“It’s Good For Your Character” for years has been an encouragement to dependability and duty in the Geiger household, a predictable response to plaintive pleas to postpone or evade routine chores. In time it left its mark on youthful characters. Inevitably, however, the younger Geigers caught on that parents needed character, too. Now it is a reminder to us all that God uses the routine, the difficult, even the painful to develop in us qualities of Christlike character that can be learned in no other way. IT REALLY IS GOOD FOR YOUR CHARACTER!
“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts, by His Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us.”
(Romans 5:3-5 NIV)


Meet Justin Wedgewood
Justin Wedgewood is an Estate Planning Attorney who currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is blessed to be the father of a beautiful daughter named Emmeline.
Prior to attending law school, Justin spent five years as a Catholic school educator and parish music and youth minister. His background in education and ministry greatly influence the way in which he approaches the practice of law.
Justin graduated from Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana with a B.A. in Catholic Studies, Pastoral Music Ministry, and Music Performance. He received his J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law where he served as a staff editor on the Catholic University Law Review. He is currently pursuing an LL.M. in Taxation and Certificate in Estate Planning from Georgetown University Law Center.
In addition to his work as an attorney, Justin also serves as a Pastoral Musician at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, and St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Camp Springs, Maryland. Justin is also a composer of Catholic liturgical music. His music is published by OCP Publications and is sung in parishes across the country.
Justin is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, as well as the Catholic Bar Association. He is also affiliated with WealthCounsel and ElderCounsel, national networks of estate planning lawyers.


> Virgin of the Angels Wood Rosary - 13"
Virgin of the Angels Wood Rosary - 13"
This lovely wood rosary has been named after the Patron Saint of Costa Rica, the Virgin of the Angels.
Wood beads and crucifix are handcrafted with an exotic combination of precious woods such as Guapinol, Guanacaste, Rum Rum, Cenizaro and others.
Faith and devotion give meaning to our lives.
It's a wonderful all occasion gift!
Type of Wood: Mixed Woods
Length: 13" Click here to see more wood rosaries and accessories!


Exploring the Bible
Lenses to help you see Scripture more clearly
Pedroso A KST SHORT COURSE
Christians generally believe that the Bible is an important resource for growing in faith. But, if we’re honest, we sometimes struggle with it.
- Perhaps you find reading the Bible difficult or dull.
- Maybe you struggle with confidence or aren’t sure you know how to read it properly.
- Maybe you find God in some parts of the Bible but not all of it?
- Maybe you don’t expect to learn anything from the Bible at all?
This short course, ideal for small groups, is a bit like a scriptural optician’s appointment. Over a series of six weeks you will have the chance to look at various passages of the Bible through a variety ‘lenses’, to see if they help you understand things better. The sessions will help you to recognise things like the subject, audience, context, genre, and other literary aspects of a text and appreciate how these can shape the meaning and deepen what you can learn.
If you are up for hearing some interesting ideas and engaging in some rich discussions about the Bible then sign up and see how these lenses can help you see scripture more clearly.
Who Is This Course For
This course is for any Christians who want to go deeper in their understanding of the Bible. It’s suitable for new believers and those who have been Christians a long time. It’s best taken in a group, as there are elements to continue practising together afterwards. We particularly recommend it for church small groups.
|Course duration:||6 sessions|
|Course dates:||Tuesday evenings – 5 Sept – 10 Oct 2023|
|Time:||19:30 – 21:00 BST|
|Cost:||Varies depending on your group size. See below. |
Cost includes access to interactive participant-only website for additional resources
This course is designed for pairs, triplets and bigger groups. It makes sense to read Scripture together! So discounts are available for groups.
And to further enable groups to sign up together, we are pleased to offer a generous subsidy: all places have received a 33% discount on our normal Short Course prices.
- Book for five+ people get 50% off – £29.75 each
- Book for four people get 40% off – £35.70 each
- Book for three people get 30% off – £41.65 each
- Book for two people get 20% off the full price – £47.60 each
Please note: when booking in a group, each participant should complete the booking form separately.
If you would like to book onto this course as an individual you are still very welcome. The cost is £59.50 per person.
About the Tutor
Michael Wadsworth has an MA in Theology and works for the Methodist Church helping promote and support the development of Biblical Literacy. He is part of KST’s Theology and Biblical Studies team and has taught on a variety of modules, including Genesis, Revelation, Romans, Wisdom Literature, and The Work of Jesus. He is passionate about enabling people read the Bible with greater confidence and expectancy and has a particular soft spot for Paul who he thinks sometimes gets an unfairly bad rap. Based in Derby, he is married to Naomi and worships as part of The Source. In his spare time he enjoys good food, good drink and good board games with friends, supports LFC and blogs at www.theologicallychallenged.co.uk.
Book Here (click to expand)
When making an online payment for this course, please use the following code with the attendee’s surname: SC23EB2-surname
Terms and Conditions
Click here for KST Short Course Terms & Conditions[Title image by Alexis Brown at Unsplash]


Last week, Quiverfull cult member Josh Duggar admitted he had raped his sisters and girls in another family when he was a teen living in the home of the Christian patriarchy family brought into American homes via television. TLC has since canceled the show and several people within the religious fundamentalism movement, like Mike Huckabee, have come out in support of Josh Duggar and the Duggar family. The public so far has seen transcripts of confessions made by Josh Duggar, and we know now that the police officer who never sought charges against Duggar currently serves a prison term because he too is a child sex offender.
Most people know the Duggars are fundamentalist Christians and the family homeschools their children. What many people don’t know about the Duggars and other families like them is they are part of a strict religious cult that teaches the husband and father is the leader of the household, and his wife and children must submit to him in all things; including how to deal with a sexual predator son. This cult also demands they must have as many children as God gives them because God wants them to have them for the spiritual war that is coming to America.
Quiverfull is a main driving force in the homeschooling movement in the United States. It is through the Christian patriarchy movement that Quiverfull wives fulfill their role of raising children to be warriors for God. Boys are taught they will eventually be the unquestioned leaders of their families, representing the will of God in their home. Girls are taught to submit to the men in their lives in every way as women are beneath men according to the Bible. When Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar both enthusiastically say they want to have more children, that is Jim Bob talking for both of them. Michelle isn’t permitted to have an opinion on how many times she gets pregnant. In fact, if Jim Bob believes she is not being accommodating and pleasing enough in bed, he can go to their church and ask the church elders to discipline her for disobedience.
The main homeschooling organization for the Quiverfull cult was Vision Forum. The Duggars were very closely related to this homeschooling organization before the founder of the group confessed to having an extramarital affair. The therapy center where the Duggars took Josh, The Institute in Basic Life Principles, was founded by Bill Gothard. Gothard has since left the organization he founded after over 30 women accused him of sexual assault. Other members of this ministry have also been forced to resign for sexually abusing women and girls. It’s also worthy to note that one of the main funders for Gothard’s ministry is the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby.
Many people have asked why the media hasn’t said more about Josh Duggar’s victims. Girls in two families were sexually assaulted by Duggar, and a look into the therapy he received from Bill Gothard explains why. Fundamentalist Christians teach girls within the cult movement that if a man has lustful thoughts of them, they are to blame for it. This is why they must always dress modestly in public, and never do anything that would send inappropriate signals to a boy or man. Josh Duggar was taught by IBLP that it was the victim’s fault he sexually abused them.
The boy sinned because the girls were not obedient and submissive enough.
Quiverfull and other fundamentalist religious cults that teach Christian patriarchy and submission of women all organize in the same way – homeschooling. Homeschooling organizations are where these people come together and this is how the religious right has infiltrated and turned the homeschooling movement into a training ground for more cult members. Vision Forum was a Christian homeschooling organization. Bill Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute also provides homeschooling curriculum. Accelerated Christian Education is another curriculum provider for homeschooling that also provides a model for churches to run a school. The emphasis on all of these programs is teaching children complete obedience to the father and church, and training to be warriors for God. Pasquale Battaglia’s attempts to open charter schools through Hillsdale College comes from the same fundamentalist Christian background, and it’s rotten to the core.
Not every religious fundamentalist is part of Quiverfull, but the same homeschooling background that requires complete obedience to God and a very strict, structured religious life is prevalent in a number of politicians currently serving in the state legislature in Lansing. They believe many of the same things the Duggars do, and very possibly practice a similar home life they believe all American families should live. Religious fundamentalism is as un-American as it gets, and the Duggars are showing us why. Keep this in mind as we get closer to the Supreme Court making same-sex marriage legal in the United States. They want all Americans to live the way they do, but consenting adults of the same sex wanting to marry are the immoral ones.


