#/sermons of the mass/

[trensu]

Have an itty bitty tiny piece of stasis in darkness, just so you all have an idea of where the story is going after the godly reveal. and also have proof that i am, in fact, still toiling away at this (as well as hawkins halfway house.)

A week and a half later, Steve entered a town he’d never seen before. He wore simple traveling clothes and carried no weapons aside from a couple of carefully hidden knives. He’d left his armor and shield behind. His satchel held only the essentials one needed for travel and a single stone as large as his fist. The stone was wrapped in layers of cloth to keep it safe during the journey. 

I need you to find someone. 

He felt very bare but he hadn’t been given much of a choice. Speed was of the essence for his quest, and little no-name towns tended to be wary of strangers in plain clothes, even more so around strangers decked out for battle. Steve wasn’t sure this place could be called a town. It was so small it hadn’t been on any official map. It didn’t even have an inn. Hopefully, Steve wouldn’t be needing an inn once he found who he was looking for.

He’s too far from me to reach.

He asked around, laying on the charm generously. He explained he had been a friend of a friend and had been trusted to deliver something. Eventually, he was told where to go. The house he found far beyond the village’s boundary was small. It looked like it had once been well cared for but it was old and had fallen to disrepair. Steve took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A sallow old man opened the door. He was bald but had some scruff on his face still. His shoulders, stooped from age, trembled. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked so tired.

He’s my very last worshiper in all the world.

“Wayne Munson?” Steve asked.

“Who wants to know?” The man’s voice was phlegmy and rough. He coughed into the crook of his elbow almost before he could finish speaking. 

“I’m Steve. Ser Steve Harrington, pledged to the Lord of Night.”

Wayne’s eyes widened. His grip on the open door weakened and slipped. Steve caught the door before it could hit Wayne.

“He sent me to you,” Steve explained. “May I come in?”

yep, that's it for now. i told you it was small. i'm not even gonna bother with a read-more here.

[reclaiming-god]

btw all borders imply the violence of their maintenance and nationalism blinds us to the shared humanity of all people

[momentsbeforemass]

Lived faith

When I think about why I became a Catholic, the teachings of the Church were an important part. But they weren’t the first part.

The two things that drew me in were beauty – as in the beauty of the great cathedrals and old churches – and the witness of lived faith.

Not the lived faith of the official saints. But the lived faith of the Catholics I saw.

The teachings of the Church? They became important to me, only after I realized that they were the wellspring from which that lived faith flowed. That they were the reason for that lived faith.

It was only after the fact that I understood that the lived faith had evangelized me. For the most part, that work was done by people who had no idea they were doing it. That they were preaching to me with their lives.

They were just living their lives. And I was watching their every move.

They prepared me to learn about the Faith. Because I had already seen it in action.

As Catholics, we have no idea who is paying attention to us. Who is looking to us to tell them what our Faith really means. By how we live.

Not just what it means in the big moments or on Sunday. But also what it means on any random Tuesday.

It’s what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel. The power of our lived example is why Jesus gives such dire warnings about misleading others, about causing them to sin.

Not just by what we say. But by what we do.

Because – whether we mean to or not – we’re always preaching.

For better or for worse, the most powerful sermon is a lived faith.

Today’s Readings

[gooutandtouchtherain]

read a steddie fic in church and all of a sudden rain started to pour from the ceiling right in front of me .. so that was hot

[spacestation-l7]

Canon worsties!! 🙏

Guess who just got into Midnight Mass :D

[adelaidedrubman]

“does eden’s gate do anything to recognize pride month” has been stumping me all day btw

[sovereignsecurityarchive]

He buried his hands in those soft feathers finally, rubbing between the base of his wings with a smirk.. A rather gentle one, for once.. He could understand why Rex was always so eager to put his hands in his feathers, when it pulled out reactions like this.

"Yep, just as sensitive.. You look cuter like this, Rexy~" he teased, adding his other hand to those soft feathers.. He rubbed a little higher, pressing down to get at those hard to reach muscles that were always so sore in his own back.

Why don't you show your husband your wings~?

Rex hunts down Raphael, finding him in one of the hallways.

“These things are heavy.” He complains the moment he finds them and stretches out his wings a bit. “How do you deal with them?”

@sovereignsecurity

[papasmistakeria]

Father Dougal McGuire’s sermons must’ve been insane

[imyourrockbaby]

Unhinged mpreg thought: although he's the least likely fictional man to get pregnant, Father Paul Hill would look adorable with a preggy tummy, plus he would be a great dad. Maybe if the Angel gets too frisky with him...

