Maundy Thursday, Time For New Commandment

Maundy Thursday, after Spy Wednesday, is a Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter when Jesus celebrated his final Passover ( Last Supper) with His disciples. In many countries the day is known as Holy Thursday and is a public holiday.







Saint Matthew (Mt 26:14-25)
describes the events around Spy Wednesday and the Last Supper as follows:

"One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?"
He said,
"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.""'
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
"Surely it is not I, Lord?"
He said in reply,
"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so.""

The word Maundy comes from the latin, 'mandatum', or 'command' which refers to the instructions Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper.
Christ's "mandate" is commemorated on Maundy Thursday, where "maundy" being a shortened form of mandatum (Latin), which means "command."

According to the Gospel, Jesus performed a final act of service for his Disciples, following the Passover meal. Arising from the table, He tied a towel about His waist and filled a basin with water. Then, one after another He washed the feet of each disciple, except Judas, who had already departed to betray Him.

When Peter protested that Jesus was about to wash his feet, Christ admonished, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

After washing the Disciples' feet, Jesus explained what He did and why. "You should wash one another's feet," He told them. "I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." (John 13:1-17)


After the Last Supper and as he was washing the disciples feet He issued a new command, speaking with authority and not like the scribes and Pharisees, after previously denouncing them: "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.

They tie up heavy burdens [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.

All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,"" (Matt 23)

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (John 13:34).


Jesus' preaching put a nail on the Cross and set him up against Israel's religious authorities. He came to fulfill the law. Jesus is the fulfillment of Judaism and the Temple. CCC Chapter 2

You know the old cliché; if you knew you had only hours left to do, what would you do? Wash your neighbor's feet? That's what Jesus did: wash the Disciples' feet. A humiliating task, and also personal, almost intimate. That Jesus performed this task as one of His last acts on Earth delivers an important message of how we are supposed to be as Christians. Are we willing to wash the feet of our neighbors?


Do you know of any Captains of Industry willing to do this? How about public servants? You know, like Alexandria Ocasio Cortes ' who says she's the boss.




"Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching. Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light. Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God's grace as nothing be condemned. Our attitude to our neighbor will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love. On the Last Day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" CCC 679
As you can imagine, in the ancient world, at the time of the Last Supper, feet were dirty things. Sandals were common dress, and they often trod unpaved streets that doubled as sewers and channels for every kind of refuse. As a result, having clean feet, especially when entering a place, was important.

The ancient world knew nothing of germs, but understood the importance of cleanliness, as it was instructed to them in the holy texts of the time. So, so washing my neighbors feet today is not that big of a deal.

Spy Wednesday

Holy Wednesday - commemorates the Bargain of Judas as a spy among Jedus' disciples. It is also called Spy Wednesday

It is also known as Good Wednesday and Great and Holy Wednesday



"One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?"
He said,
"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.""'
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
"Surely it is not I, Lord?"
He said in reply,
"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."" - Mt 26:14-25

Piercing The Veil Or Piercing The Silo

Prior to The New York Times  losing its blue mark, entitled liberals (like @takethepwrback) complained that my posts were showing up in "their" feeds - as if they owned the platform - yet still took the time to read my posts critical of the NYT and launched a coordinated inauthentic behavior loaded with ad hominem attacks - not once did they come up with a better argument other than to  reference a Wired piece titled "Elon Musk's Twitter Files Are a Feast For Conspiracy Theorists" 

Even though Andrew Lowenthal says that "The #TwitterFiles show how "anti-disinformation" academics and NGOs undermined free speech and expression," and Musk says the NYTimes' 'propaganda isn't even interesting' and their Twitter feed is the 'equivalent of diarrhea'

While Far Left Propagandist NYT has been MIA on the Twitter Files, and LinkedIn will ban you if you challenge the medical establishment. As far as silos go, LinkedIn is the biggest Intellectual Inbreeding Silo in the world

Then there's Compact's Christian Parenti' "But the DOJ, FBI, CIA Infiltrated left-wing social movements, so it's OK to do it to conservatives' fallacy.


