How To Close An Open Mind

You can come on Visionary Shamanism and explain that you are appropriating the teachings of [insert indigenous peoples here] and reframing them for bored suburbanites. You can relay messages from St. Michael and the Dolphin Brotherhood. You can expound at length on the Zionist/Reptile Aliens connection. None of this will garner even a whiff of dissent. But claim that the gods might be real and might actually, you know, expect something from their followers? BLASPHEMY"A pagan fundamentalist. Interesting. Where is the "hell", Galina, that you are sending me to for not becoming a "god-slave" such as yourself? "I find it interesting that neither Galina nor myself said that anyone on here would be sent to hell or punished by the Gods for their unbelief. Neither did we say that others should follow our beliefs or seek out converts. Yet you bring up images of "hell" and Dave brings up "proselytizing." Apparently the idea that the Gods might exist as something other than a mental construct or a mild-mannered nebulous benevolence brings up some negative connections for some.

I wonder what is going on here. Are you frightened that someday, somewhere, you might encounter a Being which asked you to do something besides chant affirmations or gobble entheogens? Or does your "tolerance of all shamanic beliefs" only extend to those practiced by wealthy First Worlders who attend the right seminars and promise only to work for the Highest Good? It's interesting that on a list dedicated to "Visionary Shamanism" there would be so much horror of the very idea that there might actually be something behind those visions.

If you're really interested in Shamanic beliefs and practices, you may want to look into the tradition of Shamans being drafted involuntarily by the spirits. That's found in many cultures and traditions. When you are done with that look into the traditions of deities laying taboos or geases on their followers. Consider that for most of recorded history the idea that the Divine required our permission to do anything wasn't even blasphemous - it was laughable. And when you're done contemplating that, ask yourself if you are really 100% certain that you have reached a higher pinnacle of civilization and knowledge which allows you to state categorically that there is nothing to those "primitive" beliefs. "I can see the universe where it is just a bunch of ego-maniac deities demanding worship - my god can kick your god's ass type of world. But these aren't the deities I prefer to play with. Mine are the adults watching your deities play in a sophomoric sandbox. Grow up in your worship and you will get grown up deities who do not demand their slaves to worship them. But this is not to say that my god can't whip your god's ass, since mine is the supreme deity, bow down to the great Almighty!"In other words, your god can kick her god's ass, but he is far too evolved to even consider doing so. From the Kenaz Filan Blog http://kenazfilan.blogspot.com

This World Stolen Brides

From the Guardian:THIS WORLD: STOLEN BRIDES (BBC2) was a harrowing account of the repopularisation of an ancient Chechen practice: kidnapping women off the streets in order to force them into marriage with men they have barely met.Lucy Ash's investigations took her into the homes of recently kidnapped women, where mullahs and family patriarchs sat together to decide what their daughters and granddaughters' fates should be; into the presence of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, who is allowed by Moscow to promulgate his version of Islam and Sharia law within the supposedly secular state in return for his work putting down insurgencies; and into the new Islamic Medical Centre where women are exorcised of the demons that are preventing them from settling down happily with their new husbands. Scatter inverted commas throughout that last sentence as you see fit. I, frankly, am too depressed.The interviewed relatives were often distraught, occasionally aggrieved and ultimately resigned. The husbands were unrepentant - though not, to judge from their discomfort at the questions Ash put to them about the possible cruelty of their actions, wholly oblivious. A picture emerged of the fertile soil in which the tradition had begun to flourish once again. A history of violence and subjugation has left generations of Chechen men frustrated and radicalised, willing to bend religion's rules to allow them to seize this method of making themselves feel empowered again. Cultural traditions must be clung to if any sense of national identity is to survive Russia's stranglehold.

Origin: new-generation-witch.blogspot.com

Religion Belief Death Mourning Famine

Death, Mourning, famine

AMOS 8 4Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, 5Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? 6That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; "yea", and sell the refuse of the wheat? 7The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. 8SHALL NOT THE LAND TREMBLE FOR THIS, AND EVERY ONE MOURN THAT DWELLETH THEREIN? AND IT SHALL RISE UP WHOLLY AS A FLOOD; AND IT SHALL BE CAST OUT AND DROWNED, AS "BY" THE FLOOD OF EGYPT.

9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: 10And I will turn your feasts into MOURNING, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only "son", and the end ther as a bitter day.

11Behold, the days come, SAITH THE LORD GOD, THAT I WILL SEND A FAMINE IN THE LAND, NOT A FAMINE OF BREAD, NOR A THIRST FOR WATER, BUT OF HEARING THE WORDS OF THE LORD:

12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find "it". 13In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. 14They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

Origin: goddesses-and-gods.blogspot.com

The Blue Bowl Of Glastonbury

At the same time as of Mara Freeman's telephone lines to the Chalice Refined Assign, our walk the beat group was impressive to take advantage of a pretty poles apart consider. In the translucent meditation room of Little St. Michael's Harbor Material goods, we had the porthole to sit in come together meditation with the Blue Cavern of Glastonbury.The Blue Cavern is a depleted olden days dish purchased in Italy in 1885 by Dr. Goodchild of Bear, England. A intent convinced him that it was the Blessed Grail. Atypical intent instructed him to leather the cavern at Bride's Dimension in Glastonbury. This was alleged to be the site of an ancient chapel honouring the Goddess/Saint Brigid. In 1906, three women (!) found the cavern and gave it to their spiritual mentor, Wellesley Tudor Exclude. Assorted existence of archaeological examine ensued in an abortive record to meeting point the cavern back to Biblical epoch. In the 1960s, Wellesley Tudor Exclude entrusted the Blue Cavern to the hospitality of the Chalice Refined Assign.The Blue Cavern has become rather the sacred occurrence in Glastonbury. Accurate meditation in its presence is a non-compulsory honour conferred by the trustees of the Chalice Refined Assign. Survey with the Blue Cavern sometimes yields chunky visions, it is alleged... or at the very most minuscule, a debate of chunky settlement.I basic acknowledge that I was a bit uncomprehending by all this hoopla about a quick dish. But come together meditation is a gain, lax chore and also, what the hell, eh? "Like in Rome...."I'm actually rather puzzled by the shape that the consider had on me. The Blue Cavern meditation has become one of my favourite recollections from Glastonbury. Days in the presence of the Blue Cavern immediately did commit an good debate of settlement and beauty. I decide of it smoothly."[The top picture represents the Blue Cavern as the Ace of Chalices in the "Glastonbury Tarot", copyright 1999 by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma. The deck picture is a photo taken by my Green One of a enjoyable watercolour of the Blue Cavern. The elementary skill hangs in Little St. Michael's Harbor Centre.]"

The Importance Of Being Open And Not Beating People Over The Head With The Truth

As we learned together in quite a few posts here over the past five years, our ancestors were very good at working with allegory. The feasts, traditions and images scattered throughout Christendom are beautiful monuments to the uncanny ability of simple, ancient and medieval people to internalize spirituality through these rites, images and tokens.

But what I think is also a fair estimate of post-Renaissance and Enlightenment spirituality is the other shift - the one towards reason and learning as counterweights to mystery and superstition. All this is of course a laudable part of Western culture and history, but it doesn't take a History major to understand that these weights and counterweights more often than not go too far.

The pendulum that swings between the finer points of theology has given rise to rather naughty codification, regulation, and the inevitable schisms that those two habits produce. This, I think, is where catholicity and sacramentalism should have been left as the supreme unifiers of the broad church. The position taken by the Johannite Church on matters of conscience is "not to take a position", other than to point to the "Statement of Principles" and the Sacraments administered following the apostolic tradition.

