Posted in busy, school

First day of school

Posted on by elizabethprata

The first day of school 2013-2014 is here and I had a fantastic day! The kids were adorable as usual. Everything went smoothly. For the first time in years, it wasn’t hot. The temps today were only about 72 degrees for a high, which is thirty degrees lower than last year’s start of the year on the first day. Last year was monstrously hot. The buses don’t have air conditioning and after sitting in the lot all day they were so hot you could grow jungle orchids in there. We passed out water to the kids getting on and were advising them to sip slowly during the ride. Man, it was hot.

Anyway, today for the first time it wasn’t only cool, but it rained. The veteran teachers local to the area said that they can’t remember the last time it rained on the first day. I didn’t mind it, though I was sad the kids could not go out and play, but usually it is too hot for that anyway on the first day. The cool air and rainy, dark landscape made for a relaxing, quiet time.

It was sweet to see the first graders in the lunch room. I work in kindergarten all day but I have a midday duty that monitors 1st graders. Anyway when they sat down at the tables with their class and then looked up and around, they spotted their former classmates scattered around the cafeteria eating with their new classmates. They raised their hand and asked to go hug that one, or speak to this one, and their little reunions were totally charming. One guy who was popular last year in kindergarten but moved away, has come back. When his former classmates saw him, the news spread like wildfire around all the tables. “He’s back, look!” they all said, and many hugs were exchanged. They might have short attention spans and can’t remember a lot, but they do make heart-felt friends who mean a great deal to them. Even if it is short term, they love deeply.

My ole car performed like a champ all summer. On the day before the first day and on the first day with kids, of course it broke down. I hate that. I really, really hate that. There is only one place I have to be in my whole life, and it is school. I can walk or bike to church, to the PO and to the grocery store. They are all within half a mile. The school is a must-get-to destination, and of course that is the place it decides to strand me. I hate that. I can’t tell you how much.

So Saturday is another Bountiful Baskets pick up. I am so thrilled with the produce from this co-op. For a vegetarian like me, that basket is like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Quality produce at affordable prices, it is heaven! I can’t wait to see what is in my basket. I still have half a cantaloupe left over and half a cabbage.It does take me a good two weeks to eat it all.

A friend had given me a bag of green beans, and I’m going to make green bean pate with some and green bean casserole with the rest. And then I’ll wait to see what is in my basket for this week to plan the rest.

I was looking at my Italy photos over the weekend. The last time I went was 1998, fifteen years ago. It seems like a lifetime ago. My sister and family is in France now. My France trip was even longer ago than Italy. Back then, I was consumed with where the next place I was going to go, so as to experience the bigness of life. Now I’m consumed with the minutiae of life- groceries, work, vehicle, church, writing, and my cats. Back then I saw God’s plan in the vastness of His creation. From the towering Alps, to the Amazon valleys, to the blue Mediterranean to the hills of Scotland, from the icebergs at Labrador to the crystal Bahamian sea, it was vast in scope but empty of importance, because I was not in Jesus.

Now I see God in the details of my life instead of the vastness. My life is about minutiae but it’s not minute. It’s small but not trifling. It’s where He planted me to do kingdom work, so therefore it is important. Though it is a quiet life, it is a big life- because of the work He gave me to do. And the work is to love, rejoice, and be glad in this day, because He has made it.

Posted in egypt, prophecy, revelation

Angry Islamic fundamentalists taking frustrations out on Christians

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is some news, which made me think of Revelation 12. First the news–

Egypt ‘s Churches Aflame as Brotherhood Targets Christians
“Prominent among the “collateral damage” victims of the ongoing violence in Egypt are the country’s Coptic Christians. Living on the tentative goodwill of the Muslim majority even during the best of times, the community has been the subject of attacks and persecution over the past year, since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, and the subsequent fall of Mohammed Morsi. Now, with the crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood members by the Egyptian army, Islamist fanatics are taking out their frustrations on Coptic Christians. In the past few days, there has been a spate of attacks on Christian businesses, homes, and churches. As of Wednesday morning, according to local witnesses, at least 18 churches had been destroyed, and fires and riots were continuing to spread in Christian areas, the witnesses said.“

When I read this, I was reminded of the scene in Revelation 12. In that book, Satan is finally thrown bodily out of heaven. He became a sinner long ago, perhaps even before the foundation of the world, or shortly after. We know he was created holy but was already sinful when he approached Eve in the garden. In the garden he was called serpent so by then, sin had been found in him. (Genesis 3:1, 13, 14).

However, satan still has had access to heaven throughout the ages. (Job 2:1). There will come a point when satan will no longer be given access to even enter that holy domain. It is believed that the moment comes in Revelation 12. Here is the verse:

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9).

I wonder what satan has thought, all this time. Did he think he will win? Did he think that because he still had access to heaven, that maybe God didn’t really mean it? In any case, when he is pushed out of heaven, he and his angels, he becomes furious.

