John Brannox Was Asked About Love On HBO's The New Pope

Transcribed from You Tube [1]:

"What is love to you?" a woman asks.

John Brannox answers: "A vagrant lies dying on the street corner.  The government says to him, 'I'll help you.'  The doctor says to him, 'I'll kill you.'  His daughter says to him, 'I'll give you money.'  His friend says to him, 'I'll share my wine with you.'  And the [Catholic] Church says nothing to him.  The Church is thinking about him."

Moments later he says:  "Tonight the Church is thinking about that vagrant and I will be thinking about the Church."

And so should all Catholics think about the Church that is thinking about the vagrant.


[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2uRCKK_W8M

Woman Named As Vatican Under-Secretary For Relations Wtih States

"With the appointment of Dr [Francesca] Di Giovanni, the Section for Relations with States has two under-secretaries: Di Giovanni will work alongside Monsignor Mirosław Wachowski, who will continue to work primarily in the area of bilateral diplomacy." [1]

What Dr. Di Giovanni said is telling [2]:

I will continue to deal with what I have been following up to now in the Section for Relations with States, although in this new role, I shall be responsible for coordinating the work in this area.

This indicates that she has been working in the Section with States already, except that she now is taking on a role that is managerial in nature.  There is no indication as to who was in the managerial role before her when she was the person dealing with all the intricacies.

It would be unreasonable to assume that she, being the person with full knowledge of what goes on in the department that "deals with relations between inter-governmental organisations at the international level and includes the network of multilateral treaties, which are important because they embody the political will of States with regard to the various issues concerning the international common good: this includes development, the environment, the protection of victims of conflicts, the situation of women, and so on," [3] has no managerial input whatsoever.

Therefore, it could be concluded that Dr Di Giovanni, a woman, was finally given the public acknowledgement for what she was already doing without a title.

In contrast, there are priests, bishops, archbishops and cardinals that have been doing what they are supposed to do and not  supposed to do for years and years who have not yet be raised to the podium  and recognized as homosexuals  (sexually active and inactive) by the Vatican.

It is about time they come out from the shadows of the Vatican and stand in the limelight and be proud of their individual talents and contributions to the Catholic Church and society in general.


[1] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-01/pope-appoints-woman-undersecretary-in-secretariat-of-state.html
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.

Mass In Gaza

Bishops from Europe and North America celebrated Sunday Mass "with the small [Catholic] Christian community in Gaza" on January 12, 2020. [1]

Rarely does one learn of Mass being celebrated in Gaza.  Knowing that Mass was celebrated in Gaza where Catholics can still have a life is particularly heart warming.

What is disturbing is that the governments around the world that so often stress the importance of freedom of religion were largely silent despite "the Israeli government [had] prevented Gazan Christians from visiting Bethlehem [where Christ was born] …" this past Christmas [2].  Perhaps there is nothing that the "chosen ones" had done, is doing and will do can be deemed wrong, including the rejection of Jesus "[W]ho was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary" [3] as the Messiah.

Praise Lord for the Epiphany, "a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day [from December 25]." [4]


[1] https://theholyland.org.uk/promoting-dialogue-and-peace-in-the-holy-land/
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=220
[4] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/epiphany

Thoughts On The Holy Spirit

From John 14:15-17, quoted without references [1]:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,

the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.

...

Among the Three Persons in the Most Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the least understood.

God spoke.  Jesus spoke.  It is assumed here that the Holy Spirit never spoke despite the Bible having three instances in which the Holy Spirit was supposed to have spoken. [2]  A Bible scholar, Dan Steward, came to this conclusion [3]:

[W]e know that the Holy Spirit spoke to the apostles, but we are not told how He spoke to them.

Here are two instances when God spoke:

At Jesus' baptism, quoted without references [4]:

And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

At the Transfiguration, quoted without references [5]:

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Here is one instance when Jesus spoke [6]:

“Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

The Holy Spirit does not verbalize and is therefore never heard, and neither does the Holy Spirit speak to the heart or to the mind.  There is a possibility that the Holy Spirit communicates only with man's spiritual side.

Just as the Holy Spirit is the least understood part of the Most Holy Trinity, so is the spiritual part of man not well understood.  Quoted below without references, italics and hyperlinks is from the Catechism of the Catholic Church [7]:

362 The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that "then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." Man, whole and entire, is therefore willed by God.

