House GOP blocks Dem maneuver to force release of Epstein files​

What happened: The House Rules Committee, which prepares legislation for votes on the House floor, voted 5 to 6 against attaching Khanna's amendment to a procedural measure related to the GENIUS Act and a defense funding bill.

• The measure would have forced Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish all documents related to Epstein on a "publicly accessible website" within 30 days of procedural measure being enacted.

...
In a rare move, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) crossed over and voted with the panel's four Democrats in favor of attaching the amendment.

• He told Axios earlier on Monday: "The public's been asking for it. I think there are files. All of a sudden not to have files is a little strange, We'll see how it plays out ... I think the president will do the right thing."

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Flames roared through an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, killing nine people and trapping residents inside, including some who leaned out of windows and screamed for help, authorities said Monday. At least 30 people were hurt.

Continued below.

Michelle Obama was recently pontificating on her podcast about the alleged difficulty of being a woman in the modern world:

“We weren’t raised with the certainty of maleness… That kind of confidence that young men in their 30s have, which they haven’t earned. They just have it.”

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But men weren’t “raised with” confidence either. Rather, there is a certain amount of assertiveness that comes naturally to men. They have a hormonal framework that is different, as is the way that men think. It is a mistake to reduce nature to mere “social construct,” as if every difference between men and women is imposed by a meddling society that yearns to oppress women. We therefore err when we claim that men are more assertive because they have been raised to be such, and imply that women in the modern age were either deprived of such ‘training’ or were taught to display doubt, indecisiveness, and anxiety.

Michelle went on to claim that society “discourages” women from expressing confidence, even when their experience level would justify it. There’s a conflation happening here. It is widely agreed that exuded confidence is attractive to both sexes. What is actually “discouraged by society” is acting rudely or overbearingly, including when one thinks themselves better than others because of real or imagined accomplishments. Likewise, women over-compensating with misplaced aggression when in traditionally male roles is discouraged albeit common (that female police officer isn’t giving you a warning).

Continued below.

*You are in the Catholic forum*

Our Lord teaches that no worship can be acceptable while we harbour malice in our hearts, or stand outside the unity of the Church.​

Editor’s Notes
​

In this section, Fr. Coleridge tells us…

• How Christ declares that charity is a condition for offering anything to God.
• That peace with our neighbour is necessary even for entering into divine worship.
• Why interior bitterness or schism renders all acts of zeal unacceptable.

Reconciliation, both personal and ecclesial, must precede sacrifice if we are truly to worship God.

For more context on this section, and its place in the Gospel and the Liturgy, see the previous part.

See also here:

Anger is not always a sin, nor is revenge: St Thomas​

https://www.wmreview.org/p/anger-is-not-always-a-sin-nor-is
Continued below.

Spoke to my priest regarding baptism of my son after mass and unexpectedly got called out for my tattoos.. It was awesome. He said “You do understand there are certain spiritual ramifications for tattoos, right? Have you ever seen Fr Rippergers talks about them?” He continued: “They can be a source of visual scandal, so ensure you are dressed modestly so as to convey an outward sign of an inward change. I will also be looking into the prayers of decommissioning for them that I will perform on you.” This man was taught by Fr. Ripperger and I experienced that in real time today. Some people might have been offended by this, but this kind of ‘hard’ truth really spoke to my soul. In all of us as men is the desire to be called out by men we respect. That happened to me and it was intensely refreshing. And I’m very much looking forward to getting them decommissioned. Glory to Jesus Christ and thank God for loving priests that take their vocation seriously.

Tattoos & the Catholic Church

'The message speaks about the practical apostasy of our time that is the going away from Christ by so many in the Church and the violence and death which are its fruit,' said Cardinal Burke.

The message of Fatima relates to the “practical apostasy of our time,” Cardinal Raymond Burke said this weekend.

Offering Mass on Sunday to mark the 108th anniversary of the third apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, Cardinal Burke homilized about the importance of the First Saturday devotions and the import of the message of Fatima for current times.


“The message speaks about the practical apostasy of our time that is the going away from Christ by so many in the Church and the violence and death which are its fruit,” he said.

