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(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) A key difference between Latter-day Saints and many other Christian churches is that Mormons believe that there are various post-judgment kingdoms in the outskirts of heaven. There’s the Telestial Kingdom, for anyone from Hitler to that lawyer who’s cheating on his wife. There’s the Terrestrial Kingdom, for those decent folks who said “not now” when the missionaries came by the door. And then there’s the Celestial Kingdom, the jackpot prize. But even the Celestial Kingdom comes in degrees. According to Joseph Smith, there are three degrees of glory...

The Gaza Strip, was originally part of the inheritance the LORD allotted to the tribe of Judah. But Philistines invaded and built their five cities in the area, Gaza, Ashdod, Gath, Akron, and Askelon. Eventually King David defeated the Philistines and Judah possessed the land until the Babylonian captivity, the return and finally the Roman diaspora. Nearly 20 centuries later, once again the Gaza is occupied, this time by Arabs who call themselves Philistines (ie Palestinians), and whose dubious claim to the land God gave the tribe of Juda, is supported by the ‘world community’. As Israel resists the provocative...

~excerpt~ Some say we need to push full steam ahead, that the policies in place just need more time. Some say we need to get back to Capitalism. Some say back to the Constitution. Still others say back to the basics of a Republic…those ideals that the Founders had for securing individual freedom. U.S. Congressman Ron Paul’s farewell speech pointed out some interesting observations about freedom and liberty that I hope you take a look at. Rush Limbaugh discussed this on his show today and agreed with Rep. Paul, but added that the key is that this is not a...

From a reader: Are preist required to wear them at all times? Im sure you’ve been asked this before. I’m a new reader I cant find the answer on your blog. I’ve tried for two months. Can you answer or refer me to it? Thank you. P.S I really like your site. I have indeed written about this.No… and yes.I’ll explain.First, let it be said that there is a relationship between habitus (dress) and habitus (character, disposition). This is one reason why Holy Church does lay down some guidelines for priests without making them iron-clad dictates. They are for...

The core topic is whether we are expected to understand Scripture or not, and how each of us is affected by the particular lens through which we view Scripture.

With a few days’ perspective since the election, we can see things a bit more clearly. We should be honest about the situation for the pro-life community as we can best understand it. The outcome of Tuesday’s election does not bode well for life and family — that is, for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters at the beginning and near the end of life; and for the natural, foundational institution of every society. That this administration has made it a priority to attack both is well known, as is their sustained assault on the freedom of religion. Just as...

The United Nation’s Population Fund has issued an annual report describing access to birth control and contraception as a “universal human right” for “women and adolescents.” The is the first time the UN agency has labeled birth control a right, although the report is not legally binding on any nations and does not affect or alter the laws of any country in any way. Still, the declaration is a concern for pro-life advocates, who are worried it is the first step towards the United Nations attempting to make abortion an international right. In its report, the UNFPA also indicated it...

Hot dog! Friday abstinence may be back, and this ‘old Catholic’ is ready to embrace itWant to feel old? Talk to anyone under the age of 50 about meatless Fridays. Odds are, they will have no memory of it. They will have no knowledge of why Catholics were called “mackerel snappers,” nor will they laugh at tired George Carlin routines about going to hell for eating a hot dog. And they sure as heck won’t know why many restaurant chains still have their fish specials on Fridays. But for all you youngsters, you might get ready: Friday abstinence may be...

The Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations for the Russian Orthodox Church, and a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow, Bishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, has written a letter of congratulations to Right Reverend Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham and nominee as Archbishop of Canterbury. Consider its contents: Dear Brother and Lord Bishop, I would like to extend to you wholehearted congratulations on your election as Head of one of the oldest episcopal chairs founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in the 7th century.You have been entrusted with the spiritual guidance...

