#was not condemned by people for Kyrie

[desiderium-eden]

Despite not being considered part of the royal family since she was a child, it's Lazuli who is the most well-known of the Navkan people. Though there is something of a religious purpose to their performances, ever since she joined the Temple, Lazuli had been pushing to spread their songs and dances past the borders of Navka. With them gaining notoriety as entertainment. And at the forefront is Lazuli. Something of a mascot or pet for Navka. Known for those doe eyes, flashy shows, and powerful vocals. The queen of the stage, she has a reputation of kindness, sincerity, and well ... naivety, to put it lightly. A pure-hearted, ditsy little angel that just doesn't know any better... She gets away with a lot. Like she came back with a bastard child, and though Navkan culture is already more accepting of it, even people outside of Navka saw this as a poor girl getting conned by some guy who left her ... or like this puppy who somehow managed to get her hands on an even smaller puppy!

[pastortomsteers]

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

April 21, 2024

Pastor Tom Steers

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

OPENING HYMNN:  666 ”O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe”

Pastor:  Halleluiah, Christ is risen!

Congregation:  He is risen indeed.  Halleluiah!

Confession and Absolution   Page 184-185 of our Hymnal

The Verse (from Romans 6:9; John 10:14)

Alleluia. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. Alleluia.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Alleluia.

The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy)

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Salutation                                                                                                                             Pastor: The Lord be with you. 

Congregation: And also with you. 

Collect Prayer:  

Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son,  our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Our Bible Readings:

First Reading     Acts 4:1-12

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

P:  This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God

Psalm 23 (antiphon: v.6)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2     He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3     He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness     for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,    I will fear no evil, for you are with me;     your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me     in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil;     my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord     forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Epistle Reading     1st John 3:16-24

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

 P:  This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God

Our Gospel Reading      John 10:1-18

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C: Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

                                                                                                                           THE APOSTLES’ CREED    Page 192

HYMN OF THE DAY:  709  “The King of Love My Shepherd Is”

THE SERMON

‘Christ, Our Good Shepheard’ –

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and although I grew up in a city and live in one, I love open space and a chance to see more of what God creates, rather than what man does.

Not having had much experience with farms animals, I thought, at first, it was only a compliment when Jesus called us His sheep.

But having had the chance to speak with people over the years that actually raise sheep, I’ve lost the illusion that this comparison was just a compliment.

So, let’s consider what sheep are actually like, in Biblical times, or today.

Farmers have told me that sheep will take every opportunity to get lost, and get into trouble if you let them.

One farmer told me he had a ram, a male sheep, that liked to butt its head up against things all day long. 

The farmer cut large bulk containers in half, and set them up in the pasture so the sheep could have some shelter. 

The ram would butt the shelters until the doors became wedged against a fence, trapping the ram inside. 

At times, the sheep would become curious and squeeze themselves into the container with the ram and they’d all have to be rescued.

We think of this as funny, until we remember that Jesus is comparing us to this species.

A second thing about sheep is that they’re about the most helpless creatures on the farm. 

Under the right conditions a lamb can get turned over on its back and not be able to get up. 

This can be fatal. 

If the shepherd doesn't help the sheep, it may die. 

Sheep are trouble on the hoof.    

They need constant supervision. 

And without a shepherd they are simply lost, and vulnerable to wolves.

So, the natural question becomes: is Jesus being too harsh when He says we’re like sheep?

Well, let’s look at the human race. 

If we all worked together, we could probably solve many of the problems we face. 

Instead, we war against one other, individually or in groups.

We try to make ourselves look good, by making others look bad. 

Personal rivalries and conflicts threaten our families and workplaces.

The more we consider the human race, the more obvious it is that our everyday problems are usually those of our own making.

And what about our helplessness? 

Well, there are times when we’re laid off from work, or a bad test score comes back. 

There are times when a husband or wife will say, "I want a divorce." 

Or maybe the doctor reveals a serious, even fatal disease.

You get the idea. 

These are the moments in our lives when we realize just how genuinely helpless we are, like a lamb on its back.

So, what is the problem?     

Why do human beings behave the way we do?

The problem is sin. 

We inherited the condition from our first parents.

Sin has been with us since the serpent tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. 

When we doubt this the Ten Commandments and our daily newscasts remind us it’s true.

And we would be lost forever unless some power outside us, delivered us from sin, death, and eternal separation from God. 

Just as sheep need a shepherd, we need a Saviour.

But many around us wants us to think that any ‘god,’ even those of our own making, can protect and care for us. 

Yet contrary to what the world tells us, Jesus said, "He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 

He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."

Here our English translations of the Bible aren’t harsh enough in describing the “hired hand.” 

The original Greek of the Gospel of John says the hired hand actually ‘offers up’ the sheep in the hope the wolf will attack the sheep, and leave him alone. 

The hired hand will sacrifice the sheep to save himself.

There are many hired hands, false teachers, in the world today who want us to follow them. 

Some deny the Bible is the true Word of God.

Others question the divinity of Jesus.

Many talk about Christ, but see Him as a life coach or emotional therapist.

One sign of these hired hands is that they only speak of what we should do.

And that’s because in the end, they expect us to save ourselves. 

But when sin, death, and the devil come for us as wolves come for sheep, we don't need a therapist or life coach. 

We need a Saviour.

The true Jesus is the One who laid down His life for you, and me. 

The true Christ is the risen Saviour who says to Thomas in John 20:27:

"Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 

The marks of the true Christ are the marks of the cross.

Any other Messiah is false.

The Good Shepherd doesn’t tell us, "Do your best, and I’ll do the rest." 

Jesus doesn’t say that salvation is a ‘joint,’ collaborative effort.

Luckily, for us, Jesus did it all with His innocent suffering and death at Calvary. 

