JB Hodl

Happy feast day of Our Lady Of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas

Saturday 9 December 2023 Saturday of the 1st week of Advent  or Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin  About Today Year: B(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet. Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474 - 1548) — A painting by Miguel Cabrera (1695 - 1768).   He was born in about 1474 in Cuauhtitlan in the kingdom of Texcoco, part of present-day Mexico. As an adult he embraced Christianity and he and his wife were baptized. In 1531 the Mother of God appeared to him, on the hill called Tepeyac near Mexico City, and told him to ask the bishop to have a church built on the spot. Through the purity of his faith, his humility and his fervour, a church was built, in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe (whose feast is celebrated on 12 December). He left everything and devoted himself to the care of the sanctuary and the reception of pilgrims until his death in 1548. ________ Collect O God, who sent your Only Begotten Son into this world to free the human race from its ancient enslavement, bestow on those who devoutly await him the grace of your compassion from on high, that we may attain the prize of true freedom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. ________ About the author of the Second Reading in today's Office of Readings: Second Reading: St Cyprian (210 - 258) Cyprian was born in Carthage and spent most of his life in the practice of the law. He was converted to Christianity, and was made bishop of Carthage in 249. He steered the church through troubled times, including the persecution of the emperor Decius, when he went into hiding so as to be able to continue looking after the church. In 258 the persecution of the emperor Valerian began. Cyprian was first exiled and then, on the 14th of September, executed, after a trial notable for the calm and courtesy shown by both sides. Cyprian’s many letters and treatises shed much light on a formative period in the Church’s history, and are valuable both for their doctrine and for the picture they paint of a group of people in constant peril of their lives but still determined to keep the faith. ________ Liturgical colour: violet Violet is a dark colour, ‘the gloomy cast of the mortified, denoting affliction and melancholy’. Liturgically, it is the colour of Advent and Lent, the seasons of penance and preparation. Liturgical colour: white White is the colour of heaven. Liturgically, it is used to celebrate feasts of the Lord; Christmas and Easter, the great seasons of the Lord; and the saints. Not that you will always see white in church, because if something more splendid, such as gold, is available, that can and should be used instead. We are, after all, celebrating. In the earliest centuries all vestments were white – the white of baptismal purity and of the robes worn by the armies of the redeemed in the Apocalypse, washed white in the blood of the Lamb. As the Church grew secure enough to be able to plan her liturgy, she began to use colour so that our sense of sight could deepen our experience of the mysteries of salvation, just as incense recruits our sense of smell and music that of hearing. Over the centuries various schemes of colour for feasts and seasons were worked out, and it is only as late as the 19th century that they were harmonized into their present form.

Friday 8 December 2023 The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Solemnity  About Today Year: B(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: White. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception — Detail from The Immaculate Conception, by Francisco Rizi, second half of the 17th century, Madrid, Museo del Prado   The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin, that twist in our nature that makes our will tend not to follow what it knows to be right. It was this grace that enabled Mary to give a true and considered “Yes” to the request, conveyed by the Angel Gabriel, that she should consent to be the mother of the incarnate God. Because it is so old, this is one of the Marian doctrines that Islam shares with the Catholic Church, though of course the theological details are very different. ‘in a famous Hadith attributed to the Prophet, it is affirmed that: “Every child is touched by the devil as soon as he is born and this contact makes him cry. Excepted are Mary and her Son”. From this Hadith and from verses 35-37 of Sura III, Moslem commentators have deduced and affirmed the principle of Mary’s original purity.’ (Giancarlo Finazzo. L’Osservatore Romano, 13 April 1978). The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was almost universally believed over the centuries but was only formally defined as a doctrine of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1854. ________ Collect O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son, grant, we pray, that, as you preserved her from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. ________ About the author of the Second Reading in today's Office of Readings: Second Reading: St Anselm (1033 - 1109) Anselm was born in Aosta, in northern Italy, and became a monk of Bec in Normandy, where he taught theology and devoted himself to the spiritual life. After some years as abbot, he succeeded his master Lanfranc as archbishop of Canterbury. His bitter disputes with the kings of England over the independence of the Church resulted in his twice being exiled. He died at Canterbury on 21 April 1109. He is remembered for his theological learning and writings, and for organising and reforming church life in England. ________ Liturgical colour: white White is the colour of heaven. Liturgically, it is used to celebrate feasts of the Lord; Christmas and Easter, the great seasons of the Lord; and the saints. Not that you will always see white in church, because if something more splendid, such as gold, is available, that can and should be used instead. We are, after all, celebrating. In the earliest centuries all vestments were white – the white of baptismal purity and of the robes worn by the armies of the redeemed in the Apocalypse, washed white in the blood of the Lamb. As the Church grew secure enough to be able to plan her liturgy, she began to use colour so that our sense of sight could deepen our experience of the mysteries of salvation, just as incense recruits our sense of smell and music that of hearing. Over the centuries various schemes of colour for feasts and seasons were worked out, and it is only as late as the 19th century that they were harmonized into their present form.

I love my podcasts. And surprisingly I listen to some non bitcoin ones even! Been looking for Catholic ones that are trying to grapple with the psy ops and confusion of the last 3 years. When nobody even mentions the craziness of the last few years I start to question their intelligence and authenticity to be honest. Also to be effective out faith has to be applied in the real world, and current events. Don’t get me wrong - the theology and liturgy ones are great and essential. But looking for new ones too. I stumbled upon Avoiding Babylon. Highly recommended! Looks like they were jarred awake from the psy ops going on and aren’t afraid to discuss, from a Catholic take. Excellent. I’m also checking out A Catholic Take, Crisis Point, John Henry Westen show along with the ones I check into regularly: Rules for Retrogrades, Taylor Marshall, Thank God for Bitcoin. Any recommendations?

Father Mike is excellent today regarding same sex attraction/homosexuality. Extremely difficult issue. He covers it with wisdom and compassion. Not popularity. Key point - every single one of us is broken, straight and gay. Every one of us is broken and sinful. We all have our crosses and we all seek Gods goodness and mercy. No condemnation here. https://pca.st/episode/3db5325d-1522-4d3a-9136-848c032584c9

Happy Solemnity of All Saints

Especially good and clear take on the meaning of our bodies, male and female, in this crazy time: https://pca.st/episode/51bf5ccb-5e3c-482c-924c-55bde26a9e01

I was struck by the Old Testament reading (below) from mass tonight. The justice and yes anger of God toward those taking advantage of the vulnerable. A few days ago I saw Senator Hawley questioning a DHS administrator about 80,000 children that they had lost track of in the US that went through our border. They are being used for work and it is likely sex, unthinkably. Of course my mind went to this after hearing the verse below. Then the Lord states His hatred of interest and taking advantage of the poor. My mind went to the hidden tax of inflation on all of us, but especially the poor. Then bitcoin, which maybe can help fix some of these issues, God willing. Just a few thoughts! Blessings this evening! Sunday 29 October 2023 ________ First reading Exodus 22:20–26 If you wrong the widow and the orphan, my wrath will flare up against you. Thus says the LORD: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans. “If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.” Gospel Matthew 22:34–40 You shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself. When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Honestly I don’t know what most of this means as I have so much to learn about bitcoin, but what an amazing tool for learning abc just taking a glimpse at the bitcoin blockchain in real time. Awesome. nostr:note19ntmd08a5f94tkqr6k86gh8eqnyeq83qqa95njgrgmp3j22a7q3qxwu73g

Another round of 10 bot followers. Lovely. The creepy AI 2 word slogans in the bio are fun.