We just booked our flights:  Detroit > Los Angeles > Sydney > Manila > Tokyo > Detroit

Janet and I have been invited for a ten-day apologetics speaking tour in Australia followed by two weeks of apologetics in the Philippines. This will be our first time to Australia and our Fifth Missionary Journey to the Philippines. This mission will take up most of the month of July 2010.

We are very excited to serve the wonderful Catholics in these two nations and help them to explain and defend their Catholic faith!

For info on dates visit here and go to July.  For info on the speaking venues and schedules contact Charbel Raish in Australia at craish@hotmail.com and Henry Siy in the Philippines at hsiy@pacific.net.ph.

More info to follow.

Why Cruise the Biblical Lands with us?

First, price! Our price is the same as competitors BUT — unlike competitors — all of our on-shore excursions are INCLUDED in the price! Also included are ALL tips, even on the ship!

Second, we don’t trust just any guides and drivers – those assigned by the cruise ship. I AM YOUR GUIDE and only work with my own people on shore. I want this to be a purely Catholic experience at Catholic sites.

Third, we are only visiting biblical and distinctly Catholic sites (see list of sites below). That is the purpose of the cruise — to study the Bible and the history of our Church. Steve will be teaching and personally sharing his favorite places in the world with you.

Fourth, we have private daily Masses at the sacred sites like Mary’s House in Ephesus, outdoors in Corinth, etc. A few Masses will be on the ship.

Fifth, each family will receive a professionally edited 90-minute highlights DVD as a keepsake. — Audio headsets will be provided for all excursions. — An experienced American travel escort and priest will be with you at all times from the USA, through the cruise and back to the USA.  — You get a free complimentary copy of my DVD PAUL, CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH (click on picture below for more info).

We will take you to Bible places Janet and I know very well. We will personally share them with you: Athens, Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Berea, Istanbul, Pergamum, Greek Island of Patmos, Ephesus, then the extension to Pompeii and several days in Rome with Mass in the catacombs, and much more.

We will be aboard the Cristal (see picture above). Sign up now because the cabins are going to fill fast. See the brochure here and call 1-800-727-1999, and speak to either Jeanine Jeanine Bliss (extension 116) or Sue Bosak (extension 158). You can also write to Jeanine at jbliss@ctscentral.net or Sue at sbosak@ctscentral.net

For more information visit Steve’s website at www.SteveGoes.com. We also have some exciting Holy Land Pilgrimages coming up.

Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm is… “the devil’s spawn”

“Whatever he has done or not done, I [Glenn Thrush, the reporter] will miss Eric Massa, for no other reason than his gift with a phrase.

“In an amazing, far-ranging interview/monologue with a Rochester-area radio station, Massa admits making an off-color, sexual comment to a young staffer — but still claims Democratic leadership ratted him out to kill a health care “no” vote.

“That brought him to the subject of Rahm Emanuel and arm-twisting: “Rahm Emanuel is son of the devil’s spawn,” Massa said, according to City Hall. “He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to the front end of a steam locomotive.”

“Later in the interview, Massa — who sits down with Glenn Beck for a one-hour interview on Tuesday — tells a bizarre story about Emanuel accosting him in the House gym — in the buff:

“Let me tell you a story about Rahm Emanuel,” Massa started. “I was a congressman in my first eight weeks, and I was in the congressional gym, and I went down and I worked out and I went into the showers…I’m sitting there showering, naked as a jaybird and here comes Rahm Emanuel not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me because I wasn’t going to vote for the president’s budget. Do you know how awkward it is to have a political argument with a naked man?”

Click the link above for the whole story.

Muslims slaughter hundreds of Christians in Nigeria

Muslim gangs attacked three villages in central Nigeria and killed up to 400 Christians in pre-dawn attacks on March 7. “The shooting was just meant to bring people from their houses, and then when people came out they started cutting them with machetes,” said one witness.

Another added, “We saw mainly those who are helpless, like small children and then the older men, who cannot run, these were the ones that were slaughtered.”

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1,000 Christian families fled Mosul in 10-day period

[Muslim] Violence against Christians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul — the modern name for ancient Nineveh — has led over 1,000 Christian families to flee in the past ten days, Syrian Catholic Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa said on March 5.

Wake up America!

He’s not doing very well in the overall grading. Add your opinion to this CBS Poll here. It only takes about 30 seconds.

We have a small, intimate group going to visit the Holy Land in April, right after Easter. Janet and I will be your guides. The weather will be gorgeous, the people friendly, and the holy sites are waiting to inspire and enthrall you.