He made the complete and final payment for sin we could not.

Any teacher who doesn’t point to Christ, the cross and the empty tomb, is a hired hand, who will sacrifice the sheep to his master, the wolf. 

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day didn’t like being called sheep, no less wolves.

When we look around, not much has changed. 

The danger of false teachers and bad theology remains. 

The wolves are still out there.   

Yet we know the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and we know that in John 14, verse 6 Jesus told us:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

As Lutheran Christians we know that both God’s Law and the saving Gospel apply to us, yet each with a different purpose.

The Law is a curb on evil, and a mirror that shows us our sins.   

It’s a guide to how God would like us to live.

But the Gospel shows us our Saviour. 

The law convicts, and convinces us we can’t save ourselves.

The Gospel gives us the merciful assurance of salvation through Christ who clearly tells us:

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Christ is the one Shepherd and the one gate to Heaven.

In the time of Jesus, shepherds led their flocks rather than drive them from behind.

Sheep would recognize the voice of the shepherd and respond to his call.

Today, Christ calls us by His Word.

As sheep follow their shepherd, so those drawn to Jesus by the Father follow our Saviour.

Jesus, who was both true God, and true man, laid down His life when He allowed mortal, sinful men to nail Him to a cross to pay for our sins, the sins of each and every one of us. 

On that cross, He cried out in victory, "It is finished!"   And it is.

Salvation for believers is sealed, because the Good Shepherd suffered the punishment we deserved.

And we receive this precious gift by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

Not only did He lay His life down, but, when the time was right, He took it up again. 

Christ promises eternal salvation to those who believe that, who trust in Him.

And faith, itself, is a free gift from God, worked within us by the Holy Spirit, using the means of grace, God’s Word and His Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

So, when you feel lost, and helpless, when you’re on your back and the wolves are circling, remember you are not alone, you have a protector, a Good Shepherd.

His name is Jesus Christ.

He knows and calls you by name with a heart full of mercy and love for you, His sheep.

Amen.                                                                                                                            

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH  

                                                                                                                                                        THE SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT

P:  Blessed are You O Lord, our God, king of the universe, for you have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 

C:  We give You thanks Father for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully take communion and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come from the body and blood of Christ.

P:  Father, hear us as we pray as Jesus taught us.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

C:  Our Father, who art in heaven,  hallowed be Thy name,                                                                                                      Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;                                                                give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,                                                                  but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Preface                                                                                   

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Lift up your hearts.

C: We lift them to the Lord.

P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

P:  It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to you, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Everlasting God. For in the mystery of the Word made flesh, You have given us a new revelation of Your glory; that seeing You in the Person of Your Son, we may be drawn to the love of those things which are not seen.

The Words of Our Saviour Instituting The Lord’s Supper

P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: Amen.

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)

P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,

C: Have mercy on us.

P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,

C: Have mercy on us.

P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,

C: Grant us peace.

The Distribution

(Our hymn during distribution is 636 “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness”)

Post Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 218 of our Hymnal 

Benedicamus and Benediction  (stand)  Page 218

OUR CLOSING HYMN: 846  “Your Hand, O Lord, in Days of Old”

[hezenvengeance]

4 & 5 for both the OCs you recently posted :)

hehe, thank you!

4. How easy is it to earn their trust? (Both) Denala is painfully easy. She’s got an intimidating exterior and the repertoire to back it up, so most people don’t even bother trying to get past that. It’s why she gets on with the Companions so well - they’re all already used to dealing with the bristle Vilkas brings to the table, so her stoic demeanour isn’t viewed as so off-putting.

Pre-Mercer incident, Kyrie was certainly more willing to try and trust people. She’s the most analytical out of the three siblings, tends to examine requests from multiple angles before she agrees, and is certainly the most amenable on a purely surface level. Post-Mercer? At least within the Guild, good luck even getting a word in her direction without some thorough vetting.

5. How easy is it to earn their mistrust? (Both) Once you’re in with Denala, it’s hard to get out, if anything. There’s very few trespasses she won’t forgive without an amount of atonement. Sometimes it can appear to border on being gullible, much to the irritation of the people who support her, but in truth she feels it’s more sensible to keep people in the fold - at least then you’re aware if something goes wrong.

Again, Pre-mercer Kyrie was slightly more lenient, and would at least try to work out the motive behind the problem. Post-Mercer even a perceived slight or wrongdoing can be enough to condemn a person, but she’s at least self aware enough to put the problem to peer review if it’s to do with the Guild. Best believe her hackles will be up for a good while after, even if the issue turns out to be imagined.

[alwaysbewoke]

what’s so shameful about a post like this is that there seems to be no line in the sand for people like this. the movie that kyrie promoted has as one of its sources of information hitler. FUCKING HITLER! you would think they would be an agreed upon a line in the sand that if you align yourself with anything hitler related we’re not rolling with you, we’re going to condemn you, you’re not properly representing us but people like this basically want black people but specifically black men to have a blank check in society. that there is nothing that they can do that we cannot collectively disapprove of and turn away from you for. and it’s all connected to this perpetual, childish need to exude masculinity. i am not one to throw around the term toxic masculinity often because i feel the people who do are hypocritical, use it incorrectly, and are quick to give a pass to any toxic behavior from women however if there is ever a time to use it it’s with these motherfuckers.

[diallokenyatta]

Brother DIallo, why black folk want to be Jews so bad? There is a small population of Jews from Africa. Beta Israel. Yet we have "Hebrew Israelites" claiming Black folk are the "true children of Israel" etc. We have Kanye and now Kyrie espousing this nonsense. We have black folk claiming Jew/Semite, Olmec, Native American... anything but African. We even have elements saying we not from Africa and slavery never happened! What is happening here bro?

Being a Black Jew is different than being a Black Hebrew Israelite.

