Chapel Vandalized In Hyderabad, India

"Hyderabad is the capital of southern India's Telangana state. A major center for the technology industry, it's home to many upscale restaurants and shops." [1]  "A city rich with history and tradition, Hyderabad now competes with Bangalore and Chennai for the crown of India's IT capital; Microsoft and Google have their India headquarters here." [2]

Against this modern backdrop, "a crowd of about 100 people vandalised a Catholic chapel in Hyderabad," as reported by Independent Catholic News  in an article dated May 30, 2017, [Indian time] entitled India: Bishops protest after mob attacks chapel. [3]  The article continued to state, quoted in part [4]:

Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Episcopal Conference of India (CBCI) said: "It is clear that Hindu fundamentalists and anti-social elements were responsible for the shameful act on May 21, 2017, when a crowd of about 100 people attacked and devastated the prayer room of Fatima in the Archdiocese of Hyderabad."

The Minister of Interior of the State of Telengana, has promised a serious investigation to seek and punish the perpetrators of the crime[, even though to forgive is divine.]

Archbishop Thumma Bala has invited clergy, religious and faithful of the Archdiocese of Hyderabad to organize and promote spiritual activities, including Adoration, Holy Mass and Prayer meetings as "restoration" for the desecration of the statues and the building.

Solemn Eucharistic Adoration and Mass celebrated by the Archbishop will be held on May 30, while on June 2 all the churches and chapels of the area will organize a two-hour Eucharistic Adoration. The following day a special Rosary will be recited in all the parish churches of the Archdiocese. Finally on June 9 there will be a special fasting for clergy, religious and faithful.

The activities that have been schedule for the reparation for damaged caused would probably make the Blessed Virgin Mary very happy, but probably not perfectly happy (for She is, after all, the Intercessor for sinners)  because what seem to be missing are statements by the Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas and Archbishop Thumma Bala asking the Catholic community to forgive the trespassers, however ill-advised was their act of vandalism, and scheduling activities that will bring different communities together for people to become familiar with one another, to better understand each other and to work together toward a community of peace through mutual cooperation.

Protesting by the bishops out of anger does not help, even though it is human nature to be angry.  This blogger would also be angry should the event occur at a place near him, where he goes to pray.  He would likely think and say bad things in private that ought be confessed, but then he would eventually calm down and tell himself that things tend to happen for a reason, perhaps to highlight the hypocrisy of Catholic love and universality, or perhaps to bring diverse communities together based on the unstated understanding that all are children of God.

Would it not be better for the world's Catholic community to spend its resources to bring people together as a family, whether or not they are Catholic, and celebrate life that is God's gift to all, than to talk about the problems after they arise?

When Bergolio asked, "'Often and again I ask myself, "Why do children suffer?", and I don’t find any explanation. I only look at the crucifix and stand still there.'" [5]  From these words, this blogger extrapolates that Bergolio seldom hears from God even though he is in the Vatican, which is supposedly the house of God even though it has turned into an unholy place of politics and corruption.

Perhaps the answer that Bergolio is looking for is in his mirror, who he is, pope of the Catholic church, who can do more, much more, to help strengthen the family unit and bring all people together by being a pillar of holiness himself, being the dirty and smelly shepherd among his sheep that he had preached about often in the past but no longer (perhaps he has finally awoken to his and his minions' hypocrisies), by walking among the neighborhoods, for example, the slums, the refugee camps and the homeless encampments, residents of which he talks much about but pays token attention to in person, if that much, and of course, by praying incessantly rather than spending time playing internal and world politics that he so enjoys and in which he excels, so much so that he was able to clinch the prize as Peter's successor in the last conclave.

Perhaps Bergolio should finally do his job, by being a true disciple of Christ, and walk in His footsteps rather than being clothed, fed and housed like a ruling member of the Sadducees [6].  Perhaps, then, could Catholics find peace in their existence, in India, Iraq, Libya, Syria and elsewhere around the world.


