Podcasts about Confessor

We come to the end of Edward the Confessor's reign, storm clouds gather. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.Vos estis sal terrae. Quod si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur? ad nihilum valet ultra, nisi ut mittatur foras, et conculcetur ab hominibus. 14 You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.Vos estis lux mundi. Non potest civitas abscondi supra montem posita, 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.neque accedunt lucernam, et ponunt eam sub modio, sed super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt. 16 So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus : ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est. 17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.Nolite putare quoniam veni solvere legem, aut prophetas : non veni solvere, sed adimplere. 18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.Amen quippe dico vobis, donec transeat caelum et terra, jota unum aut unus apex non praeteribit a lege, donec omnia fiant. 19 He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.Qui ergo solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis, et docuerit sic homines, minimus vocabitur in regno caelorum : qui autem fecerit et docuerit, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum.[17] "To fulfill": By accomplishing all the figures and prophecies; and perfecting all that was imperfect.[18] "Amen": That is, assuredly of a truth. This Hebrew word, amen, is here retained by the example and authority of all the four Evangelists. It is used by our Lord as a strong asseveration, and affirmation of the truth.

14 For even as a man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his goods;Sicut enim homo peregre proficiscens, vocavit servos suos, et tradidit illis bona sua. 15 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey.Et uni dedit quinque talenta, alii autem duo, alii vero unum, unicuique secundum propriam virtutem : et profectus est statim. 16 And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five.Abiit autem qui quinque talenta acceperat, et operatus est in eis, et lucratus est alia quinque. 17 And in like manner he that had received the two, gained other two.Similiter et qui duo acceperat, lucratus est alia duo. 18 But he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord's money.Qui autem unum acceperat, abiens fodit in terram, et abscondit pecuniam domini sui. 19 But after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them.Post multum vero temporis venit dominus servorum illorum, et posuit rationem cum eis. 20 And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above.Et accedens qui quinque talenta acceperat, obtulit alia quinque talenta, dicens : Domine, quinque talenta tradidisti mihi, ecce alia quinque superlucratus sum. 21 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.Ait illi dominus ejus : Euge serve bone, et fidelis : quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super multa te constituam; intra in gaudium domini tui. 22 And he also that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me: behold I have gained other two.Accessit autem et qui duo talenta acceperat, et ait : Domine, duo talenta tradidisti mihi, ecce alia duo lucratus sum. 23 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.Ait illi dominus ejus : Euge serve bone, et fidelis : quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super multa te constituam; intra in gaudium domini tui.Archbishop of Magdeburg, he helped Pope Innocent II to triumph over the anti-pope Anacletus. He founded the Order of Premonstatensians, and died A.D. 1134.

He was born in Constantinople around 758, of pious parents: his father had been exiled under Constantine Copronymus for his steadfast veneration of the holy icons. Nikephoros served in the imperial palace as a secretary, but later renounced worldly success to struggle in monastic life near Constantinople. He built and administered a monastery which soon became filled with monks; but he himself never took the monastic habit, feeling himself unworthy. Though a layman, he took part in the Seventh Ecumenical Council at the request of the Emperor and Patriarch because of his remarkable knowledge of Holy Scripture. Much against his will, he was made Patriarch of Constantinople at the death of Patriarch Tarasios. He was made a monk, then elevated through all the priestly orders in a few days, then enthroned at St Sophia in 806.   A few years later, the Emperor Leo the Armenian took the throne. Patriarch Nikephoros, as was customary, sent him a Confession of the Orthodox Faith to sign. Leo put off signing the document until his coronation, then revealed himself to be an Iconoclast heretic. The Patriarch tried quietly to bring him back to the Orthodox faith, but to no avail. When the Emperor, in his turn, tried to make the holy Nikephoros bow to iconoclasm, the Patriarch clearly and publicly upheld the veneration of the holy Icons. For this he was deposed and driven into exile at the Monastery of St Theodore, which he himself had founded. Here he reposed, having served for nine years as Patriarch, and thirteen years in exile and privation.

Edward faces all-out rebellion spearheaded by Godwine. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He entered monastic life in early youth, and in time rose to the rank of Bishop in Chalcedon. As a hierarch, he showed outstanding compassion for the poor, caring for many orphans, widows and beggars. When the Emperor Leo the Armenian attacked the holy icons, Nicetas stood against him, and was driven into exile, where he reposed after much hardship and suffering.

Let's discuss one of the most, maybe the most misunderstood and misused verse in all the Bible. The other one is God helps those who help themselves which isn't even the Bible. But, here it is, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good...” Oh, there's more, “...to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Please don't use this verse with anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one. What I mean by that is if you get a chance to sit with someone suffering, maybe know it, pray over it, keep it in your mind, believe it, but maybe start a little softer. They often need comfort. They need to be seen and heard. They need to be free to process, to feel what they are going through with its full impact, to talk about it, to grieve. Good? Now back to the verse. This verse is smack dab in our scriptures for a reason. We cannot deny that. It's God's word to us. This verse is Paul's conclusion to a long conversation about how the Holy Spirit helps us in our struggles, our suffering, and our hardships. So what does it mean? I suggest we have the wrong perspective and that's why we struggle with what Paul is saying. Reflect on this quote for a bit and then let's discuss. ‘None of the good things of this present life can be relied on. They are shortlived. The things we see, though made by the creative Logos and the wisdom that transcends all wisdom, are always changing, now one way and now another, born upward and then downward. That is why it seems we are being played with. Before something can be laid hold of it flees and escapes our grasp. Yet there is purpose in all this, for when we reflect on the instability and fickleness of such things, we are led to seek refuge in the enduring things that are to come. For if life always went well, would we not become so attached to our present state, even though we know it will not last, and by deception become enslaved to pleasure? In the end we would think that our present life is the best and noblest, and forget that, being made in the image of God, we are destined for higher things.' — Maximus the Confessor ‘the Cosmic Mystery of Christ'

"This Saint was from Synnada in Phrygia of Asia Minor. In Constantinople he met Saint Theophylact (March 8); the holy Patriarch Tarasius, learning that Michael and Theophylact desired to become monks, sent them to a monastery on the Black Sea. Because of their great virtue, St Tarasius afterwards compelled them to accept consecration, Theophylact as Bishop of Nicomedia, and Michael as Bishop of his native Synnada. Because St Michael fearlessly confessed the veneration of the holy icons, he was banished by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo V the Armenian, who reigned from 813 to 820. After being driven from one place to another, in many hardships and bitter pains, St Michael died in exile." (Great Horologion)

27 Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have?Tunc respondens Petrus, dixit ei : Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te : quid ergo erit nobis? 28 And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel.Jesus autem dixit illis : Amen dico vobis, quod vos, qui secuti estis me, in regeneratione cum sederit Filius hominis in sede majestatis suae, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim, judicantes duodecim tribus Israel. 29 And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.Et omnis qui reliquerit domum, vel fratres, aut sorores, aut patrem, aut matrem, aut uxorem, aut filios, aut agros propter nomen meum, centuplum accipiet, et vitam aeternam possidebit.St Bernardine, born of noble parentage, left all and entered the Franciscan Order and became one of its chief glories. He preached everywhere the devotion to the name of Jesus, and died A.D. 1444.

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.[18] "Thou art Peter": As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[18] "Upon this rock": The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, [Matt 7:24-25].[18] "The gates of hell": That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.[19] "Loose upon earth": The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted.St Peter founded a branch of the Benedictine Order: the Celestines. Dragged forth from the solitude he loved, he was made Supreme Pontiff: he resigned the papacy in order to continue his hermit life. He died A.D. 1296.

