Odds And Ends July 23, 2020 by sd A few observations as summer hits its peak: ——– If you think we have it rough, consider Saint Bridget of Sweden, whose feast day was Thursday. In 1349 Bridget set out across Europe on a pilgrimage to Rome just as bubonic plague — the Black Death — was hitting the northern reaches of Europe (having already decimated the southern and central parts). Consider that this wave of bubonic plague killed two-thirds of Norway — two out of three! — and a third of the Swedish population (in the U.S., covid-19 has thus far killed 136,000, or roughly one of every 2,500). The journey would have been across countrysides where corpses littered byways, in some locales stacked like cordwood, with not even wolves wanting to have anything to do with them. Entire monasteries, convents, and pastoral offices were wiped out. Bridget was making the journey in the place of Sweden’s King Magnus, whom she served as an advisor and who declined to make the pilgrimage himself. The saint interpreted defeats in a crusade against Denmark as a sign of God’s wrath against Magnus for his wastefulness and ostentation and had urged him to take advantage of the forthcoming holy year (1350) by going to Rome for an indulgence. “Thus saith the Son of God: I will visit this kingdom with the sword and lance and with wrath,” she quoted the Lord as conveying to her. “In vain do they say, “Let us do as it pleaseth us, life is short, God is merciful. He will do us no evil!’ Hearken to what I now say to thee. I will rise up in all My power and will not spare either young or old, rich or poor, just or unjust. I will come with my plough and pull up the trees by the roots, so that where there before were a thousand people only a hundred will be left, and their houses shall stand empty.” Like other European rulers, Magnus was utterly powerless to prevent the annihilating power of the plague. And if you think there are problems and controversies in the modern Church, consider what it was like back in Bridget’s time — during the plague: At one point there were three popes. The most legitimate papacy had moved from Rome to Avignon, France, but there it became notorious for its materialism, nepotism, clerical scandals, and self-enrichment. Saint Bridget spent years imploring the Pope to return to Rome. When she herself got there, the Eternal City was in sorry shape not only from disease but because of an earthquake. (Heed ye this!) From a spiritual vantage point, there are endless ironies with the covid-19 outbreak. Here’s Bloomberg News Wednesday: “The most dangerous activities are places where people are talking loudly in a crowded indoor setting for a long time — bars, parties, concerts, indoor sporting events, indoor religious services and so on. Offices, gyms, hair salons and indoor restaurants are somewhat dangerous. “New lockdowns, therefore, should focus on banning only the highest-risk activities. Bars, clubs and other drinking establishments should be closed through the end of the year. This will hit local businesses hard, so Congress should create a bailout fund specifically for bars and similar establishments. Similarly, indoor sporting, music and theater should be halted for the duration of the epidemic, and companies that rely on these should be bailed out accordingly.” That’s how important they became — the United States has to bail out bars? No one knows what Jesus would have said because there were no bars along the Sea of Galilee or in Jerusalem but it doesn’t take a long stretch to picture Him overturning barstools. In our time we have only microcosmic manifestations of that, but they are growing, the signs aplenty (if, like Saint Bridget, we believe in signs, which we do here). Interesting, at least in a visual sense, to see the Statue of Liberty and Freedom Tower struck the other night by thick bolts of purplish lightning, while across the river in Queens lightning caused fire to break out at a church called Spirit and Truth. We can say: both are in short supply, spirit and truth. Let us remember that it is the truth, not propaganda, not wishful thinking, not diatribe, and not anger, that sets us free. Maybe we need to ask the Holy Spirit more often where the truth resides. View facts from varied sources before reaching discernments. Be careful about labeling people and jumping to conclusions. (Haste makes waste and also speaks of sloth.) Speaking of signs, when an earthquake hit Richmond, Virginia, in 2011, it caused cracks in the Washington Monument, closing to tourists for more than a year. Before it reopened the next year came Hurricane Sandy — which swamped Liberty Island in New York and caused its closure for (also) a year. Meanwhile, we think before that to Federal Hall in New York, where collapse of the Twin Towers created fissures in its foundation. Federal Hall is where the Bill of Rights was formulated and where Washington took his oath of office. ————– What do we fathom from all this? What would Saint Bridget have indicated? Can we finally step back from all the noise and meditate on what exactly has been and is indicated? It’s been a long while since Hale-Bopp, but there was a new comet to view earlier this month, officially known as C/2020 F3, but usually (and mercifully) just referred to as Neowise: a three-mile-wide chunk of ice and dust on a 6,000-year loop around the solar system. It was also quite visible yesterday. Some think a potentially devastating asteroid called Apophis could hit in 2029 (perhaps more accurately, 2036), though NASA rules that out. When it comes to vaccines, we have to differ with Rome, which for a decade or two has determined that even if a vaccine is derived from a line of stem cells that originated with an aborted baby, it is allowed — permissible — for the greater good. That’s for each person and family to determine. In the decision-making process must be considered the pro-life aspects of a vaccine: that however it was derived, it may save many lives. But also: the fact that evil imparts evil, that a stem-cell line that comes from a baby aborted decades ago may bequeath a profoundly negative spiritual effect. Many matters to pray about in our time. What would Saint Bridget do? https://spiritdailyblog.com/commentary/odds-and-ends
