No matter how unrealistic, one can still hope:
1. That everyone would remember to say a prayer of gratitude for God's gifts at least once a week.
2. That one can inspire another with kindness and be inspired by kindness once a season.
3. That the force of Evil scouring the world for the weak to inhabit be forced back into Hell by the collective force of good.
4. That the world belonging to every one of its inhabitants be able to go anywhere without fear of violence.
5. That those who have served Satan and who continues to adhere their pride and greed for power begin to see in their sleep the misery and death they have put others through and the Hell that may be waiting for them so that they would wake up and do something good to save themselves from eternal damnation.
6. That those who live in their insular worlds and who still have hope for salvation open their hearts and reach out to those they have systematically isolated and begin to see the common bond of humanity.
7. That those whose lives had been frozen in time reject the Satanic temptations of the modern world and find that happiness in poverty is preferred over emptiness with possessions.
8. That those who have incredible fortune and fame speak with honesty how they still hunger for fulfillment.
9. That Mother Nature never gets sick and experience chills (global cooling) and fevers (global warming) despite man's continuous attack on the ecosystem.
10. That the heart of every person be filled with inner peace so that the world can be at peace.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Saturday, December 26, 2015
2015 - A Year Of Uncertainty
Year 2015 will end in five days. It has been a year of uncertainty, usual in the financial markets [1], but not usual for those fleeing Syria. The number of refugees has recently exceeded 4 million. [2] What is certain, however, is the uncertainty surrounding Syria's future, the oil market, the stability in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, United States' war with ISIL, Russia's war with ISIL, France's war with ISIL and the time and place of radical Islamic acts of violence.
The world is not at peace. What used to be a precarious civilization has turned into a fearful society. Groups of men in uniform carrying loaded weapons providing security for the public is now a common sight.
A time of innocence is lost. Everyone is treated as a potential terror suspect and subject to searches before being allowed into certain areas and events. Not only is the presumption of innocence dead, the free society upon which it was founded is itself also non-existent.
At a place where the good is indistinguishable from the wicked, Satan is in charge. Satan has always maintained that no man is worthy of salvation because every man is inherently a sinner whose soul deserves to be in Hell. For those still in the flesh, Satan is showing them a prelude.
[1] http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Summary?s=AW01:FSI
[2] http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
The world is not at peace. What used to be a precarious civilization has turned into a fearful society. Groups of men in uniform carrying loaded weapons providing security for the public is now a common sight.
A time of innocence is lost. Everyone is treated as a potential terror suspect and subject to searches before being allowed into certain areas and events. Not only is the presumption of innocence dead, the free society upon which it was founded is itself also non-existent.
At a place where the good is indistinguishable from the wicked, Satan is in charge. Satan has always maintained that no man is worthy of salvation because every man is inherently a sinner whose soul deserves to be in Hell. For those still in the flesh, Satan is showing them a prelude.
[1] http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Summary?s=AW01:FSI
[2] http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
Friday, December 25, 2015
Christmas On Friday -- A Paradox?
Today is Christmas, the birthday of Jesus. This year, it falls on a Friday, the day of the week that Jesus died on the cross, that Catholic say the rosary meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries [1]. To have the birth and death of Jesus sharing the same day of the week is a paradox [2], or not?
The Gospel of Luke says: "While [Mary and Joseph] were [in Bethlehem], the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." [3] A manger is defined as "a box or trough in a stable or barn from which horses or cattle eat." [4]
Luke 2 sets the stage for Jesus being food, not for the body but for the soul in preparation for its journey to Heaven and Matthew 2 details the Magi's visit as Jesus was laying in the manger: upon Jesus the three wise men came, guided by a star "until it stopped over the place where the child [Jesus] was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." [5]
"The gift of gold to the Christ child was symbolic of His divinity--God in flesh." [6] Frankincense is a symbol of holiness and righteousness. The gift of frankincense to the Christ child was symbolic of His willingness to become a sacrifice, wholly giving Himself up, analogous to a burnt offering." [7] "[Myrrh] was a spice and was used in embalming. It was also sometimes mingled with wine to form an article of drink. Such a drink was given to our Savior when He was about to be crucified, as a stupefying potion (Mark 15:23). Matthew 27:34 refers to it as 'gall.' Myrrh symbolizes bitterness, suffering and affliction. The baby Jesus would grow to suffer greatly as a man and would pay the ultimate price when He gave His life on the cross for [the salvation of] all who would believe in Him." [8]
It is thus clear that Christmas day falling on a Friday in this 2015th year is not a paradox but a harmony. [9]
The Gospel of Luke says: "While [Mary and Joseph] were [in Bethlehem], the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." [3] A manger is defined as "a box or trough in a stable or barn from which horses or cattle eat." [4]
Luke 2 sets the stage for Jesus being food, not for the body but for the soul in preparation for its journey to Heaven and Matthew 2 details the Magi's visit as Jesus was laying in the manger: upon Jesus the three wise men came, guided by a star "until it stopped over the place where the child [Jesus] was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." [5]
"The gift of gold to the Christ child was symbolic of His divinity--God in flesh." [6] Frankincense is a symbol of holiness and righteousness. The gift of frankincense to the Christ child was symbolic of His willingness to become a sacrifice, wholly giving Himself up, analogous to a burnt offering." [7] "[Myrrh] was a spice and was used in embalming. It was also sometimes mingled with wine to form an article of drink. Such a drink was given to our Savior when He was about to be crucified, as a stupefying potion (Mark 15:23). Matthew 27:34 refers to it as 'gall.' Myrrh symbolizes bitterness, suffering and affliction. The baby Jesus would grow to suffer greatly as a man and would pay the ultimate price when He gave His life on the cross for [the salvation of] all who would believe in Him." [8]
It is thus clear that Christmas day falling on a Friday in this 2015th year is not a paradox but a harmony. [9]
[1] http://www.rosary-center.org/sorrow.htm
[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paradox: "3. any person, thing or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature."
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=NIV
[4] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/manger
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202:1-12
[6] http://www.gotquestions.org/gold-frankincense-myrrh.html
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/harmony: "a. An orderly or pleasing combination of elements in a whole"; "b. A relationship in which various components exist together without destroying one another."
[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paradox: "3. any person, thing or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature."
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=NIV
[4] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/manger
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202:1-12
[6] http://www.gotquestions.org/gold-frankincense-myrrh.html
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/harmony: "a. An orderly or pleasing combination of elements in a whole"; "b. A relationship in which various components exist together without destroying one another."
Midnight Mass 2015
This blogger was hoping to go to confession before taking Holy Communion but his plan failed and relied on the general confession at the beginning of Mass as a substitute. Had he been able to make a personal confession, he would tell his confessor that due to an abundance of pride he had not been able to sit in church with patience and humility to listen to the priest he knew or thought to be merely going through the motions, delivering a homily without any invested interest, merely reading words on paper out loud with vapidity, and had considered such priestly actions to be insulting not only to the congregation in attendance but to God.
At the midnight Mass, about half the archbishop's homily was quoted from another homily by another person. Not that this blogger had not tried--he had--but failed to comprehend what he was trying to say (perhaps he read the homily out too loud or his microphone was too sensitive, or perhaps he mistakenly equated the volume of his voice that blasted from the speakers and echoed around the cathedral with authority and passion). This blogger's mind soon began to wander, thinking that something was very wrong with what he was seeing: an able-bodied man having the ability stand and walk without difficulty cloaked in religious garments was sitting in his chair reading his prepared text held by an alter boy kneeling before him.
It was a Christmas Mass and the archbishop could not speak extemporaneously without notes on the meaning of the birth of Christ? And he could not be bothered to stand in front of his congregation to deliver with passion an inspiring Christmas homily? Even if he needed his notes, did someone have to kneel before him so that he could read it? Could he not have at least stood at the lectern?
The recessional hymn was "Joy To The World" but the Mass left this attendant with neither joy nor fulfillment.
This blogger's pride in his personal opinions could very well be a sin. He supposes that he would continue to sin until he finds the right priest to lead him to Heaven. Meanwhile, he would rather not break bread with those religious who he thinks could serve God better by resigning. (May this blogger's soul be saved!)
At the midnight Mass, about half the archbishop's homily was quoted from another homily by another person. Not that this blogger had not tried--he had--but failed to comprehend what he was trying to say (perhaps he read the homily out too loud or his microphone was too sensitive, or perhaps he mistakenly equated the volume of his voice that blasted from the speakers and echoed around the cathedral with authority and passion). This blogger's mind soon began to wander, thinking that something was very wrong with what he was seeing: an able-bodied man having the ability stand and walk without difficulty cloaked in religious garments was sitting in his chair reading his prepared text held by an alter boy kneeling before him.
It was a Christmas Mass and the archbishop could not speak extemporaneously without notes on the meaning of the birth of Christ? And he could not be bothered to stand in front of his congregation to deliver with passion an inspiring Christmas homily? Even if he needed his notes, did someone have to kneel before him so that he could read it? Could he not have at least stood at the lectern?
The recessional hymn was "Joy To The World" but the Mass left this attendant with neither joy nor fulfillment.
This blogger's pride in his personal opinions could very well be a sin. He supposes that he would continue to sin until he finds the right priest to lead him to Heaven. Meanwhile, he would rather not break bread with those religious who he thinks could serve God better by resigning. (May this blogger's soul be saved!)
Thursday, December 24, 2015
No Room At The Inn
Every Christian knows that Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn. Not only was there no room for the Son of God back then in Bethlehem, there is no room for Him now anywhere in man's daily life, thoughts, automobile, home, workplace or playgrounds. And there was no room for Jesus in this pope's mind: on Christmas eve, 2015, this pope focused his homily mainly on economics. He mentioned "consumerism, pleasure, abundance and wealth" and "people's excesses" [1] and contrasted all that with Jesus' birth, who was "'born into poverty of this world.'" [2]
Jesus was born in a stable because there was no vacancy at the inn, not because his family could not afford to pay for a room. Had Holy Family been indigent, they would have been homeless and Jesus would have been born on the street. Had that been the case, then this pope would have been correct, that Jesus was "'born into poverty of this world.'" [3]
For the Holy Family to agree to stay in the stable means only that they were humble, not that they were poor. The Catholic church seems to thrive on poverty and not on humility.
It is true that the Holy Family was not affluent. They could not afford the the kind of wealth that the pope has chosen to surround himself with at the Vatican. If the pope truly wants to, he could choose to move out of the Vatican and live in a one-bedroom pensione with shared restroom and shower, to come close to being like Christ. That he has not done and likely will not do.
For the Holy Family to agree to stay in the stable means only that they were humble, not that they were poor. The Catholic church seems to thrive on poverty and not on humility.
It is true that the Holy Family was not affluent. They could not afford the the kind of wealth that the pope has chosen to surround himself with at the Vatican. If the pope truly wants to, he could choose to move out of the Vatican and live in a one-bedroom pensione with shared restroom and shower, to come close to being like Christ. That he has not done and likely will not do.
The reason that God had arranged to have Jesus born in a stable surrounded by farm animals is symbolic because like a farm animal, Jesus had to give up his life so that man can be nourished, spiritually, because man without God is spiritually starved. God is concerned with man's spiritual bankruptcy, not man's financial position. God did not send Jesus to make man money, to give man real property and chattels but to save man's soul. Why is the pope and the entire Catholic church are obsessed with money never ceases to amaze this blogger ("irritate" is probably a better word). [4]
What would this pope, who had named himself Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, do if he had met the mendicant Francis who chose to be poor? Throw money at him? Force him to go back to his family and live his comfortable wealthy life once more? Is that not what pope Frank wants to see the poor of the world to have, a comfortable life? Does he even care about their souls? If he does, he has not said so repeatedly with emphasis, as far as this blogger knows. He wanted man to judge, to be "'capable of seeing and doing what is essential'" [5] rather than to love purely, unconditionally and perhaps even blindly.
