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Posted on December 8, 2022 by charliej373
(On this Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, I repeat this story I wrote on my pilgrimage. Reading it again, I cried. It takes a few years before you can read a story you wrote from the perspective of actual reader rather than some weird sort of technician. My friends, God has a plan – and the satan has no power over it. Every obstacle he throws up, every twist he makes ends up helping to further God's plan. Satan fancies himself a great genius – and he certainly is smarter than any man who has ever lived. But before God, he is as hapless and inept as Wile E. Coyote. So the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong nor the puzzle to the genius. Goodness, surrender to God, and faith in trial constitute the wisdom that leads to eternal life.-CJ)
Satan was brooding.
Eons ago, when he seduced Adam and Eve, Satan had expected the Ancient to drop mankind as a failed experiment and put things back to normal. Instead, at the very moment of this first triumphant indictment of the worms, the Ancient set a grand, celestial dance into play. Though he could not divine its meaning, the devil was sure it boded him no good. Since then those fly-eaten curs the Ancient called His prophets had proclaimed that the stately dance of the stars heralded the coming of a Messiah, one who would redeem the Ancient's people and nullify the consequences of the fall. Much as he loathed them, Satan assumed the prophets were right. They usually were. Oh, occasionally he had been able to manipulate their fears, their vanity, sometimes even their compassion to implant a false notion into their heads. But it was rarely long before they corrected themselves, so it was not nearly as effective in sowing confusion as he had hoped it would be.
No matter. Lucifer had recruited plenty of false prophets of his own – and they had sowed plenty of confusion. It was easy. The gullible fools the Ancient so doted on loved a fortune-teller – and loved a sensation even more. If anything, Satan was a master showman. He
Satan Brooding, Gusstave Dore
filled his 'prophets' with much frothier pronouncements then the real things usually produced. He gave quick results, too. There was little waiting, wondering and contemplating required to understand what his men were getting at. Best of all, his 'prophets' were masters at telling the little fools what they wanted to believe. Even when he sent gloomy messages of doom (which he did quite often) it was not calculated to change men's hearts, but to set them against each other. Oh, how quickly even the most pathetic of the creatures was willing to believe himself specially anointed and enlightened to seize power and 'save' his fellow creatures from themselves. But if the competing visions of the Ancient's authentic prophets and Lucifer's frothy frauds succeeded in clouding men's minds, Satan was not deceived. He knew very well which were his servants and which, the Ancient's.
Lucifer chuckled. He wondered if the Ancient really understood what valuable information he was able to glean from the authentic prophets. Since being evicted from eternity, he could no longer see the future or read men's thoughts. It had not been as debilitating a handicap as it sounds. He was, after all, Satan, a master of inductive, deductive and yet six other forms of logic mankind had nary a clue of. Most of the fools were so transparent and slow-witted it was a trifle to know what they were going to think before they thought it; what they were going to do before they did it; even what they were going to eat for breakfast a month from today and what they would wear while eating it. That was usually enough to convince men of his power. If more was needed, that was almost as simple. Send a false prophet out to tell a man he will meet another eating a pomegranate while riding west on a camel at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Take another of the servants you possess, give him a pomegranate and set him riding west on a camel at the proper moment and voila! It was enough to deceive the devout for a time; it would invariably make disciples of the silly.
For every authentic prophet the Ancient sent, Lucifer sent a thousand frauds. It should have been enough to discredit prophecy altogether, yet somehow it didn't. Men could not see the distinctive halos that surrounded the real prophets, so that couldn't be it. Lucifer thought of a father calling out, "Son!" in a crowd of children. However many heads turned, the father's actual son snapped to attention. The Ancient must have given them some similar rudimentary instinct that recognized His Voice.
But now, urgent business was at hand. The celestial dance was nearing its climactic moment. A Messiah was at hand – and Lucifer was determined to identify the family into which this redeemer would be born so he could strangle the brat in its cradle. He summoned the only demon with whom he regularly took counsel, Mordred, to consider the matter.
"What news, Mordred? Have any new candidates for mother of the redeemer popped up?" he asked.
"We think you are right, eminence. It will be Rebekah. The lineage is perfect and they are one of the foremost families in Jerusalem. I have personally confirmed that her husband, Josiah, is secretly a Maccabite who burns for the overthrow of the Roman overlords. They are the perfect family to produce a redeemer," Mordred bowed, then continued. "I must tell you, however, that a particularly intense light has flared from the womb of Elizabeth. We have not seen its like since Elijah. It is an agony for any of us to get within a mile of her. Is it possible…"
"I know of it," Satan interrupted. "It's a good catch. But remember, the Ancient loves to mislead us into wasting time and effort chasing smoke. What you must do is learn to think as He does. He misleads us by putting emphasis on matters that cause us to misinterpret His intentions. But He never lies on matters not subject to interpretation. The Messiah must come from the line of David. Elizabeth's kid will undoubtedly cause us a host of problems, but he is a Levite. He is not the one we seek. What about Rachel? You're not ignoring her, are you? It would appeal to the Ancient's warped sense of humor to have the redeemer proceed from the namesake of the weeping mother of the lost children of Israel. Never underestimate the Old One's guile."
Mordred considered. "We are watching her, master," he assured Satan. "She is the most obvious alternate to Rebekah. But the light coming from her does not feel right. It has not the martial quality one would expect from one who would be king. That quality was quite pronounced in David, Moses…even Abraham. It just isn't there with Rachel. We will keep watch on her, though, for any change. Wormtail has suggested there is another we should watch."
"Who is it?" Lucifer asked. "Wormtail is a bit slow, but he has a real knack with these humans – perhaps for that very reason. I am interested in his thoughts."
Mordred cleared his throat. "Well, he says we should keep an eye on Mary of Nazareth…"
Satan's eyes widened in astonishment. "You mean the daughter of Joachim and Anne? She isn't even married, much less pregnant. And the family is just a tattered remnant of the royal line.
"Yes, I know. But she has just been betrothed to Joseph, the carpenter. The Davidic lineage is solid," Mordred replied.
Satan's eyes remained wide. "The Davidic lineage is laughable," he spat. "That branch of the family is the impoverished detritus of the royal line."
"With deference, your eminence, that is true…'
"Can it with the deference," Satan interrupted. "You know I rely on your candor to help me frame my thinking. Just don't let the others get any ideas about assuming such liberties."
"Well, my point is, look at the prophets. Almost every one has come from a broken, decrepit line. You said, yourself, how crafty the Ancient is. Our problem is we think too much along the lines men do…"
Mordred faltered. Satan was glaring at him with smoldering fury. "We do not think like they do. They think like we do – and getting them to do so was no little accomplishment," Lucifer bellowed, then calmed himself. "I take your point, though. What you are missing is that, in this case, it works very much in our favor. The people will not follow a pauper."
"But eminence, David the King was, himself, a poor shepherd boy," Mordred rejoined.
"Irrelevant!" snapped Lucifer. "At the time the Hebrews were just a contentious rabble. The glories of Israel had not yet been established. They would have followed anyone who promised them a little order and a little glory. But now they are captives of the pride and vanity that glory brought. If David, himself, appeared now as a poor shepherd and claimed to be their king they would have him stoned to death. You might as well suggest Mary's brat will be high priest."
"But as you, yourself, noted, that actually is impossible," Mordred protested. "They would have to be Levites…"
Again, Satan interrupted. "Precisely my point. We have co-opted most of the leadership, Mordred. Really, almost all are in bed with the Romans. More important, every one of the leaders would rather remain overseers of a captive people than mere citizens of a great nation. They will be savagely hostile to anything or anyone that threatens their position. I'm telling you, Mordred, it would be easier for a non-Levite to become high priest than for a pauper to become king of this bunch."
Mordred bowed his head. "Very well, master, but there are some things about this Mary Wormtail thought you should know. We are both puzzled concerning her."
Satan pondered his servant a moment, then nodded his consent for Mordred to continue.
"Well first (and even her own parents do not know this) it was she who approached Joseph and encouraged him to speak to her father," Mordred began.
"Ho ho!" chortled Satan, "A bold wench, eh? Sounds like my kind of girl."
"No, master, that is what is most strange. She is the very model of modesty. It was not lustiness that moved her to act, but…well…we're not really sure what it was," Mordred stammered. "I think it has something to do with the strange light that emanates from her. It is unlike anything we have ever encountered. It is soft, but incredibly intense – and forms a strange boundary around her we cannot cross. It has some of the characteristics of the light Adam and Eve originally had…"
"Why worry, then?" Lucifer asked. "Adam and Eve worked out quite nicely for us."
"I said it has some of those qualities," Mordred retorted, more tartly than he intended. "There is much more to it than that. It is not painful at all to us, but if we draw too near to her it's like…well, it's like we start to dissolve. Everything gets dark, and it's so cold…oh, so cold. We are suddenly all alone. It feels that if we did not back away quickly we would dissolve into nothing."
Mordred shuddered. Lucifer was not chuckling any more. The Dark Lord was finally gazing into the distance with real concern. He sat in silent contemplation, then shook himself and looked back up at Mordred.
"Okay. Keep an eye on her. She and any kid she has will be serious trouble for us. But the Messiah will not come from her – and that is where we need to keep our focus right now. I want you to stay on Rebekah and Rachel. Send Wormtail out to watch Mary. He has a knack with humans, particularly those that cannot ever be possessed," Satan ordered.
"Is that the cause of the peculiar barrier around her? Doesn't that make her even more likely to be the source of the Messiah, master?"
Satan sat in silent contemplation. Part of his punishment was to be confined to the normal flow of time. He could not 'look ahead' into human affairs anymore. Not that it made much difference. He was not supposed to 'look ahead' without leave of the Ancient even when he had been counted among the favored of the heavenly host. Doing so without leave was part of what got him cast down in the first place. But in his eagerness to identify the redeemer, the devil had tried mightily to slip the bonds of time and sneak a furtive peak. It had been a complete failure – and trying to enter eternity had been frighteningly like what his servant had just said it was like to approach Mary. This was bad. Very, very bad.