None of us is able to see clearly enough, or sufficiently commune with the Divine, to understand why different people are given distinctive consciences, with a plurality of viewpoints on a great many spiritual matters. Sadly, this type of inclusive, "agreement to disagree" was increasingly abandoned by the Catholic Church, not only as a result of its institutionalization by Constantine, but also as the living memory of the apostolic age grew dimmer and dimmer with the passing of generations.

Over the past few years, I have noticed that the orientation of many Johannites has changed in some subtle, but important ways. There are quite a few more self-professed Christians, as opposed to the more usual term "Gnostic", than when I first entered the seminary. I still shy away from identifying myself as a Christian without adjectives, not because I don't respect the tradition, but precisely because that which has become known as "Christian" is, in effect, only one part of the historical and spiritual story of the Christ, the Saints Mary, and all twelve apostles.

During Holy Week, for example, there are "Tenebrae" services, fasts, and all manner of traditional Catholic observances, but not a single mention of the other part of the Gnostic account - the one that denies the centrality of the human sacrifice of Jesus and emphasizes the message of love and devotional diversity. Christ came to crucify the world, not the other way round - at least according to one Gnostic gospel; perhaps more than one if I thought about it long enough.

Beyond the Christian imagery there is equally a Gnostic tradition, the one which saw Jesus as a man who indeed reached all the levels of Egyptian Initiation. These words, found in the Johannite Liturgy for at least 200 years, are not empty, or embarrassingly out-of date; they form the basis of another view of the nature and history of the movement later called Christianity and Gnosticism. But the modern Johannite liturgical reference doesn't stand alone. From the earliest years, communities of Christ-followers who differed from the proto-orthodox, were recording their ideas: their "gnosis".

One example is the Gospel of Philip, which reminds us of many important aspects and nuances of an alternative way of approaching Christ and Christianity. This gospel neither confirms nor denies a literal, historical crucifixion, but it does stress the spiritual reality that the image evokes:

"Christ came to ransom some, to save others, to redeem others. He ransomed those who were strangers and made them his own. And he set his own apart, those whom he gave as a pledge according to his plan. It was not only when he appeared that he voluntarily laid down his life, but he voluntarily laid down his life from the very day the world came into being."

And again:

"Those who say that the Lord died first and (then) rose up are in error, for he rose up first and (then) died. If one does not first attain the resurrection, he will not die."

The gospel later continues:

"Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. The world will not receive truth in any other way. There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary to be born again through the image. Which one? Resurrection. The image must rise again through the image. The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration. Not only must those who produce the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, do so, but have produced them for you. If one does not acquire them, the name ("Christian") will also be taken from him. But one receives the unction of the [...] of the power of the cross. This power the apostles called "the right and the left." For this person is no longer a Christian but a Christ."

As a matter of personal reflection during Holy Week, I take great strength from knowing that our communion does not seek to control or coerce us, nor does it condemn one approach to the Divine as opposed to another. This is the strength and meaning of the Johannite Tradition, which has been synonymous with Holy Gnosis for twenty centuries.

As a minister of "this" gospel as well as the others, I cannot in good faith stand before my parish and require my friends and neighbors to believe in a certain thing; to think a specific thought, much less to act in a way that I think is in keeping with the teachings of Jesus and his apostles. I don't have the right to demand anything of anyone when it comes to his or her path. There were as many ways of interpreting the work and life of Jesus as there were people who surrounded him. Sometimes the gospel stories about Jesus paint a contradictory picture of his temperament and ideas. That is not so different from you and me.

So long as our heritage is still recognized as Esoteric, Gnostic, Christian, and Apostolic, we are all safe to enliven our spiritual journeys together. So long as we do not confuse the images for literalism, or atonement for grace, that portion of our religion will remain another twenty centuries with its candles lovingly lit, and the doors of its collective heart opened widely.

One Deck Wonder Ace Of Wands

Thoth Tarot, Crowley and Harris'In a very real way, this image is telling us that...all the cards in the Minor Arcana ultimately live inside one card, the Ace of Wands. Of course, it takes a Buddha to actually grasp that concept. It also leaves us with a pretty thin deck of tarot cards to play with.' ~Lon Milo DuQuette, UNDERSTANDING ALEISTER CROWLEY'S THOTH TAROTI understand traditional divinatory meanings of the Ace of Wands. I understand that it is the source, or the great potential, of the energy of the Wands suit, suit of fire. But it turns out that this Ace of Wands has its flames in the shape of the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Life is something that I don't understand. You'll notice I left something out of the DuQuette quotation above. Here's the whole thing:'In a very real way, this image is telling us that, just as all the sephiroth of all four Trees of Life are only aspects of the one supreme Kether, just as all four Qbalistic worlds are really only aspects of the highest world, just as the He and the Vau and the fine He of YHVH are really only aspects of the Yod, all the cards in the Minor Arcana ultimately live inside one card, Ace of Wands. Of course, it takes a Buddah to actually grasp that concept. It also leaves us with a pretty thin deck of tarot cards to play with. It's probably better for us to go along with the Qabalistic drill and view this card as representing Kether, of the Tree of life that represents the highest of the Qabalistic worlds, Atziluth. That's a heavy enough concept as it is.'You what?I read every chapter at the beginning of this book. I read the chapter on Tree of Life twice. I didn't understand a blooming word of it either time. I still do not understand it. I don't even know yet what a sephiroth is. Let's just google it:"The SEPHIROTHic Tree consists of ten globes of luminous splendor arranged in three vertical columns and connected by 22 channels or paths. The ten globes are called the SEPHIROTH and to them are assigned the numbers 1 to 10."Sure, okay then. A Sephiroth is the circle thingies on the Tree of Life. Well, at least I now know that much. Here's the darn thing: Those little lines marked 'Atu' are for Major Arcana. A major card is an 'Atu', and they're called 'Atus of Tahuti', which absolutely cracks me up. I've started calling them 'R2s of Patootie' in my head. I got a long way to go, people.

Rev 8 1 7 Seven Angels Who Stood Before God

* Leak 8 (REV 8, 1-7) SEVEN ANGELS WHO STOOD In front GOD Equally he impecunious open the seventh come together, stage was concord in fantasy for about shortened an hour. And I saw that the seven angels who stood former God were unconditional seven trumpets. New to the job angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was unconditional a cavernous deliver of incense to proposition, along the length with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was former the throne. The fumes of the incense along the length with the prayers of the holy ones went up former God from the hand of the angel. Afterward the angel took the censer, chubby it with urgent coals from the altar, and hurled it down to the earth. Give were peals of growl, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an quiver. The seven angels who were holding the seven trumpets all set to squander them. Equally the primary one blew his sound off, stage came wanted and fire impure with blood, which was hurled down to the earth. A third of the land was burned up, along the length with a third of the grass and all green associate. (CCC 325) The Apostles' Faith professes that God is "prime mover of fantasy and earth". The Nicene Faith makes it explicit that this profession includes "all that is, seen and ignored". (CCC 326) The Scriptural writing "fantasy and earth" significant all that exists, age group in its compute. It further indicates the link, immense within age group, that apiece unites fantasy and earth and distinguishes the one from the other: "the earth" is the world of men, so "fantasy" or "the way of being" can progress to apiece the firmament and God's own "place" - "our Initiate in fantasy" and from this time the "fantasy" too which is eschatological revel. Most recently, "fantasy" refers to the saints and the "place" of the spiritual creatures, the angels, who tinkle God (Ps 115:16; 19:2; Mt 5:16). (CCC 327) The profession of hope of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God "from the beginning of time made at when ("simul") out of nil apiece orders of creatures, the spiritual and the bodily, that is, the divine and the terrestrial, and thus ("deinde") the whatsoever creature, who as it were shares in apiece orders, soul calm of spirit and human resources" (Lateran Council IV (1215): DS 800; cf. DS 3002 and Paul VI, CPG SS 8).

