Free Republic

Voters are saying nuts to ACORN, A Rasmussen poll on voter attitudes towards ACORN today shows that 51% of voters want the government to stop funding ACORN. "A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 17% favor continued taxpayer support of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now. Thirty-two percent (32%) are not sure." Not only do a majority of voters want to cut off funding for ACORN, the details show a negative "passion index" deeper than the Grand Canyon. Only 15% of voters now have even a somewhat favorable opinion of ACORN, while 67% have an...

Steve McEveety CNA STAFF, Jul 23, 2009 / 01:28 pm (CNA).- In a Wednesday evening conference call Steve McEveety, producer of movies such as "The Passion of the Christ" and "Bella," spoke about his Hollywood career, his faith, and how aspiring filmmakers can advance in the entertainment industry. He also discussed the production of movies such as "Braveheart," "The Passion" and "The Stoning of Soraya M."McEveety, a founder of Mpower Pictures, was interviewed by Sean Wolfington, founder of Positive Media and co-owner of Metanoia Films. Members of the media, aspiring young moviemakers and interested laymen listened in and then...

In the last century, the impassioned words and actions of patriots like Winston Churchill – along with America’s heroic help and sacrifice – saved Europe. The eloquence and actions of “I’ve been to the mountaintop” Martin Luther King Jr. brought America to an unprecedented level of social justice. The peerless oratory and tireless diplomacy of the man who would become Israel’s Foreign Minister, Abba Eban convinced the entire world that after the wanton murder of six-million Jews in the Holocaust its straggling survivors deserved their own state of Israel. The inspiring words and decisive actions of President Ronald Reagan ended...

Reprinted from JAMA - The Journal of the American Medical Association March 21, 1986, Volume 256 Copyright 1986, American Medical Association By Permission of Mayo Foundation ON THE PHYSICAL DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST William D. Edwards, MD; Wesley J. Gabel, MDiv; Floyd E Hosmer, MS, AMI From the Departments of Pathology (Dr. Edwards) and Medical Graphics (Mr. Hoamer), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; and the Homestead United Methodist Church, Rochester, Minn., and the West Bethel United Methodist Church, Bethel, Minn. (Pastor Gabel). Reprint requests to Department of Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905 (Dr. Edwards) * Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish...

I served as Deacon at the solemn “Celebration of the Lords Passion”. I had just carried the Cross into the waiting assembly chanting three times: “This is the wood of the Cross, on which hung the Savior of the world,” at which the assembly responded, “Come Let us worship.” This frail couple approached. The wife could barely walk without her husband’s loving firm support. As they drew closer, I could see that the husband’s face was filled with deep wrinkles, the kind of love lines etched in the face from suffering borne with grace. His head was covered with unkempt...

Good Liturgy is not a reenactment of something that happened over 2000 years ago but an actual participation in the events themselves. They are timeless and made present in our Liturgical celebrations and our reception of the Sacraments. Every Liturgy is an invitation to enter into the sacrifice of Calvary which occurred once and for all. It is re-presented at every Altar in every Holy Mass. Our Holy Week invites us to participate in the timeless Paschal Mystery, the saving life, suffering, passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Over the course of this Holy Week we attend the Last...

“The Word of the Day: ‘Hosanna!’” (John 12:11-19; Psalm 118:19-29)Today is Palm Sunday, and if there is a “word of the day” for this day, I think it’s the word, “Hosanna!” How often do we see that word show up in our service today! We started the service by saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Then we heard the Gospel reading where the crowd cries out, “Hosanna!” As we processed in, we sang about how “the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.” And we concluded the procession by saying, “Hosanna in the highest.” So before we even sat...

“Passion Prediction, Passion Production” (Mark 8:27-38; Romans 5:1-11)One of the themes of Lent, as we head toward Holy Week, is the approaching Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Does that word jump out at you a little bit, “Passion”? It should. Usually when we use the word “passion” in our culture, we’re talking about strong emotion. For example, “The artist went about his work with great passion, painting through the night,” or “The young woman was overcome with passion and fell head over heels in love.” “Passion,” as we most often use the term, is associated with either zeal or...

