It’s good to celebrate All Hallows Eve. Let’s not let such a culturally important day pass without bringing the faith to bear upon it.

(Image: Catherine Crawford / Unsplash.com)

The American holiday calendar is surprisingly rich with Catholic traditions—St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, All Hallows Eve, Christmas, and Easter. All of them, however, have taken on a life of their own, shaped by American consumerism, and often bear little resemblance to their Catholic origins.

Halloween, in particular, has drawn elements from the celebration of All Souls Day and various pagan traditions, especially the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the beginning of winter and the new year. More than pagan roots, however, the modern turn to horror and the occult requires a response from Catholics, both banishing when necessary and baptizing where possible.

You cannot hide from Halloween. Gigantic skeletons, dead bodies hanging from trees, and disturbing billboards advertising an experience straight out of hell. For years, many people have argued that we shouldn’t overreact—trick or treating is fun, and it’s good to focus on death and evil in lighthearted ways. That may sound all fine and good, but that kind of experience hasn’t existed for decades. It’s becoming ever more evident that the holiday has become a cover for evil to come out of the shadows. If the Celts thought evil spirits ran wild on this night, they are doing so again.

Exorcists have warned Catholics against being drawn into the darker side of Halloween. Father Francesco Bamonte, president of the International Association of Exorcists (AIE), which released a book, The Dark Charm of Halloween, explained to Catholic News Agency:

Continued below.

Let's make Halloween Catholic again! Here's how Father John Johnson says we can do it!

It’s that time of the year when we engage in the long-standing debate on what is actually allowed as a Catholic when it comes to Halloween.

“How Should Catholics Celebrate Halloween?”​

As part of the "Ask Fr. Josh" series presented on the Ascension Presents YouTube Channel, this question was answered by Father Josh Johnson himself.

He approached it from three different perspectives: relationship with God, relationship with the Church, and relationship with others.

In the video, Father Josh first explains the origin of the word Halloween itself. Halloween comes from All Hallows Eve, which means that it is the day before All Saints Day!​

He then touches on the origins behind what we know today as trick-or-treating.

Continued below.

“Spooky season is here, a time of ghost stories, flickering candles, and marathons of horror classics,“ begins an article touting not just costumes for trick-or-treating, not just lawn decorations (which now rival those for Christmas), but actual occult kits for those who don’t know or don’t care that they’re summoning demons.

“For many of us, autumn isn’t just about scary costumes and pumpkin carving (though we definitely love all of that, too). This season opens a portal for honoring ancestors, embracing transformation, and connecting to the unseen.”

The expression–“summoning demons”–was popularized, of late, by the mega-billionaire Elon Musk, but hardly one he created. It goes back to ancient pagan times.

And now it seems appropriate that it is used in the modern pagan era.

About those kits sold on the website, some are rather self-explanatory.:

Continued below.

Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk, Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht gives a very cogent argument, based on Catholic morality and Canon Law, about who may or may not receive Holy Communion. You can read a commentary on what His Eminence said in the Silere non possum article I copy and paste below.


But, I would like to make a suggestion. In the ancient Mass of the one Roman Rite, only priests can distribute Holy Communion. And the rubric for distributing Holy Communion indicates that as the priest gives Holy Communion to the communicant, he makes a small “Sign of the Cross” with the Host over the person receiving the Precious Host.

In preparation for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to be utilized, the Modern Mass rubric for the distribution of Holy Communion not only truncated the formula to be said by the “Minister” of Holy Communion to “The body of Christ” but also the removal of the rubric to make a small “Sign of the Cross” with the Precious Host over the communicant. Why remove the “Benediction” with the Precious Host? So that Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion can distribute Holy Communion as only priests and deacons can give a blessing in the formal way and a Benediction with the Precious Host.

Now comes my point: Cardina Eijk likes that Catholics who may not receive Holy Communion may come forward to receive a blessing instead of Holy Communion, a kind of “Spiritual Communion” at the time of Holy Communion. Of course, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion cannot bless communicants with a hand gesture, but they can say “May God bless you.”

