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Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
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CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
Nancy Guthrie’s pastor prays for her safe return, for God to soften hearts of kidnappers
- By Michie
Live updates: Photos show armed potential subject on Nancy Guthrie's door camera
Follow live updates as the search for Nancy Guthrie, mother of "TODAY" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, continues into its second week.
www.nbcnews.com
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Hiring slows in December to end the weakest year of job growth since the pandemic
- American Politics
- 13 Replies
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers unexpectedly paused their spending in December from November, closing out the holiday shopping season and the year on a lackluster tone.
The report, issued by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, surprised economists who were looking for growth despite mounting concerns about slowing job growth, uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other economic headwinds. And it raised questions about shoppers’ ability to spend after they have remained resilient for months despite souring consumer confidence, economists said.
Retail sales were flat in December from November, when business was up 0.6%, according to the Commerce Department. Economists were expecting a 0.4% increase for December.
The report was delayed because of the 43-day government shutdown.
apnews.com
But Trump has a solution. He wants to nationalize voting in blue states before midterm elections.
The report, issued by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, surprised economists who were looking for growth despite mounting concerns about slowing job growth, uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other economic headwinds. And it raised questions about shoppers’ ability to spend after they have remained resilient for months despite souring consumer confidence, economists said.
Retail sales were flat in December from November, when business was up 0.6%, according to the Commerce Department. Economists were expecting a 0.4% increase for December.
The report was delayed because of the 43-day government shutdown.
Retail sales unchanged in December from November, closing out year on a lackluster tone
Shoppers unexpectedly paused their spending in December from November, closing out the holiday shopping season and the year on a lackluster tone.
apnews.com
But Trump has a solution. He wants to nationalize voting in blue states before midterm elections.
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International fine art competition opens door to Christians
- By Michie
Submissions are now being accepted for a new international fine art competition called Art Ascend that offers artists, including Christians, the opportunity to gain publicity for their work and compete for a pool of prizes totaling $10,000.
The competition, launched by Christian master portrait artist Zimou Tan, began accepting entries on Jan. 1 and will close on March 31.
Artists can submit their work in 10 categories, including still life, portrait, narrative, and sacred realism, which is described as “the pursuit of the spiritual and infinite on a tangible canvas through the exploration of sacred themes, spiritual connection with nature, and mankind’s connection with the divine.”
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
The competition, launched by Christian master portrait artist Zimou Tan, began accepting entries on Jan. 1 and will close on March 31.
Artists can submit their work in 10 categories, including still life, portrait, narrative, and sacred realism, which is described as “the pursuit of the spiritual and infinite on a tangible canvas through the exploration of sacred themes, spiritual connection with nature, and mankind’s connection with the divine.”
Continued below.
International fine art competition opens door to Christians
Submissions are now being accepted for a new international fine-art competition called Art Ascend that offers artists including Christians a chance to gain publicity for their work and compete for a
www.christianpost.com
The Fire That is Love
- By Mark Dohle
- The Chapel - Catholic
- 0 Replies
The Fire That Is Love
I have always been interested in Purgatory. Ii makes complete sense to me, and I believe it is a place of healing, joy, as well as pain, because healing seems to involve pain of some sort. When I pray for the world, I often think of Catherine’s fire. I think of the places in my own heart that still resist God, and how gently He continues to burn away what does not belong to Him. And I think of the countless souls — living and dead — who are being drawn, slowly and steadily, into that same healing flame.
Her teaching gives me hope. It tells me that God’s mercy is not limited by our weakness. It tells me that purification is not something to fear, but something to welcome. And it tells me that the love we offer in prayer becomes part of God’s work of making all things new.
Below is something on this subject from the internet. BrMD
The Fire That Is Love: A Reflection on Catherine of Genoa’s Teaching on Purgatory
There are saints who teach with words, and saints who teach with their lives. Catherine of Genoa does both. When she speaks about purgatory, she is not describing a place on a map of the afterlife. She is describing what happened inside her own soul when God’s love seized her so completely that everything in her that was not love began to burn away.
Her teaching is startling in its simplicity: purgatory is not God’s punishment — it is God’s mercy. It is the soul finally letting itself be loved all the way through.
1. The Soul’s Joy in Being Purified
Catherine insists that the souls in purgatory are filled with joy, not fear. They suffer, yes — but it is the suffering of healing, not the suffering of despair. She uses the image of a person who has been wounded and is finally receiving the painful treatment that will make them whole. The soul sees God with perfect clarity, and in that light it sees its own remaining shadows. And instead of shrinking back, it runs toward the fire that will make it capable of love.