[jabberwockprince]

ophis portrait to match the other ones i made of the main cast

something about characters who keep their eyes closed all the time, and only open them when shit gets weird <3

[cavedwellermusic]

Crypt Sermon – The Stygian Rose (2024)

Matt Lynch takes a look at The Stygian Rose, the new album from Philadelphia epic doomsters Crypt Sermon, released on June 14th on Dark Descent Records.

Like a rewarding read, and like a positive upwards spiral producing routine, this record tells the law of diminishing returns to go f*ck itself because each revisit unfurls a little something more. If you want to get really into the weeds of it, get the lyrics out while you’re listening to it and cross check the songs like you’re reading The Sillmarillion with your two copies. You have two copies of The Silmarillion, right? For songs that are as dark as the atmosphere is, they are gorgeously written, meticulously crafted, paired in a way that compliments its predecessor and follower, and presented in a manner that exactly suits Crypt Sermon are looking to do.

Read Matt's full review and listen to and order the album at the link below:

[abalidoth]

a festive oilysermon to you all

[zevranunderstander]

i love watching youtube analyses of movies and shows and i love when the person explaining something is totally wrong about the thing theyre talking about

[momentsbeforemass]

Preaching?

When I think about why I became a Catholic, the teachings of the Church were an important part. But they weren’t the first part.

The two things that drew me in were beauty – as in the beauty of the great cathedrals and old churches – and the witness of lived faith.

Not the lived faith of the official saints. But the lived faith of the Catholics I saw.

The teachings of the Church? That came later.

They became important to me, only after I realized that they were the wellspring from which that lived faith flowed. That they were the reason for the lived faith of the Catholics I saw.

It was only after the fact that I understood that the lived faith had evangelized me. For the most part, that work was done by people who had no idea they were doing it. That they were preaching to me with their lives.

They were just living their lives. And I was watching their every move.

They prepared me to learn about the Faith. Because I had already seen it in action.

As Catholics, we have no idea who is paying attention to us. Who is looking to us to tell them what our Faith really means. By how we live.

Not just what it means in the big moments or on Sunday or when we’re actually explaining something about the Faith.

But also what it means by how we live our lives on any random Monday.

This is what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel. The power of our lived example is why Jesus gives such dire warnings about misleading others, about causing them to sin (“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur.���).

Not just by what we say. But by what we do.

Because – whether we mean to or not – we’re always preaching.

For better or for worse, the most powerful sermon is a lived faith.

Today’s Readings

[eremosjournal]

A Post Christian Sunday Reflection

// volume 18

I think it’s time to explore the very real possibility that people in Biblical times were stupid.

In this week’s gospel, we hear the story of Jesus telling a woman at a well in a Samaritan town that whoever drinks the water he provides “will never thirst”. After an alarmingly small amount of convincing, the woman believed, and she went to tell the whole town about it and they, too, believed. 

I must firstly wonder how small these towns were that shit got around that quickly. Very small, I’m guessing. Secondly, I understand that it was a different time. Not fifty years ago, people were totally chill with letting pregnant women chain smoke. I can’t imagine what kind of stuff they believed in Jesus’ day. 

Maybe I’m just already inclined to not believe what random men tell me in public, but if I were that woman at the well I would have ignored Jesus and kept trying to find my water, and maybe also taken a bath. I’m not sure they did that very much then. But as I read some of these gospels, I can’t help but ponder the idea that Jesus and his impact got by on the ignorance of the common person. I think the odds are good that he was just really, really charismatic, and sealed the deal with all those miracles. There’s a reason he’s a prophet in other faiths. 

I still trust Jesus was a good guy, assuming he’s real and not just an overwrought, male-written allegory for love and self-denial. But it strikes me every time I hear this kind of gospel how desperate people back then were for something to believe in. And it’s striking me now that, for all our social developments and access to new information, people are still that way. But I suppose that’s not a bad thing - to be thirsty for something greater.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

already thinking "and by 'religious' really i mean 'christian'" re: how the term "religion" is not really useful when it's largely like, from a christian perspective, what is considered "equivalent" of christianity, see: perhaps a "rival"/obstacle to some person or group being considered christian....and even if not thinking about converting anyone, resulting in some at best misinterpretation / misrepresentation based on framing it through/as [element of christianity] and limiting of any more accurate language

like how tumblr recommends me a post about someone thinking about "religion" in general and concluding that it's Weird and perhaps Wrong for anyone who is a "true believer" in their religion(tm) to Not be proselytizing / trying to Convert everyone. like yeah why isn't everyone being an evangelical christian, they ought to be, benevolently informing all those around them that they're going to hell, otherwise. don't see any problem with this conclusion, or that someone's getting antisemitic in the notes already in agreement, or that That's Not How This Works and you don't just know how All "Religion" works based on considering it to be an alternate version of christianity (which in itself doesn't All work like that either)