The food is great, the hotels comfortable and located right at the holy sites!

Click here to download the brochure. Give Suzanne a call if you have questions at 800-727-1999, extension 121 or write her at sparran@ctscentral.net. You can also write me at sray@rc.net.

Also, click on the image to right to visit our pilgrimage website. Hope to see you in Jerusalem!

“Thanks first.  What a great pilgrimage.  Thank you so much for all you do for the Kingdom of God.  What a blessing to experience the land where God walked with our family and such experienced and knowledgeable guides.”

“Thank you all once again for being part of one of the most memorable experiences of my life.  The gospels will have new colour from now on; the seasons and mysteries of Christmas and Easter will be filled with memories of the places where these events took place.”

For my appearance on Morning Air with Sean Herriott on Relevant Radio today.

I have often said “The Bible is a Catholic book. It is our heirloom. When I used the Bible against Catholics in my former life, I was picking fruit from a tree I did not plant.”

The Bible is a Catholic book written and collected, preserved and copied, codified and canonized by bishops of the Catholic Church. It is our book to read and study and learn. Today’s Catholic is called to take an intelligent, historical, and spiritual approach to the Bible.

QUESTIONS FOR ‘BIBLE CHRISTIANS’ that they can’t answer!

For excellent Catholic Bible studies (some of which I have written) visit CatholicScriptureStudy.com. Also check out my web page for Bible Study.

Steve’s article in THIS ROCK Magazine
“Should Catholics Attend ‘Ecumenical’ Bible Studies“

My article Should Catholics go to Non-Denominational Bible Studies? appears in the January 2007 issue of THIS ROCK Magazine. In the article I recommend another article I wrote entitled  How To Start A Parish Bible Study. In addition, here are a load of other Bible Study resources–click here and here.

I also suggest you take a look at my:
“Questions for ‘Bible Christians‘ ”
and Is This A Real Catholic Bible Study?
and Can Bible Translations have Protestant Bias?
and Why We Need the Church for Bible Study
and You Can Join our Ecumentical Bible Study, but Catholics — Sshhhhh!

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How To Start a Parish Bible Study
beginning of Steve’s article

“The Bible is so thick and confusing. Mary dusted off the big book and tried reading it several months ago, but she thought it would be a huge help if she could find a good Catholic Bible study—a class where Catholics could study the Bible together.

“Mary visited a popular Bible study in town, but was humiliated when answering a question. The study focused on a verse in St. John’s Gospel. Jesus had said, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” After reading this passage the teacher asked, “OK, what does this verse mean to you?”

‘Mary excitedly raised her hand—she knew that answer for that one! She said that Jesus was talking about the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Christ. The room fell silent. Then there were a few snickers and a few women even gasped. Then group grew uncomfortably quiet and everyone looked at the teacher….”

To read the whole article, click here.

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***** For the best Catholic Scripture Study program for groups in English or Spanish, visit CatholicScriptureStudy or call 1-866-887-2774. This is an easy do-it-yourself Parish Bible Study program. The studies are written by myself, Scott Hahn and Mark Shea.*****

Join a REAL Catholic Bible Study in your area, or start your own with
CATHOLIC SCRIPTURE STUDY INTERNATIONAL
I write the studies!

For Steve’s Catholic Bible Study
“St. John’s Gospel: A Bible Study Guide & Commentary“

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CCC 2653 (133)  The Church “forcefully and specially exhorts all the Christian faithful . . . to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 3:8) by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures…. Let them remember, however, that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that a dialogue takes place between God and man. For ‘we speak to him when we pray; we listen to him when we read the divine oracles.”‘

Difference Between Protestant and Catholic Bible Study

“Bible Christians” (a misnomer, since Catholics are the real and original Bible Christians), based on their recently devised “Reformation” principle of sola Scriptura, study the Bible with the following premises:

• 1. There is no binding authority but the Bible alone;
• 2. There is no official binding interpretation or interpreter; each person ultimately is their own pope;  (No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation 2 Pet 1:21).
• 3. The Bible is perspicuous (i.e., easy to understand) and it can be interpreted and understood by anyone.
• 4. An individual can/should read the Bible and interpret the Bible for themselves.

Catholics have a different set of premises that direct their study of the Bible.