Judaism, standard, reform, or orthodox Judaism isn't particular popular. Most Black people who are members of this Religion are born into it; meaning their mother was Jewish, or they convert to Judaism and follow the rituals and commandments of the Torah. The Black Hebrew Israelite that Kyrie and Kendrick Lamar rock with are a whole different sect, it's a Cult that diverges greatly from Judaism practiced by orthodox, standard, or reform Jews. These BHI are actually gaining in popularity for a few reasons:

Their Presentation: The BHI have standards for grooming and conduct that is very attractive to people who are ignorant of their core ideology and mission. They present as strong, determined, masculine, chaste, disciplined, Godly "Warriors," are opposed the injustices imposed on Black people of the Americas (or as they call us; The Lost Tribe of Judah).

Their Rhetoric: The BHI aggressively condemn the System and Sin. They call for Men to be Godly and protect Black Women & Children. They predict the downfall of our Oppressors and the full redemption of the Black Family under God's Divine Grace. They also teach that Black people who were subjected to Slavery have a special Covenant with Yahweh; they teach that we are the chosen people.

Their Anti-African Stance: For generations the African Diaspora have been told that we come from a Dark and Dysfunctional continent; that Africans are subhuman and have contributed nothing to the advancement of humanity. We are also subjected to ongoing negative media about the State of our Motherland and its people. This has bred a vein of self-hatred, self-rejections, shame and resentment towards our African Home and our Brothers and Sisters who still dwell in African. As a result any ideology, mythology, or cult that distances or separates Black people from Africa will gain the interest and support of those who are victims of generations of anti-African propaganda.

Ignorance: The final and primary reason the BHI are becoming so popular is due to people's ignorance of the teachings and mission of the BHI. The BHI are not only anti-African, they teach that the atrocity of the Slave Trade and the ongoing oppression is God's Divine Judgement; that it's God's Will and we deserve everything that has happened and is happening to us. They also an Old Testament Cult that views women and children as a man's property and that disobedient women and children are worthy of beating and even death. Black people who reject the absurd BHI cult and its teachings are also worthy of death and they believe that God will soon call them to carry out his retribution against the rest of us. If the larger Black community looked beyond the surface of the BHI cult I think they would lose their appeal.

[90363462]

Thought-Provoking Tweet About Kanye, Kyrie & Kendrick Goes Viral

Gone are the days when Kanye West was a fun-loving backpack rapper everyone in the mainstream embraced. He has evolved into one of the most polarizing and thought-provoking figures on the planet, whether he's loved or hated. His willingness to share unpopular beliefs from time to time has garnered rivals in the media in a manner similar to Kyrie Irving in the NBA. Not only did Kanye's recent comments about a specific ethnic community land him in hot water with several media outlets, but they also magnified the actions of any other celebrity who has ventured into the topic or somewhere near it over the years.

Kyrie Irving recently got into a heated exchange with Nick Friedell of ESPN over a tweet that has been condemned by people from all walks of life, from former Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai. With Kanye and Kyrie's long-standing feuds with some media members going strong, a Twitter user nicknamed 'the anonymous nobody' recently posted a message indicating that the two men have similar views to a celebrity who is typically viewed by the mainstream in a positive light, Kendrick Lamar. 

"If n*ggas think Kanye and Kyrie are bad, they need to be glad Kendrick doesn’t talk because he said all this two albums ago," the tweet read.

Scroll up and swipe right to view the tweet.

Source: Twitter

[nico-drives-badly]

I was just thinking about how Nero calls Dante a bastard after he called him dead weight, even though Nero was publicly denounced as a bastard child of a prostitute for basically his entire life...and it made me realize something.

Some of Nero’s most painful childhood memories stem from being called a bastard child. Not only was he already considered the lowest of the low in greater Fortunian society, but even the orphans themselves — kids who were essentially outcasts, just like him — condemned him for being the unwanted byproduct of an alleged affair.

And when all you ever hear about yourself is how worthless and unwanted you are...that sticks with you. It lingers in the back of your mind and haunts you for years after the fact. It makes you second guess and doubt yourself, even when you know in your heart that it isn’t true. That kind of emotional abuse can influence a person’s behavior for the rest of their life. It changes you, for better or for worse.

You know how your brain sometimes links certain words, objects, colors, sounds, etc. to certain memories? Well, I think Nero has subconsciously linked the word “bastard” to the coldest, cruelest, most heartless people he’s ever known. This, in turn, means that he would only use it to describe someone who did something equally cold, cruel, and heartless— like Dante calling him dead weight after all the hell he’s been through, after losing his own arm to the demon they were fighting, after all the things Dante did for him to help him get this far.

I don’t personally imagine Nero and Dante being particularly close in the years between DMC4 and 5, but Dante did help Nero start his own Devil May Cry branch, and that ultimately helped him find a much happier life with Kyrie away from The Order. In the end, Nero wouldn’t have gotten where he was today without Dante, so Nero’s bound to have built up a high level of respect and trust for him. But when Dante calls Nero dead weight in the heat of battle, all that respect and trust is suddenly broken.

Who can blame Nero, then, for calling Dante a bastard, when he heard him say right to his face that he was worthless and unwanted — just like he always heard as a bastard child?

((I thought of this earlier today and it’s had me fucked up ever since. Someone please give this poor boy a hug, Nero deserves better 😭💔))

[breezeinmonochromenight]

fuck the amount of people getting angry at you bc you don't support the whole sp*rd*c*est thing and calling out the problems with it, *and* the people that don't understand that Kyrie and Nero aren't actually related (although I have sunk into the Gothic Lit fandom and can see where some might be coming from but not really) is just,, a big ol yikes from me.