This pope does not seem to like to talk much about love, perhaps love is absent from his heart. In contrast to Pope Benedict XVI, who is not perfect by any means, he, at least, spoke of love [6], in his own unique vernacular that is intellectual, emotionally detached and difficult to grasp.
This pope also wanted man to "'cultivate a strong sense of justice'" [7] apparently to right what he perceived to be wrong, by punishing the wrongdoers (that is what justice tends to do, punish) rather than forgiving, as Jesus did the sinful woman "for she loved much." [7]
Love is simple. It does not require an explanation in the form of a treatise. Anyone who does not understand love is not human. Even wild animals understand love and they do not have a written language. They breed and raise their young otherwise they would have been extinct. Certainly, the farm animals in the stable where Jesus was born understood love.
Joseph and Mary understood love. After all, they were chosen by God, and God is love. Jesus, the Son of God, was the true image of love in the flesh -- inn or no inn, money or no money -- it did not matter to Him. His love for His Father sustained Him from Satan's temptations; His love for man sustained Him throughout His Passion beginning with His agony in the garden to His death on the cross.
Joseph and Mary understood love. After all, they were chosen by God, and God is love. Jesus, the Son of God, was the true image of love in the flesh -- inn or no inn, money or no money -- it did not matter to Him. His love for His Father sustained Him from Satan's temptations; His love for man sustained Him throughout His Passion beginning with His agony in the garden to His death on the cross.
But tonight is not about the death of Jesus but His birth that brought love to man, but man has rejected His love by allowing everything else except the love of Christ to occupy his entire being, with no room left in his heart and in his mind for the Savior of souls, relegating Jesus Christ and His love to a handful of caretakers in the barn [9] some distance away, paying a visit once or twice a year, if that often.
[5] http://www.wsj.com/articles/pope-contrasts-jesus-birth-excess-in-christmas-eve-homily-1450999881
[7] http://www.wsj.com/articles/pope-contrasts-jesus-birth-excess-in-christmas-eve-homily-1450999881
[9] The "barn" is concept, not a place, certainly not the Vatican and not the unholy churches around the world; the "caretakers" are not the political popes, priests and other religious, but the humble sinners whom God forgives and loves and who love God in return; and the "paying of a visit" is not a physical journey to a place, but an act of supplication.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Frank Düpree's Superlative Performance Of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy
One of this blogger's all time favorite classical pieces is Beethoven's Choral Fantasy in C Minor, Op. 80 for piano, chorus and orchestra. In a previous post, he stated that his favorite performance of the piece was by Evgeny Kissin, pianist, Claudio Abbado, conductor. Since then, there is a new favorite, a performance by a 24 year-old German pianist [1] that is available on Youtube [2]. His name is Frank Düpree. Below is a photograph of the young pianist [3]:
This blogger realizes how music is interpreted and performed is subjective, but nonetheless concludes that the caliber of this performance (save for a flaw or two) by the orchestra of the University of Music Karlsruhe , the soloists, the chorus and the pianist, was outstanding. In this blogger's opinion, Frank Düpree had captured with his piano playing with transparency, absent any hint of the performer's affectation, the genius of Beethoven in all of its dimensions, including the composer's moments of self-reflection, of brilliance, of anger, of deep-seated fears and of uncontainable joy, as well as the grandeur of Beethoven's imagination.
The splendor of beauty comes from Heaven and a glimpse of which can be had through those given the talents to reveal them. God is still very much engaged in a world that is becoming more and more closely aligned with Hell, by blessing certain individuals with talent and inspiration such as Frank Düpree whose music remind us that God is very much here and near, watching, and listening to the desires of the heart.
[1] https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_D%25C3%25BCpree&prev=search
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Xg45bpgkg
[3] http://p360130.pixnet.net/blog/post/190478101-frank-dupree-%E5%BC%97%E8%98%AD%E5%85%8B%EF%BC%8E%E6%9D%9C%E6%99%AE%E9%87%8C---%E5%BE%B7%E5%9C%8B%E9%8B%BC%E7%90%B4%E5%AE%B6(844)
This blogger realizes how music is interpreted and performed is subjective, but nonetheless concludes that the caliber of this performance (save for a flaw or two) by the orchestra of the University of Music Karlsruhe , the soloists, the chorus and the pianist, was outstanding. In this blogger's opinion, Frank Düpree had captured with his piano playing with transparency, absent any hint of the performer's affectation, the genius of Beethoven in all of its dimensions, including the composer's moments of self-reflection, of brilliance, of anger, of deep-seated fears and of uncontainable joy, as well as the grandeur of Beethoven's imagination.
The splendor of beauty comes from Heaven and a glimpse of which can be had through those given the talents to reveal them. God is still very much engaged in a world that is becoming more and more closely aligned with Hell, by blessing certain individuals with talent and inspiration such as Frank Düpree whose music remind us that God is very much here and near, watching, and listening to the desires of the heart.
[1] https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_D%25C3%25BCpree&prev=search
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Xg45bpgkg
[3] http://p360130.pixnet.net/blog/post/190478101-frank-dupree-%E5%BC%97%E8%98%AD%E5%85%8B%EF%BC%8E%E6%9D%9C%E6%99%AE%E9%87%8C---%E5%BE%B7%E5%9C%8B%E9%8B%BC%E7%90%B4%E5%AE%B6(844)
Sunday, December 20, 2015
The Annunciation - A Reflection
One wonders if the Annunciation was not preceded by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, if Angel Gabriel's announcement [1] would cause the young virgin Mary to doubt her own qualifications to shoulder such a great burden, to carry in her womb the child of God.
One could speculate that an ordinary girl her age would first be filled with anxiety upon receiving the news, questioning as to why she was chosen, and would then look in the mirror to see if she is pretty enough to be the mother of God's child.
However, Mary was no ordinary girl -- she was born without Original Sin, and thus could not be classified under any category that humans tends to classify themselves for identification and other purposes and could not be expected to behave like every other sinner.
Although Mary was initially apprehensive as to what Angel's Gabriel's visit meant, she was neither frantic nor reluctant after she was told that she was chosen to give birth to the Son of God. Her only question, asked calmly, was how that could be possible since she was still a virgin. [2]
Can any sinner react with such perfect humility, confidence and grace when given a similar burden from God without question? Joseph came close, but not before considering sending Mary away to be on her own when "she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit" because "Joseph her husband was faithful to the law." [3] Only after an appearance by an angel to Joseph did he take the pregnant Mary home with him. [4]
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A26-38
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:18-25
[4] Ibid.
One could speculate that an ordinary girl her age would first be filled with anxiety upon receiving the news, questioning as to why she was chosen, and would then look in the mirror to see if she is pretty enough to be the mother of God's child.
However, Mary was no ordinary girl -- she was born without Original Sin, and thus could not be classified under any category that humans tends to classify themselves for identification and other purposes and could not be expected to behave like every other sinner.
Although Mary was initially apprehensive as to what Angel's Gabriel's visit meant, she was neither frantic nor reluctant after she was told that she was chosen to give birth to the Son of God. Her only question, asked calmly, was how that could be possible since she was still a virgin. [2]
Can any sinner react with such perfect humility, confidence and grace when given a similar burden from God without question? Joseph came close, but not before considering sending Mary away to be on her own when "she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit" because "Joseph her husband was faithful to the law." [3] Only after an appearance by an angel to Joseph did he take the pregnant Mary home with him. [4]
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A26-38
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:18-25
[4] Ibid.
Monday, December 14, 2015
The Mission Of Evangelization
"To help appreciate and better promote the vocation of religious brothers, the Vatican releases a 50-page reflection of the importance of their life and mission of evangelization, fraternity and sacrifice." [1] This blogger has not read the 50-page release nor has he seen the more or less 10,000-word Vatican announcement calling for Christians to not attempt to convert Jews [2], nonetheless he is prepared to suggest the following paragraphs to be inserted as addenda to the 50-page document under the section on evangelization:
"The simplest way to say what evangelization means is to follow Pope Paul VI, whose message Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World) has inspired so much recent thought and activity in the Church. We [the United States Conference of Bishops] can rephrase his words to say that evangelizing means bringing the Good News of Jesus into every human situation and seeking to convert individuals and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself." [3]
But Brothers, you must disregard what Pope Paul VI had said, because your current boss, pope Frank, has forbidden you to convert Jews to Christianity. [4] You ask: why? Do not, because you are forbidden to question your boss. You ask: how? First, you must learn how to single out all the Jews, then you must shut up about "the divine power of the Gospel" regardless of how passionate you are about the Truth of the words of the Son of God when you meet anyone who is Jewish.
You ask: would singling out Jews be considered as "politically incorrect profiling" and racism? Yes. You ask: is our boss the Son of God Who was sent by His Father or the pope? If you are a Catholic brother and you operate within the purview of the Vatican, your boss is the pope because he can defrock you. You ask: what if I make an innocent mistake? Go to your room and study the methods by which Germans were able to identify Jews under Hitler's regime, then prepare a written confession to send to the pope indicating that you have become a Nazi in order to carry out his edict.
Therefore, to protect your jobs, Brothers, evangelize all you want but stop short when you are face to face with a Jew.
[1] http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2015/vatican-releases-instruction-on-identity-mission-of-religious-brothers.cfm
[2] http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2015/12/12/Vatican-says-Catholics-shouldnt-seek-to-convert-Jews/3671449948130/
[3] http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/evangelization/, accessed December 14, 2015.
[4] http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Catholics-should-not-try-to-convert-Jews-Vatican-says-in-landmark-document-436915
"The simplest way to say what evangelization means is to follow Pope Paul VI, whose message Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World) has inspired so much recent thought and activity in the Church. We [the United States Conference of Bishops] can rephrase his words to say that evangelizing means bringing the Good News of Jesus into every human situation and seeking to convert individuals and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself." [3]
But Brothers, you must disregard what Pope Paul VI had said, because your current boss, pope Frank, has forbidden you to convert Jews to Christianity. [4] You ask: why? Do not, because you are forbidden to question your boss. You ask: how? First, you must learn how to single out all the Jews, then you must shut up about "the divine power of the Gospel" regardless of how passionate you are about the Truth of the words of the Son of God when you meet anyone who is Jewish.
You ask: would singling out Jews be considered as "politically incorrect profiling" and racism? Yes. You ask: is our boss the Son of God Who was sent by His Father or the pope? If you are a Catholic brother and you operate within the purview of the Vatican, your boss is the pope because he can defrock you. You ask: what if I make an innocent mistake? Go to your room and study the methods by which Germans were able to identify Jews under Hitler's regime, then prepare a written confession to send to the pope indicating that you have become a Nazi in order to carry out his edict.
Therefore, to protect your jobs, Brothers, evangelize all you want but stop short when you are face to face with a Jew.
[1] http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2015/vatican-releases-instruction-on-identity-mission-of-religious-brothers.cfm
[2] http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2015/12/12/Vatican-says-Catholics-shouldnt-seek-to-convert-Jews/3671449948130/
[3] http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/evangelization/, accessed December 14, 2015.
[4] http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Catholics-should-not-try-to-convert-Jews-Vatican-says-in-landmark-document-436915
Pope Silences The Words Of Christ
'"A Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations,' was issued by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and approved by Pope Francis. It says Christianity and Judaism are intertwined, and that God never annulled his covenant with the Jewish people." [1]
How the Vatican knows for certain what God has or has not done is miraculous.
While this blogger agrees with the Vatican that the Jews are free to believe what they want, he objects to the statement that Christianity and Judaism are intertwined. If they are intertwined, then the whole concept of the Holy Eucharist, the underpinning of Catholicism [2], ought to be eviscerated to complete the intertwining of Judaism and Catholicism, so that believers in both religions are able to attend religious services and be active participants in all the religious rituals in either a church or a synagogue. Moreover, the administration of the two religions ought to be combined at the highest levels, merging the Vatican with all the rabbinical councils on the planet.
