Free Republic

Police in eastern Idaho say they're investigating after vandals defaced three Mormon churches in the small town of Chubbuck. Gov. Butch Otter condemned the vandalism in a written statement released Sunday. Here is the governor's full statement: "Defiling or defacing houses of worship — of any faith or denomination — is an attack not just on religious beliefs or even our law, but also on our culture and our values. It disturbs the sanctuaries of our spiritual well-being. These are not merely the acts of misguided individuals. They speak to a more fundamental disregard for sacred places, social order and...

The MSM-e, hollywood, activist atheists, activists within the Roman Catholic Church (RCC),etc, have been, and are pushing really hard for the Roman Catholic Church to change its stance on not allowing females to serve as priests. I don't see these same usual suspects pushing for greater "inclusiveness," i.e., pushing for Sunni, Shiite, or Sufi Islam to allow female Imams or pushing for female Rabbis within Orthodox Judaism, or even other branches of the same.

Unintended Consequences: How the “relevant” church and segregating youth is killing Christianity. I recently spent six-months doing a rotation as a hospital chaplain. One day I received a page (Yes, hospitals actually still use pagers). Chaplains are generally called to the rooms of people who look ill: People gray with kidney disease, or yellow with liver failure, discouraged amputees, nervous cancer patients. In this room, however, was a strikingly attractive 23 year-old young lady sitting up cheerfully in the hospital bed, holding her infant daughter and chatting with family and friends. Confused, I stepped outside and asked her nurse, “Why...

The faithful must be taught the true meaning of the sacred liturgy: that it is “an instrument of communion with the Lord, allowing the Lord to take hold of you, and the Lord absorbing you into his divine mission, and making you experience what a great and privileged moment of communion this is.”These are the words of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, in an exclusive interview with ZENIT on the sidelines of Sacra Liturgia 2013, a major international conference in Rome this week. The cardinal, who was previously Secretary at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of...

Featured Term (selected at random): HALLUCINATION Any false perception, not deliberately induced, that makes a person accept as objectively real what are only one's own ideas. One of the functions of mystical theology is to help a spiritual director distinguish authentic supernatural phenomena from hallucinations.  All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. 

THOUGHTS ON HIM Thought on You like the sweetness of most exotic fruit As Love engraves in thoughts like the vibrant colors of Divine masterpiece; Thought leads to life for a soul or emptiness to a brute. Converse with me, Oh Lord, the most heavenly words and tender voice; Suppress my unfaithful thoughts and irrelevant voices Of the world which now becomes far away and detached While my heart rests on You. Dearest Lord, You know that I love You, many times You want me to repeat; I proclaim on the rooftop; I whisper in the wind, Thousands upon thousands...

There has been a good deal of discussion recently about the Praise Team/Praise Band phenomenon, a phenomenon that has become a liturgical commonplace........

The problem with much Christian worship in the contemporary world, Catholic and Protestant alike, is not that it is too entertaining but that it is not entertaining enough. Worship characterized by upbeat rock music, stand-up comedy, beautiful people taking center stage, and a certain amount of Hallmark Channel sentimentality neglects one classic form of entertainment, the one that tells us, to quote the Book of Common Prayer, that “in the midst of life we are in death.” It neglects tragedy. Tragedy as a form of art and of entertainment highlighted death, and death is central to true Christian worship. The...

Archbishop Charles Chaput, currently of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, sees some things a bit differently than I do at times (such as amnesty for illegal immigrants), but I believe he is a sincere, honest, honorable, holy Bishop, and I respect him immensely, and always try to pay attention to what he has to say or write. (He reminds me a little of David going up against Goliath in his new assignment in Philadelphia, with all the problems they've had there!) With that in mind, I wanted to share a link with "ROKU Streaming TV" users, where you can add the...

Your proximity to My Spirit is where the anointing begins to take affect. So be engulfed in "My Will" for it is as I surround you that I AM magnified and miracles exist. "BE" My door mat and welcome ME into your presence for I will not be denied by a true heart filled with "MY LOVE". Psalm 22:3 3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Genesis 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son. And she said, This time will I praise Jehovah. Therefore she called his name Judah. And she left off bearing....

Street vendors and souvenir stores across Washington, D.C. are selling posters depicting President Obama as Jesus Christ — and one national news publication called him the “Second Coming.” The poster, which does not have the official endorsement of the White House, features an image of the president in prayer with the headline, “Prophecy Fulfilled.” “Barak is of Hebrew origin and its meaning is ‘flash of lightning,” the poster notes, referencing a passage in in the Old Testament book of Judges. Hussein, they allege, is a Biblical word meaning “good and handsome.” “So you see, Barak was destined to be a...

Featured Term (selected at random):PREFACE The act of thanksgiving, which begins the Eucharistic liturgy. By it the priest, in the name of all the people of God, offers praise and gratitude to God the Father for the whole work of redemption or for some special benefits commemorated in the liturgy. (Etym. Latin praefatio, preface, prologue; literally, a saying beforehand.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not...

Featured Term (selected at random):INDULT A temporary favor granted by the Holy See to bishops to permit them to do something not otherwise allowed. If given for a certain time, it must be renewed by competent ecclesiastical authority. Thus according to the Code of Canon Law, an indult is required for a priest to practice surgery and a cloistered nun needs an indult to travel outside the cloister. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

This was awesome and I thought I'd share for my Jewish and Christian friends.

Love the LORD with all our hearts, and what we ask for will be what HE wants; then believe and receive.

Featured Term (selected at random):RULE OF SAINT BASIL A rule of life drawn up, from 358 to 364, by St. Basil the Great (329-79). It is still the basis for monasticism in the Eastern Church. There are two forms of the rule, in question and answer form, with 55 and 313 items respectively. Although austere, it consciously avoids some of the extremes of Eastern monasticism before Basil's time. Hours of liturgical prayer were prescribed. Manual and other work were required. Children were to be trained in classes attached to the monastery and given an opportunity to test their vocation to...

Do it! Do it! Do it! Jay-Z is launching the Made In America Music Festival this fall in Philadelphia … but he may not be the biggest name in attendance. The famous rapper told Rolling Stone magazine that he "absolutely" wants Barack Obama to at least make an appearance or even perform! He knows the Prez can belt out a few tunes without breaking a sweat and he definitely fits the festival's theme. Jay revealed to the mag: "I'm gonna give him a call and I'm gonna try to get him to perform – do a little rendition of Al...

Can the combat-hardened OWS shock troops from the bankrupt Obamanation Universities defeat the Mighty Catholic Crusaders in the Spring of 2012? The battle lines are being quickly drawn in a frontal assault on the Robo-Built Fortress Walls of the Un-Constitutional Obama"care" that protects the despised, and cancerous Obamanation. Even now Bolshevik Chairman Obama has dictated that all US Military Chaplins be muzzled, and public discussion terminated as the distant sound of Cyber Bugles wafts through the despised Ditrict of Corruption. At 1600 Entitlement Plantation Avenue, only the token dog is not worried. Yeah, you guessed it, he is a Portuguese...

Restore Communion On The Tongue Only Most Holy Father, We are convinced of the great spiritual harm inflicted on the Catholic faithful, and the profanation of the Blessed Sacrament that often occurs, by the practice of Communion received on the hand. We implore Your Holiness to personally intervene to restore once again the normative practice of reception of Holy Communion on the tongue alone.