• 1. The authority of the Apostles and the Church preceded the Bible and the Tradition of the Church is an equally infallible authority (2 Thes 2:15; CCC 80 83). The Bible is part of the Apostolic Tradition.
• 2. The authoritative interpretation of the Bible is the prerogative of the Catholic Church (1 Tim 3:15; Mt 18:17; CCC 85-88).
• 3. The Bible is not always easy to understand (2 Pet 3:15-16) and needs to understood within its historical and contextual framework and interpreted within the community to which it belongs.
• 4. Individuals canshould read the Bible and interpret the Bible for themselves—but within the framework of the Church’s authoritative teaching and not based on their own “private interpretation” (2 Pet 1:20-21).

These basic differences place the Catholic and Protestant worlds apart even though they are opening the pages of the same book and accepting it as an authoritative revelation from God. The Catholic position is biblical, and has been espoused from the first days of the Church. The Protestant position is unbiblical (assumed from their tradition) and is of recent origin. The Catholic is in full continuity with historical Christianity; Protestants are in discontinuity.

Here are a few pictures from today’s “The Higher Call” Men’s Conference in Franklin Tennessee.

Being with 400 enthusiastic and orthodox Catholic men raising their voices in song to God is quite an remarkable experience.

Thanks to Frank Cash and John Burns for inviting me.

I hope to join these great guys spreading the fullness of the faith in the anti-Catholic “Bible belt.”

With guys like this the state of Tennessee will be predominantly Catholic in a decade or two.

It was wonderful joining Jim Burnham and Fr. Bill Casey to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist in the Catholic Church!

Believe it or not but there is a Protestant “Gospel Tract” out there that says the Eucharist is a “death cookie” that was the result of conspiring between the Devil and the Pope to deceive and send Catholics to hell.

It is a Chick tract. I am embarrassed to say that I used to hand these tracts out when I was a teenager (blushing with shame).

Recently, Jonathan Harcher, pastor of Conner Heights Baptist Church in Pigeon Forge Tennessee was handing out Chick tracts at the Pigeon Forge High School in the diocese of Knoxville.

Despite admitting he knew little about the Catholic Faith, Hatcher felt confident that publisher Chick Publications was spreading the gospel.

You can read the article about how the good bishop of Knoxville TN — Bishop Richard Stika — confronted the situation with disgust and public criticism — and rightfully so!

To read the whole stupid Chick tract (for a good laugh), click here. You can read more about Chick and his uninformed and inflammatory tracts here.

Funny thing! I am currently in Tennessee talking about the EUCHARIST this weekend. Wish I had time to visit “Pastor” Harcher” — now famous for his ignorance and bigotry.

Vatican commission to probe Medjugorje?

Pope Benedict XVI has set up a special commission to weigh the authenticity of the reported apparitions by the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, according to Italian media reports.

This is Jackie Stadler who has been using Catholic Scripture Study for a long time. She is from St. Rita’s parish in Dallas where I gave a parish mission last weekend.

It is always good to meet the people who are so serious about studying Sacred Scripture — especially since I write the Lessons!

She wrote to me: I want to thank you for your inspiring lectures this past weekend at St. Rita Church in Dallas. Your insights into the life and ministry of St. Paul tied in beautifully with our Bible Study this year of Romans We have about 5 weeks left of our study this year, and are looking forward to next year’s study of Corinthians.  As I mentioned to you, we have about 150 people at St. Ann Church in Coppell, Texas doing the CSS study; and we want to thank you for all your hard work and insight into the beautiful scriptures and our Catholic faith and for all you do for CSS.

If you have not yet looked into Catholic Scripture Study you should. The Bible is our Catholic book and we are the original “Bible Christians” and should be known as that again.

Visit our website and give it a try today!

It is always great to find wonderful and enthusiastic Catholics in every corner of the world — and they ARE in every corner of the world.

Here is a picture of the group that invited me down for a parish mission at St. Rita’s Catholic Church in Dallas Texas.

What a great group of folks! Susan Sheetz, Fr. Mark Seitz and Joshua Whitfield, a former Episcopalian priest.Wish I knew all the others names but all of them were marvelous examples of the love of Christ!

Love you all! I hope to visit again!

Anglican Church in America Asks Entry Into Catholic Church

Breaking news as the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America has formally requested to enter the Catholic Church. All 99 parishes and cathedrals!

Traditionalist Anglican group in US seeks union with Catholic Church
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5624
Leaders of the traditionalist Anglican Church in America have announced their decision to make a formal request for entry into the Roman Catholic Church under the provisions of the Pope’s apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. The group, which claims 99 parishes in the US, is asking the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to implement the Pope’s plan, forming an Anglican ordinariate in the US.

