Stephen3141 said:

When saving lives leads to losing your own

The increasing suicide rates among physicians highlight the urgent need to support doctors' mental health and restore the ethical foundation of medicine, which has been undermined by profit-driven business interests.

kevinmd.com

This article brings up some of the trends in healthcare that force
physicians to process many patients, in order to fit into a model
of "profitable" healthcare.

This "for profit" model of healthcare, forced physicians into poor
option, with regard to the Hippocratic Oath that they swore to uphold.

And, patients, suffer a heavier burden, in a number of ways.

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Doctor suicide is now a thing. Doctor early retirement is also a thing.

Michie said:

At 9.47 a.m. on Easter Monday we heard the words ‘con profondo dolore’ from a cardinal standing in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. Two hours earlier, Pope Francis ‘è tornato alla casa del Padre’ – ‘had returned to the house of the Father’. Most people won’t have noticed a curious detail: the cardinal was speaking Italian with a pronounced Irish brogue.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the papal ‘Camerlengo’, was born in a Dublin suburb. Or, as a tabloid put it: ‘Interim Pope is a bloke called Kevin from Dublin.’ That’s an exaggeration, but the Camerlengo does occupy centre stage when the See of Peter falls vacant. He confirms that the Pope is dead. Traditionally, he would tap his head with a silver hammer, but now they use an electrocardiogram. Cardinal Farrell sealed Francis’s apartment; he’s organising the funeral and conclave.

Not everyone is happy about this. Farrell, who has spent most of his career in the United States, is distrusted by many in the Church. He has been accused of lying about what he knew about the allegations against his friend, the recently deceased Theodore McCarrick. McCarrick was defrocked by Francis in 2019 after he was exposed as a serial predator of young men – an open secret in the Vatican and the American church for decades.

Continued below.

https://archive.md/2025.04.24-111648/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-extraordinary-scale-of-the-crisis-facing-the-next-pope/

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Damian gets it.

Last conclave ex-cardinal McCarrick served as a kingmaker, helping secure the election of pope Francis. This time around his ghost seems it will haunt the new conclave too. Cardinals Ferrell and Parolin have ties too close to the now dead McCarrick, but they aren't the only ones by a long shot.

One can hope and pray that this conclave will not be manipulated, as was the last one, by the nefarious ex-cardinal McCarrick. But since so many cardinals got to be cardinals because of kingmaker McCarrick and pope Francis made king by McCarrick, it will be a moment of astounding grace if it come out otherwise.

I guess we can pray. Not much else is going to have an effect.

If Jesus were on earth today, he would have to hide more often than he did, in the first century, from masses of people trying to kill him, because they hated him... not because of any wrong he did, but because he said things they do not like.
Matthew 12:14; Matthew 14:5; Matthew 25:3, 4; Mark 11:18; John 5:18;
John 15:25 - But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’

The masses of people seeking to kill Jesus, would not be world rulers, who would find no fault in him, but the masses of people trying to kill Jesus would be religious leaders, and their millions of supporters.
John 19:4
Luke 23:13-16 - ... Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us. As you can see, He has done nothing deserving of death. ...

Matthew 16:21

Foremost among these would be supporters of Christianity today, who would feel threatened by Jesus' words against their teachings, and hypocrisy. Matthew 15:3-14;

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4:55

John 1:1 is definitely God the Son Who became flesh as Jesus Christ ( see John 1:1-4, John 1:14-18, see also Colossians 1:15-19, Isaiah 48:12-16).Still, the Gospel of John is the most focused on the Trinity as evident in chapters 14, 15, & 16.

FaithT said:

It’s his favorite subject, or so it seems.

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It’s just odd.

JimR-OCDS said:

My wife and myself usually watch it on EWTN as well.

We've been to the Shrine of Divine Mercy often, but the drive is getting to be too much at our age.
So, EWTN telecast does a good job.

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Do you have anyone to bring you the physical Eucharist? I know it’s a ministry in some parishes.

Glory to God!

(OSV News) — Amid papal mourning, an annual celebration of the Divine Mercy reminds the faithful that Easter joy triumphs over tears, with thousands marking the upcoming feast through liturgy, prayer and art.

Observed on the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday — which in 2025 falls on April 27 — was established in 2000 by St. John Paul II during his canonization of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a 20th-century Polish mystic.

As a Sister of Our Lady of Mercy, the unassuming saint shared how she enjoyed numerous visions in which Christ urged her to promote devotion to his mercy through various prayers, an annual feast, and an image featuring rays of blood and water issuing from his heart.

This year, however, the solemnity will take place as the church and the world grieve the loss of Pope Francis, who died April 21, and whose funeral will take place the day prior to it.

“It’s kind of a dichotomy of emotions,” admitted Father Chris Alar, provincial superior of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

‘Called to celebrate and rejoice’​

Continued below.

