In the light of Christ’s Resurrection, even the resting place of the dead points to the promise that all shall be made new.

“Look, Dad — a burial garden!”
It took me a moment to process our 6-year-old’s exclamation from the back of the minivan. Burial, yes — she was referencing the cemetery we were passing across the road — but did she just say “burial garden?”

A few days before, we had visited the grave of her great-grandmother, who died three years ago. My mom had brought flowers to the cemetery, distributing them to the grandkids for them to place on the ground. We cried; we laughed; we told stories — we remembered.

This was the first time our 6-year-old — who has always had a deep curiosity about death and the afterlife — had visited a cemetery. But apparently, she wasn’t afraid or disturbed at all. On the contrary: Whether it was the flowers, the family bond, or just the orderly rows of headstones in that plot of land, she walked away conceiving of it as a garden — a place not only of tranquility and peace but of vibrancy and color.

Out of the mouths of the young, God has prepared praise for himself (Matthew 21:16) — and almost immediately, the phrase struck me as a perfect summary of the paradoxical attitude of the Christian toward death. On the one hand, a cemetery is a place of “burial,” the interment of our mortal remains into the earth. Burial signals to us the inevitability and finality of death. “We must all die,” a wise woman of Scripture declares. “We are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up” (2 Samuel 14:14).

On the other hand, a cemetery is a kind of garden, a charged place of patient waiting, hidden growth, and, above all, of hope for a future flowering. Indeed, in the Gospel of John, we hear that Jesus himself was buried in an actual garden: “Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid” (John 19:41).

Continued below.

• A California-based conservative group is planning an unsanctioned "MAGA invasion" of Disneyland
• On Wednesday, Nov. 19, the group known as 805 Patriots posted an invite for the meetup set to take place in February
• One of the goals of event is to trigger "as many liberals as possible in their home turf"
  
  
• Some commenters were concerned with paying for the tickets and sending their money to Disney, to which the organization said: “This is to go have some fun by triggering as many liberals as possible in their home turf as well as giving conservative families at least one chance to take their kids to Disneyland.”

Nigeria has been battling with a surge of violence orchestrated by gangs, whose members carry out indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping for ransom, and in some cases, killing.

The Diocese of Kontagora in Nigeria has described as “painful and disturbing” the Friday, Nov. 21, kidnapping of children and staff at St. Mary’s Catholic Nursery, Primary, and Secondary Schools.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, the diocesan secretary of the Nigerian episcopal see appealed for intensified national action against insecurity.

Father Jatau Luka Joseph said armed attackers invaded St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger state, in the early hours of Nov. 21, abducting “some pupils, students, teachers, and a security personnel who was badly shot.”

“The incident occurred between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., causing fear and distress within the school community,” he said.

“The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora strongly condemns the attack and expresses deep concern for the safety of the kidnapped children and their families,” Father Luka Joseph said.

He added that security agencies were immediately informed and had begun coordinated efforts to ensure the safe rescue and return of the victims.

Continued below.

The Catechism speaks about making confession available to those who are hearing-impaired, but this week, we heard from the other side of the screen.

Two priests who have been featured in the pages of the Register both opened up on social media, lamenting a reality they both face: loss of hearing.

Although hearing aids do exist and help to some degree, the loss of hearing comes at a great cost for Father Dwight Longenecker and Father Joseph Krupp: not being able to hear the confessions offered by the parishioners who come seeking absolution.

Father Longenecker was the first to admit how frustrating it is to lose the ability to hear, especially when working in the confessional.

“I am really fed up with my worsening hearing loss — especially as it makes hearing confessions a total chore,” he wrote on social media.

“Prayers to St. Francis de Sales: patron of the deaf and hard of hearing AND patron of confessors AND patron of writers who had a ministry to Protestants AND was bald and bearded! St. Francis de Sales pray for us!"

Father Joseph Krupp responded to Father Longenecker, saying he shares the same affliction, writing on X:

Continued below.

In a firm call to avoid “false mercy” in marriage annulment proceedings, Pope Leo XIV reminded that compassion cannot disregard the truth.

During a Friday audience with participants in the legal-pastoral training course of the Roman Rota, the Holy See’s court of appeals, the Holy Father read a lengthy speech in which he recalled the importance of the reform of marriage annulment processes initiated by Pope Francis 10 years ago.

The pontiff emphasized that theology, law, and pastoral care must be understood in a harmonious way, not as separate or opposing areas, and pointed out that annulment proceedings are not merely technical procedures to obtain the “free status of persons” but rather an ecclesial service based on the search for truth and on family pastoral care.

Judicial processes at the service of truth​

Continued below.

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed.

Majority of Australian and French priests are thriving, reports say​

A report has found that the majority of Australian priests and deacons are thriving in their ministry roles.

