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September 27, 2015   Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Nm 11:25-29 The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp.They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;yet the spirit came to rest on them also,and they prophesied in the camp.So, when a...

<p>Pope Francis made a thinly-veiled swipe at Donald Trump as the Pontiff defended Latino immigrants who came to America at ‘great personal cost’ during a moving speech to 40,000 followers in Philadelphia.</p> <p>Francis called on migrants from Mexico and the rest of the world to “not feel discouraged by all the challenges and hardships” they face, saying they should never feel ashamed of their own traditions.</p>

America is inviting God’s judgment on itself just as ancient Israel did, according to Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, author of several books and inspiration behind the “Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” movie. The Bible teacher and bestselling author delivered this warning on the main stage at the 2015 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. Saturday afternoon. He began by reminding the audience ancient Israel was founded by God and consecrated to God, but eventually turned away from God. “They began driving him out of their lives, out of their culture,” Cahn declared. “They called their sins good and they called what was good...

September 26, 2015 Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.I asked, “Where are you going?”He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,to see how great is its width and how great its length.” Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,“Run, tell this to that young man:People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.But I will...

Latest WORLD survey shows support consolidating behind a handful of candidates. Republican Marco Rubio still holds a commanding lead in WORLD’s third evangelical insiders survey, but GOP rival Carly Fiorina is gaining ground on the heels of another standout debate performance. The findings are part of a monthly survey of 103 evangelical leaders and insiders, 91 of whom participated in September. The results are not scientific or representative of all evangelicals but offer a snapshot of how some well-connected evangelicals are leaning in the 2016 presidential election. This month’s survey took place in the days after last Wednesday’s GOP debate,...

Donald Trump recently showed up at a gathering of Iowa conservative Christian voters with a copy of the Bible in hand. "See, I'm better than you thought," he said. Then came a black-and-white photograph from his confirmation to further prove his Christian cred. "Nobody believes this," he said to laughs. "What went wrong?" As the Republican presidential front-runner and billionaire businessman tries to maintain his lead in early polls with rivals gaining, Trump is increasingly courting a wing of the Republican Party that might seem antithetical to his brand: evangelical Christians....

     The now famous saying, “keep thy mind in Hell and despair not,” is a word given by God to St. Silouan one night as he struggled intensely with demons. Six months after going to the Holy Mountain St. Silouan was blessed to experience a vision of Christ in glory, in which he experienced the full Christ, and the life of Christ. Eventually he felt this grace subsiding and so he dedicated himself to extreme ascetical struggles in hopes of attracting the grace of God again. One night, fifteen years later, mentally and spiritually exhausted, St. Silouan wanted simply...

“‘These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father’” (John 16:25). Jesus’ teaching in figurative language revealed the need for further enlightenment by the Holy Spirit. Jesus left His disciples a storehouse of valuable information that would require additional teaching from the Holy Spirit to make it understandable. The “figurative language” our Lord sovereignly used was made up of many veiled but pointed statements, filled with rich meaning. Even Christ’s closest followers, when they first heard...

"Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). Your attitude toward Scripture will determine your effectiveness in spiritual battle. I remember enjoying the observations of a perceptive man who was gazing at a beautiful garden. First he saw a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. It spent a few seconds on the edge of each, but derived no particular benefit from any of them. Next he saw a botanist with large notebook and microscope in hand. As the botanist carefully observed each flower and plant, he made copious entries in his...

September 25, 2015   Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Hg 2:1-9 In the second year of King Darius,on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:Tell this to the governor of Judah,Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak,and to the remnant of the people: Who is left among youthat saw this house in its former glory?And how do you see it now?Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD,and take courage, Joshua, high...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pope Francis beseeched Americans to end hostility toward immigrants in a historic speech before the U.S. Congress on Thursday, weighing in forcefully on a divisive issue that is stirring debate in the 2016 presidential campaign. Bringing a message that America's power and wealth should be used to serve humanity, the 78-year-old pontiff said the United States must not turn its back on "the stranger in our midst." "Building a nation calls us to recognise that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset of hostility," Francis told the Republican-led Congress in Washington a day after he...

Do good in Thy good pleasure unto us, O Lord. Act toward us not as we deserve but as it becomes Thee, being the God Thou art. So shall we have nothing to fear in this world or in that which is to come. Amen. The word good means so many things to so many persons that this brief study of the divine goodness begins with a definition. The meaning may be arrived at only by the use of a number of synonyms, going out from and returning by different paths to the same place. When Christian theology says that...

THAT THERE IS SOMETHING gravely wrong with evangelical Christianity today is not likely to be denied by any serious minded person acquainted with the facts. Just what is wrong is not so easy to determine. In examining the situation myself I find nature and reason in conflict within me, for I tend by temperament to want to settle everything with a sweep of the pen. But reason advises caution; nothing is that simple, and we must be careful to distinguish cause from effect. As every doctor knows there is a wide difference between the disease and the symptoms; and every...

“But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). Because He understands our struggles in this life, the Holy Spirit continually prays for us before the Father’s throne. In the midst of life’s many difficulties and stressful times, there is hardly anything more comforting than knowing you have a friend—someone on your side. In the legal realm, an attorney formally argues your case when you need to settle a judicial or financial dispute. This concept of friend and advocate is right at the heart of the Holy Spirit’s role as our Paraclete, one called...

"Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). To wield the sword of the Spirit is to apply specific Biblical principles to specific situations. Jesus gave us the perfect example of skillful and precise use of the sword of the Spirit. Following His baptism, "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command that...

Hi. I woke up yesterday and was talking on the phone with a friend who was watching the Pope's visit. She said, "Oh, by the way, Yogi Berra died." Let us say that I reacted strongly. Mass media has done something for us. It has connected us with people we'll never meet on this earth, and sometimes makes them feel like part of the family. You didn't have to love the Yankees to love Yogi Berra. Despite his fame, he was a simple (not in the sense of dumb, please don't misunderstand!), humble family man who was able to laugh...

The church is our mother, but it is Christ’s bride. In this role, we are the objects of Christ’s affection. We, corporately, are His beloved. Stained and wrinkled, in ourselves we are anything but holy. When we say that the church is holy or refer to her as “holy mother church,” we do so with the knowledge that her holiness is not intrinsic but derived and dependent upon the One who sanctifies her and covers her with the cloak of His righteousness. As the sensitive husband shelters his wife and in a chivalrous manner lends her his coat when she...

September 24, 2015   Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Hg 1:1-8 On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius,The word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggaito the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak: Thus says the LORD of hosts: This people says:“The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”(Then this word of the LORD came through Haggai, the prophet:)Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses,while this...

A common post to FR involves the question, “Is America a Christian nation?” It’s a bit vague, but if the question is refined to “Is our form of government based on Biblical principles,” the answer has to be a resounding YES. I base my response largely on my continuing study of Algernon Sidney, a late 17th century English statesman, soldier, author, polemicist. His manuscript, Discourses Concerning Government (published 1698) relied on Scripture to dispute the Divine Right of Kings and absolute government in any form. Without exactly saying so, he argued that republican, free government was the only form that...

“You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end” (vv. 25–27). - Psalm 102:15–28 All people are looking for security in this ever-changing world. Some people seek refuge in the arms of another, investing all of their hope in the relationships they have with others. Many individuals place their trust in the government, believing that...