But if only priests and deacons are allowed to distribute Holy Communion, the Benediction with the Host prior to the communicant receiving Holy Communion could be restored and those who come forward for only a blessing, could receive an individual “Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament”. HOW MUCH MORE INCLUSIVE WOULD THAT BE! AND NON CATHOLICS COULD RECEIVE THAT BENEDICTION TOO! HOW ECUMENICAL WOULD THAT BE!!!!!

Continued below.

Bishop Schneider spoke to Per Mariam about the need for Leo XIV to address the current crisis of "confusion" in the Church, the topic of LGBT acceptance, and 'walking together'​

(PerMariam) — Analyzing the first months of Leo XIV’s pontificate, Bishop Athanasius Schneider has urged the Pope to respond to the Church’s “unprecedented confusion of faith.”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Per Mariam earlier in October, Bishop Schneider responded to questions on the state of the Catholic Church, the current push for LGBT acceptance, and the future of the ecclesial hierarchy in light of the Synod on Synodality.

“We cannot continue as a Church to go into further confusion,” he warned, petitioning Pope Leo to perform a clarifying action to “strengthen the entire Church in faith.”

Schneider also spoke about the Catholic understanding of how to “accept” individuals, expanding on Pope Leo’s comments on accepting others “who are different than we are.”

As the Church now is beginning the lengthy process of building up to the 2028 Synodal Assembly, the theme of “walking together” is much utilized, but little explained. Schneider offers his assessment of the term and how the Catholic Church journeys on an earthly pilgrimage, whilst always aiming towards heaven.

Continued below.

If you want reason 666,666,666 for the generous allowance of the TLM look at this Chicago parish’s video from Sunday HERE !​

And Cardinals CUPICH wants this impoverished liturgy for the impoverished!

Posted by Fr. Allan J. McDonald at Wednesday, October 22, 2025




Fr. David Evans said...
The bare arms to the elbow and the brown shoes were especial highlights
October 22, 2025 at 1:19 PM

Nick said...
Solidarity with the poor also means paying big bucks to some guy to hop around the sanctuary and blow bubbles. Yes, this happened in the Archdiocese of Chicago... this decade.

Nick
October 22, 2025 at 1:21 PM

Sacerdos Simplex said...
What a travesty! Were I subjected to such nonsense in my territorial parish, I would find my way to the TLM just to preserve my sanity.
October 22, 2025 at 10:12 PM

big benny said...
I liked the sign interpreter. There aren’t many priests able to offer mass using sign language so I’m sure such a service is well appreciated by the deaf community.

JP2 used to wear brown shoes!
October 23, 2025 at 5:21 AM

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...


Continued below.

Thoughts?

"The DOJ will announce Friday that it is planning to monitor polling sites in Passaic County, New Jersey, and five counties in southern and central California: Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside, and Fresno. The goal, according to the DOJ, is "to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law."
"Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement to The Associated Press."

A good move, we need to have fair elections and it's important to demonstrate to the public that the elections are fair.

Many Muslims who come to faith in Christ lose everything: their home, their job, most of all their family. Often they are forced to flee in the face of threats to their lives.

One of our partners works to provide a place of safety for those in danger. This involves secure, though temporary accommodation in a different country until a more permanent, and safe, location can be found for them.

Pray for our partner, as this month he is visiting several Christians who have been forced to flee to another country. Pray for safety in travel and that he will be a blessing and an encouragement to the families he meets.
Pray for a Christian convert from Islam who recently suffered from a scammer in the country to which she has fled. Pray for her peace and protection.

Pray for our partner as he prepares to minister in various countries over the next couple of months. Pray that the Lord will sustain him in all this. Pray for effective outcomes.

Asking for prayer for hearing God's voice more clearly. Thanks!

The Greek text reads: αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.

The emphatic αὐτὸς ("he himself") and the future indicative σώσει ("will save") describe a certain, effectual act: He will save, not He will try to save, or offer salvation. This is a declarative promise: Jesus will accomplish this on behalf of "His people." The phrase τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ("his people") is possessive and definite.

