Yes, it's all topsy turvy. I find myself agreeing with people I would have avoided like the plague a year or so ago, and shaking my head in horror or disgust at others whom I had previously considered to be a rock of sense. I suppose the pandemic circus was a kind of dress rehearsal. Back then people who had swallowed all the propaganda lashed out at those of us who dared suggest that there were gaps in the official line. That French monarch had better hurry up because the way things are going, France and the rest of Europe could be a radioactive wasteland by November. Looking at all the youngsters back at school or university, I fear for their future. What a mess were passing on to them. Not a statesman to be found anywhere in the world and no faith to sustain people through hard times. Shame on all of us.
https://www.investors.com/politics/...raine-a-russian-mission-to-chastise-the-west/ an old article from 2014: A month before he invaded Crimea, Putin took Russia's most sacred icon, Our Lady of Kazan — an icon kept by Pope John Paul II in his personal quarters until it was returned to Russia — and flew it over the Black Sea and Crimea. The icon has historically been invoked to protect troops in battle. Only Amir Taheri, writing in the Middle Eastern press, reported the incident. I remember reading about this and had to search for this article.
Kirill supposedly found the original recently. https://www.rt.com/russia/586574-patriarch-kirill-kazan-icon/ Russian patriarch announces discovery of long lost icon Known as Our Lady of Kazan, it is one of the most famous and revered holy images in Russian Orthodoxy Patriarch Kirill displays the Our Lady of Kazan icon that had been considered lost for over a century, at the Kazan Cathedral in Red Square. © Sputnik / Oleg Varov Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has presented to the public what he claims is the historic icon of the Mother of God of Kazan. The holy image, which is one of the most revered in Russian Orthodoxy due its role in the Polish–Muscovite War in the early 17th century, had been considered lost for more than a century. The patriarch made the revelation during a service at the Cathedral of the Dormition at the Moscow Kremlin on Saturday, when worshipers marked the day of Our Lady of Kazan. The rediscovery of the holy image “should be considered a historic event,” Patriarch Kirill said as he presented it to the public. “We see before us the original miraculous image of the Kazan Mother of God... which saved our people from foreign intervention [during the Polish–Muscovite War between 1608 and 1615] and it is unknown what the consequences of that intervention were. This image is sacred for us,” he stressed. According to the patriarch, the icon was among other works, including many gifts, stored at his residence outside Moscow. He said he accidentally came across the holy image representing the Virgin Mary while looking through this collection. Patriarch Kirill stressed that he first thought it to be a really well-made copy, but experts later concluded that it actually belongs to the historic period when Orthodox Christians first obtained the Kazan icon of the Mother of God. Read more Russian Orthodox Church takes possession of treasured icon The head of the Russian Orthodox Church confessed that he was initially hesitant to tell the public about his discovery, but when his concerns about the authenticity of the holy image were resolved, he realized that “it was impossible to hide this story – our people and the whole world should know about it.” Legend has it that the Kazan icon of the Mother of God was discovered in Kazan in 1579 after most of the city was destroyed in a massive blaze. The holy image, which has been copied on a number occasions, has played an important role in Russian history. The replica that the patriarch unveiled on Saturday accompanied the militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky as they defeated the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth’s forces that occupied Moscow between 1610 and 1612. The icon was later displayed at Kazan Cathedral, which was built on Red Square in Moscow especially for that purpose. The holy image, which contained plating made of precious metals and jewels, was stolen from the cathedral in 1918 and its whereabouts were unknown for more than a century. READ MORE: ‘Humans can’t live without war’, Christian patriarch laments After the service, Kirill announced that the holy image, which is considered to be miracle-working, will be returned to Kazan Cathedral.
That's interesting. Thank you for posting it. I looked for Part 2 but couldn't find it. There's a few things I'm unsure about. Mr. Everisto seems to be amalgamating what St. Lucia was told, her own interpretation of what she was told, what Mr. Everisto says he knows because he found out later but doesn't say how he found out, what a Blessed mystic received through a locution and what another holy person told him. Also, is it possible that Sr. Lucia's understanding of what she was told may have varied slightly with mature reflection? I hope this doesn't come across as nit picking but I have difficulty extracting the absolute, irrefutable facts from opinion or speculation, however well informed. I can't even tell from what he said whether or not Russia has yet to be converted. He warns against expressing our opinions yet expresses his own opinion. I wasn't convinced by Fr. Gruner. I believe that St. John Paul's second consecration was accepted in Heaven. The video brings some clarity but for me it raises as many questions as it answers.
