What's really funny is how they took the famous Karl Marx slogan of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs", and changed it to "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work". Uh oh. In the words of Johnny Rotten, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

Be kind, please rewind.

-CryptoLutheran

It doesn’t look like it on the surface; it looks more like a magazine cover or artistic rendition, and less like a canonical icon.

By the way regarding the consecration of icons, I don’t know if that’s the case; I have seen conflicting arguments on whether or not they require consecration. There is also the blessing of icons on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, one of my favorite feasts, the joyous beginning of the joyous fast and liturgical buffet of delights such as the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, the Presanctified, Great Vespers and the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete that is the Great Lent, which traditionally ends with my favorite Orthodox liturgy other than the Eucharist, which is the Holy Unction service (consecration of Holy Oil and annointing of the sick or fasters with Holy Oil). This service is still celebrated on the last Friday in Lent in more traditional Orthodox churches such as many ROCOR parishes, and also in at least some Oriental Orthodox (Coptic Orthodox)

We live in a day and age when so many people are becoming followers of other humans instead of becoming followers of God (of Jesus Christ). Since we live in the age of computers and television and the internet, and other media outlets, we can get 24/7 media coverage on just about anyone of any level of importance or notoriety. And many people are becoming followers of public figures, instead of becoming followers of God, and this is sad.

Many people are treating other humans as though they are gods, as though they are their saviors who are going to rescue them from the evils of the world. They depend on other humans to tell them the truth instead of turning to God and to the Scriptures to get truth. Or they depend on internet memes to tell them the truth because memes are short and easy to read quickly, and they don’t involve research and studying, which takes time.

The internet is a strong influencer over people’s minds and their beliefs and ways of thinking. There is a lot of mind control going on via television and the internet and other media outlets. And if people of faith are addicted to the media, and if they are dependent on the media to get truth, then so many of them are subject to accepting lies in place of the truth, for the lies can be made to sound good, while the truth can be made to look evil.

But we who profess faith in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives are not to put our dependency and trust in other humans who are bound to fail us. We are not to be looking to other humans to save us from what ails us as a people and as nations on this earth. For what ails us as nations are the sins of those who oppose God and his plan and purpose for our lives, and who do evil to one another, sometimes in the name of God, too.

What ails us as the nations of the earth is that so many people are rejecting God and his plan and purpose for our lives in favor of living their lives their own way, doing their own thing, even if that means deliberately and habitually sinning against God and against one another. And sadly this includes many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, for their faith is man-created instead of God-created, and it appeases human flesh rather than putting flesh to death so that they can now serve God with their lives.

But God’s salvation, which he has for us, puts sin to death in our lives, and it transforms us, and it changes us so that our desire is now to obey God and to no longer walk in sin in disobedience to God. But if our faith does not do that, then it is not biblical faith. For if we are convinced that a mere profession of faith in Christ is enough to secure us heaven for when we die, but while we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience to God, we have believed a lie and not the truth which saves our souls from hell, and which promises us eternal life with God in heaven.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Refiner’s Fire

By Brian Doerksen

Purify my heart,
let me be as gold and precious silver.
Purify my heart,
let me be as gold, pure gold.

Purify my heart,
cleanse me from within
and make me holy.
Purify my heart,
cleanse me from my sin, deep within.

Refiner's fire,
my heart's one desire
is to be holy;
set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be holy;
set apart for You, my Master,
ready to do Your will.

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The Lord, My Salvation
An Original Work / July 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

rjs330 said:

ICE like any LE has investigatory skills that they use to determine if someone is an illegal or not. If by that investigation reveals they are illegal they can be deported. BY LAW they do NOT need a court order to deport unless the alien says they want a hearing. If the alien says they want a hearing they have to get one before an immigration judge who then hears the case and determines if the person is subject to deportation. If they say so then the person can be deported immediately. If the alien does not ask for a hearing then they may be deported immediately.

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Yep. And if they are subject to deportation, they lose any chance of coming back. If they self deport, then they maintain the ability to seek citizenship.

I'm still playing Destiny 2

essentialsaltes said:

Fortunate? This guy especially. He got 29 years knocked off his sentence.​

Perpetrator of triple homicide in Madrid included in group of political prisoners repatriated by US from Venezuela​

Dahud Hanid Ortiz landed Friday in Texas from Caracas, where he was sentenced to 30 years for a crime committed in the Spanish capital in 2016​

The United States has welcomed the release and surrender by the Venezuelan Chavista regime of a group of 10 Americans who landed last Friday in Texas, among them a triple murderer, Dahud Hanid Ortiz. The identity of this freed man has been confirmed to EL PAÍS through a source close to the Spanish secret services and another from the Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal, which is dedicated to the defense of political prisoners. This organization, a reference in the field of human rights in Venezuela, warned that among those being released was one who was not a political prisoner. This Tuesday, Foro Penal confirmed to this newspaper that it was referring to Ortiz.

