Tag Archives: Virtue

Apr 2 2021

Good Friday


Posted originally on the conservative tree house April 2, 2021 | Menagerie | 13 Comments


Today we observe Good Friday, the day of the death of Jesus. Many Christian Churches have different ways of observation, to prepare us for the coming resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday. Today, the sacrifices we have made during Lent culminate in our internalization of the great offering of Christ’s life. If we have been diligent in our Lenten preparations, Good Friday hits us with a power and force that brings us, literally and figuratively, to our knees with the grasp of what Jesus poured out for us. It becomes personal, a tiny sliver of the cross is buried in our heart. And so each year, we find that we give ourselves over to Christ just a little more through this time of penance and reflection.

It is our wish here in the Tree that you all, so dear to us, and to each other, have a blessed and holy weekend, this most holy time of the year. May the Lamb’s Good Friday sacrifice lead you to the joy we rightfully claim on Easter Sunday. This post mentions some things from my Catholic “language” or viewpoint, if you will.  Please share some of the traditions and customs from your church or family with us. Are there special observations and services at your church this weekend?

This post is partially reproduced from previous posts.

The Easter Triduum, the marking of the days of Jesus’ passion and resurrection, the  most important time of the church year, begins with the evening Mass of Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes on Easter Sunday evening. After preparing during the days of Lent, we celebrate these holiest of days in the Church year.

Gospel

Jn 18:1—19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to where there was a garden,
into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”
They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
He said to them, “I AM.”
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, “I AM, “
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
“Whom are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
Jesus answered,
“I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
This was to fulfill what he had said,
“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave’s name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
“Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
“You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him,
“I have spoken publicly to the world.
I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing.  Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them.
They know what I said.”
When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him,
“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;
but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said,
“I am not.”
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
“What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered and said to him,
“If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you.”
At this, Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews answered him,
“We do not have the right to execute anyone,“
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered,
“Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered,
“I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered,
“My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered,
“You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
“I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again,
“Not this one but Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
“Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!”

Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered,
“We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
“Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
“Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge’s bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!”
They cried out,
“Take him away, take him away!  Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered,
“We have no king but Caesar.”
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

        Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
 Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.

I would also like to share a paragraph from The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
In Her Magisterial teaching of the faith and in the witness of her saints, the Church has never forgotten that “sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings the Divine Redeemer endured.” Taking into account the fact that our sins affect Christ himself, the Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the gravest responsibility for the torment inflicted upon Jesus, a responsiblity with which they have all too often burdened the Jews alone.

Please, no political commentary. None.

Mar 21 2021

The Fifth Sunday of Lent


Posted originally on the conservative tree house March 21, 2021 | Menagerie | Comments Off on The Fifth Sunday of Lent

Gospel

Jn 12:20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

“I am troubled now.  Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven,
“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered and said,
“This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself.”
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.Posted in Uncategorized

Mar 14 2021

The Fourth Sunday of Lent


Posted originally on the conservative tree house March 14, 2021 | Menagerie | Comments Off on The Fourth Sunday of Lent

Gospel

Jn 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

This fourth Sunday is also called Laetare Sunday.

From Father Z’s https://wdtprs.com/post:

The nickname Laetare originated from the first word of the Introit chant for Sunday’s Mass, “Rejoice!”

On Laetare Sunday there is a slight relaxation of Lent’s penitential spirit, because we have a glimpse of the joy that is coming at Easter, now near at hand.  Moreover, in the ancient Roman Church, before Lent was lengthened, the real, strict discipline began on the Monday after this Sunday.

Mar 7 2021

The Third Sunday of Lent


Posted originally on the conservative tree house March 7, 2021 | Menagerie | 16 Comments

Gospel

Jn 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
many began to believe in his name
when they saw the signs he was doing.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well.

Mar 2 2021

Our National Faith Will Stand, Steadfast


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 1, 2021 by Sundance

A reminder for a friend…

Steadfast doesn’t mean when it’s easy; the term has no meaning when things are working according to our own convenient interests. Steadfast means standing strong when it’s challenging, difficult and unnerving. Just as courage is not the absence of fear, rather it is taking action despite being fearful; so too is steadfast a decision.