"I'm not sure what it means, Mordred," Satan told his servant frankly. "This is something new. What it does not mean is that she will be mother of the Messiah. People do think as we have trained them now. I tell you, they would not accept a redeemer from that seedy branch of the family if the Ancient, Himself, came crawling out of her womb. She will certainly be a new and vexing sort of trouble for us, but we must identify the Messiah before worrying about her. If we don't stop him all our plans could collapse. Send Wormtail to glean what he can. YOU stick to the plan."
"As you command, eminence. Forgive me if I remind you that Wormtail prefers to be called Barnabas when on mission. He says it helps him blend in with them."
Satan's somber face was suddenly re-animated with rakish mirth. "Oh yes…helps him blend, does it? Oh my goodness, he is almost as foolish and vain as the worms he infiltrates. What he thinks is that it lends him dignity and stature. Well, Barnabas it is, then. We need his very best work on this."
Gabriel paced restlessly. He thrummed with nervous energy.
"Why are you so worried, Gabriel?" Chloe asked him. "You have been sent to speak to men countless times before. You are the Father's most trusted messenger. Who else did you think He would entrust with the most important message in human history? And why would it make you nervous?"
"That's why I needed to see you," Gabriel explained. "I am the chief messenger, but when I am sent it is always as Grand, High, Exalted, Mystic Delegate of the Mighty God. I puff myself up to my most intimidating stature, call up my most commanding, imperious voice, toss off a few "Thou shalts…" and "Thou shalt nots…" and am on my way. But this time I am to announce, to soothe, even to try to persuade if necessary – and with the woman who would be the mother of the Son, no less! You have been guardian to so many noble souls. How do you talk to them…I mean…like in normal conversation?"
"Why, like you talk to me, Gabriel," Chloe replied. "How else would you go about it?"
"Now don't have fun with me, Chloe. I know they will be greater than us after passing through the cocoon of mortality, but we both know they are very slow-witted at this stage. How do you get through to them without scaring them?"
Chloe considered. "Well, yes, the best of them must contemplate the simplest concepts for years before they even begin to understand. They are easily distracted and really don't listen very well. I often have to whisper the same thing over a thousand times to get them to hear me once. And that is the really good ones. So be patient and persistent, but very gentle. If you proceed in this manner, you will be startled at how much they can grow, even in that state. Trust me, if you keep at it, you will find yourself falling in love with them. I know I fell in love with the race long ago."
"But how?" Gabriel asked. "It has to be maddening to cover the same ground over and over with them and still see them crawling off in the wrong direction. I have seen that too many times myself. I deliver a clear, compelling directive from the Father. They listen with awe, then go muddling off on some random tangent completely unrelated to God's directive, while boasting bombastically that this is what God commanded them. How do you get through to them?"
Chloe considered, then smiled. "Tell me, Gabriel, have you ever closely watched a litter of puppies?"
"Why, yes, they're adorable creatures. So brave and eager."
"Ever tried to reason with them?" she pressed.
Gabriel opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. Finally he grinned. "I take your meaning. But the thing is, people reason almost as poorly. They are forever crowing with triumph over some insight they have had today that will obviously bring disaster tomorrow, but they can't see it until they're surrounded with ashes."
Chloe started to respond, but Gabriel pressed on. "I know, I know. They are formed in the Divine Image. He has even made them participants with Him in creation. He allowed me to see what some of them will be when they are here. They are breath-takingly magnificent. Chloe, I was never, not even for a moment, swayed by Lucifer's resentment that creatures who are so feeble there should become so glorious here. But they are feeble there. They routinely butcher each other; and for what? Their sojourn there is as transient as an anthill before an oncoming tornado, yet they value nothing so much as being lord, for a moment, of the anthill. All their most elaborate schemes only further enfeeble them. Even our old companion, Lucifer, has a purpose in mind with his war on men: to preserve our race's pre-eminence in heaven and restore himself to favored status. It is a bafflingly foolish purpose, given the abundance we enjoy. It is as silly as if you were to resent me for being a messenger or I, you, for being a guardian. But at least it is a purpose. Men on earth, though, march mindlessly and relentlessly to their own destruction. How many times would they have succeeded already without the Father's intervention? And they cheer…they cheer the most mindless destructors while celebrating the most ignorant, blind bullies among them as models of wisdom and enlightenment."
"Are you finished?" Chloe asked, an affectionate twinkle lighting her eyes.
The wounded wonder melted from Gabriel's face. He twinkled right back at her and broke into a toothy grin. "I do like to talk out loud, don't I?"
"To the delight of all of us, the Almighty included," Chloe smiled.
"Yeah, I know. I've noticed the mirth behind his eyes when I start emoting. I do love how quickly I can make Him smile," Gabriel observed brightly. "But my questions…I really need to know."
"You're always so transparently and urgently earnest, Gabe. What a lovely gift it is! Let's go back to the image of the puppies for a moment. They start off blind and feeble. As they grow a little, they love to fight and scrabble. At that stage they are usually lumbering and clumsy. It is their eagerness that charms. Throw a stick and the clumsiest will fall all over itself to get it and bring it back to its master in exchange for a pat on the head. Their joy, eagerness and transparent need to have their affection returned melt all but the hardest hearts.
"Yes, people are slow and clumsy. They are capable of the most savage cruelty. But they are also capable of the most sublime love. Consider it: they are so blind even the best of them struggle to see beyond their little existence there. The fear that death is their end, that there is nothing else lurks like a snake in their hearts, ever ready to strike. Even so, all but the meanest of them will sacrifice himself to save one he loves. Think about that. It takes your breath away, given their infirmities. The best give their lives for others they have never even met. As plodding as they are, I suspect the Almighty has given them a capacity for love greater than our own – even in that plane of existence. And we both know that love is the fundamental essence of the Trinity."
Color rose in Chloe's cheeks as she continued. "I wonder if your grief over the rebellion of your old friend, Lucifer, isn't obscuring your own vision a bit. His work is much more destructive to his own stated ends then you think. Forget, for a moment, his colossal presumption in seeking to correct what he believes to be God's error in creating humanity. Every savage cruelty they visit on each other is inspired by him – every single one. He exploits every element of their frailty; their fear, their vanity, their greed. Sometimes he even exploits their love – and that is one of the meanest forms of blasphemy. He doesn't understand love, Gabriel. Anyone capable of doing to poor humanity what he has done is not fit to be called angel, much less named Bringer of Light. It is himself he destroys in his war against them – and we are well rid of him.
"The Divine Image is imprinted in each man, but they can choose to embrace the satanic image. Some embrace Satan so eagerly it obscures all evidence of the divine imprint in them. But their cruelty, their savagery, can only be a pale reflection of the master they have chosen. When you see brutality what you really see is the true face of Lucifer – a face he went to great pains to slyly hide from you here. How piteously sorrowful it is to see men seduced into abandoning their birthright. It has taught me about hate. I loathe Lucifer and would not want him re-instated to the heavenly host if he abandoned his savagery right now."
Chloe was shaking with emotion, her face entirely flushed. Gabriel was shocked. She was usually the most generous and gentle of the angelic host. After a few moments, she calmed and continued.
"The main thing that prepares me in working with people, Gabriel, is to keep firmly in mind both what they are and what they may be. Most of all, I keep my duty to them firmly in mind. Do not indulge their weakness when they need correction. Neither let their weakness frustrate you to the point of disgust. Your duty is to help them become the saints they are called to be.
"The ones who are in most danger fancy themselves giants among their fellows. It is hard to reach them. But take care; some who know their weakness puff themselves up in an effort to hide it. With patient resolve you can reach them. The true ones figure out early how little they are, but their love makes them tenacious. They grab hold of sanctity like a bulldog with a rag – and Satan's most vicious efforts can't tear it from them.
"You will fall in love with those who are true, Gabriel. They start with such handicaps and such enormous obstacles, but nothing stops them. They stumble, they fall, they go charging up random blind alleys. But they keep getting up and starting over again. They only stop to minister to others along their way – and they do that even when they have stumbled themselves. Somehow, they get outside of themselves and their frailties and have eyes only for God. They actually learn to see Him through their fellows. In some of these you will see tantalizing contours on earth of the glorious beings they will be in the Father's house. I have learned so much about how powerful love really is from them. You will, too, Gabriel."
The great archangel gazed at Chloe in fascinated wonder. He was dazzled by her earnest conviction. He thought carefully before he spoke.
"Well, it is but to Mary that I am sent," he began. "If she says yes, she will be mother of the Son. She will become Queen of Heaven, itself, in the fullness of time. Oh, Chloe, this is the pivot of civilization, the critical moment of salvation history. How do I speak to her?"
"Why, Gabriel, use your personality," Chloe said. "You know how you rally us here. Your bubbly enthusiasm, your little pranks; we have all seen the Almighty, Himself, laughing with delight at you. And your sensitive, delicate compassion. When you had me laughing myself to tears with your silly little stories after I lost Aminadab to Satan, did you think I didn't know what you were doing? But it worked. I went on to my next assignment with joy in my heart. Let her see you, Gabriel. Yes, she is subject to the infirmities of her state, but remember – she is exempted from original sin. She is immaculate. If any of them could appreciate you as we do, it is Mary – if you let her see you, fully."
"Maybe I should make myself small when I first appear so I don't frighten her," Gabriel suggested.
"No!" Chloe exclaimed. "You go to her in all the glorious majesty with which God has cloaked you. Hide nothing. I tell you; she will appreciate you as we do. She is full of grace."
Gabriel went and was true.
The coppery taste of fear filled Mordred's mouth. Now it sat cold and heavy, like a rock, in the pit of his stomach – and was just as indigestible.
Lucifer eyed his lieutenant with wary impatience. "Are you going to tell me what disaster has befallen us or just stand there gobbing air," he asked.
Mordred stiffened. "Permission to speak candidly, master," he said formally.
"Blazing infernos, you know that is what I demand of you. Ask again and you'll earn a trip to the pits," Satan replied furiously.
"Eminence, I think you should consider appearing at court to end this. Ask Yahweh's pardon, I mean," Mordred said, still stiff and formal despite his trembling.
"What?!!! You dare speak the Name here?" Satan roared. "I should send you to the pits to gather your wits before you address me again."
