Free Republic

The state may go to court to get the sellers of Kirby vacuums to clean up its act. Jerry Farrell, commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection, asked the state attorney general's office Monday to pursue legal action against The Kirby Co., which uses independent distributors to sell its vacuums door-to-door nationwide. The legal action also would target Kirby's parent company, The Scott Fetzer Co., as well as United Consumer Financial Services and seven state-based independent distributors, including two in the region. In a news release Monday, Farrell said his department is "seeking a legal remedy and resolution that...

Father Francesco Bamonte's witness to the power of the Holy Rosary in his book, Possessioni diabolici ed esorcismo (Paoline, 2006) so impressed me that I decided to translate it for the readers of Vultus Christi. Father Bamonte is one of the teachers of the course on Exorcism and the Prayer of Deliverance given at the Pontifical Atheneum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. Concerning the Holy Rosary, once while the priest placed a rosary around the neck of the person who was being exorcised, all of a sudden the demon began crying out, "It is crushing me, it weighs on me, it...

And they shall say to him: What are these wounds in the midst of your hands? And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me. (Zechariah 13:6) Today I received this message from a friend in the state of New York : "Four ciboria were sold/given to a local antiques dealer. All of them contained particles of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and one ciborium was from a church that closed in 1996. Imagine, Our Lord was in there for that long." A Cancer at the Heart of the Church How and why...

September 29, Saints Michael and All Angels Angels Everywhere One of the most striking things about Rome’s churches -- and about Italian churches in general -- is that they are full of representations of the angels. American churches in contrast, especially those built in the last fifty years, are strangely devoid of angelic imagery. In Italian churches there are angels everywhere: all sorts of angels. There are majestic angels of graceful athletic appearance, angels in splendid apparel playing musical instruments, and playful little angels with fat cheeks and chubby legs. In Italian churches, one is always conscious of praising...

From time to time, I present anew some of the prayers that I composed for the Spiritual Mothers of Priests and for all, men and women alike, who pray, suffer, and offer themselves for the sanctification of priests. Here are three of these prayers: Prayer for Vocations Lord Jesus Christ, Who callest to Thy service whomsoever Thou wilt, let the light of Thy Face and the tenderness of Thy Heart rest upon the young men of our own parishes and families. Grant that those whom Thou hast chosen from among us may hear Thy invitation and respond to Thy call...

11th Sunday After PentecostToday's Introit, well served by its sturdy 5th mode melody, is a ringing affirmation of the presence of the living God in His holy place. The Church, and, in its own way, the monastery, which is a microcosm of the Church (an ecclesiola, a little Church) fulfills the words of the Prophet-King: God is in His holy place; God who maketh men of one mind to dwell in a house; He shall give power and strength to His people. V. Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered: and let them that hate Him flee from...

When A Priest Hates His PriesthoodA priest, recently accused of stealing funds from his parish and of using it to pay for certain vices, is quoted in the news as having said that he had come "to hate his priesthood." This statement was, to my mind, more disturbing and painful than anything else in the reports of the media. How does a priest arrive at a point in his life where he hates his priesthood? Into DespairThe priest who hates his priesthood, hates his very self, his truest self, his sacred identity. The priesthood is not a profession that one...

All PriestIn recalling the holiness of Saint Philip, it occurs to me that it was essentially this: he was all priest. He was always and everywhere a priest. His priesthood suffused his very being, making him incandescent with the fire of the Cross and of the altar. As we move toward the conclusion of the Year of the Priest, Saint Philip Neri makes his appearance to stimulate our generosity, and to show us what happens when a priest surrenders to the fire of Divine Love. Spiritual Combat: The Seven Capital SinsHave no illusions about priestly holiness. Like all men, priests...

Tonight, at least, I have no words to express what I perceive to be the significance of this Act of Consecration in the context of The Year of the Priest. I have nothing but joy, and an immense gratitude to the Holy Father. Consecration of Priests to the Immaculate Heart of MaryImmaculate Mother, in this place of grace, called together by the love of your Son Jesus the Eternal High Priest, we, sons in the Son and his priests, consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart, in order to carry out faithfully the Father's Will. We are mindful that, without Jesus,...

MINNEAPOLIS - The Twins have a feathered fan at Target Field. During a game last week fans spotted a bird catching a moth, and then eating on top of the right field foul pole. The bird is an American Kestrel -- a type of falcon. A contest was held this weekend to name the bird, and Kirby the kestrel was the winner, in honor of Kirby Puckett

Fifth Wednesday of PaschaltideActs 15:1-6 Psalm 121: 1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5 John 15:1-8 RepetitionRepetition is integral to the liturgical pedagogy of the Church. Anthropologists tell us that ritual is all about doing the same things, in the same way, at the same time, over and over again. Culture flourishes where the same stories are repeated over and over again in the same way. From the point of view of the human sciences, repetition, not variety, is the ground of culture. From the Catholic point of view, it is outward repetition that makes inward change -- conversion -- possible. It is...

Dear Father X, You asked me the other day to write something that would encourage you to be faithful to your daily Eucharistic adoration. Here then are a few thoughts that came to me while at prayer. I share them with you simply, as one priest to another. When you come into Our Lord's presence to adore Him, and when you prefer Him to the countless other things that solicit your attention and make claims upon your time, Jesus is consoled and glorified. The proof of friendship is the choice of one's friend over all else. Our Lord wants you...

A man who was ticketed for wearing an openly displayed pistol outside an Albertsons shopping center on Friday was packing a total of 35 bullets — including those loaded in the holstered .45-caliber gun and in two ammunition clips. But Kurk Robert Kirby, 26, made no menacing statements or gestures to anyone at 5000 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., police say. He simply stood around near stores for 10 to 15 minutes before someone called 911, according to a Vancouver Police Department report. On Monday, Kevin McClure, supervising prosecutor with the City Attorney’s Office, said he was reviewing the police reports...

On Saturday night, Oct. 26, 1991, in the sixth game of the World Series, Kirby Puckett made one of the great catches in Series history. It got overshadowed, but not lost, by what followed later in the game, closer to midnight. This was the third inning. Ron Gant of the Atlanta Braves hit the ball, and by the sound of it, he hit it for keeps. Puckett started churning and churning and then leaped in the classic, outstretched pose of an old baseball card from the golden era of life itself. His body went into the air between the retired...

A report on the latest of the weekly "Military Monday" afternoon rallies initiated by (local & ought to be national) 570 AM KVI radio talk show host Kirby Wilbur.

At least two Washington members of FreeRepublic (http://www.FreeRepublic.com) joined other Pacific Northwesterners in the latest of ongoing rallies to Support Our Troops. The third or fourth such held in the central traffic point of the bucolic town of Duvall, Washington (east of Woodinville, in turn east of Seattle), turnout was reduced from the 200+ who showed up in previous weeks by the return of the drizzle for which Seattle is so justly famous. But the weather didn't dampen spirits any, as the photos here will show.

<p>Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett was found not guilty of all charges against him today in Hennepin County District Court.</p> <p>Jurors in the trial of former Twins star Kirby Puckett announced about 3 p.m. that they had reached a verdict, and the verdict was read about 4 p.m.</p>