Businesses registered as limited liability companies (LLCs) or corporations provide their owners with protection against being held personally liable for the company’s debts and claims as long as the reasonable people principle is properly applied

The legal separation between a business and its owners is known as the Corporate Veil.  Failure to adhere to the reasonable people may lead to piercing the corporate veil


On November 2003,  President Bush discussed freedom in Iraq and Middle East saying:

"Freedom of the press and the free flow of ideas are vital foundations of liberty. To cut through the hateful propaganda that fills the airwaves in the Muslim world and to promote open debate, we're broadcasting the message of tolerance and truth in Arabic and Persian to tens of millions. In some cities of the greater Middle"

Likewise  Big Tech promised to democratize the world by offering free Internet. But  it quickly carved out silos, monetizing hate and division.
The bigger the #Silo, the more advertising money. The Twitter Files have shown an unholy alliance between government, Legacy Media, Big Tech.

.

As Ryan Lovelace writes in the Washington Times "Twitter owner Elon Musk is preparing to make a series of changes to Twitter in the coming days, including making the social media platform’s algorithm open source and overhauling the company’s verification process"

As Musk makes good on his pledge to use open source algorithms, to overhaul the Twitter incestuous verification process and taking the blue check mark away from The New York Times he may be piercing the Twitter Silo. or the equivalent of taking down a Chinese Spy Balloon.

In either case, it will for sure 

 will renew the threat of a liberal Twitter Exodus.  

Those staying will still complain about contrarian views invading "their" silos - aka feeds

The Ultimate Reparation Paid In Full

Governor Gavin Newsom's California pushes billions in reparations payments as state faces budget deficit disaster - neglects to consider that the Ultimate Reparation has already been paid in full






But it's not surprising. Since SCOTUS (1963)
decided that teaching children about wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord., charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity was too radical - We have mental health crisis
- Infanticide turned into #BlackGenocide
- African American nuclear family has joined the Sea Turtles in the extinct list
- In 1965 25 of African-American children were raised in fatherless homes, today 80% of AA kids are raised in fatherless homes
- There's a fatherlesssness crisis with tremendous cost to fatherless children and to society.
- We have a Girlhood Crisis
- We have a Trans Crisis


We live in an age where people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions but demand apologies and reparations for atrocities they never experienced, from people who never committed them. They like to cancel art, ideas, symbols, language & history they don't agree with - they even cancel names of military bases - and MSM celebrates!


Why I say, Forget about the Janua 6th so-called insurrection. The real insurrection is on-going: MSM, White House, DOJ, FBI, ate doubling down on the #ChristoFascist, #AmericaIsRacist, #StopDisinformation narratives. Just today, AZ Gov. Hobbs' press secretary resigns after tweet suggesting gun violence against 'transphobes'




But according to the Catholic Cathechism, the Ultimate Reparation has been paid - in full:








Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world", and the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to God through the "blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins".


This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience.



"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who "makes himself an offering for sin", when "he bore the sin of many", and who "shall make many to be accounted righteous", for "he shall bear their iniquities". Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father. CCC 513-615


Sadly, politicias, elite institutions and corporate greed have turned the lofty ideal of equality into the ugly reality of resentments of other people’s achievements — and a feeling that the world owes you something, while you owe nobody anything, not even common decency:


Stanford's Graduate School of Business asks: "Do investors care about companies’ #diversity? According to this study by Professor Margaret Neale, they definitely do.


And if they don't, send them to professor #NirHalevy, who offers a class on how to shift people's attitudes as who is to blame







Then there is a Wayne University professor inciting violence: "I think it is far more admirable to kill a racist, homophobic, or transphobic speaker than it is to shout them down,” - Dr. Steven Shaviro, a professor at Wayne State University in Michigan Facebook post, since-deleted. The doctor has been suspended with pay.

Consider that the college majors that pay the most right after college  are STEM-based. The exception is a BS In Race Hustling. It is the highest paid: The University of Michigan has 163 DEI officers. Ohio State & U of Virginia have 94. Georgia Tech has 41, but only 13 history teachers. The Highest-paid diversity and inclusion employees rake in substantially more than the average full-time professor

 

Teachers unions & corrupt politicians turned schools & universities into a Maddrasha: more indoctrination less education & $1.7 trillion worth of useless degrees

The good news is that the Ultimate Reparation has already been paid for all! 

Welcome to Passiontide

During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully.

The Catholic Cathechism starting in paragrsph 606 describes what Jesus had to go through during this time "The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do [his] own will, but the will of him who sent [him]", said on coming into the world, "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." "And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in his redemptive mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." The sacrifice of Jesus "for the sins of the whole world" expresses his loving communion with the Father. "The Father loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord, "[for] I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father."