“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.” (Revelation 12:13)

The woman is Israel and the male child refers to Jesus (Revelation 12:5).

Satan hates God and he hates anyone God loves. Therefore satan hates the Jewish people. Prime example: the German Holocaust. Back to Revelation 12, Satan’s future pursuit of the descendants of Jesus across the desert will be foiled.

“But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.”

Just as we can’t really conceive of how great and deep of a love Jesus has for us, we can’t really conceive of how great and deep of a hatred satan has for us. Satan’s fury is incomprehensible, illogical, and irrational. But it is very real. When his attempts to render his fury on the Jews fleeing across the desert are foiled, the fallback position is, take it out on the Christians. Look what satan does next:

“Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (Revelation 12:14-16).

“Make war with.” This is the point in time when the Great Tribulation begins, satan indwells the antichrist, and the beheadings begin.

Now turn your attention back to Egypt. In the article it stated, “Islamist fanatics are taking out their frustrations on Coptic Christians.”

Logically, being angry at Christians makes no sense. We are kind, helpful, quiet, and forgiving. Having a bunch of Christians around is a good thing. In a situation of chaos and upset like exists in Egypt now, it is more logical to take your anger out on the neighbor who owes you money, or perhaps to ignite long-simmering tribal feuds. But no, the fundamentalist Islamic folks look for a Christian to take their frustrations out on. Just as it always has been and just as it will continue to be according to Revelation 12.

When the Prince of Peace comes and stops the persecution, then it will finally end. (Isaiah 9:6). There will be peace in the valley. Until then, please pray for the Christians who are hunted and persecuted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further reading

What is Coptic Christianity, and what do Coptic Christians believe?

Egypt in the bible

Posted in coup, egypt, el baradei, prophecy, violence

Egypt is in violence and upset now, but the future holds blessing for His people Egypt!

Posted on by elizabethprata

In December 2012 I’d posted a blog entry about what was happening in Egypt, and took a look at prophecy, which says that God has a plan for Egypt. This plan is past, present and future, and as a matter of fact is one of only three nations mentioned in the Millennium Kingdom. That future prophecy is in Isaiah 19.

From Isaiah 1-15 the future looks very dim for Egypt and her people. She will fall under a cruel leader. (No one is positive if this means a sub-antichrist, or if the ‘cruel leader’ refers to THE antichrist). She will have economic devastation as the Nile dries up. Despairing of wisdom, they will turn to wizards and sorcerers, and no one will have any helpful information to give, anywhere. Isaiah 19:14 gets pretty graphic: “The Lord has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.”

On 24 June 2012, after a period of chaos and upset, Mohammad Morsi was elected President of Egypt. Many people wondered as the shaos went on and Morsi- a well-known strict Muslim Brotherhood member, was the cruel master spoken of in prophecy. Most people said to wait and see.

Things calmed down- for a while. As the one-year anniversary of his election approached, protests began again. This time, they rose until Morsi was ousted in a coup.

Which leader will be next? Will this next one be the “cruel leader’ predicted? Is this the beginning of the prophesied terrible times for Egypt?

It’s one thing to read about prophecy and speculate on its fulfillment, but it is quite anther to see it. The anguish of Egypt is just killing me to watch. The despair, the death, the uncertainty, and so many, MANY Egyptians are without God, so they don’t even have hope!

A protester comforts a wounded colleague
after Egyptian security forces began to clear a sit-in by supporters of
ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in the
eastern Nasr City district of Cairo Wednesday. Source

A woman tried to stop a military bulldozer
from hurting a wounded man during clashes near Raba’a al Adiwiya mosque
in eastern Cairo. Source

Aug. 14, 2013: A police vehicle is pushed off of the 6th of October bridge by protesters close to the largest sit-in by supporters of ousted
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in the eastern Nasr City district of
Cairo, Egypt. Source

These scenes are devastating. Imagine of they were happening on your street! Violence is terrible. Military uprisings are frightening. Grief over loved ones is paralyzing. But in verse 16 it starts to look up for Egypt. Our Holy God has a blessed plan for this nation which sheltered His Son! Let’s read it in its entirety-

When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

 23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

 24In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

If that doesn’t make you just weep with joy, then what will?! He delivers them, and they worship Him. They worship the One true God! And He blesses them and calls them His people. Oh, what a day. Hang on, true Christians in Egypt! He will bring your nation to His bosom! No more bloodshed. No more idolatry. No more blasphemy. A blessed day.

Unsaved Egyptians! The LORD has a plan for your nation. Seek Him now, before the spirit of confusion comes (if it hasn’t already). He will bless you and then you can watch the blessing of the nation when the Kingdom comes!

Posted in earthquakes, end time, prophecy

Magnitude 6.6 quake at Columbia today, an earthquake’s lessons

Posted on by elizabethprata

After a seeming period of quiet there have suddenly been a spate of major earthquakes. USGS lists a quake as major if it exceeds 6.0 magnitude or those others with a red background have been identified as “significant”, based on a combination of magnitude, PAGER alert level, and the number of Did You Feel It? responses. Here is the list of quakes in the last week the USGS deems significant.