Welcome and thank you for visiting the Parish of Saint Michael the Archangel online! We hope that our website highlights the wide variety of worship, fellowship, and service opportunities available.
Please feel free to read more about our Parish and our churches, or stop by for a visit in-person! We would love to greet you and to share with you our love for Jesus Christ and for you, our neighbor.
If you would like to support the people of Ukraine, please click the above banner. It will take to the Catholic Relief Services website. They are on the ground at the borders helping refugees and in various parts of Ukraine assisting those in need.
Parishioners: In your envelope mailing, you should have received an envelope for the Lenten Rice Bowl. This envelope can be placed in the collection any time before April 15, 2022. If you do not receive envelopes but would like to donate to the Rice Bowl, please place your donation in an envelope clearly marked "Rice Bowl." A portion of funds raised in this program this year will be used to support feeding programs for Ukrainian refugees, and through Caritas Ukraine, those who cannot escape the country.
Church of the Nativity
2677 Delsea Drive
Saint Catherine of Siena
700 North Delsea Drive
2022 Diocese of Camden
Bishop's Annual Appeal
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Hopefully you have received a letter from Bishop Sullivan asking you to prayerfully consider a sacrificial gift to the House of Charity for this year's campaign. Please prayerfully consider making a commitment in support of the vital programs that carry on the work of the Church throughout southern New Jersey.
These ministries benefit our less fortunate brothers and sisters in our local and surrounding communities. The gifts that come from our parish join those from throughout the Diocese, enabling our workers to bring hope to those in need. While a single gift may not seem like much on its own in the face of such great need, when the Church combines its gifts together, we are able to care for multitudes.
We are the Church. This is our calling. Since the first Apostles, we have been charged with providing care to those who need it ... inspired by the sacrificial love our Savior taught us.
You called us to be One Body: Your Church.
You blessed us so we may be good servants.
Help us to serve those in need.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Who with You and the Holy Spirit live and reign
One God forever and ever. Amen.
There are a number of ways to connect with the House of Charity:
Weekend Mass Schedule
Saturday at 4:00p - Nativity
Sunday at 8:00a - Saint Catherine of Siena
Sunday at 10:00a - Nativity
Daily Mass Schedule
Monday at 9:00a - Saint Catherine of Siena
Tuesday at 9:00a - Nativity
Wednesday at 9:00a - Nativity
Thursday at 9:00a - Saint Catherine of Siena
Holy Day Mass Schedule*
Vigil (night before) at 7:00p - Saint Catherine of Siena
Holy Day at 9:00a - Nativity
Holy Day at 7:00p - Nativity
with the Mass Intention Schedule
in the bulletin.
Saturday from 3:00-3:30p - Nativity
or By Appointment - anytime
Please call the Parish Office to schedule.
** Due to Homeland Security guidelines, our liturgical events begin promptly at the times indicated.
The doors will be monitored to allow individuals who are running just a bit late to enter.
Once the Gospel is proclaimed, the church doors will remain locked.
Please sanitize your hands upon entering the Gathering Space of the church.
Face masks are recommended by the CDC and the Diocese for all individuals who are not fully vaccinated.
Saint Michael the Archangel Regional School provides Pre-K through Grade 8 education through a faith-centered curriculum steeped in strong Catholic values with an emphasis on simplicity, prayer, and service. Through a family-oriented environment, our students develop intellectually, physically, socially, and spiritually in preparation for higher education, a culturally-diverse society, and becoming contributors to the community-at-large.
Seeing and believing in Jesus’ Resurrection is as much a challenge for us today as it was for the disciples who were eyewitnesses. The challenge really lies in seeing and believing that risen life comes through our own self-sacrificing love of others. When we do this, we, too, are eyewitnesses.
We invite you to join our e-mail list ...
We invite to join our mailing list and receive emails we send out with news about upcoming events, or special Mass schedules.


The Victory Zone! (TVZ) was birthed out of a deep desire and hunger for more of G-d! Before Rev. Al Duff Jr. became pastor of TVZ, he faithfully served on the ministerial staff at a local church for several years. Even though his mind was being fed the Word of G-d regularly, his spirit-man drying up, so he cried out to the Lord towards the end of 2015 ... and within a month the first gathering of believers assembled at 2021 Sperry Avenue, Unit 32, Ventura, CA on a Thursday night January, 7, 2016. After "facilitating" gatherings consistently over a year, it was soon time for a one (1) year celebration and installation of Rev. Al as Pastor. February 11, 2017 was a glorious day in the establishing of The Victory Zone as a viable and effective ministry in Ventura, California.


The contrast could not be starker. One man enters by the South gate, clothed in judicial robes, surrounded by armed guards, the very model of imperial power – self-assured, a man of wealth and prestige, and held in veneration by sycophants. Another man enters by the North gate, clothed as a simple Galilean peasant, greeted by a few waving branches in imitation of the old days when David came to the city as king. This man arrives on a donkey, hardly a model of any kind of useful power, but held in veneration by those who look on with hope for the poor and dispossessed.
The confrontation of these two men is about to make history. Pilate, the delegate of Imperial Rome, egged on by those who have been affronted, decides the poor Galilean prophet must be handed over to his fate. He washes his hands – it is nothing to do with him. Jesus, the prophet who has entered by the North gate, as so often, will now be pilloried, persecuted and put to death. One man, who has the power to be merciful and beneficent, walks away and leaves a poor man to his fate. The other, who has often talked about the mercy, forgiveness and love of God, is left in the hands of those who think God requires punishment, retributive justice and sacrifice – the sacrifice of flesh. It is as if two opposing forces have entered by these gates into Jerusalem, and that these forces must battle it out in the middle – cross and confront each other at that spot, some say, that marks the centre of the world.
The tale of two gates begins the story of Holy Week. One gate where the powerful enter, self-assured, wealthy and prestigious, sometimes greedy beyond measure, often out of touch, with a tendency to be unmerciful and unforgiving. There are plenty of Pilates in this world! At the other gate enter the powerless, the poor, those who seek justice and mercy, and who risk being punished if they speak out. There are some who are like Jesus in this world, and they are saints. These are the ones who live and breath mercy and forgiveness, who serve others to the point of death, and who love with a love that lays down no conditions. To do so is to follow the way of God, and to live the way of God is to risk that place of crossing and confrontation.
Thank God for all those, especially our angels and saints in the health and care system, who daily take up the cross and walk to that place at the centre of our world where God meets us in love and care.


I found this question forming in me when I was quite a small child and indirectly it has been at the core of my life’s searching ever since. I heard the priest at our church speak a lot about faith, but with no explanation. He spoke of it as if it was a necessity to have and I wondered how I would know if I had some!
Did the lady next to me have some faith. If so, where did she get it from and was there something wrong with me if I didn’t have this magical sounding quality?
I gave up the searching in churches soon after, as they didn’t seemed to offer guidance, inspiration and instruction that nourished me. But my search for answers pushed on… I knew I had something bright and effective inside of me, though it was an on/off affair, yet despite years of efforts to explore spirituality and my psyche, I still didn’t understand faith. Was it just the ability to pretend that everything was ok and that I expected only the best? Was it imagining that a higher power that I couldn’t see, hear or touch was going to make everything better? This didn’t seem reliable or practical to me, and surely the way that the priest had earnestly advised us to use our faith, had implied that it was an infinitely useful quality to have.
It wasn’t until I discovered the channelled teachings of Abraham Hicks that I found the specific and technical answers to the longing I had. Here Faith was described as the ability to feel something and know it, before it is physically apparent or manifest, using our ability to envision something till it makes us feel better. They teach that a good feeling is a God feeling, meaning that when we feel good, we are aligned with Source energy, allowing it to flow through us. When we are feeling bad, it is the degree to which we have cut ourselves off from Source that denotes how awful we feel. This is our guidance system, inherent since birth, designed to lead us towards what we do truly align with and away from what is contradicting to the Source expressing through us.
When we feel good, we are up to speed with how our Godself sees that situation or person or indeed ourselves. But when we feel bad we are focusing, speaking and expecting something far from the higher perspective.
I was ruminating on all this after the recent elections, when many people I know, including me, were feeling the gap between the world we’d like to live in and the perceived world that we do. I was reminded of the ‘need to keep the faith’. The fact is, we know that something has touched our lives and caused us to feel the desire to live a wholesome and kind life, yet despite our great efforts, we do not yet see all around us the out-picturing of well being that we would all so love to be part of.
Firstly I am reminded by my inner guidance that I too still have attitudes in me that could be called ‘conservative’, the parts of me that want to be sure I’m safe, to trust that everything I have and love will always be part of my life…’conserving’ being the theme, fear being the motivation. So I embrace those parts of me with all the kindness I can, forgiving myself for my trepidation and letting go of judgement on others who act this out too.
Then I come back to a more centred place, I let go of the fear, I then remember that so much of my life reflects a way of life that is in harmony. I know instinctively that the influence we all have is rippling out and our personal acts of healing and clearing are changing far more than we might fully see right now. Our minds are so powerful, let’s remember to hold the vision no matter what our eyes see and soon enough it will reveal. Just as a chair, a house, a business must be created in mind first, …so too will our society eventually respond to the pictures we hold. EFT meridian therapy can be a powerful tool for clearing the anger and fears that surface along the way, if you would like some support in feeling more faith, contact me for bespoke sessions that can open up new vistas and dreams….


SelectArrow is a limited liability company with registered office in England and Wales.
How we began
SelectArrow was started when Angela Slack and Homer her husband switched focus from corporate secular work to concentrate more on collating and developing their years of research into books and instructional publications and to launch the SHARE Magazine. They drew upon their accumulative expertise in printing, public relations, educational instructional development and graphic designing using their combined experience of over 40 years. They began by self publishing their own work under the name homerNangel but then decided to also help develop and launch other Christian writers hence the birth of SelectArrow Ltd.
Quality is our priority
Every project is your ‘brain child’ and we handle it with the individual care and attention that every ‘child’ deserves; quality is our priority so we partner with you and work until you are completely satisfied with your publication.
It is a true saying that the pen is mightier than the sword. Just imagine where we would be as Christians if men of old did not take writing seriously enough to carefully and fearfully pen the words of God and the history of God’s people. We endeavour to help our clients leave a meaningful legacy behind in their publication. To that end, we advise, encourage and challenge them and bring out their very best product that is competitive in the market pace and has sustainability.
SelectArrow hopes to:
- Help God’s people identify and develop their gifting and interest in writing so they can become a joint of supply to the wider body through their published works across all media;
- Expose hidden gifts and talents as churches, groups and individuals interact and share their ideas through collaborations or individual publications;
- Launch first time writers in particular children and youth giving them a new sense of purpose and hope for the future as they too discover and explore their gifts and calling to write;
- Secure a bank of people and resources that can help to develop those who have a desire to come forward and be productive writers for God;
Statement of Faith
• in the Bible as God’s infallible Word, uniquely inspired and supremely authoritative in all matters of faith and conduct. It is a complete and sufficient revelation of all matters concerning God’s nature, His will for mankind and eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. 2 Tim 3:16, John 20:31, Rev 22:19, 2 Peter 1:21.
• in one God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Gen 1:1, 2 Cor 13:14, Titus 2:13, 2 Cor 3:17,18
• Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. He led a sinless life, took on Himself all our sins, died and rose again, and is seated at the right hand of the Father as our mediator and advocate. This resurrection demonstrates His complete authority over sin, death and the Devil and that He is Lord over all things. He will return to earth at the end of this present age. 2 Cor 5:2l, Acts 2:23-24, 1 Cor 15:3,4, Heb 4:15 Eph 1:20,21, Matt 1.18-23, Acts 1:9-11.
• that mankind forfeited his original relationship with God when Adam the first created man disobeyed God by following the bidding of the Devil. Every person born into the world inherits this fallen status and sinful nature. All men everywhere are lost and face the judgment of God, and need to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by accepting by faith the gift of salvation paid for by Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.
• that Christ will return to earth at the end of time and be seen by all living people. He will resurrect every person who ever lived to face the last judgement where all mankind will give an account of their thoughts, words and deeds.