607 The desire to embrace his Father's plan of redeeming love inspired Jesus' whole life, for his redemptive passion was the very reason for his Incarnation. And so he asked, "And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour." And again, "Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?" From the cross, just before "It is finished", he said, "I thirst

608 After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's redemption at the first Passover. Christ's whole life expresses his mission: "to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Only Christian Faith (and Reason) as a whole, constitutes the answer to this question: the goodness of creation, the drama of sin, and the patient Love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants, the redemptive Incarnation of His Son, his gift of the Spirit, his gathering of the Church, the power of the sacraments and his call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which, by a terrible mystery, they can also turn away in advance. There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not on part an answer to the question of evil. CCC Par 309

609 By embracing in his human heart the Father's love for men, Jesus "loved them to the end", for "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." In suffering and death his humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of men. Indeed, out of love for his Father and for men, whom the Father wants to save, Jesus freely accepted his Passion and death: "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." Hence the sovereign freedom of God's Son as he went out to his death.

610 Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night he was betrayed". On the eve of his Passion, while still free, Jesus transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father for the salvation of men: "This is my body which is given for you." "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

611 The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his sacrifice. Jesus includes the apostles in his own offering and bids them perpetuate it. By doing so, the Lord institutes his apostles as priests of the New Covenant: "For their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."

612 The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemani, making himself "obedient unto death". Jesus prays: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. . ." Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is perfectly exempt from sin, the cause of death. Above all, his human nature has been assumed by the divine person of the "Author of life", the "Living One". By accepting in his human will that the Father's will be done, he accepts his death as redemptive, for "he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.





Passiontide is a name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, long celebrated as Passion Sunday, and continuing through Lazarus Saturday. It commemorates the suffering of Christ. The second week of Passiontide is Holy Week, ending on Holy Saturday

Prior to the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal (Sacramentary), crosses and images were covered with veils during Passiontide

From this Sunday, traditionally called 1st Sunday of the Passion, it is customary to veil images in churches. According to Father John Zulhlsdorf (Father Z) in the Gospel in traditional Form of the Roman Rite we hear:

They therefore took up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out from the temple.




So yesterday, the Church traditionally started yon hide the Lord and other images with veils, usually purple.

Father Z says "This is a fine old tradition. It has to do with deprivation of the senses and the liturgical dying of the Church in preparation for the Lord’s tomb and resurrection. We do this to sense something of the humiliation of the Lord as he enters His Passion, something of His interior suffering.

According to Fr Thomas Nathe, It used to be that two Sundays before Easter (5th Sunday of Lent), the Gospel reading was about Jesus confronting the established powers with his divinity; this caused those in authority to pick up rocks to stone him, “but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple” (Jn 8:46-59). Jesus would stay hidden from the religious authorities until his triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday); yet even then, he did not give anyone a chance to seize him until he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. The veiling of Jesus “hides” him from us during the time when the plot to kill him is afoot. Meanwhile, Jesus conceals himself until his appointed time.

Seeing the images in church covered up gives us a sense of disquiet and dread. Something is clearly different, yet it’s more than that; something is wrong. We know it as soon as we see those images all covered up. The last two weeks of Lent place us in the midst of this drama and imparts to us a sense of horror of what is happening, and shame; shame in knowing that man is going to torture his creator to death, and that somehow our sins are partially to blame. The veiling of the images focuses our attention more so than usual on Our Lord and his Paschal Mystery (his passion, death, and resurrection).

Father Z says "we lose things during Lent. We are being pruned through the liturgy. Holy Church experiences liturgical death before the feast of the Resurrection (Easter). On the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday) until the Easter Vigil, liturgical music is pared back and we lose the Alleluia, Gloria, and flowers. On the 5th Sunday of Lent, crosses, images of Jesus, angels, and saints are covered with purple cloth. In the traditional Latin Mass, the “Iudica” psalm in the prayers at the foot of the altar, and the Lord’s Prayer at the end of certain prayers, are no longer said."

Adding "the pruning cuts more deeply as we march into the Triduum. After the Mass on Holy Thursday the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the sanctuary, which is stripped and its bells removed. On Good Friday there isn’t even Mass (the one day of the year there isn’t). At the beginning of the Easter Vigil we are deprived of light itself! It is as if the Church herself were completely dead with the Lord in His tomb. This liturgical death of the Church reveals how Christ emptied Himself of His glory in order to save us from our sins and to teach us who we are"

The Church then gloriously springs to life again at the Vigil of Easter. In ancient times, the Vigil was celebrated in the depth of night. In the darkness, a single spark would be struck from flint and ignited into flame, the flame


According to Father Nathe "over the next two weeks, strive to connect yourself in heart and mind with the Church’s liturgy in which these sacred mysteries are re-presented; then by your active receptivity, become a participant in the saving mysteries of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection

The Real On-Going Insurrection - Against the Kingdom

Forget about the January 6th so-called insurrection. The real insurrection is on-going

Do you ever wonder why the White House, DOJ, FBI & MSM are in lock step to promote the #ChristoFascist, #AmericaIsRacist narrative?