Images published in the U.S. media show him last Friday, waving to the camera as he and the rest of the group left the Joint Base San Antonio military installation in Texas.

The triple homicide perpetrated by Ortiz took place in 2016 in a law office in Usera, a working-class district in the south of the Spanish capital. None of the three victims were who he was actually going after that day. His target was Víctor Salas, a lawyer who was in a relationship with his ex-wife who he had threatened to kill. That day, however, he murdered two female employees of the office and a client whom he mistook for Salas.

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Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, said Wednesday night on his weekly broadcast that the Venezuelan government had warned U.S. officials at the airport that they were “taking away a convicted murderer.”

“The United States defended their murderer and asked for him to be included,” Cabello alleged.

An unamed source indicated Cabello is not in detention following his arrival on US soil.
The US government has been mum on his wherabouts....

Honestly have been thinking about visiting a Catholic or Orthodox church myself.

Not from the hype, but I've kind of spiritually outgrown Protestantism.

Seems to be the only direction left to try.

This week the White House released its plan for artificial intelligence (AI) in the United States, which aims “to achieve global dominance in AI” and promote “human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people.”

The plan comes as Catholic leaders continue to urge developers to exercise caution when growing and refining the new technology.

The government’s “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan” identifies more than 90 federal policy actions within the categories of “accelerating innovation, building American AI infrastructure, and leading in international diplomacy and security.”

The White House announcement laid out the key policies the AI plan will focus on, including sharing technology with allies around the world, developing data centers, and stripping away red tape around AI development.

Continued below.

“Thanks be to God more people weren’t harmed,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli in an exclusive interview with EWTN on July 24 in the wake of the July 17 bombing of his parish, Holy Family Church in Gaza, which left three dead and 15 wounded, including himself.

“It was a shocking experience,” Romanelli told “EWTN Noticias” in the Spanish-language interview, noting that while the parish grounds were struck toward the beginning of the war in December 2023, last week’s attack marked the first time the church itself was hit. The front of the church was hit in a strike that Israeli officials have said was an accident.

“That iconic cross you’ve seen — it’s about 2 meters [6.5 feet] tall — was heavily damaged,” the priest said of the crucifix fixed atop the church structure. “Shrapnel flew in all directions,” he recounted.

“The area is quite small, and while we hear bombings daily and metal fragments often fall, there hadn’t been such a severe incident since the war began,” Romanelli continued, adding: “The recent strike has left a deep mark.”

Continued below.

The Bible is a living book whose power extends beyond reading, and its enfleshment extends beyond the page into the life of Christ’s Body, the Church.

I've read on twitter that Laura Horn's surgery was successful with an anticipated one year recovery. Keep praying for a good recovery and that her speech and thinking haven’t been affected.

When we follow the Lord Jesus Christ with our lives, and we obey his commands, in practice, and we follow his guidance and direction, and we go where he sends us, and we speak what he gives us to say, to whom he gives us to say it, we are going to be faced with opposition. And that opposition could be coming from people close to us, from friends, and/or family, and/or from other professing Christians, and/or from pastors of “churches,” and the like. But it hurts the most when it comes from people closest to us.

And now this is not to claim that we are absolutely perfect in every way and that no one should ever accuse us of anything wrong. We should be humble people who admit when we are wrong, who are willing to take correction, and who are willing to make changes in our lives where they are needed and where they are required by God. We should be willing to compromise where it does not require compromising truth and righteousness and the Word of God and his gospel. But all should be done under the direction of our Lord.

And sometimes these persecutions, they pile up, one after another after another. And for some of us, they eventually take their toll on us, and we absolutely do cry with our whole hearts, seeking God for answers and guidance and direction in knowing what to do, and in what to say, and in what to not do, and to not say. For some of us are not “Rocks of Gibraltar,” which symbolize much strength and resilience, but we cry, and we must absolutely trust in the Lord to be our strength, our counsel, and our wisdom.

Have you ever tried running in a race, but when you got near to the end your body was just about ready to collapse, and you didn’t know how you were going to last to the finish line? It’s kind of like that, and kind of like what Paul described, too, or what Job suffered, as well. Sometimes it all just piles up on you at once or else it is just the accumulation of trials and tribulations, over a span of many years, and so sometimes you might wonder how much longer you will last. Then you cry with your whole heart.

One of the things which brings me to tears is how so many people professing faith in Jesus Christ are being deceived by liars and tricksters who know how to charm the people, and who know how to put on a good show, and who are telling people lies. These liars are malicious, morally unclean, fakes, manipulators, egocentric, and unfaithful to those who look to them for truth or for help and guidance. And so many people are following them to their deaths, thinking that they have the hope of eternal life with God.