Featured Term (selected at random):EPHRAIM Young son of the patriarch Joseph (Genesis 41), born in Egypt during the seven years of abundance. Ephraim's superiority over his brother Manasses is seen in the blessing he receives from his grandfather, Jacob (Genesis 48). Jacob adopts Manasses and Ephraim as his son, to make them into two tribes, but he gives the preference to the younger, by placing his right hand over Ephraim. The tribe of Ephraim became distinguished for its valor and prospered, but then became envious of the spiritual supremacy of Judah. The tribe of Ephraim provoked the rebellion and separation...

BARNESVILLE, Minn. – If you want to be a Catholic, you have to be 100 percent Catholic. That’s the lesson one family here learned after their 17-year-old son was denied confirmation after the priest at the Assumption Church here found a pro same-sex marriage post on the teen’s Facebook. The decision by the Rev. Gary LaMoine to deny the religious rite of passage for Lennon Cihak in mid-October shocked his mother, who said her son has gone to church every week and volunteered around the community in preparation for his confirmation this year.

Enter His Rest Today's Scripture “For we who have believed do enter that rest...” (Hebrews 4:3, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria God promises that there are set times in our future, but He doesn’t tell us when they will be. Your set time may be tomorrow morning at 9:47. You’ll get the phone call you’ve been waiting for. Your set time may be two years from now. You’ll get a good break and that will thrust you to a new level. My question is, “Do you trust God enough to believe that your set times are coming?”...

“What Is That to You?” "Peter . . . said to Jesus, ’But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ’. . . what is that to you? You follow Me’ " —John 21:21-22 One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.� You put your...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem A New Journey…The Names of God in The Scriptures Yahveh Makkeh (The LORD Who Smites)...Ezekiel 7:9Ezekiel 7:9 "I will turn my eyes away and show no pity. I will repay you for all your detestable sins. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking the blow (The Lord Who Smites)." Ezekiel 7:9

Pray For Our American Heroes and Our Nation Isaiah 40 28. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31. but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow...

Members of the LDS Church are familiar with the charge that Mormonism isn't a Christian faith. They hear it often enough, but they really don't understand why people think that. "We are Christians," Mormon President Gordon B. Hinckley insisted. "We have the name of Jesus Christ right in the name of our Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We follow Christ. We worship Him. We love Him. He is the center of all we do"("Inspirational Thoughts," Liahona, June 1999, 3; 2 Nephi 25:24-29). In the summer of 2005 we asked Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois to take a...

November 15, 2012   Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Phln 7-20 Beloved:I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love,because the hearts of the holy oneshave been refreshed by you, brother.Therefore, although I have the full right in Christto order you to do what is proper,I rather urge you out of love,being as I am, Paul, an old man,and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,whose father I have become in my imprisonment,who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you...

The Sign of the Cross   "Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are in the way and when we are still. Great is that preservative; it is without price, for the poor's sake; without toil, for the sick, since also its grace is from God. It is the Sign...

Pope Benedict XVI gives the final blessing Nov. 14, 2012 during the general audience in Paul VI Hall. Credit: Matthew Rarey-CNA. Vatican City, Nov 14, 2012 / 10:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The practical atheism of those who say they are Christian but live as if God does not exist is a greater threat than actual atheism, Pope Benedict XVI said as he presented three ways for people to more fully discover God. While actual atheists often think deeply about God before rejecting belief, practical atheism “is even more destructive … because it leads to indifference towards faith and the...

Australian priests could be forced to breach the seal of the confessional to report child sex abuse amid growing calls to end cover-ups involving the Catholic Church.Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday slammed the use of the confessional to avoid reporting abuse, saying it is a "sin of omission" and all adults have a duty to protect children. She announced this week the launch of a Royal Commission to investigate offences involving religious and non-religious organisations and insisted it will examine not only abuse but the role of institutions in covering it up. Though the commission's terms of reference are...

