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I think the whole process is as crooked as a dog's hind leg, but I still vote. I just don't believe the results are always accurate.

This is true in the US O. Carm. monasteries of Nuns. But not here in the Philippines. They have many aspirants, postulants and novices, hence, they are founding more houses to dioceses in the Philippines that needed cloistered-contemplative presence. I think there are O. Carm. Nuns from the Philippines helping out Allentown Carmel. Carmelite Nuns Carmelite Nuns, please check their website under photos - community life.

As we prepare for All Saints Day, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity highlight places where the relics of saints can be found by the people of God. https://fscc-calledtobe.org/franciscan-sisters-news/

Nope. Here's a video from before the 2020 election that addresses concerns about voter fraud. Voter fraud is hard to make happen, rarely occurs, and the legal consequences for doing it are too severe for the average person to want to risk doing it.

Hi! I can say, as a person discerning with an O.Carm Carmel, there is a heavy lack of vocations in the Ancient Observance, especially here in the US. There are four Carmels (I believe) of the Ancient Observance and in all of them, there are only five or six fully professed nuns. The community I'm discerning with (there are two nuns) are trying to revitalize aspects of the Observance that fell out of practice in the 60s, like Gregorian Chant and Latin and full Monastic Silence. It's a struggle, and I pray for all Carmels and vocations. The Lord will provide what He Wills.

On Sunday Catholic News Agency published an article on the vocation of consecrated virginity: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/260059/an-ancient-vocation-is-on-the-rise-consecrated-virginity (And yours truly was quoted in a few places!)

L3.6 Je vous salut Marie, pleine de grâce, le Seigneur est avec vous, vous êtes bénie entres toutes les femmes et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles est béni. Sainte Marie, M`ère de Dieu, priez pour nous pécheurs,. maintenant et a l'heure de notre mort. Amen

Statistically the 2020 election I believe was a complete fraud from the start. Biden bascially sat in his basement up until the election. Trump had more votes than any other candidate before him (except of course when you include Biden's cheat count). To believe that election was legitimate is to believe an absurdity in my opinion.

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In today's Gospel, Jesus chooses the twelve apostles from among the disciples. This song is from Nashville Tribute Band, recorded in 2014. It's called "Apostles," and it's written from the perspective of the apostles, after the resurrection, as they prepare to carry the message into the wider world. I think the lead singer is Jason Deere. The song is short but powerful.

In distinct contrast to yesterday's song, this one is long and complex (lyrically). It runs ten minutes, and it has a good "lyric video" with it - lots of time lapse nature photography. It's Andrew Peterson's "Don't You Want to Thank Someone." It's basically a personal reflection, but he's made it into a palms-in-the-air anthem.

I do. I don't know how they did it, but I'm pretty sure they did it. In all of the presidential elections I've witnessed, I've never seen two swing states "shift" at the last moment. And the Democrats have a very long history, of which they are proud, of stealing elections - the motto in Chicago is "Vote early, vote often, vote for your dead relatives!" I used to work with a Chicagoan - a philosophy professor, in fact - who talked fondly of his participation in Chicago elections. The Republicans are not entirely innocent, either - when longtime Republican Senator Everett Dirksen seemed to be losing re-election to a Chicago Democrat, we would say "Wait for my downstate;" apparently the downstate Republican operatives didn't start stuffing the ballot boxes until they knew how many votes the Democrats had stuffed in the upstate region. The technology has changed over the course of time, but I'd guess it's actually easier to stuff ballot boxes electronically, if you get the right techno-dude. The more touch points in a system, the more opportunities to monkey with it; and the more mysterious the system (computer-based, technological, etc.), the easier it is for the right person to monkey with it. And it's pretty obvious to me that most politicians are not the least bit interested in the Constitution, the public, public service, or any of the rest of it - the only thing they're interested in is power. And they'll use any measures necessary to get and/or retain power.

L3.5 Je vous salut Marie, pleine de grâce, le Seigneur est avec vous, vous êtes bénie entres toutes les femmes et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles est béni. Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu, priez pour nous pécheurs, maintenant et a l'heure de notre mort. Amen

HOw many of you bleieve the 2020 election in the states was rigged?

Putin wants a return to Soviet Russia and Justin Trudeau want's to instill communist China's policies. It's a lose lose for the Canadians either way you slice it.

The O'Neal Twins and the Interfaith Choir with "Walking Up the King's Highway." This is not good Catholic theology - like "This Train Is Bound for Glory," it implies that sinners have to get right with God before they can get on the road. This is a very simple song, even repetitious. It was used as the entrance song at Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith's eightieth birthday celebration in her church, so it's got that strong 'walking beat' that I like in Gospel music. But when everyone is in place, the song changes tempo and bursts out joyfully. Unfortunately, I can't find the video from the celebration, so you just have to look at the album cover.

This is really sad, I think they are the last of the 1990 Carmel in the UK. Their situation is similar to Danvers Carmel, after Mother Dawn Marie (former Prioress of Guam Carmel) was appointed Prioress, their monastery closed thereafter. I heard Danvers Carmel is a wonderful community. Vocations in the USA and Europe is really a challenge. Except for the JMJ Carmels in the USA who are thriving with vocations and Eastern Europe Carmels such as Poland. There are new novices in our Carmels in the Philippines (OCD) but they are not founding new ones which means that there new comers just replaces the older nuns who joined our Lord. They have 22 houses, I think, as of the moment, The 23rd Carmel was closed due to security reasons. This community were kidnapped and held hostage several years ago. However, Carmels (O.Carm) have been founding new houses for the last few years. Even Poor Clares (OSC) have started new foundations.

