Figuring out what we want to know about ourselves is a pretty good way to figure out what we should be doing during Lent.

“What are you doing for Lent?”

It’s a good question. Parents often ask their children. Friends ask each other. If we haven’t been preparing ourselves during the “pre-Lent” period found in many Catholic rites, we may well be asking ourselves this right now as Ash Wednesday looms. Is it the right question, though?

It does not seem that it is the wrong question. After all, the Catholic Tradition is replete with encouragement to do things in Lent. During this season of preparation to celebrate the Redemption that was won on the Cross and made visible on the Third Day, the Church bids us to increase three essential tasks of Christian life: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. How specifically we will approach these tasks is indeed a good question.

There are many ways to increase our prayer, give up gifts to focus on the Giver, and support the work of the Church in nourishing bodies and souls. There are many different methods of prayer, not all of which fit everyone. St. John Henry Newman liked to say that dogma has to do with truth, but devotion has to do with taste. Some forms of prayer are better at keeping or drawing our attention than others.

So, too, with fasting. Many of us could do with some strictures on our food intake, but it’s easy to take on too strict a fast when we aren’t ready, abandon it in discouragement, and stop fasting at all. We also might need to practice other kinds of fasts: from too much entertainment, social media, or perhaps even having the last word or defending ourselves. With regard to almsgiving, not only our treasure, but our time and talent can serve a multitude of good causes.

Continued below.

(fired again, at least temporarily)​

Trump can remove the head of watchdog agency for now, appeals court says​

A federal appeals court is temporarily allowing President Donald Trump to remove the head of a watchdog agency, overturning a lower court’s decision from this weekend.

In a two-page ruling on Wednesday, a panel of judges on the D.C. Circuit granted an emergency stay of the lower court’s order, allowing the president to remove Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger from his role running an independent watchdog agency tasked with protecting federal employees.

John Fetterman:"A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message," Democrats showed their true colors and just reinforced the fact that most Democrats are out of touch with the American people.

Peace in Christ.

With our open face we are to behold as in a “glass” or mirror the glory of the Lord, we are to reflect His glory to those who are on the outside world (who are in deep darkness) who shall see our face that cannot be hid (unlike Moses who put a vail upon his face to hide it).

They shall see His glory shining in our face…the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ that we reflect/shine towards them.

2Co 3:17-18 KJV
(17) Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
(18) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

For the “earth” became without form (without the form of Christ) and void (void of the knowledge of the glory of God.)

Darkness is upon the face of the deep as the people on the outside are in deep spiritual darkness. They cannot see the face of Christ (the form of Christ)….and they are void of the knowledge of the glory of God.

Our sins have hid His face from us so that the outside people of this world (the “earth”) cannot see His glory nor the form of Christ in us. We are not reflecting His light to them that are in darkness...deep spiritual darkness.

Isa 59:2 KJV
(2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

The earth became without form and void. But the Spirit of God moves upon the FACE of the waters….and God said “let there be light.” God is light. He gives us His knowledge.

We…His people…with open face are then to reflect the light of the knowledge of the glory of God to them because darkness is upon the face of the deep.

Gen 1:1-4 KJV
(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
(2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
(3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God SAW the light that it was good.

The people of the outside world (the “earth”) will also SEE the light shining in us as we shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father. The believers (who will then see that the light is good) shall then be divided from the unbelievers (the darkness that will not comprehend it).

(4) And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

The “earth” is currently in “gross darkness”….darkness is upon the face of the deep ...as there is no light of Christ shining to them from His people.

We must “arise” and “shine” to them. We must arise out of the dead man-based churches so that we may shine.

Isa 60:1-4 KJV
(1) Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

The outside world (the earth) shall then SEE His glory upon us….and then they shall come to our light. Let there be light...as darkness is upon the faces of the deep.

(2) For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
(3) And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
(4) Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

Everyone that will “see” the Son and believes on Him shall have an age-lasting life…and He will raise him up (keep him standing up) TO….not “at” but TO…the last day of this age.

Joh 6:40
(40) And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting (age-lasting) life: and I will raise him up at (TO…TO…TO) the last day.

But we MUST first come out from among the man-based churches that are desolate of His glory. Their sins hide His face so that the outside world (the earth) is deep darkness. They cannot see His light.

Isa 52:11 KJV
(11) Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

We bear the vessels of the LORD. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. We are to GIVE the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ to others. With open face do we reflect His glory and light to them.

