What is happening to our country? - The Washington Post

What is happening to our country? - The Washington Post: Shootings and mail bombs are not what America is about.

Netanyahu’s son removes anti-Semitic meme from Facebook following outcry - The Washington Post

Netanyahu’s son removes anti-Semitic meme from Facebook following outcry - The Washington Post: The image appears to be a local take on a classic anti-Semitic meme suggesting that Jews control the United States. It has appeared widely on extreme alt-right websites.

Anti-Semitism, Racism, Misogyny, Islamaphobia, Homophobia are the Devil’s Handiwork. | Rebecca Hamilton

Anti-Semitism, Racism, Misogyny, Islamaphobia, Homophobia are the Devil’s Handiwork. | Rebecca Hamilton: I may not write specifically about the latest mass shooting. I’ve been dealing with the tragic death of a close family friend, a young person who should have had their life ahead of them, and that makes this terrible tragedy too painful.  I am so sorry for the lives that were taken Saturday. It echoes the shooting in

Is the Vatican getting ready to censor Catholic sites online? — UPDATED | Deacon Greg Kandra

Is the Vatican getting ready to censor Catholic sites online? — UPDATED | Deacon Greg Kandra: One passage in the final document of the recently-completed Synod of Bishops is raising eyebrows:  Is this a bad idea? Is it (as one site claims) "Soviet-style censorship"? Well, in theory, it doesn't sound all that different from the time-honored practice of issuing a "Nihil Obstat" or "Imprimatur" on a published

You Must Not Hurt People | Mary Pezzulo

You Must Not Hurt People | Mary Pezzulo: I want to be absolutely clear about something. It is a sin to hurt people. There are many issues we can disagree on and it's not a matter of sin, but not this one of them. It simply is a sin to deliberately hurt people. If you have, with reasonable thought and not through paranoia, come to the rational

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection October 31, 2018

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 13:22-30

Friends, our Gospel for today features a question that people have been asking from time immemorial and that they still ask today: "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" Heaven, hell, salvation, damnation, who will be in and who will be out? We have remained fascinated with these questions for a long time. Here’s how I would recommend we approach this issue. The doctrine concerning hell is a corollary of two more fundamental truths—namely, that God is love and that we are free. Love (willing the good of the other) is all that God is. He doesn’t go in and out of love; he doesn’t change his mind; he’s not loving to some and not to others. He is indeed like the sun that shines on the good and bad alike, in the words of Jesus. No act of ours can possibly make him stop loving us. In this regard, he is like the best of parents. However, we are free. We are not God’s marionettes, and hence we can say yes or we can say no to his love. If we turn toward it, we open like a sunflower; if we turn from it, we get burned. Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 481 Reading 1 Eph 6:1-9 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not men, knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. Masters, act in the same way towards them, and stop bullying, knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with him there is no partiality. Gospel Lk 13:22-30 Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

The Smoke of Satan: an excerpt from the introduction | Catholic Culture

The Smoke of Satan: an excerpt from the introduction | Catholic Culture: The following, an excerpt from the opening chapter of my new book, The Smoke of Satan, will give readers an idea of what the book holds in store.


In Jerusalem, just outside the walled Old City, stands the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu: St. Peter as the Cock Crows. Catholic churches are

The Letter: One Year Later - The Catholic Thing

The Letter: One Year Later - The Catholic Thing: Thomas G. Weinandy revisits his letter to Pope Francis on its first anniversary. The fire of the Holy Spirit burns, but its burning brings us to holiness.

Can Trump end birthright citizenship?

Can Trump end birthright citizenship?

How to have a Catholic Halloween

How to have a Catholic Halloween

Shifting tectonic plates in Eastern Christianity – Catholic World Report

Shifting tectonic plates in Eastern Christianity – Catholic World Report

By the Numbers: 4 Key Points About Birthright Citizenship

By the Numbers: 4 Key Points About Birthright Citizenship

The Dodgers congratulated the Red Sox in an ad and gifted the Sox a few mementos from Game 5

The Dodgers congratulated the Red Sox in an ad and gifted the Sox a few mementos from Game 5: The Dodgers packed up home plate and the pitching rubber from the deciding game and gifted them to the Sox.

