This is a good article, especially for those in ministry, but most people get something from reading this article by John Brentsten.
All of the places that ever meant anything to me lie in ruins. My holy places have turned to dust and ashes. Rubble. After all, Jesus did warn me, “Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down” (Matt. 24:2).
You think I am exaggerating? Consider the wreckage of these sacred places:
Continue: http://www.thechrist...ing-
Does Religion Really Have a "Smart-People Problem"?
January 12, 2015
Daniel Dennett, one of the “four horsemen” of contemporary atheism, proposed in 2003 that those who espouse a naturalist, atheist worldview should call themselves “the brights,” thereby distinguishing themselves rather clearly from the dim benighted masses who hold on to supernaturalist convictions. In the wake of Dennett’s suggestion, many atheists have brought forward what they take to be ample evidence that the smartest pe
The singer took to U2's website to break down the ABC's of 2014 and included everything from expletives to pop culture icons to Nobel-winning inspirations, adding the Son of God into the mix of it:
"The Christmas story has a crazy good plot with an even crazier premise—the idea goes, if there is a force of love and logic behind the universe, then how amazing would it be if that incomprehensible power chose to express itself as a child born in [expletive] and straw poverty. ...
http://www.chari
Christians Now Outnumber Communists in China
Though the Chinese Communist Party is the largest explicitly atheist organization in the world, with 85 million official members, it is now overshadowed by an estimated 100 million Christians in China. It is no wonder Beijing is nervous and authorities are cracking down on Christian groups.
continue: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2014/12/29/christians-now-outnumber-communists-in-china/
Some people not only share their life but their moment of death with loved ones. Are these 'shared-death experiences' real or a mirage ?
William Peters was working as a volunteer in a hospice when he had a strange encounter with a dying man that changed his life.
The man’s name was Ron, and he was a former Merchant Marine who was afflicted with stomach cancer. Peters says he would spend up to three hours a day at Ron’s bedside, talking to and reading adventure stories to him because few family
How the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception Was Defined
Divinely revealed truths do not change.
But sometimes it takes a while to figure out what those truths are.
It took the Church hundreds of years before it finally settled the question of who exactly Jesus Christ was in the most basic terms of the question—God? Man? One person or two? (The Council of Chalcedon, in 451, hashed out what has been the Church’s final answer.) It also took hundreds of years before the Church affirmed, in a dogma
The Thin Line Between Mercy & Heresy – Reaching the Wounded
WE have watched a rapid cultural and sexual revolution that in five short decades has decimated the family as divorce, abortion, redefinition of marriage, euthanasia, pornography, adultery, and many other ills have become not only acceptable, but deemed a social “good” or “right.” However, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, drug use, alcohol abuse, suicide, and ever multiplying psychoses tell a different story: we are a
Why You Should Still Care about Ferguson DESPITE the Facts
As the family of Michael Brown and the President of the United States ask for peace and change and this is what we see. However, it is important to note that this does not mean most African Americans are involved in the looting. Not at all.
Continue: http://www.christian...pite-facts.html
Prominent Surgeon: Evidence Soul May Leave Body in Near-Death Experience
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1103379-prominent-surgeon-evidence-soul-may-leave-body-in-near-death-experience/
Sins of Ignorance and Sins of the Flesh
Editor’s note: It is our great pleasure to welcome Father Brian Mullady OP to our writing team. He is a professor, preacher and retreat master, who has authored three books, and is the Theological Consultant to the Institute on Religious Life. Please welcome him warmly and make him feel at home!
It is a moral truth that “if we don’t know something is wrong, it may remain a moral evil, but we cannot be held accountable for sin. The very fact that we do
Saints Are Still Being Made: Meet Chiara Corbella
A few months ago I received an email from a friend of mine who had recently encountered the life of an extraordinary woman while in Rome. I was so moved by the story I shared it last week with the women at SEEK 2013 and now want to share it with you. It’s the story of a life often seen as full of folly and tragedy. But if you understand the Christian life and if you can see the joy that can come from suffering, you can recognize that it is anyth
Below is a link to a blog that I read. It is well written and gives lots of food for thought. If you read it and like it, let the author know if you have the time.
http://foodfaerie.wo...d-out/#comments
Christ: Judgment and Mercy
Most icons are inviting. But the Christ Pantocrator icon, especially the oldest known version, the one found at St. Catherine’s monastery in Egypt, gives one pause. The icon depicts Christ with two quite different facial expressions juxtaposed together. As one gazes at the right, Christ’s eye is blackened and enlarged, almost engorged it seems in anger. The eyebrow above it is arched, the chin and mouth below it drawn tight.
The other side is a different story. The f
Emotional and Spiritual Maturity: What’s the difference? (Part II of II)
Read more: http://spiritualdirection.com/2014/10/29/emotional-and-spiritual-maturity-whats-difference-part-ii-of-ii#ixzz3I0nUnxnE
Scripture Speaks: Feast of All Souls
Gayle Somers
On this day, we remember all those who have died in God’s friendship. What does it mean to be a friend of God?
Continue: http://catholicexchange.com/scripture-speaks-feast-souls?mc_cid=046778e4fa&mc_eid=00ce6aaf80
Our encounter with God is one that both wounds us and leaves us in wonder at Him, so Scripture suggests.
How can this be? To be wounded and to wonder seem to have nothing to do with each other. Being wounded is something personal, something we hide from others. We bind and bandage up our wounds. When we are injured we stay home from school or work and abstain from all but necessary errands. Healing wounds of any kind is a private affair.
Continue: http://catholicexcha..._eid=00ce6aaf80
Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands
http://profezie3m.altervista.org/archivio/TheLancet_NDE.htm