Once a Catholic is set in the Convent of Our Lady of Fatima, a grammar school for girls, and in and around the streets of Willesden and Harlesden, London, in the late fifties.
The play centres on the adventures and misadventures of Mary Mooney, Mary McGinty and Mary Gallagher as they experience life in the fifth form under the tutelage of Mother Peter, Mother Basil and Mother Thomas Aquinas.
“A marvellous, irreverent, affectionate and warmly comic play about the confusions and contradictions and general awfulness of being a Catholic schooolgirl”. (Sheridan Morley, Punch)
- Patsy Roberts as Mother Peter
- Stella Fogg as Mother Basil
- Ruth Metcalfe as Mother Thomas Aquinas
- Stephanie Hawthorne as Mary McGinty
- Laura Chandler as Mary Gallagher
- Gemma Doherty as Mary Mooney
- Mark Butt as Derek
- Nick Barnard as Cuthbert
- Jo Freeman as Mary Flanagan
- Kate Dicker as Mary Hennessey
- David Richardson as Mr Emannuelli
- David Beddy as Father Mullarkey


Energising Christian prayer, mission and unity
Our over-arching vision is to unite with Christian Churches and Ministries in Northamptonshire to see the Kingdom of God revealed here in all its fullness. To enable this, we present our organisation and web site as a Portal to enable the advertising and support for unifying events within the body of Christ.
To join together with others in prayer and intercession to redeem that which has been lost.
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To identify and publicise the areas where God is already at work through His people and to support local ministries.
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To serve others in our own community and wider afield through being witnesses in word and deed.
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To lay down our personal drives, motivations and agendas in response to the command of Jesus Christ for us to “Love one another….”
Get in Touch
We’d love to hear from you and will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Fill out the form below and our staff will be in touch with you shortly.
GENERAL DATA PRIVACY NOTICE
During 2018 the United Kingdom Government introduced legislation to give individual citizens specific rights and protection regarding how their personal data is held and used by organisations. Find out more about how Mission Northamptonshire collects, protects and uses personal data.


Website Precious Is the Child Preschool/Ascension Luth. Ch
Children learn about Jesus' love and prepare for kindergarten al
Precious Is the Child Preschool is a Christ centered preschool for 3-5-year-olds, looking to hire an Assistant Teacher. Applicants must be over the age of 18 and be able to pass a Minnesota Background Study. Applicants must also be Assistant Teacher qualified according to Minnesota Rule 3. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in the Christian Faith to support the Christian teachings of the school and be willing to learn more upon hire.
Along with giving love and care, and facilitating typical developmental aspects of a preschool environment, this individual will have opportunities to support our little ones in learning of Jesus’ love and helping to build their faith. Our program promotes learning through play, hands on experiences, and open-ended activities to facilitate children’s growth and development.
The individual hired for this position will work for approximately 10 months a year, from mid-August thru mid-June. The position is paid hourly for time worked, Monday through Friday, 8:00-5:00 with holidays and most of the school breaks off. The individual hired will be asked to participate in up to six family engagement activities throughout the year, such as family picnics, a Christmas program, family events during and outside of scheduled time, and helping when the children sing occasionally at a Sunday morning worship service. These events are paid time.
This is a great opportunity for a parent with kids in school who wants to be off for most of the summer. To learn more about Precious Is the Child please visit our website at www.preciousisthechild.org.
To apply for this job email your details to email@example.com