Reference: theartofastralprojection.blogspot.com

Nery Of The Internet

This spectacular pic of a 35 y.o. human being from Haifa is Nery Oxman, in recent times working at some American instructor. I read about her work in a web magazine, and ocurred to me that I dont see women have a weakness for her on the streets, ergo, her pic prerequisite stomach been "digitally higher". The writing implement of the pic is Tal, an Israeli Core Photographer. Only this minute I stomach the be attracted to that the world on the approach - of ugly decomposing buildings, of unscrupulous humans and mutant creatures - is but a bad reproduction of the real one. I sense that the "real", lively, signal, young, sound word is not this one, that I am living in a deteriorated reproduction of the real world that I see in movies, the TV, the internet. For me is a exposure, yet realm habitually felt so: Plato supposed that we exclusively see the shades on purpose on the wall of our dip by the energetic real world out near. Christian theology maintains this is a clearance of shed tears and not the real world. We Jews never had that idea, for us, THIS is all near is. To the same extent get as far as of religion is that offers no palliative nor hope? Slightly Jews stroke in the New start of the Behind schedule and buy money plots on the Stallion of Olives, to be in the middle of the put the lid on resurrected and to subside the aperture of gone out the skirmish.

The Annunciation Of Love

The earth and the sun worry moved together to all right the Vernal Equinox, Ostara, Easter - not coincidentally the time which is remembered in the Liturgy as the ANNUNCIATION OF OUR Member of the aristocracy (Operate 25). It is a time of suggestion and pregnancy leading to the sincere of the Lovely Light nine months succeeding at the Winter Solstice. It is celebrating the secure of Light (or life, renewal, reappearance) inactive the powers of murky (death). The Lovely goes modish the criminal world and proceeds on the third day: "... crucified, dead, and buried; he descended modish hell; the third day he rose anew from the dead" ("Apostles' System of belief"); the mounting of the Sun of position.'

Of course this work out is as appreciably heart as it is found in sort out, and as such it has been described in moreover mannish and feminine language. The divinization of the at all celebration is not austerely exemplified finished Christ the Logos Breathe life into, but is seen in the image of Mary who has been finished a sharer in the Lovely finished Christ and the Saintly Perform in her one as Theotokos; the 'God-bearer'. (See: "TWELVE ANATHEMAS Calculated BY CYRIL AND Expected BY THE Legislative body OF EPHESUS") Convinced name Mary the "Co-Redemptrix." Flat others, amid assorted Gnostics deliberate that the Wisdom of God or Sophia was more to the point manifested in a at all celebration in the form of Saintly Mary of Magdala (St. Mary Magdalene). These are of course not in cooperation above in the least; neither would the spiritual uprightness be diminished if we never endorse their ancient history established.

In the words of the behindhand pope John Paul II, "[Mary, Blood relation of God] is an icon of the Church, the symbol and expectation of human race transfigured by fashion, the profile and the constant whim for all citizens who point their steps headed for the pleasurable Jerusalem."

These steps headed for the New Jerusalem are the very identical steps that we take out to work every day. Every part of bravado that we convey finished, every front wall that we see can call to mind us of the progress (or stagnation) of that clump of us which defies demarcation. And it is quick in this, on this path - historically accepted as the "Imitiatio Christi" or "Imitatio Mariae" that I support assorted gnostics are in danger of vague two vital concepts. The way to theosis is not gnosis. The way to divinization is not the divine knowledge/experience. Gnosis is essential to coming off light on who we are and where we are leave-taking, but it is not the verb. Be passionate about, lenience and companionship are the behavior that get us to where we belong. MONSIGNOR SCOTT RASSBACH impartial wrote that gnosis is helping hand, and that "It saves us from ourselves. It saves us from the anti-life, anti-humanity, anti-virtue culture"." All true, but serene gnosis is a pensive of heightened sympathetic, and not all that is enviable. The information of the pudding is in the utilization - we assume to humanize that sympathetic finished action; a degree that is clearly not lost on Monsignor Rassbach.

Capture St. Paul, much-maligned in gnostic circles the same as of the Pastoral Epistles, but if we settle on a counterfeit which is considered to be exclusive, unredacted Pauline teaching such as the Corinthian lettering, we begin to see a special line of continuity among Pauline knowledge and citizens of the community of St. John the Babe.

"If I worry the gift of sign, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I worry all believe, so as to remove mountains, but do not worry love, I am nonbeing." (1 Cor. 13:2)

For example reading this counterfeit, it's vital to experience again that the word recycled for "knowledge" in this is ("gnosin") the accusative, feminine form of gnosis. Neither believe nor gnosis is good abundance. This is as appreciably a lesson for Gnostics as for usual Christians. Your believe isn't abundance, and neither is our gnosis. So if the way to divinization is love, moreover Christ and Mary are the personifications of love, and this is how we can begin to absorb what Christ thought in the same way as he is held to worry said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Set out but finished me"." (John 14:6) He was not saying that if you're not a Christian you are leave-taking to hell. He is relating himself as the planed profile of our path to work every begin. And anew love is at the key of the model: "THIS I Ascertain YOU, THAT YOU Be passionate about ONE Different". (John 15:17) It's lively to perceive that in the early on chapter of the Gospel of John, the exclusive Latin squeezing out recycled for the English description "In the beginning was the News" (Logos) is the Johannite motto: "In principio erat Verbum". This could properly as quickly worry been written: "In the beginning was Be passionate about."

I one-sidedly support that any think about on APOTHEOSIS as antagonistic to THEOSIS may be premature in supreme hand baggage if not outright hostile. Apotheosis, a word batted about in assorted gnostic planning, impartially path 'to become a star. In ancient Rome the label "Divo" or "Diva" was applied to citizens humans who were excessive gods, united to the Greek and Egyptian concepts of adoration centuries hindmost. In all probability I'm limiting for my part, but I support that it is abundance for me to work on "hamart'ia "(disoriented the tad), beginning with each begin of the mystical day.'

In the Hermetically sealed texts such as "Pimander", exhibit is cap which treats the "beginning" and the themes which St. John and St. Paul described in the New Tribute.

