Pope Benedict XVI urged the faithful to set aside time in their lives for God and the needy, as he ushered in Christmas early Tuesday by celebrating Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Echoing a theme he has raised about an increasingly secular world, Benedict said that many people act as if there is no room for spiritual matters in their lives.
"Man is so preoccupied with himself, he has such urgent need of all the space and all the time for his own things, that nothing remains for others, for his neighbor, for the poor, for God. Do we have time for our neighbor who is in need of a word from us, from me, or in need of my affection? For the sufferer who is in need of help? For the fugitive or the refugee who is seeking asylum? Do we have time and space for God?"
(Also: Full text of B16 mass homily)
(Also: Commentary for Xmas mass)
(Cartoon: Where 2 or 3 are gathered)
Forget the Qassams. Forget the mortar shells. They are nothing compared with what Hamas launched at us this week. The chief of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip has approached an Israeli newspaper and proposed a cease-fire. No more Qassams, no more mortars, no suicide bombings, no Israeli military incursions into the Strip, no "targeted liquidations" of leaders. A total cease-fire. And not only in the Gaza Strip, but in the West Bank, too.
The Israeli military leadership exploded in anger. Who does he think he is, that bastard? That he can stop us with such dirty tricks? This is the second time within a few days that an attempt has been made to thwart our war plans.
The message is: it must not be accepted under any circumstances! It should not even be considered! On the contrary: the offer shows that Hamas is about to break, and therefore the war against it must be intensified, the blockade on Gaza must be tightened, more leaders must be killed – indeed, why not kill Haniyeh himself? What are we waiting for?
A paradox inherent in the conflict since its beginning is at work here: if the Palestinians are strong, it is dangerous to make peace with them. If they are weak, there is no need to make peace with them. Either way, they must be broken.
The Syrian administration is waiting out the Bush presidency, and only intends to enter a serious diplomatic process with Israel when the next US administration takes over in 2009, according to the Foreign Ministry's intelligence assessment.
Sudan's disputed Abyei region remains the source of ongoing tensions between the semi-autonomous region of South Sudan and the government of Sudan's President al-Bashir.
Control of the Abyei region, where most of Sudan's estimated 6 billion barrels of oil reserves lie, will mean huge profits for whoever secures the region. Sudan already produces an estimated 500,000 barrels of oil per day, making it one of the largest producers in Africa.
A number of countries currently have oil operations in the region, including China, India, and Malaysia, as well as France and England. According to reports, Japan and China are the top consumers of Sudanese oil.
China is a major oil developer in Sudan, having invested about $6 billion in Sudan during the past decade, as well as making millions of dollars worth of loans available to Sudan
A US intelligence report that concluded Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, and is unlikely to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb until at least 2010, has seemingly not changed the position of leaders in the West, certainly not the mind of President Bush. Despite the report's conclusions, the US, Israel, Britain and France [the 4 leading tribes of Jacob!] have said more pressure must be put on Iran.
The anti-war movement continues to eye Washington's reaction: "I watched Bush's speech on Dec. 4, and I was amazed to see someone so steeped in denial. I think we have to be on our toes, because this crowd in Washington is definitely hell-bent on bringing Iran to heel, and we have got to stop them."
One of the hottest 2008 imponderables is whether or not the tension between Washington and Tehran will erupt into conflict. It's an open secret that the Bush administration has long had a plan to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, and there was a time not so long ago when it appeared that plan was close to implementation.
When the NIE was published those of us who consider another war in this region to be an anathema were celebratory. The US has shot itself in its own foot, we thought. Its own intelligence agencies have jointly decided that Iran's nuclear activities constitute no immediate threat. So without a smoking gun and sans international approval that war plan will surely be destined for the shredder, we deduced.
Now Putin has come out with a message that says, "not so fast Dr. Watson". Asked about the impact of the NIE, he had this to say: "If this CIA report has been published simply to divert the Iranian's attention from the real preparations for military action, something that is theoretically possible, then I believe that this would be very dangerous because any military action against Iran would represent yet another very big mistake..."
In other words, Putin believes the intelligence assessment could potentially be nothing more than a red herring designed to keep Tehran off guard in the event of a surprise attack. His assertion could be spot on. As any military strategist worth his salt knows, there's nothing better than an element of surprise. ...
