Last night, I watched a video of Paul McCartney on "Carpool Karaoke" with my daughter and we both cried a little bit. It prompted me to do a search and I came across the following article which I think is very well done. Is the video a "sign" idk but I'm hoping that it serves as a reminder to those who may have lost their way to look to Our Blessed Mother and therefore Our Lord. I know that this video is reaching a lot of people and maybe some of them will come across this article also. In any case, I hope that you enjoy both the article and the video. A Lesson on Text Criticism and the Beatles’ Let it Be Jeffrey McLeod, PhD • July 30, AD2013 • 98 Comments http://www.catholicstand.com/a-lesson-on-text-criticism-and-the-beatles-let-it-be/ One of the commonly asked questions of Sir Paul McCartney is whether his lovely song Let It Be is about the Virgin Mary. It is a beautiful song. A studio outtake reveals that the earliest version had a nearly-solemn quality. Of course, many know that Paul McCartney and John Lennon had a friendly songwriting competition. It is evident in many of their outtakes. Unsurprisingly then, just seconds before the tape rolls on the first recording of Let it Be, you can hear John being naughty, trying to unnerve his friend, asking, “Are we supposed to giggle in the solo?” Paul replies without missing a beat, “Yeah.” Then he adds with affected braggadocio: “This’ll – this is gonna knock you out, boy.” McCartney knows a good song, and this was one of his best. The studio goes quiet, the light goes on, and the familiar piano chords commence. The take comes out very close to what the final take will sound like, as many of McCartney’s first takes do. Throughout the song, McCartney’s voice is vulnerable yet resolute. It gives me goose bumps to hear, every time. Is this song about the Virgin Mary? McCartney typically answers the question by assuring his fans that they can interpret the song however they would like. However, he is always careful to say that the literal genesis of the song was a particular event: During the final days of the Beatles, their business was in chaos caused by a bitter management dispute, and the four guys who had been close friends for years were coming unglued. One night, Paul’s mother Mary, who had passed away, appeared to him in a dream and comforted him, telling him to let go. That’s all. You must understand that during the 1960s, John Lennon had told a reporter – as a fact, by the way – that the Beatles were probably more popular than Jesus was. He wasn’t bragging. I think he was trying to say, look at these kids, they’re insane, they’re looking for meaning. What in the world are they doing trying to find it in a little guitar band? He was right. He later affirmed that in his view, “the Beatles were just four guys who formed a band, and made it very, very big, that’s all.” The Jesus comment sparked record burnings and death threats, all the things that Christians should not have been involved in. Lennon should not have said it, but the lesson had been learned, Paul McCartney was understandably wary of making any reference to religion. This is more of a reflection of how volatile the 1960s were than anything to do with the Beatles. Now, be honest. Do you believe the song Let it Be is not manifestly about the Virgin Mary? The words tell us about the hour of darkness, a broken hearted world, an eternal light, and an eternal life giving wisdom. There is universality in McCartney’s longing for the answer to suffering. The Blessed Mother knows this more than anyone does. Yes, the song is absolutely about the Virgin Mary. I once took part in a discussion on the Internet in which I attempted to defend this view. It is not a popular view, mind you. The received view is the one I related earlier, that Paul McCartney himself had cleared the matter up. The guys I argued with said that settled it. It is not about the Virgin Mary because the author said it was about something else. Those words gave me a moment of clarity that I will never forget. I asked myself, is that a sufficient reason to say the song is not about the Virgin Mary? The author had spoken, so the case is closed? In this logic, I spotted a style of reasoning that I was taught to treat with suspicion, thanks to my Catholic education. Here was vintage Cartesian error, from the deceptively simple mental model of Rene Descartes. The Cartesian influence in the history of ideas led directly and indirectly to the modern principle of text interpretation that the meaning of a text is the author’s psychological intention. If the author is alive, all one needs to do is ask him