American Pope Leo XIV – The Cardinals Sleight of Hand who Delivered a Trojan Horse?

The newly minted Catholic Pope speaks Spanish, Italian, Latin and English yet chose not to speak a word of English at his debut in Saint Peter’s Square as the white smoke had barely cleared. Spanish? But of course he had words of wisdom for those folks as well as Italian for the natives. But no words for the English speaking, and especially America. And he hails from Chicago no less. A Cardinal for just a year and a half.

I got the hint.

We don’t need to do a lot of research. As it turns out he makes his political stance well known by being quite a prolific Xer especially with his re-posts. I am sure the youth will find this attractive.

Leo XIV did a gig in Peru – a flashback occurred. South America- where the previous Pope earned his Marxist credentials.

No offense to Catholics but as a Protestant I believe we have been played by the selection of this Pope. Though should we have been surprised that we got a 2.0? He expanded the number of Cardinals and hand picked about 80 as I recall.

So here we go with what the United States will deal with as we add another divider in chief to the scene here.

Gateway Pundit:

While the corporate media hails Leo XIV as a centrist, a deeper dive into his public statements and social media activity reveals a different story: this pope is unabashedly pro-open borders and has openly criticized conservative leaders—most notably, Vice President J.D. Vance—for standing up for American sovereignty.

 

A review of Leo XIV’s X, account shows a pattern of left-leaning political advocacy. On February 3, he shared an article from the far-left National Catholic Reporter titled, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”—a clear jab at Vance’s call for immigration policies that prioritize American citizens.

Just days later, on February 12, he doubled down by promoting another piece slamming Vance’s Christian worldview as it relates to border security.

The article criticized the Vice President’s defense of the ordo amoris—the Christian principle of ordering our loves and responsibilities, with special emphasis on one’s nation, family, and community.

And most recently, Leo XIV retweeted Catholic commentator Rocco Palmo’s post blasting both President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for enforcing immigration laws.

The tweet reads, “As Trump & Bukele use Oval to Feds’ illicit deportation of a US resident (https://bit.ly/3ROMjnP), once an undoc-ed Salvadorean himself, now-DC Aux +Evelio asks, “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?””

The story goes on with opining with more tweets including George Floyd and U.S. putting children in cages. For more:

Read more

As a Protestant Christian I sincerely was hoping for a true conservative that would set aside politics and focus on the Word. Help to bring us together.

It was my intention with this post to express my disappointment. Not to bash any religion. When I heard on Fox from the former priest who was a regular before he lost his way, who left the church to get married and have children, opine that this was a day all Christians should celebrate including Protestants, it was one bridge too far.

Let’s have any comments be respectful.

Good Friday – ‘Jesus Remember Me’

A beautiful chant from Taizé, based on the words of one of the men crucified with Jesus, underscoring a meditation on the face of Christ, his suffering, death and resurrection.

42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. d ”

43Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The Crucifixion
41 We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 

43 And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”…

It is finished.

Maundy Thursday  – Jesus Asks ‘Stay with me’

A day of reflection. Jesus implores his disciples to stay with him. To keep watch with him.

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus Prays at Gethsemane

Stay With Me -Taize

 

Jesus Prays at Gethsemane
(Mark 14:32-42Luke 22:39-46)

36At that time Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

37He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”

39Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

40Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. 41“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

42A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.” 43And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping—for their eyes were heavy.

44So He left them and went away once more and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.45Then He returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us go! See, My betrayer is approaching!”

 

 

Wishing you much peace.

Palm Sunday – Entrance into Jerusalem

Holy Week, the week before Easter, often referred to as “Passion Week” by Moravians, is intended to be a full week of profound reflection, reverence and prayer.

The word passion comes from the noun translation of the verb pascho appearing in the gospels, where Jesus showed “himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). There, the word passion means “to suffer,” particularly in reference to Christ’s sufferings and death.

Moravians gather every evening of Holy Week to read out loud from a harmony of the gospels, beginning with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ending with the burial. There are no sermons during Holy Week – just readings and congregational singing. A single hymn verse is sung in response to each passage read from the Bible – but, sometimes – there is silence.

Services held at the Lititz Moravian Church in Pennsylvania are live streamed during Holy Week and can be found with readings and more information HERE 

Palm Sunday: The sixth Sunday in Lent is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches and proclaiming Him the Messianic King, Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey as prophesized in Zechariah 9:9. (Matthew 21:1-11)

 

Matthew 21:5 – “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

John 12:13 – So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Matthew 21:10-11 – When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Merry Christmas! Sing We Now of Christmas

Filled with mystery, beauty & all the hope that Christmas brings. This piece is mystical and atmospheric offering a moment for reflection.  A unique and moving rendition of “Sing We Now of Christmas” done by  Kyle Pederson with piano and oboe.

