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There are times when children are the most sensitive creatures to spiritual thinking. I'm sure we all have a tale or two about ways in which children express the sacred. I had one such story happen to me in the wee hours of the morning.

Well, the internet is a strange place. With all the enthusiasm for and against Jeff Bethke’s viral video and now all the enthusiasm for and against my critique, it may seem like all we have here is sound and fury signifying nothing. Maybe another Bellesque brouhaha in the making. But sometimes good things happen on the internet, even in exchanges like this. Jeff sent me an email yesterday afternoon and we exchanged several emails since then. I have his permission to post parts of that exchange.This was his first email to me: I just wanted to say I really appreciate...

Click the link. Now you're gonna think this every time....

The Vatican Insider has published an online Vatican dictionary. The site promises that you can understand your faith's terms from "A divinis" to "Zucchetto"! However, there are still a few letters not accounted for. J, K, Q, W, X, Y have no words as of this writing. No "juris"? And don't we have lots of "q" words? Not to fear, I've come up with some of the missing letters from the Diocese of Jackson and thereabouts. I even made child-friendly flashcards to go with them! The rhymes are a bit off but I'm not a poet, and I know it....

One day in heaven (mormon heaven of course), a bunch of the main players from the book of mormon got down to reminisce about their adventures over a nice bottle of wine (in heaven the WOW is still merely a suggestion, not a commandment ;-)). I went a little like this: Nephi: Who would have thought, thirty hundred years ago, we'd all be sitting here in mormon heaven drinking Chateau de Chaselet, eh? All: Aye, aye. Jared: Them book of mormon days we were glad to have the price of a cup of tea. Moroni: Right! A cup of cold...

It has been said that Mormons have an “exceedingly fine sense of rumor.” We certainly love a good story—after all, can’t we all admit to telling a tale we thought was good, even if we admitted we weren’t 100 percent sure it was true? In the spirit of acting under (more) perfect knowledge, and still appreciating the quality of a good story, the following is an exploration of the truth behind some of the more common or interesting Mormon legends. *The following is an excerpt of "The Truth About Mormon Myths." To read the full article, see the LDS Living...

On Sunday the Anglican Ordinariate for the United States will be formally announced. As we prepare to receive our Anglican brothers and sisters in this historic step towards church unity, what will the Anglicans be receiving from their step of faith into full communion, and what will we be receiving from them? Here's my list: What Anglicans will receive from entering into full communion with the Catholic Church: 1. Ecclesial unity with the Bishop of Rome - The Pope! 2. Communion with over a billion Catholics worldwide 3. Validity of orders and sacraments 4. Marian apparitions 5. Evelyn Waugh, G.K.Chesterton,...

A Christmas Cookie Recipe in the Style of the Revised TranslationBy: Msgr. Charles Pope Please accept a light-hearted post on Christmas Monday wherein we ponder a Christmas Cookie Recipe in the fine and polished style of the Revised Translation of the Mass.Please also understand, as most of you know, I am a big fan of the new translation we are using. I like it! But this little recipe that came my way was too much fun not to share.I do not know the source of this recipe (it’s kicking around the Internet) and some of you will have seen...

FOR those of you who don't know already, the tsunami that hit Japan in March was caused by a space-based earthquake weapon controlled by the CIA. I learned this from an extremely long email I received recently from an anonymous gentleman with a fondness for block capitals and a disdain for conventional spelling who claimed that the American government has been behind every major earthquake and weather event of the last decade. It wasn't clear from his message: a) What the Earth's natural tectonic forces had been up to in the meantime - presumably spying on the Russians - or...

ROME, DEC. 13, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.Q: In the new translation of Mass according to the English-language Roman Missal, I find myself wondering about a certain lack of specificity in the Confiteor. The missal indicates that those reciting the prayer are to strike their breast at the point where they say, "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." I am old enough to remember the threefold striking of the breast in pre-Conciliar days, but wonder if this practice has been maintained elsewhere in the...

1. Inclusivism rules, so.. 2.If you disagree with us, you're intolerant and hateful... 3.God is Whatever or Whoever… 4.There are many paths to 'God'… 5.There is no such thing as Divine revelation, truth is what science or reason says it is at the moment or what works for you... 6.The Bible is outdated, of limited value, and in most areas simply wrong…unless interpreted to support what we believe... 7.Science is infallible, not the Bible... 8.The Creation account is myth; evolution is fact... 9.No human life is sacred; in or out of the womb... 10.Mankind is basically good and self-redemption is...