In the first-ever survey of well-beingamong Australia’s clergy, the National Centre for Pastoral Research and the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office found 75% of clergy reported having “good” or “very good” self-confidence, 66% reported they maintain a healthy diet, 61% said they get sufficient rest, and 55% reported high energy levels.

In addition, the vast majority of clergy, at 90%, described their connections with their parishes as positive. Overall, 71% reported feeling hopeful, and 61% said they felt joyful frequently.

This comes on the heels of an October survey in France that found most Catholic priests — 80% of those who responded — said they “are happy in their mission” and feel "faithful to their calling," useful, and "at peace," according to the Catholic Weekly. The survey by the Observatory of Catholicism was conducted with the French Institute of Public Opinion.

Dutch bishop says Cardinal Fernandez ‘Co-Redemptrix’ title decision is ‘mistaken’​

Continued below.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the feast of Christ the King, which this year falls on Nov. 23, EWTN has released “The Kingship of Christ,” a four-part docuseries that explores some of the core aspects of the kingship of Christ.

The four 30-minute episodes look at the origin of kingship in the Old and New Testaments, what type of kingship is that of Christ’s, the growth in interest and devotion to kingship in the 1800s and 1900s, and how Christ’s kingship is being realized today.

Currently airing on EWTN, the docuseries features Father Bernard McGuckian, SJ; Father Dominic Holtz, OP; and Father Mark Lewis, SJ.

The four-part series was filmed across five principal locations in Rome that are highly relevant to Christ’s kingship, namely St. Peter’s Basilica, the Gesù (the main Jesuit Church in Rome), the Scala Santa, the Basilica of Santa Croce Gerusalemme, and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Christ the King.

Continued below.

Israel attacks Beirut, targets 'key' Hezbollah figure​

The IDF has been increasing the rate of strikes targeting alleged Hezbollah members and infrastructure in southern Lebanon in recent months, but until Sunday had not resumed attacks inside the capital.

'We had 300,000 missing children under the Biden administration that the Mexican drug cartels brought into our country.'

Vice President J.D. Vance is defending the Trump administration’s enforcement of the U.S. government's immigration policies, which he says are consistent with Catholic Church teaching and Pope Leo XIV's own comments that every nation has the right to control its borders.

During an interview with Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle Thursday, Vance was asked to weigh in on Pope Leo XIV’s remarks on immigration, in which he said, “I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter.”

“You may not know it, judging purely from the comments of some people on social media, but the Catholic Church’s views on this are actually quite clear,” Vance said.

Continued below.

I haven’t been going to church in a while. I feel like it’s boring. I find myself daydreaming and the sermons are good, but I really don’t like to sing or stand up. I like just saying prayers and even though the sermons are good, I don’t feel like going. I’m not really getting anything out of the Bible study, either, which is online. When I do go to church, I do tithe.
Am I falling away or is this not the right church for me? The people are nice.

In Orthodox theology, the Ancient of Days is understood as the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

In Daniel's prophecy, the Son of God appears as a distinct figure who approaches the Ancient of Days.

However, they are actually meant to be the same person.

How does Orthodox theology clarify this interesting situation?

I've often mentioned my (old) Presbyterian pastor whom I learnt a lot from, although he discouraged me. The night my father died he turned up in my room.

I was an atheist at the time, but he predicted I'd become Christian, and as part of that "... You will meet a pastor. You'll think he's great, but all he'll do is to discourage you even more!" (than he had himself).

I met the pastor circa 1982/83. When I was going to leave his church in 1991 (I was getting married and moving away) he admitted he had discouraged me, but as I said I still hold him in high respect. Incidentally he was not an admirer of some of the "last days" stuff which comes out of various (mainly Protestant) personalities in the USA in the main, saying "... they're a bit weird..."

But he had some thoughts on the issue. For one thing he was very firm on the business about no man knows the day or the hour of Christ's return. It could be tomorrow, and it could be 10,000 years down the track. We haven't been told.

However I find that if he thought something would happen it did sooner or later. Several of his predictions have come to pass since he died in 1992, including my becoming Catholic (1997); there would be a lot of priestly pedophile cases after I became Catholic (media from around 2002); my sister would get leukemia and not live very long which happened (2005 aged 45); his own eldest son would have a major health breakdown which was a stroke (1996 or 97); there would be a pandemic (Covid 2020); there would be a second Gulf War as the "... Americans will have had enough of Saddam Hussein and they will get rid of him. But I think they will lose a FEW men the next time (2003); I'd make a silly mistake at work and "they" would use that to get rid of me (1995); etc. These were all predicted and they all happened.

He wasn't an admirer of Zionism, commenting that ".... they've served their purpose ..." (it's up to the Jews to recognise Christ, not the other way round). But he also conjectured "I think He (God) is going to drive us off the planet... I think we'll learn to teleport..."

