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Michie · Wednesday at 7:36 AM

The prophet Isaiah warned a wayward nation: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness.” Right was condemned as wrong, and what darkened the soul was repackaged as enlightenment. Isaiah cautioned that rejecting God’s word would bring devastation. The warning still stands.

Two developments this past week expose the warning’s timeliness. For years, activists in media and government have advanced a gender ideology that tells even children they can choose an identity opposite of their biological reality. That confusion is not benign. In Minneapolis, a gunman opened fire during a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church, killing two children and injuring many others. Police identified the attacker as Robert Westman, who identified as transgender and, in notes posted before the attack, expressed regret and anger about “being trans” and deep confusion about identity.

This is not isolated. Recall the Covenant School massacre in Nashville, and now we have Minneapolis — both carried out by individuals who identified as transgender. The point is not to stigmatize anyone; it is to confront a reality our culture keeps trying to deny: ideas have consequences and masquerading a lie as the truth can be deadly. Yet rather than pause to reassess the narrative, legacy outlets scolded themselves for “misgendering.” NBC News even issued a correction after its initial report used what it called the wrong pronoun when referring to Westman as “he.” “She used female pronouns,” NBC sycophantically stated. This, despite law enforcement identifying the killer as male.

What a commentary on the press. Apologizing for mistakenly telling the truth reflects a deeper malady: trading evil for good and darkness for light. And when this deception is celebrated, children suffer. A civilization cannot protect what it refuses to name, and language becomes a veil for violence.

Continued below.

Gender ideology is choking the truth in school shootings

Apologizing for mistakenly telling the truth reflects a deeper malady trading evil for good and darkness for light

www.christianpost.com

joymercy · Wednesday at 6:55 AM

Steel worker

Richard T · Wednesday at 6:47 AM

rocknanchor said:
Oh my yes! The last few decades of characters have rendered a detrimental effect upon so many countries, wherein here in the US, I could concur. Conversely, with the introduction of the tens of millions of romanticizing MAGA voters, I do anticipate a sharp uptick to those standings!

Yes, we share the same conclusions I believe.

Bob8102 · Wednesday at 6:36 AM

Bobthebomb, I empathize with you. I first heard and believed the gospel of Jesus Christ in sixth grade. I am now 67 and have only come to assurance of salvation in relatively recent days. I spent over forty years, most of the time figuring I was not a Christian and the past 14 years seeking salvation, seemingly unsuccessfully. If you were to read some of my posts on this forum from years back, you would see some of my struggles. I basically have spent my life knowing the gospel and understanding I was not going to heaven. Knowing that the Essence was missing from my life was a terrible burden. Only recently have I surrendered to Christ in such a way that I know I belong to Him. His promises will keep me, including Ephesians 1:13-14.

Christsfreeservant · Wednesday at 6:24 AM

I am reading in Acts 8. I will summarize some and quote some. This was after the stoning of Stephen. Saul, who later became Paul, was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house. And dragging off people, he would put them in prison. Yet, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.

Philip, one of the seven deacons (it is presumed), was visited by an angel of God who spoke to Philip saying,

“Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:26-31 NASB1995)

Philip then preached Jesus to the man, and the man believed in Jesus Christ, and Philip baptized the man. But when the man came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, but he went on his way rejoicing, for he had believed in Jesus, the Christ.

Have you ever experienced such a “divine appointment” as this in your life? I have. But I think so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ do not experience such divine appointments, for they have been taught that they cannot hear the Spirit speaking to them except through the written word. But how else will we know to whom we are to speak and what to say if we cannot hear the Spirit’s voice within us prompting us to go and to speak, and then giving us the words to speak? We cannot do this in our own flesh.

I just love this passage of Scripture because it encourages us who follow Christ with our lives to be on the lookout for those divine appointments the Lord has for us, which can come to us in many different ways. The Lord may even have us be ill so that we will go to a doctor, and the Lord may have us speak to the doctor about Jesus, or to his or her assistant. Or we may be sitting in a restaurant and overhearing someone near us in need of encouragement, and the Lord may send us over to their table to speak to them. But we need to be open to hearing the Lord’s voice.

We need to be on the lookout for those divine appointments the Lord has for us, never creating them ourselves, of our own flesh, but by being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to the needs of the people so when the Spirit speaks, we will listen, and we will do what he says to do. God may sometimes have us in uncomfortable or difficult circumstances because he has someone he wants us to talk with about Jesus, who needs Jesus, and who needs to surrender their lives to him, die with him to sin, and walk with him in obedience to his commands, in the power of God, not of the flesh.

