On Ash Wednesday… the Office of Readings today has beautiful verses! Instead of “stop doing something” - I can “do something” “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

From today's Gospel (Mark 8:14-21). Leaven of the Pharisees = fake, hypocritical, legalistic 'religion'. Leaven of Herod = compromised, politically expedient false 'religion'; "ideology" (Pope Francis) So-called 'Christian Nationalists' might take note!

It’s hard (for me at least) but there are fascinating parts! And the “Prayer for Creative Thinkers” is beautiful

“Karnaval” in Germany, mainly on NRW is a crazy event Boxes of 6 or 12 Berliners sold for the special occasion . Actually Karnaval opens the “season” on 11.11 at 11:11 hours… 😊 (Really! - Christmas is just in between! 😉)

On Wisdom: “She is far from men of pride,and liars will never think of her” Sirach 15:8 The ones who perhaps would most need it, can’t have it (her) In today’s world it seems pointless to expect that the despots will ever respect dignity. It remains that we pray and act.

A beautiful poem!

A hepatitis B vaccine trial involving thousands of newborns in Guinea-Bissau, described as unethical by WHO, has been halted. It was funded by Robert Kennedy's HHS Dept. Critics questioned why babies in Africa were being proposed for the trial. Outrageous & despicable! www.bbc.com/news/article...

If anyone doubted that fascism is here…

When we perceive that all is vanity… “For we are born in the present only to be reborn in the future. Our attachment, therefore, should not be to the transitory; instead, we must be intent upon the eternal.” —St Leo the great, Office of Readings

Substance If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Cor 13:1-2

I just finished reading a Substack written by a person as they were recovering from an accident that made them a quadriplegic. I'll never see wheelchairs the same way again. I read this article then ended up reading two years' of Substack posts. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Meine #Fürbitten für den Faschingssonntag dürfen wie immer gerne verwendet, verändert, ergänzt, gekürzt und geteilt werden. #Gott #Religion #Glaube #Vertrauen #Bibel #Kirche #Gemeinde #Jesus #Christus #Christentum #Gottesdienst #Gebet #Beten #Eucharistie #Spiritualität #Amen #Fasching #Sonntag

“Christ takes shape in a believer through the faith that is in his inmost soul” —St Augustine on Galatians, Office of Readings There’s no place for hypocrisy, external acts or earthly glories and vanity: we must “be”. And how much better the world would also be…

Perfect Psalm after today’s gospel Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. —Psalm 51:10-12

As lent approaches, a great reflection on what it really means.

My dog after listening to me discussing the poor state of affairs of our world… #photography #dogs

I think God might be a little prejudiced Once He asked me to join Him on a walk …He lingered a bit longer before any face that was weeping, and before any eyes that were laughing And sometimes when we passed a soul in worship, God too would kneel down God adores His creation. —St Francis of Assisi

Scholastica: brother, stay tonight and let’s talk. St Benedict: sorry sis, can’t She prays and a great storm came with lightning, thunder and rain. What have you done sis??!! “I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can…” 😇

Framed #AlphabetChallenge #WeekFforFramed #Photography #StreetPhotography #EastCoastKin #Lumix

Exactly so “If you're offered a job doing anything in one of these, it's not worth the price of your soul and we will remember you” 👇

Reposted for typos...

** no to oppression ** Yesterday in Portugal more than 2/3 (from all affiliations: from the communist party to the right - but not extreme right - and from Catholics and non believers) said no to the populism of the extreme right, voting for the socialist candidate. No to pre 25th April 1974.

Every American needs to watch this:

When I heard Archbishop Hicks saying that the Church is not a country club, I confess to thinking immediately of those expensive, exclusive Napa Institute wine-and-cigar gatherings! The real Church is more likely to be encountered in homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc., as is Jesus Himself. ✝️

Archbishop Hicks' comment on the Gospel at Mass of Installation: "𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛. A club exists to serve its members. The church, on the other hand, exists to go out and serve all people, on fire with faith, hope and charity in the name of Jesus Christ."

