From The Editorial Desk 

The popular kids show CoComelon, in their new Netflix series, shows a boy dancing for his gay dads (yes, he has two!) in a tutu and tiara.

Netflix seems to have forgotten the controversy over the viral videos of Desmond Napoles, who, at 8 years old, was recorded dancing in drag for all the gay men at the 2015 NYC Pride March. Accusations arose that his parents groomed him from a young age. Now Netflix may be fairly accused of trying to groom your kids.

Many kids partly learned their ABCs, how to count, their colors, names of things, and daily routines through songs CoComelon has on YouTube. They reinforced what parents were trying to teach our kids. So, many parents were glad when Netflix adopted the show, giving them parental controls and helping them feel comfortable stepping out of the room to make dinner.

But it was a dirty trick. They added a spin-off show “CoComelon Lane” and slipped in Satan’s agenda. Naturally, kids and parents assumed it was safe. But on episode 8, a young redheaded boy, named Nico, is encouraged to “try something new”. Going for a photo shoot, Nico struggles to decide what to wear for the photo. Bathed in a lavender spotlight, Nico sings “If I’m not sure what to choose, how will I know what I’m supposed to do?” and is encouraged “Just be you”.

Nico dresses up as a fireman, a chef, and his dads are encouraging, but then they say, “Something that we know about you, you like to get up and dance. How about you break out those moves.” Next, he puts on a tutu and tiara and dances for his dads. Was it only that he liked to dance, or was there “something else” his dads “knew about”? What were they really encouraging?

Finally, Nico must decide which (of the costumes he tried on) to wear for the photoshoot. “Just be me?” he asks, glancing at the tiara sitting atop a pile of hats. Then holding the girls’ tiara in his right hand, and a boys’ spinner hat in his left, unable to choose, his dads sing “When you're trying to decide, think about the things you like to do. Just be you.”

I don’t believe it is reading in between the lines to suggest this could be seen as Nico trying to decide between being a boy or a girl or choosing between gay and straight. With both his dads’ advice to “just be you”, I can’t help but think of the homosexual mantra “I was born this way” with the implication “I’m just being me.”

While the world is telling us to allow our children to “just be themselves”, they set traps saying, “if your boy likes to dress like a girl and paint his nails, let him!” But when the world sees a boy dressed like that, they TELL him he is gay —they don’t wait for him to “decide”.

We must protect our kids. Most kids don’t understand anything about sexuality, and yet Netflix, Disney, and many others, are trying to groom your kids to be like Desmond Napoles, and if they fall for the trick and cross-dress, the world will insist they are gay.

How do we keep the corruption out? Well, you can’t keep the world out entirely. You can catch things like this if you don’t allow your kids to watch stuff you haven’t reviewed. But what about conversations with other kids?

“Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray..” (Proverbs 22:6).

It is so important that we train our kids to have a Biblical Catholic worldview. Read the Bible to them. Teach them the faith from the catechism from a very early age. At some point, your kids are going to get exposed to all the things the world has to offer. It is better for us to control the exposure and train them up in the right way!

Netflix may try to groom your kids, but with God’s help, you can train them to resist the devil. Every Parent must do this. We need a revival! And this is how it starts.

Archbishop Jean Louis Tauran-speaking to a symposium on the future of Jerusalem convened by the Novus Ordo leadership.

But this was not another ranting PLO leader. It was none other than Pope Francis’s own foreign minister, Archbishop Jean Louis Tauran. He was speaking to a symposium on the future of Jerusalem convened by the Novus Ordo leadership.

The speech was part of an October diplomatic tour of Israel and Egypt by Tauran. When questioned later about the statement, he replied that is what Vatican has always maintained.

For several decades, the Vatican has quietly presented the idea that Jerusalem should be an "international city," protected by "a special internationally guaranteed statute."

According to Pope Francis logic, no nation can have exclusive control of Jerusalem, since it really belongs to the whole world. It is home to the Jew, holy to the Muslim, and sacred to "Christianity."

In the Vatican's mind, Israel is only a bit player on the scene. Only a few million Jews claim religious roots in Jerusalem. The "big boys" are Roman Catholicism (representing Christianity) and Islam, each with a billion followers.

Now, with the Jewish Arab (Muslim) dispute heating up, the pope sees the opportunity to be the peace maker by placing Jerusalem under some international organization's control. No doubt that would be the United Nations where the Vatican maintains no small influence.

As God has fulfilled his promise to gather them back home in the end time, Rome is quietly conspiring to deny them control of their temple site. The Vatican finally extended diplomatic relations with Israel just a few years ago. Over a hundred other nations were given this recognition before them.

Now, the Vatican's warmth is toward the Arab's side of the dispute. At every opportunity the Vatican badgers Israel to make more concessions to Arafat. Even the Jesuit educated U.S. president was engaged to pressure Netanyahu into continued concessions to the PLO.

But Israel fought a bitter battle for control of the other half of Jerusalem in 1967. She is determined to have political and civil control of the whole city and make it her capital. Arafat and the PLO are equally determined that at least the eastern half of the city will be the capital of a new Palestinian state. And the "woman which reigneth over the kings of the earth" wants it placed under her control.

In the next few months the world will witness a historic struggle over tiny Jerusalem. If war is averted, it will be because God gave us a little more time to get the gospel to the two billion deceived people who trust in Islam for salvation.

Science Finds More Evidence of a "Genetic Reset" (Noah, Perhaps?)

Scientists are desperate to disprove the Bible, but they keep tripping over their own evidence. That is primarily because what they consider “evidence” is often only supported by “assumptions” (maybe-so's) and “inferences” (guesses).

One “maybe-so” (assumption) is their big buzzword, “uniformitarianism,” which is defined as:

"The theory that changes in the earth's crust during geological history have resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes."

Here they are “assuming” that things like the geological column of soil layers were deposited over a uniform sequence of time.

Similar layers formed today must take a long time. So, they infer (guess) that each layer represents a long segment of that time. This is one way they conclude that the history of mankind is measured in millions of years.

But Christian geologists point out that, given catastrophic events like Noah's flood, layers of that geologic column could have been deposited in just a few months, or even hours.

Evolutionary anthropologists (people who study the history of people) operate on the same guesswork. They “assume” that man evolved in a uniform pattern from primal soup to thinking man. Then they “infer” that two fossils, with and without opposable thumbs, existed millions of years apart. But they could have been two different species living at the same time.

Because they refuse to accept the Biblical account, they keep stumbling over facts that contradict their assumptions and inferences. These facts do not prove the existence of Adam and Eve, or even Noah. But several different fields of scientific study have turned up intriguing information.

For example, evolutionary biologists have discovered that earth's population may at one point have been reduced to about 1280 people. Then they assume that this small number of people existed for many generations. Of course, their evolutionary worldview tries to put that bottleneck much farther back in time than the Bible.

The biblical worldview tells us that it was down to only eight people at Noah's time, but they quickly repopulated. In evolution's long view, that dip would not even have been noticed.

Other scientists involved in DNA research have discovered that they can trace generations back toward what they call the “primordial pair.” And it seems to point to an origin somewhere in the Near East.

Two research associates at the University of Basel, Switzerland, surveyed the DNA of 5 million animals and humans. Researcher David Thaler said he fought as hard as he could against the conclusion that:

“...we sprang from a single pair of adults after a catastrophic event almost wiped out the human race.”

Sounds like Noah's family again which would have created a genetic reset.

Another intriguing contribution has been made by archaeology combined with the study of languages. Many older civilizations have been identified in the last 100 years along with much of their language patterns.

A researcher in Hawaii, Dr. Vamos-Toth Bator, set out to see if there were significant similarities between the names of remotely separated places like cities and mountains and lakes. He found many names of places, widely separated around the world, that were the same. This suggests that they were named by people who came from the same general area, and brought those names with them, just like the Bible describes in the Genesis 10 Table of Nations.

With research stretching over a decade, Bator claims to have found 1,000,000 names of cities and rivers and mountains that point back to a common source even though they are spread around the entire globe. Many actually use identical names for rivers or mountains or cities.

All of the propaganda about science has led to an extreme overconfidence in the reliability of what they call evidence. Honest scientists continue to discover new facts that can change the picture dramatically.

Dishonest scientists impose their own assumptions and inferences (maybe so's and guesses) to promote a usually godless agenda.

THE CROSS, THE GRAVE AND THE EMPTY TOMB

³ Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. —Isa. 53:3–6

Doubtless hundreds died on crosses in the first century. The Romans used it as a favorite way for handling malefactors. But in all of the history of the world, only one Lord Jesus Christ died. One cross stands out in the record of man—the cross of Christ.

We come to make a trip to Calvary’s hill and to look again at the cross, the grace and the empty tomb.

The Bleakness of the Cross

¹⁶ Then therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him forth.

¹⁷ And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha.

¹⁸ Where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the midst.

The apostle Paul said,

 For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. —I Cor. 15:3.

There is nothing beautiful about the scene of the cross. Christ, the prophesied Saviour, died a shameful, ignominious death on the cross. The cross shows the wickedness of sin and the evil of man.

Our Christ died willingly and said of Himself,

For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. John 18:37

Christ died in fulfillment of prophecy. The Old Testament reveals the trail of blood from the first of Genesis to the last of Malachi. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets were continually looking forward to the day of the coming of Christ.

What is the message of the cross?

First is the message of salvation. Again we quote,  “Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. (I Cor. 15:3). “and almost all things, according to the law, are cleansed with blood: and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Heb. 9:22).

There is no salvation apart from the Son of God. Christ died for sinners. He died for you and for me. Salvation is not by many men and many ways but by the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said,

⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times. I Tim 2:5-6

The cross also speaks of submission to the will of God. Jesus said, “Behold, I come to do thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:9). Christ was submissive to the will of God; therefore, He came into the world to die for sinners.

Then the cross speaks of our death to self and the world. We have watered down Christianity until it means so

little! People have children baptized and quite often, as those children grow up there are not raises in the abmonishan of the Lord. That’s because their own parents, many times, never had a change in their habits, way of life, speech or demeanor.

Our Parishes are full of baptized people who have become a child of God, members of the family of God but have never been led to a victorious living. They never come to see this great truth of death to self.

Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:24

Paul said, “I die daily, I protest by your glory, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (I Cor. 15:31).

This is the way of victorious living! It is by the cross. It is by the agony of death that we come to the place of victory. Therefore the cross, though bleak, brings blessings to the individual heart.

Think again upon the death of our Saviour. Think of the meaning of the shed blood. Remember that it is through Christ and His death that you have salvation and life everlasting.

The Blackness of the Grave

³⁸ And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

³⁹ And Nicodemus also came, (he who at the first came to Jesus by night,) bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

⁴⁰ They took therefore the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. John 19:38–40.

Christ died on the cross.

The body of Jesus was claimed by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. These two men, doubtless believers in Jesus Christ but afraid to stand for Him and their faith, requested the body of Jesus and buried it in a new grave. Now there was in the place where he was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein no man yet had been laid. John 19:41

Christ was buried. A seal was put upon the tomb. Men were left to guard it.

My friends, the grave is music in the minor key. It is only in Christ that the grave gives forth any brightness.

The grave teaches us the frailty of life and the uncertainty of our days.

Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away. For that you should say: If the Lord will, and if we shall live, we will do this or that. Jas. 4:14.

The young die and the old die.

Oh, the frailty of life! We have no promise of definite days. Life is uncertain. Therefore, we can understand why the prophet cries out, “Be prepared to meet thy God!” (Amos 4:12).