Often when things are disconcerting, we retreat to the place where we are comfortable. However, steadfast is unwavering despite the obstacles and difficulties. When we don’t hold the words to comfort the grieved, yet we show up and sit quietly just to eliminate loneliness, that is a steadfast commitment. When we see adversity on the face of another, and we choose to engage with our time and comfort, that is a steadfast decision.

When CTH was formed, it was a small assembly of misfits who were not fearless, but brave enough to be comfortable within our discomfort.  We knew we had to look deeply at the issues which face us. We remind ourselves that ‘truth has no agenda‘ & truth exists despite our feelings of the subject matter. The core elements of CTH are based on this principle of remaining steadfast amid the face of adversity, national, political or even personal.

The CTH armory is insightful, wise and often purposeful; but this assembly is foremost a fellowship. A steadfast decision to stand together and figure out how all of these intense subjects, issues and events interact, influence and ultimately impact our lives.

Right now our nation is facing a time of extreme trepidation. Nerves are frayed, emotions are raw and individually we find our compass spinning in a way that destabilizes us. Into this climate the originating value of our core assembly becomes critical. CTH remains steadfast & committed to the best hopes and solutions within us. We strive with purpose.

Each day for over a decade we begin with a simple prayer. We host a candle for those who need prayers and support, and we engage purposefully with the intent to cherish the value, wisdom and skills that each unique person brings to the subject matter being discussed.

My personal commitment toward that end has been to remain steadfast and unwavering in defense of this little corner of the internet. To maintain a place where facts can be discovered, truth can be unearthed and honest discussion/opinion can be afforded.

In July of this past year, it was our CTH mission to ensure that people within the institutions of our government were aware of: (a) evidence of specific corruption; and (b) our knowledge about it. It was during one of those briefing trips to DC when I recognized a serious disconnect between what the people within those institutions of government viewed as their role, and what We The People expected of them.

It was also the first time when I realized that internal corrective action was unlikely to succeed because the scale of corrupt activity was not simply based on intent, but also present because the absence of morality was metastatic throughout the system.

I’m certain there are good people in DC, but the systems surrounding them have lost their originating purpose. The central function of U.S. government is now so corrupt the institutions regard ‘We The People‘ as the problem the people within the system must protect themselves from.

I quickly recognized the solutions to our national issues were never going to come from our requests to those who operate within the institutions. However, even worse was the impact we were having on each-other due to our national frustration. It was evident within our frustration – as a nation we are losing a sense of identity, unity and fellowship.

The only people who can change that dynamic is us.

We are ‘The People’ we have been waiting for; yet, the professional political class, purposefully walled-off within this corrupt system, are also purposefully blind to our assembly. In order for the DC politicians to continue operating corrupt levers within a corrupt machine they must ignore the will of the same people they are supposed to represent.

President Trump represents ‘We The People‘, and as a consequence those within this corrupt system view his appearances with the same dismissive outlook they carry toward those who voted for him.

They want to destroy us, so they need to destroy him. They want to destroy our faith, so they need to destroy hope.  They will fail so long as we remain steadfast.

CTH (The Last Refuge) was founded upon this acceptance long before Donald Trump became president in 2016; and the actions by both wings of the UniParty congress over the past six weeks have been clear evidence of what we always knew was present.

Our current national challenge is to figure out a way to confront this dynamic and then deal with it. However, we must deal with it in a way that does not destroy the founding principles of our constitutional republic. There are many disappointments around us, but we must remain strong and purposeful with any chosen direction. Misplaced corrective action regardless of intent is neither prudent nor wise.

Above all, those who understand the larger issues must remain united and hold a sense of fellowship toward each-other if we are to overcome the challenges. The purpose of using COVID fear as a strategic weapon to achieve division is evident. Unilateral fiats can be an effective strategy deployed by those who benefit from division; we must counter this effort.

The fraud within the phrase “social distancing” not only creates distance between us but also creates a void of loneliness within the soul. Into this void of isolation, fear takes hold and becomes toxic. Thus the true value of fellowship is more important than ever.

