#the only way to be sent there is to denounce god/jesus/the church

[slashers-and-rats]

to get back into the groove of writing, let me share an au that i’ve been discussing with @hollowslasher !! they’re fantastic and I’m now obsessed with this

priest!billy au (nsfw)

lemme set the scene…

after the abuse he faced in his home when he was younger, and the gruesome deeds that would follow, instead of being sent off to an asylum, he is instead sent to a nunnery through some means (haven’t worked out that part yet). anyways, he’s sent to the nunnery to find “the way of the lord”, and learn how to be a faithful priest, and repent his passed sins, and all that jazz.

but, billy is billy. he’s obsessive with ideas, he clings to things, and so during his time at the church, he quickly becomes overwhelmed by the ideas given to him. he takes them too literally, too serious, and soon he’s obsessed with the idea that god can save him from the things he does. during this time, he denounces his old name of billy, wipes his slate clean, takes on a new name of micheal (we all know it’s billy, so that’s what we’ll call him), and becomes a priest in training.

billy, on the surface, is a model man. he helps out as much as he can around the church grounds, he perfectly recites bible verses, he memorizes prayers quickly because he’s really just repeating what others say in their voice, he is very strict on himself and follows the rules carefully; he is a devoted man of the cloth, or whatever. sure, he has his few quirks, like when he gets too excited he still drools, and he mumbles things under his breath, and he always has a certain look in his eye, but lots of the fellow members of the nunnery just believe it’s due to his rough upbringing. they don’t know much about him, they just know he didn’t come from a good place, and so they try to give him some grace.

that being said, it’s still a church, and billy finds himself repressing a lot of himself. he buries those vile, disgusting thoughts deep inside of him, and holds back on his outbursts until he’s alone and can scream into his pillow. he views it as the sin seeping into him. every time he thinks of something dirty, he’s running to the church to pray, or he’s confessing his sins in a confessional, or (on particularly bad days) he’s flogging himself for his falling into temptations. while on the outside he’s a picture perfect, born again boy, on the inside he feels as though he’s always being poisoned by “the devil”.

he becomes attached to this idea of purity. he has to be pure, that’s what they tell him. if he’s not pure, he’s not forgiven, and he HAS to be forgiven. he’s done too much not to be. he worries so much about falling into sin, and yet he sneaks indulgences when he can’t take it. he’s like an addict, he keeps going back because it’s truly all he knows, and slapping this bandage over a bullet wound isn’t helping.

it certainly doesn’t help when he starts making the phone calls. during the wee hours of the night, when the dormitory is silent, billy will call the nuns and priests, and do what we know he does best. he’ll spit vile things, and moan and whine into the phone, and confess all of the dirty things he’s been thinking of. he doesn’t say who he is, he makes sure his voice is inconsistent, and he just throws up all of the horrible thoughts he pushes down inside. usually, in response, the recipients of these calls will mutter prayers, or shame him for calling in such a way, or tell him he needs jesus. and all of this he knows. that’s why he’s there. he tells himself he’s only calling so he can hear those prayers, so that he can feel the shame and it’s like some punishment for what he’s saying, but deep down it’s all lies. he’s just a mutt.

once again, no one really suspects it’s billy. he’s weird, sure, but he’s the sweetest guy you’ll met when the sun is out. also, prank calls aren’t unheard of when it comes to places like that, so. they go about their business, occasionally getting billy’s sick phone calls and dealing with it however they see fit for the time.

until, billy calls one woman, a nun. a pure little lady, or so he thought. billy calls her, like he’d call any one of these people, but as he’s babbling about his nastiness, she isn’t responding in the usual manner. sure, she says he’s sinful, and says he has so much lust inside of him, but it’s said in such a way that… it sounds almost affectionate. she speaks as though she’s impressed by him, as though she finds him amusing or entertaining or something of the like. billy doesn’t notice until he’s pumping his cock, something he has done very hard work to keep from doing. he’s yanking his trousers down and stroking himself and this woman is telling him about how he’s so bad, so naughty, such a dirty man to try and corrupt a nun like her, and he’s reeling. he has to hang up before he gets too far. he doesn’t even cum, he can’t bring himself to, it’s all too much. he’s shaken, he’s thinking hard about her. a new obsession. a new religion in the making.

he focuses in on her. the next day, he figures out which one of the nuns she is. he begins watching her from afar during her daily chores and services. he sits where he can see her during services, he listens in on her confessions, he watches her as she eats… he begins calling her regularly, always getting the same amused responses from her.

at first, he believes she’s some dirty succubus. how could she respond like this to such vile things he’s said? she’s the one in the wrong, she has to be. sure, he’s the one spewing fantasies over the phone, but she’s the one that’s letting him. she’s the sinner, she’s the harlot, it can’t be him. no, he needs to fix her, because he’s the good one. any hoop he can manage to jump through, he does. he doesn’t want to take responsibility or admit he’s just a lustful man, no, it can’t be him. he wants to be good, he wants to be forgiven.

he begins seeing himself as her saviour. he’ll fix her. this is all some covert way of weeding out the sinners, and he’s found one, and now he has to find a way to fix it. his phone calls become harsher, more directed at her, more personal as he speaks about the things he’ll do to her. he’ll flog her for her misdeeds, he’ll wrap his rosary around her throat, he’ll fill her mouth with his cock so she can’t say any unholy things anymore, he’ll make her pray while he fucks her so that she can have a real holy figure inside of her. he will be her retribution. she just responds with the same amount of amusement, but billy can hear her becoming enraptured as well. she touches herself, he knows it. he’s so disgusted with her behaviour, and yet he wants more and more and more

the phone calls become a routine, to the point that when she answers, she knows who it is from the way he chokes a little at the start of his rants. billy becomes obsessed, he begins becoming tangled in a web of his religious duties and his duties to fuck this woman silly. he takes the word of the lord so seriously, and yet… here he is. stroking himself while confessing all of his deepest desires. over the phone he refers to himself as billy, he speaks as he would usually, and she listens. he likes that she listens, deep down. he wants to be heard.

things go south when one day, as he’s sitting waiting for the church service to start, she comes up and sits down beside him. he’s very nervous, immediately becoming fidgety, but he tries to smile and ignore the anxiety bubbling up. he’s never been THIS close, he usually just watches from afar. he’s mesmerized by her when she’s this close, and he has to keep reminding himself not to stare. if you asked him, he’d say he was nervous because he was sitting beside a succubus, and he didn’t know what she was capable of. but, deep down, it was because he would let her take him on the pew if she spoke as sweetly as she did over the phone.

anyways, she sits beside him, and he smiles as normally as he can at her. and she smiles back, and leans over, and all she says is “it’s nice to see you, billy.”. it makes him freeze. it’s like he’s just been slapped across the face, it’s like she just ripped all of his skin off at once. no one has called him that in so fucking long. as well, her knowledge of him being billy directly threatens this new life he’s created. if she knows it’s him, then she could tell others that he’s the one that’s been calling, and he’ll get kicked out again.

he’s sure she sees his panic, because she just pats his knee gently, as if she didn’t just rip his entire universe apart. he physically flinches, and gets up and walks quickly out of the service, something very out of character for such a loyal member like billy. but they don’t think much, since missing one sermon isn’t a problem. but she knows why he’s run, and he does too. and that’s enough to make him terrified.

later, when dinner is over, and people have settled into their rooms, billy catches her in the hall. she was walking back to her dorm, and he snuck up behind her, and pinned her to the wall. he wrapped a hand around her throat, and hissed in her ear that he’ll kill her. he has to, because she’s going to tell everyone his secret, and he can’t have that. he can’t. he’s ready to commit another sin and work for forgiveness again, it’s easier than being barred from retribution altogether. but she’s looking up at him, fluttering her eyelashes, smiling softly even as he’s squeezing her throat. and she just pats his chest and says “your secret is safe with me… as long as my phone keeps ringing, that is”. it baffles billy. she is a whore, she is a slut, she has to be, why else would she want this. she’s squeezing her thighs together, and staring up at him with such adoration, he feels like a saint. he has to run off again, overwhelmed and confused. he should be disgusted by her, he should be seeing her as the dirty charleton she is, and yet… where her skin touched him, he burns. he wants more, he does, he needs ti purify her with his own seed, he needs to fix her. right? he’s the one fixing…? right…?

that’s my intro to this idea. i hope you guys like it, i plan on writing actual stuff for it. the nun will be a fem!reader probably, cuz i don’t really have much of a character for her yet. thank you so much for reading!!

#slasher x reader #slashers #billy lenz #billy lenz x reader #priest!billy

[troybeecham]

Today the Church honors St. Phocus the Gardener, Martyr.

Ora pro nobis.

Saint Phokas came from Sinope, a city on the Black Sea. He was a poor man, and his only possession was a garden, which he cultivated with great diligence. In order to use his crops to feed the poor and aided persecuted Christians, he willingly embraced a life of austerity. His income from the garden was very small. But since he was a good steward and frugal in his needs, he would always have something for the poor. Saint Phokas studied the Holy Scriptures with pleasure. He even told those who saw him studying that our soul is also a garden, which requires care, so that it does not produce thorns and thistles. The gardener Phokas also desired that everyone's souls should become spiritual gardens. So wherever he could, he contributed to their purification and cultivation. While he was selling vegetables and fruits, he spoke words of great spiritual profit at the same time. Not only did he benefit Christians, but he also converted many pagans.

During the persecutions of Diocletian (AD 244-311), though he was widely known as a man of good deeds and who helped the poor out of his own poverty, Phokas was denounced as a Christian and the rulers of the city sent soldiers to arrest him. The Saint's home was near the castle gate which guarded the port, and he was known to welcome travelers and the needy, and so he often had many visitors. So, when the soldiers came seeking a place to stay the night, he welcomed them as guests. After some time had passed, he asked them the purpose of their visit. Obliged by his hospitality they disclosed their secret, that they were seeking the Christian Phokas in order to behead him. They even told him that he would be doing them a great favor if he would help them.

Unperturbed, while the soldiers slept, Saint Phokas made arrangements for all his possessions to be distributed to the poor after his death, came out of his house during the night to dig and prepare his own grave, and the next day he told the soldiers who he was. They were astonished and ashamed, because they had been received by Saint Phokas with so much love that they did not want to kill him. The Saint understood their difficulty and told them not to hesitate, but to carry out their orders since it was not they who would be responsible for his murder, but rather those who sent them. By speaking in this way he persuaded the soldiers to behead him. He was beheading on this day in AD 303.

An accurate account of the Martyr’s death was written by Asterios, bishop of Amasea (c. AD 350 – c. 410). He is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Almighty God, who gave to your servant Phocus boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

#father troy beecham #christianity #jesus #god #saints #salvation #peace #martyrs #faith #early church

[wolint]

FRESH MANNA

BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS

Matthew 7:15-20

False prophets abound in our generation today, these are prophets who spread false teachings or messages while claiming to speak for God. False prophets function in their prophetic role illegitimately or through deception.

The Bible denounces false prophets for leading people astray.

Jesus said to beware of them in our text because as we know, wherever the true way of God is taught, there will always be false prophets and teachers who disguise themselves as genuine prophets to mess with the truth.

Jeremiah 14:14 describes false prophets, whom God calls liars and if we’re bible scholars, we should know and recognise their characters.

The Lord gives us an important insight into false prophets in Jeremiah 23:21–33, “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran, not to save souls, but to profit themselves.

I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied, they never received the word at my mouth; yet they went, publishing their deceits, and pretending them to be revelations from God. Sounds familiar?

This is the face of many churches and ministries today, even people who don’t belong to any denomination have labelled themselves prophets of God, dispersing false doctrines gained according to Isaiah 8:19-21, from the familiar spirit and mediums to deceive God’s people but the Lord is not pleased with this and condemns them.

1 Kings 22 tells of the difference between a true prophet of God and a false one. Jehoshaphat wanted a true prophet to speak into his and King Ahab’s mission to retake the city of Ramoth in Gilead. Jehoshaphat rightly suspected the predictions of victory from Ahab’s 400 counsellors to be false prophets who didn’t have the spirit of God. These false prophets merely said what the king wanted to hear and collected their salary from the royal treasury.

Unlike Micaiah, whose words came to pass, proving him to be the true prophet of God with the Spirit of God.

Like Ahab, this generation only wants to hear what pleases them as 2 Timothy 3:2 warns that the time will come (is now here) when men will not hear the practical truths of the Gospel when they will prefer speculative opinions, which either do no good to the soul or corrupt and destroys that wholesome doctrine of "deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow me," which Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 16:24-26.

Jesus teaches about false prophets in His Sermon on the Mount saying they are recognized by their fruit.

Do people pick mangos from orange trees or bananas from plantain? Every good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. All false prophets according to Ezekiel 22:28 professes themselves to be a prophet of God but have been unfaithful in the discharge of their office, they will soothe the people in their sins and pretend to have oracles of peace and safety, speaking even when the Lord had not spoken to them.

Beware of false prophets! Some seek to hear from a “prophet” before they take any step, well, according to 1 John 4:1, don’t believe every prophet to be a man sent of God. Put these prophets to the test, as instructed by 1 John 4:1. Try them by the Spirit and word of God because a true prophet’s teachings should be consistent with Scriptural doctrines and truth. Beware of false prophets!

PRAYER: Lord, deliver me from every false prophet of this time, trying to manipulate me from the way of righteousness to wickedness in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Shalom

Women of light international prayer ministries.

[hlootoo]

Frick it feel like ranting right now

I absolutely abhor Christianity being labeled "The White Man's Religion".