Graves teach us the certainty of death if He tarries. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment:” (Heb. 9:27).

All of us will come to the place of death if our Saviour tarries. As you drive by the cemetery and view the gravestones, remember that death is certain and sure.

Graves may also remind us of our sin and foolishness. A dear one may have gone on because of our sin.

Years a man had gone into business with an uncle in the operation of a service station. They decided to put in a new tank to hold gasoline. The hole was prepared for it. The tank was purchased. It was a used tank but in good condition. He said that as he stood near the mouth of the tank, he thoughtlessly struck a match to light a cigarette, sparking a horrific explosion. The fumes were pouring from the inside of the second-hand tank. His uncle was killed in the blast; his own body was mangled and torn.

When that man looked at the grave of his uncle, he was reminded of his own foolishness.

Some of you may be reminded that your loved ones have gone on because of your sin or foolishness. What a solemn thing this is! Let God speak to our hearts again and remind us to walk circumspectly and to live so that others may see Christ in us.

Graves may have a blessed significance. The grave of a dear one may bring blessings to your heart. It may be that that person is the one who told you of Jesus. It might be that the grave brings back memories of some wonderful hour when the deceased had a part in your life.

I once heard a story about a rich man who drove by the home of a friend and asked him if he would like to go with him on a short trip. The friend agreed. The rich man drove by a florist. He purchased flowers and put them in the back seat of the car.

They drove some distance out to a cemetery. The rich man asked his friend if he would remain in the car until he returned. He picked up the flowers, walked across the grass of a beautiful cemetery and stopped at the side of a grave. He removed his hat and placed it on the ground. Then he placed the flowers very tenderly upon a grave. The friend in the car saw that he stood there, his head bowed, in an attitude of prayer for quite a long time.

After a while he returned to the car and they drove out of the cemetery.

As they went on their way, the friend said to him, “I suppose that is the grave of your mother.”

The man said, “No, not my mother.”

The friend tried again, “Perhaps your father?”

“No, not my father.”

Again, he questioned, “Is it a dear relative?”

Then the man tenderly said, “That is the grave of the Catechism teacher who taught me of Jesus Christ when I was just a boy. She pointed me to the Son of God.

Every year I drive out to the cemetery, place some flowers upon her grave and bow for a moment of prayer of dedication of my life unto God. I know she is with the Lord, but coming to the side of her grave again reminds me of how much I owe the one who took the time to fill my little mind with thoughts of Christ the Saviour.”

Yes, there is a blackness about a grave. There is a dismal quality but there can also be a blessing. Think for a moment of the grave and the blessings that can come from it. Think of our Saviour who was buried in a borrowed tomb.

The Blessedness of the Empty Tomb

 And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid. Matt. 28:5-6

The angel invited them to come and see the empty tomb. Christ had risen. He told His disciples that He would die, that He would be buried and that He would rise again. It was exactly as Christ had given it to them. Think of that empty tomb.

The empty tomb means that we have a living Saviour.

The empty tomb means that we have a truthful Saviour. Christ said that He would rise again. He arose from the dead. The modernist who denies the resurrection of Christ is calling Christ a liar. He is trying to lead men to worship a false Christ. Unless Christ arose from the dead, then we are of all men most miserable.

The empty tomb means that we have an ascended Saviour. He walked upon the earth for 40 days. He led His disciples out as far as Bethany. He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

 And it came to pass, whilst he blessed them, he departed from them, and was carried up to heaven Luke 24:51.

And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight Acts 1:9.

The empty tomb means that we have a coming Saviour.

And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven Acts 1:10-11.

The empty tomb means that we have the hope of life everlasting. Jesus said, “And I give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28). The Son of God who arose from the dead is the One who said this. He is our hope of life everlasting.

Turning On the Light

 And when he was come into the temple, there came to him, as he was teaching, the chief priests and ancients of the people, saying: By what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority?

²⁴ Jesus answering, said to them: I also will ask you one word, which if you shall tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁵ The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying:

²⁶ If we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet.

²⁷ And answering Jesus, they said: We know not. He also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. -Matthew 21:23-27.

There’s a great contrast made in the Scripture between light and darkness. The darkness, of course, is a picture of sin, of unbelief, of everything in the spiritual realm opposed to God. The light, on the other hand, is representative of salvation, deliverance, the Lord’s guidance or just a general awareness of the truth. This contrast starts in the very beginning of the Bible.

Genesis 1 says, “God divided the light from the darkness. And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night” (vss. 4, 5). Throughout the Bible, God’s Holy Spirit uses this contrast between light and darkness to make a very defining point between those who are aware and those who are unaware— those who are in truth, those who are in the lie.

We often speak in our own vernacular and will say to someone, “Oh yeah, I saw the light on that subject.” What we mean is, “Yes, I understand that. I see that, I get it.” Or someone will say, “No need talking to him. He’s in the dark on that and doesn’t have a clue.” So we use this light vs. dark contrast even in everyday conversation.

In I John 1:4 and 5 we read:

“And these things we write to you, that you may rejoice, and your joy may be full. And this is the declaration which we have heard from him, and declare unto you: That God is light, and in him there is no darkness.”

When our Saviour came into this world, He came to a world filled with the darkness of sin; that darkness could not overcome the light. That was the Lord Jesus Christ. By the way, it still cannot overcome the light. You spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and folks will get born again. So I want to take this contrast between light and darkness and show you a tremendous truth from this passage of Scripture.

The Story

Earlier in this chapter, the Lord Jesus had cleansed the temple. While He was teaching, the scribes and elders came to Him and asked, “Who gave You the authority to do what You’re doing?”

Now you say, “Well, why did they ask Him that?” They asked Him that because they were the ones who gave the authority to do anything in the temple. They were hoping to trap Him. They wanted to catch Him up in His own words and thereby silence His ministry. They figured that whatever He answers, “We’ve got Him!” If they asked Him who gave Him authority and He said, “God, My Father in Heaven, gave Me this authority,” they could have had Him arrested for blasphemy. If He had said, “You gave Me this authority,” the scribes (plural) and elders (plural) could have looked at one another and said, “Oh, we didn’t give Him authority to teach in the temple. This man is a liar; have Him arrested!” And so they would have accomplished what they set out to do. But I want you to notice what the Lord Jesus did. He answered the question with a question.

“What about John’s baptism?”

When He asked them that question, He specifically said, “Was John’s baptism from Heaven or of men?”

I don’t know how the whole thing went down; I wasn’t there. I like to read the Bible and think about it. I like to envision what might have happened and I can see the Lord Jesus standing there in the temple; people are all around Him. Suddenly, five or six of these guys dressed in their priestly garments walk right up in front of Jesus, puff their chests out, hold their heads up and say, “Who gave You the authority to do what You’re doing here?

Jesus responds, “Let Me ask you a question. John’s baptism…was it of God or of men?” Look at verse 25. It says, “And they thought within themselves….” You know what I think they did? I think they looked at one another as if to say, “Oh, come here, come here, come here.” They got away from the people, put their heads together and debated how to answer this question. I can imagine them saying, “Why did you let Him ask us a question? What are we going to say? If we say ‘of God,’ He’s going to point His finger right in our face, embarrass us in front of all these people and say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’” Because they didn’t believe John. Another says, “Yeah, but we can’t say John was a man because all these commoners here think he was a prophet. We can’t make them mad. They’re the ones that tithe!”

I can imagine that the oldest and wisest, the one with the most stripes on his shoulder, probably cleared his throat and said, “Boys, boys, boys, listen. We’re okay. Who does this guy think He is? Here’s what we got. Here’s what we do. We march right over there. We puff our chest out, hold our heads up, look all those people dead in the face and say, ‘We’re not answering You. We don’t have to answer You. You’re nothing more than a carpenter from Galilee. You got all these fishermen with You? Oh, we don’t have to answer You. You’re a nobody.’”

When you read on in the chapter, you get the idea that he just continued teaching. He just left them standing there in front of the people, almost like they weren’t even there. Can you see them? They start to look at one another, and suddenly, one slips away, another slips away and then another slips away. And then that old wise one that came up with the plan, he’s just standing there. Everybody’s looking up at him like—you can leave now.

He finally walks away. I read that and thought, “Why didn’t He answer their question?” They asked a legitimate question. Why didn’t He answer it? And there’s the sermon.

The Sermon

The application of the story—why didn’t He answer them? I sat there and thought, “What in the world?” Why didn’t the Lord Jesus just answer their question? Here it is; this is my sermon right here.

Before He could reveal to them what they asked, He took them back to the last light that fell on their path. Your readiness to receive new light from God depends upon what you did with the last

light God gave you. They said to Him, “Where do You get Your authority?” Do you know what they’re asking? Declare yourself! “Are You going to tell us You are the Son of God?”

They’re looking for the truth. They’re looking for light. Their motive is all wrong but they’re looking for light. The Light is standing right there in front of them. Jesus says, “Let me take you back to the last light my Father sent you. You tell Me how you handled the last light my Father sent you. I will now know if you’re ready to receive new Light or not.”

Why didn’t Jesus answer the question? It was useless; He knew what they did to John. They rejected the light that was John the Baptist. He knew they would reject Him because they had rejected John. Jesus was asking them this: “What did you do with the last light that fell on your pathway? You answer that for Me and I’ll know whether you’re ready to receive more Light.”

All men have some light from God. I believe that with every fiber of my being—creation is a light. The Bible says the “heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork”(Ps. 19:1). You may say, “I don’t believe in creation. I believe in evolution” And I would have to say, “Wow, you’ve got more faith than I do.” Let me illustrate.

I buy myself and ESQ watch. This watch has a calendar, and every 24 hours, it flips over. It tells me what the date is. It’s got a minute hand, an hour hand and Roman numerals for the numbers. It’s got all these little cogs and wheels on the inside. Let’s suppose I could take this watch completely apart. Every piece is on a table and I shove all those pieces into a coffee can. I start spinning the ingredients in that coffee can. Pray tell me, how many billions of years am I going to have to stir the ingredients of this watch before one day—poof—this watch pops out in perfect working order? lt would never become a watch.

The reality is that the human body is 10,000 times more complicated than a watch! It’s a whole lot easier for me to believe that an eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable God spoke and formed man from the dust of the earth than it is to believe that we all came from some blob somewhere. By the way, read your Bible. The Big Bang is at the end, not at the beginning!

Creation is light. You walk out at night, look in the sky, see those stars and marvel! I don’t know about you, but something a whole lot bigger than me is responsible for that.

The Church is a light. ^“You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:14-16.

Your Bible is a light. There is a farmer who has a big sign with “John 3:16” on one side. Everybody can see that sign as they drive by. Every time I go by that sign, I pray, “God, speak to the sinner’s heart behind me. Lord, let that verse be a light in his life. Let him realize his need for a Saviour as he looks and reads the Word of God.” Your Bible is a light. God said it was. It’s a lamp unto your feet and a light into your path. Light rejected increases darkness. That’s what’s wrong with our world today. We’ve rejected the light.

Let me prove this principle from Scripture. Go back to Genesis, chapter 12. Look at verse 1. “And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.”

Now, Abraham seeing that land presupposes that he has to obey God. God said I will. That’s future tense. But if you don’t, then I won’t. You have to walk in the light I’ve given you here, Abraham. Abraham is getting some light from God.

