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I am that bread of life...if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever...From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.  - John 6:48-66 These were the Jews who turned back from following Jesus, not just because they didn't understand how it was possible for Him to give them his flesh to eat, but because it sounded like cannibalism to them.  Truly a hard saying.  It is a mystery.  Like, literally a mystery (as in sacrament ).  And of all the substances that God chose to use for the implementation of this mystery, it was two things: bread and wine.  Specifically bread made from wheat and wine made from grapes.  But where does this leave celiacs? I had the fortune of learning about celiac disease from one of the foremost authorities on this subject, the person who is writing the textbook that will be used to teach medical professionals about celiac disease.  That person is Nadine Grzeskowiak, the Gluten Free RN ....

 When I came to Christ I had some bad habits that needed changing.  The bad habits that were fairly easy to change were the outward actions that were obviously contrary to the Gospel.  If it were the case that I used to steal, I stopped stealing.  Simple enough.  Does this mean that I am now holy, because I have stopped sinning through outward actions?  Probably not.  There are levels to the spiritual life and ceasing from sinful outer actions is one of the easier levels. In Orthodoxy there is a technical term from the Greek language for evil thoughts, and that word is Logismoi.  Controlling our outward actions is of course not that difficult, but to control our thoughts is a struggle.  Well, it is for me at least.  You, my beloved reader, are completely holy and pure and would never allow Logismoi to occupy your mind.  Of course!  In the Philokalia the Fathers relate that in order to defend ourselves from Logismoi we must be w...

"because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."  2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 Yesterday Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges by a jury of his peers.  What is so surprising to us is that this just outcome came as a shock to boomer America.  For those of us who watched the trial and were familiar with the video evidence of the case it was clear that the boy was acting in self defense.  The purported crimes were so well documented that it is difficult to understand how anybody could have come to a different conclusion than that which was reached by the jury.  The boy should never have been charged in the first place.  The prosecuting attorney Thomas Binger (who some speculate to be homosexual) and his assistant James Kraus (who some allege to be ob...

I'm getting over covid and it is marvelous.  I feel bulletproof.  You could cough all over me and I wouldn't even care. I'm not too shy about expressing my views on covid.  People see me flaunt the mask mandates, which makes it pretty obvious where I stand.  I don't try to push my views on anyone who I think wouldn't be receptive to hearing them, but people who know me know my take.  I'm sure someone out there is wagging their head at me and thinking, "See, if you had just worn a mask and/or got the vaccine you wouldn't have been sick."  Didn't you read my post about the virus being unimpressive?  Obviously not.  I've had flu worse than covid; I suffered very little.  On top of it all I now have natural immunity.  I'm glad I had the virus.  You, on the other hand, are still hiding in fear behind that silly mask - after taking the vaccine!  Because the vaccine doesn't work!  Ha!

It was my sophomore year in college and I had been invited by a group of guys that I knew from the freshman dorm experience to go in on renting a house.  We found a large house in West Eugene with five bedrooms.  Well, four bedrooms to be exact but the laundry room was large enough for a desk and a bed so I took it in exchange for a discount on rent.  On move in day we met Josh.  As we were going in and out with furniture and boxes through the front door he let himself in, barefoot, sat down and started talking.  He had longish blond hair and piercing blue eyes.  Because of the unusual way in which he had just walked in and become friendly he struck me as child-like.  Once we had put our boxes away and settled down a bit he said he had some weed and asked us if we wanted to smoke.  A number of us partook.  That was actually the only time I ever remember him having any weed of his own, but for the rest of that year he always seemed to be aroun...

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Democrat and the other a Republican. The Democrat stood and prayed thus with himself, God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, unjust, white nationalists, racists, or even as this Republican. I social distance, I wear two masks, and I take as many vaccines as they will allow me to. And the Republican, standing afar off, could not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven because he had covid and he was sick.  And he smote upon his breast, saying, God give me natural immunity! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased.  And he that humbleth himself will be based, and exalted.  

I'm mostly recovered from my bout with covid.  I had an easier time with it than many by all accounts, thanks in part to early treatment with ivermectin and massive doses of vitamin C, but I want to back up a little bit from my previous post on this subject because I fell into a trap.  People take covid so seriously that one feels compelled to counterbalance that seriousness by making light of it.  I suppose I shouldn't make light of illness, suffering and death.   Yes, the death counts are greatly exaggerated.   No, mask mandates have not been shown to reduce the spread of the virus.   Yes, the folks at Davos have seized upon this crisis as a pretense for ushering in the New World Order.   No, the vaccines are not safe or effective.   I don't deny any of these statements.  But still, when you get covid there is some suffering involved.  The worst of it for me was one night I spent repeatedly waking up, gasping ...