Mordred remained stiffly at attention. Lucifer considered. Something must have terrified his lieutenant beyond reason for him to speak in this manner. Satan shifted uncomfortably. Truth is, he had not been invited to appear at court again since the business with Job. The Ancient had seemed rather put off with the intense, gleeful relish he had taken in afflicting the man. But what had He expected? If the Ancient had wanted him to make just a token effort, He shouldn't have agreed to the wager in the first place. Besides, the Ancient had won the bet in a convincing and unexpected fashion, so what was the harm?
"What has gotten you into such a state?" Satan demanded. His tone was by no means kindly, but made clear that a trip to the pits was no longer among the possible consequences Mordred might face for candor.
Relaxing, Mordred explained. "I was so curious about the peculiar effect that the light emanating from Mary causes that I set myself in her path as she went to draw water from the village well. I figured if I was completely disabled when she came near enough, the effect would eventually pass as she drew away from me."
Lucifer's eyes glistened with malevolent curiosity. "What happened?"
"It was horrific, eminence. I melted into nothing. It was so dark and so cold…but that was not the worst of it. If I had just ceased to be, as many of these humans fear happens with death, that would have been bad, but bearable. I remained fully conscious, though. And all there was to be aware of was darkness and cold and despair and hopelessness. Thank God it lifted as she passed away from me."
Satan glared balefully at that last comment.
"Sorry, master, you know what I mean," Mordred continued. "I wondered, what if this is the logical end of our rebellion? What if all we accomplish is to consign ourselves to the same cold, despairing darkness we are trying to consign them to?"
"It is the logical end," Satan responded, "…for them. Look, I was the Ancient's favorite. All we are doing is demonstrating that these new pets of His are not worthy of Him – and certainly don't deserve to rank higher than us in eternity. You know, yourself, that the Ancient, Himself, invited me to prove my point with Job."
Mordred did not look at all mollified, but stood in silence.
"Out with it," Satan commanded wearily. "Let's put this completely to rest."
Mordred stared at his own feet for a moment, then gathering himself, lifted his head and said, "Begging your pardon, your grace, but the Ancient won the wager concerning Job. And you handled it yourself. You threw our very best stuff at him and lost. And in the process, four of his friends we had duped into thinking they were serving the Ancient while they were actually serving us were lost to us."
Mordred waited for the blast he knew must come, but when Satan spoke it was almost gentle.
"That's not the point. Yes, these humans sometimes show more reserves of strength and resiliency than I expect." Satan waved his hand in the air and wiggled his fingers dismissively as he added, "The truth is, the matter with Job could have gone either way. The point is that the Ancient gave me leave to tempt and afflict him. What we do we do with the Ancient's approval."
"But what if the Ancient expected us to concede after that loss?" Mordred asked. "We keep getting deeper. Our temptations and afflictions keep getting more subtle and intense. What if we pass a point of no return? I don't want to be alone in cold, darkness for all eternity. When was the last time you appeared at court?"
Lucifer was pleased that his visage showed no hint of how badly the last question stung. What he said was, "If we can destroy or seduce the Messiah or, even better, get mankind to reject him, then surely the Ancient will see that the whole business with humanity was a mistake. Then things will be put back to what they were. I assure you, Mordred, once I am restored to my rightful place as first in the Ancient's favor, you will be first in my favor."
Mordred pondered that. "Yes, eminence, but will you promise that if we fail this time, you will appear at court and ask pardon?"
Satan nodded. But what he thought was, "I will never take second place at table to these worms."
Gabriel was overflowing with excitement. Joy bubbled out of him like water from a spring.
"Oh, Chloe, you cannot believe how magnificent some of these creatures can be!"
"Gabriel, I'm a guardian. It's what I do. I have been working with them since the dawn of creation. I told you they would capture your heart."
"But Mary of Nazareth…she was praying in a garden when I went to give her the message. I had thought and re-thought how to greet her and ended up just saying, 'Hail, full of grace.' She was startled as she looked up at me. I immediately wished I had come up with something more elegant. But after her initial surprise, I could feel what she was thinking. You won't believe it. Take a guess," Gabriel gushed.
Chloe suppressed the knowing smirk rising out of her and simply told the Messenger, "I can scarcely imagine…"
"She could sense I was nervous and wanted to make me comfortable…me, God's chief messenger!" Gabriel exuded in wonder. "I fell for her right then and there. I explained everything to her. I was really eager to answer the barrage of questions I knew she would have. But you know what? She only asked one: how it would come about since she had taken a vow of perpetual virginity. I explained that to her and waited. All she said was, 'I am the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to His word.' That's it. She didn't ask how she was supposed to explain it to Joseph; she didn't ask how she was supposed to avoid being stoned as an adulteress; she didn't ask how to spare her family the shame of what it would appear to be. She just said, 'Let it be done to me according to His word.' I have spoken to white-bearded patriarchs who asked me dozens of questions and still didn't get it right. But Mary of Nazareth…'Let it be done to me according to His word…" Gabriel mused in delighted wonder. "I just wish I had come up with a greeting that was more poetic, more worthy of her."
"Why, Gabriel, you did better than you think," Chloe replied. "Yes, 'Hail, full of grace,' is a bit stilted, but simply add her name and it takes on a lovely rhythm and describes her perfectly. It would not surprise me if, 'Hail, Mary, full of grace,' becomes the opening line of a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving that sounds throughout the ages."
Gabriel was delighted. "That really does have a marvelous rhythm to it, doesn't it?"
Chloe smiled. "And it is your greeting."
"Oh, let me tell you about Joseph," Gabriel said. "The Father had me stay near the family until all was accomplished. I figured I would have a hard time with Joseph. Sure enough, when Mary gave him the news he was shattered. I thought it would take weeks for him to get through the shock, hurt and self-pity enough so he would be able to hear me. But that very night, instead of wallowing in self-pity, he cried out, 'O God, my God, what do You intend for me in this terrible situation?' Can you believe it? I was able to speak to him right off in a dream. He understood, believed and rejoiced. How well the Father chose the people to whom He would entrust the Son, once He took on their humanity. I knew that Mary was Immaculate, but silent Joseph is nearly as wise as she. Though they are not as knowledgeable, I think these two may already be wiser than we are."
"But the Son is not yet born," Chloe objected. "I thought you were supposed to stay with them until all was accomplished."
"Oh yes," Gabriel answered brightly. "Once they set off on the road to Bethlehem all was accomplished until the time of the Nativity. A cohort of angels travels with them now. I will lead a band to announce the Son's birth to some shepherds and others, then there are several things I will have to speak to Joseph and Mary about after the King is born. But I have a little break now to prepare. I've got to tell you what Mary did after she and Joseph were all settled about their Divine Charge…"
As with most of the heavenly host, Chloe had watched all that had happened, but she loved listening to Gabriel tell her how it had moved him.
"Mary heard that her cousin, Elizabeth, was pregnant," Gabriel continued. "Knowing that Elizabeth was older (and how difficult a late in life pregnancy can be) Mary set off across the hill country to help her cousin through it. Astounding, isn't it? In her own Annunciation she knows to leave the terrifying details to God. Then, hearing of Elizabeth, she knew to be an instrument through whom God would accomplish His purpose – all without being told. Are any of us in the heavenly host that full of grace?
"And, of course, it is the new Elijah, John the Baptist, that Elizabeth is pregnant with. So the first encounter between the Son and John was while both were still in the womb. John started kicking with joy the moment Mary entered the house, and God gave Elizabeth wisdom to know what this was. Then Mary began the most beautiful prayer I have ever heard with the words, 'My soul magnifies the Lord…' Oh, Chloe, that one sentence describes the unmistakable mark of all the varieties of authentic saints. Their souls do magnify the Lord, drawing the furious malice of those who are attached to the world or seduced by Lucifer; while giving hope to the broken, comfort to the afflicted, and new heart to the weary believers. She captured such profound truth in her opening words. You and I both know how terribly hard it is to capture even small profundities when constrained by language – and that is practically the only tool they have to communicate with each other."
Gabriel was basking in the memory of it all and Chloe, in the contented glow radiating from Gabriel.
After a while Gabriel asked, "Do you think the Father will let me continue to visit with His servants rather than just carry commands? They are so delightful – and now I have seen the regal imprint of divinity that is in them, even in this state, when they bear it. Lucifer has gotten it all wrong. They are worthy heirs of the kingdom we are servants in. I want to help them and be their friend as they struggle to gain their inheritance."
Chloe answered immediately. "Gabriel, you are a natural. I am sure the Father will send you to help many of His servants as He fulfills the Old Covenant and enters into the New. Just remember that they can abjure their inheritance, too, and go chasing after the paper and paste they think are riches in that world. When they scorn the precious gems and pearls that proceed from the Father in order to horde the worthless trinkets they think are riches, it will break your heart."
"I know, Chloe, I have visited many such men over the millennia," Gabriel responded sadly, "But now that I have seen up close what they can be, I want to help and know as many as the Father will send me to.
"You know, the only thing I will miss while the Son is there are the stories. The Father tells such wonderful stories, but He only tells them through the Son."
"Why, Gabriel, your excitement has gotten the better of your wit," Chloe exclaimed. "That is exactly what the Father is doing right now. This has got to be the greatest story ever told – and you are its opening act."
Gabriel gaped at Chloe in astonished wonder. "It is, and I am, aren't I? How abundantly the Lord has blessed His servant!"
Just then, an event in time caught the angels' attention. A gentle plume of brilliant light bloomed in Bethlehem and grew to fill all the earth. The birds and beasts cooed and mooed in joy. The trees swayed in adoration. The winds sighed through the mountains in glad relief.
Gabriel looked from Bethlehem to Chloe and said, in hushed awe, "He is with them."
"You better get moving, Gabriel. I believe you have some announcements to make," Chloe smiled.
Nine months earlier, hell had gone on red alert.
Wormtail, who had been trailing Mary of Nazareth, had been badly hurt when it happened. The light was so powerful that both Mordred and Lucifer came rushing as near as they dared. It could only be an archangel. Lucifer recognized the glow at once as that of his former friend, Gabriel. Still, even Lucifer could not draw near an archangel without leave of the Ancient. To do so was to suffer unbearable agony – agony that lasted long after the encounter had ended.