Pope Benedict moves through the crowd in his popemobile at World Youth Day in Madrid. Credit: Official WYD flickr.com-madrid11 Freiburg, Germany, Dec 3, 2011 / 05:36 pm (CNA).- In a case that brought amusement to the Vatican, a German court decided to throw out charges against Pope Benedict for not wearing a seat belt during his recent papal visit to the country.“There will be no fine for the Pope,” city spokeswoman Edith Lamersdorf told German news agency Badische Zeitung on Nov. 30. “The charges were quashed.”Lawyer Christian Sundermann had filed a complaint on behalf of an unnamed Dortmund resident...

News Int'l - Dateline 11/7/11 - SLC Utah: Mormon Church Officials Release Extensive List Of Church Facilities Opening Their Doors for Thanksgiving Meals for Homeless and Needy... (Blank)............. (Blank)............. (Blank).............Blank).............(Blank).............(Blank).............(Blank).............(Blank).............(Blank).............(Blank).............(Blank).............

<p>Germany's biggest Catholic-owned publishing house has been rocked by disclosures that it has been selling thousands of pornographic novels with titles such as Sluts Boarding School and Lawyer's Whore with the full assent of the country's leading bishops.</p>

Advice From Guides for Finding a GuideROME, NOV. 3, 2011 (Zenit.org).- When Benedict XVI launched the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization and then announced the upcoming Year of Faith, I found myself wondering how I could contribute to this momentous initiative. I couldn't exactly quit my job, leave my children in Rome and set out as a missionary in Zambia. On further reflection, however, I realized that as an art historian I have a very powerful means of evangelization at my fingertips. Nearly every day I watch unsuspecting pilgrims and tourists being fed misinformation about the treasures of Vatican...

Last month, evangelical leaders gathered in D.C. for the Values Voter Summit, where disciples of the Pissed-Off Jesus harrumphed and yammered about how much America sucked. That's when the bomb ignited. Dallas megachurch preacher Robert Jeffresswas on hand to introduce Rick Perry. He warned that Mormon "cult" members were not only despoiling Broadway, but were actually running for president. "Non-Christians" like Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman had invaded the Republican primary like a bunch of damn Mexicans — and they didn't even have comparable skill at operating a riding lawn mower. If patriots didn't take heed, Jeffress cautioned, America would soon be possessed by heretics. The nation was...

When I was ein younger man I studied canon law; though Erfurt was a challenge it was just to please my pa. Then came the storm, the lightning struck; I called upon Saint Anne: I shaved my head, I took my vows – an Augustinian. Refrain: Papal bulls, indulgences and transubstantiation: speak your mind against them and face excommunication. Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a reformation, papal bulls, indulgences and transubstantiation. When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St Peter’s profits soared, so I wrote a little message for the All Saints’ bulletin board; ‘you cannot purchase merit for...

He didn't know Jesus was such a stickler. Last Thursday Joel Osteen, senior pastor of Lakewood “Church” in Houston, Texas revealed to the world that he had recently read the Gospels for the first time during a segment of the MTV Special True Life: I’m Joel Osteen. “Ya know, I decided it was about time I toughed it through all four Gospels. They’re super long but I mean, I am a pastor, right?” Osteen said laughingly in his charming Texan accent. The author of Your Best Life Now, a theological dissertation concerning the Biblical hermeneutic of success, was shocked at...

Have a two-wheeled friend you want blessed? St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish in Portland can handle that for you. The church will host its third annual Blessing of Bicycles at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the parish, 1432 S.W. 13th Ave. The church is the home of the Portland Bicycle Shrine, a place of reflection and meditation, which honors the Madonna Del Ghisallo, the matron saint of cyclists. It is also home of the ghost bike and a memorial plaque honoring the memory of 19-year-old Tracey Sparling, the Pacific Northwest College of Art student whose death in October 2007 led...

Members of First Presbyterian Church of Enid voted 131-69 to leave Presbyterian Church... The Rev. Roy Schneider, senior pastor of the church, announced the vote. Schneider said 200 of the 290 members of the church were present and voted. Prior to the vote, Schneider read a message from the Presbytery, the governing body, saying the vote is non-binding, and any changes in membership will be made after requested by individual members. ..The church had been in tense discussion for several months about issues it faced. Many members have been concerned about the reported liberal stances the national church has been...

Just a vanity post of a funny video. "He be rollin..."

I saw this once back when I was in college and have regretted not keeping a copy ever since. I have sought it high and low and have finally had it come across my desk again. It is both hilarious and stunningly accurate. Read them all, you’ll recognize some of them especially if you’re a frequent visitor here.A MODERN SEMINARIANS’ DICTIONARY Published in “Fidelity”, September 1987, pp. 23-25.Brother seminarians! Are you troubled by the non‑judgmental expectations of the seminary? Are you confused by their concerns? Fear not. Before your eyes you have the key to ordination in this person’s seminary....

