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“I am Catholic”
I was contemplating the use of the words “ I am Catholic” and wondering when and why it became necessary to say that.
A rant:
Today, unfortunately it’s not enough to say I am a Christian as that doesn’t describe your faith and your belief system.
Christianity has in many cases been hijacked by the very opposite of what it means to be Christian
You have some “Christians” that believe a third temple needs to be built so that a red cow can be sacrificed before Jesus returns. These “Christians” believe that killing the enemy of this plan is Gods will. How does anyone who read the bible with the key to understanding it being Jesus in the NT reconcile with this?
When people try to justify violence or the destruction of “enemies,” the New Testament leaves no room for it. Jesus consistently confronts the human impulse to harm, dominate, or destroy those we fear or dislike.
His words cut directly against injustice and the taking of life.
1. Jesus commands love, not violence, toward enemies.
He says plainly: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5).
This is not sentimental. It is a direct prohibition against treating enemies as disposable or less human.
2. Jesus rejects retaliation and cycles of harm.
When Peter tried to defend Him with a sword, Jesus stopped him: “Put your sword back… for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
He refuses to let violence, even “justified” violence, define His movement.
3. Jesus exposes the injustice of harming others in God’s name.
In Luke 9, when the disciples wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village, Jesus rebuked them.
He shuts down the idea that God endorses destroying people who oppose or offend us.
4. Jesus identifies mercy, not vengeance, as the mark of God’s people.
He teaches: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Mercy is not weakness.
It is the refusal to participate in injustice, cruelty, or dehumanization.
5. Jesus reveals God’s heart for every person, even those labeled “enemy.”
On the cross, facing state violence and mob hatred, He says: “Father, forgive them.”
He refuses to mirror the injustice done to Him. He breaks the cycle instead of continuing it.
I also find We are losing something deeply human
Our sense of dignity, restraint, and the Christian values we claim to hold.
There is a righteous anger many feel at the suffering and injustice in the world. But alongside it, I’ve noticed something darker taking root in me: a steady anger that doesn’t leave, and a growing struggle with hatred in my heart.
As a Catholic, I’m called to love my enemy and pray for those who do wrong. I’m trying to live that out, but I find it difficult when I witness suffering and the seeming celebration of destruction.
I feel guilt over the anger I carry. I go to confession with it, I pray with it, and still it remains.
I don’t know how we are meant to reconcile loving our enemies with the reality of evil and the harm it causes. I can understand praying for transformation—for peace, for repentance, for light—but forgiveness feels far away right now.
What I do know is that I don’t want this anger to harden my heart.
I pray for healing, for peace I don’t feel yet, and for the grace to hate evil without becoming consumed by it.
For the world. For everyone. Everywhere.
We need help beyond ourselves.
Wake up and stop following those who say Jesus is anything but peace, love and mercy.
My sincere wish to get to a state where I feel no more hate but a strong burning desire to pray for those that I am criticizing and those that are gleefully engaged in war and endless killing.
Bilo retweeted
NEW poll: A supermajority of Jewish Americans believe Israeli & AIPAC actions increase antisemitism.
80% say Israel’s actions in Gaza & the West Bank increase antisemitism in the US.
66% say AIPAC’s campaign spending against candidates critical of Israel increases antisemitism.
Bilo retweeted
I'm a former 8200 analyst and Israeli diplomat. Every day I translate what Israeli leaders, media and citizens say in Hebrew. If you're new here, start with these:
Must watch post by Tucker Carlson and team showcasing the great betrayal by donald trump and his allies
Bilo retweeted
Protestants preach faith alone
If faith alone is enough, why does Jesus judge the sheep and the goats by works?
In Matthew 25:31–46, Jesus describes the final judgment. He separates people into two groups. The sheep are welcomed because they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited the imprisoned.
The goats are condemned for neglecting those same acts.
He does not say, “You believed in me, so enter.” He judges them by what they actually did, or failed to do for others.
This is not a contradiction of grace.
Protestants will rush to point out Ephesians 2:8–9: we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works.
But verse 10 immediately adds that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Not to mention James’s Faith without works is dead and many other verses in both the old and the new testaments).
Catholic teaching has always held both.
Justification begins with God’s free grace, which we cannot earn. We must respond to that grace with faith and love.
Faith that produces no works is dead (James 2:17). The Catechism states that faith without works is dead (CCC 1815, 1993).
The sheep and the goats are not earning their way into heaven. They are being judged by whether the grace they received actually bore fruit in their lives.
Jesus Himself makes the distinction.