God said, “Hey, come here. I want to show you a land. I will (future tense) make of thee great nation. I will bless thee and will make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee. And in these shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” So, it’s all dependent upon Abraham obeying the light that he’s just received.

Now go to chapter 13, verse 14: “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes....” In chapter 12 Abraham got some light and walked in that light. In chapter 13, he’s in the land; he’s been obedient. Now God is going to give him some new light. But if you look at verse 14, after he had done what God asked him to do, God says, “Lift up now thine eyes.” I submit to you that God would not have given him this increase of light in chapter 13 had he not first been obedient to the light that he was given in chapter 12.

Look now at the Book of Acts:

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: Arise, go towards the south, to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza: this is desert. And rising up, he went. And behold a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch, of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge over all her treasures, had come to Jerusalem to adore. (8:26-27)

Here’s a man who is looking for the truth. He went to Jerusalem. He went to worship; he’s looking for God. He’s looking for the light. Now he’s on his way back home. He’s sitting in his chariot and reading Isaiah the prophet. He’s trying to find the truth!

My point is that light obeyed increases light. He went to Jerusalem and got ahold of the Scriptures. He’s on his way home, and the Spirit of God speaks to Philip and says, “Get up and go down into the desert. There’s a man down there looking for the light. Go turn the light on for him.”

Now look at verse 32. The place where that man was reading was Isaiah 53, where Isaiah talked about what had just happened in Jerusalem a little while back—Jesus dying on the cross. You say, “Well, that’s a coincidence.” You call it what you want. I call it God turning on some light.

³⁴ And the eunuch answering Philip, said: I beseech thee, of whom doth the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man?

³⁵ Then Philip, opening his mouth, and beginning at this scripture, preached unto him Jesus. (Acts 8:34-35)

There’s the light! This man was looking for the light. He went to Jerusalem looking for the light. He read Isaiah, looking for the light. He is driving back home. So God says, “Light obeyed. I’m going to increase his light.”

God sent Philip down there to explain to him the way of Christ.

³⁶ And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water; and the eunuch said: See, here is water: what doth hinder me from being baptized?

³⁷ And Philip said: If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answering, said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Acts 8:36-37)

That’s what will happen when you walk in the light. You just go away rejoicing.

Now that he’s received light, notice what he’s doing—he’s just getting more light. What has hindered him from being baptized? Well, do you believe? Yes, he did. What did he believe? He believed Jesus was the Son of God. He stopped his chariot because there was water right there.

And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39)

That’s what will happen when you walk in the light. You just go away rejoicing.

I’m going to give you one more illustration. Both of the illustrations I gave you are biblical illustrations that show that if you walk in the light and obey the light, you get more light.

What about the other way? What about if the light is rejected? Let me tell you a little story.

There was a man who came out of the wilderness preaching. His name was John. He was a wild man. He came out of the desert preaching, “Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2).

Everybody came down out of Jerusalem to hear this man preach down by the Jordan River. John would preach and those who repented, he baptized in the river. Can you picture that in your mind? This guy’s got camel hair on. He’s a wild-looking thing. He’s preaching his heart out and baptizing converts day after day after day. Now the king, whose name was Herod, had a palace over in the mountains of Moab. He would take his girlfriend over to that palace.

One day Herod, his girlfriend and his entourage pulled up during one of the preaching services. The crowd silenced immediately. Herod looked over, pointed at John and said, “Sir, who are you?” John said, “Me? I’m a nobody. I’m just the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” Herod said, “Well, are you Elijah?” He responded, “Oh, no, I’m not Elijah. No, sir, I’m just a voice. I’m the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” Herod asked, “Well, are you Jeremiah?” John says, “No, I’m not Jeremiah. I’m just a voice. I’m the voice of one crying in the wilderness; prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Herod is a little puzzled. He looked over and said, “John, let me ask you, are you this Messiah that everybody’s talking about?” John said, “Oh, no, I’m not the Messiah. As a matter of fact, I’m not even worthy to untie His shoes. I’m just a voice. That’s all I am. I’m the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”

So, Herod probably thought, “You know, I’m in a jam here. I have to get out of this.” So, he probably looked at all the people and said, “Wow, Mr. Voice, what do you have to say?” I submit to you that it was the wrong thing to ask him. John took that nine-footfinger, stuck it out towards Herod and dangled it right underneath his nose. And he said, “Here’s God’s message to you. You’re a sinner. You’re an adulterer. That woman that is with you is not your wife. That’s your brother’s wife. God is going to lay the axe to the root.” Can you imagine the people’s reaction to that? I dare say it was not pleasant. About that time, King Herod got an elbow in the ribs. “Get me out of here. Let’s go.” And they took off!

But the story doesn’t end there. That woman could not get the ‘voice’ out of her head. Can you imagine her laying her head down at night and all she can hear is that ‘voice’ ringing in her ear? Adulterer. It got birthday time around the Herod household. Herodius called her teenage daughter and came up with a plan. She said, “Here’s what we’re going to do. Tonight, when they all get good and drunk, you go in and dance for him. He is going to offer you anything you want and you tell him you want John’s head on a platter.” Do you know what she’s doing? Cutting off the ‘voice.’ She’s saying, “I am sick and tired of hearing that ‘voice’.” And John’s head went off just as she planned it. Herod didn’t want to do it. But he had given his word. So he ordered John’s head to be cut off and the ‘voice’ was silenced.

But again, the story doesn’t end there. A couple of years later, Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane’s Garden. They took Him and beat Him through the night. They lied about Him. They told stories. They made stuff up. They brought in false witnesses. But they still could not convince Pilate to kill Him. And in the conversation with Pilate, somebody mentioned Herod is in town. Pilot’s ears perked up, “What? Herod is in town? Take Him over to him.” This was the same Herod that cut off John’s head. He thought maybe he was going to see a miracle done. Jesus was brought before Herod. And Herod asked Him, “Are You the Son of God?” And you know what happened? Jesus never said a word to Herod. When Pilate asked Him the same questions just a little bit before, He answered every question. But now He’s brought before King Herod, who asked Him the same questions. He answered him not a word: “…he opened not his mouth…and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa. 53:7). I can imagine that Herod got so mad that he could have screamed.

“Don’t you know who I am? I’m the king around here! When I ask You a question, you answer me!”

But Jesus did not answer. Again, I don’t know, but I imagine that when Herod lost his mind with anger, he said, “I’m going to give You one more chance. Are You the Son of God?” I can imagine that about that time, the Lord Jesus lifted His head and looked into the eyes of Herod and gave him a look that went all the way down to the soles of his feet. I imagine that the Spirit of God whispered in Herod’s heart and said to him, “Listen—you had your chance to hear the voice of God and you cut it off. You will never hear the voice of God again.”

I’m saying to you that light rejected increases darkness. Why didn’t He answer? It was useless.

My prayer for each of us is that we would have on our heart and on our lips, “Lord, flip the light on for me.” If you go back to the place where you last got some light, that is the place to begin.

Court rebukes Biden admin for trying to force gender mutilation on Christian health providers

(LifeSiteNews) – Federal nondiscrimination rules cannot be used to force Christians to participate in gender “transition” procedures, the U.S. District Court of the District of North Dakota ruled Monday.

In 2021, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on behalf of the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA), alleging that it was forcing religious employers to fund “gender transition surgeries, procedures, and treatments” via the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOP) “misinterpreting and improperly enforcing discrimination based on sex in Title VII” of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) “reinterpretation of ‘sex’ in federal law” to encompas sexual orientation and gender identity, which would legally bind religious healthcare providers to provide care that would contradict the employers’ “deeply held beliefs.”

This week, the Christian Post reported that the district court granted the CEA a partial summary judgment, finding that it “will succeed on the merits,” and that if it “had to comply with these mandates, its members would have to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs which is an impermissible exercise under the First Amendment” as well as the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

While “protecting the right of transgender patients to access crucial healthcare and protecting workers from sex discrimination is certainly a compelling interest, the Defendants here have done nothing more than identify a broadly formulated interest in an attempt to justify the general applicability of the government mandates,” the order added.

“All employers and healthcare providers, including those in the Christian Employers Alliance, have the constitutionally protected freedom to conduct their business and render treatment in a manner consistent with their deeply held religious beliefs,” ADF senior counsel Matt Bowman reacted. “The employers we represent believe that God purposefully created humans as either male or female, and so it would violate their religious beliefs to pay for or perform life-altering medical procedures or surgeries that seek to change one’s sex. The court was on firm ground to stop the administration from enforcing these unlawful mandates that disrespect people of faith.”

As explained in an amicus brief filed by the attorneys general of 16 states in a similar 2018 case, “‘sex’ under the plain terms of Title VII does not mean anything other than biological status. Unless and until Congress affirmatively acts, our Constitution leaves to the States the authority to determine which protections, or not, should flow to individuals based on gender identity.” It argued that “basic canons of statutory interpretation” would lead any fair observer to recognize that the Congress of 1964 intended “sex” to mean only biological sex and had no intention of incorporating 2018 notions of transgender ideology.

“The term ‘gender identity,’ or as the Sixth Circuit labels it, ‘transgender’ and ‘transitioning status,’ are not found in the text or legislative history of Title VII,” the brief said, noting that “gender identity” referred “more to social and cultural roles” back then, and was a distinct concept from biological sex.

The abandonment of such distinctions has yielded substantial social chaos. A significant body of evidence shows that “affirming” gender confusion carries serious harms, especially when done with impressionable children who lack the mental development, emotional maturity, and life experience to consider the long-term ramifications of the decisions being pushed on them, or full knowledge about the long-term effects of life-altering, physically transformative, and often-irreversible surgical and chemical procedures.

Studies find that more than 80% of children experiencing gender dysphoria outgrow it on their own by late adolescence, and that even full “reassignment” surgery often fails to resolve gender-confused individuals’ heightened tendency to engage in self-harm and suicide — and may even exacerbate it, including by reinforcing their confusion and neglecting the actual root causes of their mental strife.

Last summer, the Biden HHS’s Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a since-deleted report that acknowledged “lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults are more likely than straight adults to use substances, experience mental health conditions including major depressive episodes, and experience serious thoughts of suicide.”

 

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Texas fire dept. chaplain sues after he was dismissed for opposing men in women’s sports

AUSTIN, Texas (Alliance Defending Freedom) — Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a former volunteer chaplain of the Austin Fire Department, Dr. Andrew Fox, filed a motion Tuesday asking a federal court to protect his free speech and religious freedom after city officials fired him for sharing his religious views on his personal blog.

Fox is an ordained minister who helped start Austin’s fire chaplaincy program and served as the city’s lead chaplain – a volunteer position – for eight years. After sharing on his personal blog the fact that men and women are biologically different and his view that men should not compete on women’s sports teams, city officials demanded that Fox apologize, and then they proceeded to fire him. ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit, Fox v. City of Austin, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, in 2022 asking the court to uphold Fox’s First Amendment rights.

“Everyone should be able to speak freely without fear of the government punishing you just for expressing a view they disagree with,” said ADF Senior Counsel Hal Frampton. “Dr. Fox served Austin’s fire department – without pay – for eight years with excellence and integrity, serving everyone … No matter your personal view on whether men should be allowed to compete on women’s sports teams, it should deeply concern every American that the government can fire someone who expresses that widely held view.”