He died in 1992, and (from Wikipedia) "The first successful experimental quantum teleportation of a photon's polarization was achieved by two independent research groups in 1997", five years later.

It's a long cry from that event to teleporting material objects, and even more so living creatures which have a spirit.

But I think we'll get around that obstacle eventually, although there will most likely be a considerable hiatus between the first inanimate teleportation and the first biological teleportation.

We've moved a long way in space travel since World War II. Robert Goddard's rockets might have gone a couple of hundred feet into the air in the 1920's. The V2's were flying about 250 kms in 1944; NASA landed men on the moon a mere 25 years later; Voyagers 1 and 2 left the solar system in 2012 and 2018 respectively. Of course we now have AI and robotics both of which would be absolutely necessary for a civilisation in space. It's obvious God is letting us do these things, which implies they form part of His plan.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer might have put it, Man has "Come of Age".

Now suppose his prediction happens, that God does indeed drive us off the planet - what price Jerusalem or for that matter Rome in a civilisation which might be spread through a fair section of the Milky Way? I'm Catholic and I accept the Petrine Chair - Christ was setting up an office and giving the church authority when He declared Peter the Rock.

But I know of no Biblical mandate for Rome to be the "eternal city".

The way politics is going we could well be heading for nuclear wars, and those cities could easily be destroyed.

So I'm not over impressed with hardline pronunciations about either Jerusalem or Rome for that matter. In the end they're just cities.

That's my cold blooded view, and that's what I think.

In the United States of America, where I live, marked on our calendars is a yearly day of celebration and thanksgiving to God. Evidently, one of our former presidents by the name of Abraham Lincoln, who was later assassinated, declared it a national holiday in 1863 during the Civil War. “Lincoln’s proclamation was a way to unify the nation during the war by establishing a day for ‘Thanksgiving and Prayer’” (source Google AI). And this day of celebration will be this Thursday, November 27, 2025.

But for us who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, every day should be a day of “Thanksgiving and Prayer.” Every day we should be giving thanks to the Lord for the breath of life and for his love and forgiveness, and for saving us from our sins, and for giving us new life in him to be lived for his glory, and for his purposes, and for his praise. And this is not to be verbal only, but from our hearts of gratitude, and shown in how we live our lives in submission to God and to his purpose for our lives.

For thanksgiving to God is not in words only or it is not true thanksgiving. For if we are truly thankful that he saved us from our sins, and that he has given us new lives in him to be lived for his purpose, then we should be following him with our lives in doing what he commands. We should be walking in obedience to his commands, and sin must no longer be our practice. This doesn’t mean that we will never sin (1 John 2:1-2), or that we will never fail, but day by day we should be following Jesus with our lives.


Yes! As Jesus’s true sheep (followers) we are to be listening to (heeding, following, obeying) his voice, and we should be following (obeying, abiding by) his teachings and his commandments (New Covenant). And we are those to whom he gives eternal life, and we will never perish, and no one can snatch us out of his hands and the hands of God the Father because we pay close attention to our Lord’s words, and we love and obey our Lord and his teachings, and we follow him wherever he leads us in doing what he says.

And that is the best thanksgiving and praise that we can give to God, is when we bow to him in submission to his will and we follow him wherever he leads us in doing all that he commands that we must do as his followers. Yes, I am certain that he loves to hear us sing praises to him and to give him verbal thanks and praise, but provided that our praise is sincere and that it is accompanied by genuine submission to him as Lord of our lives. For the praise that he desires most is our surrender of our lives to him as our Lord.

And this will be evidenced by us serving him with our lives in doing what he has called us to do collectively and individually. And it will be shown through our humility in recognizing that all we have is from the Lord and not of our own doing, and when we become his true and abiding sheep (followers). For true thanksgiving to God is not in lip service only, but in surrender to his will in doing all that he commands that we must do as his followers. And the Lord is good, and his lovingkindness and faithfulness is everlasting. Amen!

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

My Sheep

Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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The Sheep of His Pasture
An Original Work / November 23, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

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Trump took a huge dip with Independents, also with Hispanics and blacks. Folks can tell that prices have not come down.

Something good my diocese just did:

Soon after she arrived in New Jersey, Episcopal Bishop Sally French discovered her new diocese had a little-used fund to support medical care for children and adolescents with lifelong and debilitating illnesses.

The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey’s Jane O.P. Turner Fund was sitting on $3.6 million in assets and doling out only a tiny fraction over the past 12 years.

On Friday (Nov. 21), French announced the diocese was giving $1 million from the fund to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East to help it provide medical care for Palestinian children and families in Gaza and the West Bank. Archbishop Hosam E. Naoum of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem appeared at a formal announcement via Zoom, alongside French.