Fr. Warren's Week Reflection: The Blind Man

The Blind Man In our Gospel today we have a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, and he hears that Jesus is walking by. This is his chance, perhaps his only chance, to speak with this miracle worker. So he calls out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” But instead of taking the beggar by the hand and leading him to Jesus, the crowd yells at him, and tells him to keep quiet. They shove him away. Only one person comes to his aid: Jesus Himself. When Jesus heard the people shouting at the beggar, He stopped. What does He do? What would you do? Go over? No, Jesus tells those who were keeping the beggar away to call him over to Him, and only then did the people change, only then did they help the unfortunate man. Who was truly blind? The beggar or the followers of Jesus? Blindness is difficult to cure, but it is also difficult to diagnose. One man brushes his young daughter away when she wants to show him her school work, “Can’t you see I am trying to watch the game? Go bother your mother.” Another father is so overwhelmed by his love for his daughter that he writes a song in her honor. It is called, “Isn’t she lovely.” He writes she is truly the angels best, we have been heaven blessed. I can’t believe what God has done, isn’t she lovely? His name is Stevie Wonder, the blind singer. Which man truly sees his daughter? Which man is blind? A man ignores his wife. She wants to know if he still thinks she is attractive. She wants to talk to him, and wants him to listen to her. His response is, have you washed my golf shirt yet? Another husband is so overwhelmed by his love for his wife that he writes her a love song. You are so beautiful to me. You are everything I hoped for, you are everything I need. You are so beautiful to me. That song was written by another blind artist, Ray Charles. Which man truly sees his wife? Which man is blind? A woman sits in church during mass: the word of God is spoken; the Bread of Life is broken. She is thinking, I wonder what I should fix for lunch. Just look at that woman’s coat, I bet it is not real fur. Another woman sat in church. She was blind from birth Her name is Fanny Crosby. She later wrote these words about the mass: “Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight.” Which of these women truly experienced worship? In those three examples, who were the truly blind? And what kind of blindness is hardest to heal? Some just choose to be blind. Why? Perhaps, because you can get used to the darkness, just as you can get used to the light. It has been said that the moment of death is not extinguishing the light, but rather it is putting out the lamp. Why? Because dawn has come. In our Gospel the dawn comes to blind Bartimaeus, ending his long night of darkness. Bartimaeus did not sit quietly and wait for things to happen. He boldly called out for Jesus. In our personal daily quest for the light, be inspired by Bartimaeus. Persistently call to an ever-passing Jesus. Many of us have blind spots: blind to prejudice; blind to what goes on in the company we work for; blind to the needs of others, especially those closest to us. Remember the request of the blind man: Lord, let me see. That is a prayer that we might all want to whisper now and again. Let me see the things I need to see, the people I have hurt, the wrongs I have done. Let me look on those who feel rejected by society and by our Church. Let me see Your goodness to me. Let me experience Your love for me. At all times, in all places, in all situations, Lord, let me see. Yours in Christ, Fr. Bob Warren, SA

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Netanyahu Chooses Trump over U.S. Jews…Again – LobeLog

Netanyahu Chooses Trump over U.S. Jews…Again – LobeLog: by Mitchell Plitnick On Saturday, Robert Bowers, a right-wing gunman strode into a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh and began shooting. When he was finished, he’d murdered 11 pe…

Housing Policy Reform: Economic Policy Challenges Facing California’s Next Governor | Hoover Institution

Housing Policy Reform: Economic Policy Challenges Facing California’s Next Governor | Hoover Institution: California is ranked forty-ninth in housing affordability. According to Zillow, the median home value in California in July 2018 was $541,800, compared to the national median price of $218,000, which is a premium of about 150 percent over the national average. Only Hawaii and Washington, DC, have higher median home values than California.

62 Percent Of All U.S. Jobs Do Not Pay Enough To Support A Middle Class Life – End Of The American Dream

62 Percent Of All U.S. Jobs Do Not Pay Enough To Support A Middle Class Life – End Of The American Dream: We just got more evidence that the middle class in America is rapidly disappearing. According to a shocking new study that was just released, 62 percent of all jobs in the United States do not pay enough to support a middle class life. That means that "the American Dream" is truly out of reach for most of the country

Military Intelligence Spending Just Posted Biggest Spike in a Decade - Defense One

Military Intelligence Spending Just Posted Biggest Spike in a Decade - Defense One: With an 18 percent increase this year, the Pentagon’s $22 billion intelligence tab is rising faster than civilian spy agencies.

Comey, Rosenstein, McCabe All Named In FISA Memo, First Leak Reveals | Zero Hedge

Comey, Rosenstein, McCabe All Named In FISA Memo, First Leak Reveals | Zero Hedge: A controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuse specifically names FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein along with former FBI Director James Comey.

USGS: Yellowstone Super Volcano Threat Set To "High" | Zero Hedge

USGS: Yellowstone Super Volcano Threat Set To "High" | Zero Hedge: This is the first time that the USGS has updated its volcano threat assessments list since 2006.