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January 12, 2014Feast of the Baptism of the Lord    Reading 1 Is 42:1-4, 6-7 Thus says the LORD:Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,upon whom I have put my spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.a bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,I have grasped you by the hand;I formed...

My friend Bob Sacamano has long been convinced that the Second Coming of Jesus will take place somewhere in New Jersey. He was kind of confused when I wrote him on Christmas Eve saying that Jesus had returned to the Woodlands, Texas. Apparently, he didn't read a column I wrote for Town Hall last January. You can read it here if you'd like. In that column, I criticized a highly secularized 2012 Christmas Eve service at the Woodlands Church, led by Pastor Kerri Shook and his wife, Chris. The event was more than just highly secularized. It was downright disrespectful....

January 3, 2014 Christmas Weekday    Reading 1 1 jn 2:29-3:6 If you consider that God is righteous,you also know that everyone who acts in righteousnessis begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on usthat we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.Beloved, we are God’s children now;what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,for we shall see him as he is.Everyone who has this...

The Joy of Discipline by Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV on August 26, 2013 · I recently came across the reports of the investigations into the deadly train accident that occurred in the last week of July this year in Spain. According to this reports, the driver of the train, Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, was driving the train at over 190 km/hr in an area with a posted speed limit of 80 km/hr. He was also found to be talking with a friend on his cell phone seconds before the fatal crash. Lastly, in his distraction, he ignored three automatic...

I have mentioned before that many years ago in seminary I was quite surprised to listen to some of my professors declare what I considered to be heretical things about Jesus Christ. They often said, he did not claim to be God, or he did not know he was God.When I might meekly suggest a certain biblical text that more than suggested he darn well knew he was divine they seemed unimpressed and invoked dubious theories that denied the biblical text was a credible source.Thankfully I had some other professors who were able to reassure me that the Divinity of...

...When an angel shows up at your door all unexpected, with a sword at his side and your name on his lips, it means that something is about to change for good. And, whether you like it or not, you're involved... How the knees of your heart must have knocked that day the angel of the Lord showed up at your house...saying words like 'hail' and calling you 'blessed'—things you say to kings and princes, not to girls in Galilee. ...the countdown of days to his coming begins...Your growing belly testifies to it. The countdown to God's rescue for his...

December 25, 2013 - Mass During the Day Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)    Reading 1 Is 52:7-10 How beautiful upon the mountainsare the feet of him who brings glad tidings,announcing peace, bearing good news,announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,“Your God is King!” Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,together they shout for joy,for they see directly, before their eyes,the LORD restoring Zion.Break out together in song,O ruins of Jerusalem!For the LORD comforts his people,he redeems Jerusalem.The LORD has bared his holy armin the sight of all the nations;all the ends of the earth will beholdthe salvation of...

December 25, 2013 - Mass at Dawn Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)    Reading 1 Is 62:11-12 See, the LORD proclaimsto the ends of the earth:say to daughter Zion,your savior comes!Here is his reward with him,his recompense before him.They shall be called the holy people,the redeemed of the LORD,and you shall be called “Frequented,”a city that is not forsaken. Responsorial Psalm Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12 R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;let the many isles be glad.The heavens proclaim his justice,and all...

December 25, 2013 - Mass at Midnight Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)    Reading 1 Is 9:1-6 The people who walked in darknesshave seen a great light;upon those who dwelt in the land of glooma light has shone.You have brought them abundant joyand great rejoicing,as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,as people make merry when dividing spoils.For the yoke that burdened them,the pole on their shoulder,and the rod of their taskmasteryou have smashed, as on the day of Midian.For every boot that tramped in battle,every cloak rolled in blood,will be burned as fuel for flames.For...

December 25, 2013 - Vigil Mass Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)    Reading 1 Is 62:1-5 For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,until her vindication shines forth like the dawnand her victory like a burning torch. Nations shall behold your vindication,and all the kings your glory;you shall be called by a new namepronounced by the mouth of the LORD.You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD,a royal diadem held by your God.No more shall people call you “Forsaken,”or your land “Desolate,”but you shall be called...

