#there exists a possible world in which you are blameless. there exists a version of you，fogiven. all equally valid.

[faaun]

omg who do you think you are !!

[kitsoa]

Meta reality anon: Well when it comes to Yozora we'll know better (or won't) in a couple of days. ;) Yeah something like that. I do think the merging and confusion between fiction and reality will be a major theme in the upcoming saga. After all it's been built up since COM in various ways: false memories vs real. Nobodies. Data and Dream worlds. Woldlines. Different realities w/different versions (video game Yozora and real Yozora). I do think MoM will toy w/this a lot. I think I'm pretty -

2 pretty focused on those dark beings MoM told Luxu about in Union X. He made them seem very different from what Sora and anyone else besides MoM has encountered so far. More intelligent. More scary. I'm wondering if MoM isn't the only mastermind in the shadows. Like those dark beings he mentioned are beyond anything even existing in the Realm of Darkness and they're pulling their own strings to keep this war cycle going. Shoot for all we know they messed w/reality first and MoM got in-

3  on it later on. There's a lot to unpack and a lot we don't know. But I do think those dark beings are going to be a huge deal: possibly the true final bosses of the saga (not that I think MoM will be a blameless saint unless some epic twist is made. He's definitely a shifty guy just for what he put Luxu and all the other Keyblade weilders through. Good intentions or not). They say there was darkness before light and all light must have a source. Maybe we'll learn about the first clash-

4 between light and dark, battling for supremacy as reality was taking shape. MoM could be a ancient being as well from around that time. As one reality fell to darkness. People learned to create new realities like storybook tales. Ansem said a heart like Sora's could breathe life into anything, from wind to a puppet. Maybe MoM also had a heart like that. One that could create whole realities even. The heart is the most powerful and mysterious thing in KH. Kingdom Hearts itself will make anyone-

5 a god who opens it successfully. Kingdom Hearts is a character all on it's own. It's the one that truly decides what is or can be real. It certainly seems far less inflexible them most Keyblade weilders are. W/this in mind Kingdom Hearts already has a very mysterious connection or interest in both Sora and MoM. Maybe KH is more active then we think? Everyone just sees it as this thing to attain or protect. But maybe it uses the Keyblades as its eyes to watch all these realities w/hearts 

6 I'm not sure if this whole kh universe is MoM's creation or if it's Kingdom Hearts. But I do think MoM is fascinated w/ideas of what's real or not on many different meta levels. I think to a degree Sora (and Yozora) is too. Sora's very first lines are questioning if what he knows is real. He also thought more deeply about the nature of nobodies and found out they are real. Not to mention, again, Ansem's insight that Sora empathy allows his heart to create hearts in others. What's real again?-

7 In KH Idk. Honestly the very idea of questioning reality to this extent is unthinkable. You'd almost feel detached like you were in a constant dream. Then to suddenly to yoinked to another Final World when you're existence was suppose to vanish. That's insane. Do you think the MoM's and Sora's actions are causing a ripple effect on KH? One that's warping fact and fiction. MoM and Sora were brought to a world: Fantasy based on Reality (FF13V's original tagline). What does KH consider not real?

In regards, to the dark beings mentioned in the flashback, I’ve basically said my piece in my analysis of the scene. I personally don’t think he’s talking about an actual force of darkness. I think he’s taking advantage of the double meaning in KH terminology to make us think there’s another force of evil out there. I think he’s actually just explaining his ‘sympathetic’ back story. The reason for the smoke and mirrors is because it’d be in dramatic character, point to the themes of fantasy as a coping mechanism, and the reality of it being the interpretation of real world evil would give away the twist. 

That’s my meta reality lens. If we limit our ideas here, then yeah, MoM could be talking about a new dark force in the lore. I just think we have all the lore pieces in terms of opposition laid out before us.

And having someone behind MoM is always a possibility but it’d be a little tired due to MoM’s reveal that he’s basically behind the entire first saga too. Motive is one thing but I personally am not a fan of last minute villains. MoM’s being established as a villain for years now and it’d be a little low to change that in the finale. 