It puts a single face on the Faith and by extension, salvation. Let me explain. When this phrase  implies that the only way Christianity can be known, is through the White Man. Only the White Man can know it and God, and only he has a big hand in spreading it on the Earth. So much so, the only way others can know it and God is if the white man’s involved in some sort of way, which further implies that the idea of salvation can also only be achieved if the White Man is involved. This contradicts Scripture, by implying that mankind (of any race) plays a main role in the deliverance of souls as a median. Which is in contradiction with:

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Ephesians 2: 8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

(Especially that last sentence.)

Now, white people can testify and minister if they’re moved to by the Spirit, certainly, but at the end of the day, the white man, or any man really, does not and cannot save people. God saves people through his son Jesus and it’s up to Him to decide how and when He reveals Himself. It doesn't matter how many churches, crosses, or sites you build. It doesn't matter how many times you quote the Bible to someone, how many stock prayers you recite, or how many hymns you sing, at the end of the day, it is God who reveals Himself through these things and it's up to individuals themselves to answer or ignore His call. Which is why this phrase (TWMR) is also a slap in the face to those of other races who had a genuine spiritual revelation and relationshipwith Him on their own. It's common to have these people be denounced as traitors, suck-ups, brainwashed, or idiots. Other times they're simply ignored because they don’t fit within certain narratives.

TWMR also ignores history and places everything in a American/European viewpoint. Which ticks me off considering Christianity has its origins and history in the Middle East and parts of Africa but has since then spread throughout the world, and whose main figure was an ethnic Jew. The oldest (possibly) Christian churchcurrently found is the Duras-Europos Church in Syria. Ethiopia also has a church older than most European ones, and has a long an incredibly devout Christian history despite being the only African nation to never be colonized by European powers. It also ignores saints and martyrs from other places who were, and still are, killed for their faith simply because they don't fit the stereotype of "dE eBiL wHyTe MeN" pushing their beliefs onto others. (It also shows how ignorant and callous "progressive" Europeans/Americans can be when they cheer or mock the deaths of "POCs" as long as their part of a group they don't like, i.e. Christians.)

The TWMR moniker also makes it seem like only white people can follow the Faith, and thus, be saved because of how exclusive it is. Which is incredibly heretical. One of the core beliefs of Christianity is that anyone can come to Christ. ANYONE.

Galatians 5:26-29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

And

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

EVERYBODY has a chance. EVERYBODY.

Now don't get it twisted. I'm not ignorant of how Christianity became known to others, especially by those seeking to use it for abuse. I don't blame these people, be they in the past or now, who have a strong aversion if not outright hatred for the Faith because of cruel people using it for their own selfish desires. I myself loathe these same people and find them to be a canker sore on the Christianity as a whole. Every time I hear a story or see coverage of a """Christian"""" doing something despicable and still claim to be of God, or worse, try to use the Bible of justification, I wanna throw my TV out the window in rage. I am not all downplaying the suffering that these people's victims suffered; and it's equally disgusting when the Church and other believers don't call it out when they should. Worse, they try to hand wave it away. These criminals should absolutely be judged by both the Church according to God's Law and the Law of Man and be punished as such by both.

The Bible mentions fake Christians and abusers of the Word frequently:

Matthew 15:8 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Titus 1:16 They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good.

Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Jude 1:4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

If you are a Christian of any race, gender, status, or what have you; and someone is not acting as they should according to the Faith,

CALL. THEM. OUT.

Not only to put them in check for their sake and others’, but because we are commanded to:

1 Corinthians 5: 9-13 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Matthew 18:15-17 If your brother sins against you, go and confront him while the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two others with you so that ‘every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If, however, he ignores them, tell it to the congregation. If he also ignores the congregation, regard him as an unbeliever and a tax collector.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

Galatians 2:11-14 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Lastly, I also have strong issues with the common depiction of Jesus as white. For starters, He wasn’t. He wasn’t black either, as many people insist, but he certainly wasn’t white either. He was a Jew from the land of Israel. But at the end of the day, it’s all pointless anyway. Being a certain race doesn’t magically make that race any closer to Him. They don’t get brownie points or a headstart over anyone else. They still have to stand before God on Judgement Day just like everyone else. All that matters was that Jesys was born, He lived and taught us, he died for our sins, He was resurrected, and will return in the New Heaven and Earth. That’s literally all that matters, everything else is cosmetic. Whatever shell He came in was just that, a shell. It was merely for interacting with this world and it’s people before ascending once again. I don’t give a damn if He was purple, polka-dotted, with rainbow hair. I don’t care if He looked like Homey D. Clown. All that matters, is that He gave His life for all of us and asks Him to follow Him in return.

Nothing else matters.

TL;DR

- “The White Man’s Religion” crap disregards history, ignores other races, is absolute heathenry in multiple ways and gives me bizarro Manifest Destiny vibes (often pushed by regressives).

- Call out false believers and heretics.

- Believe in Jesus, He died for everyone. Yes, even that one coworker you don’t like.

Christianity: Come for the Bread, stay for the Word. Everyone welcomed.

#chrsitianity #rant #I be channeling my inner Paul today

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sun., Jan. 24, 2021

Commemorated on January 11by the New calendar. 

The Monk Theodosios the Great (529)

     The Monk Theodosios the Great lived during the V-VI Centuries, and was the initiator of common-life (coenobitic) monasteries. He was born in Cappadocia of pious parents. Endowed with a splendid voice, he zealously toiled at church reading and singing. And the Monk Theodosios prayed fervently, that the Lord would guide him on the way to salvation. In his early years he visited the Holy Land and met with the Monk Simeon the Stylite ("Pillar-Dweller",  + 459, Comm. 1 September), who blessed him and predicted future pastoral service for him. Yearning for the solitary life, Saint Theodosios settled in Palestine into a desolate cave, – in which by tradition, the three Magi had spent the night, having come to worship at the Nativity of the Saviour of the world. In it he dwelt for 30 years in great abstinence and unceasing prayer. Steadily there began to throng to the ascetic those wanting to live under his guidance. When the cave could no more hold all the gathered monks, the Monk Theodosios began to pray, that the Lord Himself would point out the place for the monks. Taking with him a censer with cold unlit coals, the monk went into the wilderness. At a certain spot the coals fired up and set the incense smoke to rising. Here also the monk founded the first common-life monastery, or Lavra [Greek "Laura" meaning "broad" or populous"; in Russia were four such: Trinity-Sergeev, Kievo-Pechersk, Alexander-Nevsk and Pochaev], under the ustav-rule of Saint Basil the Great (+ 379, Comm. 1 January). Soon the Lavra of the Monk Theodosios became reknown, and up to 700 monks gathered at it. According to the final testament of the Monk Theodosios, the Lavra rendered service to neighbour, giving aid to all the poor and providing shelter for wanderers.

The Monk Theodosios was extremely compassionate. One time when there was a famine in Palestine and a multitude of people gathered at the monastery, the monk gave orders to allow everyone into the monastery enclosure. His disciples were annoyed, knowing, that the monastery did not have the means to feed all those who had come. But when they went into the bakery, they saw that then through the prayers of the abba, that it was filled with bread. And suchlike a miracle was repeated every time, when the Monk Theodosios wanted to give help to the destitute.      At the monastery the Monk Theodosios built an home for taking in strangers, separate infirmaries for monks and laymen, and also a shelter for the dying. Seeing that at the Lavra were gathered people from various lands, the monk arranged for Divine-services in the various languages – Greek, Gruzian (Georgian) and Armenian. For communing the Holy Mysteries all gathered in the large church, where Divine-services were done in Greek.      During the reign of the Constantinople emperor Anastasias (491-518) there arose the heresy of Eutykhios and Severus, which recognised neither the sacraments nor the clergy. The emperor joined in with the false-teaching, and the Orthodox began to suffer persecution. The Monk Theodosios stood firmly in defense of Orthodoxy and on behalf of the wilderness monks wrote a missive to the emperor, in which they denounced him and refuted the condemned heresy with the teachings of the OEcumenical Councils. He affirmed moreover, that the wilderness-dwellers and monks would firmly support the Orthodox confession. The emperor showed restraint for a short while, but then he renewed persecution of the Orthodox. The holy elder then manifest great zeal for the truth. Leaving the monastery, he came to Jerusalem and in the "Great" church, stood at the high place and cried out for all to hear: "Whoever honoureth not the four OEcumenical Councils, let them be anathema!". For this bold deed the monk was sent to prison, but soon returned after the death of the emperor.      The Monk Theodosios during his life accomplished many healings and other miracles, coming to the aid of the needy. One time by prayer he destroyed locusts that were devastating the fields in Palestine; also by his intercession, soldiers were kept from perishing, and he saved both those perishing in shipwreck and those lost in the desert.      One time the monk gave orders to strike the signal, so that the brethren would gather at prayer, and said: "The wrath of God draweth near the Eastern land". After several days it became known, that a strong earthquake had destroyed the city of Antioch at that very hour, when the monk had summoned the brethren to prayer. Before his death, the Monk Theodosios summoned to him three beloved bishops and revealed to them, that he would soon expire to the Lord. After three days he died at the age of 105, in the year 529. The body of the saint was buried with reverence in the cave, in which he lived at the beginning of his ascetic deeds.

The Monk Michael of Klopsk (452)

     The Monk Michael of Klopsk was descended of boyar (noble) lineage, and he was a kinsman of GreatPrince Dimitrii Donskoi (1363-1389). He took upon himself the exploit of Fool-for-Christ: he left Moscow and in rags he arrived at the Klopsk monastery, near Novgorod. No one knew, how he got into the locked cell of the priest-monk Makarii, who then was making a censing at the 9th Ode of the Canon and was going round the cell censing. But there sat a man in monastic garb and beneath a candle he wrote copying from the Acts of the holy Apostles. After the finish of matins the hegumen with brethren came and started to ask the stranger: who is he and of what name? But he answered only by a repeating of the questions and did not reveal his origin. In church the saint sang in the choir and read the Epistle, and at meals he read the Saint-Lives. All who listened were moved by the beauty and spirituality of his reading. On the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Klopsk monastery was visited by prince Konstantin Dimitrievich (son of GreatPrince Dimitrii Donskoi). After Communion he together with the princess was at the refectory, during the time of which the unknown stranger read from the Book of Job. Hearing the reading, the prince approached the reader and, having looked him over, he bowed down to him, calling him by name his kinsman Mikhail Maksimovich. The fool remarked: "The One Only Creator knoweth of me, who I be", but confirmed that his name was Michael. The Monk Michael soon set example for the brethren in all the monastic efforts. He lived at the Klopsk monastery for 44 years, exhausting his body in work, vigils and various deprivations, and he received from the Lord the gift of perspicacity. He denounced the vices of people, not fearing the powerful of this world. He predicted the birth on 22 January 1440 of GreatPrince Ivan III (1462-1505), and the taking of Novgorod by him. He denounced prince Dimitrii Shemyaka for blinding his brother the GreatPrince Vasilii the Dark (1425-1462).

All texts©1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

Matthew 4:12-17 

12Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned." 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

2 Corinthians 4:6-15 

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed- 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

#orthodoxy #orthodoxchrsitianity ancientchristianity originofchristianity spiritualilty holyscriptures gospel sacredtexts

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

The Amazing Story of 'O Holy Night'

Declared 'unfit for church services' in France and later embraced by U.S. abolitionists, the song continues to inspire.

The strange and fascinating story of "O Holy Night" began in France, yet eventually made its way around the world. This seemingly simple song, inspired by a request from a clergyman, would not only become one of the most beloved anthems of all time, it would mark a technological revolution that would forever change the way people were introduced to music.

In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was the commissionaire of wines in a small French town. Known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Placide when his parish priest asked the commissionaire to pen a poem for Christmas mass. Nevertheless, the poet was honored to share his talents with the church.

In a dusty coach traveling down a bumpy road to France's capital city, Placide Cappeau considered the priest's request. Using the gospel of Luke as his guide, Cappeau imagined witnessing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Thoughts of being present on the blessed night inspired him. By the time he arrived in Paris, "Cantique de Noel" had been completed. Moved by his own work, Cappeau decided that his "Cantique de Noel" was not just a poem, but a song in need of a master musician's hand. Not musically inclined himself, the poet turned to one of his friends, Adolphe Charles Adams, for help.

The son of a well-known classical musician, Adolphe had studied in the Paris conservatoire. His talent and fame brought requests to write works for orchestras and ballets all over the world. Yet the lyrics that his friend Cappeau gave him must have challenged the composer in a fashion unlike anything he received from London, Berlin, or St. Petersburg.

As a man of Jewish ancestry, for Adolphe the words of "Cantique de Noel" represented a day he didn't celebrate and a man he did not view as the son of God. Nevertheless, Adams quickly went to work, attempting to marry an original score to Cappeau's beautiful words. Adams' finished work pleased both poet and priest. The song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Initially, "Cantique de Noel" was wholeheartedly accepted by the church in France and the song quickly found its way into various Catholic Christmas services. But when Placide Cappeau walked away from the church and became a part of the socialist movement, and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adams was a Jew, the song--which had quickly grown to be one of the most beloved Christmas songs in France--was suddenly and uniformly denounced by the church. The heads of the French Catholic church of the time deemed "Cantique de Noel" as unfit for church services because of its lack of musical taste and "total absence of the spirit of religion." Yet even as the church tried to bury the Christmas song, the French people continued to sing it, and a decade later a reclusive American writer brought it to a whole new audience halfway around the world.