The Meaning of Christmas: Look DeeperPETER KREEFTWhile Christmas is so familiar that we sometimes wonder whether anything fresh and true can be said about it, there is a way to explore its meaning that may seem new to us today, yet is in fact quite traditional, dating back to the Middle Ages and the ancient Fathers of the Church. Modern interpreters often argue about whether a given Scripture passage should be interpreted literally or symbolically. Medieval writers would question the “either/or” approach. They thought a passage could have as many as four “right” interpretations, one literal and three symbolic....

Prayer: Christmas Novena - December 16 - 24   Description:A Christmas novena is usually prayed, starting nine days before Christmas. The following novena was composed by an Italian priest, Rev. Charles Vachetta, C.M., in 1721. Most of the material comes from the Old Testament prophecies and the Psalms referring to the promised Redeemer. The novena consists of Opening Responsory Prayers, Psalm (Let the Heavens Be Glad), Scripture Reading, Magnificat with Daily Antiphon and Closing Prayer. This novena is prayed in conjunction with the O Antiphons, and if you are using an O Antiphon House or Tower, you would open the...

November 24, 2013 Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe    Reading 1 2 Sm 5:1-3 In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said:"Here we are, your bone and your flesh. In days past, when Saul was our king,it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the LORD said to you,'You shall shepherd my people Israeland shall be commander of Israel.'" When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD,and they anointed him king of...

Three famous men died on Nov. 22, 1963. The one getting the most attention, understandably, is John F. Kennedy. Less so the other two: Aldous Huxley, author of the futuristic novel "Brave New World," and Clive Staples Lewis. Of the three, it was Lewis who not only was the most influential of his time, but whose reach extends to these times and likely beyond. His many books continue to sell and the number of people whose lives have been changed by his writing expands each year. On the 50th anniversary of his death, C.S. Lewis remains perhaps the 20th...

Patrick Blute is no Andrew Lloyd Webber. Webber was 23-years old when he famously staged the rock musical “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which debuted on Broadway in 1971. Blute, a 23-year-old Columbia University grad, is the creator of “Spears The Musical – The Gospel According to Britney,” for which there is a funders preview this week. “Jesus Christ Superstar” was fairly faithful to the Gospel account of the last week in the earthly life of Christ before He went to be with the Father. It featured such notable songs as “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Gethsemane,” and, of course,...

The miracles of Jesus attest to who Jesus is, God in flesh (John 1:1,14; Col. 2:9). Jesus used the Divine Name for Himself (John 8:58), the same Divine Name used by God when Moses asked God what His name was in Exodus 3:14. However, people claiming to be God is not that uncommon in the world. Mental institutions are filled with those who claim to be divine. But, Jesus doesn't fit the category of a crazy person. If anything, Jesus deserves the utmost respect and admiration for His humility, love, teaching, and self-sacrifice. But, even though there are other great...

Could Jesus Have Possibly Sinned or Succumbed to Temptation? In a dialogue in 1997, a Baptist friend of mine stated: Jesus Himself was not unable to sin. I realize that God the Father is unable to sin; however, Jesus, though He was in nature God, was able to sin. This is evident in this verse "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin." (Heb. 4:15, NRSV; cf. 2:18). If Jesus could be tempted, He...

The headline of the full-page ad asks, "What Would Jesus Cut?—A budget is a moral document." The text continues, "Our faith tells us that the moral test of a society is how it treats the poor." The ad was produced by Sojourners, a self-described "evangelical" organization whose slogan is "Faith in Action for Social Justice." The ad was signed by Sojourners president Jim Wallis and more than two dozen Religious Left pastors, theologians, and activists. They urge our legislators to ask themselves, "What would Jesus cut?" from the federal budget. How would you answer that question? My answer would...

Just curious to know how many FReepers listen to this weekly show. The guy does the entire show as if he himself was actually Jesus. It sounds, on the face of it, odd at best and sacrilegious at worst, but he does have an encyclopedic knowledge of scripture, and dispenses wisdom and advice in a caring and just manner.