WHILE WE CELEBRATED THE ADVENT, CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR

 posted by frenchie

Pope Francis recently condemned the "cruelty" of another israeli air strike, which led to the death of another 7 children from a single Palestinian family, in Gaza, according to a communique from the civil defense of the territory.

" Yesterday, Children were again targeted. It is simply plain cruelty, it has nothing to do with war. I wish to say it publicly because it wounds my heart"  The Pope declared while talking to members of the Curia of the Holy See.

The speaker for the Civilian defense of the Gaza Strip Mahmud Bassal denounced " a new massacre by the occupiers (Israel) who "martyred 10 members of the Khalla family, who was targeted by an aerial strike on the family's house in Jabalia, near the town of Gaza. All the victims are from the same family, including 7 children, the oldest one being 6 years old, adding that there was also 15 severely wounded."

The Israeli armed forces affirmed that the Gaza Civil Defense statement does not match its own information. Tsahal claims that it hit several terrorists who operated a military structure, that belonged to Hamas, and represented a threat to its own troops.

This Israeli statement matches almost all its statements when it is accused to have targeted, Hospitals, schools, Churches and refugee camps consisting at this time of flimsy tents.

Pope Francis who is 88 years old, has constantly called for Peace since the October 7th attack and the campaign of retaliation and terror that followed it. Recently the Pope has used harsher terms than in the past against the Israeli operation now in its 14th month.

While the western press has been for the most part silent or apologetic about the Israeli operation, Francis in November declared "the arrogance of the invaders is taking over the need for dialogue in Palestine. A position which is starkly different than the usual Vatican tradition of Neutrality.

At a time when the World Health Organization remains totally mute about the bombardment of the last Hospital left standing in Gaza, Francis appears to be a single voice in the desert. In excerpts of his soon to be published Book, the Pope argues for a minutious study to legally determine if the situation in Gaza constitute a genocide, an accusation strongly rejected by Israel.

SO THERE ARE TWO CHOSEN PEOPLES....?

By Tim Rohr

Once again, I confess that I NEVER bother with the DIANA blog. However, from time to time, others do send me links to posts they think are "Jungle-worthy." 

And perhaps, here's one. 

The DIANA, who claims to only speak for herself and not The Neocatechumenal Way (NCW) - which she constantly speaks for - says - within the current context of the Israel v Hamas conflict - that she "stands with Israel."

As an aside, I stand with the innocent on both sides - seeing that the innocent on both sides are victims of what Bob Dylan once labeled "Masters of War" half a century ago. 

But beyond the current and terrible atrocities committed by both sides, there remains the issue that is at the root of this ongoing agony. 

Contrary to much modern thinking that the current atrocities are simply the latest manifestations of an ancient, ongoing war that we can do nothing about...well, this is not true.

If the reader will permit me to reference the recent scholarly post by Frenchie, the current atrocities are a direct result of the Heresy of Christian Zionism, which not only dates back to the 1800's as some hold, but back to the 1500's and the Protestant Reformation. 

In his post, Frenchie lays out the whole Zionist HERESY. However, for a short course, and if you prefer to just chill and listen, there are these two scholarly podcasts during which you'll get the gist of all this.

But back to The Diana. 

The Diana claims:

"Both the Jews and the Christians are His chosen people. The Jews are known as Old Israel, and Christians are the New Israel."

Diana, at the outset of her post, claims to be speaking only for herself and not "the brothers" (aka the rest of the NCW).

However, Diana's declaration comports exactly with the views of NCW founders (Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández) who clearly championed the rights of the "Old Israel" which include the "Old Israel's" right to the land from which they were cast out 2000 years ago; and which, per European Powers who wanted to be rid of them (the Jews) anyway - created an artificial state (1948) in which to dump them. And Hell has reigned ever since.

Meanwhile, the real import of Diana's post is exactly the "theology of Kiko and Carmen" which is that Israel remains God's "Chosen People," and that Israel shall be granted the "political Messiah" Israel has long expected.

