Three Christian families in Pakistan have been liberated from bondage thanks to the ongoing efforts of an Argentine priest and young layman who recently returned to Spain from the Muslim-majority country.

Father Rico, a priest with the Order of St. Elias based in Argentina, told CNA that he paid Muslim Pakistani businessmen the equivalent of $1,700 to liberate three Christian families from debt bondage.

Men, women, and children have been subjected to generational hard labor making bricks to pay off debts, enduring rape, forced marriage, and forced conversion in Pakistan, especially since the 1980s, when relations between Christians and Muslims deteriorated.Christians have been attacked and murdered there following accusations that they have violated Muslim religious laws.

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Sixteen hundred years ago, St. Augustine was credited with saying, “He who sings, prays twice.” Today, scientific research shows that he who sings, performs, or listens to music also enriches and strengthens his brain, according to Catholic neuroscientist Kathlyn Gan.

Not only that, but sacred music may produce even more beneficial effects.

Gan, who leads a research laboratory at the University of Toronto, delivered the uplifting news to about 50 people at an Oct. 30 talk at St. Francis de Sales in Burnaby, Ontario.

In her hourlong presentation “The Neuroscience of Sacred Music,” Gan, a former choir director and accompanist, described how research showing that music can be part of a healthy lifestyle that helps counter the mental decline that accompanies aging.

Music can also help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, which, in up to 95% of cases, can be driven by nongenetic factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, deafness, brain injury, and social isolation.

Not only does music stimulate the brain in special ways, but it also fosters healthy social connections when performed in a group setting, said Gan, currently a liturgical musician in the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Continued below.

Always in His Presence said:

yeah, if that is the best you have - then that is the best you have. Understood

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Wut? That you responded to was sarcasm. It's neither the best nor the worst, it just is. Do you actually understand? Your comments contradict that notion.

I know in the old days it was because of smoking lol.

It was even mentioned in songs

I've got the obligatory Hendrix perm
And the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favourite satin shirt

In its first year the Schola program was small but mighty, comprising 7 students; since that time, it has thrived and grown, filling the choir loft, and currently boasting 27 students ranging in age from 7 to 15.

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If it takes innumerable paintings to exhaust the expression of a finite human heart, then what about trying to express the infinite heart of God?

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Unsurprisingly, the success of Sacré Coeur has proven highly controversial in the volatile political atmosphere of contemporary France. It might even be said that the film’s vision of Heaven led to all hell breaking loose, especially in the vitriolic response of those who support laïcité, France’s strictly enforced state secularism.

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eleos1954 said:

They never change .... they "clarify" .... ie don't change their beliefs but use word mumbo jumbo instead

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Very true, they pretend to change, but its misdirection and even they admit it if you look..

"The truth is that Vatican II didn't contradict any official position on doctrine or morals. All that the Church taught when Vatican II began is still Catholic teaching. The changes whether made by the Council or decided upon since, are in practical matters such as the liturgy or discipline, but always leaving doctrine unchanged."

Habakkuk is extremely important in the Orthodox Church as the author of one of the Odes of the Canon at Matins.

If you are someone who loves God, who loves his word, and who takes God and his word seriously, to obey it to the best of your understanding, and so you have renounced sinful practices, and you now walk (in conduct) in holy living, in obedience to the Lord, by the grace of God, in the power of God, and by his Spirit, then you are likely to find yourself being opposed, even by some others who also claim to believe in Jesus Christ, and even by some pastors of “churches.” For not everyone is who they claim to be.

Many who are in positions of leadership within the gatherings of what are being called “churches” are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are what the Scriptures refer to as “dogs,” but many of them are in disguise. And a dog is someone who is despicable, who is a spiritual predator who feeds off others. They are the impure, the wicked, and those outside of genuine faith in Jesus Christ who are workers of evil and smooth talkers who manipulate and who charm and deceive the naïve into believing their lies disguised as truth.

They are those who oppose the gospel message taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, taught in the correct biblical context. And so they will remove particular Scriptures out from their intended context, and they will alter what they say to make them less offensive and more appealing to human flesh and to the ungodly of the world. For their goal is to trick and to deceive people into believing the lies, and into rejecting the truth, while they promise them heaven for eternity, but while they are leading them to hell.

We are to resist such people as these. And we are to reject their false teachings. And we are to be students of the Scriptures who are testing what we are hearing against the Scriptures (taught in context), and by comparing Scripture with Scripture to make sure that they agree with one another. For Romans 10:9 has to agree with Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; and Romans 12:1-2. And Ephesians 2:8-9 has to include verse 10, and it has to agree with Ephesians 4:17-24.

And sometimes we may need to pray for protection from those who oppose the truth of the gospel, and who teach the lies, for they are not all content with just giving out a false doctrine of salvation, but they also fiercely oppose the truth of the gospel and those who are teaching the truth of the gospel, too. We may need to pray that God will rescue us from such evil liars and deceivers who are trying to force their way into our lives, either in an attempt to deceive us, or to try to dishearten us to the point of us quitting.

