Even though everything ultimately belongs to Caesar, it is good for our souls to be subject even to earthly authority and arbitrary laws like taxes. It humbles us to submit to laws we feel are unjust or no help to ourselves, out of respect for authority.
I don't know if this will amount to much or get bad here in the U.S., but I took this opportunity to finally buy the water filter pitchers I would need to filter my less than stellar well water in case of an extended loss of electricity. Thankfully I do have a manual hand pump for my water.
Me too Agnes. I read a lot and watched many documentaries. The SS under Himmler were occultists. Certainly Hitler was. The evil that was perpetrated certainly seemed out of hell itself.
I received a timely and i think good reflection today on politics and upcoming election...... We need a savior. Even people who don’t believe in God seem to agree about this. Don’t believe me? Watch what happens every election cycle. Of course, history shows us that no political messiah will do. The first Christians knew that. Don’t get me wrong, they engaged the problems of their time and so should we. But they didn’t spend all their time obsessing on what the emperor was doing today, or who the next emperor might be. They put their hands to work, but they didn’t let the problems of their day penetrate their hearts. That was reserved for something better. They knew that both emperors and empires come and go. Their hearts were set on an eternal city. Jesus was also scandalously quiet about the politics of his day. It really seemed to annoy people too. He lived in a world SHARPLY divided, under pagan occupation, taxed by a Caesar who claimed to be divine. And Jesus was mostly quiet about all that, no matter how hard people tried to draw him into controversy or make him an earthly king. And yet...pay attention...while nothing he said was overtly political, everything Jesus said and did overturned the power of empire. It challenged a political and social order founded on the idea that the emperor was a god. As Christianity grew, the emperor was un-deified, Rome became Christendom, and the seeds of a society built on human dignity were planted. Jesus also supplanted the very power of Rome to unite a people. As Paul wrote, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14). Seems like a benign line to us. But for the Romans in power, these were fighting words. Caesar and Caesar alone boasted of the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome, which united nations under his awesome power. “Who is this Jesus you claim is our peace?”Yet Jesus brought about real peace through love and grace, with zero political power. Jesus is our “hope.” He’s the “change we can believe in.” He’s our way “forward.” He’s the path to “make America great again.” He is the (insert your favorite campaign slogan from the past 20 years here). Do you believe it? Do your conversations and the state of your heart reflect that belief? As election day draws near: vote! Passing things DO matter because eternity is real, and what we do here has eternal consequences. But I also encourage you to stop spending more than 15 minutes of your day thinking about the news. Unless you’re a professional politician or commentator, you don’t need to. And the more time you spend outside your sphere of influence, the less impact you’ll make inside of it. The devil would love you to spend your whole life upset about things you can only act on when you step into a voting booth. Let’s spend the rest of our time focused on the real savior. God bless you, Chris Stefanick Real Life Catholic
Today is the feast of Apostles Simon and Jude. Our priest at Mass this morning informed us that Simon was originally a fiery Jewish nationalist who hoped Jesus would oust the Romans from Palestine. Our Lord persuaded Simon otherwise. We all know where those politics led. And still it goes on.
When there is no one to vote for with any morals...it's impossible. I guess it depends where u live. I follow my heart.
In that case, isn’t not voting making a statement? It certainly would if enough voters took that option.
For me it's not really a statement, i just choose not to be a part of it. I think it's all in God's hands right now.
You could also do a write in vote. I think this speaks more than not voting. But i get it. In the end, all things in this world are passing.
This indicates that Israel takes precedence over the United States. The US is now a colony of Israel.
I was just thinking this morning. When I do my shopping in town, which is half an hours drive away I get as much as to do me for nine days anyway. It saves me the long journey. So I suppose I naturally stock up anyway. There is no way I would ever get short of water round here, their are springs and fountains everywhere. As to power I have a big leisure battery. Heating could be from I wood stove, I am surrounded by forests. I keep a stack of wood outside just in case. But most of the year it is hot and bright here. I think if anything did ever go wrong it would be better to be living in the country. And safer. Loads of wild animals to hunt if the worst came to the worst.
