Thursday, February 05, 2009

"This is my hope. This is my prayer."



Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
"This is my hope. This is my prayer."

"The particular faith that motivates each of us can promote a greater good for all of us," President Obama said this morning to a crowd of several thousand people gathered for the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton in the nation's capital. "Instead of driving us apart, our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted; to make peace where there is strife and rebuild what has broken; to lift up those who have fallen on hard times."

A dozen foreign leaders attended, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who delivered the keynote address.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) read from Scripture, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) delivered a prayer for national leaders, Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) delivered a prayer for world leaders, and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) delivered the closing prayer. Casting Crowns, a Christian rock group, performed at the event.

The National Prayer Breakfast, currently co-chaired by Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) and Heath Shuler (D-NC), is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. The event has taken place since 1953 and every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the breakfast.

The President is set to sign an executive order regarding the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which we'll have more on later today.

Read the President's remarks below.


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Remarks of President Barack Obama
National Prayer Breakfast
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Washington, DC

Good morning. I want to thank the Co-Chairs of this breakfast, Representatives Heath Shuler and Vernon Ehlers. I’d also like to thank Tony Blair for coming today, as well as our Vice President, Joe Biden, members of my Cabinet, members of Congress, clergy, friends, and dignitaries from across the world.

Michelle and I are honored to join you in prayer this morning. I know this breakfast has a long history in Washington, and faith has always been a guiding force in our family’s life, so we feel very much at home and look forward to keeping this tradition alive during our time here.

It’s a tradition that I’m told actually began many years ago in the city of Seattle. It was the height of the Great Depression, and most people found themselves out of work. Many fell into poverty. Some lost everything.

The leaders of the community did all that they could for those who were suffering in their midst. And then they decided to do something more: they prayed. It didn’t matter what party or religious affiliation to which they belonged. They simply gathered one morning as brothers and sisters to share a meal and talk with God.

These breakfasts soon sprouted up throughout Seattle, and quickly spread to cities and towns across America, eventually making their way to Washington. A short time after President Eisenhower asked a group of Senators if he could join their prayer breakfast, it became a national event. And today, as I see presidents and dignitaries here from every corner of the globe, it strikes me that this is one of the rare occasions that still brings much of the world together in a moment of peace and goodwill.

I raise this history because far too often, we have seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another – as an excuse for prejudice and intolerance. Wars have been waged. Innocents have been slaughtered. For centuries, entire religions have been persecuted, all in the name of perceived righteousness.

There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some of our beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. We follow different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how we came to be here and where we’re going next – and some subscribe to no faith at all.

But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.

We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law that binds all great religions together. Jesus told us to "love thy neighbor as thyself." The Torah commands, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow." In Islam, there is a hadith that reads "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists. It is, of course, the Golden Rule – the call to love one another; to understand one another; to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth.

It is an ancient rule; a simple rule; but also one of the most challenging. For it asks each of us to take some measure of responsibility for the well-being of people we may not know or worship with or agree with on every issue. Sometimes, it asks us to reconcile with bitter enemies or resolve ancient hatreds. And that requires a living, breathing, active faith. It requires us not only to believe, but to do – to give something of ourselves for the benefit of others and the betterment of our world.

In this way, the particular faith that motivates each of us can promote a greater good for all of us. Instead of driving us apart, our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted; to make peace where there is strife and rebuild what has broken; to lift up those who have fallen on hard times. This is not only our call as people of faith, but our duty as citizens of America, and it will be the purpose of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that I’m announcing later today.

The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another – or even religious groups over secular groups. It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state. This work is important, because whether it’s a secular group advising families facing foreclosure or faith-based groups providing job-training to those who need work, few are closer to what’s happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods than these organizations. People trust them. Communities rely on them. And we will help them.

We will also reach out to leaders and scholars around the world to foster a more productive and peaceful dialogue on faith. I don’t expect divisions to disappear overnight, nor do I believe that long-held views and conflicts will suddenly vanish. But I do believe that if we can talk to one another openly and honestly, then perhaps old rifts will start to mend and new partnerships will begin to emerge. In a world that grows smaller by the day, perhaps we can begin to crowd out the destructive forces of zealotry and make room for the healing power of understanding.

This is my hope. This is my prayer.

I believe this good is possible because my faith teaches me that all is possible, but I also believe because of what I have seen and what I have lived.

I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I’ve ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done.

I didn’t become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck – no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God’s spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose – His purpose.

In different ways and different forms, it is that spirit and sense of purpose that drew friends and neighbors to that first prayer breakfast in Seattle all those years ago, during another trying time for our nation. It is what led friends and neighbors from so many faiths and nations here today. We come to break bread and give thanks and seek guidance, but also to rededicate ourselves to the mission of love and service that lies at the heart of all humanity. As St. Augustine once said, "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you."

So let us pray together on this February morning, but let us also work together in all the days and months ahead. For it is only through common struggle and common effort, as brothers and sisters, that we fulfill our highest purpose as beloved children of God. I ask you to join me in that effort, and I also ask that you pray for me, for my family, and for the continued perfection of our union. Thank you.

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/this_is_my_prayer/

Secret to Bipartisanship? Prayer


Secret to Bipartisanship? Prayer
Laura Robertson
February 5, 2009


It's no secret that challenges to bipartisanship in Washington remain as fierce as ever. But there is one issue both Republicans and Democrats cuts across party lines: prayer.

At this morning's National Prayer Breakfast, congressmen and senators of all political backgrounds joined together in prayer, and fellowship. Sen. Amy Klobucher (D-MN) even described a morning miracle: the grits, which had originally been taken off the menu were added again.

Every president since Eisenhower has attended the breakfast, which attracts a large, prominent gathering of leading congressmen, senators, and foreign dignitaries.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave the breakfast’s first address, in which he encouraged all religious followers to find their common ground. "Each faith has its beliefs, each is different,” says Blair, “but at some point it is in communion with the other."
"Today religion is under attack from without and within."
He described the "aggressive nonbelievers" who define faith as in conflict with reason and the extremists, who cling to their own beliefs. Blair, however, views the purpose of religions "not to exclude, but to embrace. not to invoke conflict, but to try to do good."

While he respects secular humanists, he believes "there are limits to humanism, and beyond those limits, God and only God."

President Obama
similarly stressed the need for religious groups to band together for the common good, but he also more strongly recognized the reality that “long-held views and conflicts will not suddenly vanish.”

He does, however, recognize unifying principles spanning multiple religions. “There is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.”

From a theological perspective, the embracing of such religious pluralism will not necessarily resonate with the most devout of all religious perspectives. While there are overarching themes of “love your neighbor” and “do unto others,” throughout most religions, there are also salient differences that can’t be glossed over. As a result, like it or not, the faith of many devoutly religious people just won’t fit under the giant umbrella of the all-roads-lead-to-god mentality.

For the purpose of launching the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, however, cooperation from the broad faith-based community will be necessary. He says the office, which will be announced later today, “will not be to favor one religious group over another – or even religious groups over secular groups. It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.”

Under the umbrella of this new faith-based office, the president has established a new bipartisan advisory council comprised of leaders from all religions. By reaching across the traditional political and religious divides, the president seeks to engage the entire country for the unifying purpose of service.

While many are supportive in these efforts, continued prayer will be necessary to tackle the nation’s greatest challenges.

Source: http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/535468.aspx


Note:

  1. Blue Bolds and Highlights denote Tony Blair's comments;

  2. Black Bolds and Highlights denote President Obama's.

Arsenio.

Obama Names 26-Year-Old Director of Faith-Based Office


Obama Names 26-Year-Old Director of Faith-Based Office

White House to Broaden Religious and Community Outreach

By KAREN TRAVERS


Feb. 5, 2009

President Barack Obama has named a 26-year-old Pentecostal minister to head the White House office that coordinates outreach to religious and community organizations.

The Obama White House will announce that Josh DuBois will head the revamped White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.The White House will announce formally today that Josh DuBois will head the revamped White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, created by an executive order to be signed by President Obama this morning.

