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The Baltimore Catechism Revised Edition (1941) Part One: The Creed God and His Perfections Lesson 2 from the Baltimore Cathechism"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth ..." 8. What do we mean when we say that God is the Supreme Being? When we say that God is the Supreme Being we mean that He is above all creatures, the self-existing and infinitely perfect Spirit.I am the First, and I am the Last, and besides me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)9. What is a spirit? A spirit is a being that has understanding and free...

OREM —Striving for perfection may be driving some female members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to depression, one researcher says. Utah Valley University professor Kris Doty looked at depression among LDS women, finding that "toxic perfectionism" was one major factor of depression reported by the group. The other four factors, Doty found, were genetics, history of abuse, family relationships and feeling judged by others. Over a one-year period, Doty and her colleagues looked at clinically diagnosed depressed women who identified as LDS. Seven of the women were using multiple medications to treat their depression, 19 were...

The Baltimore Catechism Revised Edition (1941) Part One: The Creed The Purpose of Man's Existence Lesson 1 from the Baltimore Cathechism1. Who made us? God made us.In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. (Genesis 1:1)2. Who is God? God is the Supreme Being, infinitely perfect, who made all things and keeps them in existence.In him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)3. Why did God make us? God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven.Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered...

Today is Valentine’s Day. For the happily married among us, it’s probably not that big a deal. Because when you have someone you love, who you’re doing life with, every day is Valentine’s Day. Things are different for singles looking for love: Those who’ve never experienced holy matrimony. Those who once were married but – for one reason or another – sadly parted ways with their spouse. Those who have lost a beloved husband or wife to illness or other tragedy. As I reflect upon Valentine’s Day, I am reminded of a sermon I heard a couple years ago while...

For at least the next month, we will be bombarded with a myriad of theories, speculations, and predictions about who will be elected the next pope. One name you will hear a LOT about in the coming weeks is Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, S.D.B., who currently holds two important and powerful positions in the Vatican, Secretary of State and Camerlengo.Already, the speculators and conspiracy-theorists are theorizing that Cardinal Bertone will be the next pope because, at least according to the dubious “prophecy of Saint Malachi,” the next pope after Pope Benedict XVI will be known as “Peter the Roman,”...

Re-Elect Pope Benedict With affection and appreciation.Click HERE for bumper stickers, car magnets, even yard signs and car flags.And we have to have some Latin…And just for nice…

It’s been more than 500 years since a non-cardinal was elected pope, but then, it’s been more than 500 years since a pope resigned, so, one moves cautiously to our question, who is eligible to be elected pope?Turns out, lots of people.Canon 332 § 1 of the 1983 Code simply states that one already a bishop (nb: not necessarily a cardinal) who accepts legitimate papal election becomes pope immediately. One who is not yet a bishop (and the Church has elected several non-bishops to the papacy) can accept election, but must be immediately consecrated bishop. By implication, that would seem...

Watch Fr. Robert Barron's new video on Pope Benedict's Legacy. Please share this with friends and family and be on the lookout for a very exciting announcement from Word On Fire in the next few days!

Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, held a briefing for reporters on February 14, providing more information about plans for the retirement of Pope Benedict and the election of his successor. He revealed: Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who has served for years as the private secretary to Benedict XVI, will continue to live with the Pontiff after his retirement. However the archbishop, who was recently appointed as prefect of the pontifical household, will continue to serve in that role as well. The new Pontiff could, if he wished, select a replacement.The Vatican will continue to provide security...

Q: Some Jewish people in my city complained to the local Catholic hospital, saying they were afraid to bring their sick children to the emergency room, because the hospital staff might baptize them. The hospital staff publicly agreed never to do this. I had always assumed that you can’t baptize a baby without at least one parent’s consent, so I thought the hospital would simply say, “Don’t worry, we’re not allowed to do that anyway!” But the wording of the hospital administrators’ response seemed to suggest that they really could baptize a sick baby if they wanted to. Can a...

The press is outraged.Why? Because the Roman Catholic Church might (once again) select as its pope someone who is actually Catholic,and who does not share the political sensibilities of The New York Times editorial board. The resignation of Benedict provides a hostile press the opportunity to rehash any problem that may have arisen in the hundreds of thousands of Catholic churches around the world — and to blame the Vatican for them all. The media’s current focus on abuse perpetrated by priests, the bulk of which occurred long before Benedict was pope, reveals a deep obsession with scandal and an...