-The Roman Catechism of Trent (RCT) p. 312-316. -The Sacraments, ep. 28. -Scrupulous vs Sensitive Conscience: https://www.padreperegrino.org/2021/02/scrupsens/ -Donate = https://www.padreperegrino.org/donate/ -Telegram: https://t.me/padreperegrino  

In 1049, Edward massed his fleet on the coast of Sandwich and events careen towards conflict that will change the fate of England. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 For even as a man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his goods;Sicut enim homo peregre proficiscens, vocavit servos suos, et tradidit illis bona sua. 15 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey.Et uni dedit quinque talenta, alii autem duo, alii vero unum, unicuique secundum propriam virtutem : et profectus est statim. 16 And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five.Abiit autem qui quinque talenta acceperat, et operatus est in eis, et lucratus est alia quinque. 17 And in like manner he that had received the two, gained other two.Similiter et qui duo acceperat, lucratus est alia duo. 18 But he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord's money.Qui autem unum acceperat, abiens fodit in terram, et abscondit pecuniam domini sui. 19 But after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them.Post multum vero temporis venit dominus servorum illorum, et posuit rationem cum eis. 20 And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above.Et accedens qui quinque talenta acceperat, obtulit alia quinque talenta, dicens : Domine, quinque talenta tradidisti mihi, ecce alia quinque superlucratus sum. 21 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.Ait illi dominus ejus : Euge serve bone, et fidelis : quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super multa te constituam; intra in gaudium domini tui. 22 And he also that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me: behold I have gained other two.Accessit autem et qui duo talenta acceperat, et ait : Domine, duo talenta tradidisti mihi, ecce alia duo lucratus sum. 23 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.Ait illi dominus ejus : Euge serve bone, et fidelis : quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super multa te constituam; intra in gaudium domini tui.St Ubald received episcopal consecration and became Bishop of Gubbio in Umbria. He used to full advantage the talents which God had entrusted to him, and died piously A.D. 1160. His body has remained incorrupt up to our time.

1 At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?In illa hora accesserunt discipuli ad Jesum, dicentes : Quis, putas, major est in regno caelorum? 2 And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them,Et advocans Jesus parvulum, statuit eum in medio eorum, 3 And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.et dixit : Amen dico vobis, nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum caelorum. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.Quicumque ergo humiliaverit se sicut parvulus iste, hic est major in regno caelorum. 5 And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.Et qui susceperit unum parvulum talem in nomine meo, me suscipit :St John Baptist studied theology at the Sorbonne. Inspired by God to give a Christian education to the poor, he founded the Brother of the Christian Schools which soon spread throughout the world. In private life he treated himself with extreme rigour, and died full of merits and years in A.D. 1719.

Dorottya Uhrin is an assistant professor at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Medieval History Department.  In this interview she discusses her on-going research into the phenomenon of the ‘virgin kings' that occurred in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Europe. Dorottya's work focusses on Prince Emeric, the last surviving son of King Istvan I of Hungary who, according to his saintly legend, died a virgin.  She compares Emeric's history and legend with those of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and the English king, Edward the Confessor, who were, again according to their saintly legends, ‘virgin kings'.  Dorottya notes that while they were all venerated for their perceived sanctity, the image of the ‘virgin king' as a positive phenomenon was short lived and their popularity was limited.  This was possibly due to the lack of legitimate heirs, which for Hungary caused significant internal conflict, and for England eventually resulted in a foreign invasion.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.

13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.Vos estis sal terrae. Quod si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur? ad nihilum valet ultra, nisi ut mittatur foras, et conculcetur ab hominibus. 14 You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.Vos estis lux mundi. Non potest civitas abscondi supra montem posita, 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.neque accedunt lucernam, et ponunt eam sub modio, sed super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt. 16 So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus : ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est. 17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.Nolite putare quoniam veni solvere legem, aut prophetas : non veni solvere, sed adimplere. 18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.Amen quippe dico vobis, donec transeat caelum et terra, jota unum aut unus apex non praeteribit a lege, donec omnia fiant. 19 He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.Qui ergo solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis, et docuerit sic homines, minimus vocabitur in regno caelorum : qui autem fecerit et docuerit, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum.[17] "To fulfill": By accomplishing all the figures and prophecies; and perfecting all that was imperfect.[18] "Amen": That is, assuredly of a truth. This Hebrew word, amen, is here retained by the example and authority of all the four Evangelists. It is used by our Lord as a strong asseveration, and affirmation of the truth.St Gregory was education at Athens in all the sciences with St Basil the Great. He became bishop of Nazianzen and his profound knowledge earned for him the title of Doctor and Theologian, titles confirmed by the Church. He died A.D. 389

Once a week, on a Thursday, Stacey and J Sbu get into other people's lives. This week we've got anonymous from Hillcrest, who is feeling a bit emotional about their home situation. Here's what they had to say: “I'm the strong one in my family, the one everyone depends on. But I'm tired and no one checks on me. Do I speak up… or just keep going?” While J Sbu received an influx of worried and helpful voicenotes, he also spoke with Registered Counsellor Linda Turner. If you missed it live, listen in!

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.[18] "Thou art Peter": As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[18] "Upon this rock": The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, [Matt 7:24-25].[18] "The gates of hell": That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.[19] "Loose upon earth": The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted.Pope Pius V, of the Order of Preachers, was a Pope of great sanctity. His pontificate was one of the most glorious. He enforced obedience to the decress to the Council of Trent and revised the Missal and the Breviary. He died A.D. 1572.

Sermon XXIV, taken from "Sermons for Sunday", a compilation of homilies by St. Alphonsus Liguori (+1787) Please consider donating to help keep this podcast going by going to buymeacoffee.com/catholicdailybrief Also, if you enjoy these episodes, please give a five star rating and share the podcast with your friends and family

We begin our look at Edward the Confessor by looking at his early reign in the 1040s. Credits –  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 23 And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another. Amen I say to you, you shall not finish all the cities of Israel, till the Son of man come.Cum autem persequentur vos in civitate ista, fugite in aliam. Amen dico vobis, non consummabitis civitates Israel, donec veniat Filius hominis. 24 The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord.Non est discipulus super magistrum, nec servus super dominum suum : 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the goodman of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household?sufficit discipulo ut sit sicut magister ejus, et servo, sicut dominus ejus. Si patremfamilias Beelzebub vocaverunt, quanto magis domesticos ejus? 26 Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known.Ne ergo timueritis eos. Nihil enim est opertum, quod non revelabitur : et occultum, quod non scietur. 27 That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light: and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.Quod dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine : et quod in aure auditis, praedicate super tecta. 28 And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.Et nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam autem non possunt occidere : sed potius timete eum, qui potest et animam et corpus perdere in gehennam.Jesus foretells that the enemies of the Church shall persecute His disciples.

