Prayers for the Catholic Church

[JohnH]

Lebanon, Syria, and the Southern Levant are some of the most ancient cradles of Christianity.

In Tel Aviv, I got to know a coworker who lived in Nazareth. Her family traces their Christianity back 2,000 years, as some of the original converts. They are very glad to be Christians and having the Pope visit is very meaningful to them.

One interesting piece of history was their family's property records which go back through the Ottoman Empire era. Their family home has been in their family for as long as we have recorded history.

[R7ehr]

Lebanon, Syria, and the Southern Levant are some of the most ancient cradles of Christianity.

In Tel Aviv, I got to know a coworker who lived in Nazareth. Her family traces their Christianity back 2,000 years, as some of the original converts. They are very glad to be Christians and having the Pope visit is very meaningful to them.

One interesting piece of history was their family's property records which go back through the Ottoman Empire era. Their family home has been in their family for as long as we have recorded history.

Wow, that’s impressive.

[JayP]

One time in Mennonite Winter Bible school the kids had an assignment to write out some of their genealogy.
One boy who felt he could trace his ancestory back to Switzerland asked on of my sons, “what were your ancestors doing?”
My son said, “we are from Syria. We let Paul down in a basket when your ancestors were painting themselves blue”.

I should not have laughed but I did.

[ohio jones]

You're Syrious?

[temporal1]

Qadisha Valley — “Holy Valley” in Aramaic
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQfVfrCjOIe/

surreal_traveler WROTE:
This is one of Lebanon’s most beautiful places that the media rarely shows you. Hidden in the mountains of northern Lebanon lies the Qadisha Valley — its name means “Holy Valley” in Aramaic. It stretches about 35 kilometers through deep gorges carved by the Qadisha River.

Recognized by UNESCO in 1998, this valley isn’t just a natural wonder — it’s the spiritual heartland of the Maronite community. For over a thousand years, Maronite monks and hermits lived here in isolation, preserving their faith, language, and traditions.

They carved chapels, monasteries, and stone dwellings directly into the cliffs. Some of these sacred sites still stand today, hidden among pine forests and caves that have echoed with centuries of prayer.

One of the most remarkable is the Monastery of Mar Lishaa, or Saint Elisha, built into the rock itself. The monks who lived here devoted their lives to silence, prayer, and self-sufficiency, growing their own food and copying religious manuscripts by hand.

For the Maronites, the Qadisha Valley wasn’t just a refuge — it was a sanctuary of faith. It remains a living symbol of Lebanon’s spiritual soul, a place where nature and devotion have coexisted for centuries.

One MD member wanted to be a monk.

Biblehub offers translations (from?) the Aramaic:
Luke 23
https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/luke/23.htm

Luke 23 ►
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
1And their whole gathering arose and brought him to Pilate. 2And they began slandering him and they were saying, "We found this one seducing our people and he forbids giving head tax to Caesar, and he has said about himself that he is The King Messiah." 3Then Pilate asked him and he said to him, "You are The King of the Judeans?" He said to him, "You have said." 4And Pilate said to the Chief Priests and to the crowd, "I find no fault concerning this man." 5But they were shouting and saying, "He has stirred up our people and he taught in all Judea and began from Galilee even unto here."
6But when Pilate heard the name of Galilee, he asked if the man were a Galilean.

7And when he knew that he was under the authority of Herodus, he sent him to the presence of Herodus, because he was in Jerusalem in those days.

8Now when Herodus saw Yeshua, he was very glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him and he had hoped to see some sign from him. 9And he was asking him of many matters but Yeshua* gave him no answer. 10But the Chief Priests and the Scribes were standing and were vehemently accusing him. 11But Herodus and his servants mocked him, and when he had insulted him, he clothed him with a purple robe and he sent him to Pilate. 12And on that day, Pilate and Herodus became friends with each other, because there had been hostility between them before that. .. ..

[temporal1]

2026

2023 / EWTN / A Look at the Catholic Church in Mongolia / 19+min

When Pope Francis announced he would be flying to Mongolia in September 2023 to visit the Catholic Church there, it led many to wonder what the Catholic Church was like in the landlocked Asian country. Between Russia and China, Mongolia has one of the smallest Catholic populations in the world, only 1,400 people.

EWTN News reporter Colm Flynn traveled to Mongolia ahead of the Pope's visit to get an in-depth look at how the Catholic Church there operates and the many challenges it faces.

[temporal1]

The Catholic Register
“Vatican Formally Notifies SSPX Bishops of Excommunication”
Because the traditionalist group consecrated bishops without papal approval, the Vatican issued a decree on July 2 declaring those bishops and their consecrators automatically excommunicated.
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/vatican- ... munication

.. Pope Leo XIV even issued a final appeal to the society not to proceed with these consecrations.

“In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: Please turn back,” Pope Leo wrote in his letter.

In 1988, after Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the SSPX, consecrated bishops without a papal mandate, the Vatican responded two days later, notifying him and the consecrated bishops of their automatic excommunication.

The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has rejected certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly regarding religious freedom and the Church’s approach to other faiths.

^^This is hard for me to grasp.
Not the “consecrating without approval” part. The tug with conservatives, and Latin, too.

“What Is the SSPX? A Look at the Traditionalist Catholic Group in Schism With the Church”
The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is a traditionalist group that is not in full communion with the Catholic Church and has a canonically irregular status.
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/what-is- ... the-church

[JayP]

The links to the Catholic Register are accurate although perhaps not complete.

I suppose my sense of humor cannot refrain from the observation that “Well, SSPX is excommunicated….again.”
But I am doubtful another Benedict comes along that wants to fix up the relationship

This time Leo wants to get just not the new Bishops and who ordained them but, gosh darn, everyone that ever sat in an SSPX pew.

I hve heard various canonical lawyers argue over the myriad of issues and well we could just do the number of an gels that fit in a pinhead too

FWIIW, I would advise folks here not to think about it too hard. You almost universally do not have means to get all the info over the past 56 years. I am pretty sure God can sort ift all out

The Vatican is rather committed that only they, well along with the Red Chinese government, gets to name bishops

[Silentreader]

The Vatican is rather committed that only they, well along with the Red Chinese government, gets to name bishops

Yeah, there are some similarities, aren't there?

[temporal1]

i’d hoped Pope Leo would soften about conservatives and Latin mass.
i saw indication Pope Frances could be (petty and vindictive) about these things. that struck me as (unexpected) from a pope.
knowing nothing of popes.

considering the history ofthe Catholic Church, to reject Latin?
that’s a large swath of history to ignore/reject.

same with conservatives.
where do they think they came from?

i admit to ignorance and puzzlement.

- - - - - - -

when i see or read about Pope Leo, i mostly see Chicago (bad politics) altho i try not to.
the popes ask for prayers. i pray for them.