Getting ready for the Church’s annual retreat when we will be confronted with reality.

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Michie said:

Recently, scientists uncovered a big secret that Antarctica has been hiding – a giant granite deposit buried beneath the Pine Island Glacier.

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The world they are beginning to build is going to last for 1,000 years so it is going to be very common to use granite. Even now they use a lot of granite in their Hotels in Hong Kong. I have a pound of pink cyrstal that has been crushed and polished for my art projects. I do not have any granite. It csn cost up to $100 a square foot. I would be nice to use for a retainer wall around the patio outside because granite is so durable. I like to do rock art. There will be a lot more precious stone in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

I am glad you posted this here, because we as saints are in a war with Satan each and every day...

When I get my knee replacement surgery I will have to take extra precautions to keep from getting a blood clot. After my back surgery in December 2024 I got a DVT and had a pulmonary embolism. The surgeon is aware of this and told me to consult with my vascular surgeon before I have the surgery.

Hi! Its nice to see a new face.

Day 9 - 2/17/26

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

“I firmly wish that my face reflecting the intimate pains of my soul, the suffering and love of my heart, be more honoured! Whoever gazes upon me already consoles me.”
– Our Lord Jesus Christ to Sister Pierre

DAILY PREPARATORY PRAYER

O Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, through the intercession of Holy Mary, whose soul was pierced through by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of her Divine Son, we ask your help in making a perfect Novena of reparation with Jesus, united with all His sorrows, love and total abandonment.

We now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede for us as we pray this Holy Novena to the Most Holy Face of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

(mention request here…)

Amen.

For in sacrifice Thou take no delight, a burnt offering from me Thou wouldst refuse; my sacrifice a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart Thou wilt not spurn. In Thy goodness, show favor to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then Thou shalt be pleased with lawful sacrifice; holocausts offered on Thy altar.

Prayer

Sacred Face of Our Lord and Our God, what words can we say to express our gratitude? How can we speak of our joy? That Thou hast deigned to hear us, that Thou hast chosen to answer us in our hour of need.

We say this because we know that our prayers will be granted. We know that Thou, in Thy loving kindness, listened to our pleading hearts, and will give, out of Thy fullness, the answer to our problems. Mary, our Mother, we thank Thee for Thy intercession on our behalf. Saint Joseph, we thank Thee for Thine prayers.

Through the merits of Thy precious blood and Thy Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition; Pardon and Mercy.

Prayer to the Holy Trinity

Most Holy Trinity, Godhead indivisible, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our first beginning and our last end. Since Thou hast made us after Thy own image and likeness, grant that all the thoughts of our minds, all the words of our tongues, all the affections of our hearts, and all our actions may be always conformed to Thy most Holy Will, so that after having seen Thee here on earth in appearances and in a dark manner by the means of faith, we may come at last to contemplate Thee face to face, in the perfect possession of Thee forever in paradise. Amen.

Act of Consecration

O Lord Jesus, we believe most firmly in You, we love You. You are the Eternal Son of God and the Son Incarnate of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You are the Lord and Absolute Ruler of all creation. We acknowledge You, therefore, as the Universal Sovereign of all creatures.

You are the Lord and Supreme Ruler of all mankind, and we, in acknowledging this Your dominion, consecrate ourselves to You now and forever. Loving Jesus, we place our family under the protection of Your Holy Face, and of Your Virgin Mother, Mary most sorrowful.

We promise to be faithful to You for the rest of our lives and to observe with fidelity Your Holy Commandments. We will never deny before men, You and Your Divine rights over us and all mankind. Grant us the grace to never sin again; nevertheless, should we fail, 0 Divine Saviour, have mercy on us and restore us to Your grace.

Radiate Your Divine Countenance upon us and bless us now and forever. Embrace us at the hour of death in Your Kingdom for all eternity, through the intercession of Your Blessed Mother, of all Your Saints who behold You in Heaven, and the just who glorify You on earth. O Jesus, be mindful of us forever and never forsake us; protect our family.

O Mother of Sorrows, by the eternal glory which you enjoy in Heaven, through the merits of your bitter anguish in the Sacred Passion of your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for us the grace that the Precious Blood shed by Jesus for the redemption of our souls, be not shed for us in vain.

We love you, O Mary. Embrace us and bless us, O Mother. Protect us in life and in death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Golden Arrow Prayer

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and ineffable Name of God be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored, and glorified in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.

Our Father
Hail Mary x3
Glory Be

O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

I have the feeling that the Pope is more intelligent than I am, because I couldn't understand a word he just said. I hate having a small brain.

That man is learned.