There are sins that shock us. And there are sins we commit while feeling righteous. The Fathers place condemnation among the most dangerous of all, because it disguises itself as discernment, zeal, clarity, moral seriousness, concern for truth, or defense of virtue. It allows the soul to remain dark while imagining itself full of light. The monk in Tyre publicly takes the prostitute Porphyria by the hand to save her soul. He does not protect his image. He does not manage appearances. He does not consult public opinion. He risks slander to rescue a human being. The city immediately does what cities always do. It interprets evil. It invents details. It delights in scandal. It spreads rumor as if rumor were truth. This is the ancient world. It is also the modern one. People love condemnation because it relieves them of repentance. If another is filthy, then I feel cleaner. If another is hypocritical, then I need not examine my own hypocrisy. If another has fallen, then I may remain standing in my own imagination. The Evergetinos says something brutal and true: corrupt people readily believe corrupt things because they assume others are like themselves. The suspicious man is often revealing himself more than exposing anyone else. The monk bears this slander silently. He saves the woman, has her tonsured as a nun, entrusts her to the monastic life, and accepts years of false judgment. Only at death does God vindicate him through the miracle of the burning coals. Why then? Because God often waits until the end to expose the blindness of men. How many people have we judged who were secretly dear to God? How many motives have we misread? How many stories have we narrated from fragments and vanity? Abba Isaiah brings the matter into ordinary life. You need something from your brother. Instead of asking simply, you brood. You resent that he did not anticipate your need. You accuse him silently. The Elder says plainly: you are the one at fault. This is devastating because so much of our inner life is built on unspoken expectations. We punish others for failing standards we never voiced. Then we call ourselves wounded. St. Maximos the Confessor goes deeper still. Whoever busies himself with the sins of others has not yet begun repentance. Not advanced repentance. Not deep repentance. Begun. This means many religious people who speak constantly of the failures of the Church, society, clergy, family, culture, and enemies may not yet have entered the first room of spiritual life. They know outrage. They know commentary. They know denunciation. But they do not know repentance. The Gerontikon exposes another horror. A brother obsessed with impurity suspects two monks of sin. The Elder says the passion is in him. This is ascetic psychology of the highest order. What we compulsively detect in others often reveals what is active in ourselves. The lustful see lust everywhere. The proud detect pride everywhere. The deceitful suspect hidden motives everywhere. The bitter interpret everything through offense. They are reading their own soul onto the world. Abba Poimen adds one of the fiercest counsels in the tradition. Even if you think you touched the evidence with your own hands, do not be quick to condemn. The brother who thought he discovered fornication found only two bundles of wheat. This is not comic relief. It is revelation. You do not see clearly. You think you do. That is the danger. The section on St. John the Merciful reveals another blindness. We know the public sin. We do not know the secret repentance. The one we condemn today may already be weeping before God tonight. The one whose fall we discuss may already be rising while we remain unchanged. And here is the sharpest word of all from Abba John the Short: there is no greater virtue than not disparaging others. Why would he say this? Because the man who stops condemning is finally free to begin working on himself. The modern world feeds on accusation. Social media monetizes it. News cycles depend on it. Religious factions organize around it. Whole identities are formed through shared contempt. The Fathers would call this mass demonic pedagogy. You become what you repeatedly contemplate. If you feed daily on the faults of others, you slowly become a soul incapable of compunction. So what is the path? Speak less. Assume less. Ask plainly. Interpret slowly. Pray for the one you are tempted to judge. Return attention to your own sins. Let hidden things remain hidden unless duty truly requires action. And if genuine wrongdoing must be addressed, do so with sobriety, evidence, tears, and fear for your own soul. Here is the fierce conclusion: The soul that needs others to be guilty in order to feel innocent has not yet met God. Because the one who has stood honestly before God loses appetite for condemnation. He has too much to repent of. The Fathers do not ask you to become naive. They ask you to become clean. And cleanliness begins when you stop making a home for suspicion. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:02:57 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 5 Volume III - section 3 00:22:10 vanessa s (vanessa s): My daughter was supposed to go to Israel this summer but Air Canada cancelled all flights due to security issues. 00:22:20 vanessa s (vanessa s): :( 00:27:45 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 5 Volume III - section 3 00:35:22 Julie: Our Imagination can trick us when we start judging …our senses can be hijacked by our Assumptions 00:35:38 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "Our Imagination can ..." with

54 And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so that they wondered and said: How came this man by this wisdom and miracles?Et veniens in patriam suam, docebat eos in synagogis eorum, ita ut mirarentur, et dicerent : Unde huic sapientia haec, et virtutes? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude:Nonne hic est fabri filius? nonne mater ejus dicitur Maria, et fratres ejus, Jacobus, et Joseph, et Simon, et Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence therefore hath he all these things?et sorores ejus, nonne omnes apud nos sunt? unde ergo huic omnia ista? 57 And they were scandalized in his regard. But Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.Et scandalizabantur in eo. Jesus autem dixit eis : Non est propheta sine honore, nisi in patria sua, et in domo sua. 58 And he wrought not many miracles there, because of their unbelief.Et non fecit ibi virtutes multas propter incredulitatem illorum.[55] "His brethren": These were the children of Mary the wife of Cleophas, sister to our Blessed Lady, ([Matt 27:56], [John 19:25]) and therefore, according to the usual style of the Scripture, they were called brethren, that is, near relations to our Saviour.Work, imposed on man as a penalty, is transformed into a blessing through his communion with the life and work and death of Jesus Christ, a communion he effected by the active part he takes in the Sacrifice and Communion of the Mass---with St Joseph as the model and patron. This feast was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1956.

Send us Fan MailSt Catherine of Siena's life is one of the most extraordinary in the history of the Catholic Church. In this episode, we explore her miracles, visions, and encounters with demonic forces—based not on legend, but on the firsthand account of her confessor, Blessed Raymond of Capua.From her early visions of Christ to her radical life of prayer and penance, Catherine's story reveals the reality of spiritual warfare, the power of grace, and the central role of the Eucharist in the Christian life.You'll hear:Eyewitness accounts of her miracles and healingsHer encounters with demons and spiritual battleHer deep devotion to the Holy EucharistThe conversion of souls through her intercessionSt Catherine's life is not only a powerful testimony of holiness—it's a reminder of what God can do through a soul fully surrendered to Him.Listen now and discover the true story of St Catherine of Siena.Support the showSupport this show and get all future episodes by email atwww.kenandjanelle.com

1 And after these things the Lord appointed also other seventy-two: and he sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself was to come.Post haec autem designavit Dominus et alios septuaginta duos : et misit illos binos ante faciem suam in omnem civitatem et locum, quo erat ipse venturus. 2 And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest.Et dicebat illis : Messis quidem multa, operarii autem pauci. Rogate ergo dominum messis ut mittat operarios in messem suam. 3 Go: Behold I send you as lambs among wolves.Ite : ecce ego mitto vos sicut agnos inter lupos. 4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes; and salute no man by the way.Nolite portare sacculum, neque peram, neque calceamenta, et neminem per viam salutaveritis. 5 Into whatsoever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house.In quamcumque domum intraveritis, primum dicite : Pax huic domui : 6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you.et si ibi fuerit filius pacis, requiescet super illum pax vestra : sin autem, ad vos revertetur. 7 And in the same house, remain, eating and drinking such things as they have: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Remove not from house to house.In eadem autem domo manete, edentes et bibentes quae apud illos sunt : dignus est enim operarius mercede sua. Nolite transire de domo in domum. 8 And into what city soever you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.Et in quamcumque civitatem intraveritis, et susceperint vos, manducate quae apponuntur vobis : 9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say to them: The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.et curate infirmos, qui in illa sunt, et dicite illis : Appropinquavit in vos regnum Dei.St Paul all his life had a burning love for Jesus. He founded the Congregation of Passionists. He and his brethren were preachers of "the mystery of the cross and devotion to the Passion". He died A.D. 1775.

 13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.Vos estis sal terrae. Quod si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur? ad nihilum valet ultra, nisi ut mittatur foras, et conculcetur ab hominibus. 14 You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.Vos estis lux mundi. Non potest civitas abscondi supra montem posita, 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.neque accedunt lucernam, et ponunt eam sub modio, sed super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt. 16 So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus : ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est. 17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.Nolite putare quoniam veni solvere legem, aut prophetas : non veni solvere, sed adimplere. 18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.Amen quippe dico vobis, donec transeat caelum et terra, jota unum aut unus apex non praeteribit a lege, donec omnia fiant. 19 He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.Qui ergo solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis, et docuerit sic homines, minimus vocabitur in regno caelorum : qui autem fecerit et docuerit, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum.[17] "To fulfill": By accomplishing all the figures and prophecies; and perfecting all that was imperfect.[18] "Amen": That is, assuredly of a truth. This Hebrew word, amen, is here retained by the example and authority of all the four Evangelists. It is used by our Lord as a strong asseveration, and affirmation of the truth.Peter Kanis, born at Nijmegen in Holland, after brilliant studies at Cologne and Louvain, entered the Company of Jesus, of which he is one of the chief glories. The wisdom of his controversy, his eloquent preaching, his instructive writings (for example the first Catechism) caused him to be called the Hammer of Protestantism. He died at Fribourg in Switzerland. A.D. 1597.

Reading Father Gregory the Confessor from Athonite Fathers of the 20th Century

Paul Axton preaches: Bringing together the thought of William Desmond with Maximus the Confessor, this sermon traces how the seventh day is the revelation and reflexive divine presence fulfilled in Christ.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

The righteous George was Metropolitan of Mitylene. In his old age, a persecution was unleashed against the Church by the iconoclast Emperor Leo V (the Armenian). To further his plans, the Emperor summoned a Council of bishops which he expected to support his iconoclasm. At the Council, George and some other faithful bishops refused to follow the Emperor's wishes, and openly stood in defense of the icons. For his stance, George was publicly humiliated, then sent into exile at Cherson on the Black Sea. There, after many years of extreme privation, the holy bishop died. By his prayers many were healed, both during his life and after his repose.