"What does it mean, Eminence?" Mordred asked. "Is Mary to be mother of the Messiah, after all?"
"I don't know," Satan responded. "It could be a distraction to focus all our forces around Mary and miss our main chance. On the other hand, the Ancient never sends Gabriel unless He means business. Send five more demons to watch Mary until Wormtail recovers, but keep those that are on Rebekah and Rachel with them. Whatever this means, the time is at hand and I want at least three tails on every serious suspect."
It was just a few more days before Satan knew exactly what Gabriel's visit meant.
"Aiieeee!" he screamed as the Savior took root in Mary's womb. "Is there no end to the Ancient's trickery? He has come, Himself, in the person of the Son. We cannot touch Him."
Tags: The AnnunciationCategories: Bible Contemplations, Fictional Stories
92 thoughts on "The Pivot of Civilization"
♥♥♥
Thank you, Charlie. It's glorious.
Blessed be God forever!!
Ave Maria eternally!!
🕊♥⚜
Among my favs from this one: "My friends, God has a plan – and the satan has no power over it. Every obstacle he throws up, every twist he makes ends up helping to further God's plan."
jewelsword13 says:
Oh my! No words for the beauty of this "ancient" story…just pure awe! Thank you, Charlie! This is a keeper!
Becky-TN says:
❤ God Bless all here!
Littlelight says:
I don't recall ever reading this one before. It also made me cry. What a gift on today, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception's Feast Day. TY, Charlie.
joyfulhope20 says:
My heart is breaking: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-house-passes-democrats-bill-to-codify-same-sex-marriage-sends-it-to-joe-bidens-desk/?utm_source=featured-news&utm_campaign=catholic
To repeat what was said in an email I received: "Pelosi and the other agents of the devil with her in Congress are hoping to defile the IMMACULATE Conception by passing legislation that would enshrine the most impure and debased mockery of marriage imaginable! And don't think for a second that this won't have major consequences!… If God sent a flood to destroy the world and annihilated five ancient cities – one, after which the sin against nature is named – just imagine what horror awaits a nation that would dare to defile the Mother of God's great feast with such sacrilegious legislation! Can it be any clearer why Our Lady asked for five First Saturdays to be made in reparation to her Immaculate Heart?" (Michael Hichborn-Lepanto Institute)
On the feast day of the patroness of our country…
I can almost hear thunder in the heavens, for Justice is the very fiber of God's Mercy.
"Battle Hymn Of The Republic" with West Point Glee Club | November 6, 2022 11:00am First Dallas Worship from First Dallas on Vimeo.
So, let's call upon hosts of angels to descend and defend the faith and the faithful.
I love you! And that picture! Breathtaking!
Everytime I read your response to what surely seems like the darkest darkness, I think: "Yes! Why yes, that's exactly correct! How could I ever think otherwise?!" +TYG+ <B
Right back at you, Susan-sign-of-hope-in-the-darkness. 🕊♥⚜
Beautiful! Patriotic music always heartens me.
This also came to me: If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up. (Daniel 3:17-18)
Amen, Joyful!! 🕊💥⚜
myownbackyard2017 says:
This was wonderful ~ my girlfriends and I used to sing this together…just because. Those were sweet and innocent days.
Katey in OR
Indeed, Joyful, this should be a joyful day for Catholics. The Akita warning comes to mind: "As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests."
What a beautiful story Charlie!!!
This part!
How blessed we all are to be given the chance to become people of the Kingdom!!!
On this great feast feast of the Immortal Conception, I pray that Our Lady's ❤ triumph asap and she save us and the whole world!!!🙏🙏🙏
Mary Watts says:
Dear Charlie Beautiful, and thoughtful. I enjoyed it. Loved the part when Jesus comes into the womb of Our Mother and the whole world seems to swoon in Adoration. He came Himself. Thankyou Mary
Sent from my Galaxy
Mary, the first created creature.
"Before He made anything from the beginning, I was set up from eternity and of old." (Prov. 8, 22)
"To this instant also, and, as it were, in natural sequence, pertain the decree and predestination of the Mother of the Divine Word incarnate; for here, I understand, was ordained that pure Creature before aught else whatever. Thus, before all other creatures, was She conceived in the divine mind, in such manner and such state as befitted and became the dignity, excellence and gifts of the humanity of her most holy Son. To Her flowed over, at once and immediately, the river of the Divinity and its attributes with all its impetuosity, in as far as a mere creature is capable and as is due to the dignity of the Mother of God."
(Mary of Agreda, City of God; 42) https://www.ecatholic2000.com/agreda/vol1/vol1.shtml.
"We, in our present state, conceive this eternity of God as an interminable time. But what were the things "of old," since none had been created? It is clear that the three Persons are here spoken of, namely, that She was foreseen from the eternal ages of the Divinity, by the Beings, which alone are ancient, namely, the indivisible Trinity (since all the rest, having a beginning, are recent), that She was foreseen when only the ancient Uncreated was, and before any ideals of the future creation were formed. Between these two extremes intervened the ideal of the hypostatic union which was to be verified ad extra through the intervention of most holy Mary. Both were ordained together, immediately next to God and before any other creature, and it was the most wonderful decree ever passed or ever to be passed. The first and most admirable image in the mind of God, next to the eternal generation, was that of Christ and next to it, that of his Mother.
"How are we to understand such opposition and rebellion against God in those angelic beings endowed with such profound and enlightened intelligence? What can be the motive for such a radical and irreversible choice against God? Of a hatred so profound as to appear solely the fruit of folly? The Fathers of the Church and theologians do not hesitate to speak of a "blindness" produced by the overrating of the perfection of their own being, driven to the point of ignoring God's supremacy, which requires instead an act of docile and obedient subjection. All this summed up concisely in the words: "I will not serve" (Jer 2:20), which manifest the radical and irreversible refusal to take part in the building up of the kingdom of God in the created world. Satan, the rebellious spirit, wishes to have his own kingdom, not that of God, and he rises up as the first "adversary" of the Creator, the opponent of Providence, and antagonist of God's loving wisdom. From Satan's rebellion and sin, and likewise from that of man, we must conclude by accepting the wise experience of Scripture which states: "In pride there is ruin" (Tob 4:13).
(CATECHESIS ON THE ANGELS
Pope St John Paul II:)
Charlie, thanks for bringing this back at this time. Sometimes it's important to remember Who we belong to…
God bless us, every one ~ katey in OR✝🙏🏽💜
Thank you so much, once again, for this beautiful story, Charlie. You bless us with it.
Michelle Wruck says:
Just WOW. It reminds me in style & substance of C.S. Lewis' SCREWTAPE LETTERS. Charlie you've captivated our hearts w/this whimsical allegory of Spiritual fact. It that makes me swoon in love with the ANCIENT like when I've read from The Poem of the Man-God or Mystical City of God. Thank you.
ascotinfrance says:
Thank you Charlie, that was beautiful.
for the sake of ... sorrowful passion says:
Now, on to the ninth month,
IX. Excess of Love Agonizing Love December 9 – 15
NINTH EXCESS OF LOVE
"My daughter, my state is ever more painful. If you love Me, keep your gaze fixed on Me, to see if you can offer some relief to your Jesus; a little word of love, a caress, a kiss, will give respite to my crying and to my afflictions. Listen my daughter, after I gave eight excesses of my love, and man requited them so badly, my love did not give up and wanted to add the ninth excess to the eighth. And this was yearnings, sighs of fire, flames of desire, for I wanted to go out of the maternal womb to embrace man. This reduced my little Humanity, not yet born, to such an agony as to reach the point of breathing my last. But as I was about to breathe my last, my Divinity, which was inseparable from Me, gave Me sips of life, and so I regained life to continue my agony, and return again to the point of death. This was the ninth excess of my love: to agonize and to die of love continuously for the creature. Oh! What a long agony of nine months! Oh! How love suffocated Me and made Me die. Had I not had the Divinity with Me, which gave Me life again every time I was about to finish, love would have consumed Me before coming out to the light of day."
Then He added: "Look at Me, listen to Me, how I agonize, how my heart beats, pants, burns. Look at Me – now I die." And He remained in deep silence. I felt like dying. My blood froze in my veins, and trembling, I said to Him: 'My Love, my Life, do not die, do not leave me alone. You want love, and I will love You; I will not leave You ever again. Give me your flames to be able to love You more, and be consumed completely for You.'
Well it's that time of the year I like to beg from you big guns prayers for safety for globetrotting Tommy, Liz and baby Jax!!! They're off again for a 5 day trip to Aruba 🇦🇼!!! Ugh😩. Please pray hard for them for their safety and safe return 🙏🙏🙏. Thank you so much! Happy advent everyone!!! Love you all!!! Linda G.🥰🙏🕯🇦🇼😘👩🏻🍼
Praying, Linda.
Thank you Beckita!!! 🥰🙏. FOLHM back atcha for your intentions❤
Thanks, Linda! xo
JESUS = GOOD NEWS! … Happy St Juan of Tepeyac Day 😉
https://mailchi.mp/jkmi/our-lady-of-america-the-immaculate-one-1067929?e=b654649ef1
https://www.dominicanajournal.org/the-immaculate-conception-and-tepeyac/
https://www.usccb.org/prayers/blessing-christmas-tree
https://www.glennbeck.com/radio/glenn-this-is-our-current-battle-its-not-about-politics
RED STATES!!! …. Take Note!
https://tnc.news/2022/12/07/albertas-sovereignty-act/
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/parents-leading-school-board-revolutions-across-america
https://www.foxnews.com/us/parents-swept-controversy-after-school-satan-club-speak-out-at-wits-end
https://www.foxnews.com/media/christmas-canceled-parents-media-holiday-traditions-getting-annoying
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-committee-hear-testimony-alleged-supreme-court-leak-2022-12-08/
https://apnews.com/article/politics-wisconsin-rob-portman-marriage-tammy-baldwin-91b12650871afaa87a479d3018a4fded
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/8/liberals-weaponizing-christianity-against-justices/
Democrats Buying Off The Unions (Democrat $$$$ Laundering Op) .. Christmas Holiday Shenanigans ….. As Usual!!