Who exactly are His people? If it means all humanity, then why isn't all humanity saved? But if it refers to the elect, then the angel's promise stands precisely fulfilled.

How do you interpret τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ?

I'm in a hairy situation. I just recently got married and wonder if I should now get a divorce. My husband has ADHD and takes Adderall for it but he abuses it and he does meth with it. When I confront him about it he gets very defensive and gaslights me. I am a Christian and I have done my best to support him in everything but he doesn't hold a steady job down and is a great welder but won't let the meth go so he can get a good job. I am the breadwinner but I hate drugs. I don't want to divorce him but I am not supporting this behavior. I asked him to do rehab and he said yes but when he talked to them and they told him he had to be off of both for 28 days he was adamant that he no longer wanted to do it. He wants the best of both worlds. He wants to stay with me in my home but he doesn't want to quit. And, he is telling me to make him get out now. He's a big boy so I can't force him out. What do I do?

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are not promised that life is going to be easy and that we will not face many trials and tribulations to test our faith. In fact, we are taught the opposite of that. We are taught that being followers of Christ will mean a life of suffering and pain and rejection and persecution. And the closer our walk of faith in the Lord Jesus, the greater our suffering may become, because the more Satan will oppose us and be after us to try to destroy us and our faith and our testimonies for Christ and for his gospel.

And this doesn’t mean that we will always be suffering, or that we will always be in pain, and that there is no joy in being Christ’s followers. There is! We rejoice in the grace of our Lord in delivering us out of our bondage to sin, and in him forgiving us our sins, and in him giving us new lives in Christ Jesus to be lived for his glory, in his power and wisdom. We rejoice in our daily fellowship with our Lord where we listen to him speak truth to our hearts, and where we experience the joy of serving him with our lives, too.

We rejoice, too, when we see other people turn their hearts to the Lord Jesus in submission to him and in surrender to his will in obedience to his commands in holy living, by faith in Jesus Christ and in what he did for us in putting our sins to death with him on that cross so that we can now die to sin and live for God and for his righteousness, in his power. And we rejoice in the fellowship among those who are of genuine faith in the Lord who are serving him with their lives in encouraging one another in Christ’s church.

There is much to give praise and thanks for to our God for all he has done for us, and for all he has provided for us, and for all that he has done through us for his glory and for the salvation of human souls. There is a peace that is beyond understanding that we can have, as his followers, no matter how bad things get, and no matter how much we may have to suffer. And we can be at peace in knowing that God is fully sovereign over our lives and everything that comes into our lives, so we can be at peace in suffering.

And knowing that God is in control gives us the assurance and the confidence to not lose heart in times of difficulty and pain and suffering. For we can be hurting on the outside (or inside our bodies), yet our inner person can be being renewed day by day. What we are going through physically does not have to destroy us within, if we have the right biblical perspective of suffering. And that is that suffering is for our good, to humble us, to draw us closer to God, and to conform us to the likeness of character of Jesus.

So, in all that we are going through in this life on this earth, although we must certainly deal with the things we are going through in this life, we are to have an eternal perspective. We should see God’s hand in all that we go through in this life, that he is still in command, and that he has a plan and a purpose for our suffering, to grow us to maturity in Christ, to make us more compassionate towards others who are suffering, and to get us ready for his return. And we need to keep eternity’s values in view in all that we suffer.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

With Eternity’s Values in View

Alfred B. Smith 1916-2001

With eternity’s values in view, Lord,
With eternity’s values in view,
May I do each day’s work for Jesus
With eternity’s values in view.

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Do Not Lose Heart
An Original Work / October 24, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Celtics coach revealed details about his own Catholic faith including becoming a deacon, his Rosary routine, why his wife is present at almost every game, and a priest who has been by his side since the beginning.

