tonychanyt said:

I can only guess.

Joseph was a G435-man, Luke 1:


Matthew 14:


1 Corinthians 13:


Is there anything we can infer about Joseph's age from the use of 'man' to describe him in Luke?

Not much other than that he was supposed to be a mature, responsible man who ate more than a child.

On the other hand, we know that Mary didn't marry Joseph for his money, Luke 2:


I don't think Mary married some rich old man. They were too poor to afford a lamb, Leviticus 12:


Later in Luke 2:


When Jesus was 12, Joseph was still alive.

Joseph was a laborer, a carpenter, Matthew 13:


By the time of Jesus' public ministry at 30 years old, there was no mention of Joseph being alive.

I am a romantic I guess Joseph was a physically capable man of moderate means in his 20s when he married.

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Woo, Joseph, one of my favorite saints.


Anime style St. Joseph holding Jesus, source: the internet

Reluctant Theologian said:

Stories circulated that Joseph was a widow who already had other children before marrying Mary - although the Bible doesn't refer to that (other than that Joseph had already died at the time of Yeshua's crucifixion; supporting the hypothesis he was significantly older than Mary), it also doesn't exclude it.

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Check out How old was Joseph when he married Mary?

Reluctant Theologian said:

the word 'bar' meaning 'son' is also used in Proverbs 31:2 .

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Good point. I added to the OP to elaborate. Take another look. Thanks.

Belonging to Abba said:

I have a Linksys router from over ten years ago that I am thinking of using when I sign up for home internet. Should I buy a new router because of security concerns? The older Linksys router required an ethernet cable connection and a CD rom drive for installing, neither of which my laptop has, but I can get an external CD rom drive and Ethernet to USB connector. However the Linksys setup was complicated and I had to chat online with Linksys to set it up properly in the past. It has been reset so I would need to set it up again. There is a good deal on Spectrum internet now, so I may want to get the router that is less complicated to set up so I can make sure it is working when the Spectrum installation person comes to my location. Best Buy told me that the newer routers can download all the installation files over the Internet, I think without an installation CD, but I have to ask about this. I don’t have a need for a really great router since I live at an apartment and don’t need to cover a large area or distance and I will be the only person using it. My main purposes are basic web-browsing on a laptop, email, and YouTube streaming, etc. Also if I get a new router which brand would you recommend?

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What is the speed on the older one. Some of the older door bells and stuff requires the older speed. I have enough trouble getting something brand new to work. I would not want to mess around with something old and outdated. That could be slower than the new ones. Spectrum requires passwords for everything so it is a big problem to set up. I have some lights and stuff like that on the wifi and my furnace even my tv there is a lot of stuff you have to use the password to try to get it to hook up so you can use it.

Belonging to Abba said:

Well maybe there are more fees in addition to the $30 a month for Spectrum. Since the mobile hotspot on my phone may be sufficient for connecting a laptop to the internet, I could return the wireless router I bought, but I would spend more on unlimited data on my phone.

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I use Verizon.

For a long time I was on a 12-gig fixed-maximum family plan that was cheap and served me well, as long as we were somewhat careful of our use. It wasn't very restrictive for our normal use. But I had a phone widget that kept constant track of usage, and we usually got within a couple of gigs within the maximum.

When we realized we needed more data, I went to a slightly more expensive unlimited plan. Funny thing about the unlimited data plan, though. Now that it doesn't matter how much we use, we never get anywhere close to the amount of data we used before. Nowhere close. When we used more than 10 gigs nearly every month...now we barely go over 4.

Hmm. Curious.

I need to get back into the habit of praying the psalms more. Thanks for reminding me

My daughter licked her finger and then rubbed it in my eye.

hislegacy said:

No, I can’t imagine anyone not seeing it as immoral.

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Is it immoral because it's immoral, or is it immoral because Biden did it?

Is immoral behavior something we should care about when it comes to our elected officials?

-CryptoLutheran

The willingness to forgive plays a strong role in an individual’s level of human flourishing as a positive relationship with the Bible is the strongest predictor of human flourishing among the youngest group of Americans, according to a new study.

The American Bible Society released the third installment of its State of the Bible USA 2024 Report Thursday, which examined levels of human flourishing among the American public. American Bible Society Chief Innovation Officer and State of the Bible Editor-in-Chief John Farquhar Plake reacted to the findings of the research in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

“For the last two years, we’ve reported some rather troubling statistics about Generation Z,” he said. “As a group, these 18-27-year-olds are less connected with the church and the Bible than older generations. They also experience more stress and less hope.”

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Platte said:

YEC label, which was created by the evolutionist

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Reference?

