tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72484727325034567922024-03-12T23:54:00.897-07:00umblepieumblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-77744941012095098512024-02-03T16:12:00.000-08:002024-02-03T16:12:02.340-08:00'Hero' of our Times, one of many' - history will honour you.<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_f2let0kRWJF0vfrrJbfld7uyuTQjRBk9sOj9PZVQrAwmXaut1J0a5N4MXlcktygJV-onB37_14UcHXm56_HN4RzZWHiEPdK-gOCfQyrT17DCadfKk9Nau5Sqvg3r78zjCgtcOxoupNJQ0lGs4qaHLQPYkGCf_3kAs5I0BHHOMgRFYYz_KhNM60Xx1c4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_f2let0kRWJF0vfrrJbfld7uyuTQjRBk9sOj9PZVQrAwmXaut1J0a5N4MXlcktygJV-onB37_14UcHXm56_HN4RzZWHiEPdK-gOCfQyrT17DCadfKk9Nau5Sqvg3r78zjCgtcOxoupNJQ0lGs4qaHLQPYkGCf_3kAs5I0BHHOMgRFYYz_KhNM60Xx1c4" width="240" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Dr Peter McCullough</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>When the
full and raw history of the Covid nightmare is finally written, the name “McCullough”
will sit atop a relatively (very) short list of brave and inspirational figures
who stood tall and firm before the tidal wave of tyranny. Restrained and
unassuming by nature, this unlikely Titan of the righteous ‘resistance’ has
refused to bend his knee despite relentless attempts by corrupt and compromised
authorities and institutions to crush and cancel him.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Typically delivered in his extempore
style, this deeply personal testimony was given at the Religious Liberty
Weekend conference held in January 2023 at the Village Seventh Day Adventist
Church in Berrien Springs, Michigan. In effect, he relates the high cost of
conscientious objection to implacable agendas dictated to national governments
and transnational bodies by the unelected, unaccountable money powers.
Tragically, his hard experience has taught him that very few in today’s
affluent West are willing to pay this painful price of priceless freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Hailing from Presbyterian stock, he
stresses above all the <i>spiritual </i>war we are in; relating moments during
his providential ‘calling’ to engage in this battle that convinced him---
utterly---of its supernatural nature, thereby transforming his once casual
faith.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Extracts from his introductory
biographical information are included not only for their topical interest (the
subsequent ‘events’ in Israel and Gaza), but as a summary explanation of the
formative and marital influences behind his unwavering commitment, dignity, and
resilience. Our transcription/title. Speaker’s emphasis in italics. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Acknowledgements
and thanks:- Rod Pead, ‘Christian Order’, November 2023. No.11 Vol. 64.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
*************</span></b><b><u><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> </b><b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">“It Is A Spiritual Battle”</span></b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> <i>by Dr Peter McCullough.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>As a child, I grew up in Buffalo,
New York, a steel town, not dissimilar</span><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos;"> from<u> </u>Detroit, in the 1960s.</span><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos;"> My
family is an Irish immigrant family. My Dad worked in the factory. My family
came after the potato famine, which was 1850. My family came from Northern
Ireland, and they fared better during the tough times. You heard about the
kulaks, and 15 million who died, in an intentional famine in Ukraine. You heard that earlier today, and that was
around 1920.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos;"> Economic hard times fell in the
early 1970s. Before we knew it the factory jobs had gone away, and we didn’t
have any money. And we got to the point where we lost our car, lost our house,
lost everything. And so we packed up a car, and drove to Texas, because we
heard at that time there was work in Texas. We landed in Wichita Falls and
started out a new beginning in Wichita, Texas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos;"> So I finished school in Texas. I
went to Baylor University undergraduate , the University of Texas Southwestern
medical school, I finished top in my class. And then I went on to residency at
the University of Washington in Seattle.
I did three years service work ---and at the time it was common, 30
years ago or so, to do service, and so many of my fellow residents in Seattle became CDC officers, or
they were already in the military, or they did some sort of service. I did a rural health service, and I was in
Grayling, Michigan. That’s how I came to Michigan. So I was up in northern
Michigan, we really were all over, as a kind of patchwork, trying to deliver
healthcare in northern Michigan. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Middle
East connection.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And so in
the third year of that, I decided I needed more training in epidemiology and
statistics. I went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbour and I studied
epidemiology there, and then did my fellowship at William Beaumont Hospital.
Then I was fully baked as an internist, a cardiologist and an epidemiologist,
well trained and I launched my career. And I married after residency and had
two children. We raised our kids in Northville, Michigan. And I’d consider our
nuclear family as being solid. We were what I would consider reasonable
Christians. I was baptised in Knox Presbyterian church in Kenmore, New York,
and we went to a Presbyterian church in Northville.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> My wife is interesting. She is a
Christian Palestinian. Her family was of historical importance in Palestine. My
wife’s grandfather was the assistant Governor General under (Herbert) Samuel
who was the Lord, if you will, of Britain through the British Mandate, who was
overseeing the nation-building of Israel. And my wife, on her father’s side,
her grandfather was the Stationmaster of the Palestinian railroad. So the
Palestinians had a full railroad system, full educational system. And at the
time there were about 70,000 original Jews who were right near the ocean in a
town called Acre. That’s largely where they were. This was true for about 500
years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> My wife actually has a Turkish last
name, Buyuk. The Ottoman Empire and the Turks controlled that region for 800
years. So the modern nation-building of Israel is a pretty recent phenomenon.
So many of the current Israelis there are people who ostensibly are Russian or
Polish, or some other. The current
Israeli accent is almost more of a Russian accent. So when I go to Israel, and
I go jogging outside, which I do, I fit in, because there’s so many
blond-haired Russian-looking people. They don’t look like they are Semites.
Both the Palestinians and the Jews are Semites, they’re a Semitic people. And
they do have this common origin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Hebrew is a limited set of Arabic;
an Arabic derived from Aramaic. So Arabic is a broad, very dynamic language,
and Hebrew is very limited. So all the Palestinians there can speak Hebrew,
readily. My wife, her family, they can speak Hebrew readily as they live in
this new environment. They probably, 500
years ago, could speak Turkish too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Resilient
Christian bedrock<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> If you’ve ever been to Nazareth
there’s almost no Jews there. It’s almost completely a Palestinian area. It’s
within the borders of Israel. So,
Israel, I’ve been there several times, we have real estate there. I’ve found it
such an amazingly diverse place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> One of the things I’ve concluded
from going to Israel, is it will never be a Jewish state. Never. It’s the
birthplace of Christianity, the original people are still there, the
Palestinians. There are Druze, an early sect that has different beliefs.
There’s messianic Jews. There’s Franciscans. Christians. If you go to Jerusalem
you know the different quarters. By its nature it’s an incredibly
multi-cultural, diverse place. And
century, after century, after century there’s one ruling group after another
that wants the entire place to be ethnically cleaned. And it’s just not going
to happen. The current regime wants it to be a Jewish state. And with forty
percent of people who are doing something differently, including Christians,
Muslims and others, it’s just not going to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> I think that’s the tension of how
things are presented to us. I learnt this after 35 years of marriage. And the
reason why I’m telling you all this is because it’s the bedrock of my life and
marriage: to have somebody as resilient as a Palestinian, whose family
ultimately had to flee after the 1967 war. At that time the Israeli Defence
Force had gathered up, the tide had turned in that country, and when they came
to my wife’s house, they took the women and children to a ‘refugee camp’, they
took the men to a prison work camp for the Israeli Defence Force, and they
moved Polish families and Russian families into the family house, which they
owned for hundreds of years. And so, after they had two or three years of that,
they finally regathered, and then they ultimately took a plane to Toronto and
they declared political asylum there, and then they established in Toronto, and
that’s where my wife grew up. But it’s the fact that she’s a Palestinian and
she’s Christian, and it’s an ancient line of Christianity, and she’s resilient,
is very, very important.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Covid-19
upheaval<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> So my life was perfect as an
academic. I had all the wonderful privileges, of travel and fame, consulting
and publishing. I’d given grand rounds in almost every major institution in the
United States. Had a sterling track
record. I was studying how heart and kidney function interrelate to one
another. And then, Covid-19 hit, and I did instinctively what I thought I
should do, and that is to save every life that I possibly could, through my
scholarship, my clinical care, my research, my <i>authority </i>in the country
to do so. And, I learned within a few weeks, that something was dramatically
wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Doctors who were my <i>friends --- </i>all
over, including ones at Beaumont and University of Michigan, and Baylor in
Dallas --- were basically letting people <i>die; </i>and get slaughtered by
this virus. I<i> couldn’t </i>understand it. They quickly shut down, they
didn’t want to talk about it, phone calls weren’t answered, emails weren’t
answered, people started blocking one another. But these <i>doctors </i>were going
to let their patients get slaughtered, and they <i>did. </i>And I could <i>not</i>
believe it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And then it just got worse as we
moved through the whole era of the vaccines. The same doctors who<i> blocked </i>treatment
to their patients, and intentionally let them die, are the same doctors who are
promoting and forcing the vaccines on the patients. It’s the same <i>ones</i>.
The two are related. I told Tucker Carlson when I went into the (Fox News)
studio, I said, Tucker, the two are<i> linked</i>. Something is going on,
there’s some type of ‘disturbia’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And then, as a reasonable Christian,
I started to see things --- when I say reasonable, I meant I went to church, I
understood the principles, I accepted Christ as my Saviour, taught my kids
Christian principles, but I did not believe God was <i>specifically </i>managing
my life. And I really didn’t believe or see the acts of Satan or evil going on.
I understood evil as a concept. But I thought everything was in the human realm.
I really did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Satan
intervenes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Then what happened in 2020, I realised just even publishing a<i>
paper</i> on treating<i> Covid</i>, was --- was almost <i>sacrilege</i> in
medicine. That somehow, when I published a paper in the <i>American Journal of
Medicine, </i>which is a very good journal, I received letters from (university)
editors. I got one from Duke (Carolina), Monash (Australia), McMaster (Canada),
from Brazil, and the letters were: Dr McCullough you <i>can’t treat</i> Covid.
You <i>can’t treat</i> this. I said, <i>what</i>? Of course I can. In my letter, I’d even have
more and more evidence, I said, overcome your<i> fear, </i>and join <i>me</i>
in treating patients, and saving lives. But the response was, you know, ‘I
can’t do this.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And so, as the medicines evolved, I needed to get a second
paper updating the (Covid treatment) protocol. And at Baylor, we have the
wonderful luxury where (the) <i>American Journal of Cardiology </i>and the<i> Proceedings
of the Baylor University Medical Centre </i>were published right in our offices.
So, I organised a paper to go in the <i>Proceedings of the Baylor University
Medical Centre. </i>And I went through all the peer reviewed process, I got the
comments, I made edits, there was a final editorial decision, it was accepted
for publication, copyright fees, gallery proofs, publication fees, everything
--- it’s <i>done, </i>it’s a<i> done deal</i>, it’s forever going to be
permanently in medicine. And by that time I was called by the US Senate, and I
needed to cite that paper with the protocol in it. And I was waiting, and I was
waiting, and I was waiting, and I was waiting, and <i>nothing happened</i>. And
I kept contacting the publisher and <i>Taylor & Francis. </i>And finally I
got somebody on the phone (at International publisher Taylor & Francis) and
they said, ‘There’s a <i>problem </i>with this paper.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> <i>Problem</i>?!
A “problem” would’ve been <i>two months</i> ago. This is already a done deal,
it’s already vetted. I’ve already paid the publication fees, or substantially,
I’ve already paid them. It was done.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> They said,
you have to go talk to the editor, who happens to be right down the hall from
me. So I went right down the hall, and I talked to him. Now this is the senior
editor, someone who’s one of the most published people in medicine, the longest
standing editor of major journals, Dr Roberts.
I said, ‘Dr Roberts, is there a <i>problem</i> with this paper?’ He
goes, ‘I’ve never seen this before, in 40 to 50 years of editing. This paper
has been retrieved out of the National Library of Medicine, and now there’s an
administrative complaint that it overlaps too much with the first paper.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> The National
Library of Medicine is a computer database. It’s not operated by people. It’s a
computer database. There’s something like 20,000 entries made per day. <i>Per
day.</i> It doesn’t do matching up of one thing versus another thing. It
doesn’t have this (capacity). All the overlap with prior papers, all that’s
vetted ahead of time. All that was vetted, I had a whole transmittal of what
had happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And when
that happened, my face turned beet red. And I knew that something <i>extraordinary
</i>had to have happened. It <i>had</i> to. It’s <i>impossible</i> for <i>someone</i>
to fish that out (of the National Library of Medicine). It’s <i>impossible</i>
for <i>someone</i> to actually be able to ID this, and realise that another
treatment paper is coming. It’s impossible. It is <i>physically</i>, and from a
computer technology (standpoint) impossible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> I went home
that night, and I told my wife, I <i>think</i> that is an <i>act</i> of <i>Satan. </i>I think<i> </i>Satan had directly
intervened in my life.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Grace of the
Holy Spirit</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And as things became more tense
through 2020, I was called to the US Senate, and I was the lead witness in a
historic set of hearings, November 19<sup>th</sup>, 2020. I had to submit a US
Senate biography, I got a speech- writer because I had a five minute opening
statement, it has to have a certain format, so I hired a speech writer in
Washington, and I did this, and it was negotiated with the Senate, it was
accepted. And now all I had to do was<i> read </i>my speech. That’s all I had
to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And my wife and I went to
Washington, I was in the Kimpton Hotel, probably 600 rooms, and there were
three people in the entire hotel. All of Washington was shut down. All the
Starbucks around were shut down. We literally walked, like three miles, to find
a restaurant open, and we went past the Smithsonian, everything was closed
down. I realised, Washington, in the fall of 2020, was <i>shut down</i>, our
government wasn’t <i>meeting</i>. Everything had been dissolved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> So that night I was practising my
speech and my wife was timing it, and she goes, ‘You’re not making it in five
minutes. You’re not making it. You’re not making the time.’ And I am just not a
good<i> reader </i>of a message. My habit is to do what I’m doing now, to do it
with no prepared comments. I prepare it in my mind, but I speak
extemporaneously.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> So, I went to bed that night, I didn’t
sleep well. I was about on day seventeen of Covid, I was recovering from Covid,
I had a relatively severe case so I was on steroids, and I wasn’t sleeping that
well. I hadn’t had my hair cut in months (due to lockdown). And so there I am,
I’m on the Senate floor. Opening statements are given by Senator (Ron) Johnson,
who’s the (Republican) majority chairman, and then opening statements by Gary
Peters from Michigan, who’s the (Democrat) minority chairman.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Senator Johnson has no mask on, he’s
handsome, he’s brilliant, and he’s saying, ‘I’m bringing doctors here to tell
America where they have found success in treating patients.’<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And Gary Peters left a black mask
on, and Gary Peters said, ’Well, what we’re going to hear today? What I <i>don’t</i>
want America to do, is to have any <i>hope</i>.’ (Audience sighs) He meant to
say, ‘any false hopes,’ but it slipped out, that he didn’t want America to have
any hope. He didn’t want America to have any hope, and I’ll just never forget
that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> The Senate chambers are relatively
empty, most people aren’t there. Some people are on-line. We were supposed to
have Mitt Romney, and Kamala Harris. Everyone’s <i>in</i> <i>absentia.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> So after the comments, I’m the first
witness, and Senator Johnson said, ‘Dr McCullough.’ He introduces me. I look at
this impossible 700 – word speech in five minutes. And I look at it, I look at
my timer, which I have five minutes, and that’s it. And then I just turn that
speech over and I just <i>went</i>. And at <i>that</i> <i>moment</i>, I felt
like a jolt of lightning went into my body. And my voice changed, I became <i>aggressive</i>,
I became <i>hyper</i>-focused, I didn’t <i>miss a single word</i>, I didn’t <i>stumble</i>
on a <i>single point, </i>I showed my protocols, I was <i>clear</i>, and I
concluded. I had concluded that American lives were being lost because early
treatment was denied. And I had concluded that academic <i>fraud </i>had
occurred in the literature, and I used those words. But when I<i> finished</i>,
and I looked <i>down</i>, it was <i>five minutes</i> --- not a second more, not
a second later. (Applause)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> My heart rate had to be 140.
Yeah. And…I basically realised something
had really happened. And then the rest of the proceedings to me were like a
blur, even though it was hours it seemed like it was over in minutes. And I
went to lunch in an empty restaurant with my wife in Washington, and I told
her, ‘Something just happened. <i>Something</i> happened. I <i>felt</i> the
Holy Spirit come into me for those five minutes.’ And from that point on, I
knew that this was way more than an academic debate. This was way more than
science point versus science point.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Prayer
and Providence.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> In my involvement, in being called
by the media, called by the Senate, I had previously been called by the White
House, it just started to happen in a flurry. And, I ultimately amassed
probably more <i>media</i> time <i>than any person in</i> the media, right now.
Remember, you see Tucker Carlson, he’s on for an <i>hour. </i>You know, there
were some days I would be on <i>sixteen </i>TV shows in a<i> day</i>. In a <i>day</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And it just kept happening, and
happening, and happening. And what I had concluded, and what I got in the habit
of doing is …for instance,. I’m a frequent contributor on call for Fox, when I
go to the Fox studio they’re very nice, they pick me up in a car, and send in a
make-up crew and I go through all these steps… but in the preparatory phase, in
the commercials and all these lights are on, they shut the door, which is
wonderful, so I’m in a box by myself --- I pray. I <i>pray </i>and say ‘God, I’ve
got a minute, I’ve got two minutes, I have to …let these words speak through
me, let these words come through me, out.’ So when you see me in the media, <i>that’s
</i>what I’m doing. I’m trying to let God speak through me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And it started to happen on a more
regular basis, on a more regular basis. And then I began to do public
programmes, like the first one I did here (in Berrien Springs) but I did many
more. And it was a cold day in January of 2022, and I was in Minneapolis, and
we had some type of death threat that was announced. So it rattled us, my wife
was with me, the police were there, they had to check the hotel room, and
things had to be checked out. So we were just a little rattled, that this was
the first time that this had come up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And I got through the programme, and
I knew I was going to go right from Minneapolis to Washington, and they had
security in Washington because I was going to give a speech on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial for the very first <i>Defeat
the Mandates </i>rally, and I was the first medical speaker. And so things were
really tight, and there was a lot of commotion, just, you know, when I showed
up there was a huge crowd and everyone wanted to say hi and shake hands, and
the security people were pushing me back, like, no, I can’t say hi to anyone,
or certainly can’t touch anybody.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And as I was kind of ushered up on
the Lincoln Memorial, I got up there and there I saw this huge crowd, and it
was a freezing cold day, and the same thing happened. The same thing happened.
(Looking heavenwards in prayerful posture) I just said, ‘Speak. Through. Me.’
And it was<i> seven</i> minutes. <i>Seven</i>. And I hit <i>all the points</i>.
I hit all the points, and I stopped and I listened for any dissent from the
crowd. And when you look back in history some of <i>the most</i> <i>important </i>speeches
(whispering) are the<i> shortest</i>. The Gettysburg address was like
two-and-a-half minutes. This is really important.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Stripping</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> It started to happen over and over
again. And then, through this period of time, my interpretation is the acts of
Satan have been directed towards me and people in my circles, and probably
towards <i>you</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> So, I was walked into an office one
day at the hospital, after years of perfect service, patient revenue, grants,
success. I had had success with covid, I had testified in the US Senate, people
were clapping, they took half a day off to watch the testimony. Six weeks later
I was walked into an office, they said, turn in your badge, you’re fired. What
was the reason? <i>No reason</i>. No reason. I hadn’t violated the contract,
hadn’t violated due process. Didn’t matter. So I scramble …I have to transfer
my practice and transfer all the insurance contracts and just <i>a tremendous
amount of work</i>, for a doctor who’s busy to now transfer a practice. So I
did it within the same medical centre, reset up-shop there, working now at just
a fraction of my prior salary but at that point in time it didn’t matter, what
matters is taking care of my patients and having a presence, and then I have
more media exposure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And then the next thing you know I
start receiving certified letters or email. Stripped of a professorship at one
university. Stripped of a professorship at another university. <i>For no reason</i>.
No reason.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Now let me tell you what.
Professorship’s a big deal. There has to be a faculty senate hearing. There has
to be points made, discussions. I mean if I committed an act of moral turpitude
or something like this, there would be all this investigation. There was
nothing, and it was just a very sterile letter: you are stripped of this title.
And then a follow-up letter: If you ever use this title publicly we’re going to
sue you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Then editorships. I was the editor
of two major journals. Again, no due process, no editorial meeting, no courtesy
call. No transition <i>plan</i>. Just, ‘you are terminated as editor-in-chief.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Then it kept going. I was stripped
of every National Institutes of Health (NIH) committee that I’ve been on, some
for decades. Every pharmaceutical company committee. Pharmaceutical (committees
that) have <i>nothing to do </i>with vaccines<i>. </i>NIH committees that have <i>nothing
to do</i> with Covid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> And it just kept going, and going,
and going. Recently, two weeks ago, I got a letter from a French company, being
stripped of chairmanship of two day-safety monitoring boards, which I’ve been
on for, you know, this is a long-term investment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> These acts take <i>effort</i>. They’re
expensive for the people doing them because they have to find people to replace
me. They have to re-contract. This is <i>not</i> a minor thing. People doing
this are hurting themselves. They’re not benefitting at all. I probably have
two dozen of these. In my book, ‘Courage to Face Covid-19', it tells the story
that I’m telling you today, and there’s a chapter in there called “The
Stripping”. And it almost has this religious analogy, right. This stripping. Of
just how I’m being stripped. Now it’s not painful. I’m not in any <i>pain.</i>
It’s humiliating. It’s a public thing. But it’s really come to a head last
year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Kangaroo
Court<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In May, I get a letter from the
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), which certifies doctors as
internists and cardiologists and other specialists. And the American Board of
Internal Medicine said, you have violated our code of Covid misinformation
policy.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Turns out that in September of
2021, the ABIM enacted a Covid misinformation policy. But they didn’t tell
doctors what they consider misinformation. They didn’t give us teaching
modules, talking points, or anything. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And
we do lots of teaching modules, we do lots of compliance, we sign off on all
this stuff. Nothing. So they come up with this policy in September of 2021.
They went back in time to March 2021 and said, aha, what you said at the Texas
Senate is misinformation, we disagree with you. And here’s the reason why we
disagree.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> So I do a rebuttal letter to them.
They go into deliberation, they have this committee of people who don’t have
any experience with Covid, no experience of testifying in any public setting,
really kind of junior group of doctors, and they come out of this meeting and
convict me of Covid misinformation. And now have said that I have been
recommended to be stripped of my internal medicine and cardiology reports.
Stripped. I did three years of medicine in residency at University of
Washington. I did three years of cardiology fellowship at William Beaumont
hospital. I have passed all the exams. Did very well. I finished you know,
number one clinically in my class in medical school. I have a perfect, flawless
track record as a clinician. The <i>only </i>thing this board should care about
is, is somebody <i>competent </i>as a specialist, and as an internist. That’s
the only thing: are they in good stead, did they do a residency and a
fellowship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Now, I’ve had to lawyer up and do
this very arduous appeal process to the same kangaroo court that’s convicted me
of misinformation, which isn’t provable or not provable. And all my statements
as I’ve made, I’ve cited and referenced, I’m as tight with the data as anyone
out there. So I’m on the precipice now of being de-certified. I may be the
first public figure to be de-certified … that is, stripped of residency and
fellowship… for no clinical reason. I won’t be able to contract with insurance
companies anymore, so I won’t be able to hold hospital privileges anymore. So,
my whole career begins to dissolve. So that by the time the American Board of
Internal Medicine announces that I’ve been convicted of Covid misinformation,
within a few weeks I’m called into an office with my <i>current </i>practice at
the same medical centre, a very good private practice, two years of stellar
track record, building patients and referrals, all this success, and I’m told
that I’m fired, for <i>no reason. </i>So I go home that night and tell my wife
I’ve been fired …for no reason.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Doctors:
inner darkness and palpable fear.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Now the doctors who fired me, they were my <i>friends.
</i>One guy I went to medical school (with). They literally were looking at the
table, they wouldn’t look me in the eye. (Head down, mumbles in imitation) “Um,
you’re fired, uh…” They just seemed so uncomfortable. No vitriol. They weren’t
mad at me. They had some type of darkness in them. They were almost trembling,
and sweating. They were overcome with <i>fear</i>. <i>Fear</i> is in their <i>bodies.</i>
The body language of fear, I’ve learned to recognise it. (repeats) I’ve learned
to recognise it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> I’ve challenged <i>any doctor</i> in
America, if they think it’s <i>right</i>, to deny people treatment, or if they
think it’s right to push these vaccines, to just come and talk to me, just look
me in the eyes<i>. Not a single one.</i> I can’t get a bad e-mail. I can’t even
get a bad <i>text</i> message from one of these doctors. <i>None.</i> It became
so <i>crazy</i> that somebody in our group who’s got a lot of money has offered
millions of dollars: ‘If anyone would just come up and <i>talk</i> to Dr
McCullough, I’ll pay you a million dollars.’ No one will do it. (repeats) No
one will do it. And when I see people, I see people in the hallway, I still
have a few more clinic sessions before I am out of my current position, the
doctors just look at the ground. They just look at the ground. They <i>cannot </i>look
me in the eye. The nurses know what’s going on. They know what’s going on. But
the doctors cannot look at me in the eye. It is a sign of <i>incredible burden</i>
that they must have. I’ve come to conclude; they <i>must</i> have the presence
of Satan within them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">A
spiritual battle<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Nobody is chattering. If doctors really <i>knew </i>that
not treating patients was immoral, and unethical, if they <i>really</i> knew
that these vaccines were killing patients, and they still did it anyway, they
couldn’t handle the guilt. They would be chattering. There’s no chatter. The
doctors took the vaccine themselves. And they still <i>are</i> taking them. So
doctors are divided. There’s a million doctors out there. There’s maybe 500 to
a thousand who vociferously said they’re not taking the vaccine. Five hundred
to a thousand. And then there’s about a hundred thousand that didn’t take the
vaccine and don’t think it’s safe, but they won’t say it. And there’s probably
about 900,000 who took it. I’ve seen one estimate where its 96% of doctors have
taken the vaccine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> So the doctors are in on this <i>completely</i>.
But I do believe it is <i>clearly a</i> <i>spiritual battle.</i> I think what
we’re seeing are acts of Satan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Eerie
silence and disregard<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> You <i>know</i> this, with the next
young athlete who dies, of which now you are seeing reports every <i>day</i>.
And the report will show some wonderful young person, they’re perfectly
healthy, and they’ve just died, on the sporting field, or they’ve died in the
locker room. And there is some type of report like, ‘It was good to know them
while they were here, and we need to appreciate people.’ Some type of language.
But then never any <i>cause</i> of what’s happened, and never really any
reaction from the parents. And then it’s <i>gone</i>. It is <i>gone</i>. The
parents don’t speak out. There is <i>never</i> a mention of whether- or- not
they took a vaccine. There’s never a mention of whether- or- not they had <i>Covid.</i>
There’s never a mention of anything. It’s as if, they are just, <i>disappearing</i>.
Just, like a flicker of light, and it’s gone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Chilling
censorship<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Person, after person …probably today while I am
speaking there’ll be a few more. And every time there’s never any mention.
Never any mention. And actually, if they <i>have</i> taken the vaccine in the
past, quickly Google and all the search engines change where you can’t find it.
Somebody has to be really skilful (in locating online data) to say, ‘Oh, look,
they took the vaccine.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> Irene Cara, the woman who sings the ‘Flash-
dance’ song, it happened to her recently. And she died, and the write up said, ‘She
died, and we don’t know what happened.’ Somebody dug it up somewhere and she
just took the vaccine on her birthday, and she had tweeted that out and what
have you. It was already scrubbed from Twitter. But someone had found it. Each
time, each time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Alarming Realisation</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>So, when Damian Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills (footballer), has a cardiac arrest<b><span style="line-height: 107%;"> </span></b> out on the field, within 24 hours they had raced a film crew out to me. I was in Colorado and they wanted my commentary. And I had listened for 24 hours to commentary. Media person after media person, current player, former player, doctors --- not a <i>single</i> person would <i>mention</i> the possibility of <i>vaccine-induced</i> myocarditis and sudden death. It was a straight line. The straight line was, the US government paid the NFL (National</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">Football League) money in 2021 to push the vaccines to the Covid Community Corps (of “trusted” government “messengers” pushing the jabs). The NFL was trying to decide what to do. The FDA came out and said ‘The vaccines cause myocarditis.’ That means athletes cannot have myocarditis and be on the field, athletes really can’t take the vaccine. Then the NFL in the mid-summer of 2021 says, ‘vaccine mandate.’ And then for eight months the players were mandated to take the vaccine. NFL proudly says 95% of players took the vaccine. I told (Fox News hosts) Tucker Carlson a week ago, I told Laura Ingraham this week, it is a <i>straight line</i>. It is a straight line. Any doctor who is <i>not considering the</i> <i>vaccine (</i>as the cause)… is in some form of a<i> trance</i>, some form of a fog, if they’re genuinely not considering the vaccine.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I think there’s a psychological phenomenon going on. I think when people have this (shot) inside their body, they<i> cannot possibly</i> imagine that the same thing could happen to them. The reason why the players look so nauseated, and all the commentators looked pale, is so many of them were thinking, ‘Oh ---, could I be next?’.<i> That’s</i> what they were thinking.’ Could I be next? Could I be next?</span></p><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Instrument of the devil.</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The vaccine</i>, and everything it is, and how it’s been utilised, could be conceptualised, as an instrument of the devil. It meets <i>all</i> the characteristics for such an instrument.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Divides people. Makes people sick. Makes people question themselves. Removes joy. Removes clarity. Creates more confusion, more self doubt.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">All in a single shot. And you know, it could be an instrument of the devil if it was<i> saline</i>, if it was <i>placebo</i>, it could still be an instrument of the devil. I think Covid-19 the illness, was an instrument of the devil.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Shuts down houses of worship, but leaves open the liquor stores and the striptease joints, right. <i>Scares</i> our<i> seniors</i>. Takes away our seniors. Takes away their last Christmas. Their last birthday.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Divides families.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Creates endless amounts of fear and suffering.</span></p><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Hellish hospitals: explosion of pure evil.</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And then the hospitalisation. I think the hospitalisation itself, represents <i>evil</i>. Hospitals themselves now, instead of being places to get well and recover, now are viewed as death traps. And it is true. And the <i>horrors</i> that have gone on inside hospitals, are <i>unspeakable</i>, when it comes to Covid. And there’s vignette after vignette, class section lawsuit after class section lawsuit … it’s <i>inexplicable.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We’re three years into it, (and) not a single hospital in America has tried to improve patient care for Covid. Not a single hospital in Michigan claims to be any good at treating <i>Covid</i>. There are no <i>comparative</i> statistics in Michigan. <i>Nobody</i> has any<i> outpatient protocols </i>at any one of the major universities in Michigan to even <i>treat</i> Covid, let alone handle a vaccine injury. Michigan is a <i>great place</i> for science and medicine, Michigan is<i> completely devoid</i> of <i>any excellence</i> or<i> bravado</i> in Covid-19. <i>Zero</i>. It’s . . . beyond . . . <i>any conception</i>. The only thing that could keep University of Michigan down . . . University of Michigan is lower than the lousiest hospital in India right now, when it comes to innovation and Covid . . . the only thing that could keep University of Michigan <i>down</i>, is some type of prevailing <i>force</i>, that is pure evil. That is the only thing that explains it. <b> </b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Larger prevailing ideology<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"> You can’t
get in the minds of thousands and thousands of people, without having some type
of explanation. The same thing is true for the Karolinska Institute in <st1:place w:st="on">Sweden</st1:place>.
And the same thing is true for the best
hospitals in <st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place>.
It’s worldwide (repeats) It’s worldwide. When Covid-19 hit, it came in the
minds of people to hurt other people in the context of Covid. It came in the
minds of people to do nothing, for people with Covid. And to impede anybody who
was trying to help them. And now the vaccines, it’s come into the mind that no
matter how bad they are, or how ineffective they are, they are going to be
forced on people with no exception.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i>It’s in
the minds of people. </i>All over the world simultaneously. And they’re
thinking the same way. (My mind has been) opened up to what’s really going on.
A larger prevailing … ideology … that because it’s so synchronised, and is so
worldwide, it can’t be due to Twitter. It can’t be due to some Memo that was
sent. It’s <i>too big</i>. (repeats) It’s <i>too big</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Personal sacrifice</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"> So my
personal journey and summary, is that I think through all this, I don’t feel
worthy, but I think I’ve been called. (Applause) And I think my mission, my instructions, are … <i>to deliver a
message.</i> To deliver a message. And, as in so many examples in the Bible, being
called means <i>sacrifice</i>. The two go <i>together </i>And I can’t tell you
how many people have come up to me, <i>billionaires </i>that come up to me,
‘Oh, I want to get a picture with you, I want to meet you, and listen, I really
like what you’re doing.’ I said, ‘Listen, you’re a <i>billionaire</i>. Do you
know what <i>good</i> you can do for the world.’ And he said, (whispers) ‘Well,
I want to stay behind the scenes.’</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Everybody
in this great controversy that we’re in right now, doesn’t want to lose <i>anything</i>.
They want a good <i>outcome</i>. But they want <i>no</i> personal loss or
injury whatsoever. I don’t think it’s going to work that way. Look what (conference speaker) Dr Vine presented. There was no one who got out of that
Ukrainian (Holodomor) <i>catastrophe </i>unscathed.