Obviously ISIS is going to demonise anything and everything related to Christianity. But some of their strongest criticism was aimed at the new Syrian government after the fall of Assad. I think the West should be doing all it can to work with Ahmed-al-Sharaa, who I think is sincere about changing the Syrian ethos. He might have been a "Jihadist" or labelled as such by the Western media and governments, but if we'd been born in Assad's Syria, which side would we have taken?

From the quoted article in Michie's post above -

Recently, ISIS released a propaganda video denouncing the transitional Syrian government under Ahmed al-Sharaa, accusing it of apostasy and complicity with foreign interests. The Islamic State’s narrative targets former jihadist allies now integrated into Syria’s post-Assad military and political structures, attempting to exploit ideological divisions and foment internal dissent.

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I think a strong Syria would have a lot to do with Middle Eastern security in the long run. Their people have suffered enough.

Editor's Note: On April 27, 2025, Cardinal Pietro Parolin served as principal celebrant for the second Novendiales Mass following Pope Francis' funeral. The following homily was delivered on Divine Mercy Sunday in St. Peter's Square during the Jubilee of Teenagers, as published by the Holy See Press Office.

Dear brothers and sisters,

The risen Jesus appears to his disciples while they are in the Upper Room where they have fearfully shut themselves in, with the doors locked (Jn 20:19). Their state of mind is disturbed and their hearts are full of sadness, because the Master and Shepherd they had followed, leaving everything behind, has been nailed to the cross. They experienced terrible things and feel orphaned, alone, lost, threatened and helpless.

The opening image that the Gospel offers us on this Sunday can also well represent the state of mind of all of us, of the Church, and of the entire world. The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us. The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: we are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus.

Continued below.

Lady Bug said:

Well, it is where a certain person's mission began in the 1500s, but that could be just a coincidence.

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Or Germany became more liberal? Who knows?

How embarrassing! May God have mercy on her!

Welcome!

jim456c said:

Anyway many of the NDE crowd says specifically that people actually agree to come down here and live lives and that they do very specific planning as to what experiences they have. < snip> Thousands have come back from NDEs and recounted this.

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I have read a reasonable amount on NDEs over the years, reflecting the spectrum of views on their significance. Yet I have never seen any reference to what you describe. I could easily have missed one or two instances, but you refer to this idea being reported by thousands. I am very sceptical of this claim. Do you have some citations that would support it?

Jesus told a parable about a nobleman who went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. He gave 10 minas to 10 slaves and told them to “Do business with this until I come back.” When he returned he ordered the slaves to come to him and to report back to him what they did with the minas he gave to them (see Luke 19:11-15).


When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-honoring faith in him, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, he grants us with salvation from sin and with eternal life with God. And he bestows on us spiritual gifts and ministries which he intends for us to participate in for his purposes and for his glory. And he instructs us in the ways of the Lord and with regard to his purpose for us, that we must die with him to sin and now follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living.

And one day he is going to return, and we are going to have to give an account for what we did with what he gave us. And if we followed him in obedience, and we did as he said for us to do, in practice, and if we put sin to death, by the Spirit, and no longer made sin our practice, we will be rewarded with salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But if sin is what we practiced, and not obedience to the Lord, and if we lived to please the flesh, and not God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

But this parable isn’t just about when Jesus will return and we will be judged by him according to our works. For in the parable, the servants who were faithful to their master in putting what he gave them to good use, to where it increased, they were given more by their master. And they were given even greater responsibilities. So it is with us. If we put to good use what we are given by the Lord, by doing with what we are given what is the will of God, and what is pleasing to him, then he will give us more to do for him.

But if we are lazy and slothful, and selfish and prideful, and if we are only thinking of ourselves, and what we want to do with our lives, and so we neglect to submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives, and so we do not obey him, in practice, and so we continue living in sin, and so we neglect to put to good use the talents and the gifts he has provided for us, which we are to share with others, then what we have had provided for us will be taken away from us, and in the end we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, we cannot just profess faith in Jesus and then keep on living in sin and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, and then expect to receive salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And we cannot expect to receive anything from the Lord if we take what he has provided already and we just bury it in the ground, and we do not make good use of what we have been given. For Jesus died to put our sins to death with him so we will now die to sin and live for him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living.

So, we need to take this to heart. Here is a summary of Romans 6:1-23:

By God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. Thus, we are no longer to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification and its end is eternal life with God.

And here is a summary of Luke 9:23-26 and Matthew 7:21-23:

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

[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 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

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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Because You Have Been Faithful
An Original Work / April 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

prodromos said:

You left out our other Fr. Matthew and iconographer @nutroll

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he’s probably the better one to talk to

If there was a single item that connected God to the nation of Israel, it was the temple. It was supposed to be a picture of things in heaven, it was supposed to be the means to fulfill the law God had given the nation. In a way, the cleaning of the temple was a revolutionary call. If people had joined with Jesus in repudiating their practices, there might have been hope that they could have received their earthly kingdom.