Also to these anons that haven't yet been blocked, just stay away and stop being like this, just admit that we all have differing opinions and please just stop starting fights over the silliest disagreements for fuCkS SaKE PEOPLE

fwiw: it’s literally just two people and they’re in the reblogs of that post. Ones apparently cool with incest and has been on my inbox before with bad takes and the other thinks Capcom condones incest and condemns it, yet they’re both using the same argument to support their cause.

I am howling lmao.

EDIT: nevermind they’re both incest shippers lmaooo

[icequeenoriginal]

It's been 3 years, Dante was officially considered missing before, so much has happened since his disappearance. When Dante returned from hell, the first thing he saw at the agency was a sleeping Lady at his desk. What will Dante do, and how will the Lady react...

Note: It’s been a while since I wrote a Dante x Lady fanfic and this is the perfect promote. Enjoy! As always, feel free to send me prompts

Warnings: A bit of cursing, spoilers for DMC 5

Pairing: Dante x Lady

~

It wasn’t that Dante was expecting a party. In fact, if he was being honest, he figured the building would be condemned and an old note stating how much he owed for not paying rent in three years. 

So you could only imagine the relief that flooded Dante when he saw 1) the building was still there 2) Nothing was out of place and 3) Lady was asleep at his desk.

That was the shocker of the century. Observing his old desk, he saw that she was using a bunch of bills as a pillow and he couldn’t contain the smirk on his face. She had taken care of his shop for him. 

He had to show his appreciation and thanks. 

He shook off his coat and placed it over her shoulders, carefully so he wouldn’t wake her. When she didn’t stir, he gave himself a mini-tour of the building. His room was untouched, as he expected, and her room was filled with upgraded weapons and clothes, not that he was peeking!

He stepped out of the shop and walked over to the nearest payphone. He could not believe in the three years he was gone, this city still had pay phones. He ordered a pizza, so happy that his favorite pizza place was still in business even with their best costumer out of town, and walked back inside. He picked up the closed magazine, betting on the pizza to arrive would arrive before Lady woke up.

~Once again, Dante was on the losing side with the bet. 

Lady slowly pushed herself up, wondering why there was something heavy on her back. She sleepily grabbed at the coat and nearly gasped when she felt it between her fingers.

She had to be dreaming because there was no way this could be real after all this time. She ran the red leather through her nimble fingers and snapped her head towards the couch where she saw the very demon she loved to hate.

“Miss me, babe?”

Lady got up from the desk slowly, neither looked away from the other. 

Lady spoke first “I should be mad at you. I should demand to know where you went this time. I should scream at you for disappearing again. I should throw something at you for taking my weapons again.”

“You should and if you did, I would not get angry at all.” Dante could tell she was frustrated, tired and, hopefully, hangry. He looked up to the clock that the pizza would not arrive for another 10 minutes. Why, at these moments, was life so slow?

“I should, but I won’t. I let you have it last time and that was only when you were gone for how long?”

If this was two years ago, he would have started to back away towards the door rather than answer her. But that was two years ago. Two years of being dumb and wasting what was left of his life, fighting Vergil in hell. It took about 3,562 battles, each winning half of the fights and Vergil taunts about how he stayed that he stayed in hell with Vergil so that he would be the strongest finally broke through his thick skull did he demand Vergil create a portal for them to leave hell and “actually do something with their fucking lives”.

So he answered “Ten years.”

She nodded “Oh that’s right. Ten years. Too little time has passed for me to be screaming at the top of my lungs at you.” She crossed her arms and held onto the coat. It was warm, familiar and kept her grounded in her spot. 

Dante had faced the craziest and powerful threats to every cross the earth and underworld but he was still so bad at handling women. Well, when you defeat the most powerful demon to ever exist and he happens to be your brother, he might as well tell Lady that he has been in love for so many decades.

“Yeah, so instead of us yelling and getting into a fight, how about we eat the pizza I just ordered and you tell me exactly what I can do to make it up to you and then when I am positive you don’t hate me anymore, I’ll tell you that I love you.”

Lady couldn’t help but smirk “Yes, you are going to make it up to me but here’s how it’s going to go down. We’re going to eat the pizza, you give me the last slice, we’re going to go on a date and I’m going to tell you that Patty is in her second year of college, Trish is currently on her third vacation in Europe with someone whose name you will learn on our fourth date, Nero and Kyrie are engaged and have been waiting for you to come back so they can have the wedding and then I’ll tell you that I love you back but if you disappear on me again because you wanted to pull some self-sacrificing bullshit, you will never be allowed back.”

Dante smirked and gently took his coat back as the sound of a car came closer and closer to the shop. 

“Well, then what are we waiting for?”

~

Taglist (aka people where asking for DxL fanfics. Let me know if you guys want to be tagged every time I write a fanfic for these two and please send me prompts!)

@enamorado-avocado @super-jump @strawderryst @dxlpartyboat

[opedguy]

Kyrie Irving Is Not Anti-Semitic

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Nov. 5, 2022.--Suspended by 47-year-old New Jersey Nets general manger Seam Marls Nov. 4, 30-year-old Australian-born point guard Kyrie Irving was accused by Marks, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the Anti-defamation League [ADL] of anti-Semitism for posting a controversial video making disparaging Jews.  Irving, known for his controversial ideas, posted a video titled, “Hebrew to Negroes:  Wake up Black America, a film that says certain people of color including Black Americans are the true descendents of Israelites.  Whatever one thinks of the film, it doesn’t mean that Irving is an anti-Semite, only someone intrigued by controversial ideas.  What could be more controversial than William Saudners Crowdy, a descendent of slaves, founding the 1896 Church of God and Saints of Christ, one of the first Black Hebrew Israelite [BHI] churches, starting a new Black church movement.