“In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb” (Matthew 21:1-11; 26:1 – 27:66)“In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb.” Have you heard that saying before? It’s used in reference to the month of March. The idea is that usually March comes in “like a lion”--the weather to begin the month is harsh and cold--and then at the other end, March goes out “like a lamb”--the weather is fair and mild. This year March started out with a few days of lamb-like weather, then the lion roared into our area, and now we’re sort of in-between. What’s in between a...

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton says she's "driven by my passions" to get things done and suggests her image as a calculating politician comes from her pragmatic focus on results. "It's a passion that I carry with me every single day," Clinton said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press. "I also know that I live in the real world and I have to figure out how we're going to get these changes done." The price she pays for pragmatism is to sometimes be viewed as calculating, the New York senator said. "I see it as harnessing...

Mosque stirs racial passion in Germany While Muslims see a £20m building for Cologne as test of a nation's tolerance, critics fear the rise of a parallel, repressive society Jason Burke in Cologne Sunday July 15, 2007 The Observer (UK) Anti-mosque protest in Cologne. Photograph: Henning Kaiser/AFP/Getty This weekend the mosque is overcrowded, the cafe grubby, the social centre and offices scruffy and uncomfortable. Not for long, hopes Kilic Iqbal, 27, who works for the Turkish religious and cultural association that runs the complex. 'It will be beautiful, but much more too,' said Iqbal. 'The Muslims of Germany have been...

How much do we really know about the Easter story and the week that led up to it? Tune in this weekend as FOX News' religion correspondent Lauren Green takes you inside the mysteries and controversies of the Passion story.Sunday, April 8 at 4pm, 9pm and Midnight, ET

April 6, 2007                                Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion Psalm: Friday 12     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Is 52:13—53:12 See, my servant shall prosper,he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.Even as many were amazed at him(so marred was his look beyond human semblanceand his appearance beyond that of the sons of man(so shall he startle many nations,because of him kings shall stand speechless;for those who have not been told shall see,those who have not heard shall ponder it. Who would believe what we have heard?To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?He grew up...

“Three Words from the Cross” (Luke 23:33-49)Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke seven words from the cross. We get that number by piecing together the accounts from all four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But no single evangelist records all seven words. Matthew and Mark report only one: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” St. John reports three: “Woman, behold, your son” and “Behold, your mother” count as one word; “I thirst” and “It is finished” are the other two in John. That leaves three words from the cross that are recorded only by St. Luke. Those...

First Sermon on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ John Calvin Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup...

“The Meal, Christ’s Suffering, and the Coming of the Kingdom” (Luke 22:7-20)Our text is the Holy Gospel, from Luke 22, the account of our Lord’s institution of his Holy Supper. Specifically we want to look at these words from our Lord which Luke records, where Jesus says to his disciples: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Likewise Jesus says to them, “For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the...

Good Friday O, My people! What have I done to thee that thou shouldst testify against me? - from The Reproaches ReadingsVeneration of the Cross - The ReproachesGood Friday ideas for familiesThe Cross - The Sign of the Cross - The Crucifix, Crosses and Symbols of ChristOn Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, in the chanting of the 'Reproaches', in the reading of the...

Passiontide and Holy Week PassiontideChrist became, for our sake, obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.Philippians 2:8Contents:The Celebration of PassiontidePassion Sunday - Blessed palms and Palm procession Holy Week - Confession and Easter Duty The Triduum - TenebraeSee also Paschale Solemnitatis - Vatican Letter on Preparations for Holy Week and Easter - Congregation for Divine Worship--------- Confession - Penance--------- Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday PASSIONTIDE is the last two weeks of Lent, when the readings and prayers of the liturgy focus on the Passion of Our Lord. The word "passion", in the Christian sense, does not...

ROME, MARCH 20, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university. Q: The music director of our parish has some rather liberal ideas of how he uses music during Mass. Once, the reading of the Passion was stopped at the moment when we were kneeling in remembrance of Christ's dying moment. The music director then had the assembly sing three verses of "Were You There." After the music, the Passion was completed. I find this more than a bit bizarre. Is this sort of practice considered something that is allowed during a Mass?...