Same with the parable of the talents. It’s all about bearing good fruit,
What’s the strongest way you reconcile Matthew 25 with the idea that works play no role in the final judgment?
Could BTC head back to low 60’s?
There is a vicious looking H&S here at important support targeting 64K region and closing a huge weekly FVG
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog sent a letter to PM Netanyahu warning that escalating settler violence in the West Bank risks sparking civil war and a confrontation between security forces and Israeli civilians.
• Following his visit to the area and meetings with IDF, police, and Shin Bet officials, Herzog described the violence—including arson, tree uprooting, and livestock theft—as intensifying and called for an emergency plan with more arrests and forces.
• The warning comes amid record 2026 levels of settler attacks, concentrated during olive harvest season near new outposts, drawing international concern and sanctions threats.
'Brink of civil war': Herzog warns Netanyahu of settler violence in West Bank haaretz.com/israel-news/2026…
Protestants preach faith alone
If faith alone is enough, why does Jesus judge the sheep and the goats by works?
In Matthew 25:31–46, Jesus describes the final judgment. He separates people into two groups. The sheep are welcomed because they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited the imprisoned.
The goats are condemned for neglecting those same acts.
He does not say, “You believed in me, so enter.” He judges them by what they actually did, or failed to do for others.
This is not a contradiction of grace.
Protestants will rush to point out Ephesians 2:8–9: we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works.
But verse 10 immediately adds that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Not to mention James’s Faith without works is dead and many other verses in both the old and the new testaments).
Catholic teaching has always held both.
Justification begins with God’s free grace, which we cannot earn. We must respond to that grace with faith and love.
Faith that produces no works is dead (James 2:17). The Catechism states that faith without works is dead (CCC 1815, 1993).
The sheep and the goats are not earning their way into heaven. They are being judged by whether the grace they received actually bore fruit in their lives.
Jesus Himself makes the distinction.
Same with the parable of the talents. It’s all about bearing good fruit,
What’s the strongest way you reconcile Matthew 25 with the idea that works play no role in the final judgment?
Bilo retweeted
There is a sentence you said in anger that you still hear. To your husband, to your teenager, to your mother on the phone. And you promised yourself that last time would be the last time.
There is help for that exact moment standing right next to you, and almost nobody asks for it.
Fr. Chad Ripperger, an exorcist, was teaching on the guardian angels. He had just told the story of a priest on a road, a car stopped dead in front of him, and then:
"SOMETHING GRABBED THE STEERING WHEEL AND IT LITERALLY TOOK HIM OFF JUST PERFECTLY OFF INTO THE DITCH AND BACKED UP ONTO THE ROAD. HE DIDN'T HIT ANYTHING."
Then he told the room not to go looking for moments like that. The help he wanted them to ask for was smaller, and much closer to home:
"YOU CAN ALSO ASK YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL TO HELP YOU TO COMBAT THE SPECIFIC DEFECTS"
And he got very concrete:
"THE ANGELS CAN ACT UPON OUR BODIES, THEY CAN ACTUALLY HELP YOU LIKE IF YOU'RE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH A REALLY STRONG EMOTION LIKE ANGER, THEN THEY CAN ACTUALLY HELP TO CALM THAT ANGER DOWN"
Why? So that you are ABLE TO THINK MORE CLEARLY.
Think about the moment in your house. The raised voice before school. The door you slammed. Someone was standing beside you right then who was given to you for exactly this.
But Fr. Ripperger adds a condition, and it is the part most of us skip:
"THEY'LL ONLY DO THAT IF YOU JUST KEEP ASKING THEM AND GET THEM MORE AND MORE INVOLVED IN YOUR LIFE."
Not once, as a child. Every day, before the heat rises. Later in the same talk he said the angels can "INCLINE YOU TO HAVE THE RIGHT EMOTIONS AT THE RIGHT TIME." So you can ask ahead, for the moment you already know is coming.
Tonight, name it: the person, the hour, the subject that always sets you off. Put your hand on your chest and say this out loud. Fifteen seconds:
"My guardian angel, you know the moment that is coming tomorrow. When I start to lose it, calm what is rising in me and give me back a clear head. Stand between my temper and the people I love. Amen."
And tomorrow, when you feel it coming, you only need two words: "Angel, now."
👇 One word if you already know which moment you are giving him: TOMORROW.
Credit: Father Chad Ripperger Community
Bilo retweeted
Let us #PrayTogether for the proper use of wealth, that not succumbing to the temptation of selfishness,
it may always be put at the service the common good and solidarity of those who have less. Be a part of this prayer: popesprayer.va/praywiththepo… #PrayerIntention @clicktopray_en
These are the most sober mia culpa words I’ve heard from a member of the Trump administration
JD Vance is obviously running scared here
That’s what happens when you feel the heat and when your political survival and legacy are at stake
Change is needed immediately for the soul of the entire world not just the U.S.