“A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has” —Gaudium et Spes (Office of Readings today)

20200529 last #Sunlight in Eindhoven (NL), with people walking on a wall. I instructed them by phone to do some posing ‪Join the #BlueSkyArtShow Saturday February 7, 2026 The theme is #Sunlight

#sunlight at #daybreak in the #hills of #Andalusia for the #BlueSkyArtShow... #eastcoastkin #westcoastkin #sunrise #spain #españa #malaga #nature #seedhead #churchstreetimages

‪#BlueSkyArtShow #Sunlight #art #artists #photgraphy #classicmono #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography

"Another Bisti Sunrise" Bisti Badlands/New Mexico #Scape #EastCoastKin

Cormorants are so excellent #Birds

It's clear that I think the GOP has used immigration to enrich themselves & weaponize ignorance/bigotry, but something MAGA doesn't get is that MOST who denounce what Trump has done with ICE are NOT against enforcement of immigration laws. We're against Constitutional violations & open grift.

Be the first to read the plot of the next tv series 😉 “nuns hired armed men who prevented the Archbishop of Tyre and the Bishop of Auxerre from blessing the new cemetery”

“Atrocity crimes are being repeated because past ones were tolerated. Our actions – or inaction – will determine whether international humanitarian law vanishes altogether.”

It’s baffling how senators become part of corruption, thereby becoming also corrupted people, simply because of an affiliation… It’s disgusting behavior. Corruption should not be tolerated - but the US is not a state of law now… I pray it changes soon

this passage has always impressed me - a lot! There was a woman who had...suffered much... She said, “If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well.” And immediately the haemorrhage ceased;...And Jesus ...turned about in the crowd, and said, “Who touched my garments?” Mark 5:25-30

Reflect on this Aid cuts could cause 22m avoidable deaths by 2030 - 5.4m children under five among those 22 MILLION DEATHS - 5.4 CHILDREN And the rich and greedy continue to dine gold covered chocolate cake…

We have been warned "Lord of the World is a 1907 dystopian science fiction novel by the English Catholic priest Robert Hugh Benson that centres upon the reign of the Antichrist. It has been called prophetic by Popes Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV.[1]" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of...

“For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly… they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall pasture and lie down, and none shall make them afraid” —Zephaniah 3:12-13

A great article

'Fenster(freitag)' #FotoVorschlag

Welcome home, Liam and Adrian.

@frcharles.bsky.social Since I can’t reply to the post, using this to ask you: is that l really so? I would say January for me is worse… or November: “very” dark for me. Ps: never understood why some posts can only be answered by the same group and is closed to others ….

Why are you afraid? Have you no faith? ” (Mk 4:40). Here, then, is the great enemy of faith: it is not intelligence, nor is it reason, as, alas, some continue obsessively to repeat; but the great enemy of faith is fear. Faith is a gift that must be welcomed and asked for daily. —Pope Francis

Fascinating interpretation (moral) of today’s scripture (St Augustine Sermon 51) It signifies the drama of the Christian life. We embark with Christ on a life that is full of dangerous storms, especially attacks from evil spirits and temptations of the flesh. We must learn to trust in Christ daily

What’s happening in America is technofascism. It could happen here Peter Thiel's data company is powering ICE operations in the US. In part 2 of the Nerve’s Palantir series, @carolecadwalla.bsky.social argues that the UK will be next - and we map Thiel’s network🧵 www.thenerve.news/p/technofasc...

Inside an Iris #flowers #art #photography #macro

#FrontEndFriday #59friday 59004 approaches Swindon station with 6B12 Merehead Quarry (Fhh) to Wootton Bassett F.Y. (📷9/1/26).

I rather reframe it as not an attic, but a penthouse with a garden view. #catholic #popeleoxiv

“For a long time I could not understand that it was possible to be both on the side that has the power, that has unleashed the destruction, vast as it is indescribable, and, at the same time, be on the side that loses everything.