Lest We Forget: Black Holocaust Museum of Slavery

Lest We Forget : Black Holocaust Museum of Slavery by BLACKMUSICS

Even different beliefs are friendly to each other!

I am going to agree with some ideas that the "New Age" movement presents. New Age is a kind of spiritual/philosophical establishment with some interesting and helpful ideas. One that I want to go into is that we are in a loving Universe, and that only good is coming to us. Now, if you have had a very difficult life, and you think what I am saying is nonsense, please don't give up on me yet. Whether life seems horrible to you now, or whether you are dancing on air, stay with me.
Many Christians, and in fact the Christian-Judaic ethic, base their conduct and their thinking on a verse in the Bible that reads "love not the world" (1 John chapter 2 and verse 15). So they write off their life and most any positive thought that is introduced to them. Yet an argument is discussed by many theologians that even though we are to avoid the temptations that are in the world, God also has told us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life." (John chapter 3 and verse16) So from this verse we know that the One who created the Universe, loved, and still loves what he has made, and He loves us.
So both the idea that the New Agers believe and the idea that the Bible states are the thought that we are in a Universe created in and through love. Moreover, based on this there are some other points we can see where New Agers and Christians agree. We can believe that the Universe is our FRIEND, and not our enemy, we are not in a situation where we have to fight God. Want something? God is saying "Not a problem! If you put your boxing gloves away, it might be easier for Me to reach you. I am your Friend. Take those boxing mitts off, and my goodness will flow to you much more easily". That's not in the Bible. That is my description of how God feels about us.
And so Christianity and New Age agree.
  1) We are in a loving universe.
  2) Good things are coming our way
  3) We can enhance our quality of life if we trust and believe

Now, our method of getting our level of faith improved is different. What I do is; I am open with God about the difficulties I have, both in my attitude and in my life. It is not easy for me to stop assuming that I am going to have to struggle for the things I need and want. So I ask God to help me. If I didn't have Jesus to support me in my perceptions, I would just be throwing punches in the air. But we all reach the same destination in the end. Those who are without Jesus and yet hold to knowing that good things are coming, will eventually find that "Pearl beyond price" (Matthew chapter 13 verses 45 and 46), and that pearl is JESUS.

Kathy Troccoli singing 'Corner of Eden'

Horror movies and fairy tales

Seeking and staying in Peace

Good morning everyone!!! I read the Pope's homily (or sermon) which he delivered last Saturday evening. For those who aren't familiar with the Pope's views and decisions, he had a very strong response to the idea of sending troops to Syria, and he asked that everyone, all over the world pray for Peace. This was the content of his homily (or sermon) on the subject in its entirety. I encourage you to read. all the way through it. It is highly inspiring!!

Prayer Vigil for Peace - Words of Pope Francis

“And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:12, 18, 21, 25). The biblical account of the beginning of the history of the world and of humanity speaks to us of a God who looks at creation, in a sense contemplating it, and declares: “It is good”. This allows us to enter into God’s heart and, precisely from within him, to receive his message. We can ask ourselves: what does this message mean? What does it say to me, to you, to all of us?

It says to us simply that this, our world, in the heart and mind of God, is the “house of harmony and peace”, and that it is the space in which everyone is able to find their proper place and feel “at home”, because it is “good”. All of creation forms a harmonious and good unity, but above all humanity, made in the image and likeness of God, is one family, in which relationships are marked by a true fraternity not only in words: the other person is a brother or sister to love, and our relationship with God, who is love, fidelity and goodness, mirrors every human relationship and brings harmony to the whole of creation. God’s world is a world where everyone responsible for the other, for the good of the other. This evening, in reflection, fasting and prayer, each of us deep down should ask ourselves: Is this really the world that I desire? Is this really the world that we all carry in our hearts? Is the world that we want really a world of harmony and peace, in ourselves, in our relations with others, in families, in cities, in and between nations? And does not true freedom mean choosing ways in this world that lead to the good of all and are guided by love?

