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Back when I was in my Anglican interim, I loved commemorating Guy Fawkes Day. A haunting little historical nursery rhyme, bonfires, the burning of effigies, and children in raggedy clothes with ash-blackened faces accosting householders, begging A penny for the Guy!—what’s not to love? I had a vague notion of the historical events behind the festivities, and knew that Shakespeare had referenced them in his haunted (and contemporaneous) masterpiece, Macbeth. Mostly, though, what I knew about Guy Fawkes day was that some bad guy named Guy had tried to blow up the English Parliament, but the plot was foiled and...

The adoption agency Catholic Care has lost its five year fight to reserve its services for heterosexual couples only, in a landmark court ruling. The adoption agency based in Leeds, had taken its case to the Upper Tribunal in order to win the right to maintain charitable status while being permitted to refuse to place children with same-sex couples, in accordance with the charity’s Catholic ethos. However, they were defeated today as the Charity Commission argued that the charity’s stance is “divisive, capricious and arbitrary” and undermined the dignity of homosexual couples whose parenting abilities are “beyond question”. The tribunal...

A new zeitgeist is capturing business people, academics and political players from both the Left and Right, looking for an ethical alternative for our time. Their inspiration? Catholic teaching. In many ways these are difficult times for the Catholic Church. Congregations in England are still in decline, child abuse scandals around the world have cast a long shadow and in many areas of policy - from euthanasia to gay marriage - the church's fixed positions make it sound outdated and out of touch. Yet in the last couple of months I have received some intriguing invitations from Catholic friends: one...

Internet evangelist Bill Keller is on a mission to convince Christians to reject both Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican contender Mitt Romney. Rather than selecting either of the main candidates, Keller is challenging believers to choose Jesus Christ for president — literally. As of July 2012, he claimed to have already convinced nearly 200,000 Christians to write in the savior’s name, rather than select any of the men officially running for the presidency. Now, just four months later, Keller’s pool of supporters has increased monumentally to more than 1.6 million. While this may seem like a number that is...

AS bonfires and fireworks light up the night sky over the next few days, many people enjoying the spectacle may not realise how close West Oxfordshire’s link is to the events Bonfire Night recalls. Chastleton House, near Chipping Norton, used to be owned by the leading figure behind the ill-fated plot to blow up Parliament, Robert Catesby. Although Guy Fawkes, the man caught in Parliament’s cellars with the barrels of gunpowder, is remembered each year – and effigies of him burned on bonfires – it was actually Catesby who led the 1605 plan. Catesby was a devout Catholic who grew...

St. Petersburg, November 2, Interfax - A resident of St. Petersburg has been detained after trying to attach an imitation of an improvised explosive device and a pig's head to the gate of the main city mosque, the Federal Security Service (FSB) department for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region said. "The detainee is Vladimir Smirnov, born in 1988. The man has a record of criminal convictions, including for violent crimes, the incitement of hatred or enmity, and involvement in illegal circulation of arms, ammunition and explosive devices," it said. Smirnov has been handed over to police to make a...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem A New Journey…The Names of God in The Scriptures My Light and my Salvation (Adonai ori veyish'i)Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1)

I’ve generally stayed quiet during this election season, but as the election draws near and I’m seeing posts saying that voting for Romney is a step backwards for the country…I am going to speak why I’m not supporting reelecting Obama—probably different than what you’re hearing. I honestly fear for the future of my job if he is reelected. His moves against the Catholic Church with the contraception mandate frustrate me—for my Church, as well as for me personally. You may or may not know that I have not prescribed or referred for contraception, abortion or sterilization for 16 years. That...

Trust His Timing Today's Scripture “My times are in Your hand...” (Psalm 31:15, NASB) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria One thing I’ve learned is that God doesn’t always work on our time table. In fact, He rarely does. But, in a single moment, God can change your life! All throughout scripture, we see examples of how God was working behind the scenes and instantly turned things around for His people. Scripture tells us He is the same yesterday, today and forever which means if He did it for them, He can instantly turn things around for you, too!...