Not only did this American writer--John Sullivan Dwight--feel that this wonderful Christmas songs needed to be introduced to America, he saw something else in the song that moved him beyond the story of the birth of Christ. An ardent abolitionist, Dwight strongly identified with the lines of the third verse: "Truly he taught us to love one another; his law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother; and in his name all oppression shall cease." The text supported Dwight's own view of slavery in the South. Published in his magazine, Dwight's English translation of "O Holy Night" quickly found found favor in America, especially in the North during the Civil War.

Back in France, even though the song had been banned from the church for almost two decades, many commoners still sang "Cantique de Noel" at home. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, in the midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. Both sides stared at the seemingly crazed man. Boldly standing with no weapon in his hand or at his side, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and sang, "Minuit, Chretiens, c'est l'heure solennelle ou L'Homme Dieu descendit jusqu'a nous," the beginning of "Cantique de Noel."

After completing all three verses, a German infantryman climbed out his hiding place and answered with, "Vom Himmel noch, da komm' ich her. Ich bring' euch gute neue Mar, Der guten Mar bring' ich so viel, Davon ich sing'n und sagen will," the beginning of Martin Luther's robust "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come."

The story goes that the fighting stopped for the next twenty-four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day. Perhaps this story had a part in the French church once again embracing "Cantique de Noel" in holiday services.

Adams had been dead for many years and Cappeau and Dwight were old men when on Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden--a 33-year-old university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison--did something long thought impossible. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man's voice was broadcast over the airwaves: "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed," he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances he supposed he would.

Shocked radio operators on ships and astonished wireless owners at newspapers sat slack-jawed as their normal, coded impulses, heard over tiny speakers, were interrupted by a professor reading from the gospel of Luke. To the few who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle--hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Some might have believed they were hearing the voice of an angel. Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices; he couldn't have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this Christmas Eve miracle.

After finishing his recitation of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played "O Holy Night," the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. When the carol ended, so did the broadcast--but not before music had found a new medium that would take it around the world.

Since that first rendition at a small Christmas mass in 1847, "O Holy Night" has been sung millions of times in churches in every corner of the world. And since the moment a handful of people first heard it played over the radio, the carol has gone on to become one of the entertainment industry's most recorded and played spiritual songs. This incredible work--requested by a forgotten parish priest, written by a poet who would later split from the church, given soaring music by a Jewish composer, and brought to Americans to serve as much as a tool to spotlight the sinful nature of slavery as tell the story of the birth of a Savior--has become one of the most beautiful, inspired pieces of music ever created.

From "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas" which may be purchased here: https://www.zondervan.com/9780310873877/stories-behind-the-best-loved-songs-of-christmas/

#Christmas Hymn #O Holy Night #The Amazing Story of 'O Holy Night'

[kingdomofthelogos]

Reason Belongs to God

Read Mark 4

Download a printable version here.

The world desires us to commit the suicide of thought, to take our God-given will and make it passive to serve both sin and hell. Our faith calls us to be patient in waiting for God but also hastening the work of Christ’s Kingdom. The world often wants to bait us into going to war over narratives, emotional opinions, and all things petty, but Christ wants us to preach His message: the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15) This is the message that we must preach, realizing that reason and truth belong to God. When Christ calmed the storm at the end of Mark 4, He was giving us evidence that we must either accept or ignore. Either Christ calmed the storm or He did not, and if He indeed did such a miracle, then that means something substantial about everything He said. We do well to illuminate the truth of Jesus’ miracles, for they show us how the spiritual affairs break into our material world.

We tend to think of our faith in the abstract, that the spiritual warfare of powers and principalities is confined to the heavenly realms. We tend to think of the supernatural as that which breaks the laws of physics and reality, and therefore it can be dismissed as both impossible and irrational in an orderly world. However, to you I posit this: that perhaps the supernatural is not the breaking of the laws of physics, but the perfection of them. Perhaps the great miracles of God are not behind the curtain manipulations of the elements in life, or the quick swapping of cards done by a magician's sleight of hand, where God quickly rips a broken piece from our world and replaces it with a new one before anyone sees His dangerous appearance, but rather the miracles are the skillful and holy actions of the resolute hand of the Master of all. The miracles are not breakdowns of logic in the fallen world, but restorations back to the providential order of creation. 

Inasmuch as Jesus teaches us wisdom through parables, He is extremely gracious in showing us signs. The calming of the sea is a material fact, and through such an act of domestication Jesus shows us how the immaterial virtues break into the material world. Do not be deceived, the spiritual world  is breaking into our physical one and it has a substantial impact on everything in life.

The arena of objective truth belongs to God, and it is the devil who lives in opinions and subjectivity. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and at the end of each day said “it is good,” but the devil came along and tried to deceive Eve in saying “did God really say?” Jesus firmly declared that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but His murderous accusers wanted to contrive a narrative where Jesus said He was the King of the Jews. Not even the ancient world would deny the fact of the resurrection or the material miracles of healing and exorcisms; therefore, it would create narratives and perspectives to distract from the hard facts.

Reason belongs to God, and the more people pay attention to the logical order of God’s creation the more they are drawn to God. It has been a very clever trick of hell to make us believe the foolery that reason and faith are contradictory to one another. Reason is not opposed to God, but the whitewashed idolatry that charades as reason is. Hell wants us to view truth as a sensation, something to only summon as it pleases.

CS Lewis writes very cleverly on this matter in the Screwtape Letters. Uncle Screwtape, a demon in hell, writes to his nephew Wormwood saying: “It sounds as if you supposed that argument was the way to keep him out of God’s clutches. That might have been so if he had lived a few centuries earlier. At that time the humans still knew pretty well when a thing was proved and when it was not; and if it was proved they really believed it. They still connected thinking with doing and were prepared to alter their way of life as the result of a chain of reasoning. But what with the weekly news and other such weapons we have largely altered that. Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn’t think of doctrines as primarily “true” or “false”, but as “academic” or “practical”, “outworn” or “contemporary”, “conventional” or “ruthless”. Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. By the very act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result? Even if a particular train of thought can be twisted so as to end in our favour, you will find that you have been strengthening in your patient the fatal habit of attending to universal issues and withdrawing his attention from the stream of immediate sense experiences.”

What CS Lewis is trying to teach through these demonic conversations is that reason and objective reality belong to God, but hell wants to distract you with subjectivity, with the unreasonable world where you have “your truth” and I have “my truth,” and nothing is actually held as true. The fact is this: if people will use their minds to contemplate the healings and miracles of Christ, things which were not even denounced by those who hated Jesus as He walked the earth, then they will be inclined to realize that He is Lord of all creation and the true Messiah. Those who disbelieved in Jesus could not denounce Him on the basis of rejecting His miracles or resurrection, so they had to ignore those facts and make statements like “would God really care about your sexual life,” or “how could a loving God permit suffering.” All rejections involve some form of ignoring the material truth of His miracles, because if you honestly square your mind around calming a storm, or around a bodily resurrection, then your mind is awakened to the truth of Christ.

In Acts 4:16-17 the ruling counsel said 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” The counsel in Acts 4 included Annas and Caiaphas, two High Priests who had interviewed Jesus and then sent Him bound to the cross. By the time of the events in Acts 4, they realize they cannot argue with the factual truth of Jesus. If people know anything about the resurrection or healings done in His Name, they will discover the truth that He is the Messiah. Therefore, the only choice they have is to censor the discussion. If any light is shed on the subject, even in a biased way, they run the risk of the truth getting out. Their only choice is to outlaw any mention of it. 

If someone does not want a subject talked about in the public sphere, history tells us this is almost always because giving any light on the matter will disprove the official story. One does not have to silence things which disprove themselves. Our world has a big problem with shoes being made by slaves in sweatshops, and recently I have been trying to buy some shoes not made in a sweatshop. There is a particular company that asserts itself as being a virtuous shoe company, giving a pair of shoes to an impoverished nation for every pair someone buys in a developed country. However, they will not give a straight answer to the simple question “are your shoes made in a sweatshop?” Here is a truth: if someone cannot answer a simple question like this in broad daylight, then the answer is not good. If something is indeed false, then the best tactic for defeating it is to shed more light on the subject, not to cut out to the tongues of dissenters and hope that others forget their dissent. 

In our modern world we are afflicted by an inability to receive truth. Sometimes it is a rejection of the truth, and other times a lack of interest. Regardless of intention, our world only tends to believe something is true based on whether or not we like the consequences of something to be true. Rather than letting the truth be its own reward, we tend to be more focused on whether or not we want to live with something being true.

For instance, if we consider the fact that a child has a unique human DNA at the moment of conception, then we will indeed realize that aborting an unborn son or daughter is indeed murdering a child of God at his or her most defenseless state. There are many in the world, even the secular world, who will happily quote 1 John 3:15 saying, “anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer,” so that it can feel morally superior in giving a tut-tut to those who speak roughly, but at the same time they will bear false witness about abortion with the euphemism of calling it healthcare. They ignore the very fact of murder because they do not want to live with the consequential fact that those who advance it are openly advancing murder. The assertion that abortion is healthcare is not rooted in logic, reason, or truth, but in the desire to appear morally superior; however, any recognition that a child is indeed a child will immediately destroy any notion of justice or mercy. It is through this attitude that some become so obsessed with wanting to slander the church as ignorant and immoral that they  completely ignore the fact that they had to stop kissing a statue of baal in order to speak.

Despite this sad degeneration into paganism, we must count it as joy when people kiss a statue to baal before slandering us in our faith. For the more open the world is about its paganistic insanity the easier it is for us to draw the distinction between the Way of Life and the way of death. James 1:2 instructs us to consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials. 

Hell is filled with storytellers and yarn-eaters, but the seat of Heaven has a watchful eye through which all things unknown will be made known. God is one of truth, and in the business of making things known. At the heart of revival, is recognition of an almighty and absolute God. Christ wants us to step into the light and walk in the truth. The more we speak the truth of Christ’s authority over the wind and storm, the more the Gospel is spread. It is God who wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and hell who wants us to be passive and have others think for us. For so long we have been shy about asserting the hard truths of Christ’s power to heal and cast out demons, but the more we awaken the organ of critical thinking on these issues, the more glory is given to God.

When Christ displayed His authority over the sea, He demonstrated with evidence that His power is genuine. He is not here to dismantle creation, but out of love to restore it. The sea is a great mystery, for its depths wait in eternal darkness far beyond the reach of ordinary man. Yet, Christ is even lord over the sea. The miracles of Christ are not a creed, philosophy, or even a narrative. They are a fact, a piece of evidence that one must then either reconcile or reject. Christ gave us the means of verifying the great truths He revealed, both those which were moral and those which were material. 

Our modern world is extraordinarily concerned with whether an idea is “what the scholars say” or if it is merely an opinion held by the “non-college educated,” whether something is the “prevailing narrative” or “conspiracy theory.” But this is the suicide of thought, and Jesus comes in strict rebuke of it. Jesus calms the storms, and He gives us something which is a material fact. People can bicker all day long about whether or not they think Him a sorcerer, but if they recognize the hard fact that He calmed the storm then something serious is awakened. Moreover, the chances are that if people come to terms with the fact that He calmed the storm, they will then realize He is Lord over the sea, and if He is Lord over the Sea then He is indeed the Messiah. From this fact, it will then become certain that His teachings are indeed correct.

The suicide of thought is very serious problem in our modern world. We must understand that reason belongs to God. The more we tell the Gospel and trust its truth to convict fallen hearts, the more it will spread. God wants to transform us and restore our minds that we might be free from the inescapable burdens.

Ephesians 6:10-12 instructs us: 10 finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. It can be discouraging to realize the sinister dimensions of the evil against which we truly stand. However, we must raise up courage. We are called to both be still and know that I am God, as Psalm 46:10 details, but to also contend for the Gospel as instructed in Jude 1:3-4, where the apostle appeals to us saying: I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Peter gives us clarity on how we walk this straight and narrow pathway. 2 Peter 3:11-12 read: since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?

We must be patient in waiting for God but also hastening the work of Christ’s Kingdom. The world often wants to bait us into going to war with one another over petty things, but Christ wants us to preach His message, which we find in Mark 1:15, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” That is the message that we must preach, and when we let the Gospel out of the cage it will awaken minds more than any popular topic of our day. Sure, the world was obsessed with the politics of Rome vs Jerusalem, but Jesus’ message was altogether different. Jesus did not debate the world on the topics it wanted, but affirmed an entirely different way of thinking. It was the Gospel and its unwavering truth, and it alone is the way to good, the true, and the beautiful.

[class-wom]

Little Richard, a founding father of rock and roll whose fervent shrieks, flamboyant garb, and joyful, gender-bending persona embodied the spirit and sound of that new art form, died Saturday. He was 87. The musician’s son, Danny Penniman, confirmed the pioneer’s death to Rolling Stone, but said the cause of death was unknown.

Starting with “Tutti Frutti” in 1956, Little Richard cut a series of unstoppable hits – “Long Tall Sally” and “Rip It Up” that same year, “Lucille” in 1957, and “Good Golly Miss Molly” in 1958 – driven by his simple, pumping piano, gospel-influenced vocal exclamations and sexually charged (often gibberish) lyrics. “I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it,” Elton John told Rolling Stone in 1973. “I didn’t ever want to be anything else. I’m more of a Little Richard stylist than a Jerry Lee Lewis, I think. Jerry Lee is a very intricate piano player and very skillful, but Little Richard is more of a pounder.”

Although he never hit the top 10 again after 1958, Little Richard’s influence was massive. The Beatles recorded several of his songs, including “Long Tall Sally,” and Paul McCartney’s singing on those tracks – and the Beatles’ own “I’m Down” – paid tribute to Little Richard’s shredded-throat style. His songs became part of the rock and roll canon, covered over the decades by everyone from the Everly Brothers, the Kinks, and Creedence Clearwater Revival to Elvis Costello and the Scorpions. 