[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=Hyderabad&oq=Hyderabad&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[2] http://wikitravel.org/en/Hyderabad
[3] http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/32691
[4] Ibid.
[5] http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=31681, 5th paragraph from the bottom.
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadducees

Who Was The "Judas" In The Coptic Christian Killings?

The last post quoted the Los Angeles Times.  It is copied below with footnote number changed from [4] to [1]:

On May 26, 2017, the Los Angeles Times  reported the following, quoted in part [1]:

“Militants attacked a bus and a car — they shot them, 28 persons were killed at least,” including women and children, said Ishak Ibrahim, a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a Cairo-based think tank.

A group of laborers and volunteers from a village in Minya had boarded a bus to St. Samuel Coptic Orthodox Monastery about a dozen miles away Friday at about 8 a.m. Two white SUVs stopped them, said Anba Aghason, the Coptic Christian bishop in the area.

Aghason recounted what survivors told him happened next.

Armed men emerged, faces covered, and asked the passengers, “Are you Christian?”

The passengers said yes.

The armed men then distributed a 10- to 15-page pamphlet of Koranic verses that explained fasting during Ramadan, the Muslim holiday that started Friday. Then the armed men told the group to recite the Shahada, the Muslim profession of faith.

“They refused, and said, ‘No, we were born Christian and will die Christian,’ ” the bishop said. “So they killed all the men. They killed some of the women, injured others and stole what they had.”

Of particular interest are the facts recounted by Anba Aghason, the local Coptic Christian bishop, as reported:

A group of laborers and volunteers from a village in Minya had boarded a bus to St. Samuel Coptic Orthodox Monastery about a dozen miles away Friday at about 8 a.m. Two white SUVs stopped them. [2]

Do armed men in white SUVs regularly stop buses traveling away from Minya looking for Coptic Christians and kill them? If that is the case, policing locally would probably be a more effective deterrent than bombing militant camps in Libya. Since such killings do not appear regularly in the news, it is reasonable to assume that this massacre was premeditated as opposed to a random attack out of impulse.

In order for the killers to execute their plan with such precision as to date, time and place, they must have had knowledge of the trip the group of Christians from Minya had planned to take.  The question is who was the "Judas" who betrayed them (assuming there was only one)?  Was it a friend or relative of one of the members of the group?  Was it a member of the church they belonged to?  Was it the bus driver?  Was it someone else from the bus company who knew about the pick-up?  Does any one of these possibilities lead to anyone in the government of Egypt?

Judas is not only in Egypt.  Politicians everywhere who betray their voters are also Judases.  Just as evil begets evil, betrayer spawns betrayer.  Anyone who has ever betrayed his own conscience is a Judas for conscience rests in goodness and goodness comes from God.  Therefore, concluding broadly, the killers were Judases, the one who gave the killers information was a Judas, the leaders of the militant killers were Judases, and those who gave rise to these militant killers were Judases for they each betrayed their respective conscience, some for power, some for money, some for both, neither of which is a currency in Heaven, but the gatekeeper would gladly collect them at Hell's entrance.  Unrepentant Judases should enjoy life while they can for life is short but an eternity is, well, forever.

[1] http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-egypt-christians-20170526-story.html
[2] Ibid.

Where Is Evil?

According to certain former leaders of the world (as well as some of the present), evil is always somewhere else.  They think they see it and they bomb the countries where they believe evil inhabits, and when given the chance, permit the execution of leaders of those countries who were not saints, but neither are they.  As a result, there are failed states such as Libya [1] and Iraq [2].  Without Russian intervention in Syria propping up Bashar al-Assad, Syria, too, would go the way of Libya and Iraq.

In the failed state of Libya, there are "bases in which militants who waged a deadly attack against Christians have been trained." [3]  On May 26, 2017, the Los Angeles Times reported the following, quoted in part [4]:

“Militants attacked a bus and a car — they shot them, 28 persons were killed at least,” including women and children, said Ishak Ibrahim, a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a Cairo-based think tank.

