#The Voice of the Martyrs USA

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

The Voice of the Martyrs - USA | Mussalam's Story

Mussalam was teaching 30 students in her Uzbekistan classroom when her Muslim daughter and sons burst in and kidnapped their Christian mother. Through bribery, Mussalam was taken to a psychiatric hospital. She was given medication that clouded her mind and shots that made her unable to walk. Praise God that her Christian children were able to get her out and assist in her recovery.

PRAY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

#The Voice of the Martyrs - USA #Mussalam #persecution #Christians #Uzbekistan

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

28th December - Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 2:13-18 for the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs: ‘He had all the male children killed’.

Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Gospel (Except USA)

Matthew 2:13-18

The massacre of the innocents.

After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

I called my son out of Egypt.

Herod was furious when he realised that he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men. It was then that the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled:

A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they were no more.

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 2:13-18

He ordered the massacre of all boys in Bethlehem.

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son. When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.

Reflections (7)

(i) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

It is difficult to reflect on the gospel reading for today’s feast without becoming aware of the war in Gaza and Israel. The displacement of the family of Jesus from Israel to Egypt calls to mind the huge numbers of people who have been displaced from their homes in Gaza. The slaughter of innocent children by the ruthless Herod evokes the slaughter of thousands of children and adults by Israel’s aerial bombardment in Gaza, and the slaughter of innocent women, children and men by Hamas in southern Israel. Jesus was born into a region that in is as volatile today as it was then. This was powerfully symbolized this Christmas in Bethlehem by the creation of a crib from the rubble of buildings and the placing of the child Jesus in the midst of the rubble. The child Jesus cries out to us through every child that is suffering these days because of this conflict that seems to have no end. The adult Jesus identified himself very personally with the most vulnerable, ‘I was hungry… I was thirsty… I was a stranger… I was naked… I was sick… I was in prison’. The war in Gaza, like every war, has created thousands of people who are hungry, thirsty, displaced, naked, sick and imprisoned. The Lord who cries out to us through the innocent victims of war demands to be heard. Yet, we can feel so helpless before this unfolding tragedy. Nevertheless, today’s first reading reminds us that there is always something we can do to bring light into the darkness. According to our first reading, ‘God is light’. The author of this letter will go on to state that ‘God is love’. Jesus is the fullest expression of the light of God’s love. He came to draw us into his loving light and to send us out as light bearers to our often dark world. In the language of today’s first reading, we are to ‘live our lives in the light, as he is in the light’. There is much darkness in the world and we can be tempted to despair before the various manifestations of Herod in these times. Yet, the greater the darkness, the more urgent becomes the Lord’s call to bring the light of his love into the darkness of our world, in whatever way we can. Only then will the statement at the beginning of John’s gospel become real in our time, ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

A few days after celebrating the birth of a child today’s feast recalls that passage in Matthew’s gospel that describes the death of children. There is a lot of darkness in today’s gospel reading, all of it due to the ruler of the time, Herod the Great. Because of him, innocent children are put to death and the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph become refugees, fleeing to Egypt for their safety. The story has a contemporary ring to it. We think of situations in today’s world where those in power are bringing death to others, including children. We recall the thousands of people who have been made refugees because of the cruelty of some. Today’s feast reminds us that Jesus was born into a violent world, where those in power were often ruthless in their efforts to protect their own position. The birth of Jesus brought a light into that dark world, the light of God’s love. The first reading declares: ‘God is light; there is no darkness in him at all’. Jesus’ life revealed a different kind of power to the power of those in authority at the time. His life and his death revealed the power of love, a love that was self-emptying in the service of others. Our calling is to allow this love to take flesh in our own lives. It is in this way that, in the words of the first reading, ‘we live our lives in the light, as God is in the light’. The calling to allow Jesus, the light of God’s love, to shine in and through our lives, is a noble but challenging one. We will often fail in our living out of this calling. We sin, but as the first reading says, ‘if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins’. There is darkness in each one of us but the darkness does not define us because the light of God’s mercy is always stronger than the darkness of our sins. God remains faithful to us and keeps on calling us to bring the light of his Son into the darkness of our world.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Matthew’s story of the birth and early childhood of Jesus is painted in much darker colours than the story that Luke tells. It is Matthew who reminds us that Jesus was born into a world where the powerful people of the land, men like Herod, abused their power, even to the point of shedding innocent blood. Herod the great who tried to do away with the child Jesus would find his counterpart in Pilate who puts the adult Jesus to death. The first reading says that ‘God is light’. Yet, Jesus, God-with-us, was born into and lived in a world where darkness was much in evidence, especially within those who exercised political power. Jesus came as light into darkness, as God’s light into a darkened world. He came as a revelation of God’s love into a world where the darkness of hatred often reigned. He remains a light in our darkness to this day; his life, death and resurrection continue to shine as a beacon in our sometimes dark world. He promises that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness. We look to him to enlighten and guide us, to show us the way we need to walk if we are to be true to our deepest identity as people made in God’s image. We can also rely on him to scatter the darkness that resides in all of our lives. The first reading assures us that ‘if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ… the sacrifice that takes our sins away’. We often say that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. In sending his Son into the world, God has done more than light a candle; he has kindled a fire within our darkness, the fire of his love which will never die away.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

The portrayal of King Herod in this morning’s gospel reading is that of a ruler who is prepared to lash out at even innocent children to defend against what he perceives to be a threat to his power. There have been many such figures down through the course of history, even up to recent times, rulers who are prepared to sacrifice any number of innocent people to ensure that they stay in power. This form of kingship, the kingship of Herod, was the polar opposite of the kingship that Jesus came to proclaim, the kingship of God. Here was a kingship which finds expression not in the oppressive use of power but in the humble service of others. The child Jesus who escaped from Herod’s tyranny went on as an adult to say to his disciples, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant’. None of us will ever act like Herod, but none of us can afford to be complacent either; we can all be prone to dominate in one way or another. The first reading this morning declares, ‘if we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth’. We have to be alert to the ways we can fail to take that path of humble, self-emptying, service of others which is the way of Jesus, the way of God.

