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The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . ." —Romans 8:28 The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances...

Intimate Theology "Do you believe this?" —John 11:26 Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— "Yes, Lord, I believe that You...

The South African Catholic blog Signum has an article reporting that TAC in UK accepts "Ordinariate" At the 2009 Assembly of the Traditional Anglican Communion UK, the following resolution was passed:That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution.The Assembly also suggests Bishop Robert Mercer as a possible candidate for Ordinary. I hear...

Writings of the Fathers of the Church  Alexander of Alexandria (Saint)   - Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius Alexander of Lycopolis   - Of the Manicheans Ambrose (340-397) (Saint) (Doctor)   - On the Christian Faith (De fide)   - On the Holy Spirit   - On the Mysteries   - On Repentance   - On the Duties of the Clergy   - Concerning Virgins   - Concerning Widows   - On the Death of Satyrus   - Memorial of Symmachus   - Sermon against Auxentius   - Letters Aphrahat/Aphraates (c. 280-367)   - Demonstrations Archelaus   - Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes Aristides the Philosopher   - The Apology Arnobius   - Against the Heathen Athanasius (Saint) (Doctor)   - Against the Heathen   - On the Incarnation...

Abandoning the diplomatic language typical of ecumenical pronouncements, the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, chaired by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh, has issued a candid critique of the 2007 “Ravenna document,” a modest milestone in Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical relations. The Ravenna document, while not purporting to be the Church’s official teaching, was issued by the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, chaired by Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamon. A month after the document was issued, Cardinal Kasper told other cardinals...

Partakers of His Suffering ". . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . ." —1 Peter 4:13 If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, "Oh, I can’t deal with that person." Why...

ABC's sci-fi series V, tackles questions of blind faith, asking, "Would we believe them?" In the first episode of ABC's remake of the '80s alien-invasion series V (Tuesdays 8/7c), a teen boy is led down the path of destruction by a powerful force: the winsome smile of a cute girl. The dark threat behind innocent flirtation illustrates not only an allegorical shift from the original V series, but also the theme of the new hour-long drama: Things are rarely as pretty as they look. In the original V, the conquest of powerful reptilian aliens—known as the Visitors—was a metaphor for...

The Authority of Truth "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" —James 4:8 It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds...

The Sufficiency of the Written Word Answering the Modern Roman Catholic Apologists by Dr. John F. MacArthur, JrThe tendency to venerate tradition is very strong in religion. The world is filled with religions that have been following set traditions for hundreds -- even thousands -- of years. Cultures come and go, but religious tradition shows an amazing continuity.In fact, many ancient religions -- including Druidism, Native American religions, and several of the oriental cults -- eschewed written records of their faith, preferring to pass down their legends and rituals and dogmas via word of mouth. Such religions usually treat their...

A Bondservant of Jesus "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . ." —Galatians 2:20 These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my...

At Saint Mary the Virgin Catholic Church, the 75-year-old priest is married, members sing from an Episcopalian hymnal and parishioners kneel at the altar to receive Communion. Years ago, the Texas parish and a handful of other conservative Episcopal churches in the U.S. decided to become Roman Catholic. Though they were confirmed by the Vatican, they were still allowed to practice some of their Anglican traditions, including having married priests. Now, these churches may have helped pave the way for Anglicans worldwide, or Episcopalians as they are known in the U.S., to become Catholic under a new Vatican plan created...

After a three-year process, the Vatican recently decided to invite the world's 77 million Anglicans into the fold, offering full communion within the Roman Catholic Church while retaining Anglican liturgy and the married priesthood. While the decision will offer an opportunity to the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion, representing 300,000 to 400,000 Anglicans who sought "full, corporate, sacramental union" with the Roman Catholic Church, it is not expected to dramatically affect the American Episcopal Church, according to area clergy who were pleased or disaffected by the news. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River reacted with cautious optimism, warning that much...

Obedience or Independence? "If you love Me, keep My commandments" —John 14:15 Our Lord never insists obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an "If," meaning, "You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so." "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . ." ( Luke 9:23 ). In other words, "To be...

What are the real differences between the OPC and the PCA? Most of the stories told in the OPC are told by ex-PCA’ers who had a bad experience in the PCA. And most of the stories told in PCA are told by former OP members or ministers who were frustrated in the OPC. And so the stereotypes grow!   Alternately, someone with experience in two or three OP churches generalizes from that to the whole OPC (or vice versa, with the PCA).   My own experience is somewhat limited, but I have had the advantage of serving for the last...

"You Are Not Your Own" "Do you not know that . . . you are not your own?" —1 Corinthians 6:19 There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for...

