I don’t think you live in the US. There is a huge push back to not build data centers here. You probably don’t hear about that. L
There was also an unusual pattern of deaths in which members of the same family died only a few days apart. This is something that seasonal flu had never caused, at least here in Brazil. That old statistic stating that COVID progressed to a severe form in about 20% of infected people, on average, did not translate into a very reassuring reality when more than one person in the same family was facing a serious risk of death and even requiring ventilatory support.
It was severe. You are right. My husband and I were not vaxed. We suffered from Covid at the same time. He was drastically ill. I prayed every day that he would not die. We were at home. We could not function for almost a month. My son brought supplies and left them outside. I ordered groceries delivered from the market down the road. It was not the flu.
Maybe the strain here in Europe was more mild. My family had it and it was only a cold, no fever, not even for my husband who suffers an autoimmune disease and is considered more "vulnerable." My husband and I were tired and I remember having a hard time catching my breath after walking up the stairs but that was it. The sniffles and being very tired. The kids didn't even have symptoms. None of us were vaxed.
I worked in a hospital all during it. Including in Intensive Care units. I never got a hint of it. 25% of the medical staff Doctors and nurses refused the vaccine so they could not force it on us. It was strange. Like a bad dream.
It was a nasty scary virus. The first time I had it I thought i was literally dying. The second time I suffered with the after effects for 3 months.
What a strange title for Pope Leo's first encyclical letter. Magnifica Humanitas. Magnificent Humanity! It jars very much with my understanding of the Faith. But what do I know. Fallen humanity who is in need of redemption. I haven't read the enclycical so I could be very wide of the mark. Magnificent God, your Majesty, let your Spirit lead us into all truth.
My middle age son got covid and he was sicker than he ever was. 2 weeks he couldn't work. My middle age daughter got pneumonia through covid. Both of my kids have had the flu a million times but neither have ever been so ill in their lives. But thank God no one I know lost their life. The "cure" that came later I know at least 6 who passed within a week of it.
It makes me think of bl. Anne emmerich who said the new Churches that were being built were built only by human means, not with the aid of the angels.
That’s so interesting. The newer churches I go into feel empty. The old churches feel holier. Maybe it’s because the old churches are filled with more prayers. Maybe it’s because the old churches are embellished and new churches plain. There was craftsmanship in the old churches and newer ones are production and cost effective. Sorting this out.,,,
Why is it called Magnifica Humanitas? The title is Latin for “magnificent humanity.” It points to the document’s teaching that no machine can replace the God-given magnificence of the human person. Pope Leo XIV writes: “We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace” (MH 15).
Reminds me of the deceitful words of JoeJerk, "4 ...“You will not die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
The context changes everything. Despite being a fallen race, we are creatures of God who can never be matched by any creation of man. Not by a long shot.
I think it's the prayers. My FSSP parish is in what used to be a non-Catholic church. It's fairly plain, with "stained glass" windows that are actually printed on material and fitted into the windows. A few modest statues and blue painted ceiling with stars... And a high altar that is modest but points all eyes to Christ. The whole church is small and unassuming, but when I walk in, I'm inundated with the most profound feeling of holiness and beauty, like I'm breathing the actual breath of Christ. The air is charged with God's very alive presence. I always think that the prayers of the very devout families--especially our priests and all the reverent fathers bringing their wives and children--have drawn down so much grace into that small place, it nearly bowls you over!
Yes, context! I admit the title threw me off initially too. But I'm slowly making my way through the text and Pope Leo is definitely trying to center everything on Christ. I was a little disappointed with how he framed the story of the Tower of Babel, but....oh well.
There is a priest at a church in my area who said pretty much the same thing. He said when he was assigned to that parish, he could tell that the people loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
It is not only the Church building it is the attitude of the people in the Church that is important. I got to Church half an hour early last night to pray for an hour to pray and read a chapter of the bible and get ready for Mass. At once a lady and her daughter began talking with a nun loudly right in front of me. This was right in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It must have gone on for 15 minutes. The Cistercians, the order to which this nun belongs was always known for its silence. But in a strange kind of bizarre way this is kind of good for me. I have to lean forward and press my head into my eyes and really concentrate on prayer to shut things out to concentrate. Perhaps I am wrong but I have a feeling that the nun is unsettled by me praying there in silence. It may be a kind of implicit rebuke to her. I don't intend this to be so. But maybe it is This ancient old little Church is wonderful. But at the end of the day it is the people who make it.