363 In Sacred Scripture the term "soul" often refers to human life or the entire human person. But "soul" also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God's image: "soul" signifies the spiritual principle in man

364 The human body shares in the dignity of "the image of God": it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit:

....

Even without an audible voice, the Holy Spirit's messages are powerful.  They move the person into action with unexpected force and intensity that transcend and overwhelm rational thought.

Contrary to actions propelled by Satan, actions moved by the Holy Spirit are never premeditated.  The reason that all Satanic acts are necessarily premeditated is because Satan's power come from temptations which require a person to assent to them by exercising Free Will.

Does this mean that whenever the Holy Spirit acts, Free Will is taken away?

Of course not.  Based on what was quoted above, there is a condition precedent that needs to be satisfied before the Holy Spirit will even be present.  These are the words that establish it: "'If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always... [8]

Accordingly, it is only after a person chooses freely to love Christ by obeying His commandments will Christ then ask His Father for the Holy Spirit to accompany him or her.

To have the company of the Holy Spirit does not mean that a person's life is taken over entirely by the works of the Holy Spirit.  The person continues to have Free Will and at any moment the person chooses to act contrary to what pleases the Father, the Holy Spirit steps away.

As long as one is alive, Satan remains close by and lays out a plethora of always-changing and never-ending temptations, making it easy for one to pick and choose, and they are all free.  Like the Forbidden Fruit, they all look good and please one's narcissistic desires.  Quoted from Genesis 3 without references [9]:

The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

The action taken by Eve and Adam was not moved by the Holy Spirit.  The very moment they decided to eat of the Forbidden Fruit, they were left to act in accordance with their respective Free Will.

The Holy Spirit is always with those who love Christ as Jesus promised but acts only when there is love for Christ.  One's love for Christ is not always consistent or perfect.  Constant efforts made to love Christ count.  When one tries unceasingly to do right by God and to obey Christ's commandments, the Holy Spirit will act but not always and therein lies the mystery.

Since the Holy Spirit does not act by speaking, by putting thoughts into the mind or by moving the heart with feelings, the communication comes in the form of a burst of energy, a sudden compulsion that seemingly comes from nowhere that pushes one into action.

The completed action brings total fulfillment but it is fleeting because many would rather return to the world that is familiar, and to take charge of oneself and of things than allowing this unfamiliar, unseen and unknowable Spirit of Truth and force to take over.

The preference for worldly matters is a choice just as loving Christ by keeping His commandments is also a choice.  The Holy Spirit is sensitive to the choice made, however it is made at every moment that it is made, and responds accordingly.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14, 15-17.
[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_825.cfm
[3] Ibid.
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/3, 17.
[5] http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/9, 7.
[6] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/22, 48.
[7] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p6.htm, 362-4.
[8] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14, 15-16.
[9] http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3, 6.

War And The Devil

Quoted from Vatican News [1]:

“To make war,” [the Pope] said, “is the temptation of the devil.”

The following is quoted from the same source [2]:

Love, the Pope emphasized, is revealed in “little things”. “If there is war in my heart”, he argues, “there will be war in my family, in my neighbourhood and my workplace”. Jealousy, envy, slander, lead us to war with one another. They “destroy”, they are like “filth”.  

Two items that are missing from the list of "filth" are pride and greed (personal and collective) for power, domination and natural resources.

According to "Father Juan José Gallego, an exorcist from the Archdiocese of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain," "pride is the sin the devil likes the most [emphasis added]." [3]  The reason could be that many sins stem from pride, with humility being the antidote.

Someone who is humble does not mind coming in second or even last, and accepts being lowly, being the fallen crumb that begs, that cannot ever hope to be recognized let alone act like insatiable gluttons that hoard power and wealth from expansions and possessions of natural resources.

As Christ said [4]:

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Christ also said, quoted without paragraph numbers [5]:

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

[1] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2020-01/pope-francis-mass-santa-marta-love-war-peace-heart.html
[2] Ibid..
[3] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/what-is-the-devils-favorite-sin-an-exorcist-responds-55789
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20%3A16&version=NIV
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A22-28&version=NIV

Christ Rejects Revenge

Quoted from Luke 22  without references [1]:

Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

His disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked, “Lord, shall we strike with a sword?”