Not a good look for the Pope. Yet the Pope is not an uneducated man, ignorant of history. Here he is meeting with the Jewish President of Ukraine, who is sporting a Nazi symbol on his sweatshirt. The Western spin is to claim that the political leaders of Ukraine are not embracing the Nazi past because Zelensky is a Jew and Jews hate Nazis. Right? Not necessarily.
Take note of the number, 969. It has been almost 1000 years since the split in Christianity that created the Eastern Orthodox Christian movement and the Roman Catholic Church. Western sources go to great lengths to promote the notion that this split between these two Christian churches is a minor squabble over theology. Wikipedia’s description is a prime example of this deception:
The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have been in a state of official schism from one another since the East–West Schism of 1054. This schism was caused by historical and language differences, and the ensuing theological differences between the Western and Eastern churches.
The main theological differences with the Catholic Church are the papal primacy and the filioque clause. In spirituality, the tenability of neo-Palamism‘s essence-energy distinction and of the experiential vision of God as attained in theoria and theosis are actively debated.
The real story is quite different. Within 200 years of the schism, Catholic Crusaders sacked Constantinople (now Istanbul), murdering Eastern Orthodox Christians and looting their churches:
In April 1204, Catholic Crusader armies captured and looted Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire and seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church. After the city’s sacking, most of the Byzantine Empire’s territories were divided up among the Crusaders. The sack of Constantinople was a major turning point in medieval history. The Crusaders’ decision to attack the world’s largest Christian city was unprecedented and immediately controversial. Reports of Crusader looting and brutality scandalised and horrified the Orthodox world; the Byzantine Empire was left much poorer, smaller, and ultimately less able to defend itself against the Seljuk and Ottoman conquests that followed; the actions of the Crusaders thus directly accelerated the collapse of Christendom in the east, and in the long run helped facilitate the later Ottoman conquest.
So, here we are, 819 years later and the Pope is receiving Zelensky as an honored guest while Zelensky’s government has embarked on a broad based attack on the priests and bishops of the Orthodox community in Ukraine and their churches and monasteries.
Zelenskii the leader of the once Christian-Orthodox nation goes over to Vatican to bow down to the Pope and beg him for his support and world approval.
His visit to Vatican is probably the most insulting gesture he could have ever done to the people of Ukraine amid his unprecedented and murderous prosecution of the Orthodox Church.
The best part of it all is that Zelenskii wears a jumper with the Nazi WW2 OUN emblem (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists) throughout his visit to Italy just to rub it into everybody’s face as he demands for money.
Zelensky could have had the decency to wear a suit sporting the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag. But the little coke head has no decency. He is a money grubbing tool of genuinely evil people who is needlessly sacrificing the lives of more than 200,000 while he fills his own coffers with U.S. taxpayer dollars. The powers behind Zelensky, the ones who helped him win the Presidency as he promised falsley to end the civil war in the Donbass, are quite content to use Zelensky’s Jewish heritage as a smoke screen to convince Jews around the world that the little comedian is not in bed with neo-Nazis. But that is a big lie. Even NBC news concedes that there is a nasty Nazi undercurrent thriving in the Ukrainian Government and Military.
In another ominous development, Ukraine has in recent years erected a glut of statues honoring Ukrainian nationalists whose legacies are tainted by their indisputable record as Nazi proxies. The Forward newspaper cataloged some of these deplorables, including Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), whose followers acted as local militia members for the SS and German army. “Ukraine has several dozen monuments and scores of street names glorifying this Nazi collaborator, enough to require two separate Wikipedia pages,” the Forward wrote.
Zelensky, sadly is not the first Jew to collaborate with Nazis. Chaim Rumkowsky is an especially notorious, abhorrent example:
Chaim Mordechaj Rumkowski (February 27, 1877 – August 28, 1944) was the head of the Jewish Council of Elders in the Łódź Ghetto appointed by Nazi Germany during the German occupation of Poland.
Rumkowski accrued much power by transforming the ghetto into an industrial base manufacturing war supplies for the Wehrmacht in the mistaken belief that productivity was the key to Jewish survival beyond the Holocaust. The Germans liquidated the ghetto in 1944. All remaining prisoners were sent to death camps in the wake of military defeats on the Eastern Front.
As the head of the Judenrat, Rumkowski is remembered for his speech Give Me Your Children, delivered at a time when the Germans demanded his compliance with the deportation of 20,000 children to Chełmno extermination camp. In August 1944, Rumkowski and his family joined the last transport to Auschwitz, and he was murdered there on August 28, 1944, by Jewish Sonderkommando inmates who beat him to death as revenge for his role in the Holocaust. This account of his final moments is confirmed by witness testimonies of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials.
Besides working closely with the Nais, Rumkowski is accused by survivors of that ghetto of sexually abusing young women who worked for him in the Judenrat. Remains to be seen if Zelensky meets with a similar fate. At least Zelensky is not being accused of molesting young girls and boys. That has been the modus operandi of the Catholic Church for more than a century. Worth mentioning that the Eastern Orthodox churches do not have a history of pedophilia and covering it up unlike their counterparts in Rome. This is probably a consequence of the Eastern Orthodox policy that allows priests to marry and have children.
The Pope’s silence on the religious persecution underway in Ukraine is another black mark on his tawdry legacy. Instead of calling Zelensky to account for his persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians, Pope Francis decided to play tour guide. A grotesque farce.
Maybe the Pope should read this link or maybe he agrees finaly?
In addition to the supremacy of the white race, Biletsky claimed to defend the West, to want the destruction of democracy in Europe, the destruction of capitalism and of the “Zionist international”, which would be replaced by “Nazocracy”, which are his own words. As a historian, Biletsky, in addition to the conspiracy theory that was very much a part of his rhetoric, was also committed to revisionism, rewriting the history of the Ukrainian people, whose roots, according to him, lay in the Scythian civilisation, which he linked to the Cossacks, in an attempt to erase the real origin of the Kiev Rus’. Going much further than the Nazis, he went so far as to declare that the latter had not taken into account the need to racially cleanse the population, including the Aryan population, in order to eradicate degenerate subjects, such as alcoholism, drug addiction and others. His idea was to take into account “the biological character of each family”. Going much further than American eugenics, he proposed the total and literal cleansing of the race, stating that the Ukrainian national culture was derived from the people, not from their history, religion, heritage, or language. He even declared that “the historical mission of the Ukrainian nation at this critical moment is to lead the white peoples of the world in the last crusade for its existence, and to fight against the sub-humanity led by the Semites”.
Mike D. says
Reading about AI and the debates going on among some the world’s
elites. Melding machine and man(singularity) is called good by some of them-they talk about equalizing intelligence among the masses more then natural selection. They talk about taking the dumbest(sorry) continents up. They has it roots in global government which was a European ideal. Rome, Papacy, Nazis, the EU… Always about control but it is important to remember they believed they would make tbe planet a better place. F +++ers are dangerous.
I don’t believe most citizens(bad word) in the US, EU, Russia, China want to be telling the world what is beat for them..
It is the Soros, Zuckerbergs, Obamas,
Google, Wall Street who think they are heir to those sitting around the table at
The Last Supper.
Biletsky’s vision of an ideal society sounds awful.
Thank God we live in a degenerate, multi-cultural, immoral, collapsing empire full of pedophiles, transsexuals and mobs of angry, violent blacks.
The pope is a fraud and so is that little kvetching, shekel grubbing troll.
my opinion for what it is worth is that Zelensky and Pope Francis are both on the side of Satan to destroy humanity.
The talk of the Ukrainians as the vanguard of the new crusade by the West against Russia has been around for a while. The linkage between Ukrainian ultranationalism (yes, including World War 2 Nazis) and the Uniate Catholic Church in Western Ukraine is of long standing–think of Ustashe and the Croatian Catholic Church, to bring up the contemporary example, and, to be fair, the Uniate Catholics have been repressed by both Imperial Russia and Soviet Union for a long time (in a way that Roman Catholics, whose rituals look obviously different from the Orthodox–Uniates observe similar liturgy as the Orthodox, but they recognize papal authority). This meeting, especially with Zelensky sporting Nazi symbols, while his goons are repressing the Orthodox Church, won’t go well with those who know the history.
This is historically normal for Pope, and he surely is educated man.
The concept of “final solution” of “wrong races” was codified by Catholic Church some 800 years before Hitler.
Steve in CO says
Nice bit of calumny. I won’t ask for evidence.
“evidence is meaningless to a *true* believer.”
Pope Pius XII
People like you would ask for evidence of pedophilia while Pope was sucking your kid’s tongue right in front of you, Dalai Lama style.
Except for the papacy, the other theological differences do not function in the life or thought of ordinary believers. In fact, the filioque clause was first confirmed at the Council of Toledo (589) as a foil against the Arianism of the West Goths. It had been the subject of discussion for centuries by then, and was not considered a heresy in the East.
Only later did it become a kind of locus of difference.
But the classical differences are more like rationalizations than causes.
There are many differences in style, focus, mood, and philosophy, which have grown largely through distance and divergence, but the Church has always been able to encompass wide variety. None of them pose irreconcilable differences, except the papacy … which is about power & authority, and it is in the realm of hierarchical force and power [as well as the actual use of force] where the true incompatibilities and even enmity have arisen.
This is not the place to discuss the history of the Church (both Orthodox and Catholic); this is a noisy venue and most of the commenters only know what they have read, which is not much and not good.
That said, I appreciate your comment. Well said, sir.
‘… which is about power & authority …”
That’s the essence of it. Hegemony vs multipolarity.
Allan Mountain says
Let’s not forget Hungarian Jew George Soros who, in a 1998 interview with Steve Croft on 60 Minutes, publicly admitted that he collaborated with the Nazis by informing on other Jews and then after their arrests stealing their possessions. He even compared what he did then to being like the operation of free markets at work – looking ahead and seizing the opportunities. Note how in this interview Soros admits to having no sense of guilt for those heinous crimes.
SHOCKING George Soros admits Nazi collaboration with no regrets
2min 28sec excerpt on YouTube
You can bet that Soros will be playing a very big role from behind the scenes in supporting the Ukraine Nazis as he continues unabated with his exploitations to make more obscene profits from the misery of the Ukraine and Russian people.
“A grotesque farce”
Indeed, but it could not be otherwise, since the Vatican is not indifferent to the outcome of Ukraine’s official persecution and robbery of the Canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine. As Vladimir Prozorov has written, the Vatican expects significant gains from such onslaught against true Orthodoxy in Ukraine – and it will not be only treasure but also a large amount of souls of men.
Lest we forget, the Vatican served the German nazis and the Italian fascists well with her political assets – by enabling Hitler into power and then dissolving her Centrum Party, and by doing likewise in Italy with her Popular Party; and with her rat lines after the war.
It is highly commendable that Johnson does not shy away from addressing this touchy issue for Roman Catholics – although the Catholic faithful that love truth and justice above religious fakery don’t avoid confronting such reality (an honourable example of such honesty is Roman Catholic David Yallop and his excellent book, “In God’s Name”, on the murder of John Paul I and the hellish all-round corruption of religious Rome)
I’m not a fan of this pope or the Western policy in Ukraine/Russia, but these false histories don’t help.
If you’re going to talk about the Fourth Crusade, you need to mention the Massacre of the Latins, which preceded it, and probably contributed to the Venetians wanting some payback (which is also not right).
Not mentioning the many times Orthodox and/or Russians have done horrible things to their Western Christian neighbors (both Catholic and Protestant) is one reason it is difficult to convince ordinary Poles, Balts, and Finns not to support the Western policy right now. There are no innocents here, and the Orthodox have much innocent Western Christian blood on their hands (just as there have been Western Christian crimes against the Orthodox).
I don’t support what the West is doing in Ukraine, and I have great admiration for Russians and for the Orthodox Church. But the anti-Catholic history that is repeated many times is false and does not help.
You surely does not sound like a Catholic living in denial.
The man shows the jesuitical trade-mark, a side-ways dissembling masquerading as an attempt at objectivity, at impartiality.
The Bible has an expression of God’s disgust, “neither hot nor cold; lukewarm”, which He spews out of His mouth.
This fellows mealy- mouthed innuendos and outright falsehoods about Orthodoxy and foolish denial of Roman Catholic murderous history against one and all of her dissenters, be they Orthodoxy or Protestantism, is the perennial poisoned diet they serve the world, Catholic and non- Catholic alike.
DAN MORRIS says
I 100% agree with your views on this Wikipedia BS on the Catholic Church. Like all institutions, there have been good Popes and terrible popes. The Catholic Church has never had a monopoly on sexual abuse. Rabbis and Ministers have been up to their ears in pederasty and abuse. The Jews have a major role in all Western media and so they downplay the many Rabbis and other Jews caught abusing children and women. The current governor of PA and the former DA in Philadelphia, Lynn Abrams on two different occasions published in the media the photos and names of over 300 Priests. Of the 300, 299 were found innocent but there was no retraction and the innocent priests had no recourse to restore their reputations. This is not a forum where these topics can be discussed with fairness beyond screaming headlines.
Charles E. Fromage says
Since they are both globalists and post-modern neo-marxists, the two got along just fine.
No Name says
Speaking of Jewish Nazi-collaborators, George Soros at the age of 14… etc.
The Lizard of Oz says
Is the Pope a Catholic?
It used to be a rhetorical question used as a statement of the obviously true. For many, it is now a question warranting an actual answer. Theology was the excuse for a schism between the Eastern and Western churches. The real reason was always about preserving the power of Rome following the split of the Roman Empire.
The popes have often done business with shady characters throughout history, and some have been very shady characters themselves. Pope Francis meeting a modern-day leader of a Fascist regime is merely keeping up the long traditions of his office.
Pope is the Godfather of the real Mafia. The Catholic Church thing is there as the front.
The Catholic church is rotten. The stupid celibacy mandatory for the Catholic priests have triggered pedophilia at an unimaginable scale. Instead of revising that demonic rule the Catholic church expand its covert up. In Canada and the USA the Catholic church has practiced disgusting methods on the natives to convert them.
The history of the Catholic church is filthy. Instead of reforming it persists in obsolete and dangerous practices. The pope let himself manipulated by the Catholic powers lead by the USA to host the representative of the evil, a megalomaniac criminal who is sending the Ukrainian men to the slaughterhouse for his own glory. The pope should lash himself 1000 times in his cell to punish himself for inability to resist the evil temptation.
Agreed. The Vatican is now destroying the Church. When first elected, I had high hopes for Bergoglio. If he wanted to preserve the Church and its moral authority, he long ago would have encouraged a married clergy that produced many children, as an example to the Faithful, as a counter to the liberal hedonism of the West.
He also would have made explicit efforts to advance autocephaly in the Roman Church, and issued an Encyclical whereby he acknowledged that the Bishop of Rome is merely Primus Inter Pares. Only then could the entire Church (in all of its diversity of thought) begin to discuss rapprochement between its various expressions, beginning with Unity between Latins and Greeks/Russians. Then onto Copts and Armenians
The cardinals elected Bergoglio precisely because he had been totally compromised through his close association with the military junta in Argentina, during what’s now called “the Dirty War.” Mr. Bergoglio was supposed to appear before a court in Argentina, in 2003 I think, to testify about the fate of the thousands of abducted children whose only “crime” was to have leftist parents. Their blood relatives wanted to know the truth. These children were distributed to military and police families. Bergoglio refused to testify. So much for his personal respect for family life. That court had already stipulated they would not ask him to testify about any confessions he had heard as a priest, but Bergoglio was – and is – 100% impudent. Of course this was known to the 100+ cardinals, but collectively they did not care. So it’s not just one evil man, but a large assortment of cardinals, too. All those cardinals had been appointed by the previous pope in a massive uprooting of all the old ones.
I can say one good thing about Catholicism: Roughly half of the adult Catholics in the US know about the evil in the Church’s history, and they don’t particularly try to hide it or refuse to talk about it. So I think there’s hope.
kosta gavras says
Catholic Church is subject of continuous attack from Satan himself. That attack started from day one.We now witnessing end and collapse once pillar of Christ Church on Earth. However there are still many faithful priests and believers and some of them will stay in faith till the end.
Douglas Worthington says
Anyone who believes that the Roman Catholic Church is a manifestation of genuine Christian belief may also be gullible enough to believe that I am the spiritual leader of the Nguni people of KwaZulu-Natal. (Full disclosure: I am a white male of northwestern European heritage.)
The RCC, the Khazarian Neo-Pharisaic Talmudists (signified by coke head grifter extraordinaire Zelensky and the nepotistic human trash littering the halls of Washington), and the various village idiots comprising the Neo-Nazi factions in the Ukraine all share the same spiritual bed. To whom they offer worship should be obvious.
Just noticed that Nazi symbol appears to have the same characteristics as the Twitter Bird does.
They both appear to be falling angels.
Hubert A. Monteiro says
If anyone wonders why the entire world is in such pathetic shape, consider this, for example:
Over one and a half billion people around the world have been “duped” about the Catholic church-concocted PAPACY, mostly due to their own gullibility and outright blindness and ignorance, with tragic consequences for the entire world, because whatever the Pope says, it is from God and his followers faithfully accept and comply with it.
Yet, 2 little Bible verses completely demolish this “myth” cleverly created by the architects of the Catholic religion:
Although Jesus did say to Peter in Matt 16: 19 “thou art Peter and over this rock I will build my church and I will give you the keys to heaven…whatever you shall bind on earth, it shall be bound in heaver”, only a couple chapters later, in Matt. 18: 18, He stated to his disciples: “whatever “ye” (meaning all of you) shall bind on earth, it shall be bound in heaven”. So He must have made all 12 disciples, including Judas Iscariot, into Popes.
Then Peter, supposedly the Pope himself, according to Catholicism, said in Acts 10: 26, after he and others were miraculously freed from their shackles and their prison, to the people who’d knelt down before them, as if they were special: “do not bow down to me, for I am a man, just like you…”
And to add insult to injury, we have a Pope Francis, shaking the hand of a Neo Nazi murderer, giving Nancy Pelosi, an ardent supporter and enabler of aborting millions of babies, holy communion, which her own priest had refused to give her, also was quoted and translated by the official translator for the Vatican Roratte Caele, in an interview with an avowed atheist, that: “when we die, we cease to exist…”; imagine such blasphemy from the mouth of a Pope, ha!
