Pope John Paul II's Inspiration: The Bible
John Paul II, like the popes before him, quoted the scripture, but he was second only to St. Peter himself in quoting the Bible. St. Peter was inspired to write an epistle of the New Testament. John Paul [more…]
Pope John Paul II Brings the Vatican Online
In 1995, Sister Judith Zoebelein, a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist, was asked to create a Web site for the Holy See. Archbishop Foley of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications had already [more…]
Weathering Iraq's Stormy Romance with the West
With some imagination, you may view Jordan as a success story of European meddling. During World War I, the British instigated the Arab Hashemite Bedouin clan of the Arabian Peninsula to revolt and throw [more…]
Napoleon: Basking in the Glow of Glory
When the 28-year-old General Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris in early December 1797, it must have seemed like he had the entire world at his feet. In a very short period of time, he had saved his [more…]
Spotting a Myth a Mile Away
A myth is a story. The Greek word mythos means "story." That's the basic concept. But, of course, not just any old story can be a myth. If you happen to be served a whole pig's head for dinner in Thailand [more…]
Visiting the Homeland with Pope John Paul II
The year 1979 was the 900th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Stanislaus, and Pope John Paul II made it clear that he had every intention of returning to his native Poland [more…]
A Timeline of World History
The history of the world isn’t easily condensed, but the timeline here does a good job of hitting the high notes and most significant events of roughly 4,000 years from the beginnings of Hinduism to the [more…]
World History For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Trying to grasp the history of the world may seem more than a bit daunting — all those names! all those dates! That’s when a timeline with the most significant names and dates included comes in really [more…]
How to Decipher Less-Well-Known Freemasonry Symbols
The Freemasons use all kinds of symbols to represent the practices and beliefs of their order. Many of these Masonic symbols originate from the masonry trade and the Christian Bible. [more…]
The Three Masonic Degrees
Masonic ritual is designed around the symbolic story of the building of a great, spiritual temple, as represented by the Temple of Solomon. The three Masonic degrees are designed to represent three stages [more…]
Freemasons and The York Rite System
The York Rite in Freemasonry actually refers to three cooperative groups that confer a total of ten degrees in the United States. There are four Royal Arch degrees, three Cryptic Mason degrees, and three [more…]
The Basic Principles of Freemasons
Freemasons have a set of basic principles that they all live by. Masonic lodge members promise never to bring anything offensive or defensive into the lodge with them — both weapons and words. The object [more…]
How Religion Fits into Freemasonry
Freemasonry has always been shaped by the countries and societies it has existed in. But, for the most part, since its modern origins in 1717, Ancient Craft Freemasonry has gone out of its way to be [more…]
How Freemasonry Is Still Relevant Today
The bad thing about the basic tenets of Freemasonry is that they don’t change very much. And the good thing about the basic tenets of Freemasonry is that they don’t change very much. [more…]
Why Young Men Join the Freemasons
Freemasonry has been shrinking for a while, and lodges have been panicking. The Baby Boomers just didn’t join. But young men now are starting to rediscover Freemasonry. This new generation of Masons wants [more…]
The Public Ceremonies of the Freemasons
Most of the ceremonies of the Masons go on inside the confines of the lodge, but you may have seen two special Masonic events in public. These public ceremonies are symbolic of beginning and ending: [more…]
How to Separate Fiction from Truth about Freemasons
Over the last three centuries, Freemasonry has been accused of everything from Satan worship and blood sacrifice to political assassination and world domination. Each of these Freemason myths has been [more…]
How to Find Cool Masonic Places
Maybe you’re looking for a great Freemason-related locale while you travel. Or you’re a non-Mason who can’t go to a lodge meeting, but you still want to peer inside those mysterious buildings: [more…]
Women's Groups Related to the Freemasons
One of the unshakable tenets of regular, recognized Freemasonry is that it's an organization for men only. Beginning in the mid-1800s, several groups for women related to Freemasons were created, with [more…]
Freemason Youth Groups
Beginning just after World War I, interest grew in providing youth groups for the children of Freemasons. In a short period of time, the Freemasons created their own youth programs. [more…]
How to Join a Freemason Lodge
In order to become a Freemason, you need some basic qualifications (specific qualifications vary from one lodge to the next, but some general rules apply). If you meet the Freemason criteria, you have [more…]
The Requirements to Join a Freemason Lodge
In order to become a Freemason, you need some basic qualifications (specific qualifications vary from one lodge to the next, but some general rules apply). But if you meet the Freemason criteria, you still [more…]
Freemasons Aren't Satanists
Masonic meeting is not an act of worship. A lodge is not a church. And Freemasonry is not a religion. Freemasons use prayers to open and close their meetings, but so do Congress and Parliament. [more…]
Freemasons Don't Plan to Take Over the World
Masons are forbidden to discuss politics in the lodge. Finalizing world-takeover plans among Freemason brethren is tough if you have to disguise it as discussion about Saturday’s fish fry or who’s supposed [more…]