But then we wonder: Is this the world in which we are living? Creation retains its beauty which fills us with awe and it remains a good work. But there is also “violence, division, disagreement, war”. This occurs when man, the summit of creation, stops contemplating beauty and goodness, and withdraws into his own selfishness. When man thinks only of himself, of his own interests and places himself in the centre, when he permits himself to be captivated by the idols of dominion and power, when he puts himself in God’s place then all relationships are broken and everything is ruined; then the door opens to violence, indifference, and conflict. This is precisely what the passage in the Book of Genesis seeks to teach us in the story of the Fall: man enters into conflict with himself, he realizes that he is naked and he hides himself because he is afraid (cf. Gen 3: 10), he is afraid of God’s glance; he accuses the woman, she who is flesh of his flesh (cf. v. 12); he breaks harmony with creation, he begins to raise his hand against his brother to kill him. Can we say that from harmony he passes to “disharmony”? No, there is no such thing as “disharmony”; there is either harmony or we fall into chaos, where there is violence, argument, conflict, fear ....

It is exactly in this chaos that God asks man’s conscience: “Where is Abel your brother?” and Cain responds: “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9). We too are asked this question, it would be good for us to ask ourselves as well: Am I really my brother’s keeper? Yes, you are your brother’s keeper! To be human means to care for one another! But when harmony is broken, a metamorphosis occurs: the brother who is to be cared for and loved becomes an adversary to fight, to kill. What violence occurs at that moment, how many conflicts, how many wars have marked our history! We need only look at the suffering of so many brothers and sisters. This is not a question of coincidence, but the truth: we bring about the rebirth of Cain in every act of violence and in every war. All of us! And even today we continue this history of conflict between brothers, even today we raise our hands against our brother. Even today, we let ourselves be guided by idols, by selfishness, by our own interests, and this attitude persists. We have perfected our weapons, our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves. As if it were normal, we continue to sow destruction, pain, death! Violence and war lead only to death, they speak of death! Violence and war are the language of death!

At this point I ask myself: Is it possible to change direction? Can we get out of this spiral of sorrow and death? Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace? Invoking the help of God, under the maternal gaze of the Salus Populi Romani, Queen of Peace, I say: Yes, it is possible for everyone! From every corner of the world tonight, I would like to hear us cry out: Yes, it is possible for everyone! Or even better, I would like for each one of us, from the least to the greatest, including those called to govern nations, to respond: Yes, we want it! My Christian faith urges me to look to the Cross. How I wish that all men and women of good will would look to the Cross if only for a moment! There, we can see God’s reply: violence is not answered with violence, death is not answered with the language of death. In the silence of the Cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue, and peace is spoken.

This evening, I ask the Lord that we Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions, and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: violence and war are never the way to peace! Let everyone be moved to look into the depths of his or her conscience and listen to that word which says: Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart insensitive towards others, conquer your deadly reasoning, and open yourself to dialogue and reconciliation. Look upon your brother’s sorrow and do not add to it, stay your hand, rebuild the harmony that has been shattered; and all this achieved not by conflict but by encounter!

May the noise of weapons cease! War always marks the failure of peace, it is always a defeat for humanity. Let the words of Pope Paul VI resound again: “No more one against the other, no more, never! ... war never again, never again war!” (Address to the United Nations, 1965). “Peace expresses itself only in peace, a peace which is not separate from the demands of justice but which is fostered by personal sacrifice, clemency, mercy and love” (World Day of Peace Message, 1975). Forgiveness, dialogue, reconciliation – these are the words of peace, in beloved Syria, in the Middle East, in all the world! Let us pray for reconciliation and peace, let us work for reconciliation and peace, and let us all become, in every place, men and women of reconciliation and peace! Amen.

Susan Ashton singing "Beyond Justice to Mercy"

No time for tangled webs

I want to talk about honesty today. I have been completely open online these days about the fact that I have a disability and I'm living in a nursing home. Although I probably have no need to explain, perhaps some would be interested to know what made me decide to do it.
Basically, I was trained by my parents, particularly my mother, to be boldly honest. So that when the various sites I'm signed up on began to really like me, I felt it was imperative that I be open about it.
Let me ask you all something: Would you rather be loved now and hated later, or hated now and loved later? Suppose people were really digging me and thinking the world of me, and I was keeping my condition a secret. Then after a good while, it came out from a source other then myself, that I was in a nursing home with a disability. They would feel betrayed and cheated!
And as I was indeed growing in popularity, I began to have qualms. In addition to my upbringing, I knew Jesus tought in the Bible: " That which is hidden will come to the light". I did not want people to like me in all good faith, and feel bitterly disappointed that I hid such a major thing about myself from them.
Therefore, I decided for a number of reasons, to be open about it. If I let people know that "what you see is what you get", things can only get better.