Mag 6.6 102km WSW of Mutis, Colombia
Mag 6.1 90km WSW of Paita, Peru
Mag 6.0 112km NW of L’Esperance Rock, New Zealand
Mag 6.0 189km WNW of Saumlaki, Indonesia

Significant: 4.9 9km SSW of Volcano, Hawaii

The Guardian UK reported on today’s 6.6 quake in Columbia
“According the U.S. Geological Survey, a severe earthquake has occurred in the Pacific Ocean near Columbia. The earthquake is 6.7 magnitudes and hit about 10:43, local time, this morning. It landed approximately 59 miles west southwest of Mutis, Colombia. No immediate reports of damage and according to the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, no tsunami warning was issued.”

God has used earthquakes to speak to His people in the past and will again in the future. In Acts 16:26, He used a quake to release Paul from prison. When Jesus died on the cross, a quake occurred, recorded in Matthew 27:54, “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” The quake was God speaking to humans … and they understood. A few days later as Jesus rose from the grave there was another earthquake. Matthew 28:2 records it. “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.” In Ezekiel 38:19 God promises to show Himself through an earthquake (among other things). “In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.”

During the Tribulation, an earthquake will occur in Jerusalem as described in Rev 11:13 where 7000 people will be killed. Later, in Rev 16:18, “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.” Every mountain will crumble and every island will flee away.

Earthquakes are important events. After a major quake in CA in 1994, John MacArthur preached this:

“My sixth point is this: God uses calamity to call people to repentance. I believe this is intended by God to warn people of what is coming when he destroys the earth. I believe it is to call people to repentance.

And then one last point. Time is limited to heed the warning. Time is limited to heed the warning. Jesus tells a story in verse 6. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, came looking for fruit on it and didn’t find it. Said to the vineyard keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I came looking for fruit.” By the way, three years was the limit. That’s how long they let a fig tree go before they cut it down because it would show its fruit by the third year.

“‘I waited three years, I come looking for fruit on the tree, don’t find any. Cut it down. Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir. For this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, cut it down.'”

What does that say? God is patient, but his patience has a limit, right? Give it another year. No fruit, cut it down. The LORD is compassionate, gracious slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, but he will not always strive with man.

Sinners live on borrowed time. Sinners have a temporary reprieve. What a profound teacher is an earthquake. Life is fragile, there are limits to self-protection, death is inevitable, the world is cursed, temporal disasters are only previews of what is coming, God uses these frightening calamities to call people to repentance, and you better repent because time is limited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Further reading

Greatest earthquakes of the bible

Earthquake verses in the bible

Why does God allow natural disasters, i.e. earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis?

Posted in bias, end time, eschatology, persistent widow, san antonio

The thought police are alive and well in San Antonio

Posted on by elizabethprata

Christians who speak of sin and exhort non-believers to repent is called hate speech by the secular world. And it is hate speech. The secular world hates it and wants to stop us from speaking it. Here are two current examples. This first one is from March of 2012 but is representative of how the media treats any Christian today:

Ann Curry: Your religious beliefs represent hate speech!
“Make no mistake about it, this is all about going after the Christian Church. Same-sex marriage, GLAAD’s fascist rampages, and all of this Orwellian political correctness is part of long-term goal — and that’s to make Christian beliefs a form of bigotry and to force a left-wing agenda on the church all under a Trojan horse labelled “discrimination.”

 “In many respects, Obama forcing the Catholic Church to violate its conscience with respect to providing birth control and abortion drugs through their social service institutions, is a dry run for this. The left wants to know if they can persuade the American people that a non-existent right (in this case, free birth control) trumps a First Amendment that declaratively restricts the government from impeding on the free exercise of religion.”

“The obvious next step will be to attempt an end-run around the First Amendment by declaring as bigoted the Church’s refusal to marry same-sex couples. They will also attempt to declare as hate speech any belief held by the church that in any way angers GLAAD.”

And they have done just exactly that. In San Antonio, this week Hal Lindsey reported there is a new kind of ‘thought police’–

Unprecedented ordinance bans Christians from serving on city council
“We hear a lot about the positive things happening in that great bastion of conservatism known as Texas, but even there we are occasionally reminded that the disease of progressivism is present. The latest example of the liberal precept that government is greater than the individual can be found in San Antonio, where city leaders believe true equality is just an ordinance away.”

The city is looking to update its anti-discrimination policies by adding sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories, and plans to punish those who speak out against homosexuality. According to a draft of the revised policy, One News Now reports, no one who has spoken out against homosexuality or the transgender lifestyle can run for city council or be appointed to a city board.

Or, in other words, Christians need not apply. The exact language as proposed:

“No person shall be appointed to a position if the City Council finds that such person has, prior to such proposed appointment, engaged in discrimination or demonstrated a bias, by word or deed, against any person, group or organization on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age, or disability.”

