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May 22, 2013 Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Sir 4:11-19 Wisdom breathes life into her childrenand admonishes those who seek her.He who loves her loves life; those who seek her will be embraced by the Lord.He who holds her fast inherits glory;wherever he dwells, the LORD bestows blessings.Those who serve her serve the Holy One;those who love her the LORD loves.He who obeys her judges nations;he who hearkens to her dwells in her inmost chambers.If one trusts her, he will possess her;his descendants too will inherit her.She walks with him as a strangerand...

Foreign affairs Minister George Vella expresses government's concern at the instability afflicting Benghazi and the surrounding areas.Fr Alan Castillo and Fr Raghib Marzouk escaped unhurt after a bomb went off at the Catholic church in Via Torino, Benghazi, late Friday night. According to sources, a bomb was placed at the main of the church when an explosion rocked the area at around 11.30pm shattering several glass windows on the opposite side of the narrow road and also several windows in the building adjacent to the church housing the priests. Fortunately, Maltese bishop Mgr Sylvester Magro was not there as he...

Questioning “the motive and the reasoning” behind support for regime change in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Libya, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church said that Islamic fundamentalist regimes are “even worse” than authoritarian ones. Under such regimes, Christians “will be considered second class because of their religion in a country in which Islam is the only standard,” said Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako. “I think moderate Muslims should be aware and assure Christians that they, indeed, will be respected as equal citizens.” The patriarch made his remarks amid rising violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq. The nation’s...

A Saint Pius senior was born a girl, but refuses to go graduate in a girl's gown. The Catholic school says too bad. At the Saint Pius High School graduation ceremony, the girls wear white gowns and the boys wear black. It is school policy and Saint Pius insists Damian is a girl. “I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends,” said Damian Garcia. “I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.” Damian Garcia was born Brandi...

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.(Genesis 1:1)This simple sentence, given to us as a Revelation from God through Moses, has launched hundreds of thousands of books, papers, sermons, and essays, and has underpinned our entire civilization. It is a theological statement, but it has also led to our modern concept of science, technology, philosophy, and our western epistemology (concept of truth). Thus the departure from Genesis 1:1 and all that follows it, has been the deepest and perhaps least appreciated reason for our current civilizational decline and pending collapse. Here in these spare words, selected by...

Footsteps is a Jewish organization that helps Hasidic Jews wishing to leave their ultra-orthodox community become integrated members of secular society and work through the profound difficulties of leaving behind their past and, in most cases, being disowned by their families.PBS and A Journey Through NYC Religions report the varying responses of current members of the Hasidic community and individuals who have chosen a new way of life.Sol Feuerwerker is glad he left. I think thatÂ’s what surprises most people, you know, most outsiders, is that how can something this insular be happening right here in the middle of New...

POPE Francis has been embroiled in a scandal after footage emerged today appearing to show him giving a man an exorcism in St Peter's Square. The astonishing incident between the Pontiff and the person in a wheelchair, took place immediately after Pentecostal mass on Sunday May 19. The video shows how a priest leans across the boy or young man to tell Francis something, at which point the Pope’s expression becomes more serious. (VIDEO-AT-LINK) The Pontiff then grips the top of the subject’s head firmly and is seen pushing him down into his wheelchair. As this is happening Francis recites...

May 21, 2013|8:34 am A Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans now believe that sexual relations between two men or two women, and unmarried women having a baby, are morally acceptable. In the new survey, 59 percent of American adults answered that gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable, a 19 percentage point increase since 2001 when only 40 percent said it was morally acceptable.Sixty percent of respondents said that having a baby outside of marriage was morally acceptable, a 15 percentage point increase since 2002 when only 45 percent said it was morally acceptable.Of the 20 issues which...

U.S. Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (far left) is seen next to Episcopal Auxiliary Bishop Nerva Cot in this 2007 photo. (CNS) The Anglican Ink site reports: The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has denounced the Apostle Paul as mean-spirited and bigoted for having released a slave girl from demonic bondage as reported in Acts 16:16-34 . In her sermon delivered at All Saints Church in Curaçao in the diocese of Venezuela, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori condemned those who did not share her views as enemies of the Holy Spirit. The presiding bishop opened her remarks with an...

Pope Francis asked those gathered for the Pentecost Vigil Mass at the Vatican to chant Christ's name instead of his own, highlighting his role as Christ's vicar on earth. "From now on no more 'Francis,' only 'Jesus,' alright?” he asked rhetorically during the Pentecost Vigil Mass said May 18 at Saint Peter's Square...."I want to hear you shout out 'Jesus, Jesus is Lord, and he is in our midst.'" ...The Pope told how his grandmother was the first to pass on the faith to him, and insisted that a person's faith begins through their family. "I received my first Christian...