The Meaning of the Bridge of Angels The Bridge of Angels (in Italian, Ponte Sant'Angelo) spans the Tiber River in Rome. Only a few steps away from St. Peter's Basilica, the bridge reflects the psychological shift from secular to sacred the occurs when pilgrims crossed from the busy streets of Rome over to the churches of the Vatican. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the famed Italian sculptor, originally designed the bridge's angel sculptures in the seventeenth century. Though few of the angels standing today were done by his hand, Bernini's vision for the bridge lives on. Five angel sculptures flank each...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2007 – When it comes to connecting troops and their families with services they deserve, Pat Kerr is in a league of her own -- literally. Missouri State Veterans Ombudsman Pat Kerr shows off a photo of her daughter, Army Reserve Capt. Kate Numerick, who is serving her second tour in Iraq. Photo by Fred W. Baker III  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. As the only paid state veterans ombudsman in the nation, Kerr spends her time battling bureaucracies, raising money and advocating for servicemembers, their families and veterans in Missouri. But folks shouldn’t let...

Edmay Mayers’ heart was touched by the children and the teachers at Al Diwaniyah Kindergarten. For Edmay Mayers the desire to volunteer for service in Iraq was the same as it was for many Americans - she wanted to do her part to support her country in the Global War on Terrorism. Once in Iraq however, she felt her heart open to the victims of war, especially those too young to have been anything but pawns of the previous regime. Mayers has been in Iraq for more than nine months of her one-year tour. She has traveled all over the...

Reiner: Gibson, Come Clean on `Passion' LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mel Gibson's apology for making drunken anti-Semitic remarks isn't enough to redeem him, actor-producer Rob Reiner said. The actor also must acknowledge that "his work reflects anti-Semitism," particularly the 2004 hit movie "The Passion of the Christ," Reiner told Associated Press Radio. "When he comes to the understanding that he has done that, and can come out and say, you know, 'My views have been reflected in my work and I feel bad that I've done that,' then that will be the beginning of some reconciliation for him," Reiner said....

MEL Gibson once had close links to the Australian League of Rights, a Far Right group notorious for its anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. The league claims the world is run by a secret society of Jews. The Hollywood star's foray into Far Right activist politics in Australia occurred in 1987 when he campaigned for a friend, Rob Taylor, who stood unsuccessfully for the northern Victorian federal seat of Indi. Charles Pinwill, a former Queensland state director of the League of Rights, said he knew Gibson's father, Hutton, and said Gibson was interested in the league's ideas. "They were...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Superstar Mel Gibson goes on a drunken anti-Semitic tirade and Hollywood's powerful Jewish community finds itself under attack for not speaking up strongly enough in protest. In the days since Gibson's arrest on suspicion of drunk driving after a wild ride down a Malibu highway, few of the leading Jewish figures in the film industry have publicly commented on Gibson's barrage of anti-Semitic comments. The actor was formally charged with drunk driving on Wednesday, six days after his arrest and subsequent rant to a police officer about Jews causing all the wars. On Tuesday, Gibson issued...

Mel Gibson's Apology OK With Catholic League Monday, July 31, 2006 3:51 p.m. EDT Catholic League President Bill Donohue commented today on the furor over the comments Mel Gibson allegedly made after his arrest for drunk driving Friday morning: "What Mel Gibson apparently said is indefensible. The remark attributed to him, ‘The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,’ is anti-Semitic and irresponsible. Fortunately, he has apologized for his bigoted outburst. "Unfortunately, his apology is being rejected by some who should know better. To wit: Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, has branded Gibson’s apology ‘unremorseful...

MEL Gibson was speeding, drunk and absolutely certain of how this episode would end when he was pulled over and arrested by a police officer in Malibu. Gibson, 50, told Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy James Mee he "owned" Malibu as he was driven, handcuffed, to the Los Hills sheriff's station early on Friday morning, and he would "get even" with him. "I'm going to f--- you," Gibson reportedly said. "You're going to regret you ever did this to me." What followed will cast a shadow over the remainder of the American-born, Australian-raised Gibson's career as one of Hollywood's most...

Polish hilltop shrine centuries old center of devotion to Passion, Mary By Jonathan Luxmoore 5/17/2006 Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com) WARSAW, Poland – The hilltop Marian shrine of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska has been a center of devotion to the Passion and to Mary for four centuries. When Pope John Paul II prayed at the shrine in 2002 during his last homecoming, he said he had found strength at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and counted on Polish Catholics to continue coming to the shrine "to ask Mary to obtain for us unity of faith, unity of mind and spirit, unity in families and unity in...