To perfect the intertwining of Catholicism and Judaism is not likely at any time in the foreseeable future, even if this pope wishes to share his power, as unlikely as that is, because not every Catholic and every Jew is in agreement with the Vatican. "The Jews for Jesus organization has denounced the Vatican for saying that the Catholic Church must try not to covert Jews to Christianity. David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, said in a statement ... that his organization finds the position '...egregious, especially coming from an institution which seeks to represent a significant number of Christians in the world.'" [3]
David Brickner made an excellent point. In order to be a good Catholic, Catholic Christians must follow the edict of the pope and no longer speak about Christ and His teachings in front of a Jew. Now it is back to an eye for an eye [4] and Catholics can forget about turning the other cheek [5]. If Satan is not working fast enough in welcoming all Catholics to Hell, this Pope is working hard being the catalyst.
[1] http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Catholics-should-not-try-to-convert-Jews-Vatican-says-in-landmark-document-436915
[2] http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-eucharist/the-real-presence-of-jesus-christ-in-the-sacrament-of-the-eucharist-basic-questions-and-answers.cfm
[3] http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Jews-for-Jesus-denounces-Vatican-for-no-converting-Jews-policy-437176
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+24%3A17-22&version=ESV
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A38-48&version=NIV
How the Vatican knows for certain what God has or has not done is miraculous.
While this blogger agrees with the Vatican that the Jews are free to believe what they want, he objects to the statement that Christianity and Judaism are intertwined. If they are intertwined, then the whole concept of the Holy Eucharist, the underpinning of Catholicism [2], ought to be eviscerated to complete the intertwining of Judaism and Catholicism, so that believers in both religions are able to attend religious services and be active participants in all the religious rituals in either a church or a synagogue. Moreover, the administration of the two religions ought to be combined at the highest levels, merging the Vatican with all the rabbinical councils on the planet.
To perfect the intertwining of Catholicism and Judaism is not likely at any time in the foreseeable future, even if this pope wishes to share his power, as unlikely as that is, because not every Catholic and every Jew is in agreement with the Vatican. "The Jews for Jesus organization has denounced the Vatican for saying that the Catholic Church must try not to covert Jews to Christianity. David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, said in a statement ... that his organization finds the position '...egregious, especially coming from an institution which seeks to represent a significant number of Christians in the world.'" [3]
David Brickner made an excellent point. In order to be a good Catholic, Catholic Christians must follow the edict of the pope and no longer speak about Christ and His teachings in front of a Jew. Now it is back to an eye for an eye [4] and Catholics can forget about turning the other cheek [5]. If Satan is not working fast enough in welcoming all Catholics to Hell, this Pope is working hard being the catalyst.
[1] http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Catholics-should-not-try-to-convert-Jews-Vatican-says-in-landmark-document-436915
[2] http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-eucharist/the-real-presence-of-jesus-christ-in-the-sacrament-of-the-eucharist-basic-questions-and-answers.cfm
[3] http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Jews-for-Jesus-denounces-Vatican-for-no-converting-Jews-policy-437176
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+24%3A17-22&version=ESV
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A38-48&version=NIV
Thursday, December 10, 2015
News And Democracy
Having been in Asia for about two weeks and away from the constant bombardment by the news on American television that reports daily on the divisions in the country and in the cities all across the nation is a respite. Why is supposedly the greatest democratic nation in the world so divided within its borders? If democracy is the ideal form of government, then the United States proves that democratic government can be quite contentious. To say that its fifty states are united requires one to stretch beyond recognition the meaning of unity.
A perfect democracy where the majority is always one hundred percent without dissenters is not possible, not in this world of sinners, but in Heaven, it exists. Heaven can have a perfect democracy because every soul there is in perfect communion with God, the Creator. Where there is one mind under goodness in its purest form, democracy and dictatorship are no longer opposites but are identical and indistinguishable.
If in the world of sinners everyone can be of one mind on an otherwise divisive issue without a single dissenter, that would be news.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
The Conscience
God has given everyone a conscience. This entry defines conscience as a key to the goodness of God. One has the option to use it to open up the goodness within, or ignore it, keeping the goodness locked up, allowing the conscience to become dormant and die. Without a conscience, one becomes the agent of Satan, filled with pride, envy and hate, manifested in the decisions made and the work done or left undone.
The absence of selflessness is an indication of the lack of a conscience. To ask a person to be selfless at all times is to ask the impossible. Only the Son of God was able to do so. Being an imperfect sinner, one is expected to try one's best at all times, and that means failing often. The failure to apply one's conscience perfectly is not equivalent to setting it aside. To try and try again to be selfless means exercising one's conscience regularly.
Applying one's conscience in everything one does matures the conscience. A fully mature conscience is the judge of one's life after the end of life. The better one's conscience is, the better the outcome of the judgment, for how one uses his/her conscience in life will be how one's conscience be applied to his/her soul after his/her death.
To get to Heaven, therefore, is not so easy, for one's conscience often errs in favor of one's flesh but at the same time against the interest of one's soul. It will only be at the mercy of God that the Gates of Heaven will be open.
For anyone who does not use his/her conscience, the conscience becomes dormant and eventually dies, then Satan fills the void left by a non-existent conscience. A dead conscience is not a conscience. A person who does not have a conscience to be applied to his/her soul after his/her death should have reason to fear since it is no different than being treated by someone without a conscience in life. Being treated by someone without a conscience is like being treated as if one had no redeeming qualities. Souls without any redeeming quality end up in Hell. Therefore, when a soul is being judged by an absence of conscience, the soul being judged would be deemed to be worthless and straight to Hell it will go.
The absence of selflessness is an indication of the lack of a conscience. To ask a person to be selfless at all times is to ask the impossible. Only the Son of God was able to do so. Being an imperfect sinner, one is expected to try one's best at all times, and that means failing often. The failure to apply one's conscience perfectly is not equivalent to setting it aside. To try and try again to be selfless means exercising one's conscience regularly.
Applying one's conscience in everything one does matures the conscience. A fully mature conscience is the judge of one's life after the end of life. The better one's conscience is, the better the outcome of the judgment, for how one uses his/her conscience in life will be how one's conscience be applied to his/her soul after his/her death.
To get to Heaven, therefore, is not so easy, for one's conscience often errs in favor of one's flesh but at the same time against the interest of one's soul. It will only be at the mercy of God that the Gates of Heaven will be open.
For anyone who does not use his/her conscience, the conscience becomes dormant and eventually dies, then Satan fills the void left by a non-existent conscience. A dead conscience is not a conscience. A person who does not have a conscience to be applied to his/her soul after his/her death should have reason to fear since it is no different than being treated by someone without a conscience in life. Being treated by someone without a conscience is like being treated as if one had no redeeming qualities. Souls without any redeeming quality end up in Hell. Therefore, when a soul is being judged by an absence of conscience, the soul being judged would be deemed to be worthless and straight to Hell it will go.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
A Long Life
Here in Asia, a long life is a blessing. It is perhaps something that many people of the world would want as well, except for suicide killers. While a long life lived happily and healthfully is desired, one that is full of pain and strife may not be as pleasant [1] but many in the latter group do seek medical care to become better, hoping to return soon to their normal daily lives.
The question asked here is whether a long life is God's blessing or God's punishment. This blogger thinks that it can be either or both. When a life is long and the nonagenarians and the centenarians stay healthy, are well cared for by their relatives and caretakers and are content, then their long lives are blessed lives. On the other hand, those who live long lives but cannot die could very well be a punishment, not only for them but for their family members. The nonagenarians that are punished can suffer themselves, watch their loved ones suffer, or both. [2] Thus, wishing a person a long life can be either something that is desired or a curse.
What about someone living a long life who is cared for in certain ways but is also suffering as a result of illness? Is that a blessing or a punishment? In this blogger's opinion, that is a blessing rather than a mixed blessing, for he sees the long life as the beginning of purgatory while in the flesh. This blogger had read somewhere that the Blessed Virgin Mary had indicated that suffering in life, however difficult it may be, is far easier than the suffering in Purgatory after death. In either case, eternal joy is guaranteed, whether the purging of sins starts in life or in Purgatory.
[1] The topic of assisted-suicide is not relevant to this entry.
[2] A hypothetical example of a nonagenarian being punished is having him see his own glory being tarnished by his sons, and seeing one of his son's reputation being trashed for transforming the world into a dangerous place because of the abuse of his power while he had it and another one of his sons trying to acquire power being rejected by the people in his own party.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
The Hijab
This blogger does not even know how to pronounce the word but "hijab" is the name of the scarf that Muslim women use to wrap their heads with. [1] Seeing several women the other day in the very crowded subway stations and on the subway trains somewhere in Asia, this blogger was struck with a degree of fear, however unfounded and unjustified, that perhaps one of them would for some reason detonate a suicide belt, taking her own life and the lives of many commuters around her. These women stood out because of their hijabs. Had they not worn their hijabs identifying them as Muslim, this blogger would not have feared.
As much as this blogger dislikes prejudging, he prejudged the Muslim women wearing their hijabs. And as often as this blogger writes about hypocrisy, he was being a hypocrite by doing the very thing --prejudging--that he does not think is right to do. [2]
A sinner this blogger was born as and a sinner he will continue to be until his death, and on God's mercy he will depend in hopes that his soul will be saved.
A sinner this blogger was born as and a sinner he will continue to be until his death, and on God's mercy he will depend in hopes that his soul will be saved.
[1] http://islam.about.com/od/dress/tp/clothing-glossary.htm
[2] Prejudging and hypocrisy in this instance are only two of this blogger's many, many flaws.
[2] Prejudging and hypocrisy in this instance are only two of this blogger's many, many flaws.
Media And The Works Of Satan
Shooters and television stations that cover shootings nonstop seem to have a symbiotic relationship. Certain television station reporters flock to cover shootings within the United States and around the world. Some have traveled to Paris, France, twice to cover the shootings there and to Canada to cover the one in Ottawa, Ontario. They seem to be drawn to disasters like flies to manure. And potential shooters love the media attention, the 24-hour coverage. The media and the shooters seem to partner up well, each existing for the other, one for ratings, the other for notoriety.
On the other end of the spectrum, those who perform acts of kindness do not get much media coverage. Fr. John Lee Tae-Seok was an example. [1], [2]
Perhaps Satan in its wily ways is always more interesting than the ways of God lived out by the Son of God. People in today's world is being drawn closer and closer to Satan by the news media, the social media, the fashion media, the consumption media (food, alcohol, gambling, drugs, medication, pornography and sports, for example) and every other kind of secular media as a participant or as an observer or both.
The antidote to this vortex of energy that draws souls into Hell is prayer. Every prayer is a redemption of sin. Even though it is unlikely that enough prayers would be said in one's lifetime to redeem every sin committed, it is better to have said the prayers than not to have said any at all. It is essential to note that every prayer that is prayed with concentration, sincerity, humility and abiding love is exponentially more effective than the mere recitation of prayers of the rosary.
[1] http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/02/25/the-21st-century-%E2%80%98saint%E2%80%99-you%E2%80%99ve-never-heard-of/
[2] http://lemomentdepaix.blogspot.hk/2015/08/gods-shepherd-fr-john-lee-tae-seok-aka.html
On the other end of the spectrum, those who perform acts of kindness do not get much media coverage. Fr. John Lee Tae-Seok was an example. [1], [2]
Perhaps Satan in its wily ways is always more interesting than the ways of God lived out by the Son of God. People in today's world is being drawn closer and closer to Satan by the news media, the social media, the fashion media, the consumption media (food, alcohol, gambling, drugs, medication, pornography and sports, for example) and every other kind of secular media as a participant or as an observer or both.
The antidote to this vortex of energy that draws souls into Hell is prayer. Every prayer is a redemption of sin. Even though it is unlikely that enough prayers would be said in one's lifetime to redeem every sin committed, it is better to have said the prayers than not to have said any at all. It is essential to note that every prayer that is prayed with concentration, sincerity, humility and abiding love is exponentially more effective than the mere recitation of prayers of the rosary.