Nobody. Everyone paid a price. I think it’s going to get much worse, in the
States. It’s going to get much worse. Not a single one of you is going to come
out of this, without making a sacrifice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> The only
thing I can tell you, I can thank God right now, the sacrifices are with no <i>pain</i>,
no physical pain, no suffering. I sleep very well at night. We are very well
taken care of as a group of people. And I can tell you right now, I wouldn’t do
<i>anything</i> any differently. <i>Nothing</i>. (Applause) It’s the most
important work we can <i>do</i>. The most important thing. Looking back on it
now, now I understand God was <i>preparing</i> me for this. <i>The entire time</i>,
God was preparing my <i>wife</i> to do this. God was preparing my family, was
preparing <i>you</i>. God was preparing us for times such as this. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <b><i>Thank you Dr Peter McCullough. Ed.</i></b></span></p><p></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-2764816619389633022023-11-07T17:07:00.000-08:002023-11-07T17:07:20.984-08:00'Suora Marianna' by Francesca Alexander<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Suora
Marianna’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Translated from the Italian by Francesca
Alexander<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Little children, will you listen to a simple tale of
mine,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That I learned at San Marcello, in the Tuscan
Apennine,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From an aged, saintly woman, gone to heaven long ago?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It has helped me on my journey, and as yet you cannot
know<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Half the wisdom stored within it, nor the comfort it
can give;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But still, try and not forget it! You will need it if
you live,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And some day, when life is waning and your hands begin
to tire,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You will think of Marianna, and her vision by the
fire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In a convent, old and quiet, near a little country
town,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On a chestnut-shaded hillside, to the river sloping
down,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dwelt a few of those good sisters who go out among the
poor,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who must labour late and early, and much weariness
endure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the one who did in patience and in all good works
excel,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Was the Sister Marianna, she whose story now I tell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She was ever kind and willing, for each heavy task
prepared:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">No one ever thought to spare her, and herself she
never spared.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All unpraised and all unnoticed, bearing burdens not
her own,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Yet she lived as rich and happy as a queen upon her
throne!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She was rich, though few would think it; for God gave
her grace to choose,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Not the world’s deceitful riches, but the wealth one
cannot lose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There are many heap up treasure, but it is not every
one<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who will take his treasure with him when his earthly
life is done.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Was she beautiful? I know not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had eyes of peaceful light,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her face looked sweet and blooming in its frame of
linen white.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To the sick and heavy-hearted she was pleasant to
behold,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she seemed a heavenly vision to the feeble and the
old.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She was happy when she wandered up the wandering
mountain road,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Bearing food and warmth and blessing to some desolate
abode,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Though the ice-cold winds were blowing, and her
woman’s strength was tried;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For she knew who walked there with her, in her heart
and by her side.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She was happy - oh, so happy! -in her little
whitewashed cell,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Looking out among the branches, where they gave her
leave to dwell,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In her scanty hours of leisure; for there, looking
from the wall,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Were the dear and holy faces that she loved the best
of all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was an old and faded picture, poorly painted at the
best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of Our Lord, the Holy Infant, in His Mother’s arms at
rest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But her faith and loving fancy had a glory to it lent,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the faces that she saw there were not what the
artist meant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the wooden shelf before it she would often-times
adorn<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With the buttercup and bluebell, and the wild rose
from the thorn,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Which she gathered, when returning, while the morning
dew was bright,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From some home, remote and lonely, where she watched
the sick by night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So her life was full of sunshine, for in toiling for
the Lord<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She had found the hidden sweetness that in common
things lies stored:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He has strewn the earth with flowers, and each eye
their brightness sees;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But He filled their cups with honey, for His humble
working bees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But there came a time--poor sister--when her rosy
cheek grew pale,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her eyes, with all their sunlight, seemed to smile
as through a veil;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her step was weak and heavy, as she trod the steep
ascent,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where through weeks of wintry weather to her loving
work she went.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was a footpath, lone and narrow, winding up among
the trees,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And ‘t was hard to trace in winter, when the slippery
ground would freeze,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the snow fall thick above it, hiding every sight
and mark;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But she went that way so often she could climb it in
the dark!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was to nurse a poor young mother, by fierce malady
assailed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That she made the daily journey, and she never once
had failed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now the short sharp days were over, and the spring had
just begun;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Every morn the light came sooner, and more strength
was in the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All around the grass was springing, and its tender
verdure spread,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Mid the empty burrs of chestnuts, and the old leaves,
brown and dead,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Low and small, but creeping, creeping till it almost
touched the edge<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of the daily lessening snowdrifts, under rock or
thorny hedge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From the wreck of last year’s autumn, life awakened
strong and new,</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the buds were crowding upward, though as yet the
flowers were few.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Many nights had she been watching, and with little
rest by day,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For her heart was in the chamber where that helpless
woman lay;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There the flame of life she cherished, when it almost
ceased to burn,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Praying God to help and keep them till the husband
should return.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was the old and common story, such as all of us can
hear,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If we care to, in the mountains, every day throughout
the year!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She who languished, weak and wasting, in the garret
chamber there,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Had been once as strong and happy as the wild birds in
the air.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She had been a country beauty, for the boys to
serenade;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the poets sang about her, in the simple rhymes
they made,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And with glowing words compared her to the lilies as
they grew,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or to stars, or budding roses, as their manner is to
do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then the man who played at weddings with his ancient
violin,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With his sad, impassioned singing, had contrived her
heart to win;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And one brilliant April morning he had brought her
home, a bride,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To his farm and low-built cottage on the mountain’s
terraced side.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was a poor, rough home to look at, and from
neighbours far away,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But with love and health and music there was much to
make it gay.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They were happy, careless people, and they thought not
to complain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Though the door were cracked and broken, or the roof
let in the rain:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They could pile the fire with branches, while the
winter storms swept by;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the rest, their life was mostly out beneath the
open sky.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Time had come, and brought its changes, sunshine first,
and then the shade,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Frost untimely, chestnuts blighted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sickness came, and debts were made;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Fields were sold, alas, to pay them; yet their
troubles did not cease,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the poor man’s heart was troubled thus to see his
land decrease!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Fields were gone, and bread was wanting, for there now
were children small;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Much he loved them, much he laboured ---but he could
not feed them all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So he left them, heavy hearted, and his fortune went
to try<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the low Maremma country, where men gain or where
they die,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With its soft and treacherous beauty, with its
fever-laden air;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But as yet the fever spared him, and they hoped it yet
would spare.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was a long and cruel winter in the home he left
behind:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Lonely felt the house without him, and the young wife
moped and pined:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Still her children’s love sustained her, till this
sickness laid her low;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When good Sister Marianna came to nurse her, as you
know.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Week on week had hope been waning, as more feeble
still she grew:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Marianna tried, but vainly, every simple cure she
knew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then the doctor gave up hoping, and his long
attendance ceased:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“I can do no more,” he told her; “you had better call
the priest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To her husband I have written; he will have the news
today:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">If he cares again to see her, he had
best be on his way!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now the priest has done his office; at the open door
he stands,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And he says to Marianna: “I can leave her in your
hands,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I have other work that calls me; if tonight she chance
to die,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You can say the prayers, good sister, for her soul as
well as I.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So they left her, all unaided, in the house forlorn
and sad,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Still to watch and think and labour with what failing
strength she had.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There was none to share her burden, none to speak to,
none to see --<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Save a helpful boy of seven, and a restless one of
three,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And their little dark-eyed sister (she was five, and
came between),<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And a baby, born that winter, which the father had not
seen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Two days more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her friend lay sleeping, and she watched beside the bed:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In her arms she rocked the baby, while the Latin
prayers she said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Prayers to help a soul departing -- yet she never
quite despaired!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Might not yet the Lord have pity, and that mother’s
life be spared?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was so hard to see her going --- and such a mother,
kind and dear!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There was ne’er another like her in the country, far
or near!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(So thought Sister Marianna.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet to murmur were a sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But her tears kept rising, rising, though she tried to
hold them in,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Till one fell and lay there shining, on the head that
she caressed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Small and pretty, dark and downy, lying warm against
her breast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She was silent; something moved her that had neither
place nor part<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the grave and stately cadence of the prayers she
knew by heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then she spoke, with eyes dilated, with her soul in
every word,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As to one she saw before her--- “Thou hast been a
child, my Lord!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Thou hast lain as small and speechless as this infant
on my knees;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Thou hast stretched toward Thy Mother little helpless
hands like these:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Thou hast known the wants of children, then---Oh
listen to my plea,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For one moment, Lord, remember what Thy Mother was to
Thee!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Think, when all was dark around Thee, how her love did
Thee enfold.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How she tended, how she watched Thee; how she wrapped
Thee from the cold!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How her gentle heart was beating, on that night of
tears and strife,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When the cruel guards pursued Thee, when King Herod
sought Thy life!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How her arms enclosed and hid Thee, through that
midnight journey wild!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Oh, for love of Thine own Mother, save the mother of
this child!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now she paused and waited breathless; for she seemed
to know and feel<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That the Lord was there and listened to her passionate
appeal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then she bowed her head, all trembling; but a light
was in her eye,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For her soul had heard the answer: that young mother
would not die!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Yes, the prayer of faith had saved her! And a change
began that day:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When she woke her breath was easy, and the pain had
passed away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So the day that dawned so sadly had a bright and
hopeful close,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And a solemn, sweet thanksgiving from the sister’s
heart arose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now the night had closed around them, and a lonesome
night it seemed!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the sky was black and starless, and for hours the
rain had streamed:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the wind and rain together made a wild and
mournful din,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As they beat on door and window, madly struggling to
come in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Marianna, faint and weary with the strain of many days,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On the broad stone hearth was kneeling, while she set
the fire ablaze,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the poor lone soul she cared for would, ere
morning, need to eat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Now, God help me,” said the sister, “this night’s
labour to complete!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was a meal she knew would please her, which she
lovingly prepared,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of that best and chosen portion, from the convent
table spared,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Which she brought, as was her habit, with much other
needed store,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the worn old willow basket, standing near her on
the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On her work was much depending, so she planned to do
her best;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she set the earthen pitcher on the coals as in a
nest,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With the embers laid around it; then she thought
again, and cast<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On the pile a few gray ashes, that it might not boil
too fast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the touch of sleep was on her, she was dreaming
while she planned,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the wooden spoon kept falling from her limp and
listless hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then she roused her, struggling bravely with this
languor, which she viewed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As a snare, a sore temptation, to be fought with and
subdued.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But another fear assailed her -- what if she should
faint or fall?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And tonight the storm-swept cottage seems so far away
from all!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How the fitful wind is moaning! And between the gusts
that blow,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She can hear the torrent roaring, in the deep ravine
below.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her head is aching strangely, as it never did
before:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Good Lord, help me!” she is saying: “this can last
but little more!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">O my blessed Lord and Master, only help me through the
night--<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Only keep my eyes from closing till they see the
morning light!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For that mother and that baby do so weak and helpless
lie,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And with only me to serve them, -- if I leave them,
they may die!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She is better -- yes I know it, but a touch may turn
the scale.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I can send for help tomorrow, but tonight I must not
fail!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was in vain; for sleep had conquered, and the words
she tried to say<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">First became a drowsy murmur, then grew faint and died
away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she slept as sleep the weary, heedless how the
night went on,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With her pitcher all untended, with her labour all
undone;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On the wall her head reclining, in the chimney’s empty
space,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">While the firelight flared and flickered on her pale
and peaceful face.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Was her humble prayer unanswered? Oh, the Lord has
many a way<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That His children little think of, to send answers
when they pray!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was long she sat there sleeping --- do you think
her work was spoiled?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">No, the fir-wood fire kept burning, and the pitcher
gently boiled:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Ne’er a taint of smoke had touched it, nor one
precious drop had been spilt;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When she moved and looked around her, with a sudden
sense of guilt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But her eyes, when first they opened, saw a vision,
strange and sweet,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For a little Child was standing in the hearth-stone at
her feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And He seemed no earthly infant, for His robe was like
the snow,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And a glory shone about Him that was not the firelight
glow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And Himself her work was doing! For He kept the fire
alive,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And He watched the earthen pitcher, that no danger
might arrive<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To the simple meal, now ready, with the coals around
it piled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then He turned His face toward her, and she knew the
Holy Child.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was her Lord who stood before her! And she did not
shrink nor start ---<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There was more of joy than wonder in her all-believing
heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When her willing hands were weary, when her patient
eyes were closed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He had finished all she failed in; He had watched
while she reposed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Do you ask of His appearance? Human words are weak and
cold;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T is enough to say she knew Him ---that is all she
ever told.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Yes, as you and I will know Him when that happy day
shall come,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When, if we on earth have loved Him, He will bid us
welcome home!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But with that one look He left her, and the vision all
had passed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(Though the peace it left within her to her dying hour
would last!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Storm had ceased, and wind was silent, there was no
more sound of rain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the morning star was shining, through the window’s
broken pane.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Later, when the sun was rising, Marianna looked to
see,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">O’er the stretch of rain-washed country, what the day
was like to be,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">While the door she softly opened, letting in the
morning breeze,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As it shook the drops by thousands from the wet and
shining trees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she saw the sky like crystal, for the clouds had
rolled away,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Though they lay along the valleys, in their folds of
misty grey,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or to mountain sides were clinging, tattered relics of
the storm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And among the trees below her she could see a moving
form,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was the husband home returning, yes thank God! He
came at last:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There was no one else would hasten up that mountain
road so fast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now the drooping boughs concealed him, now he came in
sight again;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All night long had he been walking in the darkness, in
the rain;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Through the miles of ghostly forest, through the
villages asleep,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He had borne his burden bravely, till he reached that
hillside steep.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And as yet he seemed not weary, for his springing step
was light,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But his face looked worn and haggard with the anguish
of the night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now his limbs began to tremble, and he walked with
laboured breath,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For he saw his home before him, should he find there
life or death?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How his heart grew faint within him as he neared the
wished-for place!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">One step more, his feet had gained it, they were
standing face to face.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“God has helped us!” was her answer to the question in
his eyes;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her smile of comfort told him that the danger had
gone by.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was morning now, fair morning! and the broken
sunlight fell<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Through the boughs that crossed above her, where the
buds began to swell,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As down the sloping pathway, that her feet so oft had
pressed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Went the Sister Marianna to her convent home to rest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was spring that breathed around her, for the winter
strove no more,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the snowdrifts all had vanished with the rain the
night before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now a bee would flit beside her, as she lightly moved
along;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or a bird among the branches tried a few low notes of
song.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But her heart had music sweeter than the bird-notes in
her ears!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She was leaving joy behind her in that home of many
tears:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hope was there, and health returning; there were happy
voice and smile,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the father at his coming had brought plenty for a
while.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she knew with whom she left them, for herself His
care had proved,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When her mortal eyes were opened, and she saw the face
she loved,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On that night of storm and trouble, when to help her
He had come,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As He helped His own dear Mother in their humble
earthly home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As she went the day grew warmer; sweeter came the wild
bird’s call;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, what made her start and linger? ‘T was a
perfume, that was all:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Faint, but yet enough to tell her that the violets
were in bloom;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she turned aside to seek them, for that picture in
her room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Ack. ‘The Hidden Servants and other very old stories’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">--- told over again by Francesca Alexander.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(Published by David Nutt, at the sign of the Phoenix,
Long Acre, London.1911.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">*********************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Francesca
Alexander was the daughter of an American artist and lived most of her life in
Italy. A deeply religious woman, Protestant by upbringing, she had this to say
about her work, “With regard to this present collection of ballads, I can tell
its history in a few words. When I was a young girl many old and curious books
fell into my hands and became my favourite reading (next to the Bible, and
perhaps, the <i>Divina Commedia</i>), as I found in them the strong faith
and simple modes of thought which were what I liked and wanted. Afterwards in
my constant intercourse with the country people, and especially with old
people, whom I always loved, I heard a great many legends and traditions, often
beautiful, often instructive, and which, as far as I knew, had never been
written down.” As she grew older Francesca gradually lost her sight, limiting
her writing opportunities, but persuading her to adopt poetry in translating
these many works, which she believed made the stories ‘vivid and
comprehensible’ particularly for children, but also for older people. In her
letter Francesca, who for most of her life worked as an artist, commented that
“when the Lord took from me one faculty, He gave me another, which in no way is
impossible. And I think of the beautiful Italian proverb: ‘When God shuts a
door He opens a window.’ “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Cardinal
Manning, when writing to Mr Ruskin in 1883 to thank him for a copy of
Francesca’s ‘Story of Ida’, writes :---“It is simply beautiful, like the <i>Floretti
di San Francesco. </i>Such flowers can grow in one soil
alone. They can be found only in the Garden of Faith, over which the
world of light hangs visibly, and is more intensely seen by the poor and the
pure in heart than by the rich, or the learned, or the men of culture.”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-49068764865158215052023-07-02T17:56:00.000-07:002023-07-02T17:56:10.486-07:00Saints Peter and Paul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03lJYo6UjLT6Z2Q6A9YyS-v2o3nAv9lJaLPY4CV3sUR-MkobFeiROfItpxVe36hwu9CvzsY5ZJuQaZesCOufpXxfHGHi_5SEWQRGDIisQdsXdvYlRRD_j_ZdZle9HpIOifc9QSB8d8HAnH6QdmlQtGqkGn9v9bgbcpEOqVg3AgjM1I7ob5KuTUqxqLHM/s1280/Kapp,%20St%20Peter,%20Christ%20&%20Samaritan%20woman%20012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03lJYo6UjLT6Z2Q6A9YyS-v2o3nAv9lJaLPY4CV3sUR-MkobFeiROfItpxVe36hwu9CvzsY5ZJuQaZesCOufpXxfHGHi_5SEWQRGDIisQdsXdvYlRRD_j_ZdZle9HpIOifc9QSB8d8HAnH6QdmlQtGqkGn9v9bgbcpEOqVg3AgjM1I7ob5KuTUqxqLHM/w300-h400/Kapp,%20St%20Peter,%20Christ%20&%20Samaritan%20woman%20012.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div> <b><i> Saint Peter (European School 18th c.)</i></b></span></div><div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">The 29<sup>th</sup>
June is a special day when the Church celebrates the lives of two of the
earliest and well known of the Christian Saints, Saints Peter and Paul. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">St Peter was
a fisherman by trade, plying his skills on the Sea of Galilee which <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is in Israel bordering Syria, with his usual crew
the brothers James and John. One morning whilst preparing to ‘shut shop’ after
a particularly unproductive night during which they had caught no fish, they
were spoken to by Jesus Christ, aged then about 30 years, who was unknown to
them, but was watching from the shore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having
complained that they had caught nothing all night, Peter was then told by
Christ to cast his nets again. He was sceptical but reluctantly did as Christ
suggested, and so many fish were caught in the nets that he had to call for
help from other fisherman at the scene. This inexplicable event and incredibly large
catch was recognised by Peter as the work of God, the first of many ‘miracles’
which he was to witness. Christ invited him to join Him as His disciple and become
a ‘fisher of men’, which he did, as also did his colleagues James and John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These three became the first of the twelve
Apostles chosen by Christ, remaining with Him until he was crucified. During this
time Peter was appointed by Christ as Head of His newly founded Church on Earth,
the Catholic Church, which today numbers 1.378 billion baptized Catholics throughout
the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St Paul was born a Roman citizen, and as a young
man with political ambition, became infamous for his ruthless single-minded
persecution of Christians. This stopped after he was mysteriously struck from
his horse while on the road to Damascus when he heard the voice of God Who
asked him why he was persecuting Christians so cruelly. Recognising the error
of his ways, Paul’s conversion to Christianity was immediate, and thereafter he
spent the rest of his life preaching the reality of Christ’s resurrection from
the dead and His teachings that men must follow to please God and attain
eternal salvation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St Paul’s life involved
great physical and spiritual suffering, which he describes in his letter to the
Corinthians, not out of any sense of vain-glory but for the enlightenment of
the souls committed to his charge:-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">“Of the Jews
five times did I receive forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with
rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I was
in the depth of the sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In journeying
often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own nation,
in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness,
in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In labour and painfulness, in much watching,
in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness.” et al. (Ch.11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>v. 24-27. St Paul’s letter to the
Corinthians.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi5E-evrqeLnTD5roODWdOLkY2CPXh_cV4PYr15zIHEn7--ORqPxTZL3SdQMbI-cOD99PRo2H4enCC80M7uE0Y18ZooHH237o-Yo-cU2yXtgo-lDfpKnbuCEBdGQApF4fc8EMSAgjzqrDr-wwVJwskcj1eC-qlZdcXo1LAsgjU3RCpoW7t2IMJO_kaLg/s768/V&A_-_Raphael,_St_Paul_Preaching_in_Athens_(1515).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="768" height="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi5E-evrqeLnTD5roODWdOLkY2CPXh_cV4PYr15zIHEn7--ORqPxTZL3SdQMbI-cOD99PRo2H4enCC80M7uE0Y18ZooHH237o-Yo-cU2yXtgo-lDfpKnbuCEBdGQApF4fc8EMSAgjzqrDr-wwVJwskcj1eC-qlZdcXo1LAsgjU3RCpoW7t2IMJO_kaLg/w640-h493/V&A_-_Raphael,_St_Paul_Preaching_in_Athens_(1515).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span><b><i> <span style="font-size: medium;">Saint Paul Preaching in Athens (Raphael)</span></i></b></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both St Peter and St
Paul suffered martyrdom for their faith, at the hands of both Jewish and Roman
authorities who regarded Christianity as a threat to their position of power. Saint
Peter was crucified and insisted that he be crucified upside-down as he was not
worthy to imitate the death of his leader and master, Jesus Christ. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St Paul as a Roman citizen was protected from crucifixion,
and although there is no recorded details of his death, he is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>believed to have been decapitated by his
captors, this being the customary manner of execution for men such as he. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">In the Mass for the feast-day of St Peter and Paul, the Epistle relates the details of a particularly
striking miracle involving St Peter:-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘In those days, Herod the king
stretched forth his hand to afflict some of the Church:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and he killed James, the brother of John,
with the sword; and seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to take up
Peter also. Now it was in the days of the azymes: and when he had apprehended
him, he cast him into prison, delivering him to four files of soldiers to be
kept, intending after the Pasch to bring him forth to the people. Peter
therefore was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing by the Church
unto God for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when Herod would
have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers,
bound with two chains; and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And
behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the room; and
he, striking Peter on the side, raised him up, saying: Arise quickly. And the
chains fell off from his hands; and the angel said to him: Gird thyself and put
on thy sandals. And he did so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he
said to him:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cast thy garment about thee
and follow me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And going out, he
followed him: and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel; but
he thought he saw a vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And passing
through the first and the second ward, they came to the iron gate that leadeth
to the city, which of itself opened to them; and going out, they passed on
through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Peter coming to himself, said: Now I know
in very deed that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of
the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’
(Acts of the Apostles Ch. 12 vs. 1-11)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">These events
occurred some 2000 years ago, yet the battle between good and evil continues
unabated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Today the
world faces the frightening prospect of a take-over by a powerful group of pagan
elitists, who have been planning over many decades to take control of the world.
Currently they have infiltrated and are attempting to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>control <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the major governments <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the world, politically, economically, militarily,
including <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all matters relating to
health, education, finance, and even ‘religion’. They aim for total and absolute
power over all nations under ‘one-world government’. They preach the Malthusian
policy of de-populating the Earth, planning to reduce the world’s population by
billions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do not believe in God the
Creator of the Universe, and they have adopted the role of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lucifer at the time of Creation. Lucifer
failed then as the elite will surely fail now, but we need God’s help, for this is a
spiritual battle. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">The world must return to God, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>acknowledging </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>His omnipotence and obeying His commandments. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span>Recognition of Jesus Christ, God the Son made Man,
is necessary for our eternal salvation, for He suffered a cruel and unjust
death for our sins, in order that we might be saved. God loves us and wants to
help us, but we must go to Him.</span></span></p><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">“Put you on
the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the
devil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For our wrestling is not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of
the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high
places. Therefore, take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to
resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Ch.6
vs.11-13)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Saints Peter
and Paul, pray for us all.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-25566565860616953682023-05-23T13:34:00.004-07:002023-05-23T13:36:34.563-07:00'Life of Christ' by Fulton Sheen (Bp)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I am reading
the book ‘Life of Christ’ by Bishop Fulton J Sheen, published in 1959, and find
it spiritually informative and refreshing in this age of the diabolically
inspired ‘Great Reset’ agenda. I hope that you too share my feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> <b> '</b></span><b>The
Early Life of Christ'</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><i>Bethlehem.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Caesar Augustus,
the master book-keeper of the world, sat in his palace by the Tiber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before him was stretched a map labelled
‘Orbis Terrarum, Imperium Romanum’. He was about to issue an order for a census
of the world; for all the nations of the civilised world were subject to
Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was only one capital in this
world: Rome; only one official language: Latin; only one ruler: Caesar. To
every outpost, to every satrap and governor, the order went out:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>every Roman subject must be enrolled in his
own city. On the fringe of the Empire, in the little village of Nazareth,
soldiers tacked up on walls the order for all the citizens to register in the
towns of their family origins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Joseph, the builder, an obscure
descendant of the great King David, was obliged by that very fact to register
in Bethlehem, the city of David. In accordance with the edict, Mary and Joseph
set out from the village of Nazareth for the village of Bethlehem, which lies
about five miles on the other side of Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Five hundred years earlier the prophet
Micheas had prophesied concerning that little village:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>And thou, Bethlehem, of the land of Juda,<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Art far from the least among the
princes of Juda,<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>For out of thee will arise a leader who is to
be<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>The shepherd of my people Israel.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 7;"> </span>Mathew
2:6</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Joseph was full of
expectancy as he entered the city of his family and was quite convinced that he
would have no difficulty in finding lodgings for Mary, particularly on account
of her condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joseph went from house
to house only to find each one crowded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He searched in vain for a place where He, to Whom heaven and earth
belonged, might be born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could it be
that the Creator would not find a home in creation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up a steep hill Joseph climbed to a faint
light which swung on a rope across a doorway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This would be the village inn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There, above all other places, he would surely find shelter. There was a
room in the inn for the soldiers of Rome who had brutally subjugated the Jewish
people;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there was room for the daughters
of the rich merchants of the East; there was room for those clothed in soft
garments, who lived in the houses of the king; in fact, there was room for
anyone who had a coin to give the inn-keeper; but there was no room for Him who
came to be the Inn of every homeless heart in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When finally, the scrolls of history are
completed down to the last words in time, the saddest line of all will be:
‘There was no room in the inn.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Out to the hillside to a stable cave, where shepherds
sometimes drove their flocks in time of storm, Joseph and Mary went at last for
shelter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There, in a place of peace in
the lonely abandonment of a cold windswept cave; there, under the floor of the
world, He Who is born without a mother in heaven, is born without a father on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Of every other child that is born into the world, friends
can say that he resembles his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was the first instance in time that anyone could say that the
mother resembled the Child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the
beautiful paradox of the Child Who made His mother; the mother too, was only a
child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also the first time in the
history of this world that anyone could ever think of heaven as being anywhere
else than ‘somewhere up there’; when the Child was in her arms, Mary now looked
down to Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the filthiest place in the world, a stable, Purity was
born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He Who was later to be slaughtered
by men acting as beasts, was born among beasts. He Who would call Himself the
‘living Bread descended from Heaven’, was laid in a manger, literally – a place
to eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Centuries before, the Jews had
worshipped the golden calf, and the Greeks, the ass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Men bowed down before them as before God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ox and the ass now were present to make
their innocent reparation, bowing down before their God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There was no room in the inn, but there was room in the
stable. The inn is the gathering place of public opinion, the focal point of
the world’s moods, the rendezvous of the worldly, the rallying place of the
popular and the successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
stable is a place for the outcasts, the ignored, the forgotten. The world might
have expected the Son of God to be born - if He was to be born at all - in an
inn. A stable would be the last place in the world where one would have looked
for Him. <i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Divinity is always where one
least expects to find it.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No worldly mind would ever have suspected that He Who
could make the sun warm the earth, would one day have need of an ox and an ass
to warm Him with their breath; that He Who, in the language of scripture, could
stop the turning about of Arcturus, would have His birthplace dictated by an
imperial census; that He Who clothed the fields with grass, would Himself be
naked; that He, from Whose hands came planets and worlds, would one day have
tiny arms that were not long enough to touch the huge heads of the cattle: that
the feet which trod the everlasting hills would one day be too weak to walk;
that the Eternal Word would be dumb; that omnipotence would be wrapped in
swaddling clothes; that Salvation would lie in a manger; that the bird which
built the nest would be hatched therein – no one would ever have suspected that
God coming to this earth would ever be so helpless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is precisely why so many miss Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Divinity is always where one least expects
to find it.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Son of God made man was invited to enter His own
world through a back door. Exiled from the earth, He was born under the earth,
in a sense, the first Cave Man in recorded history. There He shook the earth to
its very foundations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because He was born
in a cave, all who wish to see Him must stoop. To stoop is the mark of
humility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The proud refuse to stoop and,
therefore, they miss Divinity. Those however, who bend their egos and enter,
find that they are not in a cave at all, but in a new universe where sits a
Babe on His mother’s lap, with the world poised on His fingers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The manger and the Cross now stand at the two extremities
of the Saviour’s life!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He accepted the
manger because there was no room in the Inn; He accepted the Cross because men
said, ‘We will not have this man for our king.’ Disowned upon entering,
rejected upon leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was laid in a
stranger’s stable at the beginning, and a stranger’s grave at the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An ox and an ass surrounded His crib at
Bethlehem; two thieves were to flank His Cross on Calvary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was wrapped in swaddling bands in His
birthplace, He was again laid in swaddling clothes in His tomb – clothes
symbolic of the limitations imposed on His Divinity when He took a human form.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The shepherds watching their flocks nearby were told by
the angels:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>This is the sign by which you are to know
Him;<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You will find a child still in swaddling - clothes,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Lying in a manger.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 8;"> </span>Luke
2:12</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He was already bearing His
Cross – the only cross a Babe could bear, a cross of poverty, exile, and
limitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His sacrificial intent
already shone forth in the message the Angels sang to the hills of Bethlehem:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><i>This day, in the city of David,<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>A Saviour has been born for you,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>The Lord Christ himself.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 8;"> </span><i>Luke
2:11</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Covetousness was already
being challenged by His poverty, while pride was confronted with the
humiliation of a stable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The swathing of
Divine power, which needs to accept no bounds, is often too great a tax upon
minds which think only of power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
cannot grasp the idea of Divine condescension, or of the ‘rich man becoming
poor that through His poverty, we might be rich.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Men shall have no greater sign of Divinity
than the absence of power as they expect it – the spectacle of a Babe Who said
He would come in the clouds of heaven, now being wrapped in the cloths of
earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He, Whom the angels call the ‘Son of the Highest’,
descended into the red dust from which we were all born, to be one with weak,
fallen man in all things, save sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
it is the swaddling-clothes which constitute His ‘sign’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If He Who is Omnipotence had come with
thunderbolts, there would have been no sign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no sign unless something happens contrary to nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brightness of the sun is no sign, but an
eclipse is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that on the last
day, His coming would be heralded by ‘signs in the sun’, perhaps an extinction
of light. At Bethlehem the Divine Son went into an eclipse, so that only the
humble of spirit might recognise Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Only two classes of people found the Babe: the shepherds
and the Wise Men; the simple and the learned; those who knew that they knew
nothing, and those who knew that they did not know everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is never seen by the man of one book;
never by the man who thinks he knows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not even God can tell the proud anything! Only the humble can find God!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As Caryll Houselander put it, ‘Bethlehem is the inscape
of Calvary, just as the snowflake is the inscape of the universe.’ This same
idea was expressed by the poet who said that if he knew the flower in a
crannied wall in all its details, he would know ‘what God and man is’.
Scientists tell us that the atom comprehends within itself the mystery of the
solar system.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It was not so much that His birth cast a shadow on His
life, and thus led to His death; it was rather that the Cross was there from
the beginning, and it cast its shadow backward to His birth. Ordinary mortals
go from the known to the unknown submitting themselves to forces beyond their
control; hence we can speak of their ‘tragedies’. But He went from the known to
the known, from the reason for His coming, namely, to be ‘Jesus’ or ‘Saviour’,
to the fulfilment of His coming, namely, the death on the Cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hence, there was no tragedy in His life; for
tragedy implies the unforeseeable, the uncontrollable, and the fatalistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Modern life is tragic when there is spiritual
darkness and unredeemable guilt. But for the Christ Child there were no
uncontrollable forces; no submission to fatalistic chains from which there
could be no escape; but there was an ‘inscape’ – the microcosmic manger summarising,
like an atom, the macrocosmic Cross on Golgotha.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In His First Advent, He took the name of Jesus, or ‘Saviour’;
it will only be in His Second Advent that He will take the name of ‘Judge’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was not a name He had before He assumed
a human nature; it properly refers to that which was united to His Divinity,
not that which existed from all eternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some say ‘Jesus taught’ as they would say ‘Plato taught’, never once
thinking that His name means ‘Saviour from sin’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once He received this name, Calvary became
completely a part of Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Shadow of
the Cross that fell on His cradle also covered His naming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was ‘His Father’s business’; everything
else would be incidental to it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <i> </i><i>(Ack. ‘The Life of Christ’ by Fulton Sheen.
Published by Peter Davies London. 1959.)</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-51982910896046913222023-04-10T16:56:00.002-07:002023-04-10T16:56:46.559-07:00'Mass for the People' by Caryll Houselander(1901-1954)<br /><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">' Father O’Grady looked at his watch, the server was late. He checked a feeling of irritability and was shocked by the difficulty he felt in checking it. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span> Was sanctity within his reach after all, he asked; could his great hands lay hold of it, he who never knew </span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span>the sweetness of this complete act of love; the unbroken prayer, the whole hour of meditation, the work accomplished, the sensible sweetness of the sacramental word spoken; even one hour out of the twenty-four, unbroken, for his personal delight! </span></span></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Could he who never knew that completeness in his soul, that inward closed circle of light, be a Saint?
Could his day of fragments be a day in a Saint’s life? </span></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">The answer came to him paralysing in its beauty; this broken life of his was the breaking of the bread, that in the broken bread, the whole Christ be given to his people. Soon, in a few minutes now, his people would be at the altar rails, opening their mouths like sparrows for their crumb of Life, and in their crumb of Life they would receive all Life, whole. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> Father O’Grady paced up and down, rubbing his hands together to keep warm ---“Break me, dear Lord, but in the breaking of the Bread, be whole in Your Body upon earth!” </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> Lately, he had asked himself as he trudged home from the parish visits, what is the meaning of the lives of these unknown, insignificant people, who yet must somehow fulfil the strange prophecy, “And there are some of whom there is no memorial: who are perished as if they had never been born, and their children with them. But they were men of mercy, whose godly deeds had not failed.” </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> The priest was on the side of life, he had no other work, no other<i> raison d’etre</i> but to give life, and the life he gave could not be killed. He was not outside of the world’s love because he was a priest and alone, he was the heart of the world’s love, its core, because the Life of the World is born every day in his hands at Mass. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">He looked</span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> at his watch again. How late the boy was! He tried to say the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity, to fill his mind with the words of the prayers to dismiss his distractions. But it was no use. This morning, distractions got the better of him, do what he would. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> At last, a clatter outside proclaimed the arrival of the little server. How often Father O’Grady had tried to impress upon this boy that he represented all the Christians in the world before the Altar of God when he answered Mass, and how well the Christianity of the world should brush its hair and clean its shoes and wash its hands, to enter the Holy of Holies and offer the heart of mankind! Today he was even more dishevelled than usual, tousled, smeary, his bootlace undone, and it was apparent that the World had overslept and tumbled straight out of bed, and would today be even more than usually absent-minded and clumsy --- yet Father O’Grady looked at the urchin tenderly, all his irritability passed. After all the world is like that, late, distracted, grimy, but with a good if unstable will to serve; and might not this sudden new tenderness in the priest’s heart be a reflexion from aeons and aeons away, of the tenderness of the Eternal Father, waiting from eternity for the scruffy, sniffing, unconcentrated, often unwashed, imperfect, weak, and loving Christian world, to come to Him. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> “Tie your shoelace,” he said, “and damp down your hair --- and here, flick your face with this wet towel, and hurry now, put on your cotta, and light the candles.”
And the dishevelled Christian World, transformed, in a smooth white cotta, with a wet golden curl, and nothing of ‘the old man’ left but the huge boots jabbing out from his cassock, walked out with the expression of a Botticelli angel, to light the candles for Mass. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> Even during the few steps that he walked from the sacristy to the sanctuary, the humiliation of being himself left Father O’Grady. The emptiness, the dryness of his soul, ceased to matter at all.
He had only to give himself now, to give himself to the words and the movements of the Mass, to give his body, his hands, his tongue, to give his whole being, easily, unresistingly, to move through the groove trodden out for him, to move in it like water flowing in the deep groove in the rock, worn through the heart of the world by generations of the adoration of men. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> At the entrance to the sanctuary, he turned to the congregation and said, “<i>this Mass is offered for the people of the parish.” </i></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> There were only a few people present, the little server, a handful of old women, an Irish sailor, and a very old man. But since Christ was present in them, the whole Christian world was there, so all the people of the parish for whom Mass was offered were there. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> The dockers already loading and unloading the big ships; the sailors who had just put out to sea, and the sailors ploughing their way home; the factory girls on their way to work, making the streets gay with their bright skimpy finery; the women scrubbing the steps with their arms up to their elbows in soapy water; the mothers washing-up the menfolk’s early breakfast before waking the children; the children sleeping the warm, woolly sleep of early morning; the marketers setting up their stalls; the flower women in their shawls and their gents’ straw boaters, carrying their great baskets of bronze and red and yellow flowers; the patients in the hospitals, newly washed and smoothed in cool white wards, the night nurses, pale and craving for strong tea and sleep; the day nurses pinning their starched caps, and wondering if it would be fried bread and bacon, or only fried bread for breakfast; the old folk in the workhouse, sitting quietly on their wooden benches; the prisoners in the gaol, looking up at the slit of silver sky, through the high, narrow windows of their cells: all were there, at the Mass that was being offered for them, the people of the parish. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> Father O’Grady made the Sign of the Cross.
“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen,” and bowed down under the burden of the sins of the whole world. His own sins were a heavy enough load, and now he bowed under the weight of all sin. But when he straightened himself up from the Confiteor, the burden of the whole world’s sin, and his own with it, had fallen from his back, and his shoulders were strong. For it was Christ who rose and went up to the altar ---Christ who had seen evil, naked, face to face, Christ who had been brought down to the ground under the world’s sin, to sweat His blood into the dust, and Christ who has overcome the world. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> The Mass moved forward with beautiful precision.
“Kyrie Eleison.”
“Christe Eleison.”
Sharp, urgent little knocks at the door of Heaven.
“Gloria in Excelsis Deo ……”
The angel’s carillon swung into motion by the beating of a man’s heart, and onward, hurrying forward with the urgency of a lovers’ meeting. The bright, short prayers sparkling over the priest’s mind, bringing him swiftly to the Offertory.</span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> He lifted the un-consecrated Host, light as a petal on its thin golden paten, and with it lifted the simple bread of humanity, threshed and sifted by poverty and suffering. He offered the broken fragments of their love, made into one loaf.
He lifted the wine and water mixed in the Chalice, and with it offered the blood and the tears of his people to God.
And God accepted the offering, the fragments of love were gathered up into the wholeness of Love, and nothing was wasted. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> The Mass moved swiftly, hurrying forward as if the longing of generations had set its urgent pace towards the climax. But now the pace grew slower, charged with so immense a momentum of Mystery that it could only move forward in larger, fuller, slower gestures. The wonder rising like the rising of the tide to the flood. And as the Miracle came closer and closer, time ceased to be at all. </span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">Simply, effortlessly, directly the Mass moved, not backward or forward in time, but into the eternal now of the Last Supper. Into the stillness of the Upper Room, where the voice of Christ fell upon the souls of His Apostles, like summer rain falling upon the sown earth.</span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> Slowly, exactly, Father O’Grady repeated the words of Consecration, his hands moved in Christ’s hands, his voice spoke in Christ’s voice, his words were Christ’s words, his heart beat in Christ’s heart:-<i>
“Who the day before He suffered, took bread in His holy and venerable hands, and lifting His eyes to Heaven towards Thee O God, His all-powerful Father, giving thanks to Thee, blessed and broke and gave to His disciples, saying TAKE AND EAT YE ALL OF THIS, FOR THIS</i> <i>IS MY BODY</i>.” Father O’Grady lifted up the consecrated Host in his short, chapped hands, the server rang a little bell, the sailor, the handful of very old women and the very old man bowed down whispering “My Lord and my God”, and the breath of their adoration was warm on their cold fingers. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicqiVwxblyfL-tgXECVdDFAbT_HFhX6BBG1KZFn8AcCirs5QtujeZqKCY48JjyuQo_AfTbg8hVPHL5fUXwqh0Jt-mOYeqyW8yuxaKre7oAwT32SMspdzSD-vmgCOSk-F2xj8IvHy66B66eFEiexCB6PeCL61TWj79auishuP9JBYzVcGNMQN7odDRA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicqiVwxblyfL-tgXECVdDFAbT_HFhX6BBG1KZFn8AcCirs5QtujeZqKCY48JjyuQo_AfTbg8hVPHL5fUXwqh0Jt-mOYeqyW8yuxaKre7oAwT32SMspdzSD-vmgCOSk-F2xj8IvHy66B66eFEiexCB6PeCL61TWj79auishuP9JBYzVcGNMQN7odDRA=w313-h400" width="313" /></a></div></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">Father O’Grady was lifting up God.
A cry arose from all over the world, <i>“Come down from the Cross if you are the Son of God!” “Save yourself and us too if you are the Christ!</i>”
But Christ remained on the Cross. His fingers closed on the nails. He would not come down from the Cross. He would not dethrone the children, He would not discrown the poor, He would not scatter the fragments of the bread of love. He would not break faith with sinners or fail the failing. He would not forsake the young men coming up to die His death. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><i> “Come down from the Cross! come down! come down! save yourself and us!”</i>
But Christ remained on the Cross. His fingers closed on the nails. The Crown of Thorns was in flower, the five ribs like the five fingers of the world’s pain gripped His heart, and His heart broke open and the river of the world’s life flowed out of it. A flood sweeping His heart and brain and flowing out into the tips of His fingers, swept through His Mystical Body. Through the eternal heart of Rome, through the lonely mind of her august Shepherd, out into the least and lowliest of men, and the last little infant howling at the touch of the waters of Baptism, the blood of the world’s life flowed into the fingertips stretched out on the Cross, measuring the reach and stretch and extremity and ultimate possibility of love. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><i> “Come down from the Cross if you be the Son of God!”
“Save yourself and us too if you are the Christ</i>.”
The world strained at the nails, wrenched and dragged, the Cross was shaken in the earth, bent like a tree in the storm, dragged earthward by the weight of man’s body, but it was rooted in rock, and the Cross was built to the shape of man, not man to the shape of the Cross. The world’s suffering was built and fitted to the size of each man, and the Cross stood. </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><i> “Come down, come down, come down!</i>”
But Christ would not come down from the Cross.
The life of Riverside went on, the day’s work had begun, a ship was coming in from the sea, another putting out. An old man was dying, and a child was being born.
The little server rang his silver bell.
The people bowed down low.
Time stopped.
Father O’Grady was lifting up God in his large, chapped hands.
Christ remained on the Cross.
The blood and sweat and tears of the world were on His face. He smiled, the smile of infinite peace, the ineffable bliss of consummated love.' </span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><i> Caryll Houselander
(Ack. ‘Book of the Saviour’ an anthology, published Sheed & Ward, 1952.)</i></span></div><div><div><div class="Qy5T6b O3LMFb QduVPe" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-flex: 0; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(236, 239, 241); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); display: flex; flex-direction: row; flex: 0 0 auto; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="znzEhe" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; display: flex; flex: 1 1 auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-1974282665078237392023-03-14T10:24:00.000-07:002023-03-14T10:24:27.618-07:00Happy memories of our garden last summer.<p> </p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It is now March, the garden has been wind-swept and to all appearances barren for several months, but at last we can enjoy the golden and purple crocus peeping up above the lawn, and the early daffodils rising to the challenge. Before either of these, we admired a lovely show of snowdrops scattered around the garden, increasing every year, and safe from the scavenging of hungry mice, who particularly enjoy crocus and tulip bulbs, much to my wife's understandable annoyance.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I apologise for neglecting my blog-site over the past three months, I just seem to have been caught up in other matters, on the internet in particular, which have taken up a great deal of my time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope that you enjoy these few photographs of our garden last summer, I had saved them on my computer for posting on my blog, and here they are - a reminder of summer past and summers to come! They are nothing special, no rare or unique varieties of plants, but they reflect the beauty of flowers in the summer-time, just a tiny taste of the beauty of God's creation. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh23nm3uIALnixEACPkIPnbnI3LTRfs8UTCkZrZoke5nc-6RY7G3UIPesc0TIhO7ptdQb0XilTseZkr1TpkRIq4Mk-sUkp_jTcG5usqsqGCO62zOsPGF_searIaY0vWG68gYYSM418qCUS5_9Z3ZeyyHTxoaM-Vu5Vzhxs1Gjx0QXk7iovPduRU230c" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh23nm3uIALnixEACPkIPnbnI3LTRfs8UTCkZrZoke5nc-6RY7G3UIPesc0TIhO7ptdQb0XilTseZkr1TpkRIq4Mk-sUkp_jTcG5usqsqGCO62zOsPGF_searIaY0vWG68gYYSM418qCUS5_9Z3ZeyyHTxoaM-Vu5Vzhxs1Gjx0QXk7iovPduRU230c" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGgu5hSBv3wjvr3hFhmi5e2jmNdQDBqQiML3P8wvzDnbPz27MnhaDyAXc3rd5f3lbuXeDE34-vIF3EhgwPLxRafqbLo5lyqcdvO-YI5Jx2Fu-Yo0e41Egu7XYwYog7KUJigAjOLr9j9TsnhqdK1z6Orhg8_5DPiRjqUY_Tw4ms32i-ABwnq0-VbduV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGgu5hSBv3wjvr3hFhmi5e2jmNdQDBqQiML3P8wvzDnbPz27MnhaDyAXc3rd5f3lbuXeDE34-vIF3EhgwPLxRafqbLo5lyqcdvO-YI5Jx2Fu-Yo0e41Egu7XYwYog7KUJigAjOLr9j9TsnhqdK1z6Orhg8_5DPiRjqUY_Tw4ms32i-ABwnq0-VbduV" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> Nothing particularly exciting or special about these photographs, but I am reminded of the delight and satisfaction the flowers brought to my wife, the planner and main artisan in the garden, and to me, primarily responsible for keeping the grass under some sort of control! This winter seems to have been interminably long, very windy, very cold, and very wet, with a few light falls of snow. Things were not helped by innumerable power cuts, some lasting several hours, which do make life difficult. I suddenly remembered that I had these photographs stored on my computer, and looking at them cheered me up to such an extent, that I persuaded myself to post them on this blog and perhaps bring some pleasure to others, who like me, may be suffering from debilitating 'long winter syndrome' (LWS). The photos are quite ordinary, but the flowers are a promise of things to come!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There is no denying that the World is in a mess, primarily due to the abandonment of God's commandments by so many nations and so many people. Corruption in all walks of life, gross immorality and evil, brazenly and publicly promoted, confirm the supernatural and natural threat of the devil and his minions; together with the very real threat of the 'Great Reset' and the agenda for 'One World Government', which seeks the complete control of mankind and the negation of Almighty God and His laws.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The devil and his followers might win a battle but they will not win the war, of this we can be absolutely sure. This world is God's creation, as is humanity created by God in His own image. Satan will be crushed, as he was by Christ in the desert, but I believe that we must all play our part and do everything possible to sabotage this attempted evil take-over of humanity by the globalist elites. Faith and courage, prayer and penance, are our main weapons, relying always on the omnipotence of God and His unending love for humanity, for whose salvation God the Son, Jesus Christ, became man and was crucified for our sins, that we might have eternal life. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Wishing you all fruitful and happy gardening!</span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-38909570209666222182022-11-19T16:40:00.035-08:002022-11-20T15:05:52.652-08:00'The Crosses on the Wall - a legend of Primiero' by Francesca Alexander (1837 - 1917)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> I have only recently become acquainted with the book 'The Hidden Servants and other very old stories - told over again by Francesca Alexander', and published by David Nutt, at the Sign of the Phoenix, Long Acre, London, in 1911, in which is a collection of Italian legends sourced over many centuries, and re-presented in poetic form by Francesca Alexander, author and artist, born in the U.S.A., who at the age of 16 years moved with her father, a portrait painter, and her mother, a wealthy philanthropist, to Italy, settling in Florence for the rest of her life. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> In the Preface to this book, Anna Fuller quotes from a letter she received from Francesca Alexander, regarding the sources of the legends, written with no thought of publication, but as it were, from the heart. This is what Francesca wrote: - </span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> "With regard to this present collection of ballads, I can tell its history in a few words. When I was a young girl many old and curious books fell into my hands and became my favourite reading (next to the Bible, and, perhaps, the <i>Divina Commedia),</i> as<i> </i>I found in them the strong faith and simple modes of thought which were what I liked and wanted. Afterwards, in my constant intercourse with the country people, and especially with old people whom I always loved, I heard a great many legends and traditions, often beautiful, often instructive, and which, as far as I knew, had never been written down. I was always in request with children for the stories which I knew, and could tell, and, as I found they liked these legends, I thought it a pity they should be lost after I should have passed away, and so I always meant to write them down; all the more that I had felt the need of such reading when I was a child myself. But I never had time to write them as long as my eyes permitted me to work at my drawing, and afterwards, when I wanted to begin them, I found myself unable to write at all for more than a few minutes at once. Finally, I thought of turning the stories into rhyme and learning them all by heart, so that I could write them down little by little. I thought children would not be very particular, if I could just make the dear old stories vivid and comprehensible, which I tried to do. If, as you kindly hope, they may be good for older people as well, then it must be when the Lord took from me one faculty, He gave me another, which is in no way impossible. And I think of the beautiful Italian proverb: 'When God shuts a door, He opens a window.'" </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>After such an account of the origin and growth of these poems no further comment would seem fitting, unless it be that made by Cardinal Manning when writing to Mr Ruskin in 1883 to thank him for a copy of Francesca's <i>'Story of Ida'. </i>He writes: -- "It is simply beautiful, like the <i>Fioretti di San Francesco. </i>Such flowers can grow in one soil alone. They can be found only in the Garden of Faith, over which the world of light hangs visibly, and is more intensely seen by the poor and the pure in heart than by the rich, or the learned, or the men of culture."<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span><i style="font-size: 14pt;"> </i><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;"> </span><span><i style="font-size: 14pt;"> </i><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span> ANNA FULLER.</b></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span><i><span> **************</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span><i><span>'This beautiful legend Has for me a most peculiar interest, owing to the circumstances under which I first heard it. It was taught to me by a very dear young friend whom I had known and loved from his infancy, -- Piero, the only surviving child of Count Giuseppe Zanelli of Faenza. It was only last October -- eight months ago -- and we were all staying together in the home of his beloved and still beautiful grandmother, at Bassano, in the Veneto. It was the last evening that we expected to pass together, and Pierino (we had never been able to give up calling him by that childish diminutive) brought a book with him, a collection of popular legends compiled by De Gubernatis, and said that he had a story to read us. It was "The Crosses on the Wall", and it has always seemed to me as though he read it on that particular evening to prepare us for what was to come. For some months he had been not quite so strong as usual, yet no one felt any particular apprehension, until on the twenty-eighth of November he died, almost without warning. He was twenty-two years old, of a very beautiful character, -- so good that we ought to have known he was not for us. With him two great and ancient families come to an end, --- the Pasolini-Zanelli of Faenza, and the Baroni-Semitecolo of Bassano: these last are the only descendants of that Semitecolo who worked in mosaic at Torcello.'</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><i> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> Francesco Alexander</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><i><span> ************</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Crosses
on the Wall </b></span><o:p style="font-size: 14pt;"></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">A Legend
of Primiero<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Come, children, listen to
what I tell,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For my words are wise
today:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From Primiero among the
hills<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Was the legend brought away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And Primiero among the
hills<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Is a little world apart,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where is much to love and
much to learn,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If you have a willing
heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It lies on high, like a
stranded ship,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From the parted wave of
time;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Not far from the troubled
world we know,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the way is hard to
climb.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the mountains rise and
close it in,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With their walls of green
and gray;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With crag and forest and
smooth-worn cliff,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where the clouds alone can
stray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And when a house they have
builded there,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If a blessing they would
win,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Above the door do they
write a prayer,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That Christ may dwell
therein.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And I think, throughout
the ancient town,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On its steep ascending
road,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In many a heart, in many a
home,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Has He taken His abode.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And when a burden is hard
to bear –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And such burdens come to
all –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They tell the story I’m
telling now,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of the crosses on the
wall.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T is a pearl of wisdom,
gathered far<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the dim and distant
past;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But ever needed, but ever
new,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As long as the world shall
last.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For never has been since
earth was made,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And surely shall never be,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A man so happy or wise or
great,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He might from the cross be
free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The tale it is of a widow
poor,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And by trouble sorely
pressed;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of how, through sorrow and
many tears,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">At the end her soul was blest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She had not been always
poor and sad,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For her early years were
bright,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With a happy home, and
with parents kind,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And herself their hearts’
delight!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A mother’s darling, a
father’s pride,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She was fair in form and
face;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A sunny creature, a joy to
all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For her sweet and winning
grace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, early married to one
she loved,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She had still been
shielded well;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For her he laboured, for
her he thought,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And on her no burden fell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She worked, indeed; but
what work was hers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Through the short and
happy hours?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To pluck the fruit from
her orchard trees,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or to tend the garden
flowers;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To sit and spin, and to
sing the while<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In her porch with roses
gay;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To spread the table with
plenty piled,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And to watch the children
play.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Their home was a little
nest of peace;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was a mile beyond the
town,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In that sheltered valley,
green with woods,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where the river murmurs
down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she never dreamt of
change to come,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(Though a change must all
expect,)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Till the blow, like
lightning, on her fell,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her happy life was
wrecked.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But who could have thought
the man would die?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There were few so strong
as he!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From his forest work they
bore him home,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Struck dead by a falling
tree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A petted child, and a wife
beloved,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She had hardly sorrow
known,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Till the strong, brave man
was borne away,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she faced the world
alone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Alone, with a babe too
young to speak,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And with other children five:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Oh, why,” she asked, “are
the strong removed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the feeble left alive?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But where is the good of
asking <i>why,<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When our helpers disappear?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That question never was
answered yet,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And it never will be,
here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There was little time to
sit and weep;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She must rise, and bear
the strain;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Alone she stood, with the
home to keep,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the children’s bread
to gain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The best of herself had
gone with him;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She had no more faith nor
trust:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She could not bow to the
Lord’s decree,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For she felt it all
unjust.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The good Lord cares for a
widow’s need,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But on Him she did not
call.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She laboured hard, and she
fought with fate,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And they lived – but that
was all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She fought her battle with
fate, and failed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As many have failed before;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If against the thorns we push
and press,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They will only prick the
more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She could not bear with
the children now,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she called them rude
and wild;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Forgetting quite, in her
sullen grief,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That she had been once a
child.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Yes, wild they were; and
like all wild things<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They were light and swift
and strong;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her poor, sick spirit
turned away<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From the gay, unruly
throng.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They swam the river, they
climbed the trees,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They were full of life and
play;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But oft, when their mother’s
voice they heard,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They hid from her sight
away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They did not love her, and
that she knew,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And of that she oft
complained;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But not by threats nor by
angry words<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Could the children’s love
be gained.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Respect and honour we may
command;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They will come at duties
call:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But love, the beautiful
thornless rose,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Grows wild, when it grows
at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she grew bitter, as
time went on,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Grew bitter and hard and
sore,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Till one day she cried in
her despair,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“I can bear my life no
more!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Look down from Heaven,
good Lord, and see<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And pity my cruel fate!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Oh, come, and in mercy
take away<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My burden, for ‘t is too
great!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“My heart is breaking with
all its load,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And I feel my life decline;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Never I think did the
woman live<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who has borne a cross like
mine!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To her cry for help an
answer came,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And solemn it was, and strange!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For a silence deep around
her fell,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the place seemed all
to change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She stood in a sad and
sombre room, </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where from ceiling down to floor,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Along the wall and on
every side,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There were crosses –
nothing more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There were crosses old,
and crosses new,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There were crosses large
and small;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And in their midst there
was One who stood<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As the Master of them all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Before His presence her
eyes dropped low,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her wild complaining
died;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For she knew the cross
that He had borne<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Was greater than all
beside.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And He bade her choose,
and take away,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From among the many there,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Another cross, in exchange
for hers,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That she found too great
to bear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She looked for those that
were least in size,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she quickly lifted one;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But oh, ‘t was heavy, and
pained her more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Than her own had ever
done!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She laid it back with a
trembling hand –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“And whose cross is that?”