Philippians 4:4-9; John 12:1-18 Palm Sunday reveals both our love for Christ and our temptation to abandon Him when He does not meet our expectations. This homily invites us to see ourselves in the Gospel, to embrace the deeper work of transformation, and to follow the King who leads us not to comfort, but to life through the Cross. --- Palm Sunday Homily 2026 For the Jews two thousand years ago, today was the culmination of their long waiting: the Messiah had come to save them. "Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!" It is a great day for us as well—the end of Great Lent, the celebration of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We take up the first fruits of spring—palm leaves and pussy willows—not just as decoration, but as a sign of renewal. The winter of waiting is over. Christ has come among His people. As the Church sings in the Triodion: "Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and we all take up Thy Cross and say: Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord." And more than that: He has come into our lives. This feast is not only about what happened in Jerusalem long ago. It is about the moment when Christ entered into our own story—when we first recognized Him as Lord, when we opened our hearts to Him, when we felt the relief of His presence. For many of us, that moment was marked by healing: the easing of despair, the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of hope. And so we cried out: "Hosanna in the Highest—the King has come to save!" Not just Israel. Me. But here is where the Gospel becomes dangerous for us. Because the people who cried "Hosanna" were not wrong to rejoice. They were wrong about what that joy meant. They loved Christ because He met their expectations. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He gave them hope that their visible, worldly problems would be solved. Of course they loved Him. And we do the same. We love Christ when He meets our expectations:   when He brings peace   when He answers prayers the way we want   when He restores what we think should be restored We love the Church for the same reason:   when it comforts us   when it feels like home   when it confirms what we already believe We cry "Hosanna" when Christ—and His Body, the Church—fit into the life we already want. But then something happens. Christ moves beyond our expectations. He refuses to remain what we first loved Him for. And here the Church gives us words that both celebrate and correct us. In the hymns of this feast, we sing: "Seated in heaven upon Thy throne and on earth upon a colt, O Christ God, Thou hast accepted the praise of the angels and the song of the children who cried unto Thee: Blessed art Thou who hast come to call back Adam." He comes as King—but not the kind of king we expect. He comes not to confirm our plans—but to restore Adam. And this is why Lent has prepared us. All through the season, in the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, we have been taught how to read Scripture: "I alone have sinned against Thee." "I am the one who has fallen." We are not spectators in the Gospel. We are participants. So when the crowd turns from "Hosanna" to rejection— we do not say, "they did this." We say: "I am capable of this." We are the ones who welcome Christ when He fits our expectations —and are tempted to abandon Him when He does not. And this is not just about Christ in abstraction.   It is about Christ in His Body—the Church. We love the Church when it gives us what we expect:      beauty      stability      meaning But when the Church calls us to something harder—      to repentance      to forgiveness      to self-denial —we can become disappointed. Even resistant. Even tempted to step back. But that later moment—the moment of disappointment— is often more important than the moment of joy. Because that is the moment when Christ is no longer fitting into our life— He is transforming it. And this transformation is not accidental. As Maximus the Confessor teaches, the spiritual life is the purification and reordering of our desires. We begin by loving God for what He gives us—but we are called to love Him for Himself. What begins as expectation must be healed into communion. We see this even in the Liturgy. In the Great Entrance, Christ comes among us. He is received with honor and reverence. But then a turn is made; the stairs up the amvon to the altar     are the mountain of Golgotha. And His throne is revealed—not as a seat of earthly glory— but as an altar of sacrifice. And the hymns of this Great Feast prepare us even for this. We sing: "Today the Master of creation and the Lord of glory enters Jerusalem seated on a colt. He hastens to His Passion, to fulfill the Law and the Prophets." The One we welcomed in joy— is already going to the Cross. This is the truth the crowd did not expect. And it is the truth we struggle with. Christ does not come simply to solve our problems. He comes to transform us. Not to meet our expectations— but to purify them. Not to give us the life we imagined— but to give us His life. So today we are given a choice. When Christ meets our expectations, we rejoice. But when He overturns them—when He exceeds them—when He leads us through the Cross—      what will we do then?      Will we turn away?      Or will we follow Him still? Some saw this day as the end—the fulfillment of everything they had hoped for. But it was not the end. It was the beginning. The beginning of a path that leads through suffering, through death— and into resurrection. So do not make your heart a place that welcomes Christ only on your terms. Do not turn your heart into a tomb for the King. Let it be His throne. Receive Him not only in triumph—but in sacrifice. Not only in consolation—but in transformation. Because He will not remain what we expect. And thanks be to God— He will become something far greater. "Let us also, like the children, bear the symbols of victory, and cry out to the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord."

He took up the monastic life when very young, and lived as a recluse for many years, and gained the grace to heal sicknesses and drive out demons by his prayers. Later he became abbot of the Monastery of Pelekete in Bithynia. During the reign of the Emperor Leo the Isaurian, he and his monastery steadfastly upheld the holy icons, and were fiercely persecuted. Hilarion and his forty monks were exiled to a prison near Ephesus, where the Saint reposed.

Born in 1865, he was tonsured a monk in 1891, and consecrated a Bishop in 1891. From 1900, he was Bishop of Alaska, with oversight of the Church throughout North America. In America, he consecrated the first Orthodox monastery on the continent and worked tirelessly to unite all ethnic groups as one flock. In 1907 he was made Bishop of Yaroslavl and returned to Russia.   In 1917, he was elected to be the first Patriarch of Moscow since the abolition of the Patriarchate by Tsar Peter the Great more than 200 years before. Almost immediately, the Russian Church was plunged into new and terrible persecution as an atheist and totalitarian government seized control. Patriarch Tikhon always sought not to quarrel with the Communist government, but his refusal to deny his faith or his Church marked him in their eyes as an enemy. In 1925 he died under mysterious circumstances, and is generally thought to have been murdered by the Soviets. He is commemorated as a Confessor, and by many as a Martyr also.   Note: because his commemoration falls on the Feast of the Annunciation, his service is usually transferred to the day before or after the Feast.

When the Angles, Saxons and Jutes began settling across England in the wake of the Roman retreat in the early fifth century, the city they found on the north bank of the Thames was hardly a city at all. Within its walls were the great abandoned ruins of antiquity, ‘the works of giants' as one Anglo-Saxon poet put it, and little else. For hundreds of years the site was patchily inhabited, but two features indicated its future importance. In 604, the first Bishop of London was appointed, leading to the continuous presence of Christianity and the founding of St Paul's Cathedral; and down the river, the emergence of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Lundenwic near where Covent Garden is today confirmed the area's prime position as a trading centre. By the time Alfred repelled the Danes in the ninth century, London's value had been realised, and the symbolic movement of the royal court from Winchester to Westminster under Edward the Confessor set London's trajectory. In this episode, Rosemary is joined by Matthew Davies, professor of urban history at Birkbeck, to trace this story of London through the multiple invasions, grand projects and power struggles that took it from a field of ruins to a flourishing medieval capital. Reading by Duncan Wilkins Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applesignuplr Other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/scsignuplr Further reading in the LRB: Eamon Duffy on Westminster: https://lrb.me/lrep301 Ferdinand Mount on Henry III: https://lrb.me/lrep304 Tom Shippey on Alfred: https://lrb.me/lrep302 Ysenda Maxtone Graham on the Strand: https://lrb.me/lrep303 Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk

His birthplace and the place of his episcopate are unknown. He was a monk of the Studion monastery in Constantinople, and a disciple of St Theodore the Studite. As a bishop he was severely persecuted by the iconoclasts in the time of the Emperor Constantine Copronymus, enduring hunger, imprisonment and mocking, thus earning the title "Confessor." Saint Theodore wrote a homily in honor of him.

