First Sunday of Lent | The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study

First Sunday of Lent | The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study

Little Sisters of the Poor Journey Through Lent

LITTLE SISTERS of the POOR Hello. As we begin our Forty Days of Lent, I am pleased to share with you our Lenten video series.   The seven-part video series is based on Pope Francis's theme for Lent: "The Word is a Gift. Other persons are a gift." In each of the short videos, we will unpack aspects of the Holy Father's Lenten theme.   This first video discusses the familiar story from St. Luke's Gospel about Lazarus and the rich man.   Please feel free to share this video with family, friends and neighbors.   I will send you the second video next week, as we continue our Journey through Lent.   Wishing you a prayerful and productive Lenten Season.   Sister Constance Veit, LSP Director of Communications of the Little Sisters of the Poor For more information, contact St. Jeanne Jugan Communications: serenity@littlesistersofthepoor.org |  410-262-7514  |  www.littlesistersofthepoor.org

Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Jeanne Jugan Communications, 4200 Harewood Rd. NE, Washington, DC 20017

NY Teamsters Pension Becomes First To Run Out Of Money As Expert Warns "Pension Tsunami" Is Coming

  NY Teamsters Pension Becomes First To Run Out Of Money As Expert Warns "Pension Tsunami" Is Coming
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-28/ny-teamsters-pension-becomes-first-run-out-money-expert-warns-pension-tsunami-coming

http://lobelog.com/leak-shopping-and-the-politicization-of-intelligence/#more-38226

Leak-Shopping and the Politicization of Intelligence

by Paul R. Pillar
Consistency has not been a hallmark of the Trump Administration’s posture regarding the divulging to the press and the public of information that had been the stuff of behind-closed-doors deliberations inside government.  Members of the press have noticed how on the same day that President Trump fulminated in a speech to a conservative conference about reporters’ use of anonymous sources, the White House invited reporters to a briefing on condition that the briefers remain anonymous.  This was in addition to Trump’s longstanding habit of citing anonymous sources in support of assertions such as that Barack Obama was foreign-born.http://lobelog.com/leak-shopping-and-the-politicization-of-intelligence/#more-38226

Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War - The New Yorker

Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War - The New Yorker

Trump Administration Applauds HBCUs, Will Sign Executive Order Tomorrow | HBCU Digest

Trump Administration Applauds HBCUs, Will Sign Executive Order Tomorrow | HBCU Digest

Audio: Neal Keny-Guyer discusses the humanitarian response to the crisis in Syria. - Council on Foreign Relations

Audio: Neal Keny-Guyer discusses the humanitarian response to the crisis in Syria. - Council on Foreign Relations

Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem Is a Bad Idea for Everyone—Except Israeli Hard-Liners and Their American Friends

President Trump: Peace Processor

 

President Trump: Peace Processor

http://blogs.cfr.org/danin/2017/02/13/president-trump-peace-processor/?cid=nlc-religion-religion_and_foreign_policy_bulletin-february_2017-link17-20170228&sp_mid=53523563&sp_rid=bWljaGVsZXRrZWFybmV5QGdtYWlsLmNvbQS2

Trump and the Holy Land First, Do No Harm

Trump and the Holy Land

First, Do No Harm

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2017-02-13/trump-and-holy-land?spJobID=1120005091&spMailingID=53523563&spReportId=MTEyMDAwNTA5MQS2&spUserID=NTA0ODY0NjAzNjcS1&sp_mid=53523563&sp_rid=bWljaGVsZXRrZWFybmV5QGdtYWlsLmNvbQS2

http://lobelog.com/trumps-pentagon-budget-boost-shades-of-ronald-reagan/#more-38220

Trump’s Pentagon Budget Boost: Shades of Ronald Reagan

by Gordon Adams http://lobelog.com/trumps-pentagon-budget-boost-shades-of-ronald-reagan/#more-38220

Is there a deep state?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9FXLVH4W3A&feature=youtu.be