Little Richard’s stage persona – his pompadours, androgynous makeup and glass-bead shirts – also set the standard for rock and roll showmanship; Prince, to cite one obvious example, owed a sizable debt to the musician. “Prince is the Little Richard of his generation,” Richard told Joan Rivers in 1989 before looking at the camera and addressing Prince. “I was wearing purple before you was wearing it!”

Born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5th, 1932, in Macon, Georgia, he was one of 12 children and grew up around uncles who were preachers. “I was born in the slums. My daddy sold whiskey, bootleg whiskey,” he told Rolling Stone in 1970. Although he sang in a nearby church, his father Bud wasn’t supportive of his son’s music and accused him of being gay, resulting in Penniman leaving home at 13 and moving in with a white family in Macon. But music stayed with him: One of his boyhood friends was Otis Redding, and Penniman heard R&B, blues and country while working at a concession stand at the Macon City Auditorium.

After performing at the Tick Tock Club in Macon and winning a local talent show, Penniman landed his first record deal, with RCA, in 1951. (He became “Little Richard” when he about 15 years old, when the R&B and blues worlds were filled with acts like Little Esther and Little Milton; he had also grown tired with people mispronouncing his last name as “Penny-man.”) He learned his distinctive piano style from Esquerita, a South Carolina singer and pianist who also wore his hair in a high black pompadour. 

For the next five years, Little Richard’s career advanced only fitfully; fairly tame, conventional singles he cut for RCA and other labels didn’t chart. “When I first came along, I never heard any rock & roll,” he told Rolling Stone in 1990. “When I started singing [rock & roll], I sang it a long time before I presented it to the public because I was afraid they wouldn’t like it. I never heard nobody do it, and I was scared.”

By 1956, he was washing dishes at the Greyhound bus station in Macon (a job he had first taken a few years earlier after his father was murdered and Little Richard had to support his family). By then, only one track he’d cut, “Little Richard’s Boogie,” hinted at the musical tornado to come. “I put that little thing in it,” he told Rolling Stone in 1970 of the way he tweaked with his gospel roots. “I always did have that thing, but I didn’t know what to do with the thing I had.”

During this low point, he sent a tape with a rough version of a bawdy novelty song called “Tutti Frutti” to Specialty Records in Chicago. He came up with the song’s famed chorus — “a wop bob alu bob a wop bam boom” — while bored washing dishes. (He also wrote “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly Miss Molly” while working that same job.)

By coincidence, label owner and producer Art Rupe was in search of a lead singer for some tracks he wanted to cut in New Orleans, and Penniman’s howling delivery fit the bill. In September 1955, the musician cut a lyrically cleaned-up version of “Tutti Frutti,” which became his first hit, peaking at 17 on the pop chart. “’Tutti Frutti really started the races being together,” he told Rolling Stone in 1990. “From the git-go, my music was accepted by whites.” 

Its followup, “Long Tall Sally,” hit Number Six, becoming his the highest-placing hit of his career. For just over a year, the musician released one relentless and arresting smash after another. From “Long Tall Sally” to “Slippin’ and Slidin,’” Little Richard’s hits – a glorious mix of boogie, gospel, and jump blues, produced by Robert “Bumps” Blackwell — sounded like he never stood still. With his trademark pompadour and makeup (which he once said he started wearing so that he would be less “threatening” while playing white clubs), he was instantly on the level of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and other early rock icons, complete with rabid fans and mobbed concerts. “That’s what the kids in America were excited about,” he told Rolling Stone in 1970. “They don’t want the falsehood — they want the truth.”

As with Presley, Lewis and other contemporaries, Penniman also was cast in early rock and roll movies like Don’t Knock the Rock (1956) and The Girl Can’t Help It (1957). In a sign of how segregated the music business and radio were at the time, though, Pat Boone’s milquetoast covers of “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally,” both also released in 1956, charted as well if not higher than Richard’s own versions. (“Boone’s “Tutti Frutti” hit Number 12, surpassing Little Richard’s by nine slots.) Penniman later told Rolling Stone that he made sure to sing “Long Tall Sally” faster than “Tutti Frutti” so that Boone couldn’t copy him as much.

But then the hits stopped, by his own choice. After what he interpreted as signs – a plane engine that seemed to be on fire and a dream about the end of the world and his own damnation – Penniman gave up music in 1957 and began attending the Alabama Bible school Oakwood College, where he was eventually ordained a minister. When he finally cut another album, in 1959, the result was a gospel set called God Is Real.

His gospel music career floundering, Little Richard returned to secular rock in 1964. Although none of the albums and singles he cut over the next decade for a variety of labels sold well, he was welcomed back by a new generation of rockers like the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan (who used to play Little Richard songs on the piano when he was a kid). When Little Richard played the Star-Club in Hamburg in 1964, the opening act was none other than the Beatles. “We used to stand backstage at Hamburg’s Star-Club and watch Little Richard play,” John Lennon said later. “He used to read from the Bible backstage and just to hear him talk we’d sit around and listen. I still love him and he’s one of the greatest.”

By the 1970s, Little Richard was making a respectable living on the rock oldies circuit, immortalized in a searing, sweaty performance in the 1973 documentary Let the Good Times Roll. During this time, he also became addicted to marijuana and cocaine while, at the same time, returning to his gospel roots.

Little Richard also dismantled sexual stereotypes in rock & roll, even if he confused many of his fans along the way. During his teen years and into his early rock stardom, his stereotypical flamboyant personality made some speculate about his sexuality, even if he never publicly announced he was out. But that flamboyance didn’t derail his career. In a 1984 biography, The Life and Times of Little Richard, written with his cooperation, he denounced homosexuality as “contagious … It’s not something you’re born with.” (Eleven years later, he said in an interview with Penthouse that he had been “gay all my life.”) Later in life, he described himself as “omnisexual,” attracted to both men and women. But during an interview with the Christian-tied Three Angels Broadcasting Group in 2017, he suddenly denounced gay and trans lifestyles: “God, Jesus, He made men, men, he made women, women, you know? And you’ve got to live the way God wants you to live. So much unnatural affection. So much of people just doing everything and don’t think about God.”

Yet none of that craziness damaged his mystique or legend. In the 1980s, he appeared in movies like Down and Out in Beverly Hills and in TV shows like Full House and Miami Vice. In 1986, he was one of the 10 original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1993, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. His last known recording was in 2010, when he cut a song for a tribute album to gospel singer Dottie Rambo.

In the years before his death, Little Richard, who was by then based in Los Angeles, still performed periodically. Onstage, though, the physicality of old was gone: Thanks to hip replacement surgery in 2009, he could only perform sitting down at his piano. But his rock and roll spirit never left him. “I’m sorry I can’t do it like it’s supposed to be done,” he told one audience in 2012. After the audience screamed back in encouragement, he said – with a very Little Richard squeal — “Oh, you gonna make me scream like a white girl!”

#Little Richard #RIP

[spiritualdirections]

Loving sinners is countercultural today

Our culture right now is obsessed with justice. What’s more, as a society we get angry at injustice. Injustice is a wrong that must be righted! Injustice seems to be everywhere; to see it we need only be “woke” as people say today. Woke to white privilege, woke to the deep state’s undermining of democracy, woke to police brutality, woke to microaggressions, woke to the patriarchy, woke to power of the elites, the 1%.  

Sometimes the thing that’s wrong with society isn’t the responsibility of any one person. Environmentalists can’t point to one person or company that caused all of climate change. Feminists can’t point to one source for all of misogyny. That doesn’t mean that nothing can be done, but rather that promoting justice is the task of everybody.  But when we are aware of injustice all around us, of wrongness all around us, we can sometimes look for scapegoats on whom to focus our righteous anger. Misogyny is everywhere, but this misogynist in particular needs to be made an example of. Racial prejudice is everywhere, but this example in particular needs to be denounced strongly.

This is sometimes called “virtue signaling,” when someone publicly mirrors in word or symbolic gesture what important segments of the people are feeling: If the people are angry, I show them that I’m angry too. Sometimes the virtue signaling is self-protective, trying to avoid the anger of the mob (Don’t look at me, I’m angry too!). Sometimes it comes from a desire to capitalize on the momentum of a particular feeling (I’m angry too! Read my website! Donate to my nonprofit! Support my campaign!). Virtue signaling rarely allows for Christian nuance (I’m angry at the sin! But not at the sinners, for whom I pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy and mortify myself for their conversion...).

With the advent of social media, denouncing often takes the form of a virtual mob, as people share and forward and reblog not just the latest instance of injustice, but also the name and address and social security number of the perpetrator, so that he or she can be made an example of. This can even happen within the Church, despite what the Gospel tells us. Someone recently sent me a link to a homily by the rector of his diocese’s cathedral in which he called a priest abuser “a fiend” and a “carnivore,” who had “amputated himself from the Church.” The person who sent me the link called it “a homily we all need to hear.”

I disagreed. Some years ago, I heard the confession of an old man who had been a pedophile and for decades had sexually abused various children. He himself had been sexually abused as a child, and his own pedophilia was very much a response to the spiritual damage from that sin. He had been baptized, had fallen away from the Church for a long time, and yet towards the end of his life wanted to come back to the Church and be reconciled with God. And so, I heard his confession, gave him absolution and, assuming he did his penance, his sins were forgiven. Despite his monstrous crimes, he was not a monster, but a child of God, a prodigal son who returned. There is, our Lord tells us, much rejoicing in heaven over his confession and contrition (Luke 15:10). Any confessor should show sacramental mercy to such a penitent and should be happy afterwards.

Now, imagine if the penitent pedophile whose confession I heard had been in that other priest’s congregation when he preached his angry homily. Would he have gone to confession if he heard that he wasn’t part of the Church, that he wasn’t even human? If not, then the fiery homily might very well have reduced the rejoicing in heaven.

Catholics need to love their enemies and pray for the conversion of sinners. We might have to incapacitate them from doing further harm, and in the case of sex abusers that might mean limiting their interactions with vulnerable people for the rest of their lives. But we should never break solidarity with them. Jesus died for those sinners too.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, one of the Church’s most experienced leaders on this issue (full disclosure—he ordained me, and is currently my boss), uses language that delicately addresses this problem:

“Some of the most deeply moving moments that I have experienced in the course of meetings with survivors and family members have been when men and women who have suffered the most egregious abuse, even the death of a loved one, tell me that they are striving each day to forgive the man who abused them and in fact pray for him as part of their daily prayers.  This is an extraordinary and humbling sign of God’s goodness beyond all measure.  May we join the example of our brothers and sisters in Christ praying for those men who have committed most grievous sins and crimes against children. May they receive the grace to turn to the mercy of God seeking the gift of repentance and atonement.”

This sort of pastoral encouragement of forgiveness ought to be a model for others. Members of the Church should do less virtue signaling and scapegoating, and more to encourage reconciliation, mercy, solidarity, and forgiveness, as a way of growing stronger. We should even consider ways to reach out to those who have sinned and are being punished deservedly, so that their hearts don’t harden, and they might come to seek God’s mercy.

#mercy #pray for sinners #solidarity #justice-only politics #love your enemies #woke #virtue signaling

[repost-this-image]

How the Mass works, for non-Catholics

Yo, @apocrypals!  I'm WAY behind the curve on this one, but I just started listening to your podcast yesterday, and as an ex-Catholic, I can totally break down the Mass for you.  (I was raised in southern AL, so I’m one of the few ex-Catholics who’s also very fluent in evangelicalese.  OMG THE PIZZA PARTIES AND VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL.)  I went almost every week for the first 25 years of my life, so I know the Order of the Mass as well as the priests do at this point.  I can also  point out which things were special Easter stuff, and which things happen every Sunday.  After all, every Catholic church in the world does the exact same stuff in the same order, and has for 1500 years since Pope Gregory standardized things.  (Some places even still do everything in Latin, which...WOAH.)  

And unless you have a very long-winded priest, or something special like First Communion is going on, the whole thing takes about an hour, which is a pretty decent time for a church service, IMO.  Long enough to feel meaningful and get the important stuff in, but short enough that your kids don't go too wild.  (A lot of churches have a "cry room" for folks with babies and toddlers, which is basically a room in the back of the sanctuary with a big window so they can see the Mass, speakers so you can still hear the priest, and some toys to keep the wee ones occupied so you can at least kinda pay attention to what's going on.  This also keeps everyone else from having to deal with crying babies the whole time.)

Unfortunately, I am VERY long-winded, so we’re gonna put the rest of this behind a cut, to save everyone else’s dash.

Because some Catholics, just like in every denomination, only really show up for Easter and Christmas, there's a handy book called a Missal in the pews next to the hymnal so you can follow what's going on and what this week's readings are and whatnot.  The Church goes through the whole Bible in a 3-year cycle called the liturgy, so some churches have permanent hardbound Missals with all three years in 'em and a ribbon bookmark to keep track of which week and year you're in.  But most churches nowadays go with the seasonal Missal that gets swapped out several times a year, because instead of just saying “Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time,” the seasonal Missal has the actual date, too.  It’s a little paperback book, cheaply printed on newsprint, and gets sent back for recycling after the end of that season.  This also means that it doesn’t get all raggedy from 50 years of continuous use, requiring the congregation to shell out WAY more money at once to replace all those hardback Missals.

I grew up with these, and it was sort of fun to see what each new Missal would have on the cover.  They change the cover illustration from season to season and from year to year.  Today’s Missal is the most common brand, and comes in a regular English edition, a large print edition, and a bilingual edition (so if you’ve got a Spanish Mass, you only need one version of the Missal).