what he was thinking when he wrote it. If the author is not alive, the task is to infer, based on historical circumstances, what he most likely had in mind. As I said, this picture is compelling because it is so deceptively simple. It might surprise you to know that Catholics don’t necessarily think this way, at least not exclusively. I certainly don’t. Our recent Popes do not think this way. The interpretive principle of authorial intent is useful in its place, but when it is promoted as the sole criterion of truth, it is flawed. Why does the Church care about authorial intent? We care because the Catholic tradition involves reading and interpreting Scripture and the works of the Doctors and Saints. We think quite hard about what words mean, and we think quite a bit about how we know for certain what words mean. In my mind, there are two reasons why the author’s intent cannot be the definitive criterion of the meaning of a text. First, such a theory of meaning leaves no place for the truth itself. Nowhere in this Cartesian model is the question even raised as to whether what the author said is true. There is only the fact that the author wrote such-and-such words. The task of the interpreter is to reconstruct the author’s subjective psychological state at the time and to thereby establish the fact. Excuse me, but when did psychology replace truth? What happened to the truth? Modern scholars might reply with sincerity, “What difference would that make?” Second, the principle of the author’s intent as a standard of accuracy is psychologically unrealistic. I am a psychologist, so I can say this. Your friend asks, “What do you feel like for dinner?” You say “pizza.” Your friend talks you into a steak and a potato. After dinner you say, “My goodness thank you! You knew what I wanted better than I did.” You did not want pizza for dinner after all. Did you lie? Descartes might say you did. You and I know better. Sometimes we have to get to know our own intentions. We are not reporters taking stenography as spectators inside our skulls, we are people finding our way, getting to know the truth about ourselves, about others, about the world, and about God. Did Paul himself know what the song Let it Be was about when he wrote it? My answer is that, like you and I, he might not have been fully aware of the universal truth he was communicating. You have to help him answer that question. You participate in his spiritual milieu. Paul was raised Catholic, so you know full well that he knew the Blessed Mother would have said “Let it Be” – (or in Latin fiat). Whether he remains Catholic I don’t know. But he would certainly agree that if his song is about consolation, light, and solace, this would be a faithful portrait of the mercy of our Blessed Mother.
There has been a shooting at the office of the Annapolis Capital Gazette newspaper There are 5 fatalities and several gravely wounded The suspect is in custody People have been evacuated to the Annapolis Mall across the street That mall is where my son works although today was his day off Please pray Police have been posted to protect the Baltimore Sun and newspapers in New York City in preventive measure
Thank you so much My son’s employees are still in the mall even though patrons are being kept out since it is reunification spot for 180 people who were in the building where the shooting occurred Also the suspect left a bomb in the newspaper building which has been dismantled
Thank you very much Sg The suspect was evidently disgruntled about the coverage his previous, long-ago crimes received in this newspaper. He brought suit against the paper in 2012 and a judge threw it out. He had made threats on social media against the paper as recently as this morning He’s in his 40s Not a young thug So much wasted life and other lives taken Sad
Poor Maryland. Does the enemy have a special animus toward Mary’s Land. Wouldn’t be surprised. The shooter sounds like someone with mental illness. Seeing a counselor and probably on that vile medication.
The man involved has a history of counseling and antidepressant treatment that he chronicled on social media. Coincidence? I am just going to say now that I think that there is a common denominator with these acts of violence and I think it is more than just medication related and I don't think it is random. These people are being used. Now there are all kinds of accusations regarding Trump and others who are being accused of "inciting" violence toward the fake news. Pretty odd that the target of this violence happened to be a relatively conservative rag. They can't put the Genie back in the bottle.