she cried;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“For heavier ‘t is than
even mine!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And a solemn voice
replied:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“That cross belongs to a
maiden young,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But of youth she little
knows;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the days to her are
days of pain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the night brings scant
repose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“A helpless, suffering,
useless thing!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her pain will never
cease,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Till death in pity will
come one day,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her troubles end in
peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She never has walked the
pleasant fields,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nor has sat beneath the
trees;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The hospital wall that
shuts her in<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Is the only world she sees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She has no mother, she
has no home,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And in strangers’ hands
she lies;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With none to care for her
while she lives,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nor weep for her when she
dies.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“But why is the cross so
small, my Lord,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And why does her heart not
break?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She counts it little,”
the answer came,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“For she bears it for my
sake.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The widow blushed with a
sudden shame;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To her eyes the tears
arose:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She dried them soon, and
again she turned,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And another cross she
chose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It fell from her hand
against the wall,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she let it there
remain:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“That cross shall never be
mine,” she said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Though I take my own
again!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“And whose is this that I
cannot hold?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For it seems to burn my
hand!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And never, I think, was
heart so strong<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That could such a weight
withstand.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“The cross it is of a
gentle wife,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she wears it all
unseen;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With early sorrow her hair
is white,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But she keeps a smile
serene.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She gave her heart to an
evil man,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she thought him good
and true;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And long she trusted and
long believed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But at last the truth she
knew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She knows that his soul is
stained with crime,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the worst she still
conceals;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Abuse and terror her sole
reward,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the lord knows what
she feels!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She cannot leave him, for
love dies hard,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And her children bear his
name;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But she prays for grace,
to keep and guard<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Their innocent lives from
shame.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She trembles oft when his
step she hears<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On a lonely winter night;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she hides her
frightened babes afar<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">From their cruel father’s
sight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“And she dares not even
hope for death,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Though his hand might set
her free:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T were well for her in
the grave to rest;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But where would the
children be?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The widow shuddered, her
face grew pale,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she no more turned to
look:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She reached her hand to
the wall near by,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And a cross by chance she
took.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was not so large as the
first had been,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But it seemed a fearful
weight!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“And whose am I holding
now?” she asked,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For it did not look so
great.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“A mother’s cross is the
one you bear,”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So the voice in answer
said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“And she once had children
six like you;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But her children all are
dead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“She has all besides that
earth can give;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She has friends and wealth
to spare,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And house and land – but she
counts them not,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For the children are not
there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Time passes slowly, and
she grows old;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But she may not yet depart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In lonely splendour she
counts the years,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With an empty, hungry
heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“And she knows by whom the
cross was sent,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she tries her head to
bow;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But six green mounds by
the churchyard wall<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Are the most she cares for
now.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The widow thought of her
own wild brood,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she felt a creeping
chill:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And, “Oh give me back my
cross!” she said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“I will keep and bear it
still.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Forgive me, Lord” (and
with that she knelt,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And for very shame she
wept).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“I know my sin, that I
could not bow,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nor Thy holy will accept.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Oh, give me patience, for
life is hard;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the daily strength I
need!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And by Thy grace I will
try to bear<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The burden for me decreed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“I’ll change my ways with
the children now,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Though they give me added
cares.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Poor babes! I know, if
they love me not,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That the blame is mine,
not theirs!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She kept her word as the
weeks went on,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she fought with fate
no more:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘T was now with a patient,
humble heart<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That her daily cross she
bore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The children wondered to
see her change<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So greatly in look and
speech!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She met them now with a
smile so kind,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And a gentle word for
each.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And soon they learned,
from her altered ways,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What her words had vainly
taught;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Their love, that long she
had claimed in vain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Came back to her all
unsought.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There were merry shouts
and dancing feet,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When the mother came in
sight;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There were little arms
around her thrown,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There were eyes with joy
alight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With love for teacher,
they learnt to help,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There was work for fingers
small:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Her heart grew soft like
the earth in spring,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And she thanked the Lord
for all!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Her girls so pretty, her
boys so brave,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And so helpful all and
kind!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">She wondered often, and
thought with shame<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of how she had once
repined.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For in their presence she
oft forgot<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Her burden of want and
care,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Forgot her trouble –
forgot, almost,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That she had a cross to
bear!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p>************ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNp1k0-g00CWkmXwl7M8gWc2m_f7LzUik0S3bYkHASgD0yoxgmfUTKIJLx466KJ-MHdG2R7Iniu-Fx2lfxmraRZNzQ8PXYIeaSrStHswcKI1aVllsckoHaieKsz0uGEO3G_yr5Xafqqif3lLprtzg0_OT9UrclaTIMRXrNNrNHIBFwRQCQgWAvm6X/s1096/the-holy-family%20by%20Paolo%20Veronese.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1096" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNp1k0-g00CWkmXwl7M8gWc2m_f7LzUik0S3bYkHASgD0yoxgmfUTKIJLx466KJ-MHdG2R7Iniu-Fx2lfxmraRZNzQ8PXYIeaSrStHswcKI1aVllsckoHaieKsz0uGEO3G_yr5Xafqqif3lLprtzg0_OT9UrclaTIMRXrNNrNHIBFwRQCQgWAvm6X/w640-h584/the-holy-family%20by%20Paolo%20Veronese.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p>'The Holy Family' by Paolo Veronese (1528 - 1588)</o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p>NB. For a further work by Francesca Alexander, please see 'Whitesmokeahoy' blog dated 18 November 2022, 'The Bag of Sand' </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><a href="https://whitesmokeahoy.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-bag-of-sand-by-st-heradius.html" style="text-align: left;">whitesmokeahoy: 'The Bag of Sand' by St. Heradius</a> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-82792887808021356382022-10-30T19:06:00.000-07:002022-10-30T19:06:13.933-07:00 The 'Godfather' of Climate Change<p> </p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemr1_XAj7NOLUCng-mwLUxqfP5Vruwjw1Gnml0_BPVJaBLZT9rjy89V7wAUQCe3S0BFwDT4v6GgpH9a9D-e7OTxgWPhu6qIn1RWauEX22aGXLXGZ8dy5EDH-uOD6mfyHy-LCYagRTb3hvoIMBuAIz51sY7Jh4F8g6sZ0EawiYZMwDRgS0OfbqAYEW/s595/Maurice_Strong.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="404" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemr1_XAj7NOLUCng-mwLUxqfP5Vruwjw1Gnml0_BPVJaBLZT9rjy89V7wAUQCe3S0BFwDT4v6GgpH9a9D-e7OTxgWPhu6qIn1RWauEX22aGXLXGZ8dy5EDH-uOD6mfyHy-LCYagRTb3hvoIMBuAIz51sY7Jh4F8g6sZ0EawiYZMwDRgS0OfbqAYEW/s320/Maurice_Strong.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><i style="font-size: x-large;"> </i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> Maurice Strong (1929 - 2015)</b></span></div><div><br /></div><h1 class="title" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Oswald, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">(The following article is taken from the Expose 23 October, 2022 - with thanks.)</span></i></h1><h1 class="title" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Oswald, sans-serif; font-weight: 400;">The Man who invented Climate Change and influenced Schwab’s Great Reset Agenda</h1><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">According to such Great Reset luminaries as Bill Gates, Prince Charles, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Carney and Klaus Schwab, humanity is expected to solve the dual threat of Covid and global warming in one revolutionary sweeping reform.</span></strong></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-group" style="text-align: start;"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container"></div></div><p></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We plebeians have been told that all we have to do to restart the economy is rewire everything about our behaviour, value, finance, and ethics to decarbonise civilization under a new world regime of central bankers and new green digital currencies as outlined by the<span> </span><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-green-horizon-summit/" style="color: #42677e;">Green Horizon Summit held on 9-10 November 2020</a>.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Summit was hosted by the City of London Corporation, in collaboration with the Green Finance Institute, and supported by the World Economic Forum (“WEF”): “It’s time to reset the relationship between finance and the real economy. It’s time for public and private finance to get behind the transition to a sustainable and resilient future for all.”</span></p><div class="wp-block-image" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif;"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>link:-</b> <i><b> <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/green-horizon-summit-the-pivotal-role-of-finance-2020" style="color: #42677e;">World Economic Forum, Green Horizon Summit</a></b></i></span></figcaption></figure></div><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was at this event that keynote speaker Mark Carney announced that the total net zero transition represents “the greatest commercial opportunity of our time”:</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"></p><figure class="wp-block-video aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-videopress" style="text-align: start;"></figure><p></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“Climate change, the crisis that involves the entire world and from which no one will be able to self-isolate … 126 governments have now committed to net zero including three global giants – China, Japan and South Korea, in the last few weeks … Given the wholesale shift in economic and social drivers of values since Covid … Businesses of all stripes increasingly recognise the changing consumer preferences and new climate policies are creating the greatest commercial opportunity of our time … Our objective for COP26 is to build the framework so that every financial decision can take climate change into account.”</span></em></p><figure class="wp-block-video aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-videopress" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif;"><figcaption><span style="font-size: large;"><b>link:- </b> <i><b><a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/green-horizon-summit-the-pivotal-role-of-finance-2020/sessions/the-cartography-of-post-covid-19-green-growth" style="color: #42677e;">The Cartography of Post-COVID-19 Green Growth</a>,</b></i> Mark Carney, 9 November 2020 (19 mins, begin timestamp 08:45)</span></figcaption></figure><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is a destructive plan to transform the global financial system under the guise of “climate change” and we should be concerned about the “green” financial swindle that is underway. It is not just a financial swindle but one of the largest natural land resource grabs in the history of our planet, read more <a href="https://expose-news.com/2022/01/20/a-destructive-plan-under-the-guise-of-climate-change/" style="color: #42677e;">HERE</a>.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In a 2019 article, <a href="https://larouchepub.com/other/2019/4641-mark_carney_the_prince_charles.html" style="color: #42677e;">Paul Gallagher described</a> Carney as the most influential central banker in the world. He has held the most senior positions in global central banking in the shortest period of time and is probably more responsible than any other figure – except possibly his billionaire partner Michael Bloomberg – for the current rampage of environmentalist assaults on modern industrial society.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Canadian eco-fascist Mark Carney, formerly Governor Bank of England, is on <a href="https://www.weforum.org/about/leadership-and-governance" style="color: #42677e;">WEF’s Board of Trustees</a> and is UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. He seems to have a lot in common with the Canadian eco-fascist Maurice Strong – “inventor of climate change” – who was a co-founder of WEF and the architect of <a href="https://expose-news.com/2021/09/14/building-an-empire-the-united-nations-using-the-world-economic-forum-to-roll-out-its-agenda/" style="color: #42677e;">Agenda 21, which led to its ugly sister Agenda 2030</a>.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Oswald, sans-serif; font-weight: 400;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Maurice Strong the Godfather of “climate change”</span></strong></h3><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">On his death in 2015 <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/paris-climate-change-conference/12035401/Farewell-to-the-man-who-invented-climate-change.html" style="color: #42677e;"><em>The Telegraph</em> hailed Maurice Strong</a> as the man who invented climate change, “to this day, global climate policy is still shaped by the agenda of Maurice Strong, a Canadian multimillionaire.” But to those who have looked behind the veil of corporate media propaganda, he’s known as the Godfather of climate change – Godfather , as in crime boss.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Amongst others, Strong was Secretary General of the first United Nations Conference on the Environment and Population in 1972, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, head of the World Bank, head of the United Nations Environmental Program, a member of the <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_Partner_in_Shaping_History.pdf" style="color: #42677e;">Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum</a> and a committed socialist and globalist.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">He was also one of <a href="https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/03/investigative-reports/the-rhodes-scholars-guiding-bidens-presidency/" style="color: #42677e;">Klaus Schwab’s mentors</a>. Schwab’s other mentor was Henry Kissinger. Kissinger recruited Schwab through the “International seminar,” a CIA-funded program at Harvard University, and introduced him to Ken Galbraith. Galbraith was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public policy maker, and Harvard intellectual. <a href="https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/03/investigative-reports/dr-klaus-schwab-or-how-the-cfr-taught-me-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bomb/" style="color: #42677e;">Kissinger and Galbraith were the real driving force and helped Schwab</a> create the World Economic Forum.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">On Strong’s death in 2015, Schwab <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/11/maurice-strong-an-appreciation" style="color: #42677e;">delivered the following remarks</a>:</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“[Strong] was my mentor since the creation of the Forum: a great friend; an indispensable advisor; and, for many years, a member of our Foundation Board. Without him, the Forum would not have achieved its present significance.”</span></em></p><div class="wp-block-image" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif;"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>link:- </b> <i><b> <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/11/maurice-strong-an-appreciation/" style="color: #42677e;">Maurice Strong: an appreciation, World Economic Forum</a></b></i></span></figcaption></figure></div><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The video clip below, taken from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhkxC1Q2FNU" style="color: #42677e;"><em>CBC</em>’s 2004 documentary <em>‘Life and Times’</em></a>, highlights the dizzying speed with which Strong rose to power, as well as his many “elite” associations. In the YouTube description section, Matthew D. Jarvie wrote:</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“Despite having little education and almost no credentials, Strong was quickly risen through the ranks of power after being vetted by globalist kingpin David Rockefeller in the mid-40s, at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, after Strong landed a job there with the help of people who had connections to the UN.</span></em></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“This clip takes a look at one of the world’s leading figures behind the New World Order agenda, and someone near the very top of the global warming/global tax/one world government swindle … While the documentary casts an unabashedly favourable and glowing light on Strong, those who have done the research and have studied Strong’s background and associations understand that this simply isn’t the case.”</span></em></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1947, Maurice Strong took his first job as a clerk at the United Nations in New York. There, he befriended David Rockefeller, who helped to advance Strong and provided him with a network of influential contacts. In 1966, Strong became head of the Canadian International Development Agency (“CIDA”).</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1971, while still heading up the Canadian International Development Agency, Maurice Strong became a founding member of the 1001 Nature Trust, which was an elite international organisation created by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Prince Philip Mountbatten. The 1001 Trust worked in tandem with Prince Bernhard’s other secretive club known as the “Bilderberg Group” which he founded in 1954 and was designed to fund the emerging new ecology movement. All 1001 members paid $10 000 for their membership which was pooled to fund the World Wildlife Fund and other green organisations.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Strong was the most active and influential member of the Brundtland Commission, a panel which the UN General Assembly established in 1983 to promote “sustainable development.” He helped produce the Commission’s 1987 report, ‘<em>Our Common Future’</em>, which, as a result of Strong’s influence, placed a heavy emphasis on the dangers of anthropogenic climate change – climate change caused by humans – and the virtues of socialist redistributionism. In the <a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/09/climate_change_a_leftist_excuse_to_redistribute_wealth_and_destroy_the_west.html" style="color: #42677e;">words of a report in the <em>American Thinker</em></a>, the Brundtland report:</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">was a call for social and economic egalitarianism within a simple Marxist dialectical framework;</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">[claimed that] the antagonism between capitalist and proletarian worker mirrored the antagonism between industrialised and developing nations;</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">identified [the First World] as the primary culprit behind Third-World underdevelopment [and] environmental degradation;</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">[argued that] more money to the developing world from rich Western nations [was] the solution; and</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">would become so influential that Western governments would try reversing the effects of the Industrial Revolution in their own countries through restrictions on CO2 emissions and increasing dependence on unreliable biofuels and green technologies.</span></li></ul><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1988, Strong convinced the United Nations Environment Program (“UNEP”) and the World Meteorological Organisation (“WMO”) to agree to the formation of an “intergovernmental mechanism” to monitor anthropogenic global warming and suggest policy recommendations for the UN and Western governments. This organisation was the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”).</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Through the IPCC and other UN bodies, enormous sums of money were transferred from the West to third-world countries. In 2010, the Green Climate Fund (“GCF”) was established. Its purpose was to further the UN goal of socialist redistribution in the name of sustainable development.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1990 a Canadian reporter, <a href="https://vdocuments.site/maurice-strong-wizard-baca-grande-1990.html?page=11" style="color: #42677e;">Daniel Wood, interviewed Strong</a>. Strong’s remarks included:</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialised civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?”</span></em></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>Fox News’</em> Glenn Beck highlighted this comment in 2010 during Part 1 of a series titled ‘<em><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/story/glenn-beck-exposing-crime-inc" style="color: #42677e;">Exposing Crime Inc.</a></em>’</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://gellerreport.com/2021/05/world-economic-forum-chairman-isnt-the-only-hope-that-the-industrialized-civilizations-collapse.html/" style="color: #42677e;">As summarised by the <em>Geller Report</em></a>, Strong then took to <a href="http://www.mauricestrong.net/" style="color: #42677e;">his website</a> to address the issue and wrote:</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“A particularly dishonest statement … citing a fictional account which was clearly stated to be an extreme scenario of what might happen by the year 2030 if we failed to act.”</span></em></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In an interview, the <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2010/jun/22/maurice-strong-interview-global-government" style="color: #42677e;">Guardian </a></em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2010/jun/22/maurice-strong-interview-global-government" style="color: #42677e;">asked Strong</a> about Glenn Beck dedicating a show to attack him. Strong responded:</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“You know what? I haven’t actually seen that show. But we wouldn’t be having this conversation if he hadn’t attacked me. I’m never going to be immune from criticism.”</span></em></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1993, Strong was one of the key organisers and the Chairman of the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/rio1992" style="color: #42677e;">1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro</a>. One of the major outcomes of the Summit was the Agenda 21 document, of which Strong was one of the authors.</span></p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-white-background-color has-background has-medium-font-size" style="border-left-color: rgb(31, 39, 65); color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;"><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">From its inception in 1992 at the United Nation’s Earth Summit, 50,000 delegates, heads of state, diplomats and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) hailed Agenda 21 as the “comprehensive blueprint for the reorganisation of human society.” The 350-page, 40-chapter, Agenda 21 document was quite detailed and explicit in its purpose and goals. They warned us that the reorganisation would be dictated through all-encompassing policies affecting every aspect of our lives, using environmental protection simply as the excuse to pull at our emotions and get us to voluntarily surrender our liberties.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Section I details the “Social and Economic Dimensions” of the plan, including redistribution of wealth to eradicate poverty, maintain health through vaccinations and modern medicine, and population control.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">To introduce the plan, the Earth Summit Chairman, Maurice Strong boldly proclaimed, “Current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class – involving meat intake, use of fossil fuels, appliances, air-conditioning, and suburban housing – are not sustainable.” Of course, according to the plan, if it’s not “sustainable” it must be stopped.</span></p><cite><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>link:- <a href="https://americanpolicy.org/2019/02/25/green-new-deal-reveals-the-naked-truth-of-agenda-21/" style="color: #42677e;">Green New Deal Reveals the Naked Truth of Agenda 21</a>,</b></span> American Policy Centre, 25 February 2019</span></cite></blockquote><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>American Policy Centre </em>also noted that Agenda 21 was summed up in supporting documents this way:</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">“Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society; unlike anything the world has ever experienced. It requires a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals, and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level.”</span></em></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">As reported in 2019 by<em> The Times of India</em>, the specific issue of climate alarm originated as part of the Club of Rome of 1968 and its 1973 ‘<em>Limits of Growth</em>’ report.</span></p><blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-white-background-color has-background has-medium-font-size" style="border-left-color: rgb(31, 39, 65); color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;"><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the Club of Rome associates was Maurice Strong who played a particularly insidious role in drumming up a range of anti-poor hysterias … He had a revulsion for people. In his 2000 autobiography, he dreamt of the day when two-thirds of the world’s population might be wiped out.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Strong was widely supported by thousands of influential like-minded people, many of whom are extremely powerful today: for instance, William Nordhaus … [who] started a life-long focus on CO2 and has long recommended a carbon tax without ever bothering to check whether CO2 is actually a pollutant.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Club of Rome and its associate organisations remain active and operate behind the scenes. There is a powerful network of people determined to use climate alarm and anti-GM propaganda as instruments to curb agricultural productivity and choke energy use by the poor. Al Gore is perhaps the most well-known but the group includes innumerable “scientists” who are happy to fudge data. The Climategate emails demonstrate how these “scientists” operate in the shadows to distort facts and mislead the public.</span></p><cite><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b> link:- <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/looking-behind-the-scenes-of-the-well-orchestrated-climate-hysteria/" style="color: #42677e;">Looking behind the scenes of the well-orchestrated climate hysteria</a>,</b></span> The Times of India. 25 August 2019</span></cite></blockquote><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fourteen years ago, Matthew D. Jarvie highlighted the connection between the environmental movement and those who are striving to bring about a new system of control to the world. Jarvie began by naming notable members of the <a href="https://www.clubofrome.org/history/" style="color: #42677e;">Club of Rome</a>. The first member he named was – Maurice Strong.</span></p><p class="has-text-align-justify" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sources and resources:</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individuals/maurice-strong" style="color: #42677e;">Maurice Strong</a>, Discover the Networks</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/11/25/maurice-strong-and-the-roots-of-the-great-reset-agenda/" style="color: #42677e;">Maurice Strong and the Roots of the Great Reset Agenda</a>, Matthew Ehret, 25 November 2020</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://expose-news.com/2022/03/01/how-the-unthinkable-became-thinkable/" style="color: #42677e;">Matthew Ehret: How the Unthinkable Became Thinkable</a>, The Exposé, 1 March 2022</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.corbettreport.com/meet-maurice-strong-globalist-oiligarch-environmentalist/" style="color: #42677e;">Meet Maurice Strong: Globalist, Oligarch, “Environmentalist”</a>, The Corbett Report, 31 January 2016</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/03/investigative-reports/the-rhodes-scholars-guiding-bidens-presidency/" style="color: #42677e;">The Rhodes Scholars Guiding Biden’s Presidency</a>, Matthew Ehret, 26 March 2022</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://expose-news.com/2021/10/19/the-transition-from-using-covid-to-using-climate-change-as-the-justification-for-implementing-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-and-the-digital-transformation-of-the-economy-and-society-is/" style="color: #42677e;">The transition from using Covid to using Climate Change as the justification for implementing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the “digital transformation” of the economy and society is well underway</a>, The Exposé, 19 October 2021 </span></li></ul><div><span face="Arimo, sans-serif" style="color: #1f2741; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arimo, sans-serif" style="color: #1f2741;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Acknowledgement 'The Expose' 23 October, 2022. - with thanks</span></b></i></span></div><div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-group" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arimo, sans-serif;"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container"></div></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-31011739578016550252022-09-16T12:30:00.007-07:002022-09-26T15:24:35.520-07:00' And God saw all things He had made, and they were very Good.'<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj38kOSzT8kDL7_1OQE-7ap1feaKz8lH-gvJNMyjQ_LahjBHE_B7XZyTHNkhB_2DPaLCgRB0mhKfnXPx25SyGbgn7gYBSV968PEwyvJnhvn6pmUHJZJStOh8WOBj8_anj5PcMGq5OKWd9kK2BW2JxkbnFUjSAd8VcgafE9TE2klxzIcR6-8P5kDjZXm" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="687" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj38kOSzT8kDL7_1OQE-7ap1feaKz8lH-gvJNMyjQ_LahjBHE_B7XZyTHNkhB_2DPaLCgRB0mhKfnXPx25SyGbgn7gYBSV968PEwyvJnhvn6pmUHJZJStOh8WOBj8_anj5PcMGq5OKWd9kK2BW2JxkbnFUjSAd8VcgafE9TE2klxzIcR6-8P5kDjZXm=w509-h640" width="509" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><br /> <b> 'God the Father' - Jacob Herreyns (1643-1732) Flemish School</b></span></i><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><span> </span><span> </span>In the
beginning God created heaven and earth,</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And the
earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the
spirit of God moved over the waters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> <span> </span> </span>And<b> God
said,</b> be light made; and light was made.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And God saw
the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span> <span> </span></span>And he called the<b> light
Day</b>, and the <b>darkness Night;</b> and there was evening </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">and morning <b>one day.</b></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And <b>God said</b>: Let there be
a firmament made amidst the waters: and let it divide the waters from the
waters.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> <span> </span></span>And God made
a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those
that were above the firmament, and it was so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And God
called the firmament<b> Heaven; </b>and the evening and morning were the <b>second</b> <b>day.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And <b>God also
said</b>, let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into one
place: and let the dry land appear. And
it was so done.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And God called
the dry land, <b>Earth</b>; and the gathering together of the waters, he called, <b>Seas</b>. And God saw that it was good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And he said:
Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit
tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the
earth. And it was so done.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And the
earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yielded seed according to its
kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And the
evening and the morning were the <b>third day.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And<b> God
said</b>: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day
and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and
years:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>To shine in
the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And <b>God made
two great lights</b>: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule
the night: and the stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And He set
them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And to rule
the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw
that it was good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And the
evening and morning were the <b>fourth day.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>God also
said: </b> Let the waters bring forth the
creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under
the firmament of heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And God
created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, which the
waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every winged fowl according
to its kind. And God saw that it was
good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And he
blessed them, saying: Increase and
multiply and fill the waters of the sea: and let the birds be multiplied upon
the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And the
evening and morning were the <b>fifth day.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And <b>God
said</b>: Let the earth bring forth the
living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the
earth, according to their kinds. And it
was so done.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And God made
the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and everything
that creepeth on the earth after its kind.
And God saw that it was good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And he said:
<b>Let us make man to our image and likeness:</b>
and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of
the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that
moveth upon the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><span> </span><span> </span>And God created
man to his own image: to the image of God, he created him: male and female he
created them.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And God
blessed them, saying: increase and
multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the
sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the
earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And<b> God said</b>:
behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees
that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be your meat:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And to all
beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon
the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon. And it
was so done.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span> </span><span> </span>And God saw
all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and
the morning were the <b>sixth day. </b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <b>Genesis Ch.1//v.1-31</b></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> ***************</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Humanity, our world and everything
in it, is God’s creation. Mankind is the highest form
of life, created by God in his own image and likeness, each person with the unique power
to reason, memorise, and will their thoughts and behaviour in accordance with individual
choice. This can be for good or for evil, as we know from Adam and Eve's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, for God has given man free will to choose. God
is all powerful, all just, all loving, and all good, and has created man in His own image, offering every one of us eternal happiness with Him in his
kingdom when we die. This invitation is open to all, but to be accepted we must endeavour to lead our lives in accordance with God’s commandments, the Ten Commandments, and the
teachings of Jesus Christ, God the Son, which have been passed down through the ages through the ministry of the Catholic Church, which He founded and which he promised to be with 'all days, even to the consummation of the world.'<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>“God so loved the world
that He gave His only Begotten Son, that we might have life.”<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b> </b> *************</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Fast-forward to today’s
world, the world of the ‘<i><b>Great Reset’</b></i> or’ <i><b>One World</b></i> <i><b>Government</b></i>’. We have a
nightmare scenario of a planned take-over and control of the world, by a small
but inestimably rich, ambitious, and powerful group of unelected ‘elite’ individuals and organisations, driven
by an insatiable desire for even greater power and wealth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Everything designed and used to achieve this end, is the very antithesis of God’s plans for humanity and the world He has created. At present, diabolical influence is clear in every move engineered by the '<i><b>Great Reset'</b></i> operators.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">An 'engineered' lethal virus, descended on virtually the whole world at the same time, resulting in
the wholesale vaccination of nationwide populations with an untested so-called ‘vaccine’
(often mandatory!), which has proved to be a medical disaster on an unprecedented
scale, with tens of thousands of deaths, and millions of adverse effects
worldwide, many permanent and life-threatening. See: </span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Brian%20Crowe/OneDrive/expose-news.com-Whilst%20they%20knew%20you%20were%20mourning%20the%20Queens%20death%20the%20UK%20Gov%20quietly%20published%20reports%20confirming%20t.pdf">expose-news.com-Whilst they knew you were mourning the Queens death the UK Gov quietly published reports confirming t.pdf</a><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Increasingly the corruption and
lies involving the pharmaceutical companies, the political leaders of nations, the
national health authorities, many doctors and nurses, the main media outlets
and social media, and others, all of whom have vested interests in the </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>‘Great
Reset’</b></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> agenda, are becoming increasingly recognised. The reality of inflation and world-wide recession, high unemployment,
pre-planned food shortages threatening especially the people of Africa, India, and poorer countries. Severe fuel and oil shortages affecting power, transportation and food supplies, reflect a deliberately planned economic and environmental '</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Great Reset</b></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">' policy, which could lead to world-wide famine and starvation, perhaps reducing the world population by billions, which in fact is in line with the publicly promulgated aspirations of billionaire </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;">Bill Gates,</b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> one of the front-line leaders behind the '</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Great Reset'</b></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">, supported no doubt by others of similar ilk. See:</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #1f2741; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><li><a aria-current="page" href="https://expose-news.com/2022/09/01/douglas-brodie-the-other-big-con-net-zero/" style="color: #42677e;">The Next Big Con – Net Zero Climate Change</a></li></ul><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We have war, unthinkable two years ago, also an increasing emphasis on so-called climate change, a highly controversial subject conveniently endorsed by influential politicians and
scientists, many if not most of whom, I suggest are party to the '<i><b>Great</b></i> <i><b>Reset'</b></i>, promoting international agreements and imposing new legislation, which does nothing for ordinary people except restrict food production and increase costs, limit energy sources and supply world-wide, resulting in cost increases of double or more for the average household, with financial pressures on governments almost unsustainable. We must not forget the rejection and contempt of God,</span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">clearly discernible in the <i><b>'Great</b></i> <i><b>Reset' </b></i>agenda.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> The Catholic Church, with an estimated 1.2 billion members world-wide, together with other Christian denominations and members of monotheistic faiths, theoretically constitute a major obstacle to the diabolical '<i><b>Great Reset</b></i>' agenda, as do many followers of Hindu, Muslim, and other eastern religions. There are real signs that scientists, medical experts, international lawyers, and people from all walks of life, and of all faiths and none, are now working together to reveal the lies and false propaganda of the '<i><b>Great Reset'</b></i>, with which the world has been inundated, and medically and physically paralysed' over the past thirty months.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Up to now, the deadly
result of this agenda has been to effectively control the lives and well-being of billions of people,
indeed the vaccine has been said to threaten the very future of humanity. We are experiencing</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> a war against God and his creation, an attempt to nihilate all that is good, and replace it with a system which is evil and diabolically inspired. We must oppose the '<i><b>Great Reset'</b></i> in every
way we can, not least to let people know what is going on, for the ‘media’ has
concealed the truth, and unbelievably a great many people are incredibly ignorant of what is really going on, and the reasons behind it. We must pray to God that good will prevail and evil destroyed. We must be sincere, and honour and thank God for all he
has given, and direct our lives in accordance with Christ’s teaching – the Way, the
Truth, and the Light. God will lead the world out of the mess that we are in, we
cannot do it on our own. </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <i><b> “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this
darkness, </b></i></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><b>against the spirits of
wickedness in high places” (St Paul's letter to Ephesians Ch.6:12)</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><b> “Therefore, take unto you the armour of God, that you may
be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect.” (Ephesians
Ch.6:13)</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> *******************</o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><b>The following article is a compilation of an email exchange between Patrick Moore and South Korean Professor Seok-soon Park, professor of environmental science and engineering at Ehwa Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, in November of 2021. It was provided by Park with the permission of Moore on July 7, 2022, and compiled by Lee Yun-Jeong, for the Epoch Times. </b></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><b>Both Park and Moore are among the 1,100 scientists and professionals that signed the World Climate Declaration (WCD), stating that there’s no climate emergency.</b></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><i><b> ********************</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8tJoxI5xOn8KvMtMqgAVLTVxzrYwg0J5hpMKxbuUJGSstyemnXENaHrgUmWCt9hbCyYnn64jV3SxwvdEy4tQepgUOJ0sCuhlP00ZVooxAd6-7zYCAycY01VI0dEIkBBWpxJ3UPxn6uk01BmZ8SpuaOh2wd-8Cl1iUEK_gRk5ttQKYsX_4E29FPkjD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8tJoxI5xOn8KvMtMqgAVLTVxzrYwg0J5hpMKxbuUJGSstyemnXENaHrgUmWCt9hbCyYnn64jV3SxwvdEy4tQepgUOJ0sCuhlP00ZVooxAd6-7zYCAycY01VI0dEIkBBWpxJ3UPxn6uk01BmZ8SpuaOh2wd-8Cl1iUEK_gRk5ttQKYsX_4E29FPkjD=s16000" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <b><i> </i></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b><i> Patrick Moore - Scientist</i></b></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b>Patrick Moore,</b> Canadian Ecologist, Chair of CO2 Coalition, and Co-Founder of Greenpeace. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">He co-founded <b>Greenpeace</b> in 1971 and served as president of Greenpeace Canada for nine years. From 1979 to 1986, he served as the Director of Greenpeace International, a driving force shaping the group’s policies and directions. During his 15-year tenure, Greenpeace became the world’s largest environmental activist organization.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In 1991, Moore founded <b>Greenspirit</b>, a consultancy focusing on environmental policies, energy, climate change, biodiversity, genetically modified food, forests, fisheries, food, and resources.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Between 2006 and 2012, Moore served as co-chairman of the '<b>Clean and Safe Energy</b> <b>Coalition'</b>, a U.S.-based environmental advocacy group.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In 2014, he was appointed Chairman of '<b>Ecology, Energy, and Prosperity of Frontier</b> <b>Centre for Public Policy'</b>, a non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In 2019 and 2020, Moore served as the Chair of <b>CO2 Coalition</b>, a U.S.-based non-profit environmental advocacy group dedicated to disputing false claims on CO2 as relates to climate change.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13pt;"> **************</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><i>The follow</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13pt;"><i>ing article was compiled by Lee Yun-Jeong for the Epoch Times and is a result of an email exchange between Patrick Moore and Professor Seok-Soon Park in November 2021. in Seoul, S.Korea. </i> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> ' Patrick Moore said in his e-mail, that the reasons why he left Greenpeace were very clear: “Greenpeace was ‘hijacked’ by
the political left when they realized there was money and power in the
environmental movement. [Left-leaning] political activists in North America and
Europe changed Greenpeace from a science-based organization to a political
fundraising organization,” Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore left Greenpeace in 1986, 15 years after he co-founded the
organization.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The ‘environmental’ movement has become more of a political movement
than an environmental movement,” he said. “They are primarily focused on
creating narratives, stories, that are designed to instil fear and guilt into
the public so the public will send them money.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">He said they mainly operate behind closed doors with other political
operatives at the U.N., World Economic Forum, and so on, all of which are
primarily political in nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC]</b> is “not a science
organization,” he said. “It is a political organization composed of the <b>World</b>
<b>Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The IPCC hires scientists to provide them with ‘information’ that
supports the ‘<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-climate-emergency" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ee;">climate emergency</span></a>’
narrative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Their campaigns against fossil fuels, <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-nuclear-energy" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ee;">nuclear energy</span></a>, <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-co2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ee;">CO2</span></a>, <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-plastic" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ee;">plastic</span></a>, etc., are misguided and designed to
make people think the world will come to an end unless we cripple our <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-civilization" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ee;">civilization</span></a> and destroy our economy.
They are now a negative influence on the future of both the environment and
human civilization.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Today, the left has adopted many policies that would be very
destructive to civilization as they are not technically achievable. Only look
at the looming energy crisis in Europe and the UK, which Putin is taking
advantage of. But it is of their own making in refusing to develop their own
natural gas resources, opposing nuclear energy, and adopting an impossible
position on fossil fuels in general,” Moore wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.95pt; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Left
‘Hijacked’ Greenpeace</span></b></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">He said “green” for the environment and “peace” for the people were the
organization’s founding principles, but peace was largely forgotten, and green
had become the sole agenda.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Many [so-called] ‘environmental’ leaders were now saying that ‘humans
are the enemies of the Earth, the enemies of Nature.’ ..............<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>He said the new dominant philosophy is that the world would be better if
fewer people existed.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But the people who said this were not volunteering to be the first to
go away. They behave as if they are superior to others. This kind of ‘pride’
and ‘conceit’ is the worst of the Cardinal Sins,” Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.95pt; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Environmental
Activist<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As a prominent scholar, ecologist, and long-time leader in the
international environmental field, Patrick Moore is widely regarded as one of
the world’s most qualified experts on the environment. He is also a founder of
Greenpeace, the world’s largest environmental activist organization.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore received his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of British
Columbia in 1974 and an Honorary Doctor of Science from North Carolina State
University</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.95pt; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 26px; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">False
Narrative on Chlorine</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“At the time I decided to leave Greenpeace, I was one of six Directors of
Greenpeace International. I was the only one with formal science education, BSc
Honors in Science and Forestry, and Ph.D. in Ecology. My fellow directors
decided that Greenpeace should begin a campaign to ‘Ban Chlorine Worldwide.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore said it is true that elemental <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-chlorine" target="_blank">chlorine</a> gas is highly toxic and was used
as a weapon in World War I. However, chlorine is one of the 94 [naturally-occurring]
elements on the Periodic Table and has many roles in biology and human health.
For example, table salt (NaCl or Sodium Chloride) is an essential nutrient for
all animals and many plants. It is impossible to “ban” NaCl.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">He pointed out that adding chlorine to drinking water, swimming pools,
and spas was one of the most significant advances in public health history in
preventing the spread of water-borne communicable diseases such as cholera. And
about 85 percent of pharmaceutical drugs are made with chlorine-related
chemistry, and about 25 percent of all our medicines contain chlorine. All
halogens, including chlorine, bromine, and iodine, are powerful antibiotics;
without them, medicine would not be the same.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Greenpeace named chlorine ‘The Devil’s Element’ and calls PVC,
polyvinyl chloride, or simply vinyl, ‘the Poison Plastic.’ All of this is fake
[and] to scare the public. In addition, this misguided policy reinforces the
attitude that humans are not a worthy species, and that the world would be
better off without them. I could not convince my fellow Greenpeace directors to
abandon this misguided policy. This was the turning point for me,” Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">False
Narrative on Polar Bears</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When asked how Greenpeace utilizes its massive donations, Moore said it
was used to pay for “a very large staff” (likely over 2,000), extensive
advertisements, and fundraising programs. And virtually all of the
organization’s ads for fundraising are based on false narratives, which he had
thoroughly disproven in his books, one example being the <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-polar-bears" target="_blank">polar bears</a>. (<i><b>strongly recommend this link- magnificent photographs!!! (editor)</b></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“<b>The International Treaty on Polar Bears</b>, signed by all polar countries
in 1973, to ban unrestricted hunting of polar bears, is never mentioned in the
media, Greenpeace, or politicians who say the polar bear is going extinct due
to melting ice in the Arctic. In fact, the polar bear population has increased
from 6,000 to 8,000 in 1973 to 30,000 to 50,000 today. This is not disputed,”
Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But now they say the polar bear will go extinct in 2100 as if they have
a magic crystal ball that can predict the future. <b>In fact, this past winter in
the Arctic saw an expansion of ice from previous years, and Antarctica was
colder during the last winter than in the past 50 years.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore said that he does not pretend to know everything and predict the
future with confidence like many in the “climate emergency” business claim they
can do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">The
Goal of the ‘Environmental <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-apocalypse" target="_blank">Apocalypse</a>’ Theory</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I believe the human population has always been vulnerable to people who
predict doom with false stories,” Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“The Aztecs threw virgins into volcanos, and the Europeans and Americans
burned women as witches for 200 years claiming this would ‘save the world’ from
evil people. This has been [referred to as] ‘herd mentality,’ ‘groupthink,’ and
‘cult behaviour.’ Humans are social animals with a hierarchy, and it is easiest
to gain a high position by using fear and control.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore said the environmental apocalypse theory is <b>mostly about
“political power and</b> <b>control</b>,” adding that he is dedicated to showing people
that the situation is not as negative as they are told.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Today, in the richest countries, our descendants are making decisions
that our grandchildren will have to pay for,” he said. “Predictions that the
world is coming to an end have been made for thousands of years. Not once has
this come true. Why should we believe it now?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“People are naturally afraid of the future because it is unknown and
full of risks and difficult decisions. I believe there is also an element of
‘self-loathing’ in this apocalypse movement.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore said the young generation today is taught that humans are not
worthy and are destroying the earth. This indoctrination has made them feel
guilty and ashamed of themselves, which is the wrong way to go about life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">The
Demonization of <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-carbon" target="_blank">Carbon</a> Dioxide</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Very few people believe the world is not warming. <b>The record is clear
that the world</b> <b>has been warming since about the year 1700</b>, 150 years before we
were using fossil fuels. 1700 was the peak of the Little Ice Age, which was
very cold and caused crop failures and starvation. Before that, around 1000
A.D. was the Medieval Warm period when Vikings farmed Greenland. [And] before
that, around 500 A.D. were the Dark Ages, and before that, the Roman Warm
Period when it was warmer than today, and the sea level was 1–2 meters higher
than today,” Moore said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Even until about 1950, the amount of fossil fuel used and CO2 emitted
were very small compared to today. We do not know the cause of these periodic
fluctuations in temperature, but it was certainly not CO2.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore clarified that the “minority opinion” is not about the history of
the Earth’s temperature, but it is the relationship between the temperature and
CO2 that is at the centre of the dispute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“In this regard, I agree that many believe CO2 is the main cause of
warming. CO2 is invisible, so no one can actually see what it is doing. And
this ‘majority’ are mainly scientists paid by politicians and bureaucrats,
media making headlines, or activists making money. [The rest are] the public
who believe this story even though they can’t actually see what CO2 is doing,”
Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore provided a graph of temperature continuously measured over 350
years (from 1659 to 2009) in central England. “If carbon dioxide was the main
cause of warming, then there should be a rise in temperature along the carbon
dioxide curve, but it doesn’t,” he explained.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>Moore described the demonization of CO2 as “completely ridiculous.” He
added that CO2 is the basis of all life on Earth and its concentration in the
atmosphere today, even with the increase, is lower than it has been for a large
majority of life’s existence.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">Rising
CO2 Correlates With Increased Plantation: Study</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A study in 2013 found that<b> increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) have
helped boost green foliage across the world’s arid regions over the past 30
years.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation (CSIRO), in collaboration with the Australian National University
(ANU), found the distribution area of </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">vegetation
increased by 11 percent due to the effect of carbon dioxide fertilization in
arid areas of the world between 1982 and 2015 through satellite observations. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Australian government agency CSIRO <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2013/Deserts-greening-from-rising-CO2" target="_blank">conducted</a> the
research in collaboration with Australian National University (ANU). The data
was based on satellite observations from the year 1982 to 2010 across parts of
the arid areas in Australia, North America, the Middle East, and Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It found an 11 percent increase in foliage cover in the studied area due
to what’s called “CO2 fertilization.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The study said a fertilization effect occurs when elevated CO2 levels
enable a leaf during photosynthesis—the process by which green plants convert
sunlight into sugar—to extract more carbon from the air or lose less water to
the air or both.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“If elevated CO2 causes the water use of individual leaves to drop,
plants in arid environments will respond by increasing their total numbers of
leaves. These changes in leaf cover can be detected by satellite, particularly
in deserts and savannas where the cover is less complete than in wet
locations,” according to Randall Donohue, the CSIRO research scientist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">Breaking
the Global Warming Narrative</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Climate alarmists prefer to discuss climate knowledge only since 1850.