Depending on the sect, the BHI movements have many diverse views on the ancient Hebrews, including that Jesus was Black and the Negroes were direct ancestors of Jews.  While the ADL says BHI churches have a history of anti-Semitism, homophobia, misogyny and xeonophobia, the basic principles of Crowdy’s BHI churches involves Blacks being direct ancestors of Jews and the Chosen People.  Rapper, producer Kanye West go him into hot water saying he would go “death con 3” on Jews.  West said he could not be anti-Semitic because “black people are actually Jew,” showing, like  Kyrie, the influence of controversial religious groups on his thinking.  When watching a video identifying the original Israelites as Black, including Jesus, it’s no wonder that Kyrie or Kanye are drawn to conspiracies.  Crowdy’s ideas filtered into the Nation of Islam, led by 89-year-old Rev. Louis Farrakhan.

In today’s sensitive anti-Semitic atmosphere, any statement by a professional athlete or celebrity is blown out of proportions, condemned as anti-Semitic.  But because Kyrie, or even Kanye for that matter, are influenced by controversial videos form the BYI tradition doesn’t mean that a person is anti-Semitic, not in the conventional mold. Even if the video blames Jews for enslaving African Americans, doesn’t make the video purely anti-Semitic in Hitler’s Mein Kampf model, where certain anti-Semites call for the annihilation of the Jewish people.  Crowdy interpreted the bible to show that Black people were the true descendants of Jews.  It’s not that far off from reality because of Ethiopian [Black Jews], ancestors of the Queen of Sheba AKA Falasha Jews, who immigrated to Israel in the 1980s.  Whatever Kyrie had in mind about “Hebrew to Negroes,” it certainly wasn’t anti-Semitic.

Offshoots of Crowdy’s Black Hebrew Israelite movement have varying degrees of militancy, referring to European Jews as the “synagogue of Satan,” responsible for enslaving millions of Black Americans.  ADL officials point out that Black Hebrew Israelites are not the same a Black Jews, especially the ones immigrating to Israel from Ethiopia.  Extremist factions of the BHI called the One West Camp, believe homosexuality is plague on society, showing no tolerance of diversity.  More BHI sects have become militant according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, calling 144 BHI groups as “Black separatist hate groups because of their anti-Semitic and anti-white beliefs.  Two suspects, believed part of BHI group, killed four Jews in 2019 at a supermarket in Jersey City, attributing the killers’ affiliation with Church of God in Jesus Christ in New York—with the Church denying any link.

When it comes to Kyrie Irving, a young basketball player searching for his Black identify, the video he posted has certain objectionable content but it doesn’t mean that Kyrie himself is an anti-Semite.  Before NBA Commissioner Adam Silver meets with Kyrie, he needs to know that videos like “Hebrew to Negroes” are not that uncommon, shocking to some but not all that uncommon.  Kyrie wasn’t affiliating with known neo-Nazi groups still preaching Hitler’s “Final Solution,” his campaign to round up and murder all European Jews.  Kyrie needs Silver to inform him about the acute sensitivity in the Jewish Community to anti-Semitic groups but not brand Kyrie anti-Semitic for having an interest in a controversial video. No doubt the BHI ideas that Jesus was Black and that Blacks are the true “Chosen People” cannot be considered as anti-Semitic in any conventional definition.

Black preachers around the country, including Rev. Jeremiah Wright from the Church of Chris in South Chicago, former President Barack Obama’s church, need to stop the BHI-type anti-Semitic sermons, something commonplace for National of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan.  “All you white people get ready for war:  We’re coming for you, white boys,” said a preacher in the 2007 documentary “The Gods of Times Square.”  “Negroes are the real Jews.  Get ready for war,” mirroring the kind of belligerent rhetoric heard in various Black churches.  No matter how virulent the rhetoric in some videos, it doesn’t mean that anyone watching is a racist, anti-Semite or anything else.  Kyrie didn’t understand the extent of “Hebrew to Negroes” hateful, anti-Semitic or racist flavor.  Irving was just exploring his Black identity, hearing controversial ideas expressed by charismatic preachers.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[kindtobechurlish]

The kingdom of God is from generation to generation, God’s dominion, and the kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom. The signs and wonders of The Most High are great and mighty! Do you understand being religious and spiritual, or lacking the other for the other? When you are religious, that is a bind. When you are spiritual, you are only focused on your spirit or your breath!!! So now, you can understand how a bind can be bad for you, and the lack of a bind can be bad for you.. as your breath keeps you alive. Moses told the people of Yisrael the law was their life, only for Christianity and its god to claim divorce is adultery. I can give you a picture, divorce is not adultery, Nebuchadnezzar said that Daniel had the spirit spirit of the “holy gods” in Him. Nebuchadnezzar called Daniel, Belteshazzar according to the name of HIS god and “in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.” So, Nebuchadnezzar was religious, according to Daniel being called Belteshazzar. A picture? Before Kyrie got condemned, he began to speak to his mother and she isn’t living. That is called “necromancy” in its most pure form. He makes a post, and the post is talking to his mother. It wasn’t the, “Hey mom” you got from Jack when he quit Twitter. So now, in the whole make up, you can come to understand religious and the act of breath that amounts to be air. If you know, praying to god is not an entreaty if you know how to pray - yea - if you know how to pray you won’t be precarious.. but, with praying is seeking God, and precarious is “prayer, obtained by entreaty.” The lord weighs the heart!

[pastortomsteers]

THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT

March 17, 2024

Pastor Tom Steers

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

OPENING HYMNN: 609  “Jesus Sinners Doth Receive”

Lutheran Service Book

                                                                                                                               The Invocation  Page 184

Confession and Absolution    Page 184-185

THE LITANY

P:O Lord.     C: have mercy.

P: O Christ.   C: have mercy.

P: O Lord.     C: have mercy.

