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Why Holy Days and the Sanctoral Cycle Are Important Msgr. Charles Pope • January 27, 2016 • In last Sunday's Mass we read from the eighth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah. I posted a lengthy commentary on it last week (On the Wonder of the Word of God). In today's post I would like to ponder a rather surprising emphasis of that text. Let's start with a little background.In a stunning reversal for the Jewish people, the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem and destroyed not only the city, but the Temple as well! Prophet after prophet had warned the people...

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (vv. 8-10). - Ephesians 2:1-10 One of the signature confessions of the Reformed tradition, the Westminster Confession of Faith stands out for its comprehensive summary of biblical doctrine. Chapter 14 of this confession deals with saving faith, explaining that "the grace of faith, whereby the...

If you look at an English translation of Ex 18:4, (NIV) and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh." all versions refer to Eliezer as "the other," when in fact this is a mistranslation of the Hebrew original. In Hebrew Moses' children are referred to as: ...ONE of whom was named Gershom....and ONE of whom was named Eliezer. Whenever there are seeming errors in grammar or syntax, the rabbis expound... The attached class explored the deeper meaning behind this "mistake" in the text of our...

In Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17, He says: "And now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (v. 5). Here Jesus alludes to a position He held before creation. It is a tacit claim to His participation in the eternal glory of God. In the fourth century, the church faced a serious crisis with respect to the deity of Christ. The Arian heretics denied the deity of Christ, claiming that Jesus was a creature who was adopted into a special relationship with God. In their controversy with...

Order -- A Meditation on one of God's Great Gifts Msgr. Charles Pope January 26, 2016 In this series of two posts, I ponder the glory of something we call order. I do this more in the form of a meditation than a treatise on the glory of order. In the first part (yesterday's post) I set forth how the appreciation and understanding of order has suffered in the modern age. In this second part I want to meditate on the glory of order under four headings.The English word "order" comes from the Latin ordo, which is a row...

"I . . . entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). God is most concerned about who we are, because who we are determines what we do. Now that we've looked in depth at Ephesians 4:1-3, let's take a step back. These verses reveal a basic truth: the Christian life is not primarily about what we do but who we...

"I pray that ... you may know ... the surpassing greatness of [God's] power toward us who believe" (Eph. 1:18-19). The same divine power that created, sustains, and controls the universe secures your salvation. God's power is awesome! David wrote, "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominion, O Lord, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand...

Hey Europe, How is That Feminism Working for you?…Kings of The Earth pt 4 European Men are Being DemasculanizedYou have to see this video to get a grip on what I have been trying to tell you about “the KNGS of The Earth and their Rulers”, and what they have done to destroy the formerly healthy, vigorous and highly successful Western Civilization. One of the toxic viruses of their arsenal against Judeo/Christianity has been feminism. In the West, through culture, and education and false religious Christian notions, the line between the sexes has been blurred, and that to the detriment...

"Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). The key to peace in the church is selfless love. People often delude themselves that there is peace when there is no real peace (Jer. 8:11). However, we can show the world that Jesus is the true peacemaker if we have a community of peaceful, loving, united believers. Others will realize then that Christ must be sent from God, because only God can make true, lasting peace. "The bond of peace" is what holds our unity together. The Greek word translated "bond" refers to...

"I pray that . . . you may know . . . what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18). How you perceive your spiritual resources dictates how you live. Throughout Ephesians 1 Paul is clearly struck with the magnificence of our inheritance in Christ. Here he prays that we will know the riches of its glory. Some commentators see "His inheritance" as a reference to believers, who are God's inheritance or special possession (v. 14). That view stresses the value God places on us as believers, as demonstrated in Christ's death, the...

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me,...

"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth" (v. 13). -Hebrews 11:8-22 God's self-revelation in Scripture does not come to us as just one book or one genre of literature. Scripture contains sixty-six different books and many literary genres that together give us a rich and multifaceted depiction of our Creator and the life of faith. For a realistic explanation of how faith works itself out in the lives of ordinary sinners, few portions of the...

Order, Order! A Meditation on the Glory of Order in God's Creation Msgr. Charles Pope • January 25, 2016 • In a series of two posts I would like to ponder the glory of something we call order. I do this more in the form of a meditation than a treatise. Some may argue that I am oversimplifying complex philosophical concepts. That may be true, but I am a pastor not an academic. And though I summarize here, I do not think I have been inauthentic in setting forth the concepts and problems that have birthed the modern age....

The writings of Remi Brague, winner of the 2012 Ratzinger Prize, about Islam offer the sort of unflinching and detailed analysis often missing from papal utterancesI.Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Vatican II, states that the Mohammedans "profess their faith as the faith of Abraham, and with us they worship the one, merciful God who will judge men on the last day" (par 16). At first sight, that statement appears friendly and matter-of-fact: the "faith" of Muslims is evidently thought to be the same "with us". We "agree" about a last judgment and a merciful God who...

When a "church" constantly tills the ground with phony claims of having "living prophets, seers and revelators", who haven't EVER "prophecied, seen or revealed ANYTHING", and fertilizes that ground with the manure of claims that these same men are powerless because unfaithful members are keeping the "church" under condemnation...they OWN the nonsense that sprouts up in the ground they have prepared.I can think of no better punishment for the breakaway sect of Mormonism, headquartered in Salt Lake city and known as the LDS, than the self-proclaimed "Reincarnation of Hyrum Smith" who has used the "urim and thummim" to translate the...

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou...

Celebrating an Apocalyptic Plague Pope Francis to Lead "Common worship service" to Commemorate 5th Centenary of Lutheran Revolt Note: It is now official what many of us expected. Pope Francis will participate in ceremony commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The January 25 Vatican Bollitano announces: "The Holy Father Francis in Lund, Sweden, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. His Holiness Francis intends to participate in a joint ceremony of the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, scheduled to take place in Lund, Sweden on Monday 31 October...

"Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). The unity of the Spirit must be earnestly maintained by humble, gentle, patient, loving Christians. Today's Scripture spells out the goal of the worthy walk: the unity of the Spirit. Jesus prayed for Christians "that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me" (John 17:21). Our witness to the world depends on our unity as believers. The world is...

"I pray that . . . you may know what is the hope of [God's] calling" (Eph. 1:18). The hope of your calling is grounded in God's promises and in Christ's accomplishments. In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul proclaims the blessings of our salvation. In verse 18 he prays that we will comprehend those great truths, which he summarizes in the phrase "the hope of His calling." "Calling" here refers to God's effectual calling-the calling that redeems the soul. Scripture speaks of two kinds of calling: the gospel or general call and the effectual or specific call. The gospel call is given...

As we prepare for the remembrance of Our Blessed Lord's Passion and Death, there could hardly be a more insulting way to begin this, than with a major liturgical abuse. But unfortunately, such an abuse has become extremely common.