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| Federal Judge: Vaccine Mandate at Louisiana College Violates Religious Liberty |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-19-2021, 07:55 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Spiritual]
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Federal Judge: Vaccine Mandate at Louisiana College Violates Religious Liberty
![[Image: Religious-Liberty-Cross-AP-640x480.jpg]](https://media.breitbart.com/media/2015/12/Religious-Liberty-Cross-AP-640x480.jpg)
A federal judge struck down the vaccine mandate at a Louisiana medical school, holding that it violates religious liberty rights under the Louisiana Constitution, and issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the school
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued the order after Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) students Lynn Magliulo, Matthew Shea Willis, and Kirsten Willis Hall alleged the school’s policy infringed on their freedom of religion.
On June 30, 2021, VCOM sent out an email to students notifying them that the school was requiring all students to receive a full coronavirus vaccination to enroll in fall 2021 classes. The email also said religious and medical exemptions, which the college limited, would be heard on an individual basis. However, VCOM later contradicted itself by saying it would not recognize religious or medical exemptions, according to court documents.
The three students dissented and requested exemptions based on “deeply held religious beliefs.” According to the temporary restraining order, the students objected to the vaccine because they believed them to be “devised from aborted fetal tissues, violating their religious beliefs.” They also dissented because the vaccine is approved for emergency use only “and is therefore experimental.”
The students alleged that their exemption requests were subsequently denied, and Magliulo said she was given a deadline via email of July 19, 2021 to either defer school for a year or get a coronavirus vaccine.
After it became clear the students were pursuing legal action against the school, VCOM changed its exemption policy three times, approved the students’ religious exemptions “for the current time,” and ultimately created what Judge Doughty found to be burdensome restrictions that would interfere with the students’ ability to graduate.
One of the school’s excessive restrictions included barring unvaccinated students from participating in Standardized Patient Examinations and Early Clinical Experiences “which are required to advance or graduate,” according to court documents.
Doughty said VCOM further “placed a “Scarlett Letter” type list of requirements on the “unvaccinated,” in which students would be required to disclose their “unvaccinated” status to other students “in order to obtain the other students’ consent to work with the “unvaccinated.”’
The religious exemption was time-limited until one or more of the vaccines currently under Emergency Use Authorization receive full FDA approval. Unvaccinated students were also threatened with suspension if they were caught without a face mask on.
Judge Doughty said the “threat to religious freedom was imminent” when referring to the students’ case, and he said the “potential harm of a constitutional violation, ability to complete their education, ethics charges, and possible expulsion outweighs VCOM’s interest.”
He further noted that restrictions on students’ ability to dissent from the mandate which keeps them from being able to graduate “defeats the purpose of having the right of dissent.”
Louisiana law does not provide a method for institutions to restrict dissent. VCOM would be authorized to exclude unvaccinated students until the end of the disease incubation period or until they present evidence of vaccination. However, that mechanism requires a recommendation from the Louisiana Office of Public Health, which the school does not have.
“Therefore, under Louisiana law, students at VCOM are not subject to VCOM’s mandatory vaccine requirements if the student provides a written statement from a physician that the procedure is contraindicated for medical reason or presents a written dissent from a student or student’s guardian,” the judge ruled.
Solicitor General Liz Murrill, on behalf of the Attorney General, worked with the plaintiff students and their attorney in achieving a “favorable outcome.”
“Even during a pandemic, we must protect the rights of our citizens,” said Attorney General Jeff Landry. “I’m pleased with the court’s decision and glad these students can focus on what’s important: their education.”
“This is a win for the people of Louisiana who have sincerely held religious convictions and other reservations about these vaccines,” added Solicitor General Murrill. “The bottom line is that the law and constitution still apply. We are grateful to Judge Doughty for protecting their rights and upholding the rule of law, and we will continue to work toward an acceptable resolution.”
Doughty further ruled that the school is not allowed to retaliate or discriminate against the students for filing proceedings. The temporary restraining order will remain in effect pending the final resolution of the case, or upon further orders from the same court or higher courts.
“We’re very happy with the decision,” said Michael DuBos, the attorney representing the VCOM students. “We feel it is important to respect individual rights, especially in a time of crisis. If not, it sets a dangerous precedent.”
This case is Magliulo v. Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, No. 3:21-cv-2304 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
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| Pope Francis on the Ten Commandments: ‘I observe them, but not as absolutes’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-19-2021, 07:30 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Pope Francis on the Ten Commandments: ‘I observe them, but not as absolutes’
About whether he 'disregards' the Ten Commandments Pope Francis said, 'No. I observe them, but not as absolutes, because I know that what justifies me is Jesus Christ.'
![[Image: pope-francis-10-commandments-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/pope-francis-10-commandments-810x500.jpg)
Wed Aug 18, 2021 - 12:17 pm EDT
ROME (LifeSiteNews) – “I observe them, but not as absolutes,” Pope Francis said of the Ten Commandments at a general audience on August 18, 2021.
Pope Francis made the statement in the context of how Christians live a moral life. He began the discourse by asking the audience a rhetorical question. “How do I live?” he said.
He responded to his own question by saying, “Do I live in fear that if I don’t do this or that I will go to hell? Or do I also live with that hope, with that joy of the gratuitousness of salvation in Jesus Christ? That’s a good question.”
The Catholic Church teaches that anyone who dies not having repented of just one mortal sin does indeed go to hell.
The Holy Father continued his message with a second question about the nature of the Commandments. “And also a second question: do I disregard the Commandments?”
The answer Pope Francis gave to this question addressed whether or not he views the Ten Commandments as binding moral laws. About whether he “disregards” the Ten Commandments he said, “No. I observe them, but not as absolutes, because I know that what justifies me is Jesus Christ.”
The audience applauded as the Pope finished speaking.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states about the Ten Commandments: “They were written ‘with the finger of God’… They are pre-eminently the words of God” (CCC 2056).
The Catechism also states that “in fidelity to Scripture and in conformity with the example of Jesus, the tradition of the Church has acknowledged the primordial importance and significance of the Decalogue [the Ten Commandments]” (CCC 2064).
This is not the first time Pope Francis has offered his own catechesis on the Ten Commandments. In November 2018, he also suggested that the Ten Commandments are not an absolute or binding for Christians.
He said the Law was formerly seen as “a series of prescriptions and prohibitions,” but according to the Spirit it “became life.” The Pope explained that this meant that the Ten Commandments were no longer norms but that “the very flesh of Christ who loves us, seeks us, forgives us, consoles us and in His body recomposes communion with the Father, communion that was lost through the disobedience of sin.”
In a general audience on August 11, 2021, the Holy Father spoke again of the Ten Commandments, as well as the Mosaic Law. The Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law are not the same thing, although the Commandments were of course revealed to Moses. Pope Francis said, “When Paul speaks about the Law, he is normally referring to the Mosaic Law, the law given by Moses, the Ten Commandments.” In the opinion of the Pope, when Saint Paul speaks about the Law, it includes the entirety of the legal realities associated with the revelation given to Moses.
This led the Holy Father to say in the same audience, “According to various Old Testament texts, the Torah – that is, the Hebrew term used to indicate the Law – is the collection of all those prescriptions and norms the Israelites had to observe by virtue of the Covenant with God.”
In his estimation, it was not only the Laws of Moses applicable to the Old Covenant, but also the Ten Commandments themselves that were part of the norms for the Israelites at the time.