“The ordinance also says that if you have at any point demonstrated a bias – without defining what a bias is or who will determine whether or not one has been exercised – that you cannot get a city contract,” pastor Charles Flowers told One News Now.

Alliance Defending Freedom has taken a look at the ordinance. “They said they’ve never seen this kind of language in any other ordinance in any other city that they’ve dealt with,”

There are many ways to try and quiet the Christians. In Egypt, for example, they just shoot them outright as they walk home from bible class. In America, they cleverly formulate laws and ordinances that quietly squeeze Christians from public life, and where they have a voice and influence. Where the Christian blogging world was shocked by street preacher Tony Miano’s arrest off the street corner outside Wimbledon last month for preaching sexual purity, that kind overt and deliberate squelching is here in America too, just disguised under the misnomer of political correctness or the more current phrase ‘tolerance’.

In my opinion, this means two things. The rapidity with which we have seen an erosion of free speech under the US Constitution is gaining speed each day. This kind of hatred of Christians expressed in no uncertain terms in the public square has gone from quiet mumbling in back rooms just ten years ago to blatant discrimination and muzzling today. Each day it gets worse. Like compounding interest, expect each day from her on forward to get that much more overt and constricting.

That means we should pray for a proportional amount of increase in courage and boldness. It means we should know our bible and be ready to proclaim Him. It means that we should actively and daily think about what we can do in our own spheres to maximize our influence. It means ever increasing reliance on the Lord.

Secondly, it means the time is growing nearer. As the world moves toward the time when the word of Jesus will be fulfilled, “When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith upon the earth?”

That verse is the last line in the short parable of the Persistent Widow. Jesus tells the disciples about the coming of the Kingdom and the Tribulation of those days in Luke 17. He concludes with the parable as a lesson to always pray and not lose heart. Here is it is in full–

1And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

This is a persistent prayer for the Lord’s return. The widow was grieved by the injustice in the world and the failure of earthly courts to rectify it. She hated the corruptness and cried out for someone to fix it. The complete indifference of the Judge to the suffering of this defrauded, needy and destitute woman, the fact that he didn’t fear God or man, and his unwillingness to take up the case of a woman who was so alone that she didn’t even  a man to come to court for her is representative of the world today (and back then). The world was this woman’s enemy, and it had abused her.

Jesus gave two commands and comforts. He said to always pray. And He said to not lose heart. Even in the midst of the time when the widow was persisting in obtaining justice and it didn’t look like anything was ever going to happen, she kept on.

Eventually, there will be justice.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow as explained by John MacArthur-

“It says at the end of verse 8, “However, when the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?” Will He find this kind of persevering faith? Will He find this kind of persevering prayer? Will He find this kind of enduring confidence? This is definitely eschatological praying. No one of us knows the time of the Rapture. We don’t know when the events that are the Second Coming will be launched. We don’t know when the day of the Lord is going to come, but two thousand years have passed by, believers have been waiting and waiting, and suffering at the hand of sinners. Sin escalates, evil men grow worse and worse and worse. We see the pollution inside and outside Christendom. False teachers abound everywhere. 

We’re endeavoring to endure true and faithful, trusting in the Word of God. We have been promised that He will come. We believe that He will come. And here He says, “Keep praying for that event.” He will come but part of the means of that coming is our prayer life. Prayer moves God to accomplish His work and therefore having accomplished His work, bringing it to its great culmination in His Second Coming. He will come. He promises He will come. He will be faithful to His elect. He will bring judgment to the ungodly. He will vindicate the saints. He will exalt Himself. He will establish His throne on earth. He will reign in a Kingdom on earth and He will establish the new heaven and the new earth. And that is what we are to pray for relentlessly.“

There is a movement outside of Christianity but also inside Christianity to muzzle Christians from speaking these things. Just as the secular world tries in all ways to squelch the potent word of the boldly proclaiming Christian, so some Christians dismiss the eschatological prayer and speech of the boldly proclaiming end times-minded brother and sister. Don’t let them do it. Point to the persistent widow, and say, “She didn’t give up. Jesus told us to pray always and not lose heart.”

Speaking of His coming and the justice that will be rendered for His name’s sake is one of the greatest comforts of all. Some ‘brothers’ sneer at our fervency, saying we are cowards wanting to be gone from this world. Some ‘sisters’ mock when we speak of His soon return, saying that we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good.

Well, the widow persistently called for justice, and Jesus commended her for it. I side with Jesus, not the mockers and sneerers.

Being with Him is something that we look forward to with all that we’ve got and all that we are. Who wouldn’t want to cling to these hopes and future promises? Who wouldn’t want to take the commands of Jesus to heart, and pray always for His return and to not lose heart?

