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6+ min ago (1054+ words) Thousands packed Beirut's streets, waving both Lebanese and Vatican flags outside churches and monasteries" to welcome Pope Leo XIV. From mountain villages to bustling city squares and the suburbs of Beirut, crowds turned out in force, undeterred by rain, to welcome Pope Leo as a messenger of hope and peace. His first stop Monday morning was the Monastery of Saint Maroun in the town of Annaya, about 52 kilometers (32 miles) north of Beirut, where he held a silent prayer at the tomb of Saint Charbel, Lebanon's patron saint. In turn, Pope Leo presented the monastery with a handcrafted silver-bronze votive lamp he brought from the Vatican. "In offering this lamp, I entrust Lebanon and its people to the protection of Saint Charbel " that they may always walk in the light of Christ. Let us thank God for the gift of Saint Charbel!...

8+ min ago (882+ words) We need 1,500 new monthly donors this Giving Tuesday. Every new monthly gift will be matched 3X until midnight, December 2. Bells rang out as Leo's covered popemobile snaked its way through the rain and thousands of enthusiastic Lebanese lining his motorcade route into Annaya, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Beirut. Some waved Lebanese and Vatican flags and tossed flower petals and rice on his car in a gesture of welcome as he zoomed by. WATCH: Peace remains elusive for Lebanese Christians as Pope Leo visits war-torn country Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit the hilltop monastery of St. Maroun overlooking the sea to pray at the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Lebanese Maronite hermit who lived from 1828 to 1898. Believers credit him with miraculous healings that have occurred after people prayed for his intercession. Leo prayed quietly in the darkened tomb,…...

9+ min ago (306+ words) In Hyderabad, over a dozen centres hosted Sahasra Gala Parayana with more than 1,000 participants " mainly students and women " engaging in synchronised sacred chanting at temples, community halls and schools. The highlight unfolded at Mysore's Peetham, where over 5,000 members " mostly children and women " took part as part of the grand Koti Gita Parayana, a collective drive for crore-level recitations to spread spiritual vibrations globally. Of 500 students from the latest batch who memorised the entire Bhagavad Gita, 494 received gold medals on Monday. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Bhagavad Gita teacher Ramya, a 2009-10 first-batch gold medallist coordinating the Koti Sampoorna Bhagavad Gita Parayana Yagnam launched on Nirjala Ekadashi (June 6), said that nearly one lakh members have mastered the text through hundreds of online batches since 2009 via SGS Gita Foundation, each with 20 to 30 students under trained teachers. Exams, held twice yearly, test oral rendition of…...

12+ min ago (956+ words) Historic moment" celebrated at the dinner for the merger of the Liberal and Reform movements The embryonic Movement for Progressive Judaism has been spurred by "1.75 million of new funding as it looks to amplify its voice on the national stage. The union of Reform and Liberal Judaism will not officially come into effect until the beginning of next year. But at its launch dinner at a West End hotel on Sunday night, its new chairman Ed Kessler told 350 guests of the financial backing it had already received during the planning of the unification. "Several individuals and families have" stepped forward with generous six-figure commitments, including to support the public face of Progressive Judaism, so it is seen more, and we are heard more widely than ever before," he said. "We have also received a remarkable seven-figure multi-year gift, which will…...

15+ min ago (799+ words) Something remarkable is happening today. The world's biggest technology companies are spending billions of dollars every month to do something humanity has attempted only once before. They are not trying to build better tools. They are trying to create a mind. They are trying to create intelligence equal to or greater than the human brain. There is a difference between the AI we use today and the kind the tech giants are racing to build. Today's AI is just a very advanced tool. AGI is something entirely different because it aims to think, reason, and act like a human mind. And whether they admit it or not, they are trying to make themselves like gods. This is not the first time humanity has attempted such a thing. The Bible gives us a warning written in ancient stone. The people of…...

21+ min ago (592+ words) Pope Leo XIV praised the endurance and faith of the Armenian people during a visit to Istanbul, where he addressed the Armenian Apostolic community at their cathedral, a diaspora church rooted in a country where Armenians suffered genocide under the Ottoman Empire. The remarks came as church leaders in Armenia face growing pressure from their own government. Standing inside the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral, the spiritual seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, Pope Leo called for renewed unity between Christian churches. He thanked God for "the courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances." The pope's remarks followed a liturgical program that included a joint prayer, chanting and an exchange of gifts with Patriarch Sahak II Mashalian, head of the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey, Catholic News Agency reports. The two leaders also marked the 1,700th anniversary…...

31+ min ago (1077+ words) Pope Leo XIV waves from his popemobile in Annaya, Lebanon, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Credit: Hassan Ammar/AP.) BEIRUT " On his first day in Lebanon, Pope Leo urged the country's pastors and religious to continue striving for unity and to embrace a spirit of solidarity with those who are suffering, regardless of their background. During his Dec. 1 visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Beirut, the pope said the shrine is "a symbol of unity for the entire Lebanese people." "It is in being with Mary at the foot of Jesus' Cross that our prayer, that invisible bridge which unites hearts, gives us the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons and when the very necessities of daily life become a challenge," he said. Leo noted that the logo for…...

35+ min ago (323+ words) The global Catholic charity organization Caritas, asked Pope Francis in the final years of his life if he would like to see his old "popemobile" used as a mobile hospital for children. Blessing the idea, the back of the vehicle was converted under the auspices of the Swedish Caritas chapter into a children"s clinic, capable of treating 200 kids a day in Gaza'where it is set to hopefully be deployed. The vehicle in question started out its life as a Mitsubishi pickup truck, and had actually been converted into a popemobile-style vehicle and given to the former Pope on the occasion of his visit to Bethlehem by the President of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas. Pope Francis was known to call the small Christian communities in Gaza every evening during the siege of the last 2 years. He had called for an…...

36+ min ago (21+ words) So, we won't be quiet. Monday, 1 December 2025, 11:30 MJA Uncategorized 0 So, we won't be quiet....

45+ min ago (491+ words) Most of us probably remember Jesus" teaching that looking at someone with the intention to lust is akin to adultery (Mt. 5:28). Jesus said the 7th commandment is not just an external commandment, but it has to do with the heart. If you look at someone for the purpose of stirring up sexual fantasies and " Continue reading "The "Wild Beast" of Sexual Lust(Chrysostom)" Most of us probably remember Jesus" teaching that looking at someone with the intention to lust is akin to adultery (Mt. 5:28). Jesus said the 7th commandment is not just an external commandment, but it has to do with the heart. If you look at someone for the purpose of stirring up sexual fantasies and desires, it is a sin against the 7th commandment. You can commit adultery in your heart without even touching another person! When I was recently studying…...