Vern Gosdin was a country singer (1934-2009) known as The Voice for his resonant baritone. He sings an old standard, "Jesus, Hold My Hand" written by Albert Brumley. It's standard country Gospel, with that piano accompaniment that rises up the scale (heavenward) three or four times throughout the song, and it has that offset harmony chorus, too. Good stuff!

While the concept of purgatory may raise questions for many, it is deeply connected to the Catholic understanding of salvation, sanctification, and the eternal destiny of the soul. By exploring the biblical foundations, the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), and the spiritual significance of purgatory, we can gain a clearer understanding of this important doctrine. The Nature of Purgatory Purgatory is not a place in the same way that heaven or hell is described as a place but rather a process or state of purification. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as "the final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned." (CCC 1031) In essence, it is the merciful preparation of the soul for heaven, where nothing impure can enter (Revelation 21:27). The souls in purgatory are those who have died in a state of grace -- meaning they are ultimately destined for heaven-- but who still require purification from the effects of sin. While their sins have been forgiven, there may remain temporal consequences or attachments to sin that need to be cleansed before they can fully enter into the presence of God. Purgatory is thus not a place of punishment or condemnation but one of mercy and hope. Biblical Foundations of Purgatory Though the word "purgatory" itself is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, the doctrine has its roots in Scripture and Tradition. Several passages suggest a process of purification after death: 2 Maccabees 12:46: In this passage from the Old Testament, we read about the practice of praying for the dead. After a battle, Judas Maccabeus offers prayers and sacrifices for the fallen soldiers who had sinned, "that they might be delivered from their sin." This implies that the dead could still benefit from prayers and that purification was possible after death. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15: St. Paul writes about the testing of each person's works through fire: "If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." This passage is often interpreted as referring to a process of purification, where the soul is cleansed of lesser sins or attachments after death but before entering heaven. Matthew 12:32: Jesus mentions that certain sins "will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come," implying that some form of forgiveness or purification can occur after death. These passages, together with the longstanding tradition of praying for the dead, provide a biblical foundation for the belief in purgatory.

Today’s Gospel turns on an irony—it is a blind man, Bartimaeus, who becomes the first person outside of the Apostles to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. And his healing is the last miracle Jesus performs before entering the holy city of Jerusalem for His last week on earth. The scene on the road to Jerusalem evokes the joyful procession prophesied by Jeremiah in today’s First Reading. In Jesus this prophecy is fulfilled. God, through the Messiah, is delivering His people from exile, bringing them back from the ends of the earth, with the blind and lame in their midst. Bartimaeus occupies a unique niche in the gospel: his is both a healing story and a call story. It is his healing that enables his call, and it is his call that is the final ingredient of his healing. “Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.” This is worth a very close look in our own lives, this relationship between healing and call, how very short a distance there is between the two, how intermingled they are. Often, we feel unequipped to answer the call Jesus places in our lives, too broken and mixed up, sinful or apathetic or trapped in a net of responsibilities and habits that seems inescapable, even for gospel work. How could someone as “unhealed” as we are do something radical for Jesus? But we do not have to wait for healing to answer Jesus’ call. Bartimaeus doesn’t. The people in the crowd say, ‘‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So, throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.” Still blind, relying on no guidance from the people around him to feel his way, reacting with joy and abandon, he throws away his cloak and goes to Jesus. This is not an insignificant moment. Bartimaeus was homeless, a blind beggar on the street. His cloak was his only asset. It was his only protection from the weather and the cold, the closest thing to shelter he had. He cast it away without a second thought, and still blind, still unhealed, answers the call to make his way to Jesus. We can do the same. And in perhaps the most remarkable turn in this remarkable story, Bartimaeus is not the only one healed and called in this story. Did you catch who else had a radical conversion? The crowd. They begin with cruelty and exclusion in their hearts, doing everything they can to keep Bartimaeus away from Jesus: “Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” And this is the pivotal moment. Jesus does not call Bartimaeus directly. He calls the crowd to call Bartimaeus. “Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’” And then the redemption, so easy to skip over if you’re not paying close attention. “And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’” This is the moment of the crowd’s conversion, the crowd’s healing, and the crowd’s call. Jesus’ love is so sneaky and so powerful that it broke open their hardened hearts and they probably didn’t even notice it. They go from trying to keep people away from Jesus to urging them forward. They go from seeing Bartimaeus as an embarrassment and trying to shut him up and keep him hidden, to telling him to take heart and go forward into Jesus’ embrace. What we learn here is that call is never individual. We hear call in community. Bartimaeus calls for Jesus, Jesus calls the crowd, the crowd calls Bartimaeus, then Jesus calls Bartimaeus to follow him on the way. This entire process of call and response is deeply healing to everyone involved. Where do we start? We listen, and we call out to Jesus, just as Bartimaeus did: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Because he is always calling and always healing. And it begins with his simple question to us: “What do you want me to do for you?” So, we take Bartimaeus’ words to our hearts, “Teacher, let me see.”

L3.4 Je vous salut Marie, pleine de grâce, le Seigneur est avec vous, vous êtes bénie entres toutes les femmes et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles est béni. Sainte Marie, M`ère de Dieu, priez pour nous pécheurs, maintenant et a l'heure de notre mort. Amen

In my view, voting for Harris is completely inadmissible to the catholic faith, as there is a better although deeply imperfect alternative. God's hand is always present. But what form would a 'restart' take though - war? Economic collapse? Alien invasion? At this point, if Russia invades Canada I'm actually gonna be cheering for the Russians!

Christians, please reconsider, you just can’t sit this one out. You aren’t voting FOR Trump, you’re voting against this evil, corrupt establishment that is our Government.