18 Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.Christi autem generatio sic erat : cum esset desponsata mater ejus Maria Joseph, antequam convenirent inventa est in utero habens de Spiritu Sancto. 19 Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately.Joseph autem vir ejus cum esset justus, et nollet eam traducere, voluit occulte dimittere eam. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.Haec autem eo cogitante, ecce angelus Domini apparuit in somnis ei, dicens : Joseph, fili David, noli timere accipere Mariam conjugem tuam : quod enim in ea natum est, de Spiritu Sancto est. 21 And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he shall save his people from their sins.Pariet autem filium : et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum : ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum.[16] "The husband of Mary": The Evangelist gives us rather the pedigree of St. Joseph, than that of the blessed Virgin, to conform to the custom of the Hebrews, who in their genealogies took no notice of women; but as they were near akin, the pedigree of the one sheweth that of the other.

Great Lent 2026; Sunday of the Cross "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24) Christ is talking as if "coming after" or "following" Him is something good. What is that all about? Where is He going? Where is He leading us? Christ talks about "denying" ourselves. In the next verse He ties that to being willing to die. This sounds important. We need to get it right. There is a great lie in our world: that all religions are basically the same. But Scripture warns us that the devil himself can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). So it is not enough simply to have faith in something. Why in the world are there so many warnings in the Bible about idolatry? Some people focus on sexual sin. But even Scripture often uses sexual sin as a metaphor for something even worse: worshipping false gods. One is bad—but the other is worse. Just as marriage is good, but union with God is even greater. So we need to get this cross thing right. Is it just about perseverance? Everyone has their own cross to bear? Well… kind of. But even that needs to be grounded. We are not simply stoics. If we are stoics at all, we are stoics of a very particular kind. So what is the cross? Yes, it involves pain. But not just any pain. Look to the prototype. We are Christians, and Christ is our standard. His cross was painful—but it was pain put to a purpose. It was sacrificial. He gave Himself as a sacrifice. And all sacrifice involves something valuable—something costly, something difficult. Pain can be like that. The cross was Christ's sacrifice on behalf of the people and the world that He loved. That gives us something to work with. Taking up our cross means doing things that are hard on behalf of others. At the very least, it means denying what we might prefer so that others can thrive. For Christ, that meant leaving the place where He was given the glory and honor that was His due and coming to live in a world where He would be disrespected, misunderstood, and even tortured and killed. And He did it so that we—the ones He loves—could join Him in eternal glory. When we voluntarily sacrifice our time, when we put up with people who misunderstand us, who may not value us, who may never fully appreciate what we are doing—and we do it out of a desire for their health and salvation … … then we are taking up our cross and following Christ into glory. So be patient when your ego tells you to lash out. Be courageous when your instincts tell you to hide. Figure out what love requires in each moment—and then dedicate yourself to it. In addition to patience and courage, this requires paying attention. It requires humility. It requires dedication to the needs of the moment. And it surely won't be easy. But this is the cup that our Lord accepted in the Garden of Gethsemane—the cup that led to the salvation of the world. And when we drink of that cup, we are united to Him through His passion on the Cross. But we must remember something very important. The cross is not the end of the story. Christ did not go to the cross in order to remain in the grave. He went through the cross into resurrection. And this is exactly where the Church is leading us during Great Lent. We are walking the road of the cross now so that we may stand together in the light of Pascha. Our Lord Himself told us how this works: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." In Christ, the cross is never the final word. What passes through the cross is changed. We die with Him so that we may live with Him. Buried with Him in death, we rise with Him into newness of life. As St. Maximus the Confessor says, "The one who participates in Christ's sufferings also shares in His glory." Suffering offered in love becomes glory. Sacrifice becomes participation in His life. And even death becomes the doorway to life. This is the mystery the Church sings every year at Pascha: Yesterday I was buried with Thee, O Christ;today I arise with Thee in Thy resurrection. This is where Christ is leading us. Through the cross. Into resurrection. So when the moment comes—and it will come—when love requires something difficult from you, do not be afraid of the cross. Take it up. Follow Him. Because on the other side of the cross is life— life with Christ, life with all the saints, and life in the glory of the Kingdom.  

Kept Until His Appearing – Part 4: Light Unapproachable, Life Undying I Timothy 6:16 "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." Paul has climbed through a mountain range of theology. Vs13: the Charge – God the Life-Giver, Christ the Confessor. Vs14: the Custody – keep the commandment pure till He appears. Vs15: the Crown – the blessed and only Potentate.
Now verse 16 brings the Climax – the nature of that Potentate Himself. This is not a doctrinal footnote but a thunderclap of worship. Paul ends as he began: in the sight of God. The King who will appear is no temporal monarch but the eternal, self-existent, self-sustaining God. Have you recently decided to follow Jesus? Take your next step with Jesus: https://cbcgb.co.uk ⛪ ABOUT CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCHES: We believe that our Calvary Baptist Churches are a movement for all people to know God, Reaching Others, Building Lives, Honouring God and Make a Difference.

Kept Until His Appearing – Part 4: Light Unapproachable, Life Undying I Timothy 6:16 "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." Paul has climbed through a mountain range of theology. Vs13: the Charge – God the Life-Giver, Christ the Confessor. Vs14: the Custody – keep the commandment pure till He appears. Vs15: the Crown – the blessed and only Potentate.
Now verse 16 brings the Climax – the nature of that Potentate Himself. This is not a doctrinal footnote but a thunderclap of worship. Paul ends as he began: in the sight of God. The King who will appear is no temporal monarch but the eternal, self-existent, self-sustaining God. Have you recently decided to follow Jesus? Take your next step with Jesus: https://cbcgb.co.uk ⛪ ABOUT CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCHES: We believe that our Calvary Baptist Churches are a movement for all people to know God, Reaching Others, Building Lives, Honouring God and Make a Difference.

St. Maximus the Confessor has a Lenten thought that Fr. Kubicki shares on today's reflection. Hear more about his bravery.

From St Maximus the Confessor

13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.Vos estis sal terrae. Quod si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur? ad nihilum valet ultra, nisi ut mittatur foras, et conculcetur ab hominibus. 14 You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.Vos estis lux mundi. Non potest civitas abscondi supra montem posita, 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.neque accedunt lucernam, et ponunt eam sub modio, sed super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt. 16 So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus : ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est. 17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.Nolite putare quoniam veni solvere legem, aut prophetas : non veni solvere, sed adimplere. 18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.Amen quippe dico vobis, donec transeat caelum et terra, jota unum aut unus apex non praeteribit a lege, donec omnia fiant. 19 He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.Qui ergo solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis, et docuerit sic homines, minimus vocabitur in regno caelorum : qui autem fecerit et docuerit, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum.

1 And after these things the Lord appointed also other seventy-two: and he sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself was to come.Post haec autem designavit Dominus et alios septuaginta duos : et misit illos binos ante faciem suam in omnem civitatem et locum, quo erat ipse venturus. 2 And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest.Et dicebat illis : Messis quidem multa, operarii autem pauci. Rogate ergo dominum messis ut mittat operarios in messem suam. 3 Go: Behold I send you as lambs among wolves.Ite : ecce ego mitto vos sicut agnos inter lupos. 4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes; and salute no man by the way.Nolite portare sacculum, neque peram, neque calceamenta, et neminem per viam salutaveritis. 5 Into whatsoever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house.In quamcumque domum intraveritis, primum dicite : Pax huic domui : 6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you.et si ibi fuerit filius pacis, requiescet super illum pax vestra : sin autem, ad vos revertetur. 7 And in the same house, remain, eating and drinking such things as they have: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Remove not from house to house.In eadem autem domo manete, edentes et bibentes quae apud illos sunt : dignus est enim operarius mercede sua. Nolite transire de domo in domum. 8 And into what city soever you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.Et in quamcumque civitatem intraveritis, et susceperint vos, manducate quae apponuntur vobis : 9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say to them: The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.et curate infirmos, qui in illa sunt, et dicite illis : Appropinquavit in vos regnum Dei.St Titus, Bishop of Crete, was one of the most faithful disciples of St Paul. The Apostle wrote to Titus a letter included in Holy Scripture. He died A.D. 101.