[Mark 13:11; Luke 2:26; Luke 4:18-19; Luke 10:21; Luke 12:11-12; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:13; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:17-18; Acts 11:12; Acts 13:2; Acts 20:23; Romans 8:9,14; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; 1 Corinthians 12:7,11,18; Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:1-16]

Willing

An Original Work / August 17, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I am willing to obey You;
Have Your Spirit live within me;
Know Your power; be Your witness
To a world who needs You greatly.

Love within me spread to all men,
So that they might come to know Him;
Know His power; His forgiveness;
Be transformed into His likeness.

Holy Spirit, come in power,
Change our hearts within this hour.
May we be like Jesus always;
Be a light that shines in darkness.

Login to view embedded media
Divine Appointments
An Original Work / September 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

com7fy8 · Wednesday at 6:03 AM

Anonymous0210 said:
To wrap it up how do i live with this issue of not being able to escape future stumbling blocks and battling perfectionism

If you are in a practical situation where you are under pressure to do what is wrong > Jesus Christ is the Lord of all. Jesus is able to make you creative for handling any situation. He will have you doing what is good and this will fit in with all else that He is managing for good . . . of loving.

So, trust Jesus to do this with you, and pray this for all of us. We all need this and pray this for one another.

"'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" (Matthew 11:29)

Jesus always could do what is good, right while evil people did not want Him to.

In my experience, it helps me to not trust any feelings and thinking which are not in God's peace > just don't trust that stuff, and depend on God to * get * rid * of * it *. God is almighty to easily and breezily and beautifully get rid of any nasty negative naughty cruel stupid nonsense in our emotions and thinking. And obey God in His peace >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.:" (Colossians 3:15)

BelieveItOarKnot · Wednesday at 5:34 AM

Jan001 said:
The letter of the law (Law of Moses) passed away after Jesus died on the cross. The spirit of the law (Christ's Law) will always be in effect.

Uh, no. The laws are and remain fully against all evil within mankind, period.

Matt. 4:4, Luke 4:4, Deut. 8:3

Those who conspire to toss away the entirety or even part of the O.T. don't have a clue of what they talking about

We also know the scriptures, all of them, speak of Jesus. Do we then toss out what speaks of Jesus? Again, firmly, never. Not as believers.

John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Jesus WROTE the scriptures through the law and the prophets. Everywhere we read a RED LETTER statement of God it is in fact a statement of the Living Word, Jesus

1 Peter 1:10-11
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

I would readily concede that it's difficult to get there, but tossing or elimination is NEVER a legitimate option. Those who teach such things should not be listened to as they have no idea what they are doing

CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN · Wednesday at 2:32 AM

Oompa Loompa said:
Likely not. Because it would require tearing down the Dome of the Rock. Something that would create chaos in the middle east. Something Trump wants to avoid.

Trump love chaos. He just tells people, that its not his fault. It's a Democratic hoax.

RandyPNW · Wednesday at 1:30 AM

Marilyn C said:
Yes, the two scriptures describe the investiture of the Son of man and Son of David with kingdom authority. From there He starts the judgments upon the earth, the world system and fallen angels. The Body of Christ is with Him as the court.

The tribulation starts and at the end the Lord comes in power and great glory with His angelic army to deliver Israel and bring vengeance upon the rebellious.

Could be. Sometimes an explanation follows the announcement of an action. In this case, the action mentioned is the coming of the Son of Man with the clouds. And the explanation that follows either takes place at that time, or earlier, as you've suggested.

In the book of Revelation, the heavenly scene in Rev 4-5 takes place before the depiction of Christ's Return later on in the book. And it precedes all of the visions that detail the Reign of Antichrist and his defeat. So, you could be right. The heavenly court may endow Christ with the authority to enact the final scene in this age.

Nick Moser · Wednesday at 12:58 AM

The Liturgist said:
Well if you could PM myself the name of the town, one hobby of mine us collecting the identities of remaining towns outside the reach of the Church so as to help rectify it. As the mainline Protestant churches go out of business, and especially the heretical Christian Science cult (good riddance), we can expand, and I have designs on several of their buildings.

By the way the “mother church” of Christian Science was built in a Byzantine Revival style and would make a lovely Cathedral of the Dormition. I also want to turn the Blue Mosque into a Convent of the Dormition, since it’s blue, afterall, and has a cloister-like structure, once we convert the Turks, since we don’t need a second cathedral across the plaza from Hagia Sophia, but its prime real estate for a convent to support the cathedral and provide a secondary church, like the monasteries in the Kremlin.