DuBois directed the religious outreach for the Obama campaign. Previously, he worked as an associate pastor at a Pentecostal church in Massachusetts and received a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University.

With this announcement, Obama continues an initiative created by an executive order signed by President George W. Bush in his first month in office.

In the Bush administration, the office was designed to work with faith-based and community organizations on social service issues and to advise them on applying for and receiving federal funding.

The Obama administration will seek to expand the role of this office as it relates to policy issues where religious and local leaders can be effective. DuBois will coordinate with faith-based and community organizations on social service outreach and will work to utilize these organizations' efforts to advance the administration's policies, with a primary focus on poverty.


Agenda of the Director General: P. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J.


Agenda of the Director General: P. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J.

January - February
26-13, 2009 California

February - March
20-09, 2009 India: Raduno JCSA

April - May
14-02, 2009 Ghana: JESAM. Visita ANW-AOC

May
26, 2009 Firenze: Convegno su Galileo

June
18-21, 2009 Fairfield: Conference on Mission in US Jesuit Higher Education

July
14-22, 2009 Indonesia-Filippine: Incontro con Provinciali e Anniversari Province

July
25-30, 2009 Bujumbura, Burundi: Congresso del “World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae”


September
04-09, 2009 Croazia e Hungheria: Visita - 100 anni delle Province

September
10-14, 2009 Irlanda

October
15-21, 2009 Assemblea: Conferenza di Provinciali di Europa (CEP)

October - November
29-01, 2009 Madrid-Salamanca

News
News
Agenda of the Director General Delegate: P. Claudio Barriga, S.J.
Agenda of the Director General: P. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J.
• Narratives of the visits
Letters and Newsletters
• From the continents
Good practices


Apostleship of Prayer ◊ Borgo S. Spirito, 5 ◊ C.P. 6139 ◊ 00193 Roma ◊ Italia en es fr

Source: http://www.apostleshipofprayer.net/news/Agenda-Nicolas-en.aspx

Partakers Of The Lord's Table?




“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.”


-1st Corinthians 10:21

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Perplexity in the Empire of the Beast!


Volume XXVIII Issue II February 2009
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Fax: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org

Perplexity in the Empire of the Beast!

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

Luke 21:25-28
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

I Thessalonians 5:1-3
“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”

Luke 17:28-30
In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will look at the confusion and instability of the events of our day in the light of Bible prophecy. As we do this, we will clearly see how accurate and precise the Bible is as every detail of prophecy is being fulfilled now in our time right before our very eyes! We are now seeing the empire of the Antichrist rising rapidly. As this happens according to prophecy, nations everywhere would not just be troubled or agitated but in a state of distress. The primary reason for that distress is the accompanying perplexity. At this point we must understand that the word perplexity comes from the Greek word aporia, which means: “unable to find a way out!”

The Scriptures above also tells us that when the people of earth declare peace and safety sudden destruction will come upon them. The prophecy also uses the analogy of a woman with child who is about to deliver. The birth pangs get closer and closer together and ever more intense, and there is no way to back out of what is happening. Thus, the perplexed people of the earth, so familiar with religion and yet so far from the truth, will find no escape!

We also know that when the end comes, it will come very fast! The third portion of Scripture above tells us that life will be status quo and go on normally in all of our human endeavors until suddenly the last day comes. Our Saviour called attention to Sodom and compared the last generation to it. Indeed, the world is now full of crazed sodomites. We also know from the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah that the lust-filled homosexuals were blinded by the angels, and the blinded only intensified their lust as they stood near Lot’s house. The homosexuals never stopped trying as the demons in them drove them to extreme intensity as they wearied themselves to find the door! Thus, after Lot and his family left the city, fire and brimstone fell on the blinded population of that city. Even so now in this last generation, a spiritual blindness has engulfed the people of the United States and the world. They are blind to the impending judgment of Almighty God. This is especially true of church leaders. Our Lord said that if the blind lead the blind, they all fall into the ditch!

In I John 5:19, we read a very profound verse as follows: “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Here let it be noted that the word lieth in this verse comes from a Greek word that means to “lay complete sprawled out, as if in a state of sleep.” Thus, the verse is saying that the people of the last days are completely sprawled out and laying in wickedness. They are fully acclimated to evil with no sense of what is truly right and what is truly wrong. This is the very condition of our day! If you are reading this and you feel a stirring in your soul, yield your heart and mind to the Lord Jesus now! There is so little time left, and soon it will be too late. The Saviour will hear you and save you. You will be safe and secure from the wrath to come!

The Rising of a New Beast!

By the time you receive this newsletter, unless Almighty God intervenes, we will have a new President of the United States. I am writing this newsletter on January 16th, 2009, and in just a few days Barack Hussein Obama will become the 44th President of the United States. One of the last official acts of the outgoing President George W. Bush was to declare a state of emergency in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration. (1) The swearing in ceremony is expected to cost $165 million, (2) and Obama will be riding in a limousine that is designed to withstand rocket and chemical attacks. (3) This black Cadillac vehicle has been named “the beast” by the Secret Service. (4) A security force that is 42,500 strong will be deployed for the event, including the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and a total of ninety-nine other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Command centers set up by FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies will honeycomb the entire area. (5) It will look like a war zone and is more of a military event than anything else. Except for the presence of the swastika or hackenkreutz, it will look very much like the January morning when Adolph Hitler walked up the steps in his country to take the reins of power. Hitler promised change and economic recovery. He also promised jobs for everyone.

On hand for the event will be the religious leader Rick Warren. Warren is the multimillionaire minister and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, who will give the invocation. What spirit will he invoke? Obama also invited Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson to give a special prayer. (6) Robinson is the flaming red hot homosexual activist from New Hampshire, who has been in the news for his extreme actions to promote homosexuality. I see and feel God’s judgment coming quickly after this event!

A number of amazing signs have happened in the month before the scheduled inauguration of Obama. The President-elect and his family went on a vacation to the island of Oahu in Hawaii in December. They were staying in a “humble” 9 million dollar, five-bedroom oceanfront house near downtown Honolulu. According to the Associated Press, “their Hawaiian vacation was darkened for eleven hours.” (7) It was a power outage that brought darkness to their mansion on the ocean. It happened on a Friday night, which was the first esbat (witches’ weekly meeting) after the sabat of Yule, and it was also the last esbat of the year. The number eleven is significant because it is the Aquarian number as Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the zodiac in astrology. The sun enters that sign on January 20th, the very day of the inauguration. Washington and the entire government operates on the power of witchcraft and have for generations. Thus, a dark and occult shadow is cast on the event of the inauguration, and dark ominous days are ahead for America!

Another event that took place on January 7th, 2009, was the mysterious dinner meeting with Obama and four Presidents. There were five men in all: Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter. The Associated Press made a point of mentioning that this meeting took place exactly thirteen days before the scheduled inauguration. (8) What did these five men talk about? It was all very private and secretive. I was reminded of a similar occasion when five men went into a cave near Ingolstadt, Bavaria, on May 1st, 1776. It was Dr. Adam Weishaupt, who with four other men, met in the cave at the behest of the Rothschild banking cartel to bring forth a conspiratorial plan to take over the world and present it one day to their god Lucifer. In that cave, these five men consulted with an invisible force that they called the controlling unknown. This “force” gave them the plan to recruit members of their new organization, which would become known as the Illuminati. They would conceal themselves by hiding in the high levels of the Masonic Lodge until they could foment revolutions and three world wars until their objective was achieved. There is much more to this story. When five men gather secretly in the realm of occultism, they represent the five points of the pentacle, a five-pointed star. Those five points are earth, wind, fire, water, and spirit. It was no coincidence that this meeting was thirteen days before the inauguration when Obama is to become president and the sun enters Aquarius. The number thirteen is the most sacred number in the occult.