I have often thought over the years that people were being used. But if you bring that suggestion up, people think you're crazy. I wonder how deep these roots run? Crazy thoughts I have had.... 1. Is it certain specific people that are being used and are being tracked and "activated" ? 2. Is it the anti-depressants themselves that are tainted and anyone who takes them can be "used"? They give anti-depressants out like lifesavers candy so most of the population has been exposed. I remember in the 90's seeing magazine ads for anti-depressants and thinking it was weird and unsettling. 3. Is it people that were in this program and maybe their children that are now being used? See how crazy that sounds? It sound unreasonable that any of this stuff is occurring and yet, here we are. This latest shooting needs to be laid straight in front of Maxine Waters. She has called for violence and so it is her big mouth and not Trumps. Just saying.
Could it just be evil? You turn far enough away from God and demons begin to surround you. Do you feel helpless or maybe extreme power? Do you actually become possessed in some fashion? Evil is real!
I think there is real truth here. If you open a portal through evil choices or giving in to rage or envy or lust or avarice or worst of all pride you are very vulnerable to demonic control.”
Yes, that is most likely the base cause. More people than we realize could be possessed . Evil is very real! These are just thoughts that have gone through my head to try and explain people's seeming unreasonable behavior. Society as a whole seems to be unraveling before our eyes. The truth wants to come out but evil is fighting it. Most of our society seems not to believe in God. Therfore, it follows, society does not believe in the Devil or evil. You're laughed at just as much when you say all this stuff is happening because of possession. Not many believe in possession and so people stop listening to you and the evil goes on. I believe the fight is between good and evil but I am a devout Catholic who believes in Heaven and Hell
The main excorsist at the Vatican stated there is mass possession. Or a group of people can be possessed at same time. The issue is.,,we think possession in terms of the 70's movie the excorsist. But in reality the possessed person can look very normal. Now I'm not sure if there are different levels of possession...but I think it would make sense. Too many variables to fully understand. Yes there is mental illness but I'm sure there is also evil in the equation.
This notion that these things sound crazy is relevant only when one is completely ignorant, doubts or discounts ALL the evidence that some in positions of authority have willfully and intentionally sought to use methods and ways of controlling the population and ultimately humanity as a whole. Kick off the dust from your feet and move on when you encounter them. Remember Herod? Remember what he did in an attempt to keep the King of Kings from his throne? Do you think there were those who deliberately discounted what took place to the innocent children of God? I do. They served Herod, had plans for their own desires and denied the Truth in an attempt to serve their own ends. So the key is how to break through this ignorance. I think it is best to simply lay things at peoples feet and allow them to take them up on their own through their natural sense of curiosity and the underlying intuition that everyone has that something is just not right. Do not fight them. Where does this intuition come from? It seems that there are very few who are completely ignorant or do not have it if they are approached gently enough. I would say that these are willfully ignorant in fact. If they are in fact willfully ignorant then it stands to reason they have allegiances and motives of their own designs that rely on the children of God remaining ignorant to their goals and this is why they fight against them. In fact they rely on this deceit because if we are no longer ignorant we will become like Fishers of Men. Planting the seed and waking others up to the Truth. They must keep humanity in darkness to achieve their goals. They are fighting very hard to do this. In Ephesians Paul warned us; 12 For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens. 13 That is why you must take up all God's armour, or you will not be able to put up any resistance on the evil day, or stand your ground even though you exert yourselves to the full.
In a world as we live in now, where many prophecies state: "we are living in worse times than Noah's" we can be sure the diabolical is more active than at any time in history. When country after country say's to remove God from its constitution, it government and its society, you can believe that it leaves a vacuum of evil and diabolical disorientation and possession. The holy his defamed. The unholy is celebrated. When God own Church, which was founded by his only Son Jesus, is helping in many way's to bring about the great apostasy, you know it is diabolical and both obsession and possession are increasing rapidly. Civility in the free world is no longer civil in politics, societies and even within ones own church. The whole world (though not everyone in it) is living within the greatest possession of Satan unchained it has ever seen. Yet, God's small army of Gideon will have its day. Another David and Goliath story unfolding in our midst. The Blessed Mother is our general and we know she will crush the head of Satan and all God's enemies in the end Genesis 3:15 "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel".