Right now everything around us seems less focused on the pursuit of happiness and more focused on what happiness we are missing. At the heart of that anxiety is this sense of foreboding. A choking sense of fear and worry; a sense of trepidation. Faith in a loving and purposeful God is now more important than ever, embrace it – share it.

This moment in history is where each person of strength holds a higher level of influence, and we should engage in the lives of others to show that strength. Right now people around you are looking for courage, optimism and hope. If you do not provide that to your family, friends and community, you allow the alternative, despair, to take root.

Despair is the foreboding outcome of the same evil systems that create it. Recognize despair when you see it, intercept it and eliminate it when you can… AND you always can. Tend to the flickering flame of liberty & teach others, especially our youth, the skills to defend it.

Do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. We are a majority nation of liberty loving independent and free-thinking people; born under a compact to allow each to live their lives according to their own purpose. Do not abdicate the duty to protect individual liberty to anyone except yourself. Your dreams are unique to you.

Stay strong for your family…

Stay strong for your community….

Stay strong for our nation… We need each-other.

Steadfast,

~ Sundance

Dear Treehouse,

[…] I have been saying for some time that America is at a tipping point. Regardless of who is in apparent control of the Government (Executive, Legislative or Judiciary), there are forces at work that truly do lead to the creation of a “Uni-party.” As the underbelly of the Uni-party has been exposed, those in control have become vulnerable.

The real prospect that God-fearing, hard-working, honest Americans are beginning to see how the system has been rigged to manipulate them is upon us. Your dogged determination to lay bare the ugliness of what Washington has become is to be greatly admired.

We have lacked true leadership for too many years. This of course creates a vacuum and vacuums are dangerous because they allow false prophets to arise. People are desperate for someone to lead and say that they can restore the values that we once held dear as a nation.

Perhaps this is why your banner with the redhead staring at the gathering storm calls to me. The storm is just off the shore, building energy, waiting to crash over all of us. Yet, in the gathering darkness you have provided a light. A beacon of hope in a dismal world. A beacon which illuminates an alternative to the false choices of the Hegelian dialectic that is forced upon us all.

May God keep and protect you as you gather and collate the evidence to lay bare the ugliness that has become government, as it is now practiced, and reclaim all that makes America truly great. May the Holy Spirit guide you in your words and actions. Know that there are many that believe in what you are doing and stand ready to do their part. Remember that the darkness is always greatest before the dawn. I am confident that a new dawn is about to break.

~ A Patriot

Feb 21 2021

The First Sunday of Lent


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on February 21, 2021 by Menagerie

Jesus in the desert

Gospel

Mk 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Feb 18 2021

Remember You Are Dust, And To Dust You Shall Return


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on February 17, 2021 by Menagerie

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.

Many people associate the season of Lent with Catholicism, but that no longer holds true. Many other churches and people are choosing to observe the forty days (not including Sundays) before Easter. Lent is a time of penance, of choosing to look closely at our lives and invite the Holy Spirit in to help us clean house.

Often we will choose to give up something, a sacrifice we offer to the Lord, but also something we use as a way to remind us to be more holy, more dependent on God. We fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and we abstain from meat on Fridays as well, although many Catholics do not understand that we still have an obligation to fast on Fridays or substitute another penitential practice year round. We are called to give alms during Lent.

These practices are meant to help us prepare to meet Jesus on Easter Sunday, having walked these six weeks with him toward Calvary, fasting as he fasted in the desert, carrying our cross as he carried his, doing the will of the Father as Jesus taught us so well.

Like Mary, we hope to find ourselves at the foot of the cross on Good Friday, still with our Savior, looking with a more hopeful and receptive heart toward the Resurrection.

If you are not a member of a church, or your particular church does not have any Ash Wednesday service, you are welcome to participate at any Catholic Church. You do not have to be Catholic to attend the service or receive the ashes. I’m sure that is true of other denominations as well.

Catholics, and many other Protestant denominations follow a liturgical calendar, which I find to be of great aid to me daily and yearly in my attempt to follow Jesus. Advent begins our new Church year, and we look forward to the birth of Jesus. We then celebrate Christmas for an Octave, and the season ends with Epiphany. Soon after comes Lent, and we cast our eyes toward Holy Week, and the death, and Resurrection, and we again spend eight days, another Octave, celebrating Easter. After Pentecost comes the long stretch of what the Church call Ordinary Time before we start again with Advent.

