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(CNSNews.com) -- Archbishop Zbigevs Stankevis, who heads the Catholic archdiocese of Riga, Latvia, and is attending the ongoing Synod on the Family at the Vatican, said foreigners, including the U.S. government, are trying to impose a pro-gay agenda on Latvia and other East European countries. The archbishop also said that homosexual relationships cannot be condoned because they are unnatural and destroy “the identity of man and the identity of woman.” Latvia is a nation on the Baltic Sea that borders the northwest corner of Russia, and also borders Estonia to the north and Lithuania and Belarus to the south. Riga...

Next in importance to the Abrahamic covenant in the Old Testament doctrine of premillennialism stands the Davidic covenant—the promises of God to David that his seed, throne, and kingdom would endure forever. This covenant has been obscured and ignored by most amillenarians and again and again statements are made that premillennialism rests solely upon the interpretation of Revelation 20. Louis Berkhof in his discussion of “the premillennial theory” states, “The only Scriptural basis for this theory is Rev 20:1-6, after an Old Testament content has been poured into it.”1 In other words it is expressly denied that the Old Testament...

There are several things to realize about the Old Testament harvests and feasts. The three harvests (Exodus 23:14-17) parallel the Crucifixion/Resurrection, Pentecost/The Church, and Christ's Return (1 Corinthians 15:23-24). The seven feasts of these harvests (Leviticus 23) correspond to the Church's liturgical seasons: Advent, Christmas, Ordinary, Lent, Triduum, Easter, Ordinary. The harvest seasons can be classified as such: the first (Spring/Summer) gave grain, the second (Summer) gave grapes, and the third (Summer/Fall) gave olives, figs, and more. The first, of grains, was smaller in weight -- because the other harvests were water-dense -- but the biggest source of food, as...

The Book of Genesis is foundational to all of the Revelation of God to man. It is a succinct theological account of the earth and man’s beginnings. It is by no means exhaustive. Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters, for example, but Genesis focuses on the story of Cain and Abel. Every account in Genesis was hand-picked by the Holy Spirit because it offers the fundamental understanding of some aspect of either the fall or the salvation of humanity. Ironically, though Genesis is an account of the beginnings, it is also full of eschatology, the beginning corresponds to...

God’s Silence— Then What? " When He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was —John 11:6 " Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any...

In a matter of hours, the body of Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. will be laid to rest here on earth following the Funeral Mass at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. When I heard that Fr. Groeschel passed away last Friday, I quickly said a prayer for the repose of his soul and also remembered the forty-five minutes I spent with him in a car from Steubenville, Ohio to the Pittsburgh Airport.

Featured Term (selected at random:DEO OPTIMO MAXIMO To God, who is the best and the greatest. Motto of the Order of St. Benedict. Also Domino Optimo Maximo, to the Lord, the best and the greatest. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

“O bone Jesu, fac ut sim sacerdos secundum Cor Tuum.” “O good Jesus, make me a priest after Your own Heart.” Motto of Raymond Cardinal Burke

FULL TITLE: "[Catholic Caucus] World Over - 2014-10-09 – Cardinal Raymond Burke on the Synod on the Family with Raymond Arroyo" RAYMOND CARDINAL BURKE, prefect of the Holy See's Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican, on the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops for the Family currently underway in Rome and his chapter in the new book, Remaining In the Truth of Christ (Ignatius Press), on the indissolubility of marriage and his thoughts on Walter Cardinal Kasper's recent proposals to harmonize "fidelity and mercy" in the Church's pastoral approach to divorced and remarried Catholics and the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Deep Waters Today's Scripture “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.” (Proverbs 20:5, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria You are equipped with everything you need to fulfill your passion and purpose in this life! Everything you need is on the inside of you — like deep waters. You draw those deep things out when you stay open and humble before the Lord. You draw those things out when you are submitted to His Word. That’s what makes you a person of understanding. Proverbs also tells us that...

How Will I Know? " Jesus answered and said, ’I thank You, Father . . . that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes’ —Matthew 11:25 " We do not grow into a spiritual relationship step by step— we either have a relationship or we do not. God does not continue to cleanse us more and more from sin— “But if we walk in the light,” we are cleansed “from all sin” (1 John 1:7). It is a matter of obedience, and once we obey, the relationship is instantly perfected....