[1] http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/02/25/the-21st-century-%E2%80%98saint%E2%80%99-you%E2%80%99ve-never-heard-of/
[2] http://lemomentdepaix.blogspot.hk/2015/08/gods-shepherd-fr-john-lee-tae-seok-aka.html
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
A True Leader
In order for one to lead, one has to be loved by those who follow. To have followers, one has to live among them, not necessarily for life but long enough to be loved. That usually does not take a long time when the love is consistently magnanimous, because the power of that love will spread fast and far and wide by word of mouth.
Magnanimous love is what man is capable of, but it is a big step below unconditional love which no man can give for unconditional love demands a non-judgmental mind and man is incapable of withholding prejudicial judgment of every kind. The One Who was man in nature and God in spirit was the only One Who loved unconditionally without any bias. His love was so powerful that two millennia later, He is still at the very core of humanity.
The way the Son of God loved was simple because He knew the absolute Truth, and He lived among those who followed Him. When one knows the absolute Truth, the facts speak for themselves and there is no need to judge. Even if the facts are all negative, causing the grand scale of justice to tilt toward Hell, the Son of God was there on the cross asking His Father to forgive all those who did not know what they were doing [1], [2] but who freely and willingly humble themselves before God to ask for forgiveness. [3]
This blogger blames it on jet lag for not remembering exactly what he wrote on this very topic and not knowing any sinner who did not know what he was doing before he sinned, while he was making plans to sin, when he was sinning and after he had sinned, but he can still identify the ugly creature of Satan who gave the world ISIL [4], [5] by his order to invade Iraq and kill Saddam Hussein. If the creature had not known what he did was wrong while he was in power, he ought to know now with certainty that his evil deed is continuing to delight Satan even though Satan is already done with him and has moved on to those currently in power who are willing to do its work.
If that weak and pitiful creature who apparently was unable to refuse Satan's request to awaken true evil in the Mideast peace thinks that he was a world leader, then his personal truth as he sees it could not be further from the absolute Truth. He was definitely not a world leader for he never lived among the peoples of the world, and the fact that he fears traveling outside his country and probably spends most of his time in his own state and within the boundaries of his own property, he is a prisoner in his own make-belief world and therefore cannot ever hope to be a leader. No prisoner who is confined involuntarily, or voluntarily out of mortal fear and for self-preservation, within a small defined area relative to the world at large, and who is without the capacity to love magnanimously has any leadership quality. What propelled the arrogant and bellicose Iraq invader to power was the influence of Evil which will not stop until the ultimate showdown between Good and Evil.
To be a true leader, one must emulate the One Who came to save man from himself, by listening to His words and contemplating His actions, all of which point to man's two most difficult challenges and ironically his most innate tendencies which are to love and to find love in return.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A33-43&version=KJV
[2] Intellectual dishonesty and rationalizations do not count toward ignorance of one's sinful intentions and acts.
[3] Heaven cannot be forced upon one who is so blinded by his pride that he would refuse to acknowledge the love of God Who has been waiting for him to exercise his Free Will to love God in return.
[4] "'ISIL's interest in horrific ways to inflict harm is completely consistent with ISIL's record of complete disregard for human rights and international norms and values," said one U.S. official." See http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-terror-tactics-20151122-story.html
[5] Referring to ISIL, Robin Wright, a Mideast scholar said, "'in 2015, the threat has never been so stark, the group so wealthy, the technology so sophisticated, or the battlefield so global, even as the front lines are so amorphous.'" See http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-terror-tactics-20151122-story.html
Magnanimous love is what man is capable of, but it is a big step below unconditional love which no man can give for unconditional love demands a non-judgmental mind and man is incapable of withholding prejudicial judgment of every kind. The One Who was man in nature and God in spirit was the only One Who loved unconditionally without any bias. His love was so powerful that two millennia later, He is still at the very core of humanity.
The way the Son of God loved was simple because He knew the absolute Truth, and He lived among those who followed Him. When one knows the absolute Truth, the facts speak for themselves and there is no need to judge. Even if the facts are all negative, causing the grand scale of justice to tilt toward Hell, the Son of God was there on the cross asking His Father to forgive all those who did not know what they were doing [1], [2] but who freely and willingly humble themselves before God to ask for forgiveness. [3]
This blogger blames it on jet lag for not remembering exactly what he wrote on this very topic and not knowing any sinner who did not know what he was doing before he sinned, while he was making plans to sin, when he was sinning and after he had sinned, but he can still identify the ugly creature of Satan who gave the world ISIL [4], [5] by his order to invade Iraq and kill Saddam Hussein. If the creature had not known what he did was wrong while he was in power, he ought to know now with certainty that his evil deed is continuing to delight Satan even though Satan is already done with him and has moved on to those currently in power who are willing to do its work.
If that weak and pitiful creature who apparently was unable to refuse Satan's request to awaken true evil in the Mideast peace thinks that he was a world leader, then his personal truth as he sees it could not be further from the absolute Truth. He was definitely not a world leader for he never lived among the peoples of the world, and the fact that he fears traveling outside his country and probably spends most of his time in his own state and within the boundaries of his own property, he is a prisoner in his own make-belief world and therefore cannot ever hope to be a leader. No prisoner who is confined involuntarily, or voluntarily out of mortal fear and for self-preservation, within a small defined area relative to the world at large, and who is without the capacity to love magnanimously has any leadership quality. What propelled the arrogant and bellicose Iraq invader to power was the influence of Evil which will not stop until the ultimate showdown between Good and Evil.
To be a true leader, one must emulate the One Who came to save man from himself, by listening to His words and contemplating His actions, all of which point to man's two most difficult challenges and ironically his most innate tendencies which are to love and to find love in return.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A33-43&version=KJV
[2] Intellectual dishonesty and rationalizations do not count toward ignorance of one's sinful intentions and acts.
[3] Heaven cannot be forced upon one who is so blinded by his pride that he would refuse to acknowledge the love of God Who has been waiting for him to exercise his Free Will to love God in return.
[4] "'ISIL's interest in horrific ways to inflict harm is completely consistent with ISIL's record of complete disregard for human rights and international norms and values," said one U.S. official." See http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-terror-tactics-20151122-story.html
[5] Referring to ISIL, Robin Wright, a Mideast scholar said, "'in 2015, the threat has never been so stark, the group so wealthy, the technology so sophisticated, or the battlefield so global, even as the front lines are so amorphous.'" See http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-terror-tactics-20151122-story.html
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Hugs At Place de la République
A Muslim man blind-folded himself and offered to hug anyone who wanted one near Place de la République on November 16, 2015, [1]. [2]. [3] after the shootings at Le Bataclan and attacks elsewhere in Paris three days earlier on November 13. [4] His small gesture probably had no effect on any future terrorist act the extreme Muslim terrorists might already be planning but it was a beginning of a hope that perhaps would change the minds of some who might be considering radicalization to rethink their intention, seeing that hate divides and wounds humanity but love unites and heals it.
The world needs a lot more close interpersonal relationships based on love and much less impersonal killings based on self-righteousness, greed, power and revenge. [5] The one who believed that his invasion of Iraq was sanctioned by God ought to examine his relationship with Satan as a pawn of Satan. [6] Terrorists that kill are pure evil, but the one who enabled their existence and their subsequent rise to power was no less evil than the sadistic killers.
This blogger does not know if any of Satan's pawns will receive redemption but thinks that their ego are so overwhelmed by pride that they are forever blinded by it, so much so that even on the Day of Final Judgment, they would not be able to be humble long enough to ask God for forgiveness. With their final refusal to abandon their pride, they would have chosen freely their eternity, Hell.
[1] http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/paris-attacks-video-shows-blindfolded-muslim-man-offering-hugs-empathy-1529479
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslim-hugs-paris-video_564d12a5e4b08c74b73453a4
[3] Seeing images of hugs after hugs, tears began to well up in this blogger's eyes.
[4] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/14/paris-attacks-bataclan-concert-hall
[5] The Russian bombing of ISIL oil refineries and trucks was, in this blogger's opinion, the right thing to do. This is not considered "an eye for an eye" but a collateral attack on ISIL's economic structure for ISIL's killing of innocent passengers on an airplane with a bomb.
[6] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa
The world needs a lot more close interpersonal relationships based on love and much less impersonal killings based on self-righteousness, greed, power and revenge. [5] The one who believed that his invasion of Iraq was sanctioned by God ought to examine his relationship with Satan as a pawn of Satan. [6] Terrorists that kill are pure evil, but the one who enabled their existence and their subsequent rise to power was no less evil than the sadistic killers.
This blogger does not know if any of Satan's pawns will receive redemption but thinks that their ego are so overwhelmed by pride that they are forever blinded by it, so much so that even on the Day of Final Judgment, they would not be able to be humble long enough to ask God for forgiveness. With their final refusal to abandon their pride, they would have chosen freely their eternity, Hell.
[1] http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/paris-attacks-video-shows-blindfolded-muslim-man-offering-hugs-empathy-1529479
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslim-hugs-paris-video_564d12a5e4b08c74b73453a4
[3] Seeing images of hugs after hugs, tears began to well up in this blogger's eyes.
[4] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/14/paris-attacks-bataclan-concert-hall
[5] The Russian bombing of ISIL oil refineries and trucks was, in this blogger's opinion, the right thing to do. This is not considered "an eye for an eye" but a collateral attack on ISIL's economic structure for ISIL's killing of innocent passengers on an airplane with a bomb.
[6] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa
Saturday, November 14, 2015
The Self-Righteous Uses No Mirror
Not all, but there are many in power today who see themselves as guardians of peace around the world. Their idea to secure world peace is through the exercise of military might to displace leaders in their own countries they find to be repugnant. Their approach is diametrically opposed to that of Christ Who triumphed over Evil through sacrificial love for those who deserve none: they act collectively as judge, jury and executioner, just as Satan judges all sinners to be undeserving and wants to send them all to Hell. [1] These self-righteous and supposedly "peaceful minded" people justify their actions by looking at themselves, not in front of a mirror because a mirror reflects both what is beautiful and what is ugly, but through denials and rationalizations of their ugly truths.
People can live in denial all they want as long as they are in the flesh, but once the flesh is gone, the mechanisms that fuel the denials in the mind no longer work, then what passes through it is the Truth, reaching all the way back and all the way forward, beginning and ending with God. It is the Truth that torments for eternity and there is no escape from It.
God does not expect man to stand before a mirror and see only beauty and perfection, but to also see all of his defects and ugliness reflected back in the hope that he has sufficient humility to ask God for help in transforming himself to be like Christ. Despite the countless times man necessarily falls short because of Sin, he sees at the end of his journey the living Christ on the cross, Whose suffering and death have redeemed him. Then it would be up to man, the sinner, to show his love for God and his desire to be with God to activate God's unconditional love that has been waiting for him all along. [2]
[1] Satan is never the executioner. Satan never has to kill because Satan uses man's sinful nature to have man kill one another. By doing so, Satan has steadily been able to transform earth into Hell.
[2] God created man and waits for man to return to his Creator. It is not for any man on earth to judge, let alone kill another because he thinks he is better. Let it be clear, no man is in the absolute sense better than any other man. If man sees each other as enemies, then man has fallen into Satan's continuous loop of conquer and revenge that thrives in a state of distrust and disdain, leaving many in distress and despair.
People can live in denial all they want as long as they are in the flesh, but once the flesh is gone, the mechanisms that fuel the denials in the mind no longer work, then what passes through it is the Truth, reaching all the way back and all the way forward, beginning and ending with God. It is the Truth that torments for eternity and there is no escape from It.
