‘On Good Soil’ offers fresh perspective on connecting with others and the land God created.

With a title like On Good Soil, you might expect EWTN’s new series on homesteading to feature a lot of talk about living off the land and learning to farm. What you probably wouldn’t expect is a deep dive into how people in our modern society connect – or don’t connect – and how the teachings of the Catholic Church, including St. Thomas Aquinas, can help all of us rethink how we live, even in a big city.

The five-part series airs 5:30 p.m. ET, Monday, July 7, through Friday, July 11, with an encore at 2:30 a.m. the following morning.

Continued below.

Tech mogul's new political movement comes one day after Trump signed $3.3T 'big, beautiful bill' into law​

Elon Musk says the two-party system is broken, and he just launched a new political party to prove it.

On Saturday, Musk announced on X, the social media platform he owns, the formation of the "America Party," calling it a direct response to what he described as a corrupt political establishment that no longer represents the American people.

The announcement followed a viral July 4 poll on X, where Musk asked whether voters wanted independence from what he called the "two-party (some would say uniparty) system."

Continued below.

Heterodox Jesuit priest Father James Martin compared kids reading LGBT books to Jesus sharing parables in a recent X post and in an essay at his website, Outreach. Martin did so while arguing against the rights of parents to prohibit their children from reading books in school that promote same-sex “marriage” and other content contrary to the Gospel.

Continued below.

​

The clerical sexual abuse crisis in the Cathollic Church has demonstrated how clever predators are in covering up their predatory behavior just like homosexual clergy are good at covering up their sexual orientation and misconduct. Two young priests who lived with Monsignor Francis B. McCaa, whom the Pennsylvania Grand Jury identified as a sexual “monster,” had no idea that their supervisory pastor was sexually abusing boys in their Ebensburg parish. Likewise, when I served with Father Robert Kelly for three years and Father Martin Cingle for two years, both the pastor and I had no idea that they were abusing teenage boys in our State College parish. One reason this happens is that we often assume that people with whom we live and work are very much like ourselves. Consequently, priests and parishioners who would never even think of harming a child often think other coworkers feel and act the same way,

Because most Catholics are heterosexuals, they have a difficult time believing studies that show how over 80 percent of American-born bishops and priests today are homosexuals. Likewise, because most Catholic couples are faithful in marriage, they have a hard time believing studies that show how, at any given moment in time, no more than half of all priests are leading celibate lives. If it were not for my years of supervisory and confessional experience, I too might question these findings. Consequently, I am not surprised if a devout Catholic might say to me, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” However, when asked about the validity of studies involving the high celibacy failure rate, Cardinal Jose Sanchez, a former Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons, responded, “I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of those figures.”

Continued below.

The pontificate of Francis lives on. The papal reboot Trad Inc. promised was a fantasy.​

Well, that didn’t take long.

Not even two months after the white smoke, and already the Vatican’s top doctrinal officer has made it crystal clear: the controversial Fiducia Supplicans, Francis’s infamous 2023 document that legitimized blessings for same-sex couples, will “absolutely” remain in force under Leo XIV.

So much for reform.

The Lavender Curtain Doesn’t Close

Continued below.

The Lavender Legacy Continues: Leo XIV Endorses Fiducia Supplicans

The pontificate of Francis lives on. The papal reboot Trad Inc. promised was a fantasy.

bigmodernism.substack.com

Like the title says, which US President since 2000 has had the most hate directed at them?

I say it's Donald Trump.

What do you say?

Since ancient times, Jewish and Christian interpreters alike have puzzled over God’s decision to prevent Moses from entering the Promised Land. The immediate context for the decision is found in Numbers 20. It’s the fortieth and final year of the Exodus, and the Israelites have once again run out of water in the wilderness.

Faced with this calamity, the people begin complaining against Moses and Aaron, saying they wish they had stayed in Egypt. (It’s because of this complaining that the place receives the name Meribah, or “contention.”) Moses then goes to the tent of meeting, where God delivers him an instruction:

Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and in their presence command the rock to yield its waters. Thereby you will bring forth water from the rock for them, and supply the community and their livestock with water. (Num 20:8 NABRE)

Click to expand...

After assembling the congregation, Moses prepares to draw water from the rock. But rather than commanding the rock to yield its water—which is what God had told him to do—instead Moses “struck the rock twice with his staff, and water came out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank” (Num 20:11 NABRE). It’s at this point that God issues a solemn warning to Moses and Aaron:

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you did not have confidence in me, to acknowledge my holiness before the Israelites, therefore you shall not lead this assembly into the land I have given them. (Num 20:12 NABRE)

Click to expand...

On its face, this feels like a major overreaction. Moses and Aaron are guilty of a seemingly trivial departure from God’s instructions, and in return they’re given a devastating penalty. The punishment doesn’t seem to fit the crime. So what are we to make of this confusing episode?



A Lack of Faith?

Continued below.