Expanding on his commentary about individuals within the Catholic Church, Burke added:

Many – while they may not directly espouse heretical teachings – in practice reject the truth and love which flows unceasingly and immeasurably from the glorious pierced heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Instead they embrace the confusion, lies, and violence of contemporary culture. Their lives contradict the most fundamental truths of the faith.

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Continued below.

Three seminarians were kidnapped and a security guard was killed in an armed attack on Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in the Diocese of Auchi in Nigeria on the night of July 10.

In a statement issued July 11, Father Peter Egielewa, the director of communications of the Auchi Diocese, provided details about the attack. He said the 9 p.m. attack on the Catholic institution located in Ivhianokpodi, Etsako East Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo state, involved “several gunmen.”

“In the process, the Nigerian Civil Defense Security official, Mr. Christopher Aweneghieme, stationed at the seminary was killed, and three minor seminarians were abducted and led into the bush,” Egielewa said.

The other seminarians have been moved to what Egielewa described as “a safe area until security measures around the seminary are tightened.”

Continued below.

The funeral of Matteo Balzano, a young Italian priest who recently took his own life at the age of 35, was held July 8 in the presence of the faithful — especially young people — he served at the parish in Cannobio in the Piedmont region.

The bishop of Novara, Franco Giulio Brambilla, who offered the funeral Mass, gave an impromptu homily marked by hope but with considerable effort due to the fact that he was, as he put it, “devastated by grief.”

Before the tragic event, Balzano had resumed his mission among the young people at the oratory of the parish in Cannobio, so Brambilla wanted to address them in particular: “I was struck by the inconsolable grief of the young people, the same ones who are here before us today,” he commented.

‘You always believed in all of us and in every one of our dreams’​

Continued below.

In context, both before this and following this, this is in reference to the Word of God (the Word of Truth). We should be quick to listen to what the Scriptures teach us, in the appropriate context, and we should be slow to forming our own opinions of the matter, especially in anger, for that does not achieve the righteousness of God. For not all of us were taught the truth when we were growing up, or else we were taught partial truths and partial lies, because what we were being taught was being taught out of context.

So, we have to be very careful to make certain that what we were taught, and what we came to believe, is the truth of what the Scriptures actually teach, if taught in their appropriate context. In other words, we should be students of the Scriptures who study them in the appropriate context, and who are seekers of truth and righteousness, who want to know the truth, and who refuse to believe the lies which were handed down to us from generation to generation. We should want to know and follow the truth.

Now, this applies in our conversations with other people, too, especially on personal blogs or Christian discussion sites where we are having interactive discussions with other people on biblical topics. We should be quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger. But that does not mean that we have to engage with profanity, hateful and spiteful remarks and false accusations, and that which is inflammatory against God or against the Scriptures, etc. We do not have to listen to such hateful, mean, and cruel rhetoric.

But just because we might disagree with what someone else is saying, it does not give us the right to be nasty and hateful and cruel in our responses. We can learn to disagree respectfully, and with kindness, and to speak the truth of God’s word, in love, one to the other, without lowering ourselves to name calling, or to false accusations against another. It is possible for us to have kind, thoughtful, and reasonable discussions with others without it turning into hate, spite, and to name calling.


We the people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are to be putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, and in humility we are to be those who are receptive to the word of God implanted in our hearts through biblical faith in Jesus Christ. And we are to be those who want to hear the truth of God’s word, and who obey his word, in practice, by the grace of God, in the power of God. We must be seekers of truth and righteousness who obey God’s word, in practice, which is for the salvation of our souls.

[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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Slow to Anger
An Original Work / July 15, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

When does the Biblical evening begin and end?

Human life is both a gift, filled with love and beauty, but also with suffering and difficult rites of passage. Most of these experiences are bittersweet, while others are very painful and challenging. I don’t know anyone who does not have them. Sometimes we may not recognize them as rites of passage, but they are, because how we react to them can lead to greater freedom or deeper slavery to our fears.

About a month before graduation from high school, I was trying to get to sleep, but that night my hidden anxiety about graduation came to full consciousness. For me, it was life-shaking because I had never really paid attention to it. I was both happy and deeply terrified about my unknown future because, at that time, in 1967, you either went to college. or you were drafted. Well, I certainly was not college material, and since I believed I had a monastic vocation, I just needed to grow up a bit, so the Navy was what I picked. For me, it was a good choice. I guess I was forced to choose, and I am glad for that. Looking back, it was not that big of a deal, but at the time, it was. It was also a rite of passage for my parents, who had their own way of dealing with another son going off into the world.