There is no resentment in purgatory. No bargaining. No “Why is this happening to me?”
Only a soul saying, “At last, I am becoming who I was made to be.”
2. The Fire Is God Himself
Catherine is bold: the fire of purgatory is the same fire as heaven — the fire of God’s love. The difference is not in God, but in us.
When a soul is still carrying the residue of selfishness, fear, or sin, that same love which will one day be bliss is experienced as purification. The soul is not being punished for sin; it is being healed from sin. God is not the jailer. God is the physician.
This is why Catherine can say that the souls in purgatory would not shorten their purification even if they could. They want the fire, because they want God.
3. Purgatory Begins on Earth
Catherine’s own life is the key to her teaching. She experienced a sudden, overwhelming conversion in which God’s love pierced her so deeply that she saw her whole life in a new light. From that moment on, she lived in a kind of interior purgatory — a joyful burning that purified her desires, her attachments, her pride, her self-will.
For her, purgatory was not a distant doctrine. It was the daily work of surrender.
And this is where her teaching becomes personal for us. Every time we let God’s love touch a place in us that resists Him — a wound, a habit, a fear — we are already entering the purifying fire. Every act of humility, every moment of forgiveness, every surrender of control is a small purgatory, a small dying into love.
4. A Mercy for the World
Catherine’s vision makes purgatory not a threat but a promise. It means that God never gives up on us. It means that even after death, His mercy continues its work. It means that love has the last word.
And for those of us who pray for the world — for the wounded, the lost, the hardened, the despairing — her teaching is a consolation. Our prayers join God’s own desire to purify and heal every soul. Nothing is wasted. No heart is beyond reach. The fire of divine love is patient, relentless, and tender.
Attachments
Why the SSPX Bishop Decision Matters Far Beyond Church Politics
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
Selective enforcement and uneven tolerance are shaping perceptions far beyond traditionalist circles.
On February 2, Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior of the Society of Saint Pius X, announced that he had instructed the two remaining bishops among those consecrated by Marcel Lefebvre in 1988 to proceed with new episcopal ordinations on July 1.
This news may appear—especially to those unfamiliar with Vatican affairs—to be a minor ecclesiastical matter. In reality, however, the consequences could be enormously significant for the rest of the Church. But let us proceed in order.
In 1962, Pope John XXIII solemnly opened the Second Vatican Council. The original intent was presented as pastoral rather than doctrinal: the Church needed to “update” the way it preached the Gospel to the modern world. This “updating” implied a reconfiguration of authority in a less juridical and more pastoral direction. “The Bride of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than take up the arms of severity,” John XXIII said in the opening address, “she thinks that present needs should be met by explaining more clearly the value of her teaching rather than by condemning. Not because false doctrines are lacking, but because they are all so clearly opposed to the right principles of honesty and have produced such deadly fruits that today men seem to be beginning spontaneously to reprove them.”
The Council, however, rapidly expanded beyond the limited scope originally envisaged by John XXIII and was soon considering topics such as the liturgy, the nature and structure of the Church and of the episcopate, ecumenism, and religious freedom. The “pastoral” dimension remained, but it was translated into doctrinally weighty documents whose scope and authority approached that of Apostolic Constitutions, that is, documents of the highest magisterial level.
Continued below.
europeanconservative.com
On February 2, Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior of the Society of Saint Pius X, announced that he had instructed the two remaining bishops among those consecrated by Marcel Lefebvre in 1988 to proceed with new episcopal ordinations on July 1.
This news may appear—especially to those unfamiliar with Vatican affairs—to be a minor ecclesiastical matter. In reality, however, the consequences could be enormously significant for the rest of the Church. But let us proceed in order.
In 1962, Pope John XXIII solemnly opened the Second Vatican Council. The original intent was presented as pastoral rather than doctrinal: the Church needed to “update” the way it preached the Gospel to the modern world. This “updating” implied a reconfiguration of authority in a less juridical and more pastoral direction. “The Bride of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than take up the arms of severity,” John XXIII said in the opening address, “she thinks that present needs should be met by explaining more clearly the value of her teaching rather than by condemning. Not because false doctrines are lacking, but because they are all so clearly opposed to the right principles of honesty and have produced such deadly fruits that today men seem to be beginning spontaneously to reprove them.”