As the brief in support of the motion for summary judgment explains, fire department officials highly respected Fox for the work he had done to walk side by side with first responders and their families, providing a listening ear and source of prayer as they encountered deaths, suicides, and other tragedies. Most fire department employees were unaware of Fox’s personal blog, but when one employee contacted the fire department’s LGBT liaison and complained about his blog post about men competing in women’s sports, he was eventually fired in violation of his First Amendment rights.

“[I]n our pluralistic society people disagree – often vigorously and emotionally – about religious issues,” the brief explains. “The religious doctrines that make one firefighter comfortable with a given chaplain may be a dealbreaker to someone else. Not every chaplain will be the right fit for every firefighter. That’s why public safety departments like AFD hire a variety of chaplains, therapists, and other wellness options. But neither the Constitution nor Texas law allow the government to single out, punish, and sit in judgment over certain religious views.”

Fox served in a voluntary capacity as lead chaplain of the Austin Fire Department for eight years until his dismissal in December 2021.

 

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Maryland’s latest assisted suicide bill dies in state Senate

(LifeSiteNews) — Pro-life and disability rights advocates succeeded again in stopping physician assisted-suicide in Maryland.

Sometimes referred to by the euphemism of “medical aid-in-dying,” the legislation would have allowed doctors to provide drugs to a person with a “terminal illness” who has fewer than six months to live so they can kill themselves.

“If the votes aren’t there, the votes aren’t there,” Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said on March 1, as reported by The Baltimore Banner.

“We are not going to be taking a vote on the bill this session, as it does not appear we have the votes to pass it in the Senate,” he said. Ferguson plans to try again to get the bill passed.

The state Senate bill had eight Democratic sponsors and one Republican, state Senator Chris West.

Proponents of assisted suicide, usually Democrats, have had to overcome opposition from a core constituency – black Americans.

Black Protestants are sometimes the most opposed of any group to the legalization of assisted suicide. This is possibly why Maryland legislators have named the bill partially after former Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings. The late black congressman represented Baltimore.

Proponents of people being able to legally kill themselves have tried for at least 30 years to pass the legislation in the state, often facing pushback from religious groups and disability rights advocates. “Currently, 10 states (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington) and the District of Columbia have laws that allow a doctor to write lethal prescriptions for dying patients to self-administer,” a legislative analysis found.

The bill also died in 2019 when the State Senate voted 23-23, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.

A cardiologist at Maryland’s famed Johns Hopkins University criticized the bill.

“We should be helping people live their lives to the fullest while coping with severe illness and disability,” Dr. Joe Marine stated as a witness against the bill. “Making high-quality, ethically-grounded palliative, pain-management, and hospice care more accessible to Marylanders is what legislators should focus on, not giving doctors a license to take life with a prescription of poison.”

The Maryland Catholic Conference also opposed the legislation and said medical opposition helped stop the bill.

“We saw the medical community come out in full force discussion to really oppose the bill,” Executive Director Jenny Kraska told Catholic News Agency recently. “And I think that that even carries more weight… I think that that’s part of the strength of the opposition that we saw this year in Maryland, was that it was coming from so many different perspectives.”

The Catholic Conference also had earlier urged opposition to the bill.

“This legislation ignores the reality facing many in such conditions and is woefully lacking in the types of meaningful safeguards that would prevent this unnecessary and drastic option,” an opposition letter stated. “Such safeguards include mandated mental health assessments, reporting requirements, safe disposal of unused medication or prohibitions against expansion of this program.”

“In every state or country where this dangerous policy has been legalized grave abuses and expansion have occurred,” the letter warned.

There is strong evidence to suggest physician assisted suicide has been abused both in the United States and in other countries.

A 2017 report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops found Oregon’s state insurance plan would pay for assisted suicide but not treatment. There was another similar example cited from California.

A separate 2018 report identified problems outside of the United States with countries that legalized assisted suicide.

Canadian veterans were reportedly offered assisted suicide help despite not having a terminal illness. One veteran, who had post-traumatic stress disorder, called Veteran Affairs seeking help only to be encouraged to end their life.

“We urge all people of good will to demand that our lawmakers reject suicide as an end-of-life option and to choose the better, safer path that involves radical solidarity with those facing the end of their earthly journey,” the bishops wrote. “Let us choose the path that models true compassion and dignity to those facing end of life decisions and protects the most vulnerable from the deadly proposition of physician assisted suicide.”

Dominican priest Father Thomas Petri previously told LifeSiteNews why Catholics cannot support assisted suicide.

“In no way can any Catholic layman or cleric condone or support a decision to use assisted suicide,” Petri said, after D.C. passed its legislation in 2017.

“Suicide in any form violates both the natural instinct to survive and God’s revealed law that he is the Lord and Creator of life,” Petri told LifeSiteNews. “Therefore, suicide has always been considered not simply a grave evil but an intrinsic evil always and everywhere. No person who values salvation is ever permitted to choose suicide or help another commit suicide no matter what the circumstances are.”

 

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A symbol of ‘evil’: Students deplore pro-abortion statue at Texas university 

 

HOUSTON (LifeSiteNews) — Students at the University of Houston are speaking out against a statue recently erected on campus that was originally named in homage to the so-called “right” to abortion.

The towering gold statue features braided hair-shaped like ram horns, tentacle-like protrusions in place of arms, and a “lace” collar in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This “nod” to Ginsburg was chosen because of her defense of abortion, the artist explained in a statement about the piece, which brutally kills unborn children.

In a speech on campus, one post-abortive student decried the statue as a symbol of “evil” and a reminder of the “intense trauma” of her abortion, which she said has “overpowered” her daily life.

“I spend each day recovering and coping with the regret,” the unidentified student said, pointing out that the University of Houston has provided mental health resources that are helping her “to recover.

”But I am so disappointed that the institution that is helping me recover is allowing the same evil that caused this to plague our school atmosphere. When I see this statue, I don’t see empowerment and freedom. This statue is a physical representation of evil lies and negative energies that doesn’t belong on this once-amazing campus,” the student said.

“Just as my abortion only allowed dark and evil challenges into my life, this statue will bring the same horrendous ideologies and ideas to our campus and its amazing students. Evil is contagious and seeps through the tiniest cracks we create. And our campus and students deserve something better than a statue that opens a door and approves of ungodly actions.”

A Muslim student also recently told how after he had seen the statue, which he described as “satanic,” and finished one of his prayers, he started “bawling” because of what he had seen. 

The statue strikes some commentators as satanic at least in part because the “horns” are reminiscent of a Baphomet image. While the artist behind the work, Shahzia Sikander, has not admitted to deliberately echoing satanic imagery, many argue that the admitted pro-abortion significance of the statue is indeed satanic.

A cohort of pro-life students and local Texans gathered in a prayerful protest on February 28, organized in part by Tradition Family Property (TFP) Student Action. According to the Catholic group, speakers and representatives of Houston Coalition for Life, Texas Right to Life, Coogs for Life, Students for Life, and Young Conservative Federation denounced the statue.

TFP reported that some pro-abortion students made obscene gestures at a statue of Our Lady, and another cursed the Catholics for praying. When one TFP member asked a pro-abortion student, “What do you want?” the student reportedly replied, “I want the destruction of Christianity.”

One of the Catholic protesters, 20-year-old Sean Cutler, told media outlet Chron that the statue is an “insult” to his faith and that “It’s horrifying to look at.”

“We want it out of our sight. We don’t want to be around it,” Cutler said.

Derrick Cooper, a member of the UH Student Government Association, told Chron the protests against the statue have actually inspired him to work to keep the statue on campus. 

Cooper, who believes young white men “shouldn’t have a say in what any woman does with her body,” told Chron, “I literally didn’t care about the statue, but now that I know these people are so against it, I want the statue here. Now, I’m going to fight to have that statue at the school.”

Sikander, who designed the statue, noted to The Art Newspaper in a comment on the statue’s inscription “havah,” which translates to “Eve,” that Eve is the “first lawbreaker.”

Texas Right to Life stated in response, “Disobedience to God certainly should not be esteemed by society, much less lauded with a statue,” and called for petitions against the sculpture. “On the contrary, art should reflect truth, goodness, and beauty: three timeless values that reveal the nature of God. Art cannot have beauty without truth. Art cannot have truth without goodness … A statue honoring child sacrifice has no place in Texas.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does God permit those who serve Him to live in poverty, whilst the godless have a smooth path through life?

This is not always the case. However, when this does occur, it is not difficult to understand. The godless do not deserve to be invited to share with Christ in a life of suffering. Also, all men do some good in life sometimes. No one is entirely evil. God's justice rewards natural good, therefore, by natural prosperity, and that may be all that such men will receive. "You have had the reward of such good as you did," may be said at their judgment, "and now answer for the evil of your irreligious lives." On the other hand, those who love God are not given worthless and perishable rewards, but will receive a full return of supernatural happiness, the only kind that really matters. If Christ promised us happiness in this world, then let us murmur when we see the infidel prosper. But what did He promise? He promised what He Himself received, suffering here, and happiness hereafter. The disciple is not above his Master.

For answers to more frequently asked questions, click here: https://www.vaticaninexile.com/frequently_asked_questions.php

A Catholic Perspective On Finances 

What Does the Bible Say about Planning?

Planning is biblical. Planning is Catholic

In Proverbs God says that someone who plans well will foresee dangers and avoid them, but the foolish person (a non-planner) will rush ahead, do whatever’s convenient, and end up paying the penalty.

Just as we can’t build a home without blueprints, we can’t have solid financial structure without plans. Being a good and faithful steward means being able to live on a budget – a short-term plan. And then we are to look forward to see eventual needs and try to meet them – a long-term plan.

One of the most noble characteristics of an ant is the way they plan for the future by storing food in good times for use when times are bad. It’s an example we can all follow as well.

The Proverbs 31 woman is an example of someone whose planning is key to good stewardship. We’re told she worked hard, she spent wisely, and she planned ahead.

But God’s word advises us to be planners for reasons beyond building a savings account or avoiding indulgence. When we plan, we experience more margin and freedom in our lives – which means we are freed to further God’s work here on earth.

When you plan ahead, there is money left to give generously.

Today we often feel we can’t give because we have not been faithful stewards in planning, working or spending. Yet, we know that Jesus’ words – that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Good stewards work as unto the Lord.

Good stewards analyze the budget to make sure the needs of the family are covered. They look ahead to anticipate future expenses. Things like new tires, car repairs, appliance replacements, insurance costs for teen drivers, and diapers should be accounted for.

Good stewards decide what to buy every month based on yearly sale trends. They plan ahead for those purchases to get the best deals in order to spend wisely.

Good stewards save and invest by researching and seeking wise counsel.

And, after all that planning, good stewards are able to give generously.

Planning takes time, but it’s a necessary ingredient to successful living. We plan our grocery lists, our vacations, and our kids’ sports schedules….so why not our finances too?

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 Family Matters

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FATHERS

We all need encouragement. I do not think this statement is controversial. The effort that life requires needs to be counterbalanced at times with encouragement, the support that inspires renewed confidence and a will to continue. While we all need it, the focus of this article is encouragement for fathers.

Probably the biggest question is how to find encouragement when we need it. Where do we go for it? And David was greatly afflicted: for the people had a mind to stone him, for the soul of every man was bitterly grieved for his sons, and daughters: but David took courage in the Lord his God. (1 Samuel 30:6). The setting of this verse is the account of David and his warriors’ efforts to escape the clutches of King Saul while remaining at the same time in an uneasy alliance with the Philistines. While David and his men were away fighting, the Amalekites took David's city, Ziklag, and burned it with fire. When David and his men returned, they found their wives and children taken captive by the Amalekites. This was a terrible situation indeed.