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/08/president-biden-releasing-36-billion-to-aid-pensions-of-union-workers.html
https://www.wnd.com/2022/12/netanyahu-ally-rips-liberal-religion-darkness-must-expelled/
https://bombthrower.com/the-wef-isnt-a-cabal-its-a-cult/
No, America Does Not Owe the World Climate 'Reparations'
https://reader.epoch.cloud/?publink=013096243_134873c
https://townhall.com/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258htddl
GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE!
The Virgin said to Juan Diego: "Listen and understand, my littlest son, let nothing frighten and afflict you or trouble your heart … Am I not here, I, who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow?"
O God, Who by means of Saint Juan Diego showed the love of the most holy Virgin Mary for Your people, grant, through his intercession, that, by following the counsels our Mother gave at Guadalupe, we may be ever constant in fulfilling Your will. Through Christ our Lord. pic.twitter.com/mQbkgQ3mUu
— Father V (@father_rmv) December 9, 2022
sheralyn80 says:
This touched my heart Charlie, thank you!
jerover says:
Thanks Charlie! You should forward this to Dallas Jenkins of "The Chosen".
This needs to be produced on film!
Jerry McFadden
JESUS = GOOD NEWS! … 😉 PM
https://onepeterfive.com/easy-virtue-comfort-and-ease-as-basic-givens-of-the-liturgical-reform/
https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/12/07/whos-really-facilitating-americas-border-crisis-biden-isnt-acting-alone/
YUP! ;-(
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_constitution_has_already_been_terminated
https://reclaimthenet.org/state-department-funding-of-third-parties-to-censor-online-speech-foia/
https://nypost.com/2022/12/08/suppression-of-right-wing-users-exposed-in-latest-twitter-files
https://nypost.com/2022/12/08/twitter-update-will-tell-you-if-youve-been-shadowbanned
https://www.crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-weaponization-of-loneliness
Pastor Dana video with Precious Metals Guru, David Morgan
https://www.floppingaces.net/2022/12/09/the-week-in-radical-leftism-12-09-2022/
OVERLOAD!
THEY (including RINOs) be 'working overtime' whilst BoobLand USA be dreaming of Sugar Plum Fairies ;-(
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/
https://amgreatness.com/
https://spectator.org/
https://www.americanthinker.com/
https://www.zerohedge.com/
https://defendingtherepublic.org/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258htmmg.1ocy/77e5357f
https://newstarget.com/
https://www.frontpagemag.com/
I, too, had tears nearly throughout while reading this, Charlie. It is truly beautifully written ~ and plausible.
Those who've been around since your TNRS blog days can appreciate various layers of meaning.
God bless and keep you and all ~
Ha, Sr. Bear, as I read it anew, I was amazed at how many theological insights I seamlessly incorporated into the story.
Great reflection today:
https://passionist.org/daily-reflections/
JESUS = GOOD NEWS! …;-)
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/computer-hacks-providence-and-really-helping-others/
https://catholicexchange.com/gaudete-rejoice/
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/untitled-7/
https://catholicexchange.com/bringing-joy-christ-others/
https://www.oursundayvisitor.com/dispelling-some-common-myths-about-christmas/
https://catholicexchange.com/worth-commemorating/
Ya need another reason to Depart Illinois!?
https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/08/illinois-features-satanic-temple-display-alongside-christian-nativity/
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/catholic-clinics-religious-rights-win-on-transgender-care-okd
https://excorde.org/2022/this-sunday-rejoice-despite-your-dungeon
https://www.catholicleague.org/harvard-celebrates-a-queer-christmas/
I'm sure The Below will create a Big Splash @ ABCNNBCBS-PBS and ChinaJoe's DOJ! … Right!?? …. Hello!!! Oh! … Where's the DC Swamp Insider and Trump's last AG, Bill Barr? …. Eh! …… IT is ALL Rotten to de Core ;-(
https://reclaimthenet.org/jay-bhattacharya-government-twitter-blacklist/
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/twitter-executive-met-with-fbi-weekly-around-2020-election-documents-show/
http://www.danielgreenfield.org/2022/12/bidens-irs-commish-pick-covered-up.html
ChinaJoe's Admin … In-Action!
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/07/report-biden-energy-department-touts-200m-grant-to-battery-company-primarily-operating-in-china/
I can't imagine why!?
https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/four-in-ten-believe-were-in-end-times
Diesel/Baby Food/Medicine Shortages, Rifienries and Food Processing "catching fire" the past year ……!!?? Something Wicked …….. ;-(
http://endoftheamericandream.com/who-is-purposely-sabotaging-power-plants-all-over-america/
https://www.foxnews.com/us/northeastern-kansas-oil-spill-shuts-down-keystone-pipeline
Beautiful! Love for love and love for Love.
A little background to this gorgeous work of art: Bl. John of Fiesole (commonly called Blessed Fra Angelico), the Angelic Dominican painter. In the image above, Fra Angelico, who is the patron saint of artists, is overcome while painting the Crucifixion, while the angels look on in awe. Communicating truth through beauty is the whole point of picking up a paintbrush, practicing scales, putting on shoes for ballet, and the like. The artist sees this Beauty and desperately wants to communicate it. In such a way, painters like Fra Angelico help us see what a true artist is meant to be and not what many modern "artists" claim.
I wish I felt as much love for Jesus as Blessed Fra Angelico appears to have as he is so overcome by it. Thank you for your comment, Beckita.
Thank YOU for bringing this outstanding painting to our attention, Joyful. On loving Jesus, we can be confident that if we give our all, as wee as it may be, it is as valuable as the widow's mite in the Eyes of God.
Thank you BOTH! This absolutely made me cry! 😭
Behold, The Wexford Carol ~ a gorgeous song in keeping with your essay here, Charlie.
https://onepeterfive.com/3rd-sunday-of-advent-let-nothing-disturb-thee/
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/11/the-third-sunday-of-advent-5/
https://onepeterfive.com/protector-indians/
BVM's Flying House is why St Mary of Loreto is the Patron Saint of Pilots 😉
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253041/how-could-the-holy-house-of-mary-in-nazareth-have-ended-up-in-loreto-italy
https://thepathlesstaken7.blogspot.com/2022/12/tabernacle-of-stone-that-sheltered.html
http://blog.newadvent.org/2022/12/the-dawn-of-mercy-how-christianity.html
https://www.foxnews.com/science/oldest-known-galaxies-spotted-james-webb-space-telescope
THEY want to destroy Religion, especially Christianity! THEY will continue to attack, disparage and condemn Our Faith and sow seeds of division, confusion, despair and anger within The Faithful … as Foretold Long Ago ;-(
https://www.wndnewscenter.org/college-ideology-now-contends-jesus-was-androgynous/
I'm guessing that Left Politicians, WHO, NIH, CDC, BigPharma and any number of other "Medical" corrupted entities are spending the "Holidays" shredding documents and getting THEIR stories straight about The "Great" ChinaPlague Hoax and Global Re-Set Genocide!
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fda-says-ivermectin-doesnt-work-against-covid-19-points-studies-show-it-does
……. YEP!!! ….. It's The Same THEY that are pushing the Above & Below!
The Scotsman is Right-On!
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/10/neil-oliver-its-remarkable-how-many-new-ways-the-elite-have-concocted-for-us-to-die-justified-by-climate-change/
Control $$$, Food (Farmers/Fertilizer/Fuel), Medicine and you Control The People! ……. THEY are well on THEIR way to do it ;-(
https://mises.org/wire/digital-currency-fed-moves-toward-monetary-totalitarianism
I'm betting that THEY will NOT be held accountable and Swamp DC …. Corrupt Media, DOJ & Judicial Branch … will Turn a Blind Eye whilst THEY are planning to pull-off another Election Steel in 2024 that signals The End of The USA Republic!
https://reclaimthenet.org/twitter-allowed-fbi-flag-tweets/
https://thecommonsenseshow.com/activism-agenda-21-conspiracy/revealed-internal-twitter-communications-reveal-az-democratic-gov-elect-katie-hobbs-campaign
Rick Bookwalter says:
Amazing story, perhaps what Mr. Klavan is suggesting?
https://blog.acton.org/archives/112314-video-andrew-klavan-on-reintroducing-our-culture-to-the-truth.html?fbclid=IwAR2g_7ps1Wh39yLlKSPvkG8
Looking forward to listening to the rest of this, Rick. I was first introduced to the Acton Institute when a friend shared a video produced by the institute concerning a potent paradigm for education.
Fred H says:
This para speaks volumes to me about what should be our approach to prophesy in the world – past, present and future. It touches on the God-given faculty of discernment…
Thanks for all you do, Charlie!
perhaps the new catacombs: the young priest is a reminder of two priests who went about disguised in order minister to the underground Church–St Edmund Campion and Blessed Miguel Pro (both Jesuits).
Globetrotting Tommy Liz and jaxy poo are doing great!!! Thank you for all your prayers! Jaxon never wants to leave the 🏝 or the view of the ocean 🌊 according to mom n dad 🥰🏝⛵🏖🙏👶🏼. I told them maybe grandma (me) can teach him to sail one day🤣. Jesus always loved sailors🥰🥰🥰. I hope He has something special in mind for Jax and for all the young people!🙏🙏🙏. Thanks again for all your prayers everyone!🙏😘🥰⛵👶🏼🏖✈🌊
Ave Maria Stella Maris
Pawel says:
Theologically and philosophically profound, yet hilarious at times. When will be the Part 2 ready, Charlie?
"Our eyes too turn spiritually towards the hill of Tepeyac, to the place where the Mother of God, under the title of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" has been fervently honoured for centuries as a sign of reconciliation and of God's infinite goodness towards the world."