Why is it that days after President Joe Biden’s divisive speech to the nation and the FBI designating patriotic symbology as indicative of domestic terrorism, more than 20 FBI agents in full SWAT gear arrested pro-life Catholic husband and father Mark Houck.

Or why is it the Department of Defense and the Air Force joined the DOJ, FBI, and Intel Agencies in providing DNC with Opposition Research at taxpayer's expense?

Why is it fifteen felony charges were filed against pro-life citizen journalist David Daleiden stemming from his undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood?


Why the MSM circular reporting on the Roe V Wade decision? Consider NPR reporting: “In a historic and far-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists….The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means that abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow.” Breaking it down, “upheld for half a century” and the “abortion rights” reference immediately gives away Nina Totenberg’s narrative. The NY Times questions the legitimacy of the court and ABC News quotes Elizabeth Warren as making an argument to pack the Court “The Supreme Court has “burned whatever legitimacy they may still have had” with their ruling last week overturning Roe v. Wade, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on Sunday.” Not the mention the rioting and looting, which look more like an insurrection than peaceful protests, not unlike the ones we saw for two years led by ANTIFA and BLM.


How about the FBI retracting a document, only after it was leaked, statating Catholics may be domestic terrorists

AG Garland says DOJ prosecutes mostly pro-lifers and pro-choice, not as much, because pro-lifers do it in the open


The Southern Poverty Law Center tells the DOJ Catholics are likely to be Domestic Terrorists - Social Media regularly uses SPLC as fact-checkets


Arizona school board member says district should reject hiring teachers with Christian values: 'Not...safe'


Why is it Authoritarian Governments and Sympathizers hate Christians.? The biggest threat to China and Russia is not NATO, EU or the United States, but a 2 billion-strong kingdom.

There must be real insurrection going on.


The Church Militant refers to the Kingdom of God on earth. The term “militant” can suggest an antagonistic relationship between the Church and the world. Perhaps this is why the SPLC, the DOJ, Legacy Media & The White House view the Church with suspicion, petsecute in some cases, and refers to Its members as domestic terrorists

However, the Militant Church refers to an authentic reality: that the Church on earth works to overcome the imperfect and sinful dimensions of human existence.

The Church’s mission is not to oppose the world and society, but to work for their transformation by the convincing preaching of the Gospel and by the edifying power of the good works and example of those who are baptized into Christ. The Church’s best asset is the saintly activity and example of those who have chosen the Christian way of life.

"There are days that the onslaught of sin can seem overwhelming and that we are incapable of winning this battle. But we know that isn’t true and that the battle is not in the physical plane. It is a spiritual battle and we need to be warriors of prayer. We fight, as Paul tells us, Powers and Principalities. We fight on our knees in prayer"



"The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David,
'When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.'" 
2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16

"From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord". The Church bel0ieves that the key, the center, and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in the Lord and Master." CCC 450


"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.'" "To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth." Now the Father's will is "to raise up men to share in his own divine life". He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, "on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdom". CCC 541


"Christ stands at the heart of this gathering of men into the "family of God". By his word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by sending out his disciples, Jesus calls all people to come together around him. But above all in the great Paschal mystery - his death on the cross and his Resurrection - he would accomplish the coming of his kingdom. "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Into this union with Christ all men are called." CCC 542

Since Jesus established his earthly kingdom on earth represented by the Church with Him front and center, it's not far fetched to conclude the elites want to destroy His kingdom

Forget about race hustlers or DEI peddlers. The New kingdom is not about division


"Everyone is called to enter the kingdom. First announced to the children of Israel, this messianic kingdom is intended to accept men of all nations. To enter it, one must first accept Jesus' word:

The word of the Lord is compared to a seed which is sown in a field; those who hear it with faith and are numbered among the little flock of Christ have truly received the kingdom. Then, by its own power, the seed sprouts and grows until the harvest. CCC 543

The new kingdom and the elitists are mutually exusive: "The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the poor"; he declares them blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven." To them - the "little ones" the Father is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the learned. Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the cross; he experiences hunger, thirst and privation. Jesus identifies himself with the poor of every kind and makes active love toward them the condition for entering his kingdom." CCC 544 Is it any wonder anti-Christian, Far Left Propagandist New York Times warns prayer may be hazardous to your health?