But David went to the right source for encouragement. He went to the Lord his God. This is the best source of encouragement because in the Lord, a father will find companionship with the one that sticketh closer than a kinsmen (Pro 18:24, also see John 15:15). A father who has his Father (Jehovah God) as his friend will find encouragement and strength during the most difficult times imaginable.

A father is a man with children, and if he is a real man, he is taking responsibility for raising them. Someone said it this way: "A father is a man who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." A Christian father has an even higher goal: he is responsible for raising children that will serve the Lord and raise the next generation for Him. Is that not a real encouragement of itself?

Job is an example of a godly, faithful father. Job 1:1-5 gives us a picture of the life of Job before his great calamity befell him. Verse 4 mentions feasting in their houses every one his day. This is probably a reference to celebrating their respective birthdays. Although it does not explicitly say this, the implication is that Job joined his family in their birthday celebrations. He was a very busy man, but not too busy to join his children in their happiness. He was also a spiritual man with a heart of concern for the spiritual welfare of his children. This is shown by his regular sacrifices for his sons – Thus did Job continually. His spiritual connection with God held strong throughout his trial of faith, even though at times he questioned and challenged God because his finite mind could not conceive the reason for his suffering.

As a father places himself under the lordship of his Father, he will find that encouragement will come from other godly people in his life. Love extended to others from a true heart of compassion will return and encourage the giver. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psa 126:6).

Why do fathers need encouragement? Because fathers carry a heavy responsibility. Both the marriage and the function of the home are directly related to the leadership and vision of fathers. At times, because of the busyness of life and the loads that God calls them to carry, a father can easily allow himself to become distant from his children. But fathers need to be present and give emotional support when needed. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him (Psa 103:13).

We Fathers cannot expect others to fill the places we do not wish or feel adequate to fill. We must do our best, recognizing that God chooses to use inadequate humans to build His Kingdom. Although we should also remember that God uses the brotherhood to supply what we lack, we cannot become careless and begin to assume on this. Each father needs to view fatherhood as a God-given responsibility. Keep persevering even when times get tough. Do not ever give up!

 

A Successful Dad

I may never be as clever,

As my neighbor down the street;

I may never be as wealthy,

As some other men I meet;

I may never have the glory,

That some other men have had;

But I've got to be successful,

As a little fellow's Dad.

There are certain dreams I cherish,

That I'd like to see come true;

There are things I would accomplish,

Ere my working day is through;

But the task my heart is set on,

Is to guide a little lad;

And to make myself successful,

As that little fellow's Dad.

I may never come to glory;

I may never gather gold;

Men may count me as a failure,

When my business life is told;

But if he who follows after,

Shall be manly, I'll be glad;

For I'll know I've been successful,

As that little fellow's Dad.

 

Let us encourage one another. But exhort one another every day (Heb 3:13). A father who finds encouragement can then give encouragement and with the help of his Father God leave a legacy of faithfulness for future generations.

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Lamp and Light Commentary 

"Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths." (Psalms 119:105) 

Genesis 39-50 The Life Of Joseph: Part 2

There in the jail he meets Pharaoh's cup-bearer and thus gets an introduction to Pharaoh. You see how God's plan begins to work out slowly. It's not just that God protected Joseph from the evil that Potiphar and his wife did to him. He made the evil that they did to him to work out God's perfect plan. How would Joseph have ever met pharaoh's butler and got an introduction to Pharaoh if he hadn't gone to that jail!?!

If Joseph could have seen all this at the beginning, he would have been praising the Lord all the while when he was in jail-just as Paul and Silas did later. They could praise the Lord in that Philippians jail, because they had seen the sovereignty of God in the Scriptures. If we study the Scriptures, we too will praise the Lord in every tight situation caused by the evil that others do to us. One day, people may put us in jail too, with many false accusations. I am sure the Egyptians believed all the false stories that had been spread about this man who was the most upright man in Egypt. But that didn't bother Joseph. Many false stories are spread about true servants of God today too. What must we do? Keep quiet. Leave it to God to defend your reputation. He will vindicate you at the right time. Nobody can frustrate God's plan for your life if you honor Him.

I want you to notice how Joseph came into contact with Pharaoh's cup-bearer. Joseph had enough problems of his own to worry about in prison. But he forgot about his own sorrows when he saw two new comers to the prison looking sad one day. Joseph had been appointed by the jailer to be in charge of all the prisoners and so he asked these two prisoners the reason for their looking so dejected (40:7). That was how he interpreted their dreams correctly and thus got an opening through one of them (the cup-bearer to interpret Pharaoh's dream one day. God has amazing ways of opening doors for His servants who are faithful to Him and who can forget their own sorrows and have a concern for others. That is what we learn from this incident. So let's not be taken up with our own sorrows. Let us open our hearts to other needy people in this world.

Finally Joseph stood before Pharaoh. But that was in God's perfect time. The Bible says, “They humbled his feet in fetters: the iron pierced his soul, until his word came. The word of the Lord tried and inflamed him.” (Psalms 105:18-19) It was when during the word of God trying him and inflaming him that he was set free. Not only free physically, but also inwardly. God is always on time. He is never late. There is a specific length of time fixed by God for all our trials. During that time He will test us. When that time is over, He will command freedom for us. But by then, if we have been faithful, iron entered our soul, and we will have become strong in faith. God turns the tables on Satan and uses the very harm that Satan does to us to strength us.

You know the rest of the story, how his brothers were hungry for food because of the famine in the land, and had to come and bow down before Joseph, exactly as God had shown him 20 years earlier. God keeps His Word.

43:1-2: When the famine was severe in the land, Jacob told his sons to go to Egypt and get some food. Whenever there is a famine anywhere, you have to go and get food from those who were wise before the famine. Joseph was wise in the seven years of plenty. He stored up food. Therefore those who were lazy in the times prosperity had to come to him now. The Bible says, “Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom: which, although she hath no guide, nor master, nor captain, provideth her meat for herself in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.” (Proverbs 6:6-8)

Apply this truth spiritually: In times like these, when you have plenty of opportunity to study God's Word and to become spiritually rich thereby, use your time wisely. Then, many years later when you don't have much time to study the Word, because of the pressures of life, you will have plenty of wisdom to fall back on. The wisdom from God's Word that you store up now will not only satisfy you fully, you will also have plenty to share with others as well.

It is so important to study the bible early in life. You do not have to go to a religious university or a seminary to be able to learn the scriptures. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Church together, you can sit at the feet of Jesus, as Mary did, and study, meditate, listen to what He has to say to you. Your younger years can be a time of plenty-because you will have plenty of time as one who has fewer responsibilities then when you are older. Once you get married and have children you won't have that much free time. So if you are lazy in the years when you ave plenty of time, you will regret it in the days of famine. Learn that lesson and apply it to yourself.

Joseph dealt with this brothers in a godly way. In Chapter 45:5 he says, “for God sent me before you.” Again in verse 7, he says, “God sent me before you”. And once again in verse 8: “it was not you that sent me hither, but God...” He was telling his brothers, “It was not you who sold me to the Ishmaelites, it was God. It was not Potiphar's wife who sent me to the jail, it was God.”

Blessed indeed are we if we can see God in all our ways-even in the evil that others do to us.

Have you seen this glorious truth? Don't ever say, “This person is harming me” or “That person is harming me.”. It is God Who allows people to do thing to you.

Joseph prepared a great feast for his brothers who had once sold him into slavery. He also gave the best land in Egypt-the land of Goshen- to theses brothers who had once prepared a pit for him. (46:34)! Such is the attitude of a man of God.

We also see the tremendous respect that Joseph had for his father (46:29). Even though Joseph was the second ruler n the world, he went out to meet his father and showed him respect. A godly man will always respect and honor his parents.

We now see Jacob in the closing years of his life as a prophet of God. In Chapter 47:10 he blesses Pharaoh, the greatest ruler in the world, ad then he blesses his own sons. Joseph brings his two sons, Manasseh's and Ephraim to Jacob and says, “Put you right hand on Manasseh's head (the older boy) and your left hand on Ephraim's (the younger one).” But Jacob doesn't do that. He crosses his hands and blesses the younger above the elder. His eyes were also dim now (like his father Isaac's had been). But Jacob had spiritual vision, unlike his father who had lived a comfortable life.

It is through trials that God sharpens our spiritual vision.

Jacob was the first man prophecy about the coming of Christ. He tells Judah his son, that the Lion of Judah would come through his seed and would rule (49:9-10)

In 50:20, we hear Joseph saying words similar to what Paul says in Romans 8. “You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good.” This verse is the Romans 8:28 of the Old Testament. God makes all things work together for good to them that love Him.

Thus we come to the end of this wonderful book of beginnings – Genesis. Let us look now at the last verse of the book. Genesis began with the words, “In the beginning God” but it ends with the words, “a coffin in Egypt". This is the result of man's sin. But from that coffin in Egypt, God brought forth a wonderful redemption for fallen man!

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Books to feed your faith!

 

Examination of Conscience for Adults
$7.95

This is an excellent examination of conscience, focusing on a different virtue each month of the year. January is Faith February is Hope March is Charity or the Love of God April is proper Reverence for God May covers the positive aspects of Love of Neighbor June covers the negative aspects of Love of Neighbor July is on Justince August discusses Chastity September covers Temperance October covers Obedience November covers Meekness and finally December covers Humility After each instruction is a prayer to be said each day of the month. This is followed by an examination of conscience, where the mortal and venial sins against he virtue are considered. This section is followed by a practical lists of suggestions to help in the practice of virtue. This book sis excellent for the Catholic who is serious about becoming a saint.

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The Sorrows of Mary
$7.99

WHO can have a heart so hard that it will not melt on hearing of a most lamentable event which once happened in the world? There was a noble and holy mother who had but one only Son; and he was the most amiable that could be imagined, innocent, virtuous, beautiful, and most loving towards his mother; so much so, that he never had caused her the least displeasure, but always had showed her all respect, obedience, and affection. Hence the mother had placed on this Son all her earthly affections. Now what happened? It happened that this Son, through envy, was falsely accused by his enemies and the judge, although he knew and confessed his innocence, yet, that he might not offend his enemies, condemned him to an infamous death, precisely as they had requested him to do. And this poor mother had to suffer the affliction of seeing that amiable and beloved Son so unjustly taken from her, in the flower of his age, by a barbarous death; for he was made to die in torment, drained of his blood before her own eyes in a public place, upon an infamous cross. Devout souls, what do you say? Is this case and this unhappy mother worthy of compassion? Already you know of whom I speak. This Son so cruelly slain was our loving Redeemer, Jesus, and his mother was the Blessed Virgin Mary, who, for love of us, was willing to see him offered up to the divine justice by the barbarity of men. This great pain, then, which Mary suffered for us a pain which was more than a thousand deaths, merits our compassion and gratitude. And if we can return nothing else for so much love, at least let us for a little time today stop to consider the severity of the suffering by which Mary became queen of martyrs; for her great martyrdom exceeded in suffering that of all the martyrs being, in the first place the longest martyrdom; and in the second place, the greatest martyrdom. This comes mainly from 'The Glories of Mary' by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri with additions from the Raccolta and other pious sources at the end.