Featured Term (selected at random):LEPER WINDOW A low window in the chancel wall of a church, found in medieval architecture. Often it was iron barred or shuttered. It was to enable lepers who had to remain outside the church to attend Mass. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said Tuesday that her state will rebuild, and she asked for prayers to aid the rescue and recovery.

Is Pope Francis an exorcist? The question has been swirling ever since Francis laid his hands Sunday on the head of a young man after celebrating Mass in St. Peter's Square. The young man heaved deeply a half-dozen times, convulsed and shook, and then slumped in his wheelchair as Francis prayed over him. (snip) Fueling the speculation is Francis' obsession with the devil, a frequent subject of his homilies.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 86 A Prayer of David. 1. Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For I am poor and needy. 2. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! 3. Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. 4. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You....

For a Christian, true progress lies in humbling ourselves as Jesus did. This was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope also reiterated that true power is in service and that there is no room for power struggles within the Church. During the prayers of the faithful Pope Francis also prayed for the victims of the Oklahoma tornado tragedy. In the readings of the day, the source of the Holy Father’s reflections, Jesus speaks of his passion. However his disciples, begin arguing about who is the greatest among them. Commenting on...

He Opens and Closes Doors Today's Scripture I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Revelation 3:8, ESV. Today's Word from Joel and Victoria God opens doors of opportunity before us that no one is able to shut. But we have to realize, sometimes He also closes doors because He has something better in store. We may see a logical opportunity, but just because it’s the...

Having God’s “Unreasonable” Faith "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" —Matthew 6:33 When we look at these words of Jesus, we immediately find them to be the most revolutionary that human ears have ever heard. “. . . seek first the kingdom of God . . . .� Even the most spiritually-minded of us argue the exact opposite, saying, “But I must live; I must make a certain amount of money; I must be clothed; I must be fed.� The great concern of our lives is not...

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Matthew 16:23

WHEN is a Jew not a Jew? When he’s a Karaite. Or so says Israel’s chief rabbinate, which, after 65 years of relative harmony with an ancient Jewish sect, is reopening an old and bitter schism. In recent months, rabbis working for Israel’s ministry of religion have deemed Karaite marriages invalid, fined their butchers for claiming to be kosher, and demanded that Karaites marrying Orthodox Jewish women should convert, sometimes having to undergo tavila, or baptism. “We are already Jews,” protests Moshe Firrouz, a computer engineer who heads the Karaites’ Council of Sages. “The rabbinate is denying us our religious...

The following is the homily Katherine Jeffords Schori read in Caracas, Venezuela. The topic is the passage from Acts, wherein Paul drives out what the bible plainly identifies as a demon from a girl. The beauty of this place is legendary. It is beautiful – and fragile, for its beauty depends on a dynamic balance among the parts of this island system. Many people don’t notice beauty around them until it’s gone. When we go somewhere that looks very different, often it takes a long time to appreciate that it has beauty, even though it’s a different kind of beauty....

May 21, 2013 Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Sir 2:1-11 My son, when you come to serve the LORD,stand in justice and fear,prepare yourself for trials.Be sincere of heart and steadfast,incline your ear and receive the word of understanding,undisturbed in time of adversity.Wait on God, with patience, cling to him, forsake him not;thus will you be wise in all your ways.Accept whatever befalls you,when sorrowful, be steadfast,and in crushing misfortune be patient;For in fire gold and silver are tested,and worthy people in the crucible of humiliation.Trust God and God will help you;trust in...

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGHFor All Those Affected By The Catastrophic Tornadoesin Texas And Oklahoma! Heavenly Lord, Please Hold Our Brothers And Sisters In Tornado Alley In The Shelter Of Your Healing Wings! _________________________________________________________________ The Twenty-Third Psalm Mahalia Jackson(Click) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art...

Senior members of the Church of Scotland voted Monday to let some congregations choose ministers who are in same-sex relationships — an important compromise that must still pass further hurdles before it can become church law. The church's General Assembly backed a motion affirming a traditional conservative view on homosexuality, but permitted liberal congregations to ordain openly gay men or women if they wish. The assembly's vote would require the approval of next year's General Assembly as well as votes by the church's regional presbyteries to become law. The process is complicated, and is expected to take at least two...

Vatican City, May 20, 2013 / 11:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis encouraged bold prayer and faithful trust in God during his homily at Mass today at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican. “A courageous prayer, that struggles to achieve a miracle,� the Bishop of Rome said May 20. “Not prayers of courtesy: 'Ah, I will pray for you,' I say an Our Father, a Hail Mary and then I forget.� Rather, he said, “strong prayer is needed. Humble and strong prayer that enables Jesus to carry out the miracle.� Highlighting the importance of faith in Christ, he told of...