Are you a Catholic Catholic Catholic?  Do you stay up at night worrying that someone you met today—the supermarket bagger, for instance, or the man who comes to do one-hour Martinizing for your gallery of squirrel taxidermy—doesn’t realize that you’re Catholic, which means that you have lost out on an opportunity to smoosh their face in your superior piety, I mean draw more souls to Christ? Girl name:  Mary Boy name:  Mary [SNIP] Are you 100% Catholic but live outside the compound?  You are utterly devoted to your faith, but you adhere to the idea that “If it’s true, it’s...

Or will they become Dark Lords? Unknown at this time…

Earlier this week, it was reported that Hallmark has started selling unemployment sympathy cards. I guess it's a nice way to show someone who's lost their job that you care - although I have to think that they'd rather get a new job than a card, but hey. It's the thought that counts. But then I realized...there are no cards for womynpreests and politicians who have ex-communicated themselves. Sure, it's a small niche market, but it's one that's growing. Some folks have gotten automatic ex-communications - like the womynpreests, for example - while others have been told not to present...

<p>VATICAN CITY — In an attempt to head off a tidal wave of lawsuits stemming from the sexual abuse of children by priests within the Roman Catholic Church, and Rome’s attempt to cover up the crimes, the Vatican is planning to replace all priests with robots.</p>

http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/1616434/jewish/Hap-bee-New-Year.htm

Firstly, as I reported before there is a huge piece of flaming hurtling death-inflicting space junk falling to earth even as I write. I calmly explained the facts here in my post entitled “RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! FALLING BURNING SPACE BUS! AAAAH!“. Go to confession, do your penance, make some Mystic Monk Coffee just wait for it to happen.Second, I understand from a friend in Rome who sent a story from ANSA that the flaming hurtling space junk may hit Northern Italy. If that is the case, to all my Italian friends in the north I issue a blanket...

These cats know the caucus rules

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87vo2jkmJUg

Being a faithful Catholic doesn’t mean you have to be a joyless one. New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan knows that. When Archbishop Dolan was installed to his post in the Big Apple, an enterprising reporter asked the newcomer if there was anything he would like to condemn. Archbishop Dolan responded in the affirmative. “I condemn instant mashed potatoes and light beer,” he deadpanned. A few years ago, when Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl visited a Catholic bookstore, the owner approached him and said, “Oh! You’re looking for a book, Father. You must be a Jesuit!” “No,” Cardinal Wuerl replied, “but I’m...

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired, "Where have you been?" God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made." Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance." "Balance?" inquired Michael, "I'm still confused." God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity...

I notice as I toot around Greenville how the local Protestant churches are shifting away from honest self description. It used to be that they put out a sign stating just exactly who they were so you knew what you were getting when you went church shopping. The old way was often friendly and inviting so churches were called: Friendship Baptist Church, Fellowship Baptist Church, Welcome to All Bible Church. Other church names were linked with a locality making it homey and easy: Pebble Creek Baptist or Pumpkintown Presbyterian or Silver Falls Church of God or Reedy Fork Methodist or...

Vampires, the devil's deceit and mental illness are among the hot topics for some 300 exorcists who flocked to Poland this week from as far away as Africa and India for a week-long congress. Held at Poland's Roman Catholic Jasna Gora monastery, home to the venerated Black Madonna icon, this year's congress "examines the current fashion for vampirism in Europe and the world-over, schizophrenia and other mental disorders as well as the devil's deceit during exorcism," according to the monastery's radio station.

OK. There’s a lot of serious stuff going on in the Church and in the world right now and I was prepared to write on them but then I received an email from a friend of mine about Church bulletin bloopers and I laughed so hard I nearly choked to death. (I’m actually not kidding. My wife came running into the room to see if I was OK.) I have no idea of the veracity of these or their original source but they struck me as funny so I’m thinking you’ll probably get a laugh or two out of it...

An Open Letter To Mr. Grace-Loving Antinomian There seems to be a fear out there that the preaching of radical grace produces serial killers. Or, to put it in more theological terms, too much emphasis on the indicatives of the gospel leads to antinomianism (a lawless version of Christianity that believes the directives and commands of God don’t matter). My problem with this fear is that I’ve never actually met anyone who has been truly gripped by God’s amazing grace in the gospel who then doesn’t care about obeying him. As I have said before: antinomianism happens not when we...

Patheos' "The Habit of Witness" series features essays written by consecrated Catholic women and men sharing their experiences while dressed in the habit. In this eighth installment, a Carmelite sister shares encounter with children who instinctively seemed to connect the habit with God.An interesting thing happened on a recent trip to Tennessee. My sister and I had planned to visit the Great Smokey Mountains. We decided to go to Cades Cove, an eleven-mile loop road for viewing well-groomed valleys, mountain vistas, wildlife, floral, and historic structures. Cades Cove is one of the earliest settlements, dating back to the 1850s. It...