On the 13th day of January 2009, the Department of Homeland Security conducted a test at the White House in anticipation of a possible major incident with emphasis on the continuity of government procedures if an attack occurred. (9) When the Lord Jesus returns, there will be no continuity of their government; that is for sure!

What will happen after this expensive event and the change of power? Incidentally, large portions of all the money that will pay for the inauguration is coming from the very Wall Street executives that received the bail-out money! This was recently reported in the Wall Street Journal. (10) The new President will be unique in one major way. He will be the first U.S. President to enter into the management of an American empire in decline! (11) Obama apparently thinks of himself as a creator. He intends to “create” 600,000 new government jobs. (12) The new President also intends to “create” two trillion new dollars to spend on his programs. This will have a watering-down effect on the value of the American dollar, which is already in trouble. Obama himself stated, “There is red ink as far as the eye can see,” and he is planning to cut social security and medicare spending. (13)

On January 5th, 2009, the Business and Media Institute reported that Obama may be inclined to put a tax on dairy cows to help raise money to curb greenhouse gases. (14) The tax is expected to be $175.00 per cow. The environmentalist extremists believe that the cows give off enough gas from flatulence to damage the environment and ozone layer.

On January 14th, incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced that Barack Obama is definitely going to end the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” program regarding homosexuals and lesbians in the military. (15) The new President believes that the homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and others of that ilk should be welcomed with opened arms in the military. Do we need militant sodomites in the armed forces?

Is Barack Hussein Obama an antichrist? We know that the Antichrist as a governing beast is spoken of in Revelation, chapter 13. As we study that chapter, we find that even though the Antichrist is a beast, he has the number of a man, and his number is 666. Thus, numbers are important indicators of the Antichrist and of antichrist activity. Here let it be noted that Obama claims Hawaii as his birthplace, although he has never proved that. Using his claim, however, we find some very interesting numbers. We know that Satan told Almighty God in Job 1:7 that he had come from walking to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. To and fro would indicate latitude, and up and down would indicate longitude. The latitude of the claimed birthplace of Obama in Hawaii is 21.6. Those three digits that make up 21.6 are significant because the number 216 is the number 6 cubed, or 6x6x6=216. Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, which is the 216th day of the year, another 666. We also know that Obama’s office in Chicago, Illinois, had an interesting zip code: 60606. In the ancient Babylonian numbering system of letters having numerical equivalents increasing by six for each letter, we find that the words “A messiah Barack” equal 666. We also know from Revelation, chapters 7 and 14, that the number 144,000 represents the people of Almighty God. It is the Antichrist that tries to divide them. If we divide the number 144,000 by 666, we find an amazing quotient of 216.216216. If we divide 144,000 by 216 we get the number 666.666666.

We must also remember that Obama’s claim of birth in Hawaii is further revealing, because Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. The word Pacific means “peace”, and the Scripture says that the antichrist will come as a man of peace. We also know that the metaphoric meaning of the word Hawaii comes from “Ha” (breath of life), and “Wai” (fresh water). Thus, in metaphor it means “the water of life.” The extra letter “I” would then indicate, “I am the water of life.” This is a title that belongs only to the Lord Jesus and not to Barack Obama.

Obama is also connected with Kenya, which is no doubt his real place of birth. The word Kenya is actually a feminine word pronounced “Keen-ya,” and it refers in feminine usage to the “cradle of mankind” in the native Kikuyu language. The literal meaning of the word Kenya is “the abode of the gods.” Even Obama’s political roots in Illinois are significant because the word Illinois is an Algonquin word which means, “Tribe of superior men,” or In other words, the master race. There is much more that could be said!

The Fall of an Economic Empire!

Strange forces are now hard at work in the world, and their objective is a singular and unified monetary system. This is essential in order to control the population of the world and bring them into subservience to a one world dictator. On January 8th, 2009, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Angela Merkel of Germany, and Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of England, called upon the United States to join them in bringing forth a new world capitalism. (16) This strange triumvirate of Europe has the objective of a one-world money system. They have already unified most of Europe into the usage of a common currency called the Euro. But united Europe is not enough. Sarkozy clearly stated, “We cannot accept the status quo!” (17) These three leaders are both mysterious and unusual. Nicolas Sarkozy, the head of France, is actually of Greek origin and comes from the same area of Macedonia from which Alexander the Great came. He is a powerful and demanding authoritarian. Tony Blair is an active occultist and leader in the European Union. Merkel is reportedly the biological daughter of Adolph Hitler by means of artificial insemination, according to the Russian doctor who both developed the procedure and recorded it in his notes and transcripts. Take a good look at Angela Merkel, and you can see the face of Hitler except for the schnurrbart, (mustache). What a strange power of three they make as they proceed with their mission to unify the world under one currency. It reminds me of Revelation 16:13-14 which reads as follows: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For these are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

Will the United States of America ever join such a system and become an interdependent unit of a worldwide universal economic system? At this very time, we are seeing the crashing fall of our current system, and with the massive bailouts going on, capitalism is giving way to socialism and government ownership. On December 31st, 2008, the Financial Times featured the headline “U.S. Stocks Suffer Worst Year Since the Great Depression.” (18) On January 7th, 2009, the Wall Street Journal headline read as follows: “Fed Outlook Darkens on Economy.” (19) The story went on to make dire predictions for the year 2009, including climbing unemployment well into the year 2010! (20) It is one economic disaster after another in America, and it has been so since September 2008 when the crash began as predicted in the May 2008 issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter. Now we have learned that the giant Bank of America is to receive an additional $20 billion. This was announced on January 16th, 2009. This will make the Federal Government the primary stockholder in this giant bank and ostensibly the owner of it! (21) This is Marxist socialism in action! They said it could never happen here.

Meanwhile sales continue to plummet because people just don’t have the money to buy things, even at lower prices. By definition, this is a depression. Ford Motor sales dropped by 32 percent in December, and Chrysler dropped by 53 percent! (22) In the month of November 2008, employers eliminated 533,000 jobs! (23) The once highly sought after United States Treasury bills are now bearing no interest at all with a rate of 0.005%. Red China is now the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bills and is stuck with them. (24)

How hard was the fall and crash of the economy in recent months? The pension funds of U.S. companies held a 60 billion dollar surplus just one year ago. Now the funds that so many people depend upon for retirement are in the hole with a deficit of 409 billion dollars! (25) Many people will be unable to retire! In addition to that, Social Security is in trouble as admitted by Obama, and the baby boom generation is bringing 10,000 new applicants for Social Security every day! (26) With all of this going on, it is interesting to note that the United Autoworkers’ Union keeps and enjoys a $6 million golf course for members at a $33 million lakeside retreat! (27) It is one scam after another and honesty is now almost nonexistent.

The request for government bailouts continue constantly. The steel industry in America, which was once the backbone of our national growth, is now in a condition of collapse. They are hoping for a bailout. (28) The states of America are also bankrupt. Forty-seven of our fifty states are now completely bankrupt and are asking for Federal bailouts in the collective amount of $1 trillion, according to a report on CNN. (29) Also among the long list of enterprises that are requesting bailouts, there is one that is outrageous and reproachful. On January 8th, 2009, the pornography industry in the United States requested a government bailout of $5 billion of taxpayer money. (30) The smut industry claims that so many millions of people are watching and reading pornography on their computers that they are no longer buying magazines and DVD’s. They also said that America needs more pornography to keep the people entertained and happy. Without a doubt, the United States is a morally depraved nation with an appetite that demands hell’s menu. Soon it will all be over!

In spite of the economic catastrophe that is now engulfing our nation, an amazing plan is now being put into effect at the behest of the United Nations, which will involve vast amounts of U.S. dollars. I was shocked to read the article in the Houston Chronicle, which featured the headline dated November 13th, 2008, as follows: “Can Ancient Babylon Be Restored?” (31) The story goes on to tell of plans to completely restore the ancient city of Babylon, Iraq. This ancient city was greatly beloved of Satan. It is the place where the first astrologers drew the first star maps. It is where the first laws were codified and where the Hanging Gardens became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was also the cradle of idolatry, the basis for Freemasonry and all false religions. Truly, this is one of the last signs of the end of this present world!

