Archbishop Fulton Sheen is to be beatified in St Louis on the 24th of this month. I’ve just read of a murderous, terroristic threat made by one Jeremiah Robinson against the Archdiocese of St Louis. It’s difficult not to suspect a connection.
https://markets.businessinsider.com...n-possible-layer-of-petrified-wood-1036567405 "For the first time in history, we are performing an extensive, permitted deep core drilling survey inside and outside the Durupınar Noah’s Ark site, recovering samples from depths of up to 18 meters, nearly 60 feet. We have so far recovered layers of rich organic material that we believe could be the decayed top tier remains of the Ark. We are encountering multiple cavities, including one filled with mud and water. No bedrock or solid limestone has so far been identified in the holes drilled inside the formation. These current findings challenge claims that this is simply a natural shape made of limestone or bedrock. “In one of the holes drilled inside the boat, approximately 4–5 meters below the surface, The drilling system had already penetrated the overlying material, but at this layer, the operation stopped as we struck a layer so hard that the drill bit broke. Petrified or highly mineralized wood are both a possibility we want to investigate through third party lab testing.” -Andrew Jones, Vice President, Noah’s Ark Research Project This is looking promising!
Don’t be giving me any credit. It was C.S. Lewis (what a Protestant!?) that pointed this out, in my (shaky) memory. Things have simply continued to get a lot more pointy.
The defeat of the assisted-suicide bill in the English parliament is heart-warming. It is good to get a win. The new PM, Andy Burnham, did a lot better than I expected, abstaining from voting in a bill brought in by his own party. His call for more investment in palliative and hospice care was considered very helpful by the pro-life side.
Not sure if you seen my post about my dream a few nights ago @DeGaulle your post gives me confirmation and hope. quote below
Me too! I just added the intention for our world and Church leaders to my morning prayers about a week ago. Our prayers will make a difference!
It’s a Scriptural practice to pray for our leaders, I think. At the very least, it’s a time-honored practice.
1 Timothy 2:2 A Call to Prayer 1First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority— so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity. 3This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,… 1 Peter 2:13-17 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority, / or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. / For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.
In most Catholic Churches, the prayer of faithful includes prayers for Pope, Bishops, priests and civil leaders.
In England they pray for their Queen in Churches. This horrified me as an Irishman when I first heard them doing this, but then I understood it was their own country and they are entitled to. This praying for those in authority does not always come from someone with an Irish Rebel background. But it comes from the understanding I think that life is passing and in a kind of way who rules over us is a passing thing. I remember during the time of the Nazis in Germany there was an organisation called' 'White Rose'. Some German Catholics were involved in this , including a network that tried to kill Hitler. Some member of White Rose were caught and executed and their cause for saint hood is going through. But this is a case of trying to kill the ruler instead of praying for him. It is hard to struggle with such things. For instance during the American War of Independence should the Colonists have been praying for King George as their ruler rather than shooting his soldiers? The same in Ireland over the centuries. It is something I wonder about. There was a wonderful very, very Holy German Lutheran Pastor called Dietrich Bonhoffer who got beheaded for trying to kill Adolph Hitler who was the German Ruler. I read his book justifying it. But felt uneasy about it. The Roman Emperors at the times of St Paul like Nero of Tiberius, could be just as evil as Hitler but still Paul asked us to pray for them . I haven't all the answers but I think it is best to stick as close to scripture as possible.
But i do think there is an important distinction between praying for leaders and placing your trust in them. I think the Psalms say it best: "It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in princes" - Psalm 117:9 "Do not put your trust in princes, in any child of Adam, who has no power to save. When his spirit goes forth he returns to the earth, on that very day all his plans come to nothing" -Psalm 146:3-4