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Catechism of Saint Pius X
$14.95

The Fathers of the Council of Trent showed at a very early date that they were satisfied with none of the existing works, and that they were fully alive to the need and necessity of preparing an authoritative Catechism. The realisation of their desire, however, was retarded for several years by events over which they had little control; and when the work was finally taken in hand another idea prevailed, resulting in the publication of a manual for the use of the clergy, and not, as originally suggested, a Catechism for children and uninstructed adults.Of the countless Catechisms that continued to appear, two — those of Bellarmine and Canisius — have steadily held their ground ever since, and to a large extent have served as the models of nearly an subsequent compilations of the kind. The influence of Canisius, however, has on the whole been limited to Germany; whereas Bellarmine's Catechism , which was written by command of Pope Clement VIII in 1597, has been copied in almost every other country in the world. At an early date it was translated into Arabic, Latin, Modern Greek, French, Spanish, German, English, and Polish. It had the warm approbation of Clement VIII, who prescribed it for use in the Papal States; of Urban VIII, who directed it to be adopted in all the Eastern missions; of Innocent XIII and Benedict XIV; particularly of the very important Council of all Italy, held at Rome, in 1725, which made it obligatory in all the dioceses of the peninsula; and finally of the Vatican Council which indicated it as the model for a proposed universal Catechism.Though Bellarmine's Catechism was largely followed as a model all over the world, yet, owing to the modifications introduced in diocesan editions, it came to pass in the course of time that almost every diocese had its own Catechism, differing in many respects from the Catechisms of other dioceses.The obvious inconvenience of this bewildering multiplicity of Catechisms occupied the attention of the Fathers of the Vatican Council, the great majority of whom were agreed as to the desirability of having a uniform small Catechism for the faithful all over the world. Early during the sittings of the Council, forty-one of the assembled Fathers devoted six sessions (February 10 to February 22) to an examination of the question; and the report which they drew up occupied the attention of the whole Council during the sittings of April 29 and 30. The question being put to a vote on May 4, an immense majority was found to be in favour of the compilation of a small uniform Catechism, to be compiled in Latin, translated into every language, and made obligatory in every diocese. But the approach of the Italian troops towards the walls of Rome brought the Council to an untimely end and there was no time to promulgate the constitution on the proposed uniform Catechism, so that it has not the force of law.The idea, however, has never been lost sight of. During the sitting of the first Catechetical Congress in 1880, the then Bishop of Mantua (later St. Pius X) proposed that the Holy Father be petitioned to arrange for the compilation of a simple, plain, brief, and popular Catechism for uniform use all over the world. Shortly after his elevation to the Chair of Peter, Pius X at once set about realising, within certain limits, his own proposal of 1880, by prescribing a uniform Catechism — the Compendium of Christian Doctrine — for use in the dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Rome, at the same time indicating that it was his earnest desire to have the same manual adopted all over Italy. The text selected was, with slight modifications, that which had been adopted for some years by the united hierarchy of Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia, and Tuscany.

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Memories of a Guardian Angel
$16.95

THESE Memoirs are a gallery of paintings in which is brought into view the Catholic doctrine on the ministry of Guardian Angels. An Angel here tells what were his duties and his impressions from the moment in which a soul was intrusted to him, to that in which she took her place at his side in glory. We see at a glance, what this best of friends has done for us in the past, is doing for us now, and will do for us in the future. May the reading of these pages excite the gratitude of hearts that receive so many benefits, and lead them to correspond with these more faithfully! This is the end which the Author had in view.

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The Funny Pharmacy

A joyful mind maketh age flourishing: a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones. - Proverbs 17:22

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Toasted Buckwheat Tabouli Salad

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 cup kasha (toasted buckwheat groats)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced, or to taste
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
6 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 lemon, juiced
1 pinch dried mixed herbs

Directions
1. Rinse buckwheat groats. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, sprinkle in the buckwheat groats, and simmer until buckwheat is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions and garlic until onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Lightly toss cucumber, parsley, mint, lemon juice, and mixed herbs in a large salad bowl until thoroughly combined; stir in cooked buckwheat and onion mixture.

  

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Vegetable-Loaded Potato Stew

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
3 ½ cups vegetable broth
3 cups (1-inch) potato chunks
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried cilantro, or to taste
½ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped white onion
¼ cup finely chopped leek
¼ cup finely chopped carrot
¼ cup finely chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, minced

Directions
1. Combine vegetable broth, potatoes, salt, oregano, parsley, cilantro, and pepper in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Bring to a boil; cook until potatoes start to soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in garlic.
4. Add red bell pepper, onion, leek, carrot, and celery; simmer until potatoes are very tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes more.

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Video sermons and instructions: Timeless timely truths for living the Faith

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Vatican In Exile Podcasts

Family Theater

Family Theater was a program created to promote family unity and each week saw a drama illustrating the importance of family life and prayer. The main reason for the success of this series was undoubtedly due to the numerous Hollywood stars that participated. 

Cast: Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Shirley Temple Director: Fred MacKaye, Dave Young, Joseph Mansfield, Richard Sanville, Jaime del Valle, Mel Williamson, Robert O’Sullivan, John Kelley Producer: Father Patrick Peyton, Bob Longenecker Host: Father Patrick Peyton Writer: True Boardman , Father Patrick Peyton Announcer:Tony LaFrano

 

Ranger Bill

Ranger Bill was a Christian radio adventure serial, and aimed at the younger generation. This turned out to be one of the most successful radio broadcasts, and with an amazing longevity of over twelve years. The very first fifteen minute episode was aired on October 2, 1950, but this later changed to a half hour episode, beginning May 14, 1954 and running right through until 1962.

Catechism Corner

Catechizing with a fresh perspective. Using the Holy Scriptures and the Catechism of the Council of Trent as foundational bases.

Lamp and Light Bible Study

Lamp and Light Bible Study is not a ‘theological’ study but a ‘life application’ study.

Our in house Priest will show that every single book of the Bible is interesting and has a message for us today. It deals with key aspects of the Christian life and speaks more to the heart than to the head.

 

 

Sunday Sermon

WARNING! You may hear Sunday Sermons, that could cause permanent life changes by stepping on your toes! Including Sunday Sermons from Saint Alphonsus, Saint John Vianney and others!...

 

 

 

The Ave Maria Hour

The Ave Maria Hour first aired on April 26, 1935, on radio station WOR. It was presented by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement to help the humanitarian work of St. Christopher’s Inn, and during that first show, Servant of God Father Paul of Graymoor talked about the charity involved in caring for the men of the Inn. In 1937, it was estimated that nearly 1 million listeners were tuning in each week, which resulted in large pilgrimages coming to Graymoor.

The popular Ave Maria Hour continued until 1969, encouraging and entertaining listeners. It was heard on more than 350 stations as well as on the Armed Forces Radio Service. Recorded in a studio in New York City and on the grounds of Graymoor, these dramatizations of the lives of the saints, stories from the Gospel, and inspiring accounts of faith received many awards for religious radio programs sponsored by the American Exhibition of Educational Radio and Television programs of Ohio State University. It received the Golden Bell Award in 1959, presented by Ed Sullivan on live television.

The Bible In Living Sound

 THE BIBLE IN LIVING SOUND, the original dramatized audio Bible stories . . . really gets kids excited about the Bible! These 450 spiritually enthralling stories, re-enacted with music and lively sound effects, leave impressions of lasting beauty and wonder, putting the listener in the Red Sea at the crossing, beside David as he confronts Goliath, with Mary and Joseph in the stable, and there at the foot of the Cross. These stunning dramatizations captivate listeners of all ages as they are enriched by visualizing the values taught in God's Word. Listeners want to hear these audio Bible stories again and again.

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Sickle Cell Anemia and Other “Good” Mutations of Evolution

The marvelous ability of all living things to reproduce themselves after their kind is one of the most distinctive properties of life. This reproductive ability depends in part on a vast collection of precise genetic instructions called genes (about 25,000 in humans) that reside in every cell of each living organism. It is believed that these genes provide the instructions necessary for not only the assembly and function of each cell, but also for all the organs and even the entire body! A complete set of these instructions is stored in the chromosomes, inside the nucleus of the cell.

The survival of every living species depends on its ability to pass on its precious genetic instructions, from generation to generation, without significant alteration. First, all of the genetic instructions must be precisely duplicated and passed on by the germ cells to enable the birth of each new individual. Then, from the very first cell of a new individual (a fertilized egg), the genetic instructions must be accurately duplicated for the subsequent production of every cell that makes up the whole organism—about 70 trillion cells (of several hundred different kinds) in the case of our own body! This process must continue throughout life in order to support growth and repair, as well as to replace cells that are continually dying. The red blood cells of our body, for example, are being produced at the rate of about two million per second, to replace older cells, which are dying at the same rate!

If a species is to survive, the frequent duplication of its genetic instructions must occur with great precision. There are, in fact, several error-checking mechanisms in living cells that help to ensure the accuracy of their gene duplication. But even if copy errors are avoided, errors can still occur when the cell is not dividing or reproducing. We call such errors that creep into the genetic instructions of a cell mutations. There are several kinds of chemicals, viruses, and radiations that are known to cause mutations. Ultraviolet light from the sun, for example, can cause mutations in our skin, resulting in a benign form of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma. Cancer is so closely associated with mutations that the terms carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and mutagenic (mutation-causing) are essentially synonymous. Nonetheless, evolutionists insist that some mutations are beneficial and lead to the gradual improvement of a species!

Chance mutations amount to random changes in the highly complex and integrated genetic instructions of the cell. Such changes would be no more likely to improve a living cell (or organism) than would a random interchange of connections in a television set be likely to improve the picture. Although some mutations have no noticeable effect, many are harmful and even fatal. Mutations are so harmful, in fact, that the very survival of all living organisms (from bacteria to man) depends on a complex biochemical mechanism in each cell that identifies mutations as they occur—and repairs them! This marvelous mutation repair mechanism involves an integrated sequence of special enzymes that actually cut out the erroneous (mutant) parts of each gene, and then splice in correct patches. The whole field of “genetic engineering” is based on the discovery, and use, of these naturally occurring “cutting” and “splicing” enzymes.

The importance of mutation repair to human life can be appreciated by examining what happens when it doesn’t work properly. There is a human disease called xeroderma pigmentosum, which results from a single defect (itself a mutation) in the complex mutation repair process. This is a hereditary disease in which the skin and other tissues react in a hypersensitive way to any form of radiant energy. When people suffering from this disorder are exposed to sunlight or x-rays, for example, they develop progressive degenerative changes (more mutations), which lead to cancer, including the often fatal malignant melanoma.

Regrettably, some mutations manage to escape even the normally functioning repair process, and these accumulate throughout life.

Some scientists have proposed that aging and death are the result of such unrepaired mutations. It is hard to imagine that anyone could find something good to say about unrepaired mutations—except evolutionists. Evolutionists, you see, believe that mutations (and indeed death itself) are absolutely essential for the chance evolution of all living organisms, including man. The reason for this, as evolutionist Theodosius Dobzhansky points out, is that “the process of mutation is the only known source of the new materials of genetic variability, and hence evolution” (American Scientist 45:385). Thus, evolutionist Carl Sagan could say in his book, The Cosmic Connection, “We (humans) are the products of a long series of biological accidents.”