So you enter the sanctuary, dip your fingers in holy water, make the Sign of the Cross (don’t forget to genuflect toward the altar, out of respect to Jesus), get to your pew, and pull out the Missal.  Time to get holy, y’all!

First, you have an introductory hymn.  The priest, deacon, and altar servers all process in.  Holy-water-flinging happens at Easter, but not the rest of the year.  If it's Palm Sunday, you got a palm leaf as you walked in, and the kids are probably waving theirs around.  (Not, like, the whole leaf, but a branch of the leaf, if that makes sense.)

Next, the priest does his intro thing.  This is a combination of call-and-response and the priest's personal take on what this week's Scriptures are about.  Unless it's the Easter or Christmas season, the Act of Contrition is next, because everybody's probably done a little sinning since last week.  I personally hate the way they recently changed it, so here's the Vatican II version:

"I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.  And I ask Blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God." (The new version brought back the old mea cupla, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, which is REALLY bad for folks with depression.)

It's followed by the Kyrie, which is SO OLD that the original version of it is in Greek instead of Latin.  The priest makes a statement (depending on the week) that ends with "Lord have mercy."  Everyone repeats "Lord have mercy."  Next statement from the priest ends with "Christ have mercy."  Response: "Christ have mercy."  Then a third section and response with "Lord have mercy" again.

OK.  We've said we're sorry for any bad things we've done, we've asked for God to maybe cut us a little slack on that whole punishment thing, so now it's time for the Gloria.  Text is here, in both English and Latin.  It's left out during Lent and Advent, but it's sung at every Mass the whole rest of the year.  I know both English and Latin versions, because I was in college choir, and most of the long choral pieces for rehearsals are Masses.  But as with the rest of the Mass, most churches just do it in the local language.  A few churches switch to Latin during Lent to add to the solemn feeling.  But only really stuffy, old-fashioned congregations do the Mass in Latin year-round.

The priest says a short prayer based on which week it is, and then it's time for the Liturgy of the Word.  This was my favorite part as a kid, because when you're little, it's easier to follow than the more symbolic and mystical Liturgy of the Eucharist.  It's also the only part where ordinary members of the congregation get to go up and present, but of course you have to make arrangements to be one of next week's Readers in advance.

Everyone sits down.  This week's first reading is read out, and then the Reader says "The word of the Lord."  Response:  "Thanks be to God."  Then the Reader, or the choir director, leads a simple chanted psalm with choral response.  (Which psalm varies week to week; the missal tells you what this week’s psalm is, and gives you a melody to sing your response to, if you can carry a tune.)  Second Reader comes up.  Second reading.  “The word of the Lord.”  “Thanks be to God.”

Now comes the Alleluia.  Everybody stands.  There are 3 or 4 variations that tend to get commonly used, and which tune depends on the congregation.  But there’s really only one word, so you can’t screw up the lyrics on this one.  The priest reads this week’s Gospel section, ending with “The Gospel of our Lord.”  Response:  “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.”

Everyone sit down, it’s sermon time!  This is just like Protestant sermons, except the priest is required to focus on this week’s pre-set Bible readings for it.  That still gives him a lot of leeway, though, and a really good priest can get everybody engaged year after year.

OK, now we’re standing again for the Nicene Creed.  This, too, was altered recently, which means it no longer has the nice simple language of the Vatican II version.  IDK why they did this, since second-grade kids are required to learn the Nicene Creed as part of First Communion prep, but apparently the translation didn’t feel Latin-y enough to suit the stodgier cardinals.  So now little kids have to learn what “consubstantial” means, instead of just saying “one in being with the Father.”  Whatever.  Either way, it’s basically denouncing a bunch of 4th-century heresies.

Last part of the Liturgy of the Word is the Prayers of the Faithful (sometimes called the Intercessions).  Basically, one-sentence prayers have been drawn up by the priest, and the cantor comes up, recites each one, then does the call-and-response “We pray to the Lord:”  “Lord, hear our prayer.”  The last one is always a sort of “ok, this is your personal, private prayer that’s in your heart.”  So that you can pray for whatever’s been bugging you alongside the congregation, without having to air your private business to the church gossips.

And now, things are about to get all mystical.  It’s the Liturgy of the Eucharist!

First is the Presentation of the Gifts.  The collection plate is passed around.  If you’re an official member of the congregation, you even get little privacy envelopes mailed to your house to put each week’s offering in before you get to Mass, so nosy parkers can’t see how much you just put in the plate.  Once the collection plates get to the back of the church, they’re all collected together.  While the money’s being collected, a hymn’s being sung, and a hand-picked family from the congregation (which is why you don’t sit in the back if you don’t want to present the Gifts) processes down the aisle with a little ewer of water, another glass ewer containing wine, a big basket of unconsecrated hosts, and an empty chalice.  This is gonna become the Eucharist, oh snap!

The priest mixes the wine with a little water in the chalice.  This is probably symbolic, because NOBODY is gonna get drunk of the tiny sip of wine you’re expected to take at Communion.  He symbolically washes his hands, to symbolize that he’s putting off his fallible, earthly self to temporarily become a vessel through which God is working to create a miracle.  He prays over the bread, then the wine.  After each prayer, the congregation says “Blessed be God forever.”

There’s the intro to the Eucharistic Prayer, with its call-and-response, and then the Sanctus, which is so badass the Wikipedia page includes the Greek, Latin, and English versions, including old versions nobody uses anymore.  Whether the Sanctus is spoken or sung depends on the congregation. Everyone kneels, then stands back up.

Then the priest recites one of four Eucharistic Prayers.  Most of the time, they go with #2 or #3, which I’ve got partially memorized as a result.  This is the part where little kids get antsy, because it’s the most solemn and important portion of the Mass.  This is the part where a miracle happens, and the bread and wine become Jesus....somehow.  Yes, they actually become the body and blood of Christ in Catholic doctrine, which was one of the things Luther decided not to go along with.

To close up the prayer, the priest says the Doxology, and the choir’s response is the Great Amen.  The melody depends on which congregation, but as with the Alleluia, there’s only one word over and over, so you can’t screw up the lyrics.

The Lord’s Prayer is next, which is the same as the Protestant version up to “deliver us from evil.”  Then the priest says, “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us piece in our day.  In your mercy keep us free from sin, and protect us from all anxiety, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”  Then you get to recite the kingdom, power, glory bit.

Next is the sign of peace.  In most congregations, you shake hands with everybody within arm’s reach, saying “Peace be with you” to each one.  Some people give hugs to their family members instead of a handshake.  Very rarely, you see a kiss.  DO NOT kiss a stranger unless you see them coming in with a pucker, and then do it on the cheek!  You do not want to accidentally sexually harass people in a church.  I cannot stress this enough.

Next is the Agnus Dei, which is almost always sung.  As a reminder, everyone is still standing at this point.

The priest then picks up the consecrated host (there’s usually one BIG host among all the little ones) and says “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.  Happy are we who are called to his supper.”  Response from the congregation:  “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”

And now it’s Communion time!  The priest breaks up the big host into little bite-sized pieces.  It’s usually perforated to make this easier.  The hosts and wine are divvied up for the Eucharistic ministers (volunteers from the congregation) to bring to their stations.  A hymn is sung while people go up for Communion.

You go to the nearest station and get the host.  The minister says, “The body of Christ.”  You say “Amen” and eat the host.  (Used to be you took the host on your tongue instead of your hands, but most people don’t do that anymore.)  Next is the wine.  The minister says, “The blood of Christ.”  You say “Amen” and take a sip of wine.  The minister uses the cloth to wipe the chalice so it doesn’t have as many of everybody’s germs on it for the last few folks to have to deal with.  It’s considered extremely poor taste to take the wine if you’re feeling sick.  Traditionally, if you’re not Catholic, or if you’ve got a mortal sin on your soul that you haven’t confessed yet, you’re supposed to wait in the pew and not take Communion at all.  Older folks especially get POed when you ignore this rule, or if you act less than serious during the Communion rite.  When you get back to your pew, you sit down.  You can also sing along with the hymn, if that’s still going.

This is the point at which some people go ahead and leave, while everyone else silently judges them for not staying to the end of Mass.

Local announcements are made.  Is it time for the pancake breakfast? Time to sign the wee ones up for another year of CCD/PSR?  Is the Knights of Columbus doing their Tootsie Roll drive for people with intellectual disabilities?  Now’s when you find out!

Then comes the Benediction, which I understand is the exact same prayer the Protestants use.  (”May the Lord bless you and keep you,” etc.)  The deacon announces that the Mass is ended.  Everyone says “Thanks be to God.”  A final hymn is sung.  It is OK to leave during the closing hymn instead of after it; unlike leaving during Communion, no one will judge you.

Stuff that happens on holidays:

On Ash Wednesday, there’s a lot more prayers of contrition, and instead of Communion, you get ashes smudged onto your forehead, usually in the shape of a cross.  This is the beginning of the 40-day season of Lent, which is all about penitence.

At Christmas, a new candle is brought out, consecrated, and thus begins its year-long journey of being burned down a little bit every week until it’s a wee stump, at which point it’s Christmas again, so the cycle starts over.  The liturgical candle is HUGE compared to the other candles on the altar, so it can last a full year.

During Ash Wednesday (again) and Good Friday, there’s a part where the priest walks around the church with a censer full of frankincense, and basically spreads the scent of the smoke all over.  Don’t go to these Masses if you’ve got asthma.

On Good Friday, the big crucifix is brought up and everybody bows to Jesus, or if you’re really old-school, you kiss the statue’s feet so you’re symbolically kissing Jesus’s feet.  (We discovered this in the most embarrassing way possible.  Bro was in middle school, and one of our Southern Baptist classmates was curious as to how Catholic and Protestant services were different and wanted to check it out.  Bro got Mom’s permission and invited him to go to Good Friday Mass with us.  We had NEVER BEEN to Mass on Good Friday before.  You can imagine how the statue-kissing came across to the good Protestant boy who’d heard rumors about those Catholics and their idolatry.)

On Palm Sunday and Easter, the Gospel is ALWAYS the Passion of the Christ.  Some churches actually do this as a Passion play, but most just have it as printed in the missal.  Basically, the deacon is the narrator, the priest reads Jesus’s parts, one of the Readers from earlier plays any other individual parts (Peter, Judas, Pontius Pilate, etc.), and the congregation says all the group/crowd parts.  Yes, this means that every year, millions of Catholics are saying “Give us Barabbas!” and “Crucify him!”  Which helps hammer in that however good a person you are, you too probably would have made the wrong call and asked for Jesus to be crucified, so don’t start thinking you’re better than other people.

Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year and is a 4-week preparation for Christmas.  There’s a big Advent wreath by the altar with 4 candles on it (and maybe a fat white pillar candle in the middle for Christmas Day).  Each Sunday, 1 more candle is lit than last week.  Kinda like Hannukkah, only weekly instead of daily and with a totally different meaning behind it.  Weeks 1, 2, and 4 have a purple candle.  Week 3 is Laetare (Rejoicing) Sunday and has a pink candle.  All 4 candles are on the wreath, even if they’re not all lit this week.  Some people have Advent wreaths and candles at home, too.  I still have a very nice pewter one from a couple years before I deconverted.

Some churches have the Nativity scene partially set up before the first Sunday of Advent.  The statues of Mary and Joseph are moved a bit closer to the Nativity scene each week, then at Christmas Eve they’re around the empty manger.  Jesus is added on Christmas morning before Mass.  Watching Mary and Joseph “travel to Bethlehem” like this can be lots of fun for the kids.

#catholicism #the mass #i'm not catholic but i play one on tv #for a pagan i know a lot about the catholic church

[engelspolitics]

Religious Cults Changing History

https://www.grunge.com/34218/religious-cults-changed-course-history-2/

God-Worshipping society; 1836 Chinese man failed state examination; fell into religious fever, and met God, Mary, and Jesus; took on new identity as Jesus’ brother and formed God-Worshipping Society in troubled late Qing China

Rebels rose up to replace Qing with Taiping Tianguo (Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace); seized parts of central and southern China and advanced progressive reforms (forbidding foot binding, promoting women in army and government, banning slavery and polygamy, redistribution of the land, strong moral laws and strict Sabbath

Qing suppressed movement with a war that cost 20 million lives; Han Chinese rise in military ranks formerly reserved for Manchus (indigenous people of Manchuria, ruled Qing Dynasty (1636-1912)); also used foreign help; internal and external weakening of control eventually led to downfall of Qing

Xhosa’s cattle-killing → 1856 Xhosa tribe under pressure from British settlers; young girl claimed she met a mysterious man who told her if the Xhosa cattle was killed, the dead cattle would rise from the earth and they’d have so much cattle and power the British would be forced out

Some people killed cattle immediately, others disbelieved; fights between sceptics and believers, who would kill sceptic’s cattles

Famine resulting killed 40.000 Xhosa; British governor took advantage with cruel labour recruitment policy; British settlers moved in, giving rise to ideas that it was all part of a plot

Fifth Monarchy Men → idea that there were four great empires (Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman) to be followed by the Fifth Monarchy in which Christ would rule for 1000 years; beheading of Charles I seen as prelude to the End of Times; Oliver Cromwell as a second Moses (1648); Anglo-Dutch war outbreak as beginning to European war to bring down the pope

However Cromwell collapsed and monarchy was restored, Fifth Monarchy died out in 1680s

Donghak → in 1860 wandering intellectual in Joseon Korea had visions of Shangti (Jade Ruler of the Universe) who said a new age (Great Opening of the Later Heaven) would be coming in

Bases of the Donghak (‘Eastern Learning Faith’) humanity would be united with Heaven and all people made equal; mixture of shamanistic and Taoist ideals standing in opposition to the repressive neo-Confucianism and foreign faiths (Seohak, Western Learning aka Catholicism)

However man was executed but in 1894 a Donghak adherent led revolt which widened into rebellion against corruption and high taxes; Korea asked for military help of China and Japan

Bad idea; tensions sprang up between the Chinese and Japanese troops, setting off events which would lead to First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910.

