Video #1: Testimony by Ms. Cynthia Farahat: Egyptian Muslims Beat and Massacre Christian Copts

Video #2: Nina Shea on Christians in the Middle East for CBN
Posted by the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom

Read more:

Please note that list below is by no means an exhaustive one. See  The Voice of the Martyrs and the Center for Religious Freedom for much more information.

• Sunni Sect’s Ruthless Violence against Christians. Nigeria: al-Qaeda-linked group gives Christians 3-day deadline More on persecution in Nigeria.
• Young Catholic girl murdered in Pakistan for resisting rape by a Muslim. More on persecution in Pakistan.
• Persecution of Christians in Egypt. Egypt’s Kristallnacht. More on persecution in Egypt.
• China: Tear Gas Scatters Christmas Worship. More on persecution in China.
• Three Pastors Report to Prison in Iran. More on persecution in Iran.
• Christians in Kurdish region under siege. Iraq.

Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide
Kindle version.

And please pray!

Apostleship of Prayer: The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for the Month of January, Mission Intention – Dedication to Peace: That the dedication of Christians to peace may bear witness to the name of Christ before all men and women of good will. Reflection, current month.

In the midst of a quarreling world, we Christians dedicate ourselves to Christ’s way of peace by doing his will—the only basis for a just order that leads to peace.

This month we may be moved to pray especially for peace within in the Body of Christ. In January Christian churches of all kinds celebrate a week of prayer for Christian unity. Only through the union of all Christians will we be able to witness to the world that the name Christian means unity not division, peace not war. –From the Holy Father’s Reflections on the Monthly Prayer Intention for January 2012.

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions for 2012
http://www.apostleshipofprayer.org/2012english.html

The Voice of the Martyrs, Canadian site, lists prayer requests at the end of their pages. See also the U.S. sister site.

Where We Belong, Lyrics

A city on a hill
where our strength is filled,
a beacon in the night
shines a holy light.
Let the darkness fall;
there’s a new day for us all.

Refrain
This is where we belong,
the place that we call home.
We gather as one body in one Lord.
This is where we belong
the place that we call home
we come to live and love where we belong.

A chosen place revealed,
people being healed,
new life will begin,
the dead will rise again.
Open up the doors
and let the healing waters pour. (Refrain)

Bridge
This is where we give our hearts,
this is where we share our faith,
this is where we make a diff’rence,
right here in this place! (Refrain)

But then I found MacSword, which has been re-named to Eloquent Bible Study (personally, I like the name MacSword better). It’s free, installs easily and there are lots of free modules (Bibles, commentaries, etc) you can download into it (which is easy, easier, in fact, than adding modules to e-Sword used to be when I was using it on my Windows machines before I switched; don’t know if it’s changed). You can also get PocketSword for your iOS device. Adding modules couldn’t be easier. Get it at iTunes.

Have a very Merry ChristMass! Peace be with you!

May your Christmas be a blessed, holy and joyful one. Peace be with you and with your loved ones throughout the year. Merry Christmas!

About the Church in the East: Light of the East on Catholic Radio International. About the Nativity Icon, Show #378: The Nativity. Download. RSS. I recorded the show yesterday on EWTN about the Christmas customs of the Church in the East and watched it this morning. They talked about the icon in this post or one similar to it. Fascinating stuff. Or it may have been Fr. Jacob Restrick, OP, and his series, Icons: Windows Onto Heaven. I recorded them both and watched them back to back. Of course, I can’t find any links to Fr. Restrick’s show. Argh.

“Most government programs are working well and are actually improving the lives of all Americans in innumerable ways.”

I kid you not. See it for yourself at wwwDOTgovernmentisgoodDOTcom. I have to go find a tissue; when I read that line I laughed so hard I had a coughing fit and now my eyes are watering. Good grief.

Compare the above quote (and more at that site) with the below quote from President Ronald Reagan’s Inaugural Address back in 1981. (Really, there is no comparison.)

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

Series description in the EWTN Religious Catalogue: St. Ignatius Loyola designed the Spiritual Exercises over 450 years ago, to help retreatants discern those influences arousing discouragement and deception in their spiritual lives. Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V. devotes this 10-part series to those same 14 rules, more relevant today than ever before. As they facilitate our drawing closer to God, they awaken new hope in those who practice them; as a result, Living the Discerning Life is one of the the most- requested titles. 5 discs. 10 hrs. (Documents referenced in series are included on a seperate CD in case) — Quoted from the product page in the catalogue.

Fr. Tim’s* way of presenting the teachings of Saint Ignatius is full of practical examples drawn from everyday experience. It’s not dumbed-down, not over-my-head technical, or abstract, but also not syrupy sweet or that putrid, vapid empty-headed “positive thinking” and “self-help” nonsense I’ve come to loathe so much. He shows you the difference between spiritual and non-spiritual things (thoughts, feelings, inner promptings) and helps you distinguish between the two in your own life.** He helps you to develop discernment so that you can tell when you are receiving promptings from God or from someone else (either our ancient enemy or our own selves). He shows you the difference between non-spiritual and spiritual desolation and the connection between the two; what to do after discerning the difference (ie, to accept the promptings from God and reject the ones from that other guy). And much, much more.

Episodes in the Living the Discerning Life series, showing now on EWTN. Also available in DVD from EWTN or from Fr.’s site.

Episode 1 – The Discernment of Spirits: The Teaching of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Fr. Timothy Gallagher begins this retreat on the 14 rules of St. Ignatius of Loyola by introducing us to St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher shows how the great saint converted from a life steeped in the secular culture of the time to one of deep love for our Creator. The priest also shows how we can discern whether events in our own lives are of God or the Enemy and how the choices we make can affect our immortal souls.

