St. Charles Lwanga and his companions stand out in the Church’s history of martyrs due to the unique and specific reason for their sacrifice. Unlike others, their martyrdom was not merely for general chastity but for resisting a particular demand placed upon them. This distinction is especially relevant in June, observed as the month for celebrating the very behavior they opposed.

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What then is the longest prayer at Mass? The Eucharistic Prayer. Since 1970 a priest can use four options: Eucharistic Prayer I, II, III, or IV. Before 1970, for about 1,500 years, there was just one long prayer, which became known as the Canon, meaning “fixed rule,” as in permanent, never-changing, like the truth. The prayer was ancient, arguably the oldest and most important part, the essential part of Mass.

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Speaking of the Eucharist as a spiritual weapon might strike you as odd, yet St. Paul reminds us we’re in a war, and that our primary enemies are ones we cannot see:

For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).

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Romans 5:1-2 NKJV


I am borrowing this from a writing from two months ago, “Peace with God,” because this is what I am being led of the Lord to do today. For it is good if we can know and understand the meanings of these words in the Scriptures so that we can apply them to our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus.

Justified

What does it mean to be justified? It means to be made righteous, to be conformed to a proper standard, which is God’s standard for how we ought to live as followers of Jesus Christ. And to be righteous is to be morally pure, upright, honorable, faithful, honest, decent, and obedient to God, in practice, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, which is not of our own flesh. For it refers to what is deemed right by the Lord, what is approved in his eyes. Justification is to show what is right, and to be cleared of all charges.

Faith

And what is faith? It is belief, fidelity, moral conviction, and faithfulness. And it is divine persuasion, the persuasion of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, in the power of God. For this faith comes from God, it is authored by God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God, and it is not of our own doing, but it is something we must put into practice, by God’s grace.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Hebrews 12:1-2; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:24]

Peace

And what is this peace with God being spoken of here? It is wholeness, fullness, and completeness. It has to do with us being joined together with Christ, united with him by faith in him, no longer separate (apart) from God, but now joined with him in unity of heart, mind, purpose, and action. We are now in Christ by faith in him, and he is in us by his Spirit. And we are at peace because our trust is now in our Lord and not in ourselves, and because we know God has all things under his control. So we trust him.

Grace

And what is this grace of God in which we are to be standing? Well, the grace of God, which is gifted to us by God, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. God’s grace is what sent Jesus Christ to the cross to put our sins to death with him, and to be raised from the dead, so we can now die to sin and obey God, in practice. For it is God’s purpose that we no longer walk in sin but in obedience to him.

[Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23]

God’s Glory

And so we exult (rejoice) in the hope (faith, anticipation, expectation) of the glory (honor, praise, worship, and intrinsic worth) of Almighty God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Our God always was, and always will be. And he is absolutely holy and righteous in all that he does. And he is the one who formed us in the wombs of our mothers. And he is the one who made salvation from sin possible for all of us who put our faith and hope in him to deliver us out of sin.

And 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).

[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; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; 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 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

The Peace of Christ

Based off of Colossians 3:1-17; Ephesians 5:19-20
An Original Work / October 31, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Let the word of Christ dwell in you,
As you teach with all wisdom,
Teaching one another to not
Think on earthly things;
Think instead on things above,
Where Christ sits with God, in love,
Saving us from all of our sins,
Cleansing us; made new within.

Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts,
As you sing songs unto Him;
Speak to one another with psalms,
Hymns, and spir’tual songs;
Always giving thanks to God,
In the name of Christ, His Son,
Who gave His life up for us all,
And gave us eternal life.

Let the love of Christ within you
Rule in your hearts; grace within,
Purifying you from your sin,
Make you whole within.
Forgive as the Lord forgave.
Show His kindness ev’ry day.
In word or deed, whate’er you do,
Glory give to Jesus Christ.

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Justified By Faith
Borrowed from “Peace with God”
An Original Work / April 8, 2026
Reposted on June 4, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

2 Thessalonians 2:10
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Truth, and the love of it, is something we receive, something we are given, if we accept it. But many fail in this aspect, and argue against it and dont believe it, and remain in the bondage of the adversary, the devil. We see that the “love of the truth” in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 KJV refers to a willing acceptance of it and also shows we must have a devotion to God’s truth, which is essential for salvation. We find many who claim they are seeking truth, but instead, when given it resist or with great vitriol contend against it. Paul tells us that there will be those who will perish because they refused to love the truth and thus be saved, so we need to pay attention on this. The phrase emphasizes active affection and commitment toward God’s truth, not merely intellectual acknowledgment.

The “truth” here refers to what is in Gods Word, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality of God’s righteousness, which brings salvation. The phrase emphasizes active affection and commitment toward God’s truth, not merely intellectual acknowledgment. To “love the truth” means to accept God’s Word sincerely and allow it to guide life decisions and aligning one’s heart with God’s revealed will. Those who do not love the truth are putting themselves in danger of perishing because they refuse the very means of salvation and are vulnerable to spiritual delusion. Truth we can know only because it has been revealed to us through the power of God, with the help of the Holy Spirit which Christ gives us.