We often hear that the Catholic Church has forbidden the reading of the Bible! Have you heard this? Yeah, me too! But, this is another one of those big myths which has worked its way into the popular dialog but one that has not been proved from Church teaching and documents.

There are two good list of quotes from Church documents and leaders of the Church from the early centuries until today.

The second is a list of Catholic Bibles from ancient times that prove the charge against the Catholic Church false, since the Forewords and Prefaces prove that the Catholic Church PROMOTED the reading of Scripture.

Here is the beginning of a long article which gives a TON of information on this topic and proves the Catholic Church has not forbidden the reading of Scripture — but quite the contrary, it has always promoted the reading and study of Scripture by the faithful.

Does/Did the Catholic Church Forbid the Reading of the Bible?

In three parts:
1) Introductory Comments
2) Pope Leo XIII’s On the Study of Holy Scripture
3) Multiple Quotes from Fathers, Popes and Councils

You and I have both heard the myth: “The Catholic Church has forbidden Catholics from reading the Bible!”

I am not intending to say that Catholics, especially in the United States were always big Bible readers in the past.  Certainly there was a deficit in this area — and a certain shyness coming from the problems of Protestantism and their Bible-thumping ways.

But it is a MYTH that Catholics did not read the Bible until the late 20th Century —  until after Vatican II.  Those who could read (many could not read over the centuries and even today ½ the world’s population is effectively illiterate) did read the Bible when they had them.1 Catholic biblical scholarship did not begin with Pius XII. It seems almost ludicrous to have to say that since we Catholics have had the best and the brightest of biblical scholars long before modern times — just consider Origen, Tertullian, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Thomas Aquinas just to mention a few.

There has been a very long history of Bible reading, study and scholarship stretching back to the beginning of Christian/Catholic history….

For the whole article and list of quotes, click here.

Check out this very short and very kicky video. Join us in May 2010!

Tuesday

Dutch parish withholds Communion to avoid gay disruption
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5586
A Dutch Catholic priest chose not to distribute Communion to the congregation, apparently fearing desecration, as hundreds of homosexual activists crowded into a parish church in Den Bosch. The demonstrators were protesting the church’s decision to deny Communion to a prominent local homosexual.

Thursday

Dutch homosexuals call off disruptions as parish backs down on Communion
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5609
Militant homosexuals in the Netherlands have called off plans to disrupt worship at a Catholic parish in Den Bosch, after receiving assurances that the parish would not deny Communion to open homosexuals.

Friday

Dutch Catholics protest parish compromise with gay activists
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5644
Dutch Catholics are organizing a petition drive in support of a parish priest who refused to distribute Communion to homosexual activists, and criticizing the bishop who apparently pressured the priest to compromise his position. The petition, organized by the magazine Catholica praises the pastor, Father Luc Buyen, but laments that he “has been attacked by homosexuals and then left in the cold by his own Church.” The protest criticizes Bishop Antonius Hurkmans of Den Bosch, who said that everyone should be admitted to Communion, on the assumption that the faithful are responsible for examining their own consciences before doing so. That statement prompted homosexual activists to lift their call for demonstrations at the parish, where scores of protestors– some wearing fright wigs– had attended Mass last Sunday, preparing to present themselves for Communion in defiance of the priest’s directive.

Health-care proposal does fund abortion, says spokesman for US bishops
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5593
A spokesman for the US bishops’ conference has flatly contradicted the claim by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that the health-care reform plan now under discussion on Capitol Hill would not provide subsidies for abortion.

I get this question all the time. I have an answer.

A commentary is a book that gives information about passages in the Bible. It follows the text chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse and gives definitions, explanations, background material, Church teaching and more on each passage of Scripture.

Thanks to Kevin Lay of Scepter Publishers (http://www.scepterpublishers.org/) I have a review copy of a great new one-volume commentary on the New Testament.

The title of the book is “The Navarre Bible New Testament.” I highly recommend that all Catholics have a copy of this commentary for their daily study of the Bible. It will help you understand the Bible in the heart of the Church.

You can learn more here. (I’ll have a better picture of the book as soon as I get home :-)

We just filled the third bus and now — maybe there are 2 or 3 seats left, but we have to shut down registration and put new callers on a waiting list. Janet and I, along with Teresa Tomeo are going to Italy in May to see the Shroud of Turin. What an exciting trip this will be!

