How wonderful We have a God of Surprises. He can still surprise us today. Come Holy Spirit. Renew the Face of the Earth.
I think they are charging money to watch a live stream. Huh? For two days, $59.00. It’s in the small print.
Yes, Father Blount has said that the children of today will be great saints. He also speaks of the prophecy given to Carlo Acutis' mom that when Carlo is beatified there will be a great outpouring of grace upon the young and all prophecy will be fulfilled. While there is much good in every generation, the next one does seem to be the beginning of the promised new era.
Exactly. This hateful agenda to target a particular generation is intentional. Each generation is connected. The anger out there is real and very disturbing.
I do hope that this prophecy is fulfilled. A saint for our times perhaps, a holy young man who lived a very normal childhood. May his sainthood be an inspiration to our young Catholics. Blessed Carlos has come to my rescue on several occasions with tech issues.
Lord give us the grace, like Mary, to watch our children suffer, and to teach them the great value of suffering. I love this image. A Saint/blessed took a photo of the eucharist, and this is the image that showed up. I love the tenderness of Jesus's feet. Im sad I wasn't able to link it here. He's about 5, looking up to heaven and he's sitting on a little stool in a workshop. At his feet are miniature crosses tossed on the floor. Do you know the story of the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help? When Jesus was little, His father revealed to Him His death. He ran to Mary to be comforted afterwards, and tripped and fell, which is why his sandal is loose as He sits in His mother's arms. I go to this image often.
I was just reading a post in Substack by The Culturist. It is very relevant to the discussion going on here ATM. He talks about JR Tolkien's response to the release of Disney's Snow White, which was at the same time of his release of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was so majorly disappointed in the adaptation of this movie's take on a very Grimm story. "Tolkien believed that to strip this kind of story of its darker elements was to sever it from its [divine] purpose. Without the darkness, there could be no light, and without genuine trial, there could be no transformation." I think many of us moms, especially those who are Christian and see this terror in the world, think our job is simply to shelter our children from it. We think we've failed if our children don't remain squeaky clean, neatly tucked away in little beds like the impish dwarve men in Snow White. I've realised we fail as mothers if we don't simply teach them the value of heroism and suffering. And this is the reason God has allowed Satan to enter in to the 20th century.
Yes, I love Our Lady of Perpetual Help. That image helped me get through a medical scare I had a few years ago. I also know the picture of little Jesus sitting in the workshop you were trying to post here. It's beautiful! I think often of the sufferings that await our children in the future. I know God provides the graces when they're needed, but I try to help my children work through the little sufferings they have now, offering them to God and letting them help them grow, so they will already know the value of sufferings when bigger ones come.
Honestly I see the opposite most of the time. Children today are not sheltered from evil in all of its ugly, twisted forms. They're just not taught to see it for what it is. Before they are even adults, they are desensitized to evil and think it is good. I have found that sheltering our family from the perversion of the world (no TV, no current radio, etc) has sharpened our spiritual senses. My children immediately pick up on when something is wrong/evil, because they're being immersed in what is good and beautiful and True.
Yes, I understand, and I think its good to shelter them from the lures and glamours of evil, and that is the difference. It is important to be there to guide them through it, and put evil in its proper place as the cause of death and despair. This is why the story, the fairytale, has such a powerful and important and educational place in a child's life. It gives a child an exposure to evil within a safe, educational position. So when they inevitably are faced with it, they can be wise enough to know what it is and can face it, instead of naively succumbing or running away in fear or extreme despair. Here is a quote I often come back to: Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident. Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. Train them up in the authority of His Word. Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control. Empower them to know they can change the world. Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it. Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan. He knew Daniel could handle the lions den. He knew David could handle Goliath. He knew Esther could handle Haman. He knew Peter could handle persecution. He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it! Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent them! Teach them God's love and to share it with everyone! Rise up to the challenge. Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters! God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world. He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth!!! Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed Im just thinking these things out loud. Purple Flower I admire you! And I sound like I'm speaking these as an authority, but it's more as a comfort and guide for myself. All of my many children have taken varying paths within this crazy world. Jesus help us as mothers!
Sometimes, I wonder why I am the way I am...and why God still has me here. To put it bluntly, I have trouble with being lukewarm, troubles with TV/movie addiction/obsession and taking advantage of uploaded videos that others put up even though they shoudn't have (because of copyright), sins of impurity privately, cowardice in not taking certain issues to task publicly, and despair over verbally answering once a question on what Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is, which has left me in moral anguish often with my mind telling me I can't be forgiven, although I go to confession multiple times a year and don't partake of the Eucharist unless I think I am in a state of grace. I don't pray as much as I used to, and I miss it and want to get back into it. I do say a few prayers for the 7 sorrows of Mary and the blood Jesus lost during His passion. So, I know I am a deeply flawed and weak sinner. I know I have to go to confession again. Sometimes I wonder why God has me here. I was very sick when I was 2 for a whole year...I was quite horrible during my teenage years, so I don't know why God gave me the second chance. And the wondering grew stronger after my mother told me that she believed she had a miscarriage a few months before I was conceived. Why, with all my flaws, was I spared when that other child might have been a much better, less sinful individual?