God does not expect man to stand before a mirror and see only beauty and perfection, but to also see all of his defects and ugliness reflected back in the hope that he has sufficient humility to ask God for help in transforming himself to be like Christ. Despite the countless times man necessarily falls short because of Sin, he sees at the end of his journey the living Christ on the cross, Whose suffering and death have redeemed him. Then it would be up to man, the sinner, to show his love for God and his desire to be with God to activate God's unconditional love that has been waiting for him all along. [2]
[1] Satan is never the executioner. Satan never has to kill because Satan uses man's sinful nature to have man kill one another. By doing so, Satan has steadily been able to transform earth into Hell.
[2] God created man and waits for man to return to his Creator. It is not for any man on earth to judge, let alone kill another because he thinks he is better. Let it be clear, no man is in the absolute sense better than any other man. If man sees each other as enemies, then man has fallen into Satan's continuous loop of conquer and revenge that thrives in a state of distrust and disdain, leaving many in distress and despair.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Work Of The Devil In Paris - Friday, November 13, 2015
"More than 150 people have been killed in a series of coordinated terror attacks in the heart of Paris which have paralysed the French capital." [1] Such and all other terrorist killings could most certainly be counted as the work of the Devil. "The main shooting broke out at a popular music hall, Le Bataclan, where the American band Eagles of Death Metal was among those playing." [2] All of the band members of Eagles of Death Metal escaped unharmed [3], including the band leader, Jesse Hughes, who "uses many different nicknames, including 'J. Devil' (or simply 'The Devil')". [4]
Wherever the readers of this blog are or travel to, pray sincerely, pray often, pray for all, love deeply, love always and love all and may they and their loves ones be blessed by God.
Hughes revealed that his band mate Josh Homme gave him "The Devil" nickname when he was thirteen. "I used to get picked on a lot by Karl Doyle" says Hughes, "And when I would get picked on severely, or if it really made a point to me, I would get vengeance, but I would get vengeance in the way that I could, which was mostly clever and all consuming. Joshua once witnessed me in the moment I was about to enact vengeance upon someone, and he just said, 'You're the fucking devil dude,' and it stuck." [5]Perhaps the terrorists who killed were also intended to exact vengeance for what they perceived to be unjust, however wrong their perception. But vengeance is not the way to peace. Jesus said, "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheeks also." [6] However, those who had been killed by terrorists could not ask to be killed again. Therefore, it is up to those who are able to do something to stop future killings to find a way to peace, not by fighting back and killing in revenge but by loving in return. As difficult as this is to do, this has to be done, for the alternative is continual killing, generation after generation. The unending conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis is an example.
Wherever the readers of this blog are or travel to, pray sincerely, pray often, pray for all, love deeply, love always and love all and may they and their loves ones be blessed by God.
[5] Ibid.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
The Vatican In Deep Trouble
This blogger has consistently criticized the Catholic church, namely, its hypocrisy, and is continually troubled by the unsaintliness of certain "political saints" as compared to God's saints. As it turned out, the criticisms were not unfounded. Recent events that have unfolded for the world to see have given them credence.
An article entitled Sainthood price-tag leaks stir Vatican fury in the Financial Times dated November 6, 2015, summarized succinctly what troubles this blogger: [1]
On sainthood (quoted) [2]:
On hypocrisy (quoted) [3] :
The arrest was seemingly a "pre-emptive strike" by the Vatican against the accused (quoted) [6]:
[1] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/125327f0-8485-11e5-8095-ed1a37d1e096.html#axzz3qw6yqP00, accessed November 8, 2015. Alternatively, search for the FT article here: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=sainthoot%20price%20tag%20leaks%20stir%20vatican%20fury
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] http://www.npr.org/2015/11/03/454192872/vatican-arrests-2-in-leaked-documents-investigation
[6] Ibid.
[7] http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-pope-pledges-to-continue-reforms-in-face-of-leaks-2015-11
[8] Ibid.
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:3-5
An article entitled Sainthood price-tag leaks stir Vatican fury in the Financial Times dated November 6, 2015, summarized succinctly what troubles this blogger: [1]
On sainthood (quoted) [2]:
The overall cost to the Vatican involved in creating a new saint can be as high as €500,000 — and in one case hit €750,000 — because of the lengthy historical due-diligence involved in analysing a candidate’s suitability, including whether he or she has performed any miracles.When so much money is involved in crowning a sinner with an artificial halo, it is reasonable to conclude that there are less than holy factions and forces with less than wholesome intentions that are corrupting the Church, compelling it to make saints out of undeserving sinners. This blogger has long doubted the "miracles" attributed to JP2's intercessions were genuine. Another dubious saint in this blogger's opinion is Pio whose was made a saint in 2002 by JP2. Wherever their souls are, this blogger wonders if their earthly halos emit light or are they just rings of darkness that craves the Light of Christ endlessly.
On hypocrisy (quoted) [3] :
Overall, the Vatican’s real estate portfolio was estimated to be worth €2.7bn, and, in many cases, housing was rented out to friends and acquaintances at prices well below market value.
One former Vatican official was accused of using funds destined for a Vatican-run children’s hospital in Rome to pay for a €23,000 helicopter ride to southern Italy and the refurbishment of his own flat.
Even the pope himself commented (quoted) [4]:
“A believer cannot speak of poverty and the homeless but have the lifestyle of a pharaoh,” he said.It is ironic that the pope made the comment above since rather than forgiving and praising those who leaked private Vatican information, he had them arrested. See the November 3, 2015, article by NPR entitled 2 Vatican Officials In Probe Of Leaked Documents. [5]
The arrest was seemingly a "pre-emptive strike" by the Vatican against the accused (quoted) [6]:
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: The Vatican has arrested two of its employees. One is a monsignor, a high-level priest. The other is a public relations specialist. They're both suspected of leaking confidential information to the media. And they were taken into custody just before the publication of two books that promised to reveal scandal within the Holy See. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli is covering this story from Rome. Hi, Sylvia.
SYLVIA POGGIOLI, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.
INSKEEP: What did these two allegedly leak?
POGGIOLI: Well, we don't know. There's no official charge yet. But the presumption is that this is a preemptive strike on the part of the Vatican before the release of these two books that have been getting a lot of attention in the media here.Last, but not least, a Business Insider article written by Associated Press published within the last 24 hours entitled Pope pledges to continue reform in face of leaks reported that "Pope Francis told followers in St. Peter's Square on Sunday [November 8, 2015] that the theft of documents describing financial malfeasance inside the Holy See was a 'crime' but pledged to continue reforms of its administration." [7] The report concluded with the following paragraph, stating (quoted) [8]:
Last week the Vatican described the books as "fruit of a grave betrayal of the trust given by the pope, and, as far as the authors go, of an operation to take advantage of a gravely illicit act of handing over confidential documentation." It added that the publication did not help "in any way to establish clarity and truth, but rather generate confusion and partial and tendentious conclusions."What is wrong with this picture, describing the books as a betrayal of the pope's trust in the authors but not acknowledging the Vatican's betrayal of the people's trust in the Catholic church that everything ought to be clear, truthful and holy? The question had already been answered by Christ Himself: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" [9]
[1] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/125327f0-8485-11e5-8095-ed1a37d1e096.html#axzz3qw6yqP00, accessed November 8, 2015. Alternatively, search for the FT article here: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=sainthoot%20price%20tag%20leaks%20stir%20vatican%20fury
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] http://www.npr.org/2015/11/03/454192872/vatican-arrests-2-in-leaked-documents-investigation
[6] Ibid.
[7] http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-pope-pledges-to-continue-reforms-in-face-of-leaks-2015-11
[8] Ibid.
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:3-5
Thursday, November 5, 2015
2015 Synod Of The Bishops On The [Broken] Family And [The Broken Church] (Revised 11-8-2015)
Fundamental to the family unit is love, not self-love that advances selfish interests but love for each other that is, in essence, love for God.
The Synod of Bishops on the family in 2015 had concluded [1] but not without controversy. One of them is the ability of divorced Catholics who had remarried outside of the church being able to receive Holy Communion. "Many hold that it would break with Catholic teaching about the absolute indissolubility of sacramental marriage and the need to receive sacramental Communion while in a state of grace." [2] Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan is of that camp. [3] The opposing view was argued by "the German-speaking small group at the Synod of the Family." [4]
This blogger is not concerned so much whether divorced couples and other sinners receiving Holy Communion have love in their hearts for one another within their family units and beyond and for God, and are in a state of grace before God. Only God knows if they are or not because God sees not only them but also others whose lives they have affected, positively and negatively. What concerns this blogger is the bigger issue, the beginnings of a split between the traditionalists and the progressives within the church. Without unity on basic Catholic doctrine, the Catholic church could not survive in its current form.
A pope having part of his worldwide team disagreeing with him and going in a separate direction no longer has the authority to speak for the whole Catholic church. St. Malachy prophesized that Peter the Roman would be the last pope [5]. Cardinal Bergolio, who after becoming pope, named himself Francesco after San Francesco d'Assisi [6], who was known as Francesco di Pietro di Bernadone [7], a Roman. Thus, the pope sitting at the head of the Catholic church today is Peter the Roman. His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI who represents the traditionalists, and this pope who represents the progressives, both occupying the Vatican grounds simultaneously, is symbolic of a two-headed church. Perhaps the lightning that struck the Vatican's dome on the day Pope Benedict XVI resigned was a sign foretelling that the Vatican would be split apart. [8]
Once the Catholic church announces officially its irreconcilable differences, the papacy would be over, and St. Malachy's prophecy would be fulfilled. The priests in the Vatican would likely be fighting, perhaps even killing, one another for the valuable church assets. Should the scenario unfold, this pope would literally have to step over dead bodies upon leaving the Vatican, making pope Pius X's 1909 nightmare vision come true [9], thus ending the family of 266 popes [10] beginning with the first, Saint Peter, the Apostle. [11]
[1] http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/october/documents/papa-francesco_20151024_sinodo-conclusione-lavori.html
[2] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/bishop-robert-barron-to-academics-debate-ross-douthat-dont-dodge-him-31777/
[3] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/polish-archbishop-unless-we-recognize-sin-christs-incarnation-is-meaningless-39549/
[4] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/read-todays-report-from-the-german-small-group-at-the-synod-93120/
[5] http://www.bibleprobe.com/last10popes.htm
[6] http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/cardinals-elect-pope-francis-argentinean-jesuit-jorge-mario-bergoglio
[7] http://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-of-Assisi
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4qdo0e8ECE
[9] http://www.bibleprobe.com/last10popes.htm
[10] http://fallibleblogma.com/index.php/how-many-popes-have-there-been/
[11] It would be rather poetic, in a twisted sort of way, for the papacy to begin with Saint Peter, the Apostle, who was crucified under the Roman emperor, Nero and end with Peter the Roman who crucified the Church, in a metaphoric sense.
The Synod of Bishops on the family in 2015 had concluded [1] but not without controversy. One of them is the ability of divorced Catholics who had remarried outside of the church being able to receive Holy Communion. "Many hold that it would break with Catholic teaching about the absolute indissolubility of sacramental marriage and the need to receive sacramental Communion while in a state of grace." [2] Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan is of that camp. [3] The opposing view was argued by "the German-speaking small group at the Synod of the Family." [4]
This blogger is not concerned so much whether divorced couples and other sinners receiving Holy Communion have love in their hearts for one another within their family units and beyond and for God, and are in a state of grace before God. Only God knows if they are or not because God sees not only them but also others whose lives they have affected, positively and negatively. What concerns this blogger is the bigger issue, the beginnings of a split between the traditionalists and the progressives within the church. Without unity on basic Catholic doctrine, the Catholic church could not survive in its current form.