The time before this they referred to as the pre-industrial age. This
‘pre-industrial age’ was more than 3 billion years when life was on the Earth.
Many climate changes [occurred during that period], including Ice Ages,
Hothouse Ages, major extinctions due to asteroid impacts, and other unknown
causes,” Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Today, the Earth is in the Pleistocene Ice Age, which began 2.6 million
years ago. … So, the most recent major glaciation, which peaked 20,000 years
ago, was not the end of the Ice Age. We are still in the Pleistocene Ice Age no
matter how the climate alarmists wish to deny this.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>He said the great irony of the present panic about the climate is that
the Earth is colder today than it was for 250 million years before the
Pleistocene Ice Age set in. And CO2 is lower now than in more than 95 percent
of Earth’s history.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“But you would never know this if you listen to all the people who
benefit from the lie that the Earth will soon be too hot for life and that CO2
will become higher than in Earth’s history,” Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">‘More
CO2 Is Beneficial to the Environment and Humans’</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">According to Moore, nearly all commercial greenhouse farmers worldwide
buy CO2 to inject into their greenhouses to realize up to 60 percent higher
crop yields.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I was impressed when flying over South Korea [and seeing] how many
greenhouses there are in the valleys. Like British Columbia, Korea has a lot of
mountains and not so much flat fertile farmland.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I am sure the greenhouse farmers are putting more CO2 in their greenhouses,
up to double and triple what it is in the atmosphere today. This is because
nearly all plants growing outside in the natural atmosphere are starved for
CO2, and it is what limits them from growing faster,” Moore added.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Please refer to the chapter titled ‘Climate of Fear and Guilt’ in my
book, [<i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fake-Invisible-Catastrophes-Threats-Doom/dp/B08TFYJFMR" target="_blank">Fake Invisible Catastrophes and
Threats of Doom</a></span></i>], if you wish to gain a full
understanding of these facts,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore said that most environmental activists, politicians, and so-called
experts know that we cannot stop increasing the use of fossil fuels or
reducing <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-co2-emissions" target="_blank">CO2 emissions</a> within
their proposed schedule.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“In 2015, while attending the COP (Conference of the Parties) in Paris,
I offered a public bet for $100,000 in a broadcast media release which went out
on more than 200 media feeds, that by 2025 global CO2 emissions would be higher
than in 2015. I did not receive one taker, not even from the ‘greens,’” Moore
said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>“I know that more CO2 is entirely beneficial to both the environment and
human civilization. I am proud to be a director of the CO2 Coalition.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">The
Irony of ‘Carbon Neutrality’</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore said “<i><b>carbon neutrality</b></i>” <b>is a political term, not a scientific
one.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It is simply wrong to call CO2 ‘carbon.’ Carbon is an element that is
what diamonds, graphite, and carbon black (soot) are composed of. [And] CO2 is
a molecule that contains carbon and oxygen and is an invisible gas that is the
primary food for all life. [Likewise], it is incorrect to refer to NaCl (table
salt) as ‘chlorine,’ even though NaCl contains chlorine,” Moore said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“He said when elements (atoms) combine with each other to form compounds
(molecules), they always have very different properties than the elements they
are made from.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>“‘Net-Zero’ is also a political term</b> made-up by activists who are not
scientists. For example, the top leaders of this crusade are people like Al
Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Greta Thunberg, none of whom are scientists.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>According to Moore, Russia, China, and India are 40 percent of the human
population, and they do not agree with this anti-fossil fuel agenda.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>“If we add Brazil, Indonesia, and most African countries, it is a
majority of the population who are not climate fanatics,” Moore added.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Another great irony is that many countries with the coldest climates,
such as Canada, Sweden, Germany, and the UK, are the most concerned about
warming. For example, the average annual temperature in Canada is -5.35 degrees
Celsius.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore also said that fumes from engines are not CO2; they are other
substances, as CO2 is invisible and odourless. Dust is also not CO2; it is soot
and can be controlled with present technology. And coal plants built today are
much cleaner than ones built 20 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">‘Wind
and Solar Power Are Parasites on the Economy’</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Solar and wind power are both very expensive and very unreliable. It is
almost like a mental illness that so many people have been brainwashed to think
entire countries can be supported with these technologies,” Moore said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I believe wind and solar energy are parasites on the larger economy. In
other words, they make the country poorer than if other more reliable and less
costly technologies were used.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moore said that wind and solar providers rely heavily on government
subsidies, tax write-offs, and mandates, where citizens are forced to buy wind
and solar power even if it is more expensive, on the pretext that it is
“environmentally friendly.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>“Millions of people pay more for wind and solar energy while a few
people make millions of dollars, marks, pounds, etc. It is a bit like a Ponzi
scheme in the stock markets,” Moore added.<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>“They require vast areas of land, are not available most of the time,
and require reliable energy such as nuclear, hydroelectric, [coal, and natural]
gas to be available when wind and solar are unavailable.”</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">According to Moore, the construction of wind and solar farms use vast
amounts of fossil fuels for mining, transportation, and construction. And in
many locations, they don’t produce nearly enough energy in their lifetimes as
is required to build and maintain them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Why not use reliable energy [such as nuclear, hydroelectricity, natural
gas, etc.] as the primary source?” Moore questioned, adding if that were the
case, “then wind and solar would be unnecessary.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt; mso-outline-level: 2; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">‘Plastic
Is Not a Toxic Substance’</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 19.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Plastic is not a toxic substance. That is why we package and wrap our
food in it, to prevent it from becoming contaminated. Plastic does not
magically become toxic when it enters the ocean,” Moore said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Of course, they say on one hand that plastic will never break down, and
then, on the other hand, they say it will quickly decay into ‘microplastics,’
which, of course, are conveniently invisible so no one can observe or verify
this for themselves. How clever!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">According to Moore, our digestive system can tell the difference between
“food” and plastic or tiny particles of sand. Our body does not ingest sand
into our bloodstream, no matter how microscopic the sand is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">He said plastic floating in the ocean is like a tiny floating reef, the
same as driftwood. It provides a surface for marine species to lay their eggs
on, attach themselves to, and eat things that are attached to it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 18.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Pollution is usually toxic or causes harm to life. Plastic is simply
‘litter’ beside the road. It is not hurting anything. One exception is
discarded fishing nets, not because they are plastic but because they are shaped
to catch fish. The environmental community should work with the fishing
industry to stop throwing damaged nets in the sea and bring them back to the
dock, where they can be recycled, used in a waste-to-energy plant, or discarded
safely,” Moore added.'<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">This interview is a compilation of an
email exchange between Moore and South Korean Professor Seok-soon Park,
professor of environmental science and engineering at Ehwa Womans University in
Seoul, South Korea, in November of 2021. It was provided by Park with the permission of Moore on July
7, 2022.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><b>Both he and Moore are among the 1,100
scientists and professionals that signed the World Climate Declaration (WCD),
stating that there’s no climate emergency.</b></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">Professor Park is a World Climate
Declaration Ambassador at <a href="https://clintel.org/" target="_blank">CLINTEL</a> and a member of the <a href="https://co2coalition.org/" target="_blank">CO2
Coalition</a>. He translated “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Facts-science-that-doesnt/dp/1545614105" target="_blank">Inconvenient Facts: The Science
That Al Gore Doesn’t Want You to Know</a> (by Gregory Wrightstone)”
and “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fake-Invisible-Catastrophes-Threats-Doom/dp/B08TFYJFMR" target="_blank">Fake Invisible Catastrophes and
Threats of Doom</a> (by Patrick Moore)” into Korean. Deeply
impressed by these books, he founded the “Korea Alliance of Freedom and
Environmental Groups,” dedicated to enlightening people on the truth of climate
change, the eco-friendliness of nuclear power energy, the environmental
advantage of a liberal democratic market economy, and sensible
environmentalism.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">Park received his B.S. in Zoology from
Seoul National University (Seoul, Korea) in 1980 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in
Environmental Science from Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey) in
1983 and 1985. Before joining as one of the founding professors at Ewha’s
Environmental Science and Engineering Department in 1996, he worked as a
postdoctoral researcher at Rutgers University, visiting professor at Princeton
University, and a tenured professor at Kangwon National University (Chuncheon,
South Korea).</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><b>He served as the President of the
Korean Society of Environmental Education, President of the National Institute
of Environmental Research, and a Presidential Advisory Committee member on
Science and Technology. He has published over 150 research papers in
peer-reviewed journals and has written more than 20 books. He received the Best
Scientist and Engineer Award from Korea Science Foundation in 2007 and a
Presidential Commendation in 2013.</b></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 22px;"><i><b> </b></i></span></span></p></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-15658223668997098242022-05-23T14:26:00.000-07:002022-05-23T14:26:24.660-07:00'The Rosary' by Frances Caryll Houselander (1901-1954)<p> </p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">I am awaiting cataract operations on both eyes, and find it difficult to read books, which I usually do when writing a post. I have therefore reproduced a post which I wrote more than ten years ago, and which you may not have seen, or if you did, you may well not remember. I never tire of reading the works of Caryll Hpuselander, and I hope that you enjoy this poem 'The Rosary', as much as I do.</h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><br /></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><br /></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a href="https://umblepie-northernterritory.blogspot.com/2012/01/rosary-by-frances-caryll-houselander.html" style="color: #1178cc; text-decoration-line: none;">'The Rosary' by Frances Caryll Houselander (1901-1954)</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8272407314998553213" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 570px;"><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"> </b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRaGFqlkvRCnnfTAy1IB4uaSuyxqWdIsBsErwqgF7xQDFeXxVTYdgGzdE1ZZ-08vlkU1CZmjKCg7Xoj_U6UKeq3d_MBn2WV_vOoZSfwwnppiQUivLNYLEORLs_WehlOdQZyfK9b-b1pM/s1600/Frances+Caryll+Houselander+-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #1178cc; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRaGFqlkvRCnnfTAy1IB4uaSuyxqWdIsBsErwqgF7xQDFeXxVTYdgGzdE1ZZ-08vlkU1CZmjKCg7Xoj_U6UKeq3d_MBn2WV_vOoZSfwwnppiQUivLNYLEORLs_WehlOdQZyfK9b-b1pM/s320/Frances+Caryll+Houselander+-child.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="229" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></i><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 13.2px;"><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Frances Caryll Houselander</span></b></i></div></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 13.2px;"><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- mystic, poet, artist, writer</span></b></i></div></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 13.2px;"><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> (1901 - 1954)</span></b></i></div></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94TuM3Y6_EDKa1mB5K5lCZD4TWgp5i5sFisNSnyLUB0pC7PyLM1RD9PZ9fr_OK6JlI1M5IaBxNExvZsdMoefr9cv9vgZHFJ5yMrUe_wBJDQVHPas9WM3_Tp2wFtgbVUzJKaHqgbyEoWA/s1600/caryll+houselander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #1178cc; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94TuM3Y6_EDKa1mB5K5lCZD4TWgp5i5sFisNSnyLUB0pC7PyLM1RD9PZ9fr_OK6JlI1M5IaBxNExvZsdMoefr9cv9vgZHFJ5yMrUe_wBJDQVHPas9WM3_Tp2wFtgbVUzJKaHqgbyEoWA/s320/caryll+houselander.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></i><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></i><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Rosary</span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">In the doorway of a low grey house,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">built of stones as old as the Crusades,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">a woman of Bruges sits in the sunlight,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">among the flowers, saying her Rosary.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">She seems to be carved out of seasoned walnut</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and polished smooth</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">by the constant touch of the hand of God,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and the beads that twine her crippled fingers</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">are scarlet berries on the thorny twigs.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The running rhythm</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and the repetition</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">of the Paters and the Aves</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">is like the rhythm that in nature</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">moves through the seasons</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">from seed to harvest</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">with the unity</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and the pause and stress</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">of music;</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">like the bloodstream of Christ,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">that flows through the seasons</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">from Advent to Easter</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in the Liturgy of the Church,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the ebb and flow of the tide of love</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in the Mystical Body of Christ.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> <b> </b></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>II</b></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">God has given His children strings of beads,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">as we give strings of beads to our children,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">to teach them to count.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">We do not say,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">“Learn from these the doctrine of numbers,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the measure of human life,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the dream of Pythagoras,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">counting the pulse of the world.”</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">We do not say</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">to a child with a string of beads,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">“learn the perfection of reason in mathematics.”</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">We say,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">“Learn to count on the beads,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">small for your hands to hold,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">bright for your eyes to see.”</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">And he begins,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">slowly,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">with one, two, three:</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the spark is kindled</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">to light the flame of philosophy.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">God has counted in fifteen Mysteries,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">on the fingers of human creatures,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the singleness of the Undivided Love,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the simplicity</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">that we cannot comprehend</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">because our hearts are divided.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>III</b></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">We are not all vessels of gold,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">lifted up in virginal hands,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">empty chalices to receive</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">from the perfect vine</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">love,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">absolute</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and complete.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">But the old woman of Bruges</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">is a round bowl,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">lifted up to be brimmed</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">with pure wine.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and the Mysteries of the Rosary</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">concern familiar things</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">known in her own life.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">Her mind, like a velvet bee</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">droning over a rose,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">gathers the honey of comfort</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">from the story of God,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">familiar as the things in her kitchen –</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the shining pots and pans,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the milk in the jar of earthenware,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and the flags of the scrubbed floor.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The story told by the Rosary</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">is the story of primitive beauty,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">true as the burden of folk- songs.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">It is a song piped on the hills,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">by a shepherd calling his sheep.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>IV</b></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The cradle of wood, </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the wood of the cross;</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">from cradle to cross,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">like a lullaby;</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the wail of an infant,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">lost on the wind –</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the arms of a girl</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in a circle of love,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">rocking to rest;</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">a woman’s arms</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in a circle of love,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the young Man dead</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">on His Mother’s breast.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The jewels that glow</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">low in the grass</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">on the feet of Christ,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">risen from death,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">touching the flowers</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and touching the dust,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">even in glory.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The dust of the earth </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">on the feet of God,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">walking the soft blue meadows of stars.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>V</b></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">In the doorway of a low grey house,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">built of stones as old as the Crusades,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">a woman of Bruges</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">sits in the sunlight, among the flowers,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">saying her Rosary.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The story of Mary is her own story,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and her son was her life’s joy</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and her life’s sorrow;</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and for ever</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">her son is her life’s glory.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">In a field in Flanders,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">among the red poppies, he is sleeping:</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">he will sleep soundly</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">until the day of resurrection.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">She has still the patchwork quilt</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">made, when her hands were nimble,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">for the wooden cot:</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">now he is sleeping, and each year</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">he has a new coverlet</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">of delicate young grass,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and at the end of his cot</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">a wooden cross.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The cradle of the wood,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the wood of the cross:</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">from cradle to cross,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">like a lullaby.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The story of the woman of Bruges</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">is the world’s story.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">it is the story</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">of human joy and sorrow,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">woven and interlaced,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">like the blue and crimson thread</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in a woven cloth:</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the story of birth and death,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">of war and the rumours of war</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and of peace past understanding,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">peace in the souls that live</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in the life of Christ.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">In the doorway in Bruges,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">sitting among the flowers, </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">her mind like a velvet bee</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">droning over a rose,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">taking the honey of comfort</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">out of the heart of Love,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the old woman is nodding </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">over her Rosary.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">She has lived her meditation,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">like the Mother of God,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">living the life of Christ:</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">let her sleep in Christ’s peace.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>VI</b></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">Under the loud din</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">of the tramp of metallic feet</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in the armed march of time,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">like a river moving</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">under the dark hills,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the everlasting life</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">is flowing, eternally.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">The measured beat of love,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">with pure perfection of music,</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">timing the life of Christ</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">in the human heart</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">goes on.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> <i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"> </i><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Frances Caryll Houselander</span></b></i></span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>(Ack. 'The Mary Book'' assembled by F.J.Sheed. Published Sheed & Ward, 1950)</b></i></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> *********************</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> 'Frances Caryll Houselander was born in Bath, England, on Sept 29, 1901, the second of two daughters. She was not expected to survive for more than a day, and was immediately baptized, given the name ‘Frances’ after her uncle, a gynaecologist who helped deliver her, and ‘Caryll’, after the yacht on which her mother had spent the last months of her pregnancy!</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> She went on to survive her first day, and indeed many more after that, though her health continued to be poor throughout her life. </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> When she was 6 years old, a family friend persuaded her mother to have the children baptised in the Catholic faith. Although little formal religious education followed her reception into the Church, her mother encouraged a deep sense of piety and devotion in the home, and Frances, a devout child, made her first confession and Holy Communion when she was just seven years old.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Two years later, her world was shattered when her parents separated. Though they were never divorced, the separation was to be a permanent one. For the next several years, she changed homes and schools, never fully settling in one place before she was moved to the next. </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Her erratic health led her doctors to advise that she avoid all class work, and, by the time she returned home in 1917, her formal education was virtually non-existent. During her years in the convent schools, she experienced three religious visions, which led to a personal and absolute conviction that she had been called by Christ to give recognition to the reality of His loving Presence and Image in all people, particularly the suffering and poor of this world, and to convey the realisation and awareness of this to all those with whom she came into contact, personally and through her writings. Frances had a great affinity with young children, and during her life wrote and illustrated children's books, always revealing a simple delight in the love of God and His creation.</div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> When the war ended, she attended art school and it was during this period that she drifted from the Catholic Church. She explored the Orthodox Church among others, but found them all wanting, and craving for peace of soul and longing for the Sacraments, she returned to the Catholic Church; she was then twenty-four years old. </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Advised to concentrate on her writing, she began to write articles and illustrate for the ‘Children’s Messenger of the Sacred Heart’, often on an unpaid basis. Her work ultimately led to her making the acquaintance of the Catholic publishers, Sheed and Ward, who were subsequently to become the major publishers of her many books. </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Always willing to open her home and her heart to those in need, she was frequently physically and emotionally overwhelmed by those who sought her advice, yet she remained reluctant to turn people away. </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Msgr. Ronald Knox, a contemporary, and admirer of Houselander, recognized her tremendous gift of insight, and was later to say, <i>"She seemed to see everything for the first time, and the driest of doctrinal considerations shone out like a restored picture when she had finished with it." </i></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Her popularity and success in healing the hurts and the hearts of many can be measured by the support of such eminent physicians as Dr. Strauss, later President of the British Psychological Society, who sent patients to her. His explanation was that "she loved them back to life". </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Her impact, both literary and personal, was due above all, to the intensity of her vision of the suffering Christ, a vision she expressed with utter sincerity and immediacy and, on occasion, with breath-taking luminosity. Indeed, she can best be described not just as a writer, nor even just an artist, but as a mystic and a visionary, even in the tradition of Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, or Teresa of Avila, which would explain how she was able to communicate so directly and movingly to her large reading public, and accounts for her extraordinary success in counselling British and foreign children who had been traumatized by the war. </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Not gregarious<span style="line-height: 20.7px;"> by nature, she nevertheless radiated gaiety and a sense of fun; her wickedly funny tongue often provoking as much hilarity among her intimates as it caused her remorse. </span></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> She was unquestionably a genuine mystic whose frailties were transformed into real strength and whose neuroses became the means whereby she was able to join her sufferings with Christ on the cross.<span style="line-height: 27px;">It was as though her burning love of God overflowed for the refreshment of all who came in contact with her.</span></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> "She seemed to possess a well that never ran dry for anyone but herself. She gave of her food to feed the hungry, her time to counsel those in need, her energy to write countless letters, articles and books, and ultimately her health for the health and well-being of others. She spent years attending to the rigorous demands of her ailing parents, and, having been plagued by ill health her entire life, had become accustomed to pain and slow to address her own physical ailments. Her lack of self-concern, however, which extended to everything from her looks, to her diet, her sleep, her health, her living quarters, etc., took its toll." </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> During her last years, she worked tirelessly to complete books, write letters, strengthen the works of charity she had begun, and minister to the many mentally ill children who were sent her way' </div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> She died on October 12, 1954, from breast cancer. </div></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 13.2px;"><b><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 13.2px;"><b><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">"</span><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">The wonder of Frances Caryll Houselander is found in her humble willingness to suffer with Christ, to let Him transform her flawed and sinful nature into a divine work of art."</span></b></i></div></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Ack</b>. Karen Lynn Krugh / Catholic Culture.org</i></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Ack.</b> Margot H. King - currently working on biography for Peregrina Publishers.</i></div></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Ack.</b> Robin Maas - Caryll Houselander, an appreciation.</i></div></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>www.ewtn.com/library</i></div></i><pre style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"></pre><pre style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i><b> </b></i></span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></i></pre><pre style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif; font-size: medium;"> </span></pre></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-81419481797928745262022-03-18T19:01:00.000-07:002022-03-18T19:12:47.794-07:00 S.A.G.E.<p><br /></p><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3auESU1MHDTRELyO37KszM1LeWeZRFgLS_dkZRR9OpqTRa3dy5HuLGkb5XmP5JN89viSQWCz8Dl6UmmGY-o9EhzhpU9lXmjvPB-YWkGeqBlewsyVn8cY83-Cb3hziivLkBLIi_d7UO6D9YDSTfIv5jEi-nib93ET69KpD7t2qPJNOsPhsZvat_JGw=s650" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="650" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3auESU1MHDTRELyO37KszM1LeWeZRFgLS_dkZRR9OpqTRa3dy5HuLGkb5XmP5JN89viSQWCz8Dl6UmmGY-o9EhzhpU9lXmjvPB-YWkGeqBlewsyVn8cY83-Cb3hziivLkBLIi_d7UO6D9YDSTfIv5jEi-nib93ET69KpD7t2qPJNOsPhsZvat_JGw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div><b>Sir Patrick Vallance. Chief Scientific Adviser to H M Government.</b></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>(W.D.J.)</b></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhayizYCwNqv0M0aZPRt6BvxEulFNFwcNykNKRKQExlVf5FmMHukDeOiu8yd6LTVgEBQK6ZykOYzV071o3WxWRk8Gml7F_E29aDzD9Zs-HNYSjOh5mhxM7WiqlvZPqg3BtwTVNDxDsOBoO_P-lEZesUiXFdIF5OWk-RWZdojKblrQFAWfiIZB-G3HgG=s1200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhayizYCwNqv0M0aZPRt6BvxEulFNFwcNykNKRKQExlVf5FmMHukDeOiu8yd6LTVgEBQK6ZykOYzV071o3WxWRk8Gml7F_E29aDzD9Zs-HNYSjOh5mhxM7WiqlvZPqg3BtwTVNDxDsOBoO_P-lEZesUiXFdIF5OWk-RWZdojKblrQFAWfiIZB-G3HgG=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty, Chief Medical Officer to H M Government</b></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>(W.D.J.)</b></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOGz3hDEdkqDjDNeeInBkEPghLYhZTt3pqyvHdCPLRPCFAfqrm5DVAW_oxCQJbCTpW3kQ44Ar1SZy-LPW41zqiO8nmqU0K5LMO0sqZxwqTn9Adid3p975La3yNcVh3oLbmscvQEvpRkwvjfBqbM_V0Yj2EqBiSIagUZYpg7ZSPms0bOIjyumhfUE0n=s700" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOGz3hDEdkqDjDNeeInBkEPghLYhZTt3pqyvHdCPLRPCFAfqrm5DVAW_oxCQJbCTpW3kQ44Ar1SZy-LPW41zqiO8nmqU0K5LMO0sqZxwqTn9Adid3p975La3yNcVh3oLbmscvQEvpRkwvjfBqbM_V0Yj2EqBiSIagUZYpg7ZSPms0bOIjyumhfUE0n=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"> <b> Common Sage</b></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></b></span></span></span><div><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <span><span><b>The
word 'SAGE' has several meanings:-</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <span><span><b>1.
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE)</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><b> </b></span><b style="color: #1c1e21;">2.Wise,
discreet, judicious, (WDJ.) having the wisdom of experience. (Concise
Oxford Dictionary)</b></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>3..Aromatic herb with dull, grey-green leaves (Concise Oxford Dictionary)</b></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I
recently came across an interesting article on the 'Expose' News
site, written about a year ago, by Sonia Elijah, on the subject of
the UK Government appointed 'Scientific Advisory Group for
Emergencies' a.k.a. '<b>SAGE'</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>' Never
have statisticians, mathematical biologists, psychologists,
anthropologists, behavioural scientists and a few epidemiologists
dictated government policy to such an extreme degree as over the past
year.'</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span>By </span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fsonia_elijah%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1qiETA5PFOWpkufwgOSqS9j4NdCAEi60VXekwSWT6pTMf-Y5y8mYW8Rxw&h=AT2_Gbj-BM341fbnOrJWL8wdxU_UTe6chOTFz9Qmf02aWP4CcNrfGg81u6gTeXD2yzYmyQLsKnbdRNUC1YkSAJaBPJIClmIjJxLG65Z6RPDUwQkYs2gXuvt1gXzkFCf-QjBR&__tn__=-U-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span><span style="background: transparent;">Sonia
Elijah</span></span></span></span></span></span></a></span></b></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
March 25, 2020, the Coronavirus Act received Royal Assent having been
fast-tracked through Parliament in four working days. The Act
contained </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instituteforgovernment.org.uk%2Fexplainers%2Femergency-powers%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1H1wMaROzKHpJ5hIFUdMglITZwWYnCgh7y5VC3Co1ZvsPbRSVF1HLuXUU&h=AT1HCzhswpy-c15kJSaPHPE_-mMCjxtXQXYMsfyLFeZSeOSnbuc139mJKRW3_glKY-Y9nHr-1J9fkTFQvdxnUR9oGnQFr15FGJI6TrWx6lcunmM7eXDw9fiX6f-QIkbBj2A_&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">emergency
powers</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> to
enable public bodies to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The
Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, or </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Forganisations%2Fscientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1Hl-q-piivcZyy00mU_jfT_HA63r8NH1dezYE1f_24MqcjfrLIRR1iU_0&h=AT0UTgxzcwRkxgQCn3EkC5Eus_T9YpQlRuvn66-_Gz5hwnhJk8BQmCXxlSioGWr5MoALxjfOBusIk3-2mKAiNSbUhfN-lIwX0H61PnchmpLUUuFSBxnKiFK-AE8KHUsCgu2u&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">Sage</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span><span>,
and its subcommittees became the de facto leader of the operation.
<i><b>This was the point at which the UK ceased to be governed by elected
representatives.</b></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>To
this day, Sage do not answer to the public – they don’t even</b>
<b>answer to the government</b>. They ‘advise’ the government on all
things Covid, and the government is then led by the ‘data’ to
implement the most draconian restrictions on freedom in our nation’s
history. Sage are accountable to no one. In my opinion, Sage have
staged a covert coup and hardly anybody has taken notice, let alone
the mainstream media.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><i>Below
is a list of attendees from one of the early March Sage meetings just
before the first lockdown. I’ve highlighted the key members.</i></b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Patrick
Vallance</b> (Government Chief Scientific Adviser), <b>Chris
Whitty</b> (Chief Medical Officer), J<b>onathan Van-Tam</b> (Deputy
Chief Medical Officer), Steve Powis (NHS), Charlotte Watts (Chief
Scientific Adviser, Department for International Development)<i>,</i> Angela
McLean (Chief Scientific Adviser MoD), John Aston (Chief Scientific
Adviser, Home Office), <b>Sharon Peacock </b>(Public Health
England), <b>Graham Medley</b> (London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine), <b>Neil Ferguson </b>(Imperial
College), Brooke Rogers (King’s College), <b>James
Rubin</b> (King’s College), Jeremy Farrar (Wellcome), David
Halpern (Behavioural Insights Team) Ian Diamond (Office for National
Statistics), Tom Rodden (Chief Scientific Adviser<i>, </i>Department
for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), Aidan Fowler (NHS), Maria
Zambon (PHE), Phil Blythe (Chief Scientific Adviser for the
Department of Transport), Wendy Barclay (Imperial College), <b>Peter
Horby</b> (Oxford University), <b>John Edmunds </b>(London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Carole Mundell (Chief
Scientific Adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office).</span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span><span>If
you take a closer look at the key ‘experts’, they have all had
connections in some way with either Big Pharma, Big Tech or the Big
NGOs, such as GAVI-The Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organisation,
World Economic Forum, World Bank, Wellcome Trust and the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation. Many have had their research funded by the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. In fact,
the UK is the </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.universityphilanthropy.com%2Fbill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-funding%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2h4NpeJ7NLTIvJxgTwthLj1Hmduj0yFPIdLLsiPyGnGLhzLhtz-boZGBw%23%3A~%3Atext%3D85%2520universities%2520received%2520%2524939m%2Cof%2520all%2520European%2520university%2520giving.&h=AT0lY6pumRDKMPsiMpIjKHMm8tAqsxERahs38mAQX2cM6wY3hd-_9LJLJGPrZLOcNTxFkgHkK_qB6vhr3L9iZpJU24W73ni6UuxWHRFaUluGywCKTM2m17Rqwc4jCkABDoy7&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span><span><span style="background: transparent;">biggest
beneficiary of university grants</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span><span> given
by the Gates Foundation with $744million disbursed to 38
universities, the top beneficiaries being Imperial College London,
University College London, London School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine (LHSTM), King’s College London and Oxford University.</span></span></span></span></span></span></b></i></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Many
of the key Sage members have held senior positions in the
pharmaceutical industry before being government advisers and some
hold shares in the pharmaceutical companies they worked for.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
September 2020 the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><i><span><b>Telegraph</b></span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> revealed
that </span><span><b>Sir Patrick Vallance, </b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Government Chief Scientific Adviser, had
£600,000 worth of shares in GlaxoSmithKline, which was contracted to
develop a coronavirus vaccine. In December 2020</span><span><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bmj.com%2Fcontent%2F371%2Fbmj.m4716%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1ujXsZBZITicWB2eSc1JQf37IhMJqn0LzU5mLnanN_qRSvQJx6TJ5-nwQ&h=AT1pPlYzl6zxcSKtTNvGBp2fqr-zoULGxVhtF0fFo-mpTbLBfrcEBIGAgfqboVa5Plchfy8G8J9TDxK9Mt1r1-9clTAdeSK6J_XgWD-tAWjYXoOY6QiYKmHg7IV1_8FPNZgE&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span><span style="background: transparent;"><b>the </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bmj.com%2Fcontent%2F371%2Fbmj.m4716%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1ujXsZBZITicWB2eSc1JQf37IhMJqn0LzU5mLnanN_qRSvQJx6TJ5-nwQ&h=AT1pPlYzl6zxcSKtTNvGBp2fqr-zoULGxVhtF0fFo-mpTbLBfrcEBIGAgfqboVa5Plchfy8G8J9TDxK9Mt1r1-9clTAdeSK6J_XgWD-tAWjYXoOY6QiYKmHg7IV1_8FPNZgE&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><i><span><span style="background: transparent;"><b>British
Medical</b> <b>Journal</b></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span><span><b> </b>wrote
that ‘by July the UK government had signed a coronavirus vaccine
deal for an undisclosed sum with GlaxoSmithKline, securing 60million
doses of an untested treatment that was still being developed.’<i><b> If
this is not a blatant conflict of interest, I don’t know what is.</b></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vallance
not only held </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F09%2F23%2Frevealed-sir-patrick-vallance-has-600000-shareholding-firm-contracted%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3oi_eVBqT7hXUxzrqMrR-dUiejXXkYBd95d4bxpJ0E1jA_mkyjhWVJqEQ&h=AT29om_eYDPrVdQ7utfKqCzUBa8InNyffndRYw1raX3SLmaCOl8JjLTBKuwt60ghdON-yz6VgUF43KnDRBHtqvuZyfafp2K91tzQtQFXL35pOjbinRXwjKH4OnEa35Tm-D5X&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">GSK
shares</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> but
was also president of research and development at GSK from 2012-2017.
It was while he was president, in 2013, a </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gsk.com%2Fen-gb%2Fmedia%2Fpress-releases%2Fnew-partnership-between-gsk-and-the-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-to-accelerate-research-into-vaccines-for-global-health-needs%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2S_R2oYBS9uBcb7okc91tATobAPx2lBl_qPrVGbufzAH2xFsNZiaLsZUU&h=AT0oK66VuplkA7ltXzGYO7hlcU5GLNmn3SZYaLN141OaPQtxcR-FE0Oj9CO09wjrFRxcmGXrhxZDKG9Hxfaq9HJXXULtXL0Gd081NAxquwM5Vk8Vyd4auXH2e0segOw9aTLA&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">partnership</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> between
GSK and the Gates Foundation was announced to ‘accelerate research
into vaccines for global health needs’.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
a researcher at the LHSTM, </span><span><b>Chief Medical Officer</b></span><span><b> Chris Whitty</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">
received </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fhealth%2Farticle-8077813%2FStory-Chris-Whitty-Oxford-graduate-leading-Britains-fight-against-coronavirus.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0d_EHpS7_-DylFHlok38Hz07iYQQ55gdXJ6TGtIY5kCyw2I9eelf92H6w&h=AT15aKNC824HuxuAhd0SsQ77Nsr9Kddu7ddEEeCK-qfgKG8lHQS4qI-EYnISBfjhyi5cXFbq2fx7HWSI0X7uGP-JdvGGayVJZ5RNJgcoS_MCrmH6i9p1h23WCPGNJrP2G4By&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">£31million</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> in
funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for malaria
research.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">His
deputy,</span><span><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJonathan_Van-Tam%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2YdtBrUHWK46Y5GiELQHQM88qWG252hftqvaPBb1nXGGiQbJUTfID83-c&h=AT3HqBgcxBhHqWD65N5FMSh1is4eh39LYX_rTIkY8_ubSh5pY4ZzY3N5mvvvVhBjC8fP9IAH0vy0mDhBBCsflCnGQokEgASWk-PbMxfhcZLLjrVTjnbBRldfSfAktmOV9nb7&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span><span style="background: transparent;"><b>Professor
Jonathan Van-Tam</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
joined the pharmaceutical industry as an associate director at
SmithKline Beecham (now GSK) in 2000. Van-Tam was Head of Medical
Affairs at Roche in 2001 and then went to work at Aventis Pasteur MSD
as the UK medical director the following year.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC6CT8dlKDB398TcWLIH8wRR2_ZikDontP7G5ghDWfxKOBpBdb6vC1WEVGtGxxPxVJHrHx7HUlSHUvuLtejWwPpvrSYAYfm6Fa7jQ9TKtbmHr3PKNj5u5rgkm7guX8lDl72jf5fhce4s55k4zuHaLlr_XWfCRFz5mEc_hX9sLwFy_JtYEqnLn4hRG4=s220" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="220" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC6CT8dlKDB398TcWLIH8wRR2_ZikDontP7G5ghDWfxKOBpBdb6vC1WEVGtGxxPxVJHrHx7HUlSHUvuLtejWwPpvrSYAYfm6Fa7jQ9TKtbmHr3PKNj5u5rgkm7guX8lDl72jf5fhce4s55k4zuHaLlr_XWfCRFz5mEc_hX9sLwFy_JtYEqnLn4hRG4" width="220" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span> </span><b><span>Sir</span><span> Professor Jonathan Van-Tam. Deputy Chief Medical Officer to HM Government. (W.D.J.)</span></b></span></span><p></p><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 133%; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Van-Tam
chaired the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
expert advisory group on H5N1 vaccines and advised the WHO during the
H5N1 influenza (bird flu) outbreak in 2009- 2010. The WHO in turn
triggered countries around the world, including the UK, to buy
enormous quantities of the drug oseltamivir (brand name: Tamiflu)
produced by the pharmaceutical companies Roche and GSK, former
employers of Van-Tam.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">An
investigation by the </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c2912.extract?fbclid=IwAR2jYTMKLetlisnHmhdgORpsnc-o2VgwnRrjQ0fs61S8oz5-KqDwyWDIgFg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">BMJ </span></span></i></span></span></span></span></a><a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c2912.extract?fbclid=IwAR2jYTMKLetlisnHmhdgORpsnc-o2VgwnRrjQ0fs61S8oz5-KqDwyWDIgFg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">and
the Bureau of Investigative Journalism</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
reported by Deborah Cohen and Philip Carter, said some of the experts
advising WHO on the pandemic had ‘declarable financial ties with
drug companies that were producing antivirals and influenza vaccines.