A group of laborers and volunteers from a village in Minya had boarded a bus to St. Samuel Coptic Orthodox Monastery about a dozen miles away Friday at about 8 a.m. Two white SUVs stopped them, said Anba Aghason, the Coptic Christian bishop in the area.

Aghason recounted what survivors told him happened next.

Armed men emerged, faces covered, and asked the passengers, “Are you Christian?”

The passengers said yes.

The armed men then distributed a 10- to 15-page pamphlet of Koranic verses that explained fasting during Ramadan, the Muslim holiday that started Friday. Then the armed men told the group to recite the Shahada, the Muslim profession of faith.

“They refused, and said, ‘No, we were born Christian and will die Christian,’ ” the bishop said. “So they killed all the men. They killed some of the women, injured others and stole what they had.”

It is apparent that evil resides within the organization of ISIL.  Not as obvious is that evil also resides in countries that have given rise to ISIL, and most surely evil resides in those who might have once been innocent and idealistic who sold their souls to the Devil for power.  It ought to be well-known to all that evil begets evil.  Despite being on opposite sides, evil of every stripe speaks the common language of death and vengeance.

It also ought to be well-known that evil cannot be eliminated by might.  Evil merely metamorphosizes, perhaps even hibernate for a while before it inhabits other people in other places.

Who does evil inhabit?  The weak ones who have power but have souls devoid of the presence of God.  No leader will admit to the fact that he or she could be evil.  If this world were a fairy tale, every room in the halls of power would have a mirror on the wall that will answer to the question: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most evil of all?"  The reply ought to be the same for anyone who has ever ordered anyone to kill: "You."  This answer has to be correct because only evil will go against God's commandment not to kill.  In the words of Christ, quoted without paragraph number and footnotes [5]:

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’...

With killings taking place every so often somewhere in the world, evil, therefore, is very much alive, no matter how many deaths it seemed to have gone through over the centuries.

Those who think ISIL can be eliminated are naïve, and those who think that only other people are evil are blind to their own iniquities.

The Coptic Christians who were on their way to St. Samuel Coptic Orthodox Monastery on May 26, 2017, died for their faith in God and love for Christ.  In doing so, they ought to make all Christians stronger but in reality, they would soon be forgotten, just as many Coptic Christians who had died in Syria were nameless and forgotten.  These people were martyrs in the name of Christ and this pope does not even care to know their names and ask for their photographs, but this blogger is certain that Christ recognizes who they are individually and knows their names.

The massacred Coptic Christians might have thought that they were going to St. Samuel Coptic Orthodox Monastery, but it turned out that they were being called to another place.  That place, this blogger believes, is Heaven.  May they pray, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, for sinners (especially this blogger) who may still have many years to struggle through, years marked with internal weakness and wickedness as well as external conflicts, now and until their deaths, and pray also that they, the banished children of Eve, be shown the Blessed Fruit of the womb of the Virgin Mary after their exile.


[1] http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/20/libya-from-africas-wealthiest-democracy-under-gaddafi-to-terrorist-haven-after-us-intervention/
[2] http://www.alternet.org/world/iraq-failed-state
[3] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4544554/23-shot-dead-bus-carrying-Coptic-Christians-Egypt.html
[4] http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-egypt-christians-20170526-story.html
[5] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5 at 21.

The Catholic Church -- Going In the Wrong Direction

If Christ can be imagined in the shape of an isosceles triangle, the base would be at the bottom and the apex at the top.  His incarnated life began in a stable.  From there, He continued His gradual ascent to Heaven, with God on His Mind, on His Lips and in His Heart, through His trials and tribulations, until His ascension.

In contrast, the Catholic Church that is being run presently takes the shape of Christ's triangle but the direction in which it travels is from the apex down.  The way it thinks begins with God, the very top, the ideal, quoting the words of God, then somewhere in the middle of it, it begins its downward slide, toward everything worldly, everything secular, everything materialistic, everything Satan owns and gives disguised as charity, as holiness dissipates into obscurity, at the same time its mind thirsts of greed and power, its lips speak of selfish rights but it shows no selfless sacrifice and its heart desires unspeakable decadence.