Yellow Turbans → Han Dynasty in a political mess; in 174 Taoist priest prophesied age of great peace where sky would become yellow (colour of new & semi-mythical Yellow Emperor)

New sect Way of Great Peace → longevity through extreme versions of Taoist rituals, including fasting, specific sexual practices, and large public gatherings for praying and confessing

Han rulers tried to suppress it but sect turned to rebels wearing yellow turbans; eventually rebellion put down after 20 years → destruction of landowner wealth and government infrastructure, while the Han government was riven with factionalism between eunuchs, aristocrats, Confucian scholars, and the military

Fell apart few generations later through foreign invasion and rebellious army; no centralised rule for centuries

Ikko-ikki (single-minded leagues) → sect of Pure Land Buddhism causing chaos in 15 cent Japan; salvation only through power of Amida (Japanese Buddha who vowed to save all sentient life); very popular by peasants who all chipped in and marched on Kyoto, believing death in battle would bring instant heavenly rewards and cowards would go to hell; burnt down Kyoto temples

Eventually taken down by a samurai lord who was annoyed they distracted him from conquering all of Japan with their sieges

Ikko-ikki thouht they were safe in their self-sustaining temple towns but the samurai just built wooden wall around those, set them on fire, and killed 20.000 people in one day

Ten years later with the help of pirates the Ikko-ikki defeated through starvation

Cathars → rejection of idea of Trinity, monotheistic God (instead one benevolent creator and one evil tyrant), priesthood, religious centres (just lay people and Elect, which maintained ascetic lifestyle), believe in reincarnation, equality of sexes, vegetarians, beat theologians in religious debates, made Catholic church look like a circus

Cathars also alarmed secular authorities by refusing to swear oaths, which was big part of feudal system

Two generation long war starting with Albigensian Crusade began in 1208; Catharian extermination + subjugation of tolerant Languedoc under French crown

Ghost dance → native American Paiute man suffered from fever in 1889 and woke up to God and happy spirits of the dead, who taught him dances to hasten God’s arrival

Man woke up and preached to tribe that they should be peaceful with white settlers because God would be sending a earthquake to wipe them out soon anyway

Ghost Dance spooked local settlers, who didn't understand and feared the worst. Indian Agent wrongly believed the influential Sioux chieftain Sitting Bull was behind the movement, sent police to arrest him. Sitting Bull was shot in the scuffle, when a crowd gathered and confronted the police.

Two weeks later, the military suppressed the Ghost Dance movement in the massacre at Wounded Knee

Mahdiyya → 19th century Sudan under rule of Turko-Egyptian governors who orchistrated slave trade, and once Britain got invoolved stage was set for the 1881 rise of cult of a cleric who claimed to be the Mahdi (messianic fiure) and preached communism whole denouncing Ottoman Turks

Mahdi’s cult soon took over country, he killed opponents, established Sharia government based on his absolute authority and plans for jihad but he died 6 months later, and disciples were later overtaken by bureaucrats from the old Turko-Egyptian regime.

The Mahdi still considered father of Sudanese nationalism

#religion #cults

[newstfionline]

Once banished by czars, a centuries-old sect finds new life in modern Russia

Fred Weir, CS Monitor, August 24, 2018

TARBAGATAY, RUSSIA--This sprawling village, set in a green mountain valley in southern Buryatia, is an unmistakably Russian place.

It’s noticeably different from nearby communities of cattle-breeding, mostly Buddhist ethnic Buryats. Solid Siberian-style izba log houses are framed by large garden plots and dirt streets, with a small white Christian church at the center. The houses have brightly painted gables and fences, the gardens are laid out in military-straight rows, and everything looks freshly repaired.

Tarbagatay, Russia, is one of the largest surviving communities of Old Believers, religious dissenters who were violently repressed and twice exiled by the czars. They finally found refuge amid the wilds of Siberia 250 years ago. They survived by keeping to themselves, stubbornly maintaining their faith--which, to an outsider, doesn’t look too different from standard Russian Orthodoxy--and working hard.

Seventy years of Communist repression nearly finished them off, but since the Soviet Union’s demise they have been painstakingly reviving the unique medieval traditions of prayer, song, cuisine, dress, and handicrafts that are now protected by UNESCO as “Intangible Cultural Heritage.” They’re restoring their once-shattered communities. And they’re being welcomed back into the greater Russian community, even at the highest level; last year President Vladimir Putin paid a courtesy call to the Old Believers’ spiritual center at Rogozhskaya Zastava in Moscow, the first such gesture of reconciliation by a Russian leader in 350 years.

“My ancestors came here in the 18th century from what is now Belarus. There were only Buryats here, the climate was ferocious, and those first years must have been really hard. They were farmers, the Buryats were cattle-breeders, so they traded together and mostly got along,” says Lyubov Plastinina, head of the Center of Old Believers, a museum complex in Tarbagatay. “Our ancestors chose places between the mountains, and avoided the open steppe where the Buryats lived and raised cattle. They lived in a separate way and didn’t mix much. Our cultures were too different. But we have managed, peacefully, for 250 years now.”

Ms. Plastinina, like most Old Believers, can trace her family lineage back to those Russians who rejected the religious reforms launched by Patriarch Nikon in 1652. The reforms were meant to modernize the rites and prayers of the Russian Orthodox Church by bringing them into line with those of the Greek Orthodox mother church. They included alterations that might seem minor to people today: substituting a three-fingered sign of the cross for the old two-fingered one; altering the way the name “Jesus” was spelled in Russian; and changes in modes of baptism, liturgical texts, and the number of hallelujahs to be chanted during services.

But thousands of Russians fiercely resisted the reforms, labeling them as the work of the Antichrist. In response, they were brutally persecuted by the czar’s secret police. Denounced as “schismatics,” their leaders were arrested, tortured, and executed, while many fled Russia altogether.

Most went to present-day Belarus and Poland, which was then run by the Catholic Grand Duchy of Lithuania. But Russia expanded westward into those territories in the next century, and the Old Believers were rounded up again, this time sent into permanent exile in distant Siberia. They were the first of many subsequent waves of Russian dissidents to suffer that fate. Some fled in different directions, and today communities of Old Believers can be found in over 20 countries.

“Our people do well everywhere,” says Sergei Petrov, head of the Cultural Society of Old Believers in Ulan-Ude and author of a book on the sect’s history. “They form tight communities. And they prosper for two reasons: faith and hard work.”

During czarist times in Siberia, the Old Believers were mostly left to themselves. Barred from state service, they became merchants, artisans, and farmers. But the Bolshevik Revolution brought a new wave of repression. Before it, there were 81 Old Believer churches in what is the present-day territory of Buryatia. All were subsequently destroyed, while many clergy and unbending believers disappeared in successive waves of Soviet persecution. The Soviet hammer fell equally on all religions, eliminating many of the Orthodox churches and Buddhist datsans (temple complexes) as well.

Although as much as 20 percent of Buryatia’s population is descended from the original 40,000 Old Believers who were exiled here, regularly practicing Old Believers today number barely 10,000, with just 10 working churches. Most blame the Soviet era for the destruction of their historic community.

“Strong believers were rounded up, imprisoned, and shot by Soviet police,” says Mr. Petrov. “Many others just drifted away from the faith. There is a revival going on now, but it’s very slow and difficult.”

The Rev. Sergei Paly is the priest at Tarbagatay’s tiny Krestovozhdvizhenskaya church, one of the first Old Believer churches to be restored after the Soviet collapse. On a typical June afternoon, he is deep in conversation with a group of Russian tourists, who are quizzing him intensely over the nuances between the Orthodox faith with which they are familiar and the beliefs and practices of Old Believers. They seem curious, even fascinated, and not the least bit unfriendly. As they file out of the little church, many place donations in the collection box.

Father Sergei, who’s been a priest for about 25 years, says there is no animosity between the churches anymore.

Since Mikhail Gorbachev embraced the Orthodox Church on the millennial anniversary of Christianity in Russia in 1988, the Kremlin has made serious efforts to normalize the state’s relations with religious groups. That has worked out very well for the Orthodox Church, which has seen much of the property nationalized by the Bolsheviks restored to it, and has enjoyed a massive boost in its public profile and influence. Russia’s other three constitutionally recognized “founding religions”--Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism--all enjoy some measure of official favor these days.

That is not the case for faiths that are viewed as foreign imports, such as Baptists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, who face overt hostility from the Orthodox Church and ongoing police crackdowns. The Catholic Church, which had similar problems in Russia for several years, appears to have patched up its differences in a 2016 meeting in Cuba between the Russian patriarch and the pope.

But, experts say, Old Believers are viewed as an indigenous faith, an offshoot of Russian Orthodoxy, and therefore to be embraced by political authorities.

“Putin is a pragmatic politician,” says Alexei Kombaev, a political scientist at Buryat State University in Ulan-Ude. “He accepts that religions should be allowed to develop freely, or they will go underground. By smiling upon all of them, he enhances the legitimacy of the state.”

Old Believers, famously insular and suspicious of outsiders, are increasingly willing to open up to visitors, says Plastinina. Indeed, her organization, the Center of Old Believers in Tarbagatay, is a cooperative venture between the local community and the Buryat government.

“Times are changing very fast, and we need to adapt,” she says. “When I started my higher education [in Soviet times], we were studying atheism. By the time I finished, we were studying comparative religions. The one constant thing, through all of it, is that we always believed in God and kept our faith alive.”

#Russia #Buryatia #Old Believers

[troybeecham]

Today the Church honors the Martyrs of Korea, especially Kim Tae-gon, Chong Ha-sang, Yun Ji-chung, and Companions.

Orate pro nobis.

The Martyrs of Korea are a diverse group of martyrs and saints beginning in 1791, with the first known Korean Christian martyr Yun Ji-chung.

The evangelization of Korea began during the early 1600s, when Christian literature was introduced by Korean Confucian scholars who visited China and brought back Western books translated into Chinese. The Catholic ideas espoused in them were debated by court scholars and were denounced as contrary to the traditions of Korea as early as 1724. In 1777, further Christian literature obtained from Jesuits in China led other Korean scholars to study the faith, and some became Christians. At this point some Koreans started to be converted to Christianity. As word of Jesus spread, ordinary people flocked to the new religion. The new believers called themselves Chonju Kyo Udul, literally "Friends of the Teaching of God of Heaven". The term "friends" was the only term in the Confucian understanding of relationships which implied equality. Around 1789, a Chinese priest managed to secretly enter the country, where he found 4,000 Christians, none of whom had ever seen a priest. The Christian communities were led almost entirely by educated laypeople from the aristocracy, as they were the only ones who could read the books that were written in Hanja.

It was only in 1784 that the first known Korean was baptized after traveling to China to seek out Jesuit missionaries. This same community sent a delegation on foot to Beijing, 750 miles away, to ask the city's bishop for their own bishops and priests. Eventually, two Chinese priests were sent, but their ministry was short-lived. It was these lay Christians who brought the Gospel to Korea and formed Catholic communities even without priests.

During the Joseon Dynasty, Christianity was suppressed and many Christians were persecuted and executed in waves of persecution and martyrdom, in 1791, 1801, 1827, 1839, 1846, and 1866. Yun Ji-chung is recognized as Korea’s first martyr. Korean leaders saw Christianity as a disruptive force that undermined their rigidly hierarchical society and the Confucian ideals of the political system. Some Christians openly renounced ancestor worship, a scandal in Korean society. The Christian priority on God was perceived to be treason to the king, especially under the ruling Joseon dynasty. Some Korean Christians also turned to foreign powers to establish trade links and encourage religious freedom, actions that the Korean government found suspicious. Christians had to practise their faith covertly. Chong Ha-sang, Yu Chin-gil, and Cho Shin-chol had made several secret visits to Beijing in order to find ways of introducing missionaries into Korea. In 1836, Korea saw its first consecrated missionaries (members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society) arrive, who were surprised to find out that the people there were already practicing Korean Christians.

Since the Sinhae persecution of 1791-1801, there had been no priest to care for the Christian community. Serious dangers awaited the missionaries who dared to enter Korea. The bishops and priests who confronted this danger, as well as the laypeople who aided and sheltered them, were in constant threat of losing their lives. Saint Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert, M.E.P. Bishop Laurent Imbert and ten other French missionaries were the first Paris Foreign Missions Society priests to enter Korea. During the daytime, they stayed in hiding, but at night they traveled about on foot attending to the spiritual needs of the faithful and administering the sacraments.

Fr. Kim (21 August 1821 – 16 September 1846) was born into an aristocratic Korean family that eventually included three generations of Catholic martyrs. Kim’s great-grandfather died for his Catholic faith in 1814. After being baptized at age 15, Kim studied at a seminary in the Portuguese colony of Macau. He also spent time in study at Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines, where today he is also venerated. He was ordained a priest in Shanghai after nine years (1844) by the French bishop Jean Joseph Jean-Baptiste Ferréol. While Kim attended seminary in China, his father was martyred for the faith in 1839. Kim was ordained in Shanghai in 1845 and returned to Korea to catechize Christians in secret. He was arrested 13 months later, tortured, and beheaded. Kim Taegon was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and is the patron saint of Korean clergy.