P: O Christ.   C: hear us.

P: God the Father in heaven.  C: have mercy.

P: God the Son, Redeemer of the world.  C: have mercy.

P: God the Holy Spirit.  C: have mercy.

P: Be gracious to us.  C: Spare us good Lord.

P: Be gracious to us.  C: Help us, good Lord.

P: In the time of our tribulation; in the time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:

C: Help us good Lord.

P: We poor sinners implore You

C: To hear us, O Lord.

P: To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts; to give and preserve for us the kindly fruits of the earth; and graciously to hear our prayers:

C: We implore you to hear us, good Lord.

P: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,

C: we implore You to hear us,

P: Christ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,

C: have mercy.

P: Christ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,

C: have mercy.

P: Christ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,

C: grant us Your peace.

P: O Christ.   C: hear us.

P: O Lord,     C: have mercy.

P: O Christ,   C: have mercy.

P: O Lord,     C: have mercy. Amen.

The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy)

 Lord Have mercy upon us.

Christ have mercy upon us.

Lord Have mercy upon us.

Collect Prayer:

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Our Bible Readings:

Old Testament Reading    Jeremiah 31:31-34

Psalm 119, verses 9-16                                                                                                                                Epistle Reading                Hebrews 5:1-10                                                                                                                                  Gospel Reading                 Mark 10: 32-45  

THE APOSTLES’ CREED   P. 192

HYMN OF THE DAY:  430  “My Song Is Love Unknown”

                                                                                                                                The Sermon –

Jesus predicts His trial, crucifixion and resurrection for the third time.

He tells the disciples this on the way to Calvary.

His act of service on the cross, will, for believers, mean the difference between Heaven and hell.

Faith looks to Christ crucified and risen, and says, “for me.”

Martin Luther wrote, “who is the ‘me?’ It is I, a condemned sinner, who was so loved by the Son of God that He gave Himself for me.”

Today we hear that in Christ’s Kingdom, positions of authority carry a servant’s job description, and He demonstrated that with His own life.

He gave his life as a ransom for many.

When it comes to serving God, what the Almighty is most concerned about, is the state of our hearts in our relationship with Him as His beloved and redeemed children.

By the death of Jesus, the many, are set free from their bondage to satan and the hostile spiritual forces under his control.

In Christ’s substitutionary death for our sins, we are indeed set free, liberated to be God’s people, now, and in eternity.

He offers what we cannot – forgiveness and eternal life.

This week before Palm Sunday, the Bible readings frame the events of Holy Week.

The Creator God will serve the rebellious creation.

He will go to a cross, unjustly dying there, so we might be brought into a relationship of faith with Him, in which we serve others He also died for.

For every Christian who comes to that Friday we call “Good,” there is a terrifying reality.

Jesus hangs there for us, and because of us, both you and me.                                            

This saving act is not something we bought, earned, deserved, or made any ‘decision’ about.

It was simply and wholly done for us, out of love and grace.

In our reading from Jeremiah, God gives great hope to a people who’ve been carried away into exile.

They’re wondering if they’ll even exist in another generation.

Yet God’s promise of faithfulness is strong and sure.

We know, from the Apostle Paul, writing in Galatians and Ephesians that today, we, as Christians, are the new Israel of God. (Galatians 3 & 6:16 and Ephesians 2:13-15)

We’re children of Abraham, and God’s chosen people, by faith in Christ. 

Unlike the covenant God made at Mt. Sinai, this new covenant is written by God on our hearts.

He does this through the means of grace found within His Church as He offers forgiveness in the absolution of the Divine Service,

as He pours out the Holy Spirit on us in Baptism,

as He feeds us very His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper,

and as He richly gives us His life-saving Word.

In our reading from the Book of Hebrews the author is making an appeal to a group to remain Christian.

The audience could include Jewish priests who converted to Christianity, but now, facing persecution, are thinking about reverting to Judaism.

The argument the writer of Hebrews uses is a common technique from rhetoric in the 1st century.

He argues from the lesser to the greater.

The first verses of the book are an example:

“In the past God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, now He has spoken to us by his Son.”

The heart of the argument is that it’s better to be a Christian than it is to be at the top of the temple’s religious bureaucracy.

The author makes this argument based on the fact that Jesus is so much greater than Moses.

The Christian doesn’t need to make sacrifices because Jesus has made the one, and final, sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

Hebrews tells us Jesus learns obedience through suffering and becomes the salvation of all who obey him.

The ‘obedience’ of which the Book of Hebrews speaks forms the very covenant Jeremiah said God would write on our hearts.

Christ’s perfection and His sacrifice for our sins is what makes His obedience, even to death on a cross, our salvation.

Today in our Gospel reading John and James ask Jesus if they can sit on His right and left when He comes into the kingdom.

Jesus asks them if they can drink His cup.

Can they be baptized with His baptism?

They say, “Yes.”

Do they have a clue what they are asking for here?  

Jesus says no.

Christ explains that they will indeed be baptized with His baptism, but He can’t give the position on His right or left, there are others for whom that has been prepared.

In this world, it would be a pair of thieves who will be crucified with Him on Good Friday.

James was the first of the twelve disciples to be martyred.

John would serve Christ longer than any of the others.

They both spent their lives in difficult service to Christ.

One serves as a Christian martyr, the other pulls the plow of discipleship for 50 plus years.

According to church history, when John was in his 90’s people carried Him into church on a stretcher so he could preach.

The Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve.

Jesus puts the passion event in terms of service, and then connects this to the believer.

Christian scholars tell us the Gospel of Mark was written during the time of the emperor Nero’s persecutions in the first century.

Nero was covering Christians in tar, crucifying or tying them to a post, and setting them on fire to light up his dinner parties.

Our Christian lives are shaped by our crucified Lord.