A pope having part of his worldwide team disagreeing with him and going in a separate direction no longer has the authority to speak for the whole Catholic church. St. Malachy prophesized that Peter the Roman would be the last pope [5]. Cardinal Bergolio, who after becoming pope, named himself Francesco after San Francesco d'Assisi [6], who was known as Francesco di Pietro di Bernadone [7], a Roman. Thus, the pope sitting at the head of the Catholic church today is Peter the Roman. His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI who represents the traditionalists, and this pope who represents the progressives, both occupying the Vatican grounds simultaneously, is symbolic of a two-headed church. Perhaps the lightning that struck the Vatican's dome on the day Pope Benedict XVI resigned was a sign foretelling that the Vatican would be split apart. [8]
Once the Catholic church announces officially its irreconcilable differences, the papacy would be over, and St. Malachy's prophecy would be fulfilled. The priests in the Vatican would likely be fighting, perhaps even killing, one another for the valuable church assets. Should the scenario unfold, this pope would literally have to step over dead bodies upon leaving the Vatican, making pope Pius X's 1909 nightmare vision come true [9], thus ending the family of 266 popes [10] beginning with the first, Saint Peter, the Apostle. [11]
[1] http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/october/documents/papa-francesco_20151024_sinodo-conclusione-lavori.html
[2] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/bishop-robert-barron-to-academics-debate-ross-douthat-dont-dodge-him-31777/
[3] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/polish-archbishop-unless-we-recognize-sin-christs-incarnation-is-meaningless-39549/
[4] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/read-todays-report-from-the-german-small-group-at-the-synod-93120/
[5] http://www.bibleprobe.com/last10popes.htm
[6] http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/cardinals-elect-pope-francis-argentinean-jesuit-jorge-mario-bergoglio
[7] http://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-of-Assisi
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4qdo0e8ECE
[9] http://www.bibleprobe.com/last10popes.htm
[10] http://fallibleblogma.com/index.php/how-many-popes-have-there-been/
[11] It would be rather poetic, in a twisted sort of way, for the papacy to begin with Saint Peter, the Apostle, who was crucified under the Roman emperor, Nero and end with Peter the Roman who crucified the Church, in a metaphoric sense.
The Demise Of Reality And The Rise Of Virtual Reality
The pre-electronic world saw its imperceptible end when man started to supplant reality with virtual reality and in its wake, God Who is very much part of reality, has vanished into virtual oblivion from which nothing resuscitates. Gone also are the romanticized remnants of the Garden of Eden where every plant, every fruit and every other living organism on land and in the sea each contributed in some positive way to the eternal youth of Adam and Eve until their perfect lives and their perfect surrounds were ended by their pride and envy. Their offsprings, the people of the world, have since corrupted the God-given nurturing earth even more, and are doing so at a pace faster than ever before.
In this rapidly-advancing electronic world, the integrity of the oceans and seas is disintegrating, with the nutrients that are in them to heal and feed poisoned by the seepage of all kinds of toxic substances from disposed consumer electronic gadgets and vehicles, ranging from large scale use of batteries and LED lighting to faster and thinner computers, larger smart phones, larger, thinner smart televisions with lousy acoustics, smarter and faster drones and inventions yet to be conceived, all finding their way into the food chain, a health risk that cannot be quantified, and conveniently ignored in the world of virtual reality. As if death does not come soon enough for the sinful mortal in a pristine world, man by his insatiable desires has hastened his own mortality by being obliviously sinful, captivated by and consuming with impunity the unceasing production of toxic inventions that fill the world with contaminants while being in full denial of the increasing concentration of their existence.
A sanitized world replete with denials of all kinds is today's world of virtual reality.
Going back some 2,000 years when Jesus recruited Peter and Andrew to be His first disciples by the Sea of Galilee [1], Jesus was not taking them them back to paradise that was Eden. On the contrary, He was planning to show them Evil and His triumph over Evil, the realities of His death and resurrection, the very real God and the Son of God and the shortest way to Heaven, which is via sacrificial love.
The Enemy knows this and obfuscates the road to Heaven by its temptations. It has done so by fraud (it planted the seeds of pride an envy in Adam and Eve by means of a lie [2]), by heightening the desires of the flesh, by expanding the appetite for wealth and power (man using his intellect against others), and it is now doing so by using man's given intellect against himself in a virtual world, a place consumed and dominated by toxic electronic devices where God is absent, where the Son of God never existed to be betrayed, scourged, taunted and crucified and where the binary-uncodable redemption of Sin is not even a concept. In this world of electronic unreality, the only path is to Hell.
As the world of virtual reality grows, the world of reality shrinks. Within virtual reality, the Truth is hidden and Satan is sanitized, God is denied entry [4] and what is True and Holy does not fit in.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204:18
[2] The lie was that Adam and Eve could be like God when they ate the forbidden Apple, in this blogger's opinion, was the Apple was a test of Adam and Eve's love for their Creator, to not disobey, on the one hand, and on the other, to see if Adam and Eve would exercise their Free Will granted to them to sin against God, wanting to be like and out-do God. They failed on both counts based on a lie the Serpent told.
[3] The Passion of Christ was not virtual nor is the redemption of Sin. To insist that a virtual representation of the Passion of Christ is sufficient food for the soul, then it is equally proper to insist that a virtual representation of a mother's breast milk is sufficient food for an new born baby.
In this rapidly-advancing electronic world, the integrity of the oceans and seas is disintegrating, with the nutrients that are in them to heal and feed poisoned by the seepage of all kinds of toxic substances from disposed consumer electronic gadgets and vehicles, ranging from large scale use of batteries and LED lighting to faster and thinner computers, larger smart phones, larger, thinner smart televisions with lousy acoustics, smarter and faster drones and inventions yet to be conceived, all finding their way into the food chain, a health risk that cannot be quantified, and conveniently ignored in the world of virtual reality. As if death does not come soon enough for the sinful mortal in a pristine world, man by his insatiable desires has hastened his own mortality by being obliviously sinful, captivated by and consuming with impunity the unceasing production of toxic inventions that fill the world with contaminants while being in full denial of the increasing concentration of their existence.
A sanitized world replete with denials of all kinds is today's world of virtual reality.
Going back some 2,000 years when Jesus recruited Peter and Andrew to be His first disciples by the Sea of Galilee [1], Jesus was not taking them them back to paradise that was Eden. On the contrary, He was planning to show them Evil and His triumph over Evil, the realities of His death and resurrection, the very real God and the Son of God and the shortest way to Heaven, which is via sacrificial love.
The Enemy knows this and obfuscates the road to Heaven by its temptations. It has done so by fraud (it planted the seeds of pride an envy in Adam and Eve by means of a lie [2]), by heightening the desires of the flesh, by expanding the appetite for wealth and power (man using his intellect against others), and it is now doing so by using man's given intellect against himself in a virtual world, a place consumed and dominated by toxic electronic devices where God is absent, where the Son of God never existed to be betrayed, scourged, taunted and crucified and where the binary-uncodable redemption of Sin is not even a concept. In this world of electronic unreality, the only path is to Hell.
As the world of virtual reality grows, the world of reality shrinks. Within virtual reality, the Truth is hidden and Satan is sanitized, God is denied entry [4] and what is True and Holy does not fit in.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204:18
[2] The lie was that Adam and Eve could be like God when they ate the forbidden Apple, in this blogger's opinion, was the Apple was a test of Adam and Eve's love for their Creator, to not disobey, on the one hand, and on the other, to see if Adam and Eve would exercise their Free Will granted to them to sin against God, wanting to be like and out-do God. They failed on both counts based on a lie the Serpent told.
[3] The Passion of Christ was not virtual nor is the redemption of Sin. To insist that a virtual representation of the Passion of Christ is sufficient food for the soul, then it is equally proper to insist that a virtual representation of a mother's breast milk is sufficient food for an new born baby.
Monday, November 2, 2015
In Uncertain Times
In everyone's life there are times when one does not know what to expect because what may come next is in the hands of God, or of somebody else beyond one's control, or of those in power acting under the influence of Satan causing pain, grief and strife for many, and still many others who suffer emotional pain over the loss of family, friends and loved ones, brought upon by the wave of destruction that began with the invasion of Iraq and aggravated by other subsequent and on-going Satanic actions that are not merely confined to the Mideast. Whatever the variables are that lead to uncertainty, two things are certain: inner peace is disturbed and the only way to repair it is to invite the Son of God into one's life. The invitation cannot be perfunctory. It has to be rooted in sincere faith that is saturated with pure and undiluted love for Jesus Who will grant His Peace to anyone who asks and who believes and enjoys His very real and immediate presence by being consumed with unending love extending to every fiber in one's body and occupying every moment in one's mind. In other words, to experience peace from the Prince of Peace, one's entire body and mind have to be actively engaged by holding on to one's most precious Guest with full faith and love one has for Him.
Monday, October 19, 2015
The Vatican Received A Refugee Family
A September 6. 2015, article entitled The Pope opens the Vatican to refugees, calls on Europe's churches to follow suit [1] began with this paragraph:
This blogger confesses that he did not believe that the pope would actually make good on his promise and is surprised and happy that he did even though the gesture is merely symbolic and in his opinion, merely for show. What continues to trouble this blogger is the temporariness of the housing arrangement for this family.
When does this temporary period end? If it is only temporary, then when will they be kicked out? When they are asked to leave, where would the Vatican send them?
Given that these four members of the refugee family are not illegal immigrants wanting better economic opportunities but what if they, like the many millions of illegal aliens that have taken up residence illegally in another country, want to stay and demand they be afforded their legal rights and health benefits? What will this pope do? Perhaps he ought to replay on video his lecture to the United States Congress to remind him of his own words [4], [5]:
[1] http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/09/06/pope-opens-the-vatican-to-refugees-calls-on-europes-churches-to-follow-suit/
[2] Ibid., accessed October 19, 2015.
[3] http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/09/18/vatican-welcomes-its-first-family-of-refugees-following-popes-appeal/
[4] http://abcnewsradioonline.com/politics-news/pope-francis-gives-historic-speech-to-congress.html
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBM7DIeMsP0
[6] In this case, the burden is being placed on the shoulders of the custodians of St. Anne's parish. Certainly, this pope is not going to take care of this refugee family personally. He simply delegated his well-intentioned work to others, most likely without the least bit of guilt.
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23%3A4&version=NIV
[8] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23%3A25&version=NIV
In light of the massive refugee crisis in Europe, Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will give temporary housing in the Vatican to at least two refugee families and asked that every European parish, monastery, and shrine to do the same. [2]On September 18, 2015, the Vatican had chosen a family of four from Syria to be housed at St. Anne's parish. [3]
This blogger confesses that he did not believe that the pope would actually make good on his promise and is surprised and happy that he did even though the gesture is merely symbolic and in his opinion, merely for show. What continues to trouble this blogger is the temporariness of the housing arrangement for this family.
When does this temporary period end? If it is only temporary, then when will they be kicked out? When they are asked to leave, where would the Vatican send them?
Given that these four members of the refugee family are not illegal immigrants wanting better economic opportunities but what if they, like the many millions of illegal aliens that have taken up residence illegally in another country, want to stay and demand they be afforded their legal rights and health benefits? What will this pope do? Perhaps he ought to replay on video his lecture to the United States Congress to remind him of his own words [4], [5]:
In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants. Tragically, the rights of those who were here long before us were not always respected. For those peoples and their nations, from the heart of American democracy, I wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation. Those first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present. Nonetheless, when the stranger in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat the sins and the errors of the past. We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible, as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our “neighbors” and everything around us. Building a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a constant effort to do our best. I am confident that we can do this.
Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War. This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions. On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12).Perhaps what this pope ought to also keep in mind are these words of Jesus (referring to the legal scholars and the Pharisees) and ask himself if his symbolic gesture will save him: "They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders [6], but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." [7] And "[w]oe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." [8]
[1] http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/09/06/pope-opens-the-vatican-to-refugees-calls-on-europes-churches-to-follow-suit/
[2] Ibid., accessed October 19, 2015.