The United States has poured vast amounts of money into Iraq and continues to do so. The United States has now inaugurated its largest embassy ever. On January 6th, 2009, the $700 million embassy took the omens of inauguration, for that is the meaning of that word inaugurate. The fortress-like structure is on 104 acres of land and has space for 1,000 employees. It is more than ten times the size of any U.S. Embassy in the world. This embassy is also six times larger than the entire United Nations’ complex in New York City. (32) Is this more than an embassy? Is this complex some kind of headquarters situated in the area of the Euphrates River, which is the traditional boundary that separates the Kings of the East from the Kings of the West? Soon we will know.

Distress of Nations!

The world we live in not only has economic troubles, but it also is a world of total unrest, and a Third World War looms largely on the horizon. Our Saviour himself prophesied of this in Matthew 24:6-8 as follows: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” From these words we understand that the end does not come by small wars, but rather by a world war where nations rise against nations and kingdom against kingdom. It will be a whole world at war!

Currently, the giant Russian bear is rising up once again. The Kremlin has become fearful of massive civil unrest as their economy is taking a severe hit because of the global economic catastrophe. (33) It is the battle of the euro against the rouble, and Russia had to devalue the rouble again. (34) The problem is that one of the chief sources of income for Russia is the exportation of natural gas to European nations. Russia also has one of the largest oil reserves in the world in the Crimean oil fields. When oil prices were manipulated downward on the world market, Russia received a heavy economic blow. The dispute is so great that at the beginning of January, Russia turned off the gas supplies to Eastern Europe. In those countries, thousands of businesses had to be shut down, and homes were without heat. It is being called the “new cold war in Europe.” (35) We know that the oil prices are manipulated upward and downward at will by the Illuminati conspirators, and we have all seen that recently. Russia is being forced to react, and that is why that nation is now rising up and flexing its military muscles. Russia is now stationing its warships around the world and is obviously getting ready for something of major proportions. (36) Russia has also become a strong ally of both Iran and Venezuela and is now building nuclear technology in that South American nation. (37) The balance of power is also shifting in the Middle East as Russia supplies Iran with missiles and other high-powered weapons. (38)

As reported by ABC News, the recent war in Gaza has resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands of people, the vast majority of them being innocent civilians, women, and children. This relentless attack has incited violent hatred for Israel in the entire Moslem world with promises of painful revenge. The dead bodies of the victims were held up at rallies, and the Moslem world is being whipped up into a fever pitch against Israel. Massive global protests are now adding to the hatred. (39) All of this is leading to a horrifying war that will end with the Battle of Armageddon. In Revelation 16:14-16 we read as follows: “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

We know that Armageddon is in Israel and that the last war will end there, as well as this present world. God even used Zechariah, the prophet, to describe the effects of the nuclear weapons that will be used there. In Zechariah 14:12, we read as follows: “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” This is a clear description of thermonuclear weapons melting flesh, and this prophecy was given nearly 2,500 years ago! God help us all!

Great Signs in the Heavens and on Earth!

We know from Scripture that in the last days there are to be great signs in both the heavens and earth. Our Lord Jesus prophesied that there would be earthquakes in divers (various) places. The news media usually doesn’t say much about earthquakes, but the U.S. Geological Survey reported 326 significant earthquakes with a magnitude of four and above within a thirty-day period from December 6th, 2008, to January 5th, 2009. (40) In addition to that, and not included in that figure, are the swarms of over 900 earthquakes in the Yellowstone caldera in Wyoming. (41) Underneath this region is one of the largest volcanoes in the world, and it is overdue for eruption. (42) Only God knows when this massive eruption will occur. The many earthquakes that are happening around the world almost constantly are far too numerous to list in this newsletter, but here are a few of them: San Francisco, California– swarms of quakes on January 5th, 2009; Pakistan– a magnitude 6 quake on January 4th, 2009; Indonesia– a magnitude 6 quake on January 4th, 2009. (43) A 4.5 magnitude quake hit the Los Angeles area on January 8th, 2009, and was it felt as far away as San Diego. Costa Rica was hit with a 6.1 earthquake on January 8th, 2009, which sent people running into the streets of the capital as they watched windows shatter and walls crumble. (44) The list of quakes goes on and on!

Freak winter weather has also been sweeping our nation with deadly blizzards, ice storms, and record-breaking cold. Here in Wisconsin we have had nearly fifty inches of snow thus far and wind chill temperatures of 43 degrees below zero Fahrenheit! In Alaska, temperatures went as low as minus 78 degrees Fahrenheit! (45)

Strange and mysterious things are also going on in the heavens, which are no doubt signs to those who are watching and who believe what the Bible says. The little nation of Latvia was recently startled by columns of light that came down from space during the night at the end of December 2008. Many photographs were taken of the colored beams of light that have baffled scientists. Scientists at the website spaceweather.com said, “Truhin’s pillars are not the ordinary kind. Even leading experts cannot figure them out. These pillars are mysterious; they have unexplained curved tops and even curved arcs coming from their base.” (46) These are signs in the heavens!

There is another strange mystery in space that was a great topic of discussion recently at the American Astronomical Society. The sophisticated equipment of the scientists picked up a sound from space that they described as a very loud roar that is six times louder than anything they have ever heard coming from space. Dr. Alan Kogut of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, had this to say, “There is something new and interesting going on in the universe. The universe really threw us a curve….detailed analysis of the signal ruled out primordial stars or any known radio sources, including gas in the outermost halo of our own galaxy.” (47) What is this strange roar from space? I am reminded of Joel 3:16 which reads as follows: “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”

In closing, I pray that we will all be ready for that great day of the Lord’s coming. Thanks to all of you who support this end time prophetic ministry. God bless you for your faithfulness! Everyone’s prayer requests are always welcome, and we give each one individual attention. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

David J. Meyer

Acknowledgements
01. London Daily Mail, Jan. 14, 2009, by Paul Thompson, London, England, U.K.
02. Ibid.
03. Ibid.
04. The Guardian, Jan. 15, 2009, by Daniel Nasaw, London, England, U.K.
05. Bloomberg News Service, Jan. 16, 2009, by Jeff Bliss, Washington, D.C.
06. The Huffington Post, Jan. 14, 2009, Washington, D.C.
07. Associated Press, Dec. 28, 2008, by Philip Elliott, Honolulu, HI.
08. Associated Press, Jan. 7, 2009, by Ben Feller, Washington, D.C.
09. Associated Press, Jan. 13, 2009, Washington, D.C.
10. The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 9, 2009, by Christopher Cooper & Brody Mullins, New York, NY.
11. London Times, Jan. 3, 2009, by Matthew Parris, London, England, U.K.
12. ABC News Service, Jan. 5, 2009, Washington, D.C.
13. Associated Press, Jan. 7, 2009, by Jennifer Loven, Washington, D.C.
14. Business & Media, Jan. 5, 2009, by Jeff Poor, Washington, D.C.
15. Fox news Service, Jan 14, 2009, Washington, D.C.
16. Associated Press, Jan. 8, 2009, by Emma Vandore, Paris, France.
17. Ibid.
18. Financial Times, Dec. 31, 2008, by Alistair Gray, New York, NY.
19. The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 7, 2009, by John Hilsenrath, New York, NY.
20. Ibid.
21. International Herald Tribune, Jan. 16, 2009, by Eric Dash, Louise Story, & Andrew Sorkin, New York, NY.
22. Associated Press, Jan. 5, 2009, Detroit, MI.
23. Associated Press, Dec. 5, 2008, by Jeannine Aversa, New York, NY.
24. CNN, Jan. 6, 2009, 6:00 P.M. News.
25. Reuters News Service, Jan. 7, 2009, New York, NY.
26. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 7, 2009, AP, Washington, D.C.
27. Fox News Service, Dec. 26, 2008, Detroit, MI.
28. The Seattle Times, Jan. 2, 2009, by Louis Uchitelle, Seattle, WA.
29. Reuters News Service, Jan. 2, 2009, by Jon Hurdle, Philadelphia, PA.
30. WTMJ Radio, Jan. 8, 2009, 11:55 A.M., Milwaukee, WI.
31. Houston Chronicle, Nov. 13, 2008, by Christopher Torchia & Ammar Al-Musawi, Babylon, Iraq.
32. The Oregonian, Jan. 6, 2009, AP, Baghdad, Iraq.
33. The Moscow Times, Dec. 12, 2008, by Nikolaus von Twickel, Moscow, Russia.
34. Financial Times, Dec. 26, 2008, by Isabel Gorst in Moscow & Anuj Gangahai in New York, NY.
35. The Independent, Jan. 7, 2009, London, England, U.K.
36. Reuters News Service, Jan. 5, 2009, Moscow, Russia.
37. Associated Press, Sep. 28, 2008, by Christopher Toothaker, Caracas, Venezuela.
38. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 23, 2008, AP, Washington, D.C.
39. London Daily Mail, Jan. 3, 2009, London, England, U.K.
40. U.S. Geological Survey, Jan. 5, 2009, http://www.iris.edu/seismon/.
41. Associated Press, Jan. 9, 2009, by Mead Gruver, Cheyenne, WY.
42. Ibid.
43. Earth Changes Media, Jan. 5, 2009, by Mitch Battros.
44. Earth Changes Media, Jan. 12, 2005, by Mitch Battros.
45. Associated Press, Jan. 8, 2009, by Steve Quinn, Juneau, AK.
46. London Daily Mail, Jan. 15, 2009, London, England, U.K.
47. Space.com, Jan. 7, 2009, by Andrea Thompson, Long Beach, CA.