And that absolutely breaks my heart! I literally weep over the deceived, over those who have been promised salvation from sin and eternal life with God based on a lie which tells them that nothing is required of them other than a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. But Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught that faith in Jesus Christ must result in us dying to sin and obeying our Lord, in practice, by the grace of God, in the power of God. For if we walk in sin, and not in obedience to God, we do not have life in Christ.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

For Our Nation

Professionally recorded in Nashville, TN
Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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I Cried with All My Heart
An Original Work / July 24, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Michie said:

Today is July 20, the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
We read at today’s Mass, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Lk 10:41-42).
For many of us, these words feel challenging. Like Martha, we often carry concerns and responsibilities that weigh on our hearts. When Jesus speaks of Mary choosing the better part, it may sound as though he is dismissing Martha’s efforts. But that is not what is happening. Jesus is gently reminding us that only one thing matters in the end: the love we give and receive in him.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati lived this balance between Martha and Mary. His life was a steady rhythm of prayer and action. He never neglected daily Mass or time spent with the Lord, yet he also threw himself into service. He called this his “Apostolate of Charity.”

‘Based on charity’​

Continued below.

The most perfect love

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s devoted prayer and service reveal Jesus’ invitation to choose love over anxiety.

www.oursundayvisitor.com

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Michie said:

Today is July 20, the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
We read at today’s Mass, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Lk 10:41-42).
For many of us, these words feel challenging. Like Martha, we often carry concerns and responsibilities that weigh on our hearts. When Jesus speaks of Mary choosing the better part, it may sound as though he is dismissing Martha’s efforts. But that is not what is happening. Jesus is gently reminding us that only one thing matters in the end: the love we give and receive in him.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati lived this balance between Martha and Mary. His life was a steady rhythm of prayer and action. He never neglected daily Mass or time spent with the Lord, yet he also threw himself into service. He called this his “Apostolate of Charity.”

‘Based on charity’​

Continued below.

The most perfect love

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s devoted prayer and service reveal Jesus’ invitation to choose love over anxiety.

www.oursundayvisitor.com

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I am truly sorry to respond to this post with a fundamental negative conclusion, but this error is so common in Catholic homilies, that to pass it by without comment would be to add to the error in understanding, and allow it further spread. The error is most clearly revealed in this : "Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati lived this balance between Martha and Mary."

I sincerely hope that he did not live "a balance between Martha and Mary"! We are not entrusted with the highest of the virtues, to "balance it" with something else. Charity ought never, ever be set aside in order to do anything. Charity must be lived always.
"Charity is the form of all the virtues." (CCC 2346).
"Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it 'governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification.'” (CCC 826)
"Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but ‘in body’ not ‘in heart.’“ (CCC 837)
"Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God." (CCC 1822)
"Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: “So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity.” [1 Cor 13:13] (CCC 1826)
Finally, beware of doing a "good work" in order to gain goods for ourselves (the praise of men, a reward from God, something to advance my ambition,....) we in such a case would be a mere "hired man", a mercenary working for pay. No, "If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands . . . we are in the position of children." [St. Basil] (CCC 1828)

We see the problem again here: "He never neglected daily Mass or time spent with the Lord, yet he also threw himself into service." May we never "throw ourselves into service" or works of any kind, again! We are too much, still, in our [old] selves and not in the new man or woman transformed in Christ! We must seek and long to die to ourselves in fact and Truth not just sacramentally and symbolically in Baptism. We must seek and long to live - to LIVE - in Christ, we in Him and He in us, in all that we are and do. Jesus calls us:

Abide [Remain, Dwell] in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide [remain, dwell] in Me. [Jn 15:4]

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May we never again leave prayer, to work. May we always remain in prayer, in our works! May we never again leave Christ and become of the world, in order to "do" works acceptable and pleasing to the world. That is the most "unbalanced" and contradictory of moves. Martha was fallen and of the world when she ordered Jesus to "tell her sister to help" her. She had judged and misjudged Jesus, accusing Him: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?" Martha's "good" works had brought her no peace - He told her ""Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things..."

No, it is not a good thing thing to seek a "balance" between Mary, a woman here at peace in the Holy Truth of Jesus, and Martha, then a woman deep in the troubles of the world. There is no righteous balance to be found here. Martha became a saint! But her sister was way ahead of her in this scene.

essentialsaltes said:

Appeals Court rules against Trump admin's birthright citizenship EO​

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld a lower court ruling that President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship is very likely unconstitutional on its face and that a nationwide injunction precluding enforcement is the only way to provide complete relief to the state plaintiffs, pending litigation.