Jesus didn’t describe His gruesome death as a horrible injustice, although it was.

He described it as an act of service, and then said that we likewise should be the servants of all.

The Greek word here in verse 44 is “doulos,” it means “slave.”

Crucifixion was known as the slave’s death, for no Roman citizen could be crucified.

When Jesus calls His followers to be slaves of all, that was not simply a nice sentiment, especially for Mark’s audience.

Our minds are to be those of Christ, who made Himself a sacrifice.

In this Gospel reading Christ defines our salvation and the life that flows out of His saving act.

It’s the gift of Jesus transforming us into a new creation that looks somewhat like Him, in His suffering, and in His service.

Our human nature lusts for power and authority.

By nature, we like to exist at the center of our own universe, and all is supposed to revolve around us.

But Christ dismisses that.

He writes a new “code” on our heart that governs us differently.

Now our joy is the blessing of our neighbour, the gift of self to another, putting someone else first.

Christ belongs in the center of our solar system; we’re tied to Him in a loving orbit by the gravity of His love.

Yet sometimes we’re afraid to ask people to take up a cross and follow Him.

We can even feel shy about asking them to give up one hour on Sunday to hear His true Word and worship Him in Church.

To help create a faith community in which we’re bound to one another by God’s love, a self-sacrificing God who declares each of us His forgiven child made worthy by the crucified and risen servant, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

 SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT    Page 194

SANCTUS (Holy, Holy, Holy)            Page 195

THE LORD’S PRAYER          Page 196

AGNUS DEI (Lamb of God)  Page 198

THE DISTRIBUTION

NUNC DIMITIS (Song of Simeon)  Page 199 

Post-Communion Collect (Right-hand column)  Page 201 

CLOSING HYMN: 423  “Jesus, Refuge of the Weary”                                                                                                       

[unitedstatesmailboxvirtual]

Nevada Mailbox: LeBron James condemns antisemitism amid Kyrie Irving controversy

Nevada Mailbox: LeBron James condemns antisemitism amid Kyrie Irving controversy Nevada Mailbox LeBron James condemns antisemitism amid Kyrie Irving controversy by Nevada Mailbox on Saturday 05 November 2022 04:54 AM UTC-05 | Tags: #nevadamailbox nevada-mailbox Lakers star LeBron James said Kyrie Irving "caused some harm to a lot of people" by promoting an antisemitic film and declining to rebuke antisemitism. Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York City NY New York New York NY North Carolina North Dakota Wisconsin Katie Oklahoma Goodfield Illinois November 05, 2022 at 03:20AM Tags: #nevadamailbox nevada-mailbox Dousman Wisconsin Castroville Texas Katie Oklahoma Goodfield Illinois Virtual Mailbox November 05, 2022 at 03:56AM

[room42]

No active NBA athletes condemning Kyrie Irving, antisemitism

No active NBA athletes condemning Kyrie Irving, antisemitism

Is Kyrie truly sorry, or sorry that he got suspended?Image: Getty Images It was one of the rare beautiful things about 2020. It’s a shame it took an event as obviously evil as George Floyd’s murder while in Minneapolis police custody to be the catalyst for such touching moments. Seeing the groundswell of support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath, and therefore Black people…

[pope-francis-quotes]

20th August >> (@vaticannews)  Pope Francis: Letter to the People of God. Pope Francis has responded to new reports of clerical sexual abuse and the ecclesial cover-up of abuse. In an impassioned letter addressed to the whole People of God, he calls on the Church to be close to victims in solidarity, and to join in acts of prayer and fasting in penance for those "atrocities".

"We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite." #PopeFrancis responds to reports of clerical sexual abuse in a #letter addressed to the whole People of #God.

Pope Francis: Letter to the People of God. Pope Francis has responded to new reports of clerical sexual abuse and the ecclesial cover-up of abuse. In an impassioned letter addressed to the whole People of God, he calls on the Church to be close to victims in solidarity, and to join in acts of prayer and fasting in penance for those "atrocities".

Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis To the People of God

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (1 Cor 12:26).  These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons.  Crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily among the victims, but also in their family members and in the larger community of believers and nonbelievers alike.  Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient.  Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated.  The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults.

1.      If one member suffers…

In recent days, a report was made public which detailed the experiences of at least a thousand survivors, victims of sexual abuse, the abuse of power and of conscience at the hands of priests over a period of approximately seventy years. Even though it can be said that most of these cases belong to the past, nonetheless as time goes on we have come to know the pain of many of the victims.  We have realized that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death; these wounds never go away. The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced.  But their outcry was more powerful than all the measures meant to silence it, or sought even to resolve it by decisions that increased its gravity by falling into complicity.  The Lord heard that cry and once again showed us on which side he stands.  Mary’s song is not mistaken and continues quietly to echo throughout history.  For the Lord remembers the promise he made to our fathers: “he has scattered the proud in their conceit; he has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty” (Lk 1:51-53).  We feel shame when we realize that our style of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite.

With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives.  We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.  I make my own the words of the then Cardinal Ratzinger when, during the Way of the Cross composed for Good Friday 2005, he identified with the cry of pain of so many victims and exclaimed: “How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to [Christ]!  How much pride, how much self-complacency!  Christ’s betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his body and blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart.  We can only call to him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison – Lord, save us! (cf. Mt 8:25)” (Ninth Station).