When the layers of hypocrisy are being peeled off, it seems to always come down to money, resources and influence: money and resources for the Church first; with what that is left, the Church wants to buy influence.  God and prayers seem to be an afterthought, if they are even thought of at all.  Evangelization appears to be a marketing concept by which the Catholic Church sells its influence, providing goodies to those who have little, because it does not know how to evangelize to those who are self-sufficient but Godless, for there is nothing this Church could give them in exchange for its influence over them.

Secularization is prevailing and evangelization is only a side show in western world and non-existent in the lands upon which Christ, His disciples and other early followers have walked.  In this sense, the Catholic Church has failed.  A Vatican that is trying to modernize, to speak the prevailing politically-popular language, to forsake the strict teachings of Christ in an attempt to keep and expand its flock is to continue on its path of failure to its final demise.

The path of Christ is not an easy one.  It certainly is not opulent, like the Vatican, nor is it popular nor political, like Bergolio and his minions.  It is actually simple, requiring man to be truly humble, yet kind, strong and resolute in his humility, not broken in order that man can feed others for man is not is not the Bread of Life that is Christ. [1], [2]

Man is not to be elevated to the position of Christ, no matter what he does.  Not even Francesco d'Assisi, as broken as he was, saw himself as Christ, but only as a servant of Christ.

The saintly Francesco walked the walk whereas the politically-deft one in the Vatican just talks and talks.  The saint served God.  What entity this pope in the end is really serving remains to be seen.  He once spoke of "'therapy of hope'" [3], whatever that means, as if psychology or psychiatry is involved, but not once did he mention praying the rosary and the miracles and graces that flow from it.

Although Bergolio's words refer sometimes to God, setting the ideal for man to aspire to in order that he could be spiritually lifted to Heaven, Bergolio nevertheless tends to enjoy returning to the base (of his triangle) where he seems most comfortable, a receptacle for politics, secularism and everything worldly (unholy) and Satan-owned.

In this entry, the triangle's base is not a comfortable place, despite it not being necessarily unholy.  It is not the base that is the problem, it is the direction in which one travels that makes all the difference in one's life.  One can be like Christ and go up to Heaven, or be against Christ and go in the other direction.



[1] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-message-for-corpus-christi-let-yourself-be-broken-for-others-14755/
[2] http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2017/god-is-no-warlord-claiming-victory-with-enemies-blood-pope-says.cfm
[3] Ibid.

Knowing Christ Through Satan

The interaction between Satan and Christ took place in the desert when Satan presented Christ with three temptations, quoted without paragraph numbers and footnotes [1]:

1. "'If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.'"
2. "'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written: "He will command his angels concerning you" and "with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone."'"
3. "Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, 'All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.'"

The first two temptations began with these words of Satan: "'If you are the Son of God...'" [2]  Of course Satan knew that Christ was the Son of God.  It tracked Him down in the desert, singled Him out and tempted Him, and Jesus certainly knew He was God's Son.  Jesus was only twelve when He asked His Mother Who together with Joseph were looking for Him when He asked, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?'" [3]

Satan began its first two temptations with the word "if" as if to cast a doubt, one which both tempter and the Tempted knew without a doubt what was the Truth.  Yet, the word "if" was not superfluous; it was meant to irk Jesus Who was also human, Who could have easily proved to Satan by turning stones into bread or showed Satan that angels would have attended to Him had He thrown Himself down off the parapet of the temple [4], but He did not find the need to prove to Satan that He was God's Son because He was truly humble.  Had Jesus been proud and wanted to show that He was indeed the Son of God, then He would have figuratively bowed to Satan and carried out its command.  When it did not work the first time, Satan tried a second time with a more dramatic temptation, allowing Jesus His chance to show off more spectacularly Who He was, and still it did not work.

