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Do you hate it when they whine? Do you hate it when they whine and say, "Don't you agree," "Do you see my point," "Ain't it awful," "Aren't they just terrible for doing that," etc.? Do you want to graciously stop them from wasting your time and using you to confirm their distorted views? Then memorize the following line: "Thanks for the honor of being a judge. But, to be a fair judge-- I will first have to hear the other side." If you stick to this line each time they whine--they will soon stop bothering you and move on...

Another day to go and hear from Dad ...

St. George who was a martyr and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers has a feast day on April 23rd, the anniversary of his death by beheading. In 1969, Saint George's feast was reduced to an optional memorial in the Roman Catholic calendar so the solemnity of his commemoration depends purely on local observance. However, St. George Day is celebrated by several nations and cities of which Saint George is patron saint. These include, England, Portugal, Georgia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and the Republic of Macedonia, and the cities of Moscow in Russia, Genova in Italy and Beirut in Lebanon. In Palestine...

After having written about Prince of Egypt several readers told me I should also watch Joseph: King of Dreams. I did and, I have to say, you all were right. Like Prince of Egypt, Joseph: King of Dreams is a must-watch because it touches on some very important things about our relationship with God: [VIDEO] Like Prince of Egypt, Joseph: King of Dreams is a must-watch because it touches on some very important things about our relationship with God: [VIDEO] 2. God guides us, but it’s up to us to act. Joseph used every opportunity he got to improve his...

It's that time againWinter's done, the garden's been started, the week is over ...Let's go listen to a love letter read from Dad Time For Church

Something pleasant about Sunday in the springtime

The last time I posted here I examined Bryan Cross’s claim for unity in the Roman Catholic Church.  It was my intention to apply Bryan’s guidelines to a specific case that he mentioned – i.e. abortion – to show that his claim, in at least that instance, did not meet the “visibility” standard he required for unity to exist.  I hope to have been fair in my examination and believe that said examination disproved Bryan’s thesis on his own grounds.But that exercise caused me to reflect more broadly on the Roman claim to unity as it might apply to other...

Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and co-author of What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense, recently made a spirited call to action for all those willing to refuse to be bullied into submission. Here’s what he wrote on Facebook: The lynch mob came for the brilliant mild-mannered techie Brendan Eich. The lynch mob came for the elderly florist Baronelle Stutzman. The lynch mob came for Eastern Michigan University counseling student Julea Ward. The lynch mob came for the African-American Fire Chief of once segregated Atlanta Kelvin Cochran. The lynch mob came for the owners of...

Have a good and blessed Easter FRpers! Christ is RISEN! He is RISEN INDEED! Hallelujah!

The Hastings College Choir, under the direction of Dr. Fritz Mountford, performs our realization of a simple canon, or round, by the early America singing master, William Billings.

Father Antonio Spadaro, the director of the Italian Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica, has conducted a lengthy interview with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches. The Ecumenical Patriarch spoke about the challenges facing the contemporary world, his admiration for Pope Francis, the upcoming pan-Orthodox synod, and Orthodox spirituality. “Ultimately, it is essential to change the present mindset and abandon a lifestyle of over-consumption and unrestrained greed that inevitably lead to social injustice and inequality,” he told Father Spadaro, who interviewed Pope Francis in August 2013. Interview of the Ecumenical Patriarch...

The New Testament was written in the language used in the Greek-speaking world from about 300 B.C. to A.D. 500. It was known as Koine or "common" Greek because it was street language—the language of the people—as opposed to the classical Greek of literature. Koine Greek was devised within the ranks of Alexander the Great army for one reason: to conquer the world. When Alexander first began pulling together an army from the Greek city-states over which he had won ascendancy, he found he had a serious problem. When his drill sergeants bellowed, "Left face, forward march," every soldier moved...

On His “Glory to God for All Things” blog last week, Orthodox priest Fr. Stephen Freeman posted on the Orthodox perspective on Jesus’ atonement in contrast to the theory of penal substitution (penal substitution is the theory that Jesus died instead of you to take on the punishment due to you from God for your sins). Fr. Stephen argues that even the passages that seem to directly imply “penal substitution” atonement, or at least some form of “satisfaction theory” (i.e. Jesus died as a substitution in place of us to satisfy some demand of God), actually do not inherently suggest...

On Easter Day (April 5th, 2015), faithful Christians will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus bodily from death. Later on this year, faithful Christians will also (on August 15th, 2015) celebrate the resurrection of Mary the mother of Jesus (before her body could see decay) and her Assumption into heaven. With the shows on CNN (Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact and Forgery) and O'Reilly's book, "Killing Jesus" on television (both this Sunday), there seems to be an uptick in the interest on the life of Jesus, the Apostles and early followers of Jesus - as well as Mary's role, too.

Praying The Rosary Is Not Biblical, And Is A Form Of Idolatry Just last Sunday, a local newspaper paper released an article teaching that the praying of the Holy Rosary is Bible-based. In the first two paragraphs, the writer admittedly says that there is no passage in the Bible teaching nor mentioned about the praying of Rosary. However, in the following paragraphs, the writer justified the praying of the Rosary basing it on the repetition of historical events of some Bible characters (like Gideon as he mentioned) about Israel’s history. I don’t know if the writer of this article did...

Certain situations coming up now will not be explainable or even understandable without first coming to the Shepherd of your ways for truly as "THE" WORD(Eternal) now my children of light "will see" that to step out into unfamiliar ground will be utter futility and that inquiring first of Me before they take a step or speak a word will bring the correct illumination, judgment and the eventual decision or action to take . Here are the Keys to The Kingdom seek Me first in all you do and the other keys will reveal themselves to you . Matthew 26:40...

There has been an less-than-productive discussion on this thread regarding the last words of Christ on the Cross. It could be because it started with the suggestion--right in the title--that Catholics don't understand Jesus. Not a great way to initiate dialogue and ecumenism. I would like to take a different approach here. I would like to hear my Protestant brethren explain these words of Christ from the Cross:My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? What does it mean? Why did He say it?

Finding the International Museum of the Reformation is almost as complicated as explaining the historical movement it chronicles. You must first navigate the labyrinth of Geneva’s Old Town, down narrow, cobblestone streets and then up a long flight of stone stairs, skirting the shadows cast by a towering 13th-century cathedral. Finally you arrive at the tranquil courtyard of the Maison Mallet, the 14-room 18th-century mansion housing the museum, which opened in 2005. [SNIP] Given how practices have changed, museum officials set out to create a space that contemporary visitors, Protestant or not, would find appealing and meaningful, with creative high-...

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — KCBS has learned that Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the principal church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has installed a watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral’s doorways. The cathedral, at Geary and Gough, is the home church of the Archbishop. There are four tall side doors, with sheltered alcoves, that attract homeless people at night. “They actually have signs in there that say, ‘No Trespassing,’” said a homeless man named Robert. But there are no signs warning the homeless about what happens in these doorways, at various times, all through the night....

John 16:7-15 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you. And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged. I have yet many things to say...