http://lasttrumpetministries.org

Nine-day tour


Published: January 21, 2009

Nine-day tour


Jesuit superior general coming to California to “check in on” order’s work here


News release from the University of San Francisco

Recently elected Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., is scheduled to visit California beginning Jan. 30, including stops at St. Ignatius Church and the University of San Francisco.

Fr. Nicolás will visit USF on Feb. 4, where he will celebrate a 10 a.m. Mass at St. Ignatius Church, lunch at Loyola House with students from USF and St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School, and attend a reception for invited benefactors, apostolic partners, and directors of works at the McLaren Conference Center on the USF campus.

“(This visit to California) is an opportunity for Fr. Nicolás to engage in dialogue with Jesuits so that we can better know him and he us,” said USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. “He will devote considerable time to conversations with Jesuits in the area about our efforts to apply and implement the documents of our most recent General Congregation.”

During the Feb. 4 visit, representative USF students will have a chance to share lunch with Fr. Nicolás, who has spent a great deal of time working with the poor in developing countries. “I hope that all of our students feel free to come to know Fr. Nicolás and even share his aspirations and dreams for the Society’s works, like USF, where Jesuits and colleagues work together for a more just and humane world,” Fr. Privett said.

Fr. Nicolás’ visit from Rome coincides with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Society’s California Province. He is scheduled to stop in 11 cities, check in on about 30 different Jesuit work sites – ranging from churches to schools to nonprofits – and meet with nearly 390 Jesuits from the province during the nine-day tour.

Fr. Nicolás was elected superior general, the Society of Jesus’ top post, on Jan. 19, 2008 by the General Congregation in Rome, which was summoned as a result of the resignation of Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. The General Congregation consists of elected Jesuit leaders from each province who are tasked with selecting a new superior general when the presiding superior general dies or resigns, as well as outlining in writing the direction they would like to see the Society take in the near future.

Fr. Nicolás is the 30th superior general in the history of the Society of Jesus, as the Jesuits are formally known, founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Fr. Nicolás was born in 1936 in Spain and was ordained in Tokyo in 1967. He has extensive experience in Asia.

California’s provincial leader John P. McGarry, S.J. described Fr. Nicolás’ tour through the state as “a great blessing and an exciting way to begin our Centennial year of responding to the call of Christ as Jesuits and apostolic partners in mission.”

“Not only will Father General be able to witness firsthand the outstanding work that so many Jesuits and laypersons are doing together as apostolic partners in our schools, universities, and social and pastoral ministries, but his presence will link us in a very concrete way to the 95 provinces in the worldwide Society of Jesus and to our service of the universal Church,” McGarry said.

During his time in California, Fr. Nicolás will meet with Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco, Bishop Patrick J. McGrath of San Jose, and Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento.

Church Organization Refuses To Divulge If Pastors Are On FEMA Payroll


Member expressed concerns about martial law training, told information was “privileged”


Paul Joseph WatsonPrison Planet.com


Monday, February 2, 2009


A large church organization has refused to divulge how many of its pastors are on the FEMA payroll, after a member expressed concerns about religious leaders being used to condition their congregation to accept the declaration of martial law.


In a May 2006 story we first broke the shocking news that FEMA was training pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to “obey the government” in preparation for a declaration of martial law, property and firearm seizures, and forced relocation.


Despite debunkers and urban myth websites claiming the story was a hoax, it was confirmed in triplicate by mainstream news outlets over a year later.


A KSLA news report confirmed that Clergy Response Teams are being trained by the federal government to “quell dissent” and pacify citizens to obey the government in the event of a declaration of martial law.


Concerned about such developments, a member of the California-based Worldwide Church of God, an organization that boasts 64,000 members in 860 congregations in about 90 countries, asked if any of the church’s pastors were involved in the FEMA program.


“The head office quickly replied hastily within an hour by telling me, “Sorry, that is privileged information”, the man states. “The reply was in big bold script like I’ve never seen before in emails. I was also a bit put off by the word “privileged.”


“I responded to the stated email and reworded my request slightly by demanding, “are there ANY of our pastors on the payroll of FEMA , YES or NO.” Their first response came after about an hour. But, it has been almost 24 hours and I am still waiting for my church’s second response to my second request,” he adds.


It seems that church groups are reticent to let slip any information concerning the issue of pastors being trained to help manage a state of martial law following the controversy stirred up by the exposure of the program in 2006.


Indeed, the pastors that took a risk by first divulging the information to us were later threatened by Homeland Security and told to keep their mouths shut.


With new legislation in Congress pending that will mandate the set-up of a network of FEMA camp facilities to be used to house U.S. citizens in the event of a national emergency, along with the announcement that tens of thousands of active military personnel are to be placed inside the United States under Northcom, partly for purposes of dealing with “civil unrest” and “crowd control”, fears about a state of martial law being prepared are no longer the fantasies of paranoid conspiracy theorists, but an all too real possibility as we move towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century.


Source: http://www.prisonplanet.com/church-organization-refuses-to-divulge-if-pastors-are-on-fema-payroll.html

Fr. Marcial, Founder of Legionaries of Christ, Fathered Child, Lived Double Life?

Fr. Marcial Maciel, a consecrated celibate priest, is alleged to have had a mistress, fathered at least one child and lived a double life.


Fr. Marcial, Founder of Legionaries of Christ, Fathered Child, Lived Double Life?



By Deacon Keith Fournier
2/4/2009
Catholic Online (http://www.catholic.org/)

Pray for those hurt. Pray for the members of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi. Pray for the Church.

CHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) - My awareness of this horrible news began with the somewhat odd “hint” given by Apologist, Author and Blogger Patrick Madrid who sent shock waves and questions throughout the Catholic and broader Christian community with this veiled reference on January 31, 2009: “I'm sorry to tell you that some shocking, saddening news about a prominent figure in the Church will soon become publically known, perhaps as early as Monday or Tuesday. Don't worry. This is not about the Holy Father or any previous pope, nor does it have to do with a lay person. Let's start praying earnestly that God will bring some kind of good from this and, of course, offer prayers for those involved.”