Episode 2 – The Enemy Hinders Those Seeking God: The Path of St. Augustine
Just as God tries to draw us near, Satan tries to pull us from God. Fr. Timothy Gallagher explains the 14 rules of St. Ignatius using the example of St. Augustine. He shows how we can easily fall into sin and have the inclination then to stay there instead of repenting and following God’s path for us.

Episode 3 – Spiritual Consolation and Desolation: The Third and Fourth Rules of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Fr. Timothy Gallagher shows us how the Good Spirit uses spiritual consolation to help us rise closer to the Creator. These consolations range from a simple hug from a child, smile from a co-worker or a full infusion of grace showing God’s actions in our lives. However, we may also feel periods of loneliness, but with God’s grace this to can be overcome.

Episode 4 – Spiritual Desolation: The Pull Towards Low and Earthly Things
Spiritual desolation is employed by the enemy to bring us down and draw us away from God. Fr. Timothy Gallagher shows that if we learn to live the discerning life, we can recognize the source of spiritual desolation and reject it, thus using it to enrich instead of harm our spiritual health.

Episode 5 – How Do We Handle Spiritual Desolation: Rejecting Downward Movement
We all experience times where we feel abandoned by God. Fr. Timothy Gallagher reminds us that God never leaves us, and we can combat spiritual desolation through prayer, meditation, and acts of penance.

Episode 6 – Spiritual Desolation: Why God Allows Hardships
The question is often asked “Why would a good and loving God allow us to suffer spiritual desolation?” Fr. Timothy Gallagher uses the teachings of St. Ignatius to show that because God is a good and loving God is the precise reason why we undergo desolation.

Episode 7 – Growing in Times of Desolation: Consolation from Desolation
God may seem far from us in times of desolation. Fr. Timothy Gallagher shows us why God is closer than ever during these times and how we can actually prepare for times of desolation when we are in consolation, reducing the hardship of the desolation and instead making it a learning experience.

Episode 8 – Moving Beyond Desolation: Fighting Temptation
Temptations abound when we are in times of desolation. Fr. Timothy Gallagher shows that we are always faced with temptations and the best way to resist is to stay close to God who will provide the strength to overcome all temptations.

Episode 9 – Breaking the Spiritual Silence: Speaking with the Proper Spiritual Person
We give in to temptation many times by holding it interiorly and fabricating accompanying scenarios for the temptation. Fr. Timothy Gallagher uses Ignatian Spirituality to show how if we share our concerns with a competent person, we realize our concerns are often not real, giving us the ammunition we need to fight the enemy.

Episode 10 – The Journey’s End: Concluding Our Ignatian Retreat
Retreats offer us time to renew and refresh our spirituality. Fr. Timothy Gallagher concludes the Ignatian retreat by summing up the saint’s 14 rules and answering participants questions.

I’ll be reading these books, listening to the audio, and watching the series (on the DVR until I can afford the DVD’s — and a DVD player!) for some time yet and I plan to blog about what I’m learning. Oh, and I should point out that neither the TV series, the DVD set, nor the MP3′s you can download are audiobooks. They’re not the Discernment of Spirits being read; they’re actual recordings of Fr. Tim’s conferences. When you hear these, it’s like sitting in a room with him while he teaches this Ignatian way to you and the others in the class. I don’t know about the CD sets yet.

Oh, and why the Setting Captives Free in the post title? It refers to Fr. Tim’s original title for the book. His editor thought the title, The Discernment of Spirits would be better. (I think I agree with the editor, though Setting the Captives Free – as he worded it — would have been fine as a sub-title.)

____________________

Notes

*”Fr. Tim” is the way he introduces himself, so I’ll follow his lead.

**It can be less than obvious which is which. I’ve had people who are, they tell me, “very spiritual”, indicate that they want to talk with me about “spiritual matters” and then proceed to regale me with ribald talk about subjects most sensual and physical, to the point of vulgarity. And not once has anyone ever told me how “spiritual” he or she is, but “not religious at all”, without following this up with the most un-spiritual revelations imaginable. How did our thinking become so twisted, inside out and upside down? (Hint: It has to do with the fall. And not the season. The Fall, with a capital T and a capital F.)

S.1867
Latest Title: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
Sponsor: Sen Levin, Carl [MI] (introduced 11/15/2011)      Cosponsors (None)
Related Bills: H.R.1540
Latest Major Action: 12/1/2011 Passed/agreed to in Senate. Status: Passed Senate with amendments by Yea-Nay. 93 – 7. Record Vote Number: 218.
Latest Action: 12/1/2011 See also H.R. 1540.
[Quoted from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:s.01867: with the addition of the link to H.R. 1540 which was not provided in the quoted material.]

Read more and take action!

• Read the story and see how your senator(s) voted at Conservative Action Alerts.
• Read the bill.
• Read the bill summary and status.
• Please contact your senator and tell him/her exactly how you feel about this. I am going to tell mine that he just lost my vote. And that I’m going to tell everybody I can about this. I already am. And have been all day. I just hope it’s not too late to do anything. I only found out yesterday that this was happening.

**In response to reader requests,
“Gestures and Postures of the Congregation at Mass”, which originally appeared in the February 2010 Adoremus Bulletin, is now available in PDF format, or go to google document, especially formatted for printing on standard 8.5 x 11 paper (2 sides).

Permission is granted to reproduce this file for personal or parish use. For all other uses, please contact us.

**See also Church Documents page for official instructions and statements of the Holy See on these same topics.