This belief is in direct contrast to the TRUE TEACHING OF CATHOLICISM that Jesus Christ is the MESSIAH prophesied throughout the Old Testament and that THE CHURCH is the "New Israel."

THERE IS NO OTHER MESSIAH!

The NCW rejection of this FACT, as again set forth by The Diana, is why Archbishop Athanasius Schneider has defined the NCW as a Protestant-Jewish Heresy.

More to come...maybe. 

PERTINENT FACTS ABOUT ISRAEL V GAZA

On his personal blog, Frenchie has posted an article full of facts about the current Israeli-Gaza conflict that you won't easily find anywhere else. 

A PARADIGM SHIFT FOR ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

Also, you may want to read a decent entry about the conflict from Wikipedia.

The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The conflict originated with the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. Following the withdrawal, Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, and a civil war between Hamas and Fatah in 2007 culminated in Hamas gaining control over Gaza.[13][14] In response to Hamas's takeover, Egypt and Israel imposed an extensive blockade of the Gaza Strip that devastated Gaza's economy.[15] International rights groups have decried the blockade as a form of collective punishment,[16] while Israel defended it as necessary to prevent weapons and dual-use goods from entering the territory.[17][18] Since 2006, Hamas and Israel have fought five wars, the most recent in 2023.[19]

MUST LISTENS...

By Tim Rohr

This is an angle, or rather a "deep dive," into the root of the terror in the Middle-East that you are not going to hear about from any major media source, regardless of which side they're on. 

It's not just Jews vs Muslims - as the pop media would have us believe. It's actually a monstrous Christian Heresy vs both Jews AND Muslims, if not the whole world. 

The following series of two talks lays out clearly the history of Christian Zionism, a "theology" which found its full force in American politics and has wrought not just the current murderous mess in the Middle-East, but the murderous mess of decades past and decades to come. 

Christian Zionism part 1: Tracing the Lines of a Warmongering Heresy

Christian Zionism part 2: Why Christian Zionism Is a Problem

Articles for further reading:

Christian Zionism

United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM OFFERS HIMSELF IN TRADE TO HAMAS

By Tim Rohr

Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem offers to be exchanged for hostages held by Hamas

Link

I doubt Hamas will take him on his offer. Slaughtering children is much more useful for terrorists than holding or even killing a bishop.

But still. It's an awesome step for a Catholic prelate to offer himself up in a world of Catholic prelates who not only mostly run for cover, but party at synods while their Church collapses. 

Meanwhile, if there ever was a time for Francis to step up, it is now. 

Imagine a pope, this pope, Pope Francis, offering to do what this obscure bishop is offering to do. The benefits are fantastic.

First, should Francis lose his life in this "trade," he would certainly and immediately go to Heaven as a Martyr and would thereafter be immediately proclaimed a Saint.

Second, Francis is near the end of his earthly life anyway. 

Third, Nothing would turn "the world" more against Hamas, and terrorism generally, than the killing of a pope by terrorists.

Fourth, it is heavily rumored, that ISIS, if not Hamas, has already targeted Rome and the Pope.

Fifth, God will exact his vengeance - which I believe Hamas knows - and, which is why Hamas would never take such a deal. They would rather slaughter children on social media. 

ISRAEL V GAZA AND THE FEWNESS OF THE SAVED

By Tim Rohr

In spite of hearing about the conflict in the Middle-East all my life, I consider myself too uninformed to comment about the current conflict directly other than to oppose terrorism of any sort. 

However, I believe, that what is happening there still poses a lesson for us...both in the United States and in Guam.

The bottom line is that bad things do happen to good people, not only because of what bad people do but also because of what good people do not do. 

A well-worn saying, attributed to Edmund Burke, is "the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

The attribution to Burke has been contested, but because the mantra makes startling sense it has survived regardless of who said it. 

