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April 15, 2015Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 5:17-26 The high priest rose up and all his companions,that is, the party of the Sadducees,and, filled with jealousy,laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,led them out, and said,“Go and take your place in the temple area,and tell the people everything about this life.”When they heard this,they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.When the high priest and his companions arrived,they convened the Sanhedrin,the...

Simply as a practical necessity, Christians have always paid closer attention to the doctrine of the church in times of rising cultural opposition. It’s like being a homeowner in coastal Florida when the news forecasts another hurricane. Is that homeowner’s insurance policy up to date?Historical examples are easy to recount. The third and fourth century church long debated how to deal with the “lapsi.” These were the Christians who renounced Christ and sided with Caesar under persecution, but then repented and wanted back into the church. In the years following the Cultural Revolution, house churches in China, for the...

April 14, 2015Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter   Reading 1 Acts 4:32-37 The community of believers was of one heart and mind,and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,but they had everything in common.With great power the Apostles bore witnessto the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,and great favor was accorded them all.There was no needy person among them,for those who owned property or houses would sell them,bring the proceeds of the sale,and put them at the feet of the Apostles,and they were distributed to each according to need. Thus Joseph, also named by the...

April 13, 2015Monday of the Second Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 4:23-31 After their release Peter and John went back to their own peopleand reported what the chief priests and elders had told them.And when they heard it,they raised their voices to God with one accordand said, “Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earthand the sea and all that is in them,you said by the Holy Spiritthrough the mouth of our father David, your servant: Why did the Gentiles rageand the peoples entertain folly?The kings of the earth took their standand the princes gathered togetheragainst the Lord...

Something pleasant about Sunday in the springtime

In this extended interview, Tommy James talks about his days with the mob and how the rock'n'roll lifestyle almost derailed his life...

April 12, 2015Sunday of Divine Mercy    Reading 1 Acts 4:32-35 The community of believers was of one heart and mind,and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,but they had everything in common.With great power the apostles bore witnessto the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,and great favor was accorded them all.There was no needy person among them,for those who owned property or houses would sell them,bring the proceeds of the sale,and put them at the feet of the apostles,and they were distributed to each according to need. Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 R. (1)...

WE ALL know how painful it is to be forced to listen to a confirmed boaster sound off on his favorite topic - himself. To be the captive of such a man even for a short time tries our patience to the utmost and puts a heavy strain upon our Christian charity. Boasting is particularly offensive when it is heard among the children of God, the one place above all others where it should never be found. Yet it is quite common among Christians, though disguised somewhat by the use of the stock expression, "I say this to the glory...

April 11, 2015Saturday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 4:13-21 Observing the boldness of Peter and Johnand perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men,the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed,and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them,they could say nothing in reply.So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin,and conferred with one another, saying,“What are we to do with these men?Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable signwas done through them, and we cannot deny it.But so that it may not...

April 10, 2015Friday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 4:1-12 After the crippled man had been cured,while Peter and John were still speaking to the people,the priests, the captain of the temple guard,and the Sadducees confronted them,disturbed that they were teaching the peopleand proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.They laid hands on Peter and Johnand put them in custody until the next day,since it was already evening.But many of those who heard the word came to believeand the number of men grew to about five thousand. On the next day, their leaders, elders, and...

Midwest Conservative Journal brings to our attention that Obama continues his pretense of being a Christian in order to bash Christians: If there’s one thing I love, it’s a quote which doesn’t even require “fisking”. At the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast on Sunday, an occasion of great significance to Christians, here’s what President Barack Obama had to say: “On Easter, I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian, I am supposed to love,” Obama said. “And I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less-than-loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned.” As the crowd began...

Unbelievers don’t “struggle” with same-sex attraction. I didn’t. My love for women came with nary a struggle at all. I had not always been a lesbian, but in my late twenties, I met my first lesbian-lover. I was hooked and believed that I had found my real self. Sex with women was part of my life and identity, but it was not the only part — and not always the biggest part. I simply preferred everything about women: their company, their conversation, their companionship, and the contours of their/our body. I favored the nesting, the setting up of house and...

(Reuters) - A majority of Americans believe businesses should not be allowed to refuse services based on their religious beliefs in the wake of controversies in Indiana and Arkansas over gay rights and religious freedom, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Thursday. The poll, conducted April 6 to 8, also found that 52 percent of Americans support allowing same-sex couples to marry, far more than the 32 percent who oppose it. The survey results suggest a split over the issue between Americans and some of the politicians who represent them. Indiana's Republican governor, Mike Pence, triggered a firestorm in his state...

April 9, 2015Thursday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 3:11-26 As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John,all the people hurried in amazement toward themin the portico called “Solomon’s Portico.”When Peter saw this, he addressed the people,“You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this,and why do you look so intently at usas if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesuswhom you handed over and...

Lord of all being! Thou alone canst affirm I AM THAT I AM; yet we who are made in Thine image may each one repeat ”I am,” so confessing that we derive from Thee and that our words are but an echo of Thine own. We acknowledge Thee to be the great Original of which we through Thy goodness are grateful if imperfect copies. We worship Thee, O Father Everlasting. Amen. ”God has no origin,” said Novatian and it is precisely this concept of no-origin which distinguishes That-which-is-God from whatever is not God. Origin is a word that can apply...

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PSALM 37 admonishes us to beware of irritation in our religious lives: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity." The word "fret" comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon and carries with it such a variety of meanings as bring a rather pained smile to our faces. Notice how they expose us and locate us behind our disguises. The primary meaning of the word is to eat, and from there it has been extended with rare honesty to cover most of the manifestations of an irritable disposition. "To eat...

The United Nations is mulling a Palestinian sponsored security council resolution demanding that Israel end the occupation of lands that the Arab/Palestinians claim as their own. Concurrently, the oil rich Arab League (e.g. Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, etc.) has voted to support this resolution. The Palestinian resolution at the UN Security Council calls for setting a timeline for ending Israeli “occupation” and creating an Israel with indefensible borders. Ostensibly, the Arab League decision came following the recent Arab summit at Sharm e-Sheikh where the league found it an appropriate means to help the...

April 8, 2015Wednesday in the Octave of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 3:1-10 Peter and John were going up to the temple areafor the three o’clock hour of prayer.And a man crippled from birth was carriedand placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple,he asked for alms.But Peter looked intently at him, as did John,and said, “Look at us.”He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.Peter said, “I have...

In America, Christians are nearing the dark part of a familiar cycleThe “national freak-out” about Indiana’s religious freedom law is telling. It shows where Christians in America stand in an age-old cycle that the world has put us through repeatedly. Indiana’s law did nothing but apply a common principle: If I want to print anti-abortion pamphlets that a printer doesn’t like, the printer can decline my job. If Aryan Nations wants to hire me to make white supremacist pamphlets for them, I can decline their job. But many cultural elites think Christians (and Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and traditional Hindus, by...

e New York Times just published one of the more rough-handed pieces we’ve yet seen regarding “gay Christianity.” In “Bigotry, the Bible and the Lessons of Indiana,” opinion writer Frank Bruni takes the gloves off and seeks to bully Christians into caving on homosexuality. The column is frank, direct, and brutalizing.Let’s consider five takeaways from this striking article.1. Here’s what Bruni believes opposition to “gay Christianity” is based in: raw prejudice. He says as much: But in the end, the continued view of gays, lesbians and bisexuals as sinners is a decision. It’s a choice. It prioritizes scattered passages of ancient texts over all...