“We realized that we had resources that we could potentially put to use,” French told RNS in a phone call. “We recognized nothing in the terms (of the fund) that say it must be in New Jersey, or even in this country. By offering this gift, we could make a real difference in the lives of children and youth and families in Gaza and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories. This for us is gospel work.”

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Trump can be irritating but his numerous successes are a reality.

This is an extension of the most dangerous to ride light rail system in the United States. I would have preferred the money be used toward safety measures before even considering extensions. The closest stop to where I used to live is the most dangerous of all of the stops, and I haven't used the light rail in years nor do I intend to do so.

Each year on November 21, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary — an ancient feast with a unique and sometimes uncertain history.

According to tradition, Mary’s parents brought her to the Temple to consecrate her to God. The feast honors the devotion of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, and also honors Mary’s purity. The Church also sets aside a specific feast honoring Joachim and Anne on July 26 every year.

The Church’s historical knowledge of the feast dates back to the apocryphal gospels, which the Church does not consider to be part of the canon of scripture. A legend in the Protoevangelium of James (from the 2nd century) tells the story of a 3-year-old Mary visiting the temple in Jerusalem, where her parents dedicated her to the service of God and to consecrated virginity. Joachim and Anne consecrated her in fulfillment of a promise they made to God following their long struggle with childlessness.

Continued below.

And even a night torch frame is in the works. Last of 8 4/4; all I needed was a BG legal caliber.

# 1 FOR // GAR is a CONJUNCATION

# 2 IN //. EN is a PREPOSITION

# 3 CHRIST //. CHRISTOS. is a DATIVE CASE. in the SINGULAR

# 4. JESUS //. IESOUS. in. the DATIVE CASE in. the SIGNULAR

# 5. NEITHER // OUTE. is a CONJUNCATION

# 6. CIRCUMCISION. // PERILOMO is a NOMINATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR. and circumcation are the JEWS

# 7. AVAILETH //. ISCHYO. in. the PRESENT TENSE. in. the ACTIVE VOICE. in the INDICATIVE MOOD. in. the SINGULAR

# 8 ANY THING. //. TIS. INDEFINATE. PRONOUN. is a ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR an in. the NEUTER. , means

either MALE or FEMALE

# 9. NOR // OUTE. is a CONJUNCATION

# 10. UNCIRCUMCISION. //. AKROBYSTA in. the NOMINATIVE CASE is a SINGULAR

# 11. BUT //. ALLA. is a CONJUNCATION

# 12. A NEW //. KAINOS. is a CONJUNCATIO

# 13 CREATURE //. KTISI. in the NOMINATIVE CASE in the SINGULAR

#A. IT means that the CIRCUMCION , GENTILES availeth. not. , meaning JEWS

# B. It means that the UNCIRCUMCISION availeth not , meaning GENTILES

# C AND the new CREATURE. is the BODY OF CHRIST

# D. And that means to be SAVED and be BAPTIZED / PLACED into the BODY of Christ ROM 6:14. all have to be SAVED by the GRACE

as we are NOT under the LAW , BUT UNDER GRACE ,

# E. And in 1. Cor. 12:13. Paul. by the HOLY SPIRIT we are v BAPTIZED // PLACED into. ONE BODY

# F And the only ONE WAYS to be SAVED and GO. to Heaven. is by Rom 9:9 and 10

#G. And PAUL is our APOSTLE to the GENTILES

# H And in 1 Cor 11:1 he HOLY SPIRIT had Paul write , YOU BECOME IMITATORS. of ME , means it is EMPHATIC. , means follow me

and no one else , , just as I follow CHRIST

# I. REMEMBER we are ONLY SAVED BY ROM 10:9 and 10.

dan p

During their conversation, exorcist Father Dan Reehil gives what the show believes is the scariest explanation of Hell you may ever hear.

In a clip shared by The Shawn Ryan Show, Ryan asks, “Is Hell an actual place or is Hell a realm that surrounds us?”​

For clarification, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1035, says this about Hell:

“The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.”

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In the viral clip, Father Reehil begins, “Well, the world is looking more like Hell. But I think Hell is a place.”​

He elaborates by explaining that currently, souls are in Hell. Not physical bodies.

Continued below.

"In searching for the earliest life on Earth and other worlds, researchers normally look for intact fossils or biomolecules made only by living organisms. But such signals are few and far between. Now, researchers have devised an artificial intelligence (AI) that can identify signs of ancient life in rocks of unknown provenance, based only on the pattern of chemicals left behind as biomolecules degrade over eons."

https://www.science.org/content/article/ai-spots-ghost-signatures-ancient-life-earth

Ancient chemical clues reveal Earth’s earliest life 3.3 billion years ago