Our Sad Time: Pandemic Strikes Three Convents July 25, 2020 by sd From Associated Press: LIVONIA, Michigan (AP) — At a convent near Detroit, 13 nuns have died of COVID-19. The toll is seven at a center for Maryknoll sisters in New York, and six at a Wisconsin convent that serves nuns with fading memories. Each community perseveres, though strict social-distancing rules have made communal solidarity a challenge as the losses are mourned. Only small, private funeral services were permitted as the death toll mounted in April and May at the Felician Sisters convent in Livonia, Michigan — a spiritual hardship for the surviving nuns. “The yearnings, throughout the pandemic, were to be with our dying sisters and hold our traditional services, funeral Mass and burial, to comfort each other,” said Sister Mary Christopher Moore, a leader of the Felician Sisters of North America. [For Full Story] From Yahoo: That entire mile area that the Felician Sisters own have been taking care of people in our community literally from cradle to grave, and that’s what they do. They take care of our health. They take care of our spiritual well being. They take care of our education, and everything that we do in Livonia has a component to it that involves the nuns. Now, you know, we have less nuns that are available to work in the hospital, less nuns that are available in our teaching institutions, less nuns that are out there taking care of making sure our souls are protected, you know? They pray for us every day. [For Full Story] From the Washington Post: When word spread in the spring that the novel coronavirus had infiltrated a convent near Detroit housing the Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice, the residents there swiftly prepared for the worst. At the time, about 60 sisters called the convent in Livonia, Mich., home — and a number of them were elderly, having devoted decades of their lives to the congregation. But none of the Felician sisters could have predicted just how devastating the virus would be for their close-knit community. “We all knew if it hit the place, it would be bad,” Sister Mary Ann Smith told the Global Sisters Report (GSR) this week. “But we never anticipated how quickly it would go.” [For Full Story] https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/our-sad-time-pandemic-strikes-three-convents
Coronavirus Surge Narrative Cast into Doubt After Antigen Tests Result in 73 Percent False Positive Rate in Just One Small Vermont Town ........... This casts into doubt the entire coronavirus “surge” that is supposed to be taking place all over the country. MORE: https://www.revolver.news/2020/07/antigen-coronavirus-testing-false-positives/
I just received an update from Anne Arundel County, MD saying that the Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch Farmers Market) in Annapolis has been shut down due to employees failure to wear face masks. It sounds to me like repeated requests were ignored.
We have a Dutch Market, Thurs, Fri, Sat, from Lancaster County in our area and they do wear the face masks....so apparently it isn't a strict rule. We're just a couple of hours from Lancaster. There are Mennonites mixed in as well I believe.
There are a few articles about different Amish/Mennonite groups in different states. This one speaks to how they are taking on COVID as it really interferes with their culture and types of gatherings....and how it has idled their usual means of income: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/politics/amish-coronavirus-ohio.html/
Ha! Jair Bolsonaro Holds Up Package of Hydroxychloroquine — Announces He Has Tested Coronavirus Negative Brazilian President Bolsonaro tested positive for coronavirus on July 7th. In early April Jair Bolsonaro urged residents to keep the economy going despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. President Bolsonaro also said he was taking hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin to combat the virus. On Wednesday President Bolsonaro shared some excellent news and took a swipe at his socialist critics by tweeting out that he is doing very well with the hydroxychloroquine treatment. On Saturday President Bolsonaro announced he was coronavirus free — He tested negative for coronavirus. The Brazilian president held up a package of hydroxychloroquine in his tweet. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/20...loroquine-announces-now-coronavirus-negative/
This is what I've thought about for the future when the innocent refuse to comply with what is ordered by the controllers in order to live and get normal services.....the cut off of the most necessary needs for survival. This election is so important when you consider that this type of control seems, in certain leftist regions of the country, already to be considered. No one can survive long w/o water, esp. Often it's been the case that things/ideas/methods get started on the coasts and spread from there: Will Authorities Cut Water and Electricity to Churches that Defy Newsom's Shutdown Order? ............ Indeed, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has deemed churches “nonessential” and warned in May that nonessential businesses caught defying shutdown orders could have their water and electricity cut: ........... This time it’s a global pandemic that has our church doors closed. What will the excuse be next year? Prediction: If Democrats take control of the Senate and presidency in November we’ll see a public health crisis declared to aid and abet transgenderism and gender confusion. What will your church do when ordered to either modify doctrinal positions on human sexuality or shut down? Now’s the time to be thinking through how we’ll respond when the real persecution begins. https://pjmedia.com/culture/paula-b...ches-that-defy-newsoms-shutdown-order-n705896
This hits close to home for me.This is sad news about the Felician sisters. I know a few sisters from there while I was a student at their affiliated Madonna Catholic University in Livonia, Michigan. Their convent and church there is so beautiful. Lot of history there. These dear nuns are wonderful and served the Lord by their service in community, the Madonna University, St. Mary's Hospital and more. I'm including them in my rosary prayers. +++
WOW! Brave Frontline COVID Doctor Calls Out Fake News, Challenges CNN’s Chris Cuomo to Take a Urine Test to Prove He Isn’t Taking Hydroxychloroquine (VIDEO) Dr. Stella Immanuel said on Monday that she has personally treated over 350 patients with COVID-19 with Hydroxychloroquine, Zinc, and Zithromax and they have all recovered. The doctor also disclosed that she put herself and her staff on Hydroxychloroquine as a preventative. Dr. Immanuel challenged CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Fauci to take a urine test to prove they aren’t taking Hydroxychloroquine as a prophylaxis for COVID-19. “Americans don’t have to die! America, there is a cure for COVID!” she yelled. “You don’t need a mask! There is a cure!” MORE: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/20...t-prove-isnt-taking-hydroxychloroquine-video/
Boy is Dr Stella passionate! Awesome. Of course, so many will poo-poo her words because they don't want to let this virus die. It is too lucrative.