A federal judge in a separate case [above, I assume] has already enjoined nationwide enforcement of the order against a certified class of individuals affected by the presidential action -- all newborns in the U.S. to noncitizens.

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Yet another article about a decision... that doesn't bother to link to the decision, or even give the name of the case.

It's very frustrating so many articles do this. Why is this so hard? The good news is, these ones did:

It's Washington v. Trump and the decision can be seen at https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/07/23/25-807.pdf or https://storage.courtlistener.com/r...b7bc70c-6fcb-460e-9232-c6bc8ad16303.163.1.pdf.

I was curious about what the dissent was about, and looking into it, it looks like it was just a disagreement on the issue of standing; it indeed concludes with "Because we don’t have jurisdiction to review State Plaintiffs’ claims at this time, I do not address their merits or the scope of the district court’s injunction." Glancing over it, its argument on standing seems plausible, but at any rate the dissent was on procedural grounds that, while relevant to this case if the dissent is correct, wouldn't settle all of the other cases on this subject.

Lady Bug said:

Oh I see. Going to Catholic schools doesn't mean you actually are Catholic, even if you're Catholic.

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Currently, not counting colleges, non-Catholic attendance at Catholic schools is about 22%. Practicing Catholics, unless there is there is a good reason for exception, go to mass every Sunday.

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Verse 1​

Verse 2​

Verse 3​

Verse 4​

Verse 5​

keras said:

ONLY for those who accept His Salvation.
It will be Gods disposal unit for those who refuse Him. Revelation 20:15

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Everyone who loves knows God and is born of God. 1 John 4:7

Some just have their subjective salvation filter ratcheted up far too tightly, such as shown here:

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

tag

It's crazy to me that middle class citizens of Texas will vote foe this guy.

Say what you want but conservative leaders I. The US really seem to be acting like monarchs and seem to have about that level of culpability for their misdeeds.


Life would be easy as a conservative politicians I think.

Man.. if I was a celebrity I would be so scared right now.

Light of the East said:

After three wonderful years of being a member of St. Mary's Orthodox, I find that the more I learn about the Orthodox faith and the saints and martyrs of the Church, the less Orthodox I feel. In short, I can't seem to get my life in line with what appears to be a healthy relationship with God through Orthodoxy. This is not new to me, nor is it the fault of Orthodoxy. The problem, as I see and understand it, is my coming from a dysfunctional family and being a dysfunctional person myself as a result. As my former spiritual director once said (he was assigned to another parish quite far away) "Dysfunctionalism is the gift that just keeps on giving."

Here's the question du jour: is it possible that there are people who are just so messed up by life, by people, and by things that have happened to them that they will never get it right in this life?

I ask this because my sense is that I one of those people. I feel am stuck - that I am really going nowhere in my attempts to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the work of theosis in my life. Yes, I am doing the things you might suggest to me: the fasts, regular attendance at Liturgy and the various services of the Church, keeping a prayer rule at home, etc. My priest knows of my struggles and the particular sin(s) that plague me since I make regular use of Confession.

The single biggest problem I have is in sensing a relationship with our Lord. My spiritual director used to remind me that God is not at all like my earthly father - cold, distant, unemotional and unexpressive of love, yet those are the very thoughts under which I labor. When I do something wrong, I find myself waiting to get whacked in some manner. It seems that this dysfunctional manner of relating to God and the world, while having lessened somewhat over the years, is going to be with me until I die. I just can't see to shake it off and enter into a place of fervent love for Christ. This is why I asked the question I asked.

Other than telling me to just keep on plugging away one day at a time, do you have any suggestions or thoughts?

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So sorry you're going through this, but I somewhat understand from my own past with a controlling family member and an emotion, psychological, and spiritually abusive ex-husband (23 yrs with him). It's tough. I always have to monitor myself from not falling into despair, which is a sin in itself. I've gotten much better since being divorced and away from him (sons are healing day by day as well). What I try to remember and focus on is God just looks for our efforts. That is the most important thing to me. That I'm at least making an effort in my Orthodox Christian life. God knows your struggles and hardships better than anyone else. His mercy is immense. God bless.

Landon Caeli said:

In case you didn’t know, our pets rely on us for their every need. How incredibly unkind it is to ridicule someone for caring for their pets in a proper manner.

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How is it possible to misconstrue such as simple point as was being made? Really, how did you manage to do that?

Landon Caeli said:

...In the meantime, we have grown adults around the world who lack the capacity to produce a fruitful culture/ society.

You tell me who's in the wrong.

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You are. Without any doubt whatsoever.

as a priest I can vouch that the Eucharist is completely consumed.

the gents are correct.