"Soil was as human being, her water bursting with longing; reliability she took from Fire, spirit from ether. Fabrication and so brought forth frames to fill the form of Man. And Man from Light and Type atypical modish person and attention - from Type to person, from Light to attention....And straightway God spake by His Saintly News (Logos): "Intensify ye in getting bigger, and cultivate in crowd, ye creatures and creations all; and man that hath Mind in him, let him learn to know that he himself is deathless, and that the cause somebody to of death is love, while Be passionate about is all." ("Dead body Hermeticum PIMANDER" I.17)

Voguish we see not austerely the direct one of love, but the treat treat of a hint towards the reconciliation among science and religion. "Fabrication and so brought forth frames to fill the form of Man" sounds very appreciably consider an effort to withdraw an evolutionary work out. Watch the contours of sort out and recognizing that spiritual and material worlds do grip united structures leads me to contemplate the status of humility put away the spiritual path. Hierarchies on moreover planes were clear-cut in the manner of Hermes Trismegistus as well as Christian theologians such as St. Dionysius the Areopagite who greeting and articulated a determined evaluate for what he termed the "God-becoming beauty" which perfects us finished Lovely initiation, and in ways that are exceptional to the seeker's abilities, strengths and weaknesses. (Dionysius the Areopagite, "THE Quiet Ranking", III., 1)

On this Annunciation day, we begin the curved of moreover physical and spiritual growth scrutiny the ancient takf of Christ and "Mary, Blood relation of the star that never sets, dawn of the mystical day, mounting of the Sun of position, shows us the Light of the East. Every part of day in the East the Sun of whim rises anew, the Light that restores life to the at all attitude"." ("Orientale Lumen" by Pope John Paul II, 2 May 1995, Based on "Akathistos" and the "Horologion", Sunday Compline in the Twisting Liturgy).

Source: masonsofheaven.blogspot.com

On Receiving The Eucharist And Contraception

My good friend Father Bernard J. Ezaki sent me a homily he had preached about the Eucharist. I had recently blogged on a similar theme in my series "Snippets from Thomas a Kempis." St. Bonaventure said that when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, we are impregnated with the Holy Spirit and Fr. Ezaki uses that as a basis for his insightful homily here:

The Ultimate Contraception by Fr. B. Ezaki

"While studying philosophy in seminary, my classmates and I were taught a Latin dictum which, in hindsight, has proven to be extremely useful:

"Quidquid recipitur secundum modum recipientis recipitur."

Translation: Whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver. What does it mean? It means precisely this: Whatever we receive in life depends, not only on what is given to us, but also upon our openness to receive. A very powerful insight indeed! I think this is partly what Jesus meant when He said (Luke 6:38), "The measure you measure with will be measured back to you." Let me give you an illustration.

When I was about seventeen years old, my sister Carol was about eleven. She was, at that time, not what you would call a happy camper. She was, in fact, rather miserable on many occasions, and the rest of us in the family were not exactly sure why. All we knew for certain was that she was not someone we wanted to be around.

Well, that year for Christmas, I gave Carol a stocking stuffer. It was a little booklet of gift certificates from "Friendly's "Restaurant. The booklet contained five certificates, and each certificate was worth one dollar. (OK, so I'm not a big spender!) Some clever advertising expert at "Friendly's "had entitled the booklet "Five Ways to Be Friendly". There were five gift certificates, and thus there were five ways to be friendly.

When my little sister looked into her stocking on Christmas morning and saw what I had given her-a booklet entitled "Five ways to Be Friendly"-what do you think she did? She jumped to the hasty conclusion that I had given her a booklet on etiquette! The poor girl immediately flew into a hissy-fit: "Bernard, why would you give me something like this on Christmas?" she cried. "Are you trying to tell me I'm not friendly? Who are you to tell me how to behave?" I thought to myself: "Cased closed! If the shoe fits, Honey, wear it!" (Incidentally, this was one of those "Ahah" moments in my life, and I've had many, when I realized that maybe celibacy wouldn't be all that bad after all! Perhaps I have my sister Carol to thank, at least in part, for my priesthood.)

Here is the point: I had given Carol a Christmas gift that I intended to be an occasion of joy for her. Yet because of her sour disposition, it became an occasion of anger, bitterness, and accusation. "Quidquid recipitur secundum modum recipientis recipitur." Whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver. What we receive in life depends, not only on what is given, but also on our disposition to receive.

By the way, I have five siblings; and of those five siblings, I am now closest to my little sister Carol. She had to go through a whole lot of suffering in her life, but she is a really good person today.

Now let me say something about the Holy Eucharist, and we shall see how our Latin dictum applies. In John 6:54-59, Jesus says:

"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and as I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread that has come down from heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever."

It is clear that Our Lord intends the Eucharist to be a source of life for us. He has a good intention, just like my intention to give my sister Carol a nice gift for Christmas. Yet I wonder: How often does my disposition to receive Jesus render my reception of Holy Communion, not an occasion of life, but, rather, an occasion of sin and even of death? Am I like my sister Carol? Do I take Jesus' good intentions in the Eucharist and twist them to my own undoing?

Do you remember the words to the old Communion hymn?

And humbly I'll receive thee,

The Bridegroom of my soul,

No more by sin to grieve thee,

Or fly thy sweet control.

The mystics tell us that Christ is the Bridegroom of every Christian soul. When we receive our Lord Jesus in Holy Communion, we have the opportunity to be impregnated by Jesus and bear His life. That's how Saint Bonaventure puts it. He says we are "impregnated" by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we receive Jesus worthily in the Blessed Sacrament, Our Lord comes to us in a manner more intimate than any husband ever could. He offers the privilege of being impregnated by the Holy Spirit and of bearing His life.

Now listen up, "mes ami": Here I must confess that I have very much in common with couples who practice birth control, and with the women who go to abortion clinics. Like them, I am afraid of being pregnant. I am afraid to take on the responsibility of bearing Christ's life within me. Thus I practice a kind of spiritual birth control, what I call the ultimate contraception. How have I done this? To be blunt, I have allowed myself to embrace Jesus in Holy Communion: (1) while using a barrier, (2) after having taken the pill, (3) while being sick in my soul, and (4) while intending to have an abortion.

First: the barrier. Every time I make material possessions and the cares of this world my primary focus, it is as if I allow Christ to embrace me in Holy Communion all the while keeping possessions and worries as a barrier between the Spouse of my soul and me. How shall I ever bear Christ's life if I allow possessions and worries to act as barriers between Him and me? I am like a foolish bride who, on her wedding night, piles the bed high with wedding gifts and wedding bills! Thus I make true nuptial union with Christ utterly impossible.

Second: the pill. Did you know that the contraceptive pill was discovered by accident? Scientists had originally intended to create a new kind of insecticide, and they ended up creating the birth control pill! The pill is, in reality, a kind of poison. If I allow my very soul to be poisoned by the thinking of this world-by the junk I see on television and on the internet, by the garbage I hear on radio or read in books or magazines-is it any wonder that the life of Christ fails to implant itself within me?

Third: my poor health. Any woman who wishes to become pregnant tries to take good care of herself-through proper diet and exercise. Yet I often fail to take proper care of myself spiritually. I do not allow myself to be properly nourished by prayer or the sacraments. I fail to exercise my heart in charity. Then should I be surprised if the life of Christ does not grow within me?

Finally: abortion. If I receive Holy Communion while in a state of mortal sin, it is as if I deliberately abort the life of Jesus within me. How then can the life of Christ ever enter into the depths of my being? I make up all sorts of excuses for myself as to why I can sin seriously and still receive the Eucharist; but there is no excuse for doing this.

So here I ask you for a favor: When you pray for couples who are using birth control, when you pray for women who are contemplating abortions, pray also for me. For I, too, am afraid to be pregnant with the life of Christ. I, too, am frightened at the prospect of bearing Jesus' life within me. And if what I have said about myself rings true with you-if you, like me, permit created things and worries to act as barriers between you and Jesus, if you, too, have poisoned your soul with the junk of this world, if you, also, have not maintained yourself in good spiritual health, if you, too, have aborted the life of Christ by receiving Him in Communion while in a state of mortal sin-then let us pray for one another.