Exasperated, Satan gave all that it could give in its third temptation to the Son of God,  Even then, it failed to move Christ from a position above Satan to a position under it.  As Satan's enemy, Christ was unconquerable.

Man ought to learn that strength and invincibility arise out of humility and not pride but man has yet to realize it and to know that humility is the one effective weapon against Satan.  With humility, one is able to rise above evil and make it go away.  With any break in humility, evil enters and like a virus, it weakens its host; like a cancer, it festers and claims its life.

What one is also able to take away from Satan's interaction with Christ is His power.  Even before Christ began His ministry [5], Satan already knew Christ had the power to perform all kinds of miracles, evidenced by its first temptation.  It also knew that Christ would be watched over by God and attended to constantly by Heaven's angels.  Satan knew this well, for before its fall, it was Lucifer, and had attended to God as Heaven "most beautiful of all the angels." [6]

If Lucifer, although fallen, who is (still) "aware of his extreme intelligence" [7] knows God and Christ as the Son of God, then what does it say about those "intellectuals" in academia and in the press, and those "short-of-being-intellectuals" everywhere else who are indifferent to or who do not believe in God or the Son of God?  After all, they must realize that evil exists and if that is the case, they could not deny Satan which, in turn, does not deny the existence of God, Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary "[Who] is [its] replacement," [8] Whose "star shines even brighter. Mary’s radiance is much more beautiful and intense than Lucifer‘s ever was because she shines with the light of grace, not merely nature," [9] and Whose "obedience to the will of God that has made [H]er powerful beyond limits....This is Satan’s humiliation and his doom." [10]  Satan knows these Truths well, and therefore so should Satan's admirers (including secularists and atheists) know them well.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/4 at 3, 6, 8-9.
[2] Ibid at 3, 6.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/2 at 42, 48-50.
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/4 at 5.
[5] Ibid at 12.
[6] http://catholicexchange.com/facts-satan-fallen-angels
[7] Ibid.
[8] https://www.catholicgentleman.net/2015/01/devil-hates-blessed-virgin-much-love/
[9] http://www.spiritualdirection.com/2014/05/09/gods-greatest-creation-lucifer-blessed-virgin-mary
[10] https://www.catholicgentleman.net/2015/01/devil-hates-blessed-virgin-much-love/

Satan's Prescription For Suffering

For Satan and its kind, nothing good can come out of suffering and therefore suffering must be stopped, and the only way to stop the suffering, according to Satan, is to "prostrate [oneself before] it and worship [it]." [1]  That was what Satan wanted Christ to do after He had fasted for forty days in the desert, when He was physically weak, when He was most vulnerable to Satan's temptations, yet He remained spiritually strong and commanded Satan to "get away." [2]

Similarly, Satan's minions want to give to those who are suffering a cheap variation of Satan's third temptation which was "the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence." [3] This cheap variation consists of the calling of the nations of the world to provide for those who are refugees, poor, homeless and so on.  In exchange, those having received some meager assistance, a decent meal now and then, would then bow to all the comforts of the world that Satan owns. (It is noteworthy that many who are well-to-do also bow to what Satan has to offer them--some even sell their souls for what they think they can get in return.)

For those who are unable to see through the façade of (Satanic) goodwill and generosity will nevertheless see the Godless (secular) version of a cure for suffering, and find it to be laudably humanitarian.  Little wonder Bergolio has his many fans, just as Satan has its throngs of followers self-congratulating themselves while they commit yet-to-be-classified-by-the-Catholic Church sins of secularism and Godless (Satan's) charity (offer of goods without heart that is usually combined with an ulterior motive or two).

In the same way that this Vatican would not want anyone to suffer by calling on nations to help the needy, it would have protested loudly knowing that Jesus would be crucified, and would demand that He not suffer.  Had Christ not ordered Satan to leave Him, Satan would have intervened just as this Vatican would have intervened to prevent Christ from suffering, bleeding and dying and thereby stopping His subsequent resurrection, and as a result man could never die to eternal life because it was by the death and resurrection of Christ that man was saved from eternal death and by the suffering of Christ and the flow Christ's blood that man is able to be cleansed of his Original Sin and its endless variations.