This inner split was important, painful, but also exciting. In my monastic life, these so-called rites of passage continue. Some seemed small but were important; others seemed large, but they were a tempest in a teapot. Yet each had to be dealt with. I still have many to go through, even if I only recognize them in hindsight. These events highlight the importance of choice and not just being pulled by rapids without thought.

In seeking to live out a prayer life, I find that it is not as easy as many think. Like any other worthwhile endeavor, there will be many hurdles to overcome. So yes, suffering is involved and cannot be escaped.

Prayer draws us deeper in, and what the Lord brings to our minds and hearts can be heartbreaking but must be faced. There is forgiveness that can be given, but the pain of the wounds remains, as well as the dark thoughts that accompany it. So, prayer allows us to stand back and observe in the Lord’s presence. If not, we can drown in the inner whirlwind that our inner wounds can cause, leading to forms of self-medication that are harmful to both body and soul.

The hardest rite of passage for many is to learn to love ourselves, which is why the Lord commands us to do so. Also, understanding that we have many hidden character flaws, but in prayer, we get a small glimpse of them. Until the time comes when we can face them with the Lord and work through them. This takes time for us to learn and allows us to grow in compassion for others. Lord, protect us from perfect people!

Prayer for a Christian is not a luxury but a necessity, for without it we are adrift. So, pray at all times of life, especially when we enter a painful rite of passage. The Lord walks with us, feels what we feel, but He can seem cruel at times. We are being pruned and must learn patient endurance. I still have a way to go with that. The Lord will never let go of us; it is we who ‘freely’ let go of Him. Trust is a choice, no matter how dark it is to trust. It is not based on emotion but a deep faith that is tested and grows in strength by each rite of passage.

There is always hope, always a path to be chosen, and as we mature and our faith deepens, these choices can be more difficult. Our choices lead to either healing or deeper enslavement to our past and the ways we self-medicate.MD

Essayli said Caravello was charged with “a violation of 18 USC 111,” for allegedly “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees,” according to federal law. The US attorney also denied claims that the educator was “kidnapped” by federal agents.

Again I urge leaders on the left to tone down the rhetoric and protest peacefully. The government had a valid warrant, file a lawsuit if you think they did something wrong but please don't interfere and put people's lives in danger.

Yesterday at Mass my priest added a 15-year-old altar server named Sean to our prayers, apparently he was in a bad ATV accident and had to be taken a Level I trauma care center. I don't know the details of his injuries, but father said at Mass it didn't look like he was going to make it. I've been trying to get an update to find out whether he's still with us or not.

Either way, I ask you guys to pray for Sean. If he's passed please pray for the repose of his soul and for peace to be upon his family; if he's still with us we pray for a miraculous recovery.

Thanks everyone.

Pray for those who are tattered and torn,
And for those who are sad and forlorn,
Those who need some encouragement strong,
For the many who are being wronged.

Many facing trials, no escape,
Many persecuted on this date,
Many hurting, though it not relents,
Trusting in The Savior God did send.

Many targeted, in Christ believe,
Died to sin, His pardon did receive,
Following Jesus, Savior, in His ways,
Do the will of Father day by day.

Satan, enemy, he wants them gone,
In his harem they do not belong,
Serve the Lord and Savior with their lives,
And on God the Father they rely.

Speaking truth of gospel, not lies tell,
Many not believe, end up in hell,
Satan, liar, though, convinces them,
They not have to die with Christ to sin.

Speaking lies, he promises God’s grace,
So from hell they surely can escape,
Death to sin, though, they do not require,
For the truth of Gospel they retire.

Satan does not like when truth be told
By those servants of the Lord who’re bold,
So he plots his evil plans to kill
Those who share the gospel, truth fulfill.

Pray for all who follow Jesus Christ,
That on Jesus, Savior, they rely,
Not give in to fear of what men say,
Follow where God leads throughout each day.

An Original Work / July 14, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Hi all,

I had so called “friends” from college. I thought they were some of my closest friends. One completely abandoned me and the other didn’t invite me to his wedding, even after many particular conversations regarding that topic.

