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February 22, 2015First Sunday of Lent Reading 1 Gn 9:8-15God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyedby the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."God added:"This is the sign that I am giving for...

The Coptic Orthodox Church has announced that the murder of the 21 Egyptian Christians killed by the so-called Islamic State in Libya will be commemorated in its Church calendar. Pope Tawadros II announced that the names of the martyrs will be inserted into the Coptic Synaxarium, the Oriental Church’s equivalent to the Roman Martyrology. This procedure is also equivalent to canonization in the Latin Church. According to terrasanta.net, the martyrdom of the 21 Christians will be commemorated on the 8th Amshir of the Coptic calendar, or February 15th of the Gregorian calendar. The commemoration falls on the feast day of...

French publishing house Fayard is publishing a book with an interview with one of the most impressive Cardinals in the College, the recently-named Prefect for Divine Worship, Cardinal Robert Sarah. "Either God or Nothing" (Dieu ou rien) has the very interesting subtitle "Entretien sur la foi" (Conversation on faith), which certainly calls to mind the groundbreaking book-interview of another Cardinal published three decades ago -- Rapporto sulla fede (Report on the Faith, published in English as... The Ratzinger Report). From its presentation by French magazine Famille Chrétienne, we find the following remarkable extract of Cardinal Sarah's words on a...

February 21, 2015Saturday after Ash Wednesday    Reading 1 Is 58:9b-14 Thus says the LORD:If you remove from your midst oppression,false accusation and malicious speech;If you bestow your bread on the hungryand satisfy the afflicted;Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,and the gloom shall become for you like midday;Then the LORD will guide you alwaysand give you plenty even on the parched land.He will renew your strength,and you shall be like a watered garden,like a spring whose water never fails.The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;“Repairer...

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are...

1.“Catholics worship statues.” This stereotype is painful to hear. Not only is this completely false, but it is ludicrous. Despite the fact that there are 801 millions Protestants world-wide, according to the Pew Research Center, my rant will be geared towards our brothers and sisters in the United States. In this country, approximately 51.5% of people are Protestant Christians. Realistically, most of these families have pictures in their home, which is completely normal, right? Right. They have pictures of their loved ones, both living and deceased. Is it not hypocritical then to say that Catholics are idol worshipers, when these...

Although the general populace is unaware of it, during the past decade a new effort has been underway to defend the Roman Catholic practice of mandatory priestly celibacy. Putting aside the traditional sociological arguments that we are all familiar with, these new defenders argue for the discipline based primarily on historical grounds. Although their writings have not reached a broad audience, they have found a committed following in some Catholic circles. Normally I would not concern myself with a defense of the Roman Catholic discipline of mandatory celibacy. After all, it is their tradition and they certainly have a right...

Women priests (PA) The author of Bread Not Stones had a dramatic and unconventional journey to RomeIt is always interesting to read the various ways that converts stumble onto the path to Rome. Surely one of the strangest accounts in modern times is that of Dr Una Kroll, whose autobiography, Bread Not Stones, has recently been published by Christian Alternative. Dr Kroll received quite a lot of publicity in the past as an active and vocal Christian feminist. Indeed, she was ordained into the Anglican priesthood as one of the first women priest of the Church of Wales. The...

Speaks Briefly on Homiletics, Engages in Open Discussion With "His Priests"While many newspapers have reported solely on comments regarding 'married priests', there is much more to Pope Francis' address during his annual meeting with the clergy of Rome today. The Bishop of Rome spent almost two hours with hundreds of priests, speaking briefly on homiletics and the Ars celebrandi (the art of proper celebration). However, he spent most of the time engaging in an open discussion with the clergy saying: "I am more interested in your questions." The Pontiff's intentions weren't on giving a lecture, but in conversing directly with...