BPPLEE said:

I’ve already posted what I considered a test for Bible versions. But I think most all versions have something to offer.

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Can anyone recommend where I can get a Bible with 88 books in a good translation? I have looked at the Ethiopian Bible on Amazon but most have bad reviews, print too small, bad translation, missing books.,etc..

I worked back Saturday and the next day my arms were really sore. I took Sunday and Monday off because I don’t want to get Rhabdo again. I’m taking Lipitor for high cholesterol and it can cause muscle soreness and Rhabdo.
Today I have an hour of physical therapy and I’m probably going to work chest

Worked chest
Flys superset with DB Bench Press 2 supersets
Krussher. 5 sets
Keeping it simple starting out, I overdid back Saturday

camille70 said:

It's government run vs private/non profit, not profit vs private.

You may soon need a passport to vote. Trump is making it harder to get one.

Have you been feeling like you need to rush to get a passport in case the SAVE Act voter suppression jamboree becomes law? What if, somehow, President Donald Trump signing a piece of paper means ...

www.dailykos.com

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Thankfully I get my passports from the most costly provider so people can't assume I know how to read.

I have an acquaintance who insists on this and in my opinion has made this a harsh and judgemental approach and he uses it often in his dealings with church members.
Now, clearly there is a discussion about how to use the Law. If it is about behaviour then yes, it can serve a purpose in that those self-righteous in their behaviour can be made to see how that separates from God. But the Law (summarised especially in the first two) is also to do with attitudes and desires. These also separate from God and are very relevant in pre-evangelism.
BUT....Jesus IMO majored on the attitudes and this IMO leads evangelists to be more compassionate and empathetic in their work. (which is all our work, as well). Because I don't think Jesus used the Law in its behaviour dimension, especially in his dealings with those who would be more receptive. He saw inside them, to their hidden weakness (the woman in adultery, the rich young ruler), with Knowledge from His Father. He didn't go through the 10 commandments, getting the people to examine their failings in each category. He went straight to a One Issue that would convict. A lesson for us?
Because the central issue, and I argued this with with the guy I have mentioned, is the Original Sin of the Garden, in that mankind really doesn't like the idea of God in our lives and wants to go its own way in pride. It is this that has to be finally acknowledged, even after repentance for thoughts and deeds of greed and lust and anger, and it was this that Christ died on the cross for. To repair our estrangement from God. But then of course this is encapsulated in failing the first commandment.
One last question and which is relevant. Jesus talked of not one jot falling from the Law until "all is accomplished". How does that relate to Christ's final words - "It is finished"

Five months ago today (9/17/2025), at 12:30 a.m., I began to have sharp chest pain and pressure, sharp pain in my arm on my left side, severe shortness of breath, sharp pressure and pain in my right ear, and stabbing back pain. I let it go for a while, thinking it might go away, but eventually, knowing these were possible heart attack symptoms, I went to the ER at a local hospital where they did a chest X-ray and discovered a lung nodule I had had since 2014 (checked again in 2016) had nearly doubled in size.

This began what has turned out to be a long series of hospital and doctor appointments and tests and/or procedures, which are still ongoing. The diagnosis which I have so far is 1) Moderate COPD, 2) Heart Failure, 3) A Precancerous (not cancerous) Lung Nodule in my left lung, and 4) Possible Spinal Stenosis. What I am still dealing with on a daily basis is chest pain and pressure, sharp stabbing pains in various sections of my body (rotating from place to place), cognitive issues, vision difficulties, and exhaustion.

Many people have prayed for me, and I have prayed for me and for healing, but God has his ways and his timing and his purposes in all of this. For He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). So, when I am weak, then I am strong in the strength of the Lord who supplies me with all I need to keep serving him each day despite my pain and my suffering. For my faith is being tested, but God is my portion and my strength who will sustain me through it all.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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All Day Long
An Original Work / February 17, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

P.S. I do not take drugs. God took me off all medications 17 years ago. I use natural means for pain control, first and foremost which is prayer, and then heat or ice, exercise, and rest.

keras said:

No.
What you think and guess there, is pretentious rubbish, without any scriptural support whatever.

Jesus' Words to the repentant thief, were to console and assure him of his eventual raising to Eternal Life. Which as we are clearly told, will happen after the Millennium. Rev 20:11-15
In fact, to that man, it WILL seem like the instant after he died. We are told that the dead 'sleep' in their graves, knowing nothing. When they are all raised for the Judgment, it will seem to them, as just a moment after they lost consciousness.

If you use Luke 16:22-23, as a proof text for your beliefs, then you are susceptible to believing any fairy tale. That homily is purely told as a warning that this life is our only chance to get right with God.