Partakers of His Suffering ". . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . ." —1 Peter 4:13 If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why...

Pray For the Salvation of America My fellow Freepers, It is a very serious time in our nation's history and our future looks very uncertain and every day the news is full of stories that cause us to fear as it looks like we are teetering towards the edge of a cliff. It is quite obvious to even the casual observer that our great country is under a tremendous spiritual assault by the forces of darkness and hell that is causing great distress to many across this land and in other free nations. This is largely our own fault as...

An influential paper with the Orthodox Jewish Community in New York, the Jewish Star, strongly endorsed Mitt Romney for president today. The editorial was titled, "The New Jewicide," and clearly delineated why Barack Obama is dangerous for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. As the writer stated: Obama’s bad positions on Israel and terrorism during his first term will only worsen in a second when he would no longer need financial support from major Jewish donors and electoral support from Jewish voters. Just like he told Russian President Mevedev Obama will have more flexibility in a second term...

A group of Jews that ascended the Temple Mount Sunday were shocked to see that ancient beams of wood that had apparently been used during the period of the Holy Temple were being used as firewood by Arabs on the Mount, and off it. Archaeologists have dated the wood as far back as the First Temple period, and appear to be among the celebrated “Cedars of Lebanon” mentioned in the Tanach.

November 5, 2012   Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Phil 2:1-4 Brothers and sisters:If there is any encouragement in Christ,any solace in love,any participation in the Spirit,any compassion and mercy,complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,united in heart, thinking one thing.Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,each looking out not for his own interests,but also everyone for those of others. Responsorial Psalm Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3 R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.O LORD, my heart...

Ezekiel 34:26 I will make My People and their Homes Around My Hill a Blessing. And there shall be Showers, Showers of Blessing, For I will not Shut Off the Rains, but Send them in their Seasons.

The Bible tells the story of Belshazzar, the very last king of Babylon, who held a great feast for a thousand of his lords during which he commanded his servants to bring the sacred vessels which had been pillaged from God’s holy temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords could drink from them. In the midst of the unholy revelry, a disembodied hand materialized and wrote upon a wall: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. It was a message to Belshazzar. “God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;...

November 4, 2012. (Romereports.com) In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII adopted the current Gregorian calendar, which is used in most parts of the world. This calendar actually replaced the Julian calendar which was approved by Julius Cesar during his reign. Despite the replacement, some in the Orthodox Church still use the Julian calendar. In places like the Holy Land, where Catholics and Orthodox live together, this reality can pose a problem. FR. PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLACustodian of the Holy Land“Ecumenism in the Holy Land is not a theological problem, is a pastoral problem. Because all families are mixed families. One part is Orthodox...

The Obama campaign on Saturday quietly released a web video featuring President Obama talking about his faith. The video includes various faith leaders describing how there is moral, even Biblical, backing for his policies on issues ranging from higher taxes for top earners to health care to the auto bailout. The video opens with the president at the National Prayer Breakfast where he says, “In my moments of prayer, I’m reminded that faith and values play an enormous role in motivating us to solve some of our most urgent problems.” Woven throughout the video are statements by persons of faith...

This week the Pennsylvania Catholic Bishops released a statement on the 2012 elections. Beautifully written and uncompromising in its call for Catholics to use their religious principles to guide their votes, the statement urges Catholics to make their presence felt--and vote. The statement begins by reminding the laity that they are celebrating All Saints Day, then follows by invoking the memories of the holy people of the past to inspire a call for holiness. Then the bishops throw down the gauntlet: We, the bishops of Pennsylvania, see next Tuesday (November 6), Election Day, as a day of historical challenge for our...

In an interview for Acton’s Religion & Liberty quarterly, the Russian Orthodox bishop in charge of external affairs for the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, warned that that the situation for the Christian population of Syria has deteriorated to an alarming degree. Hilarion compared the situation today, after almost two years of fighting in Syria, as analogous to Iraq, which saw a virtual depopulation of Christians following the U.S. invasion in 2003. The Russian Orthodox Church has been among the most active witnesses against Christian persecution around the world, particularly in the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle...