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The Peculiarity of Papal Primacy
- By fide
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 1 Replies
Very interesting. Reminds me of a blog essay on a site I keep up with - RenewTheChurch.com. The post is titled, and the conclusion shown by the author here, "The Church will Remain; the Papacy Must Fall." Some of the signposts along the way seem similar - the notion of dimensions of the Church in this essay described as Petrine, Jacobian and Johannine/Marian:I am often amused by my Protestant friends when they, with great excitement and intrigue, say, “Have you heard what the Pope said?” to which, after hearing them out, respond, “I think you care more about the papacy than I do.” Upon hearing this, their faces betray a kind of perplexed, vacant, slack-jawed bewilderment, as though they had been struck by a sudden and incomprehensible revelation, to which they were struggling valiantly to make sense of without much success. For a Catholic papal primacy is vital, but not absolute.
Biblical Basis
The biblical basis for papal primacy is grounded in the Davidic kingdom. King David and his successors ruled with the assistance of twelve other ministers (cf. 1 Kings 4:1ff). One of the twelve was a prime minister who would rule in the absence of the king (cf. Isaiah 22:19–23) and held the king’s authority, symbolized by the keys of the kingdom of David. He was to be called the father of the people of Judah and would become like a peg driven into a firm place; a throne upon which the honor of the house would rest (cf. Is 22:23). This is the Old Testament context for understanding the office of St. Peter found in Matthew 16:18–19, where Jesus builds his Church upon the rock, which is Peter, giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven to bind and loose. However, in a few verses Peter rebukes Jesus for proclaiming the necessity of the Paschal mystery. Jesus, rather than referring to Peter as the rock upon which the Church has been built, now calls him a stumbling block and satan (cf. Matt 16:23). It is of interest that the Petrine stumbling block in Greek is σκάνδαλον (skandalon). Peter the rock is ambiguous and has the potential of being scandalous.
Continued below.
The Peculiarity of Papal Primacy
Fr. Olek Stirrat explains why papal primacy is vital but not absolutewhatweneednow.substack.com
The author's full conclusion,
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Target rolling back DEI goals, backs out of LGBT pride event
- By RileyG
I have a coworker with a disability who has been at Target for 24 years. People are allowed to identify as whatever they want, they help out with pride parades, mental health etc.
Only thing is…religious items etc are not be to be worn by employees, which I 100% abide by.
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Charged with illegal conversion. Woman's faith leads to abuse. Yemini Christians pray for safety.
- By LoricaLady
- Persecuted Christians
- 0 Replies
https://www.persecution.com/
Jan. 30, 2025 | India
Hindu Father Charges Christian Son with Illegal Conversion
[8] prayers in [3] nations have been posted for Chhater Singh.
Chhatar Singh, a schoolteacher in India, placed his faith in Christ in 2002 and has planted churches in seven villages. In 2010, when his mother died, he refused Hindu funeral rituals for her, which turned his father against him. On Jan. 27, 2021, the police arrested Singh and three other Christians on false charges of forced conversion. They spent a month in jail; consequently, Singh was suspended from his school. In July 2024, after Singh's father cut off his inheritance, he filed a criminal complaint against Singh of trying to convert him to Christianity. Read More.Jan. 30, 2025 | Middle East
Woman Abused After Coming to Faith in Christ
[4] prayers in [2] nations have been posted for Basma.
Basma, who comes from a fervent Muslim family, placed her faith in Christ in 2018. As a result, her husband and brother began to abuse her violently. Eventually, Basma escaped from her family and took her two teenage children, who had also become Christians, with her. Basma said that if her brother and husband find her, they will surely kill her. Basma requests prayer for her son, who feels he cannot trust anyone, and for her daughter, because they live in constant fear that someone will turn them in. Read More.Jan. 30, 2025 | Yemen
Yemeni Christians Pray for Safety
[4] prayers in [2] nations have been posted for Yemeni Christians.
Amid regional instability, bombs regularly fall in some parts of Yemen, creating a dangerous environment for Christian brothers and sisters. "The situation is not stable for anyone in Yemen," said a front-line worker. "The electricity goes out, and one Christian community heard bombs exploding during a church service." Despite this situation, the worker said the church in Yemen is growing. "Fifteen years ago, it was a dream to find any believers," he said. Read Mor
Asking for prayer for daughter
- By RamiC
- Prayer Wall
- 10 Replies
Jesus please repair whatever You see fit to restore of Bill's family, guide his path and mind away from regrets about the past, help Randi to find faith in You, and then show both of them what You can grow and heal for them and others because they have suffered so much.
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Wichita hosts community prayer as officials give up hope on finding survivors in Potomac River crash
- By Michie
Wichita, Kansas, the city from where an American Airlines jet departed Wednesday, with 64 people on board before crashing midair with a U.S. Army helicopter carrying three soldiers near Reagan National Airport, is set to host a community prayer meeting as officials gave up hope of finding survivors Thursday.
“We mourn with all those who have been impacted,” Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said at a press conference Thursday morning as she revealed there were no survivors.
“We do not know yet the final confirmation on all of the individuals who were on that flight, and of course, we will share that information, but not before families have been first contacted,” she added.
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
“We mourn with all those who have been impacted,” Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said at a press conference Thursday morning as she revealed there were no survivors.
“We do not know yet the final confirmation on all of the individuals who were on that flight, and of course, we will share that information, but not before families have been first contacted,” she added.
Continued below.
Wichita hosts community prayer as officials give up hope on finding survivors in Potomac River crash
Wichita, Kansas, the city from where an American Airlines jet departed Wednesday, with 64 people on board before crashing midair with a U S Army helicopter carrying three soldiers near Reagan
www.christianpost.com
A Promising Pro-Life Start
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
Both President Trump and Vice President Vance voiced their support of the pro-life cause at the Jan. 24 March for Life in Washington.
Despite the arctic chill that enveloped the nation’s capital on Jan. 24, participants in this year’s March for Life were warmed by a spirit of measured optimism.
And the pro-life actions initiated by the newly installed Trump-Vance administration during its first week were a substantial contributor to this positive perspective.
Both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance voiced their full-throated support for the marchers’ pro-life cause. Vance addressed them personally, and in his videotaped remarks Trump declared, “In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life.”
More importantly, the president and vice president’s words were matched by concrete action.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
Despite the arctic chill that enveloped the nation’s capital on Jan. 24, participants in this year’s March for Life were warmed by a spirit of measured optimism.
And the pro-life actions initiated by the newly installed Trump-Vance administration during its first week were a substantial contributor to this positive perspective.
Both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance voiced their full-throated support for the marchers’ pro-life cause. Vance addressed them personally, and in his videotaped remarks Trump declared, “In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life.”
More importantly, the president and vice president’s words were matched by concrete action.
Continued below.
A Promising Pro-Life Start
EDITORIAL: Both President Trump and Vice President Vance voiced their support of the pro-life cause at the Jan. 24 March for Life in Washington.
France’s ‘end of life’ bill: Catholic prime minister proposes split
- By Michie
- General Politics
- 0 Replies
PARIS (OSV News) — French Prime Minister François Bayrou wants to split an “end of life” bill to separate the issue of “active assistance in dying” from that of palliative care — a proposal seen as a smart attempt to give a pro-life approach to the legislation without antagonizing rival political sides.
“Those are two subjects that need to be examined separately by parliament,” Bayrou said Jan. 27 on the French television channel LCI. “We need to be able to vote on these subjects differently if we feel like it.”
Launched at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, the current “end of life” bill provides for the authorization of “medical aid in dying,” which is presented as a continuation of palliative care.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
“Those are two subjects that need to be examined separately by parliament,” Bayrou said Jan. 27 on the French television channel LCI. “We need to be able to vote on these subjects differently if we feel like it.”