He continued by asking a rhetorical question, “But one of you might say to me: ‘But, Father, just one thing: does this mean that if I pray the Creed, I do not need to observe the commandments?’”
He then answered, “No, the commandments are valid in the sense that they are ‘pedagogues’ [teachers] that lead you toward the encounter with Christ.” He concluded the audience by telling those in attendance that “the encounter with Jesus is more important than all of the commandments.”
Jesus Christ said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). In addition, in Canon XX of the 6th session of the Council of Trent states: “If any one saith, that the man who is justified and how perfect soever, is not bound to observe the commandments of God and of the Church, but only to believe; as if indeed the Gospel were a bare and absolute promise of eternal life, without the condition of observing the commandments; let him be anathema.”
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| High-ranking US bishops order priests to refuse religious exemption letters for COVID vaccines |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-18-2021, 01:14 PM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Spiritual]
- Replies (1)
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High-ranking US bishops order priests to refuse religious exemption letters for COVID vaccines
The growing list of often dissident US bishops pushing back on exemptions for vaccine mandates includes Cardinal Blase Cupich and Archbishop José Gomez.
![[Image: Cardinal_Blase_Cupich_Chicago_810_500_75...10x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Cardinal_Blase_Cupich_Chicago_810_500_75_s_c1-810x500.jpg)
Tue Aug 17, 2021
(LifeSiteNews) – A growing number of prominent, and often dissident bishops in the U.S. have rejected allowing Catholics under their charge to obtain religious exemptions from the abortion-tainted COVID-19 injections, with Archbishop José Gomez and Cardinal Blase Cupich among those seeking to prevent Catholics from avoiding mandated vaccines.
The USCCB president leads the way in denying freedom of conscience
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, is perhaps the most high-profile name to protest vaccine exemptions, having written to clergy in his archdiocese ruling out the provision of exemption letters for the experimental COVID-19 gene-therapy injections.
In the statement, obtained by Catholic News Agency (CNA), Archbishop Gomez “recommends that all members of the Catholic community who can receive a COVID-19 vaccine should do so.” Furthermore, he ruled out any offering of religious exemption letters for the abortion-tainted injections, stating that they were not “morally objectionable:”
“The Archdiocese is not providing individuals with religious exemption letters to avoid vaccination against COVID-19. Please see the information and links below to understand why the Archdiocese does not consider the COVID-19 vaccine to be morally objectionable and why it encourages all the faithful to get vaccinated.”
CNA reported that the letter referred to three documents in support of its “terse” message, notably the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s (CDF) December 2020 note, which argued that “when ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines are not available … it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process.” (emphasis in original).
However, the CDF note also defended the voluntary nature of such injections, stipulating that “practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.”
Bishop McElroy of San Diego attacks ‘problematic’ exemption letters
Gomez’s statement had been pre-empted by San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy, who issued his own letter forbidding priests to sign any vaccine exemption letters.
McElroy’s August 11 letter, sent to his clergy, was in reaction to requests made by parishioners in the diocese, asking for religious exemptions as per the template laid out by the Colorado Catholic bishops on August 5.
Colorado’s bishops, headed by Archbishop Samuel Aquila, had written that a Catholic might judge it either “right or wrong to receive certain vaccines for a variety of reasons, and there is no Church law or rule that obligates a Catholic to receive a vaccine — including COVID-19 vaccines.”
“If a Catholic comes to an informed judgment that he or she should not receive a vaccine, then the Catholic Church requires that the person follow this judgment of conscience and refuse the vaccine,” read the template exemption letter from Colorado.
However, McElroy called the letter “particularly problematic,” adding that “the Holy See has made it clear that receiving the (COVID-19) vaccine is perfectly consistent with Catholic faith, and indeed laudatory in light of the common good in this time of pandemic.”
McElroy claimed the Colorado letter detrimentally prioritised the individual over society, alleging it presented an “incomplete picture of Catholic teaching.”
The bishop, well known for his opposition to traditional Church teaching on a number of issues, said priests who were asked to sign such an exemption letter were placed in an “impossible position” of holding that “‘Catholic teaching may lead individual Catholics to decline certain vaccines’ when those priests recognize that Catholic teaching proclaims just the opposite.”
As such, McElroy told his priests to “not venture down this pathway that merges personal choice with doctrinal authenticity, and to daringly decline such requests from your parishioners to sign the Colorado statement or other public declarations concerning the actions of specific individuals rejecting vaccine mandates on religious grounds.”
Cupich places pressure on National Bioethics Center
Meanwhile, Chicago’s Cardinal Blaise Cupich, is reportedly “leaning hard” on bishops and board members of the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), located in Philadelphia. CNA reported that board members of the NCBC had been putting pressure on certain unnamed members of the board to change the guidance issued by the center against mandatory injection for COVID-19.
In a July 2 statement, the NCBC had protested against mandatory vaccination, referring to the CDF’s December 2020 note, and declaring that due to the link to abortion with the injections “there is no universal moral obligation to accept or refuse them, and it should be a voluntary decision of the individual.”
The center defended religious, medical, and conscience exemptions, and a few days later issued an exemption letter template, which provided the basis for the Colorado letter some weeks later.
This stance has reportedly angered Cupich, who is also known for his widespread deviation from Church teaching on a variety of issues. Speaking anonymously to CNA, one of the NCBC board members revealed that Cupich had been putting “a tremendous pressure” on the organization to retract its statements allowing for religious exemptions.
While advocating for widespread vaccination, the board member defended personal liberty, saying “the conscience of religious people should be respected.” CNA wrote that it believed the NCBC would not be changing its statement.
LifeSite reached out to the Archdiocese of Chicago for comment, but did not receive a reply by publishing time.
The NCBC’s board is populated by a number of clerics and laity, with New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond as chairman, and Louisville’s Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz as vice-chairman. Among the other prominent names on the board, are Cardinals Daniel DiNardo, Timothy Dolan, and Sean O’Malley, while Archbishop Gomez is also a member.
Diocese of Monterey follows example of New York and Pope Francis
Bishop Daniel Garcia of Monterey has imitated some of his brother bishops in telling his own clergy not to issue vaccine exemption letters.
In a letter dated August 13, Garcia appealed to Pope Francis’s reception of the injection, and description of such an action as a benefit to the common good. “For these reasons, I will not issue, and I have directed our clergy not to issue, any Letters of Religious exemption because it would contradict the clear objective teaching of the Catholic Church and the Holy See on this matter,” wrote Bishop Garcia.
His brief letter ended by advocating those in the diocese to receive the injection, providing they had “no medical impediments.”
Similar scenes have been noted in the Archdiocese of New York, where priests were instructed to refuse to sign religious exemption requests submitted by Catholics who object to using the COVID-19 gene-therapy vaccines despite their abortion-tainted nature.
Drawing on the statements of Pope Francis as well as Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Chancellor John P. Cahill, a layman, wrote to pastors, administrators, and parochial vicars: “There is no basis for a priest to issue a religious exemption to the vaccine.”
South Dakota supports Colorado in defending freedom of conscience
While the number of bishops clamping down on vaccine exemptions appears to be growing, so also does the number of prelates who are defending the right of personal liberty and freedom of conscience. Shortly after Colorado’s Catholic bishops issued their statement, South Dakota’s Catholic bishops followed suit.