Most Swedenborgians I know hesitate tackling a end times topic. Growing up, I was taught that the second coming of the Lord commenced on June 19th, 1771 and beginning then, many commenced building His New Church here on earth. From Johnny Appleseed and Helen Keller, we have inspiring stories of Swedenborgians who went out in novel ways into the world to spread the message. I joined Free Republic at the end of 2003 interested in the election and found the religious forum full of committed folks that I respect talking about end times topics... lots of things on prophecy was...

Several commemorative events will be held in Augsburg, Germany, over the next two days to celebrate the signing of a landmark ecumenical agreement ten years ago between representatives of the the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Roman Catholic Church. It was on Oct. 31, 1999, that the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), considered one of the most significant agreements since the Reformation, was signed by church officials from the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation, which claims to represent 66.7 million of the world's 70.2 million Lutherans. Members of the World Methodist Council later adopted the...

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican says it will admit married Anglican priests to the Catholic priesthood case by case. Vatican officials recently announced changes to make it easier for Anglicans to convert, as many conservative Anglicans are disillusioned by their own church's allowing women priests and gay clergy. The new move left some wondering whether Rome would embrace married Anglican priests in large numbers. A Holy See statement Saturday quoted Cardinal William Levada as saying the Vatican would consider accepting married Anglican priests into the Roman Catholic priesthood as it has in the past -- evaluating each case on its...

The Trial of Faith "If you have faith as a mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible for you" —Matthew 17:20 We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith— faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a...

VATICAN CITY — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, will meet Pope Benedict XVI on November 21, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed Friday. Lombardi told AFP that Rowan's visit to the Vatican was "already planned" before the Vatican's October 20 announcement of a structure for welcoming Anglican converts into the Roman Catholic Church. Williams will be on hand for celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Johannes Willebrands, a Dutch cardinal who was a pioneer in Catholic ecumenism and who died in 2006. The Vatican announced last week that Pope Benedict XVI has...

Faith "Without faith it is impossible to please Him . . ." —Hebrews 11:6 Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense and faith are as different from each other as the natural life is from the spiritual, and as impulsiveness is from inspiration. Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common...

Substitution "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" —2 Corinthians 5:21 The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was "made. . . to be sin. . . ." Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is...

ROME – Dissident theologian Father Hans Kung criticized Pope Benedict XVI for his recent opening to discontented Anglicans, charging the pope was “fishing” for the most conservative Christians to the detriment of the larger church. Father Kung said the invitation to traditionalist Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church went against years of ecumenical work on the part of both churches, calling it instead “a nonecumenical piracy of priests.” The pope’s basic message is: “Traditionalists of all churches, unite under the dome of St. Peter’s!” Father Kung wrote in an editorial Oct. 28 in the Rome daily La Repubblica. “Look:...

A funny thing happened on the way to the twenty-first century. Roman Catholics went from being the most un-American Christians in the United States to one of the nation's most supportive religious groups. Only four decades ago, John F. Kennedy, while running for President, had to explain to Protestants that he would not put his allegiance to the Pope above his vow to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution. Today, conservative Protestants not only see nothing wrong with, but take encouragement from, Roman Catholics providing the most conservative interpretations of the Constitution as justices on the Supreme Court. The reversal...

[UPDATE: Lambeth Palace has denied reports that there is to be an emergency meeting of Church of England bishops to discuss the Pope's offer tomorrow.] Here’s what I think Dr Rowan Williams is most worried about as the reality of the Pope’s offer sinks in: the prospect of the Bishop of Chichester and many of his clergy signing up to the new Ordinariate. Bishop John Hind put out a statement today which denies that he is about to become a Roman Catholic. Read between the lines, though. It doesn’t mean that he won’t join the new Papal structure in the...

As a former Anglican priest myself, I am profoundly grateful for our Holy Father’s generous proposal toward Anglicans, 'that they all might be one' (Jn 17:21).DALLAS, TX (Catholic Online) - On October 20, 2009, the Holy See made an unexpected announcement: the Holy Father will be issuing an Apostolic Constitution (the highest form of papal document) through which he will erect personal ordinariates for Anglican clergy and laity wishing to enter the Catholic Church. While rumors about this have been stirring since 2007, the recent decision came as a surprise to most Catholics and Anglicans. Those who remember their high...

Justification by Faith "If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" —Romans 5:10 I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It...

New Haven, CT Today a group of Anglican clergy responded to the Vatican's recent decision to open the way for disaffected Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Robert Hendrickson, the Director of Communications for the Society, released a statement acknowledging that for those Anglicans who disagree with recent developments within Anglicanism, “such a move may make some sense.” He went on to point out that for many in the catholic tradition of Christianity, “such changes are a natural extension of our understanding of the evolution of Tradition in the life of the Church.” Hendrickson also...