Before continuing, it would be appropriate to take a fresh look at Judas Iscariot.  There are those who believe that Satan had entered Judas Iscariot and as a result, he betrayed Christ.  If, according to this entry's theory above, Satan had entered Judas Iscariot, then he would not have identified Christ by a kiss but rather would have escorted Christ away from the soldiers so that He could not fulfill God's Will.  But Judas Iscariot did betray Christ with a kiss.  Therefore, for the theory to work, this would have to be the conclusion: rather than Satan entering Judas causing him to betray Christ, Judas betrayed Christ out of his own accord, driven by his greedy desire for thirty pieces of silver.  Greed is a temptation that Satan has put out there for man to embrace.  Satan does not have time to enter every man in order for man to accept its seemingly endless temptations and betray Christ, since it is smart enough to give man enough of them that man will answer Satan's beck and call, willingly and happily, by falling into any one or a variety of of Satan's temptations.

Back to this entry's theory, one that seems awfully harsh, almost heartless, uncaring of those who are most in need of help.  In the Judgment of Nation  parable, quoted in part below, are the words of Christ without paragraphs numbers and references [4]:

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Indeed, man ought to take care of one another.  Based on this blogger's reading, this parable applies to each nation, the source of power in every society, in that every one of them ought to treat its people in a way so that they would not hunger, thirst, be rejected, left on the street without proper clothing and shelter and without health care.  And even though there would still be people who would be incarcerated, they ought not to be treated like animals, but with compassion and be visited instead, whether or not those in prison were rightfully convicted, for both the criminal and the wrongfully convicted need someone, preferably a true representative of Christ, to help the former to repent and return to God and the latter to understand and empathize fully with Christ since Christ Himself was unjustly accused, convicted, tortured and put to death.

In other words, this parable talked about what each nation ought to do in the first place, to prevent mass suffering and exodus with refugees wandering the globe without a home, not what needs to be done to fix a mess on the back end, created by not having adhered to words of Christ.

What the parable says is as important as what it does not.   The absence of words in the parable asking other nations to interfere with the internal affairs of other nations that had accumulated certain weapons of mass destruction and had not treated its people well is painfully clear.  To then provide underhanded assistance to activists, i.e., to help organize a community of protesters, causing civil unrest and then bombing them is surely not called for, because it is not for man but for the king in the parable to judge.  Quoted below without paragraph numbers and reference show the absence of such words in the parable [5]:

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

When man under Satan's influence become judge and executioner, the result leads to more suffering than before the meddlesome actions, including bombings [5], [6].  And it is this suffering that Satan's minions want to end by asking those nations that had created the mess in the first place to fix.  The cycle of introduction to suffering and amelioration of suffering thus begins, and is repeated over the course of human existence: bomb a nation gratuitously then give cheap, inadequate and temporary assistance to its people.  Promises of aids are similar to promises of Satan. They sound good and appear decent at first but in the end they do not last and are worthless.  The pains of loss, of feeling lost and of emptiness seem endless.  Not even a fraction of a degree can such pains be alleviated by humanitarian calls for secular and monetary assistance; they can only be lifted by God.  When God is asked to assist through supplication, suffering turns into grace as the person's compassion deepens at the same time the person's spirit is being lifted.  That is the mark of God's cure: something good comes out of it, but when Satan and Satan's minions produce a "cure," suffering is preserved, if not exacerbated.