Strength for the Week

Strength for the Week

Chocolate and Crucifixion Hello, I am resending this because of an incorrect link to continue reading the article: Chocolate and Crucifixion. It seems it was just yesterday that the angels were calling to the shepherds: "Go to Bethlehem and see the Child born for you!"  Tomorrow we will begin a new journey. We will answer the call to go with Jesus "to Jerusalem." The fulfillment of the Christmas story lies in the Easter resurrection, for the birth we celebrated at Christmas is the birth of the Child who has come to rescue us.  "In Jerusalem" we will see the suffering Lord Jesus who works our salvation on the cross. On the third day the glory and beauty of the Risen One will shine also on a creation renewed...on men and women transformed in the glory of the resurrection, on us to whom the Father also says, "YOU are my beloved son!" So set out tomorrow with courage and faith! Join our #PutOthersFirst challenge explained below. And our Book Clubs will begin this week-end. We're looking forward to walking this Lent with you "to Jerusalem." Sr. Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP And so the Church year turns again to Lent. It’s a tricky season to navigate. As Catholics, we’re called to penance as we contemplate the journey of Our Lord through betrayal by his friends all the way to his torture and death. But let’s face it: 40 days is a long time to keep doing anything, especially something that you don’t like to do. Catholics traditionally “give up” something for Lent. We return to meatless Fridays. We deprive ourselves of something that we really like—chocolate, for example. And we feel the pinch of the loss and sometimes we even make it through to Holy Week without cheating. And somehow in all of that we lose the point of why we are doing it, because we’re so caught up in the how of doing it. God forgive us, we sometimes even feel sorry for ourselves for missing out on the glories of chocolate! So this year might be the perfect year to look at Lent a little differently. Maybe it’s time to disassociate it from chocolate or meat or any of the luxuries we give up and that we generally substitute for prayer and penance. Jesus made what we are supposed to do very clear. In the Gospels he set forth what would become the three “pillars” of the early Church, so called because they hold up the faithful, keep the people of God from falling into self-absorption and sin. Continue Reading > "Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and in this way to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life."  Pope Benedict XVI  Join us for a #PutOthersFirst Challenge! At Advent, our hashtag challenge was #PutJesusFirst. For Lent our hashtag challenge is #PutOthersFirst.  The traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving all lead us to just this, to put others before ourselves, seeing in the other Jesus Christ himself.  There are many ways to #PutOthersFirst. Throughout Lent we’ll be led by Scripture to come up with a variety of ways we can do this in our own families, where we work, with people we meet, those who need our help, even the people who share the road with us…. As mothers, teachers, police officers, nurses, fire fighters, fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, priests and religious.... While we give something to the “other” we put first, we will reap something very beautiful for ourselves and for the world: our hearts will deepen as we enter the experience of others,  our happiness will grow as we seek to unify, our credibility will increase as we seek to understand before seeking to be understood,  our anxiety will diminish as relationships blossom in unexpected places,  our lives will grow calm as we shield our hearts from the prevailing sarcasm, scorn, and insults that pervade our media and sometimes our personal conversations and allow a beautiful reservoir of respect, gentleness, maturity, and humility to well up within our hearts and flow through our lives. Together lets #PutOthersFirst this Lent! Everytime you #PutOthersFirst update your Facebook page or Twitter feed with a photo, comment or prayer. Together we can change the world. Theology of the Body: See What John Paul II Saw Theology of the Body (also called TOB) is a way of looking at our relationships with God and with each other. In TOB, Pope John Paul II established an adequate anthropology in which the human body reveals God, examining man and woman before the Fall, after it, and at the resurrection of the dead. Here's a look at one person's discovery of TOB: The story of how I discovered TOB is rather unique. A few years ago, God began showing me things about the Christian life that I couldn't remember being taught much about, and sometimes I wasn't sure the ideas were even Catholic. But the more I dug through Scripture and the Catechism and the saints, the more I found these ideas. Still, they didn't seem like things Catholics ever talked about. Then I went to the World Meeting of Families, where I heard Church leaders from all over the world speaking about these very ideas - what a surprise! I bought some books and soon discovered that these ideas had a name - Theology of the Body. Knowing TOB affects how I view God, the Mass, the Church, prayer, ethics, the saints, the Bible, modern issues, the sacraments, and my marriage. TOB helps me understand almost everything in a way that is beautiful and exciting. John Paul II can be difficult to understand, but his vision of the Catholic life is wonderful and I'm so glad Pauline Books and Media continues to provide ways for every Catholic to see what John Paul II saw. My favorite TOB concept is the "Spousal Analogy." It is a beautiful teaching that helps me see God's love for me in a whole new way. It is an important idea for reaching out to people who have no interest in religion and showing them the Christian faith in a way that is meaningful to them. TOB is very practical. It gets at all kinds of questions people are asking these days. I've used it to help kids in my youth group deal with things going on at their schools. I wish I had known it a decade ago when my friend had serious problems and the two pastors I went to for answers had none. People are hurting and they need our help. Learning TOB will enable you to be a better friend, coworker, parent, grandparent, and neighbor. Suzanne Macdonald Expert author Christopher West says that TOB's theme is that "the body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden since time immemorial in God, and thus to be a sign of it." Discover Theology of the Body for YourselfGo at your own pace with this helpful and clear video series, a total of 12 hours of faith formation complete with a downloadable study guide. Introductory offer 40% off till March 8th. Imitation of Christ BACK IN PRINT! Lent starts this week. A reflection. We'd love for you to share this news!