I can’t resist telling you about this. Tonight I was wandering around the nave of Westminster Cathedral in the interval of a stunning benefit recital by Stephen Hough. HE Cormac Card. Murphy-O’Connor was there and, God forgive me, I’d fished out my BlackBerry and was about to tweet: “Resisting the temptation to tease +Cormac about the Apostolic Constitution.” (Background: CMOC opposed and delayed the Pope’s marvellous offer to Anglicans because he’s [a] an old-style ecumenist and [b] wrong about everything.) And then… someone very tall grabbed my shoulder, and a familiar Father Ted brogue came booming down. “Damian Thompson! I...

For many sitting in the pews of Saint Augustine's Anglican church in north London it was a particularly special Sunday. There were three confirmations and one man received his first communion. But amid the applause and smart outfits there was another sense of occasion, with people coming to terms with one of the biggest developments in Christendom since the Reformation. Last week's decree from Pope Benedict, announcing the creation of a special section in the Roman Catholic church for ex-Anglican communities, has aroused strong opinions among traditionalist clergy. It has cast doubt on the authority of the archbishop of Canterbury,...

The Method of Missions "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . ." —Matthew 28:19 Jesus Christ did not say, "Go and save souls" (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, "Go . . . make disciples of all the nations . . . ." Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, "Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret...

Movement on All Fronts... The talks began today, Monday, October 26. On this historic Monday, unprecedented high-level theological discussions between representatives of the Society of St. Pius X and of the Holy See got underway to discuss "all the unresolved doctrinal questions" ("grandi temi dottrinali non risolti") related to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), its implementation and interpretation. The talks took place in the building once known as the "Holy Office of the Inquisition" and still called the Sant'Uffizio in Italian -- the Holy Office. On one side, representatives of the Society of St. Pius X, founded by the French...

Our Church of England bishops can be such flirts. They were at it again over the weekend, as traditionalists met to consider Pope Benedict XVI's bombshell decision to welcome disaffected Anglo-Catholics, even the married ones, into Roman Catholicism, while keeping some of their Anglican ways. Since the Vatican's announcement last week, Anglo-Catholic bishops and priests have been lifting the hems of their copes to show Rome a glimpse of silk-gartered ankle. But they're coy and demure, too; they make it clear that they'll want a decent dowry from the Archbishop of Canterbury before they throw themselves into the arms of...

America's Orthodox Christians, divided for decades among about 10 churches based on Greek or Serb or other ancestry, soon may be moving toward the formation of a united American Orthodox church. Many of them have dreamed of that for decades, especially as conversions to Orthodoxy have skyrocketed. But most church patriarchs have squelched such talk. Now it appears that the patriarchs are not only supporting but demanding some sort of unity. To explore what this may mean for believers in the United States, the independent, pan-Orthodox group Orthodox Christian Laity will gather for three days, starting Thursday, at Antiochian Village...

What is a Missionary? "Jesus said to them again, ’. . . As the Father has sent Me, I also send you’ " —John 20:21 A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of...

A senior bishop has attacked the former Archbishop of Canterbury as a “moaner” for complaining about the timing of the Pope’s offer to Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England to join Rome. The Bishop of Fulham, the Right Rev John Broadhurst, told The Times that the Church of England, including the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had been aware for years of the Vatican’s plans to admit disaffected Anglicans. “The Archbishop of Canterbury knew that this was happening, but didn’t know when,” Bishop Broadhurst said. Asked about complaints by Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, about the Pope...

THE Anglican Archbishop of Perth has cautioned disgruntled Anglicans not to join the Catholic Church in anger and haste. Rogert Herft said the Vatican's offer to receive Anglicans would provide a "helpful way for those who wished to join the Roman Catholic Church to do so on similar terms to many Roman Catholics".

One caution: Many of the details remain up in the air This week's big Vatican story is obviously the decision to create special structures, called "personal ordinariates", to welcome Anglicans seeking to join the Catholic church. In some reports, the move was touted as a bold gambit to end the schism that began with the English Reformation in the 16th century -- a dubious bit of spin, given that the actual number of Anglicans likely to sign up for one of these ordinariates will almost certainly be quite small.When the dust settles, the centuries-long breach between Rome and Canterbury will...