As an example, WHO’s guidance on the use of antivirals in a
pandemic was authored by an influenza expert who at the same time was
receiving payments from Roche, the manufacturer of oseltamivir
(Tamiflu), for consultancy work and lecturing.’</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The</span><span><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fhealth-26954482%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2wNKOvIijwu2d7WjQr33D5JBRalEtcZyu3AHPwMzMugTwQuQ7LJzlzM0s&h=AT0N6SY4H4xL46ycE_fABwFW6e2NmLXH3nNcb54_MySu_cDynetxnBXG5AgZpjjWVnV8N7F48ZouAmHKbbx1B11YutG6OnbxxvNxhOTPQqZ5UnmIF91PRwNmg8qgmpQh_eGM&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span><span style="background: transparent;"><b>BBC</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> ran
an article stating that ‘hundreds of millions of pounds may have
been wasted on a drug for flu that works no better than paracetamol,
a landmark analysis has said’. This was based on </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008965.pub4/full?fbclid=IwAR0l4Q8x9Now-IueZBX5p1Ymj6S01SXi7ImdlXAeb9jBtASNYMo2bNhSeAY" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
Cochrane Collaboration</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (a
global non-profit organisation of 14,000 academics) review on
Tamiflu. Professor Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for
Evidence-based Medicine, University of Oxford, stated that the side
effects of Tamiflu ‘included serious psychiatric adverse events,
renal and metabolic adverse events’.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>At
the heart of Sage is SPI-M. It’s been driving government policy
ever since the ‘war’ on Covid-19 began. Only very few media
outlets, such as </b></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativewoman.co.uk%2Fagain-the-pm-has-been-bamboozled-by-doomsayers-dodgy-data%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3Na8zGf70ooUEirpLEGz17ladq0kcz-SqUTIJlLdaDIPFLXQE_MEc_kko&h=AT08oAZWVFAlCmI1kWgrCZdKJJnLfwu_acz5wIkOTkJ5UiZREh0fGLapwF06S4tMlvz-8TT32mC1zc1WcGPBS2tlnox_rUIKkdH_WNIsvn_UKQTT5ZdgPk_PLgxfNaM_nCin&__tn__=-U-U-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">TCW</span></b></i></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><i><b> </b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>and
the </b></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-8918077%2FFury-dodgy-dossier-Covid-models-doomsday-graph-predicted-1-500-daily-deaths.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0l4Q8x9Now-IueZBX5p1Ymj6S01SXi7ImdlXAeb9jBtASNYMo2bNhSeAY&h=AT3thtAROQe4SVtq4SxLAg1uGSXw5AsRnqXqPvgttZvdfdXw04ywqSTjThMIduimcN22SJwgfm0emfh9di8vNtrGxrPX2KIC2X0vD198HL4Z5j9DrCMK1ta_P2li8OIvT-4C&__tn__=-U-U-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">Daily
Mail</span></b></i></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><i><b>,</b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><b> have
questioned the ‘dodgy data’ derived from its computerised type of
modelling. Anyone who suggests it is not perfect is often branded a
‘Covid denier’.</b></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeKVWtE4Nl89cLgPbFKPEndnvTDMpcl5ftnLXi6ccRX9csZt5Bsznk7xtVnYxNSyQ5mnyr2ewDp9RelsWtZxEmx8gSc4JFos1lN3gpSYAxcxo6PCpuIfXap08EkFfN_nd1bMqdynS23UQoSO-a_8fazVH6KjoPSqLf1QoyAtOfE0aQRoDc8PnOVeZ7=s455" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="450" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeKVWtE4Nl89cLgPbFKPEndnvTDMpcl5ftnLXi6ccRX9csZt5Bsznk7xtVnYxNSyQ5mnyr2ewDp9RelsWtZxEmx8gSc4JFos1lN3gpSYAxcxo6PCpuIfXap08EkFfN_nd1bMqdynS23UQoSO-a_8fazVH6KjoPSqLf1QoyAtOfE0aQRoDc8PnOVeZ7=w182-h200" width="182" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <b><i> Neil Ferguson</i></b><br /></span></span></span></span><p></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
man who ran the show at SPI-M at the start of the pandemic was</span><span><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imperial.ac.uk%2Fpeople%2Fneil.ferguson%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1qiETA5PFOWpkufwgOSqS9j4NdCAEi60VXekwSWT6pTMf-Y5y8mYW8Rxw&h=AT03F0c71Q2V0OOWqPwL4KXv4CZQQokqpdIbt1OjJXucZpvIUgXKKO-RXle-ANb4t93912PS3c_bEaSOZOsaFIimxOvPV1PbekD_Ms6Crz5swx16-vklr0_8P7pnUdQaplNz&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span><span style="background: transparent;"><b>Neil
Ferguson</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span><b>.</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">
He is also acting director of </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.vaccineimpact.org/?fbclid=IwAR3Na8zGf70ooUEirpLEGz17ladq0kcz-SqUTIJlLdaDIPFLXQE_MEc_kko" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">Vaccine
Impact Modelling Consortium</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (VIMC)
based at Imperial College, which is funded by GAVI-The Vaccine
Alliance, in turn funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
as </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">TCW</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> reported </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativewoman.co.uk%2Fbill-gates-the-one-man-state-and-how-medical-philanthropy-is-hijacked%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1qiETA5PFOWpkufwgOSqS9j4NdCAEi60VXekwSWT6pTMf-Y5y8mYW8Rxw&h=AT007byEmevg5pS17MvFX6jhigvi0b7NK-nU-NbTM6GPCt9SET_v-_wb5jrNXndsLznrpljuUMJ1NDEoFcStJEmz9SInddIv9HzFekRzKyjrB5Cz6SoWAlJXVQdieZHwaYx1&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">here</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Just
to give a quick recap on how ‘well’ his previous modelling
predictions have gone: in 2001, Ferguson’s modelling of the
foot-and-mouth disease outbreak influenced the UK government
pre-emptively to cull well over 6million animals at an </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.spectator.co.uk%2Farticle%2Fsix-questions-that-neil-ferguson-should-be-asked%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3WjcKgQZxCjriSxXhfDrTlxMo9CIWNbVfIjP7RRhzggFOWw52e4oiNGxM&h=AT2MXOe0nknBwPm6RquIIyH4I0dgoAL7QL5cWyqS_ehn_rHMtdWwf3Tb2ZgXspE3XeXSDv5SFxMQFyxH0KEivHpZ4Gf6quZcSMDLVkHiL40ADnl2Q7b-cyMI2qKS57n_z3Bk&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">estimated
£10billion</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> cost
to the economy. As a result, the farming community was utterly
devastated, giving rise to more centralised power by the EU over UK
agriculture.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Professor
Michael Thrusfield of Edinburgh University, an expert in animal
diseases, later described Ferguson’s modelling during the
foot-and-mouth period as </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.express.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2F1278465%2Fneil-ferguson-coronavirus-imperial-college-london-epidemiology-sage-spt%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3Na8zGf70ooUEirpLEGz17ladq0kcz-SqUTIJlLdaDIPFLXQE_MEc_kko&h=AT1RaHJKFrY82g1D-GEPrGqs70EcPaDv_HifPYqoKDm-X6crrDzmgqlS6lIVy72c7ogKt_5eAQqfPmqDa-A10VJagSTkIv9aL6BAmXEL9gOFVDy0KZTliAOKh1HCw-7H08oR&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">‘severely
flawed’</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> and
‘not fit for purpose’. Ferguson’s predictions of ‘worst-case
scenario’ were seen as grossly over-estimated.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
pattern of Ferguson’s models over-playing the ‘doom’ factor has
been repeated several times. In 2005 </span><span><b>Ferguson</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> claimed that up
to </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2005%2Fsep%2F30%2Fbirdflu.jamessturcke%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2f4NkhnxT3HILNWRVH7rp3hH4WuaFAjzTCq1PVYlnTMzydxz_IsYp41bQ&h=AT3LewUXvVw6q4QRHBl_kg2fXvVdbOzmaHas8caWKL3fUYtWawxF6Cnf_5PRYFzFC50Qh-taQJSbZTddXhBizXkhs_OtrvPoR18zVuNOPZSkJP9gUOlm-NUl5tW0pjpxYn2z&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">200million
people</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> worldwide
would die during the bird flu outbreak including up to 750,000 in the
UK. This led to the </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fhealth-26954482%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2Y0xFLSxpaGJe_MqyzTu2xvLv5C73ET6_17AYyN_GsHbhkFgRb8w7jemw&h=AT0N6SY4H4xL46ycE_fABwFW6e2NmLXH3nNcb54_MySu_cDynetxnBXG5AgZpjjWVnV8N7F48ZouAmHKbbx1B11YutG6OnbxxvNxhOTPQqZ5UnmIF91PRwNmg8qgmpQh_eGM&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">stockpiling
of Tamiflu</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> in
the UK from 2006; this was widely prescribed later in the swine flu
pandemic. The World Health Organisation was able to link only 78
deaths worldwide to the bird flu virus.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
2009, Imperial’s model led by</span><span><b> Ferguson</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> gave rise to the prediction
of </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Flife-style%2Fhealth-and-families%2Fhealth-news%2Fnhs-prepares-for-65-000-deaths-from-swine-flu-1750091.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2wNKOvIijwu2d7WjQr33D5JBRalEtcZyu3AHPwMzMugTwQuQ7LJzlzM0s&h=AT00gD1ZOB2Jog-JFxNDmf0nuQv5r8MIsogfHxQxen62aIka_9bci443jTbN00s0m7GC3WnjGHMVmWiILDoDvTzX4tb9fafFZNUqXbdZC2AEp95zVtZKeUhEOjR6N57Mq28O&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">65,000
deaths</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> from
swine flu in the UK; in fact only 457 deaths were linked to the
virus. Based on Ferguson’s model, the government
spent </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Flife-style%2Fhealth-and-families%2Fhealth-news%2Fswine-flu-outbreak-cost-uk-pound-1-2bn-2015429.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2S_R2oYBS9uBcb7okc91tATobAPx2lBl_qPrVGbufzAH2xFsNZiaLsZUU&h=AT1bMo4YORiaVwa4nV91LxIW9Ze6o75obE7fkAr3Kc0_GH8XZYcw2FgYMGdlq9jUsvR9oqTZC5qxON-MlE67zt1aHdDHgCQSHD6fAyC-1RRtrZ30mQj0jYLUv5iCXx3x1gea&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">£1.2billion</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> to
prepare for the swine flu pandemic. As a result, more than 20million
unused doses of vaccine were left over.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Once
more it was Ferguson’s ‘doomsday’ modelling prediction in
the </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imperial.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimperial-college%2Fmedicine%2Fmrc-gida%2F2020-03-16-COVID19-Report-9.pdf%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3FWBpsMlezQI12eIn8MPzQa7upFTp7OrENMJbRPjBc7EbBAbC7j4FP9dk&h=AT2FzOmgWeh4LPwJ7KbXzNPbD0xCgzKou9284cIHeymv3bmQL-Nb02LwzW_ORW0QS7fWBwtPvQD_TrAmXqKAOGMJoOrl4R1wg5vK4awvfSDu2X2Rpjk3w0RZ5eE5vgTI0JlK&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">March
16, 2020 report</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> from
the Imperial College Covid-19 response team that gave the dire
warning of 510,000 UK deaths by the end of May 2020 if the government
continued with its ‘herd immunity’ response to the pandemic. This
catastrophic prediction caused Boris Johnson to do an </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euractiv.com%2Fsection%2Fcoronavirus%2Fnews%2Fjohnson-puts-uk-in-lockdown-in-coronavirus-u-turn%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3Na8zGf70ooUEirpLEGz17ladq0kcz-SqUTIJlLdaDIPFLXQE_MEc_kko&h=AT3qfqnULHa0YWuvLaYB1wM0gI3FuSyJhFjn7ofns8Wcuepor0MuNjPLM1JQz1EeNcnRrUbQ3cFRyZ1ykfYCwkvhuN8oJWROijD0E6Dkf3cPZC0R43EwluAtXDChg4I-nG2W&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">abrupt
U-turn</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> days
later and steered the course for the most draconian restrictions and
dreadful lockdowns ever since. It was only after Ferguson was
caught </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F05%2F05%2Fneil-ferguson-architect-lockdown-brought-failing-obey-rules%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2Y0xFLSxpaGJe_MqyzTu2xvLv5C73ET6_17AYyN_GsHbhkFgRb8w7jemw&h=AT3AH67Df0LYNHZmqE6UBBuEBP9G_34vcV9Ya0Ul_01RpYWejiI7uXjNgVobFaRNWTStVsc3PxVt2ke7W3GsbROrABNUraVqwFeMJNVOGc4K5Hj63miiwYQOJsKFtNXRbD0t&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">flouting
the rules</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> in
May 2020 when meeting his mistress that he resigned from Sage but he
is still, remarkably, a member of the government’s New and Emerging
Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag). Given </span><span><b>Ferguson’s</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">
record, it is hard to understand why he continues to be given a
platform to speak and influence UK government policy. It is worth
noting that Ferguson was very influential on </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9073767/Professor-Neil-Ferguson-key-role-Boris-Johnsons-dramatic-U-turn-Christmas.html?fbclid=IwAR3aBGaotLNSnJH_k45GCo-SHy6mhQQTuzd0IYPHTXtR4hD02fetwODmWc4" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">Boris
Johnson’s Christmas U-turn</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">While
SPI-M provides the ‘mathematical science’ for
lockdowns, </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fgroups%2Findependent-scientific-pandemic-influenza-group-on-behaviours-spi-b%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3M98UynHKV2Sxc93r0S3qqXD24a8bg1rd8uM9PGHIdeCGLd7tBtvkSy74&h=AT2AZJ16cOCEXTPUMPT5Ge7XBBawasBmmSIpkKHf4U-mdODi3DB5fnupbWnUqxjaT9ZP_MyzJsaSJTPR3UDHVHe3XwI81O9gwuj4GldzDQ4hM_K-BFu1gBUgvjPf1RnKZ1wU&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">SPI-B</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> provides
the ‘behavioural science’. It’s a key component in its ‘PsyOp’
for the inhumane and disastrous lockdowns that’s estimated to have
cost up to </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F07%2F19%2Flockdown-may-cost-200k-lives-government-report-shows%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR190A8vq4PpZTGR-r2kOgPvSyrXGOHfPg0prAzXPXY0EKNMC1CF69pWdxI&h=AT2wqVD7ahkevSFSgA3Sx22XBhVHYXUzyjwyXk_khQzlBLTYsRopKtcrcdrmnqmbuti5is9sqHmSNX1bt93O6mlVCkVmJFJMuSFpujMIUQ7HM9Et7DpOm6UXTNFiRpGWwKQi&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">200,000
lives</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (that’s
more than the supposed ‘120,000’ lives taken by COVID-19) and
cost the economy </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetimes.co.uk%2Farticle%2Fconsumer-confidence-at-its-lowest-since-the-financial-crisis-p6phf7x3k%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1H8BEBLj8scpl4jKq60up9hiP0PJGY4tGgUQXQH32HCL6OU8qWAU1yRBg&h=AT3OY8RwC7vxtkvm5HBNBAtk5ZXLom1CPXKVVdtkGCZXwpaYWqo-krKdPlw8oiMJxprVEIfLxlNqSt3rWZcP4ZCfVUHo2-JnSQJVU2BT9r3nWw6VwFsYPW02cGBSLWjFqQdO&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">£2.4billion
a day</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
use the term ‘PsyOp’ in the truest sense of its meaning – a
psychological operation or psychological warfare ‘to denote any
action which is practised mainly by psychological methods with the
aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other
people’.</span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPsychological_warfare%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3LjvluzIqX_R8FextpdpsJOPsTAXx58pUXVZZFPC_iQYxtOXJo7rE9CAE&h=AT11HzqSo2D6Iz7qGpq1m5-_nT17coQ06gMfPPdEy8pswAypfRLH49_jNu30LnHPjTSBqTvGKi6BfQZRHqwbxDtvbiwKZ8o1YM167U1hbZBBqHJR9Bxw2cg89r4dYtX3Mgn2&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_warfare</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
what was the planned ‘psychological reaction in other people’
that needed to be evoked by Sage last year?</span><span><b> Fear.</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> In other words,</span><span><b>
scare the public senseless and they will do anything you want them to
do</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">. This unfortunate truth has been echoed throughout history.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Johnson government, through SPI-B’s coaxing, expertly crafted a
highly effective advertising campaign for COVID-19. The government
spent more than </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmedia%2F2020%2Faug%2F04%2Fuk-advertisers-spend-covid-lockdown-coronavirus%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0fdoQuuYOKAEZZsVTeaRzOV9XSJFuBasyM6bSNDMaNQ2WHuINmccN2VG0&h=AT2H8Fha299a57jlJwPNPziiImnb9Rbp2ZASG3_WDbvSU9HjeEsAv3MuJL8DVB3hZ1qynrTKcxSL0Y0vkSVGP21GBgPztpDrGc9dMAv6WvdTG6AsZTxCpWf7b9AmnwVkmSAo&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3Z5614vx3ej4duBPFvP67JF_9SC-59e-Qj5ua1GsG7hnmOG7RlZF83SUpA659ZZ2nTZ0gRoc1SNbeZQfco2ao2Pn0lGJYa6k2hJ0wLV4BBgrlxm68trFANxayIg_MYH6e2jk0viTaXTxXS3yh_kDlRo7FaKSXXl8mZLzzTf9MKO1CtFejAB2caXvSuoXYlfR3Zi3hMQ1Hd2Ii6YQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">£1.1billion
of tax-payers’ money</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> on
advertising.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 133%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.03cm; margin-right: 0.03cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b>Ack. 'Expose' web-site. March 2021. Article by Sonia Elijah.</b></i></span></p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-369959265992843492022-01-05T13:17:00.000-08:002022-01-05T13:17:18.490-08:00Mary and Piety-- Ballade of Illegal Ornaments' by H. Belloc.<p> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj71oolmCizHFtVQLx-V6sQ5TxVCm2zUM4WWm_o3fiqeTaK7hkMY0DNuG0HQ6ckcgnDiWcAoK7BDLin7O3XCyu-pcCs2PlK121MotdDC4Vw_c7yA_Jxw07gc61CQTYMA15ruAMQrjTfoRISCRTF34JgQHHFFhNl0HUWbIIa9wP-qMG1wCJzIb1xsz-U=s1000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="759" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj71oolmCizHFtVQLx-V6sQ5TxVCm2zUM4WWm_o3fiqeTaK7hkMY0DNuG0HQ6ckcgnDiWcAoK7BDLin7O3XCyu-pcCs2PlK121MotdDC4Vw_c7yA_Jxw07gc61CQTYMA15ruAMQrjTfoRISCRTF34JgQHHFFhNl0HUWbIIa9wP-qMG1wCJzIb1xsz-U=w304-h400" width="304" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><span style="font-size: xx-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">'Maddona and Child' by Montagna</span></b></i><p></p><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></i><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span> 'Mary
and Piety' </span> by T S Gregory</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> </i></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
do not love men, but we keep to the rule of the road. To go from
here to there and to perfect the mode of transit still fascinates
us, apart from any high-flown sentiment of promoting the
brotherhood of man. To ignore geography means to ignore
craftsmanship. Cooks and surgeons, engineers and people who ask for
the train, and indeed every mind awake and body asleep, lives in the
universe in which here is not there, though you were to make the two
places replicas of each other. It is the sub-rational and
subconscious pressure of this spatial circumstance that a Germanized
or Anglicized Christianity could not handle.</span></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
could edify saints; it could convert sinners; it could lift up
ideals and quicken aspirations and instruct minds, but it could not
sanctify things. Precisely because it lifts its eyebrows with
rational superiority at the 'localism' of what it has dubbed
superstition, the Protestant theology has nothing to say to the
spirituality embedded in human nature. It is always in the
situation of expounding a redemption wrought by a God Who did not
know what He had to redeem until the scientists found it out for
Him.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> Rome was the world of
Jesus, Mary was His Mother. What the rejection of Rome has meant in
politics, the neglect and contempt of Our Lady has meant in piety.
“To fail,” says an Anglo-Catholic, “in giving Our Lady that
place in our thought and devotion which God gave to her in choosing
her to be the Mother of His Son, with all that such a choice
involved, is to fail in our understanding not only of her, but of
Jesus.” The history of the past four hundred years is
sufficient proof of that statement.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"> “It is untrue to say
that the Church puts Mary in the place of Jesus, but it is true to
say that the modernist critic puts Jesus in the place of Mary. For
he makes Our Lord only the full flower</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16pt;">of
the evolution of our race, the highest peak of human achievement,
when in truth He is more than all of this; and in so doing, lowers
Him from the place the Church had always seen that He occupies, to
that which the Church has ascribed to Mary, the creature chosen
and blessed by God.” <b>(</b></span><i style="font-size: 16pt;"><b>Bede
Frost, 'The Riches of Christ')</b></i></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"> We have not disposed of
Our Lady by adducing parallels from pagan cults, but we have found
it easier to accept creeds </span><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: normal;">which
reduce Christ to mere humanity, than that which exalts His Mother
to the highest place in Heaven. That in itself is a state of mind
which must make any professed Christian pause. Did God send His
Son, born of any woman that happened to be handy? If so, it was
not God Who sent His Son. What was the event in which she took such
a part? Who, in other words, was the child in her womb? There is
only one way to avoid the cult of Our Lady --- by denying
consciously or unconsciously, the deity of Jesus. In her devotion
to the sacred humanity, the Church was compelled by reason as well
as drawn by her piety, to exalt the mysterious intimacy of the Son
of God and His Mother. By forgetting His Mother, Protestant
communions not only blurred and theorized the man Jesus of the
Gospels so that he became the mythical image of any moral
preference, but dismissed the Son of God from contemporary
history. It followed that the supernatural ceased to be an event
or an act, and became the 'metaphysical necessity' of idealism,,
the mere vanishing point of human imagination. From thence onwards
it is a short step to the position that the Christian religion is a
refined eccentricity, or a series of myths which served for a
season to popularize good morals. And at last, man returns to
his splendid isolation as the magician whose God is a complex of
natural laws under the control of human wisdom. But “the Blessed
Virgin did not conceive the eternal Son of God merely in order that
He might be made man, taking His human nature from her, but also in
order that by means of the nature assumed from her, He might be
the Redeemer of men. Hence Mary carrying the Saviour within her,
may be said to have also carried all those whose life was
contained in the life of the Saviour.” </span><i style="font-size: 16pt;">(<b>The
Mystical Body of Christ, Pope Pius X, '</b></i><b style="font-size: 16pt;"><i>ad diem
illum')</i></b><b style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></b></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="font-size: large;"><i>Ack. 'The Mary Book' assembled by E J Sheed. Published Sheed & Ward 1954 (3rd edition)</i></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> *****************</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>BALLADE OF ILLEGAL
ORNAMENTS</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i style="font-size: 16pt;"><b>Hillaire Belloc</b></i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i style="font-size: 16pt;">“
….... the controversy was ended by His Lordship, who wrote to the
Incumbent ordering him to remove from the Church all Illegal
Ornaments at once, and especially a <b>Female Figure with a Child.”</b></i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <b> 1.</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> When
the Eternal deigned to look</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> On us poor folk to make us free,</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>He
chose a Maiden, whom He took</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>From Nazareth to Galilee;</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Since
when the Islands of the Sea,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The Field, the City, and the Wild</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Proclaim
aloud triumphantly,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<b><i> '</i><i>A Female Figure with a Child.'</i></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></i></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <b> </b><b>2.</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>These
Mysteries profoundly shook</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The Reverend Doctor Leigh. D.D.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Who
therefore stuck into a Nook</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>(Or Niche) of his Incumbency,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>An image filled with majesty</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>To
represent the Undefiled,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The Universal Mother—She--</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <b><i> '</i><i>A
Female Figure with a Child.'</i></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <b> </b><b>3</b>.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>His
Bishop, having read a book</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Which proved as plain as plain could be,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>That
all the Mutts had been mistook</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Who talked about a Trinity.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Wrote off at once to Doctor Leigh</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>In
manner very far from mild,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span>
</span>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">
<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>And said: “Remove them instantly!</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <b><i> '</i><i>A
Female Figure with a Child'!”</i></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b> <i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Envoi</i></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> </i></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Prince
Jesus, in my Agony,</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Permit me, broken and
defiled,</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Through blurred and glazing
eyes to see,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span> <i><b> 'A Female Figure with a
Child'.</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><i> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Hilaire
Belloc</i></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><i><b> (ack. 'The Mary Book' as above.)<br /></b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-12459308584630622312021-11-24T14:04:00.133-08:002021-11-26T01:52:50.996-08:00 Reject the Reset! Cash Keeps us Free! <p><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZvYLEHZ8GT1PNLdrjapO7s2tGODlWrmYC1cP1I2B-84cRIBeDUuEnmXZ7oRtkxSuoioWNLdyzUt0y7PmISSSTvbWe6q5xDYGFPAAn-bDTBDLEjYwJ_kQLIp0w6xXnm0fo4kVRG2ACSc/s696/Great-Reset-black.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="696" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZvYLEHZ8GT1PNLdrjapO7s2tGODlWrmYC1cP1I2B-84cRIBeDUuEnmXZ7oRtkxSuoioWNLdyzUt0y7PmISSSTvbWe6q5xDYGFPAAn-bDTBDLEjYwJ_kQLIp0w6xXnm0fo4kVRG2ACSc/w400-h250/Great-Reset-black.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><span><span style="color: black;"> <span style="font-size: medium;"><b> Karl Schwab Bill Gates</b></span></span></span><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">'The
'New World Order', otherwise known as the 'Great Reset', is the
brainchild of the powerful elites of this world, determined to
replace the existing political, religious, social, financial,
economic, legal, and National framework of the world as we
know it, and as it has existed and developed over centuries, with a
'New World Order' which we are told, will do away with the
inequalities in society, and will be for everyone's benefit. The
agenda for this has been in the planning stage for at
least the past thirty years, under the direction of Karl
Schwab, the German - born founder of the 'World Economic
Forum', with regular and often secret meetings involving
international political leaders, financiers, royalty, Media and Press
barons, scientists, economists, wealthy and influential leaders
of </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> dynasties such as the </span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Rockefeller
and Rothschild, and others, combining their knowledge, power, wealth, experience and ambitions, to set up an Agenda which they tell us will
make the world better, fairer, and more equitable, for
all its' peoples. Paradoxically, the Great Reset includes collusion by the People's Republic of China, the powerful militaristic Marxist government, one of whose aims is world domination by whatever means they consider necessary. It is no secret that the Covid 19 virus originated in China, in spite of which there is still support for China in scientific, certain military, and certain political circles in the United States. They, the elites of course, will govern and will make
the rules. There will be no democracy, no freedom of speech or
religion, and every person will ultimately have an
identity passport, without which they cannot access the
so-called 'luxuries' of life, such as outings to theatres,
restaurants, cinemas, ballet, etc. including holidays,
travel by train and plane home and abroad, etc., nor the essentials of life, such as work, accommodation, food, education,
medical services, bank accounts, legal advice, etc. Those who
for whatever reason have no passport, could be denied even the basic
necessities of life. Already in China, the existing Marxist government exercises iron control over its 1.4 billion people of many different cultures. This is significantly enabled by a formal passport system, a system of surveillance, which virtually controls the lives of its citizens, who are awarded (or not) bonuses and extra allowances, depending on their political and social merits, as defined by their Marxist rulers.' </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: bolder; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> ****</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><i style="color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b>Acknowledgement:-The following article by Tom Williams, is taken from the 'Right Wire Report (about 1 year ago). </b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bolder;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bolder;"> What is the “real” agenda for The Great Reset?</span></p><ul style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: circle; margin: 0px auto 1rem; max-width: 662px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The core of many of the left-wing agendas are redistribution policies to achieve "justice, equality, and fairness". But to do this elites would be the target. Do you honestly believe the elites are ready to do this? Besides, they could all collectively do this on their own - they wouldn't need a sophisticated strategy to do this - just write the cheque! The elites must give lip service to the masses while hiding their real agenda.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: initial; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Confront the coming economic cliff, or economic collapse, via exponential debt accumulation, resulting in massive destructive currency debasement. The reality is, democracies have allowed their masses to vote too many benefits to themselves that cannot be sustained. Once the cliff arrives, an inevitable revolution will occur that could destroy their world.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">How to maintain and grow elite power while getting the masses to embrace it. Remember, most elites didn’t get to be elites by giving away their wealth. It is in their DNA to want more and get more. They will not surrender willingly.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Eliminate democracy, though having a form of it, to maintain their credibility and control. They need to get the masses to gladly agree to give up their sovereignty to them, in exchange for a low base set of security controlled by elites. This will be necessary to maintain power and control resistance of the masses.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In the end, it is about stopping the masses from coming for them, the elites, with pitchforks, in some modern-day disastrous French Revolution. History has shown time and again that when wealth inequality is excessive, and the masses experience too much comparative lifestyle pain, the masses will revolt – regardless of the morality of economics.</span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><ul style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: circle; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Crisis event drivers to initiate The Great Reset:- </span></span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The major crises being designed are quite obvious today. They are ever-present today in media. Real or not, it does not matter. If the masses believe in the crises, the fear can be used to motivate and initiate the change.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: initial; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>COVID19</b> or some other additional pandemic.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Social justice conflicts</b> – moving the masses from a class struggle (away from elites) to a more tribal (race) struggle amongst the masses.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Climate change</b>.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Weapons of mass destruction</b> event.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Cyberwarfare.</b></span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Involuntary mass migration</b>.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Subsequent financial crises</b> that will occur to manage these crises.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Universal identity</b> – the ability to manage the masses – knowing who are their supporters and detractors.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Extend the surveillance state</b> using the apparatus of government security agencies.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Use the masses themselves </b>to shame and coerce obedience to government narratives. Declare resistance as terrorists and mark them for silencing or elimination.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Control of all aspects of media.</b> Develop scoring systems to control masses on social media. Eliminate or water-down 1st amendment rights.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Further, <b>debase the traditional families </b>by marinating them in ever-increasing sexualized activities.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Restrict movement </b>of the masses – travel restrictions and work at home policies – technological work camps.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Elimination of small business</b>, middle class, and their wealth – via regulation, high taxes, and currency debasement.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Currency debasement</b> and/or a new global currency as a stealth mechanism to confiscate the wealth of the masses.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Uberization of all industries (services and products), to ensure the lion share of profits goes to governments and corporations.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Sedation (legalization of all illicit drugs) and/or depopulation of the undesirables of society.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Confiscation of guns with the watering-down of any 2nd amendment rights.</span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Designed and pre-planned regional wars.</b></span></li><li style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Centralized military and security power.</span></li></ul><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Will the masses wake up and see what is happening to our world?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Whether it be in the name of Agenda 2030 (i.e., Sustainable Development), The Green New Deal, or The Great Reset, these agendas are all about the subjugation once and for all, of national sovereignties and individual sovereignty, to become subordinate to global governance and the elites that control.</span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Could all this happen?</span> </span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Well, it has happened before. There is no rule that says that it could never happen again. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b>Ack. Tom Williams 'Right Wire Report' (about 1 year ago)</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> ******************</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBFJs0d-dlcazxZOesqXmGBNJ0fb46_8N_hkJKW9-chi8mNSfg_4Svw81WBobWvPt4wkyWO0Rzsv-7FiUusbufG_lcKsS46ve9Zm16ZRCtJORzOiTMNXN23qAGfBXzXM8gt75ffUJziM/s276/Cash+UK.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="276" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBFJs0d-dlcazxZOesqXmGBNJ0fb46_8N_hkJKW9-chi8mNSfg_4Svw81WBobWvPt4wkyWO0Rzsv-7FiUusbufG_lcKsS46ve9Zm16ZRCtJORzOiTMNXN23qAGfBXzXM8gt75ffUJziM/w400-h267/Cash+UK.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>WHAT DOES A
CASHLESS SOCIETY MEAN FOR YOU?</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b>A BRIEF SUMMARY</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b>A
cashless society means no cash. Zero! </b></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>It
doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can still use a ‘wee bit of cash here
& there’. </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b>Cashless
means fully digital, fully traceable, fully controlled</b>. I think those who
support a cashless society aren’t fully aware of what they are asking
for. </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span><br /></span></b></span></p><p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span>A
cashless society means:</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b> </b></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
<b>No more</b> tuck-away cash for those preparing to leave domestic <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>violence.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*<b>
No more </b>purchases off marketplace unless you want to risk bank <span> </span><span> </span>transfer fraud.</span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
<b>No more</b> garage sales.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
<b>No more</b> cash donations to hungry homeless you pass.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
<b>No more</b> cash slipped into the hands of a child from their <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span> </span>grandparent.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*<b>
No more</b> money in birthday cards.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
<b>No more</b> piggy banks or tooth fairy for your child.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
<b>No more</b> selling bits & pieces from your home that you no longer <span> </span><span> </span>want/need
for a bit of cash in return.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*<b>
Less choice</b> of where you purchase based on affordability.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span>What
a cashless society does guarantee:</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b> </b></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
Banks have full control of every single cent you own.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
Every transaction you make is recorded.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
All your movements & actions are traceable.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
Access to your money can be blocked at the click of a button, <span> <span> </span></span>when/if banks need
‘clarification’ from you, which could take </span></span></p><p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>weeks, a hundred questions answered, & five hundred passwords.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>*
If your transactions are deemed in any way questionable, by those <span> </span>who create
the questions, your money will be frozen, 'for your own good'.</span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><i><span> </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b><i>And
before anybody slams this post, don’t go shooting the messenger:-</i></b> </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>I’m
sharing it because maybe we all need to take off our blinkers. </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><i><b>Forget
about cash being dirty</b></i>. Cash has been around for a very, very long time &
<i><b>it gives you control over how you trade with the world.</b></i> <i><b>It gives you
independence.</b></i></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><b> </b></i></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>If
you are a customer, pay with cash. </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>If
you are a shop owner, remove those ridiculous signs that ask people to pay by
card. </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>Cash
is a legal tender, it is our right to pay with cash. </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>Banks
are making it increasingly difficult to lodge cash, and that has nothing to do
with a virus.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span> </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b>Please
stop believing everything you hear on the TV. Almost every single topic in
today’s world is tainted with corruption & hidden agendas. </b></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b>Politics
& greed is what is wrong with the world; not those who are trying to alert
you to the reality.</b></span><span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><i><b>Please
pay with cash & please say no to a cashless society while you still have a
choice.</b></i></span></span></p>
<p style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b> (ack. to unknown writer)</b></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-24852228456863642982021-10-07T16:48:00.004-07:002021-10-08T11:46:01.634-07:00Saint Augustine of Hippo - short spiritual jewels.<p> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1F-9-fG0e8ybKvEKThQieP-WLGhQPSHMSN0_Kyh52hUjEK7MnyCJ_mk7Ud-1Ctgo6uktELXpdHzuKNAjjsu9xHYWUMe0JvifRBxRjMxaD3PHDJrClSEXVSpAliVaTg0tkhf7D1rpv_Pc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="800" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1F-9-fG0e8ybKvEKThQieP-WLGhQPSHMSN0_Kyh52hUjEK7MnyCJ_mk7Ud-1Ctgo6uktELXpdHzuKNAjjsu9xHYWUMe0JvifRBxRjMxaD3PHDJrClSEXVSpAliVaTg0tkhf7D1rpv_Pc/w344-h407/image.png" width="344" /></a></div><br />
<p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <b><i> 'St Augustine of Hippo' by Philippe de Champaigne (1645-50)</i></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>The
Heart at Rest</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Ask the beauty of the
earth, the beauty of the sky.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Question the order of the
stars, the sun whose brightness</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> lights the day, the moon
whose splendour softens the gloom</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> of night. Ask of the
living creatures that move in the waves,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> that roam the earth, that
fly in the heavens.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Question all these and
they will answer, 'Yes, we are beautiful.'</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Their very loveliness is
their confession of God: for who made</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> these lovely mutable
things, but He who is Himself</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> unchangeable beauty?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Too late have I loved
you, O beauty ever ancient, ever new,</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> too late have I loved
you.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> I sought for you abroad,
but you were within me though</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> I was far from you. Then
you touched me, and I longed </span>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> for your peace, and now
all my hope is only in your great mercy.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Give what you command and
then command what you will.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> You have made us for
yourself and our heart is restless till</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> it rests in you. Who will
grant me to rest content in you? </span>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> To whom shall I turn for
the gift of your coming into my heart</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> so that I may forget all
the wrong I have done, and embrace</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> you alone, my only good?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><b>St Augustine of Hippo. (354-430
AD)</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">************</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b> 'Come, you blessed of
my Father, receive a kingdom'</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> What are we to receive? A
kingdom. For doing what? 'I was hungry</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> and you fed me.' What is
more ordinary, more of this world, than </span>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> to feed the hungry, and
yet it rates the Kingdom of Heaven!</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> 'Feed the hungry, take
the homeless into your house, clothe the naked.'</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> But what if you can't
afford bread for the hungry, or have no house</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> nor spare clothes? Give a
cup of cold water, put two pence in the alms</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> box. The poor widow gave
as much with her two pennies as Zacchaeus</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> did with half his
fortune.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> What you have is the
measure of your gift. Yet many give alms to a beggar</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> to show off, and not
because they love their brother.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> You stand before God: ask
your own heart, look at what you did</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> and why you did it: was
it for the empty praise of men? Look at</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> your heart, because you
cannot judge what you do not see.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> So, beloved, let us
search our hearts in God's presence: you can </span>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> hide from man but not
from God.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Flee to God himself if
you want to run away from him; flee by</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> confessing, not by
hiding; say to Him, 'You are my refuge', and so</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> let the love which alone
brings life, grow within you.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><b> St Augustine of
Hippo. (354-430AD)</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>************</i></span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times;"><br /><br />
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The
Two Deaths</b></i></span><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span><br /><br />
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As
a man you are destined to die. Put it off as long as you like,</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: medium;">
<span>the
thing so long delayed will come at last.</span></span></span><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">There
is, however, another death, from which the Lord came to</span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
deliver
us: eternal death, the death of damnation with the devil </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and
his angels. That is the real death; the other is only a change,
</span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">the
leaving of the body.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Do
not fear this kind, but be frightened of the other, and labour to </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">live
in such a way that after death you may live with God.</span></span><br /></span><br /><br />
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Remember
that Antichrists are not only to be found among those </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">who
have gone away from us, but among many who are still in the </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Church.
The perjurer, the adulterer, the drunkard, the trafficker in </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">drugs,
all evil-doers.</span></span><br /></span><br /><br />
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">They
will say, ‘But He made us like this’. Our Creator cries out
</span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">from
Heaven, ‘I made the man; not the thief, the adulterer, the </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">miser:
all that moves in the sea, flies in the air, or walks on the </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">earth
is my work, and sings my praise’. But does avarice praise </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">the
Lord, or drunkenness, or impurity? Anything that does not </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">praise
Him was not made by Him.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><i><b>St Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)</b></i></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />***********</span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></i></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><b><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Here
today and gone tomorrow </span></b></i></span><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium;">Wherever
the soul of man turns, unless it turns to You, it clasps </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">sorrow
to its heart. Even if it clings to what is lovely, if this </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">loveliness
is outside God, it has clung to sorrow, for these </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">beautiful
things would not exist without You. Like the sun, they </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">rise
and set: they have their beginning and then they grow old and </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">die.<br /></span></span></span><br /><br />
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Let
me praise You for these things, my God who made them all, </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">but
do not let the love of them be like glue to fix them to my soul.<br /></span></span></span><br /><br />
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In
these things there is nowhere to rest, because they do not last, </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">they
pass away beyond the reach of our senses. Indeed, we cannot </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">lay
firm hold on them even when they are with us.<br /></span></span></span><br /><br />
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In
this world one thing passes away, and another takes its place. </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">But
does the Word of God pass away? Make your dwelling in </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Him.
