Free Republic

ROME, MAY 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- ZENIT is reprinting this message that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) sent to a meeting of the ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation in August 2002. The group was meeting in Rimini, Italy. * * * "The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty" By Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Every year, in the Liturgy of the Hours for the Season of Lent, I am struck anew by a paradox in Vespers for Monday of the Second Week of the Psalter. Here, side by side, are two antiphons, one for the Season of Lent, the other for...

In case anybody wanted to know, the Bible was open to Isaiah 40:31 when President Bush was sworn in. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (KJV)

Sr. Rita of the Benedictines sent this to us...it is quite amazing! Please pass it along. Blessings. Allen ODonnell ----- Original Message ----Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 8:12 AM - Subject: Fw: THE MISSING DAY ...mind boggling. THE MISSING DAY For all the scientists out there, and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible, here's something that shows God's awesome creation, and that He is still in control. Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called "myth" in the Bible is true?...

As sun moves southward toward the winter solstice, my apparent sunrise actually becomes earlier; closer to the time listed in an almanac. In the summer the rising sun is blocked for several hours by hill to the northeast; in the winter sunrise is almost directly over the notch in the hills carved by a stream draining nearly two dozen square miles. For a few days at the end of November the morning sunrise streams through my office window, then through the narrow hallway leading to the rest of the house, above the kitchen counter-wall before coming to rest squarely on...

Cyrus the Great Cylinder, The First Charter of Human Rights By 546 BCE, Cyrus had defeated Croesus, the Lydian king of fabled wealth, and had secured control of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, Armenia, and the Greek colonies along the Levant. Moving east, he took Parthia (land of the Arsacids, not to be confused with Parsa, which was to the southwest), Chorasmis, and Bactria. He besieged and captured Babylon in 539 and released the Jews who had been held captive there, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah. When he died in 529, Cyrus's kingdom extended as...

Meditation on Canticle of Isaiah 66:10-14 John Paul II Reflects on God's Maternal Love CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, JULY 16, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of John Paul II address at today's general audience, which he dedicated to comment on the canticle of Isaiah 66:10-14. The address was in Italian. * * * 1. The hymn we just heard is taken from the last page of the Book of Isaiah, a song of joy dominated by the maternal figure of Jerusalem (see 66:11) and then by the loving care of God himself (see verse 13). Biblical scholars consider that this...

QUESTION: Did dead people 'wake up' in the morning according to Isaiah 37:36 in the KJV?

George, what are you waiting for? Wednesday March 12th, 2003 George, what are you waiting for?, a rhetorical question if ever there was one. I am not amazed, nor surprised at how many people are telling us and the President that his waiting is going to do this, his waiting is going to do that, his waiting has cost him a golden opportunity, and the 'you are waiting' statements go on and on and on. Now from the heathen I can understand the questions, but from the Christian, I have to ask myself why they don't just put themselves in...

QUESTION: Isn't Isiah 53:4 a mistranslation for the words "pain" and "suffering" as grief and sorrows?

Anyone who has ever played a game, been involved in any type of competition, or conducted any type of scientific investigation knows that "ground rules" must be established at the beginning. It is far better to know the rules before beginning the investigation rather than try to establish them as you go.

[Q NOTE: THIS SECTION ON CALCULATED ODDS is one of the most exciting, to me. I believe the facts presented in this section are very incredible, very AWESOME.] The Scrabble Factor The seven Hanukah ELSs appear within a 1,123 letter long section of text, which is somewhat smaller than the 1,584 letter long section that is crossed by all of the Isaiah 53 ELSs that are at least as significant as the Hanukah finds. So the two source texts are fairly comparable in size. In reality most of the Isaiah 53 cluster is concentrated in the last half of the...

[Q: I find this an exciting section. It takes some thoughtful scrutiny to apprehend it's depth and awesomeness. But it's worth the time and effort.] The Incredible Compactness of the Isaiah 53 Cluster When we calculated the odds of a cluster similar to that of Isaiah 53 occurring by chance, we ignored a critical factor—how tightly packed many of the most improbable codes are around the longest code. If we were to reflect this in our calculation of the odds, the chances of it being a coincidence would be far more unlikely. Reflecting this is quite complicated, and the odds...

[Q NOTE: Emphases in titles were in the original except that the color was Navy blue. Color or bold emphases within paragraphs are by Q.] More Unusual Features of the Isaiah 53 Cluster Compelling Evidence of the Intentional Embedding of Numerous Visual Crosses Formed By the ELSs of a Single Word Occasionally two different ELSs of the same word cross one another, forming a "visual cross." The ELS with the shortest skip forms the horizontal beam of the cross, while the ELS with the longer skip forms the vertical beam, [Q QUESTION: OK statistical hotshots--it seems to me--this phenomenon alone...