“Consistent with the above, a Catholic may, after consideration of relevant information and moral principles, discern it to be right or wrong to receive one of the available Covid-19 vaccines,” wrote Bishops Donald E. DeGrood and Peter M. Muhich. “If he or she thus comes to the sure conviction in conscience that they should not receive it, we believe this is a sincere religious belief, as they are bound before God to follow their conscience.”
Cardinal Raymond Burke, former Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, has previously spoken out against vaccines using aborted babies: “it must be clear that it is never morally justified to develop a vaccine through the use of the cell lines of aborted fetuses. The thought of the introduction of such a vaccine into one’s body is rightly abhorrent.”
The cardinal, currently in critical condition in hospital with COVID-19, attacked mandatory injections, saying “it must be clear that vaccination itself cannot be imposed, in a totalitarian manner, on citizens.”
For respectful communications:
Archdiocese of Los Angeles – Archbishop Gomes
Media Office: mediarelations@la-archdiocese.org or phone 213 637 7215
Address: Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 3424 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010-2241
Archdiocese of Chicago – Cardinal Cupich
Fr. Robert Fedek, the Administrative Secretary to the Archbishop
Email: rfedek@archchicago.org or phone 312 534 8219
Address: Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, PO Box 1979, Chicago, IL, 60690-1979
Tel: 312.534.8230
Fax: 312.534.6379
Diocese of San Diego for Bishop McElroy
Bishop McElroy: 858 490 8300
Diocese of Monterey for Bishop Garcia
Email: bishop@dioceseofmonterey.org
Address: Bishop Garcia, 425 Church Street, Monterey, CA 93940
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| Lab founder shows damage COVID jab’s spike protein inflicts on vital organs |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-18-2021, 11:12 AM - Forum: COVID Vaccines
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Lab founder shows damage COVID jab’s spike protein inflicts on vital organs
"I kind of like my brain cells to be where they are and not be blown apart."
Wed Aug 18, 2021
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – (LifeSiteNews - adapted) An independent lab founder and seasoned pathologist has graphically displayed the inflammatory damage to vital organs inflicted by the COVID jab-created spike protein.
During a one-year anniversary White Coat Summit on vaccines, Dr. Ryan Cole emphasized the finding that the spike protein created by injected mRNA spreads throughout the body, and itself causes disease – and he had the lab images to show it.
Cole presented these images, which showed post-COVID jab inflammation in organs such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys, as corroboration of lab studies in which injecting the spike protein “with no body of the virus” in animals “induced the same disease” that COVID-19 causes.
Cole supported the finding by other scientists that the spike protein doesn’t remain in the shoulder area, but “circulates in your blood” and “lands in multiple organs in the body,” where ACE2 receptors allow the spike protein to bind to organ tissue.
Cole kicked off his visual evidence of spike protein-induced damage with images displaying the spike protein’s effects on mitochondria, the “engine” of our cells. The microscopic image showed that post-COVID jab, one person’s mitochondria became abnormally disjointed and fragmented.
Cole went on to show that the image of lung tissue of a jabbed individual appeared dramatically different than normal, healthy lung tissue, with denser pigmentation that Cole said indicated inflammation.
“That’s all inflammation,” said Cole. “Why?”
According to Cole, the spike protein bonded to the ACE2 receptors in the lung, provoking an inflammatory response in which the immune system “attack[s] your own body.”
Cole then pulled up a study demonstrating that the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 crosses the blood brain barrier in mice, backing it up with scans showing that the jab’s spike protein took a similar path.
“I kind of like my brain cells to be where they are and not be blown apart. So why in the world would we put a toxin into the human body that’s going to disrupt the blood vessels in your brain, allow the spike in there [to] cause inflammation,” said Cole.
“The brain fog you hear about in the COVID patients? Guess what, you hear about it in the post-vaccinated damaged individuals as well,” he continued.
Cole also displayed a post-COVID jab image that appeared to show the swelling of heart tissue. “See those blue arrows around the white? That’s inflammation in the heart. That’s not normal. That’s after a shot. That’s a spike protein landing there. That’s your immune system attacking your own tissues,” said Cole.
“Once you have heart damage, the heart does not heal itself. So tell me you want to give a 12 year old, a 5 year old, a 13 year old, an 18 year old a shot. Let’s give a kid a toxin, ruin his heart for life. Stop and think about what we’re doing. We need to stop the insanity immediately.”
He proceeded to show pictures of inflammation in the kidneys, liver, and testes that occurred after injection with the mRNA jab, adding that a Japanese study showed that the lipid nanoparticle surrounding the mRNA concentrates in the ovaries.
During his talk, Cole underscored the glaring absence of medical literature on the COVID-19 jab effects, and pointed out that of at least 11,045 post-vaccination deaths in the U.S., the first investigational autopsy had only occurred a month prior to Cole’s talk.
“Where are the autopsies? Crickets. They’re not there,” said Cole. “One cannot find that for which they do not look.”
Noting that autopsies are costly, Cole asked why “billions” are being spent on advertising the COVID shot “to children who don’t need it,” but almost nothing is being invested in autopsies to investigate the safety of the COVID shots.
“When an unapproved new drug, therapy, vaccine is put onto the market, we need to use the French legal system. Guilty until proven innocent. So if there’s an adverse reaction, if there’s a death, it happened from that therapy, until you prove that it didn’t,” said Cole.
Cole also pointed out that experiments are showing that the COVID jabs “dysregulate your immune response,” citing a Netherlands study that Cole said shows that immune cells are being “paralyzed” after injection with the COVID jab.
Cole suggested that CD8 “killer T-cells” that “keep cancer in check” are among the immune cells being dysregulated.
“I have seen a 10 to 20 fold increase of uterine cancer in the last six months in my laboratory, and I keep data year to year in the last six months. When did we start the shots? January,” said Cole.
“What’s the real answer?” Cole continued. “We don’t know. And sometimes that’s the most honest answer in medicine, is we don’t know. A doctor that tells you he or she knows everything — don’t believe them. Find a new doctor.”
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| August 18th – Fourth Day Within the Octave of the Assumption & St. Agapitus, Martyr |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-18-2021, 08:07 AM - Forum: August
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August 18 – Fourth Day Within the Octave of the Assumption & St. Agapitus, Martyr
In the eternal decrees Mary was never separated from Jesus; together with him, she was the type of all created beauty. When the Almighty Father prepared the heavens and the earth, his Son, who is his Wisdom, played before him in his future humanity as the first exemplar, as measure and number, as starting-point, center and summit of the work undertaken by the Spirit of Love; but at the same time the predestined Mother, the woman chosen to give to the Son of God from her own flesh his quality of Son of Man, appeared among mere creatures as the term of all excellence in the various orders of nature, of grace, and of glory. We need not then be astonished at the Church putting on Mary’s lips the words first uttered by Eternal Wisdom: “From the beginning and before the world was I created.”
The divine ideal was realized in her whole being, even in her body. To form out of nothing a reflection of the divine perfections, is the purpose of creation and the law even of matter. Now, next to the Face of the most beautiful of the sons of men, nothing on earth so well expressed God as the Virgin’s countenance. St. Denis is said to have exclaimed on seeing our Lady for the first time: “Had not faith revealed to me thy Son, I should have taken thee for God.” Whether it be authentic or not to place it in the mouth of the Areopagite, this cry of the heart expresses the feeling of the ancients. We shall be the less surprised at this, if we remember that no son ever resembled his mother as Jesus did; it was the law of nature doubled in him, since he had no earthly father. It is now the delight of the Angels, to behold in the glorified bodies of Jesus and Mary, new aspects of eternal beauty, which their own immaterial substances could not reflect.