Self-Destruction is a Choice by Mychal Massie America is in a downward spiral, plummeting toward destruction – not because of depleted ozone, global warming, over population, mineral-resource depletion or any other silly pluripotent argument that is wheeled out daily. We are self destructing because of our choices. And while there was a time our choices appeared to be slowing down the inevitable, it now appears that all that is possible is being done to hasten same. America is collapsing because, as a people, we have chosen to embrace lies over the truth. We have cursed that which is good and...

Jewish group slams Polish religious rite as anti-Semitic April 27, 2006 WARSAW -- A Jewish rights group on Wednesday protested to the Polish government over an Easter ritual held at a famous Roman Catholic sanctuary in southern Poland, claiming that the ceremony was tainted by anti-Semitism. The Simon Wiesenthal Center urged Polish foreign minister Stefan Meller to discipline organizers of the Stations of the Cross ceremony at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a site to be visited by Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to Poland in May. Shimon Samuels, director for International Relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which tracks down Nazi...

Every year on Good Friday, I notice a peculiar feeling. When I’m out and about, riding the bus or walking past a store, I feel a strange disconnect between myself and the world around me. Outside, it’s an ordinary day. The streets are busy, people are buying and selling, there are families in the parks and planes in the air. It’s springtime in Atlanta, and already the earth’s beauty is beginning to be seen. Inside, things are different. I feel a sense of loss, a sense of a great drama taking place. This is the day on which we commemorate...

My people, what have I done to you How have I offended you? Answer me! I led you out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, but you led your Savior to the cross. My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me! For forty years I led you safely through the desert. I fed you with manna from heaven,ù and brought you to a land of plenty; but you led your Savior to the cross. Holy is God! Holy and strong! Holy immortal One, have mercy on us! What more could I have done...

"Way of the Cross" at Colosseum (Part 1) Text Prepared by Archbishop Comastri VATICAN CITY, APRIL 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is the first part of the translation of the meditations prepared for Good Friday's Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum. Benedict XVI will preside over the event. The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff released the translation. Part 2 will appear in the dispatch on Holy Thursday. * * * Way of the Cross at the Colosseum Led by Benedict XVI Good Friday 2006 Meditations and Prayers Composed by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of...

On the Easter Triduum "We Will Relive the Passion, Death and Resurrection" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address at today's general audience, which he dedicated to explain the meaning of the Easter triduum. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters: Tomorrow the Easter triduum begins, which is the fulcrum of the whole liturgical year. Aided by the sacred rites of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the solemn Easter Vigil, we will relive the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. They are propitious days to reawaken in us a more intense desire...

April 9, 2006 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord At the Procession with Palms Psalm: Sunday 17 Gospel 1Mk 11:1-10 When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem,to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you,and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.Untie it and bring it here.If anyone should say to you,‘Why are you doing this?’ reply,‘The Master has need of itand will send it back here at once.’”So they...

Our loving Redeemer  came into the world for no other reason but to save sinners.  Seeing  that sentence of condemnation which was already recorded against us for our sins, what did He do?By His own death, He paid the penalty that we owed; and with His own blood canceled the sentence of condemnation for those who follow him. He nailed that sentence of death to the same Cross on which He died.   (Adapted from St. Alphonsus Liguori) We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee, for by Thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world. Come join us...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The loss of the sense of sin and its consequences for humanity will be central themes of the text of this Good Friday's Way of the Cross at the Colosseum. The text for the Stations of the Cross this year has been written by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Pope's vicar for Vatican City. Vatican sources told ZENIT that the meditations for each of the 14 Stations that Jesus went through in his passion will be published in a volume by the Vatican Publishing House, beginning April 11. These texts will guide the meditation of...

O my Jesus, I contemplate your poor battered face this evening, Your hair sticky and wet from the blood beneath your crown, your cheeks bruised and bloodstreaked, your nose swollen. I behold the King on his way to his betrothal, in just those garments that show the depth of your love, how far you are willing to go in pursuit of you bride, what a bride price you are willing to pay to dress your bride in the dazzling white you promised. Let me contemplate this gift, and not forget the pain throbbing through your body because of me,...

Get prepared. This film of the Passion isn't your typical Hollywood production, and it's producers say playing the race card is needed. It's not Mel Gibson's The Passion, but folks involved in this big-screen's production are no less passionate in bringing this adaption of Christ's last 48 hours to your local cinema house in a film that openly plays the race card - with the Messiah cast as a black man. This racial perspective to the conventional biblical story, the producers say, "is sure to challenge Conservative Christian beliefs."