2Co 4:6-11 KJV
(6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
(7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
(8) We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
(9) Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

His life manifests in our "earthen vessels"....in our bodies...in our flesh...so that those who are in deep darkness can see it. They shall "see" the Son of man...the manifestation of the life of Jesus in our earthen vessels as bear about the "vessels of the Lord."

(10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
(11) For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

soldier of light said:

Are you saying that we must be divided from catholicism? If so I agree. That's my point. Get rid of things that cause unnecessary divisions. But people are not willing to part with those things.

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There is plenty of division among protestants.

FireDragon76 said:

Godly love does not respect national boundaries, but also extends to strangers and foreigners.

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Amen!

Lukaris said:

Wow, i have watched several videos of Dr Veniamin & none disappointed. Some are a bit deep for my mental pay scale.

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he was awesome in class and still helps me out

This article snaped me into a new reality of many. We need to put on the brakes, and I hope they are thinking about this, especially with the ME countries in their house-cleaning extremism.

JohnB445 said:

I did not see the Bible talk about an afterlife for pets, but I find believing there is one, and that Christians will one day be reunited with their pets where the pet can also live for eternity to be very comforting.

Or could it be that after any animal dies that's the end of their life, and the animal doesn't even remember anything or has any consciousness at all after dying.

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I think its only a sin to believe something that's not stated in the bible if it goes against the core teachings and character of Christ. Isa 8:20

God is a God of love, and He created animals out of love for man. While not stated, I too believe that God might reunite us with our beloved pets. Hopefully, we all can be there at the side of Christ and find out soon enough.

RocksInMyHead said:

Yes, the web-hosted and app versions, run by a company based in China on Chinese servers, are going to toe the party line. Absolutely no one should be shocked by that. However, if you host a DeepSeek iteration on your own hardware, it will answer those questions without issue - in other words, the censorship isn't built into the model, but rather the front-end interface, whether that's an app, a web app, or a webpage.

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I'm seeing mixed reports about that.





DeepSeek's AI assistant, powered by both its V3 and R1 models, is accessible via browser or app -- but those services require communication with the company's China-based servers, which creates a security risk.

As part of offering R1, Perplexity claimed it removed at least some of the censorship built in to the model.

Users who download R1 and run it locally on their devices will avoid that issue but still run into censorship of certain topics determined by the Chinese government, as that is built-in by default.


So it sounds like it mitigates security risks, but not all of the censorship concerns.

Michie said:

Pastor blasts casting choice as 'blasphemy

A black LGBT-identified British actress best known for her role in “Wicked” has been tapped to play the role of Jesus in an upcoming production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Cynthia Erivo, 38, is no stranger to the longtime Broadway hit: she previously portrayed Mary Magdalene in an all-female version of “Superstar” in 2020.

But the Feb. 18 Hollywood Bowl announcement that Erivo will portray the Son of God in the musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber has drawn criticism from pastors and Christian audiences alike.

Continued below.

'Wicked' star, self-identified bisexual actress Cynthia Erivo cast as the Son of God in 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

A black LGBT-identified British actress best known for her role in Wicked has been tapped to play the role of the Son of God in an upcoming production of Jesus Christ Superstar

www.christianpost.com

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That's gonna be a big flop at the box office, it's apparent that the left doesn't get it

I wonder if they sit back and question why the major media is giving the axe to all the hate Trump superstars

CNN: Brian Stelter, Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon, Jim Acosta "Gone"?

MSNBC: Joy Reid Gone, Rachel Maddow staff writers "Gone" and word is she's covering the first 100 days of Trumps presidency, and in May she will be the next to be shifted out of prime time?

Can't wait to see Whoopi Goldberg, Joyce Behar, and the "Five" get the axe

BNR32FAN said:

Not not just one topic but yes I have also debated about the gift of the Holy Spirit as well and explained how being sealed with the Holy Spirit isn’t a guarantee of salvation according to Ephesians 4:30 to Ephesians 5:1-6

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Thankful, the OSAS is quite a small faction.

Michie said:

A new Wyoming law protects teachers and other state officials from being required to use trans-identified pronouns as teachers residing in other states have faced consequences for not using the preferred names and pronouns of their students.

Wyoming’s Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed Senate File 77 into law Thursday. Upon taking effect, the measure became known as Senate Enrolled Act No. 23. Gordon’s approval follows both chambers of the Republican-controlled state legislature overwhelmingly approving the bill.

The legislation prohibits the state and its political subdivisions from "requiring the use of preferred pronouns."

Continued below.