[3] http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/09/18/vatican-welcomes-its-first-family-of-refugees-following-popes-appeal/
[4] http://abcnewsradioonline.com/politics-news/pope-francis-gives-historic-speech-to-congress.html
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBM7DIeMsP0
[6] In this case, the burden is being placed on the shoulders of the custodians of St. Anne's parish. Certainly, this pope is not going to take care of this refugee family personally. He simply delegated his well-intentioned work to others, most likely without the least bit of guilt.
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23%3A4&version=NIV
[8] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23%3A25&version=NIV
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Do They Know Or Know Not What They Do?
On the cross, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." [1]
This blogger has no clue as to what Jesus meant by the words in Jesus' last prayer [2] but proceeds with his analysis anyway.
First of all, who were the ones that Jesus asked His Father to forgive, Pontius Pilate, Herod, the Roman soldiers, members of the Sanhedrin, the people who called for his crucifixion and those who stood by with indifference? Or was Jesus speaking prospectively as well, to the current church leaders who pay lip-service to God but whose real interests are money and politics, to the general populace who are obsessed with what is secular and to the children who are consumed by social media and all things virtual, but pay little to no heed to what is holy and eternal?
Secondly, was Jesus praying for a blanket forgiveness for all or for only those who did not know what they were doing? If Jesus had prayed for unqualified forgiveness, His words could have been: "Father, forgive all of them" but those were not the words. His words were "forgive them" and He followed them with a reason as to why they ought to be forgiven: because they did not know what they were doing. What if some of them knew what they were doing? Would they be forgiven too? Would Judas have been forgiven since he supposedly knew what he was doing? Could Judas have been forgiven if he could claim temporary cognitive insanity [3], not knowing the nature of his betrayal was wrong, or claim that he knew right from wrong but was unable to resist the impulse to commit the wrongful act [4] of betrayal because he was possessed by Satan or because he was there to fulfill the destiny of Christ as God intended? Or, was Jesus trying to provide an excuse for everyone who played a part in His crucifixion, being that they had no idea what they were doing, including Judas, and everybody else prospectively, including those in the present day and beyond, because of Original Sin, so that His Father in Heaven would have mercy on all the sinners, making the last prayer of Jesus a prayer asking for forgiveness for all?
This blogger has no answer to any of the questions above and does not expect to have them during his lifetime, but thinks that it is not important to know the answer to any of these questions. What is important is the implication contained in the words that were unuttered. Here, one must ask why did Jesus bother to say this prayer to His Father in Heaven? Did He know something nobody else knew? Of course He did. He is the Son of God after all. So what did He know?
This blogger believes firmly that Jesus was so forgiving and loving that He did not want to see those who did not know what they were doing punished by His Father even as He was dying in pain brought on by the very people who put Him there because the punishment would for them had they not been forgiven be eternal and so severe that Jesus could not bear it and if it was the last thing He could do as a man in the flesh to save them it would be to give to His crucifiers His undying love by His last prayer.
So who were Jesus' crucifiers? The obvious ones were the Roman soldiers who hammered the nails into his hands and feet. Did they know what they were doing? Of course they did. Back in those days they did not have the internet to check on the news reported two hours ago on a certain "criminal" that Pontius Pilate did not want to put to death, and that the people wanted Him crucified, but being in a relatively small community of people in which Jesus would have easily stood out by the words He said and the miracles He performed, they would have known who Jesus was, and if they had any doubt who the bloodied individual carrying the cross to Golgotha was, they only had to read the inscription they nailed to Jesus' cross identifying Him as Jesus, King of the Jews. [5]
The Roman soldiers were not the only crucifiers. Indeed, any sinner who sins is a crucifier of Jesus, for it is the death of Jesus that had allowed for the redemption of Sin and all of Sin's variations from the birth of Sin to the death of Sin.
Furthermore, no sinner sins unknowingly. In other words, all sinners know what they are doing when they sin, and when they sin they become crucifiers of Jesus but that does not mean than no sinner will benefit from the last prayer of Jesus on the cross.
The last prayer Jesus said to His Father was a private, intercessory plea. When son and father converses, the communication is more than the meaning of the words alone. Jesus' last prayer in the flesh to His father is no different. [6] When Jesus prayed to His Father, He was asking His Father to forgive and not punish those who have sinned knowing how severe and unbearable the punishment would be. Therefore, the words "for they know not what they do" according to this analysis would mean that the sinners know not what their individual punishments would be, but if that were known to them, they would not sin against God. Because sinners act without knowing the Truth, they truly know not what they do.
First of all, who were the ones that Jesus asked His Father to forgive, Pontius Pilate, Herod, the Roman soldiers, members of the Sanhedrin, the people who called for his crucifixion and those who stood by with indifference? Or was Jesus speaking prospectively as well, to the current church leaders who pay lip-service to God but whose real interests are money and politics, to the general populace who are obsessed with what is secular and to the children who are consumed by social media and all things virtual, but pay little to no heed to what is holy and eternal?
Secondly, was Jesus praying for a blanket forgiveness for all or for only those who did not know what they were doing? If Jesus had prayed for unqualified forgiveness, His words could have been: "Father, forgive all of them" but those were not the words. His words were "forgive them" and He followed them with a reason as to why they ought to be forgiven: because they did not know what they were doing. What if some of them knew what they were doing? Would they be forgiven too? Would Judas have been forgiven since he supposedly knew what he was doing? Could Judas have been forgiven if he could claim temporary cognitive insanity [3], not knowing the nature of his betrayal was wrong, or claim that he knew right from wrong but was unable to resist the impulse to commit the wrongful act [4] of betrayal because he was possessed by Satan or because he was there to fulfill the destiny of Christ as God intended? Or, was Jesus trying to provide an excuse for everyone who played a part in His crucifixion, being that they had no idea what they were doing, including Judas, and everybody else prospectively, including those in the present day and beyond, because of Original Sin, so that His Father in Heaven would have mercy on all the sinners, making the last prayer of Jesus a prayer asking for forgiveness for all?
This blogger has no answer to any of the questions above and does not expect to have them during his lifetime, but thinks that it is not important to know the answer to any of these questions. What is important is the implication contained in the words that were unuttered. Here, one must ask why did Jesus bother to say this prayer to His Father in Heaven? Did He know something nobody else knew? Of course He did. He is the Son of God after all. So what did He know?
This blogger believes firmly that Jesus was so forgiving and loving that He did not want to see those who did not know what they were doing punished by His Father even as He was dying in pain brought on by the very people who put Him there because the punishment would for them had they not been forgiven be eternal and so severe that Jesus could not bear it and if it was the last thing He could do as a man in the flesh to save them it would be to give to His crucifiers His undying love by His last prayer.
So who were Jesus' crucifiers? The obvious ones were the Roman soldiers who hammered the nails into his hands and feet. Did they know what they were doing? Of course they did. Back in those days they did not have the internet to check on the news reported two hours ago on a certain "criminal" that Pontius Pilate did not want to put to death, and that the people wanted Him crucified, but being in a relatively small community of people in which Jesus would have easily stood out by the words He said and the miracles He performed, they would have known who Jesus was, and if they had any doubt who the bloodied individual carrying the cross to Golgotha was, they only had to read the inscription they nailed to Jesus' cross identifying Him as Jesus, King of the Jews. [5]
The Roman soldiers were not the only crucifiers. Indeed, any sinner who sins is a crucifier of Jesus, for it is the death of Jesus that had allowed for the redemption of Sin and all of Sin's variations from the birth of Sin to the death of Sin.
Furthermore, no sinner sins unknowingly. In other words, all sinners know what they are doing when they sin, and when they sin they become crucifiers of Jesus but that does not mean than no sinner will benefit from the last prayer of Jesus on the cross.
The last prayer Jesus said to His Father was a private, intercessory plea. When son and father converses, the communication is more than the meaning of the words alone. Jesus' last prayer in the flesh to His father is no different. [6] When Jesus prayed to His Father, He was asking His Father to forgive and not punish those who have sinned knowing how severe and unbearable the punishment would be. Therefore, the words "for they know not what they do" according to this analysis would mean that the sinners know not what their individual punishments would be, but if that were known to them, they would not sin against God. Because sinners act without knowing the Truth, they truly know not what they do.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A34&version=KJV
[2] "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" was not a prayer; it was a question asked in painful desperation by an impatient Son addressing His Father, and therefore this was not Jesus' last prayer as Pope Benedict XVI had indicated. As much as this blogger respects the knowledge and intellect of Pope Benedict XVI, on these words of Jesus, he diverges from the Pope Benedict XVI's interpretation at http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120215.html
[3] http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Insanity+Defense
[4] Ibid.
[5] http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-t001.html
[6] Behind Jesus' words was His unconditional love for sinners with whom He lived in the flesh as man. He understood their challenges, their pains, their propensities to sin and their failures. Jesus had put Himself as part God and part man between God, the Creator and man, the sinner, even as He was suffering and dying on the cross, He found it important to say His last prayer as man in the flesh with love for the salvation of souls because prayers that are said with love in the flesh are heard clearly in Heaven and are answered.
[2] "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" was not a prayer; it was a question asked in painful desperation by an impatient Son addressing His Father, and therefore this was not Jesus' last prayer as Pope Benedict XVI had indicated. As much as this blogger respects the knowledge and intellect of Pope Benedict XVI, on these words of Jesus, he diverges from the Pope Benedict XVI's interpretation at http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120215.html
[3] http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Insanity+Defense
[4] Ibid.
[5] http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-t001.html
[6] Behind Jesus' words was His unconditional love for sinners with whom He lived in the flesh as man. He understood their challenges, their pains, their propensities to sin and their failures. Jesus had put Himself as part God and part man between God, the Creator and man, the sinner, even as He was suffering and dying on the cross, He found it important to say His last prayer as man in the flesh with love for the salvation of souls because prayers that are said with love in the flesh are heard clearly in Heaven and are answered.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Right To Die Now Legal In California
California governor Jerry Brown, "a lifelong Catholic and former Jesuit seminarian" signed into law "legislation [on] Monday[, October 5, 2015,] allowing terminally ill people in the nation's most populous state to take their own lives." [1], [2]
Suicide in California is henceforth officially state-sanctioned and state-sponsored. This is yet another step forward toward secularization by the state since life is no longer being treasured as a gift from God but something that is devoid of meaning and hope.
God has allowed man Free Will to do as he pleases, and if he so chooses to end his life because of a terminal disease, to give up hope in God for a miracle cure, then God will let him do so. When one who is diagnosed as terminally ill takes his own life, he is saying to God that not only does he not want to wait for God's healing, he also does not believe that God is able to heal, and perhaps that he does not believe in God at all.
For those choosing to extinguish their lives, this law requires "that patients be physically capable of taking the medication themselves, that two doctors approve it, that the patients submit several written requests and that there be two witnesses, one of whom is not a family member." [3]
This law thus embraces the concept of a self-imposed death penalty (the crime for which is being born to live a life given by God), and legalizes at least two crimes, including the conspiracy to commit murder and murder by lethal medication, contravening one of the Ten Commandments: "[t]hou shalt not kill." [4]
Those who think that this form of euthanasia is merciful ought to think again. Far from being merciful, this kind of consensual murder-suicide is selfish: selfish from the perspective of the person suffering in the flesh who is unwilling to share in the suffering of Christ and to give the soul a chance to be purified through suffering in order to enter Heaven, and selfish from the perspective of the relatives who no longer want to be burdened by a dying body, wishing to get on with their own lives.
In theory, every human life from its conception is a dying body as new cells grow to replace the old ones (even as the body is developing and maturing for development and maturation can be deemed as the early stages of aging) until some point is reached when the new cells that are replacing the old ones are no longer able to regenerate in a manner that optimizes their intended functions due to Original Sin.
Not many people look forward to experience a dying body going through "prolonged and excruciating pain" [5] but to legitimize artificial life-ending procedures is barbaric secularism that pleases Satan for it is ready to welcome to Hell all who take for granted and who are dead to God's gift of life with an eternity of excruciating pain that no medication can dull and no death can end. [6]
[1] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a580f42e5ffe48f0b71991272f0e972e/california-governor-signs-hard-won-right-die-legislation, accessed October 5, 2015. See footnote [2] below.