The priesthood had become a organizational system with monumental generational inertia. To be able to break free and return to what God had instructed them would have required them to value God more than men.

Mat_15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

We can see the sadness Jesus had for those who were so integrated into the routine of their daily lives that there was no room for thoughts of God.

Mat_23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

I would urge caution in the temptation to look down on Israel considering the deafness of Israel to the words and actions of Jesus. The takeaway here is to evaluate ourselves to gauge the degree to which our own habits have grown to divert us from the life Jesus would have us live.

As I was reading this passage of Scripture this morning, I got stopped at this point: “Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd.” I believe this is a picture of the spiritual situation we are in here in America, where I live. Many people today are not able to see who Jesus really is because the crowd (the majority) is not presenting him as he really is, in truth. But they are presenting a false impression of who he is in order to appease human flesh and to not offend the ungodly of this world.

But Zaccheus was persistent, and he did not let the crowd deter him from seeing who Jesus was. So he climbed to a higher place in order to see the Lord. And that is what we have to do, too. We cannot rely on the image other people give us of Jesus, which may be distorted, but we must climb higher in order to be able to see him. We must get into the Scriptures ourselves (older translations preferred) to see what they say about Jesus and what all he was about, and what he taught, so we get the truth.

And when Zaccheus climbed up into this tree in order to see Jesus, Jesus looked up, saw him, and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

Now, according to the Scriptures, not one of us can come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God draws us to him, i.e. unless God the Father persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. So, for Zaccheus to seek out Jesus, as he did, God the Father must have been drawing him to the Lord. And Zaccheus then sought out the Lord, even against some obstacles that could have possibly deterred him from that.

And Satan is going to throw all kinds of obstacles in our paths, hoping that we will not respond to the persuasion of our Lord, and that we will not persevere in seeking out the Lord in getting to know who he really is. And these kinds of obstacles are all over the place – on social media, in these institutional market-driven “churches” (businesses), in “Christian” song lyrics, in “Christian” movies, TV shows, cartoons, some “Christian” memes and devotions, and in many modern-day preachers’ sermons and books.

So, if we really want to seek the Lord, to get to know him intimately, to know who he really is and why he died on that cross, we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate context. For many lies are being spread about our Lord, and about his purpose in giving his life up for us on that cross, and what it means to be “saved” from our sins. So, this is where we really get to know the Lord intimately, when we let him “stay at our house,” and we persist in getting to know him and in following after him.

Now, when Zaccheus listened to Jesus, and he did what the Lord told him to do, and when he received the Lord gladly, he immediately faced criticism from the crowd. And when we hear the voice of the Lord speaking to us, and we listen to him, and we follow him where he leads us in doing what he calls us to do and to be, “the crowds” will criticize us, too. And we will be mocked, falsely accused, thought crazy, persecuted, rejected, cast aside as unwanted, and completely disregarded by many, even by other professing “Christians.”

But Zaccheus did not let the opinions of others deter him from following Jesus. That day he met Jesus, and he repented of any known sins, and he decided to make restitution for any wrong he committed. That day his heart was changed away from a life of sin to a life of one who desired to obey the Lord with his life and to no longer walk in sin. And Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” And we will have salvation when we give it all up to follow Jesus with our lives in surrender to his will for our lives.


But our salvation is not just forgiveness of all sins so that we can go to heaven when we die. If our salvation is of God, we will die with Christ to sin, and we will now walk with him in obedience to his commands, by his grace, in his power. For if sin is still what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, then we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For Jesus died to put our sins to death with him so we will now die to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, in the power of God, by his grace.

[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 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

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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To See Who Jesus Is
An Original Work / April 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Though it is just my opinion, I have read "Death to China" as well as books by Navarro and Ravi Batra that argue against the free trading system as we know it. So here is my list of purposes I see in current Trump policy and whther it is a disaster. I offer commentary on Trump policies and better paths that could be taken as well as some advantages.

Purposes of tariffs
(1) Raise revenue
Good except it is not the most efficient method, as there is a deadweight loss. Plus, it hurts the poor the most.
(2) Try to eliminate the US. trade deficit,
Excellent goal but it will reduce USA GDP overall. Notice how economists are already lowering growth expectations?
(3) Increase security by making stuff in the USA,
Excellent goal and totally legitimate for some products.
(4) Bring jobs back.
Great goal but export jobs will drop. Most companies too will wait, because the next President will reverse the course.
(5) Remove non-tariff barriers
Good, we need to punish those who abuse the trade relationship with illegitimate barriers.
(6) Create a system of trading that is dependent on Trump
This is bad for even Trump because it will open him to criticism. It is bad for the USA too as it means he has power over every industry, can cut deals to punish or help industries as he pleases.

