According to the Worldometer site it is abortion. At the time I wrote this, there were 2,625,743 deaths this year and 1,934,546 abortions this year.
And it is only January.
This Sunday's Psalm reading in churches using the Revised Common Lectionary is Psalm 139:1-5,12-17, Domine, probasti.
1 Lord, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.
3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.
4 You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.
5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.
darkness and light to you are both alike.
12 For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
13 I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
14 My body was not hidden from you, *
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
15 Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book; *
they were fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.
16 How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *
how great is the sum of them!
17 If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand; *
to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.
I think some of the lessons taught in this Psalm will not be mentioned by revisionist preachers in their sermons today. In fact you can bet on it. See if you can guess what I am talking about. They will probably talk about racism instead.
Following up on Pope Francis clearing the way for same-sex blessings, the Vatican posted a clarification.
From Premier Christian News,
The Vatican's doctrinal office released a five-page statement emphasizing the brevity of the blessings, lasting around 10 to 15 seconds, with a focus on seeking peace, health, and other positive outcomes for the couple.
The clarification stressed that allowing priests to perform such blessings is neither heretical nor contradictory to the Church's traditions.
Acknowledging the varying attitudes towards homosexuality globally, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith emphasized the need for "pastoral prudence." It recognized that in countries where laws criminalize homosexuality, openly blessing gay couples could lead to persecution, imprisonment, or even threats to life.
This pig still does not fly.
Faithful Roman Catholics should fly.
The reading for Epiphany is from Matthew 2:1-12 which tells us of the travels and arrival of the wise men.
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The wise men followed a star that rose as stars do but then stopped over Bethlehem. That is not normal behavior for a star. Planets do show retrograde motion, but that can only be discerned over several days, and when a planet in retrograde motion rises, it keeps on rising normally and does not stop.
The star of Bethlehem could not have been a normal star, planet, or comet as has been suggested by many. It must have been something else, something out of the ordinary.
I'll chalk it up to a miracle.
2023 was quite a year. We saw the LGBT+ agenda move forward in the Organization of England formerly known as the Church of England in the form of the blessing of same sex couples, and we had the Roman Catholic Organization give a pass to "blessings" of same sex persons. We also saw 7,300 United Methodist churches leave the denomination because the American United Methodist Organization's endorsement of the LGBT+ agenda.
As I sit and finalize the 2023 books for our small ACNA parish church, I am encouraged by the numbers which show a nice increase, and I am happy to see new faces in the pews and at Bible study.
While the world is in turmoil as it always will be, I am looking forward to doing what I can to spread the Word in 2024.
His name is Jesus.
This Sunday's reading of John 1:1-18 is the prologue of his gospel, and in it we see his major theme of light versus dark and a developed theology as to who Jesus is.
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 into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
I think we all need a musical interlude this Christmas, so I give you the Christmas canticles which I have sung in various choirs over the years. The haunting Benedictus by Karl Jenkins is a must listen.
Magnificat anima mea Dominum
The Benedictus
Nunc Dimittis
Posts
All Comments
