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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem A New Journey…The Names of God in The Scriptures The Hope of Israel...Fountain of Living WaterJeremiah 17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.

November 21, 2012 Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary   Reading 1 Rv 4:1-11 I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven,and I heard the trumpetlike voicethat had spoken to me before, saying,"Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards."At once I was caught up in spirit.A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat onewhose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian.Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other throneson which twenty-four elders sat,dressed in white garments and with...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu invoked King David in a statement Tuesday evening – signaling that he is serious about ordering an intensification of the attack on the terrorists of Gaza. "Our hand is outstretched in peace to those of our neighbors who want to make peace with us," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office, "and the other hand is firmly grasping the sword of David against those who wish to uproot us from this country.

Most of today’s citizens don’t want any constraints upon themselves especially in the area of sex; however, whatever government does, God still holds everyone to a very high standard: all sex outside of a marriage relationship is sinful and will be faced one day. Apart from God’s judgment, adultery can result in bastard babies, broken marriages, blasted careers, and baneful diseases. Adultery seems to be too much pain for so little gain! I wonder if General Patraeus thinks his roll in the hay was worth the destruction of his reputation, career, and maybe his marriage. God has not rescinded the...

thought I'd put up some peaceful music for a bit of an oasis for Thanksgiving - Sicut Cervus found on youtube - Happy Thanksgiving

In the election’s aftermath, the culture war looks like a rout. Few ever relished this fight; most preferred simply to be left alone. We aren’t community organizers. Sadly, neutrality was not realistic. No, being Switzerland was never an option. By not defending America’s heritage of limited government, free markets and biblical morality, we’re being overrun a la Belgium. Powerful forces array. Christians consider this battle in spiritual terms. Conservatives sense a political donnybrook. Others deplore eroding standards of conduct and lost liberty. The Left vies for our children’s hearts, souls and minds. While no majority, progressives dominate the dissemination of...

I just received a call that my Father passed today. Please pray for my Mother for strength. They were two weeks shy of their 55th wedding Anniversary. Thanks in advanced and God bless.

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.(Genesis 4:1-2)By now, Adam and Eve had been evicted from their home, the garden of delight, because of their sin. They were not allowed to remain, nor to eat of the precious “Tree of Life”, in fact it would have been spiritually disastrous for them to do so. They had rejected God’s glory. They chose not to...

It never ceases to amuse – if not infuriate – how often atheists claim as one of their own much-revered historic figures who happen to make the news for some reason or another. So it was when Neil Armstrong went to be with the Lord this past August. So it was when Albert Einstein’s so-called “God Letter” went on auction last month. And so it is now with Abraham Lincoln. The nation’s 16th president is the subject of a new motion picture, helmed by Stephen Spielberg, the Oscar-winning director, with the screenplay penned by Tony Kushner, the Tony Award and...

Ordination Debate

(Photo Credit: The Telegraph) Today, the General Synod for the Church of England rejectedthe ordination of women bishops by a mere handful of votes. So ends for now a nearly 12 year legislative process to upend standards for episcopal office. Much of the controversy surrounded the provision of stand-in bishops for parishes opposed to women’s ordination.Passage of the ordination innovations required a 2/3 majority in all houses. The votes were 44 for and two against in the house of bishops, 148 for and 45 against in the house of clergy, and 132 for and 74 against in the house of...

Zephaniah 2: 1 Gather yourselves together… O nation not desired ; 2 Before the decree bring forth , before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you... 4 For Gaza shall be forsaken... 5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. God’s word is clear. There will not be a...

An atheist group at Dartmouth College is planning an event aimed at skewering the reputation of the late Mother Teresa. The Atheists Humanists Agnostics (AHA) club sent out a campus-wide e-mail announcing the program on Tuesday and promising a “full-out romp against why one of the most beloved people of the century, Mother Teresa, is as Hitchens put it… ‘a lying, thieving Albanian dwarf.’” The e-mail says the group plans to screen an anti-Mother Teresa film, discuss Hitchens’ book, Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, and question how the public has been “conned into thinking this woman [Teresa]...

WASHINGTON – Gene Robinson, the first openly homosexual bishop in The Episcopal Church, believes that voucher programs that benefit religious schools are a "tragedy." The controversial bishop of New Hampshire told The Christian Post on Monday his views on vouchers at an event sponsored by the Center for American Progress on the issue of poverty reduction. "I am a believer in public education and I believe every dollar diverted from public education either by religious schools or by charter schools is a tragedy," said Robinson. "[A voucher] takes away from this great mission that is so embedded in the life...