The New Kingdom is not about a New World Order, not about Hollywood perfection, not about billionaires, wealth, power or wokeism. "Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." He invites them to that conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy for them and the vast "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents". The supreme proof of his love will be the sacrifice of his own life "for the forgiveness of sins" CCC 545













A Prayer in the Age ofGBTQ+ by Fr. Thomas Nathe





Just this week, former Catholic Priest Jim Morris argues ""The Catholic Church in the United States right now is in a crisis of leadership,
"I have worked with exceptional, exceptional pastors and Catholic priests throughout my years of priesthood. By the way, I'm still a committed Catholic, but the problem right now is that there are not enough of those exceptionally good men and I believe, while it might not be the silver bullet...allowing married men to become priests, it would put a plug in a ship that is taking on water."


Morris' silver bullet is like CNN, WaPo,NY Times, LA Times et al
arguing that journalism standards should be lower to attract excellent journalists. Or Teachers unions boss Randi Weingarten who urges teachers to Twist, Shout And Bully, to lower student standards so as to increase enrollment of excellent students. Or Yale University's Dr. #ChristyOlezeski, co-founder of the #Yale Pediatric Gender Program and says she helps treat three year olds questioning their gender and provides guidance on “medical intervention” saying medical standards should be lower to attract excellent doctors.


That San Jose Sharks player James Reimer has to Cite his Christian faith for not wearing Pride-themed jersey and some of today's headlines

Support my argument: Forget about the January 6th so-called insurrection. The real insurrection is on-going



https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/19/sport/james-reimer-pride-night-jersey-lgbtq-spt-intl/index.html



https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-jersey-mother-angela-reading-military-official-schilling-objecting-polysexual-poster-childs-school-lawsuit

https://www.foxnews.com/world/bible-college-fires-theologian-tweet-against-homosexuality-threatens-report-terrorist-lawyers


https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-ag-letitia-james-hosts-drag-story-hour-children-celebration-love-joy-family-fun



Yet, thanks to Calvary, just like people leaving California, New York abd others, some are moving to reside in the kingdom.

Dictators And Authoritarian Leaders Flocking to Elite US Universities

 Breaking!

Venezuela's Maduro is to attend, #Harvard this coming term.

Since corrupt politicians & teachers unions turned schools & universities into a #DevshirmeSystem; more indoctrination less education, this has sparked international interest in the US High Education System.

According to the Babylon Bee reported, #KimJungUn is attending an Ivy League School, but the Palestinian Wasp reports Jung zun 
has expressed interest in attending Stanford's Graduate School of 

Business' Professor Nir Halevy's class about how to shift people's attitudes about who's to blame -  CNN previously refer to this process, a #CynicalStrategy, effectively used by the DNC.  it was not confirmed whether DNC executives attended Hakevy's class

US  Media Executives & corrupt politicians who attended the class blame Trump for everything, while ex-alum Xi Jimpin blames the USA for everything 

The Mullahs are mulling Yale University

All this shows a real insurrection is on-going

Lent Friday VS. St. Patrick's Celebration: Happy Early St Patrick's Day

Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.

The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister to him. At the end of this time Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks, which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in Paradise and of Israel in the desert, and the devil leaves him "until an opportune time". CCC 538

The evangelists indicate the salvific meaning of this mysterious event: Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation. Jesus fulfills Israel's vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God during forty years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God's Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil's conqueror: he "binds the strong man" to take back his plunder. Jesus' victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the Father. CCC 539

St. Patrick's Day,observed every March 17,is packed with parades, good luck charms, drinking, eating and all things green. The event started as a religious holiday, but over time it's become a celebration of Irish culture.

Catholics need to choose how to observe Lent Friday and St. Patrick's Day, as they are mutually exclusive, contrary to what the Diocese of Orange's (California) #LentenLight Dispensation.  Such Disoensation implies the Passion of the Christ is not that important.

As for me and my House, we've decided to celebrate St. Patrick's early and late: start St. Patrick's celebration Thursday, abstain Saturday & close out Saturday

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday, on which the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is commemorated in the Christian Church. It is traditionally a day of fasting and penance.