The Council, however, rapidly expanded beyond the limited scope originally envisaged by John XXIII and was soon considering topics such as the liturgy, the nature and structure of the Church and of the episcopate, ecumenism, and religious freedom. The “pastoral” dimension remained, but it was translated into doctrinally weighty documents whose scope and authority approached that of Apostolic Constitutions, that is, documents of the highest magisterial level.
Continued below.
Why the SSPX Bishop Decision Matters Far Beyond Church Politics
Selective enforcement and uneven tolerance are shaping perceptions far beyond traditionalist circles.
europeanconservative.com
Toxic empathy that excuses evil sees challenger in Mary Slessor
- By Michie
- General Politics
- 0 Replies
Empathy is widely celebrated in our public life. We are told it should guide our politics, shape our policies, and soften our judgments. To lack empathy is considered a moral failure; to appeal to it is often enough to settle an argument. Increasingly, empathy is not treated merely as a virtue, but as the highest moral authority — one before which all other considerations are expected to bow.
Empathy itself is not the enemy. Properly understood, it is a gift from God. Scripture calls us to “weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15) and to bear one another’s burdens. A hard-hearted people is a dangerous people.
But there is something more dangerous still: empathy divorced from truth.
When empathy translates into compassion severed from sound moral judgment, responsibility, and long-term consequence, it ceases to be a healing force and becomes a tool — easily manipulated, emotionally charged, and politically weaponized. Feeling deeply is no guarantee of acting rightly. History offers sobering proof that when empathy and compassion are untethered from truth, they do not heal. By “truth,” I mean the moral reality God has revealed in Scripture, not the shifting sentiments of the age.
One life offers a clear illustration of this principle.
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
Empathy itself is not the enemy. Properly understood, it is a gift from God. Scripture calls us to “weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15) and to bear one another’s burdens. A hard-hearted people is a dangerous people.
But there is something more dangerous still: empathy divorced from truth.
When empathy translates into compassion severed from sound moral judgment, responsibility, and long-term consequence, it ceases to be a healing force and becomes a tool — easily manipulated, emotionally charged, and politically weaponized. Feeling deeply is no guarantee of acting rightly. History offers sobering proof that when empathy and compassion are untethered from truth, they do not heal. By “truth,” I mean the moral reality God has revealed in Scripture, not the shifting sentiments of the age.
One life offers a clear illustration of this principle.
Continued below.
Toxic empathy that excuses evil sees challenger in Mary Slessor
Our nation does not need less empathy It needs better empathy
www.christianpost.com
Trump's Religious Liberty Commission sued by interfaith coalition alleging bias toward Christianity
- By Michie
An interfaith coalition has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its Religious Liberty Commission, an entity within the U.S. Department of Justice, it contends, is unlawfully biased toward Christianity.
The complaint was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of The Interfaith Alliance, the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Muslims for Progressive Values, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Hindus for Human Rights.
Defendants named in the case include President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Religious Liberty Commission, and Mary Margaret Bush, the commission's designated federal officer.
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
The complaint was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of The Interfaith Alliance, the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Muslims for Progressive Values, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Hindus for Human Rights.
Defendants named in the case include President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Religious Liberty Commission, and Mary Margaret Bush, the commission's designated federal officer.
Continued below.
Trump's Religious Liberty Commission sued by interfaith coalition alleging bias toward Christianity
An interfaith coalition has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its Religious Liberty Commission, an entity within the U S Department of Justice, it contends, is unlawfully biased
www.christianpost.com
Pray The Holy Spirit guides Yumnam Khemchand Singh who is the new chief minister of Manipur, India as he deals with ethnic & racial tensions
- Prayer Wall
- 0 Replies
Pray The Holy Spirit guides Yumnam Khemchand Singh who is the new chief minister of Manipur, India as he deals with ethnic & racial tensions between different people groups in Manipur
www.bbc.com
Manipur: Can a new chief minister bring peace to the troubled state?
Opinion is divided on whether Manipur's new chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh can bring calm to the state.
www.bbc.com
Are on line examinations even feasible now given AI is now better than average students and can be used for cheating.
- By Hans Blaster
- Physical & Life Sciences
- 8 Replies
shudder~~~~~Your description comes across as Sabine being the female version of Max Headroom.
Something just feels off about the last couple videos I have seen linked from her. It is as if she has made an AI version of herself...
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