I find this yearly journey helps me keep an eye on where I am going. It helps me not just tread water spiritually, but make progress, and to more “live out” the life of Christ.

If your church has special services today or during Lent, please tell us about it, especially if visitors are welcome to participate. And don’t forget the Knights of Columbus fish fry on Fridays! Usually for five or six bucks you’ll get a get supper and help the Knights raise money for their charitable causes.

This post, and all of those you will encounter during Lent and Easter are meant to encourage us in our worship. If you choose not to worship, are not Christian, or have a grudge against specific faiths such as Catholicism , there are many forums online where you can debate or condemn. This is not one of them, and I will without any second chances ban anyone who breaks that rule. I’m sorry that this has become a necessary warning, but it has.

Feb 14 2021

A Reminder About The Importance of Fellowship


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on February 13, 2021 by Sundance

We assemble upon a great digital battlefield in the fight for our republic. It is critical to reflect upon the values that form the foundation of our national assembly…. “Isolation starts with a rebellion against God“, we must be conscious about the need to connect.

It’s hard to believe this image was originally shared on these pages and discussed almost a decade ago.

There was just something about the shift in messaging from the totalitarian left that sounded an internal alarm amid those who were focused on the open dismissal of liberty and freedom that resounded from the drumbeat of the Obama era.

“Fundamental change” was a looming catch phrase many just seemed to ignore.

And here we are… divided by a network of seemingly intoxicating systems; many purposefully driven by the modern dynamic of social media, steering a tribal outcome we are only now just beginning to fathom.

Ultimately the collective weight of progressive leftism is putting us is isolation. There are many historic references to this disconcerting sentiment to review with hindsight.

We saw this coming…. we just didn’t know the entry vector that would be used to accomplish the final stages of diminished freedom and individual liberty. As we look at the current COVID-19 mandates, dictates and controls one cannot easily dismiss the weaponized use of a virus to attain division under the guise of “social distancing.”

When we initially asked the question: “where would you choose to live“, we had no idea a virus would be purposeful to enhance the objectives of social engineering, isolation and ultimately, painfully, oppression. Oblivious to the grand design, we allowed a seemingly disparate network of big tech companies to control communication. The COVID aspect now generates in the physical world exactly the same distance created in the digital world.

It might, heck, -check that- it does seem overwhelming at times.  But that is the nature of this collectivist strategy.  That is the purpose of this bombardment.  We must hold strong and push back against their lies and manipulations.  If you look closely at their attack, it is weak and much of it is psychological bait.  Do not fall into the trap of despair.

When I share the message “live your best life”, it is not without purpose.  Every moment that we allow the onslaught to deter us from living our dreams, is a moment those who oppose our nation view as us taking a knee.  Do not allow this effort to succeed.

You might ask yourself how can I, one person, a flea looking into a furnace, retain an optimistic disposition while all around me seems chaotic and mad.

That’s the point; it ‘seems’ chaotic and mad because it has been created to appear that way.  There are more of us than them; they just control the systems that allow us to connect, share messages and recognize the scale of our assembly.

In/around July 2020 it was obvious in my travels we were on the precipice of a disconnect from human interaction that would numb our psyche to what ultimately matters, fellowship.

Not only are various governmental agencies forcing the separation of people from their community networks, we are also seeing faith-based organizations, churches, buying into the fear. Even in areas where churches are not forcibly shut down, many are seeing a structural shift where some faith leaders are willingly ostracizing their community under the guise of various COVID alarms. This is not good…. not good at all.

Fellowship is the essential ingredient to a purposeful life. How and why we interact with each-other is how and why we recharge our core humanity. To see faith leaders willing to separate from the function of fellowship is alarming. However, as individuals we must not allow this foreboding sense to become the normal expectation.

Throughout history large armies have been defeated through the process of division. It is not a leap to see the same strategic objectives being deployed against social assemblies including congregations. It is puzzling how many in leadership cannot see the danger in social and spiritual distance when the bond of fellowship is needed more than ever.