[2] The article and quoted words were accessed on October 5, 2015, when this blogger started composing this entry. The article had since been re-written and re-dated as of October 6, 2015, with many of the words that appeared in the original article deleted. This blogger chose not to revise what was quoted on October 5, 2015.
[3] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a580f42e5ffe48f0b71991272f0e972e/california-governor-signs-hard-won-right-die-legislation
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A13&version=KJV
[5] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a580f42e5ffe48f0b71991272f0e972e/california-governor-signs-hard-won-right-die-legislation This blogger assumes that excruciating pain can be dulled by medication and that one does not need to take a lethal dose intentionally that leads to death. He also believes that prayers can help attenuate pain if not alleviate it entirely in God's time.
[6] No prayer can help either because this blogger imagines that prayers are erased from the memory in Hell, forbidden to be formed and said in Hell and cannot be heard in Heaven. Most likely, souls in Hell know what prayers are and how powerful they can be while in the flesh but not being to pray to and be heard by God torments them endlessly.
Suicide in California is henceforth officially state-sanctioned and state-sponsored. This is yet another step forward toward secularization by the state since life is no longer being treasured as a gift from God but something that is devoid of meaning and hope.
God has allowed man Free Will to do as he pleases, and if he so chooses to end his life because of a terminal disease, to give up hope in God for a miracle cure, then God will let him do so. When one who is diagnosed as terminally ill takes his own life, he is saying to God that not only does he not want to wait for God's healing, he also does not believe that God is able to heal, and perhaps that he does not believe in God at all.
For those choosing to extinguish their lives, this law requires "that patients be physically capable of taking the medication themselves, that two doctors approve it, that the patients submit several written requests and that there be two witnesses, one of whom is not a family member." [3]
This law thus embraces the concept of a self-imposed death penalty (the crime for which is being born to live a life given by God), and legalizes at least two crimes, including the conspiracy to commit murder and murder by lethal medication, contravening one of the Ten Commandments: "[t]hou shalt not kill." [4]
Those who think that this form of euthanasia is merciful ought to think again. Far from being merciful, this kind of consensual murder-suicide is selfish: selfish from the perspective of the person suffering in the flesh who is unwilling to share in the suffering of Christ and to give the soul a chance to be purified through suffering in order to enter Heaven, and selfish from the perspective of the relatives who no longer want to be burdened by a dying body, wishing to get on with their own lives.
In theory, every human life from its conception is a dying body as new cells grow to replace the old ones (even as the body is developing and maturing for development and maturation can be deemed as the early stages of aging) until some point is reached when the new cells that are replacing the old ones are no longer able to regenerate in a manner that optimizes their intended functions due to Original Sin.
Not many people look forward to experience a dying body going through "prolonged and excruciating pain" [5] but to legitimize artificial life-ending procedures is barbaric secularism that pleases Satan for it is ready to welcome to Hell all who take for granted and who are dead to God's gift of life with an eternity of excruciating pain that no medication can dull and no death can end. [6]
[1] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a580f42e5ffe48f0b71991272f0e972e/california-governor-signs-hard-won-right-die-legislation, accessed October 5, 2015. See footnote [2] below.
[2] The article and quoted words were accessed on October 5, 2015, when this blogger started composing this entry. The article had since been re-written and re-dated as of October 6, 2015, with many of the words that appeared in the original article deleted. This blogger chose not to revise what was quoted on October 5, 2015.
[3] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a580f42e5ffe48f0b71991272f0e972e/california-governor-signs-hard-won-right-die-legislation
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A13&version=KJV
[5] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a580f42e5ffe48f0b71991272f0e972e/california-governor-signs-hard-won-right-die-legislation This blogger assumes that excruciating pain can be dulled by medication and that one does not need to take a lethal dose intentionally that leads to death. He also believes that prayers can help attenuate pain if not alleviate it entirely in God's time.
[6] No prayer can help either because this blogger imagines that prayers are erased from the memory in Hell, forbidden to be formed and said in Hell and cannot be heard in Heaven. Most likely, souls in Hell know what prayers are and how powerful they can be while in the flesh but not being to pray to and be heard by God torments them endlessly.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Catholic Priest - Happy, Proud, Gay And (Now) Out-Of-The-Confessional Closet
"'I have to say who I am. I am a gay priest. I am a happy and proud gay priest,' [Krzysztof Charamsa, a monsignor] told [the Polish daily] Gazeta Wyborcza." [1] Will the deceased pope John Paul II, canonized a saint just last year on April 27, 2014, [2] a fellow Pole, work a miracle and reinstate him as an official at the Vatican's doctrinal office? [3] What will this pope now say to the still-in-the-confessional-closet priests who are practicing homosexuals, proud or not, out or not, happy or not, "who am I to judge"? [4]
The schisms of the Catholic church are more and more in the forefront and transparent, and are fascinating to watch as they take shape. Perhaps Saint Malachy was right, that this pope will be the last pope. [5] Those waiting to see if his prophesy will materialize will have to be patient, however, for this pope will likely live a long life. He is only 78, going to be 79 in December, 2015. [6]
As far as this blogger is concerned, it is better for a homosexual priest to live in the truth than to hide behind a lie and live a life of hypocrisy and go to confession every time he breaks his vow of celibacy, which brings up another dilemma: when a closeted gay priest confesses to another closeted gay priest, would the confession be valid since there could be a conflict of interest?
To be sure, sexuality, be it heterosexuality, bisexuality or homosexuality, is part of human nature and is therefore a part of God's creation. What is sinful is the expression of any such sexuality without unwavering love toward one another and abiding Love for God. What is unforgivable is the breaking of any vow, including the vow of celibacy a religious makes before God, to serve God in the most wholesome manner a man or a woman of cloth can.
[1] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gay-priest-krzysztof-charamsa-fired-vatican-synod/
[2] http://www.vatican.va/special/canonizzazione-27042014/index_en.html
[3] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gay-priest-krzysztof-charamsa-fired-vatican-synod/
[4] http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/who-am-i-judge-popes-most-powerful-phrase-2013-f2D11791260
[5] http://z3news.com/w/st-malachys-medieval-prophecy-claims-pope-francis-final-pope/
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
The schisms of the Catholic church are more and more in the forefront and transparent, and are fascinating to watch as they take shape. Perhaps Saint Malachy was right, that this pope will be the last pope. [5] Those waiting to see if his prophesy will materialize will have to be patient, however, for this pope will likely live a long life. He is only 78, going to be 79 in December, 2015. [6]
As far as this blogger is concerned, it is better for a homosexual priest to live in the truth than to hide behind a lie and live a life of hypocrisy and go to confession every time he breaks his vow of celibacy, which brings up another dilemma: when a closeted gay priest confesses to another closeted gay priest, would the confession be valid since there could be a conflict of interest?
To be sure, sexuality, be it heterosexuality, bisexuality or homosexuality, is part of human nature and is therefore a part of God's creation. What is sinful is the expression of any such sexuality without unwavering love toward one another and abiding Love for God. What is unforgivable is the breaking of any vow, including the vow of celibacy a religious makes before God, to serve God in the most wholesome manner a man or a woman of cloth can.
[1] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gay-priest-krzysztof-charamsa-fired-vatican-synod/
[2] http://www.vatican.va/special/canonizzazione-27042014/index_en.html
[3] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gay-priest-krzysztof-charamsa-fired-vatican-synod/
[4] http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/who-am-i-judge-popes-most-powerful-phrase-2013-f2D11791260
[5] http://z3news.com/w/st-malachys-medieval-prophecy-claims-pope-francis-final-pope/
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Guns And Religion
A 26 year-old man who identified himself as mixed-race, not religious but spiritual [1] "opened fire at an Oregon community college was forcing people to stand up and state their religion before he began blasting away at them, survivors said Thursday." [2]
@BodhiLooney tweeted: '"The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christian....If they said yes, then they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn't answer they were shot in the legs."' [3] In total, ten were shot dead and seven were wounded, their conditions still unknown. [4]
Some blamed this and other mass shootings across America on the accessibility of guns [5], even though they could also be blamed equally on the secularization of and spiritual hypocrisy in society. While this blogger believes that all the guns in the world ought to be outlawed, confiscated and permanently destroyed, he also believes that people ought to have faith in God, although not necessarily embracing any religion in particular since religions in large part have become economic and political entities that worship wealth and power and thrive on hypocrisy.
More and more, guns and religion seem to merge together to form a single concept: death, accompanied by its twin relatives, the threat and the fear of death, as evidenced by the kind of security that is needed to protect the pope from being shot to the armed conflicts in the Mideast and the mass exodus of refugees, from Syria and other places (Kosovo, surprisingly [6], [7], [8]) seeking asylum [9].
[2] http://nypost.com/2015/10/01/oregon-gunman-singled-out-christians-during-rampage/ This blogger revisited the link on October 3, 2015, to revise a typo from "fired" to "fire" and saw that the words quoted had been removed from the article. The article was apparently revised since it was posted by the sole original author, Chris Perez. The other two authors were not listed at the time this article was accessed on October 1, 2015. Thus the article was re-written by them after the posting without documenting that it was updated. The only remnant of the words quoted "opened fire" can be read under the caption under the first photograph. Hopefully, they would remain.
[3] Ibid. See comment under [2] above. Here, too, the quoted words were deleted from the original article and the paragraph was re-written. Admittedly, the revised version is an improvement over the original; however, as awkward as the original version was, Chris Perez was quoting the tweeter and this entry was quoting Chris Perez quoting the tweeter.
[5] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/01/shooting-in-oregon-11-essential-facts-about-guns-and-mass-shootings-in-america/
[6] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-six-charts-that-show-where-refugees-are-coming-from-where-they-are-going-and-how-they-10482415.html
[7] Article: Religious aspects of the Yugoslavia - Kosovo conflict: http://www.religioustolerance.org/war_koso.htm
[8] http://www.dw.com/en/kosovo-population-drain-challenges-germanys-refugee-policies/a-18245189
[9] It is not known that any country in the world has received and accepted a single application for asylum from a United States citizen seeking to escape death by mass shooting due to his/her religious or political beliefs, or choice of entertainment.
[6] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-six-charts-that-show-where-refugees-are-coming-from-where-they-are-going-and-how-they-10482415.html
[7] Article: Religious aspects of the Yugoslavia - Kosovo conflict: http://www.religioustolerance.org/war_koso.htm
[8] http://www.dw.com/en/kosovo-population-drain-challenges-germanys-refugee-policies/a-18245189
[9] It is not known that any country in the world has received and accepted a single application for asylum from a United States citizen seeking to escape death by mass shooting due to his/her religious or political beliefs, or choice of entertainment.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Beyond The Papacy
This blogger is no longer under the illusion that the Holy See will survive the fractures within it without significant changes. Like any enclosed political structure, it is being pulled every which way, dominated by two major opposing forces. At opposite ends are armies of fundamentalists and relativitists [1], each group having a different vision of the Catholic church in this modern secular society. In Pope Benedict XVI's prophetic words from 2005:
[1] Relativitist is defined here as one who supports or believes in relativism. See [2] below for the definition of relativism (quoted above).
[2] http://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html
Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine", seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires. [2]What those changes will entail only time will tell. Perhaps there would no longer be a pope and in his place there would be a voting bloc represented by the cardinals. How cardinals come into being would be determined by the archbishops, how archbishops come into being would be determined by bishops, how bishops come into being would be determined by the pastors of the parishes and how pastors come into being would be determined by the parishioners in the parishes. Hopefully, behind the selection process at every tier, those who vote would be guided by their prayers and the Holy Spirit.
[1] Relativitist is defined here as one who supports or believes in relativism. See [2] below for the definition of relativism (quoted above).
[2] http://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html
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