In conclusion, as soon as man submits to Satan in exchange for the false promise of the world's kingdoms (modern translation: un-Godly religious influences, political powers and military might), unending suffering ensues.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/4 at 9.
[2] Ibid at 10.
[3] Ibid at 8.
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25 at 34-40.
[5] From a February 10, 2016, article: "The five-year-old war in Syria has claimed 470,000 lives, according to new research that almost doubles previous estimates about the human cost of the conflict.
"The Guardian  reported details of a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, due to be launched in Beirut on Thursday, that says life expectancy in Syria has dropped to just 55.4 years. Before the conflict Syrians could expect to live to the age of 70." See http://time.com/4216896/death-toll-syria-war-470000/
[6] From a March 30, 2017, article, quoted without hyperlinks: "The number of refugees who have fled Syria for neighbouring countries has topped five million people for the first time since the civil war began six years ago, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
"Half of Syria’s 22 million population has been uprooted by a conflict that has now lasted longer than the second world war, the figures released by the UNHCR show, with 6.3 million people who are still inside the country’s borders forced from their homes." See https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/30/syrian-refugee-number-passes-5m-mark-un-reveals

Courage And Cowardice

Dictionary.com  defines courage as "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear," [1] and defines cowardice as "lack of courage to face danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc." [2]

This entry defines them differently.  Borrowing words from Dictionary.com, courage is defined here as the heart driven by love "that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear," and cowardice is defined here as the intellectually-calculated and rationalized decisions "that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear" after a careful weighing of risks versus reward.

Christ endured all the pains leading up to and including His crucifixion out of love in His Sacred Heart for God and for man.  At the end, Christ had not gained anymore for Himself than when He had begun, for He was already the Son of God before His Passion and remained the Son of God after it.  In this sense, Christ is the picture of pure courage.

By this strict definition, there cannot be that many people in the history of man who can claim to have the courage equal to that of Christ, for even those seemingly courageous would likely have in the back of their minds some expectation of reward in exchange for a courageous feat (this includes the saintly ones who chose to become martyrs with the expectation of Heaven but excludes those humble enough who never had any expectation of a Heavenly reward), nor can it be said that there has been nobody who had laid down his or her life for the love of another without an expectation of some kind of reward.

A seeming absence of a reward could very easily be mistaken as selfless when on close examination, it is not.  For example, a man who saves his wife by dying is not entirely selfless if he had wanted her to raise their children, or a bodyguard who takes a bullet is not entirely selfless because he is paid to do so, but a man who saves a complete stranger by dying is selfless if he is not otherwise rewarded, and the mother who pushed her daughter out of the way from a vehicle headed toward them had died selflessly with love in her heart. [3]

The first two examples in the paragraph above are harsh. Equally harsh, perhaps or perhaps not, is to call a leader who has the power to send other people to war to die for their country or for an ideology (whether it is democracy or extremism) a coward despite his reluctance to send his own children and lovers first to war or going to the front lines himself.  However, it would be most unconscionable to call a person who enlists in the military voluntarily knowing full well that he could die in an armed conflict a coward based on this entry's definition of a coward despite the person who enlists must have known of the risks and had deliberately weighed such risks before making the decision to enter the military.  On the other hand, the volunteer soldier cannot be deemed courageous because his actions in dying for another would not have arisen out of a selfless love but rather after an assessment of risks and benefits.  In other words, a soldier's death on a battlefield is not the same as the courageous death of Christ on the cross: there is no equivalence.

Christ with His pained and bleeding Heart is the perfect portrait of courage.  In contrast, Satan with his cold, calculating and cunning intellect has to be the epitome of cowardice for Satan would never want to suffer in an incarnated state even though it wants man to suffer in the flesh by selling his soul for false and transient earthly rewards, and then to suffer eternally for finding futility in the repentance of sins and rejecting God with heartless and calibrated disdain.

Courage requires man to come face to face with his enemy, just as Christ came face to face with Satan in the desert and Satan's minions that eventually led to His crucifixion. Courage also requires man to love, not vanquish, his enemy who was once a neighbor.  To do otherwise is to be like Satan, the quintessential coward, whose goal is to destroy man, God's beloved creation, since it cannot destroy God.


[1] http://www.dictionary.com/browse/courage
[2] http://www.dictionary.com/browse/cowardice?s=t
[3] https://www.yahoo.com/news/mother-dies-mother-apos-day-175828136.html