Persecution of Catholics is facilitated by internal dissent, Archbishop Carlo Vigano stresses in a speech at the University of Notre Dame.SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has told the University of Notre Dame that there is a concrete “menace” to religious liberty in the United States that is advancing in part because some influential Catholic public figures and university professors are allied with those opposed to Church teaching. “Evidence is emerging which demonstrates that the threat to religious freedom is not solely a concern for non-democratic and totalitarian regimes,” he said. “Unfortunately, it is surfacing with greater regularity...

The following is an edited transcript of the audio. Does it matter which Person of the Trinity we pray to? Yes, I think it matters. But being wrong about doesn't mean that it's in the category of damnable sin and maybe not even in the category of sin at all. The Holy Spirit is sent into the world, according to John 16, to glorify the Son. And he glorifies the Son by leading us to the Son and causing us to see the Son as the ground for our access to the Father. The Son came to die for our...

The following is an edited transcript of the audio. Does it matter which Person of the Trinity we pray to? Yes, I think it matters. But being wrong about doesn't mean that it's in the category of damnable sin and maybe not even in the category of sin at all. The Holy Spirit is sent into the world, according to John 16, to glorify the Son. And he glorifies the Son by leading us to the Son and causing us to see the Son as the ground for our access to the Father. The Son came to die for our...

A secular group has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, alleging that the ministry's activity during the election season violates its tax exempt status. Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based organization, argued in its filed report that BGEA's "vote biblical values" ad campaign violated the IRS' rules on religious groups and political campaigning. "BGEA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has run full-page ads publicizing Billy Graham's call for the electorate to 'vote biblical values,'" said FFRF in a statement last week. "The ads have appeared in several 'swing state' newspapers in preparation for tomorrow's...

President Obama’s re-election and the prospect of a second Obama administration, freed from the constraints imposed by the necessity of running for re-election, have created a crisis for the Catholic Church in the United States. In the thought-world and vocabulary of the Bible, “crisis” has two meanings: the conventional sense (a grave threat) and a deeper sense (a great moment of opportunity). Both are applicable to the Church in America these next four years. The immediate threat, of course, is the HHS (Health and Human Services) mandate requiring Catholic institutions and Catholic employers to include coverage of contraceptives, sterilizations, and...

BALTIMORE (RNS) A divided Catholic hierarchy on Tuesday (Nov. 13) failed to agree on a statement about the economy after a debate that revealed sharp differences over the kind of social justice issues that were once a hallmark of the bishops’ public profile. The defeat of the document, titled “The Hope of the Gospel in Difficult Economic Times,” followed an hour of unusually intense debate among the 230 bishops gathered here for their annual meeting. It left many of them openly frustrated that the prelates have not made a joint statement about the nation’s economic woes four years after the...

The Vatican Secretariat of State has approved the reorganization of the Congregation for Divine Worship. A new office for liturgical music,art and architecture has been establishedThe Secretariat of State agreed on the Congregation's restructuring last 3 September with Benedict XVI's approval: the reorganization of the Congregation of Divine Worship involved the creation of new offices that will become operational as of next year. The main change is the establishment of an office, specifically dedicated to liturgical art and music (which Vatican Insider predicted in a previous article), which will provide guidelines to ensure that hymns sung during mass and the...

2 Peter 3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” I sincerely think there are thousands upon thousands of us that are drunk on the Kool-Aid that this is a normal time in our lives. Despite the many dark an ominous signs to the contrary, there is something in us that wants to cling to a hope that this world is going to...

Featured Term (selected at random):DEONTOLOGISM The theory associated with Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), that only acts done from a motive of duty have moral value. It is a stern moral philosophy, close to Stoicism, which holds that virtue is its own reward and therefore "duty for duty's sake" is man's highest moral imperative. (Etym. Greek deon, that which is obligatory + logia, science, knowledge.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The U.S. bishops approved their first new document in 30 years on preaching Nov. 13, the second day of their annual fall general assembly in Baltimore.The document, “Preaching the Mystery of Faith: The Sunday Homily,� encourages preachers to connect the Sunday homily with people’s daily lives.The vote was 227-11, with four abstentions. Approval required two-thirds of the membership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, or 182 votes.The document was prepared by the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, chaired by Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis, with subsequent review and comment by eight other USCCB committees.During...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem A New Journey…The Names of God in The Scriptures El-Olam-Everlasting God...Isaiah 40:28Isaiah 40 28. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31. but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on...