Launched at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, the current “end of life” bill provides for the authorization of “medical aid in dying,” which is presented as a continuation of palliative care.
Continued below.
France's 'end of life' bill: Catholic prime minister proposes split
French PM François Bayrou proposes splitting the "end of life" bill, separating palliative care from "active assistance in dying.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
I Urge You to Walk
- Daily Devotionals
- 0 Replies
"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV)
A Prisoner for The Lord
This was Paul speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Paul, because he was a preacher of the faith, came under the same scrutiny as did Jesus Christ by the Jews who were opposed to Jesus and to his message. They hounded and harassed him in many of the same ways that they did to Jesus, and they had him beaten and falsely accused of wrongdoing and imprisoned on false charges, and for a very long time. Thus, much of his ministry came in the form of letters while he was serving time in prison for doing good.
But God works all things for good for those who love (obey) God, who are called according to his purposes. And through Paul’s writings and his imprisonment, even more people were reached with the gospel message. And his writings (many or most of them) were included in the Scriptures, and they continued throughout history to teach and to guide us in the ways of the Lord and in his truth and righteousness, and in godly living, for they came from the Lord, and thus they are God’s words to us, his people.
Now, I am no Paul, and my words, although I believe I am being led by the Lord in what to write, are not Scripture, unless I am quoting Scripture. But throughout my life I have experienced some of the same kinds of persecution as did Jesus, and as did Paul, and for being a servant of the Lord, doing his will, speaking his messages from the Scriptures. And as a result of all the persecutions and rejections I faced, the Lord took me out of those “institutional market-driven churches,” and he put me on the internet.
So, whereas I may have been able to share the gospel message and the teachings of the Scriptures in small groupings of people in more localized settings, to some extent, although limited, by the Lord putting me on the internet, and giving me a ministry of writing, the message of the gospel and of the Christian walk of faith has been able to, through me, his servant, reach way more people across the globe. So this is yet another example of how God works all things for good for those who love and obey him.
The Lord had me write about some of my experiences in a book called, “The Church Under Fire,” which can be read here: The Church Under Fire (edited)
The Church Under Fire Book (edited).pdf
drive.google.com
Walk in a Manner Worthy
One of the main thrusts of the ministry to which the Lord has called me is to urge those who profess the name of Jesus to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have all been called, if we are of genuine walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. And our walk is how we live our lives day in and day out. This has to do with our attitudes and our way of thinking and believing, which is then reflected in our actions (behaviors). For what we truly believe will be reflected in what we do, not just by what we speak with our lips.
So, if we are to walk (in conduct, in practice) in a manner worthy (fitting, suitable, appropriate to) the calling to which we have been called of God, what should that look like? Well, first of all, what is that calling? We are called to belong to Christ, as his possession. And we are called to holy living, which means to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of the character of Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, if we cooperate fully with his work of grace in transforming us.
And we are called into fellowship (partnership, cooperativeness) with Jesus Christ whereby we no longer walk in sin, but now in righteousness and holiness, by the Spirit. We are called to freedom from addiction to sin and to obedience to our Lord and his commands. We are not called to impurity, but to holiness. We are called out of our bondage to sin to now follow Jesus wherever he leads us in doing his will. For this is what it means to believe in Jesus, to die with him to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands.
[Psalms 139:13-16; Romans 1:6-7; Romans 8:28-29; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 1:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3; Acts 26:18]
And if this is how we perceive what it means to be a Christian, to be a follower of Jesus Christ, whose life is now surrendered to the Lord to do his will, and that our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, then this should be reflected in how we live our lives day in and day out, as a matter of practice. For this is what it means to walk worthy of the Lord, to obey him and to follow him in his footsteps in living holy and morally pure lives and no longer to live in sin. For now Jesus is our Lord and Master.