False Pope Franc says
One hell of a great bullshitter is this “Pope”.
Michael Creighton says
Nazism in Ukraine is not about targeting Jews as Hitler did, it’s about adapting the same methods and fascist-racist techniques to target Russians. This also explains why the Jewish/Zionist neocons behind Biden also turn a blind eye to the obvious Nazism in Ukraine, and in the other countries that are part of NATO.
In WWII Jews were called ‘untermensch’ or lesser humans by the Nazis. They were classed as inferior non-Aryan people that came from the East. Now for extremist nationalist Ukrainians like Zelensky et al, the untermensch are Russians who have also been historically classified as people from the East. We are seeing nothing but ethnic cleansing in Ukraine, symbolised by the red and black flag often brandished by Ukrainian soldiers. The red is idealised ‘pure’ Ukrainian blood, the black is the soil of Ukraine.
That Jews were targeted in WWII with the horrific consequences we know of, makes it doubly appalling that Jewish people like Zelensky and others I mention above, adapt and endorse the same hideous ideology.
Same thing happened in The Balkans, the place where the border between Catholicism and Orthodoxy has been for a millennium.
Remember what Lavrov told us about hitlers heritage, he was a jew.
That little factoid is one great tool when someone says zelensky is a jew so there are no nazis in the ukraine….
There is nothig new under the sun, and you should read the books from those that question the ww2 narrative.
The books from the people that was imprisoned and/or publically maligned and cancelled for studying historical documents and sites are the ones you should read first.
Yes, you are right. All forbidden or else.
the americans are warmingers, and they cannot understand a man of peace like francis. my impression is that the protestant and woke usa people hates not just russians, not just chinese, but also catholics. now americans blames the pope for a war they begun and that they imposed on my country and to our pope. we got no options, the ones in charge are the usa pritestants. and, as the protestants of nazi germany, their choiche is the war. it’s a confession that gave power at the prussian warmongers and spreaded war across europe and now they’re spreading war across the world. and that for a “self made” religion born to be tolerant just to excesses of state power, like dragging citizens in wars. honestly i think if there’s an hell the protestants will end right there, though they got this pagan wiev of the “grace” that should allows them to do every bad act with god protection. maybe is that weird believe that causes the rest of behaviros of this weird culture
Bergoglio is “a man of peace”? His blood-soaked past when he collaborated with the junta who would show him the list of liberation theology priests marked for killing and he would signal his approval does not jibe with this label.
The country where he enjoys least popularity of all where he trots busily is Argentina. That is why he has never gone back on a visit,
Hubert A. Monteiro says
Ciao Giandvide, Mi pare molto che sei una italiana, da vero? Mi nona era venuta di Cicilia.
Man of peace, of course “ALL” Popes have to be men o peace, but what concrete actions has Francis taken to bring peace??
Criticizing Americans for wanting a wall to protect us from criminals coming into our country and bringing their poison “fentanyl”? What about the wall around the Vatican 18 foot thick and 30 feet high?
What about the violence against unborn children, when he gave the biggest promoter of abortion in the world, Nancy Pelosi communion, when even her priest had refused to give her?
I agree with you: “Americans are warmongers”, and this war in Ukraine will be the last one Americans have embarked on and the end of America itself!
The Papacy is an invention “extracted” from the Bible by the Catholic Church, which does not exist… Jesus Christ is the ONLY mediator between men and God. Ciao bella!
Constantinople was the second Rome. Moscow is the third one. Even Wikipedia agrees.
Excellent post, Larry. Thanks for bringing in this angle.
What i find interesting is how the Eastern Orthodox Church / Byzantine Church co-existed comparatively well with the Muslims in North Africa and West Asia in what is present day Egypt, Syria and Turkey, etc.
It was the Holy Roman Empire and the Western Europeans out for blood and to loot and plunder in their crusades. They were also the ones highly intolerant of other religions or beliefs (“heretics”) as in the Spanish Inquisitions and the destruction of the Cathars.
Zelensky converted to Christianity and baptized his children.
Yes. And when doing that, Zelensky did not know what flavour of Christianity to choose so he made his own, with blackjack, and hookers, and burning churches, and arresting priests, as per Nazi traditions.
The question, I have, is whether the papacy knew and approved in advance of Zelensky’s attire.
Larry, based on your arguments, the answer is yes. Certainly, the pope could have insisted on 1. a change of sweatshirt – say to a business suit, or 2. draping a cloth so the symbols were not featured in the official photo. Or even photoshopping the photo before release.
Thus, this supports your thesis that the papacy is sending a message to Poland and rump Ukraine, “we stand with you against eastern schism-ists.” This is the opposite of taking a position of peace to provide an opportunity to lead negotiations – again a message. One thing I am certain, the papacy understands symbolism.
On the other point, Zelensky clearly enjoys “trolling” Western leaders and the political corner they have painted themselves into – appearing in a sweatshirt to demand money from Western governments – another reason Tucker was fired for pointing this out. I ask, was the sweatshirt even recently laundered?
Very rich people wear stuff only once. This sweatshirt was never washed because it’s brand new, and will never be washed because now it’s soaked in (un)holy bodily fluids.
The pope is a nazi jesuit scumbag.
Why do you block my comments?
I make relevant comments based on my experience living as an expat in Ukraine until June 2022 when I left because it is unsafe for independent thought and opinions.
I have met with Gonzalo in person in Kharkiv just a couple of months before the war.
I very much agree with his view of what is happening and the likely outcome- Russian takeover of Ukraine.
Of course this can become much more given the insane running Washington, Brussels, London & NATO.
You allow Biswapriya Purkayastha to post everyday with his often derogatory, but always delusional takes- but you block me.
Walter Miller says
I’ve researched quite extensively on the relationship between zionist jews and wwii German Nazis. Eustace Mullins claimed it(NAZI) stands for national socialist zionist. I don’t believe there is an equivalent between the German nazi and the neonazi. Other than zionists have an influence on both. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t believe in much of history after 13 years of observation after my big sis expired in a couple months whilst living in midtown Manhatten. Her best friend expired the same way the year prior. Something to do with the 911 incident?
Your article has everything to do with Christians and their disputes. And now the fake pope and the Vatican meeting with the porn clown has much to do with the relationship between the Vatican and the Zions. No surprise with any of this including pedophilia and the catholic church, pornography and little man Z and this tangled mess.
I hope that Russia wins soon and much of the world’s evil is brought to a close.
Dan Eagle says
Hi Larry, you are right about the crimes of the crusaders, but 22 years before the the sack of Costantinople from the crusaders, the (Greek orthodox) mobs under the order of the emperor did a large scale massacre against the Roman Catholic inhabitants of Costantinople (mainly Italians).
Massacre of the Latins, in 1182.
We are talking about tens of thousands people killed and the survivors were sold as slaves to the sultanate.
What is true is the relations between Rome and Constantinople were at least decent until more or less the end of the 8th century, after Irene of Athene temporarily succeded to her husband as regent and later had her own son imprisoned and blinded in order to be the ruling empress.
After that the pope in Rome recognised the king of the franks as emperor, and the differences started to grow.
Unfortunately there were a lot of political struggles from all parties involved: Greek orthodox, Italians and Frank.
Let’s say I do not have a good opinion of most rulers involved, including the Catholic church that allied first with Longobards and then with the franks in order to steal the center of Italy, the franks and their descendants that have pillaged Italy for more than 1000 years and most of the eastern Roman rulers that came after Justinian, who were more interested on being adored like Persian kings than anything else.
Of course I respect the last emperor, that died defending the wall of Roma Nova when the ottomans entered the city.
Steve in CO says
Regarding the comments here: The Pope was just in Hungary meeting with Orban, but I guess that’s already forgotten. Could it be he’s meeting with the different players, naively perhaps, in an attempt to broker peace? Or must it always come down to slander and weird anti-Catholic black legends?
The *AVERAGE* American is virtually oblivious to anything that has or ever will happen more than a football field away from their bubbles.
Anti-Bergoglio is not anti-Catholic. Bergoglio is anti-Catholic. In fact he is anti-Christian
Pope brokering peace. That’s a good joke. Beter than those that Zelensky does. Speaking of him, I’m sure Pope congratulated Zelensky on burned churches and arrested priests. He must have got extra brownie points for the idea of exchanging priests for captured Azovites, though he is still far away from numbers achieved in The Balkans area.
On the other hand, I might have missed Vatican condemning those horrible acts, and offering apology and money to rebuilt what has been destroyed by Uniats (that are under Vatican).
Pope meeting with “different” players:
“Eastern Orthodox churches do not have a history of pedophilia and covering it up unlike their counterparts in Rome. This is probably a consequence of the Eastern Orthodox policy that allows priests to marry and have children.”
The EO Church “does not ‘allow’ priests to marry, it makes it obligatory: no graduate of a theology college can be considered for priesthood UNLESS he is married
Not exactly. If a person is not married by the time they are ordained a priest then they may not be married. Basically, get married prior to or in seminary or stay celibate. There is no actual requirement to be married in order to enter the priesthood.
Have never met or heard of an unmarried Christian Orthodox priest. Monk yes but not priest. I was raised in that faith.
No unmarried priest In Russia, not in Eastern Europe, not in Greece. Widow maybe.
“… as in the Spanish Inquisitions …” (in plural …!)
And the (Protestant) Danish hysterical “witch-hunts”:
And the Swedish, the English …? Scottish …?
And should we forget the Salem witch trials in 1692, in Protestant Massachusetts …?
Koro What says
You are absolutely right. I am just tired of this shit always coming in our way, from people that do not know even their own religous misconducts. Also please note that the good willed, protestant Swedes destroyed 18000 villages and 1500 towns during the 30 year war in Germany. General consensus: well done, good job, I am sure nobody died, or they all deserved it.
I have been taught in ecumenism in mind regarding our christian brethren, but reading and meeting these people (protestant mostly), I regard this to be a big mistake. They are absolutely up in their own assholes about their own behaviours while not know anything about sexual abuses in their own church, their historic examples of destruction, torture and mass killings. (North America .. I am yet to meet any native americans in Manhattan and Connecticut…). This much hypocrisy stops my mind.
looks like Ukraine won’t be “deNazified” until SSellenssky and his inner circle are in Miami.
HMS Terror says
The confluence and clash of symbols and 2000 yr old world historical trends astonishes.
A Jew in charge of running a pogrom against Orthodox Christians and a war on the Third Rome in the Pale of Settlement, making Hajj to Rome to receive the blessing of a Jesuit Pope while adorned with the most notorious Nazi insignia.
The demons that drove 2000 yrs of the West’s bloody civilizational history come together in a few photos. All that’s missing is Gen. Surovikin (aka: Gen. Armageddon) standing in the background.
I’m sure someone will paint that scene on the wall of a new built church.
***It has been almost 1000 years since the split in Christianity that created the Eastern Orthodox Christian movement and the Roman Catholic Church.
“Eastern Orthodox movement”? That’s an oddly inaccurate characterization, Larry. The Great Schism didn’t result in a “movement” of any kind. Rome (and the churches of the West) broke away from the Churches in the East, for a number of reasons. (In fairness to Roman Catholics, they will say that the Eastern Churches broke away from them. The truth is there is blame to be applied both ways).
It would not be simple for the Orthodox and Roman Churches to reunite as Rome has added quite a lot to what was received in the time since the Schism. There are sizable differences in theology between the two. Unfortunately, unity is highly unlikely.
It’s not about theology, but about money and power. Banderites, currently burning churches, are Uniats and have Orthodox rituals while being under Vatican. If you think this visit is not related with that, then I have a brigde in Kherson to sell you.
Well, my comment was not about Elensky’s visit. It was about the Schism and the relationship between Rome and the Churches of the East.
So is mine. Uniats are just an obvious example of overcoming the “Schism gap”. They were Orthodox Christians, and are now under Pope (without being Catholic like Poles), burning Orthodox churches and terrorizing priests and churchgoers. No theological problems there for them. Catholics also easily ovecome theological differences with Islam, in order to gang up on Orthodox Christians (like in Crimean War, or Yugoslav mess in 1940s and 1990s).
Like I already wrote, it’s not about theology, but about money and power. Overcoming Schism would require Vatican to give up on the desire to rule the (Christian) World. That’s the reason for Schism to happen in the first place, and what the Protestants protested about. Theological stuff is just an excuse. A very poor one, as far as I’m concerned.
My understanding is that Zelensky requested that the Pope condemn Russian “aggression”. He refused and offered to mediate the conflict – which Zelensky refused. Perhaps he stirred up old conflicts with the Russian Orthodox church by meeting with Zelensky in the first place. On the other hand, he may have been genuinely trying to make constructive efforts towards peace.
VATICAN CITY, March 10 (Reuters) – The war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several “empires” and not just of Russia’s, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Friday.
Koro What says
For the same reason he visited Hungary to consult with Orbán a few weeks before. I am at aghast about how little people know about. The Catholic church is weak, and this pope is as well a weak person, still at least he is trying to do something. Where are the efforts from the eastern orthodox brethrens ? Where are the protestant efforts ?
We catholics are openly considered as evil pedophiles, while all the churches has similar number of abuses. Yes, the eastern orthodox church as well, yet nobody knows about it. The saker and other shitheads are openly saying that this is a catholic plan to clean up Russia… Well, the Skare is a moron. Where does the catholic church have such power ? In the US and in UK ? In the 2 most protestant countries ? Do not make me laugh.
Michael Creighton says
We haven’t had a pope reigning since 1958 when judeomasonry took over Vatican. Some evidence presented here.
Francis is a Sayan. If you look at his family background they lived off a tributary of the Po river in northern Italy called Oglio before moving to Argentina. It is very likely his real name is Berg and Oglio was a appended. He keeps a kosher kitchen.
Based on the gross ignorance of several comments above, the Catholic religion is the authentic historical Christian religion. I have attached detailed information for their education.
Je suis catholique français et j’apprécie beaucoup vos articles, juste un mot sur la pédophilie dans l’église catholique romaine et dans le monde laïc en général, vous écrivez que les prêtres orthodoxes ne sont pas pédophiles parce qu’ils ont la possibilité de se marier mais 90% des pédophiles laïcs dans le monde sont des hommes mariés
C’est l’idéologique gauchiste maçonnique qui pervertit l’église catholique romaine
Le gauchisme est une maladie mentale
Roman Catholicism is evil incarnate.
Steven Berger says
Beat me, Daddy, 8 to the bar says
“A grotesque farce.”
Um, that shot from the movie Gladiator frequently used at Zerohedge: “Are you not amused?” 🙂
1) German Panzers (ok, Leopards) sporting the Iron Cross looking for a fight with Russian tanks only a few hundred km from Kursk;
2) The Great Schism Show! Step right up, folks, and see Catholics beating up on Orthodox and, who knows, vice versa! Been running longer than the Mousetrap and we still don’t know the ending!
3) Pokey pompous Penis Puppeteer President proselytizes Papal pushover!
And so on.
Except, the few hundred thousand dead (does it matter which side?) and for what? The Raytheon share price? The Grand Chessboard?
No, not a farce, it’s disgusting.
Ivan the Good (Vahag) says
Why is everyone so surprised at the pope’s behavior. Francis is the first jesuit to be elected pope and it is a well-known fact that the jesuit order was founded by “converted” jews and the overwhelming majority of its members were crypto jews.
Ivan the Good (Vahag) says
Addendum to my comment:
I took my information principally from “The Jesuit Order as a Synagogue of Jews: Jesuits of Jewish Ancestry and Purity-of-Blood Laws in the Early Society of Jesus” by Robert Aleksander Maryks. Interesting reading.
Peter S. says
Is this really a NAZI symbol? Actual name, historical usage? Looks rather generic (“war iconography”) to me. Or a derivative of the trident in the “Coat of arms of Ukraine”.
Peter S. says
Looking again, seems like angel wings and a sword, resembling the “Coat of arms of Ukraine” in shape, crusader style. Probably Zelensky playing to his catholic audience. He seems very adaptive in this way. I also doubt his, hm, advisors would let him show NAZI symbols on himself, it would hurt the narrative.
Peter S. says
Oh, it seems to be the emblem of the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists). So, yes this is pretty bad…
just saying says
All the roads lead to Stepan Bandera in Ukropstan.
This is truly beyond the exceptional. Exceptionally outrageous. I was born and raised into a Roman Catholic family in USA. This is so far out as to be unbelievable. This Pope is an exceptional piece of shit.
For confirmation from another angle go ask also the Palestinians about this gods representative on earth. George Carlin nailed it when it came to that all loving God.
Mike D. says
The times resemble those before WW2.
Biden calling out large numbers of his country’s citizens is not unlike Hitler’s rants against the german jews. Remarkable.
People like Obama who was worrisome because of the proven support for the vocal anti-semite Rev Wright and jew hating Al Sharpton approves through his silence.
You Trump cultists are more like the Brown Shirts: easily manipulated tools for violence. Your own night of the long knives will come soon enough.
Jeff the Beast says
Yes, the Moscow orthodox mafia church must be destroyed…just as the Kremlin Nazimafia…those stupid turds…there are a lot of decapitations necessary and Russia must be torn apart…ahahahaha
Traurigerweise merken die Menschen nicht das die westlichen Regierungen von den
Eliten gesteuert werden und im Grunde bestimmen wie das Volk gesteuert werden muss!
Die Regierung ist nichts weiter als der Verwalter der Eigentümer und Bevölkerung.
Es sind acht Familien die mit ihre Macht die Regierungen steuern;
Koro What says
The eastern orthodox church has no cases with pedophilia.. ffs just do a google search please… for some reason it is not publicized, but there is plenty if you are willing to look. Same goes for protestant churches, buddhist monasteries and so on. And do not even start on the non religious organizations just do a visit to Thailand or and check how prevalent this issue is.
Believe Google says
You sound butthurt. Maybe cardinal did not put enough of the holy lube.
They are a satanic clique that is very present in all the power structures of today’s world (WEF, WHO, UNO etc.)
It is enough to read Matthew 23: 8-12 & Matthew 5: 28-30, the clearest Words of my Lord, to understand the role of the popes.
Pope calls sex abusers ‘children of God’ deserving of ‘love’
Popes and the Presidents/ Leaders?
It is enough to read Matthew 23: 8-12 & Matthew 5: 28-30, the clearest Words of my Lord, to be able to understand the role of the popes.
Pope calls sex abusers ꞌchildren of Godꞌ deserving of ꞌloveꞌ
John 8:44 You are of your father, the DEVIL. And you do (his) desires/ lusts. He was a MAN-MURDERER from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is NO TRUTH in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar, and the FATHER of LIES.
1 John 3: 8-10
8 Whoever does SIN is of the DEVIL. That’s because the DEVIL has been SINNING from the beginning. But the Son of God was revealed to destroy (or ‘loosen’) the devil’s work (or ꞌtoilꞌ).
9 Everyone who is born of God does NOT SIN, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 Hereby are manifest the CHILDREN of GOD, and the children of the DEVIL: Everyone who does not do righteousness is NOT of God, and he who does not love his brother.
(The Pope loves the child abusers because he and they are descended from the same father.)
Zelensky offended Pope with his bad choice of present


