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The Vatican's former doctrine chief has penned an essay responding to senior Cardinals who have recently described Amoris Laetitia as a "paradigm shift" for the Church. A “paradigm shift...by which the Church takes on the criteria of modern society to be assimilated by it” isn’t a “development” of doctrine, but “a corruption” of it, Cardinal Gerhard Müller wrote in a lengthy First Things essay. Müller is the former Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. His essay answered the question, “Can there be ‘paradigm shifts’ in the interpretation of the deposit of faith?” Vatican Secretary of State...

"So that you may approve the things that are excellent" (Phil. 1:10). In a world of mediocrity and confusion, God calls you to excellence and discernment. There's the story of a pilot who came on the loudspeaker mid flight and said, "I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is we've lost all our instrumentation and don't know where we are. The good news is we have a strong tail wind and are making great time." That's an accurate picture of how many people live: they have no direction in life but they're getting there fast! We...

“Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). God will lavish grace upon sinners who are truly repentant. Did you ever sin so terribly that you felt, I really blew it this time. There’s no way God would want to forgive me now? It’s easy sometimes to let our past sins be a constant burden to us, even after we’ve confessed and repented. Paul has comfort for those who feel this way, and that comfort is founded on the power and measure of God’s grace to us. Before his conversion, Paul (then known as Saul) persecuted the church...

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my...

Before There Was an Everywhere, I AM Msgr. Charles Pope • February 19, 2018 • The Baltimore Catechism asked the question Where is God? The answer given was God is everywhere. While this is certainly true, it is even more true that God is beyond the concept of “where.” Everywhere is too limiting to contain God, for He transcends His creation and cannot be contained even by the “everywhere” of it.C.S. Lewis had an interesting analogy:Looking for God by exploring space is a bit like reading or seeing all Shakespeare’s plays in the hope that you will find Shakespeare...

Proverb 20 (NKJV) Wine Is a Mocker 01 Wine is a mocker, 00 Strong drink is a brawler, 00 And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. 02 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; 00 Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life. 03 It is honorable for a man to stop striving, 00 Since any fool can start a quarrel. 04 The lazy man will not plow because of winter; 00 He will beg during harvest and have nothing. 05 Counsel in the heart of man is like...

Sometimes we all feel as if our prayers lack the power to penetrate our ceilings. It seems as though our petitions fall on deaf ears and God remains unmoved or unconcerned about our passionate pleading. Why do these feelings haunt us? There are several reasons why we are sometimes frustrated in prayer. One is that our expectations are unrealistic. This, perhaps more than any other factor, leads to a frustration in prayer. We make the common mistake of taking statements of Jesus in isolation from other biblical aspects of teaching in prayer, and we blow these few statements out of...

"This I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment" (Phil. 1:9). Christian love operates within the parameters of Biblical knowledge and spiritual discernment. As a Christian, you are a repository of divine love. More than anything else, your love for God and for other believers marks you as a true disciple of Jesus Christ (John 13:35). In addition to possessing God's love, you have the privilege and responsibility of expressing it to others on His behalf. That's a sacred trust. Paul qualifies it in Philippians 1:9, which tells us love is...

“‘The Lord, the Lord God, [is] compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth’” (Exodus 34:6). God’s grace is His undeserved favor shown to sinners. God’s grace has always been a focus of praise for believers. Today’s verse is quoted several times in the Psalms and elsewhere in Scripture (for example, Neh. 9:17, 31; Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8). Paul is grateful for God’s abundant grace in 1 Timothy 1:14, and John writes, “For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Today some of our favorite hymns are “Amazing Grace,” “Marvelous...

Proverb 19 (NKJV) The Fear of the Lord Leads to Life 01 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity 00 Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. 02 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, 00 And he sins who hastens with his feet. 03 The foolishness of a man twists his way, 00 And his heart frets against the LORD. 04 Wealth makes many friends, 00 But the poor is separated from his friend. 05 A false witness will not go unpunished, 00 And he who...