Ultimately we who pray for His return and we who speak of it, and we who see the signs of the dying world, know that what we pray for is from a heart that mourns in seeing the sins pile up against Him. We see the blots and blasphemies against His pure name, and we hate it. We see a young Egyptian girl shot dead simply because she was holding a bible, and we fall to our knees in grief. We see child after child neglected because their parents have succumbed to drugs, and we are horrified. We see the hatred of an evil world against all that is holy and pure, and we weep. We see children dying, martyrs killed, and we cry out. We see the Holy Spirit grieved and we lament. We keep ‘coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ Who wouldn’t want that to all end?

Somewhere in the world, there is a chorus of widows. Keep it up, my brethren. Call for the Righteous Judge to render justice. Take heart, He hears you and He is coming.

Posted in India, kings of the east, prophecy

India has unveiled its first home-built aircraft carrier

Posted on by elizabethprata

Indian-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant launched
India has unveiled its first home-built aircraft carrier from a shipyard in southern Kerala state.

The 37,500 tonne INS Vikrant is expected to go for extensive trials in 2016 before being inducted into the navy by 2018, reports say. With this, India joins a select group of countries capable of building such a vessel. Other countries capable of building a similar ship are the US, the UK, Russia and France. Monday’s launch of INS Vikrant marks the end of the first phase of its construction. The INS Vikrant was launched amid chanting from ancient Hindu scriptures at the Kochi shipyard in the southern state of Kerala.”

Remember, India is a nuclear power. Also remember that in the final days of world history, the Kings from the East will march against Jerusalem. (Revelation 16:12). India is East of the Euphrates.

India’s increasing military capability at this juncture is interesting to note, particular in the area of having their own aircraft carrier. In any case, this news is indicative of the fact that Jesus said there will wars and rumors of wars during the Tribulation. Life on earth will not get any better, it is always on a downward slide till the end. India, having the toy, they will want to use it. It is only a matter of time.

Posted in marian apparition, providence

More Mary Mischief: image of Mary on cross atop Providence church?

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was born in Providence RI and grew up in the suburbs outside the city. Providence is a wonderful state, quirky, beautiful, and small. It is populated by Italians, Portuguese, and Irish, most of whom are Catholic. (demographic: 64%). Wikipedia further explains, “Rhode Island has one of the highest percentage of Roman Catholics in the nation mainly due to large Irish, Italian, and French Canadian immigration in the past; recently, significant Portuguese and various Hispanic communities have also been established in the state. … Additionally, Rhode Island and Utah are the only two states in which a majority of the population are members of a single religious body.”

I still occasionally read the Providence Journal, nowadays more often to see who died. I guess that is part of the human life cycle as you get older, interest in obits. One of the headlines on Saturday was the following:

Faithful see image of Virgin Mary on cross atop North Providence church
NORTH PROVIDENCE — A steady stream of people gathered Friday in the rain at the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to witness what some believe is an image of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. “It’s her. It’s amazing,” said Zumma Canedo, of North Providence.

Canedo, a native of Bolivia, said she had prayed the rosary while standing in the rain outside the church on Mineral Spring Avenue. “She’s saying something,” Canedo said. A darker profile, interpreted by believers as that of the Virgin Mary, can be seen against the gray copper cross atop the church. Bystanders remarked that the profile did not fade despite the pouring rain.

Traffic backed up on the busy road, disrupting a funeral procession that was leaving the church at 11:30 a.m. Carolyn Andreozzi, also of North Providence, said she was having her nails done around the corner when she heard of the sighting on the church steeple and decided to walk over. Asked if she believed it was Mary as she headed to the church, Andreozzi said: “We need a miracle the way this country is going, the turmoil that we are in. Absolutely, I believe.”

“On her return, through the Walgreens parking lot a block up across the street, Andreozzi said: “I would have liked a more definite (sign), but I believe she is there.” Shortly after noon, a crowd lined up by a Channel 12 cameraman, waiting to look through the camera after he finished his report.”

“Brian Dowling, associate director at The Steel Yard, a nonprofit community arts program in Providence, said the discoloration is probably a chemical reaction.” “Like patina,” Dowling said referring to the tarnish that forms on copper from oxidation and other chemical reactions. Copper, Dowling said, yields a wide spectrum of colors, from greens to browns to reds. Parish officials had no immediate comment.”

————————-

There are so many things to comment on…and I’m so sad over the whole thing. First, the comment from the lady who said, “We need a miracle the way this country is going, the turmoil that we are in. Absolutely, I believe.” Catholics who adhere to the false doctrines of the Catholic Church are not saved. They are believing the doctrines of demons, not the Gospel as delivered by Jesus Christ. For those who are not saved, they yearn for something to believe in, and they long to fill the spiritual ache in their hearts. Yet they believe in idols. (Isaiah 40:19). They want to and need to believe, but their faith is misplaced.