So a disaster? For the most part yes. Getting away from Chinese dependence is a good thing, Russia too would be helpful but Trump is giving them a pass.

What could be better?
Target industries for future tax cuts or greater tariff protection for onshoring factories in the USA. Do this for drugs, steel, shipbuilding and all defense related industries. Do a cost/benefit analysis for the most amount of jobs onshored for the least amount of dollars. This picks the most jobs at the lowest cost.
Meanwhile, punish the enemies as historically the USA has done with high tariffs. No Normal trade relations for those deemed enemies. Punish in a reciprocal way all those with significant non tariff barriers. Use the WTO whenever possible.
Phase in tariffs to at most ten percent to reduce the trade deficit. Give industry a chance to react.
Be humble to our allies, just say things are tight and we desire a greater balance of trade. Treat all industries objectively and never try to leak or move the markets so much that insider trading can be lucrative for anyone.
Accept trade imbalances with the less developed nations that are USA allies. Historically, the USA has done this. Better to give a hand up than a hand out.

Advantages:
No cliff of tariffs or need for immediate negotiations.
No double-mindedness or flip-flopping
No favoritism
Less chance for insider trading
Less offensive to allies
Less interruptive to industry and markets
Helps growth in less developed nations

Valletta said:

You should scan them and save them on the Internet. My aunt's house burned down, she was on the Oakland/Berkeley border, and she was at church and they would not let her return to her home. So EVERYTHING was gone except the clothes she was wearing and what was in her purse. So too one of the big banks almost went under due to a fire at headquarters, they had a disaster recovery plan but left it at headquarters.

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Yes, something I had not thought of to keep on the cloud or save in a email draft.
Serial numbers on some stuff is good too. When I was younger I had a guitar stolen among other things, it was 20 years later that i found the paper I wrote the serial number on. Such access is critical, too bad my chances of recovery were long gone.

Hazelelponi said:

We are released from the works of the law in Christ, now we worship in Spirit and in Truth (all we do - all of our acts - is worship).

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To be critical of the Law is to be critical of God. Works of the Law, seems to be a saying of Paul, but following Christ, the Pharisees made the Law a heavy load. Since Christ the new church is the priesthood, but God does not change and still requires of Israel today what he always required, primarily to enter in-to the covenant. My understanding is if one does not have the Law of God, one will have the mark of the beast.

In an age obsessed with scanning, measuring and proving, the Shroud invites modern minds to reconsider the Resurrection — and the God behind it.


“Know this first of all, that in the last days, scoffers will come with scoffing, living according to their own desires.” — 2 Peter 3:3

It is perhaps the most famous piece of cloth in the world. For centuries, the Shroud of Turin has captivated the imaginations of the devout, the skeptical, and those unable to find the remote to turn off the History Channel during Easter Week.

Draped in mystery, shrouded in controversy and clothed in scandals, it has been the subject of endless debate. Is it a medieval forgery? Or is it the actual burial Shroud of our Lord and Savior?

Continued below.

A Prayer to Our Blessed Mother - Padre Pio Press




I KNEEL BEFORE YOU, O Virgin Mother of God, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the compassionate mother of all who love you, cry to you, seek you, and trust in you. I plead for the Church at a time of great trial and danger for her. As you came to the rescue of the Church at Tepeyac in 1531, please intercede for the Sacred College of Cardinals gathered in Rome to elect the Successor of Saint Peter, Vicar of Christ, Shepherd of the Universal Church.

At this tumultuous time for the Church and for the world, plead with your Divine Son that the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, His Mystical Body, will humbly obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Through your intercession, may they choose the most worthy man to be Christ’s Vicar on earth. With you, I place all my trust in Him Who alone is our help and salvation. Amen.

Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, have mercy upon us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Virgin Mother of God and Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us!

Card. Raymond Burke

Day by day, and hour by hour,
Walking with Him, in His power,
Following Him where’re He leads,
Daily on His Word do feed.

Jesus Savior, King of kings,
I owe Him my everything.
He gave His life up for me
When He died on Calvary.

I no longer walk in sin,
For my sins He has forgiven,
Put to death with Him on cross.
Now He is my Lord, my Boss.

Called of Him to serve Him true,
Life in Him daily renew,
Walking with Him day by day,
Read my Bible, kneel and pray.

Called in service to relay
What He’s teaching me each day
From my times with him in Word.
Not from this am I deterred.

Love my Jesus; Love my Lord.
Living for Him I adore.
Live to please Him, go His way,
Not let my life from Him stray.

An Original Work / April 26, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love