However, my efforts to get to the facts of this shocking story led me to Thomas Peters of “American Papist” who broke the real substance of this awful turn of events (http://www.americanpapist.com/blog.html). He has done a great job of keeping the reports factual while maintaining the proper spirit in delivering such devastating news. No-one can do anything but mourn over this news, and pray for the members of the community birthed from the work of this now deceased, errant Priest. The ecclesial movement consists of a global order of priests, the Legion, which now has 800 members and 2,500 seminarians, and a lay community called Regnum Christi which is present in 22 Nations and has 70,000 members. The story has now been picked up in numerous new media sources as well as in the more traditional media venues. That includes the newspaper associated with the community and lay movement.

The Founder of the Legionaries of Christ and its lay movement, Regnum Christi, are deeply shocked and heartsick. Their founder, Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, had already been alleged to have been involved in serious and scandalous sexual impropriety in the past. They had hoped that those matters of the past would have stayed matters of the past. The allegations have sometimes been relegated to the level of unsubstantiated suspicion by some within the community. However, in 2006 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith found them substantial enough to respond with a direction that Fr. Marcial cease from his involvement in any and all public ministry:

"...After having attentively studied the results of the investigation, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the guidance of the new prefect, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, decided - bearing in mind Fr. Maciel's advanced age and his delicate health - to forgo a canonical hearing and to invite the father to a reserved life of penitence and prayer, relinquishing any form of public ministry. The Holy Father approved these decisions.”

Father Marciel Marcel followed the direction of the Church. He lived the remainder of his life as a penitent. He died on January 30, 2008 at the age of 87. However, the Religious community and lay movement he founded continued their many apostolic endeavors. Both have produced some wonderful work in and for the Church. Certainly its lay members, its priests and all who recognize the good which they have all done - and, hopefully will continue to do - were shocked by these new reports.

Here they are. The influential, deceased founder of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, Fr. Marcial Maciel, a consecrated celibate priest, is alleged to have had a mistress, fathered at least one child and lived a double life. I will use the summary set forth in the recent article on “American Papist” written by Thomas Peters. It appears to be the most comprehensive, up to date and substantive. It is based upon numerous reports including sources within the community itself:

“1) Maciel fathered a child who is now in her early 20's;
“2) Maciel offered some money illicitly to his own family;
“3) The current head, Alvaro Corcuera, entertaining his own suspicions, demanded that the case be reopened several years ago;
“4) The health of the Legion depends on denouncing him as founder and moving on.
“I have heard more details in addition (a second child, etc), but in this situation, I tend to think we've already learned enough to make an evaluation. Anything further is simply prurient interest.”

One of the fruits of the work of the Legionaries has been the National Catholic Register which is owned by the community. The editor of the paper is Tom Hoopes. He commented on the matter: "All I want to say is, I’m sorry. I want to say it here, because I defended Fr. Maciel here, and I need to be on the record regarding that defense: I’m sorry, to the victims, who were victims twice, the second time by calumny. I’m sorry, to the Church, which has been damaged. I’m sorry, to those I’ve misled. I did it unwittingly, but this isn’t a time for excuses. The Church gave me great, great good in Regnum Christi. The Church did bring justice, and did penalize this man. Thank God for the Church. I seek repentance and forgiveness, and I leave it at that."

We ask all of the readers of Catholic Online throughout the world to pray for those hurt by this behavior. Pray for the members of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi. I have known Legionary Priests and lay members of Regnum Christi. They have all been wonderful Catholics and good people, deeply in love with the Lord and His holy Church. My heart breaks for them in this time of struggle and disappointment. We also ask our readers to pray for the Catholic Church which, in the midst of this very difficult time of history, will now also have to bear with what will be a fierce season of reaction to this latest tragedy.

- - -

Source:http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=31954&cb300=vocations

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Nation's religious heritage 'a strength, not a weakness,' Obama says


INAUGURAL-OBAMA (UPDATED) Jan-20-2009 (1,130 words) With photos. xxxn

Nation's religious heritage 'a strength, not a weakness,' Obama says

By Mark Pattison
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The United States' multiple religious traditions are "a strength, not a weakness," said President Barack Obama Jan. 20 in his inaugural address.

"Our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness," said the nation's 44th president after he was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, one of five Catholics on the Supreme Court.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers," Obama continued.

"We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of Civil War and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united," he said, "we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

Obama acknowledged the challenges facing the country throughout his 2,400-word address, delivered before a teeming throng at the Capitol and stretching forth on the National Mall. It was believed to be the largest single gathering of people in Washington history.

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new," Obama said. "But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history."

So "what is demanded," the new president said, "is a return to these truths."

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world," he said.

These are duties "we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship," he said.

"This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny," he said.

Regarding the economy," Obama said the situation "calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth."

"We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together," he continued. "We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.

"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do," he said.

Obama said that "there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans."

But "their memories are short," he said. "For they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."

The crowds in downtown Washington cheered shortly after noon when people realized Obama had been inaugurated. People waved flags, started shouting "Obama! Obama!" and whistled as news filtered down Pennsylvania Avenue that the former senator of Illinois was now president.

Among those cheering was Todd Petersen, 34, a member of St. Joseph Husband of Mary Parish in Henderson, Nev. His wife is director of the Green Valley High School band, scheduled to march in the inaugural parade.

"We are very happy," Petersen told Catholic News Service. "You can be a good Catholic and still vote for Obama. When you come here and see all these people from all over the country, all over the world, this is what being a Catholic is all about."

Dee Riley, a parishioner at St. Thomas More in Henderson, described how Catholic members of Green Valley's band came to her church to play for parishioners between Masses. She said the students raised $4,000 on a Sunday morning for their Washington trip, which was going to cost the band $100,000. Two of Riley's children, Billie, 16, and Juliann, 15, were among the students in the band.

Before the inauguration ceremony, Obama and then-Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and their wives took part in a morning prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House. The sermon at the private service was delivered by Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of the Potter's House megachurch in Dallas and more recently a writer and producer of films, including "Not Easily Broken" and "Woman Thou Art Loosed."

Obama and Biden then went to the White House for a coffee with their predecessors, President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney.

The day before, both Obama and Biden joined volunteers in various service projects on the national observance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday holiday, which was designated as a national day of service.

Among the numerous service projects in the nation's capital was a coat drive sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. The fraternal organization purchased 7,800 coats from Oshkosh B'gosh and London Fog and distributed 1,200 of them at three Catholic churches in Washington.

The purchase was made through the Knights' "Coats for Kids" program to help needy children stay warm in the winter.

The Knights council at one of the churches, St. Anthony, joined with the parish's Holy Names Society to host an inaugural jubilee the evening of Jan. 19 in honor of Obama's swearing-in, with live entertainment, dancing and a buffet included in the $30 ticket price.

Biden worshipped and received Communion Jan. 18 at Holy Trinity Church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington. His granddaughter had received her first Communion at the same church in 2008.

Jesuit Father Larry Madden's homily, according to The Associated Press, focused on God as a constant anchor and the promise of hope and change for those who believe. The assembly was asked to pray for "wisdom and integrity" to guide the new president and his administration.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., also was at the Jan. 18 Mass.

Holy Trinity is the same church where President John F. Kennedy worshipped while in Washington, including a morning Mass Jan. 20, 1961, before his own swearing-in.

- - -

Contributing to this story was Dennis Sadowski.

END




P.S. Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis.

Schools prepare to welcome visiting Jesuit chief


Schools prepare to welcome visiting Jesuit chief
By Julia Prodis Sulek


Mercury News

Posted: 02/03/2009 06:05:14 PM PST


The Catholic school children will take their places on the altar platform of Sacred Heart Church on the edge of downtown San Jose on Thursday, ready to perform "Our Lady of Guadalupe" for a special visiting dignitary — the top Jesuit from Italy who will be here checking up on his California ministries.

They've been rehearsing for a week, speaking clearly, projecting their voices, showing off the poise and confidence being instilled each day at Sacred Heart Nativity Schools.

