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"I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes" (Dan. 9:3). The more you understand God’s holiness, the more you’ll recognize your own sinfulness. People view prayer differently. For some it is a last resort after all human options have been exhausted: "All I can do now is pray for you!" Others liken it to a spiritual spare tire—something used only in the event of an emergency. Many who should thrive on prayer have been lulled into complacency by an affluent and godless society. Daniel, however, saw prayer as...

"The word of the Lord [came] to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem" (Dan. 9:2). Effective prayer is always consistent with God’s will. It is characteristic of God's people to identify with God's purposes and conform their will to His. Learning to pray according to His will is a major step in that process because it drives you to the Word and demonstrates a humble, submissive heart. Jesus emphasized the priority of God's will when He said, "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who...

"I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications" (Dan. 9:2-3). God’s sovereignty doesn’t eliminate the need for prayer. Have you ever wondered if it's biblical to pray for things that God has already promised in His Word to do? Is it proper to pray, say, for the salvation of sinners, knowing that God will redeem all the...

“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus . . . I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer” (Dan. 9:1-3). Uncompromising prayer brings glory to God. Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:1-19 illustrates the key elements of effective intercessory prayer. Those elements will serve as the focus of our studies for several days, but first some background to Daniel’s prayer will be helpful. Verse 1 says that Daniel prayed in the first year of the reign of King Darius, the first great king of the Medo-Persian Empire. About sixty-five years earlier, God had...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Promotes Amazon Archbishop - Open to Married Priests and Amazonian RiteLeo XIV has appointed Archbishop Mário Antônio da Silva, 59, as the new Archbishop of Aparecida. The archdiocese is significant because ithouses Brazil's National Shrine.Born on October 17, 1966, he was ordained a priest on December 21, 1991, for the Diocese of Jacarezinho. Benedict XVI appointed him as Auxiliary Bishop of Manaus in 2010. Francis promoted him to Bishop of Roraima in 2016 and to Archbishop of Cuiabá in 2022.He is President of Caritas Brazil.Monsignor da Silva participated in the Amazon Synod in October 2019. He...

"Men ought always to pray" (Luke 18:1, KJV). Prayer should never be limited to certain times, places, or circumstances. As a child I was taught to pray with my head bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded. Even as a young man I thought that was the only acceptable mode of prayer. In my seminary days I sang in a quartet that traveled to various churches throughout the United States. The first time I traveled with them we had a prayer meeting in the car, and the driver prayed with his eyes open. All of us were glad he did, but...

As he explains in his deep-dive meditation on faith and philosophy, “Why I Am Not an Atheist,” the spirit told him to put his trust in God. ..The visits continued for years. Beha was raised Catholic, on New York’s Upper East Side, by a very bookish family that sent him to Princeton. ..Beha debates the old masters: Descartes, Kant, Locke, Mill, Hobbes, Camus, Nietzsche and many, many others, but he starts with a poke at the “New Atheists” Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and the like — all of them now passé, in his view. Some years ago in...

"Pray at all times in the Spirit" (Eph. 6:18). Spiritual victory is directly related to the quality of your prayer life. Prayer is communication with God, and like all communication, it can be developed to maximum efficiency or allowed to languish. Which you choose will determine the quality of your spiritual life. Ironically, the freedom of worship we enjoy in our society and our high standard of living make it easy to become complacent about prayer and presume on God's grace. Consequently, many who say they trust in God actually live as if they don't need Him at all. Such...

By Dr. John BergsmaThis Sunday we are only eleven days into Lent, still very early along on our Lenten pilgrimage. The readings share the theme of beginning the journey of faith, even while giving us a glimpse of our final destination. In all three years of the lectionary cycle (A, B, C), the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent always pair a key pericope from the Abraham narrative (Genesis 12—22) with an account of the Transfiguration from one of the Synoptic Gospels. This is because, in all the Gospels, the Transfiguration marks “the beginning of the end” of Jesus’...

God revealed His Name to Moses — YHWH (יהוה) — on Sinai (Exodus 3:14–15). In early Hebrew pictographs, the letters of YHWH are often shown as: Behold • Hand • Behold • Nail. ‘Behold the hand, behold the nail’ — a powerful pointer to Messiah Yeshua (Zech 12:10; John 20:27). He is the First and the Last (Isa 44:6; Rev 1:8; 22:13).

"Joyously giving thanks to the Father" (Col. 1:11-12). Joyous thanksgiving acknowledges God as the giver of every good gift. The inseparable link between joy and thanksgiving was a common theme for Paul. In Philippians 4:4-6 he says, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! . . . Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." He told the Thessalonians to "rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess. 5:16- 18). As...