SavedByGrace3 said:

I basically got bored listing these. I could go on for hours if not days.

https://www.npr.org/2012/02/14/146827471/study-1-8-million-dead-people-still-registered-to-vote

Study: 1.8 million dead people registered to vote nationwide and other errors

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Some 24 million voter registrations in the United States contain significant errors, including about 1.8 million dead people still on the rolls and many more approved to vot…

www.jacksonville.com

Election Watchdog Finds 350,000 Dead Registrants on Voter Rolls In 42 States

An election watchdog, The Public Interest Legal Foundation, has found 350,000 potentially dead individuals on voter rolls in 42 states.

freebeacon.com

More than 190K names removed from Georgia voter roll ahead of 2024 election

A total of 191,473 voter records were placed into “inactive status” this year.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

Virginia discovers nearly 19,000 dead people on voter rolls

As Virginia election officials work to clean up the state’s voter rolls, they announced the discovery of a huge number of dead people still listed as registered voters in the

www.insidenova.com

https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=SOS&prId=506

Thousands of dead Kentuckians removed from voter rolls since 2020

More than 150,000 deceased people were de-registered from voting in Kentucky.

www.whas11.com

Michigan’s Secretary of State Fights to Keep Dead on Voter Rolls

In an order that illustrates the bizarre views of controversial Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a federal court has turned down Benson’s motion to throw out a lawsuit filed against her for refusing to remove almost 26,000 dead voters from Michigan voters rolls.

www.heritage.org

Michigan defends bloated voter rolls with 625,000 cancellations pending | Bridge Michigan

Michigan election officials say they’re working to stop 'undue challenges' from Trump supporters seeking to cancel voter registrations based on pervasive theories of potential fraud.

www.bridgemi.com

Over 400,000 Kentucky Voters Have Been Removed From Voter Rolls Since 2020

More than 223,000 were considered dead voters

www.leoweekly.com

https://www.politico.com/story/2012/02/report-18m-dead-registered-to-vote-072830

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Glad you had fun.

The Vatican has removed Bishop Paul Bradley as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, the bishop revealed on Friday, with Pope Francis appointing a new administrator to take his place.

Bradley said in a letter to the diocese on Friday that the Holy Father had “informed me that my service as apostolic administrator of the diocese has been completed,” with Francis having “thanked me for my leadership over these last nine months.”

The Vatican has appointed Kalamazoo Bishop Edward Lohse as the new apostolic administrator of the Ohio diocese, Bradley said. The appointment was effective immediately.

Bradley had retired from the bishopric in Kalamazoo last July before being appointed by the pope as apostolic administrator of Steubenville on Sept. 28.

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A men’s group on the campus of Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida, is equipping young men with the tools necessary to become selfless husbands and loving fathers. The St. Joseph’s Men’s Group is made up of roughly 190 men striving to emulate the group’s namesake.

Through fellowship, presentations, and small-group discussions, these young men help one another grow and support one another in their vocations. The group is made up of two kinds of members — regular members who actively participate in the group’s community life and “fraternity” members who lead smaller, more intentional gatherings on specific topics. There are currently 12 fraternity members.

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The FBI released its latest Uniform Crime Reporting survey last week that revealed a notable positive trend continuing across the US—with violent and property crimes dropping by double digits.

Compared to January through March 2023, data from the first quarter of 2024 indicates that reported violent crime decreased by 15.2 percent.

Murder decreased by more than 26 percent.

Rape is down by 25.7 percent.

Robbery dropped by 17.8 percent.

Aggravated assault reports decreased by 12.5 percent.


Property crime also decreased by just over 15 percent.

The report includes data from more than 18,000 city, county, state, tribal, university and college, and federal law enforcement agencies.

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Michie said:

These holy men were wonderful fathers, or father figures, and can provide a real source of inspiration today.

Father's Day gives us the opportunity to honor men the men in our lives past and present, and this can also extend to the Church.

If you take a look back over the centuries, there are plenty of saints who were not only devout in their faith, but extraordinary fathers as well. While you'll be familiar with saints such as St. Joseph and Mary's father, St. Joachim, there are a myriad of less talked about saints who through their dedication to their families and their virtuous lives, can provide inspiring examples of fatherhood today.

As these eight saints below show, faith, love, and commitment in nurturing and guiding a family are just as important today as they were centuries ago.

1ST. THOMAS MORE (1478-1535)​

St. Thomas More, an English lawyer, social philosopher, and statesman, was also a devoted family man. Despite his demanding career, he made his family a priority, ensuring they received an excellent education and were nurtured in faith and virtue. His famous highly-educated daughter, Margaret, shared a close bond with him, reflecting his influence as a loving and attentive father. St. Thomas More's balance of professional and familial responsibilities, along with his moral integrity, stands out as a model for fatherhood.

2ST. LEOPOLD III (1073-1136)​

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8 Less talked about saints who were epic fathers

These holy men were wonderful fathers, or father figures, and can provide a real source of inspiration today.

aleteia.org

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God bless these 8 saints.

Brihaha said:

If Mr Trump's communication skills were good, y'all wouldn't have to translate them with these ineffectual excuses.

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I can't argue for his great communication skills. It would make it more difficult for the left to pull his statements out of context. His oratory skills are certainly lacking.