14 For even as a man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his goods;Sicut enim homo peregre proficiscens, vocavit servos suos, et tradidit illis bona sua. 15 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey.Et uni dedit quinque talenta, alii autem duo, alii vero unum, unicuique secundum propriam virtutem : et profectus est statim. 16 And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five.Abiit autem qui quinque talenta acceperat, et operatus est in eis, et lucratus est alia quinque. 17 And in like manner he that had received the two, gained other two.Similiter et qui duo acceperat, lucratus est alia duo. 18 But he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord's money.Qui autem unum acceperat, abiens fodit in terram, et abscondit pecuniam domini sui. 19 But after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them.Post multum vero temporis venit dominus servorum illorum, et posuit rationem cum eis. 20 And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above.Et accedens qui quinque talenta acceperat, obtulit alia quinque talenta, dicens : Domine, quinque talenta tradidisti mihi, ecce alia quinque superlucratus sum. 21 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.Ait illi dominus ejus : Euge serve bone, et fidelis : quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super multa te constituam; intra in gaudium domini tui. 22 And he also that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me: behold I have gained other two.Accessit autem et qui duo talenta acceperat, et ait : Domine, duo talenta tradidisti mihi, ecce alia duo lucratus sum. 23 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.Ait illi dominus ejus : Euge serve bone, et fidelis : quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super multa te constituam; intra in gaudium domini tui.St Andrew, in his youth, led a dissolute life. Through the unceasing prayers and supplications of his mother, he was converted, became a famous Carmelite friar and was raised later to the dignity of Bishop of Fiesole. He died A.D. 1373.

1 At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?In illa hora accesserunt discipuli ad Jesum, dicentes : Quis, putas, major est in regno caelorum? 2 And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them,Et advocans Jesus parvulum, statuit eum in medio eorum, 3 And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.et dixit : Amen dico vobis, nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum caelorum. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.Quicumque ergo humiliaverit se sicut parvulus iste, hic est major in regno caelorum. 5 And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.Et qui susceperit unum parvulum talem in nomine meo, me suscipit :Don Bosco founded the Salesian Fathers and the Order of our Lady, Help of Christians, for the education of poor boys and girls. He died A.D. 1888.

