The Less Said, The Better

There is a duty in the Catholic Church to avoid scandal. You can look it up in the Catechism. It's tied to the "love your neighbor" directive and of course those pesky Ten Commandments.

There's already plenty of turmoil within the Church. We're not supposed to wreak more havoc inside the faith. I can't argue against such a reasonable caveat.

Based on that concept, I'm don't have much to say about the current "war" of words between the president and the pope. I certainly do have my own opinions on the matter. But the only public comment I care to make at this point is: I wish both men would just sit down and shut up.

Holding My Attention

Being a supporting member of PragerU, I keep an eye on the various interviews posted each week. There is always something worth watching

Also, being a later evening TV viewer, I usually take the length of the broadcast into consideration. When I noticed that the Robby Starbuck interview was one hour and twenty minutes, I hesitated. Do I want to watch the whole show tonight, or split it into two sessions?

That turned out to be a silly question. PragerU CEO Marissa Streit's interview with Starbuck was so interesting the time flew by. I was surprised when suddenly, it seemed to me, they were wrapping up with a "last question."

Starbuck is a compelling speaker, and he covers a wide swath of both current and historic topics. Starbuck's discussion on the future implications of AI is especially fascinating. His own negative experience of being intentionally targeted for personal destruction by false AI data is a terrifying cautionary tale on the real dangers looming ahead of us all. I wish him the best in his lawsuit against Google.

Robby Starbuck, activist and former Hollywood director, speaks with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit

Hallelujah

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

~ Revelation 21:4

The Blind See

 "Truly this man was the Son of God." 

~ Roman Centurion Longinus

As we all know, there is always more to learn in life. I only recently read the story of St. Longinus, the Roman centurion who pierced the crucified Christ's side with his lance. He is not named in the Gospels; Matthew and Mark refer to him only as "the centurion," while John calls him a "soldier" and includes the important detail about Christ's blood pouring from the stab wound (Jn 19:34). But the name Longinus is recorded in apocryphal writings such as the Gospel of Nicodemus. 

The early Church writings relate that Longinus suffered from very poor eyesight. When the blood from Christ's side came into contact with his eyes, Longinus recovered perfect vision. He converted to Christianity and returned to his home in Cappadocia to spread the word of the Resurrection. This angered the Roman authorities, who sent soldiers to kill him. Details surrounding his demise vary between Catholic and Orthodox traditions, but both accounts seem to agree that Longinus was tortured and beheaded for his Christian faith by the Romans.

Longinus is revered as a saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

There are many stories and legends about the spear of Longinus, or The Holy Lance. Who knew? I certainly didn't. I stumbled across St. Longinus and his story while doing my annual spiritual reading during Lent. With a bit of effort, I suspect I can continue having my own eyes opened to something new every day.