But we are to do this in all humility, not thinking too highly of ourselves, but to think of ourselves with sober and honest judgment, realizing that we are only able to serve the Lord and to do his will because of what Jesus did for us in putting our sins to death with him on that cross so that we can now die with him to sin and live for him and his righteousness, in his power. And I am totally aware of my own inadequacies of my own flesh to be pleasing to God, and that I am only able to do his will because of his grace to me.
And we are not to be harsh and unloving in how we treat others, although we are to speak the truth in love to them. Yet some of them may regard the truth as harsh, but it isn’t our truth, if it is God’s truth which we are relaying. But we are never to compromise the truth of God’s word to spare people’s feelings, but we should be loving and kind without compromise of truth. And unity has to be first unity with the mind of God before we can unify with each other. And that involves all of us submitting to his will for our lives.
Songs in the Night
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
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I Urge You to Walk
An Original Work / January 30, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Man who burned Quran 'shot dead in Sweden'
- By Michie
A man who sparked violent protests after burning the Quran has been shot dead in Sweden.
Salwan Momika was killed in an apartment in Södertälje, Stockholm, on Wednesday evening, prosecutors told the BBC.
Unrest broke out after Mr Momika set fire to a copy of Islam's holy book outside Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023.
Stockholm police said in a statement that five people had been arrested after a man in his 40s was shot dead overnight.
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www.bbc.com
Salwan Momika was killed in an apartment in Södertälje, Stockholm, on Wednesday evening, prosecutors told the BBC.
Unrest broke out after Mr Momika set fire to a copy of Islam's holy book outside Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023.
Stockholm police said in a statement that five people had been arrested after a man in his 40s was shot dead overnight.
Continued below.
Man who burned Quran 'shot dead in Sweden'
Salwan Momika, 38, is reported to have been killed in an apartment in Södertälje, Stockholm.
www.bbc.com
House subcommittee chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announces plan to question Catholic Charities over taxpayer funding of migrant services
- By Michie
- OBOB General Politics Forum
- 0 Replies
A video distributed by Catholic Charities USA’s (CCUSA) Refugee and Immigration Services in Milwaukee features an immigration attorney providing instructions to migrants about how to sidestep U.S. immigration law.
That video has caught the eye of Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, chairwoman of a new House subcommittee called Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We are not going to tolerate NGOs who take the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars to facilitate the invasion of our country,” Greene said Monday in a video posted to X and embedded with the Catholic Charities video featuring immigration attorney Barbara Graham. “My brand-new DOGE subcommittee will be calling in Catholic Charities to find out why and to what extent they were helping illegals invade America.”
Continued below.
catholicvote.org
That video has caught the eye of Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, chairwoman of a new House subcommittee called Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We are not going to tolerate NGOs who take the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars to facilitate the invasion of our country,” Greene said Monday in a video posted to X and embedded with the Catholic Charities video featuring immigration attorney Barbara Graham. “My brand-new DOGE subcommittee will be calling in Catholic Charities to find out why and to what extent they were helping illegals invade America.”
Continued below.
House subcommittee chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announces plan to question Catholic Charities over taxpayer funding of migrant services
A video distributed by Catholic Charities USA’s (CCUSA) Refugee and Immigration Services in Milwaukee features an immigration attorney providing instructions to migrants about how to sidestep…
catholicvote.org
WATCH: Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa Helping Illegal Aliens Avoid Deportation
- By Michie
- OBOB General Politics Forum
- 0 Replies
Outraged erupted earlier this week when an internet video from a Catholic Charitiesimmigration attorney from the diocese of Milwaukee went viral, exposing how Catholic Charities is trying to obstruct President Trump’s deportation of illegal aliens.