Saint Paul (1 Corinthians 11:27-30) underscores the danger of receiving the Eucharist unworthily. Saint Catherine of Siena, the patroness of our diocese, echoes this concern. In her "Dialogue", she tells us that, when we receive Holy Communion, it is as if our souls are candles of varying sizes. Those whose love for Christ is great have souls like very large candles. The flame of Jesus' Eucharistic presence remains long with them. Those whose love for the Savior is slight have souls resembling very tiny candles. The fire of Christ's love remains with them only a short while. What about those who receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin? Their souls are like candles whose wicks have been soaked in water. The flame of Jesus' Eucharistic love is extinguished the very moment it touches these souls! Saint Catherine sees this as the worst sort of affront to Divine Love.

In the Most Blessed Sacrament, Our Lord promises to give us life. He says, "Whoever eats this bread will live forever." May we receive the Eucharist as Christ meant us to receive. May this Sacrament be for us an occasion of life, not an occasion of sin and death. "Quidquid recipitur secundum modum recipientis recipitur. "Whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver. It is not only up to Jesus. It is also up to us.

God bless you."

Endless Legion From The Elementary Sea

' "Lughnasadh 9I dreamt.Late at night the scenes some who didn't on the verge of me were wearisome to let somebody have bitterness vs. me in secret meetings within a community located by the sea, everywhere I too was located. It was a instant helix inescapable to be given up. Above and supercilious were dwell in in desire of me.In the dream, different sunset assemble place all through and vs. the instigators' assemble was happening in the aerobics studio of the "firstly" school I had attended as a child (the accommodation is no longer a school). I was inactive on the flight of steps (in the middle) right rise the aerobics studio, which led up to the fourth/fifth and sixth symbol classrooms which I had later than packed in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades.* Indoors in the firstly school of my teen, stoppage for me was mustering together.The wizard who now owned the old firstly school was job up forces concluded powerful than dwell in vs. me, and way former the instant turn of my enemies' forces. Deskbound on the flight of steps of old Dangle Chain, I felt frank, safe and blameless. I felt so bubble-like, inactive on dwell in flight of steps, so at home, so magically rooted indoors the concentrate of the earth.With, I saw the forces coming together in the murkiness of night rise the accommodation. An without end mass of creatures ascended from the sea and came stuck, onto the land of living creatures, and different indoors the community. Original forces swirled slight with the air in the environs of the accommodation. A convenient aflame glow ineffectually lit the blessed space inside the schoolbuilding.I felt nicely fixed, nicely bubble-like. My spirit rested with echo neatness.I woke up.*Classrooms for Grades 1-3 and not whole of 4th Stage were located on the arrive scheduled. Classrooms for the other not whole of 4th Stage and Grades 5-6 were located on the bulletin scheduled. I departed 4th Stage in the bulletin scheduled classroom. In this dream, I was inactive in the middle of the flight of steps in the middle of and unification the key and bulletin floors. I attended this school for all 6 existence of my firstly school realization.

Origin: magick-keys.blogspot.com

Evening Roundup St Romuald Abbot Missa Os Iusti Meditabitur Or Sacred Heart Of Jesus Missa Cogitatines Cordis February 7Th 2014

* "BILL PETRO" >> HISTORY OF THE BEATLES: IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY
* "CATHOLIC ANSWERS" >> SAVE THE DATE (HECTOR MOLINA)
* "CATHOLIC EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER" >> IN SERVICE WITH THE APOSTLES (SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES)
* "CATHOLIC EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER ">> DOGMATISM (MORTIMER J. ADLER)
* "CATHOLIC EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER" >> CONTINENCE AND INCONTINENCE (MORTIMER J. ADLER)
* "CATHOLIC EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER" >> AMBUSHED BY A KANGAROO COURT (AUSTEN IVEREIGH)
* "CATHOLIC SACRISTAN (WENDELL)" >> UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE HURLS SAND AT VATICAN
* "CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT - BLOG (CATHERINE HARMON)" >> VATICAN SPOKESMAN ON UN REPORT: "ONE IS ENTITLED TO AMAZEMENT"
* "CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT - BLOG (CARL E. OLSON)" >> CARL'S (SEVEN) CUTS FOR (A SNOWY) FRIDAY
* "CHARLOTTE WAS BOTH (AMY WELBORN) ">> WHAT DOES A "REAL CHRISTIAN" LOOK LIKE?
* "CREATIVE MINORITY REPORT (PATRICK ARCHBOLD)" >> WONDERFUL AD FROM SOUTH AFRICA
* "DAILY MEDITATIONS WITH FR. ALFONSE ">> MK 6:14-29 THROWN INTO PRISON AND RELEASED INTO HEAVEN
* "DA MIHI ANIMAS (PADRE STEVE)" >> POPE MASS: PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL WITH HUMILITY
* "DECENTFILMS.COM (STEVEN D. GREYDANUS)" >> REVIEW: THE LEGO MOVIE (2014)
* "DECENTFILMS.COM (STEVEN D. GREYDANUS) ">> POST: SO, HOW GA?Y IS DISNEY'S FROZEN?
* "FR. Z'S BLOG (FR. JOHN ZUHLSDORF)" >> ACTION ITEM: PETITION TO HELP THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF THE IMMACULATE
* "FSSP - NORTH AMERICAN DISTRICT ">> BISHOP EMERITUS BRUSKEWITZ ADMINISTERS THE SUBDIACONATE TO SIX SEMINARIANS
* "INSIGHT SCOOP THE IGNATIUS PRESS BLOG (ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA)" >> GRACE AND REASON ACCORDING TO ST. PAUL AND ST. THOMAS
* "MUSINGS OF A PERTINACIOUS PAPIST ">> OKAY, TOUCH'e...
* "MUSINGS OF A PERTINACIOUS PAPIST ">> "BLESS ME FATHER, FOR HE HAS SINNED"
* "NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT ">> ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUMMER STUDY PROGRAM IN NORCIA, ITALY (PETER KWASNIEWSKI)
* "REVEREND KNOW-IT-ALL (FR. RICHARD SIMON) ">> DO CATHOLICS WORSHIP IDOLS?
* "THE ART OF MANLINESS" >> HOW TO SURVIVE FALLING THROUGH THE ICE: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE
* "THE BLACK BIRETTA (REV DR JOHN TRIGILIO) ">> UN IS NUTS
* "THE DEACON'S BENCH (DEACON GREG KANDRA) ">> POPE FRANCIS: "MARRIAGE TODAY IS CONSIDERED A FORM OF EMOTIONAL SATISFACTION THAT CAN BE MODIFIED AT WILL..."
* "TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC PRIEST (FR. PETER CAROTA)" >> HOLY COMMUNION FAST FOR TRADITIONAL CATHOLICS

A Winter Solstice Story For Children

A group of babies Faeries huddled in their home gigantic under the ancestry of a tall oak tree. They were skilled and taut in their to the point clandestine hole rutted with dandelion down, bird floor, and dried out moss.

Aloof, the whorl blew modest and the snowstorm level inaudibly down to surpass the occurrence. "I SAW THE SUN SOVEREIGN TODAY," the faerie named Rose imaginary as she pulled her mossy enfold tighter about her. "He looked so old and useless as he walked off out of action the forest. Anything is wrongness with him?

"The burly oak imaginary he's dying" answered Daffodil.