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Keras, Luke 16 is a chapter of parables. Jesus used parables. The parables in the Bible are lessons from factual examples about specific truths.

Luke 16:22-23 make it crystal clear that those who die in sin immediately go to Hades. Those who die in Christ immediately go to paradise. Jesus confirmed that in Luke 23:43.

"The dead" are cited four times in Rev 20:11-15. These are those who died in sin because none of their names are said to be found in the Book of Life. Upon death, they all went to Hades immediately, just as the rich man in Luke 16:22-23. Upon judgment, they end up in the lake of fire (Rev 20:15).

sjastro said:

I asked ChatGPt-5 why there is an enormous difference in the half-lives, it give a far more detailed explanation.

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In its detailed explanation ChatGPt-5 seemed to have given a contradictory repsonse.

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One would expect for hot astrophysical plasmas ionization would drive off the electrons, vacating the energy levels and preventing Pauli blocking.
ChatGPT-5 gave the following polite correction.

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Abraham's bosom and Hades could be located in this intermediate realm maybe, both time oriented, and bound to time, as previously explained. Why a Hades at all, and why allow some people to go there for what might be perhaps only temporarily maybe? Well, I think that's God's business personally, but it could be in order to get some of those people to repent or change their ways before the very final judgement maybe, but I don't really know, etc? But it's Gehenna for people after that that don't, and there's no second (or more) chances after that probably, or no coming back after that probably (I have some theories on what Gehenna actually is, and who it's really for, but I'll save that for another time) but, and as for Abraham's bosom, maybe they are destined to join some of the other people during the 7th day maybe, to be a part of the earth that will made into a paradise until the very final resurrection/judgement and the truly eternal heaven maybe, but I don't really know though, etc. Or some or all of them could stay there until the truly eternal heaven maybe, but I really don't know though really, etc. Some go to either one of those places until the very final resurrection/judgement (or some maybe the first one) and others, for lack of a better word, go to quote/unquote "sleep" (but it's not really "sleep" really) (previously explained) and it's all God and the spirit's businesses really, etc. Not all who sleep means they are all going to be judged favorably though, but my theory is that its just that maybe they just weren't meant to be a part of the first resurrection, or their ultimate final fate has already been judged/decided/fully known either way, and they just weren't meant to go to Abraham's bosom (or Hades) either, which will all be revealed to all of us at the very final last resurrection/judgement before the truly eternal heaven (or the other place), etc. That is in fact probably why some "sleep" until the very final and very last resurrection/judgement. But it's all God and the spirit's businesses until then, etc.

Anyway, just some more additional information, but there is even more additional information still yet, etc.

God Bless.

Hentenza said:

Not at all. Most Protestant denominations believe that the scripture verses regarding communion define a non literal translation since Jesus was still wearing His body and still had His blood going through Him. For most Protestant denominations there is no real presence or transubstantiation.

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But that’s what @Ain't Zwinglian just said - most Protestant denominations do not interpret those verses literally, for the reasons you cited, but to Lutherans and others such as myself, such a non-literal interpretation is in this case problematic, since it involves at least a partial contradiction of what our Lord just said, and in the case of Memorialism, multiple contradictions based on an anachronistic interpretation of the words “anamnesis” which as I cited above is only used in the manner favored by the specific Memorialist argument we encountered in 1 Corinthians, with 1 Luke using the phrase only in reference to the Body, and St. Mark and St. Matthew not using it at all, which creates a paradox.

That said, of the three largest groups of Protestants - the Anglicans, while lacking a formal defined doctrine, very frequently believe in the Real Presence or something close to it, the Lutherans do believe in the real presence, and the Calvinists historically believed in the spiritual presence of Christ in the elements, that he is present in spirit if not physically in the bread and wine.

This latter position, the popular doctrine of spiritual presence, is, I would argue, superior to Zwinglianism, because the statements of our Lord, “this is my Body” and “this is my Blood” are not immediately contradicted, nor is the spiritual interpretation taken to the extreme of the Quakers who deny the phyiscal celebration of the sacrament in any form.

Thus in my view, Zwinglianism, Memorialism and Receptionism are not only wrong but uneccessary, for if one does not believe in a physical presence, there exists an alternative doctrine in the form of Calvinist spiritual presence in which the words of our Lord can still be interpreted literally. Additionally this spiritual interpretation has the added benefit of being compatible with most ancient liturgical texts, and some scholars believe it was widespread in the early church, which it may have been, although it appears that belief in a real physical presence was more widespread.