— Benedict XVI
In 1921, an anti-clerical activist hid a bomb containing 29 sticks of dynamite in a pot of roses and placed it before the image inside the Basilica at Guadalupe.When the bomb exploded, the marble altar rail and windows shattered. But the tilma and its case remained fully intact. pic.twitter.com/lQ6QItm6iB
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) December 12, 2022
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/10/devotion-to-virgin-mary-draws-millions-to-mexico-c/
https://catholicexchange.com/lady-guadalupe-not/
https://www.catholicleague.org/disney-documentary-coming-soon/
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253038/media-reaction-to-club-q-shooting-scapegoated-religion-denver-archbishop-says
Right, Eminence. You should not be paranoid or worried about censorship BUT!!! … if you and other alleged Shepherds of The Church have been censored YOU/Others should be Raising Holy Hell about it …… I'm betting you won't! ;-(
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/dolan-religion-christianity/2022/12/10/id/1099968/
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/10/kirk-cameron-banned-from-reading-book-about-love-a/
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/household-wealth-down-by-13-5-trillion-in-2022-second-worst-destruction-on-record-11670623787
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/us-military-going-to-the-dogs/
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/09/methodist-church-lgbtq-slavery-00073112
Get a Load of this BS from Fringe Democrat/Global Left "Politico"!
Oppose the LGBTQ? Agenda & Ye be the equivalent of Simon Legree or Bull Connor!
Memo to "Politico" and ALL the Ignorant of History in BoobLand USA.
DEMOCRATS were/are The Party of Slavery, Jim Crow and Segregation.
Just check out any Democrat Controlled Urban ****Hole for the "Modern" Version of the above ;-(.
https://nypost.com/2022/12/10/new-york-times-strikes-while-the-irony-is-hot/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258hu2kt.1ye3/67e53acc
https://thefederalist.com/
https://www.floppingaces.net/
https://newsbusters.org/
JESUS = GOOD NEWS! …Happy St Lucy Day 😉
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy
https://spiritdaily.org/blog/commentary/the-supernatural-language-of-guadalupe
https://catholicexchange.com/rejoicing-in-gods-presence/
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/gap-between-papal-rhetoric-and-action/
https://catholicexchange.com/the-art-of-advent-st-john-the-baptist-in-the-prison/
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/deathbed-conversions-and-the-rosary
https://www.crisismagazine.com/opinion/joseph-ratzinger-and-the-new-liturgical-movement
https://stream.org/pro-abortion-domestic-terror-group-janes-revenge-issued-more-death-threats-to-pro-lifers/
https://www.foxnews.com/us/human-rights-commissioner-ma-quits-mocking-god-blasting-trash-christians-christmas-tree-spat
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/transgender-catholic-religious-liberty/2022/12/12/id/1100221/
https://www.foxnews.com/us/mother-pulled-kids-public-school-woke-curriculum-says-home-schooling-produces-amazing-results
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/13/kash-patel-asks-why-isnt-elon-musk-releasing-the-fbi-emails-and-dhs-contact-documents-with-twitter/
https://thefederalist.com/2022/12/13/twitter-files-overshadow-the-bigger-scandal-fbi-lied-to-tech-giants-to-interfere-in-election/
https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/11/our-parasitic-generation/
https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/fauci-deposition-compares-lab-leak-theory-vaccine-microchips-warns
https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-government-asked-twitter-fb-tweak-algorithms/
JESUS = GOOD NEWS! …;-) PM
I'm sure The Vatican, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and their Legal Teams will be all over this travesty! …….. RIGHT?!?
https://www.lifenews.com/2022/12/13/biden-official-admits-fbi-targeting-pro-life-americans-in-a-response-to-overturning-roe/
Yep! THEY are in control and will only "Give Away" the minimum so as to protect THEIR core Ops and Operators!
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/13/incoming-republican-house-foreign-affairs-chairman-calls-tucker-carlson-an-agent-of-russia-based-on-dc-intel-briefing/#more-240884
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/13/glenn-greenwald-interviews-matt-taibbi-on-twitter-file-release/
… and the musings of this dispicable Swamp DC RINO ;-(
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/13/mitch-mcconnell-laments-the-problem-with-voters-our-ability-to-control-the-primary-outcome-was-quite-limited-in-2022/
https://newstarget.com/2022-12-12-dr-cole-placentas-covid-jabbed-inflamed-calcified.html
…….. Nothing to see here! …. MOVE ALONG!!
https://jonathanturley.org/2022/12/13/enough-of-that-the-justice-department-faces-questions-after-effectively-preventing-bankman-fried-from-testifying-in-congress/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-official-hid-info-meetings-george-soros-hillary-clinton-nancy-pelosi-public
https://expose-news.com/2022/10/01/20milllion-dead-covid-vaccination/
……..Be Good Little Citizens like ABCNNBCBS-PBS ….. or Else!
https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/lib-media-ignores-the-twitter-files/
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/12/13/the_fbi_files_are_even_more_dangerous_148597.html
Interesting Beck video from two years ago. THEY are still On-It ;-( ChinaPlague Hysteria did not work so well, especially in Red States but THEY are not backing off … At All!
….. Oh! …. and ClimateChange Scam THEY push.
https://rumble.com/v1zydwm-bill-gates-caught-admitting-climate-change-is-wef-scam-to-inner-circle.html
…… and Full Throttle on the Pervert Agenda too!
https://www.foxnews.com/media/cambridge-dictionary-changes-definition-man-woman-1984-supposed-manual
…… I am fearfull that THEY trigger a War to distract US ;-(
….. Naughty Word Guy
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2022/12/12/the-alarm-bells-go-off/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258huab9.25c5/c0c57b68
From Bishop Sheen:
https://jesseromero.com/blog/ill-see-you-heaven-1
JESUS = GOOD NEWS! … 😉
https://catholicexchange.com/the-saint-who-was-never-born/
https://arcoftheuniverse.info/the-truth-about-life-a-response-to-professors-kay-and-ostermann/
https://stream.org/baby-parts-merchants-cant-hide-documents-court-rules/
https://catholicexchange.com/christ-frees-us-from-negative-feedback-loops/
https://www.crisismagazine.com/opinion/catholics-must-make-alliances-with-the-elites
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/13/end-world-pope-knows-it-francis-latest-remarks-sti
https://www.foxnews.com/media/law-firm-claims-nh-university-discriminates-against-religious-students-group-ample-warning
https://theconversation.com/who-were-the-3-wise-men-who-visited-jesus-195159
Get a Load of this! "Pagan Faith" trumps the life of the unborn!! Come, Jesus!!
https://religionnews.com/2022/12/07/indiana-judge-backs-a-religious-right-to-abort/
Ghana!? …. dumping Petro$$ …..
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/11/24/ghana-plans-to-buy-oil-with-gold-instead-of-dollars
….. Corrupt DC Swamp has/is destroying value of Our USA $$$. Since the "Progressives" of 1913 created The Federal "Reserve" Our $$$ has been devalued by 96+% …. ongoing by 1.5% per MONTH NOW!
https://gsiexchange.com/a-complete-history-of-us-dollar-devaluation-since-1913/
…… & MASSIVE Public & Private DEBT!
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2022/december/12/the-mother-of-all-economic-crises/
I'm with Sundance @ CTH. DC Intel/DOJ/DHS still controls BigTech Social Media!
https://reclaimthenet.org/twitter-trust-and-safety-council-shut-down/
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/13/tucker-carlson-asks-the-right-question-could-it-be-that-twitter-is-actually-an-intelligence-gathering-apparatus-and-propaganda-tool/
https://spectator.org/sam-bankman-fried-fed-inflation-scams/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258huk5a.23sl/96b655ae
Here's a win for our friend David Daleiden:
Thank you, God.
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/biden-denounces-hate-and-catholic-teaching/
https://www.crisismagazine.com/opinion/big-medicines-fight-against-nature
https://yournews.com/2022/12/13/2472633/people-died-from-mrna-vaccine-damaged-hearts-new-peer-reviewed-german-study-provides/
https://summit.news/2022/12/15/video-dem-rep-says-term-pedophile-is-discriminatory/
https://needtoknow.news/2022/12/us-govt-paid-catholic-charities-3-billion-to-traffic-people-across-us-mexico-border/
Twitter Revelations on Cover-Up of Hunter Biden Laptop Story Kills All Trust in Legacy Media
https://reader.epoch.cloud/?publink=0a6180e13_1348742
…… GOP Plans to ……. I'm not holding my breath!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-plan-probe-hunter-bidens-chinese-business-deals-accountability-coming
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/12/electionfraud_corruption_is_deeper_than_anyone_can_imagine.html
…. I'm deeply saddened that Tyrannical godless "Liberals" are struggling ……..
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3774042-liberals-struggle-to-find-viable-twitter-alternative-after-musk-takeover/
https://www.foxnews.com/media/norwegian-filmmaker-faces-3-years-prison-saying-men-cannot-lesbians
https://reclaimthenet.org/state-attorneys-general-tell-twitter-to-preserve-censorship-evidence/
https://reclaimthenet.org/wordpress-considered-censoring-new-york-post/
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-724770
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/covid-origins-may-have-been-tied-chinas-bioweapons-program-gop-report
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/the-world-suddenly-realizes-chinas-covid-stats-are-totally-made-up/
https://www.lifenews.com/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258hunvf.1rg5/b0773cee
Just watched the CORAC video Christmad card from Charlie. So nice. 🙂 Thanks!
Christmad? Really? 😒
I dunno. I think He must be downright furious at the evil that abounds. Even so, I take heart in that line from Romans: "Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more."
So agree, Christopher. I think it's a downright charming and gloriously heartfelt expression of Christmas cheer and blessings. My favorite is the Charlie Chuckle at the end; it's both heartwarming and reassuring as we face intense darkness up ahead.
stjudithwanttobe says:
Some very good news (excerpt)
SEATTLE (LifeSiteNews) – Attorneys with the pro-life legal nonprofit Thomas More Society have delivered a victory for pro-life investigative journalist David Daleiden in his ongoing battle with the University of Washington, reaching a settlement that will shed even more light on the university's ongoing sale of and experimentation on fetal tissue derived from abortions.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/university-of-washington-forced-to-turn-over-aborted-baby-parts-documents-in-victory-for-david-daleiden/?utm_source=digest-prolife-2022-12-16&utm_medium=email
Full article. A big win!
The final 9 days:
"First, let us focus on each Excess of Love for one week, during nine consecutive weeks, by reading and meditating on them each day, ever more closely and deeply.