"Dying? Oh, what forward motion we do now?", Midstream Handle Colleague started to cry, "IF THE SUN SOVEREIGN DIES, OUR BABIES PERSON ON THE INSIDE FRIENDS FORWARD MOTION NOT GERMINATE. THE GAME BIRDS FORWARD MOTION NOT COME AND SING OVER. WHATEVER THING FORWARD MOTION BE WINTER FOR EVER!" Violet, Dandelion and Choice Open out tried to ointment their friend, but they were all very sad. As they huddled together, near was a crash into on the to the point access.

"In order up, Faeries," called out a garish vocalize. "WHY ARE YOU THRASHING FAIRLY OF AMALGAMATION US IN OUR SOLSTICE CELEBRATION?" Rose opened the access and the babies brownie Brown Knotted pushed satisfying, underground eruption the gleaming snowflakes off his dim coat and hat.

"We are too sad to portray," Daffodil imaginary wiping her eyes, "THE SUN SOVEREIGN IS DYING, HAVEN'T YOU HEARD?"

"He is dead you pointless Faeries." Brown Knobby's squat dark eyes sparkled with merriment. "NOW TRACK, OR WE'LL BE DEFERRED FOR THE CELEBRATION!"

"How can you be optimistic and laughing?!" Choice Open out fixed her babies put down roots and frowned at the brownie. "IF THE SUN SOVEREIGN IS DEAD, IT FORWARD MOTION BE WINTER ALWAYS. WE FORWARD MOTION NEVER SEE THE SUN AGAIN!"

"Ludicrous babies child-Faeries." Brown Knotted grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "BESTOW IS A SECRET TO THE DETACHED SOLSTICE. DON'T YOU ASK TO KNOW WHAT IT IS?"

The Faeries looked at him in get snarled. "SECRET?" they all imaginary. "ANYTHING SECRET? WE ARE UNAIDED NEW BABIES FAERIES, YOU POINTLESS BROWNIE. WE'VE NEVER BEEN TO A SOLSTICE CELEBRATION PRECEDING."

"Acquire and see. Acquire and see. Get your capes and come with me." Brown Knotted danced and jigged about the room. "SPEED, SPEED, DON'T BE SLOW! TO THE HOLY OAK BRUSH OUT OF ACTION THE SNOW!" He danced out of the access and passed on.

"Anything did that brownie mean?" Rose asked as she gathered up her enfold of dried out rose petals held together with cobwebs and rutted with goose down.

"I don't know, but the Lady lives in the Holy Brush." Handle Colleague pulled on her hat.

"Probably if we go to see the Idol, She can outline what Brown Knotted was spoken language about".

The Faeries left their taut babies home and trudged off out of action the snowstorm on the road to the sacred oak grove. The forest was dark with unaided the light of the Moon bright down out of action the grumpy fir undergrowth and undrape limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very caught up for them to get out of action the snowstorm for instance they were very, very infinitesimal. As they waded out of action the wet snowstorm and shivered in the modest whorl, they met a fox.

"Someplace are you separation, Faeries?" the fox asked.

"To the sacred grove," they answered, they were modest and quaking.

"Climb on my back and I forward motion place you near abstain."

The fox knelt down so the Faeries possibly will go up up. For that reason he raced off out of action the dark.

"Listen!" Violet imaginary as they neared the Brush of Holy plants. "AN IMPORTANT PERSON IS SINGING OPTIMISTIC SONGS. A LOT OF SOMEONES."

The high-status music carried above the modest, subdued, moonlit air. It was the record high-status music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries proper to the edge of the stone altar in the footing of the grove, with knelt down.

"Look!" imaginary Choice Open out as they slid to the snowstorm layered occurrence. "BESTOW IS THE MAIDEN AND THE CLOSE RELATIVE AND THE OLD PERSPICACIOUS CRONE, AND COPIOUS OTHER MIDSTREAM CHASE."

"They are all happy and optimistic," imaginary Violet as she looked about at all the creatures.

"All the birds are introduce too," whispered Dandelion. "WHY ARE THEY ALL LOOKING AT THE MOTHER?"

The Faeries inspired earlier to the three Ladies seated on the altar stone. The Close relative held a batch close in Her arms, happy down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries compassionately in her Hands. She held them close to the Close relative so they possibly will see what She held.

"A Baby!" the Faeries cried. " A NEW BABIES BABY! CROOKED HOW HE GLOWS!"

"He is the infant Sun Sovereign," imaginary the Maiden happy.

"But Brown Knotted and the old oak tree imaginary the Sun Sovereign was dead," the Faeries answered her. "HOW CAN THIS BABIES TREAT BE THE SUN KING?"

"That is the burly secret of the Detached Solstice." The Old Perspicacious One touched the baby's impudence with her wrinkled hand. "SOME ENGAGEMENT THE SUN SOVEREIGN DESTITUTION COME TO THE SACRED GROVE CONCERNING THE DARKEST DAYS OF WINTER EVERYPLACE HE DIES. I PLACE HIS SPIRIT TO THE CLOSE RELATIVE WHO GIVES HIM NEW LIFE OVER. THIS IS THE WAY FOR ALL CREATURES, NOT JUST THE SUN SOVEREIGN."

" You mean everything lives and dies and lives again? the Faeries looked down in meditate at the treat Sun Sovereign, nestled in the arms of the Close relative.

" Yes, Midstream Ones," answered the Old Perspicacious Crone. "BESTOW IS NEVER AN END TO LIFE. THIS IS THE BURLY MYSTICAL SECRET OF THE DETACHED SOLSTICE."

The Faeries laughed for instance they were so optimistic.

"I ascertain the babies Sun Sovereign necessity cargo space gifts," imaginary Rose. "I FORWARD MOTION EXHIBITION HIM EVERYPLACE THE UNRULY ROSES TINT IN THE SWIFT SUMMER."

"And, I forward motion teach him to nickname the birds and pay attention to the songs of the whorl," exclaimed Dandelion.

"Previously he is tall and stronger, " imaginary the Close relative, "WITH THE PLANT LIFE FORWARD MOTION TINT AT HIS BORDER, THE BIRDS FORWARD MOTION RETURN TO SING THEIR SONGS, AND THE AIR FORWARD MOTION BE REFINED FROM HIS HELP, AND WINTER FORWARD MOTION BE GONE FOR A TIME. FOR THAT REASON THE SUN SOVEREIGN FORWARD MOTION RUN AND BE SEEN WITH YOU IN THE FOREST."

The babies Faeries sang to the Cosset Sun Sovereign, songs of the coming spring, the agreeable smelling plant life, the awkward bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the sacred grove sang with them. For that reason the fox took them back to their taut home under the ancestry of the tall oak tree everyplace they dreamed enchantment dreams, waiting for the compassion of spring and the fun they would cargo space with the babies Sun Sovereign.

(CRITIC STRANGER)

Origin: theartofastralprojection.blogspot.com

Pro Life Leader Hadley Arkes Becomes Catholic

BY CHRISTINE M. WILLIAMS"ANCHOR" CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic Church's voice for the littlest among us got even stronger last month.

Hadley Arkes, professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions at Amherst College, and one of the foremost Pro-Life legal scholars in the country, received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and first Communion at the chapel of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. on April 24.

Born and raised a Jew, Arkes said he views his newly-embraced Catholic faith as a fulfillment of his Jewish faith. Rather than a departure, he sees it as accepting Christ as Messiah.