We should never give in to their intimidation, though, but we must be those who love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and who love his word (taught in the right context), and whose desire it is to obey our Lord and to do what his word teaches us that we must do, as his followers. And we must continue to spread the good news of the gospel of Christ (taught in truth) to the people of the world, and to the worldly church, for the salvation of human lives from bondage to sin, so they can serve Jesus with their lives.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Walking in The Light

Based off 1 John 1-2
An Original Work / November 16, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

When I lift up my voice, and
Sing praise unto God,
I will fellowship with my
Lord and Savior, King.
In Him there is no darkness.
He is in the light of truth.
If we walk in His light,
From sin He purifies.

If we repent of our sins,
He’ll forgive us now,
When we humble ourselves, and
Before Jesus bow.
The man who says, “I know Him,”
But does not obey His truth,
There is no truth in him.
In darkness still he’s found.

Do not love the world of sin,
For it is hell bound.
If you follow the world, you’ll
Not in Christ be found.
The world and its desires
Will not last; they’ll expire.
The one who does God’s will,
Receives eternal life.

See that what you have heard from
Christ remains in you.
Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and
In His Father, too.
This is what He promised us –
His eternal life with God.
So, continue in Him, and
You’ll receive a crown.

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Your Testimonies My Delight
An Original Work / November 16, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I was speaking to a friend about vows of silence. Why people use to take vows of silence like Monks or were generally more quiet and said less as church leaders. Clement of Rome I think mentions how the Elders were of quiet disposition and how this was Christlike. That it was their example that spoke for them.

Paul mentions that it was his reputation for exampling Christ that the church knew he represented the truth. They did not need rationalisations as they could tell by his Christlikeness. When he did speak he was taken seriously and respected. Like many of the early leaders. There was a unity behind the Elders because everyone was unified in Christ. They could recognise the signs.

Whereas today with all the whitenoise of modern rationalisations and even false facts and narratives appealing to feelings. Its hard to tell. We have to stop and listen and try and block out all that white noise to know the spirit and the good fruits.

I love my engagement ring. I designed it. I would still like to wear it. But I just do not know if it would feel right doing so. Therefore, I totally get where you are coming from with this.

Single mom needs prayers about relocation and new housing, after suffering in isolation for many years

Apple Sky said:

Of Saul ..........

The army of the Philistines approached and had threatened the covenant people, which disturbed the king (1 Samuel 28:4-5).

He was not able to consult the Lord through any of the legitimate ways, so in desperation he sought for the very people he banished.

He requested a medium and was sent to the home of a woman at En Dor (v. 7). Saul met the woman in a disguise and asked her to “bring up” Samuel the prophet.

The woman was aware of the law of the land and that Saul had banished her kind of people from practicing their sorcery. (vv. 8-9). After a promise from Saul that the Lord would not punish her, she attempted to bring up Samuel and to her own surprise, he actually came back to life! (vv. 10-12).

The exchange between Samuel and Saul at this point is reminiscent of prior conversations. Saul asked Samuel what to do about the Philistines, and Samuel responded by reminding Saul that YHWH had departed from him and gave the kingdom to David because of Saul’s disobedience.

Samuel then told Saul that he and his children would die in battle and be “with” Samuel (vv. 16-19).
And he did.

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So do you believe that ghosts do come back to visit us ?

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Yes, because (apparently) Jesus did! After His resurrection, when He appeared to His disciples, He told tham that He was not a ghost because ghosts do not have flesh and blood. He did NOT tell them that He was not a ghost because ghosts do not exist, even though that would have been a good opportunity to say this, (see, eg., Luke 24:37-43)

FredVB said:

Whatever Jipsah is saying won't matter,

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Of course not. You have beliefs that require Enoch to be holy writ, so it doesn't matter how much sheer thick sliced baloney it contains, you're gonna consider it holy writ no matter how much rat hair you have to strain out of it.

FredVB said:

he already told me previously I could choose to ignore him.

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And so you may.

FredVB said:

He actually made sense that one time.

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Maybe you misunderstood it.

We will probably hear crickets instead of any condemnation from progressive, feminist groups. Probably if somehow this can be spun to implicate Trump at maralago , then it will be aired on The View.

partinobodycular said:

I might well have come to refer to myself as a Pyrrhonist if I'd ever encountered the term, but only having a ninth grade education high falutin philosophy terms are above my pay grade. So at this point, when called upon to do so, I just refer to myself as one of these three, a Christian, a Stoic, or a Solipsist, in that order. The last one being by far the least important. They each represent some aspect of who I am. To wit, my avatar is both a rather decent physical representation, and a brutally honest psychological/spiritual portrayal of who I am as a person.

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Fair enough, I generally simply refer to myself as a (philosophical) skeptic given the unfamiliarity most have with the Pyrrhonic movement and its heritage in philosophy. I suppose the terms are not all that important, other than a possibility for confusion. Solipsism, for me, is far too heavily related to Matrix-style thought experiments for my tastes. I consider myself a Christian, a Eudomonist(virtue ethicist), and a skeptic. Though as with you, they are not of equal importance.

partinobodycular said:

When the bible speaks of the least of these my children, it's referring to me.

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Me, as well. And when it says I am the worst of sinners, that is also me.

partinobodycular said:

My approach is to accept the pagan prophets for who and what they are, for I of all people have no right to judge someone in whose shoes I've never walked.

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My aim is for the philosophies that hold folks captive, rather than a judgment on the individuals themselves. Though separating the two is often not possible in practice, so I operate as I feel led. Sometimes I am overly zealous, though, I must admit.