This will help us to prepare ourselves for the final nine days before Christmas, in which we will repeat the Novena"
I. Excess of Love Trinitarian Love December 16
As for example, for one hour, with my thought, I brought myself to Paradise, and I imagined the Most Holy Trinity: the Father, sending the Son upon earth; the Son, promptly obeying the Will of the Father; the Holy Spirit, consenting.
My mind was confused in contemplating a mystery so great, a love so reciprocal, so equal, so strong among Themselves and toward men; and then, the ingratitude of men, and especially my own. I would have remained there, not for one hour, but for the whole day; but an interior voice told me: "Enough – come and see other greater excesses of my love."
https://luisapiccarreta.me/prayers/divine-will-paryers-with-the-servant-of-god-luisa-piccarreta/the-nine-excesses-of-love-2
https://catholicexchange.com/the-last-sunday-of-advent-reflecting-on-joseph-mary/
https://catholicexchange.com/close-out-advent-with-the-infant-of-prague-christmas-novena/
https://thefederalist.com/2022/12/15/7-easy-things-you-can-do-to-keep-christ-at-the-center-of-your-christmas/
https://knowingisdoing.org/blog/are-you-catholic-yes-different-way
https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2022/12/12/religion-news-service-and-ap-offer-the-latest-news-from-the-left-side-of-christian-higher-ed
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/15/salute-to-military-families-this-christmas/
Manifest Evil … EVERYWHERE!
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2022/12/14/they-murdered-baby-alex/
https://thefederalist.com/2022/12/15/why-the-redefinition-of-the-word-woman-matters/
https://www.foxnews.com/media/first-emmys-children-heavily-focuses-lgbt-content-woke-shows-aimed-kids
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11540563/Mom-dresses-CAT-identifies-feline-protest-against-wokeness-school-board-meeting.html
Truth Emerges From the Thicket of Lies–JEFFREY A. TUCKER
https://reader.epoch.cloud/?publink=0f947788c_1348743
Climate Change Experts Have No Backup Plan to Replace Products From Oil
https://reader.epoch.cloud/?publink=099baed85_1348743
https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-roasted-sending-south-africa-8-billion-shut-coal-weapon-grade-lunacy
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/cdc-guns-lobby/2022/12/15/id/1100648/
https://www.crisismagazine.com/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258husm1.1xmd/cd9fd3f4
https://patriotpost.us/digests/93576-mid-day-digest-2022-12-15
https://pjmedia.com/
https://catholicexchange.com/the-meaning-of-christmas-2/
https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/what-are-the-o-antiphons
https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2022/december/jordan-unveils-100m-plan-for-biblical-site-where-jesus-was-baptized
https://www.christianpost.com/voices/christians-the-respect-for-marriage-act-will-be-used-against-you.html
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2022/12/no_author/maricopa-judge-i-have-no-confidence-at-all-this-election-was-run-fairly/
https://www.danielgreenfield.org/2022/12/amnesty-crack-and-other-rino-senate.html
Meanwhile 6 Jan Trespassers still rot in DC Gulag!
https://thepostmillennial.com/andy-ngo-reports-domestic-terrorism-charges-for-five-arrested-at-violent-antifa-autonomous-zone-near-atlanta
Yep!! No doubt about it! ChinaJoe (ChuckU & Nanny too) have done an "excellent job" of doing what THEIR Evil PuppetMaster commands ;-(
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/16/pelosi-schumer-say-joe-biden-should-run-2024-despite-negative-polling-done-excellent-job/
More truth than not I'd wager.
https://alt-market.us/leftists-arent-capable-of-surviving-economic-collapse-heres-why/
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/three-would-be-robbers-shot-in-houston-area-2-dead-in-5-days
……. GANG!!! This Christmas Season of Distraction ….. Situational Awareness!!!
Keep your head on a swivel. Avoid night shopping, be careful in Parking Lots and if Ya get a 6th Sense Bad Vibe ….. Leave!!
https://summit.news/2022/12/15/report-nbc-cbs-abc-cnn-and-msnbc-have-spent-just-14-minutes-combined-covering-twitter-files/
Of Course, the Illinois THEY will expect US Feral Gubermint to Bail THEM Out. The Producer Class of other Stares that didn't provide lavish wages, pensions and perks will get stuck with Bill ….. like with College Debt Hand-Outs. It's all about Buying Votes and fueling the Democrat Party $$$ Laundering Operation ;-(
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-public-pension-debt-grows-to-140b/
https://justthenews.com/
https://links.glennbeck.com/view/55d278157d0973635efe6258hv1lw.1wuk/7d2b9ce7
II. Excess of Love Constrained Love December 17
SECOND EXCESS OF LOVE
Then, my mind brought itself into the maternal womb, and remained stupefied in considering a God so great in Heaven, now so annihilated, restricted, constrained, as to be unable to move, and almost even to breathe.
The interior voice told me: "Do you see how much I have loved you? O please, make Me a little space in your heart; remove everything which is not Mine, so you will give Me more freedom to move and to breathe."
My heart was consumed; I asked for His forgiveness, I promised to be completely His own, I poured myself out in crying; but – I say this to my confusion – I would go back to my usual defects. Oh Jesus, how good You are with this miserable creature!
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/university-of-mary-wins-six-year-fight-for-religious-freedom
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/notre-dame-sarcophagi-0017646
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253088/us-vatican-urged-to-counter-nicaraguan-regime-in-congressional-testimony
https://www.aim.org/aim-column/teen-vogue-puts-out-guide-to-ruin-christmas-with-abortion-propaganda/
https://www.lifenews.com/2022/12/16/fbi-arrests-two-pro-life-advocates-for-protesting-abortion-ignore-160-attacks-on-pro-lifers/
https://afn.net/opinion/ben-johnson/2022/12/16/6-republican-lies-behind-the-respect-for-marriage-act/
https://www.foxnews.com/media/abc-cbs-nbc-evening-newscasts-cover-elon-musks-feud-journalists-avoid-twitter-files-exposing-fbi-ties
HullyGee!
I be watching the TalkingHeads on FOX but I have yet to hear anyone ask an obvious question …. from Jan 17 TO Jan 21 the DOJ and Intel Agencies were part of Trump's Executive Branch of de Feral Gubermint. From Feb19 to Dec 20 Bill Barr was Attorney General (overseer of the FBI) … the same corrupt FBI that be doing all the unconstitutional/felonious nasties @ Twitter and, NO doubt, all other Social Medias.
Sooo … de Infamous Question from Watergate Days! What did Billy Barr & his handpicked Minions @ DOJ Know AND when did they Know-It …. same question to Intel Heads & Minions ……. & FISA Judges & Minions!
The Big Picture ….. UniParty SwampDC & Global Re-Set Left be Calling the Shots here, Canada & Old Christendom! …… ;-(`
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/16/release-6-dhs-and-fbi-content-removal-requests-to-twitter/
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/16/elon-musks-gift-to-america/
Nothing to see here! …. MOVE ALONG!!!
https://thecommonsenseshow.com/activism-agenda-21-conspiracy/data-72-million-insured-shows-sudden-unexpected-deaths
https://afn.net/business/2022/12/16/ftx-founder-now-a-stranger-to-politicians-who-loved-his-donations/
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2022/12/16/philly_fed_admits_jobs_overstated_by_at_least_11_million_587241.html
littleoneinpa says:
Interesting:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/u-s-bishops-complicit-trafficking-exploitation-migrant-children/
What to do besides prayer?
It's a sad reality, little one. This news has been covered in various articles in recent years. 🙏🕊⚜
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/18/the-fourth-sunday-of-advent-8/
THE FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTMAS
http://www.americanrevolution.org/delxing.php
Very Strange!? …. Fr Frank seems to have stepped on too many toes of too many alleged Shepherds of The Church!
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253106/vatican-dismisses-father-frank-pavone-from-priesthood
Ya don't think it couldn't happen here (or Canada) .soon!?
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253104/a-married-couple-with-seven-children-to-be-beatified-by-the-catholic-church-for-martyrdom-by-nazis
……… NZ run by another Antichristette wannabe ;-(
https://ussanews.com/2022/12/17/new-zealand-goes-full-1984-tells-public-to-report-political-dissidents-as-terrorists/
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" – 2 Thessalonians 2:3
….. below a SIGN of Great Falling Away? …. Good News? …… Rescue Coming??
https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/12/17/a-mass-exodus-from-christianity-is-underway-in-america-heres-why/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19237/eight-billion-minds
https://thegreggjarrett.com/the-brief-a-handy-cheat-sheet-of-the-many-lies-exposed-by-musks-release-of-the-twitter-files/
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/12/16/gop-rep-burchett-fbi-coordinating-with-twitter-is-worse-than-musk-choosing-to-boot-people/
Yep!! All the Jewish & Arab Merchants Over-There have a favorite Carol for this time of year …. "O What a Friend We Have in Jesus" 😉
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/holy-land-christmas-spirit-is-reborn-2022-12-18/
Any Producer Class Citizen with 1/2 a Brain, by NOW, should have lost faith in the entire DC Feral Gubermint Swamp ;-(
https://townhall.com//tipsheet/saraharnold/2022/12/17/the-fbi-has-lost-all-forms-of-trust-and-credibility-n2617264
https://www.judicialwatch.org/decorated-vet-and-fbi-analyst-sues/
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/17/will-china-knock-out-americas-satellites/
https://stream.org/category/us/
Father Frank Pavone defrocked by Vatican! He was pro-life and They say he was 'blasfemous'.
Hard to believe. Any part of it.
Bishop Strickland apparently tweeted this response:
The blasphemy is that this holy priest is canceled while an evil president promotes the denial of truth & the murder of the unborn at every turn, Vatican officials promote immorality & denial of the deposit of faith & priests promote gender confusion devastating lives…evil
Annie W says:
I'm just sick about this! Father Frank does so much good. May the Lord sustain him and God bless Bishop Strickland!!