As a side note, the genesis of this quote can somewhat be traced to John Stuart Mills, an English philosopher and economist, who in 1867 stated: "Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing."

Note: Actually, the quote by Mills is even more on point and powerful.

We know this

Most of us intuitively know this. We see a traffic accident and we just want to drive on. We know of drug dealings in the house down the street and we choose to ignore. We hear of child abuse, clergy sex abuse, government abuse, and we retreat. 

It's just self-preservation, really - our deepest instinct. But there are consequences, and the sheep will pay as well as the goats. And while God will separate the sheep from the goats at The Judgment, "the World" will make no such distinction. The good will suffer with the bad: the weeds and the wheat shall be cut down together.

Relative to the current Israel-Gaza thing, the bottom line is that Gaza has been self-governed since 2005 and 90% of Gazans have elected and re-elected Hamas as their governing authority for the last 16 years. 

Given what Hamas is, it could be said that most Gazans were too fearful to elect anyone else. 

The same can be said about Hitler and his National Socialist Party when they were democratically elected in 1933 and by which time Hitler had already been scary for years. The majority of Germans can't be faulted - at least at the time - for just wanting to tend their families and their gardens and avoid the wrath of the Brown Shirts, so "let's just vote for Hitler and hope he's not what he appears to be." Most of us would have done the same.

In the end of course, all Germans suffered, not just Hitler's guys. And unfortunately, many Israeli's and Gazans have suffered and will suffer in the ongoing conflict, and not just the bad guys - regardless of what side they are on. The weeds will grow with the wheat and both will be cut down together. It's one of the mysteries of God's justice. 

Suffering for the misdeeds of others is nothing new of course. Fr. Chad Ripperger, a well known Catholic priest and exorcist, has an excellent series of talks about "generational spirits," in which he reminds us of how evil can infect us generationally and wherein we can and do suffer for the sins of our fathers, our mothers, and our ancestors - going back generations.

This, of course, is the very basis of the Doctrine of Original Sin. While through Christ we can be saved from eternal consequences of Original Sin through Baptism, we are not saved from the temporal consequences of Original Sin: suffering and death. 

Leaving history and theology, let's bring this closer to home. 

For whatever reason, Catholics, for decades now, have been the largest voting bloc for pro-abortion candidates, specifically presidential candidates, and most recently, Obama (54% in 2008 and 50% in 2012) and Biden (51% in 2020). 

Here is a statement by Catholics for Choice about the election of Biden:

US CATHOLIC VOTERS PLAYED A pivotal role in the 2020 election, helping lift Democrat Joe Biden to a narrow victory over President Donald Trump. In so doing, they sent a powerful message about support for abortion rights and access to reproductive healthcare among US Catholics today, as well as the limited role they believe US bishops should play in our electoral system.

Sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance

There are four mortal sins that are so evil that they are said to be sins that cry to heaven for vengeance: willful murder (Gn 4:10), sodomy (Gn 18:20-21), oppression of the poor (Ex 2:23), and defrauding workers of their just wages (Jas 5:4).

Murder is first on the list for a reason. Since only God can give Life, only God has the right to take it. Murder, which is the willful taking of the life of an innocent human being is an immediate repudiation of God's authority to His Face. How much more so when the murdered human is not just innocent, but defenseless, as is a child in the womb - the most innocent and defenseless of all?

Thus it can be clearly said that Abortion, of all sins, is the sin most offensive to God. And yet, we Catholics, the majority of we Catholics, champion, campaign for, elect, and support not only the Obamas and Bidens of the United States, but the Lou Leon Guerrero's of Guam. 

And, I would venture to say that we in Guam are all the more culpable given that so many "Lou" supporters (even amongst the clergy) are regular Mass-going communicants.

How long before the Lord gives permission for the harvesters of heaven to chop down our wheat with the weeds? 

If you are Catholic, and even if you are not, you may want to read THE LITTLE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO ARE SAVED by Saint Leonard of Port Maurice. And you may want to think twice about who you next vote for.