New Wyoming law protects teachers from having to use preferred pronouns

A new Wyoming law protects teachers and other state officials from being required to use trans-identified pronouns as teachers residing in other states have faced consequences for not using the

www.christianpost.com

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Great!

The shoe is on the other foot now, back to normalcy

Trump MAGA, America First!

Michie said:

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's transgender-identifying son Xavier, who now goes by the name Vivian Jenna Wilson, recently criticized The Christian Post for publishing an op-ed that referred to him with masculine pronouns.

"The Christian Post just published an article calling me a Trans-Identified Son who's just a tragic little gay boy. Love thy neighbor right," Wilson wrote Friday on Threads. "I am unamused."

The Feb. 26 op-ed, titled "The tragic story of Elon Musk and his trans-identified son," was written by contributor Joseph Sciambra, who argued that Musk's assertion his son was "born gay" is unsubstantiated and likely a means of deflecting from his own neglectful parenting.

Continued below.

Elon Musk's transgender-identifying son blasts Christian Post for 'misgendering'

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk s transgender-identifying son Xavier, who now goes by the name Vivian Jenna Wilson, recently criticized The Christian Post for publishing an op-ed that referred to him with

www.christianpost.com

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Sounds like the liberals are upset a Elon's DOGE uncovering of liberal fraud in government

Looks like president Trumps canceling DEI in federal government has hit a nerve

Trump MAGA, America First!

BNR32FAN said:

I apologize for my accusations against you brother I shouldn’t have been so quick to respond impolitely. Please accept my sincere apology, I didn’t know that the RCC had a different definition for the word. I should’ve just politely pointed out the discrepancy in the definition and allowed you to respond before making accusations against you.

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Thank you for your apology but I did not take offense as we were taking past eachother

Glad we saw that

Crush it, destroy it, yank it out by the roots. Send it back to the deep pit of hades from which it came.

They're in self destruct mode. They finally managed to stage their own Capitol anarchy to where the Sergeant and Arms had to be called to subdue them. And these weren't angry civilians. They were the Democrat senate and congress. The leaders of the Democrat party. Jan 6th, meet Mar 4th.

Vambram said:

None of your fears are coming true.

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The poster said this, "Tariffs will raise prices on imported goods." The fact is even before the tariffs were initiated, prices already have risen:
"Prices rose along border ahead of Trump's tariffs — now disruption looms"
So yes, what the poster said was literally true.

RileyG said:

No. the point is comparing someone's color to someone's political views or choice of partner isn't the same.

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I didn't compare skin color to political views or choice of partner. I compared discrimination based on skin color to discrimination based on political views, along with discrimination based on the discriminator's religious preferences regarding someone else's choice of partner.

Granted, per SCOTUS, all are perfectly legal and constitutional now, so there's nothing to worry about. People are free to discriminate however they wish.

-- A2SG, just be careful when discriminating against MAGA....their feelings might get hurt......

If MAGA doesn't like outrage and protest, they should stop supporting a man who lies incessantly and spreads false information to try to gaslight and manipulate us.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Went now on a spending spree.
One went this way, one went that,
But in truth they have one pact.

Two in one with different stories
Stepping on their territories,
But the same with different colors,
One is small, the other fuller.

Two in one, they look the same,
Yet to other they do blame,
Give appearance fight to right,
When together they take flight.

Double-dealing, two in one,
Work together world to run,
Bring to order all the people
Making them to be their sheeple.

Differences all for show now
So to them the people will bow,
Give their loyalty, give their praise,
While we go through their next phase.

All deception, keep them guessing
Who they next will be addressing.
All in chorus, they abhor us,
While they act as they are for us.

Don’t believe them, test their stories,
For in truth it’s for their glory,
Waiting for that magic moment
When they’ll try get our enrolment.

Don’t be simple, easy target,
Don’t eat of their all new banquet,
Test the waters, see what matters,
Don’t be caught in empty chatter.

An Original Work / March 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Yarddog said:

So, you just want to allow Putin free access to take all the former Soviet states and murder millions.

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He doesn't have free access to all former Soviet countries. Mind you he will if this war keeps going. He doesn't even have access to all of Ukraine. Why then should this war go on? Ukraine has lost. How many more dead Ukranians will satisfy you?

We in the US can look forward to avocados and strawberries costing alot more, thanks to Trump.

RileyG said:

LOL!

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Corporate personhood is not a laughing matter.

You have a right for your opinion.

I only mentioned those two other men because they indeed been accused of sexual assault.

Please be careful about how you describe public figures. It can be considered flaming per the forum rules.

Blessings