And we will convert the Turks.

Fallon Nevada in Churchill county

Grafted In · Wednesday at 12:38 AM

Unqualified said:
What did he turn to? Away from family and the lord to what. To be alone. Is he back in your life. I always get things wrong according to other people. That’s a pretty huge mistake on someone’s part. Are you back in church? Pursue him. (your brother). You both need the lord.

He seems content that we had 3 friendly phone conversations and things were normalized, yet not interested in investing any further to keep it moving.

Carl Emerson · Wednesday at 12:25 AM

A time for cleansing….

In this late hour, Satan has a plan to dis-empower God’s people and weaken His Church by ‘normalising’ immorality.

Godly hatred of sexual sin is considered ‘old testament’ by many these days, and the ‘New Covenant’ is seen as a soft option as if God has somehow relented of His staunch moral position.

Infidelity among institutional church leaders is common and parents are finding it harder to argue the case for moral purity, when state run education provides all the tools for a ‘safe’ and guiltless immoral lifestyle.

Casual sex is expected of today’s youth and this pressure is impacting the Church.

Clearly there is grace for those who err and seek God’s forgiveness with repentance, but often this is not sought, as if somehow Jesus will ‘understand’.

What does the Bible say about keeping pure and saving one’s self for marriage.

Firstly, Marriage needs to be defined, as young people can consider themselves married simply by committing to an exclusive immoral relationship.

If marriage is not defined then Adultery and fornication are equally vague terms.

Marriage has four essential elements, the spiritual, the social, the legal and the physical.

Marriage includes the exchanging of vows before God and friends, entering a contract under law and adopting an exclusive ‘one flesh’ relationship.

Marriage is a God ordained institution within which He intended children to be raised.

Jesus acknowledges the place of marriage in Matt 19: 4-6. and adultery as unfaithfulness in marriage in v9.

Adultery then is sexual behaviour that violates the exclusive marriage covenant.

Fornication is a sexual act without having a married relationship. Pornography is commonly an associated sin and is derived from the same Greek word (Porneia).

Now many of us are aware of the Ten Commandments handed to Moses on a Stone Tablet.

Commandment Seven is not to commit adultery.

Jesus referred to these commandments saying’ Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments and so teaches others shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven’.

In fact the requirements of Jesus are more strict than the Commandments, as Jesus said the desire of the heart to commit adultery, is as serious as committing the sin physically.

Jesus said ‘depart from me you who practice lawlessness…’ (Matt 7:23) so the rejection of Law and adopting an amoral world view is a serious spiritual offence.

Clearly Jesus broke the power of the law through the cross (Eph2:15) but the law remains Gods standard to expose sin. (Rom 7:7) In fact sin is lawlessness (John 3:4)

In Hebrews 10 we read “For if we go on sinning wilfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a certain terrifying expectation of judgement…. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses, dies without mercy on the testament of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of Grace?

So the consequences of casting aside New Covenant Grace is more severe than casting aside Old Testament Law.

What then does the New Testament say about Adultery and Fornication?

Jesus said “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders…. these are the things that defile... (Matt 15:20)

The disciples as Fathers of the early church were equally clear about the sin of fornication. They included sexual sin among the top four sins to avoid, along with the drinking of blood. (Acts 15:29) All the sins on this list resulted in personal spiritual defilement.

When Paul wrote about the sins of the flesh, fornication (in the Greek text) was at the top of the list… Gal 5:16-21 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The New Testament writer of Hebrews gives similar warnings: “Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Heb 13:4

So the Gospel of Jesus is not a soft option allowing some more liberal approach to sexual sin, rather the opposite, we are called to purity – not in action only, but also in thought.

How then do we respond when falling short of these higher standards?
Paul tackles this issue in detail in Romans 7.
It will be an intense personal battle, and we all fail in some measure.

Firstly “There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus… “

Secondly, we have been given all the spiritual tools to break the power of sin and be fully restored - through confession, repentance, renunciation, cleansing and healing by the power of the Holy Spirit in the Name of Jesus.

We have been talking about two threads of Gods Grace that work together. God’s Law that exposes sin and God’s Kindness that leads us to repentance. (Rom 2:4)

Lets walk together in the light, renouncing secret and shameful ways (2 Cor 4:2) and restore power to His body so we can be fit for the battle in this late hour.