I blocked most people from my hometown and from college.

I spend a majority of my time alone, and outside of work, I don’t talk to anyone outside my immediate family.

How do I move on?

Peace

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8

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Summer is a time of rest and fun, and, with it, our Jubilee Year pilgrimage reaches its halfway mark. Midsummer Eve, the midway point of an historically longer summer season and also of the entire year, has been traditionally observed with bonfires (literally bone-fires) on June 23, the eve of the Nativity of John the Baptist. According to ancient reckoning, it was the time of the summer solstice, when the sun was at its full strength. From this point, the days become shorter, a natural sign that Christians linked to the symbolism of John the Baptist’s prophecy that he must decrease as the Messiah increases, whose birth was marked at the winter solstice.

I recently made a visit with my seminarians to the Benedictine Abbey of Clear Creek in the Ozark foothills of eastern Oklahoma (clearcreekmonks.org). It happened to be during the Rogation Days of spring where the monks processed with the villagers through the fields and forests. The monks were chanting the major and minor litanies, interceding for God’s blessings on the land, crops, livestock and all of creation, sprinkling great quantities of holy water and swinging thuribles of incense, along the procession route, seeking the protection of God from all calamities.
Shafts of sunlight shot through the trees as the sweet smell of incense rose to the heavens along with the melodic tones of Gregorian chant. It was something like perfection.

Continued below.

Fr. Martin’s true objective is the normalization of homosexual acts via indoctrination into the rainbow mythology of God-willed sexual fluidity. So why are so many Church leaders silent?

A screenshot of Fr. James Martin, S.J., giving a March 2018 a presentation titled "Spiritual Insights for LGBT Catholics". (YouTube)

I am not a “traditionalist”. At least not in the sense that the term has come to mean these days in common ecclesial parlance. I have sharp theological disagreements with the theological tendencies among some traditionalists on a range of issues. Nevertheless, they are a part of the Church, and their concerns should not be trivialized as unimportant or summarily dismissed via the pathway of lazy and breezy caricatures of them as just a gaggle of “anti-Vatican II” malcontents.

However, there are some, especially among the strongest apologists for the Francis papacy, who accuse traditionalists of interjecting a “toxic” divisiveness that undermines Church unity and jeopardizes ecclesial peace. This fact, they say, justifies the draconian restrictions introduced by Pope Francis, in Traditionis Custodes, on the traditional Latin Mass (TLM).

I am not here to re-litigate that debate or to argue that there are not indeed such toxic elements within the traditionalist movement. Instead, I want to call into question the response of the Church to the alleged toxicity of the movement—a reputation that I think is exaggerated—by engaging in the much-maligned practice of “whataboutism”. This practice can, on occasion, be a deflection from examining one’s flaws and should usually be avoided. Nevertheless, it can also be used legitimately to point out double standards, especially when ecclesial authorities are quick to discipline the failures of some while ignoring equally problematic failures in others. And this becomes acutely important when it appears that those authorities have their thumb on the scales of pastoral justice based upon unarticulated theological commitments.

Continued below.

Never mind I'm not sure my thread was appropriate.

Magnolia Network’s new series prompts criticism from leaders and commentators who say the couple has abandoned Christian values.

Reality TV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines have made headlines this week after a new television production from their network showcased a same-sex couple and their children.

Produced by the Magnolia Network, the series, entitled Back to the Frontier, made its debut on HBO Max on July 10. The show follows three couples tending to life as 19th-century homesteaders, with no internet or television. The couples include two men, Jason and Joe Hanna-Riggs, a same-sex couple raising two boys.

Continued below.

Can you please pray for my friend Connie who is very ill? Thank you

God bless

I’m a bit of a luddite when it comes to technology. My husband and I didn’t have home internet for the first five years of marriage, I ditched my smartphonealmost two years ago, and I’ve convinced my oldest child that his Kindle paperwhite is a legitimate tablet. I don’t want to pretend that I don’t use technology, but I’m often skeptical that new technology will actually make my life better.