Jacinta Lee said:

Do they accept other genres as well?

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We accept anything that falls in the category of "speculative fiction": Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fairy Tale, Superhero, etc.

We would not accept a gritty crime drama set in New York City, for example. A (less gritty) crime drama in an enchanted forest or far-flung planet, yes.

iluvatar5150 said:

And Trump’s brilliant plan was to remove the inspections altogether. And look where it got us.

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No, Trump could see that Iran had a clear path to a nuclear weapon. Two of the major flaws were the lack of permanence and the setup so that Iran could delay inspections. The United States was just one of many countries that were signatory to the Iranian agreement, and the rest, most importantly Iran, kept with the agreement. Trump was correct--look what Iran did.

Queen of Heaven, pray for us!

The Morning Offering is rooted in sacrificial theology. St. Paul exhorts Christians to offer themselves as a ‘living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God’ (Rom. 12:1).

The Morning Offering is the practical application of this command.

Shout out to Montse! She had been at EWTN about a year when I joined, and three months into my career there they launched In Depth, which I think was kind of her brainchild. It's been fun to see her role grow and expand with us, a couple years in she was promoted to President/COO of EWTN News and a lot of cool things have happened on her watch. She was one of the emcee's at NEC 2024 in Indianapolis, she cohosted our coverage of Francis' funeral and the Papal Conclave with Matthew Bunson and Fr. Petri right at St Peter's Square, she's filled in at anchor on ENN several times while we looked for a replacement for Tracy. Since I went remote a year and a half into my career there we haven't interacted face-to-face much, if at all, but I've worked with her directly several times both when she anchored In Depth and during the NEC.

What's cool about EWTN personalities is what you see on TV is how they are behind the scenes and she's no different. She's kind, faithful, and devoted to EWTNs mission. Which will fit well into her new role.

Eat your heart out Mike Lewis!

For reference:

The Sound of Silence:

[Verse 1]
Hello, darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

[Verse 2]
In restless dreams, I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

[Verse 3]
And in the naked light, I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
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"Fools," said I, "You do not know
Silence, like a cancer, grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops, fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

[Verse 5]
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence"

Pioneer3mm said:

It seems..Christian revival is sweeping in Netherlands.

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Active Christianity is strong, but nominal/cultural Christianity is diminishing fast - Islam is the fastest growing religion in The Netherlands; and even among young people. The pattern is very similar to other Western countries .. and the reasons are also similar: population growth comes from migration ONLY and migrants are predominantly Muslim, and the birth-rate among Muslims is substantially higher than among non-Muslims (the fact that polygamy is allowed among Muslims also contributes to that).

The growth of Islam doesn't come from voluntary conversions - that's a consistent pattern in history.

These Worship sessions in public places through Europe as organised by the 'Presence' organisation is wonderful and encouraging still. And the exposure of Muslims to Christianity in the West is also a massive opportunity for mission.

Aussie52 said:

Have a friend who is in theological seminary. He has a fellow student from a Middle Eastern country. As a Moslem, this guy saw Jesus in a dream, Jesus called him to commit his life to Him. He became fully saved and went out and preached the Gospel. The result was 10 years in prison. He is now studying for the ministry. God is indeed doing amazing things in the Middle East.

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Glory to God in all things!

has gone worldwide, the end of summer last year in the USA, over 2 or 3 million were saved. I am having memory problems. In warm areas the revival in parks continued making it about 6 million last year. So, far this year in the USA, we have already gone over a million.

Prayers for the Lord to lay His healing hands upon you.

Albert Mohler Revises SBC Amendment on Women Preaching Ahead of 2026 Annual Meeting

On Tuesday, Dr. Albert Mohler provided clarification to the Truth & Unity Amendment he plans to propose during the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) annual meeting next week.

Last month, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary announced plans to propose a motion to amend the SBC Constitution to clarify women’s preaching and leadership roles in SBC churches.

However, after receiving feedback and before formally proposing the motion, Mohler revised the amendment by deleting the words “such as” and replacing them with “specifically.”

“I want to come back to speak to you about the motion I intend to bring to the 2026 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in order to amend the SBC Constitution for an act of convictional unity to say this is where we stand,” he said in a video. “We also need the efficiency of having really clear language in our constitution that expresses that conviction. We did this a generation ago on LGBTQ issues and that has really helped the SBC. I think similarly we need to do this.”

Continued below.

Medicaid or Medicare Advantage will cover vitamins. Im assuming youre on one of them since youre on disability. So if you request your doctors to prescribe them, you should be fine. But make sure your insurance will cover it, although most do.

How DARE women express thoughts or opinions!