Entrust to Him whatever you have, for all you possess is </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">from
Him. In Him is the peace that cannot be disturbed, and He </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">will
not withhold Himself from your love if you do not withhold </span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">your
love from Him.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><i><b>St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430AD)</b></i></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> (ack. The Joy of the
Saints – Spiritual Readings throughout the year.</i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> Edited by Robert
Llewelyn. Published 1988 by Darton, Longman,</i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> and Todd, London. - a
selection of writings from both Catholic and Protestant sources)</i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">****************************************</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-74680956366059308202021-09-09T14:50:01.448-07:002021-09-14T14:06:01.811-07:00'The Summer of 2021, in Stronsay, Orkney'.<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><b>The Summer of 2021, in Stronsay, Orkney</b></span><span>.</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">This year, the summer months in Stronsay, from late June until now, have been very pleasant. We have enjoyed periods of warm, dry, sunny weather, unlike past rather cool and wet summers, and thanks to my wife's hard work, the garden has been a real picture. <span> </span><span> </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>Alstroemerias have been the stars of the show, backed up by lilies, agapanthus, poppies, red-hot pokers, geraniums, a few roses- always difficult to grow here, except for the scented Rugosa hedging variety which flourish, particularly the strongly-scented double hybrids , all of which produce large colourful hips, particularly enjoyed by the blackbirds! We have an assortment of other colourful flowers and one or two shrubs, mostly grown from seed by my wife over the years, spread loosely and effectively around the garden, and in containers,</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxagcYl4CDjjC-0E3bGAhRdhIoBOyur-PkaTxjCcSV9_2ajXReAN58X9LrbZc6IJ5fXCzbAR2Dgm0QDEj3n097Vsoynj5EfrHTj5_pXdKCojozoVUcokcIMQ__ZfpddwBLQ0P4d-qniXOu/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxagcYl4CDjjC-0E3bGAhRdhIoBOyur-PkaTxjCcSV9_2ajXReAN58X9LrbZc6IJ5fXCzbAR2Dgm0QDEj3n097Vsoynj5EfrHTj5_pXdKCojozoVUcokcIMQ__ZfpddwBLQ0P4d-qniXOu/w640-h480/2009-02-25+22.02.31.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> This striking and unusual giant yellow-flowered cornflower, <i>see</i> <i>photo below</i>, looks like a sunflower with slightly smaller flowers, and is about 8'0 feet tall, with many spurs off each stem, all flowering individually. This is a one-off, also grown from seed by my wife.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-8bV3ekNUl6jBTLe_WxXEtJzYVH753ukiTG9_nPSFPp3cLP0zVzfkYGD1YDIrlvbHgOrtxEMtQHdU25zcqOTNYQ8JaZRyrujamGfLvy6fIzNWAKZtfsW9kVTi4Psh5CQmUmrPBCmKxez/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-8bV3ekNUl6jBTLe_WxXEtJzYVH753ukiTG9_nPSFPp3cLP0zVzfkYGD1YDIrlvbHgOrtxEMtQHdU25zcqOTNYQ8JaZRyrujamGfLvy6fIzNWAKZtfsW9kVTi4Psh5CQmUmrPBCmKxez/w480-h640/2009-02-25+22.02.11.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>We have a large area of grass encircling the house, and we use a battery-driven mower to keep this under control. My wife and I are no spring chickens, and my primary garden job is to keep the grass cut. For many years I used a petrol driven lawn mower, which was manageable and effective, but I have not used this for about three years due to a hip problem. Considering the area of grass, the battery mower does an excellent job, although the battery only lasts for about 40 minutes on each charge, and then has to be re-charged. It is surprising how much grass can be cut in that relatively short time, and I have bought a second battery which when charged-up, can be inter-changed, enabling a large part of the grass to be cut in one session. Whilst I think the batteries are exorbitantly expensive, our latest one cost about £170.00</span><span>, they seem to have a long life - third summer and still working well, and I do find the battery mower much safer and simpler to use than either petrol or electric cable mower. It is quite hard work to push, partly due to the uneven surface of the 'lawn', and the flagging energy of the 'driver', but overall I am pleased with it, with the intermittent short life of the battery allowing me to have a break, if I need one, every hour or so. <span> </span><span> </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">We also have a medium-size pond in which we keep a few goldfish. We have had these for some years, and they have grown from 3” tiddlers, purchased from Glue's Garden Centre in Kirkwall, to chunky 'golden' specimens about 8” long. We also have a black 'goldfish', if that makes sense, about 6” long, and there may be others, but it is almost impossible to see them in the water, due to their colour. What always surprises me, is that every year until about July, the fish decline the food I offer them, then they start taking it until October/November, when the hibernation period starts again, lasting until mid-summer the following year. A long sleep in my book, but I am not a fish, and they seem well, so I don't worry.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>We own an Old English Sheepdog, named Dartmoor, gifted to us 6 years ago as a puppy. Some might remember this breed from an episode in 'Yes (Prime?) Minister', in which the dog in question became nationally famous for wandering into a radio-active nuclear base, from which he had to be rescued by the military, thanks to the initiative and 'kindness' of the Prime Minister. All done to boost the popularity of the Minister, rather than out of love for the dog! Sounds sort of familiar! Anyway, our dog developed a nasty form of pneumonia during the summer. We do not know the cause, but it necessitated three visits to the vet in Kirkwall, a two hour trip on the ferry each way each trip, two X rays and scans, and a four week course of anti-biotics. He is very much better now, for which I thank Almighty God, for we are rather fond of Dartmoor. He weighs in at about 37 kg, has one brown eye and one blue eye, a very loud bark, a frequently imperious manner, an impressive 'leonine' ruff, and a fine bushy tale.</span> In case you are wondering, Dartmoor is insured with 'Pet Plan', otherwise we could possibly now be living on the streets!</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyQWZTuyGsVSADrcImrsWMvmMyiBPiqoyEv105EusfKA-lmO-K18zxqtO8M7YwHBcB6kHJ_28h4WMFRN7wVVha83VOIUTTPLYO6rDJfs8XEpXSwLnNGNiR8yxxH6pUAHPK32kJPh1Fm0/w240-h320/2009-02-25+22.03.49.jpg" width="240" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZoDUzFRotsbKbjU0Wz-89eBaVurMgs9Mk2W1jWRVjVVnHyx3PdOwLFuEWQhF-TVsTzmC4gFjk7J5EPy4e3Lpmky9Lp0MxsoPwk9836kUUGekpIcjiQ0Cof1M5tB_JRPnoyWnH6QORmk/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZoDUzFRotsbKbjU0Wz-89eBaVurMgs9Mk2W1jWRVjVVnHyx3PdOwLFuEWQhF-TVsTzmC4gFjk7J5EPy4e3Lpmky9Lp0MxsoPwk9836kUUGekpIcjiQ0Cof1M5tB_JRPnoyWnH6QORmk/w320-h240/2009-02-25+22.05.39.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div></div><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>We are living in the age of the covid 19 pandemic, sometimes known as the 'Great Delusion'. We have been relatively fortunate on Stronsay, with to my knowledge, less than ten people infected, with perhaps two or three hospitalised, and thankfully no deaths. I do not question the existence of this virulent and horrible virus, but I do question the cause, what the virus actually is, the trustworthiness of the individuals and organisations orchestrating the tracking, identification, and containment of the virus, and the integrity and agenda of the 'experts' advising lock-downs, masking, people spacing, and particularly the planned vaccination of the peoples of the entire world. In a nutshell, I do not believe the official line on this pandemic, and I do not trust those 'world experts' in charge and directing affairs. There have been countless discrepancies in the officially reported effects of the vaccine; there is a clear failure in the efficacy of the vaccines, they do not do what we have been told they would do, or what they were supposed to do; the unbelievable number of deaths and seriously injured patients of all ages worldwide, confirms the real dangers in this vaccine, made worse by the blind culpability of certain doctors, scientists, politicians, and vaccine producers, to continue to force this dangerous vaccine on everybody, even children; the identity of those 'experts' behind the scenes,</span> include Bill Gates, Dr Faucci, George Soros, Klaus Schwab, the Rothchild and Rockefeller dynasties, the multi billionaire media tycoons, the People's Republic of China, and others, all working actively towards the destruction of society as we know it, and the setting up of the 'Great Reset'.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oRyfRC9B9RJBbsK1UF_7lcuF4ddQPdbUyQTBEPJ9Xa9HnN6l0lS5xBNYtRbsezH0iAtjZAEophJybeb9J7KcfpkmgAL9v5kkpN7laVdf1tkwZKBIT-MO8zi930WgCbMw99XCgispOcA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oRyfRC9B9RJBbsK1UF_7lcuF4ddQPdbUyQTBEPJ9Xa9HnN6l0lS5xBNYtRbsezH0iAtjZAEophJybeb9J7KcfpkmgAL9v5kkpN7laVdf1tkwZKBIT-MO8zi930WgCbMw99XCgispOcA/w400-h300/2009-02-27+22.07.32.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /> <i><b> Head Gardener at work!</b></i></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>The virus exploded onto the world in late 2019 early 2020, allegedly emanating from a laboratory in China, and immediately whole nations were simultaneously affected, with thousands dying and tens of thousands struck down with severe sickness. The international theatre of world 'leaders' then took the floor, in strangely synchronized precision, almost as though the whole event had been rehearsed. Prime Ministers and Leaders of Nations addressed their citizens, the hymns identical almost word for word, and clearly from the same Marxist, 'New World Government', hymn book. Regulations were imposed mandating the wearing of face masks; people contact and distancing; population lock-downs for sometimes months at a time; schools and business closures; and the world-wide use of untried and untested vaccines, ostensibly to protect people from the virus and to ensure that hospitals were not overwhelmed with sick and dying patients. Today we have an increasingly illogical, unscientific, and life-threatening programme of vaccinating, re-vaccinating, and booster vaccinations, using a vaccine which we now know does not prevent infection and does not stop the virus being passed on, and which in less than 2 years has caused tens of thousands of deaths world-wide, and hundreds of thousands of serious injuries (see ' Defender' - Children's Defence League):- <i> </i></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><i>link - </i> </span></span><a href="https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/vaers-cdc-covid-vaccine-injury-reports-jump-27000-one-week/">COVID Vaccine Injury Reports Jump by 27,000 in One Week, FDA Pulls ‘Bait and Switch’ With Pfizer Vaccine Approval • Children's Health Defense (childrenshealthdefense.org)</a><b> </b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather;"><i> <b>-</b></i></span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">and this without even considering the possible unknown, long-term effects. To make matters worse, the </span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">'Main-Stream Media' – active participants and supporters of the 'Great Reset' , has assumed control of most news and social media outlets, ensuring that any and all criticism concerning the vaccine and related political and social matters, including proven medical and scientific facts, is banned from publication, and thus hidden from public view.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTsGzvEQVfvsIwekLfqxwaurlt0cEriTisB9Yu0857Z6HlrkWyex9OZCAdCW2DRDqBfkWZq5TbjhfZeGW8yq_23f51qF_gPyeZcUtc8fC0B8hMRrOACDQbtD5n3T7zBnQCgYoyvKzLYw/w240-h320/2009-02-27+22.04.11.jpg" width="240" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLEal26NP0n4VPdG5kfdXmJ3Y1XQOH7MilBI96mpcwKQuAjgrPsELcZ-wNVvQXGVH0FTBtylpq7qiTcijCy0hdCTnfr-qR5r6wHdem5V_yadtzqY4HSZFXjaj83d6hpLdcUknCJIrUQQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLEal26NP0n4VPdG5kfdXmJ3Y1XQOH7MilBI96mpcwKQuAjgrPsELcZ-wNVvQXGVH0FTBtylpq7qiTcijCy0hdCTnfr-qR5r6wHdem5V_yadtzqY4HSZFXjaj83d6hpLdcUknCJIrUQQ/w320-h240/2009-02-27+22.02.35.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><i><b>Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Astra Zeneca</b></i>, are now household names, recognised as major pharmaceutical companies producing covid 19 vaccines. A common denominator for these companies, is the <i><b>Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</b></i>, a major funder, which understandably has a vested interest in the commercial success of the vaccine programme. It is timely to remind ourselves that there are proven effective, commonly available, and cheap, medical treatments for the covid 19 virus, such as the use of Ivervectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and other medicines. which for many decades, have been successfully and safely used world-wide in the treatment of various diseases. Since the arrival of covid 19, the WHO has inexplicably refused to authorise these tried and tested medications - on the basis that they were not fully tested - what hypocrisy, making them virtually unobtainable except on doctor's prescription, with many doctors under severe professional pressure not to proscribe. </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>The Gates Foundation funds the World Economic Forum (WEF) which in the person of its founder, Klaus Schwab, is primarily responsible for promoting the 'New World Agenda', through the 'Great Reset' programme. </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>You may find this short biography of Klaus Schwab, <i>(link immediately below</i>) both interesting and informative, I certainly did. NB. For some reason, the link originally shown on this post for this article, did not function, and I had to remove it. However, a separate link on Joseph Farrell's 'Shift Frequency' site acknowledged the following :- </span></span> <a href="https://gizadeathstar.com/2021/03/ernst-stavro-blohfeld-er-klaus-schwab-a-family-history/">ERNST STAVRO BLOHFELD...ER... KLAUS SCHWAB: A FAMILY HISTORY (gizadeathstar.com)</a> -- <span style="font-size: large;"> and this seems to work. (t<i><b>hank you Joseph Farrell, 'Shift Frequency')</b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">Tied in with the Gates Foundation and the World Economic Forum (WEF), is the World Health Organisation (WHO), under the leadership of Dr Faucci, who</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><span style="font-family: times;">has a personal financial interest in Moderna, and is also close to Gates. </span><span style="font-family: times;"> Add to these the World Bank, which operates with and alongside them, and which is surely influenced by billionaire capitalists such as Gates, who has a vested interest in many world-wide undertakings, such as pharmaceuticals, GM farming, IT technology, and others, with the financial </span></span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">capability to exert influence on both government and international policies and regulations. Thus the 'Big Reset' rolls on, with Communist China appearing to pull the political strings of the 'puppet' Biden government in the USA, weakening its already battered moral, military, and political image. Worldwide, the proposed enforcement of vaccination for workers in a wide range of State and private occupations, officially registered by vaccination ID cards, suggests that so far, the 'Big Reset' is on track with its diabolical agenda. However, the good news is that private and public opposition is mounting; there is a saying that '<i><b>the truth will</b></i> <i><b>out</b></i>', and more and more highly respected doctors, scientists, and academicians, are speaking out through politically independent media sites, and writing in independent professional reviews, about the reality of current affairs, and the misinformation, lies, and unspoken agenda behind the 'Great Reset'. These valid and truthful criticisms are not reported by the main-line press and media, which is literally indebted to, and controlled by the powerful and corrupt Pharmaceutical industry, effectively dominated by Bill Gates. This grotesquely wealthy, ambitious, and judging by his words and actions, power-obsessed man, must seemingly despise humanity, for his agenda includes deadly scientific and medical experimentation on mankind (vaccines), and God's natural world (genetically modified crops and food), driven by a self-proclaimed obsession to vaccinate every person in the whole world, for their own good of course? Is there perhaps an ulterior motive, an unthinkably sinister one, involving the use of technology and designer vaccine to gain control over the minds and actions of men? Sounds unreal, but such a scenario, once the plot in imaginative science fiction and cinema, is now perhaps considered achievable by the powerful, super rich, and ambitious, of the world. To make oneself like unto God, is of course, a deluded impossibility, but in today's world, where 'Satan prowls like a roaring lion seeking whom</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> he may devour', </span><span style="font-family: times;">the</span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">world</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">has largely abandoned God and His Laws</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">,</span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;"> and evil is seen as good, and good evil. F</span></span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">or the sake of all mankind, which includes promoters and supporters of the 'New World' agenda,</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">w</span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">e must work and pray for the world's return to God and His Laws, perhaps a reminder of Jesus' parable of the 'prodigal son'. We must also work and pray for the demise of the 'Great Reset' plan, designed by the self-appointed elite, to enable on-going control over every human life. Such evil, trying to usurp the Dominion of God, driven by pride, mimics on a human scale, the sin of Lucifer, the fallen angel, banished by God for all eternity. The wages of sin is death, not just the natural death that we must all suffer, but the supernatural death of the soul, the indescribable and unimaginable pain and suffering, and the loss of God our loving Creator, for all eternity</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOElBPhyOa8miXxSVAQT8IpGFGOALtZo1lbuvqNCSt5qlpt2dBq7-9RPpfECnMs2rIw19X13XyWSWcKkShZ40gpecnplJBo57FddYKxdRtSN4_1fkWI4n8WgBhhg065uVGUiFFpesZaOM/" style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOElBPhyOa8miXxSVAQT8IpGFGOALtZo1lbuvqNCSt5qlpt2dBq7-9RPpfECnMs2rIw19X13XyWSWcKkShZ40gpecnplJBo57FddYKxdRtSN4_1fkWI4n8WgBhhg065uVGUiFFpesZaOM/w400-h300/2009-02-27+22.01.43.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The Catholic Faith, into which I was born and baptised, and in which I pray to die, is primarily concerned with man's spiritual destiny, rather than material success. Nevertheless, the world is God's creation, and is where we serve our spiritual apprenticeship, and the Church is our guide. The morality of the covid vaccines has been questioned regarding the use of cell lines from aborted foetuses, in their testing and manufacture. Some Bishops have stated that it is lawful for Catholics to receive these 'tainted' vaccines, and other Bishops have disagreed. As I understand it, the former base their argument on 1) the 'remote evil' i.e. the time interval between the actual abortion and the manufacture of the vaccine, and the remote connectivity between the two; 2) the severity and threat of the virus to the world, and the necessity to use the vaccine when there is no alternative; 3) retaining as a matter of principle, a moral objection to the use of 'tainted' vaccine, accepting it only as an absolute necessity with no alternative choice, and to make known to others these views, including the pharmaceutical company involved. It is worth noting with regard to (2) above, that the Bishops apparently were led to believe, or were of the opinion, that there was no alternative, but in fact the medical remedies such as Ivernectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and other medications, are alternatives, providing they are available and can be obtained. The WHO have their own ideas, effectively banning their sale as the virus spread, using the spurious excuse that they were not fully tested, and therefore could not be approved! Some Catholic Bishops, including Bishop Athanasius Schneider, and Bishop Strickland, and many priests and lay-persons, do not agree with those in the hierarchy who support the use of the tainted vaccine, essentially on the grounds that the evil of abortion exists for ever, regardless of time scale and so-called remoteness.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuFYQZgBsQDU_boyR2La1t_Pa7OL-5jaR2vW-yWzKxLW_p35nKrsQMaWGyIFI02QEj2arqO61jXZsp61a5dqtyICuxKGBqrYkh_H-LL8xrDid8PKrYHNDIJJhFb0fsE8JrNium2UhzcM/w320-h240/2009-02-27+22.01.09.jpg" width="320" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjrYYdVfoX1lMP845WfKAGxZpc28ZSfBiTUWM5JphwLCvSiEpLZI19QK_G0xrJod2QlGfPyKXKT_T5Sn2K1PZgHOBV2BrpOjFIj8CKHKb4sxoCBbsoKvNteM_hJADOyLGxf0up9aRkKw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjrYYdVfoX1lMP845WfKAGxZpc28ZSfBiTUWM5JphwLCvSiEpLZI19QK_G0xrJod2QlGfPyKXKT_T5Sn2K1PZgHOBV2BrpOjFIj8CKHKb4sxoCBbsoKvNteM_hJADOyLGxf0up9aRkKw/w240-h320/2009-02-27+22.02.05.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Bishop Schneider has recently published a statement of great relevance to this question, in which he introduces the concept of a 'fetal industry', which he distinguishes from the 'abortion industry', with both equally evil and both condemned as such. Under the concept of 'fetal industry', the question of 'remote evil' in connection with this vaccine does not apply, for the vaccine itself has been directly produced using the products and machinery embraced by the 'fetal industry'. (please see link immediately below for full explanation):-</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">(<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/interview-with-bishop-schneider/">Interview with Bishop Schneider: COVID rules may be 'a kind of prefiguration' of the mark of the Beast - LifeSite (lifesitenews.com)</a></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I find in the above, a very powerful argument against any approval of existing and future vaccines in which fetal stem cells have been used. With an estimated 5.7 million members in England and Wales alone (Wikipedia for 2011), even if slightly less now, the Church could exert real pressure on certain social and public health policies in the UK, specifically to demand the replacement of the existing tainted vaccine with an untainted one. If a similar stance were taken by the Church in other countries, say the USA and in Europe, the combined commercial pressure to produce an acceptable vaccine, would be overwhelming. If nothing is said or done, why should the pharmaceutical companies discontinue manufacturing the tainted vaccines, for they will take the view that the Church is not really serious about this? The Church must be unequivocal, directing Catholics as a matter of conscience, not to accept the tainted vaccine. The manufacturers will feel the pinch where it hurts most, in a significant drop in sales and profits, and a similar drop in the value of company shares.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wpvqKhTiVIrrvFIqzSqJY1SPVByTn0GxsjA6yQI0gAW8to3p4CpvRFeBT-n9_2SbxqadfMyBWW_ZiqvExkocdzbytOVEd-7dZcaTKv-lCwbYrjMNjBOaRIStZH1JwAbN89IJSNjS8FI/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wpvqKhTiVIrrvFIqzSqJY1SPVByTn0GxsjA6yQI0gAW8to3p4CpvRFeBT-n9_2SbxqadfMyBWW_ZiqvExkocdzbytOVEd-7dZcaTKv-lCwbYrjMNjBOaRIStZH1JwAbN89IJSNjS8FI/w300-h400/2009-02-27+22.04.11.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>Short of a spiritual conversion, which we should certainly pray for, it is hard to see manufacturers and governments taking remedial action on this question, unless they are convinced of the benefits to themselves. Profitability is the top priority for manufacturers, and this would drop dramatically if they lose customers, which they would in large numbers, if the existing vaccine was unequivocally condemned by the Church. When marketed, a new untainted vaccine, which possibly may already be in the pipeline, would quickly remedy this. </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> Politically, </span>by demanding that manufacturers produce a clean, untainted vaccine, governments would gain support from those of the electorate for whom this issue is of great moral importance, and this could be a very substantial number. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The Church must act straight away, there must be no further delay. Now is the time to publicly condemn the evil of the 'fetal industry', and to raise people's awareness of its existence. The condemnation will be two-pronged, for in attacking the 'fetal industry' and the production of tainted vaccines, it will also be condemning abortion, the driving force behind the 'fetal industry'. Finally it may succeed in breaking the curse of tainted vaccines, a curse which has survived for too long.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b>Please pray for the Pope, Bishops and Priests of the Church</b></i></span> </p></blockquote><p><b> <span style="font-size: medium;"> ******************</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqudwdBiVqLIRDp_8cTrY1fyQjqnVgiHNTcV-zlCXuR-cOgUeX3M2V-2td1wxcvb8H8bczTtN463LO305RgBbfhS-Vh84MU-jxLSyzAwGw8Bkyy76_zjSuFnCNvXsP29mSkdAv4QgLOU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="214" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqudwdBiVqLIRDp_8cTrY1fyQjqnVgiHNTcV-zlCXuR-cOgUeX3M2V-2td1wxcvb8H8bczTtN463LO305RgBbfhS-Vh84MU-jxLSyzAwGw8Bkyy76_zjSuFnCNvXsP29mSkdAv4QgLOU/w301-h400/Our+Lady+of+Perpetual+Succour.jpg" width="301" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b>Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us </b></i></span> <br /></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-55006049701567233272021-06-26T15:42:00.003-07:002021-06-26T16:16:48.035-07:00'The Canticle of Mr. Wilkin'<p> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The Choir practice was
over. All the music had been collected, stands and singers had
vanished, and even the choirmaster had at last finished fiddling with
the hymn books and had departed, humming a hymn. The church was in
darkness, save for the flickering lamp before the altar and a light
beside the organ, for Mr.Wilkin, the organist, still sat before the
instrument alone.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Mr.Wilkin was glad that
the choir practice was over, for he was feeling very old and very
tired that evening, and the practice had been a tedious affair. As
he sat on his high perch, wiping the moisture from his glasses, a
strange apathy and loneliness came upon him to make him feel so much
older than his years. A widower is often lonely, an old man easily
apathetic, and Mr Wilkin whose children had been drawn into distant,
even dangerous places, now knew very well what it meant to be getting
on in years. As he turned to the keys and played through one or two
familiar hymns by way of practice, he felt the melancholy rising
within the music to match his mood.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Mr. Wilkin was in no
sense a master at the organ, indeed he was only acting as substitue
for young Hickey, who had gone to the Middle East. Before him on the
stand was a list of hymns and oddments needed for the coming Sundays,
and through these he plodded with slow uninspired touch. Stumbling
and faltering, he lurched through an O Salutaris, so that one would
hardly have recognised it as a tune, still less as a prayer. Then
back again he went to see if he could give it greater smoothness
before passing on to next Sunday's hymns. His fingers crept along the
keys, his eyes followed the notes, his lips counted one, two, three,
round awkward corners, but his mind wandered off to other worries,
and he thought of his wife, of the war, of the anxieties which the
future held in store. Perhaps Paderewski could have played without
attention, but Mr.Wilkin worked slowly to a standstill, his fingers
finding the wrong notes more easily than the right ones, his eye
quitting the music in the middle of an important bar.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Mr. Wilkin stopped and
sat staring at the organ with forlorn heart and faltering hands. In
his little mirror he could see the dim nave stretching out behind him
with the sanctuary lamp twinkling in the gloom. He hoped that his
Lord and Master in the tabernacle was getting some pleasure from the
tedious repetition of the O Salutaris; for himself he would like to
play some melody which carried with it the memories and the mood
which pressed upon him, but it would never do to play some old-time
favourite in church. So on again went the O Salutaris, but his mind
wandered off as usual, this time to the tunes which he had strummed
on the piano at home. For Mr Wilkin in the olden days, had often
played choruses for his wife and children when the day's work was
over, as he had also struck up tunes on crazy old pianos in the
billets and barns of Flanders, when his battalion had come to rest
from the front line.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> And so it happened that
almost before he knew what he was doing, he had abandoned the
unprofitable O Salutaris, and had played the opening chords of the
“Long, Long, Trail”. As the melody began he argued with himself
to excuse his impropriety, for after all, there was nobody in the
church to be offended, for the Lord would most certainly understand.
Mr Wilkin began very softly, and fortunately he knew the tune from
memory, for his eyes were dim with tears. As he slipped past the
nightingale into the land of his dreams, he called back a million
memories of those happy days.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> For the long, long,
trail, had once wound its way from the trenches in Flanders to his
little shop and back sitting-room in the High Street, where his wife
and children waited his return. The trail had once seemed over as the
Cease Fire sounded in November, but now he saw that really his return
to the High Street had been but a stage in a longer journey, and that
the long, long, trail, still stretched out far into the gloom. So as
the melody unfolded and the words spoke of dreams coming true, Mr.
Wilkin thought of his wife who had gone on before him till the day </span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">when he'd be going 'down
that long, long trail, with you'. It was only as he reached the final
'you' that he stopped hesitating and gazed at the sanctuary lamp in
his mirror, for perhaps it was not to wife or children or earthly
lover, that the long, long, trail really led.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> Mr. Wilkin understood at
last, and as the memory of the past faded into the radiance of
present consolation and future divine companionship on the lonely
journey, so with greater joy and greater confidence he began the
chorus again. This time he looked more intensely at the little lamp
in the mirror, and played each note with the new vigour born of a new
hope. For the song had become a hymn, and the whole church was
filled with love, and with all sorts of twiddles, for Mr. Wilkin
pulled out one stop for the nightingale and another for the
moon-beams: and as he played he prayed, and his prayer soared, the
notes poured out more rapidly, and the long, long, trail, was lit up
all the way from Flanders to the High Street and on upwards to
eternal rest with God. </span>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Now the Canon was sitting
in his room in the presbytery saying his breviary, nor was he in the
best of tempers as himself will gladly admit. He had had a tiring
day. It was then, with less than his usual grace, that he received
his housekeeper , who came to inform him that a strange man was
playing the fool with the organ in the church.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> “Rubbish,” said the
Canon, curtly, “it can only be Mr Wilkin; he's probably stayed
behind to practise a few hymns.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> The housekeeper was not
prepared to contradict the Canon, but she held no fancy views on
infallibility, so she replied with a mixture of reverence and
firmness.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> “Maybe you are right,
your Reverence, but it is not like Mr.Wilkin to be playing them
music-hall songs in church”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> If the Canon was annoyed
by this rejoinder, he was also impressed. Certainly Saint Aloysius
would more likely play music-hall songs in church than would
Mr.Wilkin, who on the scores of genuine piety and limited ability at
the organ, might be counted as exempt from such a charge. Muttering
under his breath and waving the housekeeper back into the kitchen,
the Canon pulled himself out of his armchair and made for the
sacristy door.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> The housekeeper was
right, for as he neared the church the Canon heard sounds more suited
to the organ at a cinema, though at that distance and amidst so many
twiddles, he found it difficult to disengage and identify the tune.
Quietly, in his carpet slippers, he crossed the sacristy and opened
the door into the church. There could be no doubt now that the long,
long, trail was winding, and that the housekeeper's dreams had all
come true. The Canon stood still for several seconds and then
tip-toed into the church and peered upwards at the loft. Heavens, it
was Mr.Wilkin after all. The organist could be plainly seen playing
with tremendous gusto, his frail old body swaying youthfully from
side to side.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Half kneeling, half
sitting, the Canon propped himself against a pew. He thanked his
lucky stars that no parishioners were present to witness the
impropriety, and wondered what he had better do. Now as he sat there
undecided, he began to catch some of the sentiments pouring from the
organ, and almost unconsciously he ran over the well-worn words. For
the Canon, too, had a long, long trail before him, and he too, as he
looked towards the tabernacle, was aware that there was someone by
his side as he trudged along. After all, in an odd way, the words
did express the same ideas as had been voiced by King David many
centuries ago. The Canon recalled his breviary and the psalms which
he repeated day by day.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> David might speak of the
wings of a dove rather than of the voice of the nightingale, he might
see life as a shadow rather than a dream, but he, too, had longed for
escape and for the eternal rest of the divine companionship, and had
set out with confidence that he would not walk alone. “Even if I
should walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil, for Thou art with me.” The Canon remembered this and half a
hundred other similar expressions in which the Saints of all the ages
had voiced the theme of Christian hope. He even thought that Saint
Paul had described the same desire, but the words would not come
readily at the moment and he had to give it up. But he sat quietly
in the dark and prayed with a renewed fervour and even sang under his
breath, the words of Mr. Wilkin's tune.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Mr. Wilkin had finished,
he was shutting up the organ before the Canon moved.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Silently the priest
genuflected and slipped back into the sacristy unseen. He thought
that he could remember Saint Paul's words, and that was how it was
that he so baffled the housekeeper who put her head out of the
kitchen door to see if everything was all right.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> “Yes, it is quite all
right, you'll find it in the Epistle to the Hebrews”, and leaving
her to her astonishment, he hurried on upstairs.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> For he had remembered how
Paul had spoken of the patriarchs of the Old Testament - Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob - all those great men who had died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them
from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. For they had made it clear that they were seeking for
their own fatherland, and that they longed for a better country, a
heavenly one, where God had prepared for them a city. The Canon
found his Bible, and rummaged for the place, humming as he hunted the
tune of the “Long, Long, Trail”. Here it was, “Jesus, that He
might sanctify the people by His own blood, suffered without the
gate. Let us, therefore, go forth to Him, bearing His reproach. For
we have not here an abiding city, but we seek after the city which is
to come.” </span>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Ack. 'The
Seven Deadly Virtues' by Bernard Basset S.J.</span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-41994352293519759622021-04-22T15:38:00.072-07:002021-04-22T16:15:49.941-07:00The Second Epistle of Saint Peter<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-weight: 700;">Letters of Peter</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">, also called </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-weight: 700;">Epistles of St. Peter the Apostle</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">, abbreviation </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-weight: 700;">Peter</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">, two </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/New-Testament" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">New Testament</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> writings attributed to </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">St. Peter the Apostle</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> but perhaps written during the early 2nd century. The Letters of Peter, together with the </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Letter-of-James" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">Letter of James</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">, the three </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/letters-of-John" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">Letters of John</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">, and the </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Letter-of-Jude" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">Letter of Jude</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">, are part of the seven so-called Catholic Letters. As the history of the New Testament canon shows, the Catholic Letters were among the last of the </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">biblical literature</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> to be settled on as </span><a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off" data-term="canonical" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canonical" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: 2px dotted var(--blue); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">canonical</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> before the agreement of East and West in 367 </span><span class="text-smallcaps" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; text-transform: uppercase;">CE</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, only 2 John and 2 Peter were universally recognized. The First Letter of Peter and the Second Letter of Peter generally are placed as the 21st and 22nd books of the New Testament.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">The <i><b>Second Letter of Peter</b></i> is principally concerned with the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Second-Coming" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">Second Coming</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">of Christ. The author attributes the apparent delay to God’s patience in allowing time for universal redemption and notes that in the sight of God 1,000 years are like one day. The writer also warns against false teachers, whose conduct is as immoral as their words are deceptive. They, and those who follow them, says the writer, will be destroyed in a great</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> </span><a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off" data-term="conflagration" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conflagration" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: 2px dotted var(--blue); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">conflagration</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">that will precede “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (3:13). Though the author explicitly identifies himself as Peter, numerous textual difficulties created doubts as early as the 3rd century about the actual authorship, which have been reinforced by subsequent scholarship.</span></span></p><section data-has-spy="true" data-level="1" id="ref345433" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span class="marker p3" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span class="marker AM3 am-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></section><span class="md-signature" style="background-color: white; border-left: 6px solid var(--gray-300); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #1a1a1a; display: block; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">(ack <a href="https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; text-decoration-line: none;">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a>) </span></span><span class="md-signature" style="background-color: white; border-left: 6px solid var(--gray-300); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #1a1a1a; display: block; font-size: 0.9em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuQqcVixuuLv101M2IQUdHT4TzJJRVORftV3PVPDOg05BaRsRHAXPvPafhPYYe4_bnNFmR6CIdEG1XydBeysnTADnPTVtRCV5l38b3daKTpSYc1XCMUVnjF-eyWvLT3jPbX2Z59KCVeQ/s500/St_Peter_Besenzi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="422" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuQqcVixuuLv101M2IQUdHT4TzJJRVORftV3PVPDOg05BaRsRHAXPvPafhPYYe4_bnNFmR6CIdEG1XydBeysnTADnPTVtRCV5l38b3daKTpSYc1XCMUVnjF-eyWvLT3jPbX2Z59KCVeQ/w338-h400/St_Peter_Besenzi.jpg" width="338" /></span></a></div><br /><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Saint Peter - Paolo Emilia Besenzi (17th c.) (PD)</span></b></i></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>The
Second Epistle of St Peter</b></span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Introduction</b></i></span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">1. Symeon
Peter, the servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have
received an equal privilege of faith with ourselves through the
justness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: may grace and peace be
multiplied unto you, in the full knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ
our Lord.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Exhortation
to Christian virtue.</b></i></span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">For indeed
His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that are unto life
and godliness. In virtue of the full knowledge of him who has called
us through his own glory and excellence, by means of which he has
bestowed upon us the precious and very great promises, so that in
consequence of these you may become partakers of the divine nature,
and flee from the corruption which is in the world through lust. And
for this very reason employ all care to furnish your faith with
virtue, your virtue with knowledge, your knowledge with self-control,
your self-control with patience, your patience with piety, your piety
with brotherly love, your brotherly love with charity.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">For if these
things exist and increase in you, they will make you neither idle or
unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he in
whom these things are not present is near-sighted even to blindness,
having become unmindful of the washing away of his former sins.
Wherefore brethren, be ye the more solicitous to make your calling
and election sure; for if ye do this ye shall never stumble; for in
this wise shall the entry be furnished unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> Hence I
purpose ever to keep you in mind of these things; although ye know
them, and are established in the truth ye now hold. I deem it right,
so long as I am in this dwelling-place, to rouse you to remembrance,
knowing that the laying aside of this dwelling-place of mine, cometh
speedily, as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I shall
strive that ye may be able at all times to be mindful of these things
after my departure.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> For we were
not following after fables cunningly devised, when we made known unto
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but had been
eye-witnesses of his grandeur. For he received honour and glory from
God the Father, when these words came forth to him from the majestic
glory, 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased'. And this
word we heard come forth from heaven, when we were together with him
on the holy mountain. And we have the word of prophecy, firmer
still, whereto ye do well to give heed, as to a lamp shining in a
darksome place, till the day break and the morning star arise in your
hearts. Yet this ye must first know, that no prophecy of scripture is
matter for private interpretation. For never was prophecy uttered at
any time by the will of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke
from God.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>False
teachers.</b></i></span></p>
<ol start="2">
<li><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">But
there were also false prophets among the people, even as among
yourselves there will be false teachers, who will bring in
destructive divisions, and deny the Lord who bought them, bringing
upon themselves speedy destruction. And many will follow after their
wantonness, by reason of whom the way of truth will be maligned, and
in their covetousness they will make their profit of you with
feigned words; from of old their judgment lieth not idle, and their
destruction slumbereth not. For God spared not angels that sinned,
but plunged them into hell's dark caves, delivering them to be kept
there for judgment. And the olden world would be spared not, but
preserved Noa</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">h, the preacher of justness, with seven others, when he
brought a deluge upon the world of the impious. And he condemned to
overthrow the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, turning them to ashes,
and setting them as an example of the things to come upon the
ungodly, whereas he rescued the just Lot when he was being troubled
by the wanton ways of the lawless; for that just man, dwelling among
them, was from day to day tortured in his just soul by seeing and
hearing their unlawful works. The Lord then, knoweth how to rescue
the godly from temptation, and to keep the unjust under chastisement
unto the day of judgment, more especially those walking after the
flesh in foul desires, and</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">scorning authority. Audacious and
self-willed, they revile dignities without trembling, where angels,
greater in strength and in power, do not bring a railing accusation
against them before the Lord.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Thee men, on
the contrary, like irrational beasts, fit by nature only for capture
and destruction, railing at those things of which they are ignorant,
shall also perish in their own destruction, being defrauded of the
wages of iniquity. They deem it a delight to riot in the daytime,
they are blots and stains, revelling in their deceits while they
feast with you; their eyes are full of adultery and insatiable in
sin; they lure away unstable souls; their hearts are trained to
covetousness; they are children of a curse. They have forsaken the
straight road and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son
of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness; but he received a
rebuke for his transgression, when a dumb beast speaking with the
voice of man, checked the prophet's madness.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Yea,
these men are springs without water, mists driven before a squall,
for whom is reserved dark gloom. For by uttering high-flown vanity,
in their fleshly lusts they lure away by wantonness those that are
barely escaping from them that live in error. They promise them
freedom, whereas themselves are the slaves of corruption; for by
whatsoever thing a man is overcome, to that same is he made a slave.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">For
if they that by the full knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ have fled from the pollutions of the world, entangle
themselves anew therein and are overcome, their last state is become
worse than the first. For it were better for them not to have known
the way of justice, than having known it to have turned back from
the holy commandment delivered to them. In these hath been realized
that true saying, 'a dog gone back to his vomit', and a 'sow after
a wash to her wallowing in the mire'.</span></p></li></ol>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Christ's
Second Coming</b></i></span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">I am now
writing to you, beloved, this second epistle, wherein once more I
arouse your sincere mind to remembrance, so that ye may be mindful
of the words which were uttered aforetime by the holy prophets, and
of the commandment of your apostles from the Lord and Saviour. And
this first ye must know, that in the last days mockers shall come
with their mocking, men that walk after their own lusts,, and shall
say, 'Where is his promised coming? For since the Fathers fell
asleep, all things continue as they have done from the beginning of
creation.' For this they wilfully overlook, that there were a
heaven and an earth of old, brought into being out of water and
between waters by the word of God, by which water the world that
then was perished, overwhelmed in a deluge; whereas the present
heaven and earth by that same word have been reserved for fire, and
are being kept until the day of the judgment and destruction of the
impious.</span></p><ol start="3"><li>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Nevertheless
let not this one thing escape you, beloved, that 'with the Lord' one
day is as a thousand years, and 'a thousand years as one day'. The
Lord does not delay his promise, as some count delay; but he is
long-suffering towards you, not desiring that any should perish, but
that all should turn to repentance. But the day of the Lord shall
come as a thief, where-in the heavens shall pass away with a crash,
and the heavenly bodies shall be burnt and dissolved, and the earth
and the works that are therein shall be disclosed.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Now
while all these things are thus in course of dissolution, what
manner of men doth it behove you to be, holy and pious in your
manner of life, expecting and speeding the coming of the day of God,
by reason of which the heavens shall be dissolved in fire, and the
heavenly bodies shall be burnt and shall melt away? But</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> we look for
new heavens and a new earth, according to his promise, wherein
justness is to abide.</span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Wherefore,
beloved, looking for those things, strive, that you may be found by
him in peace without spot and without blemish, and deem the
long-suffering of our Lord salvation, as our beloved brother Paul
also has written to you, in virtue of the wisdom given him, even as
he does in all his epistles, when he speaketh of these things;
wherein are some things hard to understand, which the ignorant and
unstable wrest to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of
the scriptures.</span></p></li></ol>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></p><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Conclusion.</b></i></span></span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> Do ye
therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your
guard, lest being carried away by the error of the lawless, ye fall
away from your own steadfastness, but grow ye in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory,
both now and unto the day of eternity. Amen.</span></p>
<ol start="2">
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p>
</ol><span class="md-signature" style="background-color: white; border-left: 6px solid var(--gray-300); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #1a1a1a; display: block; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span class="md-signature" face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border-left: 6px solid var(--gray-300); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #1a1a1a; display: block; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 0.9em; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0l_3H93owZxuOsbMQTNqdTbiBvNAjpL4XSdJoUSTwNLgyyh8rMeS3XGYRHExOMuIN6fz6jvTVlNIdtHq2lV7bki_q9ghdXnn3gqZ-LGKefbTk2B4I82CCQQnL9vAAeZr9pwoCUuh_Do/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="227" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0l_3H93owZxuOsbMQTNqdTbiBvNAjpL4XSdJoUSTwNLgyyh8rMeS3XGYRHExOMuIN6fz6jvTVlNIdtHq2lV7bki_q9ghdXnn3gqZ-LGKefbTk2B4I82CCQQnL9vAAeZr9pwoCUuh_Do/w303-h400/image.png" width="303" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span><b><i>Christ Blessing by Giovanni Bellini (c1459) (ack. Artble)</i></b></span></span></span><span class="md-signature" face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border-left: 6px solid var(--gray-300); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #1a1a1a; display: block; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px;"><span><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Above text taken from the the Holy Bible, Caxton Publishing Company, Ltd., London, Melbourne, Wellington. The Old Testament in the Douai text, the New Testament in the </span></i></b></span><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Westminster text. Copyright (1947) in Westminster version vested in Philip Caraman SJ., other material specially designed and written with copyright by George Rainbird (1958)</span></i></b></span><span class="md-signature" face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border-left: 6px solid var(--gray-300); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #1a1a1a; display: block; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px;"><br /></span>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-56691371839426441402021-04-01T17:39:00.001-07:002021-04-02T01:07:50.516-07:00 'Our Lord's Passion - the Scourging at the Pillar'<p><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During Holy Week, the
Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded by the four
evangelists, Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, is each read
during Holy Mass on four separate days. As we would expect, the
accounts of Christ's Passion and Death, are virtually the same,
although each evangelist approaches his task from a slightly
different angle, with different emphases. In this short post, I have
taken an extract from 'Treading the Winepress' - with Christ in His
Passion, by Wm Stephenson S.J. in which the writer considers Our
Lord's scourging at the pillar. He also raises the question of why we
are perhaps rarely moved when considering Christ's Passion, and
suggests that it is because we come to it as an intellectual
exercise, not sufficiently allowing it to sink into the heart. He
proposes that before commencing a contemplation, we should ask for
the grace of compassion, that we may taste and see Jesus' sufferings,
feel sorrow with Him, weep over His grief and the great pains He bore
for us. Finally he suggests that we do well to ask the sorrowful
Virgin Mother to obtain for us this precious grace.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwpqb18gLy8yAn_nzqHykMNkE9PkbYPbBNMr3AxB_LcSO01antoUBsEC-5Vrk_AicxggUJBigzpaBZob1uasQRUBv0aKJVw5FgmtPLl6ip2F14guXy5Bjr7Ny5xTFW2wphugb1Zha5ag/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="437" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwpqb18gLy8yAn_nzqHykMNkE9PkbYPbBNMr3AxB_LcSO01antoUBsEC-5Vrk_AicxggUJBigzpaBZob1uasQRUBv0aKJVw5FgmtPLl6ip2F14guXy5Bjr7Ny5xTFW2wphugb1Zha5ag/w337-h335/image.png" width="337" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b> 'Christ's Scourging at the Pillar' by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) (Wikipedia)</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b> </b></i></span> <p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The punishment of
'scourging', the horror of which is almost beyond utterance or
thought, though also a distinctive penalty, usually preceded the
death sentence under Roman administration – which sentence itself
was sometimes commuted to it. It was a cruel and shameful form of
punishment, which at that time was in full use in the Roman
provinces, whilst by law every Roman citizen was exempt. So terrible
was the punishment that under the fury of the stripes, the
unfortunate victim, amid screams and bodily torture, sometimes fell
in a senseless heap, or was taken away a mass of bleeding flesh, only
to find deliverance in death, if, indeed, he had not already died.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Is it any wonder, then,
that at the pre-vision in Gethsemani of such an ordeal, Our Lord
shrank back in fear, imploring His Father to remove the Chalice from
Him? But through the excess of love He had for man – for each one
of us-- He freely offered Himself to be scourged.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> SS. Matthew and Mark
dismiss Jesus' scourging with a phrase, saying no more because people
of their time knew its nature well. St John in a single sentence
records this dreadful punishment, which (it is said) in horror and
suffering equalled crucifixion: “Then therefore, Pilate took Jesus,
and scourged Him.” The scourging was one of Christ's severest
sufferings, one which He usually mentioned when foretelling His
Passion. It was this torment, this baptism in his own blood, that
all but killed Him. In picturing the scene it will help the memory,
and help us also to stir up within us the affections, if we ask; Who?
What? Why?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> So terrible was the
punishment of scourging, that in the criminal law of the Jews, the
number of lashes was strictly limited to forty; but in Roman law no
such limitation existed, all being left to the pleasure – to the
ferocity-- of the lictors. What then, do the soldiers do? Seizing
Jesus, they drag Him rudely into the public courtyard, where there is
a short pillar with a chain attached, the sight of which must cause
Him to shudder. They strip Him of His garments, and fasten Him to the
pillar, hands and arms tightly bound, His bare back nearly
horizontal. Then these strong men, only too eager to vent on any Jew
the intense grudge they bear against the Jewish nation, gird
themselves to do their savage work – to scourge Christ.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> According to tradition,
they have scourges of cord, or, probably, the<i><b> flagellum</b></i>, of which
Roman writers speak with horror; scourges armed at the end with drops
of lead or small sharp-pointed bones. At the given signal, each man
begins to work with his scourge upon the virginal body of the
Saviour, the purest, most perfect body ever made. Incited by the
demons, each and all vent their rage in lashing Him till the skin is
broken, the flesh torn, and the body from the sole of the foot to the
top of the head is one sore, covered with blood. It makes small
difference to these men if they draw blood. They strike away, one
after another, till every member of that immaculate Body agonizes
with pain, and keep on striking Our Lord standing in His own blood,
till He falls on the pavement, His body a mass of bleeding flesh.
<i>“We have seen Him</i>” exclaims the prophet, “<i>there is no beauty in
Him, nor</i> <i>comeliness, (no, not even) sightliness, that we should be
desirous of Him” (Is..53)</i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>(ack. 'Treading the
Winepress' by Wm Stephenson S.J. - 'With Christ in His Passion.'</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>- fourth edition (1971)
published by Cahill & Co Ltd., Dublin, for Irish Messenger
Office.)</b></i></span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-23860556869875089582021-03-13T14:56:00.001-08:002021-03-13T14:56:39.120-08:00 'Meditation on the Passion' - the Washing of Feet<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">A third excerpt from 'Meditation on the Passion' compiled by Rev. Reginald Walsh O.P. published in 1922 by Burns, Oates, and Washbourne. London.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Each post deals with a different aspect of our Lord's Passion, and are posted alternately and sequentially on this site and on 'whitesmokeahoy' (link on sidebar)</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pZVQWwP1y7UwCSQJzvXoDXjub3K4KI0_FghR8TUoObCMYj77F9xnZZUElT3jj96ha6DiuKnUWT7d209WUJXPiUartnQiTMUO9c-YFtIrP0yz3cQd92DQ2KB5dO1yAuZxaPWWfmA_-l8/s1279/Christ+washing+the+Disciples%2527+feet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1279" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pZVQWwP1y7UwCSQJzvXoDXjub3K4KI0_FghR8TUoObCMYj77F9xnZZUElT3jj96ha6DiuKnUWT7d209WUJXPiUartnQiTMUO9c-YFtIrP0yz3cQd92DQ2KB5dO1yAuZxaPWWfmA_-l8/w510-h233/Christ+washing+the+Disciples%2527+feet.jpg" width="510" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> 'CHRIST WASHING THE DISCIPLE'S FEET' (1548/9) by Tintoretto</b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> 1.</b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <b>OUR LORD'S OBJECT IN
WASHING HIS DISCIPLES' FEET</b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Jesus had a twofold aim
in view in performing this unusual action at the Last Supper..</span></p><ol>
<li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">He intended to
give the Apostles a significant answer to their dispute about
the order of their rank. Jesus wishes to teach them <i><b>humility</b></i>
and<i><b> charity</b></i> --- that the aim of those in authority
is not to be the gratification of selfishness and love of
authority, but the welfare of those under them --- that the
exercise of their office is a service --- rendered not as a mark
of gracious condescension and kindness, but as a matter of
duty: a service of loving humility and humble charity. This is
the lesson our Lord wished to inculcate upon all His Apostles.</span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The second aim or
object of our Lord was undoubtedly a mystical one --- viz. to
impart to His Apostles purity and conformity with Himself ---
that they might perform their Apostolic work worthily and
perseveringly; possibly too, the ceremony was to be their
immediate preparation, by an increase of purity and faith, for
the reception of the Blessed Sacrament, as Jesus Himself
mysteriously hints. Our Lord prepares even the wretched Judas,
in the way best suited to him. He warns him once more by
predicting his evil deed plainly and positively, and points out
the hideousness of the crime in all its blackness, ingratitude,
and callousness, --- for Judas turns against the hand that gives
him food, like a brute beast. Lastly, Jesus shows that it is
an offence against God Himself, for whoever receives or
ill-treats our Lord, receives or ill-treats Him that sent Him.</span></p>
<ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>Jesus seems to have
been most anxious to impress this </span><span>lesson deeply upon
the minds of His Apostles. This is shown in the way in which
He gives it. In the first place--- He does so </span><span>more strikingly than
on any previous occasion. He had already taught the Apostles
this lesson twice before, but never in such an earnest and
impressive manner. Secondly, He does this just before His
death, and so that the lesson forms, so to speak, a part of His
last will. Thirdly, Jesus uses every means to impress this
lesson upon His Apostles, by word and deed, first, by washing
their feet, and, then, explaining why He did so.</span></span></p></ol></li></ol><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> II</b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> THE WASHING OF THE
FEET</b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><i><b> Let us see the
persons --- listen to the words --- consider the </b></i></span>
</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b> actions --- then
reflect and draw fruit for our souls.</b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> As Jesus looks round on
those faithful friends who have remained with Him in all the
troubles of His public life, He reads their hearts. They are honest,
upright hearts, without guile or malice, all, except one. He longs
to be more closely united with them. But He misses a virtue in them
which of all others is dearest to Him --- one that is not always a
very great favourite with us </span><span>perhaps--- but is very
dear to our Lord, and has a wonderful power over His Heart
wheresoever He finds it--- that virtue is </span><i><b>humility</b></i><span>.
Mary's humility drew Him down from Heaven --- we can never have too
much for Him.</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> But the Apostles had
little love for humility --- they liked outward show and honour,
they liked working miracles, casting out devils, preaching to an
admiring crowd. They turned against the mere mention or thought of
shame, humiliation, suffering. Jesus had tried for the last three
years to humble them, </span><span>to keep them in their
place. This very night even, they had been again disputing and
aiming at the highest places. Now they </span><i><b>must</b></i><span> learn
their lesson --- for He cannot give Himself to the proud. He exalts
the humble, but the proud He sends empty away. Jesus will Himself
give them an example of the spirit He looks for in His own.</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> Rising from table, He
lays aside His upper garment, takes water in a</span> <span>basin, girds Himself with
a towel, and kneels before Peter to wash his feet. Peter, with
wide-open eyes, has watched our Lord make the preparation. He
cannot believe his senses. Jesus! his Master and Lord --- the Son
of the Living God! --- wash his feet!</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Completely bewildered,
Peter cries out: “Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?” <i><b> “What
I do thou knowest not now,” </b></i>Jesus answered,<b> “<i>but thou
shalt</i></b><i> <b>know hereafter.” </b></i>Jesus was so calm, so
meek, so resolute. But Peter could not bring himself to obey, and
answered in his rough, loyal-hearted way: “Thou shalt never wash
my feet” --- Jesus knows Peter, one word will overcome him, one
threatening word: <i><b>“ If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no
part with Me.”</b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Away went Peter's
wilfulness --- bowing his head and stretching out his hands, he
cried out: “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus said: <i><b>“He that is washed, needeth not but to wash his
feet, but is clean</b></i> <i><b>wholly. And you are clean, but not
all.”</b></i> Jesus knew their hearts; they were all true but
Judas --- and He was using all means, every opportunity, to draw the
unhappy man from the misery of his crime. Kneeling before each
Apostle, Jesus washed his feet. Try to realise their feelings of
humiliation, reverence , and love, as Jesus, their Blessed Master,
occupied Himself with each. How He spoke to their hearts, purified
them from defects, urged them to the practice of humility and
charity --- those virtues so dear to His Sacred Heart, and so
<i><b>necessary</b></i>,
as without them there can be no close union with Himself. The more
earnestly we endeavour to excel in<i><b> humility</b></i>
and<i><b> charity,</b></i>
the more pure we shall become. Our Lord will then be able to say to
us, “<i><b>Ye are</b></i> <i><b>clean</b></i>.” We have always need of the purification
that these virtues will effect, for as long as we dwell in these
corruptible bodies we shall contract stains which may be instantly
effaced by self-humiliation, contrition, and love.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> The Saints of God were clean of heart, but still as
they walked through life they contracted some little dust of this
world, and this they carefully washed away by their daily acts of
humiliation and love. And so pleasing to God, is the practice of
these virtues, that He suffers these human frailties to remain in
His faithful servants that their continual humility might gladden
Him, for these proceed from love and win for them ever new graces
and light.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> “ A soul that truly loves its own abjection will
never want God's pity.” “A contrite and humble heart, O God,
Thou wilt not despise.” Let us strive to merit these words from
the lips of Jesus, <i><b>ye are clean. </b></i>What a pain it must
have been to the faithful Heart of Jesus to add, <i><b>but not all.</b></i>
To have loved His own, and that even to the end, as St John tells
us, and yet to be repulsed, despised, and betrayed by that one soul
was an agony to the human Heart of Jesus that we shall never fathom
in this life.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Judas' turn came. With exceeding great love our Lord
bathed that poor sinner's feet and, tender as a mother, wiped them.
How tenderly Jesus handles these feet that have wandered far from
Him. How much Jesus longs to make him clean, but Judas hardens his
heart still more. No sign of sorrow, no passing gleam of hope
softened the traitor's heart --- he will not cooperate with the
abundance of light and grace offered. Jesus turns sadly away! How
many times and in how many ways Jesus tried to move this hardened
heart. But He will never constrain the free will of His creatures.