Are biological accidents (mutations) up to the task that evolutionists claim for them? Are there any known examples of unquestionably “beneficial” mutations? Ironically, the primary textbook example of a “good” mutation is one that causes the disease sickle cell anemia. This mutation of blood hemoglobin is considered “good” because people who have it (and survive it) are more resistant to the disease malaria. The symptoms of this “good” mutation include acute attacks of abdominal and joint pain, ulcers on the legs, defective red blood cells, and severe anemia—often leading to death. One can only imagine what the “bad” mutations are like! No wonder that H. J. Mueller, who won the Nobel Prize for his work on mutations, said:

“It is entirely in line with the accidental nature of mutations that extensive tests have agreed in showing the vast majority of them detrimental to the organism in its job of surviving and reproducing— good ones are so rare we can consider them all bad” (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 11:331).

The unquestioning faith of evolutionists in the occurrence and beneficial effects of “good” mutations is sustained despite overwhelming evidence against it. In his book Genetics and the Origin of Species, Dobzhansky admits that mutations arising both in the laboratory and in natural populations typically produce deterioration, disease, and monstrosities. He even concedes that “such changes it would seem, can hardly serve as evolutionary building blocks.” Yet in his book Mankind Evolving, Dobzhansky insists, “This is not inconsistent with the recognition that useful mutations did occur in the evolutionary line which produced man, for otherwise obviously, mankind would not be here.” Such childlike and unquestioning faith is not found in all of Christendom. Think about it: chance mutations or intelligent design—which explanation of the origin of the incredible integrated complexity of life requires the greater faith?

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Catechism Catch-Up

Spiritual Preparation For Motherhood

 

The God given privilege of bearing children is a high calling, noble work, and great opportunity. Upon mothers, rests one of the greatest responsibilities in the world.

 

When God entrusts a new precious soul into your arms you are given the awesome responsibility of leading that soul back to Him. Unless that is your goal, you have no right to bring them into the world.

Many are mothers already and we know that in motherhood there is no such thing as 'off duty.' A mothers head may be full of trouble, and her hands full of work and yet she needs to be inspiring her children to choose the good and true by her own good example.

Who should be preparing for motherhood?

Once during a conversation a woman asked, “How soon should a young mother start praying for her child?” An old family physician happened to be in the group, and he replied, “Twenty years before it is born.”

Are we preparing the prospective mothers among us for the awesome responsibility of motherhood?

Who are the prospective mothers? Pause a minute and thank about that little 3 year old girl that was born to you. Think also of your school-girl at home tonight or your teenage girls already beginning to blossom into young womanhood. How about your daughter that is dating, engaged, or newly married? Are you preparing them? Have you prepared them for the role of motherhood into which God may call them? Young girls, are you familiar with the duties of motherhood? Are you taking opportunities to learn what working with children is like on a day after day basis?

I know of only one sure way to discover how mothers can know whether they are preparing their daughters for motherhood. And that is by looking into the mirror of God's Word to discover what God expects of mothers. Ezra 7:10, 8:21 says, “And I proclaimed there a fast by the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before the Lord our God, and might ask of him a right way for us and for our children.” May we also search the Word with openness and determination to do whatever the Word says and to teach the same to our little ones. It's the only way the home will survive in this day when Satan is determined to destroy God's beautiful plan for families. We can only grow closer to God as we are willing to accept God's Word exactly as He gave it through His written Word and through His Church.

Why is it necessary to be prepared for motherhood? Most girls become wives and mothers. To bring other beings into the world makes one tremendously responsible before God for their care and training. Each mother leaves her imprint in the world whether for good or bad. Can so great a task be looked upon lightly and entered in upon with little or no preparation?

If a person knew he was to be a teacher or a doctor, would he put off all thought and preparation for his life’s work until he was ready to begin? Do our Priest wait till they're behind the pulpit to prepare for a sermon? How much preparation do our young girls have before that moment when their firstborn is placed into their arms?

Motherhood and a good mother do not necessarily go together.

Giving birth to a baby does not transform one into a saint. We know that is true by the thousands of babies that are born today into the worst of circumstances or killed before they're even born.

God has fitted girls by nature to find fulfillment and satisfaction in motherhood. Many years of hard work and preparation need to come between her chosen calling and her success in mothering.

One cannot be totally prepared for something they've never experienced, but the more prepared you are the better things will go and frustrations can be kept to a minimum simply because you knew what to expect and what would be expected of you.

Motherhood is a role in which one will either become more emotionally and spiritually mature or else become frustrated and resentful depending on one's attitudes and priorities.

How then can our daughters be prepared for motherhood? We must first of all discover what God's divine plan for women is.

The world says, “Have a career and earn lots of money. There's no satisfaction in the domestic role as wife. Housekeeping and tending children is boring. It takes lots of money these days to live so a woman ought to help ease the husbands load of providing for the family.” Is that a Christian world view?

Since the beginning of time man has be recognized as the provider. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.” Genesis 3:19, was the command given to men not to women. Within men God has created the ability to take the burden of making a living on his shoulders by toiling, sweating, and struggling against the elements and oppositions of life to bring home what is needed for the family he loves. To rob a man of this struggle is to rob him of his manliness.

Men have the inborn need to surpass women as the provider. To have women do just as good or better in the work world, advance to higher positions, and bring home pay checks cause men to feel threatened and the beautiful order of roles in the home is threatened.

More than half of America's homemakers are working outside the home. This business of equal rights has harmed our country in a most definite way. As women become more capable, efficient, and independent, men feel less needed and less of a man. Marriages suffer because men are less tender toward their wives because, you see, it is our dependence on our husbands that helps awaken their feelings of tenderness towards us.

When a woman works outside the home by choice, she tends to lose some of her womanliness and feminine qualities. When women attempt to play a part not intended for them they sacrifice some of their own special beauty and grace.

What then did God say to women? Genesis 3:16 says, “...Thou shalt bring forth children....” 1Timothy 5:14 “I will therefore that the younger should marry, bear children, guide the house.... ” Titus 2:4-5 “That they may teach the young women to be wise, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, sober, having a care of the house, gentle, obedient to their husbands...”

According to these verses God’s will for most young women is to become a wife and mother. Their role is to love their husbands and children, plus taking care of the house. According to these scriptures this is God’s plan for women. Now stop with me a moment and consider.

Are we training our young women to become loving wives and gentle mothers who know how to prepare food and clothing but most of all to be happy and satisfied to fill that role?

In the office, the store, or the factory? Does bagging groceries or programming computers have anything to do with preparing our girls to enjoy homemaking, to keep their spending to a minimum so as to keep within their husbands earnings? Does the noise of machines or the answering of telephones prepare a girl to take time to talk to little children, to understand their needs, to find joy in seeing the freezer fill up with the summer’s harvest in spite of an aching back and stained hands? Does it present a problem for girls who were used to earning $8.00 an hour or more to suddenly work hard all day and sometimes be up part of the night for no pay at all? Is it any wonder that even among our people we have wives and mothers who struggle with the adjustments of marriage and motherhood? Can we expect otherwise if we are failing to follow God’s plan?

Why do we need to send our girls out into the world or away from the home atmosphere to work? Is it really because there’s not enough to do at home? Some mothers get very little help at home from their daughters because they work away full time and need their spare minutes to wash their hair, make new dresses, and get ready for evening activities and weekend dates. Mothers these days need electric dishwashers and sigh exhausted at the end of the day because they are just about as busy as when their children were small.

Maybe if our big girls were more available we could get back to some of the domestic basics like bread baking and homemade foods instead of canned soups and packaged foods. It seems to me that when girls grow up and are able to handle more of the work at home that our middle aged mothers ought to have more time to write letters to those who are lonely, visit shut-ins, and study to teach Catechism lessons.

If a home is blessed with several out-of-school aged girls, what parish is there that has no busy mothers with several little children who would be so glad to have a capable girl to help a day or so a week with her work? Is that a dying art among us? Is working in other homes beneath the dignity of our teenage girls these days? When do we train our young women to be good wives, mothers, and housekeepers? After they are married?

Possibly the best way to prepare our daughters for motherhood is by Mothers in the Parish setting a good example for them.

To you mothers, is there any area you would want them to do better? Make that your goal and by God's help you can grow in that area.

A mother tells the story of how she went into her garden to work one day, and when she looked around she saw her little girl taking long steps. She said, “Nell, what are you doing?” The little girl replied, “I am stepping in your tracks, Mother, and I know if I step in you tracks, I won't get any thorns in my feet.” This mother said that she prayed right there that God would help her to be a true Christian so her boys and girls could follow her to heaven.

How do you respond when things go wrong or someone in the family isn't cooperating? By your example, are the children learning that you raise your voice and explode when you're displeased? Do they gather from your attitudes that children are just a lot of work and being a mother is so frustrating?

Teach them by your example to be gentle and affectionate. We scold them when they fight or are unkind to each other but how often do we compliment them when they play nicely and are kind to each other? When you observe your children being gentle and kind say to them, "I think you'll make a good mama someday because you're so gentle," or "I think you'll be a kind daddy to your children because you are learning to be kind now." What do you suppose a compliment like that does? Of course, it makes them want to do more of what caused you to be pleased with them.

When one couple in a parish had babies that were little, a family came to visit them that had mostly school age children and a few of them were teenagers. Of course, the girls all wanted turns to hold the baby. What was impressive was that the teenage boy also wanted to hold the baby, That boy had learned to show an interest in children and that it is manly to be gentle.

Talk to your children about character traits they should be developing years before they are even thinking about marriage or parenthood. If your children are used to discussing these things on a day by day basis, communication with not be so difficult when they reach the difficult years of adolescence. A girl’s most intimate friend ought to be her mother

Do you mothers allow your children to enjoy the new baby and to observe your care of it when possible? It's a good opportunity to teach our little girls about the joys of motherhood.

I once heard a class of kindergarten children all say what they wanted to be when they grow up. Out of about eight girls several wanted to be nurses or have some other occupations but only one little girl proudly stated, “When I grow up I want to be a mama!” While it is important that our girls understand that God doesn't call all girls to marriage and motherhood, we still should not encourage our daughters to desire a career but rather teach them the danger of it.

The value of mother and daughter working side by side cannot be overestimated. One eight year old girl said, “I always watch my mother fold wash but she never lets me help.” Let's not lose these opportunities for mothers and daughters to work and talk together.

It's important that our children feel loved and needed in order for them to grow up feeling secure.

The responsibilities of parenthood are much easier to face if one has had the security he needed while growing up. Some may say, “Well, isn’t it enough proof that I love my children by washing their clothes and making their meals?” I think that children of all ages need to be told and shown that they are loved. We need to do things with our children not just for them. Love also is shown by rules, boundaries, consistent discipline and correction.

They tell us that there is one thing that will never fully escape from our memory; that is our memories of home. May God help each mother to live tenderly and unselfishly so that their children’s memories of mother, as well as fathers, will be an inspiration to them.

What spiritual qualities of character should young women seek to develop in order to become God-honoring mothers?

The most important quality, it seems to me, is selflessness.

She who is selfish looks always to her own pleasures first and is displeased if her own desires are not met.

We need to remember that the nature of every human is selfish. It is only as our hearts are cleansed, our spirits are broken by falling on the Rock which is Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts that the beauty of Jesus will shine from our life. The only way to victory in any area of our life is death to self. Galatians 5:24 says, “They that are Christ's, have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences.”

Rebellion to your parents, husbands, or any other authority is a sure sign that a mother has not died to self but rather that it is ruling them. What’s wrong when she pouts, speaks crossly, or is so critical that they are hard to live with? Self is not broken if she refuses to take any helpful suggestions from others without justifying themselves.