And/Or

(v) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

We know from the historical sources of the time that Herod the Great had a reputation for eliminating anyone whom he considered a threat to his power. He became increasingly paranoid towards the end of his long reign and had several of his own sons killed because he suspected they were plotting to depose him. The picture that Matthew gives us in this morning’s gospel reading of Herod as a ruthless tyrant is in keeping with what we know of Herod’s character. Herod could not tolerate anyone who might be considered King of the Jews, even if the King in question was a recently born baby and, so, in an effort to ensure this baby would die he ordered the killing of all babies of a similar age. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth and infancy has a much darker quality than the account we find in Luke’s gospel, with its angels and shepherds, and its people of faith like Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna. Matthew suggests that Jesus was born into a world where those in power were ready to sacrifice innocent people if necessary, to ensure their own political survival. As a consequence, the family of Joseph, Mary and their infant son Jesus became refugees in the land of Egypt, far from their own home. We cannot but think of all those who have been made refugees today because of the abuse of political power. Today’s gospel reading suggests that what sustained this family during this vulnerable time of displacement and exile was their faith. Their faith was a light which shone in their darkness. It was Joseph’s relationship with God which helped him to discern the best path to take for his family, and especially for his young son. He emerges from the pages of Matthew’s gospel as a strong, caring and faithful father and husband. Sometimes in our own lives, when other people throw us into a dark place by their self-serving actions, our faith is the only light that can sustain us. Because the Word has become flesh, his light will always shine in our darkness, and as John reminds us in the Prologue to his gospel, no darkness is ever dark enough to overcome that light.

And/Or

(vi) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

There is a strong contrast in the gospel reading between God’s efforts to preserve the life of Joseph and Mary’s child and Herod’s efforts to kill their child. The angel of the Lord prompts Mary and Joseph to flee into Egypt for their child’s protection. Herod orders all the male children under two to be killed in the Bethlehem area to ensure the death of Joseph and Mary’s child. God is always at work in our world to preserve and enhance life in its various forms, especially life at its most vulnerable. We tend to be at our most vulnerable at the beginning of our lives, in our mother’s womb and in the first months of life, and also at the end of our lives when we often have to deal with sickness in one shape or form. The gospel reading this morning suggests that there are other forces in our world that, like Herod, work to eliminate life, especially when it is at its most vulnerable. Our calling from God, our mission in life, is to keep aligning ourselves with God’s life giving work. The feast of the Holy Innocents reminds us that far too many innocent lives have been and, indeed, are being slaughtered. The sobbing and loud lamenting at the loss of innocent life that is referred to at the end of the gospel reading is all too familiar to our ears today. Yet the forces for life that have been released into the world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus remain stronger than the forces of death. As baptized believers we can each make those forces for life, that Spirit of life, tangible and visible in the way we live and relate to others.

And/Or

(vii) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

In today’s first reading, we find that very striking statement about God, ‘God is light; there is no darkness in him at all’. Elsewhere, in this same letter, the author says that ‘God is love’. We are being told that God is the light of love. In God there is none of the darkness associated with the absence of love. God sent his Son into the world to reveal God as light, as the light of love. Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus, is very much the feast of light, the feast of the light of God’s love as expressed in a human life, the life of Jesus. It is very appropriated that on this feast of Christmas we light candles and we place lights on Christmas trees. If the first reading proclaims that God is light, the gospel reading is full of darkness. We would be tempting to say of King Herod the opposite of what is said of God, ‘He is darkness; there is no light in him at all’. When he realized that the magi had not returned to him to tell him where the infant king of the Jews was born, he reacted furiously. Determining to kill this pretender to his throne, he ordered all male children up to the age of two to be killed in Bethlehem and its surrounding district. We celebrate the feast of these holy innocents today as Christian martyrs. The killing of innocent children by Herod points ahead to the killing of the innocent Jesus by Pilate. Herod symbolizes the brutal use of political and military power throughout history, which has often resulted in the suffering and death of children, even to this day. Jesus, the light of God, was born into a dark world, marked by brutal violence. It is the world we continue to live in. Yet, God shone a great light into that world, through the birth of Jesus, and God continues to shine a great light into our dark world today through the risen Lord alive in the church and in our individual lives. Jesus continues to say to us, what he said to his first disciples, ‘you are the light of the world’. The Lord works in our lives so that the light of God’s love continues to shine in our world through us. We are all called not only to light a candle in the darkness but to be a light in the darkness, to be the light of the Lord’s love in our sometimes dark world.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[super-hero-confessions]

Although there are plenty things to dislike about Primos I can see why some people would be put off by people saying children look ugly in that cartoon because "why would you want children to look hot/attractive" and I agree. However, you need to keep in mind that a good design isn't inherently one that makes a character hot. One example I can think of is Yzma. Yzma isn't hot, or at least if you ask most people, they won't really find her hot. But she has an amazing cool design. She's nice to look at, she's expressive, with a purple color palette, etc. Her design was made to make her charismatic, a very charismatic villain. Characters don't need to be hot to be nice aesthetically speaking. When latinos complain about the children from Primos being ugly, it's because they look dirty, feral, it very much feels like a parody or caricature mocking latinos.