The Liturgist · Wednesday at 12:22 AM

Michie said:
INTRODUCTION: AI, THE STATISTICS OF LANGUAGE
If I judge correctly from comments on previous posts in this series, some people do not understand what I am trying to say. I certainly do not argue that AI will be the handmaiden of intellectual enterprise. Rather, through appropriate examples I’m trying to show where AI might be useful, and where one has to beware of its offerings. In some sense AI (which I would rather call “Machine Learning“) is a statistics of language. An AI LLM (Large Language Model) uses an immense dataset (“corpus“) of words, or pieces of words (billions or trillions of such “tokens”) to establish associations, sequences, correlations. The tokens are taken from extant work, books, articles, web pages, etc. As a simple example, I typed “asso” and the agent in the word processor showed (in gray) “ciation,” to be completed by pressing the keyboard tab button.

Many Youtube videos describe the ways this machine learning is accomplished—search “machine learning for llm’s”—so I won’t discuss that here. However, I want to emphasize that just as with statistics, one has to be cautious in evaluating the output from a particular question (“prompt“). Just as statistics has been misused, so can AI. To quote Disraeli (or was it Mark Twain?), “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” For example, statistics has been used incorrectly to justify the hypothesis of anthropic global warming. (For many other examples of the misuse of statistics, browse through Matt Briggs blog). Of course, one might term an AI answer as “Garbage Out,” but the judgment “Garbage In” certainly doesn’t apply, since it is an immense body of human work from which the LLM forms its output; one cannot classify this totality as “garbage.”

Having made these preliminary remarks, I’ll comment on the topic for this post, a purported dialogue between St. Thomas Aquinas and a psychiatrist on what constitutes mortal sin and culpability. The prompt put to four AI agents was “I would like a dialogue (400 words) written between Thomas Aquinas and a psychiatrist about whether an alcoholic male who beats his wife and children is guilty of mortal sin.” The responses from four AI agents (Copilot, Claude Sonnet 4, Perplexity Pro, Grok 3) are similar, differing only in style and arrangement. I’ve chosen the response from Perplexity Pro as most readable and interesting.

PERPLEXITY PRO: FIRST ATTEMPT

Continued below.

The AI Chronicles IV: On Mortal Sin and Culpability; Dialogue between Aquinas and a Psychiatrist – The American Catholic

the-american-catholic.com

They selected four of the less clever AIs for their experiment and also set it up incorrectly, since if you ask a stock, off the shelf AI anything without giving it time to get to know you (in the case of Grok this is impossible because its memory model isn’t sufficiently stateful to allow deep interactions) you’ll get less reliable or interesting output.

Ophiolite · Wednesday at 12:22 AM

Nithavela said:
I feel that this could have been found out with an E-Mail to NASA.

There is little comparison between 1970s technology protecting an aluminium-alloy hull and 2020s technology protecting a stainless steel hull. Your feeling is misplaced.

CerebralCherub · Wednesday at 12:22 AM

At the core, it explains why certain people are calling for the destruction of the West. They want to annihilate God's people.

The Liturgist · Wednesday at 12:18 AM

Colo Millz said:
I don't want to get into the Eucharist yet.

but in any event it sounds like you are sympathetic to Aquinas' analogia entis, that is, speaking of God by analogy to creaturely things.

So what do you think of Barth's criticism?

That the analogia entis is a human presumption — the attempt to build a “ladder” from creation to God by natural reason?

I have seen people liken Barth criticizing Aquinas to two blind men trying to fence with each other - which I think is a bit harsh and I happen to like both of them, and admire much of their work, although I would agree both of them in their achievements omitted some things which are important which one has to look outside of the Summa or Church Dogmatics in order to find. For my part I tend to agree more with Aquinas, but I also feel their elaborate systems of systematic theology were unwarranted and at best in the case of Aquinas merely restated what early church fathers had already said and at worse in the case of Barth, because he actively rejected Patristics and Tradition in constructing his systematic theology, resulted in a model which, while it does show that a suitably intelligent person can arrive at most precepts of correct Christian doctrine through reason, is in many respects cold and barren compared to the vibrance we see in his contemporaries such as Georges Florovsky, Dom Gregory Dix, CS Lewis, Alexander Schmemann and others.

Tropical Wilds · Wednesday at 12:09 AM

Stopped_lurking said:
Why is this still a point of discussion? Didn't they ask the medical examiner directly at the trial? If I remember correctly the answer support that the ME usually put the conclusion in the title, did it not? Just like @Tropical Wilds says.

