THE POPE VISITS THE YOUNG PEOPLE - GIFTED A BOTTLE OF WINE and a RUBIK'S CUBE : YOUTH GATHERING

I do realize that some people think Pope Francis I is too liberal and that Hungary is undergoing a conservative outlook. But who or what can be labeled 'liberal' or 'conservative' changes all the time. At this distance, since I live in the United States, it's my feeling that Hungary needs stability and is seeking a national identity that is always entwined with the founding of the nation as a Roman Catholic country - a Christian country. 

The message for peace and harmony is International and not dependent on religious beliefs. In recent weeks I've tried to familiarize myself with all the military actions and wars in the region of the past. I watched the Oliver Stone documentary that came out in 2018 and wonder what he thinks now that Russia has gone into Ukraine. There were and are peaceful ways to go about this, especially when you consider the economic costs as well as the horrible toll on the psyche's of the citizens.

My observations watching this : The modern Christian music feels like what is more common in Christian - Protestant churches in America, including some that consider themselves to be Bible Based Fundamentalist. It also feels a bit like what we call a "revival." The testimonial aspect also feels Christian - Protestant to me.

That said, I respect the program and the people who are testifying and the outreach to the young people, whose parents or grandparents likely lived in the Communist times.

I respect the inclusion of the Greek Catholics.

POPE FRANCIS I VISIT TO HUNGARY : ENGLISH TRANSLATION :

POPE FRANCIS IN HUNGARY - HOLY MASS AN REGINA COELI PRAYER 

He urged young people to be peacemakers.  We must all try...

He visited Saint Elizabeth Greek Catholic Church...

Cries of Papa!  Papa! can be heard...

Beautiful voices singing prayerful adorations.

In this article by BBC, it's said that Pope Francis has made this journey, his first to Hungary, as an anti-migrant stance by the government there goes against his beliefs.  However, the people of Hungary have taken in more refugees from the Russian war against Ukraine than any other country.

BBC - EUROPE : POPE FRANCIS I MASS BUDAPEST

100th ANNIVERSARY of THE HOLY VISIONS at FATIMA - Another Miracle Revealed?

Since the 100th anniversary of the Miracle at Fatima - Portugal is upon us, there's been a lot of news about this event.  There wasn't just one sighting, there were a series of meetings back in 1917.  The World War I era.

If you're interested in listening to a recent program about the controversial "3rd Secret" you might want to go to YouTube and search for Coast to Coast AM - Fatima. - Guest Peter Levenda.

First check the story by Joseph Ronechen concerning the miraculously untangled rosaries.
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER - EYEWITNESS of THE DAY THE SUN DANCED

TEASER/EXCERPT: The woman continued her miracle story. “People put their rosaries on the ground. They knew what way the Blessed Mother would face, and they put their rosaries out there in front of the place. [The pile of] rosaries were shaped like a cross. [After the apparition] There were so many that when everybody went to get their rosaries, they were all tangled up. And they were trying to find the right rosary.

***
Of course it's said that 70,000 people assembled to see the Miracle of the sun dancing in the sky.  (I do wonder about the size of the crowd simply because sometimes these estimates grow through the years.) Many people have since thought that maybe this was a UFO, specifically an alien spaceship and that the Blessed Mother apparition was either a hologram, the actual Blessed Mother (perhaps in her energy rather than corporeal body), or an alien acting as a Blessed Mother.  These science oriented skeptics of course think there is some conspiracy with the Catholic Church. With a massive world wide number of Catholics, what a great way to get the message across that Russia would need to go back to being prayerful and Catholic?

***
What does it take to become a Catholic Saint?  Martyrdom for the Faith, a life of amazingly impactful works, or - the clincher - miracles of healing attributed to you.  Two of the Fatima children, who died not long after the apparitions, which was one of the things the Blessed Mother told the children, have been canonized by Pope Francis.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISER : FRANCISCO and JACINTA of FATIMA CANNONIZED
EXCERPT: Pope Francis on Saturday officially declared Francisco and Jacinta Marto saints of the Catholic Church in front of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims at the Fatima Shrine in Portugal — teaching that even young children can become saints.
“For the honor of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops, we declare and define Blesseds Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto to be saints,” Pope Francis exclaimed May 13 as the crowd roared with applause.