I see what you're saying, and I hear where your heart is coming from. My children aren't out in the world alone yet, but my mother left our home when all of my siblings were age 9-13 (I was 20 and still at home). I effectively finished raising them the best I could, and it was far from ideal, because I had to go to college and work a full time job, and they had gone from a sheltered, homeschooled life to public school with all of its mess and evils. My parents both left the Faith, so it was up to me to keep teaching them/showing them a good example, and for many years I felt that I'd completely failed. The world got to them all, in varying degrees. But you know, I kept praying, attending daily Mass, and extending invitations and love to them, and God showed me that everything is really in His hands. We can do our very best and our kids can still choose bad paths. But God pursues them. He never gives up, while we keep praying and praying and crying and sacrificing for them. He will save the ones we love. And He will use every single thing that happens in their messy lives to eventually steer them to the safe harbor, often with more humility and compassion in their hearts. God works all things to good for those who love Him, not only for us but for our children. (And our parents! God has brought everyone in my family back to Him.) God truly is the only good Parent. As long as we never stop praying and entrusting our children to Him, all will be well.
Bill and I had 6 kids and we never expected family life to be like ours was.. Bill himself almost died a couple of times before he was 1, had an umbilical hernia operated on with no anesthetic when he was between 1 and 2, and I was a youngest child of 4 and hadn't a clue about raising kids.. Our first 2 are far flung from home, 3rd has suspected Borderline Personality Disorder and the list goes on but I pray for them all a lot and trust that God will keep his promises to bring them all home because I offer prayers and sacrifices for that particular reason.. At AWeakSoul - I often wonder why I turned out the way I have, when I am often overwhelmed with life and can't seem to handle it.. I just have to trust. Take St Padre Pio's advice, "Pray, hope and don't worry." as best you can(?)
Words from St John Henry Cardinal Newman: He may hide my future from me, He may make my spirits sink. Still He knows what He is about. Therefore I will trust Him.
I think I’ve heard a bit about that topic, but in my opinion, such a project is impossible — even though Azeris are ethnically Turkic. Azeris are Shia, while Turks are Sunni. That’s like night and day — it’s as if you tried to unite 1950s Catholic Ireland with Protestant England of the same era. Not even with weapons would that be achievable. Here again, we arrive at the cunning and calculated politics of the Jews, who play chess five moves ahead. When the USSR collapsed, nationalism flared up in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Iran has around 20 million Iranian Azeris, and there's a province that Azerbaijani nationalists dream of merging — effectively breaking up Iran. Now, former allies — the Shia populations of Iran and Azerbaijan — are at odds, while Azerbaijan has become a satellite for Israel. In this conflict, as you know, aimed at weakening Iran, the Armenians have suffered the most — since 70–80% of Azerbaijani arms are funded by Israel, which effectively means American weapons. The Turks, on the other hand, support the Azeris primarily because of oil and gas, and also due to their stance toward the Armenians. However, Erdogan knows that this is traditionally a Russian sphere of influence, and at the same time, he doesn’t want to ruin relations with Iran. His main priority is the restoration of the Ottoman Empire. Now, here's my view: regardless of the fact that Erdogan is an Islamist, we need him — because we need a stable Turkey. Any kind of Turkey in chaos means 20+ million migrants heading to Europe and general disorder. A functioning Turkey, whatever its government, still acts as a buffer zone with the Middle East. Israel and the U.S. are not comfortable with a strong Turkey due to its ambitions and influence in the region. They prefer broken states (like Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon) or obedient clients (like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan) they can control — but who aren’t strong enough to resist them. If, on one side, you have Iran uniting the Shia, and on the other, Turkey influencing the Sunni world, then any decline in U.S. power could reset the Middle East and push out the West — and with that, the Jews as well. That’s why a former Israeli ambassador to France, when Iran was attacked, wrote: 'Turkey is next.' That’s also why the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan — coordinated from the U.S. — happened. It was stopped by the Russians, even though the Turks had just shot down one of their jets. Why? Because Russia had already intervened in Syria and doesn’t want ISIS or U.S.-sponsored Al-Qaeda near the Caucasus or Chechnya. They want stability on their southern border, especially since war was already brewing in Ukraine on their western flank. The Turks cozy up to one side, then the other — depending on interest. But that’s the only way they can survive. Hungary is the only country currently pursuing a genuine national-Christian policy. They didn’t fall for the manipulations surrounding the war in Ukraine, even though they were once occupied by the Russians and harbored deep resentment toward them. But unlike the Poles, they understand what’s really going on. Orban cannot fight both the globalists and Israel and the U.S. at the same time. You can’t survive completely alone — you have to pick a side. But the Hungarians remember who led the communist revolution in 1919 and who formed the first communist government — where 90% of the ministers were, well, 'you know who.' And they remember who was installed as the post-WWII communist president — someone who was neither Hungarian nor Russian. It’s also important to note that Hungary has a radical right-wing movement — Jobbik party which dreams of a Greater Hungary and has around 20% public support. On the other side, you had a coalition led by Soros between the Jobbik and the radical left, united solely to try to topple Orban. This is where that '3D chess' comes into play again by Jews. Almost all nationalist governments have been pushed into supporting Israel publicly, while at the same time, the globalist faction of that same network works behind the scenes to undermine those very governments funding leftist groups and destabilizing national movements. To put it briefly: the EU needs a strong and stable Turkey as a buffer zone toward the Middle East. Russia needs the same for similar reasons. Iran wants another strong Muslim country that isn’t under Western control. Meanwhile, American, Israel and British strategists want a destabilized Turkey — as a staging ground to pressure Russia, further weaken Iran, reduce threats to Israel, and push another 20 million migrants into Europe, which they treat as a doormat and servant since the end of WWII. Orban, for his part, needs strong nationalist movements across Europe to reduce the pressure on himself so that he doesn’t have to openly support American-israely policies just to survive, even though those very same forces are working against him.
Suffering purifies both people as individuals and as Nations. Without purifications comes a rot. This is one of the great lessons of the Old Testament.