Then this same lady who had moments before stated, “absolutely, I believe,” then said, “I would have liked a more definite (sign)”…

Let Us Reason Ministries says, “Scripture and history prove that signs and wonders do not instill faith, just the opposite, lack of faith prompts ones desire to see signs and wonders. John 12:37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him. John 4:48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” Jesus was disappointed that it took the miraculous for people to listen to his teachings or follow.” (source)

Third, look up at the photo of the man looking through the camera lens, then to the lady holding the striped umbrella behind him. Look at her face. It is the face of someone in spiritual ecstasy. It is the face of spiritual tragedy.

I’d like to remind everyone that Jesus grew up. “Mary” isn’t holding “baby Jesus”. Jesus is not a baby any more and He hasn’t been for a long, long time. He appeared post-Resurrection in the flesh to many hundreds, and He was fully grown. (And no need to remind everyone that Mary hasn’t been a virgin for a long, long time, either (Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, Mark 3:31, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 13:56).

The photo of the long line of people stopping to get a glimpse, walking over to check it out, the seekers of and believers in false signs, is just heart-breakingly painful to see!

And … has anyone thought of what a blasphemous thing it is for “Mary” to be “appearing” on the cross, the place where Jesus was nailed in agony and pain so as to receive the wrath of God for all mankind’s sins?

On the same page as the news story about the alleged Marian Apparition are these headlines:

–Haitian Catholic charismatics gather in Providence for three-day event
–Pastor Fired for Attending Rick Ross Concert
–Top Grossing Bars and Nightclubs of 2013

Rhode Island is a very dark place, spiritually.

Here is an anecdote from my life. I am of Italian descent. Attracted to all things Italian, I traveled to Italy several times in the 1990s. One of those times a friend and I rented a car and meandered around Tuscany. We always took the small roads and the out of the way places. One day we were headed to the Tuscan coast and we saw a sign for a small town called “Prata.” Of course we immediately swerved onto that road and explored! I had no idea that town with my surname even existed.

It was siesta time and being a very small village, and raining, we found no people about, except an dapper old man walking up a hill with his cane hooked over his wrist. The church door was open so I peeked in and saw several wizened old ladies wearing black dresses and clomping black shoes, busily polishing the altar and dusting the ceramic statues of Mary they had around. There were a lot of Mary statues.

I bought a postcard from the tiny church gift shop, and here it is:

Apparently the ‘patron saint’ of Prata is “Madonna Del Canale.” Mary of the Canal. Here is the story:

The patron saint of Prata is Our Lady of the Assumption, but the protective figure invoked by the entire population is Our Lady of Graces, known as the ‘Madonna del Canale’ and venerated in the oratory located near the Fonte Vecchia, in the Valley of the Carse, approximately half a mile outside the town.

According to legend, the Madonna appeared to shepherds centuries ago, outside the town walls near a canal where water drained off from an old mine, where Fonte Vecchia is now. To mark this miraculous apparition, a shrine was constructed on the spot, hence the strange name of ‘Canale’ (‘canal’) used by Prata’s residents to invoke their Madonna. 

Inside the shrine, a fresco depicting the Virgin Mary was painted, which faded over time. It was therefore decided to reproduce the image on a canvas placed on the high altar of the Church of Prata. The name of the artist who painted the canvas in 1680 is unknown to us. However the painting seems to have disappeared from the church twice and miraculously reappeared near Fonte Vecchia, almost as if the Madonna were indicating her preference for being venerated there instead. So the people of Prata built the Oratory near Fonte Vecchia so that the painting of the Virgin Mary could be kept there forever and promised to take her back every three years, in a solemn procession.

The Catholics say that they don’t worship Mary, they venerate her. The parsing is silly, of course, because venerate and worship mean the same thing. And in this iconic photo of the fresco at Prata, Jesus is wearing a crown, and Mary is wearing a crown. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s a duck.

Matthew 24:24 says “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.“

Posted in birds, creation grace, roost, starlings

Creation grace: Starling murmuration & evening roost

Posted on by elizabethprata

One evening as I was driving home, I spotted a moving black cloud over the fields. I stopped and watched a gathering of starlings come together and dance in aerobatic, soaring beauty over the fields. The flock parted and came together, swooped and climbed heights. The display was inexpressibly beautiful. At the end, the flock settled in the treetops next to the field and the dance was over.

Scientists call this behavior ‘starling murmuration.’ “Starling swarms, an extraordinarily beautiful ballet at dusk that is a pre-roosting phenomenon of nature known as ‘starling murmuration.’” Capturing the flock in motion proved to be too hard a task for me and my camera, my photos mostly came out blurry. I didn’t even think to set it on video, lol, I was so captured by the beauty of this, the dancing birds, pink sky and rising moon. There are some gorgeous pics of the phenomenon for you here.

About Birding says “Small birds sleep perched high in trees, typically close to the trunk of the tree. The trunk holds heat from the daytime to provide better shelter, and the birds will be alerted to any vibrations predators make if they climb the tree looking for prey. Many birds, such as red-winged blackbirds and other gregarious species, form large roost flocks at night. This provides them safety in numbers as they sleep, and several birds on the edges of the flock may remain alert through the night to guard against predators or other threats.”