Not happy with that, they had to put a yellow filter and call the town "Terremoto Heights" which is just very insensitive. Imagine if a new cartoon was made based on USA and its town was called "Mass Shooting Heights". You may think "wow, OP, that's insensitive, that feels like mocking a very serious and deadly problem Americans face". EXACTLY. Exactly. On top of that, we have the showrunner Natasha Kline acting like a martyr and victimizing herself claiming she will "fight for the dreams of her community" when literally it's her community telling her to please stop because this show is racist and offensive. Coupled with the voice actor Myrna Velasco insulting the latino community, saying that "Spanish isn't even a latin language" when Latin America is called Latin America because Spanish is literally a language with Latin roots (like Portuguese and Italian), and insulting Spanish because "it was spread by conquest anyway". She was saying this in English. GIRL? She was bashing Spanish for being spread by conquest IN ENGLISH. How the hell does she think English was spread? Hypocrite behavior showing that she is an American first, of hispanic descent second. That's Karen behavior.

This again proves that Disney doesn't care about the latino community, and neither do people who claim to. People want to tell others what to get offended by, but don't listen to the people they claim to help. Because for example, latinos actually loved Speedy Gonzales and Mario Mariachi, but Americans got offended on behalf of latinos and both characters got deleted. Another example, latinos have stated time and time again "please don't call us latinx." A study showed that only 2% of latinos identifies as latinx, and even they don't have a problem with the word latino being used to describe hispanics as a whole. Again, y'all don't listen, y'all continue saying latinx. And now, latinos are saying this show is awful and offensive, and y'all look for ways to ignore and discredit those opinion.

People who do this need to back the hell off and realize the very people they claim to champion for despise them to the core.

#confession #rant #primos

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

9th October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Monday, Twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time 

or

Saints Denis, Bishop, and his Companions, Martyrs 

or

Saint John Leonardi, Priest 

or

Saint John Henry Newman, Priest. 

Monday, Twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Jonah 1:1-2:1,11 Jonah flees from his call.

The word of the Lord was addressed to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Up!’ he said ‘Go to Nineveh, the great city, and inform them that their wickedness has become known to me.’ Jonah decided to run away from the Lord, and to go to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish; he paid his fare and went aboard, to go with them to Tarshish, to get away from the Lord. But the Lord unleashed a violent wind on the sea, and there was such a great storm at sea that the ship threatened to break up. The sailors took fright, and each of them called on his own god, and to lighten the ship they threw the cargo overboard. Jonah, however, had gone below and lain down in the hold and fallen fast asleep. The boatswain came upon him and said, ‘What do you mean by sleeping? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps he will spare us a thought, and not leave us to die.’ Then they said to each other, ‘Come on, let us draw lots to find out who is responsible for bringing this evil on us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell to Jonah. Then they said to him, ‘Tell us, what is your business? Where do you come from? What is your country? What is your nationality?’ He replied, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.’ The sailors were seized with terror at this and said, ‘What have you done?’ They knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had told them so. They then said, ‘What are we to do with you, to make the sea grow calm for us?’ For the sea was growing rougher and rougher. He replied, ‘Take me and throw me into the sea, and then it will grow calm for you. For I can see it is my fault this violent storm has happened to you.’ The sailors rowed hard in an effort to reach the shore, but in vain, since the sea grew still rougher for them. They then called on the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, do not let us perish for taking this man’s life; do not hold us guilty of innocent blood; for you, the Lord, have acted as you have thought right.’ And taking hold of Jonah they threw him into the sea; and the sea grew calm again. At this the men were seized with dread of the Lord; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

The Lord had arranged that a great fish should be there to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. The Lord spoke to the fish, which then vomited Jonah on to the shore.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Jonah 2:3-5,8

R/ You lifted my life from the pit, O Lord.

Out of my distress I cried to the Lord and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried, and you have heard my voice.

R/ You lifted my life from the pit, O Lord.

You cast me into the abyss, into the heart of the sea, and the flood surrounded me. All your waves, your billows, washed over me.

R/ You lifted my life from the pit, O Lord.

And I said: I am cast out from your sight. How shall I ever look again on your holy Temple?

R/ You lifted my life from the pit, O Lord.

While my soul was fainting within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came before you into your holy Temple.

R/ You lifted my life from the pit, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation cf. John 6:63,68

Alleluia, alleluia! Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!

Or: John 13:34

Alleluia, alleluia! I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 10:25-37 The good Samaritan.

There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this and life is yours.’

But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

-----------------------------------

Saints Denis, Bishop, and his Companions, Martyrs 

(Liturgical Colour: Red: A (1))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 How we prove that we are God's servants.

We prove we are servants of God by great fortitude in times of suffering: in times of hardship and distress; when we are flogged, or sent to prison, or mobbed; labouring, sleepless, starving. We prove we are God’s servants by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by a spirit of holiness, by a love free from affectation; by the word of truth and by the power of God; by being armed with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, prepared for honour or disgrace, for blame or praise; taken for impostors while we are genuine; obscure yet famous; said to be dying and here are we alive; rumoured to be executed before we are sentenced; thought most miserable and yet we are always rejoicing; taken for paupers though we make others rich, for people having nothing though we have everything.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 125(126):1-6

R/ Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs.

R/ Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’ What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

R/ Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

R/ Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing: they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves.

R/ Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

Gospel Acclamation John 8:12

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 5:13-16 Your light must shine in the sight of men.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

----------------------------

Saint John Leonardi, Priest 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading 2 Corinthians 4:1-2,5-7 God has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of his glory.