Be sure and watch it in full screen.

Wishing everyone a very Happy and Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve – O Holy Night; The Other Christmas Gift

In the fall of 1847, a French wine merchant, Pierre Cappeau, was asked by his local priest to write a Christmas poem. Not long after, Cappeau showed this poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” to the famed French composer Adolphe Adam, and within a few days Adam had composed a musical setting for it. Cappeau took the new song back to his home town of Roquemaure, where it was first performed at a midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, 1847.

The standard English translation, by the American Unitarian minister and music critic John Sullivan Dwight, dates from 1855. “O Holy Night” is one of the most dramatically beautiful Christmas carols ever penned but is unfortunately performed only rarely because of the melody’s extended range.

Matthew 2:6
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

The Other Christmas Gift

A reminder for us in all the hustle and bustle of the day just what is really important.

When faced with a tough decision, will these kids pick a Christmas gift for themselves or give it up for a gift for their family?

The children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta were given the tough decision of choosing a present for themselves or one for their parents. The Video of the social experiment is entitled “The Other Christmas Gift. I post this most years, and I appreciate it as much this time as when I watched it before. I hope you enjoy it too..

The Other Christmas Gift

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

The Winter Solstice – We Remain Waiting..

Today, December 21, we are given a gift, the return of longer days with the celebration of the Winter Solstice. Soon to follow we celebrate the gift of Jesus and his wonderful light.

Many of our customs today have a basis in those early traditions including Yule logs, mistletoe and Christmas trees – having their roots in the pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice.

Long before the birth of Christ, our stone age ancestors had their own theologies.  They were dependent upon the seasons. As such, they followed the wheel of the year. How anxious they must have been as the days kept growing shorter and wondering if the sun would again return, reborn, gifting longer days once more.

This is Advent  — when, as sleepers, we awaken to our own light of love, deep within us, waiting to be reborn again.

Lindsey Mead speaks to the nascent light of her own inner longing as Solstice approached, and offers a meditation by author Meg Casey that captures the hushed beauty of December here

December is a holy month. Maybe it is the dark, silky silence that descends so early that speaks to me of reverence. Maybe it is the promise that December holds — that no matter how dark, how cold, how empty it can get, the light is coming back. Something always shifts in me when December arrives — I embrace the darkness, and am eager for the coming solstice when the whole world is still and holds its breath, waiting to be reborn again.

What a not-to-be-missed treasure the natural season of Advent can be then, when the “nascent light” inside each of us can turn to, and answer, the promises of light surrounding us everywhere in the December dark — the whisper of candlelight from darkened windows, the blue-black light of dusk against the silhouetted trees of winter.

Soon we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We also experience the return of the sun after the darkest night.

At the Winter Solstice we reach the depth of that darkness with the longest night of the year. Darkness has reached its peak.

“Now we start to wonder: will this continue? Will the Earth grow darker and colder as the Sun disappears into the south until only darkness is left? But at Yule a wonderful thing happens. The Sun stops its decline and for a few days it rises in about the same place. This is the crucial time, the cusp between events. The Sun stands still, and everyone waits for the turning.”

In our heads we know the light will return. But in the darkness of Winter, can we be sure? Do our hearts believe what our heads tell us? Will the light keep its promises? We all have moments of darkness, when we don’t know how much deeper we will go before the light starts to return (or even if it will). The Mother earth has moments too; understanding us, and lives as we do.

The Sun does start north again and the light comes back. In the world, in our lives, the light comes back. This is indeed something worth celebrating.

More here

Taryn Harbridge created and performed in this video as part of her music ministry with a medley of Christmas music that I think reflects this pensive mood as we remain waiting……. 

I suggest watching it in full screen.

 

 

What if we could see the Solstice and the Sun/Son as “the light of the world” as did the ancients for thousands of years before us.

It’s a beautiful video that captures the essence of the season perfectly. Enya singing Silent Night in Gaelic in the background, setting the mood.

So Mote It Be….

Happy Easter! He is Risen! Hallelujah

Matthew 28:5-6: “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’”

Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

 

resurrection of christ depicted in stained glass

 

Hallelujah Chorus, from Messiah – Mormon Tabernacle Choir

 

 

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square present the “Hallelujah Chorus” from “Messiah” composed by George Frideric Handel.

Wishing everyone a wonderful day.

Good Friday – ‘Jesus Remember Me….’

A beautiful chant from Taizé, based on the words of one of the men crucified with Jesus, underscoring a meditation on the face of Christ, his suffering, death and resurrection.

42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. d ”

43Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The Crucifixion
41We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”…