Funded by donations, the two schools housed in the same building — one for boys, the other for girls — is open to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders whose parents earn less than $26,000 a year. Most students live in the surrounding neighborhood near Willow and Vine streets with three active gangs in the area.

The Very Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, recently elected superior general of the Society of Jesus, will tour the church and school for just one hour before he stops in at Bellarmine College Prep and Santa Clara University. It's so little time to explain the good the school has done, from saving kids from the grip of gangs, to mentoring them after they set off to high school, and to now, finally, having its first student enrolled at Santa Clara University.

Juan Romo, a freshman at Santa Clara, was part of the first graduating class at Sacred Heart Nativity. He was one of seven of the 13 graduates in his class who finished high school —a rate on par with the national average for Latinos.

The second class of 16 students, however, is on track to have a 100 percent graduation rate from high schools ranging from Bellarmine to Mitty and Downtown College Prep. And this spring, the first class of girls, who started as sixth-graders in 2006, will finish eighth grade. They are applying to Catholic and other high schools in the area.

"Sacred Heart has always been like a second home to me," Romo said. "I grew really close to everyone there. They're always there for all the graduates for anything, whether it's academic or if we need to talk to them."

When the superior general he arrives at 11 a.m. Thursday, he will first take a 15-minute tour of the school. And as the children do with every visitor to their classroom, they will rise from their desks and greet him in unison: "Good morning, Father General."

Then the three students closest to the superior general will walk toward him, extend their hands, look him in the eye and with a firm grip, introduce themselves.

"Welcome to Nativity School," the boys will say in their black pants and green sweatshirts from their upstairs classrooms.

"Welcome to Our Lady of Grace," the girls in their black plaid skirts downstairs will say.

The eye contact and firm grips, hallmarks of Nativity Schools students, are enough to leave a strong impression. But so much more — from the fragility of the students to the devotion of the community — will be largely left untold:

There won't be time to tell the story of the grandfather who came to a student-teacher meeting early one morning to implore his grandson to do all he could to stay at Nativity School: "Look at these callouses," he told the boy. "I have to work with my hands. You can work with your brain."

And there just won't be time to explain the delight of the students when Nativity President Father Peter Pabst rewards them with trips to Baskin Robbins for ice cream, or the gratitude of the poorest school families when a Christmas Eve knock on the door from a school benefactor presents them with a tree and gifts.

Sacred Heart Nativity Schools in San Jose are two of 65 founded by Jesuits for at-risk kids across the country. The San Jose campus started as a boys school in 2001, and is funded almost entirely by donations. Parents are asked to contribute $45 a month in tuition, if they can afford it.

The combined student body — 64 girls and 57 boys — start each day at 7:30 with free breakfast at Martha's Kitchen, a non-profit whose dining hall is attached to the school. After a school day of college preparatory classes that runs until 3 p.m., homework programs and outdoor activities continue until 6 p.m. Field trips are scheduled for Saturdays.

After school for the past week, the sixth-graders have been practicing for Thursday's play. Daisy De La Torre will be playing the Virgin Mary.

She's nervous to perform in front of such an esteemed guest, but she says it's good practice for the career she looks forward to as an actress.

"I feel lucky," she said "to be here."


Contact Julia Prodis Sulek at jsulek@mercurynews.com or (408) 278-3409.



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The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church

Liberation Theology was the perfect blueprint for the Sandinistas. It incorporated the very aim of Marxist-Leninism. It presumed the classic Marxist "struggle of the masses" to be free from all capitalist domination. And above all, the Marxist baby was at last wrapped in the very swaddling clothes of ancient [Roman] Catholic terminology.

From
THE JESUITS


The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church

by

Malachi Martin

["Father" Martin, a prolific RC author, was a long time Jesuit and remains a Roman Catholic in good standing. JP ]

Published by Simon & Schuster, NY

ISBN: 0-671-54505-1

page 56-62 . . .

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THE TESTING GROUND

. . . by the early seventies, at least seven years before their grab for power, the Sandinista leaders openly proclaimed their ultimate aim: to create a Marxist society in Nicaragua to serve as the womb from which Marxist revolution throughout Central America would be born. "Revolution throughout the Americas" was the slogan.

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From their beginnings as a group, when they were nothing more than rag-tag guerrillas, bank robbers, and hit-and-run terrorists, the Sandinistas understood full well that they had no hope of installing a Marxist regime in 91.6 percent Roman Catholic Nicaragua unless they could enlist - in effect, inhale - the active cooperation of the Catholic clergy, together with suitably altered [Roman Catholic] Church doctrine and [Roman Catholic] Church structure.

Mere passive connivance on the part of the clergy would not be enough. If the Sandinistas wanted the very soul of the people, they knew the road: [Roman] Catholicism was inextricably bound up in the warp and woof of Nicaraguan culture, language, way of thinking, and outlook, and was integral to all the hope of the people.

Here, Fernando Cardenal, as [Roman Catholic] priest and Jesuit,
was a towering influence.

For some time, certain [Roman] Catholic theologians in Latin America - principally Jesuits of the post-World War II period - had been developing a new theology. They called it the Theology of Liberation, and based it on the theories of their European counterparts.

It was an elaborate and carefully worked out system, but its core principle is very simple: The whole and only meaning of Christianity as a religion comes down to one achievement - the liberation of men and women, by armed and violent revolution if necessary, from the economic, social, and political slavery imposed on them by U.S. capitalism; this is to be followed by the establishment of "democratic socialism."

In this "theological" system, the so-called "option" for the economically poor and the politically oppressed, originally described as a "preferential" option by Catholic bishops in Latin America at their conference in Medellin, Colombia, in 1968, became totally exclusive: There was one enemy - capitalist classes, middle and upper and lower, chiefly located in the United States. Only the "proletariat" - the "people" - was to be fomented by the imposition of Marxism.

Liberation Theology was the perfect blueprint for the Sandinistas.

It incorporated the very aim of Marxist-Leninism. It presumed the classic Marxist "struggle of the masses" to be free from all capitalist domination. And above all, the Marxist baby was at last wrapped in the very swaddling clothes of ancient Catholic terminology. Words and phrases laden with meaning for the people were co-opted and turned upside down.

The historical Jesus, for example, became an armed revolutionary. The mystical Christ became all the oppressed people, collectively. Mary the Virgin became the mother of all revolutionary heroes. The Eucharist became the bread freely made by liberated workers. Hell became the capitalist system. The American president, leader of the greatest capitalist country, became the Great Satan. Heaven became the earthly paradise of the workers from which capitalism is abolished. Justice became the uprooting of capitalist gains, which would be "returned" to the people, to the "mystical body" of Christ, the democratic socialists of Nicaragua. The Church became that mystical body, "the people," deciding its fate and determining how to worship, pray, and live, under the guidance of Marxist leaders.

It was a brilliant synthesis, ready-made and just waiting for the activists who would set about erecting a new sociopolitical structure on its basis, as a building rises from a blueprint.

The Nicaraguan people were the first guinea pigs on whom the theory was experimentally tried. And the priests who were charter members in the Sandinista leadership - Jesuit Fernando Cardenal Ernesto Cardenal, Miguel D'Escoto Brockman of the Maryknoll Fathers, Jesuit Alvaro Arguello, Edgar Parrales of the Managua diocese - made the experiment doubly blessed and likely to succeed.

If such men, duly ordained as priests, could successfully get this new "theological" message across - that the Sandinista revolution was really a religious matter sanctioned by legitimate Church spokesmen - they would have both the [Roman] Catholic clergy and the people as allies in a Marxist-style revolution by armed violence.

[no R. C. was ever excommunicated for engaging in violent revolution ..... JP ]

Without a doubt, the plan had been carefully thought out and elaborated, based on a profound analysis of the Nicaraguan people and of its clergy.

No doubt, too, the first connivers in the scheme were the priests themselves; there are even those in Managua today and among prominent Nicaraguan exiles in Panama, Honduras, and Miami, Florida,who point the finger at Fernando Cardenal as the prime architect of the scheme. But what evidence there is does suggest that he was not the only Jesuit involved.