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is not one to hide his Catholic faith. Known to make Gospel references during press conferences, have special seats reserved courtside for Catholic priests, and carry a gargantuan Rosary around, the NBA coach just revealed the biggest news of all: his desire to become a Catholic deacon.

Speaking to Dominican Father Joseph Anthony Kress on the Godsplaining podcast, Mazzulla was asked, “What would you say is your next professional goal?”

And instead of talking about another NBA title or the playoffs, the daily communicant surprised listeners: “So I just became eligible to be a deacon, which I’ve always wanted to do. There we go. I’ve been thinking about that.”

The young coach didn’t share any more on this exciting news, but speaking more to what his professional goal would be when it comes to coaching, Mazzulla shared:

Continued below.

The Traffas family enjoys living in the neighborhood, which has the Catholic parish at its center. (photo: Elizabeth Knappert)

WICHITA, Kan. — Many Catholics can only dream — or perhaps reminisce — about having neighbors that they see not only every day on the street, but also in the pews on Sunday; about Masses overflowing with young families and filled with the cries of babies; about a tight-knit Catholic community that has your back when times are tough; about kids who’d rather romp around outdoors until the streetlights come on than stare at screens.

But places like that still exist, if you know where to look for them.

One of those places is College Hill, a one-square-mile neighborhood of roughly 5,000 residents about a 10-minute drive east of downtown Wichita in the south-central part of the Sunflower State. Its compact, walkable streets naturally foster the kind of “back-in-my-day” community life that has all but disappeared in many parts of the U.S.

Here, eclectic Midwestern homes line gridded cobblestone streets under the leafy cover of mature trees.

Continued below.

The state of Alabama on Thursday executed convicted murderer Anthony Boyd by nitrogen gas just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider requiring the state to execute him by firing squad instead.

Boyd reportedly took around 20 minutes to die from the execution method, according to the Associated Press. The news wire said he “clenched his fist, raised his head off the gurney slightly, and began shaking,” after which he became still but continued with a series of “heaving breaths” for “at least 15 minutes.”

The Alabama man was convicted of capital murder in the 1993 killing of Gregory Huguley in Talladega County. Huguley was taped up, doused with gasoline, and set on fire.

Boyd proclaimed his innocence until the last minutes of his life. “I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t participate in killing anybody,” he said on Oct. 23 prior to being executed.

Continued below.

​

Annunciation School shooting survivor Sophia Forchas in a photo before the incident and then posing with neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich at Gillette Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis on a very happy day as she goes home to be with her family on Oct. 23, 2025. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Forchas family

Twelve-year-old Sophia Forchas is finally home after spending 57 days in the hospital with severe injuries sustained from the deadly shooting on Aug. 27 at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis during the first school Mass of the year that claimed the lives of two students.

Sophia received a fond farewell outside the hospital on Oct. 23.

In a statement posted to the family’s GoFundMe page, Sophia’s parents, Tom and Amy Forchas, wrote: “Today marks one of the most extraordinary days of our lives! Our beloved daughter, Sophia, is coming home!!”

Speaking with gratitude for the team of doctors that worked diligently to save their daughter, the couple wrote: “We thank you from the depths of our hearts. We will never forget your world-class care that sustained her. Your commitment carried us through.”

Sophia still has a long road ahead with outpatient therapy, but her parents said “our hearts are filled with indescribable joy as we witness her speech improving daily, her personality shining through once more, and her ability to walk, swim, and even dribble a basketball. Each step she takes is a living testament to the boundless grace of God and the miraculous power of prayer.”

Continued below.

A Catholic priest in Burkina Faso has appealed for prayers for the safe release of an evangelical Christian missionary abducted in Niger on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Kevin Rideout, an American missionary, was abducted from his home in the country’s capital, Niamey, by three unidentified armed men suspected to be jihadists, said a note shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa.

The note further said the American missionary is “dedicated to training missionary aviation pilots serving evangelical, medical, and church-planting ministries as well as providing emergency humanitarian air transport.”

“Preliminary findings from the investigation indicate that the kidnappers headed toward the Tillabéri region,” the note said.

