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“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). In addition to Scripture, God has given us more than adequate spiritual resources to meet suffering and death. Wall Street, the name synonymous with the American stock market and financial investing, is a place where confidence can rise and fall with great force and unpredictability, right along with the rising or sinking level of stock prices. Prices always seem to even out, but who can be certain about how they will behave in the future? The apostle Paul’s spiritual confidence was not based on the changeableness...

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). We can count on Scripture to give us confidence in the face of death. A few years ago my radio ministry heard from a listener who was exhibiting exactly the right attitude in the face of a terminal illness. A teenager from the Midwest sent a prayer request concerning her recently diagnosed Lou Gehrig’s disease. That Christian young woman, who by now is probably with the Lord, accepted her condition with grace and optimism. Here is part of what she wrote to us: “I love the...

“Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice” (Philippians 1:18). It is possible to maintain your joy even while dealing with criticisms and irritating distractions. The dictionary definition of detraction is “the uttering of material (as false or slanderous charges) that is likely to damage the reputation of another.” A detractor wants to undermine and destroy the good name and credibility of another. Great statesmen, such as President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, often have been the targets of contentious political opponents and stinging detractions by the...

This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. While the Trinity might evoke a “Ho-hum, don’t we know that already …” response from many Catholics, the doctrine of the Trinity is essential to—and distinctive of—the Christian faith and is vital to our daily prayer and walk with God. The doctrine of the Trinity touches on who God is; if one has this doctrine wrong, one has the wrong idea of God and may in fact be worshiping a god who does not exist. The Trinity is by no means a dead theological issue, either. Most obviously, Jews...

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). The apostle Paul was a model believer who did not let his troubles steal His joy in the Lord. According to today’s verse, believers should never let a negative outlook replace our joy, no matter how bad life seems to be. The apostle Paul set an example that was far different. He wrote to the Philippians that in spite of being imprisoned in Rome, he was still rejoicing. Even though Paul was restricted under trying and harsh conditions, he was glad because the gospel message was being declared,...

“But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). Because Stephen was so consistently Spirit-filled, it was natural for him to react in a godly way to persecution and death. The cliché “Garbage in, garbage out” provides a good clue to the essence of the Spirit-filled Christian life. Just as computers respond according to their programming, we respond to what fills our minds. If we allow the Holy Spirit to program our thought patterns, we’ll be controlled and renewed by...

Short video - just under 10 minutes Mostly pretty good - a few images from Israel in the video Not for everyone of couse, so YMMV

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke warns Synod threatens to spread ‘devastation’ of German Church to ‘universal Church’ Speaking at the Thomas Aquinas College commencement, His Eminence told the graduates that the world is facing troubled times and 'What is more, the rebellion and revolution is sustained by some from within the Church, even by some who are called and ordained to shepherd the flock.' On Sunday, the Feast of Pentecost, U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke warned graduates of Thomas Aquinas College about the potential “devastating” impact the upcoming October meeting of the Synod of Bishops may have on “the universal Church.” “We...

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“And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). Stephen’s excellent character teaches us much about responding to suffering and death. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is one of the most inspiring biblical examples of faithfulness in life and ministry. But his personal excellence shines forth most through the familiar account of his death by stoning. As one of the first deacons in the church, Stephen was recognized early on as a man of great faith and spirituality (Acts 6:5). And a few verses later Luke describes him as “full of grace and...

False Ecumenism Operates as a Blasphemous Anti-Pentecost in the Catholic ChurchIn his The Liturgical Year, Dom Guéranger described the great transformation that took place on the first Pentecost:“These hundred and twenty disciples need but to speak of the Son of God, made Man, and our Redeemer; of the Holy Ghost, who renews our souls; of the heavenly Father, who loves and adopts us as His children: their word will find thousands to believe and welcome it. Those that receive it shall be called the Catholic Church, that is, universal, existing in all places and times. Jesus had said: ‘Go, teach...