Mem Fox on being detained by US immigration: 'In that moment I loathed America'

Exclusive: The celebrated Australian children’s author tells how on her 117th visit to the US she was suddenly at the mercy of Donald Trump’s visa regime https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/28/in-that-moment-i-loathed-america-i-loathed-the-entire-country?CMP=share_btn_link

The Iranian-Saudi Arabian conflict: Does the West have a skewed view?

The West often boils down the difficult relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia to sectarian conflicts between Wahhabists and militant Shiites, but the rivalry is much more complex.http://www.dw.com/en/the-iranian-saudi-arabian-conflict-does-the-west-have-a-skewed-view/a-37728210?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=iran_testfires_missiles_launched_from_sea_in_naval_exercise&utm_term=2017-02-28

POPE FRANCIS’ MESSAGE FOR LENT 2017

https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.com/2017/02/24/pope-francis-message-for-lent-2017/

U.S. Flexes Its Military Muscle Off China - NBC News

U.S. Flexes Its Military Muscle Off China - NBC News

Daughters of St. Paul Strength for the Week Chocolate and Crucifixion

Strength for the Week

Chocolate and Crucifixion Hello, It seems it was just yesterday that the angels were calling to the shepherds: "Go to Bethlehem and see the Child born for you!"  Tomorrow we will begin a new journey. We will answer the call to go with Jesus "to Jerusalem." The fulfillment of the Christmas story lies in the Easter resurrection, for the birth we celebrated at Christmas is the birth of the Child who has come to rescue us.  "In Jerusalem" we will see the suffering Lord Jesus who works our salvation on the cross. On the third day the glory and beauty of the Risen One will shine also on a creation renewed...on men and women transformed in the glory of the resurrection, on us to whom the Father also says, "YOU are my beloved son!" So set out tomorrow with courage and faith! Join our #PutOthersFirst challenge explained below. And our Book Clubs will begin this week-end. We're looking forward to walking this Lent with you "to Jerusalem." Sr. Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP And so the Church year turns again to Lent. It’s a tricky season to navigate. As Catholics, we’re called to penance as we contemplate the journey of Our Lord through betrayal by his friends all the way to his torture and death. But let’s face it: 40 days is a long time to keep doing anything, especially something that you don’t like to do. Catholics traditionally “give up” something for Lent. We return to meatless Fridays. We deprive ourselves of something that we really like—chocolate, for example. And we feel the pinch of the loss and sometimes we even make it through to Holy Week without cheating. And somehow in all of that we lose the point of why we are doing it, because we’re so caught up in the how of doing it. God forgive us, we sometimes even feel sorry for ourselves for missing out on the glories of chocolate! So this year might be the perfect year to look at Lent a little differently. Maybe it’s time to disassociate it from chocolate or meat or any of the luxuries we give up and that we generally substitute for prayer and penance. Jesus made what we are supposed to do very clear. In the Gospels he set forth what would become the three “pillars” of the early Church, so called because they hold up the faithful, keep the people of God from falling into self-absorption and sin. Continue Reading > "Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and in this way to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life."  Pope Benedict XVI  Join us for a #PutOthersFirst Challenge! At Advent, our hashtag challenge was #PutJesusFirst. For Lent our hashtag challenge is #PutOthersFirst.  The traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving all lead us to just this, to put others before ourselves, seeing in the other Jesus Christ himself.  