2.   … all suffer together with it

The extent and the gravity of all that has happened requires coming to grips with this reality in a comprehensive and communal way.  While it is important and necessary on every journey of conversion to acknowledge the truth of what has happened, in itself this is not enough.  Today we are challenged as the People of God to take on the pain of our brothers and sisters wounded in their flesh and in their spirit.  If, in the past, the response was one of omission, today we want solidarity, in the deepest and most challenging sense, to become our way of forging present and future history.  And this in an environment where conflicts, tensions and above all the victims of every type of abuse can encounter an outstretched hand to protect them and rescue them from their pain (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 228).  Such solidarity demands that we in turn condemn whatever endangers the integrity of any person.  A solidarity that summons us to fight all forms of corruption, especially spiritual corruption.  The latter is “a comfortable and self-satisfied form of blindness.  Everything then appears acceptable: deception, slander, egotism and other subtle forms of self-centeredness, for ‘even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light’ (2 Cor 11:14)” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 165).  Saint Paul’s exhortation to suffer with those who suffer is the best antidote against all our attempts to repeat the words of Cain: “Am I my brother's keeper?” (Gen 4:9).

I am conscious of the effort and work being carried out in various parts of the world to come up with the necessary means to ensure the safety and protection of the integrity of children and of vulnerable adults, as well as implementing zero tolerance and ways of making all those who perpetrate or cover up these crimes accountable.  We have delayed in applying these actions and sanctions that are so necessary, yet I am confident that they will help to guarantee a greater culture of care in the present and future.

Together with those efforts, every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need.  This change calls for a personal and communal conversion that makes us see things as the Lord does.  For as Saint John Paul II liked to say: “If we have truly started out anew from the contemplation of Christ, we must learn to see him especially in the faces of those with whom he wished to be identified” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 49).  To see things as the Lord does, to be where the Lord wants us to be, to experience a conversion of heart in his presence.  To do so, prayer and penance will help.  I invite the entire holy faithful People of God to a penitential exercise of prayer and fasting, following the Lord’s command.[1] This can awaken our conscience and arouse our solidarity and commitment to a culture of care that says “never again” to every form of abuse.

It is impossible to think of a conversion of our activity as a Church that does not include the active participation of all the members of God’s People.  Indeed, whenever we have tried to replace, or silence, or ignore, or reduce the People of God to small elites, we end up creating communities, projects, theological approaches, spiritualities and structures without roots, without memory, without faces, without bodies and ultimately, without lives.[2]  This is clearly seen in a peculiar way of understanding the Church’s authority, one common in many communities where sexual abuse and the abuse of power and conscience have occurred.  Such is the case with clericalism, an approach that “not only nullifies the character of Christians, but also tends to diminish and undervalue the baptismal grace that the Holy Spirit has placed in the heart of our people”.[3]   Clericalism, whether fostered by priests themselves or by lay persons, leads to an excision in the ecclesial body that supports and helps to perpetuate many of the evils that we are condemning today.  To say “no” to abuse is to say an emphatic “no” to all forms of clericalism.

It is always helpful to remember that “in salvation history, the Lord saved one people.  We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people.  That is why no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual.  Rather, God draws us to himself, taking into account the complex fabric of interpersonal relationships present in the human community.  God wanted to enter into the life and history of a people” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 6).  Consequently, the only way that we have to respond to this evil that has darkened so many lives is to experience it as a task regarding all of us as the People of God.  This awareness of being part of a people and a shared history will enable us to acknowledge our past sins and mistakes with a penitential openness that can allow us to be renewed from within.  Without the active participation of all the Church’s members, everything being done to uproot the culture of abuse in our communities will not be successful in generating the necessary dynamics for sound and realistic change.  The penitential dimension of fasting and prayer will help us as God’s People to come before the Lord and our wounded brothers and sisters as sinners imploring forgiveness and the grace of shame and conversion.  In this way, we will come up with actions that can generate resources attuned to the Gospel.  For “whenever we make the effort to return to the source and to recover the original freshness of the Gospel, new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today’s world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 11).

It is essential that we, as a Church, be able to acknowledge and condemn, with sorrow and shame, the atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons, clerics, and all those entrusted with the mission of watching over and caring for those most vulnerable.  Let us beg forgiveness for our own sins and the sins of others.   An awareness of sin helps us to acknowledge the errors, the crimes and the wounds caused in the past and allows us, in the present, to be more open and committed along a journey of renewed conversion.

Likewise, penance and prayer will help us to open our eyes and our hearts to other people’s sufferings and to overcome the thirst for power and possessions that are so often the root of those evils.  May fasting and prayer open our ears to the hushed pain felt by children, young people and the disabled.  A fasting that can make us hunger and thirst for justice and impel us to walk in the truth, supporting all the judicial measures that may be necessary.  A fasting that shakes us up and leads us to be committed in truth and charity with all men and women of good will, and with society in general, to combatting all forms of the abuse of power, sexual abuse and the abuse of conscience.

In this way, we can show clearly our calling to be “a sign and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race” (Lumen Gentium, 1).

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it”, said Saint Paul.  By an attitude of prayer and penance, we will become attuned as individuals and as a community to this exhortation, so that we may grow in the gift of compassion, in justice, prevention and reparation.  Mary chose to stand at the foot of her Son’s cross.  She did so unhesitatingly, standing firmly by Jesus’ side.  In this way, she reveals the way she lived her entire life.  When we experience the desolation caused by these ecclesial wounds, we will do well, with Mary, “to insist more upon prayer”, seeking to grow all the more in love and fidelity to the Church (SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, Spiritual Exercises, 319).  She, the first of the disciples, teaches all of us as disciples how we are to halt before the sufferings of the innocent, without excuses or cowardice.  To look to Mary is to discover the model of a true follower of Christ.

May the Holy Spirit grant us the grace of conversion and the interior anointing needed to express before these crimes of abuse our compunction and our resolve courageously to combat them.

                                                                       FRANCIS

Vatican City, 20th August 2018

Topics

PROTECTION OF MINORS

UNITED STATES

ABUSE

POPE FRANCIS

20th August 2018, 11:26