[Catholic Caucus] Irish bishop says young Catholics yearn for ‘clarity’ and tradition, not synodalityYoung Irish Catholics who have grown up in a ‘post-Christian’ society ‘paradoxically’ seek ‘clarity, coherence and tradition,’ Bishop Niall Coll observed.An Irish bishop said young Catholics today seek doctrinal “clarity” and tradition as a counter to the post-Christian world in which they are immersed.At the recent launch of the book Transformative Renewal in the Catholic Church, Bishop Niall Coll of Raphoe, Ireland, highlighted the fact that what young people desire, and need, is not aimless “synodality,” but the solid, unchanging truths of the Church.Speaking of young Catholics...

Beloved; America, which was founded during the Philadelphia Church Age (from about 1600 AD to about 1850 AD - the church of the “open door” – Rev 3:7-13), was established on the bedrock of natural and moral laws and foremost acknowledged the RIGHTEOUS Person of Almighty God at its founding. Beloved, just read the Declaration of Independence, our nation's precious birth certificate, and see for yourself how Almighty God was included! Oh, how the haters love to slander our founding and twist the truth of its inception! In the fullness of time, at the end of world history, some 4000...

"Strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience" (Col. 1:11). God always empowers you to do what He commands you to do. An alarming number of Christians seem to lack spiritual stability. Many are "carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming" (Eph. 4:14). Others lack moral purity. Many are driven by their emotions rather than sound thinking. Increasingly, therapists and psychologists are replacing pastors and biblical teachers as the heroes of the faith. While we still proclaim a sovereign, all- powerful...

Brazilian Archbishop Declares Excommunication for Attending Latin Mass Outside Approved SiteArchbishop Carlos Alberto Breis Pereira, 60, of Maceió, Brazil, has warned that celebrating or attending the Mass in the Roman rite outside of his one authorized location will result in excommunication.The diocesan note was issued on February 11 on FaceBook.com (below). It reads:“The Archdiocese of Maceió informs the faithful who reside within its jurisdiction that, if they wish to participate in the so-called ‘Tridentine Masses’ or in those celebrated according to the Roman Missal of Saint Pius V, promulgated by Pope Saint Pius V in 1570, in the Latin language,...

BREAKING: Bishop Schneider reveals bishops secretly won’t submit to Francis’ authoritative teachingsIn the interview, Bishop Schneider also enumerates several teachings of Pope Francis to which he himself says he cannot assent. In a live interview Thursday with longtime Vatican journalist Robert Moynihan, Bishop Athanasius Schneider revealed that he has spoken off the record with several bishops who have said that they do not submit in “mind and will” to the authentic magisterium of Pope Francis. Bishop Schneider added that the bishops he has spoken to “do not dare to say this” publicly but only in private. “When I ask them...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo is pushing the synodal error that process trumps truthPope Leo XIV’s Jubilee homily suggested truth is ‘sought together,’ not ‘possessed,’ reframing doctrine as evolving consensus while ignoring divine revelation.Editor’s note: In Part 3 of Father Enoch’s 5-part essay, he continues his analysis of Pope Leo XIV’s October 26, 2025, homily at a Jubilee Mass for synodal teams at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, after first critiquing Cardinal Mario Grech’s opening address to synodal teams who were gathered in Rome. To read Parts 1 and 2, click here and here.To purchase his book The Trojan Horse, click...

"Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). Your fruitfulness is directly related to your knowledge of divine truth. Every farmer who enjoys a plentiful harvest does so only after diligent effort on his part. He must cultivate the soil, plant the seed, then nurture it to maturity. Each step is thoughtful, disciplined, and orderly. Similarly, bearing spiritual fruit is not an unthinking or haphazard process. It requires us to be diligent in pursuing the knowledge of God's will, which is revealed in His Word. That is Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9, which...

[Catholic Caucus] New ‘Synodal Church’ is proceeding full steam ahead under Pope Leo XIVThis inversion of the hierarchical structure and democratization of the Church will pave the way for the overturning of the entire moral order as established by God.Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a 5-part essay written by Father Enoch, a priest who writes under a pseudonym. To purchase his book The Trojan Horse, click here.(LifeSiteNews) — In my book The Trojan Horse,[1] I explain how Pope Francis used his papacy to attempt to transform the Catholic Church into a New World Order institution that embraces...

[Catholic Caucus] The Mother of God and salvation - an article on the Vatican Document on the Blessed VirginThe Mother of God and salvationby John Lamont Faithful Catholics have rightly been outraged by the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis published on November 4, 2025 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document was signed by Cardinal Victor Fernández, the Prefect of the Dicastery, and its publication was ordered by Pope Leo XIV. In his address to the Dicastery on January 29th 2026, Pope Leo praised and endorsed the document, describing it as 'the doctrinal Note Mater Populi...