The nearly 60-year tradition of a Nativity scene displayed at a park and hosted by a coalition of churches in Santa Monica, Calif., has ended after a federal judge ruled on Monday that the city can ban such displays. A controversy over the display about the birth of Jesus at Palisades Park erupted last Christmas season when an atheist group "manipulated" the city's lottery system for spaces, according to a nonprofit, resulting in only two booths for the Christian group that normally uses 14 booths for the various Nativity-related scenes. "It's a very sad day when a small number of...

Featured Term (selected at random):MALO ANIMO With evil spirit or bad intention. An action done with malice and forethought, which increases the culpability. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury is preparing a personal plea to traditionalists in the Church of England to “go forward” with the idea of women bishops next week in an attempt to end years of wrangling over the issue.In what could be one of the most decisive interventions of his leadership – even before he takes over as Archbishop – the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, will urge doubters to back the measure in the name of unity. The vote at a special session of the Church’s General Synod in London will be the first test of...

Eight years ago the European Parliament denied towering Italian intellectual Rocco Buttiglione a position as European Commissioner for Justice because of his faithful Catholicism. Asked in a hearing if he agreed with the Catholic Church’s teaching that homosexual acts are sinful, he said yes, he agreed with the teaching, but this would not prevent him from faithfully carrying out the laws of the European Union related to everyone including homosexuals. This was too much for the sexual left firmly ensconced in the European institutions, and Buttiglione was voted down. The event caused a scandal in Catholic circles and turned Buttiglione,...

Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Accordingly, there has been a good deal of commentary from historians, theologians and even from the handful of bishops and experts who actually participated in the Council five decades ago. I was particularly struck by an observation made by Fr. John O'Malley, the Jesuit historian who penned, some years ago, an influential book called What Happened at Vatican II? The Second Vatican Council, he said, was the largest meeting in the history of the world. Indeed, some 2,600 people -- bishops, theologians,...

Lord, To Whom Shall We Go?The 2012 campaign is over, and the dust is settling. After asking me how our recovery from Hurricane Sandy is going, most folks these days then inquire about how I think “the Church did” on election day. Such a question usually triggers a mini-catechism lesson from me, as I reply that, actually, “the Church” wasn’t on the ballot, and the election was hardly a referendum on “the Church.” The Church, I go on, was founded by the one who stated that “My kingdom is not of this world,” and whose members consider the statement of...

Of the 427 weddings in my present parish during the past eleven years (I have lost count of all the others), the band—for want of a better word—at the most recent reception was the loudest I can remember. Conversation was impossible, so some of a certain age complained loudly but not loudly enough and others of a lesser age laughed at their complaints. I have come to realize that for many of them, conversation as an art is an unknown thing.This reminded me of the line about the morally tranquilizing effects of “intolerable music” in Solzhenitsyn’s 1978 Harvard Class Day...

Enter with This Today's Scripture Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4, NKJV. Today's Word from Joel and Victoria As believers, we have the honor and privilege to enter boldly into God’s presence. Scripture says that we can come to His throne of grace and receive His mercy. Because He loves us, He has given us unlimited access to Himself 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But notice that today’s verse tells us that we shouldn’t just come any old way to...

The Forgiveness of God "In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . ." —Ephesians 1:7 Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem A New Journey…The Names of God in The Scriptures JudgeIsaiah 33:22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.

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Churches are going to federal court to reclaim their freedom of speech after the city of Santa Monica, Calif., decided to end a nearly 60-year tradition of having Christian displays of the nativity in a public park due to an uproar caused by atheists' anti-God signs. Behind the trouble in Santa Monica is a member of the American Atheists, Damon Vix, who applied for and was granted a booth in Palisades Park alongside the nativity display three years ago. He erected a sign quoting Thomas Jefferson: "Religions are all alike -- founded on fables and mythologies." Another sign read, "Happy...

“The state of Israel is an illegal, genocidal place… to equate Judaism with the state of Israel is to equate Christianity with Flavor Flav.” – UCC Pastor Emeritus Jeremiah Wright, in a speech to thousands of people in Baltimore in 2011 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. – Acts 17:11 ----- Much has been made in the Jewish community – too much, in my humble opinion – of the recent letter signed by 15 Protestant church leaders...