Continued below.

Life-affirming organizations are calling on the Trump administration and Congress to permanently block funding to Planned Parenthood.

In an Oct. 22 letter, Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins and more than 50 signers asked President Donald Trump to debar Planned Parenthood from federal funding because of reports of the trafficking of baby body parts as well as possible fraud and failure to report sex crimes, among other complaints.

In another letter sent the same day, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and more than 100 signers asked Congress to remove the loophole created by the Affordable Care Act that enables government money to go to Planned Parenthood.

While the Trump administration cut funding to the abortion giant for one year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, pro-life advocates say Planned Parenthood should go through debarment, a significant legal process to block businesses from receiving government funding due to misconduct, fraud, or other concerns.

Continued below.

Governments around the world continue to violate religious freedom and breach international law by engaging in torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, according to a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

In an October USCIRF fact sheet, “Religious Freedom and the Prohibition of Torture and Ill Treatment,” the commission highlighted incidents of torture in Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam, and recommended the United States designate each of them as countries of particular concern (CPCs) as they “engage in or tolerate ‘particularly severe violations’ of religious freedom.”

These designations are based on information from the USCIRF’s Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List, which is a database that tracks select victims targeted due to their religion. While the list does not necessarily reflect the exact accounts of torture abroad, at least 206 of the over 2,330 victims on the list have suffered torture or other ill treatment.

The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’s (CAT) definition of torture outlines three elements that, when combined, “reach the threshold of torture.”

Continued below.

I have always struggled with the concept of philosophy being an intellectually arrogant pursuit. Then I got to thinking. What are some good Christian philosophers who use their gift of intelligence to further God's truth and wisdom?

Erm... not sure what to say here.

pours forth Pandora's box onto the table

My name is Christian. I am 28 years old. I am a sort of Prodigal Son to the faith. Used to believe. Fell deep into the darkest ruts of sin. Am slowly climbing out of the grave with the Lord's help. Still very much struggle with matters of the flesh. Often feel discouraged. Definitely need prayers on that front. Struggle with the bizarre temptation to seek out worldly intellectualism to puff up my big brain pride as well. Ew. Ugh. So many words and philosophies. Circular. Back to where they started. I need Godly wisdom.

Also... hello everyone!

We Gentile believers, who have not been under the bonds of the law and have the NT Scriptures, should consider how great is our privilege above the believing Jews in the early days of Christianity. They had only Moses and the prophets; and these did not know the great and wonderful change which would take place after the cutting off of the Messiah—the parenthesis between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy (9:25-27). There was the exception of a few passing hints which only shone out after the True Light came—when the Spirit led beyond what they could previously bear.

That system ceased which had been ordained of God for Israel and had existed for fifteen centuries: “carnal ordinances” (Heb 9:10; Eph 2:15—NC), which men could see with their natural eyes, and in which every soul of Israel might take part. All that was now set aside (until the Millennial Kingdom - Jer 31:31-33; Eze 36:25-27—NC) by spiritual sacrifice and by the priesthood of every believer having become a priest (it’s been said that Jews have a priesthood, but Christians are a priesthood - 1Pe 2:5, 9; Rev 1:6; 5:10—NC), the Lord Jesus Himself being their great High Priest (Heb 4:14). It was no longer sights and sounds acting on the senses, but now eternal and unseen things discerned only by the eye of faith based upon the Word of God (2Co 4:18).

Hitherto Jerusalem had been the place where God had chosen to put His name (2Ch 6:6; Jhn 4:20); thither they were to bring their sacrifices and offerings, and there at the altar where He recorded His name He was to come and bless them (Ex 20:24). But under the new order of things how great the change! Jerusalem is no longer the place where men worship truly. “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:21-23).