Here is an article about the million plus people who will see the Shroud this Spring. It will not be brought out again for about 25 years!

We will land with our 150 pilgrims in Milan Italy. We will be in Turin for two days with the highlight of seeing the original Shroud the wrapped the body of Our Lord. Then to Assisi, then to San Giovanni Rotundo to venerate Padre Pio. Then to Lanciano to see the remarkable Eucharistic miracle before stopping at Montapello to see the Veil of Veronica.

After this we spend 4 days in Rome where we will see the Pope. I get to show everyone our favorite places in the Eternal City and have Mass at marvelous sacred sites including the Catacombs. We are very excited. Click here to learn more.

If you missed out on this trip, we still have a Rome/Assisi trip with Dr. Scott Hahn from May 23-June 1. Check also to view our Holy Land trips this year and especially our St. Paul Biblical Land Cruise in November.

I was surprised to see him walk up and say “Hello!” He came to hear my talk at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in New Jersey.

My wife and I appreciate Fox News and find it much more informative, objective, balanced and fun than any of the other news outlets. We don’t have TV at home but watch Fox News at hotels and wherever we travel.

It was a big surprise to see Steve Doocy walk up and say Hello. He is one of the three hosts on the morning show Fox and Friends.

Stephen,

You probably do not remember me, but I met you last year at Easter’s Catholic Books in Sacramento California, where we briefly talked about conversion from Protestant to Catholic. I got your book that day, “Crossing the Tiber“, and I just wanted you to know that God has used your book to instill peace through knowledge of Church history at times of doubt in my journey-particularly on the Eucharist.

So, the bottom line is this Easter, my wife, seven kids and myself are coming into the Catholic Church. We were very devout Evangelicals, and I felt God calling me based on many things (I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say we have very similar backgrounds).

Just thought you might like to know. Thanks again,
Steve, Anne, Mari, Hope, Joshua, Cartherine, James, Leigh Anne, Noelle

By Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, HLI

Ought we rejoice in Lent? Well, Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Oregon, has given us the absolute best reason to rejoice in a penitential season: he yanked the title “Catholic” from a hospital in his diocese that refuses actually to be Catholic. What a refreshing development in episcopal leadership! In fact, Lent is probably the perfect time for such an act to take place because it is an exercise of discipline and courage, which we love to see in our prelates. Bishops who are true shepherds, and not politicians, strengthen us and enliven our faith – thank you, Bishop Vasa!

The point of contention that the good bishop had with the St. Charles Hospital in Bend, OR was the hospital’s practice of surgical sterilization. Apparently the Board of Directors thought that the Church’s clear prohibition of this practice was, uh, optional. So after a fair and timely investigation, the bishop could not convince the hospital administration to change practices and simply yanked the Catholic name and insignia from the building with the exception of the cross on top to remind them of their failure to live up to the challenge of the Cross. Can’t you hear the bishop wince when the president of the healthcare chain, James Diegel, said that the hospital had “an obligation to provide comprehensive health care services to our patients while remaining true to our values of compassion and caring for all”? This sounds like slimy Planned Parenthood language if you ask me. Outside of the fact that sterilization is the direct mutilation of an organ of the body and is not true health – care, the Church condemns the act in no uncertain terms as immoral. Well, the bishop was right not to tolerate that kind of nonsense – and the Church is stronger for it! One hates to think how many other nominally Catholic hospitals are getting away with the same thing due to lack of honest Church investigations into their practices…

Read the rest of the commentary here: http://www.facebook.com/l/c4356;www.hli.org/index.php/component/acajoom/?act=mailing&task=view&listid=2&mailingid=697

Thank Bishop Vasa by emailing: chancellor@dioceseofbaker.org

Obama dismisses pro-life concerns about health care reform
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5564

President Barack Obama brushed aside pro-life concerns about health care reform legislation during a bipartisan summit devoted to the topic.

Philadelphia abortionist had room full of bottled fetus remains
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5569

FBI and DEA agents who raided a Philadelphia abortionist’s office this week discovered floors stained with blood and a room full of bottled fetus remains.

Janet and I are joining Teresa Tomeo for the Una Fides Conference in Orlando Florida this weekend. Then Janet and jump another flight to Dallas where we will do a parish mission at St. Rita’s Parish on Sunday and Monday

. It is great to be Catholic and spread the good news of the Truth of the Gospel, the Love of God and the beauty of the Scriptures, the Sacred Tradition and the whole teaching of the Catholic Church.