Why yes, they did ask. In fact, the defense conceded that point. Twice. I linked the transcript somewhere above where the defense’s own doctor said that the kneeling was the main cause of death but felt that Floyd’s drug use made the drugs the second contributing factor and that he died earlier than was declared by prosecution, presumably to coax a manslaughter conviction over a murder. The doctor conceded that with somebody kneeling for 9.5 minutes on anybody’s neck would result in death. He just stated a seizure Floyd had was the point of death and said seizure was caused by the drugs, but the ultimate death was from “constricted breathing.”

The whole premise of Oompa’s claims are ridiculous and I’m not sure what he’s hoping to gain by persisting in it, nor do I have any idea what that has to do with deportation or immigration.

The Liturgist · Wednesday at 12:09 AM

Michie said:
As artificial intelligence (AI) has become more widespread, a Catholic bioethics expert is warning against the dangers posed by it, saying it’s “not too late” to “put the genie back in the bottle” and avoid the worst effects of the new technology.

Pope Leo XIV has already warned that AI could have negative effects on the development of young people and contribute to a “loss of the sense of the human.”

“He took the name Leo XIV to connect himself to Leo XIII, who himself was dealing with the industrial revolution of the late century, which totally transformed culture,” moral theologian Charles Camosy, a bioethics professor at The Catholic University of America and an acclaimed author, told “EWTN News In Depth” anchor Catherine Hadro on Aug. 15.

Continued below.

Bioethics expert on AI: ‘It’s not too late to put the genie back in the bottle’

“We’re undergoing [a] technological change that is going to totally transform the culture,” moral theologian Charles Camosy said. “How do we respond?”

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Over the weekend I successfully programmed - in order to implement a solution to Pope Leo’s XIV legitimate concerns, something which I believe will put the genie back in the bottle, a new means of AI operation, although I fear if I told you what I actually did your first reaction would be to think that I was trying to do the exact opposite.

Michie · Wednesday at 12:00 AM

The young men and women of Gen Z have drastically different definitions of personal success depending on their gender and who they voted for in the 2024 presidential election, a new NBC poll found.

The NBC News Decision Desk Poll, conducted among 2,970 adults aged 18-29 from Aug. 13 to Sept. 1, found that young men who voted for President Donald Trump said their top indicator of personal success is having children. According to Geiger Capital on X, 34% of young men said having children is their top priority in achieving personal success.

Young women who voted for Trump ranked children as sixth on a list of 13 definitions of success, opting instead to put “achieving financial independence” as their highest indicator of personal success. Young women who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris ranked children as 12th most important on the list, while men who voted for Harris placed children in 10th position.

The poll found that marriage also was deeply polarizing. According to Geiger Capital, 29% of young male Trump voters said marriage was important to their personal definitions of success. Marriage was ranked fourth of 13 among men who voted for Trump. Both female Trump voters and male Harris voters ranked marriage as ninth on the list. Female Harris voters ranked it in 11th place, with just 6% saying being married contributes to their views of personal success.

Continued below.

Poll: Gen Z men more likely than women to prioritize having children, marriage

ShareThe young men and women of Gen Z have drastically different definitions of personal success depending on their gender and who they voted for in the…

catholicvote.org

Michie · Tuesday at 11:55 PM

Even many Protestant scholars believe she is an image of the mother of Jesus

When Protestants say, “Catholics believe in doctrines that aren’t found in the Bible,” they often appeal to the dogma of Mary’s assumption in order to justify the claim. In response, some Catholics say the Assumptionis in the Bible because Mary is the woman John sees in heaven that is described in Revelation 12. Protestants often counter this claim by accusing Catholics of shoehorning Mary into a text that is actually talking about the Church or the people of Israel.

So who is right?

In one sense, both. But before I explain how that could be, I need to remind Catholics that we are not Protestant.

Challenges that we must “prove” all Catholic doctrine from Scripture shouldn’t worry us because we reject the unbiblical doctrine of sola scriptura. When St. John Henry Newman preached on Mary’s assumption and immaculate conception, he gave evidence for those doctrines, but he also said, “I am not proving these doctrines to you, my brethren; the evidence of them lies in the declaration of the Church. The Church is the oracle of religious truth, and dispenses what the apostles committed to her in every time and place.”

A plausible case can be made, however, that the Bible “reflects” the doctrine of the Assumption and that evidence for this dogma is implicitly found in John’s description of the woman in Revelation 12:1-6. This isn’t enough to prove that Mary was assumed into heaven, but it does cohere with prior belief in Mary’s assumption and provides additional support for that claim. So let’s examine what John says about this woman and consider the possible Marian symbolism:

Continued below.