It is well for us to remember that these believers did not see this written till more than fifty years after Pentecost. Neither James, nor Peter, nor Paul when at first coming on the scene, unfolds as yet such a truth, so far as we now know. The time had not arrived till a later day for Paul to tell them, “Let us go forth outside the camp (the Jewish system) bearing His reproach” (Heb 13:13). This they were not yet prepared to do. Neither were they told till then, “We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle” (Heb 13:10). This last thing the saints in Jerusalem had all been doing, and continued to do till the Epistle to the Hebrews was written, more than thirty years after Pentecost.

If we take these things into serious consideration, we shall the better understand how these saints could continue to follow Moses, “all zealous of the law” (out of ignorance, but saved– Act 21:20—NC), for so many years after the Cross. How many believers think that from the moment of the utterance of the Messiah’s dying words, “It is finished,” when “the vail of the temple was rent in twain,” there was an end, not merely in principle before God but in fact, of Judaism, material sacrifices, priest, temple, with all other legal ordinances?

In Acts 6:7 we read of a great crowd of priests obeying the faith; and believers who read it now jump to the conclusion that they then gave up all sacerdotal functions, because the Lord added them to the Church. But this is premature: there is no ground to believe it, but that they continued their service in the sanctuary. How slow most of us find it to apply a principle so new, strange and deep!

If we pay attention to Hebrews 8:13, we see that the first covenant which had “ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary” (Heb 9:1) was becoming old and growing aged, hence “ready to vanish away” (Heb 8:13). Thus the Levitical regime had not yet disappeared; and it was made known to the Christian Jews only at the close, before the city and temple fell under public and divine judgement. A little later (A.D. 70), Jerusalem was destroyed and not one stone left on anther of the temple. Then Judaism finally passed away. Its death-blow had been given at the crucifixion.

During this interval God patiently bore with the “untoward generation” (Act 2:40; 17:30), delivering out from among them “daily such as should be saved” (Act 2:47). Up to this the Jewish saints continued to worship according to the law and the prophets; to which they superadded elementary Christian truth, putting new wine into the old skins (Mat 9:17). “They, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house” (Act 2:46). Here we see two things going on together. Their old reverence and attachment to the temple was evidently retained.

We know with certainty that up to Acts 21:20, or some twenty-seven years after Pentecost, the many myriads (or ten-thousands) who believed were all zealous for the law. Among these James, who was a pillar at Jerusalem (along with Peter and John – Gal 2:9—NC), and even Paul too who “had come with offerings and alms to his nation” (Acts 24:17—NC), who were not behind in deference to the Mosaic routine.

It was at James’ instigation that Paul agreed to prove his subjection to Moses, and that he had not, as had been calumniously reported, persuaded the Jews who dwelt among the Gentiles to forsake Moses and the customs, and the circumcision of their children. Hence Paul went, with the others who had a vow, into the temple, and had he not been hindered (Act 21:33), would have offered the offering which was ordained for the Nazarite. Clearly he had not learned the truths he was taught some years later after his arrest and first imprisonment (Act 21:17—26).

But can it be that these many thousands of believing Jews who were zealous for the law were guilty, when offering a lamb, of the terrible crime equivalent to “cutting off a dog’s neck”? Or would any one of them in offering an oblation be as if he offered swine’s blood (Isa 66:3)? No. This solely refers to the future day when the man of sin, Antichrist, sits there, and the temple is the scene of apostasy and defiance of Jehovah, and the sacrifices utterly abominable in His eyes. What has all this to do with the temple, where after Pentecost Peter and John use to go up stately for prayer (Act 3:1)? Is it possible for God to permit of such adhesion if the old ritual was so evil in the Jewish saints, without raising a voice against continuance in it for so many years?

So far from it indeed, that long after His devoted servant Paul was in prison for what many call building again the things he had “destroyed” (Gal 2:18), the Lord comes to him to comfort him without uttering one word of rebuke for what the advice of James brought upon him. “Be of good cheer, Paul,” says He, “for as thou has testified of Me at Jerusalem, so must thou at Rome.” Peter had earlier a vision to direct him to go outside the Jewish fold and learn that “what God had cleansed” was not common nor unclean (Act 10:15; 11:9). His preaching in Acts 3 does not rise above the earth: blessings for Israel if they would repent, “when times of refreshing would come from the presence of the Lord.” Peter clearly had much to learn (realize that a great deal of the New Testament had yet to be written by Paul, so they lacked much of what God’s will and desires were at that time—NC).

