Good morning.
*Please forgive the grammatical errors.
EDIT TO SAY: I'm watching (film) Conclave, on Prime. I avoided watching this film because I thought I would get annoyed. I thought right. What were those Cardinals thinking today. An American. It takes me longer to buy a purse than it took those Cardinals to decide on a Pontiff. I'm only upset about it because of the current president. Bad choice. Just rename the church the Roman American Catholic Church, I guess.
EDIT TO SAY: People are saying Pope Leo the XIV is a "woke Pope" who is pro migrants as Jesus was a migrant (agreed) but Pope Leo the XIV was born and raised in America and has no real stakes in the game to contradict and oppose Trump-o with any real passion regarding how Trump-o handles foreign policy. I hope I'm wrong.
Back to the original blog.
I saw a clip of Cardinal Tagle tell a story to his congregants about a little boy who didn't want to sit next to him on public transit after his mother instructed him to. The little boy said, "I hate the Japanese" and that's why he didn't want to sit next Cardinal Tagle. But rather than making his lesson about hate, Cardinal Tagle made it about the little boy not knowing the difference between him (a Filipino) and a Japanese person. Swing and miss, Cardinal. Swing and miss. I'm not a Cardinal, or a priest, but if I were that story would have ended with a homily about hate. How hate dissolves you as a human being. "Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass again us" is part of the daily prayer for a reason. Hate steals your soul. Hate rots you like a corpse while you live. Let it go. Live your life.
Better is a handful of quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
-- Ecclesiastes 4:6
Apparently the media has a saying on the subject of Conclave: "Walk in a Pope, come out a Cardinal." Meaning if the media reports on particular Cardinals as being on the Pope short list, they'll walk out of Conclave a Cardinal.
Watching Mass before the Conclave, the whole process in the last 24 hours has been fascinating. It reminds me of being that sixteen year old girl I once was, just enamored with the Catholic church, as in the church itself. It was a glorious old building. I was heavily into art back then, an artist myself. The church was very seductive with beautiful stained glass, amazing large paintings, inlaid golden robes, and the best wrought iron and wood carvings money could buy. I could spend the rest of my life devoted to this church, I thought. The Catholic church was my 1985 social media addiction. I blog about it in my first intro blog GREETINGS! AN INTRODUCTION But then one day my eyes re-opened and all that grandeur melted before me. No more fluff. No more ceremony. No more pretentiousness. Just a love and devotion to Christ/God, the teaching of Christ/God and the scripture. Christianity in its oldest and truest form. If I want to see art I'll support my local museums and art galleries. Get me. Still, I have/will always appreciate and respect the Catholic church, all religions. There's a difference between having an opinion and straight out violently attacking someone because of their faith. "Sticks and stones, love." If they're not violating anyone, live and let live. That said, tell me this Mass before Conclave isn't being "a bit" theatrical. Also, three word put-downs mean nothing. If you're going to be overly-vocal in opposition about something explain your reasoning. Otherwise get out of the ring, you contribute nothing to the conversation. "F you that's why!" is a closer. Not the argument.
I need to stop swearing. Sometimes I really just can't help it. Giving up tobacco and alcohol was waaay easier and I only quit both because they endangered my life. The moment swearing gives me an upper respiratory infection I'm done! Although it did take two serious infections before I quite smoking. I loved smoking that much. I still miss it.
I have a question. I'm guessing these Conclave masses are being spoken in Latin and Italian but what do the the Cardinals who don't speak either do during this time? Are they just staring straight ahead making their grocery lists?
MUCH LATER
Black smoke.
DAY 2
We're all staring at the Vatican chimney, waiting. "Don't make the Pope about politics." The social media priests say. Sorry Fathers, but the church has never separated itself from politics, and politics will never separate itself from church. The constitution protects us from government punishing us for our faiths to practice our faiths freely (or so it says) but every president, regardless of party, attends the National Prayer Breakfast if he knows what's good for him.
I'm watching the Vatican Chimney on Youtube so naturally I expect white smoke just as an ad pops on.
I just saw in one particular southern California Bible college the gender ratio was something like 58% female 47% male. Apparently women are choosing the bear and/or God over men, and the giant orange dongleberry in the oval office seems to think 5K is enough incentive for women to make babies. That goof really doesn't know how much a child costs does he. Maybe if he had spent more with his own children as they were growing up he would know better. Forget a civil race war, be more concerned with another religious war, WWIII, and those wars are brutal. There are so many different forms of Christianity in America alone the new Pope could really cause an international riot on day 1 if he's not careful.
A part of me wants to attend Bible school again, which I have not done in yeeears. Being a minister gives me freedom from the church. It allows me to write this blog and to speak more freely. The moment I align myself directly with the Lutheran church I serve the church and its congregants... and not the people, lets not kid ourselves.
Huh. Is that a drone hovering over the Vatican chimney? It is.
I've entertained the idea many times of starting my own church but that's the last thing this country needs, another church. Instead, I entertain the idea of a nature faith based community in my book. Wait, hear me out first. Don't scoff it off without hearing a little bit about it. Do you enjoy camping and fishing? Are you on the paleo, Keto, or Mediterranean diet? Do you like gardens? Do you think pesticides are harmful to food and thus you? Do you believe bees are an essential part of the Eco structure? Are you pro wildlife? Do you hate litter as much as I do? Well then, you might enjoy this church. I'm curious how long it will take my literary church to grow. My book is part ministry, part philosophy, part sociology, with some poetry, influenced by Shakespeare, E.A. Poe, and Dickens, clearly, those are my favorite authors. I have no formal training in psychology, only what I've read and life experiences, but if you read my last blog of ten years then you know I have theories, oh my dears, lots and lots of theories. Not in a Theodore Kaczynski kind of way, this is a book and not a manifesto, plus he was mathematician and a paranoid schizo... ANYWAY the point I'm trying to make is would a nature faith based Godly church be so bad? Part Mennonite-like, part pantheon'a'litical'istic'ish-y.
Yes, I was that annoying kid who asked everyone all the time, "What would happen if you did it this way instead?" You know, it's funny, if you ask questions about what's possible people automatically assume you're opposing them.
(sigh)
I ate chicken again. I'm not doing so well with the no bacon and chicken diet. I would love to only eat fish but 1) Its expensive, and 2) It's not convenient. No, that's not true. I just suck at not eating meat.
WHITE SMOKE & BELLS.
That was quick. But who is it.
The drone is back.
WHO IS IT. You'd think this was the World Cup the way people are waving giant flags in the Vatican square.
"Canada!" Dude holding up a big Canadian flag. Awesome. They keep showing the Canada guy.
The younger priests are all cheerful. The older priests not so much. No, older priests know what's at stake here especially if the new Pontiff is younger than 70, or if he's not Italian.
WHAT?! AN AMERICAN.
Terrible. Worst choice ever. It's over. He's Trump's Pope.
Pope Prevost, the giant orange inflatable tube donkey's Pope.
A terrible day. A terrible day for Christians. I wish I didn't quit drinking.
God help us. Evil and corruption are back in the Vatican.
*I can't even write. An American Pope. Who thought this was a good idea??
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