The position of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain has changed enormously in my lifetime, but one could never have guessed that we should see reported on the same day a recent ex-Prime Minister becoming a convert, and the Catholic weekly attendance numbers overtaking the Anglican.
The announcement of Tony Blair's conversion is an important personal event for Blair and his family, but it is also an important historic event. There are political issues that have lain below the surface, which will now have to be reconsidered. In constitutional terms the most important concerns the monarchy.
(Also: England is not a Catholic nation)
A surge in spending during the weekend before Christmas may not have been enough to rescue Target, Sears and Macy's from the slowest holiday spending season in 5 years. Gasoline at $3 a gallon and rising food prices have discouraged shoppers from spending during November and December, which account for 20% of retailers' annual revenue.
Whims of the president, toxic garbage, unfathomably immense cash injections, harleys for houses, but while real estate shrinks, the army grows...
The events of the past 6 months in the subprime mortgage market have demonstrated the vulnerability of our disintermediated worldwide financial system.
Every year, there are those that say the season has lost its meaning, that we should take the holiday back to its roots. But, is a festival celebrating ancient sun gods still relevant?
Why would Satan be spelled out in the name of Santa?
For some Christians, Christmas is just another day. For them, there will be no Christmas tree, wreaths, lights, Nativity scenes, rich Christmas dinner, nor the traditional exchange of gifts.
"It's not in the Bible," said Arnold Hampton, 58, minister of the United Church of God Columbia, Md., who hasn't celebrated the holiday since 1966. "Jesus never mentioned it."
Hampton is a member of a niche of Christians who reject the traditional Christmas holiday. Like the Jehovah's Witnesses and a few nondenominational churches scattered nationwide, Hampton's denomination, the United Church of God, will ignore Christmas Day.
As millions celebrate the birth of Jesus, a question has arisen about the actual location the Son of God came into the world. The Bible mentions Bethlehem in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but an Israeli archaeologist believes another Bethlehem, one situated in the region of Galilee and not Judea, is the likely place Christ was born. But at some point in history, all traces linking the Galilee site to the Nativity disappeared.
The lesser known Bethlehem is mentioned in the Book of Joshua, situated among towns of the tribe of Zebulun. The Old Testament prophets had predicted the Savior would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. That would preclude the Messiah from being born in Galilee.
When was Jesus actually born? The Bible provides some possible insights to this question. Doing some research on the birth date of Christ, we came up with some evidence that Christ was born during the Jewish month of Tishri, which corresponds to the end of September and the beginning of October. We found that some Christian scholars believe that December 25 was the date of His conception.
(EWTN: Date of the birth of the Messiah)
(Also: When was the Messiah born?)
(Also: The Starry Dance)
[WAR: Yahshua's conception was specifically on the 24th day of the 9th month (10 days from now). "From this day on, from this 24th day of the 9th month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of YAHWEH's temple was laid." (Hag 2:18). "He answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in 3 days.' The Jews replied, 'It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in 3 days?' But the temple he had spoken of was his body." (John 2:19-21)
Nine months later puts us at the last week of the 6th month. Then just add 7 days and we're looking at Yahshua's birth being on the 1st day of the 7th month - the Feast of Trumpets.
And looking up at the night sky on the previous night (in the west), one would've seen a crescent moon above the feet of Virgo - which would ipso facto mean the Sun was in Virgo. "A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth." (Rev 12:1,2). All that's missing is the crown of 12 stars - which will be seen about 3 months before the born-again Yahshua returns as King, with His crowned Queen at His side.
And this heavenly display (Sun in Virgo, Moon under her feet) NEVER happens when the Jews or any of the COG groups celebrate Trumpets! This should set-off alarm bells and have red flags waving - but no one is paying attention to what's really going on in the heavens. People are just relying on some long-dead rabbi's opinion, looking for grains on the ground, or shadows on the soil.]
And while we're looking up...
Orion the Mighty Hunter, it seems, is everyone's favorite constellation. It's little wonder. This configuration is filled with a greater number of bright shining stars than any other constellation.
[WAR: Good timing - since I mentioned yesterday about the link between Santa's night ride with Orion's night ride. I had also mentioned about Mars or Jupiter playing a part in the "Xmas story", but I didn't have a chance yesterday to consider it. So I'll try today...]