And one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.

But Jesus said in reply, “Stop, no more of this!” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.

Just like the high priest's servant, those in the military around the world do as they are told.  Not everyone is a bloodthirsty killer.  A bloodthirsty killer does not necessarily have to carry a weapon like the high priests who wanted Christ dead.

Those who seek revenge may as well let the killers live out their lives and not make the assumption that the longer one lives the better off one is.  Ending a killer's life robs the killer's chance to experience remorse and repent, perhaps even to suffer the consequences of old age, as in the case of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who died from the detonation of a suicide vest. [2]

The worst punishment for a human is not a quick death whether or not expected, but living through long-term pain and suffering, continuously teeter-tottering between life and death, not being able to die quickly made unbearable by an endless fear of death.

Christ suffered but He suffered for the sake of sinners by accepting death on a cross.  Many saints also suffered, like San Francesco d'Assisi and Sainte Bernadette Soubious.  In the case of the latter, "a group of visitors came to her and asked her if she was aware of the miraculous healings that were occurring at Lourdes, and why she, the woman to whom the healing waters had been shown, did not go there for healing[, to which she] simply responded, “You see, my business is to be ill.”  [3] [Emphasis  original.]

It is unlikely that any bloodthirsty killer or warmonger with an overabundance of pride will ever utter these humble words of Sainte Bernadette Soubirous when they are suffering from constant debilitating pain.  It would be more befitting for them if they would utter the same words, omitting the word "be" and substituting "ill" with one that rhymes with it by adding the letter "K" in front of it.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/22, 48-51.
[2] https://www.npr.org/2019/10/31/775038966/isis-confirms-baghdadis-death-and-names-his-successor
[3] https://www.getfed.com/st-bernadette-lessons-suffering-6036/

2020's Peaceful Start Lasted 2 Days

On January 3, 2020, "[the Apostolic Nuncio to Iran, Archbishop Leo Boccardi] said that the Pope has been apprised of the entire situation after the killing of General Solemaini." [1]  Qasem Soleimani, along with "Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis -- the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)" were both killed by a drone airstrike. [2]

"Constructive politics, [Archbishop Leo Boccardi] said, is at the service of peace to which the entire international community must be committed, not only in the Middle East, but in the whole world as well." [3]

Killing is probably not what the Nuncio had in mind when he spoke of constructive politics, but throughout history many of those with the power to kill with impunity had killed.

Saddam Hussein is dead.  Muammar Gaddafi is dead.  Regimes had changed.  Are the countries that directly or indirectly consented to these killings proud of the results?

Update on Iraq (dated December 31, 2019) from a fundraising organization [4]:

Iraq is at a crossroads. One path leads to the hopeful, democratic vision of Iraq’s youthful majority as we’ve seen expressed by mass rallies in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square and across Iraq. The other path leads to the continued violence, dysfunction, and corruption of autocratic rule.  [Emphasis original.]

And now, at this fateful hour, the belligerent actions of President Trump and Tehran’s hardliners threaten to turn Iraq into a battlefield of their own zero-sum game, shortchanging the Iraqi people from a genuine opportunity to determine their own future. 

Update on Libya (dated January 3, 2020) from reliefweb [5]:

Addis Ababa, 3 January, 2020: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, is deeply concerned at the deterioration of the situation in Libya and the continuing suffering of the Libyan people.

The various threats of political and military ingerence in the internal affairs of the country increase the risk of a confrontation, whose motives have nothing to do with the fundamental interests of the Libyan people and their aspirations for freedom, peace, democracy and development.

No heed is paid to this commandment from God [6]:

Thou shalt not kill.

And no heed is paid to these words of Christ [7]:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Love your neighbor as yourself. 

Therefore, these prophetic words are not from some fantasy [8]:

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  [Emphasis added.]

Behind these killings and all other killings were people.  What excuses can they have in front of God as they begin to tremble while peering into the abyss of Hell?  This can be one: "Satan made me do it."  How well will that go over with God when each one is given Free Will?