Since we have by an act of mercy been entrusted with this work of administration, there is no weakening on our part. On the contrary, we will have none of the reticence of those who are ashamed, no deceitfulness or watering down the word of God; but the way we commend ourselves to every human being with a conscience is by stating the truth openly in the sight of God. For it is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. It is the same God that said, ‘Let there be light shining out of darkness’, who has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, the glory on the face of Christ.

We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-8,10

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord the glory of his name.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’ The world he made firm in its place; he will judge the peoples in fairness.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Gospel Acclamation Mark 1:17

Alleluia, alleluia! Follow me, says the Lord, and I will make you into fishers of men. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 5:1-11 They left everything and followed him.

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.

When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

----------------------------

Saint John Henry Newman, Priest 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 The Spirit reaches even the depths of God.

The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 144(145):8-14

R/ The Lord is just in all his ways.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.

R/ The Lord is just in all his ways.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God, to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign.

R/ The Lord is just in all his ways.

Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age. The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds. The Lord supports all who fall and raises all who are bowed down.

R/ The Lord is just in all his ways.

Gospel Acclamation Hebrews 4:12

Alleluia, alleluia! The word of God is alive and active: it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 13:47-52 The fishermen collect the good fish and throw away those that are no use.

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

‘Have you understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for 4th Tuesday of Easter

Acts 11:19-26; Ps 86; John 10:22-30

preached at a Novena at Our Lady of the Holy Souls, Kensal New Town

“It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’” (Act 11:26) Before that, followers of Jesus were sometimes called “Nazarenes”, a term that, you might recall, terrorist groups in Syria had revived in recent times to brand us. But the origin of the word Christian was no less of a stigma. It seems that the people of Antioch had also first used ‘Christians’ as a derisive term, and this use of the word recurs time and again. The word ‘cretin’ for example, which means a stupid or insensitive person, comes from the time of the French Revolution when being called a crétin, a Christian, was used as an insult. But although people called us Christians (and still do) in order to dismiss us, or exclude us from the public sphere, the early Church took on the name ‘Christian’ as a badge of pride. For it means that we follow Christ, that we are anointed as he is with the spirit of Sonship, and so we are called to be little Christs in the world so that those who see us will see Him, our Crucified and Risen Lord. 

Hence the Lord says plainly in the Gospel to those who ask him if he is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God: “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” (Jn 10:27) To be called a Christian, therefore, and to be worthy of the title means that our behaviour has in some way marked us out as belonging to Jesus Christ, and it is a behaviour that should set us apart from others, making us distinctive and different and odd in an increasingly non-Christian world. Many will think us to be cretins because we are truly Christian. 

To be truly Christian is not to be nice – not necessarily. It is, however, to love. For this is what it means to follow Christ our Good Shepherd. It means we follow him to the Cross where he showed a sinful world what love looks like. Thus we follow him also to the grave and beyond, into the evergreen pastures of eternal life, as he promises us in the Gospel. Loving and following Christ, however, does not mean just believing in private beliefs. No, it is clear from the context of today’s Gospel, and the example of the early Church, and the Martyrs and Saints, that from the very beginning, our belief in Christ, our listening to his voice, sets us up for public visible actions and choices that will bring us into conflict with the world, and that challenge a world that has grown cold and distant from God, from truth, from the good, and even from beauty. To love and follow Christ, therefore, means to love and defend the good and the true. So the Lord also said: “‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.” (Jn 15:20) 

Consider, for example, the furore in the USA and on social media over the issue of so-called abortion rights – as if one could ever have a right to kill another human being, let alone the most vulnerable of all human beings, the baby in its mother’s womb. And so, for those who stand up for genuine human rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life, they have been called all manner of hateful and insulting names, and even been subjected to physical violence – for violence is the way of a people, blinded by sin and ignorance, who cannot actually cope with thinking and debating rationally about emotive topics. Thus the people of the world clamoured for blood and killed the King of Love. Thus, as we hear in the first reading today, the first Christians had come to Antioch because they had to escape fierce persecution in Jerusalem. And so we are opposed on many fronts in our time, but most especially against the sanctity of the family and authentic marriage.

Many, like sheep, will follow the strident voice of the world: one hears it in the opinions of politicians, celebrities, social media influencers; in popular books, on television, in universities, and all our favourite brands. All the more must we listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd who leads us to eternal life, who leads us into a deep love for God and his commandments, and so into a deep love for our neighbour, especially those who do not yet know God and who do not keep his word. St John of Avila, doctor of the Church whose feast falls today, would say: “The proof of perfect love of our Lord is seen in the perfect love of our neighbour”. It is this unified love that motivates us to be Christians, not only in name, but in deed, witnessing to the truth of the Faith in our very behaviour, even at the risk of being regarded as cretins. For to be a Christian is to love. 

So, the response of Christians all over the world, whenever they have been confronted by hatred and violence and persecution has been to turn to Our Lady and to pray the Holy Rosary, a great prayer centred on God’s saving love. Back in 1571 when Christianity in Europe was imperilled, my holy confrere the Dominican pope St Pius V, called together the Christian people in Rome, gathered into the Rosary Confraternity, to pray the Holy Rosary. After the Muslim forces were successfully repelled because of these prayers, St Pius V added the title Auxilium Christianorum, Help of Christians, to the Litany of Loreto. 

So in these days as you observe this Novena, as Dominican Promoter General of the Rosary, I say, thank you for praying the Rosary. And I pray that Our Lady will help us Christians today in our time, in our current struggles and challenges. May Our Lady help us to be Christians, to live up to our baptismal promises with courage, humility, and love. And so, by Our Lady’s prayers, may she amplify in our hearts and minds the voice of Christ, whom St John of Avila calls, “a great Friend”. May all come to hear God’s voice calling all peoples to friendship with him. For this, divine friendship, is what it means to be called a Christian – and we are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord!