I don't want to use the word despair but that word describes how I feel about my own country in particular. Every direction I look I observe a wasteland. God help our grandchildren. There is no leadership anywhere. The church in this country has completely failed to lead the believers. Wolves are everywhere. It's all so heartbreaking.
It is heartbreaking. But Jesus told us that He has overcome the world. And, “let not your hearts be troubled.”
Many in the Irish Church including, if not especially, the bishops were the wolves. Nowadays, most of the bishops are non-vertebrates. Nevertheless, there are many ageing, tireless priests quietly doing their duty. God bless these courageous men, who look behind them and see nobody there to replace them.
This requires a faith that has not been proclaimed in Ireland for over half a century. Instead, we got rubbish about 'Yahweh', 'love' and nothing about sin, hell or damnation. Purgatory went into limbo and horrendous iconoclasm, 'religious art' and hippy hymnology was inflicted upon us. Come to think of it, it was an appropriate religion for those who might have had guilt for the horrific abominations they were perpetrating (and/or concealing) mostly upon young boys.
The problem I see with this is that unless it's backed up with faith, prayer and fasting, the icon is being used like a talisman. Maybe Putin and/or the Patriarch called on their people to pray and fast for the protection of the Theotokos. Maybe Putin prayed and fasted. I don't know, but reading comments from some Russians or Russophiles, I get the impression that they can't distinguish between supernatural faith and superstition.
Focus on this. Many tireless priests quietly doing their duty. not this: My archdiocese recently “hosted” Fr James Martin. Wasn’t he recently at Knock Shrine?
I have to disagree a bit. Yes the world, and the Church are on fire. But there are so many solid, holy priests that have been ordained in the last 20 years! I would take them over the mostly lukewarm aging priests over 60...so few are solid. Where sin abounds,,, grace abounds all the more. Not only priests but faithful, countercultural lay people as well. The battle will be won by those under Our Mother's mantle, make no mistake.
There is this funny kind of realization I had. We have this collective sin which has compounded over the last few centuries. Now it is manifesting in the natural world, but those with a worldly mind try to fight it with the world. When they can't, they go along with it and it just makes matters worse. But ultimately it leads to destruction, especially of those who are simply going along with it. Because while sin is collective, it is also personal. Many have been storing up treasures in heaven while others have been heaping up coals in hell and purgatory. There is this kind of reverse rapture that Jesus talks about in Matthew 13:36-43 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. It sounds to me like the weeds get plucked out first by the Angels at the end of the age. I can't say this is coming soon, I really don't know. But it does feel like the line between the two sides is getting more defined with each passing day.
In a dramatic development during Pope Francis’ historic trip to Indonesia, authorities arrested seven individuals across multiple cities on September 2 and 3, unveiling a thwarted plot that could have upended the Pope’s visit. Pope leaves Indonesia with 7 people in jail: they were planning attack against him | ZENIT - English One of the arrested individuals was found in possession of disturbing evidence—bows, arrows, and a drone, alongside ISIS propaganda material. This suspect is also believed to be linked to the 2019 stabbing of Indonesia’s former security minister, Wiranto, by Islamist extremists. Authorities believe that the same extremist ideology may have inspired the plan to attack the Pope. The tension was exacerbated when the Indonesian government made the controversial decision to suspend the public broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer during the Pope’s visit to Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia. For some extremists, this move was seen as an affront, fueling the alleged threats. Pope leaves Indonesia with 7 people in jail: they were planning attack against him | ZENIT - English
Sam, I just read something on this forum recently about bows and arrows being used on a Pope. What was it? Some prophecy. Perhaps about the Holy Monarch?
It's part of the 3rd secret of Fatima. The bishop in white climbing the mountain toward the cross and being shot with bows and arrows, along with other priests and bishops, if I'm remembering correctly
I always thought it was a little strange that Islamists use knives to cut Christians throats and to cut their heads off. Why do this? There seems to be an element of Sacrifice in this. It would,after all, be much, much easier to simply shoot them. I think in the Q'uran beheading is the recommended Capital Punishment and so they use it in Saudi Arabia. But it used to be in history in many Islamic States they kind of got along with Christians and Jews by forcing them to pay heavy taxes. Recently they seem to have taken a more extreme turn. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-54877202
Mary, I think our Bishops are trying to navigate their way through a very difficult situation, damned if they do and damned if they don't in all sorts of complicated situations. A great number (possibly majority) of Catholics thinks that the Church should be a democracy with a hierarchy serving the interests of the zeistgeist. To make matters worse, there are probably some among them and certainly more than a few in the priesthood who would throw out the baby with the bathwater.