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Lord, thank You for your endless creativity and intellect. 
I feel such joy at being a part of Your creation.

Posted in polycarp, Sunday martyr moment

Sunday Martyr moment: Germanicus and Polycarp

Posted on by elizabethprata

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. According to this summary from Christian Book Summaries,

Writing in the mid-1500s, John Foxe was living in the midst of intense religious persecution at the hands of the dominant Roman Catholic Church. In graphic detail, he offers accounts of Christians being martyred for their belief in Jesus Christ, describing how God gave them extraordinary courage and stamina to endure unthinkable torture.

From the same link, the book’s purpose was fourfold:

  • Showcase the courage of true believers who have willingly taken a stand for Jesus Christ throughout the ages, even if it meant death,
  • Demonstrate the grace of God in the lives of those martyred for their faith,
  • Expose the ruthlessness of religious and political leaders as they sought to suppress those with differing beliefs,
  • Celebrate the courage of those who risked their lives to translate the Bible into the common language of the people.

Text from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs:

The Fourth Persecution, Under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, A.D. 162

Marcus Aurelius, followed about the year of our Lord 161, a man of nature more stern and severe; and, although in study of philosophy and in civil government no less commendable, yet, toward the Christians sharp and fierce; by whom was moved the fourth persecution.

The cruelties used in this persecution were such that many of the spectators shuddered with horror at the sight, and were astonished at the intrepidity of the sufferers. Some of the martyrs were obliged to pass, with their already wounded feet, over thorns, nails, sharp shells, etc. upon their points, others were scourged until their sinews and veins lay bare, and after suffering the most excruciating tortures that could be devised, they were destroyed by the most terrible deaths.

Germanicus, a young man, but a true Christian, being delivered to the wild beasts on account of his faith, behaved with such astonishing courage that several pagans became converts to a faith which inspired such fortitude.

Polycarpus, engraving by Michael Burghers, ca 1685

Polycarp, who was a student of the Apostle John and the overseer of the church at Smyrna, heard that soldiers were looking for him and tried to escape but was discovered by a child. After feeding the guards who captured him, he asked for an hour of prayer, which they gave him. He prayed with such fervency that his guards said they were sorry they were the ones to capture him. Nevertheless, he was taken before the governor and condemned to be burned at the market place.

After his sentence was given, the governor said to Polycarp, “Reproach Christ and I will release you.”

Polycarp answered, “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who has saved me?”

At the stake to which he was only tied, but not nailed as usual, since he assured them he would stand immovable. As the dry sticks around him were lit, the flames rose up and circled his body without touching him. The executioner was told to pierce him with a sword, which he did. Upon being pierced, a great quantity of blood gushed out and put out the fire. Although is Christian friends asked to retrieve the body so it could be buried, the enemies of the Gospel insisted that it be burned in the fire, which was done.

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“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:34)

“Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,” (Ephesians 6:7)

Lord, thank You for the example of the martyrs, who were living, breathing examples of Christ-likeness unto death. Polycarp’s hospitality, prayers, and steadfastness under the most extreme pressure was an example to the pagans around him and is an example to us today. Thank you for the blood-bought opportunity to go to a worship service, the blood-bought privilege of carrying a bible to that place, and the inexpressible privilege of prayer. May we all proclaim Christ boldly, echoing Polycarp’s words, that we shall not blaspheme our King, Who saved us.

Posted in andy griffith, angel in my pocket

Movie Review: Andy Griffith in "Angel in My Pocket"

Posted on by elizabethprata

Many of us love Andy Griffith, and most know him from the television fame via his enduring show, “The Andy Griffith Show.” In its eight-and-a-half year run, from 1960 to 1968, the show embedded itself into America’s psyche and cemented itself into our pop culture forever.

But by 1968, Andy had grown restless with the confines of TV. He had already attained stardom with a hit Broadway show, two movies, and a stand up act which was recorded and sold 900,000 thousand copies (“What it was, was football”). Griffith was multi-talented and wanted to move on, and also leave Mayberry while it was still fresh and on top.

Once Mayberry was behind us though, America found it hard to adopt any new persona for Mr Griffith. They still wanted the gentle, humorous, and wise man they’d thought they knew in the fictional Mayberry. Griffith signed a five-year movie contract and hired the same writers and some of the same actors to write and star in his next project after the end of the Griffith TV show: the movie “Angel in My Pocket.”

A homespun minister (Andy Griffith) and his family, pregnant wife Lee Merriwether, and Jerry Van D-yke as the ne’er-do-well brother-in-law who’s a lush, move to a small town where he tries to win the support and trust of his new congregation. The town is in Kansas and the winning has to be done because the two sets of founding families have been feuding for 60 years. This terrible cycle of blame shifting, nit-picking and anger has paralyzed the town. The school is falling apart, and the church and pastorium is a wreck. No one can make a decision, or even a comment, without a fight erupting.