#Christian #discipleship #abortion rights #Help of Christians

[nature-godsgardenofeden]

The REAL story of St. Patrick's Day:

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17, but why? Many who celebrate have only a vague idea that there was a real man — a Christian — named Patrick. He was born in Britain to a Christian family, but he didn’t accept Christ until after he was kidnapped at age 15 by Irish pirates and sold to a harsh Druid man in Ireland. Patrick was forced to work as a herdsman by his captors, and during that time he would pray for hours. At age 22, he escaped and returned to Britain. But several years later, he had a dream calling him back to Ireland to minister to its people. Heeding this call, Patrick journeyed throughout Ireland, sharing Christ until his death, thought to have been around March 17, A.D. 461. Whether you’re wearing green or not, remember the story of the Christian witness behind St. Patrick’s Day ~ The Voice of the Martyrs - USA

#St. Patrick’s Day #did you know #i didn't know #very interesting #Patrick #st patricks day #st pattys day

[mediaonedesign]

Official Official Kentucky Basketball NCAA Team Logo Shirt

You’ve taken a look around the Official Official Kentucky Basketball NCAA Team Logo Shirt moreover I love this store, you chose this jacket. Is there anything else you’d pick out for a date night vibe in Miami? I would wear anything in this store and I feel lucky that I get to just steal clothes from them. I think their bags are so beautiful and I think they make the best sunglasses. I see everyone wearing this specific sunglass style which is my favorite and I’ve been wearing for years. I see it on everyone, and I think that’s because they’re the best. I don’t have a face that’s good for all kinds of sunglasses. I have a very small face, and this is the only style that I wear.

Thanks, this bag is new and it’s so good. I’m one of those girls that carries, literally, my entire life. I need snacks, I need a book, so this fits everything. Oh my god, I actually got to read an early copy of a book that’s coming out next month called Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, who is a wonderful Iranian poet. It’s his first novel. You cannot believe it’s his first novel when you read it; it feels so lived in and seasoned. It’s so, so incredible. I mean, that should be on everyone’s radar. I’m actually reading—it’s not a new book—but I’m reading this book called The Marriage Plot, which I’ve never read and am really into. I’m reading The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide for the Official Official Kentucky Basketball NCAA Team Logo Shirt moreover I love this first time, which is by James Fadiman, who I think is really fascinating. I’m finally getting into that, which is dense but wonderful. I’ve been so fortunate to be working on my book club now for four years. I started at the beginning of 2020 during the pandemic, and now it’s 2024. And so to be able to track that progress has just been amazing, and I wanted it to have more of its own home and to really create a community outside of social media. Of course, social media plays a really big part in how we connect with each other, and it can be so wonderful. Giving it its own home and being able to have a platform to amplify more authors’ voices and highlight more people is what I’m really excited about.

Buy this shirt:  https://teechallaclothing.com/product/official-official-kentucky-basketball-ncaa-team-logo-shirt/

Home:  Teechallaclothing - Teechallaclothing – Trending store in the USA

[socialjusticefail]

Here is what the anon submitted this link included:

Although there are plenty things to dislike about Primos I can see why some people would be put off by people saying children look ugly in that cartoon because “why would you want children to look hot/attractive” and I agree. However, you need to keep in mind that a good design isn’t inherently one that makes a character hot. One example I can think of is Yzma. Yzma isn’t hot, or at least if you ask most people, they won’t really find her hot. But she has an amazing cool design. She’s nice to look at, she’s expressive, with a purple color palette, etc. Her design was made to make her charismatic, a very charismatic villain. Characters don’t need to be hot to be nice aesthetically speaking. When latinos complain about the children from Primos being ugly, it’s because they look dirty, feral, it very much feels like a parody or caricature mocking latinos. Not happy with that, they had to put a yellow filter and call the town “Terremoto Heights” which is just very insensitive. Imagine if a new cartoon was made based on USA and its town was called “Mass Shooting Heights”. You may think “wow, OP, that’s insensitive, that feels like mocking a very serious and deadly problem Americans face”. EXACTLY. Exactly. On top of that, we have the showrunner Natasha Kline acting like a martyr and victimizing herself claiming she will “fight for the dreams of her community” when literally it’s her community telling her to please stop because this show is racist and offensive. Coupled with the voice actor Myrna Velasco insulting the latino community, saying that “Spanish isn’t even a latin language” when Latin America is called Latin America because Spanish is literally a language with Latin roots (like Portuguese and Italian), and insulting Spanish because “it was spread by conquest anyway”. She was saying this in English. GIRL? She was bashing Spanish for being spread by conquest IN ENGLISH. How the hell does she think English was spread? Hypocrite behavior showing that she is an American first, of hispanic descent second. That’s Karen behavior. This again proves that Disney doesn’t care about the latino community, and neither do people who claim to. People want to tell others what to get offended by, but don’t listen to the people they claim to help. Because for example, latinos actually loved Speedy Gonzales and Mario Mariachi, but Americans got offended on behalf of latinos and both characters got deleted. Another example, latinos have stated time and time again “please don’t call us latinx.” A study showed that only 2% of latinos identifies as latinx, and even they don’t have a problem with the word latino being used to describe hispanics as a whole. Again, y'all don’t listen, y'all continue saying latinx. And now, latinos are saying this show is awful and offensive, and y'all look for ways to ignore and discredit those opinion. People who do this need to back the hell off and realize the very people they claim to champion for despise them to the core.