Now the unspeakable perfection of Mary’s body sprang from the union of that body with the most perfect soul that ever was, excepting of course the soul of our Lord her Son. With us, the original Fall has broken the harmony that ought to exist between the two very different elements of our human being, and has generally displaced, and sometimes even destroyed, the proportions of nature and grace. It is very different where the divine work has not thus been vitiated from the beginning; so that in each blessed spirit of the nine choirs, the degree of grace is in direct relation to his gifts of nature. Exemption from sin allowed the soul of the Immaculate One to inform the body of his own image with absolute sway, while the soul itself, lending itself to grace to the full extend of its exquisite powers, suffered God to raise it supernaturally above all the Seraphim, even to the steps of his own throne.
For in the kingdom of grace, as in that of nature, Mary’s super-eminence was such as became a Queen. At the first moment of her existence in the womb of St. Anne, she was set far above the highest mounts; and God, who loves only what he has made worthy of his love, loved this entrance, this gate of the true Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob. It was indeed impossible that the Word, who had chosen her for his Mother, should, even for an instant, love any creature more, as being more perfect. Throughout her life there was never in Mary the least want of correspondence with her preventing graces; so great perfection could not brook the least failing, the least interruption, the least delay. From the first moment of her most holy Conception till her glorious death, grace operated in her without hindrance, to the utmost of its divine power. Thus, starting from heights unknown to us, and doubling her speed at each stroke of her wings, her powerful flight bore her up to that nearness to God, where our admiring contemplation follows her during these days.
Our Lady, moreover, is not only the first-born, the most perfect, the most holy, of creatures and their Queen—or rather she is all this, only because she is also the Mother of the Son of God. If we wish only to prove that she alone surpasses all the united subjects of her vast empire, we may compare her with men and with Angels, in the order of nature and of grace. But all comparison is out of the question, if we try to follow her to the inaccessible heights, where, still the handmaid of the Lord, she participates in the eternal relations which constitute the Blessed Trinity. What mode of divine charity is that, whereby a creature loves God as her Son? But let us listen to the Bishop of Meaux, not the least of whose merits is, to have understood as he did the greatness of Mary: “To form the holy Virgin’s love, it was necessary to mingle together all that is most tender in nature and most efficacious in grace. Nature had to be there, for it was love of a son; grace had to elect, for it was love of a God. But what is beyond our imagination is, that nature and grace were insufficient; for it is not in nature to have God for a son; and grace, at least ordinary grace, cannot love a son as God: we must therefore rise higher. Suffer me, O Christians, to raise my thoughts today beyond nature and grace, and to seek the source of this love in the very bosom of the Eternal Father. The divine Son, of whom Mary is Mother, belongs to her and to God. She is united with God the Father by becoming the Mother of his only begotten Son, who is common to her and the Eternal Father by the manner of his conception. But to make her capable of conceiving God, the Most High had to overshadow her with his own power; that is, to extend to her his own fecundity. In this way, Mary is associated in the eternal generation. But this God, who willed to give her his Son, was obliged also, in order to complete his work, to place in her chaste bosom a spark of the love he himself bears to his only Son, who is the splendor of his glory and the living image of his substance. Such is the origin of Mary’s love: it springs from an effusion of God’s heart into hers; and her love of her Son is given to her from the same source as her Son himself. After this mysterious communication, what hast thou to say, O human reason? Canst thou pretend to understand the union of Mary with Jesus Christ? It has in it something of that perfect unity which exists between the Father and the Son. Do not attempt any more to explain that maternal love which springs from so high a source, and which is an overflow of the love of the Father for his only begotten Son.”
Palestrina, the ancient Preneste, sends a representative to Mary’s court today, in the person of its valiant and gentle martyr, Agapitus. By his youth and his fidelity, he reminds us of that other gracious athlete, the acolyte Tarcisius, whose victory, gained on the 15th August, is eclipsed by the glory of Mary’s queenly triumph. During the persecution of Valerian, and just before the combats of Sixtus and Laurence, Tarcisius, carrying the Body of our Lord, was met by some pagans, who tried to force him to show them what he had; but, pressing the heavenly treasure to his heart, he suffered himself to be crushed beneath their blows rather than “deliver up to mad dogs the members of the Lord.” Agapitus, at fifteen years of age, suffered cruel tortures under Aurelian. Though so young, he may have seen the disgraceful end of Valerian; while the new edict, which enabled him to follow Tarcisius to Mary’s feet, had scarcely been promulgated throughout the empire, when Aurelian, in his turn, was cast down by Christ, from whom alone kings and emperors hold their crown.
Prayer
Lætetur Ecclesia tua, Deus, beati Agapiti Martyris tui confisa suffragiis: atque ejus precibus gloriosis, et devota permaneat, et secura consistat. Per Dominum.
Let thy Church rejoice, O God, relying on the intercession of blessed Agapitus, thy martyr; and by his glorious prayers, may she remain devout, and be securely supported. Through, &c.
As we return from Palestrina to the Eternal City, we pass on our left the cemetery of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, where were first deposited the holy relics of the pious empress Helena, who entered heaven on this day. The Roman Church deemed no greater honor could be given her, than to mingle, so to say, her memory on the 3rd May with that of the sacred Wood which she restored to our adoring love. We shall not then speak today about the glorious Invention, which, after three centuries of struggle, gave so happy a consecration to the era of triumph. Nevertheless, let us offer our homage to her who set up the standard of salvation, and placed the Cross on the brow of princes who were once its persecutors.
Prayer
Domine Jesu Christe, qui locum, ubi crux tua latebat, beatæ Helenæ revelasti, ut per eam Ecclesiam tuam hoc pretioso thesauro ditares: ejus nobis intercessione condede; ut vitalis ligni pretio æternæ vitæ præmia consequamur. Qui vivis.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who unto blessed Helena didst reveal the place where thy Cross lay hid: thus choosing her as the means to enrich thy Church with that precious treasure: do thou, at her intercession, grant that by the price of the Tree of Life we may attain unto the rewards of everlasting life. Who livest and reignest, &c.
But let us return to the empress of heaven, for Helena is but her happy handmaid and the martyrs are her army. Adam of St. Victor offers us this sweet Sequence wherewith to praise her and pray to her in the midst of this stormy sea.
Sequence
Ave, Virgo singularis,
Mater nostri salutaris,
Quæ vocaris stella maris,
Stella non erratica;
Nos in hujus vitæ mari
Non permitte naufragari,
Sed pro nobis salutari
Tuo semper supplica.
Hail, matchless Virgin, Mother of our salvation, who art called Star of the Sea, a star that wandereth not; permit us not in this life’s ocean to suffer shipwreck, but ever intercede for us with the Savior born of thee.
Sævit mare, fremunt venti,
Fluctus surgunt turbulenti;
Navis currit, sed currenti
Tot occurrunt obvia!
Hic sirenes voluptatis,
Draco, canes, cum piratis,
Mortem pene desperatis
Hæc intenant omnia.