BE OPENED! Jesus heals the deaf and mute man, opening his ears to hear and his mouth to speak. Truly a miracle. The bad news is that the man is on the margin of the community because he can't hear or speak. The good news is that Jesus comes along and saves him. Jesus heals the man physically and he heals him socially. Because of his ailments this man is on the margin, outside of the community. This curing makes him whole, restoring him to his community, returning him to full participation. He can communicate with his neighbors and share in their fellowship. He now has a sense of belonging. He does that for us too.
BE OPENED! This gospel scripture becomes a prayer of blessing within the Sacrament of Baptism. In the Rite, this blessing follows the sharing of the Light of Christ to be kept burning brightly by the family, then the placement of a white garment onto the baptized, so they are clothed anew in the life of Christ. The newly baptized are welcomed into the Body of Christ as priest, prophet and king. It is at this point that they are touched on both ears and lips, just like the deaf, mute man in our gospel. Ephphatha, be opened, so that the ears can hear the Word of God and the lips can proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ our Lord. A blessing which gives mission to hear the Gospel to grow in faith, then to evangelize the Good News of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
BE OPENED! Baptism is the beginning of our life in Christ where we will be led to the altar to the Eucharist. From the beginning of our Christian life we are opened to the saving grace of God. As we mature in our faith we are further opened by the Sacraments of Reconciliation, which heals our spiritual life; Eucharist, which feeds us; Confirmation, which animates our life in Christ; Matrimony and or Holy Orders, which places us in service of others for the Eucharist; and Anointing of the Sick which also provides healing grace for us. The sacraments invite us and initiate us into the Body of Christ where our faith is nourished, where our relationships with God and our community are healed and restored, and where we are called to serve one another in the name of Jesus Christ.
BE OPENED! For this is Good News for Catholics.
In our Gospel today, there is good news and bad news. In our current time this is also true. There is good news and bad news for Catholics.
The recent bad news began in late June with the story of former Cardinal McCarrick's history of sexual abuse and misconduct with a child and adult seminarians. In mid-August the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report was released identifying more than 300 priests sexually abusing children over a 70-year period, citing coverup in addition to the abuses. About ten days later former Nuncio of the US Church Vigano releases a letter with claims of abuse of power and coverup within the hierarchy of the Church. Last week Cardinal Cupich withdrew the faculties of a priest in Arlington Heights because of an arrest for lewd behavior in Miami. The hits keep on rolling. The public outrage is formidable and understandable. Cardinal Cupich summed it up in his statement "Anger, shock, grief, shame." A few sinful people have taken the spotlight off Christ because of their actions. And their actions leave a trail of victims who have and are suffering deeply as a result. We should pray for them. The good priests are reeling at the revelation of their brethren bringing scandal and shame to the sacramental call to Holy Orders. We should pray for them too. We all suffer because of this. I spent time with a friend in August who was personally affected by the allegations in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report. He grew up a block away from the rectory where a named priest was their friend. Some of his friends were abused as children. It was hard for him to ask his siblings if they were abused too. His trust is deeply shaken by the human institution of our church. His faith is not.
George Weigel, a prolific Catholic writer and columnist in Washington, DC, shared a similar sentiment in his Wall Street Journal article last weekend titled A Crisis - But Not of Faith. In it he shared this directly from the Gospel which we heard at the end of August:
"At the end of the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus has caused a furor among his first followers by declaring himself the "bread of life," on which his friends and disciples must feed. Many found this a "hard saying," and left the itinerant rabbi from Nazareth and "returned to their former way of life." Jesus then turns to his closest companions, the Twelve, and asks, "Do you also want to leave?" Peter answers in two sentences that every outraged or embittered Catholic today should pause and ponder: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." That conviction is the reason to be a Catholic, the reason to stay a Catholic and the reason to bend every effort to reform the Church as an institution, so that it can be a credible witness to the Lord who offers communion with God and words of eternal life."
I encourage you to Google George Weigel and read this article and some of his weekly columns.
Another rich source for us is Bishop Barron, through his Word on Fire ministry, where he shared this:
"You know, keep in mind everybody, we are not Catholics because of the moral excellence of our leaders. I mean, God help us if we were. We want our leaders--indeed, we expect our leaders--to be morally excellent. But we are not Catholics because of that moral excellence. We're Catholics because of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. We're Catholics because of the Trinitarian love of God. We're Catholics because of the Mystical Body of Christ. We're Catholics because of the sacraments. We're Catholics especially because of the Eucharist. We're Catholics because of the Blessed Mother. We're Catholics because of the saints. Even as leaders in the Church fail morally, the Catholic Church remains the Mystical Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. And she's worth fighting for."
This is what we tell others who ask us why we are Catholic.
He added: "I'm with my old mentor Cardinal George of happy memory. In the last talk he ever gave to all the priests of Chicago, he said,"Remember, at the beginning of the Church, there were no parishes. There were no schools, hospitals, institutions. There were evangelists,"he reminded us."There were proclaimers of the word."But the point was the Church does not depend ultimately on institutions."
Jesus is our savior. The church is a place full of sinners, therefore our need is first and foremost for a savior. Evil is at play here. It always was, and it still is. This evil needs to be eradicated so that we can focus on the mission of Christ, serving others for God, loving our neighbor as ourselves. We need to keep the faith, live the good news of the Gospel. Fight for the Church. Don't abandon it.
Thank you for being here at Mass today. Thank you for not abandoning our Savior Jesus Christ, despite the crisis which is rearing its ugly face again by some of our human institutional leadership. It is comforting to worship with those who have faith in Jesus. He calls us to be priest, profit and king at baptism which means we are to sacrifice for each other, like Jesus, share the Good News of Jesus, and to be a servant leader, like Jesus. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are faithful because of the gift from God to us of his Son and the Holy Spirit, not because of our deacons, priests, bishops or pope. If they are doing their job correctly, and most are, our faith in Jesus will deepen as they lead us to his Body at the Eucharist and as they proclaim his Word to us.
WE HAVE BEEN OPENED! The bad news is we have sin within the Church. Evil exists. The good news is Jesus is our Savior. As baptized Christians, we can live the life of Christ proudly. We can hear the word of God to deepen our faith. We can and should speak loudly to the bishops about reform and eradication of this heinous sin. And we can and should share the Good News. Because we still have lots of it to share.