Why do we call Jesus Kyrios, YHWH, Lord?

Why do we call Jesus Lord and why Authoritarian Regimes hate Christians?

Lord is defined as someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler.


In the Greek translatio of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses, is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. The New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father - and what is new- for Jesus who is thereby recognized as God himself. CCC 446


Jesus ascribes this title to himself in a veiled way when he disputes with the Pharisees about the meaning of Psalm 110, but also in an explicit way when he addresses his apostles. Throughout his public life, he demonstrated his divine sovereignty by works of power over nature, illnesses, demons, death and sin. CclCC 447

Very often in the Gospels people address Jesus as "Lord". This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing. At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, "Lord" expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus. In the encounter with the risen Jesus, this title becomes adoration: "My Lord and my God!" It thus takes on a connotation of love and affection that remains proper to the Christian tradition: "It is the Lord!" CCC 448






By attributing to Jesus the divine title "Lord", the first confessions of the Church's faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honor and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because "he was in the form of God", and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory. CCC 449

450 From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord". The Church bel0ieves that the key, the center, and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in the Lord and Master. CCC 450


Christian prayer is characterized by the title "Lord", whether in the invitation to prayer ("The Lord be with you"), its conclusion ("through Christ our Lord") or the exclamation full of trust and hope: Maran atha ("Our Lord, come!") or Marana tha ("Come, Lord!") - "Amen Come Lord Jesus!"CCC 451

Why Authoritarian Governments & Sympathizers hate Christians:

John 15:18 states: “And if the world hates you, know that it hated me before you.”  A sampling of anti Christian activity taken from recent headlines 

The FBI is retracting a document, only after it was leaked, statating Catholics may be domestic terrorists

AG Garland says DOJ prosecutes mostly pro-lifers and pro-choice, not as much, because pro-lifers do it in the open


The Southern Poverty Law Center tells the DOJ Catholics are likely to be Domestic Terrorists - Social Media regularly uses SPLC as fact-checkets


Arizona school board member says district should reject hiring teachers with Christian values: 'Not...safe'

"From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord". The Church bel0ieves that the key, the center, and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in the Lord and Master." CCC 450

 

Forget the January 6th Hoax - there's a real insurrection going on 

Son of God

 In the Old Testament, "son of God" is a title given to the angels,the Chosen People, the children of Israel and their kings it signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah King is called "son of God," it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus "son of God," as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this. CCC 441

Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" for Jesus responds solemnly "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven." CCC 442

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

 

Way before June 1921 when The Mansfield News celebrated Howard Herring:

"Although he has no gilded medals upon his bosom, Howard Herring of the North American Watch company, walks the walk, and talks the talk, of a hero today."

There was Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi -  As we Worship, So we Believe, So we Live

In the Early Church, there was liturgical tradition before there was a common creed, and before there was an officially sanctioned biblical canon. These liturgical traditions provided the theological and doctrinal framework for establishing the creeds and canon

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is organized in Four Parts:  1.  What We Believe, 2 How We Worship. 3. How We Live 4 How We Pray

There are nine sources for the Catechism:

• Sacred Scripture
• Professions of Faith
• Ecumenical Councils
• Certain Councils & Synods
• Pontifical Documents
• Ecclesiastical Dcuments
• Canon Law
• Liturgy
• Ecclesiastical Writers

Farher Mike Schmitz started a very popular  Catechism in A Year Podcast January 1. 2023. The Podcast covers the entire Catechism with explanations & illustrations as required. Podcast is recommended for believers and non. As the Catechism Assension Edition concludes:

" The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love. - Roman Catechism  Preface 10; cf. 1 Corinth 13:8

Given the Feast of #SaintThomasAquinas

Heb 11:1-2, Brothers & sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for & evidence not seen. Faith and science: "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. - CCC- Par #

On The Road To Damascus

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle

 

Before his conversion Saul was an  enlightened Jew. Elitist, learned, a man for all seasons

 - a person who religiously would have read the progressive literature of the day, including the New York Times of Israel, for example.

Saul was a "... Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,

but brought up in this city.
At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law
and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.
I persecuted this Way to death,
binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.
Even the high priest and the whole council of elders
can testify on my behalf.
For from them I even received letters to the brothers
and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem
in chains for punishment those there as well"  Acts 22:3

Before his conversion, he was a Jews' Jew. The STASI, the DOJ, with power to arrest any Christian at any time.