Paul Chong Hasang was a layman who helped unite Christians under persecution and encouraged them to be strong in the Faith. His appeals to Pope Gregory X directly led the pope to recognize Korea’s Catholic community and to send more priests. Chong died by martyrdom in 1839 after penning a letter in prison defending the Catholic faith to the Korean government.

Another martyr, 17-year-old Agatha Yi, and her brother were falsely told that their parents had denied the faith. She responded: “Whether my parents betrayed or not is their affair. As for us, we cannot betray the Lord of heaven whom we have always served.” Her words were reported widely and inspired six other adult Christians to report themselves to the magistrate. Yi, her parents, and these six are among those canonized.

Fr. Kim, Chong Ha-sang, Yun Ji-chung, and Agatha Yi are numbered amongst the estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Korean Christians who were executed during this time. The vast majority of the martyrs were laypeople. Among the other martyrs were a few bishops and priests, some of the first French missionaries to Korea, and many more to be recognized, and many forgotten by history, but for the most part it was lay people, men and women, married and unmarried, children, young people, and the elderly. All suffered greatly for the Faith and consecrated the rich beginnings of the Church of Korea with their blood as martyrs.

Pope Saint John Paul II, during his trip to Korea, canonized 103 martyrs on May 6, 1984, and inserted their feast into the Calendar of the Universal Church. When he canonized the Korean martyrs in his 1984 visit to South Korea, he noted their great diversity, saying,

“From the 13-year-old Peter Yu to the 72-year-old Mark Chong, men and women, clergy and laity, rich and poor, ordinary people and nobles, many of them descendants of earlier unsung martyrs — they all gladly died for the sake of Christ.”

Pope Francis beatified another 124 martyrs during his August 2014 visit to South Korea. These included Paul Yun Ji-chung, Korea’s first martyr. The cause for the beatification of another 213 martyrs is under way.

Almighty God, who gave to your servants Kim Tae-gon, Chong Ha-sang, Yun Ji-chung, and Companions boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

#father troy beecham #christianity #jesus #god #saints #salvation #peace #martyrs #faith

[claudinei-de-jesus]

The Nature of the Church

What is the church? The issue can be resolved by considering: 1) The words that describe this institution; 2) The words that describe Christians; 3) The illustrations depicting the church.

1. Words that describe the church.

The Greek word in the New Testament for church is "ekklesia", which means "an assembly of called outwards". The term applies to:

1) The entire body of Christians in a city (Acts 11:22; 13: 1.)

2) A congregation, (1 Cor. 14: 19,35; Rom. 16: 5.)

3) The whole body of believers on earth. (Eph. 5:32.)

2. Words that describe Christians.

(a) Brothers. The church is a fraternity or spiritual communion, in which all divisions that separate humanity are abolished.

- "there is neither Greek nor Jewish": the deepest of all divisions based on religious history is overcome;

- "there is neither Greek nor barbarian". the most profound of all cultural divisions is overcome;

- "there is no servant or free". the most profound of all social and economic divisions is overcome;

- "there is neither male nor female". the most profound of all human divisions is overcome. (See Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28.)

(b) Believers. Christians are called "believers" because their characteristic doctrine is faith in the Lord Jesus.

(c) Santos. They are called "saints" (literally "consecrated or pious") because they are separated from the world and dedicated to God.

(d) The elected. He refers to them as "elect", or "chosen", because God chose them for an important ministry and a glorious destiny.

(e) Disciples. They are "disciples" (literally "apprentices"), because they are under spiritual preparation with instructors inspired by Christ.

(f) Christians. They are "Christians" because their religion revolves around the Person of Christ.

(g) Those of the Way. In primitive days they were often known as "os do Caminho" (Brazilian version) (Acts 9: 2) because they lived according to a special way of living.

3. Church illustrations.

(a) The body of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ left this world more than nineteen centuries ago; however, he is still in the world. By this we mean that his presence is felt through the church, which is his body. Just as he lived his natural life on earth, in an individual human body, so he lives his mystical life in a body taken from the human race in general. At the conclusion of the Gospels we do not write: "End", but, "Continue", because the life of Christ continues to be expressed through his disciples as evidenced in the book of Acts of the Apostles and the subsequent history of the church. "As the Father sent me, so I send you" (John 20:21).

"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me" (Matt. 10:40). Before leaving the earth, Christ promised to take on this new body. However, he used another illustration: "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15: 5). The vine is incomplete without the sticks and the sticks are nothing apart from the life that flows from the vine. If Christ is to be known to the world, he will have to be through those who take his name and participate in his life. To the extent that the church has been in contact with Christ, its Head, so it has participated in its life and experiences. Just as Christ was anointed at Jordan, so the church was anointed at Pentecost. Jesus went on preaching the Gospel to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, and preaching deliverance to the captives; and the true Church has always followed in his footsteps.

"What he is, we are also in this world" (1 John 4:17). Just as Christ was denounced as a political threat and ultimately crucified, so too has his church, in many cases, been crucified (figuratively speaking) by persecuting rulers. But like her Lord, she is risen! The life of Christ within it makes it indestructible. This thought of the church's identification with Christ was certainly in Paul's mind when he said: "In my flesh I fulfill the rest of Christ's afflictions, through the body, which is the church" (Col. 1:24).

The use of this illustration reminds us that the church is an organism and not merely an organization. An organization is a group of individuals voluntarily associated with a special purpose, such as a fraternal organization or a union. An organism is any living thing, which develops through the inherent life. Used figuratively, it means the sum total of the interlaced parts, in which the mutual relationship between them implies a relationship of the whole. In this way, an automobile could be considered an "organization" of certain mechanical parts; the human body is an organism because it is made up of many limbs and organs animated by a common life.

The human body is one, although it is made up of millions of living cells. In the same way, the body of Christ is one, though composed of born-again souls. Just as the human body is quickened by the soul, so the body of Christ is quickened by the Holy Spirit. "For we have all been baptized in a Spirit forming a body" (1 Cor. 12:13). The aforementioned facts indicate a unique feature of the religion of Christ. Thus writes W. H. Dunphy: He - and only he - of the founders of religion, produced a permanent organism, a permanent union of minds and souls, concentrated around his Person.

Christians are not merely followers of Christ, but members of Christ and members of one another. Buddha brought his society of "enlightened" together, but the relationship between them is nothing more than an external relationship, from a teacher to the student. What unites them is their doctrine, not their life. The same can be said of Zoroaster, Socrates, Muhammad, and the other religious geniuses of the race. But Christ is not only a teacher, he is the life of Christians. What he founded was not a society that studied and propagated his ideas, but an organism that lives for its life, a body inhabited and guided by its Spirit.

(b) The temple of God. (1Ped. 2: 5,6.) A temple is a place where God, who dwells everywhere, is located in a certain place, where his people can find him "at home". (1Kings 8:27.) Just as God lived in the Tabernacle and in the temple, so he lives, by his Spirit, in the church. (Ephesians 2: 21,22; 1 Cor. 3: 16,17.) In this spiritual temple, Christians, as priests, offer spiritual sacrifices, sacrifices of prayer, praise and good works.

(c) Christ's bride. This is an illustration used in both the Old and New Testaments to describe God's union and fellowship with his people. (2 Cor. 11: 2; Ephesians 5: 25-27; Rev. 19: 7; 21: 2; 22:17.) But we must remember that it is only an illustration, and its interpretation should not be forced. The purpose of a symbol is only to illuminate a certain side of the truth and not to provide the foundation for a doctrine. ... A Natureza da Igreja

Que é a igreja? A questão pode ser solucionada considerando: 1) As palavras que descrevem essa instituição; 2) As palavras que descrevem os cristãos; 3) As descrições que descrevem a igreja.

1. Palavras que descrevem a igreja.

A palavra grega no Novo Testamento para igreja é "ekklesia", que significa "uma assembléia de chamados para fora". O termo aplica-se a:

1) Todo o corpo de cristãos em uma cidade (Atos 11:22; 13: 1.)

2) Uma congregação, (1Cor. 14: 19,35; Rom. 16: 5.)

3) Todo o corpo de crentes na terra. (Efés. 5:32.)

2. Palavras que descrevem os cristãos.

(a) Irmãos. A igreja é uma fraternidade ou comunhão espiritual, não foram abolidas todas as divisões que separam a humanidade.

- "não há grego nem judeu": a mais profunda de todas as divisões baseadas na história religiosa é vencida;

- "não há grego nem bárbaro". a mais profunda de todas as divisões culturais é vencida;

- "não há servo ou livre". a mais profunda de todas as divisões sociais e poupança é vencida;

- "não há macho nem fêmea". a mais profunda de todas as divisões humanas é vencida. (Vide Col. 3:11; Gál. 3:28.)

(b) Crentes. Os cristãos são chamados "crentes" porque sua doutrina característica é a fé no Senhor Jesus.

(c) Santos. São chamados "santos" (literalmente "consagrados ou piedosos") porque estão separados do mundo e dedicados a Deus.

(d) Os eleitos. Refere-se a eles como "eleitos", ou os "escolhidos", porque Deus os escolhidos para um ministério importante e um destino glorioso.

(e) Discípulos. São "discípulos" (literalmente "aprendem"), porque estão sob preparação espiritual com instrutores inspirados por Cristo.

(f) Cristãos. São "cristãos" porque sua religião gira em tomo da Pessoa de Cristo.

(g) Os do Caminho. Nos dias primitivos muitas vezes eram conhecidos como "os do Caminho" (Versão Brasileira) (Atos 9: 2) porque viviam de acordo com uma maneira especial de viver.

3. Ilustrações da igreja.

(a) O corpo de Cristo. O Senhor Jesus Cristo deixou este mundo há mais de dezenove séculos; entretanto, ele ainda está no mundo. Com isso queremos dizer que sua presença se faz sentir por meio da igreja, a qual é seu corpo. Assim como ele viveu sua vida natural na terra, em um corpo humano individual, assim também ele vive sua vida mística em um corpo humano tomado pela raça humana em geral. Na conclusão dos Evangelhos não escrevemos: "Fim", mas, "Continua", porque a vida de Cristo continua a ter expressão por meio dos seus discípulos como se evidencia no livro de Atos dos Apóstolos e pela subseqüente história da igreja. "Assim como o Pai me adicionou, também eu vos envio a vós" (João 20:21).

“Quem vos recebe, a mim me recebe” (Mat. 10:40). Antes de partir da terra, Cristo prometeu assumir esse novo corpo. Entretanto, outra ilustração: "Eu sou a videira, vós as varas" (João 15: 5). A videira está incompleta sem as varas e as varas nada são à parte da vida que flui da videira. Se Cristo há de ser conhecido pelo mundo, terá que ser aquele que tomam o seu nome e participa de sua vida. Na medida em que a igreja se tem mantido em contato com Cristo, sua Cabeça, assim tem participado de sua vida e experiências. Assim como Cristo foi ungido no Jordão, assim também a igreja foi ungida no Pentecoste. Jesus andou pregando o Evangelho aos pobres, curando os quebrantados de coração, e pregando libertação aos cativos; e a verdadeira Igreja sempre tem seguido em suas pisadas.

"Qual ele é, somos nós também neste mundo" (1João 4:17). Assim como Cristo foi denunciado como uma ameaça política e, finalmente, crucificado, assim também sua igreja, em muitos casos, tem sido crucificada (figurativamente falando) por governantes perseguidores. Mas tal qual o seu Senhor, ela ressuscitou! A vida de Cristo dentro dela torna indestrutível. Este pensamento da identificação da igreja com Cristo certamente estava na mente de Paulo quando falou: "na minha carne cumprido o resto das aflições de Cristo, pelo corpo, que é a igreja" (Col. 1:24).

O uso dessa ilustração faz lembrar que a igreja é um organismo e não meramente uma organização. Uma organização é um grupo de voluntários voluntariamente associados com um propósito especial, tal como uma organização fraternal ou um sindicato. Um organismo é qualquer coisa viva, que se forma pela vida inerente. Usado figuradamente, significa a soma total das partes entrelaçadas, na qual a relação mútua entre elas implicações uma relação do conjunto. Desse modo, um automóvel poderia ser considerado uma "organização" das certas peças mecânicas; o corpo humano é um organismo porque é composto de muitos membros e órgãos animados por uma vida comum.

O corpo humano é um, embora seja composto de milhões de células vivas. Da mesma maneira do corpo de Cristo é um, embora composto de almas nascidas de novo. Assim como o corpo humano é vivificado pela alma, da mesma maneira o corpo de Cristo é vivificado pelo Espírito Santo. "Pois todos nós fomos batizados em um Espírito formando um corpo" (1Cor. 12:13). Os fatos supra citados indicam uma característica única da religião de Cristo. Assim chamado W. H. Dunphy: Ele - e unicamente ele - dos fundadores de religião, produziu um organismo permanente, uma união permanente de mentes e almas, concentradas em torno de sua Pessoa.

Os cristãos não são meramente seguidores de Cristo, senão membros de Cristo e membros uns dos outros. Buda reuniu sua sociedade de "esclarecidos", mas a relação entre eles não passa de relação externa, de mestre para o aluno. O que os une é sua doutrina, e não a sua vida. O mesmo pode dizer-se de Zoroastro, de Sócrates, de Maomé, e dos outros gênios religiosos da raça. Mas Cristo não é somente Mestre, ele é a vida dos cristãos. O que ele fundou não foi uma sociedade que estudasse e propagasse suas idéias, mas um organismo que vive por sua vida, um corpo habitado e guiado por seu Espírito.