I realize now – that as a Protestant — I misquoted the Bible when challenging Catholics about Purgatory. Catholics taught that there was a “transition” between earth and heaven—a place or state of final purification called Purgatory.

“But how can there be a Purgatory?” I asked. “Doesn’t St. Paul teach that ‘to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord’?  Since ‘absence from the body’ means that we are immediately in ‘the presence of the Lord,’ there can’t be anything called Purgatory. Catholics deny the clear teaching of the Bible!”

Whoa! Slow down! Is this really what the Bible says?

First, that is a misreading of the Bible—a twisting of Scripture to score a point. The Bible does NOT say “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Rather it says,

“So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:6-8).

This is very different from my old argument. Paul would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord, but certainly doesn’t say it the way I twisted it in my old anti-Catholic days.

If I want to be away from Michigan in the winter I might say “In the winter we would rather be away from Michigan and present in Arizona.” It does NOT say that to be away from Michigan that I am instantly or automatically in Arizona. My in-laws go between Arizona and Michigan twice a year and they stop a lot along the way. It usually takes them 3-4 weeks to get from one to the other as the visit and camp along the way.

We understand that this language leaves room for a transition period—especially in an automobile or plane with a possible motel or visit along the way. Paul’s words also leave room for such a transition; it does not exclude Purgatory.

Second, Paul teaches that we will pass through fire. Notice what he says in 1 Corinthians 3:15: On “the Day” if “any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:15, RSVCE). Sounds like Purgatory to me.

Third, Purgatory is not “away from the Lord” strictly speaking. Those in Purgatory—whether it is a place or a state of transition—are not apart from the Lord. In fact, it is the love of God that is purifying them. I have always said that Purgatory is like the front porch of heaven. Those who are in Purgatory know they have arrived! But you can read more about that in my article on Purgatory here.

So, don’t let someone trick you with the old “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” argument. It is fallacious and deceptive. Again, the Catholic Church is correct.

(Piccture: Purgatory is a place of mercy; it is a place of joy for having arrived.)

You can listen to the archived show here. More listening options here.

Nuns can be funny. Don’t know anything about this Sister, but it was amusing.

In honor of the Feast Day of the Great Bishop and Saint Polycarp on February 23, we are doing special shows with Sean Herriott on Morning Air on Relevant Radio and with Teresa Tomeo’s Catholic Connections on Ave Maria Radio.

The name Polycarp sounds funny to our English ears, but in Greek it comes from two words “poly” meaning many or much, and “carp” meaning fruit. Obviously his Christian parents named him Polycarp along with a prayer that he would bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God — which he did.

To learn the whole story of St. Polycarp, on location, watch our new DVD “Apostolic Fathers: Handing on the Faith” along with a 28-page Study Guide.

Download a Free Copy of the
Apostolic Fathers Timeline

This amazing Timeline drives home the point of how close these men were to Jesus and the Apostles.
It demonstrates how Catholic the first Christians really were!

Strap on your sandals and step back in time to discover the “Apostolic Fathers, Handing on the Faith”

Comprehensive 28-Page Study Guide
Behind the Scenes: The Making of Apostolic Fathers, Handing on the Faith
Bloopers and Outtakes
Conversation with Steve Ray and Fr. Benedict Groeschel
English and Spanish subtitles
Feature running time: 90 minutes, extras 30 minutes

Learn more here;       Buy it NOW here

Link to Eyewitness Account of his martyrdom. Link to Letter he wrote to Philippians. Link to letter St. Ignatius wrote to Polycarp.

Fascinating Quote from St. Irenaeus about St. Polycarp

“When I was a boy . . . I remember the events of that time more clearly than those of recent years. For what boys learn, growing with their mind, becomes joined with it; so that I am able to describe the very place in which the blessed Polycarp sat as he discoursed, and his goings out and his comings in, and the manner of his life, and his physical appearance, and his discourses to the people, and the accounts which he gave of his [interaction] with John and with the others who had seen the Lord.

And as he remembered their words, and what he heard from them concerning the Lord, and concerning his miracles and his teaching, having received them from eyewitnesses of the ‘Word of life,’ Polycarp related all things in harmony with the Scriptures. These things being told me by the mercy of God, I listened to them attentively, noting them down, not on paper, but in my heart. And continually, through God’s grace, I recall them faithfully (Irenaeus quoted in Eusebius, History of the Church 5, 20 in NPNF 2nd, 1:238-139).