I just wanted to share that the translation which includes she shall crush comes from the Latin Vulgate and is considered a valid translation by the Church. If someone raises a ruckus because they're reading from an English translation derived from Hebrew/Greek sources, know that such sources are correctly translated he shall crush. The Church in her exegesis honors both. The Church explains that Mary's decisive role is ordained by God yet still subordinate to that of her Son. Safe in the Refuge of the Immaculate Heart!
Well, unfortunately I just found out that I was right and there was an eruption of a volcano on Isla Isabela the same day that I wrote post #5708. Unlike Isla Fernandina, Isla Isabela does have inhabitants. Second Galapagos Eruption in June, This Time at Sierra Negra By Erik Klemetti | June 27, 2018 9:38 am | http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/r...-june-this-time-at-sierra-negra/#.Wzb3JdiWzIU La Cumbre on Fernandina in the Galapagos erupted for the first time last September. That is no shock as the volcano has erupted 3 times since the start of the 21st century. What is surprising is that Sierra Negra on the neighboring island on Isabela erupted yesterday for the first time in 13 years. Two separate eruptions in the Galapagos in June! [font has been modified for emphasis] The eruption at Sierra Negra so far is what we expect from shield volcanoes formed at ocean hot spots like the Galapagos: fissures and lava flows. The lava flows have quickly reached the ocean where video shows the rivers of lava created laze plumes and volcanic lightning! Pictures of the eruption (above) show some impression lava fountains coming from the fissures that opened on the flanks of the volcano. Unlike the eruption of La Cumbre, where the island is uninhabited, people live on Isabela. So far, local officials have closed the schools and shut down tourist activity on the island, as well as evacuated ~50 people. The eruption started after a brief earthquake swarm that started a few days ago. [font has been modified for emphasis] Now, these two volcanoes are only about 65 kilometers (40 miles) apart, so it is interesting to speculate how connected these volcanoes might be. If they are anything like the volcanoes on Hawai’i, both island chains being the products of a hot spot, then they likely aren’t directly connected. Remember, in Hawai’i, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa are on top of each other, but we don’t think the two volcanoes are connected near the surface. Ultimately, they have the same deep source 100 kilometers (62 miles) down, but one volcano does not appear to trigger the other. In other volcano news: The eruption on Kīlauea keeps on going. However, the explosions at the summit appear to be weakening. The steam-and-ash plumes produced from the periodic explosions now reach in the hundreds of meters. For this reason, the aviation alert for the volcano was dropped to “orange” from “red”. This doesn’t mean that the eruption is ending, just that the threat of tall ash plumes from the summit caldera seems to be diminishing. Meanwhile, a lava dome was spotting at Cleveland in Alaska. This can lead to explosive eruptions that reach tens of kilometers into the atmosphere, so the alert level there was raised to “orange” from “yellow”. These lava domes can plug the vent, building pressure until the volcano pops like champagne. Cleveland tends to see multiple explosive eruptions like this each year. **** In addition, the following is going on at Yellowstone, Steamboat Geyser at Yellowstone Keeps Erupting, But What Would Happen If the Supervolcano Erupted? Jess Bolluyt | June 21, 2018 | http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/r...-june-this-time-at-sierra-negra/#.Wzb3JdiWzIU Steamboat Geyser at Yellowstone National Park keeps erupting. In fact, it just erupted for the ninth time in the space of a few months. It’s the world’s tallest geyser, and it’s far more powerful than Old Faithful. And another disconcerting fact? Steamboat Geyser — and the entire geyser field at Yellowstone — sits on top of an active volcano. And wherever there’s an active volcano, people wonder: What if it erupts? Thankfully, the odds of that are pretty low. (Don’t start panicking!) But what would happen if the supervolcano underneath Steamboat Geyser were to erupt? We have the answers to all your questions ahead. continue reading here http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/r...-june-this-time-at-sierra-negra/#.Wzb3JdiWzIU
