Free Republic

August 8, 2016 Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest Reading 1 Ez 1:2-5, 24-28c On the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth year,that is, of King Jehoiachin’s exile,The word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel,the son of Buzi,in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar.—There the hand of the LORD came upon me. As I looked, a stormwind came from the North,a huge cloud with flashing fire enveloped in brightness,from the midst of which (the midst of the fire)something gleamed like electrum.Within it were figures resembling four living creaturesthat looked like this: their...

"If I have the gift of prophecy . . . but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:2). Love is an indispensable ingredient in the learning process. I have the privilege of spending time each week with hundreds of young people who attend The Master's College. As I observe their progress, I see the impact godly teachers have had on their lives, and I'm convinced that students learn best when they know their teachers genuinely care about them. Isn't that true in any relationship? Don't you respond more readily to those who love you and have your...

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). The sin of loving money is also dangerous because of its harmful effects. The sanctioning of new state lotteries over the past twenty years, officially done to “enhance revenues” and create new jobs, not only sustains many persons’ addiction to gambling but also draws many others into a willingness to spend money they don’t have. It illustrates how greed results in sinful entrapment for many people. Scripture warns against becoming entrapped...

August 7, 2016 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 18:6-9 The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,they might have courage.Your people awaited the salvation of the justand the destruction of their foes.For when you punished our adversaries,in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrificeand putting into effect with one accord the divine institution. Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen...

"If I have the gift of prophecy . . . but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:2). Love motivated God to communicate with fallen humanity. That must be your motivation too. The word prophecy as used in 1 Corinthians 13:2 is the ability to publicly proclaim God's truth accurately and authoritatively. It's a greater gift than tongues because tongues were given as a sign to unbelieving Israel in the first century (1 Cor. 14:21-22), whereas prophecy instructs and edifies believers throughout the centuries. Paul said, "one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and...

“And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:8). God wants believers’ lives to be simplified, free from the burdens of material cares. Today’s verse declares how Christians ought to be free from material distractions. The apostle Paul asserts that life’s basic needs should be adequate to satisfy believers. He does not say it is wrong to own nice things, especially if God providentially allows you to have them. What is wrong is to have a selfish craving for money because you are discontent. The highest goal of the Christian life is to...

August 6, 2016 Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Reading 1 Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 As I watched: Thrones were set upand the Ancient One took his throne.His clothing was bright as snow,and the hair on his head as white as wool;his throne was flames of fire,with wheels of burning fire.A surging stream of fireflowed out from where he sat;Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,and myriads upon myriads attended him.The court was convened and the books were opened. As the visions during the night continued, I saw: One like a Son of man coming,on the clouds of heaven;When...

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor. 13:1). Love distinguishes true communication from useless chatter and meaningless noises. Paul begins his discourse on love by stating the futility of languages without love. The Corinthians were enamored with the showy spiritual gifts, apparently to the neglect of those they deemed less spectacular (see 1 Cor. 12:12-31). One of the gifts they prized most highly was tongues, which was the Spirit-given ability to declare God's truth in a language unknown to...

“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” (1 Timothy 6:7). Temporal concerns must not crowd out the believer’s focus on eternal things. In Charles Dickens’s memorable story A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge learns through a series of dreams that life consists of far more important values than his selfish preoccupation with business and finance. In essence, Scrooge learns a lesson that reminds us of Jesus’ sobering question, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Dickens’s story also dovetails well...

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (vv. 29–30). - Mark 10:28–30 Christ has much to say about personal wealth and discipleship in Mark 10:17–27, and too many people have misunderstood His teaching. A simplistic, surface-level reading of our Lord’s words has led some...

Liturgical VestmentsFr. William Saunders The liturgical vestments worn at Mass have evolved over time. Nevertheless, since the earliest days of the Church, liturgical vestments have been worn by priests for the celebration of the Mass. Even though priests of the Old Testament wore vestments in their liturgical rites, the “Christian” vestments are not really adaptations of them.Rather, the vestments of the Christians developed from the dress of the Graeco-Roman world, including the religious culture.Nevertheless, the Old Testament idea of wearing a special kind of clothing in the performance of liturgical rites did influence the Church. St. Jerome asserted, “The Divine...

August 5, 2016 Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Na 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 See, upon the mountains there advancesthe bearer of good news, announcing peace!Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,fulfill your vows!For nevermore shall you be invadedby the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,the pride of Israel,Though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined the tendrils. Woe to the bloody city, all lies,full of plunder, whose looting never stops!The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;horses a-gallop, chariots bounding, Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash...

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God. . . . We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:7, 19). True love cannot be generated on the human level. It’s a gift from God. Scripture often makes seemingly impossible demands of us. For example, Jesus said, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). That's easy to say, but how is it possible? Our natural tendency is to love our friends and hate our enemies. But Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not...

“But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment” (1 Timothy 6:6). True wealth is found in contentment, not in monetary gain. Love of money and contentment are mutually exclusive. An ancient Roman proverb says, “Money is like seawater; the more you drink, the thirstier you get.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 summarizes the point this way: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money.” History has also demonstrated that no amount of riches can compensate for a lack of contentment. Millionaire financier John D. Rockefeller said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me...

Remnant readers will have noticed that over the past three years not only this newspaper but the Catholic press in general, along with the Catholic blogosphere, have become increasingly devoted to a running commentary on Francis’s Latest Unprecedented Bombshell (FLUB). This is just as Francis wishes, for without an almost weekly FLUB he would drop out of the news cycle so assiduously exploited by “media wizard” Greg Burke, formerly of FOX News, who has just replaced as papal press spokesman the crafty spinmeister Father Lombardi, king of the “official denial” that denies nothing and the “official clarification” that clarifies nothing....

The final words of Father Jacques Hamel, “Begone, Satan,” bring to mind another French priest who had life-threatening encounters with the evil one and spoke strong words to his attackers. While this priest was not brutally murdered like Fr. Hamel, the devil tried his hardest to physically assault him in order to prevent the spreading of the Gospel.Who was he? Saint Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney.Vianney is well known for his encounters with Satan. For 35 years Satan threw everything he had against the holy priest who would hear confessions for sixteen hours each day. At night Vianney would hear taunts, harrowing voices,...

“[The disciples] were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’ ” - Mark 10:26–27 Frequently in Scripture, riches are presented either as God’s reward for obedience or as something possessed by particularly righteous people. Deuteronomy 28:11, for example, says that God will make the obedient Israelites “abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the...

August 4, 2016 Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest Reading 1 Jer 31:31-34 The days are coming, says the LORD,when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers:the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant, and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.I will...

VATICAN CITY, August 2, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — An American professor appointed to Pope Francis’ newly announced Special Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women subtly advocates for women’s ordination to the priesthood, and several other appointees have expressed questionable theological views. Pope Francis announced the members of the commission on Tuesday. In May, he promised a group of religious sisters that he would set up a commission to study the question of women deaconesses.   “After intense prayer and mature reflection,” Pope Francis decided to set up this commission, the Vatican announced in a press release. Rorate-Caeli...

"I show you a still more excellent way" (1 Cor. 12:31). Biblical love is characterized by humility, obedience to God, and self-sacrifice. In our society, love is a common word but an uncommon experience. Often those who use the word most understand it least. Many who think they've found love have really settled for something far less than God intended for them. For many, love means a romantic or sexual relationship. While Scripture has much to say about intimacy within marriage, the word love takes on a different meaning in the New Testament. Even Ephesians 5:25 ("Husbands, love your wives")...