Griffith is a freshly graduated ordained minister called to his first church, “Church of the Redeemer” in this town in Kansas well known for pastor turnover- 7 ministers in 10 years. Of course, no one apprises Griffith of this fact, and he loads his wife, kids, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and dog off to Wood Falls.

Where Mayberry showed the best of small-town life, “Angel” is a movie that exaggerates the worst of small town life: gossip, misunderstanding, entrenched views, selfishness, pettiness, church politics, but does it all with humor and not mean-ness as the increasingly exasperated Griffith tries to win his congregation.

One his first Sunday, Griffith nervously paces in the kitchen while the caretaker is mingling with the incoming congregation. Two old biddies ask the caretaker “What’s he like?” The caretaker thoughtfully strokes his chin and then replies, “He is the button on the cap of kindness.” The biddies nod warmly, and turn to ascend the front steps. One leans into the other and says bitterly, “What does he know, anyway.”

I enjoyed another scene with the two old biddies coming across the pastor in the next town. He had entered a burlesque house because he’d heard that the place didn’t use their organ any more, and he was going to wheedle the manager into donating it. The ladies hustle back to town to tell the Church Board, and later as Griffith tries to explain what he was doing there, the biddies shout, “We saw you! So there!”

The scene with Griffith’s mother in law and an old biddie talking at a social were priceless. “My husband used to say, ‘Racine, you are just the meanest and crabbiest woman on earth.’ [pause] May he rest in peace.” LOL.

After his first sermon, a young couple shook his hand as they left. The husband exclaimed in praise, “I loved the sermon, pastor!” “You did?!” asks Griffith happily. “Yup! Nice and short!”

There are lots of small, telling moments like that, with the children in the front pew listening to the first sermon, a chat the Pastor has in the car with the caretaker, and a really sensitive and sad scene in the cemetery as he discovers two middle aged lovers, each from the opposing founding family, meeting there twice a week for 25 years. They have been too afraid to face the family ire if they marry. “Pastor, they run this town.”

It’s old fashioned and corny, written by the same folks as the team that wrote Mayberry. “Howard Sprague” and also “Clara” from Mayberry are in it, and Grandma from The Waltons is too.

There is nothing objectionable in the movie whatsoever. No insinuations of lewdness, clothing is appropriate, no profanity (except once when the increasingly exasperated pastor thundered “Damnation!” but was called to task by his wife).

Wikipedia notes something about the denomination: “The movie never identifies the denomination to which the “Church of the Redeemer” is supposed to belong. The presence of a Bishop, the vestments that Sam Whitehead wears, Sam’s prefacing of his sermon with collect and the fact that his title is “pastor” suggest that the denomination is one of the groups which formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” but one is not sure. I’m OK with ‘Redeemer’. 🙂

Theologically it is 95% solid and nothing objectionable. As a matter of fact, the day Griffith arrived he saw a full out brawl on the street- the two sides were fighting in advance of election day. His wife says, “Are you sure you want to take this post? And Griffith replies “If everybody was saved there wouldn’t be anything for a preacher to do.” You rarely if ever hear of anyone in any media then or now, say “they need to be saved”.

In his first sermon he closed with a prayer to Jesus Christ, urging the congregation “to do all we can to magnify God through Jesus Christ the Son”. So that was good. There was one scene of infant baptism. And that one swear. The hymns the choir sang are familiar and solid. (Holy Holy Holy and In The Garden). The movie overall tried to show how to walk with Jesus in church and out.

Many things happen, and eventually Griffith’s genial charm, persistence, and bold stance for the Lord breaks the stymie.

It’s a family film like Yours, Mine and Ours. Unfortunately I don’t think the movie Angel in my Pocket has been released on video or DVD…and Hulu & Netflix don’t have it. I watched it on Youtube.

Interestingly Griffith was disappointed in “Angel” and canceled the contract with the movie studio. He never made the rest of the movies he’d planned. Griffith appeared in two TV shows that each lasted a year, The Headmaster and Mayberry RFD, and then spent the next decade working hard to show the public his range and himself in different characters. To that end, his work in the movie Go Ask Alice is noteworthy, he appeared in The Mod Squad, Doris Day Show, and Hawaii 5-0 among many others. His work in Murder in Texas got him nominated for a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy. You can catch Griffith’s work bio here.

You might also enjoy Griffith pre-Mayberry:

A Face in the Crowd, another Griffith film but he plays a very different character, a dark megalomaniac.

1957, with Patricia Neal. It is an outstanding film that shows the depth and range of the very talented Griffith

No Time for Sergeants, (Griffith in the Army) 1958. With Don Knotts

Trivia: At age 70, he returned to music after the successful run of the tv show Matlock, and his album of Gospel songs won him a Grammy, as well as the fulfillment of a long-time dream, to perform at the Grand Ole Opry.