The Ecumenical Campus Ministry is a ministry of the Anglican, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian and United Churches to the students, staff and faculty of the University of Lethbridge.
Chaplain Erin Phillips organizes social activities, provides spiritual support and hosts opportunities for study and worship. She can be reached by dropping by the Chaplains' Office in Markin Hall (M4054), by calling 403-382-0294, or by emailing her at email@example.com.
Father Roque holds mass on Wednesdays and Thursdays in Anderson Hall (room to be decided) from mid-September to early-December. You can contact him at 403-382-0294 or firstname.lastname@example.org


Perception is a funny thing. You may have heard me speak about how what we already think conditions what we see. So, yes, we are prone to seeing what we want to see in what is going on around us and prone to being blind to that which doesn't fit our existing biases.
One person sees a stranger walking through the neighborhood and thinks nothing of it. Another perceives their presence as a threat, and calls the police.
But there's another mechanism at work too. If you're a visual person like me whenever I hear someone telling about an event, I can see pictures in my head. Not like a camera feed that shows the actual events. But the word and phrases trigger my brain and new images are mysteriously formed out of the catalog of the visual memories I've collected over time.
The image posted with this blog post is the Artificial Intelligence analog to what happens in our heads. Machine learning - viewing millions of pictures from the internet - allows the program to have the raw material to create images in response to words. I typed "an alligator sitting at a bar with a cocktail, in the style of Dali," and now we can see it.
So what does this have to do with a life of faith? What we choose to take in, and that upon which we dwell becomes part of the catalog out of which we construct our sense of reality. The prayers and practices, attitudes and actions, in our life "tune" us to receive/perceive in particular ways. This is what St. Paul is talking about in Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you."
In Luke 17: 20-21 we read "Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Sight and perception are not the same thing.
What is in us interacts with what is around us. Grace does its silent work on those who are open to being tuned, and suddenly that which was once unperceived is present and the God of peace is more fully known.
Next week we launch Advent 1, the first video for those who have purchased either a Seeker or a Companion in the Way plan. I need your help to continue to tune this site.
𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤, 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕤𝕠 𝕀 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤!