***
Every day there seems to be another announcement of the discovery of another planet or moon of a planet that has the chemistry that we think is necessary for some form of life - even if it be tiny microbes.  So to me it is entirely possible that we are not alone in the universe.  And if there are beings like us, then the Creator must have created them too.  But are they Good Guys or Bad Guys?  Do they want to help us earthlings advance scientifically or spiritually?  If they're visiting our planet, I sure hope so!


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SAINT NICK - a ROLE MODEL OF GENEROSITY and EMPATHY and the SOULLESS SAN BERNARDINO TERRORISTS

Old Saint Nick, also known as Saint Nicklaus, and now, in the Western World as Santa Claus, was, like our present Pope Francis, who has given out sleeping bags to the homeless in Rome, Italy, personally, a person of action who role modeled generosity and empathy by bringing gifts to the poor. Some say it started with the secret gift of three gold coins to some poor children.  Today there is so much poverty around the world, it's almost impossible to imagine any immediate answer to the suffering, which includes starvation of children born to die.  I know I have it good here in the United States.

Walking my dog, I often encounter a woman who is sweet and kind and always begging.  To my amazement she walked into a corner store that mostly sells liquor and asked a customer to give her $20 so that she could buy a Christmas tree.  To my amazement this stranger gave her $10 towards her purchase.  I told her where artificial trees were being sold at a good price, but she explained she was trying to raise $40 for a real tree, and then more money for lights and decorations, because she wanted to have a REAL CHRISTMAS.  Well, one can have a REAL CHRISTMAS without a tree and lights and decorations, but I found it interesting what I was witnessing.

I don't want to loose my Christmas spirit of generosity and empathy, but I'm struggling to maintain a  Christmassy attitude because the San Bernardino terrorist attacks seem to be EVEN MORE SENSELESS than the killings in PARIS.  You see, these terrorists, whatever their religion, HAVE NO EMPATHY OR GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT. 

They do not care about ending the lives of the innocent or making children orphans.  They wish to spread fear and hatred, not love, understanding, tolerance, or kindness.  There is no love left inside them, not even (in this case) for their own six month old child.  They have not even thought about the KIND OF WORLD they are trying to create in which that child/children will have to live.  They are establishing a TERRORIST STATE and it is a state in which the violence is so extreme  (killing of babies born disabled - teaching children to chop off heads using dummies)  that I believe it is devoid of ANY SPIRITUALITY whatsoever.

It's as if they had their very souls plucked out by demons.

After listening to radio reportage for hours and reading, again, many articles that report on the terrorists in PARIS, I learned that the man who lead the group had BEEN IN HUNGARY and RECRUITED TERRORIST HELP-MATES THERE, that these men had REFUSED TO REGISTER LAWFULLY WITHIN HUNGRY.

I realized that some of the Paris and the husband-wife couple San Bernardino terrorists seem to fall into the "he/she was such a nice, quiet person," category. 

I looked at the pictures of this EVIL COUPLE that were available.  At once I saw how dead, how zombie-like and hypnotized the eyes of the male shooter were.  The female, not so much.  Today the news is that it was the female who shot first, who was radicalized first, and that various Muslim organizations are distancing themselves from terrorism - or at least these two - both here and in other countries such as Pakistan.  She was so "shy" that many people never saw her face or heard her speak, as she would not speak to men other than her husband but she was deadly.  Is this Muslim or is this mentally ill?

Why are we even still using the term "radicalized" when something more and worse is happening?

Why is there civil war in Syria, why is the whole MIDDLE EAST a HELL ON EARTH?  Why is the CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION the most barbaric part of the world?

So here I am, all ready to go to a Christmas concert at the local community college where a friend of mine is playing the trumpet, wearing a fancy purple evening jacket, and hoping that at least for a while, I can shut the terror out of my mind, reattach to my own spirit of Christmas, and continue to be generous and empathic.


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POPE FRANCIS NEWS AND MORE STRAIGHT FROM THE VATICAN

THE VATICAN OFFICIAL WEB SITE in many languages.  Click around a bit and you can find all kinds of interesting information including a calandar of services.