Well, that last paragraph is a bit of a blanket statement, but I doubt very many people actually appreciate others getting “offended for them”. I (a woman among other things I don’t care to make public) certainly don’t.

#anon submission

[rw7771]

Watch "Voice of the Martyrs USA" on YouTube

[brookston]

Holidays 7.19

Holidays

Bloomer Day

Colt 45 Day

Feast of Cranks

Festival of the Puzzlebox

Flight Attendant Safety Professionals’ Day

Flitch Day (Bacon given to any married couple who could prove they had lived in harmony  and fidelity for 1 year; very few took home the bacon)

International Retainer Day

K Days begin (Canada)

Lord of the Rings Day

Lumberjack World Championships (Wisconsin)

Martyr’s Day (Burma)

National Football Day

National Hug Your Kids Day

National Urban Beekeeping Day

National Words With Friends Day

New Friends Day [also 1.19; 10.19]

One Voice Day

Palace Day

Roy Orbison Day (Odessa, Texas)

Sandinista Day (Nicaragua)

Stick Out Your Tongue Day

Tabaski Day (Cameroon)

Triple Play Day

World Product Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

National Daiquiri Day

Raspberry Cake Day

Independence Days

Laos (from France, 1949)

Feast Days

Adonis and Aphrodite Wedding Day (Ancient Greece)

Ancient Egyptian New Year

Arsenius (Catholic Church)

Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht (Christian; Saint)

Cervantes (Positivist; Saint)

Daiquiri Day (Pastafarian)

Dr. Doom/Thulsa Doom Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Festival of Honos (Personification of morality & honor; Ancient Rome)

Isis and Osiris Wedding Day (Ancient Egypt)

Justa and Rufina (Christian; Saint)

Kirdjun (a.k.a. Abakerazum; Christian; Saint)

The Lucaria (Festival of the Grove to Sucellus, Gaulish God of Alcohol); Ancient Rome) [also 2.1 & 7.21]

Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great (Christian; Saint)

Symmachus (Christian; Saint)

Vincent de Paul (Christian; Saint)

Wedding Day of Adonis & Aphrodite (Ancient Greece)

Wedding Day of Isis & Osiris (Ancient Egypt)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [41 of 71]

Perilous Day (13th Century England) [22 of 32]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 33 of 60)

Premieres

Awkward (TV Series; 2011)

Clueless (Film; 1995)

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Talk Show; 2012)

Crazy, Stupid, Love (Film; 2011)

Dance With Me, by Orleans (Song; 1975)

Help!, by The Beatles (Song; 1965)

K-19: The Widowmaker (Film; 2002)

The Legend of Billie Jean (Film; 1985)

A Little Bit of Mambo, by Lou Bega (Album; 1999)

Mad Men (TV Series; 2007)

The Midnight Snack, featuring Tom & Jerry (Cartoon; 1941)

Movie’ Out (Musical Play; 2002)

RED 2 (Film; 2013)

R.I.P.D. (Film; 2013)

That’s All Right/Blue Moon of Kentucky, by Elvis Presley (Song; 1954)

Trainspotting (Film; 1996)

Weathering with You (Anime Film; 2019)

Today’s Name Days

Justa, Bernulf (Austria)

Aurelija, Zlata, Zora (Croatia)

Čeněk (Czech Republic)

Justa (Denmark)

Saara, Saare, Saari, Salli (Estonia)

Saara, Salla, Salli, Sara, Sari, Sarita (Finland)

Arsène, Micheline (France)

Bernard, Marina, Reto (Germany)

Dias, Garyfallia, Makrina (Greece)

Emília (Hungary)

Arsenio (Italy)

Digna, Jautrīte, Kamila, Kamilla, Sari (Latvia)

Aura, Aurėja, Galigantas, Mantigailė, Vincas, Vincentas (Lithuania)

Gerhard, Gjert (Norway)

Alfred, Arseniusz, Lutobor, Rufin, Wincenty, Wodzisław (Poland)

Dušana (Slovakia)

Arsenio, Áurea, Justa, Rufina (Spain)

Sara (Sweden)

Arsene, Arsène (Universal)

Armenia, Arcenio, Arsenia, Arsenio, Wayne (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 200 of 2022; 165 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 29 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 11 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Héyuè), Day 21 (Gui-You)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 20 Tammuz 5782

Islamic: 19 Ḏū al-Ḥijjah 1443

J Cal: 20 Lux; Fiveday [20 of 30]

Julian: 6 July 2022

Moon: 60% Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 4 Dante (8th Month) [Cervantes]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 29 of 90)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 29 of 30)

#calendar #Holidays

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 7.19

Holidays

Bloomer Day

Colt 45 Day

Feast of Cranks

Festival of the Puzzlebox

Flight Attendant Safety Professionals’ Day

Flitch Day (Bacon given to any married couple who could prove they had lived in harmony  and fidelity for 1 year; very few took home the bacon)

International Retainer Day

K Days begin (Canada)

Lord of the Rings Day

Lumberjack World Championships (Wisconsin)

Martyr’s Day (Burma)

National Football Day

National Hug Your Kids Day

National Urban Beekeeping Day

National Words With Friends Day

New Friends Day [also 1.19; 10.19]

One Voice Day

Palace Day

Roy Orbison Day (Odessa, Texas)

Sandinista Day (Nicaragua)

Stick Out Your Tongue Day

Tabaski Day (Cameroon)

Triple Play Day

World Product Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

National Daiquiri Day

Raspberry Cake Day

Independence Days

Laos (from France, 1949)

Feast Days

Adonis and Aphrodite Wedding Day (Ancient Greece)

Ancient Egyptian New Year

Arsenius (Catholic Church)

Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht (Christian; Saint)

