her. Then leaving his dead, Abraham spoke to the sons of Heth: ‘I am a stranger and a settler among you,’ he said. ‘Let me own a burial-plot among you, so that I may take my dead wife...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Matthew 9:12–13Would you describe yourself as one who is “well” or one who is “sick?” Are you among the “righteous” or the “sinners?” Be careful how you answer this question. Of course, the pride that comes with our fallen human nature often tempts us to claim that we are “well” and “righteous.” But humility will reveal the truth that we...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(7/4/25)[Prayer]Water, Rivers, and Streams in the BibleEzekiel 32:1-2A Lament Over Pharaoh 32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: “‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet and muddying the streams.Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used...

“‘A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit’” (Matthew 7:18). Careful examination of a false prophet’s teachings will always reveal unscriptural ideas and an absence of a solid, coherent theology. Often he will teach a combination of truth and error. But sooner rather than later his teachings will prove the sort of teacher he really is. As Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his...

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] Vatican unveils ‘care of creation’ Mass rooted in Laudato si’, ‘theology of creation’Cdl. Czerny and Abp. Viola said the impetus behind the new Mass texts was heavily influenced by Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato si’, ‘On care for our common home.’The Vatican released the texts for the new votive Mass “for the care of creation” Thursday and announced that Pope Leo XIV will use the new prayers for a private Mass with a group at Castel Gandolfo next week.At 10 a.m. Rome time on July 3, the Holy See Press Office published a decree “on the formulary and...

[Catholic Caucus] Official Vatican Report Dismantles Traditionis CustodesA major exposé on Traditionis Custodes leaked a confidential Vatican document summarizing the 2020 global survey of bishops—a document that allegedly influenced Pope Francis’s controversial decision to restrict the Traditional Latin Mass. According to the leaked findings, the majority of bishops did not support limiting the Latin Mass and even warned that such restrictions could worsen tensions within the Catholic Church.Journalist Diane Montagna recently published the report prepared by the Vatican following the questionnaire that, in 2020, the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had sent to the presidents of episcopal...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditionis Custodes "failed": The leak could have been "strategic."The leak could be strategic: For years, only the very negative feedback from the French Bishops' Conference on the survey by the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the “Old Mass” was known - completely in line with Francis. Now that a new pope is in office, who has repeatedly revived traditions abandoned by his predecessor - from the Corpus Christi procession and the handing over of the pallia to new archbishops to the traditional vacation spot - a new picture is being painted.Francis had justified his...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” John 20:27–29Thomas the Apostle, in many ways, represents each and every one of us in this exchange with Jesus. We’d like to believe that we always believe and are not unbelieving. But it’s important to admit...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(7/3/25)[Prayer]Water, Rivers, and Streams in the BibleRevelation 21:66 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life..Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.________________________