[Catholic Caucus] The Handbook for Confused CatholicsEditor’s note: adults can sign up for the summer adult Credo Catechism course at the Avila Institute. The high school program starts again next spring semester. -TSFCatholics of a certain age know things about their religion that many — if not most — Catholics today have never been taught. We now have a resource, however, that points today’s Catholics toward a more rich and fulfilling experience of their religion.This is Bishop Athanasius Schneider latest book, Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith.Since it’s release late last year, most reviews that I have read regard the...

“Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Peter 4:19). The final attitude we should have in facing trials and sufferings is that of entrusting ourselves to God. Geoffrey Bull epitomizes the modern-day believer who entrusts his entire soul to God’s will in the middle of terrible suffering. Bull was punished with solitary confinement, brainwashing, many kinds of intimidation, and starvation during more than three years of imprisonment by the Communist Chinese forty years ago. During his affliction he prayed that God would...

[Catholic Caucus] German priests do not support Synodal Way, new study findsPriests in Germany are not supportive of the controversial German Synodal Way, according to a new study commissioned by the German Bishops’ Conference.The study, officially titled “Who Becomes a Priest?”, found that priests are “alienated from the concerns of Church reform,” lead author Matthias Sellmann said on May 17.“Priests are also clearly not supporters of the German Synodal Way,” Sellmann emphasized. According to a statement by the bishops’ conference, the study aimed to investigate “the socio-religious background and motivations of newly ordained priests in order to make strategic personnel...

[Catholic/Orthodox Caucus] Pope Francis gives prisoners silent blessing ‘so everyone receives it from God in the way they believe’‘All religions, all cultures, look at the one God in different ways,’ the pontiff told a group of prisoners in Verona from various religions.“God is one: our cultures have taught us to call him by one name, by another, and to find him in different ways, but he is the same father of all of us,” Pope Francis said. “He is one.” “And all religions, all cultures, look at the one God in different ways.”“Please do not forget, please pray for me...

“By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler” (1 Peter 4:15). We must not presume that God blesses every possible kind of suffering a Christian may become involved in. It’s quite obvious that some sufferings and trials are not part of God’s plan for us. Believers should never suffer because they’ve murdered, robbed, or done evil. But in today’s verse Peter mentions a fourth category—“a troublesome meddler”—whose meaning is not as apparent and whose application might be more in dispute. “A troublesome meddler” interferes with everyone else’s business, and...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’ 60 Minutes interview is a classic exercise in Modernist deceptionIn issuing Fiducia Supplicans, Pope Francis has intentionally confused the faithful by attempting to draw a distinction between blessing an ‘official’ homosexual union and a homosexual couple.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis’ recent interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes is notable for a variety of statements made by the Pontiff, among the most prominent being his seemingly contradictory and misleading claims on Fiducia Supplicans.In a now fully released CBS 60 Minutes interview, conducted by Norah O’Donnell, Pope Francis was questioned once more on the December 2023 text Fiducia...

“If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14). The indwelling Holy Spirit allows us to rejoice, no matter how greatly we suffer or are persecuted. One of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the past half century has been the discovery of the DNA molecule, which carries unique and essential genetic information about all living beings. The most well-known practical application of DNA has been the “fingerprinting” technique in which genetic information from one DNA sample is compared with that of another. If...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: Catholics will never attain true unity if it’s not grounded in ChristOn this week's two-part episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland discusses abiding in God's love, his pastoral letter on obedience, and unity in Christ. Bishop Joseph Strickland returns for this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, in which he discusses abiding in God’s love, respect for authority, and unity in Christ.Strickland begins the first part of the show with a commentary on part of the Last Supper Discourse from St. John’s Gospel. The bishop says Christ’s statement that if we keep...

“But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation” (1 Peter 4:13). We should rejoice in trials and persecutions, not for their own sake, but for the benefits that result. The late D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his classic book Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, made the following careful distinction on what it means to rejoice in persecution: “The Christian is, in a sense, one who must feel his heart breaking at the effect of sin in others that makes...