God is loving and merciful, not judgmental and cruel Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. Last week I began sharing with you what is essentially a book report on the book called That All Shall Be Saved, Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation by David Bentley Hart, and he's the translator of the New Testament that I've been using. So, last week we got up to page 21 out of this book, and now I'm all the way up to page 85, so we'll see what happened in this latest round of reading. Now, David Bentley Hart's style of writing may not be for everyone. It's very academic, very high-minded and educated and erudite—difficult to follow if you're not accustomed to reading scholastic writing. But I believe his heart's in the right place, and I agree with pretty much everything he says. I will do my best to reinterpret what he is saying in simpler words, in case you're interested in the content, but not in its delivery method. So, picking it up on page 21, Hart says, And what could be more absurd than the claim that God's ways so exceed comprehension, that we dare not presume even to distinguish benevolence from malevolence in the divine, inasmuch as either can result in the same endless excruciating despair? Here the docile believer is simply commanded to nod in acquiescence, quietly and submissively, to feel moved at a strange and stirring obscurity, and to accept that, if only he or she could sound the depths of this mystery, its essence would somehow be revealed as infinite beauty and love. A rational person capable of that assent, however, of believing all of this to be a paradox concealing a deeper, wholly coherent truth, rather than a gross contradiction, has probably suffered such chronic intellectual and moral malformation that he or she is no longer able to recognize certain very plain truths, such as the truth that he or she has been taught to approve of divine deeds that, were they reduced to a human scale of action, would immediately be recognizable as expressions of unalloyed spite. And he's talking about the idea that most everyone and everything is going to hell and will suffer eternal torment. That is an interpretation or misinterpretation of the word brought about by incorrect translation of the original Coptic. Most of our Bible translations come off of old Latin Vulgate translations, and then they've been modernized. But that's how errors are brought forward. And what Hart has done in his New Testament translation is go back to the original, very oldest transcripts, still in Greek, before they were translated to Latin. And he did what he called a pitilessly accurate translation, where Hart was not trying to make the words that are being translated fit into a predetermined doctrine, like everyone going to hell, or like the Trinity, or eternal damnation. These things we've been taught to believe are in the Scripture, but when you actually go back to the original Scriptures prior to the Latin translations, they are not in the Scripture. And so this book that I'm doing the book report on here, That All Shall Be Saved, this is about universal salvation, and doing away with the idea. And he says in this section I just read you, that it is a malevolent idea, unalloyed spite, unalloyed meaning pure spite on the part of God, that's going to send everyone to hell that doesn't get it. And that we have been commanded by the Church over the last 2,000 years to just nod our heads and say, oh, well, it's God's will, or oh, well, how can I presume to distinguish benevolence from malevolence, good intention from bad intention on the part of God, because God is so great and good. We're supposed to be docile believers, to acquiesce, that is, to go along with, to quietly and submissively accept that we don't get it, that we don't understand the depths of the mystery, and someday we will, and that God is good, and God is just, and therefore everyone's going to hell, except for those few preordained elect from before time began. So this book is entirely against that proposition. So moving on, what I did was I read the book through, and I've highlighted the parts that seem worth sharing or very interesting. Now we're jumping to page 35, where he says that certain people, of my acquaintance who are committed to what is often called an intellectualist model of human liberty, as I am myself, [he says], but who also insist that it is possible for a soul freely to reject God's love with such perfect perpiscuity of understanding and intention as to merit eternal suffering. And we can tell from the context that perpiscuity means you get it. So he's saying, how is it even possible for a soul to freely reject the love of God and consign oneself into eternal torment? It just doesn't work. It's not possible. He says, this is an altogether dizzying contradiction. In simplest terms, that is to say, they, [that is, the intellectualists], want to assert that all true freedom is an orientation of the rational will toward an end that the mind takes in some sense to be the good, and so takes also as the one end that can fulfill the mind's nature and supply its desires. This means that the better the rational will knows the Good, and that's a capital G, Good, for what it is, the more that is that the will is freed from those forces that distort reason and lead the soul toward improper ends. The more it will long for and seek after the true good in itself, and conversely, the more rationally it seeks the good, the freer it is. He says that in terms of the great Maximus the Confessor, who lived from 580 to 660, the natural will within us, which is the rational ground of our whole power of volition, must tend only toward God as its true end, for God is goodness as such, whereas our gnomic or deliberative will can stray from him, but only to the degree that it has been blinded to the truth of who he is and what we are, and as a result has come to seek a false end as the true end. In short, sin requires some degree of ignorance, and ignorance is by definition a diverting of the mind and will to an end they would not naturally pursue. So, in other words, we all want what's best for ourself, even in the most selfish sense, even in the most egoic sense. The ego wants what is best for this person that it is part of, that that is the rational end of the ego's striving, what is best, and that there is a thing called good in the absolute sense, and if we realize that, then we would strive toward the good, by definition. Carrying on, page 37, I'm not saying that we do not in some very significant sense make our own exceedingly substantial voluntary contributions to our estrangement from the good in this life. And, see, he's just saying we all screw up. Even if we are seeking the good, we often fall backwards into the bad, okay? Up to a certain point, [he says], it is undeniable, but past that point it is manifest falsehood. There is no such thing as perfect freedom in this life, or perfect understanding, and it is sheer nonsense to suggest that we possess limitless or unqualified liberty. Therefore, we are incapable of contracting a limitless or unqualified guilt. There are always extenuating circumstances. Well, in a sense, that's true of all of us and all of our circumstances. We are a product of our environment, to some extent. But don't forget that in the Gnostic view, we also contain the pure goodness of God, the capital S Self, that reflects the Fullness of God. So we do know what goodness is, even if we are surrounded by badness. Quoting Hart again, page 40, Here though, I have to note that it is a thoroughly modern and wholly illogical notion that the power of absolutely unpremised liberty, obeying no rationale except its own spontaneous volition toward whatever end it might pose for itself, is either a real logical possibility or, in any meaningful sense, a proper definition of freedom. See? He's saying it's thoroughly modern and wholly illogical to think that we have complete freedom of will, and that we can choose to follow any unethical or immoral end that we wish to, because what's it matter? One choice being pretty much the same as another, you see. He goes on to say, in page 40, A choice made without rationale is a contradiction in terms. At the same time, any movement of the will prompted by an entirely perverse rationale would be, by definition, wholly irrational. Insane, that is to say. And therefore, no more truly free than a psychotic episode. The more one is in one's right mind, the more that is that one is conscious of God as the goodness that fulfills all beings. And the more one recognizes that one's own nature can have its true completion and joy nowhere but in Him, and the more one is unfettered by distorting misperceptions, deranged passions, and the encumbrances of past mistakes, the more inevitable is one's surrender to God, liberated from all ignorance, emancipated from all the adverse conditions of this life, the rational soul could freely will only its own union with God, and thereby its own supreme beatitude. We are, as it were, doomed to happiness, so long as our natures follow their healthiest impulses unhindered. And we cannot not will the satisfaction of our beings in our true final end, a transcendent good lying behind and beyond all the proximate ends we might be moved to pursue. This is no constraint upon the freedom of the will, coherently conceived. It is simply the consequence of possessing a nature produced by and for the transcendent good, a nature whose proper end has been fashioned in harmony with a supernatural purpose. God has made us for Himself, as Augustine would say, and our hearts are restless till they rest in Him. A rational nature seeks a rational end, truth, which is God Himself. The irresistibility of God for any soul that has been truly set free is no more a constraint placed upon its liberty than is the irresistible attraction of a flowing spring to fresh water in a desert place to a man who is dying of thirst. To choose not to drink in that circumstance would not be an act of freedom on his part, but only a manifestation of the delusions that enslave him and force him to inflict violence upon himself, contrary to his nature. Do you follow the reasoning there? That boils down to simply saying it is logical. Even Mr. Spock would find it logical for a human to pursue the good in its own best interests, and that it is illogical, illogical all the way to insanity, to refuse the good, to refuse what is best for you. It's a manifestation of insanity, to refuse the love of God. How's that for laying it out? I really appreciate logic, you know, because this is a logical universe. If the laws of physics and chemistry didn't hold true to logic, and that includes math, you see, 2 plus 2 equals 4, etc., all the way through all the difficult math, the quantum physics, and the string theory, and so forth, this is a logical universe based upon the Aeon known as Logos, logic. And so, therefore, to reject logic, it's not smart, it's not clever, it's not freedom. And, by the way, this is about the level of pushback I see in, for example, YouTube comments that reject the gospel. They're pretty much on the order of, oh, yeah, I can die of thirst if I want to, so F off. Okay, well, good luck with that, right? Carrying on, page 43. None of this should need saying, to be honest. We should all already know that whenever the term justice and eternal punishment are set side by side as if they were logically compatible, the boundaries of the rational have been violated. If we were not so stupefied by the hoary and venerable myth that eternal damnation is an essential element of the original Christian message, and then he says in parentheses, which, not to spoil later plot developments here, it is not, we would not even waste our time on so preposterous a conjunction. From the perspective of Christian belief, the very notion of a punishment that is not intended ultimately to be remedial is morally dubious, and he says in parentheses, and I submit anyone who doubts this has never understood Christian teaching at all. But even if one believes that Christianity makes room for the condign imposition, [and condign means proper or fitting], imposition of purely retributive punishments, it remains the case that a retribution consisting in unending suffering, imposed as recompense for the actions of a finite intellect and will, must be by any sound definition disproportionate, unjust, and at the last, nothing more than an expression of sheer pointless cruelty. And of course, I do find that attitude on the part of Christians I talk to and try to explain the idea of universal salvation being Christ's true mission, that all shall be redeemed, every knee shall bow. They'd much rather send people to hell, and when you see their faces as they're saying it, it's not, oh, you know, I'm so sorry that it's this way and my heart breaks, but I'm afraid they're all going to hell. It's not like that at all. It's like, damn straight, they deserve to go to hell. Now, you take that kind of anger and cruelty when you consider that they are advocating unending, excruciating pain and punishment, and then you try to say that that is God's will, that goodness incorporates unending punishment. And Hart's saying, indeed, especially unending punishment that isn't for remediation, isn't to make them a better person, but simply to make them hurt. And who are you punishing? Finite beings with limited time and intelligence and ability to reason with things that happened in their past. Maybe they were brought up by someone very cruel who taught them cruelty, and so they carry on cruelty. And then that the God of all love and the God of all justice would send them to hell for eternal torment. And up until quite recently, even babies who were unbaptized would be sent to hell for eternal torment. And then someone came up with the idea of a baby purgatory where unbaptized babies never get to go to heaven, but they're not going to be eternally punished either. They're just going to go to a baby land where they're held apart from the rest of the redeemed. Well, really? That's hardly any better. I mean, it's somewhat better, but why shouldn't these pure babies who pretty much incorporate the Fullness of the Self and love of God, why wouldn't God want them back? You see, it doesn't make any sense. And if you're a Christian listening to me today who has had niggling doubts about certain things, and one of them being this idea of grandma being in hell and in the midst of eternal torture now because she wouldn't listen to your preaching, you can relax about it. Because we are the sower of seeds, but we are not the harvester. It is Christ who harvests the souls, who brings them all home. Back to Hart here again. On page 47, he says, Once more, not a single one of these attempted justifications for the idea of an eternal hell actually improves the picture of God with which the infernalist orthodoxy presents us. And he uses the word infernalist for like the infernal torments of hell. So an infernalist is someone who believes folks are going to hell for eternity. So he says, Once more, not a single one of these attempted justifications for the idea of an eternal hell actually improves the picture of God with which the infernalist orthodoxy presents us. And it is this that should be the chief concern of any believer. All of these arguments still oblige one to believe that a benevolent and omnipotent God would willfully create rational beings destined for an endless torment that they could never, in any rational calculus of personal responsibility, earn for themselves. And to believe also that this somehow is essential to the good news Christianity brought into the world. Isn't it true? When you're in church and you hear the preacher preaching a very nice, very good message about relationships or about moral virtue, and then there is a plea and a threat at the end that if you are sitting in the congregation and you have not accepted Christ as your personal Savior, you may go out and die this afternoon and go to hell. It's not right. It's contradictory. It is not the pure will of God. Page 47 goes on to say, In the end, there is only one logical terminus toward which all these lines of reasoning can lead: When all the possible paths of evasion have tapered away among the weeds, one has to stop, turn around, retrace one's steps back to the beginning of the journey, and finally admit that, if there really is an eternal hell for finite spirits, then it has to be the case that God condemns the damned to endless misery not on account of any sane proportion between what they are capable of meriting and how he chooses to requite them for their sins, but solely as a demonstration of his power to do as he wishes. Now, by the way, when I read the Old Testament, I see that that is often the attitude that Jehovah has towards his subjects. He commands things because he can, and he wants obedience because he wants obedience. Remember, the Demiurge controls through strong strings. He does not approve of willpower. Willpower is messy. Willpower means not obeying the will of God, and he wants to be the sayer of our souls. But the God Above All Gods, the Gnostic God, outranks the Old Testament God. The God Above All Gods is the Father who begat the Son. The Demiurge keeps chaos at bay by forbidding free will in his subjects And so when Jesus says, I and my Father are one, he's not talking about the Old Testament God. He's talking about the God Above All Gods, the originator of consciousness, of love, of life, of free will. And we are all fractals of that Father. Through the Son, through the Fullness of God, we are fractals of all of those powers of the Father–stepped down, because we're smaller fractals. So we all have to return to the Father in the end. When we loose these mortal coils and we're no longer bound to the material that deludes us, then we can finally return to the Father again. So onward and upward is not a trap. Onward and upward is freedom. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. So back to this idea of the Old Testament God enjoying his omnipotent sovereignty. On page 48, Hart is talking about Calvin and predestination. And he says, in book three of Calvin's Institutes, he even asserts that God predestined the human fall from grace, precisely because the whole of everything, creation, fall, redemption, judgment, the eternal bliss of heaven, the endless torments of hell, and whatever else, exists solely for the sake of a perfect display of the full range of God's omnipotent sovereignty, which for some reason absolutely must be displayed. He goes on to say he doesn't know how to respond to that, because, I know it to be based on a notoriously confused reading of Scripture, one whose history goes all the way back to the late Augustine, a towering genius whose inability to read Greek and consequent reliance on defective Latin translations turned out to be the single most tragically consequential case of linguistic incompetence in Christian history. In equal part, however, it is because I regard the picture of God thus produced to be a metaphysical absurdity, a God who is at once supposedly the source of all things, and yet also the one whose nature is necessarily thoroughly polluted by arbitrariness. And no matter how orthodox Calvinists might protest, there is no other way to understand the story of election and dereliction that Calvin tells, which would mean that in some sense he is a finite being, that is God, in whom possibility exceeds actuality, and the irrational exceeds the rational. A far greater concern than either of these theological defects, either the deeply misguided scriptural exegesis or the inept metaphysics of the divine, it is the moral horror in such language. So that's as far as we're going to go today. In next week's continuance of this train of thought, Hart will talk about the difference between the God Above All Gods, essentially, even though Hart's not calling himself a Gnostic. When he speaks of God, or Goodness with capital G, he is speaking of the God Above All Gods. And when he contrasts it with the God of Calvin and Augustine in the Old Testament, that is the Demiurgic God. I've noticed that many modern people seem to think of God as a yin-yang type of completion, that is, where evil balances good, where darkness is necessary to balance light, where the purpose of humanity, or what happens here in humanity, is that we are instantiating strife and struggle and evil for the teaching of God, for the completion of God. That is not right. That's wrong theology, folks. Our God is all goodness, and there is no evil that emanates from God. Well, where did evil come from then? It's merely the absence of good. So evil is the absence of goodness. The archons are the shadows of the Aeons. And when the light fully comes and fills all of space, the shadows will disappear, and the light comes along with the love. And so that's our job, to realize that universal and ethereal love, and to so let our light shine and our lives shine with love, that the Demiurge will be eventually won over. And as for the shadows, every time we bring light into the world, we're diminishing the power of the Demiurge. We're shining light onto a shadow and evaporating it. Next week, we'll pick this up for part three of That All Shall Be Saved by David Bentley Hart. Let me know what you think of this. Send me some comments. Onward and upward. God bless us all. »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»> Please buy my book–A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel. In this book you will find the original Christian theology as taught by Jesus before the Catholic Church and the Emperor of Rome got their hands on it. A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel is for seekers and scholars alike. The language is as simple and accessible as I could make it, even though the subject matter is profoundly deep. The book is available in all formats, including paperback, hardcover, and kindle. The audio book narrated by Miguel Conner of Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio is also available on amazon. And please request that your local library carry the book—it's available to all libraries and independent book sellers. Buy the book! Available in all formats and prices…