In preparation to take away the Most Holy Eucharist in all the public Catholic churches in the world by way of a mandatory invalid ecumenical mass, there are many indications that for the first time ever, all deacons, priests, bishops and cardinals will have to take an OATH OF TOTAL FIDELITY TO BERGOGLIO, NOT TO CHRIST, as has always been done in the past during the Chrism Mass, on Wednesday (March 28, 2018) of Holy Week (or Thursday in some diocese). In all probability, this will be the beginning of the greatest schism in the history of the Catholic Church....

If you are a Christian, you are radically free. No, I don’t mean you are free with a number of ifs, ands, and buts. I mean you are really free. No disclaimer. No addendum. No qualifying points. You are free. I didn’t say it, Jesus did: “‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’” (John 8:31-32,36). Freedom is a gift from the Son of God. If he says I’m free, that ought to...

The doors of repentance are opening, Great Lent is beginning. Every year Great Lent is repeated, and each time it brings us great benefit if we spend it as we should. It is a preparation for the life to come and, more immediately, a preparation for the Bright Resurrection. Just as a stairway is built into a tall building in order to enable one, by climbing the steps, to easily reach the top, so too, the various days in the year serve as steps for our spiritual ascent. This is especially true of the days of Great Lent and Holy...

Wood and Water Work Wonders! A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope • February 17, 2018 • On the first Sunday of Lent the readings have a baptismal theme. This makes sense, for it is common that on this day the catechumens report to the Bishop for the Rite of Election, who officially recognizes them as the elect of God in these final weeks before their baptism.In today’s readings there are actually many themes; they seem to form the spokes of a wagon wheel, with baptism being the central hub from which they emanate. Arching...

Proverb 18 (NKJV) The Name of the LORD Is a Strong Tower 01 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; 00 He rages against all wise judgment. 02 A fool has no delight in understanding, 00 But in expressing his own heart. 03 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; 00 And with dishonor comes reproach. 04 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; 00 The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook. 05 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, 00 Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment. 06 A fool's...

"This I pray" (Phil. 1:9). Your prayers reveal the level of your spiritual maturity. As we come to our study of godliness in Philippians 1:9-11, we note that this passage is a prayer. Typically, Paul's prayers reflected his concern that his readers would mature spiritually. That is impossible without prayer because spiritual growth depends on the Holy Spirit's power, which is tapped through prayer. Prayer is so vital that Jesus instructed His disciples to pray at all times (Luke 18:1). Paul commands us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). Peter said we should be "of sound judgment and sober...

“‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life’” (John 3:16). God’s love is vicarious and sacrificial. Today we continue a short study of a topic that brings joy to every Christian: God’s love. Both Paul and John call His love “great” (Eph. 2:4; 1 John 3:1), because only great love would provide such a sacrifice as God did in Christ. We have already seen that God’s love is unconditional, unrequited, and righteous. God’s love is also vicarious; it bears the pain of others....

Nevertheless I have a few things against you, for you have there those who hold to the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication… (Rev 2:14)By the end of the fourth ‘parable’ of Balaam, both he and Balak the king were fully aware of God’s purposes for Israel. The utter impossibility of using any kind of divination against Israel was now obvious to the badly shaken king and to the seer also – whose eyes God had opened. They would go...

"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" (Phil. 4:11). Discontent and ingratitude will steal your joy. True joy is God's gift to every believer, yet many Christians seem to lack it. How can that be? Did God fail them? No. As with peace, assurance, and other benefits of salvation, joy can be forfeited for many reasons: willful sin, prayerlessness, fear, self-centeredness, focusing on circumstances, and lack of forgiveness are the main culprits. Two of the most common joy-thieves are dissatisfaction and ingratitude. Both are by-products of the health, wealth, and prosperity mentality of our day. It...

“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). God’s love is unconditional and righteous. We hear a lot today about love from books, magazines, TV, and movies. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that our society is the most loving on earth. Much of the “love,” though, is nothing more than lust masquerading as love, or selfishness disguised as kindness. But today’s verse tells us that “God is love”; the character of God defines love. To clear up any confusion about love, we need only to look at who...