On the Road to Damascus, he realized he had been sincerely wrong, converted and became Saint Paul.

St. Augustine, Sermons, 241, Easter: c.411 A.D

 

Symbiotic relationship between faith and reason

The beauty of the unchangeable creator is to be inferred from the beauty of the changeable creation   "Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air, amply spread around everywhere, question the beauty of the sky, question the serried ranks of the stars, question the sun making the day glorious with its bright beams, question the moon tempering the darkness of the following night with its shining rays, question the animals that move in the waters, that amble about on dry land, that fly in the air; their souls hidden, their bodies evident; the visible bodies needing to be controlled, the invisible souls controlling them; question all these things. They all answer you, 'Here we are, look ; we're beautiful.' Their beauty is their confession. Who made these beautiful changeable things, if not one who is beautiful and unchangeable? Finally in man himself, in order to be able to understand and know God, the creator of the universe; in man himself, I repeat, they questioned these two elements, body and soul. They questioned the very thing they themselves carried around with them; they could see their bodies, they couldn't see their souls. But they could only see the body from the soul. I mean, they saw with their eyes, but inside there was someone looking out through these windows. Finally, when the occupant departs, the house lies still; when the controller departs, what was being controlled falls down; and because it falls down, it's called a cadaver, a corpse. Aren't the eyes complete in it? Even if they're open, they see nothing. There are ears there, but the hearer has moved on; the instrument of the tongue remains, but the musician who used to play it has withdrawn. So they questioned these two things, the body which can be seen, the soul which cannot be seen, and they found that what cannot be seen is better than what can be seen; that the hidden soul is better, the evident flesh of less worth. They saw these two things, they observed them, carefully examined each one, and they found that each, in man himself, is changeable. The body is changeable by the processes of age, of decay, of nourishment, of health improving and deteriorating, of life, of death. They passed on to the soul, which they certainly grasped as being better, and also admired as invisible. And they found that it too is changeable; now willing, now not willing; now knowing, now not knowing; now remembering, now forgetting; now frightened, now brave; now advancing toward wisdom, now falling back into folly. They saw that it too is changeable. They passed on beyond even the soul; they were looking, you see, for something unchangeable. So in this way they arrived at a knowledge of the god who made things, through the things which he made." .

Avian Industry Is Thriving: Cruel & Inhumane Hobby?

The purpose of this essay is to share a newbie parakeet owner's experience as I dealt with a difficult birth of four parakeets ending in four of dead babies, leading me to conclude the hobby may be cruel and inhumane.

Perhaps this experience can help prepare other newbies under similar circumstances.




A secondary objective is to serve a repository of best practices for avian pet owners. While the intended audience is newbie pet owners and the Avian Industry. I welcome professional breeders and experience owners to share best practices pointers.

But why restrict it to birds and not dogs, rabbits or lizzards,, you might ask.

Corporations and governments often use Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarian logic aka “cost-benefit analysis.” to put a dollar value on human life. From government dead panels to the infamous Ford Pinto Case.
In the Ford Pinto case. the design allowed its fuel tank to be easily damaged in the event of a rear-end collision, sometimes resulting in deadly fires and explosions. While Ford was aware of the design flaw, it refused to redesign it. Instead, Ford decided it would be cheaper to pay off possible lawsuits for resulting deaths. Mother Jones Magazine obtained the cost-benefit analysis that it said Ford had used to compare the cost of an $11 repair against the monetary value of a human life, in what became known as the Ford Pinto memo. While Ford was acquitted of criminal charges, it lost several million dollars and gained a reputation for manufacturing "the barbecue that seats four."

In the case of pets, Veterinarians use the word euthanasia to refer to humanely ending a pet’s life in order to stop or prevent unnecessary suffering due to an incurable medical condition, including seniors. Typical dog euthanasia is in the several hundreds range no counting the hundreds or thousands of dollars to diagnose and treat the underling disease.

For birds, euthanasia can be a DIY project.




Then there's the cost to vet ratio: a dog can go from a few hundred dollars to thousands, and vet welfare check nay start at $80. Whereas a parakeet may go for $60.00 and vet costs for $60-$80




Even Scriptures note the little value humans place on birds: "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26) and "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

Several objections have been raised o the utilitarian logic of seeking “the greatest good for the greatest number.” We have all heard about the Irresponsible pet owner mistreating dogs. We don't hear about Irresponsible bird owners because birds are invisible.