Each of us has a different connection to our community. Each of us has a different level of internal strength… such is the nature of living. However, the distance between people is manifestly not a good outcome when combined with the lack of food for the soul.

The influence of social media is already troublesome, physically distancing from human engagement only worsens the impact. There is no digital replacement for the true fellowship of humanity on a personal level.

Ultimately it is the currency of human connection that is the true value in our lives.

We have each felt how our positive influence upon the lives of others nourishes our own sense of purpose and fulfillment… Do not lose that. Do not think you can compensate for that through other arbitrary measures; you cannot.

With local, state and federal leaders moving beyond the workplace distance; and beyond the community distance; and beyond the church distance; and now entering your home to tell you the importance of separating yourself from your family we must evaluate these arbitrary decrees very deliberately.

Evaluate very closely what we are willing to give up. Perhaps we are in this position today because we didn’t sit still enough and contemplate the real priorities in our lives.

Our liberty is inherent.

Our freedom is inherent.

The removal of both requires consent.

I choose not to disconnect.

I choose purpose.

I choose my own humanity.

Love to all,

~ Sundance

Photo of the Constitution of the United States of America. A feather quill is included in the photo.The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest codified written national constitution still in force. It was completed on September 17, 1787.

[…] I asked a gentleman for the location to a convenience store to purchase some mints to chew throughout the day. I was directed to a specific store.

When I made my purchase, the mask on the other side of the counter was as sad as many that day, but I felt compelled to ask how she was doing. The typical “been better” was the return. However, as I started to walk away… I turned back: “what’s wrong”?

For the next few minutes I listened as I met a mom of four kids who was 15 days from a COVID-based eviction. There was really no-one to blame; and worse, for her no-where to turn. She was looking for housing grants to avoid the most painful decision in her short 30-year-life.

You see, there was a reason why I went into that store that afternoon, at least that’s what I told her; and there was a reason why she was there. In part with your support, and after putting all other tasks in the appropriately unimportant place they deserved, WE (yes, you and me) together found a solution and provided the resources she needed. Starfish dude strikes again… this time with His help and your help.

It would have been very easy to walk out and accept that simple: “been better”. Heck, I think of all the times I have done that before…. but not this time. This time something nagged about it…. and so I turned around and found tears, fellowship – and mints.

The next day another stroll, a little lost, and a veteran on the street… I can’t tell you his story because that’s for another day… but it is just as important and just as profound. As I walked away from him many minutes later he yelled at me: “HEY DUDE”. I turned my unmasked smile back in his direction only to have him say: “we need more people like you in charge”… Thumbs up, and I continued my travels.

Which is really the point of writing all this. Our nation needs more people like you, right now. Don’t wait… engage life, get optimistic however you need to do it. Then let that part of you shine right now… This is how we fight. Hold up that flag; give the starter smile… rally to the standard you create and spread fellowship again.

….God knows we need it.

Jan 27 2021

Youth v Age


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jan 27, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

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Ronald Reagan was 70 years old when he became President. That made him the oldest until Biden. What is most interesting is how age was a question he was often asked when running for president. Oh, how times have changed! The two heads of state I ever met who were both genuine and intelligent with a sense of humor were Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Perhaps it was a different era with different quality people running for office. I suspect that with time, the treatment we have witnessed in Supreme Court appointments with the hostile accusations from religions to sexual harassment, have a very negative effect insofar as nobody is perfect and having things dragged up from high school is uncalled for.

My cousin found this photo of me when I obviously believed in Santa Claus. I grew up and realized I was lied to and I had to fend for myself in life. Others seem to think the government is there to take care of them. I guess they still believe. Hence, we should never be judged by what we may have believed in our youth. Grilling people on what they said of did in high school only deters people who would be qualified from taking any office.

Jan 12 2021

Ray Charles – America the Beautiful – We Should Not Forget


Armstrong Economics Blog/Opinion Re-Posted Jan 12, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

Our greatest hope is that there are conservative Democrats who would also defend the Constitution if the extreme left-wing tries to drastically change everything. We need to place our hope in the bottom-line as they will have some resistance to Klaus Schwab and his insane movement to take over the world with the help of Bill Gates and George Soros.