This holy defender of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church labored in the final days of the Byzantine Empire, when, pressed on all sides by the Turks, the Emperor in desperation sought union with (or rather submission to) the Papacy in hopes of obtaining aid from the West. It was St Mark who stood almost alone to prevent such a disaster to the Faith.   He was born in Constantinople in 1392 to devout parents. He received a thorough education and seemed destined for a secular career, but at the age of twenty- six he abandoned all worldly claims and became a monk in a small monastery in Nicomedia. Soon the Turkish threat forced him to return to Constantinople, where, continuing in the monastic life, he wrote a number of treatises on prayer and the dogmas of the Church. In time he was ordained priest, then, at the insistence of the Emperor John VIII Paleologos was made Metropolitan of Ephesus. The Emperor also prevailed on him to join the delegation which traveled to the Council of Florence to consider the reunion of the Orthodox Church and the churches under the Papacy. (Saint Mark went as exarch of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria, who were unable to attend.)   The Greek delegation included the Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople. All, including Metropolitan Mark, began with great hopes that a true union in faith might result from the Council, but as the sessions proceeded, it soon became clear that Pope Eugenius and his theologians were interested only in securing submission of the Eastern Church to the Papacy and its theology. The Metropolitan spoke forcefully against various Latin dogmas such as the filioque and Purgatory, but the Greek delegation, desperate for western aid, bowed to expediency and agreed to sign a document of Union which would have denied the Orthodox Faith itself. Saint Mark was the only member of the delegation who refused to sign. When the Pope heard of this, he said "The bishop of Ephesus has not signed, so we have achieved nothing!"   When the delegation returned to Constantinople, the signers of the false Union were received with universal condemnation by the people, while Metropolitan Mark was hailed as a hero. The churches headed by Unionists were soon almost empty, while the people flocked to the churches headed by those loyal to Orthodoxy. Saint Mark left the City to avoid concelebrating with the Unionist Patriarch. He was exiled by the Emperor to Lemnos, but was freed in 1442. He continued to oppose the Union until his repose in 1444. In 1452 the Union was officially proclaimed in Constantinople, but the hoped-for Western aid was not forthcoming, and the City fell to the Turks in 1453.

Dead Funny History: Emma of Normandy. Join historian Greg Jenner for a fast-paced, funny and fascinating journey through the life of Emma of Normandy - twice Queen of England, mother of kings, and the medieval Kris Jenner of royal politics.This episode of Dead Funny History is packed with jokes, sketches and sound effects that bring the past to life for families and Key Stage 2 learners. Emma's story is full of twists, betrayals and Viking invasions. Born in Normandy around 985 CE, she married King Aethelred the Unready at just 17, became queen, and had three children including future king Edward the Confessor.But when the Vikings invaded, Emma fled to France, only to return and marry the new Viking king, Cnut. That made her queen again, while Cnut was still married to someone else. Cue royal drama, competitive parenting, and a lot of people named Ælfgifu.Emma's life was a whirlwind of political alliances, family feuds and strategic marriages. She was exiled, had her treasures stolen, and saw her children fight for the throne. She even spread rumours to undermine her stepson Harold Harefoot, and helped her favourite son Harthacnut become king - only for him to dig up his half-brother's body and throw it in a swamp.Expect parodies, sketch comedy, and a quiz to test what you've learned. It's history with heart, humour and high production value. Perfect for curious kids, families, and fans of You're Dead To Me.Written by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Athena Kugblenu and Dr Emma Nagouse Host: Greg Jenner Performers: Mali Ann Rees and John-Luke Roberts Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Associate Producer: Gabby Hutchinson Crouch Audio Producer: Emma Weatherill Script Consultant: Professor Elizabeth Tyler Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Production Manager: Jo Kyle Sound Designer: Peregrine AndrewsA BBC Studios Production

Friends of the Rosary,Today, December 31, on the last day of the year, the Bible presents the beginning of the Gospel of John (1:1-18), proclaiming that because the Word became flesh and dwells among us, every moment is a new start.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.Also today, on the Seventh Day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Sylvester I, Pope and Confessor (died 335 A.D.). He ruled the Church during the reign of Constantine when the Arian heresy and the Donatist schism had provoked great discord. He convoked the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.In addition, we honor St. Catherine Labouré (1806-1876). a member of the Daughters of Charity to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared three times in 1830 in Paris and commissioned the Miraculous Medal to spread devotion to it.Ave MariaCome, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠December 31, 2025, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

In this episode of the Outlaw God podcast, Dr. Stephen Paulson and Caleb Keith continue their conversation on the relationship between mysticism and the law. They explore the significance of the Ten Commandments, the theological implications of Moses' encounter with God in the cleft of the rock, and the perspectives of early church fathers like Gregory of Nyssa, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Maximus the Confessor.   00:00   Introduction to Mysticism and the Law 01:45   The Story of Moses and the Ten Commandments 06:15   Moses in the Cleft of the Rock 08:34  Theological Perspectives on Moses' Experience 11:03    Gregory of Nyssa's Insights on the Law 14:03   The Relationship Between Free Will and the Law 18:20   The Trinity and Its Connection to the Law 22:03   God's Relationship to the Law 25:42   Understanding God's Favor and Glory 34:42   The Infinite Nature of the Law   Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: Coming Home for Christmas: 1517 Advent Devotional Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug More from the hosts: Caleb Keith Steven Paulson

We return to Constantinople to see what's been happening there as the seventh century progresses. First stop: the philosophical/theological synthesis of Maximus the Confessor, whose highly-apophatic synthesis of Late Platonist metaphysics and ascetic practices marks a milestone in the development of Christian `mysticism'.