Motherhood is very demanding. If a girl enters into motherhood being used to doing as she pleases, going where she pleases, whenever she wants to, she is headed for some real frustration. Babies do not care if a mother is tired and would rather sleep. If they are hungry or wet they want to be cared for now. Clothes need to be washed and the next meal planned whether you would rather do something else or not.

Mothers, you do your children a great favor if you will deal with the selfishness your children express while they are still small. Children need to be spanked for disobedience and also for wrong attitudes. If wrong attitudes are not dealt with quickly and firmly the child will become an unhappy person and hard to deal with. Remember, our children are not obedient until they do what they’re told to do, when they’re told to do it, and with a happy heart. Children will find it easier to yield their wills in obedience to God and His Word if their wills have been brought into subjection to obey their parents while young.

Unselfishness expresses itself in sacrifice and servant-hood.

Galatians 5:13 says “...by charity of the spirit serve one another.” Someone has said, “Motherhood is the desire of every wife’s heart and a baby is a dream come true, but sacrifice on and on is a mothers price.”

Especially during a child’s early years, mother’s role is that of a servant. Nine months of waiting for the blessed event are rewarded with interrupted sleep at night, more loads of laundry, constant care, and a loss of one’s freedom. Though motherhood is an area of life which has many trials, there are many rewards, and great blessings to be experienced.

2 Timothy 2:24 “But the servant of the Lord must not strive: but be mild towards all men, apt to teach, patient ” Gentleness, kindness, and patience are more spiritual qualities that every young girl should seek to develop. The mark of a beautiful spirit is unfailing tenderness towards others. Great characters are gentle. They live in a world of peace and love. Love never storms or blusters. Love is never harsh but speaks calmly in a sweet, low voice with touches of courtesy.

Kind words for others always lift and encourage. One should develop the habit of saying nice things about a person under discussion. This indicates a wealth of mind and a gracious considerate heart. In Proverbs 31:26 the ideal woman is said to open her mouth in kindness and her tongue is governed by the law of kindness.

Home is the place to begin showing kindness. What you put into your home now is what you are going to put into your life later. Home is the laboratory where you learn to meet life. If you put thorns in your mothers pillow now, and speak roughly to those you live with today, there will be thorns scattered down the pathway of your life and you will be wounding the feet of those who come near you and you will be tramping on thorns beneath your own feet. The things you put into your home today you are going to put into life after awhile. If you put love, obedience, thoughtfulness, and tender affection you will be a scatterer of gladness and much appreciated by those who know you. She who allows the Spirit to bear the fruit of gentleness in her life refuses to quarrel, argue, or speak sharply to her brothers and sisters or anyone else.

The girl who is learning day by day to be a good daughter at home and a good sister to the younger children is also learning how to, in time, make a good wife and mother.

Every truly beautiful character is at its best at home. Little children quickly learn to love and prefer those older children who are gentle and kind. I've observed children who adore the youth who will take the time to hold them, read to them, look into their eyes, and listen to their childish chatter.

Do you include children in your life, girls? Maybe it's little brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, a Catechism class, or the little children at your parish. Each girl should learn to love little children and make them her friends. Teaching school provides one with a good opportunity to learn to relate to little children.

Someone has said, “Every girl at eleven and twelve should be a little partner to her mother; she should enter into all of the home life and plans with a gleeful zest and gladness. From thirteen to sixteen a girl should be a little sister to her mother, entering into the home life and plans with a smile. At sixteen a girl should begin to mother her mother, giving her those touches of thoughtful kindness that will let her know that now, after the years of pouring forth she is receiving beautiful returns.”

You teenage girls are coming to some of your last years at home. Get busy and be the love and sunshine makers in your home. Now is the time for you to return loving kindness and helpfulness for all the sacrifice and care your parents have invested in you. Your love, obedience, and cooperation can make these years some of the sweetest your parents have ever known.

Conviction and faith are also necessary spiritual qualities in becoming a God-honoring mother. In order to have faith unfeigned as did mother Eunice and grandmother Lois we need to spend time each day in Bible reading and prayer, seeking to develop strength of character.

May God bless the dear mothers-to-be, and help them to get ready for the work that will be theirs.

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Living Catholic:

The Signs of Slipping Away from God’s Truth

It is increasingly apparent that we are living in a reprobate culture, a culture that has “changed the truth of God into a lie” (Romans 1:25). Ever since his insidious lies to Eve in the Garden of Eden, Satan has been seeking to turn men from truth to error. Jesus called Satan “he is a liar, and the father thereof” (John 8:44). 

Truth is an essential attribute of God. By contrast, Satan is inherently deceptive. He hates truth. Satan offers false substitutes for that which is true and good. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians in Rome, gave them ten important warning signs that mark a reprobate culture. It is remarkable how these ten descriptions in Romans 1:21–28, written two thousand years ago, are so clearly seen in our own degenerate culture today. Let’s consider each warning so we may be alert to the subtle slipping away from God’s truth to deception and lies.

1. Human achievement is exalted instead of Divine power.
   “Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God” (Romans 1:21). Our humanistic culture denies the very existence of a loving Creator and instead glorifies the technological achievements of man mre than the marvelous displays of God’s glory that surround us.

2. Pride is paraded instead of thanksgiving.
   Also, according to Romans 1:21, “or given thanks. . . .” Thanksgiving springs from a spirit of humility that acknowledges that God is the source of all blessings. A haughty pride arrogantly gives thanks to no one but demands rights and privileges as though they were deserved.

3. Vanity is pursued instead of satisfaction. 
   Paul warned in Romans 1:21 that another sign of falling away from God is “but [They] became vain in their thoughts. . . .” Rejecting the facets of life that bring real satisfaction, such as productive work, the traditional nuclear family, stability, and security, our modern culture instead pursues vain imaginations and cheap, lurid entertainment—just as the pagan Romans did.

4. Darkness is loved instead of light.
   According to Romans 1:21, “and their foolish heart was darkened.” Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:19 that “men loved darkness rather than light.” We, similar to the Romans, live in a culture of darkness. Those who reject truth and embrace sin and lies love the cover of darkness because they foolishly believe it hides their wicked deeds.

5. Folly is admired instead of wisdom.
   “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). Academia has focused on being “smart” or “learned” about the subjects it invents and prefers rather than in the subjects that are true and right before God. This has caused our institutions of higher learning to abound with educated fools. Modern education, with all of its “woke” ideologies, gender studies, and diversity education, blindly calls folly “wisdom” and calls wisdom “folly.” 

6. The physical is honored instead of the spiritual.
   Paul further reminded the Christians regarding man’s depravity: “And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man” (Romans 1:23). Man has always preferred a religion that he can touch and feel. So is it no surprise that music in churches is increasingly shifting from the spiritual to the physical? Satan entices the senses of touch, sight, and sound to lure God’s people into a trap, as they think that what they feel is right when it is only a delusion.

7. Uncleanness is displayed instead of purity.
   “Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness” (Romans 1:24). Lust begins in the heart. But in a society without the moral foundation of God’s truth, uncleanness breaks out from the sin-darkened heart and is openly displayed in books, speech, entertainment, and in public displays of impropriety. A society of uncleanness is a shameless society.

8. Lies are embraced instead of truth.
   According to Romans 1:25, Paul warned that uncleanness led to men who “changed the truth of God into a lie . . . .” In a reprobate society, good is called “evil” and evil is called “good.” Historical, Catholic and Biblical truth are mocked, disputed, and cast aside as myths and lies. Modern lies are taught by our government and religious educational system, and the minds of the young are perverted. This was the case in ancient Rome, and it is the case in modern civilization as well. 

9. Creation is worshipped instead of the Creator.
   Furthermore, “. . . [they] worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:25). A denial of God as Creator of the universe is one of the chief marks of an apostate society in denial of reality. Any man who convinces himself that the complexity of human life evolved by blind chance from nothing is deceived. Our modern civilization worships nature while denying the God Who created everything from nothing. 

10. Vile affections are cultivated instead of pious affections.
    Finally, Paul warned the Christians of what would happen if man refused God’s truth: “For this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature. And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error.” (Romans 1:26–27). The final mark of a reprobate culture is the perversion of what God created as good into something that is vile and abominable. This Scriptural passage is about the perversity of ancient Rome, but our modern society has now fully embraced this moral perversity. Vile affections are paraded shamelessly in our streets today.
    
    As Christian men and women, we must stand resolutely, as did the Christians of the early Church, upon the absolute, inerrant truth of God’s eternal Word. God Himself is truth! Will you boldly affirm the later words of Paul in the same epistle: “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4)?

To Learn More Principles For Life Go To: Resources: Principles of Life

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IN MEMORIAM

Born in Catarman, Northern Samar on February 26, 1953. A graduate of the Jesuit run , San Jose Seminary in Quezon City. And belongs to Diocese of Balanga, Bataan that time under Bishop Guevarra. He was ordained a Roman Catholic Deacon ( Novus Ordo ) for 20 years. The reason for the long time to be ordained a priest was his refusal to be under his uncle, Bishop Angel T. Hobayan that time incumbent bishop of Catarman. Around 70's , several priests and nuns were influenced by Liberation Theology and later became New People's Army and Rev.Alfredo Hobayan did not want to be identified with them.

Reverend Hobayan was later ordained a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Philippines by Bishop Senen Bordeos. This Eastern Orthodox Church which was from Russian Orthodox outside Russia ( Rocor) and the Igreja Catholica Apostolica Brasileira ( ICAB , founded by Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa in 1945 ) merged. Father Hobayan, as he was popularly known to friends and parishioners served the areas of Novaliches, Quezon City. Under Bishop Joseph V Galaroza, He also served as Vicar General and formator where in Rev. Rogelio Martinez ( now Pope Michael II ) that time ( 2002 ) was his subordinate. Martinez later on became his assistant priest in 2003 at Church of the Resurrection, Dona Faustina, Novaliches, Quezon City.

Father Hobayan was ordained a bishop in December 8, 2008 in Can- Avid, Northern Samar by Bishop Tinga of Catholic Church of the East. In 2014, Bishop Alfredo Hobayan became an Auxiliary Bishop to Archbishop Rogelio Martinez of Catholic Charismatic Church. Pope Michael I has accepted and reconciled Archbishop Martinez in February 14, 2020 into the Catholic Church and when Pope Michael I died in August 2, 2022 , Archbishop Martinez succeeded him on July 29, 2023 and took the name Michael II.

Bishop Alfredo Hobayan was the one who crowned Pope Michael II in October 28, 2023 and in December 8, 2023 , Pope Michael II has installed Most Rev. Alfredo Chicogo Hobayan as Archbishop of San Jose Del Monte Bulacan at the Miraculous Medal Church in Rodriguez, Rizal.

February 11, 2024 , Archbishop Hobayan died in Cavite at the Age of 71 due to Kidney failure.

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• Please pray and consider donating to the cause of the forthcoming visit of His Holiness Pope Michael II to the United States.
• Your prayers and support are asked for the House of Prayer in Topeka Kansas.
• Your prayers and support are asked for in a practical way for our domestic missionary work: for traveling expenses to offer mass in other states as Society of Saints Paul And Silas (SSPS) missionary priest travel. Can you help?
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• Be sure to keep St. Helen Catholic Mission in your prayers. Why not go on over to the site now and see what they have to offer and how you might be able to help!
• Please continue to pray for the repose of the soul of the Holy Father, Pope Michael I.
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• Let us remember that the Church runs on prayer. Without your prayers, God will not work in hearts and souls to bring them to a knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:4)

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