Had the teaching of the Epistle to the Hebrews been given to the Jewish disciples in the early days of Christianity, they could not have continued on the old lines without being guilty of despising God’s Word and offending Him (by continuing in the Law—NC). How far it was agreeable to Him or accepted, we cannot say; but if itself is utterly offensive, it is unlike God to allow all the saints, apostles, prophets, etc., to continue sinning without remonstrance (complaint or reproof—NC). We see what the consequence must have been if, after abandoning the “shadows” for the “substance” (Col 2:17; Heb 10:34), in coming to the Savior, if they fell away from Him and went back to the shadows. It would be “crucifying for themselves the Son of God and putting Him to an open shame” (Heb 6:6).

Up to this time, the saints had evidently followed Moses, and, although believing in the Messiah, had failed to apprehend the results of His death, resurrection and ascension. They had not profited by the Jewish elements as read in the heavenly light. The time had now arrived when they must “leave the word of the beginning of Christ, and go on to what belongs to full growth.” (Heb 6:1). Theirs was now a heavenly calling. Jerusalem was not the place of worshiping the Father, revealed by the Son (Jhn 4:21, 23).

It was now their privilege to enter in spirit into the Holiest where Christ had control, as their great High Priest; into no figures of the true but heaven itself, the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. Thenceforth all the Jewish saints, like all believers, are invited to approach within the rent vail, having boldness to enter. Such a condition the blood of Jewish sacrifices never did nor could procure (Heb 10:11).

Blessed this was for those now by faith familiar with the old sacrifices, etc., to know them more than being fulfilled in Christ. But one must perceive what of divinely given courage it required, added to faith, in order to turn away from that which was dearer than life (the Law—NC) to a godly Jew; established as it had been by Jehovah’s judicial authority under which every transgression received a righteous retribution (punishment). No Gentile believer this day in leaving any of the sects or human organizations, which never were of God but of man’s device, can be compared with a Jew giving up what till then had God’s sanction and command in all its details. It is plain that the believing Jews added Christianity to their Judaism (Judeo-Christian, a term not accepted by the Jews but wrongfully accepted by Gentiles—NC), and most patiently did God deal with them (“winked at” or temporarily forgave without punishment—NC).

But it is no less plain with what warmth Paul writes to the Gentile Galatians who were adding the law to Christianity. How severe are his words! “O senseless Galatians, who bewitched you?” etc. (3:1). They were also observing Jewish festival “days and months and times and years” (still obeying the law, Gal 4:10—NC). To the Gentiles they were “beggarly elements” (4:9), a return in principle to idolatry from which they had been delivered.

But Christendom, not satisfied with Jewish festivals, had added to its calendar many pagan festivals with Christian names and so-called saints-day, some of them reprobate in character. Can we close our eyes to the manifest increase of ritualism everywhere? “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” as Paul told the Judaizing Galatians (5:2). We may and must be accused by the old serpent; but we ought not to be deceived, as the whole world will be.

–John Stephen Frecker Cox (1826-1907)






MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 24

“I proclaim not myself, but Christ Jesus as Lord and Master, and myself your bondsman for the sake of Jesus“ (2 Cor. 4:5).

All Christians are fit for heaven, but all too few are fit for earth. One of the true tests of one’s spiritual growth is in one’s influence: affecting others that they not only begin the Christian life but “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

“We may be separated and yet not Christ-like; we may be orthodox and yet not spiritual; we may be ‘dead unto sin’ and yet not ‘alive unto God.’ We may have cut ourselves loose from every form of worldliness but in so doing we have become critical and self-righteous. We may be loyal defenders of the faith, yea, ready even to lay down our lives for it and in so doing become bitter and unloving.”