One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.
So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we're going to shock the world? "No," he told me. "We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us."
Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.
There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.
But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.
Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel
Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)
In the next few months, there's going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.
The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.
If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.
But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.
I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.
Great short video on how the prophets of the Old Testament and John the Baptist where killed, by who and why
What happens to the Israeli coveted NDAA now?
Hey @grok now that the democrats have one both houses, what are the chances that the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, H.R. 8800) includes Section 219, the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative passes the senate?
Just reply with a concise percentage probability
Here's the real reason Trump announced that we're "cutting aid to Israel":
They plan is to effectively merge the IDF with our military through a provision in the NDAA, allowing the Israelis to help themselves on what we pay for without any of us knowing about it. We pay, they take advantage.
This has the additional downside of our "ally," which loves to spy on us, to do even more of it.
They think you're stupid.. Don't fall of it. We need to decouple from Israel and not play these games.
Haley Stevens endorsing Mike Rogers over an ad that calls out Israel for what it does and the U.S. government for its support just goes to show how Israel first most congress has become
Wake up before it’s too late
Today is “All Souls Day” and we pray for all the souls of the departed that they may receive Gods mercy and join Jesus and all the saints in heaven
Pray for your dearly departed 🙏
Bilo retweeted
Catholics don’t deny that God hears sincere repentance. The issue is that Christ explicitly gave the apostles authority to forgive sins (John 20:23). If repentance were meant to remain entirely private, that authority serves no obvious purpose. The Catholic position is not that priests replace God, but that God chooses to forgive through the ministry Christ established.
Now before you say that was only for his disciples, please think about it for a few minutes. Jesus Christ, God himself, didn’t think past the next few decades?
He gave authority to his church, his bishops with its first amongst equals being St Peter to bind and loose.
Why fight Gods plan? Why does our worldly wisdoms supersede how he wants this to be?
Why did the shadow of the apostles cure? Could not have Jesus cured without their shadow?
The answer is really simple.
Christ willed it this way
Humble yourselves
Beautiful prayer by the head of the family
☦️
Heavenly Father, You have called me to lead my family toward Your Kingdom.
I place my wife and children into Your loving hands today.
Open their hearts to the beauty of Your truth and the joy of Your grace.
Melt away any resistance, indifference, or distraction that keeps them from You.
Grant my wife the grace to be a pillar of faith and virtue.
Protect my children from the temptations of the world and root them in Your love.
Let our home become a domestic church where Your name is praised daily.
Lord, change me first so that I may be a living witness of Your love.
Make me patient, humble, and holy, so they may see Your light through me.
Bring us all together to walk the narrow path that leads to eternal life.
Amen 🙏
Catholics don’t deny that God hears sincere repentance. The issue is that Christ explicitly gave the apostles authority to forgive sins (John 20:23). If repentance were meant to remain entirely private, that authority serves no obvious purpose. The Catholic position is not that priests replace God, but that God chooses to forgive through the ministry Christ established.
Now before you say that was only for his disciples, please think about it for a few minutes. Jesus Christ, God himself, didn’t think past the next few decades?
He gave authority to his church, his bishops with its first amongst equals being St Peter to bind and loose.
Why fight Gods plan? Why does our worldly wisdoms supersede how he wants this to be?
Why did the shadow of the apostles cure? Could not have Jesus cured without their shadow?
The answer is really simple.
Christ willed it this way
Humble yourselves
When the rich man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit the Kingdom of heaven, Jesus did not reply, just have faith in me…
He told him to follow the commandments and to go sell everything, give it to the poor and follow him
Yet, many Protestants teach emphatically that faith alone saves
Protestants love to quote Ephesians 2:8–9 that teaches that salvation is a gift of grace received through faith, not something we earn through works.
But verse 10 immediately teaches that Christians are created for good works.
The best example of this is Jesus teaching in Matthew 25:31–46. Jesus describes separating the sheep from the goats.
What distinguishes them?
He speaks about whether they fed the hungry, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, and cared for the sick and imprisoned.
Those who neglected these acts of mercy face condemnation.
The striking point is that Jesus describes the final judgment in terms of how people actually treated others.
Catholic theology teaches that justification begins with God's grace, which cannot be earned. Human beings must freely respond to that grace through faith and love. The Catechism explicitly teaches that faith without works is dead (CCC 1815, 1993)