As long as Hezbollah exists, getting upset at Israel for attacking them and then framing the article like Israel is going after the literal country of Lebanon is insane. Hezbollah might have a grip in the Lebanese government, but they act completely independent of that government when it comes to military issues. So i dont conflate the two.

So to sum up, I think Trump is wrong. Israel should be able to exist without constantly getting missiles launched at them from various positions because of Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has installed a dozen bronze statues commemorating Revolutionary War figures in Freedom Plaza across the street from the White House to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Freedom Plaza, which has often featured as a popular location for political protests, now features 12 soldiers "arranged in a civic tableau commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence," according to a statement from DOI published last week.

A statue was also installed on April 25 of Caesar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware. Some mainstream media outlets framed the statue commemoration by noting Rodney's status as a slaveowner. His equestrian likeness was removed from the prominent Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware, amid the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

Continued below.

Maybe they just want to telecommute?

A USDA spokesperson also attributed the bed bugs’ reemergence to employee negligence. The spokesperson declined to explain why employees have not been offered another chance to work remotely.

“Not allowing employees to telework while the office is infested with bed bugs is an unnecessary significant risk to U.S. cattle health, with experts dealing with the NWS situation forced to go home if they don’t want to get bed bugs,” one employee said."

From Notus Article.

johansen said:

yes this is basically continuous.

my grandpa started out as a blacksmith shoeing horses, ended up drilling oil wells later in life, then growing raisin grapes. He lived long enough to see mechanical harvesters replace mexican labor.

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I remember an article about that from The Wall Street Journal. It was introducing mechanical harvesters and noted the cost savings and their ability to work continually. If memory serves it was the nineties and I saved the article and knew it was significant and here we are.

The workforce has undergone many changes. Once upon a time people worked for one company and retired until they didn't. Unions and pensions were the norm until they weren't. The cost of living was comparable the wages now it isn't. Entry-level positions were plentiful now they're outsourced overseas or to Ai. If you look at our history things are getting worse not better for the majority.

~bella

essentialsaltes said:

Santos is being investigated for 'insider trading' on Kalshi.

He made bets on whether he himself would attend Trump's SOTU speech.

The day before, he tweeted that he would be there.

The day of, he tweeted that he was watching from an airport tv.

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throw away the key

Of course, Trump will pardon him.

Richard T said:

I have to say that I wrestle with the question of praying against large weather events. How can you know what God's will is and what the consequences will be? If you look only at the event, they do have potential for human suffering. If you look at the aftermath, sometimes you see flailing people clinging to God as the event profoundly puts more of God in people's lives.
Here is a historical article detailing the Protestant response to the dust bowl in the USA. The Dust Bowl, the Depression, and American Protestant Responses to Environmental Devastation | Church History | Cambridge Core
Is it Satan only causing events and God restoring many after it is over? Or is God actively taking part in events such as Noah's flood, knowing that the human condition is so far gone that only such drastic measures can allow the human race to even survive?
I will say too, that in Hebrews 11, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
Did Noah have faith that he could pray against the coming flood? No he had faith to prepare. Did Joseph and Mary have faith that Jesus could survive the genocide of male babies in those times, or was their faith in relocating based on revelation they received? I am not saying the promises of God do not extend to individual believers, or that intercessory prayer is not a powerful tool to mitigate the effects of harmful events. But how far this goes is ultimately God's will and perhaps can only be prayed or declared to be changed by God and the faith that he gives to believers that hear his voice. I certainly mean no harm in airing my thoughts on such an important topic. I applaud anonymous9090 for the zeal, devotion and faith to bring up these concerns to our attention. Usually I can pray right along with no reservation, but sometimes I personally can just pray God's will or such weighty events.

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Just FYI,

Abraham's Intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah​

This is one of the most profound and moving passages in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, found in Genesis 18:16-33. It is a masterclass in respectful, humble, yet persistent negotiation/advocacy.

The Narrative Context

• God reveals to Abraham His intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah due to their great wickedness
• Abraham's nephew Lot and his family reside in Sodom
• Abraham, deeply concerned, approaches God in an extraordinarily deferential yet bold manner

Abraham's Incremental Intercession Abraham employs a brilliant descending negotiation strategy, each time prefacing his plea with profound humility:

Notable Rhetorical/Theological Elements

• Abraham repeatedly acknowledges his unworthiness: "I am nothing but dust and ashes" (Gen 18:27)
• He appeals to God's own divine justice: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen 18:25) - arguably one of the most powerful rhetorical questions in all of scripture
• He stops at 10, perhaps assuming Lot's immediate family would constitute that number
• His tone is consistently conciliatory, deferential, and non-confrontational throughout

The Outcome Ultimately Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but God remembered Abraham's intercession (Genesis 19:29) and extracted Lot and his family before the destruction, directly honoring the spirit of Abraham's plea even though 10 righteous were not found.

Theological Significance This passage is foundational in establishing the concept of intercessory prayer across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, demonstrating that righteous advocacy on behalf of others is not only permitted but honored by God.