A plan paving the way for consecrations from 2014 is expected to be backed by bishops and clergy, but the vote among lay members could be much closer. ..Ahead of the vote, synod members will debate the latest compromise proposal for parishes that reject the changes. The vote is being seen as the first major test for the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the Right Reverend Justin Welby. The current bishop of Durham is expected to speak during the debate and urge the synod to support the introduction of women bishops. Approval is also supported by the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury,...

I have just received this sad communication from my sister-in-law about her sister, Sarah, who is suffering from breast cancer. She had been admitted to an acute care center in El Paso where she was to continue radiation and chemo, but has been returned to the hospital. (More in comments section.)

November 20, 2012 Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Rv 3:1-6, 14-22 I, John, heard the Lord saying to me:"To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this: "'The one who has the seven spirits of Godand the seven stars says this: "I know your works,that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die,for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent.If you are not...

Disobedience and preaching against the teaching of the Catholic Church about women's ordination led to his excommunication, dismissal and laicization. Then Fr. Bourgeois engaged in an obstinate crusade which involved public and direct defiance of the Holy See and a repudiation of the unbroken teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church concerning sacred ordination. MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (Catholic Online) - The short Press Release from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers confirmed some sad news on Monday, November 19, 2012. The priestly ministry of Roy Bourgeois has come to an end: ***** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThe Congregation For The Doctrine Of The...

The Catholic mission in Vladivostok, Russia brings the light of Christ to a poverty-stricken and highly secularized region.With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Catholic faith was officially allowed to return to Russia after more than seven decades of life under what Pope Pius XI called “atheistic communism.” Since that time, Catholics have established missions in Russia, serving Catholics living within the country’s borders and performing charitable works. Out of deference to the Russian Orthodox Church, the Vatican does not consider Russia “mission territory,” and so these communities do not receive funding from the Congregation for the...

JERUSALEM – Judah Ben Samuel was a legendary and prolific German rabbi of the 12th century who made some astonishing and specific predictions about the future of Jerusalem and Israel that came true. Judah Ben Samuel, also known as Judah he-Hasid (Judah the Pious), lived and worked from the end of the 12th century until the beginning of the 13th century in Regensburg, authoring a number of books in the German language. snip Judah Ben Samuel also prophesied that during the 10th Jubilee Jerusalem would be under the control of the Jews and the Messianic “end times” would begin. If...

Interesting discussion yesterday with a variety of opinions. Just curious what some here might believe and why...

By TIM TALLEY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY November 20, 2012 (AP) A federal judge Monday rejected a request by Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. to block part of the new federal health care law that requires it to provide the morning-after and week-after birth control pills. In a 28-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton denied a request by Hobby Lobby to prevent the government from enforcing portions of the health care law that will require it to include contraceptives the company considers objectionable in its health insurance plan. The Oklahoma City-based arts and craft supply company and a sister...

President Rafael Correa of Ecuador received Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of Surveillance in his office June 27 2012 in Quito. Credit: Santiago Armas-Presidency of the Republic. Vatican City, Nov 19, 2012 / 03:52 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican canonically dismissed Roy Bourgeois from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers on Oct. 4, for disobedience and preaching against Church teaching on women's ordination. The decision, made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dispenses him from both the bonds of priesthood and religious life. On Aug. 8, 2008, Bourgeois preached a homily at the simulated ordination of a woman...

In the old west Snake oil salesman peddled elixirs that allegedly cured everything from acne to gout, but in fact these “miracle cures” were simply watered down whiskey or worse. Con men used elaborate ruses, such as the scheme used in the movie, The Sting, to swindle their marks and steal their money. There are many e-mail and internet scams that attempt to wrest money and information from those who are greedy or simply unsuspecting and naïve. There are many ways to deceive, mislead, dupe and betray in order to pilfer another’s assets. But, some of those assets are far...

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia celebrates Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, Oct. 20, 2012. Credit: Matthew Rarey-CNA. Baltimore, Md., Nov 19, 2012 / 11:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The current Year of Faith is an opportunity to counter the cultural relativism that plagues modern society and that has led many in the Church to deny Catholic teaching on important topics, said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia. “The appropriate response to relativism is faith, where you no longer are the center of the universe, you are no longer the one who decides what’s true,...

