BIG C CATHOLICS

The following depictions of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ are a selection of our favorite artistic and religious representations of this momentous event in our Lord's earthly ministry. The Transfiguration , Raphael , 1520 The Transfiguration is the last painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael. It was commissioned by Pope Clement VII as an altarpiece for the Narbonne Cathedral in France. Raphael worked on it until his death in 1520. Transfiguration of Jesus . Bloch ,  c 1878 Transfiguration of Christ ,   Bellini , 1490 Orthodox Icon, date unknown Transfiguration, Perugino , c 1500  Eastern Orthodox Icon, date unknown Greek Orthodox Icon, date unknown Transfiguration icon, Theophanes , 1408

The Transfiguration of Jesus, Carl Bloch Today, August 6, is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. It was declared a universal feast by Pope Callixtus III to commemorate the raising of the Siege of Belgrade (1456). The Transfiguration is mentioned in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28–36 describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16–18 refers to it). It is the only miracle that exclusively involves Jesus, in which, he is transfigured (or metamorphosed) and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The apostles Peter, James and John are the only eyewitnesses. From the Gospel of Mark: Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are her

There is an excellent station streaming online at AveMariaRadio.net  for faithful Catholics and seeking Christians. I highly recommend this apostolate and the programming it offers. Mother Angelica's Eternal Word Television Network features an internet radio station at Ewtn.com/Radio  with programs hosted by devout, informed, Catholic personalities that is well worth listening to. Relevant Radio host a variety of formats from talk shows to apologetics programming. All offerings seek to advance an appreciation and understanding of Catholicism and are faithful to the Magisterium. It streams online at RelevantRadio.com Air Maria is another national Catholic radio station streaming online at AirMaria.com . It is markedly smaller than those previously mentioned, but its broadcasts are worth your time and attention. Program hosts include Catholic apologist and speaker Christina King among others. 

Pop Psychology vs. Catholic Theology The book Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus tries to explain male/female relationships by examining the differing emotional needs and perceptions of spouses. The Church teaches and Sacred Scripture testifies that men and women were both from Eden before sin and selfishness replaced love and selflessness. When our first parents turned away from God, the source of life, goodness, truth and beauty, it altered every aspect of existence. Love, courtship and marriage are difficult under the best of circumstances. One thing is clear, men and women, though equal in dignity are fundamentally different so as to complement each other. Some call this a stereotype. Others dismiss it as chauvinism. Our Creator said, " Viva la difference ." In making us male and female, God is telling us things otherwise unknowable, about human beings and Himself. Saint John Paul II observed that in "the beginning," man and woman viewed each other &q

Via The Center for Medical Progress: The fifth undercover video in the controversy over Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby parts shows the Director of Research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Melissa Farrell, advertising the Texas Planned Parenthood branch’s track record of fetal tissue sales, including its ability to deliver fully intact fetuses. In the video, actors posing as representatives from a human biologics company meet with Farrell at the abortion-clinic headquarters of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in Houston to discuss a potential partnership to harvest fetal organs. “Where we probably have an edge over other organizations, our organization has been doing research for many many years,” explains Farrell. When researchers need a specific part from the aborted fetus, Farrell says, “We bake that into our contract, and our protocol, that we follow this, so we deviate from our standard in order to do that.” Asked specifically if this means Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards and Cecil the Lion When Cecil the lion was killed last month, many on the Left were apoplectic. Media coverage of Cecil's demise and the subsequent demand for justice has been vociferous and sustained. Meanwhile, videos from The Center for Medical Progress showed conclusively Planned Parenthood officials trafficking aborted babies' body parts for profit. The Left has largely ignored them. The mainstream media has followed suit. The fact that Planned Parenthood kills human babies in the tens of thousands each year, at every stage of gestation, from the 1st week to the 40th, bothers them not. Neither does the fact Planned Parenthood aborts black babies at five times the number of white babies. Since abortion always involves a mother, and over half of the babies killed are girls, 3/4 of abortion's victims are female. Rather than see abortion as the systematic murder and exploitation of women, it is abortion zealots who accuse pro-l

"The same words used by the Lord Jesus to give life are used by some to justify the taking of life: This is my body ."  — Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life  

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH Jesus teaches the people by the sea , James Tissot , c 1894 ( Click here for today’s readings ) I hate labels. Not the kind we put on jars or folders, but the kind we put on people to indicate our own superiority. "Liberal" and "conservative," for example, which have legitimate meaning in their own right, have come to be often abused in this way, as a slur against those whose opinions differ from ours. It’s not so long ago that "Protestant" and "Catholic" were labels of this same kind. 2017, just two years away, will mark the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The hostilities are no longer what they were. Some, perhaps many, of the disagreements have been resolved, but the most fundamental ones have not. One of these relates to the issue of faith and works. The Catholic Church placed and places significant value on works, that is, goo

Kirsten Powers is a pro-life Democrat commentator who writes weekly for USA TODAY and is author of the upcoming The Silencing : How the Left is Killing Free Speech. Her latest column " Crush Planned Parenthood " is a must read for anyone who cares about human dignity and the pro-life cause. Powers writes: Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards apologized last week for the uncompassionate tone her senior director of medical research, Deborah Nucatola, used to explain the process by which she harvests aborted body parts to be provided for medical research. Nucatola had been caught on an undercover video talking to anti-abortion activists posing as representatives of a biological tissue procurement company. The abortion doctor said , “I’d say a lot of people want liver,” and “a lot of people want intact hearts these days.” Explaining how she could perform later-term abortions to aid the harvesting of such intact organs, she said , “We’ve been very good at getting heart,

(For more on the question of a second Jesus should intelligent life be found elsewhere see video at end of post.)  The bible is not a scientific book. If we look for scientific responses to our questions in the bible, we are making a mistake. — Fr. José Funes, S.J. According to an article by Agence France-Presse out this morning, the Director of the Vatican Observatory, Fr. José Funes, is skeptical about the existence of rational alien beings and insists in any case, there is no "second Messiah". Via AFP: The recent discovery of an Earth twin has boosted chances there is intelligent life on other planets. But while Pope Francis's telescope scans the starlit skies, the Vatican is skeptical of ever meeting Mr. Spock. On a leafy hilltop near the papal summer home of Castel Gandolfo sits the Vatican's Observatory, one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world, where planetary scientists mix the study of meteorites and the Big Bang theory