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‘The Chosen’ Director Dallas Jenkins has responded to fans wanting him to include the transfiguration of Jesus in his hit TV show about the life of Jesus, saying he’s confused why fans would think it would be an important scene to show, particularly because it wouldn’t “serve our story.” We’ve written about Jenkins in the past, with our posts Dallas Jenkins Says Mormons are Saved : ‘I’m Going to Die on That Hill’, as well as Dallas Jenkins Doubles Down on Controversial Mormon Comments, Straight up Lies and Dallas Jenkins Affirms Mormons are Christians in ‘Definitive, Final’ Video.’ Jenkins made...

The ONLY solution to the depraved and ever-growing lawlessness of the world in which we are living in today is to be found in the Person of Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17, Acts 4:12, Eph. 2:1-14). Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can rescue humanity from the ETERNAL end result of sin and lawlessness (John 3:16-17, Acts 16:28-31, Rev. 20:10-15; 21;22:1-5;11). Dear friend, if you know Him not, may you place your trust and hope in Him today. You will never be the same! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! See image to post

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope Why Was Christ Crucified Between Two Thieves? It is good and necessary to ponder more of the Gospel of yesterday’s Solemnity of Christ the King. It remains a profound teaching that Christ was crucified between two thieves. Why?St. Thomas Aquinas proposes three answers to the question. Let’s consider them, with particular emphasis on the third.I. To Identify with Fallen Sinners – St Thomas said, As Christ became accursed of the cross for us, so for our salvation He was crucified as a guilty one among the guilty (Comm. xxxiii in...

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. ( I Corinthians 1:18-19)For the word of the cross is foolishness to those whoare perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I Will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” ( I Corinthians 1:18-19...

A Teaching from the Lord on the Nature of Suffering and the Cross Msgr. Charles Pope • December 7, 2016 • A familiar Gospel passage read recently in daily Mass gives us a short theological teaching on suffering and the cross:Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matt 11:28-30).On reading a passage...

The Wisdom and Power of the Cross Msgr. Charles Pope • September 13, 2016 • The readings for Wednesday’s Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross provide rich teachings. Let’s look at five themes, each in turn. I. The Pattern of the Cross – One of the stranger passages in the Old Testamentis the one describing a command Moses received from God to mount a bronze snake on a pole.The people had grumbled against God and Moses because of the “wretched” manna they had to consume (Numbers 21:5). Even though it was the miracle food, the bread from...

The Cross is a Fruit-Bearing Tree -- A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope * February 20, 2016 * The second Sunday of Lent always features the Transfiguration. The first reason for this is that the trek up Mt. Tabor was one of the stops Jesus Himself made with Peter, James, and John on His final journey to Jerusalem. It is commonly held that Jesus did this to prepare His apostles for the difficult days ahead. There's a line from an old spiritual that says, "Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down, sometimes I'm almost to...

In Korea, the only "god" he knew was the country's leader, Kim Il-Sung, and any perceived blasphemy against him could land a person in a prison camp. So when Joseph Kim finally crossed the Tumen river into China, he did what he was told—follow the cross—even though he didn't know what a cross or a Christian was. Kim tells his story in a new book, Under the Same Sky: From Starvation in North Korea to Salvation in America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and at a time when North Korea occasionally surfaces in the headlines for its continuing beligerence towards the...

Finding the Good in Good Friday By: Msgr. Charles PopeWhen I was younger, and through my seminary years, I had usually seen the crucifix and Jesus’ suffering on the Cross in somber tones. It was my sin that put Him there, had made Him suffer. The Cross was something that compelled a silent reverence and suggested to me that I meditate deeply on what Jesus had to go through. I would also think of Mary, John, and the other women beneath the Cross mournfully beholding Jesus as He was slowly and painfully dying. These were heavy and somber notes but...

The Cross Always Wins – A Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe Gospel today is, to the world and those who are perishing, utter madness, utter foolishness. For Christ, in effect, declares that dying (to this world) is the only way to true life. While the world’s so-called wisdom declares to us that the way to life is power, prestige, possessions, and popularity, Jesus says we should die to all that in order to find true life.The word “paradox” refers to something that is contrary to the usual way of thinking. And the true gospel...

The Cross in the Cosmos – A Meditation on a Teaching by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe Wisdom Tradition of the Scriptures emphasizes that God speaks and is discerned in things He has made. Scripture says, The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament (stars) shows forth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). Indeed, when God spoke His Word, creation came forth.And the Word that God spoke was the Logos, Jesus. Scripture says, Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (Jn 1:3). It also says, For by Him all things were created, both in...

Down with the Struggle or Up with the Cross? A Word to Priests, Catechists, and Parents By: Msgr. Charles PopeSome forty years ago, the Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen admonished the priests of his day with these words:We become real priests when we empty ourselves, and no longer seek our [own] identity, and where we are lifted up to the cross, not going "down to people" Too many of us today feel we have to be loved $B!D (J [thinking] the young will not love us unless we talk like them, eat like them, drink like them, clothe ourselves...

NOTE: Christians around the world celebrated Good Friday and Easter last week, which commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus we began a six-part series on these events by Dr. Peter Kreeft in which he examines each of the plausible theories attempting to explain what happened to Jesus at the end of his life, particularly whether he rose from the dead.Part 1 - 5 Possible Theories that Explain the Resurrection of JesusPart 2 - Rejecting the Swoon Theory: 9 Reasons Why Jesus Did Not Faint on the Cross Part 3 - Debunking the Conspiracy Theory: 7 Arguments Why Jesus’ Disciples Did Not...

There is a line in the Letter to the Hebrews which reads: You made [Jesus] for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, subjecting all things under his feet.” In “subjecting” all things (to him), he left nothing not “subject to him.” Yet at present we do not see “all things subject to him,” but we do see Jesus “crowned with glory and honor” because he suffered death, (Heb 2:7-9) Now this text is clear about two things. First, All things are subject to Jesus. Second, we do not presently see or experience...

The Mormon Church has an ambivalent history with Christianity’s most iconic symbol, the cross. For about 70 years, the cross was generally tolerated within the church’s cultural fabric. However, the first decades of the 20th century initiated a slow but steady expression of disapproval of the cross; a criticism influenced by LDS leaders’ willingness to publicly declare the Roman Catholic Church as the “church of the devil” described in LDS scripture. “Banishing the Cross: The Emergence of a Mormon Taboo,” (John Whitmer Books) by Michael G. Reed, is a slim but valuable volume on the history of the Mormons’ relationship...

At home and abroad, the American people plead for broad-mindedness, tolerance and charity. Abroad, our ambassadors use all of their powers to influence warring parties to come to the conference table in a spirit of give-and-take. There is a sense in which the world needs broad-mindedness and tolerance. However, in the realm of Christian experience there is a need for intolerance. In some things Christ was the most tolerant, broad-minded Man who ever lived, but in other things He was one of the most intolerant. TOLERANCE CAN BECOME TOO STRETCHEDOne of the pet words of this age is tolerance. It...

Don't lose focus of our real goal and purpose ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPC0iXFGyJM

Goodbye L.A. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: June 16, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com For many, many years, I considered Los Angeles home. Even after I left the area for other professional opportunities, when I visited Los Angeles, it still felt like home. No longer. The character of Los Angeles has fundamentally changed in the last 15 years. I don't even recognize it any more. I don't mean new buildings and freeways. I mean the character of the people who live there. Moving to Los Angeles in 1979 from the East Coast, I thought I had found paradise on earth. The...