During the 1940s, "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was a popular song of patriotism. Today's gun debate has stirred religious passions, too. You can learn a few things about religion and politics listening to flea market dealers in Indiana. For starters, sociologist Arthur Farnsley writes in his new book “Flea Market Jesus,” it is a political mistake of biblical proportions to write off all Christian fundamentalists as red-state, moral values Republicans. In in-depth interviews, Farnsley found among this fiercely independent group on the fringes of evangelical Protestantism an adherence to rugged individualism and distrust of institutions that left...

(CNS) - The Cardinal Newman Society has confirmed that at least 12 Catholic colleges and universities will be hosting on-campus productions of the play The Vagina Monologues in 2013. That number is up from nine last year. Proceeds from performances at the University of San Francisco will support a group that advocates “reproductive justice” and homosexual rights. The V-Day organization reports that students at Marquette have plans for a performance benefiting Planned Parenthood. Catholic bishops and college presidents have pointed out that The V-Monologues distorts human sexuality and celebrates sinful behaviors, including lesbian activity and masturbation. One scene even declares...

ROME, February 14, 2013 – On the evening of an unremarkable Thursday in Lent, at 8 p.m. on February 28, Joseph Ratzinger will take the step that none of his predecessors had dared to take. He will place upon the throne of Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Which another will be called to take up. There is the power of a revolution in this action that has no equal even in centuries long ago. From that point on, the Church enters into unknown territory. It will have to elect a new pope while his predecessor is...

ROME, February 13, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With the eyes of the world fixed on the 125 cardinal electors who will be voting in the upcoming conclave, the former Archbishop of Westminster has advised the next pope not to “condemn” anything in the realm of sexual morality, but to focus instead on the positive. “I think that the Church would be wise actually to focus on that in her teaching, rather than saying ‘we condemn this, we condemn that, or the other’. No – focus on what’s good and what’s true,” Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor told the BBC today. “I think...

The Archdiocese of St. Louis and St. Stanislaus Corporation have resolved a legal dispute over the status of St. Stanislaus Church. According to a joint statement issued Jan. 13, the archdiocese will dismiss its appeal in the case, and the judgment of the trial court is now final. "St. Stanislaus has agreed that it will not hold itself out as affiliated in any way with the Archdiocese of St. Louis or the Roman Catholic Church," the statement noted. "Neither side made any payments to the other as part of this resolution. All other terms of the resolution are confidential. By...

Featured Term (selected at random):JUSTIFYING GRACE The grace by which a person is restored to God's friendship, either for the first time, as in baptism, or after baptism, as in the sacrament of penance. See Also: SUFFICIENT GRACE,See Also: EFFICACIOUS GRACE,See Also: GRACE,See Also: GRATUITOUS GRACE,See Also: HABITUAL GRACE,See Also: SACRAMENTAL GRACE,See Also: SANATING GRACE,See Also: SANCTIFYING GRACE,See Also: ACTUAL GRACE All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The beginning of my religious conversion was a lonely time for me. I'd spent my whole life as an outsider to Christian circles, and it was hard to imagine that I could ever be comfortable being one of them, the Christians, the people whom I had firmly categorized in my mind as "Other." I'd come to believe in God on an intellectual level, yet I felt stuck, unable to move forward from there. Years of looking down on the entire concept of religion left me with a lingering impression that Christians and Christian culture were different from anything I'd ever...

(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI has met parish priests and clergy of the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Led by Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini and auxiliary bishops, they greeted Benedict XVI with great affection and prolonged applause"It is a special and providential gift of - began the Pope - that, before leaving the Petrine ministry, I can once again meet my clergy, the clergy of Rome. It' s always a great joy to see how the Church lives, and how in Rome, the Church is alive: there are pastors who in the spirit of...

A week after Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated that the Obama administration’s most recent “compromise” on the HHS mandate fails to preserve the religious liberty of Catholic individuals and Catholic institutions, the president of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) stated that the proposal represents “substantial progress.” “The structures that HHS intends to use to provide contraceptive services to employees of non-profit religious organizations have yet to be finalized, especially for those who are self-insured,” said Sister Carol Keehan, who revealed that “we have been asked by HHS to evaluate three possible...