Twitter Removes Video by Frontline Doctor on Success of HCQ on COVID Patients After Trump Retweets Her… Think About That – Twitter Is Removing Info That Saves Lives! How many Americans died of COVID-19 because the Democrat-media complex lied about Hydroxychloroquine? Frontline doctors from across the US held a “White Coat Summit” on Monday in Washington DC to dispel the misinformation and myths surrounding the Coronavirus. The fake news media, including CNN, NBC, CBS, WaPO and NY Times all waged a war on Hydroxychloroquine just because Trump touted the anti-malaria drug as an effective treatment for COVID-19. Dr. Stella Immanuel said on Monday that she has personally treated over 350 patients with COVID-19 with Hydroxychloroquine, Zinc, and Zithromax and they have all recovered. The doctor also disclosed that she put herself and her staff on Hydroxychloroquine as a preventative. Later on Monday President Trump retweeted Joseph Flynn who posted video of Dr. Stella Immanuel discussing her success with hydroxychloroquine in treating coronavirus patients. Twitter then took the video down! ............. Facebook and YouTube also took down the lifesaving information. This is outrageous! .............. Think about that– Twitter is now removing information by doctors on saving lives! They would rather see you die than see President Trump be right. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/20...s-think-twitter-removing-videos-saving-lives/
I wondered how long it would take the social media to attack. I watched it on YouTube with my family last night so they could post on social media. I will have to check them to see if it is still up or has the huge warning label on it. These people are sick as someone would say. They literally do not care if people are murdered. Because withholding information about a cure is murder.
Wonderful words from this doctor who is putting her reputation on the line to save lives. Tanker is correct, the virus is too lucrative. How can they push a vaccine when an inexpensive drug is so effective against COVID. This is why they all went crazy when President Trump was praising hydroxychloroquine. The doctor knows the American public is being manipulated by these so called experts. Prayers for her Figures. Twitter is pretty predictable at this point. They have destroyed their credibility in the process, censoring whatever flies in the face of their agenda. Shameful and sickening that it has come to this. Sinister motives.
More Twitter panic. People now should flood these social media outlets w/ more positives for Trump and for the virus, getting these controllers to repeat their actions w/o being able to stop for a breath, forcing the public to more and more wake up to these controls of the people's Constitutional freedoms: Twitter Locks Trump Jr Account For Posting Press Conference By Pro-Hydroxychloroquine Doctors Twitter locked the account of Donald Trump Jr. for approximately 12 hours, after the president's son posted a viral video of doctors touting Hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. The video, which received over 14 million views before it was blacklisted and scrubbed by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube following a complaint by a New York Times employee, featured members of America's Frontline Doctors - a recently formed advocacy group which claims that "American life has fallen casualty to a massive disinformation campaign" against Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) - a decades-old malaria drug used by India and several other countries as part of their front-line treatment of the novel coronavirus, yet which has shown mixed efficacy in studies. Reactions to Silicon Valley's decision to scrub the press conference, as well as Trump Jr.'s temporary suspension, have drawn the ire of supporters and free speech advocates alike. (examples given) https://www.zerohedge.com/political...ess-conference-pro-hydroxychloroquine-doctors
Another prayer need for these potential victims of covid measures: 11 million households could be evicted over the next four months because of COVID measures and unpaid rent https://www.fastcompany.com/9053230...ds-could-be-evicted-over-the-next-four-months
You are so right....we cannot lock down forever. They say we are all going to get it eventually anyhow...why destroy our economy any further.
Adding everyone in need because of covid measures to my daily prayers. We are lucky in that my mortgage people are working with us. But people with rents and some mortgage companies are not. And the good old USA , Congress, is dragging their feet on getting helpful monies to the people. Angers me because this money is OURS to begin with. Get off you lazy rich behind and help people. The government has put these measures on and not the people. The government has closed workplaces down not the people. I get so angry sometimes and am tired of hearing, well, we have to be careful and ride this out for the good of everyone. Rubbish! You cannot close a society down and expect people to not lose their homes, their jobs, their way of transportation, etc. Sorry for the rant. People are suffering and the governments simply do not care. And yet we listen to them about masking and social distancing like they do care. Rubbish again. I send the globalist agenda in the entire world to the foot of the cross to be dealt with by Jesus!