The sea is raging, the winds are roaring, the boisterous billows rise; the ship speeds on, but her swift course what fearful odds oppose! Here the sirens of pleasure, the dragon, the sea-dogs, pirates, all at once menace well-nigh despairing man with death.
Post abyssos, nunc ad cœlum,
Furens unda fert phaselum;
Nutat malus, fluit velum,
Nautæ cessat opera;
Contabescit in his malis
Homo noster animalis:
Tu nos, mater spiritalis,
Pereuntes libera.
Down to the depths and up to the sky does the raging surge bear the frail bark; the mast totters, the sail is snatched away, the mariner ceases his useless toil; our animal man faints amid so great evils: do thou, O Mother, who art spiritual, save us ere we perish.
Tu, perfusa cœli rore,
Castitatis salvo flore,
Novum florem novo more
Protulisti sæculo.
Verbum Patri cœquale,
Corpus intrans virginale,
Fit pro nobis corporale
Sub ventris umbraculo.
The dew of heaven being sprinkled on thee, thou, without losing the flower of thy purity, didst in a new manner give to the world a new flower. The Word co-equal with the Father, entering thy virginal body, took for our sakes a body in the secret in thy womb.
Te prævidit et elegit
Qui potenter cuncta regit,
Nec pudoris claustra fregit,
Sacra replens viscera;
Nec pressuram, nec dolorem,
Contra primæ matris morem,
Pariendo Salvatorem,
Sensisti, puerpera.
He who rules all things in his power, foresaw and elected thee. He filled thy sacred bosom without breaking the seal of thy virginity. Unlike the first mother, thou, O Mother, didst feel neither anguish nor pain in bringing forth the Savior.
O Maria, pro tuorum
Dignitate meritorum,
Supra choris angelorum
Sublimaris unice:
Felix dies hodierna
Qua conscendis ad superna!
Pietate tu materna
Nos in imo respice.
O Mary, by the dignity of thy merits, thou alone art raised far above the choirs of Angels: happy is this day whereon thou didst ascend to such heights! Oh! in thy motherly love, look down upon us here below.
Radix sancta, redix viva,
Fios, et vitis, et oliva,
Quam nulla vis insitiva,
Juvit ut fructificet;
Lampas soli, splendor poli,
Quæ splendore præes soli,
Nos assigna tuæ proli,
Ne districte judicet.
O holy root, O living root, O flower and vine and olive, no ingrafted energy made these fruitful; light of the earth and brightness of heaven, thou outshinest the sun in splendor; present us to thy Son, that he judge us not sternly.
In conspectu summi Regis,
Sis pusilli memor gregis
Qui, transgressor datæ legis,
Præsumit de venia:
Judex mitis et benignus,
Judex jugi laude dignus
Reis spei dedit pignus,
Crucis factus hostia.
In presence of the Most High King, be mindful of the little flock, which, though it has transgressed the law given it, dares to hope for pardon; the Judge, who is mild and merciful, Judge, worthy of everlasting praise, becoming the victim of the Cross, gave to the guilty the pledge of hope.
Jesu, sacri ventris fructus,
Nobis inter mundi fluctus
Sis dux, via et conductus
Liber ad cœlestia:
Tene clavum, rege navem;
Tu, procellam sedans gravem,
Portum nobis da suavem
Pro tua clementia. Amen.
O Jesus, fruit of a holy Mother, to us amid the world’s billows be a guide, a way and a free passage to heaven: take the helm and guide the ship: and stilling the tempest, do thou in thy clemency lead us to a pleasant harbor. Amen.
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| August 17th – St. Hyacinth, Confessor |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-18-2021, 08:00 AM - Forum: August
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August 17 – St. Hyacinth, Confessor
One of the loveliest lilies from the Dominican field today unfurls its petals at the foot of Mary’s throne. Hyacinth represents on the sacred cycle that intrepid band of missionaries who, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, faced the barbarism of the Tartars and Mussulmans which was threatening the West. From the Alps to the Northern frontiers of the Chinese Empire, from the islands of the Archipelago to the Arctic regions, he propagated his Order and spread the kingdom of God. On the Steppes, where the schism of Constantinople disputed its conquests with the idolatrous invaders from the North, he was seen for forty years working prodigies, confounding heresy, dispelling the darkness of infidelity.
The consecration of martyrdom was not wanting to this, any more than to the first Apostolate. Many were the admirable episodes where the Angels seemed to smile upon the hard combats of their earthly brethren. In the convent founded by Hyacinth at Sandomir on the Vistula, forty-eight Friars Preachers were gathered together under the rule of Blessed Sadoc. One day the lector of the Martyrology, announcing the feast of the morrow, read these words which appeared before his eyes in letters of gold: At Sandomir on the 4th of the Nones of June, the Passion of Forty-nine Martyrs. The astonished brethren soon understood this extraordinary announcement; in the joy of their souls they prepared to gather the palm, which was procured for them by an irruption of the Tartars on the very day mentioned. They were assembled in choir at the happy moment, and while singing the Salve Regina they dyed with their blood the pavement of the church.
No executioner’s sword was to close Hyacinth’s glorious career. John, the beloved disciple, had had to remain on earth till the Lord should come; our Saint waited for the Mother of his Lord to fetch him.
Neither labor nor the greatest sufferings, nor above all the most wonderful divine interventions were wanting to his beautiful life. Kiev, the holy city of the Russians, having for fifty years resisted his zeal, the Tartars, as avengers of God’s justice, swept over it and sacked it. The universal devastation reached the very doors of the sanctuary where the man of God was just concluding the Holy Sacrifice. Clothed as he was in the sacred vestments, he took in one hand the most Holy Sacrament and in the other the statue of Mary, who asked him not to leave her to the barbarians; then, together with his brethren, he walked safe and sound through the very midst of the bloodthirsty pagans, along the streets in all flames, and lastly across the Dnieper, the ancient Borysthenes, whose waters, growing firm beneath his feet, retained the mark of his steps. Three centuries later, the witnesses examined for the process of canonization attested on oath that the prodigy still continued; the footprints always visible upon the water, from one bank to the other, were called by the surrounding inhabitants St. Hyacinth’s Way.
The Saint, continuing his miraculous retreat as far as Cracow, there laid down his precious burden in the convent of the Blessed Trinity. The statue of Mary, light as a reed while he was carrying it, now resumed its natural weight, which was so great that one man could not so much as move it. Beside this statue Hyacinth, after many more labors, would return to die. It was here that, at the beginning of his apostolic life, the Mother of God had appeared to him for the first time, saying, “Have great courage and be joyful, my son Hyacinth! Whatsoever thou shalt ask in my name, shall be granted thee.” This happy interview took place on the Vigil of the Assumption. The Saint gathered from it the superhuman confidence of the thaumaturgus, which no difficulty could ever shale; but above all he retained from it the virginal fragrance which embalmed his whole life, and the light of supernatural beauty which made him the picture of his father Dominic.