The Apostles were humble<i><b> now; </b></i>for nothing humbles us
so much as seeing the humiliation of one we venerate and love. They
had seen their Lord and Master kneel before them, loose the latchet
of their shoes, and wash their dust-stained feet. A great remedy
for a great evil. Oh, let us learn the great lesson here.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <i><b>Colloquy</b></i>. --- O Infinite Goodness, I
love You, and I want to love You, with all my strength; I wish to
do everything in my power to please you. Jesus, meek and humble of
heart, make my heart like unto Thine. Help me, dear Lord, to
understand the value of humiliations; strengthen my will to embrace
them generously when the opportunity offers, and so in some little
way, and through love, to imitate Thee. O infinite love, my God, I
believe in Thee. I love Thee. O Mary, my Mother, intercede for me.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> III</b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b> THE GREAT AND “ IMPORTANT” LESSON JESUS GIVES US </b><b>BY WASHING HIS DISCIPLES' FEET.</b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>There was silence in the room. Having resumed His
garments </span><span>and re-seated Himself in their midst, Jesus again
addressed them: </span><i><b>“Know you what I have done for you?”</b></i><span>
Look at the rapt attention of the Apostles as they gather closer to
their dear Master. Jesus looks with love on each and all, and asks
so tenderly: </span><i><b>“Know you what I have done to you? When I
created you, when I died for you? When I forgave you, not seven
times, but seventy times seven times, and much more? When I planned
My Blessed Eucharist for you, and gave you my Blessed Mother to be
a Mother to you? When I called you to follow me, to be my intimate
companion, friend, apostle? Know you what I intend to do for you,
when you have fought the good fight, and when your work here on
earth is done?”</b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b> “You call Me
Master and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If I, then, your
Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one
another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have
done, so you do also. Amen, amen, I say to you, the servant is not
greater than his Lord, neither is the Apostle greater than He that
sent him. If you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do
them.”</b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> This act of washing with His Sacred Hands the feet of
His disciples is intended by our Lord to teach us the happiness of
performing menial services for those around us. To wait on others,
especially on our less fortunate brethren, for Christ's sake, is far
more honourable than to be waited on by them; to make ourselves the
servants of others is far more noble than to be served by them. Is
this the principle on which I act? Again, this act combines the two
virtues which are most prominent in our Lord's life on earth,<i><b>
charity</b></i> and <i><b>humility.</b></i> Charity takes pleasure
in everything that promotes the happiness or comfort of others and of
all with whom we live, because they are the brothers and sisters of
Christ. Humility takes pleasure in whatever puts us into an inferior
position. Jesus gives us powerful motives to overcome selfishness
and pride, and to acquire the virtues of charity and humility.</span></p><ol>
<li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">His own example, which we learn to comprehend in
some measure, when we reflect who He is. Great stress is laid
upon this in the words of St John, that our Lord did this “
knowing that the Father had given Him all things into His hands,
and that He came from God, and goeth to God,” that is, in the
full possession and consciousness of His dignity as God-Man.
Our Lord calls Himself a little later “Master and Lord”, and
draws the special attention of his disciples to the position in
which He stands to them: <i><b> “You call Me Master and Lord:
and you say well for so I am. If I then, being your Lord and
Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one
another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have
done to you, so do you also.”</b></i>--- adding that <i><b>“
the servant is not greater than his Lord; neither is the Apostle
greater than He that sent him”</b></i></span></p>
<ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Who can compare himself to our Lord? And yet
Jesus performs in person this office of love and humility. And
upon whom? Upon His Apostles and servants. And in what does
this service consist? In washing their feet --- that is,
performing the lowest and most servile office that was usually
done by slaves. What, then, ought we not be ready to do for
our fellow men? What may we consider beneath our dignity?</span></p>
</ol>
</li>
</ol><ol>
<ol start="2">
<li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The second motive is our Lord's express wish. He
says He has given us this example, in order that we might
imitate it.</span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The third motive is the reward that our Lord
promises for this humility and charity: “<i><b>If you know
these things you will be</b></i> <i><b>blessed if you do them.”
</b></i> How happy the house in which this spirit prevails. On
the other hand, our Lord, in His words to Peter, gives us to
understand, that whoever will not accept this lesson will have
no part with Him --- no part in His spirit, His character, or
His life. Our Lord also points to the future reward in Heaven:<i><b>
“And there shall come from the east and the west, and the
north and the south; and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God.
And behold, they are last that shall be first, and they are
first that shall be last.” </b></i> In heaven service and
sacrifice cease, and are replaced by rest, abundance, and
dominion, even special power and glory. Even on earth the
humble and charitable earn honour and respect.</span></p>
<ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>This is the great and important lesson that our
Lord gives</span> <span>us all by washing His disciple's feet ---
</span><i><b>charity</b></i><span> and </span><i><b>humility</b></i><span>: </span><i>loving humility</i><span> and </span><i>humble charity.</i><span>
We must have both. </span><i><b> Humility without charity is like
the bright but cold light of the moon; charity
without humility is but a transient flame
that soon expires. </b></i><span> It is the union of these two virtues that
characterizes the Church and Christianity. The Church, the
Saints, and all our Lord's true servants and Apostles have
always borne this character of His Sacred Heart.</span></span></p></ol></li></ol></ol><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> Have I the dispositions with which Jesus washed His
disciple's feet? What progress have I made in these virtues? <i><b>“Look
and do according to the pattern” (Exod, xxv.</b></i>) are words that our
dear Master is always silently saying to us as we contemplate His
sacred life and Passion. He says to</span> <span>each of us: “</span><i><b>If you know these things, you
shall be blessed if you do them</b></i><span>.” When therefore, we have
an inward perception of a Gospel truth, then we must, with our will,
labour earnestly to obtain grace to do what we have learned,
remembering always that even when “ the spirit is willing, the
flesh is weak.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Christ's words are true:<i><b> “The disciple is not
greater than his Master.”</b></i> If our Divine Master was
glorious in the sight of the Angels as He stooped to wash the
Apostle's feet, our road to glory must be by stooping, by ministering
in all humility, to others. We never can be as great as our Master.
We must take care lest our selfishness and pride place us in direct
contrast with the Son of God.<i><b> “ He that is the greater among
you, let him become as the younger: and he that is the leader, as he
that serveth. For who is the greater, he that sitteth at table or
he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at table? But I am in the
midst of you as he that serveth.” </b></i> Jesus, looking at His
dear disciples with an emotion of joy, added, with a thrill of
tenderness and love: <i><b>“And you are they who have continued
with me in my temptations; and I will dispose to you, as My Father
has disposed to Me, a kingdom.”</b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> The courageous fidelity of His own will not be in vain.
The Son of Man will not always be in the wine-press of tribulation;
the days of triumph will come. <i><b>“And I say to you that you
shall eat and drink at My table in My kingdom; and shall sit upon
thrones judging the tribes of Israel.”</b></i> “Our God is a
faithful God.”</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <i><b>Colloquy.</b></i> --- With the Sacred Heart of
Jesus. He says to me: If through Divine love thou exerciseth
humility and charity towards all, whosoever they may be, thou, My
child, wilt assuredly be the good odour of my Heart for all who shall
see thy example. And, although others should not profit by thy
example, thou shalt be no less dear to My Heart. Blessed is the soul
who, by the example of a humble charity, shall so shine before others
as to show that the goodness of My Heart is to be loved and imitated!</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> O meek and humble Jesus, my </span>blessed Lord and Master, I
need Thy powerful grace to do the things which Thou teachest me. I
beseech Thee, dear Jesus, to help me with Thy efficacious aid. O
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Thy love for me. Dear Jesus,
grant me to follow Thee faithfully and to imitate Thee closely ---
make me a perfect disciple of Thy Heart. Free me, dear Lord, from
the selfishness and bitterness of pride and self-love; render my
heart like Thine, always kind, and ever animated with humble charity
towards all. “Virgin Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me."</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="320" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVhDaW4lcFXF-dSrDty9wW9IWC1mpV2W8uG92VvUt3zhsEwbjwBskGZwWHvuhFnU9AsieydURTKz4IwRUYdOAbrBu540g_N1Av-ZNEy0i8WVDMwBYEH6tYbZcDGvtR4ofQ18-mqR4R7o/w268-h355/batoni-painting-sacro-cuore-di-gesu2.jpg" width="268" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> 'Sacred Heart of Jesus' by Batoni</span></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-39255241041901045162021-03-02T16:26:00.015-08:002021-03-11T10:15:58.066-08:00'Meditation on the Passion' - preliminaries<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiedgNdzHBm40D41_0hnQ2JPNkucm6-9AV5OqpgUQ4ygB1V56t1BTvFSu2wjuOw36UxGj6vCiTNvChd12F_VkMvM4rV9lTkPWGkBqEYx8eavW6qUA9fC9gjIqyHZzUUs2_Gv9uX0RJrr0/s834/Christ%252C+by+el_greco.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiedgNdzHBm40D41_0hnQ2JPNkucm6-9AV5OqpgUQ4ygB1V56t1BTvFSu2wjuOw36UxGj6vCiTNvChd12F_VkMvM4rV9lTkPWGkBqEYx8eavW6qUA9fC9gjIqyHZzUUs2_Gv9uX0RJrr0/s320/Christ%252C+by+el_greco.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>'The Saviour' by El Greco</b></i></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;">We are now in Lent, and
as part of my Lenten reading I have been reading a book entitled
<b>'Meditation on the Passion'</b>, compiled from Various Sources, with an
Introduction by <b>Rev. Reginald Walsh, O.P.</b> , and published by <b>Burns,
Oates, & Washbourne Ltd., London, </b>in <b>1922.</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> In his introduction
Father Walsh writes, 'It is hoped that they who love to contemplate
and consider what the Word Incarnate suffered for their salvation
will find this work useful. Here, in passing, we may say that the
Meditation now presented to all, was in its first shape designed and
destined for private circulation only.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> A Member of the Institute
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as Mistress of Novices for about
thirty years, had gained great experience in the formation of
religious as well as in the varied requirements of conventual life,
proposed by means of this book to impart to her Sisters the fruit of
her own reflections on the Passion, which one so spiritual and
enlightened was exceptionally fitted to compile.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> As might have been
anticipated, the excellence of the work, which she had intended for
the use of her Sisters, in course of time became known to several
persons in one or other way connected with the Institute of the
Blessed Virgin. And among them, some are of opinion that this
treasure should no longer be allowed to remain almost hidden in the
cloister. They have represented that outside the convents of the
Institute there are many devout souls to whom the Meditation would be
most acceptable. In accordance with their suggestion, and in
compliance with their wish, it is now reprinted.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> But in order to increase
its utility, so far as persons living in the world are concerned,
many passages in the work, as it appeared at first, have been
omitted----</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">those, namely, which were
addressed to nuns<i><b> as such; </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">also
some other incidental clauses have been either omitted or else
slightly changed. …......</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"> That
the book may continue to be a help to advancement in the spiritual
life, and become an abundant source of blessings to a still wider
circle of readers, is the earnest desire of those who have had to do
with its reissue.'</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Reginald Walsh
O.P.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> **********</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The book deals with the
many different aspects of Our Lord's Passion, and this post covers
that part dealing with the plotting of the \Chief Priests and Scribes to arrest Jesus, and
the treachery of Judas Iscariot.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<b>PRELIMINARIES OF THE PASSION</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b> (Luke
xxii. 1-6)</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> <b>1</b><sup><b>st</b></sup><b>
Prelude: History. </b>--- The feast of the unleavened bread, the
Pasch, was at hand. The chief priests and scribes sought how they
might put Jesus to death; but they feared the people. And Satan
entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot --- one of the twelve;
and he went and discoursed with the chief priests and the
magistrates, how he might betray Jesus to them. And they were glad,
and covenanted </span><span>to give him money. And
Judas promised. And he sought opportunity to betray Jesus in the
absence of the world.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b>2</b><sup><b>nd</b></sup><b>
Prelude: Composition of Place</b>. ---Mark how Judas absents himself
from our Lord's company and the Apostles. Note his frequent visits
to the city to hold intercourse with the enemies of Jesus --- the
world, and this to better himself for worldly gain.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b>3</b><sup><b>rd</b></sup><b>
Prelude: Ask what I want </b>.--- To know our Lord intimately ---
best security for fidelity to Him. The soul that knows Him, loves
Him ardently, and will face and conquer every difficulty to be true
to Him. Light to know myself and fear myself, for I am capable of
any treason. Grace to love, appreciate, and follow faithfully common
life ----best safeguard against the spirit of the world .</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>Points</b></i>: <b>
1</b>. The great Council decided on the arrest of Jesus --- “They
sought how they might, by some wile, lay hold on Him”
(Mark xiv. 1)</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>2.</b>
Judas sells our Lord ---” What will you give me, and I will
deliver Him into you?” (Matt.xxvi.15)</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b> 3. </b> The
enemies of Jesus immediately decide to kill Him ---“And they
consulted together how they might apprehend Jesus and
put Him to death.” (Matt. xxvi. 4)</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b>1.</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> THE GREAT COUNCIL
DECIDES ON THE ARREST OF JESUS</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>“They sought how
they might by some wile lay hold on Him”</b></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> See
the persons-- hear the words --- study the actions, circumstances,
etc.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>Reflect</b></i><i>.</i>
The circumstances under which the Council decided on the arrest of
Jesus were as follows:-</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> As
regards the time, it was probably on Wednesday that the Council
assembled, and probably at the hour when our Lord assured His
disciples that he would be crucified on the feast of the Pasch. <i>“<b>You
know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son of Man shall
be delivered up to be crucified.</b>”</i> The meeting place of the Council
was not, it would appear, the assembly-room in the Temple, but the
palace of Caiphas the High Priest, because the decision was kept
secret, and all care taken to avoid attracting attention.
Nevertheless the Sanhedrin seemed to have been represented in every
essential point, for the three classes --- chief priests, ancients,
and scribes --- of which it is composed, are mentioned. It was
therefore an official session. The subject of the deliberations was
no longer the putting to death of Jesus ----- that had been decided
upon long ago, but the manner in which it was to be accomplished ----
whether openly by force, or secretly by crafty surprise. The
occurrences of the last few days, the complete defeats by which our
Lord had put his enemies to shame; His increasing influence --- all
this urged them to sudden action.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The
decision was ---- the arrest to be made secretly by craft. Our
Lord to be surprised and taken, when and how they could best do it.
His execution was not to take place on the feast-day, but after the
Pasch was over. This was because they feared the people. At the
Paschal season there were great multitudes of people in Jerusalem, and
the crowds were much inclined to disturbances and tumult; our Lord
had many adherents among them, especially among the excitable
Galileans. So the Sanhedrin feared resistance and risk, as in that
case the Romans would have been forced to interfere. For this reason
the arrest must be made whenever it could be done best, but secretly,
and the sentence was not to be passed until after the feast days,
when the people had dispersed. Such was the decision of the Council
--- and such their dispositions for the great feast. They feared
---- not God, but the people.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> What
a terrible thing for a Christian to be the slave of worldly
principles, of a selfish spirit, of human respect! Our Lord declares
expressly and positively that He will die on the feast, and by a
violent death. He knows the counsels of God and the hearts of men.
No one can work against God. His Providence guards His own. His
faithful servants --- not a hair of their head can be touched without
His permission. Nothing can happen without the permission of God.
What a motive to live by faith and absolute confidence --- Jesus
knows all. Let me be upright and sincere before God --- live under
His eye and fear nothing. How far am I doing this?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><i><b>Colloquy,</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>
</b></span><span style="font-style: normal;">---Open my heart to Thee,
my dear Master; give me courage to be fearless in Thy service. Thou
art a Master worth serving! O good Jesus, how great is the love of
Thy Heart for me! How unselfish Thy love! How great Thy solicitude
for my happiness! Can I ever forget Thee? Can I ever love Thee
enough, dear Jesus? Mother, I have need of thee! Help me to be like
thee, always true to Jesus.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>II</b></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> “JUDAS
SELLS OUR LORD”</b></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>“What
will you give me, and I will deliver Him unto you?”</b></i></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_5xjir1ZSRm9jt3LZp9LEDaTY8Iiw7BI8LNnP_8wG9HHs8TD0xdBWTzbESNaM3pZg2jsmvaMVnjwD2sAYOYZLJY_9F3GzpQj4XDM0Ig8nMTN-dR2nXQvouhMdhzDyS2bT_vm4Z-5Pu0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="233" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_5xjir1ZSRm9jt3LZp9LEDaTY8Iiw7BI8LNnP_8wG9HHs8TD0xdBWTzbESNaM3pZg2jsmvaMVnjwD2sAYOYZLJY_9F3GzpQj4XDM0Ig8nMTN-dR2nXQvouhMdhzDyS2bT_vm4Z-5Pu0/" width="160" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> What
will you give me? What a terrible question! To put Jesus into
competition with self! Judas entertained the thought of the betrayal
of our Lord for a long time. No one falls away from nearness to
Jesus on a sudden: neglect in little things gradually leads to a
serious fall.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Let
us consider how Judas came to take such a resolution. What were the
causes?</span></p>
<ol>
<ol>
<ol>
<li><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
fundamental cause was probably the shallowness, untrustworthiness,
and superficiality of his character. He seems to have been a man
of no depth or moral stamina.</span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
second cause was his worldliness, ambition, and avarice. One can
scarcely conceive of his ever having had any idea of the Kingdom
of the Messiah other than that which the majority of the Jews
entertained --- a temporal king and a temporal kingdom. Judas
was wholly under the influence of the worldly spirit: that spirit
which is so directly opposed to the Spirit of Jesus Christ, that
St John declares, “If any man love the world the charity of the
Father is not in him.” (1 John ii.15). The</span><i> world </i><span style="font-style: normal;">is
the enemy of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. It is composed of those
who centre their happiness</span><i> </i><span style="font-style: normal;">in
earthly things, detest and shun poverty, suffering, and
humiliation: while they love, nay, worship wealth, pleasure and
dignity, esteeming these the only treasures worthy of man's
ambition; pursuing them with unrelenting ardour and deliberately
sacrificing their soul to attain them.</span></span></p>
</li></ol>
</ol>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our
Lord Himself formally excluded the world from His last solemn prayer
for His disciples on the night of His Passion. He predicted too,
that as it had hated and persecuted Him, so would it persecute and
hate His followers. If we really desire a place near our Lord, we
must, like our dear Master, engage in an unceasing conflict with His
mortal foe. Jesus Christ is light, and the world is darkness; and as
light and darkness cannot exist together --- one casts out the other
--- so neither can our Lord and the world be one. When the spirit
of the world gets entrance to our heart, our Lord is cast out,
rejected; and in proportion as the Spirit of our Lord gains ground
in the soul, the spirit of the world is cast out.</span></p>
<ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Judas'
downfall is a sad confirmation of this great principle ---- Jesus
Christ and the world are mortal enemies. By generous, persevering
efforts to rid myself of everything savouring of the worldly
spirit, shall I make solid, genuine advance in sanctity. Perfectly
to triumph over the world is not the work of a moment; therefore I
must follow faithfully in the footsteps of God's servants --- the
Saints, by generous fidelity in lesser trials, and so I shall merit
divine help in more severe conflicts. Does not our dear Lord
encourage and exhort us: </span><i><b>“In the world you shall have distress;
but have confidence, I have overcome the world</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"> .” “Let us,”
says Pere Grou of the Society of Jesus, “beg of our Divine Lord
and Master to overcome it with and in us, destroying its reign in
our hearts, to establish His own dominion there for ever.”</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>3.
</b></span><span style="font-style: normal;"> The third cause of
Judas' fall was unbelief; gradually he lost the faith he had at
first. Loss of faith is the usual result of worldliness.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>4.</b></span><span style="font-style: normal;">
The fourth cause was the discomfort of the life led by our Lord
and His disciples. Judas loved his own ease and comfort. He grew
tired of the poverty of Jesus, the constant labour and journeying
of Jesus, and also the disinterestedness of Jesus. Judas was
absolutely selfish and acquired the habit of thieving from the
purse that our Lord had entrusted to him; he tried to make use of
his position for temporal ends. The private admonitions which our
Lord gave Judas, our Lord's earnest, tender training of His
Apostles, must have grown burdensome and intolerable to Judas.
Indeed one can well imagine how the enthusiastic love and devotion
of the other Apostles and friends of our Lord, must have annoyed
him. How exaggerated and extravagant they must have appeared to
him, until at last he took a positive dislike to the presence and
Person of Jesus. This dislike to the Person of Jesus showed itself
plainly, when Magdalene anointed His sacred feet at Bethany. The
unbelief, irreverence, and callousness of Judas on this occasion
almost stun us.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>A
last cause-</b></span><span style="font-style: normal;">--- which,
however, was at work in all the other influences----- was the
influence and seduction of the devil, which grew more and more
powerful the more Judas gave way to unbelief and passion, and thus
it was that his diabolical resolution matured. Under these
circumstances Judas wished to see Jesus' plans thwarted and the
company of the Apostles dissolved, that he might be freed from his
trammels --- and he thought he might as well gain something by it
too, if possible.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: large; font-style: normal;">How
mean, cowardly, and disgraceful this act of Judas --- he, an
apostle, a friend of Jesus, a member of His family. Judas' conduct
meant no small slight shame, and no small pain to the tender loving
heart of our Lord --- and Judas took this step quite of his own
accord. He hastens to the Priests himself, and asks, in the most
shameless and unblushing manner, what they will give him for his
treachery. Judas knew well the men he had to deal with, and
promised to deliver our Lord --- Jesus, his Master --- his
Benefactor, Lord --- his God and greatest good--- into their hands.
And for what? For thirty pieces of silver --- the price paid for
killing a slave! And to whom does Judas sell his God? To His worst
and most bitter enemies who lie in wait to devour Him. Judas
delivers our Lord to all the tortures of His Passion and Death.
Self-interest, avarice, ingratitude, cowardice, faithlessness,
hard-heartedness, and cruelty are all included in this act of
Judas. And oh, what pain, what deep humiliation, it brought to our
dear Lord and Saviour!</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: large; font-style: normal;">Here
we have serious matter for reflection --- we must get to know
ourselves. Self-knowledge is a most necessary step to the
knowledge and love of Jesus --- no one is safe until well-grounded
in self-knowledge. If Judas had known his own evil nature, he might
have been saved. He would have distrusted and dreaded himself, and
clung to Jesus who would have saved him, for He loved Judas and
called him to be His disciple with the sole view of saving him.
But Judas used his free -will to thwart the tender, merciful
designs of Jesus--- and no one will be saved against his will.
What a terrible lesson is here given!</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: large; font-style: normal;">Like
Judas, we too have our evil dispositions --- our weaknesses,
which, unless known and fought against, will lead to very serious
consequences.</span></span></p>
</ol>
</ol>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">
What have I to say to my Divine Master? What grace to ask? What
thanksgiving to make? What reparation, sympathy, and love to
offer to the loving, patient Heart of Jesus? O most sweet Jesus,
what is there for me outside Thee? Or what do I desire upon earth
but Thee? God of my heart, Thou art my love. Thou art my
blessedness. Thee alone shall I serve. I entreat Thee, O Lord,
suffer nothing which is not Thine in my heart; if there be anything
there in opposition to Thy most Holy Will, pluck it out even
against my will. Keep Thy hand on me, dear Jesus my Lord and my
God, lest I, too, like Thy faithless disciple, betray Thee. I wish
Thee alone to possess my whole heart. </span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Thou art my Father, my last
End. O sweet Jesus, fountain of love and grace, rouse me, help me
to </span><span>understand
how sinful and ungrateful I have been to Thee. Have pity on me,
Lord Jesus, have pity on me according to the mercy of Thy loving
Heart. The thought that I can yet be made holy, that I can yet
become a true and loyal disciple of Thy Heart, encourages me.
Help me, O Jesus most merciful, help me, give me courage; behold,
dear Lord, now I begin! O Mother, I have need of thee!</span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<b> III</b></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b>THE
ENEMIES OF JESUS IMMEDIATELY DECIDE TO KILL HIM</b></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>“And
they consulted together how they might apprehend Jesus and put Him
to death” (Matt.xxvi. 4)</b></i></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Judas'
proposal was just what the enemies of our Lord desired. They are
very pleased to find a traitor amongst His chosen disciples; this
circumstance lowered the opinion they had of our Lord. They decided
at once to act and proceed to extreme measures. Judas was now bound
to help them. He did so, and tried to find an opportunity to make
our Lord fall into His enemies' hands quietly and without attracting
attention. So he followed Jesus, like a thief, dogging His
footsteps, spying out all He did, and informing His enemies of
everything ----- all the time simulating fidelity, sympathy,
readiness to oblige, and the most cordial friendship. Thus our Lord
had in very truth, the devil at His side. Jesus read Judas' heart
---- knew everything ---- and endured all without complaint, in
spite of His repugnance. He tried to warn Judas --- to win him ---
and offers all He suffers in this particular suffering of heart, for
those who will in future ages have to suffer ingratitude,
faithlessness, and treachery on the part of friends and relatives.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> The
prophets have described to us the emotions of Jesus' Heart at this
time: </span>
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i><b>If
my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with it. And if he
that hated</b></i> <i><b>me had spoken great things against me, I
would have perhaps hidden myself from him. But thou a man of one
mind, my guide and my familiar, who didst take</b></i> <i><b>sweetmeats
together with me: in the house of God we walked with consent.</b></i>
The threads of the cruel plot are spun, the tragedy is about to
begin. The prophecies of Jesus and the counsels of God are
fulfilled, and our Lord's enemies are the instruments to carry them
out. The type foreshown in the Paschal Lamb must be fulfilled; with
what calm majesty our Lord sees this terrible fulfilment approaching </span><span>and
becoming a reality! </span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Jesus, my Blessed Master, strengthen my will to
embrace firmly and lovingly the cross in whatever shape Thy
Providence provides and deems it necessary to make me Thy true and
devoted servant and companion.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Who
can understand Judas? Who does not look with horror on his crime,
his base treachery? Can this accursed tool be an Apostle? The sight
of this unhappy disciple a traitor, an apostate, at the side of Jesus
is surely calculated to fill us with <b style="font-style: normal;">(1)</b> the fear of God; and<b style="font-style: normal;">
(2)</b> with distrust of ourselves; <b style="font-style: normal;">(3) </b>to strengthen us in
the resolution to avoid all dangerous occasions of sin or
unfaithfulness to a vocation; <b style="font-style: normal;">(4)</b> to make us persevere in
humble prayer, and in exact observance of our Catholic duties; <b style="font-style: normal;">(5)</b>
to urge us to overcome our evil passions and inordinate inclinations
by generous self-conquest. If we neglect the mortification of our
evil tendencies, we have much reason to fear --- for we are capable
of anything --- no sin, no meanness, is beyond the range of
possibility for us. Our safety lies in humble, close companionship
with our Lord and our Immaculate Mother --- near her we shall be true
to Jesus. At any cost we must root out inordinate inclinations ---
“<i><b>Blessed is he who understands what it is to love Jesus and to
despise himself for the love of Jesus!”</b></i></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> <i><b>Colloquy.</b></i>
--- With the suffering Heart of Jesus. Pray to be faithful under
every circumstance --- “ <i><b>to give and not to count the cost</b></i>”.
Love is proved by deeds, therefore let nothing come between me and
my Divine Master. In difficulties, desolation, failures,
temptations, <b>“</b><i><b>stand by our Lord</b></i>” --- cling
to Him. O my dear Jesus, how wretchedly unfaithful I have been to
Thee! Pardon me, I entreat Thee, ah, pardon all my ingratitude, all
the evil I have done --- give me grace, O Jesus, Saviour, </span><span>to
redeem lost time and repair the past. </span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Enkindle my heart with that
fire of love with which Thy Heart is burning. This most hallowed
flame will utterly destroy my offences, and urge me to be prompt and
diligent in Thy holy service. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in
Thy love for me. </span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Take, Lord, take and receive my entire liberty, all
that I have, all that I am, ----</span><i> </i><i><b>everything</b></i><i>.
</i><span>Give me Thy love and Thy grace and I am rich enough --- I have
nothing more to ask. O my Mother, I have need of thee --- Mother,
give me to Jesus ---O Mary, be propitious to me.</span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> (to be continued)</span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ack. 'Meditation on the Passion' - Rev. Reginald Walsh O.P.</span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> ***********************</span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-40385232230475769272021-01-08T09:01:00.002-08:002021-01-08T09:09:13.000-08:00Important update regarding Covid-19 vaccines, made or tested using cell lines from aborted foetuses<p> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Friday, 8 January 2021</span></p><div class="date-outer" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 15px; position: relative;"><div class="date-posts" style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); clear: both; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 8px 15px 0px;"><div class="post-outer" style="border-bottom: none; border-top: none; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 0px 15px 10px;"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><a name="358530858879020391"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="https://whitesmokeahoy.blogspot.com/2021/01/important-clarification-regarding-covid.html" style="color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: none;">Important clarification regarding Covid-19 vaccines, made or tested using cell lines from aborted foetuses.</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-358530858879020391" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The following article appeared today on the web-site <b><i>'Abyssa Abyssum Invocat',</i></b> the article itself being reproduced from the<b><i> 'Children of God for Life' </i></b>website, which deals in depth with the question of the currently available Covid-19 vaccines, made or tested using cell lines from aborted foetuses. There has been much confusion about the moral legitimacy or other-wise, of these vaccines, and this article considers all known facts concerning the individual vaccines, and includes in detail the official teaching of the Catholic Church on this matter. The 'Children of God for Life' is a highly respected Catholic authoritative voice, with many years experience, on all matters appertaining to the ethical practice of pharmaceutical companies in relation to the manufacture of their products, especially as to whether and to what degree they are manufactured or tested using cell lines from aborted foetuses. The article is comprehensive and quite long, but clear and understandable in its conclusions, and offers a sound foundation on which to base our moral decisions on these matters. Strongly recommended.</span></p><p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 6pt;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">New post on <strong>Children of God for Life</strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2585b2;"><a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcogforlife.org%2F2021%2F01%2F07%2Fcovid-19-vaccine-hek293-testing-and-production-are-ethically-equal%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842435530%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=teBF6Mom5YK7xvJwEvypvzD1QT51msWM0hH8UDqMFs8%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">COVID-19 Vaccine & HEK293: Testing and Production are Ethically Equal</a> </span>by <span style="color: #2585b2;"><a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcogforlife.org%2F%3Fauthor%3D7&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842445519%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=brPJrm9JeqmVSCcZyg2u5Ws30AABl2idO1XRtrHGSEI%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Stacy Trasancos</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The phrase “confirmatory testing” has been invoked as the basis for the ethical consideration of the three lead COVID-19 vaccines, Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca. Moderna and Pfizer are considered more morally permissible because their connection to abortion is very remote since they only used an aborted fetal cell line in something called “a confirmatory test.” AstraZeneca, in contrast, grows the vaccine in fetal cell lines in an ongoing way, and moral theologians say it should be avoided in favor of Moderna or Pfizer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This critical phrase, “confirmatory test,” is due for an examination. I will argue that testing and production are ethically equal if the testing is ongoing. The purpose of this argument is to put aside the COVID-19 ethical debates and unite as one voice to call for an end to the use of aborted children in research.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Point 1</b>: "Remote cooperation in evil" is not a new term. To quickly review the ethics, the moral liceity of using vaccines produced in fetal cell lines is not a new judgment. The <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcogforlife.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2Fvaticanresponse1.pdf&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842445519%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=t0fsM3U%2F%2B7nvHa%2F8cSw9rh%2Btk1SF7tGIO8MHV6F5ZAA%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Pontifical Academy for Life</span></a> in 2005, and three years later in 2008 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in its “Instruction <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vatican.va%2Froman_curia%2Fcongregations%2Fcfaith%2Fdocuments%2Frc_con_cfaith_doc_20081208_dignitas-personae_en.html&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842455513%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=oCFjpjG9N4ljZ0qDr3c%2ByN6I6a0Xs5Ubj9HmpuaUNJY%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em><span style="color: #2585b2;">Dignitas Personae</span></em></a> on Certain Bioethical Questions,” provided guidelines for Catholics on the permissibility of receiving vaccines whose origins are connected with cells coming from an aborted child. Such vaccines were deemed morally <em>illicit</em>, but their use is morally <em>licit</em> in certain situations because the patient's use is only "remote cooperation in evil." It is not, after all, the fault of the patient that researchers, industries, and government provide no alternative. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Permission for using unethically produced vaccines comes with obligations, however. Use is only licit if:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1) the need to protect individuals and populations is grave,<br />2) there is no alternative,<br />3) we continue to reject the evil of abortion and the use of aborted children in research. Parents and doctors have been operating under these guidelines for several decades. At both an individual and a social level, it is difficult to, on one hand, accept the vaccines while, on the other hand, reject them. At the individual level, the faithful must exercise prudential judgment. Just like the Church does not dictate whom to marry or how many children to raise, the Church provides moral guidance on vaccines. <em>We all must make our own decision</em>. To do that about vaccines, we need good scientific information too. At a social level, it is undeniably harder to make the case against abortion and the use of aborted children in research when moral theologians have made it known that benefiting from these practices can be morally licit</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>.Point 2</b>: Moral assessment depends on accurate information.To navigate the morality of novel situations in challenging times, accurate information is necessary. A review of the science seems warranted, especially since so much information has been circulating and we now have some benefit of hindsight. Traditional attenuated virus vaccines are grown in cells. Much like a seed needs soil to grow, the weakened form of the viruses for vaccines need a medium to grow. Vaccines that are grown in HEK293, or any other abortion-derived cells, are morally illicit. HEK293 cells are a cell line derived from a healthy aborted child in the 1970s. The cells were cultured by scientist Alex Van der Eb and Frank Graham in their lab at the University of Leiden, Holland. The <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hek293.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842455513%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=3C66rbTPde8eVeyeWem9ymVRaPc%2BNUnvgJYSTzMdRZ0%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">name</span></a> HEK stands for “human embryonic kidney,” the 293rd experiment. It is worth noting that these were not early embryos as we use the word today but what we now identify as fetuses. The aborted child had to be old enough for the adrenal organs to have developed. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are new kinds of vaccines called mRNA vaccines. These are not grown in cells but synthesized as molecules. The mRNA is coated in a nanolipid and injected into the body where it synthesizes (expresses) the spike protein (an antigen). The immune system responds with antibodies. The spike protein is the part of the coronavirus that interacts with the body’s cells, so if the immune system builds up antibodies to the spike antigen, we are protected against the whole COVID-19 virus.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On August 5, 2020, the pre-clinical trials for the Moderna vaccine were published in the journal <em>Nature</em>, “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41586-020-2622-0_reference.pdf&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842455513%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=WA98Xj9XR6PgXKFGv50BKCw7Wy9WjXZoxJIZizxFEik%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine design enabled by prototype pathogen preparedness</span></a>.” The team of researchers described testing protocols. According to the methods section, the <em>in vitro</em> mRNA expression lab tests were done by transiently transfecting (introducing) HEK293 cells with mRNA that encodes for the spike protein. They did this test to see if the mRNA would make the spike protein in the cells like it is supposed to do in the body. The team also tested the vaccine on mice and demonstrated that it induced antibodies against COVID-19 infection .Likewise, on September 8, 2020, Pfizer’s team published their pre-clinical trials, “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.biorxiv.org%2Fcontent%2F10.1101%2F2020.09.08.280818v1.full.pdf&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842465512%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=U9Gt5ePJaG85G0G%2BdpGVJHUrKYjnYTO%2FPkY2rJfrFPc%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">A prefusion SARS-CoV-2 spike RNA vaccine is highly immunogenic and prevents lung infection in non-human primates</span></a>.” They also reported results from <em>in vitro</em> mRNA expression lab tests. The mRNA molecule was incubated in HEK293 cells followed by structural characterization of the expressed protein. Tests in rhesus macaques and mice were also successful .Both Moderna and Pfizer, then, claim to use HEK293 in <em>in vitro</em> lab testing for their vaccines.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Point 3:</b> Focus on "confirmatory testing" derailed the ethics. The <em>in vitro</em> testing was ignored for the most part. Back in May of 2020, the Charlotte Lozier Institute had claimed that both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines are “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flozierinstitute.org%2Fan-ethics-assessment-of-covid-19-vaccine-programs%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842465512%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Oqr3zzmlWTeREGCg4gKIZPYT19qOoD0YXcfZMnkDY6I%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">ethically uncontroversial</span></a>” because they do not use fetal cell lines. An mRNA vaccine is not grown in cells like traditional vaccines are, so it seemed at the time, perhaps, that the ethical issue had been avoided. At the end of September, nearly two months after the Moderna report and one month after the Pfizer (mentioned above), Charlotte Lozier updated their summary to say that Moderna and Pfizer use the HEK293 fetal cell line in research and something called “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flozierinstitute.org%2Fupdate-covid-19-vaccine-candidates-and-abortion-derived-cell-lines%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842475508%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=uLnbYVPg8%2BVWmzoyf%2BIE8tO7mNJU50AZpNy6enQohAY%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">confirmatory testing</span></a>.” This term was not, at that time, defined in terms of exactly what the researchers were doing in the laboratory. Unfortunately the term was interpreted by Catholic scientists, bioethicists, and theologians as a <em>one-time test</em>, which was taken to mean that the connection to abortion was doubly or triply remote because not only did the vaccine not touch the cells, it was not produced in the fetal cell line in an ongoing way. By mid-November as the phase III trials were completed on thousands of people, the message spread rapidly that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine pose no ethical issues, again, without any specific definition of the meaning of “confirmatory test.” Meanwhile Moderna’s stock went from $67 per share on October 30 to $170 by December 8, 2020.To be clear, it is not apparent whether there is any causation to this correlation, but this much is a fact of history now. The bioethicists, moral theologians, and clergy did not question the meaning of this phrase "confirmatory testing" as the message spread widely that these vaccines are ethically uncontroversial. It began as reports of successful phase III trials for Moderna were published on November 16. Wesley J. Smith of the Discovery Institute wrote at <em>National Review</em> that “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalreview.com%2Fcorner%2Fmoderna-covid-vaccine-did-not-use-fetal-cells%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842475508%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=GjVBZHdU%2BgIaDgwxyhfx5lBXuCBzpB3UtRfTvob2ktM%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Moderna COVID Vaccine Did Not Use Fetal Cells</span></a>,” citing the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute. On November 17, Dr. John Brehany, director of institutional relations at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), was quoted by the Catholic News Agency in “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicnewsagency.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-ethics-of-modernas-coronavirus-vaccine-80858&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842485501%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=nCdnhNeRq7IONJNk5WX%2F8GRqKzH7gcZxbzHDne9ptQI%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">The ethics of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine</span></a>” as saying that while Moderna has some association with the use of cell lines from elective abortions, “its vaccine was not produced using HEK293 cells.” On November 18, Zelda Caldwell wrote at Aleteia that “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faleteia.org%2F2020%2F11%2F18%2Fboth-moderna-and-pfizers-coronavirus-vaccines-made-without-fetal-cells%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842485501%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=lmPBaFLXzq6G%2FkVcHVJrrctscFO6hjavlALuoF%2FVphY%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Both Moderna and Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccines were made without fetal cells</span></a>,” again citing the Charlotte Lozier Institute. The author stated, “Unlike some other vaccines in development, both vaccines were made without the use of fetal cells, or for that matter, any cells at all.” On November 22, Public Discourse, the journal of the Witherspoon Institute founded by Ryan Anderson, published an article by Fr. Matthew Schneider, “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thepublicdiscourse.com%2F2020%2F11%2F72866%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842495498%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=1KRu0lEHgBL7E7w82HCNAPEfq8XH%2BMYgy1GFzxdGq6M%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Vaccines and Doubly Remote Cooperation in Evil</span></a>,” claiming that “both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines seem to pose no significant moral concern.” Fr. Schneider cited the Charlotte Lozier Institute stating that the difference between production and testing provides another level of remoteness. If HEK293 is used in testing, he reasoned, it is not morally problematic because “a test is done once and is already completed by the time you get vaccinated.” Many more authors commented from there, too many to list. The NCBC published a statement on December 8 titled “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublic-api.wordpress.com%2Fbar%2F%3Fstat%3Dgroovemails-events%26bin%3Dwpcom_email_click%26redirect_to%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fabyssum.files.wordpress.com%252F2021%252F01%252F374c2-ncbcvaccinestatementfinal.pdf%26sr%3D1%26signature%3D5e2d7080c58b2ce38be81ccc3c142f6a%26user%3D9d36d326b48df36c6c44978aa8500f72%26_e%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%2FX2VudmVsb3BlPTEmZW52aXJvbm1lbnQtaWQ9cHJvZHVjdGlvbiZfZ3V0ZW5iZXJnX25vbmNlPWVjZTRlNWIwYWQmX2xvY2FsZT11c2VyIiwiX2VuIjoid3Bjb21fZW1haWxfY2xpY2siLCJfdHMiOjE2MTAwNzA5ODIzOTMsImJyb3dzZXJfdHlwZSI6InBocC1hZ2VudCIsIl9hdWEiOiJ3cGNvbS10cmFja3MtY2xpZW50LXYwLjMiLCJfdWwiOm51bGwsImJsb2dfdHoiOiItNiIsInVzZXJfbGFuZyI6bnVsbH0%26_z%3Dz&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842495498%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=n1NQAKtPshmNN9d10Y5U8tfwCAxcB1PRvwoWNCK0KL4%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Points to Consider on the Use of COVID-19 Vaccines</span></a>.” The language was repeated, saying that these two vaccines “do not use abortion derived cell lines in the manufacturing process but did use them at one point in development, such as for confirmatory testing.” NCBC said they are “preferable to those that utilize abortion-derived cell lines in more than one phase of development and, in particular, in the manufacturing process .”This message spread throughout the United States and even to the Vatican. <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcruxnow.com%2Fvatican%2F2020%2F12%2Fvatican-will-offer-pfizer-vaccine-against-covid-19-to-employees%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842505490%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=U%2BPOqJsiig5ExSxaqaA5vjTmkoJbkZqHl%2F4FxUrPucs%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Crux reported</span></a>: “The Pontifical Academy for Life and Catholic bishops around the world, including the chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ doctrine and pro-life committees, have said it is not immoral to be vaccinated with vaccines like the Pfizer/BioNTech product because any connection they have to aborted fetuses is extremely remote. Such cells derived from those fetuses were used only in a testing phase but not in the production phase.” On December 11, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a statement, “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usccb.org%2Fmoral-considerations-covid-vaccines&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842505490%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=uXQsv2H2qrYhbXpf4hqw1u6XlFLH60ab1r9hrr3fle0%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Moral Considerations Regarding the New COVID-19 Vaccines</span></a>,” echoing the idea that some pharmaceutical companies are “making use of a morally compromised cell line only for a confirmatory test of the vaccine’s efficacy.” The language was repeated in <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arlingtondiocese.org%2Fpress-releases%2F2020%2Fusccb--u-s--bishop-chairmen-for-pro-life-and-doctrine-address-ethical-concerns--on-the-new-covid-19-vaccines%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842515480%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=AEjfHv0FX2mqCssAs8AaGJ0%2FY2ONfe1FHNh4cQfkJS4%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">diocese</span></a> after <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faustindiocese.org%2Fpastoral-message-to-the-faithful-regarding-recently-released-vaccines-for-covid-19&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842515480%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=%2FCzK1NpkuWZO8JLyauQWw6uudgfF1xZoT9Ntgofo2DM%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">diocese</span></a> after <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msn.com%2Fen-us%2Fnews%2Fus%2Fdiocese-of-phoenix-says-only-2-covid-19-vaccines-are-morally-acceptable%2Far-BB1c2EDq%3Focid%3Duxbndlbing&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842525475%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=WBM3XZRyOKJwYQrsS4Ptx3uNwiTjgvCQF54YMW%2BlyaQ%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">diocese</span></a> (<em>etcetera</em>) as encouragement to use the Moderna or Pfizer instead of other vaccines grown in fetal cell lines spread. The bishops found the AstraZeneca vaccine to be “more morally compromised” and consequently concluded that this vaccine “should be avoided” if there are alternatives available .At a time when Catholics should have been united with one voice demanding that the market provide ethically produced vaccines, we instead missed the moment to effectively protest.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Point 4: </b><em>Ongoing</em> quality control testing is the determining factor. So, what kind of testing is done <em>during production</em>? That is the critical question relevant to the moral assessment. The answer is: we do not know, but we can look in the scientific reports linked above for an idea. The <em>in vitro</em> lab tests described in both Moderna’s and Pfizer’s pre-clinical trial reports were <em>not ever claimed to be a one-time confirmatory test</em>, not even by the companies themselves. No one used that language except the Charlotte Lozier Institute and those who referenced them. Typically, in research and development, scientists use pure knowledge gained from the scientific method (research) and apply it to solve problems. Once a potential product has been identified, work to bring the product to market (development) begins. If that is successful, the goal is then to figure out how to scale up the lab synthesis to a manufacturing facility, the same way a cook scales up a recipe to feed a crowd. Small problems are magnified when you go from feeding four to feeding four hundred, and they need their own solutions .For the mRNA vaccines, it only makes sense that the <em>in vitro</em> lab test (described above) would also become an essential part of the production process for ensuring the vaccine is produced as it was designed in the laboratory, especially a development that was as rushed as the COVID-19 vaccines to distribute globally. In manufacturing, this production testing is commonly known as quality control (QC) testing. Even bottling water requires strict quality control testing. Therefore, when an R&D project is scaled up to production, it is standard practice to migrate the same lab tests from research and development to quality control. That is, simply, how the scientists and engineers know they are making the same product as designed in the lab. Quality control testing is not separate from, or ancillary to, production; to repeat, <em>it is essential to production</em>, a mature applied science unto itself, existential to manufacturing. Imagine the consequences if a pharmaceutical company started producing vaccines without ongoing testing! The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fvaccines%2Fhcp%2Fconversations%2Fensuring-safe-vaccines.html&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842525475%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=YIR5JPgkQFsw20PHqmKM7VaON6RoGaZWvfoaZFGEzyA%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">explains how a new vaccine is developed</span></a> and approved for manufacturing. Moderna’s and Pfizer’s pre-clinical trials follow the plan. Vaccine development is done in the laboratory before tests are done on animals and then humans. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also must approve manufacturing to make sure they comply with the “<a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fda.gov%2Fdrugs%2Fpharmaceutical-quality-resources%2Ffacts-about-current-good-manufacturing-practices-cgmps&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842535469%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=OUBM9HDQMzLNYK3qdTMzWRdHcFGr%2B1t2ltuB%2B8%2FXcwA%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Current Good Manufacturing Practice</span></a>” regulations. The FDA regulates the quality of pharmaceuticals very carefully because batches of medicines must meet quality standards to ensure safety and effectiveness. Quality control testing is key. The new vaccines for COVID-19 are being rushed to production under an emergency approval process, so we do not know what the licensed manufacturing plan will be. Since the HEK293 cell line is used in the <em>in vitro</em> lab test, it stands to reason that it is part of the production process to ensure the mRNA is synthesized and performs as expected. Some bioethicists have argued that the remoteness lies in the fact that the vaccine injected into the body does not contain fetal cells or touch fetal cells, but this is irrelevant to the ethical question. The determining criteria is <em>whether the aborted fetal cell line is used in ongoing production </em>.Hence: Quality control testing and production are ethically equal. To summarize, if the <em>in vitro</em> lab test is part of the production manufacturing protocol, and it almost certainly is, then the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are no different ethically than the AstraZeneca vaccine or any other vaccine grown in fetal cell lines. In both cases, the production of the vaccine depends on the ongoing use of the illicit fetal cell line. To accept the vaccine means accepting the continued use of cells originating from an aborted child. Given the <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FStacyTrasancos%2Fstatus%2F1339374826113396737&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842535469%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=FnMAybFg%2BNHn5tAY9KaaY6JlmEt92%2Bjebf%2B5oIt%2BbQA%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">horrifying way aborted children are still being butchered</span></a> for scientific research, we cannot be complacent. So: Stick with zero-tolerance of abortion .It is troubling that the moral assessment of the COVID-19 vaccines depended on the use of an ambiguous term. Such vagueness renders individual prudential judgement impossible. More so, it has cost us in the effort for social change toward the sanctity of life How will Catholics effectively protest the use of aborted children in research when industry, university, and government officials know that Church leaders will deem it morally licit for the 77 million US Catholics to benefit from such research without much of a critical assessment? There is a solution though .When I was a home-schooling mom, we had a saying among us about evil. We used it when our kids wanted to argue that a little wrong should be okay. "It's like poop in brownies," we saliently said. "If I baked you a pan of brownies and told you that I accidently got some of the baby's poop in the mix while stirring the batter, would you eat a brownie from the pan? "Obviously, no. It does not matter if there is the tiniest smudge of poop, or if there is one or two bigger chunks, nobody is having it. In the professional realm, we call this "zero-tolerance." A company that has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse, for example, is not going to engage in a debate about whether one case of employee abuse is acceptable while two or three would cross a line. <em>None</em> of it is acceptable. To bring this idea into the COVID-19 vaccine and aborted fetal cell line debate, I propose that the pro-life community get back zero-tolerance of the evil of abortion. We should stop arguing about whether testing is better than production and specifically demand that all testing and production be ethically performed. And then we should focus our energy on demanding an end to the use of aborted children in research and an end to abortion absolutely. As the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith instruct, that should have been the guiding principle all along .<em><b>Stacy Trasancos</b></em><em> is executive director of St. Philip Institute, chief research officer of Children of God for Life. She was senior research chemist at DuPont, has a PhD in chemistry, MA in dogmatic theology, and seven children .</em><strong><a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcogforlife.org%2F%3Fauthor%3D7&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842535469%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Z2VTS4Y9sQFZzds2v0ojroyrTAORU9%2Bz7mLLmVGQEyY%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">Stacy Trasancos</span></a></strong> | January 7, 2021 at 5:28 pm | URL: <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp2ogdv-4Yv&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cac57a866318c43bacd9f08d8b37899cc%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637456677842545462%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=y5ija6CCKgYBKvLc0WCIMUDcNt5BHcWEmea9aFp8UUc%3D&reserved=0" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2585b2;">https://wp.me/p2ogdv-4Yv</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">With grateful acknowledgement to 'Children of God for Life' and 'Abyssa Abyssum Invocat'</span></i></b></p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="line-height: 1.6; margin: 1.5em 0px 0px;"><div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-1"><span class="post-author vcard" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1em;">Posted by <span class="fn" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><a class="g-profile" data-gapiattached="true" data-gapiscan="true" data-onload="true" href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909" rel="author" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" title="author profile"><span itemprop="name">umblepie</span> </a></span></span><span class="post-timestamp" style="margin-left: -1em; margin-right: 1em;">at <a class="timestamp-link" href="https://whitesmokeahoy.blogspot.com/2021/01/important-clarification-regarding-covid.html" rel="bookmark" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" itemprop="datePublished" style="border: none;" title="2021-01-08T16:47:00Z">16:47</abbr></a> </span><span class="reaction-buttons" style="margin-right: 1em;"></span><span class="post-comment-link" style="margin-right: 1em;"><a class="comment-link" href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7088605398483604077&postID=358530858879020391" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap;">No comments: </a></span><span class="post-icons" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-465760206" style="display: inline;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7088605398483604077&postID=358530858879020391&from=pencil" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Edit Post"><img alt="" class="icon-action" height="18" src="https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none !important; border-width: initial; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5em !important; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" width="18" /> </a></span></span><div class="post-share-buttons goog-inline-block" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;"></div></div><div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-2"><span class="post-labels" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;">Labels: <a href="https://whitesmokeahoy.blogspot.com/search/label/Important%20clarification%20regarding%20Covid-19%20vaccines" rel="tag" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;">Important clarification regarding Covid-19 vaccines</a>, <a href="https://whitesmokeahoy.blogspot.com/search/label/made%20or%20tested%20using%20cell%20lines%20from%20aborted%20foetuses" rel="tag" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration-line: none;">made or tested using cell lines from aborted foetuses</a></span></div><div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-3"><span class="post-location" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="date-outer" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 30px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 15px; position: relative;"><h2 class="date-header" style="background: none left top no-repeat scroll transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-top: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); bottom: 100%; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px -15px 1px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; right: 15px;"><span style="border-left: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); display: block; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; padding: 0.5em 15px;"><br /></span></h2></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-18591767701133448632020-12-07T14:39:00.000-08:002020-12-07T14:39:49.642-08:00Covid - 19 Vaccine ---- ETHICAL OPTIONS<p> </p><h1 class="article__headline" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, serif; line-height: 56px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Measuring Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine: Now’s the Time to Press Hard for Ethical Options</span></h1><div class="article__lead" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 35.7px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Despite reports that Moderna’s vaccine has no connection to fetal cell lines from elective abortions, the creation of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine isn’t so morally clear cut.</span></p></div><figure class="article__featured" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; max-width: 720px;"><picture style="box-sizing: border-box;"><source media="(max-width: 680px)" srcset="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20201120131148_b0d101f626cfcd61e1edfa74d164252f3940df7cd7b3fa2bb3b98cd60d9bdf7e.webp" style="box-sizing: border-box;" type="image/webp"></source><source media="(max-width: 680px)" srcset="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20201120131148_b0d101f626cfcd61e1edfa74d164252f3940df7cd7b3fa2bb3b98cd60d9bdf7e.jpeg" style="box-sizing: border-box;" type="image/jpeg"></source><source media="(min-width: 681px)" srcset="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20201120131148_bb5e0c558e82328b3721e4a0a0e013d244f52db4daa0c65d38c1ac9410752597.webp" style="box-sizing: border-box;" type="image/webp"></source><source media="(min-width: 681px)" srcset="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20201120131148_bb5e0c558e82328b3721e4a0a0e013d244f52db4daa0c65d38c1ac9410752597.jpeg" style="box-sizing: border-box;" type="image/jpeg"></source><img alt="A new vaccine that protects against COVID-19 is nearly 95% effective, early data from company Moderna shows." src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20201120131148_bb5e0c558e82328b3721e4a0a0e013d244f52db4daa0c65d38c1ac9410752597.jpeg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 720px;" title="A new vaccine that protects against COVID-19 is nearly 95% effective, early data from company Moderna shows." /></picture><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; font-size: 1.6rem;">A new vaccine that protects against COVID-19 is nearly 95% effective, early data from company Moderna shows. (photo: Justin Tallis)</figcaption></figure><div class="articleMetadata marginTop30" style="align-items: center; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 1.3rem; line-height: 23.4px; margin-top: 30px;"><span class="articleMetadata__byline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #b72025;">Stacy Trasancos </span><span class="articleMetadata__section" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/section/nation" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">Nation</a> </span><time class="articleMetadata__info" datetime="2020-11-20T12:48:48+00:00" style="box-sizing: border-box;">November 20, 2020</time></div><div class="article__text" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin-top: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">TYLER, Texas — Because there are differing claims about the ethics of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, some clarifications need to be made, especially since phase III trials are concluding. What Catholics are willing to accept as ethical, despite unethical associations, for the first COVID-19 vaccines released publicly could influence the availability of more ethically sound options going forward. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Bishop Joseph Strickland in the Diocese of Tyler, who is known for his straight talk and defense of the faith, tweeted on Nov. 16: “Moderna vaccine is not morally produced. Unborn children died in abortions and then their bodies were used as ‘laboratory specimens.’ I urge all who believe in the sanctity of life to reject a vaccine which has been produced immorally.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">On Nov. 17, a Catholic News Agency (CNA) article <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-ethics-of-modernas-coronavirus-vaccine-80858" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">compared</a> Bishop Strickland’s position to that of bioethicists at the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) and the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC). </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">CLI lists the Moderna vaccine as “<a href="https://lozierinstitute.org/an-ethics-assessment-of-covid-19-vaccine-programs/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">ethically uncontroversial</a>,” a category they describe as having no connection to the use of cells from electively aborted fetuses. Dr. John Brehany, director of institutional relations at NCBC, told CNA that while Moderna “has some association with the use of cell lines from elective abortions, it is not responsible for that use, and its vaccine was not produced using HEK293 cells.” </p><div class="inBodyAd marginBottom30" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px;"><div id="NCR_EN_Article_A" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">The HEK293 referenced by Dr. Brehany is a fetal cell line derived from an aborted fetus in the 1970s. The claim that Moderna did not use HEK293 to produce the COVID-19 vaccine does not seem to line up with other available information. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Moderna’s vaccine is not a traditional vaccine that injects an attenuated or dead form of the virus into the body to trigger an immune response. Instead, scientists used the genetic sequence of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, to isolate the code for the spike protein and encode instructions for making it in an mRNA molecule. The spike protein is the part of the coronavirus that attaches to human immune cells. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Working together, scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Moderna identified the sequence for the spike protein. (See explanation by Moderna <a href="https://youtu.be/qJlP91xjvsQ" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">here</a>.) According to their jointly published <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2622-0" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">pre-clinical study</a> in <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nature</i> journal from August 2020, HEK293 cells were used for spike protein and mRNA expression to develop and test the vaccine. The report is posted on Moderna’s <a href="https://www.modernatx.com/newsroom/publications" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">website</a>. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">There are 64 authors on the research team: 30 from NIAID, 18 from Moderna, nine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and seven more total from Vanderbilt University, the University of Texas at Austin, and George Washington University. The scientific report says that the lead researchers from Moderna, NIAID, and UNC contributed equally to the research. The team successfully demonstrated that the mRNA vaccine induced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lungs and nose of mice.</p><div class="inBodyAd marginBottom30" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px;"><div id="NCR_EN_Article_B" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">This mRNA, in this case, is the vaccine. It is injected into the body via a lipid nanoparticle delivery system. Once in the body, the mRNA is expressed as the spike protein, and the body responds by generating antibodies against the spike, which therefore protects the person from coronavirus infection. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">In a <a href="http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,583,203.PN.&OS=PN/10,583,203&RS=PN/10,583,203" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">patent</a> Moderna filed in 2019 presenting similar technology with mRNA, they repeatedly describe the use of HEK293 cells, including in the development of the lipid nanoparticle delivery system. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">So, the claim that Moderna’s vaccine is “ethically uncontroversial” because it has no connection to unethically derived materials does not seem to be supported as both the development of the spike protein sequence, the mRNA expression in testing, and the lipid nanoparticle delivery system are described as using the HEK293 cell line derived from an aborted fetus. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Instead of assigning this vaccine to a category that suggests no more caution is needed, I think it is better to slow down and look at the big picture. The COVID-19 vaccine is not a vaccine that was produced decades ago. We are not like the parents who sit in doctors’ offices accepting a morally tainted vaccine because there are no alternatives while voicing an objection that goes nowhere. Rather, we are talking about a vaccine currently <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">in development</i>, a vaccine that could be required for the entire population in a year’s time, a new kind of vaccine that has never gone to market before and will certainly undergo more testing and development. This means that we can’t passively accept the possibility of morally tainted work. We need to speak up loudly with clarity and courage about the ethics and insist upon an ethical option. It could redirect this entire issue towards the good.</p><div class="inBodyAd marginBottom30" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px;"><div id="NCR_EN_Article_C" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">In 2005, the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL), in response to Debra Vinnedge, Founder of Children of God for Life, <a href="https://cogforlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/vaticanresponse1.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">provided clarification</a> for parents confronted with childhood vaccines produced using fetal cell lines. Bioethicists today often cite this document as reluctant support for using unethically produced vaccines if there is no alternative. But that is not all the Vatican instructed. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">The document also said that vaccines produced “as a result of the use of biological material whose origin is connected with cells coming from foetuses voluntarily aborted” is morally illicit. This appears to apply to the Moderna vaccine. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">The PAL also notes that various cooperating agents can have different moral responsibilities, so a vaccine that was connected to fetal cell lines only in the early research and testing but not in the market production and quality control would be a better vaccine than one that used fetal cell lines in the ongoing production. This would not render the vaccine ethically uncontroversial, however, but it would be a step in the right direction.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">The PAL also said that producers of vaccines that relied on fetal cell lines have an obligation to “denounce and reject publicly the original immoral act (the voluntary abortion)” and to “dedicate themselves together to research and promote alternative ways, exempt from moral evil.” Moderna has issued no such statements.</p><div class="inBodyAd marginBottom30" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px;"><div id="NCR_EN_Article_D" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">The PAL also said that faithful citizens of upright conscience are obligated to oppose the use of fetal cell lines in vaccines. We must oppose attacks against life, which is exactly what Bishop Strickland is doing. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">This is not a time for equivocation. There is already too much confusion in our culture and in the Church. With the development of the COVID-19 vaccines currently ongoing now is the time to insist upon ethical options that respect the dignity of human life. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Bishop Strickland is right to declare that “unborn children died in abortions and then their bodies were used as laboratory specimens” when they were dissected for cells to grow into cell lines. He is right to “urge all who believe in the sanctity of life to reject a vaccine which has been produced immorally.” Bishop Strickland is speaking the truth: he is being clear and consistent in evaluating both Moderna’s claims and the Vatican’s guidance when he says that “Moderna vaccine is not morally produced.” He is concerned with building civilization and guarding the deposit of faith, as a bishop should be. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">The good news is that there are ethical COVID-19 vaccines in production, <a href="https://cogforlife.org/wp-content/uploads/CovidCompareMoralImmoral.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;">lots of them</a>. We must support those and keep our eyes on the long-term goal. We have a chance in this moment in history to demand ethical vaccines <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">as the norm</i> not the alternative if we stay vigilant.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/author/stacy-trasancos" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #015fb6; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Stacy Trasancos</i></a><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"> is the author of </i>Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"> published by Ave Maria Press. She has a PhD in chemistry and a MA in dogmatic theology, and she is the Executive Director of Bishop Strickland’s St. Philip Institute in Tyler, Texas.</i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i> </i><b><i> NB. See link below- 'children of God for life' for updated lists of moral/immoral covid - 19 vaccination choices.</i></b></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 30.6px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></i></p></div><ul class="article__keywords" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b72025; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; margin-right: 10px;"> </li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; margin-right: 10px;"><br /></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> acknowledgement to 'Children of God for Life'</i></b></span> - <a href="https://cogforlife.org/wp-content/uploads/CovidCompareMoralImmoral.pdf" style="font-size: 16px;">CovidCompareMoralImmoral.pdf (cogforlife.org)</a> - updated 5 December 2020</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-right: 10px;">also - ack. 'Catholic News Agency'</li></ul>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-5418985262939395412020-10-14T17:02:00.002-07:002020-10-15T14:34:07.931-07:00 'The Travellers in State' by G.K.Chesterton<p><br /></p><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span> <b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The Travellers in State</span></b><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The other day,
to my great astonishment, I caught a train; it was a train going into the
Eastern Counties, and I only just caught it. And while I was running along the
train (amid general admiration) I noticed that there were a quite peculiar and
unusual number of carriages marked ‘<b><i>Engaged</i></b>’. On five, six, seven,
eight, nine carriages was pasted the little notice: at five, six, seven, eight,
nine windows were big bland men staring out in the conscious pride of possession. Their bodies seemed more than usually
impenetrable, their faces more than usually placid. It could not be the Derby,
if only for the minor reasons that it was the opposite direction and the wrong
day. It could hardly be the King. It could hardly be the French President. For,
though these distinguished persons naturally like to be private for three
hours, they are at least public for three minutes. A crowd can gather to see
them step into the train; and there was no crowd here, or any police ceremonial.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Who were those
awful persons, who occupied more of the train than a bricklayer’s bean-feast,
and yet were more fastidious and delicate than the King’s own suite? Who were
these that were larger than a mob, yet more mysterious than a monarch? Was it
possible that instead of our Royal House visiting the Tsar, he was really
visiting us? Or does the House of Lords have a break-fast? I waited and
wondered until the train slowed down at some Station in the direction of
Cambridge. Then the large, impenetrable men got out, and after them got out the
distinguished holders of the engaged seats. They were all dressed decorously in
one colour, they had neatly cropped hair, and they were chained together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I looked across
the carriage at its only other occupant, and our eyes met. He was a small,
tired-looking man, and, as I afterwards learnt, a native of Cambridge; by the
look of him, some working tradesman there, such as a journeyman tailor or a
small clock-mender. In order to make
conversation I said I wondered where the convicts were going. His mouth
twitched with the instinctive irony of our poor, and he said; “I don’t s’pose they’re goin’ on an ‘oliday at the
seaside with little spades and pails.” I was naturally delighted, and, pursuing
the same vein of literary convention, I suggested that perhaps Dons were taken
down to Cambridge chained together like this.
And as he lived in Cambridge, and had seen several Dons, he was pleased
with such a scheme. Then when we had ceased to laugh, we suddenly became quite
silent; and the bleak, grey eyes of the little man grew sadder and emptier than
an open sea. I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same,
because all modern sophists are only sophists, and there is such a thing as
mankind. Then at last (and it fell in as exactly as the right last note of a
tune one is trying to remember) he said: “Well, I s’pose we ‘ave to do it.” And
in those three things, his first speech and his silence and his second speech,
there were all the three great fundamental facts of the English democracy, its
profound sense of humour, its profound sense of pathos, and its profound sense
of helplessness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">It cannot be too
often repeated that all real democracy is an attempt (like that of a jolly
hostess) to bring the shy people out.
For every practical purpose of a political state, for every practical
purpose of a tea-party, he that abases himself must be exalted. At a tea-party
it is equally obvious that he that exalteth himself must be abased, if possible
without bodily violence. Now people talk
of democracy as being coarse and turbulent:
it is a self-evident error in mere history. Aristocracy is the thing that is always coarse
and turbulent: for it means appealing to the self-confident people. Democracy
means appealing to the diffident people. Democracy means getting those people
to vote who would never have the cheek to govern: and (according to Christian
ethics) the precise people who ought to govern are the people who have not the cheek
to do it. There is a strong example of this truth in my friend in the
train. The only two types we hear of in
this argument about crime and punishment are two very rare and abnormal types.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">We hear of the
stark sentimentalist, who talks as if there were no problem at all; as if
physical kindness would cure everything; as if one need only pat Nero and
stroke Ivan the Terrible. This mere belief in bodily humanitarianism is not
sentimental; it is simply snobbish. For if comfort gives men virtue, the
comfortable classes ought to be virtuous – which is absurd. Then, again we do
hear of the yet weaker and more watery type of sentimentalist. I mean the
sentimentalist who says, with a sort of splutter, “Flog the brutes!” or who
tells you with innocent obscenity “what he would do” with a certain man –
always supposing the man’s hands were tied.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">This is the more
effeminate type of the two; but both are weak and unbalanced. And it is only
these two types, the sentimental humanitarian and the sentimental
brutalitarian, whom one hears in the modern babel. Yet you very rarely meet
either of them on a train. You never meet anyone else in a controversy. The man
you meet in a train is like this man that I met: he is emotionally decent, only
he is intellectually doubtful. So far
from luxuriating in the loathsome things that could be “done” to criminals, he
feels bitterly how much better it would be if nothing need be done. But
something must be done. “ I s’pose we ‘ave
to do it.” In short, he is simply a sane man, and of a sane man there is only
one safe definition. He is a man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy
in his head.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Now the real
difficulty of discussing decently this problem of the proper treatment of
criminals is that both parties discuss the matter without any direct human
feeling. The denouncers of wrong are as cold as the organisers of wrong.
Humanitarianism is as hard as inhumanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Let me take one
practical instance. I think the flogging arranged in our modern prisons is a
filthy torture; all its scientific paraphernalia, the photographing, the
medical attendance, prove that it goes to the last foul limit of the boot and
rack. The cat is simply the rack without any of its intellectual reasons.
Holding this view strongly, I open the ordinary humanitarian books or papers
and I find a phrase like this, “the lash is a relic of barbarism”. So is the
plough. So is the fishing net. So is the horn or the staff or the fire lit in
winter. What an inexpressively feeble phrase for anything one wants to attack –
a relic of barbarism! It is as if a man walked naked down the street tomorrow,
and we said that his clothes were not quite in the latest fashion. There is
nothing particularly nasty about being a relic of barbarism. Dancing is a relic
of barbarism. Man is a relic of barbarism. Civilisation is a relic of barbarism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">But torture is
not a relic of barbarism at all. In actuality it is simply a relic of sin; but
in comparative history it may well be called a relic of civilisation. It has
always been most artistic and elaborate when everything else was most artistic
and elaborate. Thus it was detailed and exquisite in the late Roman Empire, in
the complex and gorgeous sixteenth century, in the centralised French monarchy
a hundred years before the Revolution, and in the great Chinese civilisation to
this day. This is, first and last, the frightful thing we must remember. In so
far as we grow instructed and refined, we are not (in any sense whatever)
naturally moving away from torture. We may be moving towards torture. We must
know what we are doing, if we are to avoid the enormous secret cruelty which
has crowned every historic civilisation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The train moves
more swiftly through the sunny English fields. They have taken the prisoners
away, and I do not know what they have done with them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>G.K.Chesterton.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">(‘Tremendous
Trifles’- published 1909)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">It is interesting
that Chesterton wrote this short story more than one hundred years ago. His
prescience is startling when one considers the warning for our civilisation
today, a civilisation which has progressed enormously in many fields,
particularly technology and medicine, but in the process has become
unbelievably cruel to its own kind. The legitimisation of abortion throughout
the world, with millions of unborn babies denied their God-given right to life,
and cruelly murdered in their mother’s womb, will surely rank as the most
destructive cruelty, by far, of all ‘civilisations’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">May God forgive
us, we must work and pray for an end to this evil. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> “Lord
have mercy on us”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> **************************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span> <b>The Dog</b></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Grief for her
absent master in her wrought,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">So I in pity
took her out with me,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Though I would
fain have walked alone, to be<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Less hindered in
the current of my thought:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">And then I threw
her sticks for which she ran:-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Who would not
cheer a sorrow when he can?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">After some miles
we met at twilight pale<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">A neighbour of
her master’s passing by,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">And, with blythe
demonstration in her eye,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">She turned and
followed him along the vale.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">So I walked on,
companioned by the moon,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Well pleased
that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>even a casual form or feature<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Of the old times
was dearer to the creature<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Than <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the new friend of one bright afternoon.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><i><b>Rev. William
Faber<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>D.D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Poems)</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-88388144969067867802020-09-18T15:56:00.124-07:002020-09-20T08:19:20.040-07:00 'History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland' by William Cobbett (1763 - 1835)<span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i>
This is from a post published several years ago on a related blog ‘whitesmokeahoy’, with some additions, and I think worthy of repeat. </i></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XQMA7WLSGffjVmLXlmEhDHwC_quFDaT6bp2wIHo6bsPjJBxmUZAHKZhcxKfTlVfg71yLUSweoCN7SRY-XhyhCcgCmdF5-9HAhbkRKbC7k8rOX-LOGh-P8sxNhndAQJmfMPLJngrDYJ8/s600/458px-William_Cobbett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="458" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XQMA7WLSGffjVmLXlmEhDHwC_quFDaT6bp2wIHo6bsPjJBxmUZAHKZhcxKfTlVfg71yLUSweoCN7SRY-XhyhCcgCmdF5-9HAhbkRKbC7k8rOX-LOGh-P8sxNhndAQJmfMPLJngrDYJ8/w329-h400/458px-William_Cobbett.jpg" width="329" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <b> William Cobbett M.P. (1763-1835)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> "Now, my friends, a fair and honest inquiry will teach us that this (“Reformation<b>”</b>) was an alteration greatly for the worse; that the <i><b>“Reformation,</b>”</i> as it is called was engendered in lust, brought forth in hypocrisy and perfidy, and cherished and fed by plunder, devastation, and by rivers of innocent English and Irish blood; and that as to its more remote consequences, they are, some of them, now before us, in that misery, that beggary, that nakedness, that hunger, that everlasting wrangling and spite, which now stare us in the face, and stun our ears at every turn, and which the “<b><i>Reformation</i></b>” has given us in exchange for the ease, and happiness, and harmony, and Christian charity, enjoyed so abundantly and for so many ages by our Catholic fore-fathers.”
<b><i>William Cobbett (1824-7) </i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> I</span> strongly recommend an absorbing and highly informative book, ‘<b><i>A History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland’ written during the years 1824-7 by William Cobbett, </i></b>and covering the period from the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547) to George III(1760-1820). I expect that some readers are familiar with this book, which has been re- published by <b>TAN </b>publishers, but for those who aren’t and for those who wish to learn of the truth of these tragic and terrible events, I urge you to read it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>This account is quite different from the standard popular history books dealing with the causes and effects of the Reformation in England, for it is written, as it were, from the heart, and it is also written with objective truth in mind, rather than repeating the customary Protestant and Establishment version of events, which so often presents falsehoods as facts; monarchs, nobles, and churchmen supporting the ‘new’ religion, as righteous and honourable; and anybody or anything Catholic, as worthless, traitorous and contemptible. This book was written from a self-confessed, deep sense of outrage and injustice at the lies and deceits levelled at and perpetrated against the Catholic Church and its followers; the same Church that for hundreds of years prior to the Reformation, had been the one Christian Church of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, uniting all people, from royalty to peasantry, in the Catholic faith, with the King as temporal and the Pope as spiritual Head, with laws and tradition guiding and ordering daily life in a spirit of Christian charity, for the common good. What is particularly special about this book is that the author was a Protestant, well travelled and knowledgeable of the ways of the world, and fully acquainted with hardship, poverty, and the demands of duty in his capacity as a regimental soldier of some 8 years service.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>About the monasteries, the author states - “The piety, the austerities, and particularly the works of kindness and of charity performed by those living there, made them objects of great veneration; and the rich made them in time, the channels of their benevolence to the poor. Kings, queens, princes, princesses, nobles, and gentlemen founded monasteries; that is to say, erected the buildings and endowed them with estates for their maintenance. In time the monasteries became the owners of great landed estates, and they had a tenantry of prodigious extent especially in England where the monastic orders were always held in great esteem, in consequence of Christianity having been introduced into the kingdom by a community of monks.” </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>The author examines the circumstances leading up to the severance of the English church from Rome, with Henry VIII, angry at the Pope’s refusal to grant him a divorce, setting himself up as both spiritual and temporal head of the Church in England, thus incurring his excommunication. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span> When considering the events occurring immediately after Henry VIII broke with Rome, with regard to the monasteries, the author states that - “In England there was on average, more than twenty such monastic establishments in every county. Here was a prize for an unjust and cruel, tyrant gentry to share amongst them! Here was enough indeed, to make robbers on a grand scale, cry out against ‘monkish ignorance and superstition’! No wonder that the bowels of Cranmer, Knox, and all the rest, yearned so piteously as they did, when they cast their pious eyes on all the farms and manors, and on all the silver and gold ornaments, belonging to these communities! We shall see with what alacrity they ousted, plundered, and pulled down: we shall see them robbing, under the basest pretenses, even the altars of the country parish churches, down to the very smallest of those churches, and down to the value of five shillings.”
<span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>“Consider just briefly, the fate of the monasteries, of which there were at that time a total of 645, besides 90 colleges, 110 hospitals, and 2374 chantries and free chapels. All without exception, were seized by the King, who then granted them to those ‘loyal’ servants who aided and abetted him in his work of plunder. It must be remembered that these institutions comprised a great mass of landed property, which property was not by any means used for the sole benefit of monks, friars, and nuns, for the far greater part of its rents flowed immediately back amongst the people at large, benefiting the whole community”. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>With the dissolution of the monasteries came real poverty for the ordinary people, with unemployment, hunger, disease, homelessness, lack of education, and the prohibition of their faith ; inevitably leading to the widespread destruction of social and family ties, and increased crime. For to whom could these people now turn in their distress.? The King’s friends had a vested interest in maintaining their royal ‘friendship’, for it was through this that they could attain wealth and position hitherto undreamed of. Unlike the monastic institutions, they had little or no duty of concern for those previously dependent on the monasteries, and for whom the dissolution of the monasteries had meant the loss of so much that was good and secure in their lives. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>To those who falsely accused the monasteries of being havens for vice, greed, and idle living, Cobbett has this to say, “The monastic institutions flourished in England for 900 years; they were beloved by the people; they were destroyed by violence, by the plunderer’s grasp, and the murderer’s knife. Was there ever anything vicious in itself, or evil in its effects, held in veneration by a whole people for so long a time?” </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>This is quite a long book, some 400 or so pages, and it is quite impossible to recount here anything more than a few facts. To me it represents a reliable and trustworthy account of a spiritual and temporal disaster of huge and truly everlasting magnitude, with much scholarly reference to primary source material. It recognizes the Reformation as a base cause of the French Revolution, when the powers of this world united with the powers of darkness to destroy the Catholic Church and all that it represents. We know with absolute certainty, that the Catholic Church will never be vanquished, for Christ Himself promised that He would always be with His Church, even to the end of the world. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <i><b> </b><b>Pope Benedict XVI</b></i>, when addressing representatives of the world of culture at ‘College des Bernadins, Paris', talked at considerable length of the huge cultural debt that Western civilization owes to the mediaeval monastic institutions, particularly in the fields of education, economics, the sciences and the arts; originally intended, and designed and orientated towards greater knowledge and closer union with God. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span> </span>A book I strongly recommend.
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> **************</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> "I have now performed my task. I have made good the position with which I began. Born and bred a Protestant of the Church of England, having a wife and numerous family professing the same faith, having the remains of most dearly beloved parents lying in a Protestant churchyard, and trusting to conjugal or filial piety to place mine by their side, I have in this undertaking no motive, but a sincere and disinterested love of truth and justice. It is not for the rich and powerful of my countrymen that I have spoken; but for the poor, the persecuted, the proscribed. I have not been unmindful of the unpopularity and the prejudice that would attend the enterprise; but when I considered the long, long triumph of calumny over the religion of those to whom we owe all that we possess that is great and renowned; when I was convinced that I could do much towards the counteracting of that calumny; when duty so sacred bade me speak, it would have been baseness to hold my tongue, and baseness superlative would it have been, if, having the will as well as the power, I had been restrained by fear of the shafts of falsehood and of folly. To be clear of self-reproach is amongst the greatest of human consolations; and now, amidst all the dreadful perils which the event that I have treated of, has at last surrounded my country, I can, while I pray God to save her from still further devastation and misery, safely say that neither expressly or tacitly am I guilty of any part of the cause of her ruin" <i><b>(William Cobbett - History of the Protestant Reformation)</b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">"<i><b> G.K.Chesterton</b></i> says that the accuracy of William Cobbett's 'History of the Reformation' has never been challenged: only his challenge has been challenged! He turned popular history on its head, simply by looking at the facts, and called the players by their proper names, such as 'Bloody Bess' and 'Good Queen Mary'."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">(<i><b>Dale Ahlquist, President, American Chesterton Society.)</b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b> ***********</b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">On a rather different matter, may I draw your attention to the following link, which is a petition to be presented to the Government concerning the possibility of allowing those who pay National Insurance contributions and who oppose abortion on ethical/moral grounds, to choose that their contribution to the NHS, not be used for abortion services, but for an alternative NHS service such as mental health. This sounds rather complicated, but with modern technology and good will, I believe this choice could and should be available. Your support would be much appreciated. Just click on the link - thank you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://citizengo.org/en-gb/182029-choice-opt-out-funding-abortions-trhronat-ins-contributions">https://citizengo.org/en-gb/182029-choice-opt-out-funding-abortions-trhronat-ins-contributions</a></span></div>umblepiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13455889107917179909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248472732503456792.post-2432755365562253402020-07-12T15:07:00.001-07:002020-09-18T13:48:24.313-07:00' Pope John XXIII - Journal of a Soul' - November 1940
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in Bergamo, Italy, in November 1881. Ordained to the priesthood on August 10, 1904. Consecrated Bishop, March 1925, titular Archbishop of Areopolis. November 1934 transferred to the Apostolic Delegation to Turkey and Greece, and appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Mgr. Roncalli, far right, Papal Nuncio to Istanbul, with some of the clergy. (c. late 1930s early 1940s)</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i>The following notes were recorded by Mgr Roncalli who was on Retreat between 25 November - 1 December 1940, at Terapia on the Bosporus, at the Villa of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion.</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Monday evening, 25 November, 1940.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Yesterday our Holy Father Pius XII invited the whole
world to join him in the sorrowful singing of the Litany of the Saints and the
penitential psalms, the Miserere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> We
all from the West and from the East, joined with him in his petition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> In
my solitary retreat I am making the Spiritual Exercises, as the Holy Father
himself is doing just now in the Vatican, and in this way I begin the sixtieth
year of my humble life. For myself and for the good of all, I think I cannot do
better than return to the penitential psalm (Psalm 50/51) dividing the twenty
verses into four for each day and making them the subject of religious
meditation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> As a
starting point I am using Father Segneri’s exposition of the Miserere, but with
considerable freedom of inspiration and applications.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> To
understand the profound meaning of the Psalm, I find it a great help to bear in
mind the figure of the royal prophet himself and the circumstances of his
repentance and grief. It is a king who
has fallen; it is a king who rises again.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">First day, Tuesday, 26 November.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">VERSE 1: ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy
great mercy.’</i></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">1.<b></b>.<i> <b>The mourning of the nations</b></i><b>. </b> This cry reaches my ears from every part of
Europe and beyond. The murderous war
which is being waged on the ground, on the seas and in the air, is truly a
vindication of divine justice because the sacred laws governing human society
have been have been transgressed and violated.
It has been asserted, and is still being asserted, that God is bound to
preserve this or that country, or grant it invulnerability and final victory,
because of the righteous people who live there or because of the good that they
do. We forget that although in a certain
sense God has made the nations, he has left the constitution of states to the
free decisions of men. To all He has
made clear the rules which govern human society; they are all to be found in
the Gospel. But He has not given any guarantee of special and privileged
assistance, except to the race of believers, that is, to Holy Church as such.
And even His assistance to His Church, although it preserves her from final
defeat, does not guarantee her immunity from trials and persecutions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
law of life, alike for the souls of men and for nations, lays down principles
of justice and universal harmony and the limits to be set to the use of wealth,
enjoyments and worldly power. When this
law is violated, terrible and merciless sanctions come automatically into
action. No state can escape. To each its hour. War is one of the most
tremendous sanctions. It is willed not by God but by men, nations and states,
through their representatives.
Earthquakes, floods, famines, and pestilences are applications of the
blind laws of nature, blind because nature herself has neither intelligence nor
freedom. War instead is desired by men, deliberately, in defiance of the most
sacred laws. That is what makes it so evil. He who instigates war and foments
it is always the ‘Prince of this world’, who has nothing to do with Christ, the
‘Prince of peace’.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">And while the war rages, the
people can only turn to the Miserere and beg for the Lord’s mercy, that it may
outweigh his justice and with a great outpouring of grace bring the powerful
men of this world to their senses and persuade them to make peace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><i><b>The mourning of my own soul.</b></i> What is happening in the world on a grand
scale is reproduced on a small scale in every man’s soul, is reproduced in
mine. Only the grace of God has
prevented me being eaten up with malice. There are certain sins which may be
called typical; this sin of David’s, the sins of St Peter and St Augustine. But
what might I not have done myself, if the Lord's hand had not held me back? For
small failings the most perfect saints underwent long and harsh penances. So
many, even in our own times, have lived only to make atonement; and there are
souls whose lives, even today, are one long expiation of their own sins, of the
sins of the world. And I, in all ages of my life more or less a sinner, should
I not spend my time mourning? Cardinal Federico’s famous reply is still so
eloquent and moving: ‘I did not ask for praises, which make me tremble: what I
know of myself is enough to confound me.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Far
from seeking consolation by comparing myself with others, I should make the
Miserere for my own sins my most familiar prayer. The thought that I am a priest and Bishop and
therefore especially dedicated to the conversion of sinners and the remission
of sins should add all the more anguish to my feelings of grief, sadness and tears,
as St Ignatius says. What is the meaning
of all these flagellations, or having oneself set on the bare ground, or on
ashes, to die, if not the priestly soul’s continual plea for mercy, and his
constant longing to be a sacrificial victim for his own sins and the sins of
the world?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The great mercy</i>.</b> It is not just ordinary mercy that is needed
here. The burden of social and personal wickedness is so grave that an ordinary
gesture of love does not suffice for forgiveness. So we invoke the great mercy.
This is proportionate to the greatness of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <b> </b></span><b> <i>‘For according to His greatness, so also is
His mercy’(Eccles. 2:23)</i></b> It is well said that our sins are the seat of divine
mercy. It is even better said that God’s most beautiful name and title is this:
mercy. This must inspire us with a great hope amidst our tears. ‘Yet mercy
triumphs over judgement.’(James 2:13) This seems too much to hope for. But it
cannot be too much if the whole mystery of the Redemption hinges on this: the
exercise of mercy is to be a portent of predestination and of salvation, ‘Have
mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>VERSE II</b>:<b> ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And according to the multitude of thy tender
mercies blot out my iniquity.</i>’</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> The
Lord is said to be 'merciful and gracious’.
His mercy is not simply a feeling of the heart; it is an abundance of
gifts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> When
we consider how many graces are poured into the sinner’s soul along with God’s
forgiveness, we feel ashamed. These are: the loving remission of our offence;
the new infusion of sanctifying grace, given as to a friend, as to a son: the
reintegration of the gifts, habits and virtues associated with the grace; the
restitution of our right to heaven; the restoration of the merits we had earned
before our sin; the increase of grace which this forgiveness adds to former
graces; the increase of gifts which grow in proportion to the growth of grace
just as the rays of the sun increase as it rises, and the rivulets are wider as
the fountain overflows.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>VERSE III:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘<b>Wash me
yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin’: holy confession</b>.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Three verbs: to blot out, to
wash and to cleanse, in this order.
First the iniquity must be blotted out, then well washed, that is, every
slightest attachment to it is removed; finally the cleansing, which means
conceiving an implacable hatred for sin and doing things which are contrary to
it, that is making acts of humility, meekness, mortification, etc., according
to the diversity of the sins These three operations follow one another but to
God alone belongs the first. To God, in cooperation with the soul, the second
and the third: the washing and the cleansing. Let us, poor sinners, do our
duty: repent, and with the Lord’s help, wash and cleanse ourselves. We are sure
that the Lord will do the first, the blotting out; this is prompt and
immediate. And so we must believe it to be, without doubts or hesitations. ‘I
believe in the forgiveness of sins.’ The two processes which depend on our
cooperation need time, progress, effort. Therefore we say: ‘Wash me yet more
……. And cleanse me.’</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> This
mysterious process of our purification is perfectly accomplished in holy
confession, through the intervention of the blood of Christ which washes and
cleanses us. The power of the divine blood, applied to the soul, acts
progressively, from one confession to another. ‘Yet more’ and ever more. Hence the importance of
confession in itself, with the words of absolution, and of the custom of
frequent confession for persons of a spiritual profession, such as priests and
Bishops. How easy it is for mere routine to take the place of true devotion in
our weekly confessions! Here is a good way of drawing the best out of this
precious and divine exercise: to think
of Christ, who, according to St Paul, was created by God to be ‘our wisdom, our
righteousness, sanctification and
redemption’ (1 Cor. 1:30)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> So,
when I confess, I must beg Jesus first of all to be my wisdom, helping me to
make a calm, precise, detailed examination of my sins and of their gravity, so
that I may feel sincere sorrow for them. Then, that he may be my justice, so
that I may present myself to my confessor as to my judge and accuse myself
sincerely and sorrowfully. May he be also my perfect sanctification when I bow
my head to receive absolution from the
hand of the priest, by whose gesture is restored or increased sanctifying grace. Finally, that he may be my redemption
as I perform that meagre penance which is set me instead of the great penalty I
deserve: a meagre penance indeed, but a rich atonement because it is united
with the sacrament to the blood of Christ, which intercedes and atones and
washes and cleanses, for me and with me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> This
‘wash me yet more’ must remain the sacred motto of my ordinary
confessions. These confessions are the surest
criteria by which to judge my spiritual progress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>VERSE IV</b>:<b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘For I
know my iniquity and my sin is ever before me.’</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> The
advice of the ancient philosopher: ‘know thyself’, was already a good foundation for an
honest and worthy life. It served for the ordinary exercise of humility, which
is the prime virtue of great men. For the Christian, for the ecclesiastic, the
thought of being a sinner, does not by any means signify that we must lose
heart, but it must mean confident and habitual trust in the Lord Jesus who has
redeemed and forgiven us; it means a keen sense of respect for our fellow men
and for all men’s souls and a safeguard against the danger of becoming proud of
our achievements. If we stay in the cell of the penitent sinner, deep in our
heart, it will be not only a refuge for the soul which has found its own true
self, and with its true self calm in decision and action, but also a fire by
which zeal for the souls of men is kept more brightly lit, with pure intentions
and a mind free from pre-occupations about success, which is extraneous to our
apostolate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> David
needed the shock of the prophet’s voice saying: ‘You are the man.’ But
afterwards his sin is always there, always before his eyes, an ever-present
warning: ‘My sin is always before me.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> Father
Segneri wisely points out that it is not necessary to remember the exact form
of every single sin, which would be neither profitable nor edifying, but it is
well to bear in mind the memory of past failings as a warning, as an incitement
to holy fear and zeal for souls. How
often the thought of sins and sinners recurs in the liturgy! This is even more
true of the Eastern than of the Latin liturgy: but it is well expressed in
both: ‘My sin is always before me’, just as the sins of men were before Jesus
in his agony in the garden of Gethsemane, as they were before Peter at the
height of his authority as Supreme Pontiff; before Paul in the glory of his apostolate,
and before Augustine in the splendour of his great learning and episcopal
sanctity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> I
pity those unhappy men who, instead of keeping their sin before them, hide it
behind their backs! They will never be free from past or future sins. (to be continued)</span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Ack. ‘Pope John
XXIII -
Journal of a Soul’ – translated by Dorothy White. Published by Four Square Books, New English
Library, 1966.</span></b></i></div>
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