From what one hears, the Church of England should be shaking in its warm woolly socks by now. The Pope’s latest initiative, allowing ultra-traditionalist Anglicans to go over to Rome en masse while being allowed to preserve their traditional liturgy, is being portrayed as a devious Papist attempt to split and undermine our national Church. As a strong Anglican, I don’t buy into any of this. Many people may not think that there’s much difference between the churches, but that’s not how they see it in Glasgow, and that’s not how the Pope sees it either. These things are important....

One of the most controversial papal documents ever released was the bull Unam Sanctam, issued in 1302 by Pope Boniface VIII. Today the most controversial part of the bull is the following infallible pronouncement: "Now, therefore, we declare, say, define, and pronounce that for every human creature it Is altogether necessary for salvation to be subject to the authority of the Roman pontiff." This doctrine is extraordinarily controversial. Some Catholic extremists claim (contrary to further Church teaching, including a further infallible definition) that this means everyone who is not a full fledged, professing Catholic is damned. Non Catholics find the...

Top Stories for Thursday, October 29th, 2009: The monastery of St. Thaddeus, according to tradition, was built by the Apostle St. Jude Thad­deus, “ the brother of the Lord” and the first missionary of the Armenians in 66 A. D. It is located in present- day Iran. According to the fifth- century Armenian chronicler Movses Khorenatsi, he is also buried here. If so, then this church is equal in rank with the Roman basilicas of Peter and Paul, the tomb in Compostela of the Apostle James, and the Madras cathedral of the Apostle Thomas, only much less known. It...

  Unam Sanctam is the sort of document that gives our Protestant brothers and sisters a real jolt, primarily because it looks at first blush as though it teaches that Catholics cannot have Protestant brothers and sisters. Written by Pope Boniface VIII in 1302, this papal bull concludes with a shocking dogmatic definition:   We declare, say, define and pronounce, that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.   The average modern reader concludes that these words mean: "We know exactly where the Church both is and is...

Submitting to God’s Purpose "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" —1 Corinthians 9:22 A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, "If only I were somewhere else!" All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very...

The Rt Rev John Hind, the Bishop of Chichester, has announced he is considering becoming a Roman Catholic in a move that could spark an exodus of clergy. Bishop Hind said he would be "happy" to be reordained as a Catholic priest and said that divisions in Anglicanism could make it impossible to stay in the church. He is the most senior Anglican to admit that he is prepared to accept the offer from the Pope, who shocked the Church of England last week when he paved the way for clergy to convert to Catholicism in large numbers. In a...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the midst of a protest by a small number of Orthodox monks and faithful, the official Catholic-Orthodox dialogue commission met in Cyprus Oct. 16-23. The meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church focused on a key factor in the ongoing division between Catholic and Orthodox: the role of the pope as bishop of Rome. The protesters -- who were arrested Oct. 20, the third day of their demonstration -- claimed that the ongoing dialogue between the two churches was aimed at getting the Orthodox...

Concerned evangelicals gathered last week to search the soul of their movement and find a new way forward. Among evangelicals, who account for a quarter of the U.S. population, the idea that they must focus their attention on shaping authentic disciples of Jesus has always had broad support. But how to do that in a consumerist society with little appetite for self-denial is fueling internal debate. About 500 people attended a conference at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary on "renewing the evangelical mission." Leading thinkers called fellow believers to repent for a host of sins, from reducing the Gospel to a right-wing...

The Proper Perspective "Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . ." —2 Corinthians 2:14 The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching...

Pope Benedict has sure gotten the ball rolling and it seems others want to get into the ecumenical action! Thanks to A Catholic Knight on this one: A Bulgarian Orthodox prelate told Benedict XVI of his desire for unity, and his commitment to accelerate communion with the Catholic Church. At the end of Wednesday's general audience, Bishop Tichon, head of the diocese for Central and Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, stated to the Pope, "We must find unity as soon as possible and finally celebrate together," L'Osservatore Romano reported. "People don't understand our divisions and our discussions," the...

Daily Telegraph religion journalist Damien Thompson is sometimes a bit gossipy for my liking, but in this article he does an inside analysis on some of the other major things happening in and behind this week's stunning announcement of Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans.For ten years I was an Anglican priest, and for ten years I was a Catholic layman in England. I worked for the St Barnabas Society--a charity that quietly assists convert clergy as they convert to the Catholic Church. At the same time I was on a long road to ordination myself. I therefore got to meet and...

April 20, 2005 newly elected Pope Benedict XVI gave his message at the end of a Mass he had concelebrated with the members of the College of Cardinals. He signaled his mission: “Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. The Successor of Peter knows that he must make himself especially responsible for his Divine Master's supreme aspiration. Indeed, he is entrusted with the task of strengthening his brethren (cf. Luke 22: 32). With full awareness, therefore, at the...