I like the approach of the Amish: They don’t inherently dislike innovation, but they are critical about new technology, especially if it has the possibility to replace meaningful community (i.e. cars, phones, etc.). They observe the rest of us “English” people, and, if a new tool somehow makes our lives better, they incorporate it into their lifestyle. (For instance, some Amish use telephones, but they don’t keep them in private homes.) Essentially, they dissect the tool and then use it for its specific intention, all the while giving themselves plenty of boundaries so they don’t become a slave to the tool. They embody the mantra “love people, use things.”

I greatly respect their spirit of curiosity, so I took a similar approach a few months ago to explore ChatGPT. As a writer myself, I was intrigued by this new form of AI and its implications for my freelance work. So, I typed in a prompt, a suggested tone and a word count for an article I had already written (but had not yet published). And wouldn’t you know, AI made a shockingly similar article to the one I was about to submit. Obviously, this doesn’t bode well for the future of my work as a freelancer, but it’s incredible to think that a computer program can replicate (in seconds) something that took me weeks of thoughtful prayer to write. I left the experience knowing a little bit more about AI but more or less unperturbed by a future I can’t predict, let alone control. I don’t know exactly what the future of my writing career will look like, but it doesn’t seem like a productive use of my time to worry about something that hasn’t even happened yet.

Continued below.

Please pray that I don't have that horrible pain. God was so merciful yesterday answering so many prayers. Please ask God for my son to have a happy night, My doctor to be healed and well and for the health of my husband. Please pray I don't have pain if it is God's will. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you. Carmen

Christian reality TV star Chip Gaines has defended his newest television series, which features a same-sex couple, saying it is consistent with the Christian commandment to "love one another."

"Back to the Frontier," a new series from executive producers Chip and Joanna Gaines, which premiered on Thursday on the couple's Magnolia Network, features a gay couple as one of three couples living as homesteaders did in the 1800s, without access to running water or electricity.

Jason and Joe Hanna-Riggs appeared on the series along with their two children, Realtor.com reports. Chip and Joanna Gaines, best known for hosting the home improvement reality TV show "Fixer Upper," have been outspoken about their Christian faith over the years.

Continued below.

Who is “the world”? It isn’t just all people who never profess faith in Jesus Christ. It is all people who have not believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, who have not died with Christ to sin, who are not walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, and whose lives are not surrendered to God to doing his will, but who are still being led and controlled by the flesh. It is all people whose minds are focused on the world and on living worldly, and not on God and on living to please the Lord Jesus.

And who were Jesus’ greatest opponents and persecutors? They were not the people of the world who did not profess to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they were those who professed to believe in God, and to follow his commands, and who performed religious ceremonies, and who taught the Scriptures in the temple of God. They were the religious rulers and people of authority and influence within the temple, and in the synagogues, who professed to know and to worship the one true God.

So, if you are following Jesus Christ with your life, with full sincerity and commitment to God and to his service, and so you have died to sin, and thus you are now walking (in conduct) in obedience to the Lord (although not necessarily in absolute perfection), and so you are following God’s leading and direction in your life, don’t be surprised if some of your greatest opposition is within the gatherings of “the church” and in “Christian” organizations, and even coming from some pastors of “churches.”

For we live in a day and age when the message of the Gospel has been so severely diluted by the majority that it is barely recognizable at all as the same gospel as taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles. And, well, that’s because it isn’t the same gospel. For what they promote is a faith in Jesus that requires no death to sin and no walks of obedience to the Lord as required by God as necessary components of faith which saves. For they have altered the truth to be non-offensive to the world and to the ungodly.

If you are teaching the truth of the gospel, as Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught it, then you may find yourself the object of much hate, rejection, false accusations, and personal attacks against your character, just like Jesus experienced. And you may have opponents, as he had, who are “pulling out all the stops” (making every possible effort or using all available resources) to find a way to accuse you and to silence you so that you stop confronting them with the Holy One of Israel (see Isaiah 30:8-11 NIV).

But no matter what opposition we face, or how much we are attacked or rejected because of our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, we must not give up! We must stay the course and stand on the Word of God, and keep speaking the truth of the gospel to the people for their salvation from sin. We must obey God and his calling upon our lives, out of love for God and for our fellow humans, no matter how we are treated in return. Satan wants to destroy us. But we must not lose faith! We must keep speaking the truth!

[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]

Songs in the Night

An Original Work / December 18, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!

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Keep Speaking The Truth
An Original Work / July 14, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love