Years passed away: heroic Poland, the privileged center of Hyacinth’s labors, was ready to play its part, under Mary’s shield, as the bulwark of Christendom; at the price of what sacrifices we shall hear in October from a contemporary of our Saint, St. Hedwiges, the blessed mother of the hero of Liegnitz. Meantime, like St. Stanislaus his predecessor in the labor, the son of St. Dominic came to Cracow, to breathe his last sigh and leave there the treasure of his sacred relics. Not on the Vigil this time, but on the very day of her triumph, August 15th, 1257, in the church of the Most Holy Trinity, our Lady came down once more, with a brilliant escort of Angels, and Virgins forming her court. “Oh! who art thou?” cried a holy soul who beheld all this in ecstasy; “I,” answered Mary, “am the Mother of mercy; and he whom I hold by the hand, is brother Hyacinth, my devoted son, whom I am leading to the eternal nuptials.” Then our Lady intoned herself with her sweet voice: “I will go to the mountain of Libanus,” and the Angels and Virgins continued the heavenly song with exquisite harmony, while the happy procession disappeared into the glory of heaven.
Let us read the notice of St. Hyacinth given by the Liturgy. We shall there see that his above-mentioned passage over the Dnieper was not the only circumstance wherein he showed his power over the waves.
Quote:Hyacinth was a Pole and born of noble and Christian parents in the town of Camien of the diocese of Breslau. In his childhood he received a liberal education, and later he studied law and Divinity. Having become a Canon of the church of Cracow, he surpassed all his fellow priests by his remarkable piety and learning. He was received at Rome into the Order of Preachers by the founder St. Dominic, and till the end of his life he observed in a most holy manner the mode of life he learnt from him. He remained always a virgin, and had a great love for modesty, patience, humility, abstinence and other virtues, which are the true inheritance of the religious life.
In his burning love for God he would spend whole nights in prayer and chastising his body. He would allow himself no rest except by leaning against a stone, or lying on the bare ground. He was sent back to his own country; but first of all on the way there, he founded a large house of his Order at Friesach, and then another at Cracow. Then in different provinces of Poland he built four other monasteries, and it seems incredible what an amount of good he did in all these places by preaching the word of God and by the innocence of his life. Not a day passed but he gave some striking proof of his faith, his piety and his innocence.
God honored the holy man’s zeal for the good of his neighbor by very great miracles. The following is one of the most striking: he crossed without a boat the river Vistula which had overflowed, near Wisgrade, and drew his companions also across on his cloak which he spread out over the water. After having persevered in his admirable manner of life for forty years after his Profession, he foretold to his brethren the day of his death. On the feast of our Lady’s Assumption in the year 1257, having finished the Canonical Hours, and received the Sacraments of the Church with great devotion, saying these words: “Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit,” he gave up his soul to God. He was illustrious for miracles in death as in life, and Pope Clement VIII numbered him among the Saints.
Great was thy privilege, O son of Dominic, to be so closely associated to Mary as to enter into thy glory on the very feat of her triumph. As thou occupiest so fair a place in the procession accompanying her to heaven, tell us of her greatness, her beauty, her love for us poor creatures, whom she desires to make sharers, like thee, in her bliss.
It is through her thou wert so powerful in this thy exile, before being near her in happiness and glory. Long after Adalbert and Anscharius, Cyril and Methodius, thou didst traverse once more the ungrateful North, where thorns and briars so quickly spring up again, where the people, whom the Church has with such labor delivered from the yoke of paganism, are continually letting themselves be caught in the meshes of schism and the snares of heresy. In his chosen domain, the prince of darkness suffered fresh defeats, an immense multitude broke his chains, and the light of salvation shone further than any of thy predecessors had carried it. Poland, definitively won to the Church, became her rampart, until the days of treason which put an end to Christian Europe.
O Hyacinth, preserve the faith in the hearts of this noble people, until the day of its resurrection. Obtain grace for the Northern regions, which thou didst warm with the fiery breath of thy word. Nothing thou askest of Mary will be refused, for the Mother of mercy promised thee so. Keep up the apostolic zeal of thy illustrious Order. May the number of thy brethren be multiplied, for it is far below our present needs.
Akin to thy power over the waves is another attributed to thee by the confidence of the faithful and justified by many prodigies: viz., that of restoring life to the drowned. Many a time also have Christian mothers experienced thy miraculous power, in bringing to the saving font their little ones, whom a dangerous delivery threatened to deprive of Baptism. Prove to thy devout clients that the goodness of God is ever the same, and the influence of his elect not lessened.
![[Image: St_Hyacinth_August_17thB.jpg?w=629&ssl=1]](https://i0.wp.com/sensusfidelium.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/St_Hyacinth_August_17thB.jpg?w=629&ssl=1) |
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| Msgr: Dillon 1884: War of the AntiChrist with the Church and Christian Civiilization |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-17-2021, 09:51 AM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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From the below video's description:
Msgr. George F. Dillion, D.D. gave lectures on the subjects of Freemasonry, Communism, Atheism, Liberalism and Secret Societies. He explains the history and how these groups are united to destroy the Catholic Church and Christian Civilization to bring forth the Anti-Christ. This lecture was delivered in October 1884 in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is extremely eye opening and timely given the rise of Socialism [...] infiltration along with the subversion of the Catholic Church via these forces since Vatican II ... . You can read a copy of the book for free at this link.
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| Businesses Are Refusing to Enforce France’s Vaccine Passport |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-17-2021, 08:00 AM - Forum: COVID Passports
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Businesses Are Refusing to Enforce France’s Vaccine Passport
Anecdotal evidence suggests it might have been one big bluff.
SN | 16 August, 2021
Anecdotal evidence detailed by former Google software engineer Mike Hearn strongly suggests that most restaurants, cafes and other businesses in France are not enforcing the country’s controversial vaccine passport system.
As we highlighted last week, on the first day the new program was in place, police were visibly patrolling bars and cafes demanding customers show proof they’ve had the jab.
However, this seems to have largely been a bluff as just days later, businesses and venues have become very lax at checking people’s papers despite the threat of large fines.
“I decided to do a simple experiment to find out: always present an expired test even though I had a valid negative one, and see what happens,” writes Hearn.
“Over a four day stay I was required to show a valid pass exactly zero times; that includes at the airports in both directions. Compliance is absolutely min viable and often lower.”
“At small businesses enforcement was non-existent: sometimes the pass requirement was ignored entirely, other times we were asked “do you have a pass” and our answer wasn’t checked. One restaurant had come up with a clever way to detect police stings without requiring customers to actually present a pass. As expected, enforcement was stricter by larger firms, however even there we saw the following:
– Test certificates being checked once and then swapped for a token that doesn’t expire.
– Expired tests being accepted.
– People accepting paper test certificates without scanning them.
– Scanning tests and then not looking at the screen to see the results.
– Accepting QR codes that failed to scan.”
Hearn also reveals how mask mandates in theme parks and other venues are also not being followed, despite signs everywhere ordering people to cover their faces, while social distancing is also a “forgotten memory.”
Images showing empty cafes and bars on the first day the system was introduced may have spooked venues into taking a hands off approach.
In passing the law but failing to ensure that it is enforced, France is following the same model as Israel, where the point of introducing the system wasn’t really to enforce it, but merely as a means of bullying young people into getting the vaccine.
As we highlighted last week, despite the odious and draconian nature of the vaccine passport system, President Macron asserted that the it was actually introduced to protect people’s “freedom,” which is like saying putting you in prison is for your own safety.
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| Authorities “Won’t Hesitate” to go “Door-to-Door” to Perform COVID Tests on Australians |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-17-2021, 07:56 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Authorities “Won’t Hesitate” to go “Door-to-Door” to Perform COVID Tests on Australians
“We’re prepared to do what has to be done.”