Father Jordi Piqué, dean of the Pontifical University of Saint Anselmo's liturgical institute. Rome, Italy, May 20, 2013 / 09:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A pontifical university in Rome has launched a master's program in Gregorian chant and the use of the organ at Mass so as to build unity among Catholics world-wide. “The most important thing is that music, when it is truly liturgical, creates community,� Father Jordi Piqué, dean of the Pontifical University of Saint Anselmo's liturgical institute, said May 20. “When one hears a Mass that is sung or the organ interpreting a beautiful melody, it’s never...

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has denounced the Apostle Paul as mean-spirited and bigoted for having released a slave girl from demonic bondage as reported in Acts 16:16-34 . In her sermon delivered at All Saints Church in Curaçao in the diocese of Venezuela, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori condemned those who did not share her views as enemies of the Holy Spirit. The presiding bishop opened her remarks with an observation on the Dutch slave past. “The history of this place tells some tragic stories about the inability of some to see the beauty in other skin colors...

She Prayed by Jayme Durant * When you ask ICR President Dr. John Morris to describe his mother, Mary Louise Morris, he says, “She prayed.” Mary Louise was the wife of ICR founder Dr. Henry Morris, and the mother of ICR’s current CEO, Dr. Henry Morris III. Two of her daughters, Mary Morris Smith and Rebecca Morris Barber, also contribute their time and unique talents to ICR’s work. A third daughter, Dr. Kathy Morris Bruce, serves God’s kingdom as a missionary. Mary Louise invested herself in her husband’s work and in their family. “She prayed extensively,” John says. “Dad started...

Exorcism experts said on Monday that it appears that Pope Francis may have performed an exorcism on an ill man on St Peter's Square following mass on Pentecost Sunday. According to a panel of clergy specialized in exorcism speaking on the religious satellite channel TV2000's program Vade Retro, images appear to show the pontiff placing his hands on a man's head and reciting a prayer to liberate the him from demons. Next Friday's edition of the program on the religious satellite channel will be dedicated to "Pope Francis' battle against the devil and his seductions," the program conductor said. TV2000...

As a bishop and then cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a relentless confessor and the homilies and speeches he has give over these first few months testify to this. For Francis, engaging in dialogue with faithful during confession is key. But now he is Pope he is no longer able to “leave” the Vatican and listen to confessions in parishes as he used to do back in Buenos Aires. Francis hinted at this in the off-the-cuff speech he gave during the Pentecost Vigil mass in St. Peter’s Square, on Saturday 18 May. The Pope addressed a crowd of over 200.000...

Featured Term (selected at random):LOW MASS A term formerly used for a Mass celebrated without music. The priest read, instead of sang, all the prayers of the Mass. Unknown in the early Church, it was also called a private Mass. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Courageous, humble and strong prayer can accomplish miracles: this was Pope Francis’ message at morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta. The Pope was commenting on Monday’s Gospel passage which recounts the disciples failure to heal a child; Jesus himself must intervene and laments the disbelief of those present. Responding to the child’s father’s pleas for help He says “everything is possible to one who has faith ". Pope Francis noted that often those who love Jesus don't risk much on believing in him nor entrust themselves completely to Him: "But why this disbelief? I believe that it is [when] the...

The revelations of the scandals within the Obama administration in the past couple of weeks make those of us who are old enough recall 1973, when Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s investigative reporting and then the hearings of a special Senate investigative committee brought to the public one astounding detail after another about Watergate. The current developments have been even more striking. One scandal or possible scandal after another, reaching across different executive branch agencies, have come to light in breathtakingly brief succession. There has been the apparent cover-up about the Benghazi episode, the Justice Department’s open-ended seizure of phone...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 65 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. 1. Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed. 2. O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come. 3. Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them. 4. Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. 5. By awesome deeds...

His Ways Are Higher Today's Scripture For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8, ESV. Today's Word from Joel and Victoria We all have dreams that we’re believing God for and situations we want to see turn around. Too often, we put God in a box and tell Him how to do it, when to do it, and who to use to do it. We’ve got it all figured out: how God is going to bring us out of debt, how He is going to change our loved one,...

Taking Possession of Our Own Soul "By your patience possess your souls" —Luke 21:19 When a person is born again, there is a period of time when he does not have the same vitality in his thinking or reasoning that he previously had. We must learn to express this new life within us, which comes by forming the mind of Christ (see Philippians 2:5). Luke 21:19 means that we take possession of our souls through patience. But many of us prefer to stay at the entrance to the Christian life, instead of going on to create and build our...

May 20, 2013   Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Sir 1:1-10 All wisdom comes from the LORDand with him it remains forever, and is before all timeThe sand of the seashore, the drops of rain,the days of eternity: who can number these?Heaven’s height, earth’s breadth,the depths of the abyss: who can explore these?Before all things else wisdom was created;and prudent understanding, from eternity.The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdomand her ways are everlasting.To whom has wisdom’s root been revealed?Who knows her subtleties?To whom has the discipline of wisdom been...