Mid-East Prophecy Update - November 18th, 2012 Pastor J.D. talks about the situation in Gaza along with a number of recent events through the lens of Bible prophecy.

Updated: Nov. 19, 2012 at 2:02 PM EST to include a statement from Dr. Charles Camosy, the organizer of the panel discussion featuring Peter Singer, and to include more information about the panel. NEW YORK, November 19, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Days after popular American conservative pundit Ann Coulter was disinvited from Fordham university amidst accusations that she is too “hateful�, the world’s most notorious promoter of infanticide, Dr. Peter Singer, was welcomed at a conference at the university, the Jesuit order’s premier university on the east coast. Fordham hosted Dr. Singer as the main attraction at a one-day conference titled,...

Catholic colleges with these clubs are listed here After meticulous examination, TFP Student Action volunteers found pro-homosexual student clubs at 111 Catholic institutions of higher learning.  Of the 211 Catholic universities and colleges listed by Ganley’s Catholic Schools in America, 52 percent appear to sponsor organizations which undermine Catholic morality. From 2009 to 2012, the number of pro-homosexual clubs operating on Catholic campuses has risen by 7 percent. Research conducted in 2009 found clubs at 45 percent of Catholic colleges.   Many of these clubs act as platforms of dissent.  They sponsor sinful events and promote ideas that advance the...

November 17, 2012. (Romereports.com) In Romania, four out of every ten people live below the poverty line. After the fall of communism back in the 1990's, the country faced another set of economic challenges. Those who suffer the most are the elderly and children, who are often left to fend for themselves, as their family members migrate in search for a better life.   Precisely to help out, in 1999, the missionary sisters of La Passione di Gesú traveled to the remote town of Butea in Southern Romania. Their goal is to help out the towns 5,000 residents, who without that...

Pro 24:21 "My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those given to change;" Pro 24:22 "For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring?"

Featured Term (selected at random):COBRE A Cuban shrine of Our Lady of Charity. According to legend, a small statue of Mary and her Child was brought from Spain by an officer who accompanied Columbus on his second American voyage and who gave it to a native pagan cheiftain. but when the crew came to claim it, both the chief and the statue had disappeared into a nearby swamp. the statue was later recovered, mysteriously floating on a wooden plank. At a later date the statue of the Madonna was on its way to Santiago de Cuba but accidentally arrived at...

"He is the Central Event That, in the Midst of the Troubles of the World, Remains the Firm and Stable Point"VATICAN CITY, Nov. 18, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday before and after praying the midday Angelus in St. Peter's Square. * * * Dear brothers and sisters! On this last Sunday of the liturgical year, Jesus’ discourse about the end times (in technical terms, his “eschatological” discourse) is proclaimed at Mass (cf. Mark 13:24-32). This discourse is also found, with some variations, in Matthew and Luke, and it is probably the most...

Moscow, November 19, Interfax - Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that, before discussing the fate of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, it is necessary to clarify the political future of various ethnic and religious groups in the country. "We believe that it is necessary first to reach an agreement on the future and understand how legitimate rights and interests of various ethnic and religious groups will be ensured and only then switch to changes rather than vice versa - to dismiss Assad and then think what to do with this," Putin said at a press conference following Russian-German intergovernmental consultations. Otherwise,...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem A New Journey…The Names of God in The Scriptures Borei...Creator Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no delight in them";

Be Still and Know Today's Scripture “Be still, and know that I am God...” (Psalm 46:10, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria In our culture, most people are used to having constant activity: computers, cell phones, television, email, video games. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but the Bible tells us that we need to stop and be still so we can focus on knowing God. I’ve found this to be true especially during the difficult times. When you are facing a challenge, it’s easy to want to run to a friend or talk about it with...

“When He Has Come” "When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . ." —John 16:8 Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .� (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare...

I live in Long Island and in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy my home was without electricity, heat or lights for 14 days, 2 hours, and 30 minutes.  Sitting in the dark every night shivering in my living room (which hit a low of 49 degrees), I had plenty of time to brood over the disastrous 2012 election results, the way Catholics voted in particular, and why it happened. Here’s what I came up with:GOP internal tracking polls that had Romney winning were wrong because pollsters could not factor into their mathematical formulas the effectiveness of Obama’s Election Day ground...