Now regarding the specific Roman Catholic concept of trans-substantiation, I don’t know of anyone denomination outside of the RCC and certain related Western denominations (some Anglo Catholics, some Old Catholics, basically anyone who regards the work of St. Thomas Aquinas as essential) who officially adopts that exact doctrine, even if they use the word in an attempt to demonstrate their belief in the physicality of Christ’s presence. Transubstantiation is basically the specific idea that the accidents of bread and wine, that is to say, the perceptual attributes remain the same, while the substance changes. It is a more complex belief, therefore, than merely asserting that the gifts become the actual Body and Blood of Christ our True God (the most common approach from antiquity being to believe this was literally true without presuming to know how; the means by which this happened being regarded as a sacred mystery in the Western sense of mystery, while the sacrament was also called a Sacred Mystery in the Eastern sense, that is to say, as a Holy Sacrament.

Thus, my position is that the Calvinist view of a spiritual presence of Christ in the bread and wine is an acceptable interpretation, whereas the Zwinglian and Memorialist and Receptionist positions are not (even if the Receptionist believes that on reception, they are partaking of the actual physical body and blood of our Lord), the problem being that all three of those positions require a non-literal interpretation that can be regarded as contradictory, as being our Lord saying one thing, and then contradicting it, and which is furthermore contradicts Communicatio Idiomatum, because, while those who advocate for Memorialism and Zwinglianism are correct that it would be impossible for a mortal man to be in one place with his body and blood in other places, what is impossible with man is possible with God, and in the person of Christ His deity and humanity are united without confusion, change, separation or division, and thus, as God, Christ can give us as much of his Body and Blood, in which both His humanity and divinity are united, thus making us partakers of the dvine essence, as we might require. But for those still uncomfortable with that, or with the idea of partaking of our Lord physically, it is not fundamentally incompatible to insist on a spiritual presence only, that is to say, that the bread and wine spiritually become the Body and Blood of our Lord while physically remaining bread and wine, and this view, favored by Calvinists, offers the escape being sought without recourse to symbolism or memorialism.

Regarding receptionism, the idea that appears to drive it is a discomfort with the idea of the Real Change and a misguided fear of idolatry; receptionists tend to be the sort of people who regard Eucharistic adoration or even the reservation of the consecrated gifts for purposes of communing the sick or the celebration of a presanctified liturgy during Lent or Holy Week, as being somehow idolatrous, which it clearly is not. Now in Orthodoxy we do not engage in Eucharistic adoration, but I have no objection to the practice, rather, its specifically a Western devotion, that said, some argue that there is a problem with Eucharistic adoration, that being our Lord said “take, eat” without reference to static adoration; there is also the fact that only the Body and not the Blood are being adored in that context seems a bit limiting, although in my view this argument amounts to a form of the Regulatory Principle of worship favored by some Calvinists, Baptists and others, that if left unchecked leads to things such as a capella exclusive psalmody, and is also an appeal to silence. Clearly, there is no obligation to engage in Eucharistic adoration even within the Roman Catholic Church (even less so among Anglicans who engage in the practice), but there is also no basis for saying such an activity is inadmissible, for we do many legitimate things that are not expressly commanded by Scripture (there is also the argument that if it is the Body and Blood of our Lord it is deserving of adoration on the basis of non-Nestorianism, to which I would agree, but also say, such adoration occurs adequately in the context of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy or the Western Mass or Divine Service (Gottesdienst). Thus, like i said, I myself have no qualms about Eucharistic adoration and would willingly engage in it; it seems a good opportunity for sacred silence and contemplation of the passion of Christ on the Cross.

But at any rate, if one is uncomfortable with the idea of that, then there is still an option which avoids non-literal interpretation while also avoiding the physicality that many are uncomfortable with, that being a real spiritual presence that is spiritual but not physical. Thus, I respect that position even as I disagree with it.

MrMoe said:

What I want to know is if this person will be put in with the men or lumped in with women when put into the crime data.

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Mass shooters are overwhelmingly male, to point that when the media refers to a mass shooter as a "woman", the more astute among us can read between the lines to discern what that means...

Always in His Presence said:

How on earth does it help prove a point that the President was rude and disrespectful - by being equally rude and disrespectful?

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If you think calling him "Cadet Bonespurs" is rude and disrespectful, you should hear what veterans call him among themselves.

bèlla said:

Thank you for the update. Please keep us posted.

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Will do.

God bless

So in the early 2000's Trump thanked an officer for stopping Epstein but in 2025 Trump said he knew nothing of what Epstein was doing at the time.

Either one or both have a faulty memory or someone is lying.