Continued below.
www.complicitclergy.com
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WATCH: Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa Helping Illegal Aliens Avoid Deportation
Outraged erupted earlier this week when an internet video from a Catholic Charities immigration attorney from the diocese of Milwaukee went viral, exposing how Catholic Charities is trying to obstruct President Trump's deportation of illegal aliens. Sadly, Catholic Charities of Milwaukee is not...
www.complicitclergy.com
Making Christianity Weird Again
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
It’s rare for me to hold a fashionable position but I am delighted to be in the company of high-profile people, from the historian Tom Holland to Bishop Robert Barron and the authors Michael Frost and Nijay Gupta, who all recommend making Christianity “weird” again.
For Catholics this means putting our way-laid ecclesial car into reverse and backing out of the correlationist ditch theologians—notably with Flemish surnames—got us into in the 1970s.
“Correlationism” was the pastoral strategy of correlating the faith to the culture of modernity. In the 1970s it took such banal forms as festooning Catholic classrooms with posters featuring cute animals declaring “Jesus is cool.”
More recently, I read a report of the homily given at the parish church attended by the British royal family this Christmas. The vicar was reported to have held up a Terry’s Orange chocolate. This is a popular chocolate in the UK that is made in the shape of an orange with shards of chocolate that fall apart like the segments of a real orange. According to the report, the Vicar then explained to the congregation that Christianity is like a Terry’s chocolate. The spherical shape of the chocolate reminds us that the Christian message was intended for the whole globe, and the individual chocolate shards are like the good news of the Gospel to be broken and shared like the segments of an orange. Christian revelation was thus correlated to a Terry’s chocolate.
Continued below.
whatweneednow.substack.com
For Catholics this means putting our way-laid ecclesial car into reverse and backing out of the correlationist ditch theologians—notably with Flemish surnames—got us into in the 1970s.
“Correlationism” was the pastoral strategy of correlating the faith to the culture of modernity. In the 1970s it took such banal forms as festooning Catholic classrooms with posters featuring cute animals declaring “Jesus is cool.”
More recently, I read a report of the homily given at the parish church attended by the British royal family this Christmas. The vicar was reported to have held up a Terry’s Orange chocolate. This is a popular chocolate in the UK that is made in the shape of an orange with shards of chocolate that fall apart like the segments of a real orange. According to the report, the Vicar then explained to the congregation that Christianity is like a Terry’s chocolate. The spherical shape of the chocolate reminds us that the Christian message was intended for the whole globe, and the individual chocolate shards are like the good news of the Gospel to be broken and shared like the segments of an orange. Christian revelation was thus correlated to a Terry’s chocolate.
Continued below.
Making Christianity Weird Again
Tracey Rowland argues the faith is fascinatingly weird and different in light of today's bland materialism
whatweneednow.substack.com
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Vatican Office Clarifies Rules for Transferred Holy Days of Obligation
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When a holy day of obligation falls on a Sunday and so is transferred to another day, the Catholic faithful are encouraged to attend Mass, but they are not obliged to do so, the Vatican said.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Dec. 8 fell on the Second Sunday of Advent in 2024 and so, in most dioceses around the world, the feast was transferred to Monday, Dec. 9.
Some bishops in the United States insisted the faithful still had a moral obligation to attend Mass on the feast day while others issued a formal dispensation from the obligation.
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, in a September letter to Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, had said, “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.”
Continued below.
www.osvnews.com
The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Dec. 8 fell on the Second Sunday of Advent in 2024 and so, in most dioceses around the world, the feast was transferred to Monday, Dec. 9.
Some bishops in the United States insisted the faithful still had a moral obligation to attend Mass on the feast day while others issued a formal dispensation from the obligation.
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, in a September letter to Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, had said, “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.”
Continued below.
Vatican office clarifies rules for transferred holy days of obligation - OSV News
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When a holy day of obligation falls on a Sunday and so is transferred to another day, the Catholic faithful are encouraged to attend Mass, but they are not obliged to do so, the Vatican said. The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Dec. 8 fell on the Second Sunday
www.osvnews.com