In any case, the Sandinista undertaking was ever more brilliantly explained, refined, and dinned into the ears of seminarians, nuns, university students, and the popular mind by increasing numbers of their Jesuit, Franciscan, and Maryknoll teachers and lecturers throughout the schools of Central America. The seeding time was well spent in the view of ultimate Marxisation. The pathetic court testimony of the young Nicaraguan Edgard Lang Sacasa told the world as far back as 1977 that it had been his priest educators who had persuaded him and thousands like him to join the Sandinista guerrillas.

Hand in hand with this new Theology of Liberation went, of necessity, the establishment of a new and "pliant" Church structure to replace the old one.

In the traditional Roman Catholic structure, knowledge about God, Christ, Christian salvation, personal morality, and human destiny derived from the hierarchic pastors of the Church - namely, the Pope and his bishops.

They were the only authentic source of knowledge about the faith; apart from them, there was no accurate knowing possible about Christianity. Submission to them and acceptance of their teaching and laws were necessary for salvation.

It was precisely this structure, in which ultimate control is Rome's, that stood between the Sandinistas and the people. And it was precisely this structure that the earlier, European-based architect-theologians of Liberation Theology had criticized. This structure was, Liberation Theologians said, dictated by "a view from above" and "imposed from above" on the people "below."

Franciscan Liberation Theologian Leonardo Boff, teaching in a Brazilian seminary, put it in terms Fernando Cardenal and his clerical colleagues could champion: "There has been a historical process of expropriation of the means of production on the part of the clergy to the detriment of the Christian People." Boff was not talking about industry or commerce, but about theology and religious doctrine; the means of production - the "plant," as he called it - was the preaching of the Gospel.

Tccording to the new theologians, "Roman" and therefore "alien" imposition of religious doctrine was the very reason social injustice and political oppression flourished in lands where this hierarchic [Roman Catholic] Church flourished. In lands such as Latin American countries. In countries such as Nicaragua. On top of that, the argument went on, Christianity and specifically [Roman] Catholicism was not merely alien in and of itself, but had always accompanied actual invasion by alien European cultures. "Alien" - that was the key word.

To counter that alien, imposed structure, the new theologians looked "from below." From the level of the people. From the perspective of oppression and injustice - because that, they said, was all they found "below" among the people. The task, in other words, was to impose the "preferential option" on all the people, rich and poor alike. Immediately, as Fernando Cardenal and the other Sandinista priests quickly realized, a new concept of "Church" was born.

The ordinary body of believers, by revised definition, would become the very source of revelation. The faith of believers would "create" communities among those believers. Base Communities, they are called in Nicaragua and elsewhere in Latin America - "comunidades de base" . And those Communities taken together would form the new "Church," the "People's Church."

These Communities began to form years before the Nicaraguan revolution stormed onto the stage of geopolitics in 1979. Groupings of laymen and laywomen would gather regularly to pray, to read the Bible, to sing hymns, to discuss their local concrete problems in economics and politics; to choose not only their political leaders but their priests as well; and to determine not only the solutions to their secular problems, but how best to worship and what to believe.

It was a dream come true. A dream put into clear words by the same Father Boff: "The sacred power must be put back in the hands of the people." No teaching or directing authority would be allowed "from above," from the alien, hierarchic [Roman Catholic] Church. In fact, the very symbols of that Church must be firmly rejected.

Symbols and all else must only come "from below." From the people. From their Base Communities - nearly 1000 of them in Nicaragua alone, in time; and nearly 300,000 in Latin America at large. The idea of Base Communities spread to the United States, where they are sometimes called "Gatherings."

Fernando Cardenal, Ernesto Cardenal, Miguel D'Escoto Brockman, Edgar Parrales, and Alvaro Arguello were the showcase priests of the Sandinistas, the intended and willing legitimizers of this new "People's Church" that would appropriate



Source: http://www.starharbor.com/fr_martin/jesuits.html

Large number of Jesuit college alumni serving in 111th Congress




Large number of Jesuit college alumni serving in 111th Congress

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- With a new president and members of the House and Senate sworn into office, officials of U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities have something to crow about, with a whopping 52 members of the 111th Congress who are alumni of their institutions. That's close to 10 percent of the 535 members of the current Congress, with 11 Jesuit alumni in the Senate and 41 in the House of Representatives, according to a newly released report by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Washington. Some of Jesuit alumni are new to Congress and a few are high-ranking members, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and special assistant to the speaker of the House, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the report said. Of the 52 alumni, 34 received graduate or professional degrees from Jesuit universities, the report said.

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Source: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20090123.htm
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P.S. Highlights added for emphasis. .................Arsenio

Daschle withdraws as nominee for HHS secretary


WASHINGTON – Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination on Tuesday to be President Barack Obama's Health and Human Services secretary, dealing potential blows to both speedy health care reform and Obama's hopes for a smoother start as president.

"Now we must move forward," Obama said in a written statement accepting "with sadness and regret" Daschle's surprise request to be removed from consideration. A day earlier, Obama had said he "absolutely" stood by Daschle in the face of problems over back taxes and potential conflicts of interest.

Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader and a strong backer of Obama's presidential bid, said he would have been unable to operate "with the full faith of Congress and the American people."

"I am not that leader, and will not be a distraction" to Obama's agenda, he said.

Obama had given Daschle two jobs — to be White House health czar on top of the post leading the Health and Human Services Department — and Daschle is relinquishing the czar post too. The developments called into question whether Obama will be able to move as quickly as he has promised on sweeping health care reform — one of the pillars of his first 100 days agenda.

"It really sets us back a step," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "Because he was such a talent. I mean he understood Congress, serving in the House and Senate he certainly had the confidence of the president."

Daschle's stunning statement came less than three hours after another Obama nominee also withdrew from consideration, and also over tax problems. Nancy Killefer, nominated by Obama to be the government's first chief performance officer, said she didn't want her bungling of payroll taxes on her household help to be a distraction.

Daschle was the third high-profile Obama nominee to bow out. Obama initially had tapped Bill Richardson to be Commerce secretary, but the New Mexico governor withdrew amid a grand jury investigation into a state contract awarded to his political donors.

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Daschle's former Democratic colleagues had rallied to his defense in the wake of questions about his failure to fully pay his taxes from 2005 through 2007. Last month, Daschle paid $128,203 in back taxes and $11,964 in interest.

"Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged," Obama said. "He has not excused it, nor do I. But that mistake and this decision cannot diminish the many contributions Tom has made to this country."

"I was a little stunned. I thought he was going to get confirmed," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel that would have voted on Daschle's nomination. "It's regrettable. He's a very good man."

Daschle also was facing questions about potential conflicts of interests related to the speaking fees he accepted from health care interests. Daschle also provided advice to health insurers and hospitals through his post-Senate work at a law firm.

It all proved too bitter a pill for senators to swallow, even for a former member of their club. Last week, the Senate confirmed Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary despite his tax problems.

The controversy also has undercut Obama's promise to run a more ethical, responsible and special interest-free administration.

The withdrawal came after Republicans and major newspapers had been questioning Obama's initial decision to stick with Daschle.

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said Obama was "losing credibility" with his statements in support of Daschle. "Part of leadership is recognizing when there has been a mistake made and responding quickly," the Republican said.

In an editorial, The New York Times described Daschle's ability to move "cozily between government and industry" as a cloud over any role he might play in changing the nation's health care system.

The Chicago Tribune opined that "Daschle is dispensable" and suggested that "to proclaim high standards and then suspend them exposes Obama to charges that he is either hypocritical or obtuse."

In a letter released Monday, Daschle sought to explain how he overlooked taxes on income for consulting work and the use of a car service. He also deducted more in charitable contributions than he should have. He also met with Senate Finance Committee members behind closed doors.

"It was completely inadvertent, but that's no excuse," he said. "I apologize to President Obama, to my colleagues and to the American people."