Against Backdrop of ISIS Beheadings, Egypt's Coptic Catholics Consecrate First Church in Sinai Bishop says Church strengthened by martyrdom of its brothers. NEW YORK (Feb. 19, 2015)—"The Church in Egypt has been strengthened by the murder of our brothers in Libya." Such was the reaction by Coptic Catholic Bishop Youssef Aboul-Kheir of Sohag to the beheading of 21 Orthodox Coptic men in Libya by ISIS. The guest workers in Libya "suffered a holy death with prayers on their lips. They went to their deaths just like the early Christians,” the bishop told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in...

February 20, 2015Friday after Ash Wednesday    Reading 1 Is 58:1-9a Thus says the Lord GOD:Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness,and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day,and desire to know my ways,Like a nation that has done what is justand not abandoned the law of their God;They ask me to declare what is due them,pleased to gain access to God.“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day...

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.(Romans 10:8-11)Israel is currently exiled from her high calling as the Holy Nation of Priests and Evangelists...

"A faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord" (Col. 4:7). We have had the picture of Christ and of the Christian in Colossians. Now let us study the composite portrait of the Christian worker as presented in the different ideals set forth in this delightful apostolic letter. One of the highest qualities of a great life is to inspire others with its own spirit and aims, and reproduce its work in other workers. The divine Master has done more through the workers that He called and commissioned than through His own personal ministry. And so the great Apostle Paul...

February 19, 2015Thursday after Ash Wednesday    Reading 1 Dt 30:15-20 Moses said to the people:“Today I have set before youlife and prosperity, death and doom.If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,which I enjoin on you today,loving him, and walking in his ways,and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,you will live and grow numerous,and the LORD, your God,will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,I tell you now that you will certainly perish;you will...

Why I Don’t Observe Lent The practice of self-denial is to be the daily experience of the believer. Written by Roland Barnes | Monday, March 3, 2014 79 What merit or benefit is there in abstaining from something which God Himself has given us to enjoy and to bless our lives? If something is sinful, we ought to abstain from it, fast from it, every hour of the day, every day of the week, and every week of the year. If something is not sinful and not forbidden to us by God in His Word, then we are free to...

Remember That Thou Art Dust David Mills Ash Wednesday is the holy day on which you are asked to face the facts about yourself. Letting someone smear ashes on your forehead while telling you that you are dirt is a statement that you have seen and accepted the facts about yourself, and know they’re not in your favor. And, though this isn’t as obvious, it is also a declaration of the good news.The Church doesn’t give official explanations of what her rites mean, but here’s what I think what is being said through the imposition of ashes. Even if this...

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.(Romans 10:8-11)What does God require of any sinner, Gentile or Jew? Righteousness cannot be attained by any...

It's that time of year again: the ancient tradition of Lent, kick-started by Ash Wednesday. It is also the time of year when us confessional types brace ourselves for the annual onslaught of a more recent tradition: that of evangelical pundits, with no affiliation to such branches of the church, writing articles extolling Lent's virtues to their own eclectic constituency. Liturgical calendars developed in the fourth century and beyond, as Christianity came to dominate the empire. Cultural dominance requires two things: control of time and space. The latter could be achieved through churches and relics. The former was achieved through...

THE COMPLACENCY of CHRISTIANS is the scandal of Christianity. Time is short, and eternity is long. The end of all things is at hand. Man has proved himself morally unfit to manage the world in which he has been placed by the kindness of the Almighty. He has jockeyed himself to the edge of the crater and cannot go back, and in terrible fear he is holding his breath against the awful moment when he will be plunged into the inferno. In the meantime, a company of people exist on the earth who claim to have the answer to all...

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.-Matt. 5:5 A fairly accurate description of the human race might be furnished one unacquainted with it by taking the Beatitudes, turning them wrong side out and saying, "Here is your human race." For the exact opposite of the virtues in the Beatitudes are the very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct. In the world of men we find nothing approaching the virtues of which Jesus spoke in the opening words of the famous Sermon on the Mount. Instead of poverty of spirit we find the rankest kind of pride;...