Is Mary the Woman in Revelation 12?

The Book of Revelation is a prominent example of how the testimony of Scripture implicitly corroborates the sublime Marian mysteries of our faith.

www.catholic.com

Manuel1983 · Tuesday at 11:55 PM

Thank you for your prayers!
God knows.

May God bless you abundantly in Jesus name Amen.

Michie · Tuesday at 11:50 PM

Since his election on May 8, Pope Leo XIV has become the subject of a torrent of analysis. Timehailed him as a global authority on artificial intelligence. The National Catholic Registerparsed lessons from his still-young papacy for corporate boardrooms. Vatican journalist Christopher White has already published a book about the beginnings of Leo’s tenure.

The Pope has also quickly been roped into church politics. Conservatives have fawned over his choice to use Pope Benedict XVI’s ceremonial stave and don the traditional red mozzetta. Liberals have hailed his progressive stances on immigration and climate change. The swirl of coverage has already branded him both “woke pontiff” and “the most based Pope ever” within his first month.

Coverage of the Bishop of Rome is now a bona-fide industry, with journalists scrutinizing his every aside, old lecture, and offhand gesture in search of clues about his views on doctrine or culture. The insatiable appetite of American Catholics for papal content exposes the very ills of the modern Church that many observers hope Pope Leo will address. In an age of instant news and constant commentary, the faithful have become conditioned to consume the papacy as spectacle. Yet Leo’s pontificate may offer the chance to recover a quieter, older form of devotion, one less dependent on press conferences and soundbites.

Much speculation already swirls around the possibility of Leo’s first encyclical. The very name he chose, Leo, evokes Leo XIII, the 19th-century pope who inaugurated Catholic social teaching. Rumors in July suggested that a draft was underway. For many, this promised letter would establish the tone of his papacy.

Continued below.

Shut Up About Pope Leo

As Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate finds its footing, remember that the chatty, media-savvy pope is a modern invention, not a Catholic necessity.

juicyecumenism.com

Michie · Tuesday at 11:45 PM

Fr. James Martin SJ: some reminders

Pull up the drawbridge

leilamarielawler.substack.com

Cindy1995 · Tuesday at 11:42 PM

I happened to stumble on a story from history while on my phone one day—it was really inspiring for me, so I wanted to share it with others. The story goes like this: Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders in history. He became very ill on his return journey from his victorious military campaign, and just as he was about to die, he shared his three last wishes with his generals. First, he wanted his physicians to carry his coffin back, and he wanted the road to the cemetery where his coffin was to be taken to be strewn with gold, silver, and precious stones. Lastly, he wanted both of his hands to be placed so they were outside of the coffin. Alexander explained that by doing so, he wished to impart three lessons upon the living. First, no matter how great a physician’s skill, they cannot save people’s lives; they cannot determine a person’s life and death. Second, it isn’t worth it to spend an entire life in the pursuit of wealth; it’s a waste of precious time. And finally, each one of us comes into this world empty-handed, and we will leave empty-handed. We can’t take a single thing with us.

Alexander the Great passed with great regrets, and while on his deathbed he used his own personal experiences to warn others: Devoting a lifetime to accumulating wealth is useless, as no matter how rich you are, it can’t buy a life back, and it certainly can’t extend your life by a single second. Sadly, he didn’t have this revelation until he was on the brink of death. Something that the Lord Jesus said popped into my head: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). It really is true. As for we humans, life is greater than all else, and if we lose our lives, no matter how much money we have, it may as well be a heap of rubbish. It is of absolutely no use. Even though Alexander the Great used his own personal experiences to share this lesson with those after him so that they wouldn’t make the same mistakes he did, unfortunately, this has not brought about an awakening for people. Most are still going down the wrong path that Alexander did in their pursuits—they’re busy from dawn till dark every day, rushing to and fro, working hard, and some even employ all sorts of other tactics just for the sake of earning more money and enjoying a high-class lifestyle.

What about you—what are you chasing in your life right now? Is it wealth, success, or something that truly matters? Take a moment to reflect…

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INTRODUCTION: AI, THE STATISTICS OF LANGUAGE​

PERPLEXITY PRO: FIRST ATTEMPT​

Even many Protestant scholars believe she is an image of the mother of Jesus​

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INTRODUCTION: AI, THE STATISTICS OF LANGUAGE

PERPLEXITY PRO: FIRST ATTEMPT

Even many Protestant scholars believe she is an image of the mother of Jesus