Look Again Today's Scripture “ ‘Go and look toward the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and looked. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea...” (1 Kings 18:43–44, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria The Bible says that after the prophet Elijah prayed and asked God to end the drought, he said to the people, “I can hear the sound of an abundance of rain.” He was saying in effect, “There...

Discovering Divine Design "As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . ." —Genesis 24:27 We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in...

From Damon Whitsell – Do you guys and gals like my new song I wrote today for my dear freind and very brave Anti-Islam Counter-Jihadist named VeraVera? I first wrote the music and need to record and produce soon. You like? (Your comments are open and requested below). You, being subscribers and visitors to one of my sites, are one of the first ones to see this online except for her. The song is really hers but I am sure she will let me record and distribute it soon. So if you like it, or if you don’t, please comment...

November 14, 2012   Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Ti 3:1-7 Beloved:Remind them to be under the control of magistrates and authorities,to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise.They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate,exercising all graciousness toward everyone.For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded,slaves to various desires and pleasures,living in malice and envy,hateful ourselves and hating one another. But when the kindness and generous loveof God our savior appeared,not because of any righteous deeds we had donebut because of his mercy,he saved us through the bath of...

First click here to watch a classic scene from the movie Brave Heart.By Fr. John Hollowell: Brave Heart is obviously a classic. In the film, Robert the Bruce, the dashing young man from the video above, betrays William Wallace for money, lands, and titles. He regrets it after looking into Wallace’s eyes and seeing the wreckage that his decision has on his country.I firmly believe that when Catholic hospitals are closing, when priests are being arrested for not marrying Adam and Steve, when our country starts aborting children with tax money, when the Catholic Church is completely turned on and...

The readings for today’s daily Mass (Monday Nov 12) largely deal with Church order and discipline. Paul in his letter to Titus tells him: For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you (Titus 1:5).He adds that among other things, the men he picks be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents. Later in the letter we learned that people Crete tended to be unruly people and that there were many things that had been left...

 Tomorrow, Mark Thompson takes over as the new President and CEO of The New York Times. Thompson is a practicing Catholic who believes "that the truths of the Christian faith are objective truths, rather than being entirely subjective."The position is primarily focused on running the business aspects of the Times. Thompson turned the British Broadcasting Company into a global online media powerhouse, and the Times management feels that he could do the same here.The New York Times Company announced on August 14th that Thompson would become its new President and CEO. Thompson left the position as director-general of the British...

Papal Nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Carlo Vigano addresses the 2012 USCCB Fall Meeting. Credit: Michelle Bauman-CNA. Baltimore, Md., Nov 13, 2012 / 04:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Church in the United States and its bishops should play a major role in the New Evangelization by presenting the gospel values they maintain amidst a secular culture, the Pope’s representative to the U.S. said. "The leadership of the bishops is of pre-eminent importance if the Year of Faith is to have a long-term effect and if the New Evangelization is to be not merely a temporary enthusiasm, but rather a...

On November 6, the citizens of the United States re-elected perhaps the most anti-Catholic president in its history to a second term.Even sadder, according to exit polls a majority of Catholics voted in his favor, even after they theoretically had imbibed the bishops’ message, conveyed from the pulpit and in various other media, that no Catholic should vote for a candidate who favors abortion rights and single sex marriage and does not support religious liberty.What is going on here? Clearly, to borrow a line from the film “Cool Hand Luke,” “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”Simply put,...