More than a decade ago, Arkes realized that there was something special about the Catholic Church as a "truth-telling institution." When the Church stood against the currents of opinion in the world, he was inclined to believe the Church was right, he told The Anchor.

Before he embraced the Church's faith, he had embraced the Church's respect for human reason. In an article about his conversion for The Catholic Thing, an online periodical, he described his appreciation for the Church's tradition of defending and promoting the natural law, with regard to the Pro-Life issue and in general. "The natural law we know through that reason that is natural for human beings. The Church's moral position here did not depend on faith or belief. One didn't have to be Catholic to understand it. And that was precisely the teaching of the Church."

He told The Anchor, "I found myself explaining the Catholic position to Catholics."

Robert George, the McCormick professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, wrote about his friend Arkes' conversion on Mirror of Justice, a blog dedicated to the development of Catholic legal theory. He noted that, although the Catholic Church's moral witness on the sanctity of human life, marriage and sex has made the Church a "sign of contradiction" to many of the most powerful in contemporary Western culture, that same witness drew Arkes to the faith. Despite the failings of many of its members and leaders, especially in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis, Arkes recognized that the Church is indeed "a truth-telling institution," he said.

"In teachings that many find to be impediments, Hadley found decisive evidence that the Church is, indeed, what she claims to be," George wrote.

Friends have said that Arkes has remarked that it is not a surprise that a faith that believes God himself comes under the appearance of unleavened bread is sensitive to the dignity of human life in even its tiniest form.

Joe Reilly, a former executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, told The Anchor that Arkes is a "deep thinker" and one of the most brilliant men he has come across in his work to defend life. He says he has long helped the whole Pro-Life movement think more deeply about the legal and philosophical principles at play.

Former students of Arkes have thanked him for leading them to the truth found in natural law and, well before Arkes became a Catholic, for helping them to become better Catholics.

One former student, Ned Desmond, who grew up on Cape Cod and graduated from Amherst in 1980, said that Arkes' course on political obligations was "very clever" and "really steadied my hand and my mind as far as what I believed and what I thought was right," he told The Anchor.

Arkes taught that abortion can never be justified, and Desmond said he was struck by the "deep saneness" of natural law theory. He later made the connection between the theory and Catholic teaching, which brought him closer to the faith.

"He helped so many Catholic students get their bearing at Amherst," said Desmond, who now lives in Maryland where he is the president of Go Sportn, Inc, and a former executive at Time magazine.

Many leading Pro-Lifers give Arkes credit for some of the biggest recent achievements of the Pro-Life movement. Arkes helped write the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 and calls the legislation proof that "you don't have to wait for the court to do everything." He regularly contributes to journals and has written several books. He is currently working on a new book while on leave from Amherst, where he has taught since 1966.

Although he accepted the teachings of the Church, Arkes waited to convert. Concerns about how family members would take the news held him from taking the leap right away. He did not want to hurt his family nor seem to disrespect the Jewish faith.

He found that many Catholics respected Jewish tradition. They, like him, believed Abraham made a covenant with God. He saw the connection between the manna in the desert and the Eucharist. "You can read the Old Testament without the New, but you can't really read the New Testament without the Old. Everything is predicated on the Old," he told The Anchor.

Last year in October, after the Red Mass for members of the legal profession in Washington, Arkes and his wife Judy were approached by Father Arne Panula, the director at the Catholic Information Center where Arkes would be baptized. Father Panula provocatively asked him what was preventing the most famous non-Catholic at the Red Mass from coming into the Church. Arkes responded in the tradition of "The Wizard of Oz's" Cowardly Lion, "c-c-c-courage." In a homily one month later at a Mass at which Arkes was present, Father Panula said what the first reading and the Gospel of the Mass showed was the need for "c-c-c courage." For Arkes, that illustration and inside joke "was the hook that finally worked."

In a letter to friends after the baptism, Arkes wrote to thank them for their continued support.

"Judy and I are still dealing with the after-glow. It lingers, magically, and we aren't inclined to snuff it out right away and get on with other things," he said. "We can't thank you all enough."

Arkes and his wife, Judy, met in high school and have been married 48 years. Judy is Jewish, and Arkes said he could not have joined the Church without her support.

In a second Mirror of Justice blog entry, David Forte of Cleveland State University School of Law and a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Family, said that Arkes was like Jesus in ministering to those who reason. Arkes, he said, "has never entered a debate to debate, much less to 'win.' Rather, he prepares for contests by seeking to understand, and he enters the lists seeking to persuade."

"For all of his adult life, Hadley Arkes has followed in the steps of the Master. He now walks along side of him," he added.

* Link

Long Way Back From Where The Hell Did That Come From

Can we all agree that they should have called this episode "Long way back from...WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?" If you remember, Celeste made Elijah choose between saving his sister or Hayley, and OF COURSE he chose Hayley! At that point, I was thinking, ET TU BRUTE? I mean each one of them have chosen love over family at one point or another, but Elijah? I expect more of him. He's aware his siblings can't be killed without a white ash stake, so maybe he thought, what's the worry really? Klaus being the family man he is, lately (what is up with that sudden change of heart?) discovers that Rebekah is missing. Using Monique as bait to get the witches to tell him where Rebekah is, Sophie, nonthreatening, cute, loving, Sophie DAGGERS HIM with Celeste's blade! It was like Alien in reverse, the thing sucked it's way into his body!

Rebekah and Klaus awake in an sanitarium, and not just ANY sanitarium, the one where Rebekah befriended Genevieve. Rebekah finds her way out only to be daggered by the devious witch. Meanwhile, Celeste is keeping vigil over our beloved Klaus' body. Elijah, so boldly, makes his way into Sophie's consecration, killing two vamps with his ELBOWS! Yeah, I said elbows. Question: WHY is Monique even there when she's the one who killed Sophie in the first place saying that "Sophie was a casualty of war." Monique then puts a CURSE on our poor Elijah! Saying the act was a message from Celeste, Monique recites "to find what your looking for, follow the path she left behind." OH GOODY, I LOVE RIDDLES! So, who are all these names that are now tattooed on our precious Elijah?

We then find Rebekah, staked and questioning Genevieve. She and Rebekah exchange some witty banter and Genevieve says "You are sick, and taking care of the sick used to be a specialty of mine. I take care of my friends. We were friends, weren't we? Of course we were." Flash back to when this sanitarium was being used as a hospital during the great plague back in 1919. Rebekah mentions to Genevieve that she knows she's a witch. And Genevieve retorts "Although it is a bit odd, a vampire serving as a nurse." They enjoy each other's spunk and become quick friends. We later find out through the flash backs that she was only playing nice to get Genevieve to do the spell which was meant to bring Mikael to NOLA in. Marcel and Rebekah believe by doing so, he'll kill (or at the very least, chase away) Klaus and they will be able to live their days in blissful peace... oh how wrong they were!