Everyone is God's child.  Nobody, except God, has the right to rule on matters of life and death.  "'Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'" [9]

(Returning to things secular, those who are interested in an iconoclast's analysis of Iran can read David Stockman's article entitled The Donald Is Now America's First Own Assassin. [10]  David Stockman described himself as "the ultimate Washington insider turned iconoclast." [11])



[1] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-01/pope-francis-united-states-iran-solemaini-crisis-holy-see.html
[2] https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/middleeast/baghdad-airport-rockets/index.html
[3] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-01/pope-francis-united-states-iran-solemaini-crisis-holy-see.html
[4] https://enablingpeace.org/help-make-2020-a-better-year-for-iraq/
[5] https://reliefweb.int/report/libya/statement-chairperson-regarding-situation-libya-3-january-2020
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A13&version=KJV
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A30-31&version=NIV
[8] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24%3A6%2CRevelation+6%3A3-4&version=NIV
[9] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/8/, 7.
[10] https://original.antiwar.com/david_stockman/2020/01/03/the-donald-is-now-america-firsts-own-assassin/
[11] https://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/about-david-stockman-and-contra-corner/

Coincidental Or Providential?

Questions arose after reading the article (with video) entitled Pope Francis apologizes after smacking hand of woman who had pulled him toward her  [1]:

Based on the story, it is difficult to tell if the event was providential or coincidental without answers to some of the questions below:

1.  What prompted her to be there?
2.  Was she a local or was she a tourist?
3.  Why was she not standing further down the line?
4.  Why did Bergoglio stop greeting and walk away after touching the hand of the last person?
5.  She did not appear to be Caucasian.  Did Bergoglio avoid her because of her race?
6.  Was she put there by God to show that Bergoglio could be a bigot?
7.  How did she get to stand so far up front?
8.  What was she thinking before she grabbed Bergoglio's hand?
9.  Did she think that by touching Bergoglio that she would receive a miracle [2]?
10. Was the statement from the homily the following day one that was prepared prior to the slapping of a woman's hand: "We can understand our degree of humanity by how we treat a woman's body" [3] ?
11.  Did Bergoglio not think that a woman's hand is part of her body?
12.  Did Bergoglio reflect on his degree of his humanity by slapping a woman's hand?
13.  Bergoglio apologized afterward for losing his patience, but he did not apologize to the woman whose hand he smacked.  What would Christ have done?  Did He lash out at His crucifiers?

If the slapping of the hand was providential, then it paints a clear picture of who Bergoglio is as a person.  If, on the other hand, it was coincidental, then the whole matter has no significance.  The proximity of time between the smacking of a woman's hand and the homily on women, raises a doubt that this is mere coincidence.


[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pope-francis-apologizes-after-smacking-hand-of-woman-who-had-pulled-him-toward-her/ar-BBYwhvD?ocid=spartanntp
[2] http://usccb.org/bible/mark/5/, 29-29.
[3] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pope-francis-apologizes-after-smacking-hand-of-woman-who-had-pulled-him-toward-her/ar-BBYwhvD?ocid=spartanntp

Time Unites

Most cities around the world welcome the new year with festive fireworks.   Many people celebrate it with cheers, alcoholic beverages and hopes for something better, maybe something that brings them lasting happiness.

2020 is a year with the first two numbers being identical to the second two numbers.  That happens every 1,010 years.  Those who share this special year is united under humanity brought about by God's Creation.   Those who are loved who are no longer here live in memories, in dreams and in imaginations through time.

Sometimes the line blurs between what is physical and what is spiritual.  The past, present and future belongs to time.  Time can be categorized but cannot be separated.  Time is seamless.  It connects one's beginning prior to birth to one's eternity after death.

Life is but a blink relative to time yet every moment lived counts.  What one chooses to do in life may affect the course of one's eternity.  Eternity is highlighted by the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Who brought the year count AD 2020 into existence.  AD means anno Domini.  "The term anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means in the year of the Lord." [1]

In the present day, whether or not one remembers Christ or believes in Christ, one refers back to the birth of Christ when answering the question: when is your birthday with the understanding that the answer is to be based on anno Domini, an accepted reference with respect to the passage of time.

The passage of time requires a past, a present and a future.  Time itself does not distinguish among them because time simply "is" and exists.

It is time's seamlessness, or timelessness, that unites all creatures under one God, the One and only Who can claim that "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." [2]



[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/22:13, quoted without references.