On November 4, 2012, a debate was held at St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie, N.Y. At the end of the debate, out of 52 seminarians, 19 voted for Romney. Cardinal Dolan lectures his fellow bishops on the need for "conversion," while he is running a seminary in which a majority of the seminarians are pro-abortion.

I am not writing this letter to accuse but rather to advance understanding. And even though I am white, I am not writing as an outsider but as a fellow evangelical, part of the same spiritual family. May I pose some candid questions? Are you guilty, on any level, of blind allegiance to the Democratic party? And, on Election Day, did any of you compromise your convictions out of racial solidarity? I have been very open in my criticism of white evangelicals, pointing out how we often put our trust in the Republican party and how we look to the...

Featured Term (selected at random):HYSSOP A plant of unknown identity, mentioned in the Scriptures. Found in Egypt, Sinai, and Canaan, it was used to sprinkle the blood of the paschal lamb or victims of sacrifice. It is referred to in the Psalm Miserere and in the Church's prayers. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The success that the gay community has achieved in shedding the “deviant” label has relied upon convincing the heterosexual world that homosexual behavior is perfectly normal. The recent uproar over a social work course titled “Deviant Behavior” at Franciscan University of Steubenville—which lists homosexuality as a form of deviant behavior—demonstrates just how vigilant the gay community remains in confronting anyone who might suggest that homosexual behavior could be anything but normal. It also shows how difficult it is for faithful Catholic institutions to teach students what the Church says about the nature of homosexual acts. The dispute at the Steubenville,...

Pope Benedict XVI’s fourth encyclical will be released in the first half of 2013, timed to coincide with the Year of Faith.VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI is to publish a new encyclical on faith sometime during the first six months of 2013, the Vatican has confirmed. “The Pope is preparing a new encyclical on the subject of faith, to be published in the first half of next year, during the Year of Faith,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told the Register this morning. The encyclical will be the Pope’s fourth; he has already written two encyclicals on the other...

The first clinic offering abortions on the island of Ireland opened its doors in the Northern Irish city of Belfast on Oct. 18, but the 400 pro-life protesters gathered outside were determined that no abortion procedures would happen there that day. Buses full of antiabortion demonstrators stood on the sidewalks carrying banners and placards outside the clinic, which is operated by Marie Stopes International, a U.K.-based organization that works worldwide providing reproductive- and sexual-health care services. “We knew we couldn’t sit back and live in a country where unborn babies were being violently destroyed every day,” says Bernadette Smyth, founder...

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, challenged his brother bishops to undergo their own conversion and renewal. One characteristic of this renewal is the sacrament of penance, Cardinal Dolan said. "This is the sacrament of the new evangelization, for as Pope Benedict reminds us, 'We cannot speak about the new evangelization without the sincere desire to conversion,'" Cardinal Dolan said during his presidential address on the opening day of the bishops' Nov. 12-15 fall general assembly in Baltimore. "I know I risk the criticism -- I can hear it now:...

One of pop culture's most enduring nightmares began 37 years ago this December in the bucolic bayside town of Amityville, on Long Island. That winter, George and Kathy Lutz and her three children from a previous marriage moved into a Dutch colonial house at 112 Ocean Ave, about 30 miles east of the city. Over the next 28 days, they contended, the family endured an onslaught of bizarre events that ranged from inexplicable hordes of flies to demonic visions. The Lutzes fled, leaving all their possessions behind. Their story, however, never went away. The 1977 book "The Amityville Horror: A...

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nov 7, 2012 / 02:02 am (CNA).- At least 1,500 Catholic youth from across the Middle East will gather at Abu Dhabi’s St. Joseph’s Cathedral for Arabia’s second Catholic youth conference this Nov. 15-17. “The future of a community lies in its youth, and we have placed paramount importance in our parishes to events and activities that foster and strengthen the faith of our youth and young adults,� said Bishop Paul Hinder of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, which is based in the United Arab Emirates. He said many youth in the region cannot...