The Walking Tree named New Zealand’s 2024 Tree of the Year – SWNS

A lone tree that looks like it’s out for a stroll has been crowned the 2024 Tree of the Year in New Zealand.

This extraordinary Metrosideros robusta, nicknamed The Walking Tree, ‘walked away’ with the award bestowed by the New Zealand Arboricultural Association.

Located near a cemetery in South Island, its quirky leg-style trunks immediately conjure Tolkien’s sentient walking Ents in the fantasy trilogy Lord of the Rings.

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We are admonished not to take part in the communion in an unworthy manner. I think that if this was ever a concern in Christendom, then we would not have 40,000 churches arguing and fighting each other.

Akita Suggagaki said:

Is this what you are expreincing? The church teaching that realization of the truth, and actually be delivered from sin is not necessary or even unattainable?

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Yeah I don't see even so much as a desire to be free from sin. People seem to be content that their sins are "covered", and that they have the necessities of life, they might even be "prosperous", but an actual heart for those afflicted, and the lost, or even the realization of their own state, I don't think I've ever seen that to be honest.

No more use of the term “Church Teaching,” that is. The Church needs to use “Catholic Doctrine” instead of “Church Teaching,” because the Church needs Catholic Doctrine. Without the deliberate attempt to be faithful to Catholic Doctrine, the effort to be Catholic – as a person, a parish, or an institution – will not consistently avoid errors in belief and practice or commission and omission.

I will make this case in two columns. In this column, I will explain what doctrine is. In the second column, I will show ways the Church needs doctrine and “doctrine.”

Defining “Doctrine”​

The word “doctrine” has been used countless times in the history of official Church documents, including official documents from the Vatican during the reign of Pope Francis. Yet outside of official documents, “doctrine” is a word almost unused in the Church since Vatican II. When is the last time you found “doctrine” used in a homily; or in a Catholic radio or TV program, video, podcast, or column; or in the mission statement, promotional material, or instruction of a Catholic educational institution or organization?

Amazingly, there is no official definition of “doctrine.” Therefore I offer the following definition, which I have used in my monthly column on the doctrinal meaning of the Sunday Readings. Catholic Doctrine is the essentially unchangeable clarification of Revelation and Faith that only the pope and bishops in union with him have the authority to make and that must be accepted as objectively true in order to be Catholic. I believe it is in harmony with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, e.g., 85-90, 94-95, and 888-892; the “Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of Professio Fidei” issued under the authority of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith; and Avery Cardinal Dulles’ Magisterium: Teacher and Guardian of the Faith(Sapientia Press, 2007). I will explain my definition point by point.

Revelation and Faith​

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Various spiritual writers have seen apocalyptic symbolism in the destruction of Jericho, looking at it from a Christian perspective.

In the book of Joshua, God commands Joshua to march around the walls of Jericho, promising to deliver to him the city:

Now Jericho was shut up from within and from without because of the people of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given into your hand Jericho, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; and on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets."
Joshua 6:1-4

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Apocalyptic symbolism​

As with any part of the Bible, the story can be viewed from a variety of angles, including a spiritual reading that looks to the end of the world.

The Christian writer Origen detailed his thoughts in a homily that was included in the Church's official Office of Readings:

In the Scriptures Jericho is often represented as an image of the world. There can be no doubt that the man whom the Gospel describes as going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and falling into the hands of brigands is an image of Adam being driven out of paradise into the exile of this world. Likewise the blind men in Jericho, to whom Jesus came to give sight, signified the people in this world who were blinded by ignorance, to whom the Son of God came.

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Origen then sees in this story of the fall of Jericho, the fall of this world:

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​

Kristina Bessolova | Shutterstock



As we celebrate all the fathers this Sunday, here's a special tribute to those NICU daddies supporting their preemie babies and wives.

Becoming a father necessitates a huge emotional, physical, and spiritual change in a man's life. It's an exciting moment that will lead them on an unknown path full of chaos, extra responsibility, new skills, but above all, love.

Bearing all this in mind, it's hard to imagine how hard it must be for new dads when the delivery day doesn't go quite so smoothly. Perhaps the baby comes too early, or the baby is born with health issues that require special treatment in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).

A sense of "helplessness and anxiety"​

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Happy Father’s Day!

Still undergoing chemotherapy, the 42-year-old princess attended an important royal event with grace and courage.

On Friday, June 14, the Princess of Wales shared that she would be attending the Trooping the Colour today, an impressive military parade that marks the reigning British sovereign's official birthday. It would be the first appearance of Catherine since she announced in March that she would be undergoing preventative chemotherapy.

The news was greeted with much excitement as wellwishers of the princess were keen to see her out and about, and to be reassured that she is on the road to recovery.
And as the royal stepped out in all her finery today, accompanied by her three young children, it was hard not be full of admiration for her, and the impeccably behaved Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and a near perfect performance from Prince Louis, who couldn't resist a large yawn (we don't blame him!) and playing with the curtain.

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