There are many ways to #PutOthersFirst. Throughout Lent we’ll be led by Scripture to come up with a variety of ways we can do this in our own families, where we work, with people we meet, those who need our help, even the people who share the road with us…. As mothers, teachers, police officers, nurses, fire fighters, fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, priests and religious.... While we give something to the “other” we put first, we will reap something very beautiful for ourselves and for the world: our hearts will deepen as we enter the experience of others,  our happiness will grow as we seek to unify, our credibility will increase as we seek to understand before seeking to be understood,  our anxiety will diminish as relationships blossom in unexpected places,  our lives will grow calm as we shield our hearts from the prevailing sarcasm, scorn, and insults that pervade our media and sometimes our personal conversations and allow a beautiful reservoir of respect, gentleness, maturity, and humility to well up within our hearts and flow through our lives. Together lets #PutOthersFirst this Lent! Everytime you #PutOthersFirst update your Facebook page or Twitter feed with a photo, comment or prayer. Together we can change the world. Theology of the Body: See What John Paul II Saw Theology of the Body (also called TOB) is a way of looking at our relationships with God and with each other. In TOB, Pope John Paul II established an adequate anthropology in which the human body reveals God, examining man and woman before the Fall, after it, and at the resurrection of the dead. Here's a look at one person's discovery of TOB: The story of how I discovered TOB is rather unique. A few years ago, God began showing me things about the Christian life that I couldn't remember being taught much about, and sometimes I wasn't sure the ideas were even Catholic. But the more I dug through Scripture and the Catechism and the saints, the more I found these ideas. Still, they didn't seem like things Catholics ever talked about. Then I went to the World Meeting of Families, where I heard Church leaders from all over the world speaking about these very ideas - what a surprise! I bought some books and soon discovered that these ideas had a name - Theology of the Body. Knowing TOB affects how I view God, the Mass, the Church, prayer, ethics, the saints, the Bible, modern issues, the sacraments, and my marriage. TOB helps me understand almost everything in a way that is beautiful and exciting. John Paul II can be difficult to understand, but his vision of the Catholic life is wonderful and I'm so glad Pauline Books and Media continues to provide ways for every Catholic to see what John Paul II saw. My favorite TOB concept is the "Spousal Analogy." It is a beautiful teaching that helps me see God's love for me in a whole new way. It is an important idea for reaching out to people who have no interest in religion and showing them the Christian faith in a way that is meaningful to them. TOB is very practical. It gets at all kinds of questions people are asking these days. I've used it to help kids in my youth group deal with things going on at their schools. I wish I had known it a decade ago when my friend had serious problems and the two pastors I went to for answers had none. People are hurting and they need our help. Learning TOB will enable you to be a better friend, coworker, parent, grandparent, and neighbor. Suzanne Macdonald Expert author Christopher West says that TOB's theme is that "the body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden since time immemorial in God, and thus to be a sign of it." Discover Theology of the Body for YourselfGo at your own pace with this helpful and clear video series, a total of 12 hours of faith formation complete with a downloadable study guide. Introductory offer 40% off till March 8th. Imitation of Christ BACK IN PRINT! Lent starts this week. A reflection. We'd love for you to share this news!

Scraping by on six figures? Tech workers feel poor in Silicon Valley's wealth bubble | Technology | The Guardian

Scraping by on six figures? Tech workers feel poor in Silicon Valley's wealth bubble | Technology | The Guardian

ICE WORLD International team reports ocean acidification spreading rapidly in Arctic Ocean

International team reports ocean acidification spreading rapidly in Arctic Ocean Newark DE (SPX) Feb 28, 2017 - Ocean acidification (OA) is spreading rapidly in the western Arctic Ocean in both area and depth, according to new interdisciplinary research reported in Nature Climate Change by a team of international collaborators, including University of Delaware professor Wei-Jun Cai. The research shows that, between the 1990s and 2010, acidified waters expanded northward approximately 300 nautical mi ... morehttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/International_team_reports_ocean_acidification_spreading_rapidly_in_Arctic_Ocean_999.html