Featured Term (selected at random:SCHISMATIC According to Church law, a schismatic is a person who, after receiving baptism and while keeping the name of Christian, pertinaciously refuses to submit to the Supreme Pontiff or refuses to associate with those who are subject to him. The two factors, submission to the Pope and association with persons subject to him, are to be taken disjunctively. Either resisting papal authority or refusing to participate in Catholic life and worship induces schism, even without further affiliation with another religious body. Like heresy, schism is formal and culpable only when the obligations are fully realized....

In an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews, Cardinal Raymond Burke has responded to a controversial presentation by an Australian couple before 191 of the Catholic Church’s leading bishops and cardinals at the ongoing Extraordinary Synod on the Family this week. During their intervention, which has turned out to be one of the most widely reported interventions at the Synod, the Priolas asked and answered a question about what parents should do in the case where their son wants to bring his homosexual partner to a Christmas dinner where their grandchildren will be present. The Pirolas’ response, which they held up as...

The Vatican spokesman said participation peaked during yesterday afternoon’s session but the Synod is not counting how many are “for” or “against” communion for remarried divorcees. Meanwhile, Cardinal Coccopalmerio presented some ideas on how to make the marriage annulment process simplerThe Extraordinary Synod on the Family is tackling the issue of remarried divorcees head on. The Synod Fathers have been dealing with the issue – which had emerged occasionally in previous discussions – since yesterday afternoon as they work their way through the Instrumentum Laboris, the Synod’s working document. “Participation peaked” during this very “passionate” debate, with the Synod split...

The preparatory Synod that completes its first week of work today is something of a paradox. Previous Synods have actually released formal remarks as they were given, day by day. Reporters were able to sit in on the – often enough, quite boring – daily sessions. This one offers only one-page “summaries,” usually for two sessions per day, which largely relate uncontroversial generalities and don’t identify which speakers make the key points. (You can read yesterday’s here.). And yet the current event is being characterized as more “open.” It’s worth contemplating, in a fresh way, what “open” discussion in the...

Vatican Radio) We ask for a lot of things when we pray, but the greatest gift that God can give us is the Holy Spirit. This was Pope Francis’ reflection Thursday morning at Mass in Santa Marta, commenting on the Gospel of the day, which presents the parable of the man who gets what he needs because of his persistence. Pope Francis began his homily by noting that “God has so much mercy” and observing that in the Collect we begin by asking God for forgiveness and to “obtain what prayer does not dare to hope for”: “This got me...

He Restores Your Soul Today's Scripture “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul...” (Psalm 23:1–3, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria God wants to restore your soul. What does that mean? Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. You are a three-part being: you have a spirit — that’s the part of you that lives for eternity, you have a soul, and you live in a body while you’re here on earth. Your...

Building on the Atonement " . . . present . . . your members as instruments of righteousness to God —Romans 6:13 " I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God. Do I have faith in what Jesus Christ has done? He has made the perfect atonement for sin. Am I in the habit of constantly realizing it? The greatest need we have is not to...

FULL TITLE: ‘Very cold, dark winter’ for Catholic Church unless Synod addresses failure since 1968 to preach sexual teachings - Humanae Vitae preacher The Vatican’s Synod of Bishops on the Family, taking place in Rome from October 5-19, will not be successful unless it addresses the failure of clergy to preach the Catholic teaching on sexuality found in Humanae Vitae, says a U.S. Catholic priest of 56 years. Father Daniel McCaffrey, from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, served as a military chaplain in Korea, Pakistan and during the Vietnam conflict and now travels throughout the country preaching God’s truth on...

[In this blog series, we'll be on a journey that will help us understand the deepest meaning of our life and our existence, a journey that will help us answer some of the most fundamental questions of the human heart: Who am I? Why am I here? How does life make sense? Our journey will lead us to the only one who can satisfy every question, every desire, and every thirst the human heart experiences. The first question in this series explores the most important question: Why was I created?] Justin Bieber’s song “As Long as You Love Me” sold...