III. Excess of Love Devouring Love December 18
THIRD EXCESS OF LOVE
As I moved on from the second to the third meditation, an interior voice told me: "My daughter, place your head upon the womb of my Mama, and look deep into it at my little Humanity. My love devoured Me; the fires, the oceans, the immense seas of love of my Divinity inundated Me, burned Me to ashes, and sent their flames so high as to rise and reach everywhere – all generations, from the first to the last man. My little Humanity was devoured in the midst of such flames; but do you know what my eternal love wants Me to devour? Ah! Souls! And only then was I content, when I devoured them all, to remain conceived with Me. I was God, and I was to operate as God – I had to take them all. My love would have given Me no peace, had I excluded any of them. Ah! My daughter, look well into the womb of my Mama; fix well your eyes on my conceived Humanity, and you will find your soul conceived with Me, and the flames of my love that devour you. Oh! How much I loved you, and I do love you!"
I felt dissolved in the midst of so much love, nor was I able to go out of it; but a voice called me loudly, saying: "My daughter, this is nothing yet; cling more tightly to Me, and give your hands to my dear Mama, that She may hold you to her maternal womb. And you, take another look at my little conceived Humanity, and watch the fourth excess of my love."
PreviousMilk Bottles
NextScenes Through the Looking Glass, Part I


It's a connected world, fueled by a connected workforce whose organizations live and die by their data. Now that they can plug-in from any device, traverse cyber-space, and communicate via email, IM, or VoIP, older employees forget they haven't always worked this way. But Phil Bickford contends that the current digital age — marked by the mainstream adoption of technology, emerging social media, and mobility — is only around 15 years old. How mature, then, can workplace cybersecurity awareness be?
Documenting step-by-step processes that are easy to follow, repeatable, and transferable, is a great way to create institutional knowledge. It makes your organization more cyber mature, and therefore, more resilient. Checklists are one of the methodologies that you can use to make that happen.
It's not unusual to encounter an organization that is using practical knowledge, a.k.a. tribal knowledge, to operate. Practical knowledge is what each individual professional knows in-practice and is able to perform, but isn't really documented anywhere. It may be about how hardware is configured, how applications are designed, or in some cases, it involves information about historical decisions. The issue with tribal knowledge is that it disappears from an organization when people move on.
Checklists are a great tool for keeping us on track. Surgeon Atul Gawande argues in The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, that the simple checklist – perhaps one of the most basic organizational tools — can improve the effectiveness of teams and individuals performing complex tasks. When his team introduced a two-minute checklist to eight hospitals as part of a research study in 2008, deaths were reduced by almost half.
Businesses today are going through an incredible digital transformation – moving to the cloud, embracing the Internet of Things (IoT), implementing automation, etc. – all at a lightning fast pace. This is opening them up to new and expanding cybersecurity threats that are difficult to manage.
One of the key findings from PwC's 2018 Global State of Information Security Survey is that when it comes to managing cybersecurity risk and building cyber resilience, senior leaders driving the business must take ownership. In fact, they found that Board confidence in security measures is actually tied to their participation in the company's overall security strategy.
As cyber threats continue to escalate, Boards of Directors are becoming increasingly interested in cybersecurity and risk management. This is no surprise, as the Board is ultimately held liable and responsible should a breach occur. And it's important because leadership sets the tone for the rest of the organization. They must lead by example when it comes to cybersecurity, and actively participate in, and be supportive of, the mission to be secure. As such, cybersecurity has made its way onto the agenda of many Board meetings.
Cyber threats are daunting. Not only are they complex and constantly evolving, they have the potential to impart significant financial and reputational damage to an organization. Plus, there's no way to be 100% protected. That's why cybersecurity is no longer just the responsibility of IT departments. Boards of Directors are ultimately liable and responsible for the survival of their organizations, and in today's interconnected world, cyber resilience is big part of that responsibility. That means that Boards must take an active role in cybersecurity.


text:
Unexamined Premises
The Coming Second American Civil War?
By Michael Walsh May 28, 2018 6:03 AM ET
With all the talk of a new Civil War in the air, this piece in the far-left New Yorker, which originally ran in August 2017 in the wake of Charlottesville, is worth revisiting on this Memorial Day weekend. The New Yorker seems these days to be written entirely by spoiled children and mouthpieces for the Central Intelligence Agency, but it is a reliable barometer of the increasingly lunatic preoccupations of the seething Left, and it behooves us to keep an eye on it. So let's take a short trip in the Wayback Machine and have a look:
Just to prove it's on the side of the angels, look whom the magazine quotes in the very first paragraph:
A day after the brawling and racist brutality and deaths in Virginia, Governor Terry McAuliffe asked, "How did we get to this place?" The more relevant question after Charlottesville—and other deadly episodes in Ferguson, Charleston, Dallas, St. Paul, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, and Alexandria—is where the United States is headed. How fragile is the Union, our republic, and a country that has long been considered the world's most stable democracy? The dangers are now bigger than the collective episodes of violence. "The radical right was more successful in entering the political mainstream last year than in half a century," the Southern Poverty Law Center reported in February. The organization documents more than nine hundred active (and growing) hate groups in the United States.
When the first "authority" you cite is America's foremost hate group, you know you're off to a bad start:
America's stability is increasingly an undercurrent in political discourse. Earlier this year, I began a conversation with Keith Mines about America's turmoil. Mines has spent his career—in the U.S. Army Special Forces, the United Nations, and now the State Department—navigating civil wars in other countries, including Afghanistan, Colombia, El Salvador, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan. He returned to Washington after sixteen years to find conditions that he had seen nurture conflict abroad now visible at home. It haunts him….
Based on his experience in civil wars on three continents, Mines cited five conditions that support his prediction: entrenched national polarization, with no obvious meeting place for resolution; increasingly divisive press coverage and information flows; weakened institutions, notably Congress and the judiciary; a sellout or abandonment of responsibility by political leadership; and the legitimization of violence as the "in" way to either conduct discourse or solve disputes.
Almost everything about that last paragraph was and is nonsense. While it's true we are polarized — largely because the Democrats (just as they did in 1860) refuse to accept the results of the last presidential election — it's hardly true to say the press coverage is "divisive" when it's almost entirely one-sided in its slant (the Left, good; the Right, bad); or that the judiciary — which finds a compliant federal judge at the drop of hat to try and nullify the lawful powers of the executive — is "weakened." It is true that some elements of "political leadership," most notably the Clintons and their apologists in the media, have abandoned their responsibilities to the country they profess to love and serve. But if there's violence — and there is — it comes almost entirely from the Left, in the forms of Antifa, Black Lives Matter and other groups of provocateurs.
Wait — it gets worse:
To test Mines's conjecture, I reached out to five prominent Civil War historians this weekend. "When you look at the map of red and blue states and overlap on top of it the map of the Civil War—and who was allied with who in the Civil War—not much has changed," Judith Giesberg, the editor of the Journal of the Civil War Era and a historian at Villanova University, told me. "We never agreed on the outcome of the Civil War and the direction the country should go in. The postwar amendments were highly contentious—especially the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides equal protection under the law—and they still are today. What does it mean to deliver voting rights to people of color? We still don't know."
Oh, please. The only folks who apparently didn't accept the outcome of the Civil War were the Southern Democrats, who formed the KKK, assassinated Lincoln, and tried to frustrate President Grant at every turn.
Before Charlottesville, David Blight, a Yale historian, was already planning a conference in November on "American Disunion, Then and Now." "Parallels and analogies are always risky, but we do have weakened institutions and not just polarized parties but parties that are risking disintegration, which is what happened in the eighteen-fifties," he told me. "Slavery tore apart, over fifteen years, both major political parties. It destroyed the Whig Party, which was replaced by the Republican Party, and divided the Democratic Party into northern and southern parts."
Generally, Blight added, "We know we are at risk of civil war, or something like it, when an election, an enactment, an event, an action by government or people in high places, becomes utterly unacceptable to a party, a large group, a significant constituency." The nation witnessed tectonic shifts on the eve of the Civil War, and during the civil-rights era, the unrest of the late nineteen-sixties and the Vietnam War, he said. "It did not happen with Bush v. Gore, in 2000, but perhaps we were close. It is not inconceivable that it could happen now."
So here we are today, nine months later, and has the likelihood of armed conflict diminished? We still have the absurd Mueller investigation running rampant and essentially unsupervised. We have increasing evidence that elements of the intelligence community, with the blessing of the Obama administration, actively spied on the Republican presidential candidate in order to defeat or at least delegitimize him. Meanwhile, the spurned Dowager Empress of Chappaqua continues her Crybaby Tour, and conservatives are shouted down in public venues, when they are not outright attacked. Rogue states like California are now openly attempting federal nullification — and are celebrated for it. And, just to refresh our memory of what actually happened in Charlottesville:
So how does the theory behind this piece hold up? I think the likelihood of civil war is in fact less than it was last summer. While the violent Left will never accept Donald Trump as president, his recent string of victories in both foreign and domestic affairs has quietened them, as Americans are finding they have money money in their pockets, "Now Hiring" signs are sprouting up all over, and the number of jobs available now matches the number of unemployed workers:
The U.S. job market reached a historic marker in March as the number of available jobs reportedly equaled the number of unemployed workers for the first time in two decades. According to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers were advertising openings for 6.55 million positions in March. The May 8 release adds that 6.59 million Americans were unemployed at that time, meaning that there was 1.01 open jobs per unemployed worker in the country.
The Department of Labor said the nearly 6.6. million openings represented the most since the agency started tracking job advertisements in December 2000. The parity of jobs and job seekers is being called a historic oddity as the number of unemployed Americans is usually far above what's currently available.
So while the Left continues to criticize the president for "chaos," the fact remains that it's the Left that thrives on it. Keeping the people downtrodden, miserable, and resentful has long been the key to violent Leftist revolutions. With their command of the media, they will continue to make it seem that the only solution to the political difficulties they are suffering is the use of force. But on this Memorial Day, when we mourn and honor our American war dead — Democrats and Republicans alike — we need to reject their constant provocation and remember what unites us, instead of what divides us.
Michael Walsh is a journalist, author and screenwriter. He was for 16 years the music critic of Time Magazine. His works include the novels, As Time Goes By, And All the Saints (winner, 2004 American Book Award for fiction) and the "Devlin" series of thrillers; and the recent non-fiction bestseller, The Devil's Pleasure Palace. He lives in rural New England and remote coastal Ireland.
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