“We may often have a measure of the power of the Spirit, but if there is not a large measure of the Spirit as the Spirit of grace and love, the defect will be manifest in our work. We may be made the means of conversion, but we will never help people on to a higher standard of spiritual life, and when we pass away a great deal of our work will pass away too.”

“One may have a great zeal in God’s service, and may be used to influence many for good, and yet, when weighed in the balance of love, be found sadly wanting. In the heat of controversy or under unjust criticism, haste of temper, slowness to forgive and forget, quick words and sharp judgments, often reveal an easily wounded sensitiveness, which proves how little the Spirit of the Lord Jesus has full possession or real mastery of the life.”—Andrew Murray (May 9, 1828-1917)

None But The Hungry Heart

Hubble Constant (Ho) fixed to light speed, C and calculated as 71 k/s/Mpc. God did it!!!

This short work supports the universe was Created by God. The Hubble Constant, Ho, (universe expansion) is central to Creation.
The equations here are HATED by secular science, BECAUSE they support that God Created the universe and the maths framework that controls it:-

My name is David Hine, and here is an interesting Hubble Constant equation that "fixes" Ho to local light speed, C.

Ho is now "fixed" to local light speed, C by this simple Ho equation worked in the old algebra style of Maxwell:-


2 x oneMpc x C, divided by Pi to the power of 21 = 70.9449 k/s/Mpc



In this equation, directly input the values below:-

oneMPC is 3260000 light years

C (local) is 299792.458 k/s

Pi is 3.142..........

Astronomers measuring Ho give the "ballpark" values of Ho, and now we have an Ho equation that "fixes" Ho to
local light speed, C, which has to be much more precise.

Note:- In the numerator, distance (Mpc) is multiplied by speed (k/s), and that is NOT an error in this situation, as the "distance squared" does not affect the numerical value of the Ho redshift by
"spreading out" (as any light source does) when viewing that redshift for Ho along just
one dimension only.

The dimensionless denominator Pi^21 sets the scales of this Ho equation correctly into the Dynamic Aether framework.
The Dynamic Aether Framework is not the static aether that the Michleson-Morley experiment could not detect, but
the Dynamic Aether that Faraday knew caused electrical "reluctance", and that Maxwell used as the basis for his
electric and magnetic "inertia" constants, and used in his Aether equations to calculate light speed. C..


With very kind regards, David Hine.

Email:- dhine2999@yahoo.com

=============================================================================================
Hubble Constant (Ho) Hubble Horizon Distance light years calculated from Ho of 70.9449 k/s/Mpc.



oneMpc X C, divided by Ho, and then divided by one billion = 13.7758 billion light Years



In this equation, directly input the values below:-

oneMpc is 3260000 light years

C (local) is 299792.458 k/s

Ho is 70.9449 k/s/Mpc

one billion is 1,000,000,000 used to give the answer in convenient units of
billions of light years.


Note:- This Hubble Horizon Distance equation prevents falsifying the terminology of
declaring light years as years only.



===========================================================================================

The "Hubble Tension Issue"

Note:- In the "Dynamic Aether Framework" of the Ho calculating equation in which Ho is "fixed" numerically to C,
the "Hubble Tension issue" is caused by the "DISTANT LOCAL VALUE" of C in the observed space regions being
directly affected by the presence of huge galaxies, black holes. or void areas, RELATIVE to the observer.

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Trolling on the internet refers to the deliberate act of posting inflammatory, provocative, or off-topic messages in online communities such as forums, social media platforms, chat rooms, or blogs with the primary intent of provoking strong emotional reactions, inciting arguments, or causing disruption.
The behavior is typically motivated by amusement, a desire for attention, or to manipulate perceptions, and often involves tactics like deception, where the troll may pretend to hold a belief they do not actually have to elicit a response.

Several thoughts...
Though some of it may be funny, is it a good thing?
Should a President, in this case, Trump, troll the public?

Please give some examples of a Democrat President trolling the public?

I didn't vote for Harris or Trump, so either side trolling seems unnecessary.
What is your opinion of a President trolling?