Opening Insights:
Our world is in a state of turmoil. What do we do? Some blame, some pray...
Informational Insights: A Call to Action
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The devil is alive and well and working overtime to undermine the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis says.
In fact, the pope is so convinced that Satan is to blame for the sexual abuse crisis and deep divisions racking the Church that he has asked Catholics around the world to recite a special prayer every day in October to try to beat him back.
“(The Church must be) saved from the attacks of the malign one, the great accuser and at the same time be made ever more aware of its guilt, its mistakes, and abuses committed in the present and the past,” Francis said in a message on Sept. 29.
Since he was elected in 2013, Francis has made clear that he believes the devil to be real. In a document in April on holiness in the modern world, Francis mentioned the devil more than a dozen times.
“We should not think of the devil as a myth, a representation, a symbol, a figure of speech or an idea. This mistake would lead us to let down our guard, to grow careless and end up more vulnerable,” he wrote in the document.
Spirituality is a State of Reality
(The REAL Deal)
- God – The Future (Heaven) as Experienced as a State of Faith, Hope and Love
- Devil (Evil) – The Past being Brought into The Present as an Experience of Life
The Church has recently been hit by one sexual abuse scandal after another, from Germany, to the United States, to Chile. At the same time, a deepening polarization between conservatives and liberals in the Church has played out on social media.
There is no allegation more severe than SEXUAL. There is often little evidence and only emotion driving the word of someone who becomes the evidence of true or false. The allegation is rooted in a most interesting psychological model:
Fear Takes Away Power...
THE FEAR MODEL LEAVES A RESIDUE OF ANGER
(16 REASONS WE STAY ANGRY)
Francis’ use of the term “the great accuser” to describe Satan hit a raw nerve with one of the pope’s harshest conservative critics, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Vatican’s former ambassador to Washington.
CHURCH DIVISIONS
In an 11-page statement published on Aug. 26, Viganò launched an unprecedented broadside by a Church insider against the pope and a long list of Vatican and U.S. Church officials.
This is called BETRAYAL. A LIE.
A common practice of the Devil and Evil is experienced today by those we think are our friends… remember Judas.
A lie rooted in an accusation, based on 1 oz of truth is presented. Then a 10-pound story (another lie) is made-up and added to the original event.
The focus is not on the made-up lie, but instead on the tiny event (piece of truth) that had nothing to do with the lie and the false conclusion. The lie is assumed true because it is falsely attached to the unrelated truth/event.
When this type of falsehood is created it BECOMES SIN (Separation from God). When we become separated, we lose hope, faith and love. Without Hope (we want it), Faith (we will get it) and Love (we experience it), we only know DARKNESS and lose our way.
How many ways have we been told that JESUS IS THE LIGHT, THE PATH… THE WAY?
Man’s downfall begins with EGO (Edging God Out) by hiding and denying our shortcomings and mistakes. Without our connection to God (SIN – Separation from God) we only focus on the past blame and we become the creators of the Devil (lived spelled backwards) and Evil (live spelled backwards).
When we commit SIN, we become the Devil… doing what the Devil does… Evil.
He accused Francis of knowing about sexual misconduct by a former U.S. cardinal with male adult seminarians but not doing anything about it.
Viganò, concluding that his former boss had singled him out as the devil in disguise, complained in his next statement that Francis “compared me to the great accuser, Satan, who sows scandal and division in the Church, though without ever uttering my name”.
On Sunday, a top Vatican official issued a scathing open letter accusing Viganò of mounting a “political frame job devoid of real foundation” and contesting his accusations against the pope point by point.
Francis is so convinced that Satan is ultimately to blame for both the sexual abuse scandals and the divisions within the Church that he has enlisted the aid of spiritual big gun – St. Michael the Archangel. Michael is mentioned several times in the Bible as the leader of the angels who ousted Lucifer, the fallen angel, from paradise.
Catholics are being asked to recite the rosary daily in October and conclude it with a prayer to St. Michael that was said after Mass until 1964 but then fell into disuse.
Spirituality is a state in which there is a common connection to God and a focus of thought using a Common Belief with a Common Goal – PRAYER!!!
The Power of Personal Prayer – The Power of Collective Prayer
What is truly terrifying is how this process of destruction of our leaders is not unique to the church. It is everywhere (For Once I am Grateful for Trump).
The prayer reads: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-devil/pope-blames-devil-for-church-divisions-scandals-seeks-angels-help-idUSKCN1MI10M
Possibilities for Consideration: Will We Follow the Pope Before it's Too Late?
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak for me.
MARTIN NIEMÖLLER
- What if there was a way to reestablish Judeo-Christian values?
- What if there was a way to infuse honesty, selflessness, purity of intention and reality (love and trust) back into our communities and businesses?
- What if there was a community outreach that didn’t preach religion, but taught the skills of how to think, the values of maturity and the principles that form the foundation of Judeo-Christian values?
We all love our community, country and the values that we grew up with and believe in. We all want to see the prosperity return for our country, today and for the generations to come:
- What if you could be a part of a movement to unite, rebuild and grow Judeo-Christian Values?
- What if you could be a part of empowering and reversing the crisis of homelessness and addiction in your community?
- What if you could be a part of securing and sustaining the heritage and legacy of your religion, community and country?
- What if you could be a part of making your organization, community and country safe, secure and sustainable today and tomorrow?
- What if you could be a part of a prevention, mentorship and education movement to address social-cultural problems rather than manage them?
Add Your Insight: Be the Change...
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do.
LEONARDO DA VINCI