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Norman Wesley Kiker
April 22, 1947 ~ June 25, 2023 (age 76) 76 Years Old
10 Trees, Flowers, or Condolences have been shared with support of Norman's family - View on Tribute Wall
Norman Wesley Kiker, 76, of Shawnee entered his eternal home on Sunday, June 25, 2023, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 am Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at Emmanuel Episcopal Church with Father Tom Dahlman officiating. Arrangements are by McElyea & Owens Funeral Group.
Norman was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to James Virgil and Kathleen Rose (Peltier) Kiker on April 22, 1947. He married his high school sweetheart, Claudia Henderson on July 20, 1968 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Norman graduated from Shawnee High School in 1966. He was a barber for fifteen years and a sales representative for several years. Norman was deeply involved with his tribe, the Citizens Potawatomi Nation, from an early age.
He worked for CPN from 1973 to 1976. He was elected Vice- Chairman of the tribe for two years and served on election committee for eight years. He went back to work for the tribe in 1989. That same year he was ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal Church after four years of theological study. Shortly after, he became Tribal Chaplin. In 1995 Norman became the Director of language for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. He immersed himself in the study of the culture and the language of the Potawatomi people, traveling to several northern states to work with the elders.
Norman served in the Army National Guard of Oklahoma for six years. He was the first President and Director of Shawnee Hospice.
Norman had a passion for drawing, Carving canes and walking sticks. He created many beautiful pieces of scrimshaw art and jewelry.
Norman is preceded in death by his parents and many beloved uncles, aunts and cousins. He is survived by his wife, Claudia, sons Noel and Chad Kiker of Shawnee, grandsons Justin (Lynn) McRae and children Kenneth, Lilly and Zaylon of Shawnee; Nathanael (Emily) Kiker and their children Daelan, Emilia and Noah of Shawnee; James Kiker (Jessamyn), granddaughter Samantha (Dylan) Ricketts and their children Payton and Ryan; Tom and Michelle Rucker, Tonya Kiker, faithful friends Betty Norton, Gerald (LaNell) Montgomery, Larry Young and many dear cousins and friends.
Memorials may be given to Emmanuel Episcopal youth programs or National Kidney Foundation. Norman’s family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Damera, all the nurses and staff of Heartland Hospice who were so kind to us, Nurse Judy at the Regency, Father Tom Dahlman, Mother Elizabeth Davis, Deacon Nathan Johnson and his wife Evaughna for the many times they visited, prayed, anointed Norman and comforted Claudia.
Norman was a great fisherman who taught Claudia, Noel, Chad, and grandchildren how to fish. The tradition has been carried on by his sons and grandchildren. He and Claudia instilled in all the children a love of music and faith in Christ. Norman’s faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ, was evident to all who knew him.


Welcome to the very first post on my blog. I hope to encourage others by showing them that there are no limits to what’s possible as long as you believe. Sounds like some $89.95 seminar at the Holiday Inn conference room, right? Not quite. I’m no salesman, superhero or shining example of fantastic genetics; just an ordinary guy with a little bit of extraordinary faith. In fact, I never imagined that I’d be persuing a competitive athletic career, vlogs, or even church attendance in a not-so-distant past.
I, like many people, have that same story about being raised in the church and walking away when I was old enough to make my own decisions.That thread of commonality is probably one of the few things that most people would find as “normal” here in the South, if discussing your faith life wasn’t so awkward. What most people don’t seem to realize is that the people in the churches have that same story. It’s only the smallest percentage that have remained in the church throughout their life.
So, you may be asking, “What’s that have to do with me?” It means that it’s never too late to get reintroduced to your faith. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I had kept doing things my way. My health, my education, my opportunities, and my marriage would never have succeeded were it not for the love of Christ.
Success is the result of two things: faith and work. Philipphians 4:13 may be one of the Bible verses that many people in the strength community use, but they use it for good reason .
I can do all things through Christ which strengeneth me. KJV
I also find motivation in this Latin phrase:
Labor Omnia Vincit. “Hard work conquers all things”.
When faith and work are applied together, then nothing is impossible.


Life is a teacher. How good a student am I?
by Dr. Dale V. Atkins, September 2013
If, as many assert, life is the best teacher, an important question we can ask ourselves is, How good a student am I?
What and how do we learn from our lives?
The most difficult challenges offer opportunities to learn the most worthwhile lessons. These situations challenge our perception and faith in ourselves, in others, and in God. Whether we are facing a serious illness in ourselves or someone close to us; the death of a loved one; a reversal of fortune, a marriage's dissolution; surviving a flood, fire, or earthquake; our resolve and resilience are tested.
Whatever happens, we are offered opportunities to learn. As we ride (or are knocked around by) the wave of the crisis, our attitude and actions determine how we absorb all that we can process.


In Luke 2 the shepherds did not worry about gifts, no one was upset at how unkept the stable looked, and not a word was said about who wasn't coming. Jesus was all that was needed to bring great joy. When we focus on what we have in Jesus, we spend less time tied in a knot about what we don't have. This young newly married couple had all they needed.
I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas holiday. I have been busy sewing but I'll take the time to share them in January. I believe this will be my last post until after the new year. So I'd like to wish all of you a wonderful....
Happy New Year!
(ps...see y'all next year - giggle - work with me.)


If you are looking for a festive and meaningful song to sing this Christmas season, you might want to try Bituing Natatangi by Ryan Cayabyab. It is a Filipino choral piece that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, where a star shone brightly to guide the way. In this article, we will show you how to download Bituing Natatangi SATB sheet music in PDF format for free. You will also learn more about the song, its composer, and its lyrics. Read on and discover the beauty and joy of Bituing Natatangi.
How to Download Bituing Natatangi SATB Sheet Music in PDF Format


Overcoming barriers to healing involves being honest about one thing. Naming it and then sending it on it’s way. The thing is:
It’s not fair.
For instance, I have friends who can stuff themselves with gluten and sugar [insert your own dietary restrictions here] and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next day.
If I did that, I’d wake up feeling like I’ve been on a bender.
It can take weeks for me to rebound after one day of even minor slip ups on my eating.
Some of us have been given the ‘gift’ of health, it seems. Some of us can eat whatever we want and feel great, always sleep well, have energy, remain a healthy weight and rarely fight anything bigger than a winter cold.
It’s Not Fair
And some of us (like me) look at those with the ‘gift’ of health and cue the silent scream:
‘It’s not fair!’
Okay, so maybe it isn’t always a silent scream.
But that’s the thing. It’s easily named when it simply rises to the surface of my thoughts and plays over and over again. It’s so not fair!
After the scream, my ears are still ringing, but my vision becomes suddenly clear. I become aware of the barrier. ‘It’s not fair’ is a barrier.
What is involved in overcoming barriers to healing? Finding out what God says about those barriers. Receiving His forgiveness for having allowed those things to pose as barriers between He and us. And replacing those barriers of untruth with Truth.
The Gift of Health
God says the ‘gift’ of health isn’t just for a select few! In fact, the heart of God towards us is shown in John’s writing to his friend Gaius:
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 1:2 (NKJV)
It isn’t just the favored few who can enjoy good health on this earth. God wants it for ALL His children. For ALL believers.
Where we have limitations, God can work with that. We can enjoy good health despite limitations we’ve been born with or acquired along the way.
God can even reduce or remove these limitations, taking us further than we could have ever dreamed.
Because, believe it or not, God wants to prosper us!
‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Overcoming Barriers to Healing
The truth is, sometimes we don’t believe. Sometimes we get stuck on what we can’t do and what others can. How horrible we feel when others feel great. How we don’t have time to be sick! How long it’s been since we’ve been able to do what love to do. And sometimes we pout. (Of course, not speaking from experience here.) Sigh. Not a very productive use of precious energy when we really need to spend our energy on getting well!
A huge barrier to healing is: “It’s not fair!”
When I find myself angry at the innocents who are ‘gifted’ with health, I find it only hurts me. It only drives a wedge deeper inside myself between the person (health-wise) I am now and the person I want to be. And it drives a wedge between myself and my Creator. Envy, entitlement, self-pity, and resentment. Those are part of “It’s not fair!”
Overcoming barriers to healing can truly begin when we remove the wedge. Let go of the anger. Let go of the resentment at the perceived ‘unfairness.’ Let go of everything except Jesus and His promises.
Overcoming barriers to healing starts with stepping out of ‘It’s not fair!’ so we can step into the ‘gift’ of health.
Application of Overcoming Barriers to Healing
- Lay before the LORD on your bed, on your exercise mat, in the bath, or wherever is comfortable for you. Place your hand on the skin of your belly to center and quiet your spirit.
- Close your eyes. Take some deep breaths through your nose to quiet your mind and settle your body.
- Thank the LORD for His forgiveness. Ephesians 1:7 tells us “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Tell your mind, soul, and body to receive the forgiveness of the LORD for allowing the “It’s not fair” issue to become a barrier. Take a moment to receive his forgiveness throughout every cell of your body.
- Ask the LORD to show you other barriers that are coming between you and your healing. Ask what He would have you know about your healing.
- Active listening: whatever He brings to mind: a memory, a word, a scripture or song or a creative moment, go with it. Do what He says. Write it in your journal.
- Choose to move forward with the new Truth.