The Avian Industry Is like the Jet Printer Industry - they give the printer away so they can make the money on ink. Avian Pet Owners should be aware of the total cost of ownership (TCO) and the Industry should be more transparent. It's surprising the Humane Society has not been involved.











"The avian pet industry is growing, though headwinds in product availability and price increases present challenges to independent pet retailers." Writes Ethan Mizer in Pet Product News



“There are not a lot of specialty bird stores left in our area, or really around in general nowadays. So any place that does cater to that specialty bird market is seeing a pretty big boom, as far as sales are concerned, between cages and food, toys and other bird products. Sales are quite good as far as equipment is concerned. I have trouble keeping cages in stock because of the amount of cages I go through.” said Ryan May, head bird keeper for NJ Exotic Pets, a pet store in Lodi, N.J.

“I’ve seen actual sales of bird products steadily climb since the pandemic started,” May said. “Now, things have subsided somewhat … but it created an open door for a lot of people into the hobby. It’s really brought back a whole new energy into the bird-keeping hobby. Bird product sales have been quite high.”


Besides cages and accessories, pet owners should factor in veterinary costs: roughly $80.00 for a wellness visit. Meaning that if everything looks good, the first visit may cost two times what they paid for the bird
"My vet, a very well reviewed center that specializes in avians and exotics, charged me $93 for a "check up" for my GCC which involved weighing, observing of behavior, looking into mouth, eyes, nose, vent, checking of wings, feeling of tummy. I'm not discounting the importance of a vet check, but all of these things I can (and do) do myself, albiet without the training/experience that a vet has, and the vet literally spent only 10 minutes with her. For $93. My visit did not come with any testing, and the "basic" package of tests was $300+." Writes Avenue veteran.



For a minute, forget the price of a veterinary visit and consider our own experience over New Year's Day: Had we been lucky enough to book an Avian Veterinary on an emergency basis when Salty Seaweed was nearly gone, the Veterinary surely would have recommended we put her done. Miraculously enough, we enjoyed Salty's presence for another 48 hours.









It almost seems like Sunny Jewel and Ocean Coral sacrificed their first newborns to pave the way for a more Humane treatment. As a result, we now have a scale, an incubator, a special nesting house & several heating elements to guard against the inclement weather in the Pacific Northwest.
have information focused on what to do if the birds were to mate plus a list of the additional equipment required. As an engineer with a minor in biomedical, I tried my best to handle hatching of four new parakeets during the Holidays when the weather was at its worse, but failed.

Salty Seaweed seemed to be Thriving 24 hours before she passed

Looking back, had PetSmart or the Avian Infustry been more transparent, I'm sure that at least Hot Tamale and Salty Seaweed would be alive today.






This happened to my baby within 24 hours. After she was fed baby formula & taken out of the cage



When we purchased Sunny & Ocean, we signed an agreement with PetSmart that read more like the purchase of a toaster and not a living organism. It would have been nice to have a simple "What to Do" to handle fertilized eggs during the winter

Breeding Nest that can be attached inside or outside the cage:  inside makes impractical, outside needs to modify the cage

Breeding  Nest  mounted outside the cage.  Sunny took to it in a few hours, started decorating it

Incubator 

Incubator can be used as temperature- control warming/breeding  nest

Sunny Jewel & Ocean don't seem to like the heated perch

You can lead a parakeet to a nest, but not force her to nest.  Sunny quickly took to warming nest covered with cloth.  She looked at the thermally-controlled card board one & didn't like it.

She has been exploring the thermally controlled wooden warming/breeding nest for a couple of days.  She's peeked inside, but quickly gets out.

Sunny has been watching the hanging wooden breeding nest for a few hours.

Specifically, I would like the Avian Industry:

Selfie with Salty

1.  To be transparent about total cost of ownership

2.  TOC notwithstanding,  go on record that contrary to utilitarian logic. pets are living organisms, not assets that can be disposed of at will

3.  Recommendations for potential bird pet owners as to what to do in case birds breed, including equipment such as breeding nests, avian ICU.  incubators. hygiene and so on.

4.  Instructions, perhaps videos, showing how to perform a wellness check: Something a vet charges for a consult when all is well.

5.  Fund a vet center for newbie bird owners whose birds are breeding so they can call free-of-charge and ask basic parenting questions 

Heating Element next to Sunny & Oceans favorite perch 

QUESTIONS FOR THE INDUSTRY 

1.  How many fertilized eggs hatch?

2.  How many hatchlings make it to one month?

3.  How many survive to four months?

Temperature-controlled breeding nest