Cervantes (Positivist; Saint)

Daiquiri Day (Pastafarian)

Dr. Doom/Thulsa Doom Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Festival of Honos (Personification of morality & honor; Ancient Rome)

Isis and Osiris Wedding Day (Ancient Egypt)

Justa and Rufina (Christian; Saint)

Kirdjun (a.k.a. Abakerazum; Christian; Saint)

The Lucaria (Festival of the Grove to Sucellus, Gaulish God of Alcohol); Ancient Rome) [also 2.1 & 7.21]

Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great (Christian; Saint)

Symmachus (Christian; Saint)

Vincent de Paul (Christian; Saint)

Wedding Day of Adonis & Aphrodite (Ancient Greece)

Wedding Day of Isis & Osiris (Ancient Egypt)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [41 of 71]

Perilous Day (13th Century England) [22 of 32]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 33 of 60)

Premieres

Awkward (TV Series; 2011)

Clueless (Film; 1995)

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Talk Show; 2012)

Crazy, Stupid, Love (Film; 2011)

Dance With Me, by Orleans (Song; 1975)

Help!, by The Beatles (Song; 1965)

K-19: The Widowmaker (Film; 2002)

The Legend of Billie Jean (Film; 1985)

A Little Bit of Mambo, by Lou Bega (Album; 1999)

Mad Men (TV Series; 2007)

The Midnight Snack, featuring Tom & Jerry (Cartoon; 1941)

Movie’ Out (Musical Play; 2002)

RED 2 (Film; 2013)

R.I.P.D. (Film; 2013)

That’s All Right/Blue Moon of Kentucky, by Elvis Presley (Song; 1954)

Trainspotting (Film; 1996)

Weathering with You (Anime Film; 2019)

Today’s Name Days

Justa, Bernulf (Austria)

Aurelija, Zlata, Zora (Croatia)

Čeněk (Czech Republic)

Justa (Denmark)

Saara, Saare, Saari, Salli (Estonia)

Saara, Salla, Salli, Sara, Sari, Sarita (Finland)

Arsène, Micheline (France)

Bernard, Marina, Reto (Germany)

Dias, Garyfallia, Makrina (Greece)

Emília (Hungary)

Arsenio (Italy)

Digna, Jautrīte, Kamila, Kamilla, Sari (Latvia)

Aura, Aurėja, Galigantas, Mantigailė, Vincas, Vincentas (Lithuania)

Gerhard, Gjert (Norway)

Alfred, Arseniusz, Lutobor, Rufin, Wincenty, Wodzisław (Poland)

Dušana (Slovakia)

Arsenio, Áurea, Justa, Rufina (Spain)

Sara (Sweden)

Arsene, Arsène (Universal)

Armenia, Arcenio, Arsenia, Arsenio, Wayne (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 200 of 2022; 165 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 29 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 11 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Héyuè), Day 21 (Gui-You)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 20 Tammuz 5782

Islamic: 19 Ḏū al-Ḥijjah 1443

J Cal: 20 Lux; Fiveday [20 of 30]

Julian: 6 July 2022

Moon: 60% Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 4 Dante (8th Month) [Cervantes]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 29 of 90)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 29 of 30)

#Holidays

[atarahderek]

Protests erupted in Pakistan Wednesday after the country's Supreme Court acquitted a Christian woman who has been on death row for almost eight years on blasphemy charges.

#Asia Bibi is free! #Praise the Lord! #International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church #Voice of the Martyrs #Open Doors USA #Bound with Them #Hebrews 13:3 #Pakistan #blasphemy laws #freedom of religion

[iateyouroreos]

Donate to Help Persecuted Christians

Feel free to donate, reblog, add suggest other organizations, or critic on any of the following:

Open Doors USA

Cru

Mission India

Heart Cry Missionary

The Voice of Martyrs

#donate #signal boost

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

23rd February >> Mass Readings (USA)

Friday, First Week of Lent 

(optional commemoration of Saint Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr)

(Liturgical Colour: Violet: B (2))

First Reading Ezekiel 18:21-28 Do I derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked and not rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?

Thus says the Lord GOD: If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced. Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?

And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die. You say, “The LORD’s way is not fair!” Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

R/ If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.

R/ If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, LORD, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered.

R/ If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word. My soul waits for the LORD more than sentinels wait for the dawn. Let Israel wait for the LORD.

R/ If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

For with the LORD is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; And he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

R/ If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

Gospel Acclamation Ezekiel 18:31

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the Lord, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Gospel Matthew 5:20-26 Go first and be reconciled with your brother.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.

Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

NEPAL: Dhan became a Christian late in life. His conversion from Buddhism to Christianity resulted in his wife leaving him and taking their children. He experienced threats and physical abuse from members of his village, and five years after becoming a Christian, his home was set on fire in the middle of the night. Dhan woke to the smell of smoke. After rushing his family out of their home, he realized he left his Bible inside and unsuccessfully tried to recover it. When VOM front-line workers heard his story, they quickly helped supply Dhan and his family with materials to rebuild their house, as well as a new Bible. Pray Dhan and his family will trust God through this suffering. - The Voice of the Martyrs (USA)

[creepingsharia]

Most if not all leftists who fought in Syria have Marxist, Socialist, Communist & antifa Ideology

And now they have jihadi, combat training.

A fascinating thread on a topic we’ve touched on in the past regarding blm and antifa training with jihadis.

Daniel Baker, included in the final DHS report and referenced in the screen shot below, is the antifa terrorist arrested days ago for plotting to kill Trump supporters in Florida.