Why Was Moses Not Allowed to Enter the Promised Land? - St. Paul Center

Since ancient times, Jewish and Christian interpreters alike have puzzled over God’s decision to prevent Moses from entering the Promised Land. The immediate context for the decision is found in Numbers 20. It’s the fortieth and final year of the Exodus, and the Israelites have once again run...

stpaulcenter.com

I know that I will love
Living my life every day
I know that I will suffered
With my sickness
I know that I need to go
Early to bed every
Single nigh
I know that I am not looking forward
To die

As rescue crews in Texas continued to search for 41 people still missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from a Christian camp, after catastrophic floods left at least 82 dead across Central Texas, the White House Faith Office released a statement Sunday calling on Americans to pray, quoting Psalm 34:18.

In a statement sent to The Christian Post, the Faith Office urged the nation “to join us in prayer for the precious lives lost.”

The statement added, “Amidst this tragedy, our nation must come together to pray for the victims, their families, and the first responders conducting rescue missions to find those still missing. May God wrap his loving arms around all those in Texas,” quoting Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Continued below.

Like the title says. We start at 500 and when we get to 0 or 1000, we start over. Let’s see how it goes! One rule - you cannot post back-to-back posts.

500

An Australian doctor received the "Life Saving Cross" for his work in saving the life of a Lithuanian adventurer when he amputated one leg underwater in the Franklin River in Tasmania. He accepted it on behalf of everybody else who was involved in the rescue.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda presented Jorian "Jo" Kippax with the Life Saving Cross at the presidential palace in the country's capital on July 6, the country's Statehood Day.

Click to expand...

The Lithuanian bloke is tough. He still wants to go back and do the Franklin River trip again, even if he's mssing part of one leg.

This might seem a bit odd as a news item on the Forum, but it's better news that Russians and Ukrainians, or Israelis and Palestinians killing each other.

I think some of you had heard of the poisonous mushroom case in Victoria, Australia.

The court case has been dragging on for the better part of two years, but a guilty verdict was handed down today.


I presume there will be an appeal, psycholgical and psychiatric evaluation and so on, but Erin Patterson will spend her first night in prison today. Sentence has not yet been passed.

If we are serving the Lord Jesus Christ with our lives, and if we are following him in his ways, obeying his commands, living for him and for his will and purpose for our lives, by the grace of God, in the power of God, by faith in the Lord Jesus, we are going to have enemies, even among those who profess faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord. Even within the gatherings of the church (or the false church) we will have professing Christians who will oppose us and who will want nothing to do with us because of our faith.

For we live in a day and age like the Bible tells about where..


But it isn’t just that, but it is that, too. But many who are following the Christian faith and doctrine, as they were taught it, have been brainwashed into rejecting some biblical truth, and thus they have also been trained to reject certain people who are teaching that truth, too. For the modern gospel being taught today does not require death to sin and walks of obedience to the Lord and surrender of our lives to Christ to do his will and purpose for our lives. But they teach a friendlier version of the gospel, pleasing to flesh.

They teach a “nice” version of the gospel which is more appealing and less offensive to the ungodly so that they can “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into their gatherings. They don’t want to offend people with the truth of the gospel as Jesus taught it, and as his New Testament apostles taught it, in the correct biblical context, so they alter it to make it more user friendly. So they don’t stress the importance of death to sin and obedience to the Lord, but rather an altered “friendlier” version of God’s grace.

So many of them now make it their practice to teach certain Scriptures out of their biblical context so that they can make them say what they do not say if taught in the correct context. And so they end up twisting the words to make them say what they want them to say, and from that many of them are teaching a false doctrine of salvation, which has many followers, but which is sending people straight to hell on the promise of heaven. But if you teach the truth, you are called a heretic or legalistic or a false teacher.

And they make it their practice to ignore many Scriptures which do not fit in with their philosophy and to focus only one ones that they can make support their false gospel messages. Obviously those who make this their practice are not following Jesus Christ in truth and in righteousness. Many of them are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who have entered the sheepfold by another way other than by the way of the cross of Christ. And they are lying to the people and leading them to reject the truth and to believe the lies.

So, if you are a servant of the Lord Jesus, who is teaching the truth of the Scriptures, in their correct context, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to the best of your understanding, as a diligent and dedicated student of the Scriptures who is a seeker of truth, you will be opposed by these charlatans and their followers who have been convinced that the truth is a lie, and that the lie is the truth, because it makes no requirements of them that they must cease with their sinful practices and now obey God with their lives.

But the Lord is our strength and our helper and our deliverer if we are on his side, which is the side of truth and righteousness, death to sin, and walks of obedience to our Lord in surrender to his will. So we can take refuge in our Lord when we are opposed, criticized, called names, cast aside, rejected, unwanted, and thought badly of. And he may not deliver us physically from some of this opposition, but he will deliver us spiritually and emotionally from their impact on our lives so that we have courage to keep obeying God.

