http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/catholic-religion/ en-us Mon, 4 Jan 2010 11:58:18 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420471/posts While researching an article, my husband heard about St. John Cantius Parish (Chicago), which offers the Tridentine Mass. Being only a thirty minute drive, we decided to make the trip for my first Tridentine Mass ever on January 1st, the feast day of Mary, Mother of God. Being in awe of the Mass, we decided to return on the Epiphany (yesterday). Gregorian chant was heard almost completely throughout the Mass by their choir of just a few individuals. The Tridentine Mass itself is the most beautiful, heavenly, and fluid Mass I could ever imagine. No altar girls, no Eucharistic ministers,... Vanity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420471/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 11:58:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420381/posts January 4, 2010                                   Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,                                 religious     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading I1 Jn 3:22–4:6Beloved:We receive from him whatever we ask,because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.And his commandment is this:we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,and love one another just as he commanded us.Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,and the way we know that he remains in usis from the Spirit whom he gave... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420381/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 05:14:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420216/posts Wise Men from the East | Sandra Miesel | The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord We Three Kings of Orient are,Bearing gifts we traverse afar. . . . Who were these gift-bearing kings, these Wise Men of the East? What has their mission meant to Christians across the ages? The Wise Men—not yet called kings—make only a single appearance in Holy Scripture. St. Matthew's Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) tells of their arrival in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Jesus. They have come seeking the newborn King of the Jews because they had seen his star rise in... InsightScroop.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420216/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:14:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420211/posts Wise Men from the East | Sandra Miesel | The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord We Three Kings of Orient are,Bearing gifts we traverse afar. . . . Who were these gift-bearing kings, these Wise Men of the East? What has their mission meant to Christians across the ages? The Wise Men—not yet called kings—make only a single appearance in Holy Scripture. St. Matthew's Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) tells of their arrival in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Jesus. They have come seeking the newborn King of the Jews because they had seen his star rise in... IgnatiusInsight.com, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420211/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:59:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420207/posts To halt this “soul drain,” to answer the fundamentalist challenge and, most of all, to understand our faith better, Peter Kreeft looks at five major points of conflict... Whose Bible is it, anyway? We needn’t be bitter in defending our beliefs. Even though many fundamentalists think the Catholic Church is under the control of Satan and all or most Catholics are headed for hell, not all think that — and we shouldn’t think the same of them. However narrow-minded their faith often is, it’s also usually genuine, both in personal sincerity and in basic Christian orthodoxy. Fundamentalism is not some... cerc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420207/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:53:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420180/posts Traditional Sunday Holy Mass Propers 3 January 2010 Anno Dómini † FEAST OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS † Missa In nomine Jesu omne genuflectatur, Caelestium, terrestrium, et infernorum: et omnis lingua contiteatur, quia Dominus Jesus Christus in gloria est Dei Patris. ( "In the name of Jesus let every knee bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and let every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." ) "....vocatum est nomen Eius Iesus quod vocatum est ab Angelo priusquam in utero conciperetur.....His Name was... Robert Drobot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420180/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:10:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420151/posts December 31, 2009 – Thousands of people from all over the world chose to shun traditional New Year’s Eve revelries and instead sought a holy experience in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina. Throngs of pilgrims converged on St. James Church and the surrounding area to take part in an historic New Year’s Eve Mass celebrated by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the archbishop of Vienna and an esteemed member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal Schonborn has been in Medjugorje since December 28 on what was originally thought to be a private visit. The cardinal has surprised the faithful, however,... MedjugorjeVideo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420151/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 20:22:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420096/posts Ten years ago, on a cold winter morning in New York City, the Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission, established to investigate Pope Pius XII’s response to the Holocaust, met for the first time to discuss its future work. I was the only Israeli historian among the six scholars (three Catholics and three Jews) designated by the Vatican and leading Jewish organizations to study this hotly contested issue. A little under two years later, the project was abandoned as a result of the Holy See’s unwillingness to release materials from its own archives that could help clarify issues that our team of scholars... Ottawa Citizen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2420096/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 19:00:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419939/posts But why is New Year’s January 1st and why do we call this 2010? The answers are very Catholic and Christian. I would like to elaborate a bit on what Deacon Curtis began a few days ago as we explore the relgious roots of what is perceived by most to be a very secular holiday. adw.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419939/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 14:03:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419932/posts KAMPALA, Uganda – Twenty renegade Catholic priests who are either married or want to marry have broken from the mainstream Roman Catholic Church here and formed a new church where celibacy is not required, members said. The Ugandan government said Thursday it was investigating the breakaway Catholic Apostolic National Church in Uganda and would ban it if found to be illegal. Vatican officials said the priests were now considered "outside" the Catholic Church and would likely be excommunicated. The creation of the splinter church underscored the increasingly vexing problem of enforcing celibacy for Roman Catholic priests in Africa, which has... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419932/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 13:51:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419843/posts             Feast of the Epiphany  See also the page "Twelfthnight" Also known as Feast of the Epiphany, Three Kings Day, or Theophany, this Feast is a great and very important Feast in memory of Jesus showing His glory in 3 ways: as an infant to the Magi, at His baptism, and at His first miracle at the wedding in Cana. So important is this Feast, that it is a Holy Day of Obligation in many parts of the Catholic world, though not presently in the United States. The symbols of the day are the same as those mentioned on... Fisheaters.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419843/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 05:04:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419829/posts January 3, 2010                               The Epiphany of the Lord     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading IIs 60:1-6Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem!  