Mel Gibson's newest film will be titled Apocalypto and is billed as an action/adventure film set 600 years ago, prior to the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Mexico and Central America. IMDb gives a short description that details it as "where a man goes on a perilous journey to save his idyllic world." And some of those that praised Gibson's epic "The Passion of the Christ" may take pause in how he describes this film by slamming the president.

Meditation on Christ's Passion When you prayed in the garden, Lord, and the heaviness pressed all around you as the full moon's light peaked through the olive trees, and your apostles snored in the shadows, and you sweated blood in the depths of your grief, how heavy did today weigh on your shoulders, with a war-torn world, mad with bloodlust, despising your peace, hot with hatred and selfish fulfilment sometimes done in the name of God, or done in the name of self, careless with all you have taught? When they tied you to the pillar, Lord, and scourged you...

When Denise and Roger Friesen planned a Valentine's Day dinner for their Omaha, Neb., church, they immediately knew their theme: the Song of Solomon -- sometimes called the Song of Songs -- the sexiest book in the Bible. "O, that you would kiss me with the kisses of your mouth!" says a woman to her lover as the book begins. "For your love is better than wine." Later language compares male legs to alabaster columns and female bosoms to clusters of fruit on a tree. The Friesens, both 47, credit the little book in the Hebrew Bible with helping to...

The Way of the Cross According to The Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church A plenary indulgence can be gained once a day for making the Way of the Cross and praying for the intentions of our Holy Father the Pope. The following stations of the cross are based on those celebrated in the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church. They are presented here as a way of reflecting more deeply on the accounts of Christ's passion. The presiding Celebrant may be a priest or deacon. This Celebrant prays the opening and closing prayers, leads the acclamation, announces the stations, and says the...

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet...

Mel Gibson made so much money from “The Passion of the Christ” that he’s now putting it where his mouth is, so to speak. He’s continuing to build a religious compound in Malibu for Catholics who reject Vatican II, and is implicitly endorsing his controversial father’s beliefs by helping him launch a similar church in Pennsylvania. Last year, according to federal tax filings, Gibson parked $5 million of his "Passion" profits in his tax-free private foundation — the same vehicle he’s used to pour millions into a 17-acre religious compound he’s building in Agoura Hills, Calif., at a “secret” rural...

Gethsemane moments - moments when I confront the realities that I must do, when sitting in the shadows I wrestle with a heart that longs to run away, that longs to cry "Why me, Lord?" that longs to scream into the darkness "No no no no no!" yet to do so would be to betray my Hope, my Love, my Truth, my God, and under the moonlit shadows, I join Jesus praying in the darkness, confronting the conflict between what the will wants to do and what the will ought to do, and with him, I pray "Not my will...

If viewers happened to be tuned into CSPAN several weeks ago, they were in for quite a spectacle. CSPAN was re-airing a conference that took place in May of 2005 with the ominous title, “Examining the Real Agenda of the Far Religious Right.” Sponsored by the New York Open Center, the conference was anything but open-minded. Instead, participants launched into a litany of complaints against the so-called Christian Right that bordered on bigotry. I half expected it to end with a pitchfork armed mob breaking down the doors of a local church. Perusing the Open Center’s website, one will find...

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 PASSION 06 DRAWS 18,000 STUDENTS TO NASHVILLE By Ginny McCabe Special to ASSIST News Service CINCINNATI, OH (ANS) -- Passion 06, an International college movement, opened Monday, January 2, and concluded on Thursday, January 5, at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC) in downtown Nashville at full conference capacity with 18,000 college students in attendance, who represented all 50 states, as well as, 20 different countries. “Passion is way bigger than Nashville, and is way bigger than us,” said founder and director Louie Giglio at Monday night’s opening session. Giglio was already involved in campus ministry at...

Movie Trailer site.

LONDON (Reuters) - For Christian church leaders, Disney's "Narnia" blockbuster film could be the ideal way to pack the pews. Evangelical publishers have sent out special packs to churches, Methodists prepared themed sermons and one Anglican church is giving out free tickets to single parents for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". For Walt Disney Co. the film based on the C.S. Lewis classic offers a chance to recover at the box office after its latest quarterly losses. For churches, the movie being given its world premiere in London on December 7 is a golden...