And sometimes this opposition may turn into some serious persecution, and we might, at times, feel as though we are at death’s door, or as though we have lost all hope, or as though the enemy is gaining victory over us. But we must call upon the Lord for help, to be our strength, believing that he is fully sovereign over every aspect of our lives and that nothing can happen to us unless God allows it, and if he allows it, that he will carry us through it, even to our deaths, in some cases. For he will fulfill his purpose for our lives.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

All Through the Night

Based off Various Scriptures
An Original Work / December 7, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Blessed are you when you’re persecuted
Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.
Blessed are you when people insult you,
And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.

When you are persecuted in one place,
Flee to another. God will be there.
You will be hated by all the nations
Because you testify of God’s grace.
Many will seize you and persecute you,
And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.

Yet do not fear what humans may do to you,
For I’m with you all through the night.
I tell you, love your enemies with my love,
And forgive as I forgave you.
Pray for those who do evil against you.
Rest in my love and grace from above.

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I Cried to My God for Help
An Original Work / July 7, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“We will not dwell on Justice Jackson’s argument, which is at odds with more than two centuries’ worth of precedent, not to mention the Constitution itself,” she began. “We observe only this: Justice Jackson decries an imperial executive while embracing an imperial judiciary,” she added.

Someone needed to say it.

Do you know anyone that thinks they will Vote for Elons America party?

I strongly suspect the vast majority of people will say no
it is very common to think 3rd parties simply don't work even if they would want them to and a vote for Musk just helps the Democrats
if you want to help Democrats just vote Democrats.

I haven't really decided if I should stay at my local parish or retain membership at the Diocesan Cathedral (I don't know anyone at the local parish except the RCIA director, sort of) but I'll probably do the latter even if I sometimes attend the former. Anyway, a new priest got assigned at the local parish and I'm so impressed with his homily for this Sunday. He's down to earth but he's so on fire for God and so motivating that I could not help but feel profoundly moved. I think I really like this one. I was saddened by the departure of the most recent Parochial Vicar but this new Parochial Vicar seems great. I don't know how welcoming he is on an individual level, yet. I know that PVs don't stay that long. The regular priests in our Diocese tend to stay at a parish, once they've been assigned, unless they're young, lol. (That's what it seems to me)

Looks like I'll be wiping the dust from my feet and moving on soon.

Anybody interested in staying in contact, believer or genuine seeker, my email is joegunlock@gmail com.

There is power in the Name of Jesus to save, keep proclaiming His Name - everywhere without fear!

God bless and always praying for all here.

Joseph
biblegateway.com

This year marks 500th anniversary of movement's founding




2025 is a year of anniversaries. From the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed to the 80th anniversary of VE Day, there are many milestones to reflect on. Another one is the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Anabaptist movement — a chapter in Christian history that is not so well known.

Who were the Anabaptists?

The Anabaptists were radical reformers who emerged during the Protestant Reformation. Unlike other reformers who sought to revise the existing church structures, Anabaptists envisioned an entirely new kind of Christian community — one rooted not in state power or tradition, but purely in the radical teachings of Jesus.

Continued below.

Guess no one likes that a large population of another country changing the dynamics of the locals' way of life. Who would have guessed? Here I thought it brings enrichment. And here they said no enrichment in the literal sense of it.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called it a historic step, and quoted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as welcoming the decision as “a good example for other countries.”

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces. Since then, they have sought international recognition while also enforcing their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Now the context of this is the signs of the end of the age and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. There will be many false prophets and teachers, some of whom may proclaim that they are the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, while others might just act as though they are gods to be worshiped above God. But many will be misled by these false teachers to believe an altered gospel message intended to suit the sinful desires of the flesh and to ignore God’s requirements of death to sin and obedience to his commands.

And then there will be wars between nations. And evil people, some of them disguising themselves as followers of Christ, will deliver up true followers of Christ to persecution and to tribulation and to death, on account of their walks of faith in the Lord Jesus and their obedience to the Lord, and because of their testimonies and their witness for the Lord Jesus and for sharing the true gospel message that many do not want to hear or believe. And some of us will be betrayed to the death by those pretending to care about us.

And God will judge his idolatrous and adulterous church which has largely gone the way of the world and has given their loyalty and devotion to what is not of God, but what is of human flesh. And there will be great tribulation beyond what many of us have never experienced before. But for the sake of the elect, this time of tribulation will be cut short for the salvation of human lives. But we are to be so guarded against false prophets and the lies which they spread. We must be very discerning people so we don’t get trapped.

Now, not one of us knows when this is going to take place, but we should be able to discern when the time is getting near when we see the signs being fulfilled before our eyes. And we are to take this very seriously and not think that we can just live however we want, like many people are believing that they can do and still end up in heaven. For our Lord made it quite clear that we must forsake our sins and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands or we will not inherit eternal life with God, but we’ll end up in hell.

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).

And we learn in 1 John 1:6-7: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” And in 1 John 2:4-5: “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.”

And in 1 John 3:7-8,10: “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” So we need to take this to heart.

[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]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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We Must Be Ready
An Original Work / July 6, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Can you guys please pray that God gets me pregnant & let's me know if I am pregnant this month. Please and thankyou!