Your light has come,the glory of the Lord shines upon you.See, darkness covers the earth,and thick clouds cover the peoples;but upon you the LORD shines,and over you appears his glory.Nations shall walk by your light,and kings by your shining radiance.Raise your eyes and look about;they all gather and come to you:your sons come from afar,and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419829/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 04:31:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419746/posts ...The Pope’s travels are not only good will trips; they are the modern missionary journeys of the Vicar of Christ. They are chosen strategically, led by the Holy Spirit and have a prophetic purpose as part of a plan for that full communion. Similarly, his speech in Regensburg is the first step in engaging an ascendant Islam with the Truth claims of Christianity. He will do so with respect, but he will do so and we must do so as well, as part of the Church. The hungry secularism which has fueled what he so aptly called the “dictatorship of... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419746/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:32:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419720/posts How could Mary, a finite creature, be the Mother of God? Isn’t God an eternal being? The title "Mother of God" is offensive to some Protestant Christians because they believe that this title raises Mary to an inappropriate, even idolatrous, level -- the level of God Himself. There is also genuine confusion on the part of others -- including Catholics -- about how a finite creature (Mary) could be the "mother" of an eternal being. "Wouldn't Mary have had to exist before God in order to be His mother?", they reason. Referring to Mary as "Mother of God," however, does... cerc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419720/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 23:32:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419711/posts I was visiting an inner-city church one day and in the vestibule some graffiti was written on the wall which said, "Catholics, God has no mother," obviously referring to Mary's title as "Mother of God." How does one respond to such an objections? To understand the title, "Mother of God," we must first clearly understand Mary's role as mother of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As Catholics, we firmly believe in the incarnation of our Lord: Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Cf. Lk 1: 26-38 and Mt 1: 18-25.) Through her, Jesus Christ — second person of... cerc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419711/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 23:07:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419554/posts While Snopes.com rates this video as Mostly False, it is the partly true parts that bother me. A bit alarmist and highly controversial, this video raises many concerns and possibliities. Ridiculed as inaccurate from the left and embraced by the right as highly tangible...mathmatics do not lie and Islam has patience...read more... Examiner.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419554/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 17:04:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419469/posts Today's reading is an indictment on all who would claim many paths to God . It is a part of a scripture grouped with John 1:19-28 that teaches about John the Baptist being the voice in the wilderness. It is specifically drawn to discussion about witness...read more... Examiner.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419469/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 14:21:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419450/posts VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Pope Benedict XVI says goodbye to 2009, his 2010 calendar is already being filled. On the horizon for the next 12 months are four papal trips; a Middle East Synod of Bishops; the expected publication of a document on the Bible and the second volume of "Jesus of Nazareth;" a major gathering of the world's priests; a pilgrimage to the Shroud of Turin; a probable consistory and several likely canonizations and beatifications -- including that of Pope John Paul II. In April Pope Benedict marks five years in office, and the event will no doubt... cns http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419450/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 13:38:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419421/posts The mother of the messiah has been called many things in the last 2000 years — the Virgin Mary, Our Lady, the Blessed Mother. But call her “the Mother of God” and you’ll see some Christians squirm.This is nothing new. One day in the early fifth century, a priest preached a stirring sermon in the presence of the patriarch of Constantinople. His subject was the holy mother of Jesus. The preacher continually referred to Mary as the “Theotokos” meaning “God-bearer” or mother of God. This was no innovation — Christians had invoked Mary under this title for at least two... CE http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419421/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 12:59:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419411/posts The Holy See’s archives contain scrolls, parchments and leather-bound volumes with correspondence dating back more than 1,000 years. High-quality reproductions of 105 documents, 19 of which have never been seen before in public, have now been published in a book. The Vatican Secret Archives features a papal letter to Hitler, an entreaty to Rome written on birch bark by a tribe of North American Indians, and a plea from Mary Queen of Scots. The book documents the Roman Catholic Church’s often hostile dealings with the world of science and the arts, including documents from the heresy trial against Galileo and... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419411/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 12:42:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419363/posts January 2, 2010                                        Memorial of Saint Basil the Great                                         and Saint Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and                             doctors of the Church       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading I1 Jn 2:22-28Beloved:Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419363/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 06:09:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419224/posts Pope Unhurt After Being Knocked Down VATICAN CITY, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is unhurt after he was knocked down tonight as he entered St. Peter's Basilica to celebrate the Christmas vigil Mass, reports a Vatican spokesman. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters that an "apparently unbalanced" woman jumped the barriers and ran toward the Pope and knocked him to the ground as he walked down the main aisle toward the altar. The woman also collided with Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, who also fell to the ground. The Holy Father, 82, got back... Zenit.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419224/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:32:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419216/posts Featured Term (selected at random):TOWER OF BABEL On the plain of Shinar the people decided to build a town and erect a tower so high it would reach heaven. Yahweh distrusted their motives (Genesis 11:1-9). He confused their language so that they could not understand each other. Then he scattered the people over the earth. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. CatholicReference.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419216/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:24:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419189/posts Does the world really need yet another Roman Catholic saint, particularly if that means canonizing one of the most controversial popes in history? By one count, there are already more than 10,000 saints and “beati,” or blessed, accumulated since Roman times, with at least three saints already assigned for every day of the year. That’s just one of several reasons why Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to proceed toward the canonization of Pius XII, the church’s World War II-era pope, was so surprising. Another two miracles to his name, and Pius will have cleared all the hurdles to sainthood, where he... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419189/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:29:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419104/posts The Vatican has published the names of all the missionaries who died violently in 2009. In all 37 people were killed on active duty, the highest number in the past decade. Among them, is a lay person, 2 seminarians, 2 nuns and 30 priests. One of them could be considered a martyr since it appears he died a victim of a religious hate crime...read more... Examiner.com/Rome Reports http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419104/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 20:04:13 GMT