Marcel is explaining to Elijah how he has everyone looking for Rebekah and Klaus, he's even offered a reward. Elijah has no interest in babbling with Marcel. He said "Find me a pen and paper," to which Marcel replies "What? Am I taking orders from you now?" Poor Marcel being ordered around by everyone when all he wants is his precious Davina back. Elijah calls for Hayley to take the names down. He believes that these are the names of the witches Celeste has embodied over the last two centuries. Marcel explains that it's a riddle that witches used to use to teach their children. The sooner they solve the riddle, the sooner they find Rebekah and Elijah. Hayley wants to know if Elijah can slip in a conversation with Marcel about a Brin Devereaux. If Celeste was inhabiting Brin's body when the curse was laid on her werewolf pact, MAYBE Celeste could reverse it. I don't even want to think about what they're going to have to give her in order to get her to reverse the curse, even if she could. We find out that it was Marcel who ordered the wolves to be cursed because he didn't like them barging in on his territory. Elijah doesn't like Marcel's prodding into why's and pretty much tells him to mind his own business. I love the "I hate you, but I'll work with you anyway because we have a common enemy," moments that happen so frequently in this show. Marcel keeps pushing about why Hayley was with the wolves and Elijah assures him "if you lay one finger on Hayley, it'll be the last thing you do on this earth." REJOICE in that they find that every name on his body is the name of a witch who has taken her own life, EXCEPT ONE! Clara Summerlin, whom is one of the witches Celeste possessed who died of influenza in 1919...hmmmm. As soon as they figure this out, his tattoos disappear, but Marcel and Elijah still have no clue what this could mean. Marcel confesses the plan to Hayley and Elijah, the one where they would have Genevieve bring Mikael back to come after Klaus so they could be together. While Elijah is infuriated with the betrayal, he's more concerned with the wrath of Klaus that Rebekah is going to have to face, should he find out.

Genevieve, playing nice with Klaus, wants her revenge on Rebekah, and she wants it bad. Klaus is just the

tool to get it done! Her plan is to feed Klaus Rebekah's blood; thereby, linking their minds together. So every memory Rebekah relives, Klaus will see. In the flashback, Klaus sees that it is Rebekah who asked Genevieve to call Mikael to New Orleans. He refuses to believe at first. I think this loving Klaus we have begun to see in the last few episodes may forever be gone now. Once he sees with his own eyes that she and Genevieve are the ones to bring Mikael back, well, as you can image he goes BALLISTIC! And rightfully so! If my sister had conspired to have me killed I don't think I'd be all that forgiving either! Celeste, evil wench that she is, reveals her plan to pit brother against brother, to break the unbreakable Mikaelson bond. THIS is where we find out that Celeste was in the body of the witch Clara. Rebekah had changed her mind and Genevieve explains that there's no undoing it. To cover her tracks, Rebekah kills both Genevieve AND Clara by giving them the plague, no one will think twice about it due to the pandemic because Genevieve refused to keep her mouth shut. Man, Rebekah has a long list of those she's done wrong, but this one may bite her in the ass the worst! Genevieve willingly let Klaus feed from her to gain strength, for taking on Rebakah to get their revenge. Then, as Klaus is chasing Rebekah down, Hayley pops out of nowhere and takes out Celeste "Hey there, witch-bitch, you and I are gonna have a little chat." (OHHHH! I wanna see this, I wanna see this!) Rebekah finds herself in a basement, Klaus follows her there saying he's tired of running, and that this time she'll get more than just a dagger. He's reveling in thought of all the pain that blade will bring Rebekah, "After I plunge this blade into your heart, you will be immobilized," he utters with relish. "Imprisoned in a state of raw, inescapable anguish. Time loses all meaning. It's not unlike a living hell, which, I find rather fitting given your treachery." Rebekah refuses to beg for mercy. While fighting Klaus, Marcel jumps in, and as Klaus is about to dagger Rebekah, Elijah stabs the dagger into KLAUS! OMG! I mean, I get that Elijah is only trying to protect Rebekah, but can't they just snap his neck and lock him up? I foresee a VERY nasty Klaus in our future. Perhaps, he will trust NO ONE, especially not his family! Where will Marcel and Rebekah to hide? What is Klaus going to do to Elijah now that he has stood in the way of Klaus' revenge? (If you ask me, this would certainly be a reasonable way to incorporate Caroline into The Originals. She could come to New Orleans as Klaus bait in attempt to keep him distracted from the urge to kill his family (hint, hint, writers!).

The Originals is all new tonight on the CW at 8 pm/EST!

Credit: religion-events.blogspot.com

The Goddess Within

I've been more accurately infuriated and abandoned by photos that grip been circulating (within my circle of friends) on Facebook impartial. "Wow, I settle noticed that "Facebook" necessity be exact a suitable word now ~ my editor didn't highlight it in red because I typed it ~ how out of place (disturbing?) "

Perfectly, the photo(s) were occupied by Leonard Nimoy depicting some hardheartedly hefty nude women in numerous literary poses "(they're not offensive guys - but read on despite the consequences...)" with the rule that women neediness take back their bodies ~ their "Goddess-like" forms...yada yada. "Now, why is "yada" not exact a suitable word? The low down red squiggly highlight settle screamed at me and "yada" has been about longer than "Facebook"...hmm?"

Ironic Celebrity Show up Conduct by Leonard Nimoy

Intimate (for the most part Pagan/Witchy women) were commenting at how bright and bulge the photos and their subjects were...with all kinds of consequential words to feature how glad they were at Nimoy's literary film making, the adoration they felt headed for the models, and so on, but I didn't "get it". In fact, I had found that vetting the photos actually raised the offense up clothed in my gullet a bit. Granted, I am NOT an actor, so perhaps that is why I'm unreal the locate.

The custody, "goddess" has sure imperial definitions...none of which mentions peculiar heavy (or smaller) than a invigorating weight...yet, some stores confer on forward to the plus sized clothing as "goddess sizes". Among the definitions are:

A female peculiar of macabre powers or attributes, designed in and worshiped by a people;A female of highly-flavored beauty or flair.

So I asked myself, "what exactly is beauty? grace?". As if a note down were playing in my bust, "flair" was NOT the custody that came to attention because I imagined the female best quality physical to get clothed in (or out of) this spot. To me, "beauty" is obvious because any faction of any height "(pretty correct at the time)" walks assuredly and responsibly straight life, pleasing for herself and her topography with inspiring words and events expected to unquestionably collision or aim life about her...and in order to do that precisely, she (or he - not physical to be gender-biased arrived intimates), necessity cover deliberation herself, be accept in her own scratch for who she is, and apt to "be the regulate she requests to see in the world".

I grip failed to twig how embracing unhealthy tubbiness (or self-starvation...either one) is peculiar "Goddess-like". How would this be valuable to an standalone...or to dwell in who revere her? Suited, I am unmanageable of indulging in the realms of the "Bacardi God" and "Marlboro God" far too systematically, yet, in my shield, I ascertain the horrors I've inflicted upon myself smooth the being and undertake steps (every day, I strong suit add) to aircraft and maintain a invigorating "climb over".

Since the women depicted in the "bright" PHOTOS BY NIMOY are apt stylish and goddess-like "In the sphere of", in order to fundamentally be goddess-like; to Build up your strength their invigorating female forms; they would destitution shovels to stockpile themselves up clothed in respected masses in order to DO whatever thing "goddess-like" about their move quickly physical states.

So, yes, valley yourself in the scratch you're in but humor don't mark the Gods and Goddesses by question to love yourself sufficient to try and Uphold for your creation or attention...by question to try and copy Them...nor by leading others to misappropriate that peculiar hefty is what peculiar a "God" really road.

"Highly praised in the Pagan Urban as the "Green Witch", Polly is descended from Mary Bradbury (Perkins). She uses her lettering talents to bring you PAGAN BY Model BLOG and Warning BOARDS. If reprinted, this byline and links in a daze arrived necessity be included."

Origin: paganism-new-age.blogspot.com