We sing the Psalms because the people of God have been doing so since as early as Moses (Ps. 90) and especially during the days of David, when the Psalter became the “hymnal” of Israel. When we sing them, we identify with our most ancient forefathers and offer transcendent praise, applicable in all times and in all places.

I took piano lessons for 6 years in elementary school and junior high. It never came easy for me and I always had to practice to master even simple pieces. Every spring we had the dreaded recital where about 30 of us would perform from memory for our families. It was hard to know who was more uncomfortable on these evenings–those of us on the stage or our parents who had to endure our missed notes and shaky re-starts. I only had one rule about the music I played at recital: it had to be written in the key of...

Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta has a special briefcase he uses exclusively to carry documentation for a project that would completely revise an entire section of the Catholic Church's basic law. The black case contains a 40-page draft text for a new "Book VI: Sanctions in the Church" section of the Code of Canon Law, as well as the 800-page synthesis of recommended amendments and objections to the proposed changes. Bishop Arrieta, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, delves into the briefcase at work in his office overlooking St. Peter's Square and at home in the evening. Like any...

Vatican City, May 18, 2013 / 09:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis spoke today about how gossip by Christians is a “slap� to Jesus “in the person of his children.� “All three - disinformation, defamation and slander - are sins! This is sin! It is to slap Jesus in the person of his children, his brothers,� the Pope said May 18 in the chapel of St. Martha’s House. The topic game up in Pope Francis’ homily because of the day’s Gospel reading from John 21 in which Peter asks if John will be alive when Jesus returns to earth. ?“What...

"Where were You, God?" The question arises daily as news of tragedies abound, and even from time to time as the tragedy involves ourselves. Servicemen die in a bungled military defense operation that should have been a cake walk, and no government official has credible answers. A son is shot dead in his prime by a wanton criminal. A wife dies decades too soon from a deadly disease. A busy mother dies unexpectedly from a sudden heart attack. Maybe you were emotionally abused when a child and have been saddled with a destructive habit that you acquired in an effort...

The linear conception of history is so seductive, even antagonistic groups like Enlightenment philosophers and Marxists adopt it. It pervades their attitude toward religion. Both believe society matures as it sheds its religious heritage. Infantile societies practice religion, but progressive societies are secular, they maintain.

Below the official English language translation of Pope Francis’ homily at Mass for the Feast of Pentecost with New Movements: Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today we contemplate and re-live in the liturgy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit sent by the risen Christ upon his Church; an event of grace which filled the Upper Room in Jerusalem and then spread throughout the world. But what happened on that day, so distant from us and yet so close as to touch the very depths of our hearts? Luke gives us the answer in the passage of the Acts of the Apostles...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 60 For the director of music. To the tune of "The Lily of the Covenant." A miktam of David. For teaching. When he fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, and when Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 1. You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry-now restore us! 2. You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. 3. You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine...

Pray For Our American Heroes and Our Nation Mark 4:22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. God Bless America!

Out of the Wreck I Rise "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" —Romans 8:35 God does not keep His child immune from trouble; He promises, “I will be with him in trouble . . .� (Psalm 91:15). It doesn’t matter how real or intense the adversities may be; nothing can ever separate him from his relationship to God. “In all these things we are more than conquerors . . .� (Romans 8:37). Paul was not referring here to imaginary things, but to things that are dangerously real. And he said we are “super-victors� in the midst...

EDITOR'S NOTE: For the last half of the twentieth century, Antony Flew (1923-2010) was the world's most famous atheist. Long before Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris began taking swipes at religion, Flew was the preeminent spokesman for unbelief.However in 2004, he shocked the world by announcing he had come to believe in God. While never embracing Christianity—Flew only believed in the deistic, Aristotelian conception of God—he became one of the most high-profile and surprising atheist converts. In 2007, he recounted his conversion in a book titled There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His...

May 19, 2013 Pentecost Sunday - Mass during the Day   Reading 1 Acts 2:1-11 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,they were all in one place together.And suddenly there came from the skya noise like a strong driving wind,and it filled the entire house in which they were.Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,which parted and came to rest on each one of them.And they were all filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak in different tongues,as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heavenstaying in Jerusalem.At...

May 19, 2013 Pentecost Sunday - At the Vigil Mass   Reading 1 Gn 11:1-9 The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.While the people were migrating in the east,they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.They said to one another,“Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.”They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a cityand a tower with its top in the sky,and so make a name for ourselves;otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.” The LORD...

Alice Area Alliance of Christian Churches introduced The Power Team to the community Wednesday night at the Alice High School Auditorium.