Source: https://  twitter.com/We_Have_Risen

So, DHS tracked these left wing militants who aligned with Islamic terrorists but continued to publicly say that right-wing, white Americans were the greatest threat to America. Report below.

The Syrian conflict and US based Antifa Nexus…

Earlier this year parts of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo in conjunction with US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) National Targeting Center (NTC) Counter Network Division (CND) report was released. It goes into detail on individuals encountered upon return from Syria that actively fought alongside the Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG) which translates to the People’s Protection Units.

These individuals were members of the International Freedom Battalion (IFB), an armed group consisting of leftist foreign freedom fighters fighting for the YPG in the Syrian civil war support of the Rojava Revolution against ISIS. Open source research shows that most if not all have connections to Marxist, Socialist, Communist and Anti-Fascist ideology.

We were able to identify the recruiting website that is no longer up. In most cases the question of “how does one even join a Syrian rebel group” was answered. The website was call rojavaplan.com (archive).

Now the majority of recruiting is done through the Lions of Rojava Facebook page. All of this is very real despite what you might hear on from Mainstream Media. There have been a multitude of advisories by State Department and other agencies warning US citizens against traveling to Syria to engage in armed conflict.

US STATE DEPARTMENT ON AMERICAN VOLUNTEER FIGHTERS IN SYRIA

“The U.S. government particularly warns private U.S. citizens against traveling to Syria to engage in armed conflict. U.S. citizens who undertake such activity face extreme personal risks, including kidnapping, injury, or death. The U.S. government does not support this activity, and our ability to provide consular assistance to individuals who are injured or kidnapped, or to the families of individuals who die in the conflict, is extremely limited. Individuals who demonstrate an interest in groups opposing ISIS, including on social media, could open themselves to being targeted by ISIS itself if those individuals travel to Syria.”

“Fighting on behalf of or providing other forms of support to designated terrorist organizations, including ISIS and al-Nusrah Front, can constitute the provision of material support for terrorism, which is a crime under U.S. law that can result in penalties including prison time and large fines.”

Source: The State Department’s Syria travel warning

Despite all that, there have been many who have traveled to take part in the civil war. One of the main members of the IFB is Brace Robert Belden from San Francisco.

He is a self-identified Marxist, member of the Democrat Socialists of America, specifically the local Marxist caucus Red Star, and was responsible for unionizing Anchor Brewing Company.

Belden spent 6 months in Raqqa to fight alongside the YPG under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Belden was assigned as a machine gunner on a makeshift tank for the Raqqa campaign.

Belden served alongside another American named Lucas Chapman.

Chapman decided to volunteer for the Kurdish YPG Militia in 2016. According to Chapman, really it was the YPG's ideology that pulled him in:

"It's part Anarchism, part Communism, part Socialism," he explains. "Everyone gets a voice. That's what appealed to me so much about it."

Today, he works for the North American Kurdish Alliance (NAKA), a 501(c)4 nonprofit that lobbies for Kurdish rights in the US. They also hold rallies and help the families of Americans who’ve died in Syria fighting ISIS.

Another person included in the DHS report is Caleb David Stevens from Michigan. He first came to the attention of US authorities after stumbling into Chicago area emergency room with a gunshot wound sustained in Syria.

"I was in a unit of other Westerners. We had a Western commander, and then, eventually during my time there, I was leading half of the unit. Sometimes our days were training, studying Kurdish, talking. There were a lot of militant anarchists. There were some people who were there specifically because of their feminist beliefs. So, yeah, sort of people coming from all angles." Caleb Stevens – March 13, 2018

Steven’s joined through the Lions of Rojava Facebook after seeing an article in Rolling Stone highlighting Belden’s time in Raqqa. The front man for the Lions of Raqqa is an American named Jordan Matson from Sturtevant, Wisconsin.

From the Lions of Rojava Facebook “Fight for an emerging model of Equality, Freedom, Democracy and Social Justice in Syria and the middle east!”

Another Lions of Rojava recruit named in the DHS report is Ian Paul Broadhead from Wilmington, North Carolina. Since returning he has been arrested multiple times during riots and protests. A known Antifa/381 Movement member, he was arrested as recently as August 17, 2020, trying to pull down the Silent Sam statue.

Broadhead has a Podcast named “The Final Straw Program” where, like others, the full Anti-Fascist/Marxist ideology is on full display.

Serving in the YGP with Broadhead was Christopher Joseph Helali originally from Worcester, Massachusetts.

Christopher Helali is an American ethnic Kurd and Kurdish activist who has worked for the past few years with the Kurdish Liberation Movement. Christopher spent 2016 in Greece, working with Kurdish refugees from Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran in Anarchist squats as well as in the historic Lavrio camp outside of Athens. In January of 2017, Christopher traveled to Southern Kurdistan (KRG) in Northern Iraq where he spent time with the guerrillas of the PKK in the mountains and then crossed over into Rojava (Western Kurdistan), now known as the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria. Christopher was a member of the YPG for 9 months and returned from the region in September of 2017.

Now living in Vershire, Helali a member of the The Party of Communists USA (PCUSA), is a candidate for Vermont's at-large congressional district in 2020. This is the first time in 36 years since Marxist activists Gus Hall and Angela Davis ran for U.S. President and Vice President respectively.

Christopher Helali of Vershire announced on Aug. 3 that he will run for Vermont U.S. Representative as a Communist.

We are continuing to compile and track these Mercenaries. There are many Westerners who have joined the YGP with numbers that range from 300 to 1,000. Not all have made it back home, and just like ISIS and other Jihadi’s, they are considered Martyrs of the Lions of Rojava Resistance.

#Jihad #Islam #Muslim #Sharia #Terror #Legal #Law #News #Media #Politics #antifa