(b) O templo de Deus. (1Ped. 2: 5,6.) Um templo é um lugar em que Deus, que habita em toda parte, localize a si mesmo em determinado lugar, onde seu povo o possa achar "em casa". (1Reis 8:27.) Assim como Deus morou no Tabernáculo e no templo, assim também vive, por seu Espírito, na igreja. (Efés 2: 21,22; 1Cor. 3: 16,17.) Neste templo espiritual os cristãos, como sacerdotes, sem sacrifícios espirituais, sacrifícios de oração, louvor e boas obras.

(c) Uma noiva de Cristo. Essa é uma ilustração usada tanto no Antigo como no Novo Testamento para descrever uma união e comunhão de Deus com seu povo. (2 Cor. 11: 2; Efés. 5: 25-27; Apoc. 19: 7; 21: 2; 22:17.) Mas lembrar que é somente uma ilustração, e não se deve forçar sua interpretação. O propósito dum símbolo é apenas iluminar um determinado lado da verdade e não o de provador ou fundamento para uma doutrina.

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – St Stephen The First Martyr – 26 December – Deacon, Preacher (c 05-c 34) the name “Stephen” – Stéphanos, meaning “wreath, crown” and by extension “reward, honour”, often given as a title rather than as a name.   Patronages – • against headaches • brick layers• casket makers, coffin makers• deacons•altar servers • horses• masons, stone masons• Metz, France, diocese of• Owensboro, Kentucky, diocese of• Toulouse, France, rchdiocese of• 92 cities.   Attributes – stones, dalmatic, censer, miniature church, Gospel Book, martyr’s palm frond.

St Stephen was according to the Acts of the Apostles a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy, at his trial he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgement against him and was then stoned to death.   His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who would later himself become a follower of Jesus and known as Paul the Apostle.

The only primary source for information about Stephen is the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles.   Stephen is mentioned in Acts 6 as one of the Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews selected to participate as a deacon in the early Church by the eleven – before the twelfth was elected.

“Good King Wenceslaus went out, on the Feast of Stephen”.   This is the Feast of St Stephen, the day after Christmas, when we commemorate the first disciple to die for Jesus.

In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke praises St Stephen as “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” who “did great wonders and signs among the people” during the earliest days of the Church.   Luke’s history of the period also includes the moving scene of Stephen’s death – witnessed by St Paul before his conversion – at the hands of those who refused to accept Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.   Stephen himself was a Jew who most likely came to believe in Jesus during the Lord’s ministry on earth.   He may have been among the 70 disciples whom Christ sent out as missionaries, who preached the coming of God’s kingdom while travelling with almost no possessions.   This spirit of detachment from material things continued in the early Church, in which St Luke says believers “had all things in common” and “would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”   But such radical charity ran up against the cultural conflict between Jews and Gentiles, when a group of Greek widows felt neglected in their needs as compared to those of a Jewish background.

Stephen’s reputation for holiness led the Apostles to choose him, along with six other men, to assist them in an official and unique way as this dispute arose.   Through the sacramental power given to them by Christ, the Apostles ordained the seven men as deacons and set them to work helping the widows.

As a deacon, Stephen also preached about Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament law and prophets.   Unable to refute his message, some members of local synagogues brought him before their religious authorities, charging him with seeking to destroy their traditions.   Stephen responded with a discourse recorded in the seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.   He described Israel’s resistance to God’s grace in the past and accused the present religious authorities of “opposing the Holy Spirit” and rejecting the Messiah.

Before he was put to death, Stephen had a vision of Christ in glory. “Look,” he told the court, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”  The council, however, dragged the deacon away and stoned him to death.   “While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,’ records St. Luke in Acts 7.   “Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’   When he had said this, he fell asleep.

(via AnaStpaul – Breathing Catholic)

#ststephen #december26ststephen #catholic #catholicism #firstmartyr #protomartyr

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sat., Jan. 30, 2021

Commemorated on January 17_by the new calendar

Saint Anthony the Great ( 356)

     The Monk Anthony, a very great ascetic, the founder of wilderness-monastery life and as such the father of monasticism, is entitled "the Great" by Holy Church. He was born in Egypt in the village of Coma, near the Thebaid wilderness, in the year 251. His parents were pious Christians of illustrious lineage. From his youth Anthony was always serious and given over to concentration. He loved to visit church services and he hearkened to the Holy Scripture with such deep attention, that he remembered what he heard all his entire life. The commandments of the Lord guided him from the time of his very youth. When Saint Anthony was about twenty years old, he lost his parents, but in his care remained his sister, a minor in age. Visiting the church services, the youth was pierced through by a reverent feeling towards those Christians who, as it relates in the Acts of the Apostles, sold off their possessions and the proceeds thereof they applied in following after the Apostles. He heard in church the Gospel passage of Christ, spoken to the rich young man: "If thou wouldst be perfect, sell what thou hast and give it to the poor; and thou wilt have treasure in heaven; and come follow after Me" (Mt. 19: 21). Anthony understood this as spoken to him personally. He sold off his property that remained to him after the death of his parents, he distributed the money to the poor, he left his sister in the care of pious virgins in a monastic setting, he left his parental home, and having settled not far from his village in a wretched hut, he began his ascetic life. He earned his livelihood by working with his hands, and alms also for the poor. Sometimes the holy youth also visited other ascetics living in the surrounding areas, and from each he sought to receive direction and benefit. And to a particular one of these ascetics he turned for guidance in the spiritual life.

In this period of his life the Monk Anthony was subjected to terrible temptations by the devil. The enemy of the race of man troubled the young ascetic with thoughts, and with doubts about his chosen path, with anguish over his sister, and he attempted to incline Anthony towards fleshly sin. But the monk preserved his firm faith, he incessantly made prayer and intensified his efforts. Anthony prayed that the Lord would point out to him the path of salvation. And he was granted a vision. The ascetic beheld a man, who by turns alternately finished a prayer, and then began to work – this was an Angel, which the Lord had sent to instruct His chosen one. The monk thereupon set up a strict schedule for his life. He partook of food only once in the entire day, and sometimes only once every second or third day; he spent all night at prayer, giving himself over to a short sleep only on the third or fourth night after unbroken vigil. But the devil would not desist with his tricks, and trying to scare the monk, he appeared under the guise of monstrous phantoms. The saint however with steadfast faith protected himself with the Life-Creating Cross. Finally the enemy appeared to him in the guise of a frightful looking black lad, and hypocritically declaring himself beaten, he reckoned to sway the saint into vanity and pride. But the monk expelled the enemy with prayer.      For yet greater solitude, the saint re-settled farther away from the village, in a graveyard. On designated days his friend brought him a scant bit of food. And here the devils, pouncing upon the saint with the intent to kill him, inflicted upon him terrible beatings. But the Lord would not allow the death of Anthony. The friend of the saint, on schedule taking him his food, saw him as though dead laying upon the ground, and he took him away back to the village. They thought the saint was dead and began to prepare for his burial. But the monk in the deep of night regained consciousness and besought his friend to take him back to the graveyard. The staunchness of Saint Anthony was greater than the wile of the enemy. Taking the form of ferocious beasts, the devils again tried to force the saint to forsake the place chosen by him, but he again expelled them by the power of the Life-Creating Cross. The Lord strengthened the power of His saint: in the heat of the struggle with the dark powers the monk saw coming down to him from the sky a luminous ray of light, and he cried out: "Where hast Thou been, O Merciful Jesus?.. Why hast Thou not healed my wounds at the very start?" The Lord replied: "Anthony! I was here, but did wait, wanting to see thine valour; and now after this, since thou hast firmly withstood  the struggle, I shalt always aid thee and glorify thee throughout all the world". After this vision the Monk Anthony was healed of his wounds and ready for renewed efforts. He was then 35 years of age.      Having gained spiritual experience in the struggle with the devil, the Monk Anthony pondered going into the deeps of the Thebaid wilderness, and in full solitude there to serve the Lord by deed and by prayer. He besought the ascetic elder (to whom he had turned at the beginning of his monastic journey) to go off together with him into the wilderness, but the elder, while blessing him in the then as yet unheard of exploit of being suchlike an hermit, decided against accompanying him because of the infirmity of age. The Monk Anthony went off into the wilderness alone. The devil tried to stop him, throwing in front of the monk precious gems and stones, but the saint paid them no attention and passed them on by. Having reached a certain hilly spot, the monk caught sight of an abandoned enclosed structure and he settled within it, securing the entrance with stones. His faithful friend brought him bread twice a year, and water he had inside the enclosure. In complete silence the monk partook of the food brought him. The Monk Anthony dwelt for 20 years in complete isolation and incessant struggle with the devils, and he finally found tranquillity of spirit and peace in his mind. When it became appropriate, the Lord revealed to people about His great ascetic. The saint had to instruct many layfolk and monastics. The people gathering at the enclosure of the monk removed the stones sealing his entrance way, and they went to Saint Anthony and besought him to take them under his guidance. Soon the heights on which Saint Anthony asceticised was encircled by a whole belt of monastic communities, and the monk fondly directed their inhabitants, teaching about the spiritual life to everyone who came into the wilderness to be saved. He taught first of all the need to take up spiritual efforts, to unremittingly strive to please the Lord, to have a willing and unselfish attitude towards types of work shunned earlier. He urged them not to be afraid of demonic assaults and to repel the enemy by the power of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord.      In the year 311 the Church was beset by a trial – a fierce persecution against Christians, set in motion by the emperor Maximian. Wanting to suffer together with the holy martyrs, the Monk Anthony left the wilderness and arrived in Alexandria. He openly rendered aid to the imprisoned martyrs, he was present at the trial and interrogations, but the torturers would not even bother with him! It pleased the Lord to preserve him for the benefit of Christians. With the close of the persecution, the monk returned to the wilderness and continued his exploits. The Lord bestowed upon His saint a gift of wonderworking: the monk cast out devils and healed the sick by the power of his prayer. The multitude of people coming to him disrupted his solitude, and the monk went off still farther, into the so-called "interiour of the wilderness", and he settled atop an high elevation. But the brethren of the wilderness monasteries searched out the monk and besought him at least often to pay visits to their communities.      Another time the Monk Anthony left the wilderness and arrived amidst the Christians in Alexandria, to defend the Orthodox faith against the Manichaean and Arian heresies. Knowing that the name of the Monk Anthony was venerated by all the Church, the Arians circulated a lie about him – that he allegedly adhered to their heretical teaching. But actually being present in Alexandria, the Monk Anthony in front of everyone and in the presence of the bishop openly denounced Arianism. During the time of his brief stay at Alexandria he converted to Christ a great multitude of pagans. Pagan philosophers came to the monk, wanting by their speculations to test his firm faith, but by his simple and convincing words he reduced them to silence. The Equal-to-the-Apostles emperor Constantine the Great (+ 337, Comm. 21 May) and his sons deeply esteemed the Monk Anthony and besought him to visit them at the capital, but the monk did not want to forsake his wilderness brethren. In reply to the letter, he urged the emperor not to be overcome with pride by his lofty position, but rather to remember, that even over him was the Impartial Judge – the Lord God.      The Monk Anthony spent 85 years of his life in the solitary wilderness. Shortly before his death, the monk told the brethren, that soon he would be taken from them. Time and again he instructed them to preserve the Orthodox faith in its purity, to shun any association with heretics, and not to weaken in their monastic efforts. "Strive the yet more to dwell ever in unity amongst ye, and most of all with the Lord, and then with the saints, so that upon death they should bring ye into eternity by their blood, as friends and acquaintances", – thus were the death-bed words of the monk passed on in his Vita (Life). The monk bid two of his disciples, who had been together with him the final 15 years of his life, to bury him in the wilderness and not arrange any solemn burial of his remains in Alexandria. Of his two monastic mantles, the monk left one to Sainted Athanasias of Alexandria (Comm. 18 January), the other to Sainted Serapion of Tmunta. The Monk Anthony died peacefully in the year 356, at age 105, and he was buried by his disciples at a treasured spot glorified by him in the wilderness.      The Vita (Life) of the famed ascetic the Monk Anthony the Great was written in detail by a father of the Church, Saint Athanasias of Alexandria. This work of Saint Athanasias is the first memorial of Orthodox hagiography, and is considered one of the finest of his writings; Saint John Chrysostom says, that this Vita should be read by every Christian. "These narratives be significantly small in comparison with the virtues of Anthony, – writes Saint Athanasias, – but from them ye can conclude, what the man of God Anthony was like. From his youth into his mature years observing an equal zeal for asceticism, not being seduced by the avenues of filth, and not as regards infirmity of body altering his garb, nor the any worse for it in suffering harm. His eyes were healthy and unfailing and he saw well. Not one tooth fell out for him, and they only weakened at the gums from the advanced years of age. He was healthy of hand and of foot (...). And what they said about him everywhere, all being amazed at him, whereof even those that did not see him loved him – this serves as evidence of his virtue and love for God in soul".      Of the works of the Monk Anthony himself, there have come down to us: 1) his Discourses, 20 in number, treating of the virtues, primarily monastic, 2) Seven Letters to monasteries – about striving for moral perfection and regarding the spiritual struggle, and 3) a Rule of life and consolation for monastics.      In the year 544 the relics of the Monk Anthony the great were transferred from the wilderness to Alexandria, and later on with the conquest of Egypt by the Saracens in the VII Century, they were transferred to Constantinople. The holy relics were transferred from Constantinople in the X-XI Centuries to a diocese outside Vienna, and in the XV Century – to Arles (in France), into the church of Saint Julian.

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

Matthew 11:27-30

27All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Hebrews 13:17-21 

17Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. 20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what iswell pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

#orthodoxy #orthodoxchristianity #ancientchristianity #originofchristianity #spirituality #holyscripture #gospel #sacredtexts #wisdom