SN | 13 August, 2021
The Premier of Victoria has asserted that authorities “won’t hesitate” to go “door-to-door” to carry out mandatory COVID tests on Australians.
Daniel Andrews made the comments during a press conference as Australia continues to pursue a ludicrous ‘zero COVID’ policy that mandates draconian lockdowns in response to just a handful of new cases.
“We’re not at a point where we need to be going door to door,” said Andrews. “We’re not at a point where we need entire suburbs to come out and get tested. If we get to that stage, then we won’t hesitate. I think we’ve shown, in fact I know we’ve shown that we’re prepared to do what has to be done, popular or otherwise.”
Given that members of the military are enforcing lockdown and quarantines in some areas of the country, one wonders how those who don’t want to get tested will be treated.
Also, how far a step is it to go from mandatory door-to-door COVID tests to mandatory door-to-door COVID vaccinations?
Andrews also signaled that those who refuse to take the vaccine will be discriminated against and remain under de facto lockdown rules indefinitely.
“This is a difficult conversation to have with people now, in an almost threatening tone, when people who want to get vaccinated can’t because we don’t have enough stuff. There will come a time though when I think restrictions will apply to those who have not been vaccinated, rather than restrictions applying to all of us.”
“Now if that’s not an incentive to go and get vaccinated I don’t know what is. But I can see a time when to get into a venue, to attend a major event, to participate fully as a customer, a client, a ticket holder, a patron, a viewer, however you want to look at it, being vaccinated will mean that you get in, and being vaccinated will mean that you don’t.”
Australia has imposed one of the most brutal lockdowns in the developed world, with mandatory outdoor mask mandates that have led to innumerable arrests and shocking scenes like the one last week in Brisbane where an elderly man suffered a heart attack after being harassed by police for not wearing a face covering while exercising outside.
Aussies have also been told not to go anywhere near their grandkids and not to engage in conversation with each other, even if they’re wearing masks.
People who merely post anti-lockdown information online could also face fines of up to $11,000 dollars under an absurdly authoritarian new law.
[...]
Australia is no longer a democratic country.
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| HHS becomes third federal department to mandate COVID-19 shots for employees |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-17-2021, 07:44 AM - Forum: COVID Passports
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HHS becomes third federal department to mandate COVID-19 shots for employees
Public-facing healthcare workers with the Department of Health and Human Services must now get the experimental vaccine as a condition of employment.
Mon Aug 16, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Under the leadership of radical pro-abortion Secretary Xavier Becerra, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) became the third federal department to mandate experimental COVID-19 shots for its public-facing employees.
“Our number one goal is the health and safety of the American public, including our federal workforce, and the vaccines are the best tool we have to protect people from Covid-19, prevent the spread of the Delta variant and save lives,” Becerra said in a statement, according to Politico.
The new policy, announced Thursday, will force all healthcare workers to get the shots if their role brings them into direct contact with the public.
The mandate will impact roughly one-third of all HHS employees, or about 25,000 people. The requirement includes employees of the Indian Health Service, the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), of which COVID czar Dr. Anthony Fauci is a part.
The move comes after the Biden administration issued a mandate requiring healthcare workers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to get the jab late last month, followed by an edict from the Department of Defense compelling active duty members of the military to get the experimental drug.
Federal employees in other departments who are not subject to an outright mandate are nonetheless required to declare their vaccination status and abide by a strict set of restrictive impositions should they decline the shot.
According to a July 29 White House statement, “every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status. Anyone who does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask on the job no matter their geographic location, physically distance from all other employees and visitors, comply with a weekly or twice weekly screening testing requirement, and be subject to restrictions on official travel.”
The new rules forcing attestation of vaccination and extra requirements for the unvaccinated currently affect roughly four million Americans employed by the federal government.
According to Politico, the mandate for HHS employees comes amid concern about the “highly-contagious Delta variant,” which has brought case counts up to a daily average in excess of 100,000, the highest rate since the winter.
Becerra took the opportunity to encourage more Americans to get the experimental COVID-19 shot, even amid continuous reports of breakthrough COVID and indications that the Delta variant, while more contagious, is less lethal than the original Wuhan version of the virus.
“As President Biden has said, we have to do all we can to increase vaccinations to keep more people safe,” Becerra argued, adding that “Instructing our HHS health care workforce to get vaccinated will protect our federal workers and the patients and people they serve.”
The move also comes on the heels of a reversal from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) regarding face masks. After initially assuring Americans that if they had gotten the COVID-19 shot they could toss their face masks, the CDC now recommends that fully vaccinated Americans once again mask up in public.
The federal mandates are mirrored by similar requirements put into place by state and local governments, especially in the coastal states. California and New York have begun forcing state employees and health care professionals to take the shot, be subject to regular testing, or lose their jobs.
New York City has begun forcing its residents to show proof of having gotten at least one shot to access many indoor public venues. [Interesting that proof of only one shot is required for access as most 'authorities' argue that one can't be considered 'protected' until two weeks after second shot. So its about the signaling of compliance rather than immunity to only require proof of one injection. - The Catacombs.]
In California, San Francisco will require all city employees to get the jab, and recently became the first major city in the U.S. to require proof of full vaccination in order to gain access to most indoor public places and events.
The Los Angeles City Council has voted to impose a similar mandate on Angelinos, requiring proof of vaccination to enter indoor public places, but to date no such mandate has been enacted.
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| St. Ephraim the Syrian: On the Last Times |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-17-2021, 07:18 AM - Forum: Fathers of the Church
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Thomas Cole. The Fall of Rome. Destruction.
Dearly beloved brothers, believe the Holy Spirit who speaks in us. We have already told you that the end of the world is near, the consummation remains. Has not faith withered away among mankind? How many foolish things are seen among youths, how many crimes among prelates, how many lies among priests, how many perjuries among deacons! There are evil deeds among the ministers, adulteries in the aged, wantonness in the youths—in mature women false faces, in virgins dangerous traces! In the midst of all this there are the wars with the Persians, and we see struggles with diverse nations threatening and “kingdom rising against kingdom’’ (Matt. 24:7). When the Roman Empire begins to be consumed by the sword, the coming of the Evil One is at hand. It is necessary that the world come to an end at the completion of the Roman empire.
In those days two brothers will come to the Roman empire who will rule with one mind; but because one will surpass the other, there will be a schism between them. And so the Adversary will be loosed and will stir up hatred between the Persian and Roman empires. In those days many will rise up against Rome; the Jewish people will be her adversaries. There will be stirrings of nations and evil reports, pestilences, famines, and earthquakes in various places. All nations will receive captives; there will be wars and rumors of wars. From the rising to the setting of the sun the sword will devour much. The times will be so dangerous that in fear and trembling they will not permit thought of better things, because many will be the oppressions and desolations of regions that are to come.
We ought to understand thoroughly therefore, my brothers, what is imminent or overhanging. Already there have been hunger and plagues, violent movements of nations and signs, which have been predicted by the Lord, they have already been fulfilled (consummated), and there is not other which remains, except the advent of the wicked one in the completion of the Roman kingdom. Why therefore are we occupied with worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms all the world? Believe you me, dearest brother, because the coming (advent) of the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time. Or do you not believe unless you see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares: “Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!” For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. And so, brothers most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of the world comes to the harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting the empire of the Lord. And we think that the earth exists with blind infidelity, arriving at its downfall early. Commotions are brought forth, wars of diverse peoples and battles and incursions of the barbarians threaten, and our regions shall be desolated, and we neither become very much afraid of the report nor of the appearance, in order that we may at least do penance; because they hurl fear at us, and we do not wish to be changed, although we at least stand in need of penance for our actions!