When the world didn't end on May 21, many people who had given up their earthly possessions were left with nothing. But one believer never lived to see the day. She left nearly her entire estate - around $300,000 - to the group behind the failed prediction, leaving some family members out in the cold. Eileen Heuwetter was shocked to find out that her aunt left the majority of her estate to Family Radio, the group responsible for the doomsday warnings that the world would end on May 21. She and her sister were each left $25,000 from their aunt's...

You Might Just Be A Calvinist If…. If you have a Martin Luther Jell-O mold… you just might be a Calvinist. If your DVR has over 25 episodes of Wretched With Todd Friel recorded on it… you just might be a Calvinist. If your child’s first word was “Westminster”… you just might be a Calvinist. If your 4 year old can explain what the word “propitiation” means… you might just be a Calvinist. If you send your mother tulips on Mother’s Day… you might be a Calvinist. If your passion for evangelism blows away your Arminian friends… you might just...

Don’t let anyone tell you that they play the game of golf because they love it. This is a game that even the most proficient find exasperating. Only a few among the millions of its advocates consistently meet the standard of basic expectation – par. The vast majority will spend hours upon hours, dollar upon dollar, swinging away at a 1.680-inch diameter ball, in some of the most beautiful settings on earth. Their motivations may be varied, but it can’t be because they love the game. This game wasn’t designed to be loved but endured! Don’t confuse my rant with...

Surgical precision: In 1934, Colonel Robert Wilson, a respected British surgeon, said he noticed something moving in the waters of Lock Ness and took a picture of it. The resulting image showed the slender neck of a serpent rising out of the Loch. The photo came to be known simply as “The Surgeon’s photo”, and for decades it was considered to be the best evidence of the monster. It wasn’t until 1994, when Christian Spurling, before his death at the age of 90, confessed his involvement in a plot, which included Colonel Wilson and big game hunter “Duke” Wetherell, to...

Inspired animation to promote Christian living!

Inspirational Christian animation! The instrumental in this video is, I’ll Fly Away, by Black Pond Baptist Church and ending song is, In The Morning, sung by Grandpa Jones & The Browns Ferry Four. Thanks for viewing my unpopular videos and maybe someday we can say Hello face to face. :)

Chana Shapiro Stillman is appalled at what she discovered while doing research for the JCPA. Some UK church authorities, significantly the Methodists, are substituting a political agenda for Christianity. They have disavowed the Bible because it's too "Jewish " and associate with anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups under the guise of religion.

Reflections On Ministry is the topic for the morning to be presented by Interim Minister Rev. Tracey Robinson-Harris at The First Unitarian Universalist Society of Middleborough, 25 South Main Street, on Sunday, May 1. The service begins at 10:30 a.m. Joining Robinson-Harris for this service is the Rev. Judy Campbell, Ministerial Settlement Representative for the Ballou Channing District. The shared sermon will offer reflections on ministry and what it means to be settled. The service will also include New Member Recognition honoring five new members of FUUSM: Sophia Rose, Barbara Bancroft, Louisa Place, Jeremy Place and Jeff Giddings. Following the...

Robert Fitzpatrick was near the World Trade Center when the towers fell. Flipping through a photo album filled with pictures he took of that devastating day, he told PIX 11 News during an interview at his Port Richmond home that the 9/11 attacks will pale in comparison to what he insists will happen this Saturday. “There will be a great earthquake and life will be over pretty much as we understand it on May 21st just before 6pm,” he said.

Boy, I wish I spoke more Italian. So I got an unexpected business stopover in Rome for two days, and I figured, great I'll check out the Vatican, etc. I checked into a nice little hotel right next to the Vatican, and took a nap before sight-seeing this afternoon. At first I thought, "this is great." Must be some sort of holiday I didn't know about. No lines, no tickets needed. But no curators? No security? I always heard about how they even made sure you were dressed moderately. The art was fantastically beautiful, but I expected guides? I wandered...

Family Radio says the rapture will start at 6 pm local time. Kiritimati is 16 hours ahead of UTC which gives the rest of the world plenty of time (and the U.S. by midnight Friday into Saturday) to figure out if this supposed rapture is to take place. Check out what time it will be at your home when Kiritimati reaches 6 pm.

Christian radio tycoon says the world will end May 21—and surprising numbers believe him. Ralph Workman believes what he hears on Christian radio. He believes preacher and Family Radio chief Harold Camping is right about Judgment Day. He believes the world is coming to an end May 21, 2011. An engineer at Boeing's avionics lab, Workman helps manage an RV caravan winding its way around the United States—from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh to Virginia—sharing the belief that biblical numbers point to the specific expiration date for the world. He also runs a website called eBible Fellowship, which distributes Camping's teachings. "I...