When therefore the end of the world comes, there arise diverse wars, commotions on all sides, horrible earthquakes, perturbations of nations, tempests throughout the lands, plagues, famine, drought throughout the thoroughfares, great danger throughout the sea and dry land, constant persecutions, slaughters and massacres everywhere, fear in the homes, panic in the cities, quaking in the thoroughfares, suspicions in the male, anxiety in the streets. In the desert people become senseless, spirits melt in the cities. A friend will not be grieved over a friend, neither a brother for a brother, nor parents for their children, nor a faithful servant for his master, but one inevitability shall overwhelm them all; neither is anyone able to be recovered in that time, who has not been made completely aware of the coming danger, but all people, who have been constricted by fear, are consumed because of the overhanging evils.
Whenever therefore the earth is agitated by the nations, people will hide themselves from the wars in the mountains and rocks, by caves and caverns of the earth, by graves and memorials of the dead, and there, as they waste away gradually by fear, they draw breath, because there is not any place at all to flee, but there will be concession and intolerable pressure. And those who are in the east will flee to the west, and moreover, those who are in the west shall flee to the east, and there is not a safer place anywhere, because the world shall be overwhelmed by worthless nations, whose aspect appears to be of wild animals more than that of men. Because those very much horrible nations, most profane and most defiled, who do not spare lives, and shall destroy the living from the dead, shall consume the dead, they eat dead flesh, they drink the blood of beasts, they pollute the world, contaminate all things, and the one who is able to resist them is not there. In those days people shall not be buried, neither Christian, nor heretic, neither Jew, nor pagan, because of fear and dread there is not one who buries them; because all people, while they are fleeing, ignore them.
Thomas Cole. The Fall of Rome. Desolation.1836
Whenever the days of the times of those nations have been fulfilled, after they have destroyed the earth, it shall rest; and now the kingdom of the Romans is removed from everyday life, and the empire of the Christians is handed down by God and Peter; and then the consummation comes, when the kingdom of the Romans begins to be fulfilled, and all dominions and powers have been fulfilled. Then that worthless and abominable dragon shall appear, he, whom Moses named in Deuteronomy, saying: Dan is a young lion, reclining and leaping from Basan. Because he reclines in order that he may seize and destroy and slay. Indeed (he is) a young whelp of a lion not as the lion of the tribe of Judah, but roaring because of his wrath, that he may devour. “And he leaps out from Basan.” “Basan” certainly is interpreted “confusion.” He shall rise up from the confusion of his iniquity. The one who gathers together to himself a partridge the children of confusion, also shall call them, whom he has not brought forth, just as Jeremiah the prophet says. Also in the last day they shall relinquish him just as confused.
When therefore the end of the world comes, that abominable, lying and murderous one is born from the tribe of Dan. He is conceived from the seed of a man and from an unclean or most vile virgin, mixed with an evil or worthless spirit. But that abominable corrupter, more of spirits than of bodies, while a youth, the crafty dragon appears under the appearance of righteousness, before he takes the kingdom. Because he will be craftily gentle to all people, not receiving gifts, not placed before another person, loving to all people, quiet to everyone, not desiring gifts, appearing friendly among close friends, so that men may bless him, saying, he is a just man, not knowing that a wolf lies concealed under the appearance of a lamb, and that a greedy man is inside under the skin of a sheep.
But when the time of the abomination of his desolation begins to approach, having been made legal, he takes the empire, and, just as it is said in the Psalm:—They have been made for the undertaking for the sons of Loth, the Moabites and the Ammanites shall meet him first as their king. Therefore, when he receives the kingdom, he orders the temple of God to be rebuilt for himself, which is in Jerusalem; who, after coming into it, he shall sit as God and order that he be adored by all nations, since he is carnal and filthy and mixed with worthless spirit and flesh. Then that eloquence shall be fulfilled of Daniel the prophet:–And he shall not know the God of their fathers, and he shall not know the desires of women. Because the very wicked serpent shall direct every worship to himself. Because he shall put forth an edict so that people may be circumcised according to the rite of the old law. Then the Jews shall congratulate him, because he gave them again the practice of the first covenant; then all people from everywhere shall flock together to him at the city of Jerusalem, and the holy city shall be trampled on by the nations for forty-two months, just as the holy apostle says in the Apocalypse, which become three and a half years, 1,260 days.
In these three years and a half the heaven shall suspend its dew; because there will be no rain upon the earth, and the clouds shall cease to pass through the air, and the stars shall be seen with difficulty in the sky because of the excessive dryness, which happens in the time of the very fierce dragon. Because all great rivers and very powerful fountains that overflow with themselves shall be dried up, torrents shall dry up their water-courses because of the intolerable age, and there will be a great tribulation, as there has not been since people began to be upon the earth, and there will be famine and an insufferable thirst. And children shall waste away in the bosom of their mothers, and wives upon the knees of their husbands, by not having victuals to eat. Because there will be in those days lack of bread and water, and no one is able to sell or to buy of the grain of the fall harvest, unless he is one who has the serpentine sign on the forehead or on the hand. Then gold and silver and precious clothing or precious stones shall lie along the streets, and also even every type of pearls along the thoroughfares and streets of the cities, but there is not one who may extend the hand and take or desire them, but they consider all things as good as nothing because of the extreme lack and famine of bread, because the earth is not protected by the rains of heaven, and there will be neither dew nor moisture of the air upon the earth. But those who wander through the deserts, fleeing from the face of the serpent, bend their knees to God, just as lambs to the adders of their mothers, being sustained by the salvation of the Lord, and while wandering in states of desertion, they eat herbs.
Then, when this inevitability has overwhelmed all people, just and unjust, the just, so that they may be found good by their Lord; and indeed the unjust, so that they may be damned forever with their author the Devil, and, as God beholds the human race in danger and being tossed about by the breath of the horrible dragon, he sends to them consolatory proclamation by his attendants, the prophets Enoch and Elijah, who, while not yet tasting death, are the servants for the heralding of the second coming of Christ, and in order to accuse the enemy. And when those just ones have appeared, they confuse indeed the antagonistic serpent with his cleverness and they call back the faithful witnesses to God, in order to (free them) from his seduction…
And when the three and a half years have been completed, the time of the antichrist, through which he will have seduced the world, after the resurrection of the two prophets, in the hour which the world does not know, and on the day which the enemy of the son of perdition does not know, will come the sign of the Son of Man, and coming forward the Lord shall appear with great power and much majesty, with the sign of the wood of salvation going before him, and also even with all the powers of the heavens with the whole chorus of the saints, with those who bear the sign of the holy cross upon their shoulders, as the angelic trumpet precedes him, which shall sound and declare: Arise, O sleeping ones, arise, meet Christ, because his hour of judgment has come! Then Christ shall come and the enemy shall be thrown into confusion, and the Lord shall destroy him by the spirit of his mouth. And he shall be bound and shall be plunged into the abyss of everlasting fire alive with his father Satan; and all people who do his wishes shall perish with him forever; but the righteous ones shall inherit everlasting life with the Lord forever and ever.
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