Ultimately if you view the KH world as an entirely fictional beast, the subjects within it unaware, then you can essentially explain any plot holes and contrivance as a “meddling god” or author. I’ve always been one to try to understand the inner mechanisms of mythological physics which is why I’ve gravitated to this reading. Making real that which isn’t. I refer to my interpretation of the Replica situation to best describe the entire function of the kh world. 

Replicas are objects imbued with data. Cold hard facts and information. A heart is the force that sparks that data into life. Whether its a heart placed in the object or born from surrounding relationship, the heart is the sole requirement to be considered an existing person. And by nature of this very basic law the object miraculously becomes the intended person down to the blood pumping in their body. It’s not magic, it’s like… the actual physics. Because this is a reality that is subservient to the emotions and those emotions are born from the story told. The fantasy being presented. I go into this in my Worlds as Stories theory but it’s the reason why I see these grand entities like Kingdom Hearts as simply the embodiment of the entire fictional realm. 

I think the 4th wall is going to be broken soon. That Sora is going to discover his origins and have to grapple with his philosophies of existence being put to the test. This could very well change the entire fabric of the KH universe as a result. I mean you can't undo that knowledge once it happens. (i mean unless you forget which could happen). I’m the weird one saying that I don’t think Sora and Yozora are in the world of Verum Rex but in the real world. Because if Yozora dwells in a Fantasy based on Reality. Then Sora exists in a Reality based on Fantasy.

[otnesse]

Reply to Narnia4life

"Humans KILL fish, and would, most of them, experiment with mermaids. In King Triton’s eyes it was like Ariel was in love with a terrorist. Which she sorta was, a terrorist of sea animals. Ariel was the immature one. She was the one who KNOWINGLY went to the sea witch, in order to gain legs. Something that could’ve ruined her whole kingdom, AND NEARLY DID. The only bratty one I see here is Ariel. She sacrifices future relationships with her family, her safety, and their safety to get her wants. She is selfish and dangerously naive, which is why she will always be my least favorite Disney princess. "

First of all, while it is true that humans would kill fish (and let's be fair, there's plenty in the undersea world that eat fish as well. Do I have to remind you of the shark attack in the opening, or how Ursula's debut scene had her eating live shrimp? Last I checked, Triton had little issue with the sharks, who are far more of a direct threat to his kingdom BTW, and the worst he did to Ursula was banish her, which is little more than a slap on the wrist for what she did [if anything, she deserved the death penalty for her little garden].), it's unlikely the humans would have tried to get merpeople or experiment on them. For goodness sakes, they didn't even have access to submarines at the time of the film, still used sailing ships. If anything, even if humans posed any threat, the merpeople would actually see humans coming long before they would even be aware, and even deliberately position themselves well outside any visual limits for humans, either standard or enhancements via telescopes. Not to mention, in the opening of the film, Eric clearly wasn't even AWARE of who King Triton was until a sailor mentioned him, and Grimsby implied he doesn't even exist, and said sailor actually RELEASED a fish just to do a good thing for Triton, implying he had some reverence to him.

Second of all, judging all of humanity to be terrorists is actually the worst way to go. Zamasu had the exact same idea in Dragon Ball Super, and he proved to be one of the franchises most evil villains as a result (arguably surpassing FRIEZA in vileness, and that guy was considered one of the series' most evil villains due to essentially being a genocidal dictator), and do I really have to remind you of how Judge Claude Frollo adhered to that exact line of thinking and how THAT turned out for him? Trying to protect Ariel from actual threats is one thing, and I can commend Triton for that, but implying humanity needed to be exterminated or at least not care if one drowned even when admitting you don't know him is below the pale.

Third of all, she went to Ursula while she was an emotional wreck, after Triton pretty much blew up her grotto in a fit of anger (which, based on Triton's reaction afterwards, even HE knew he crossed a very big line with that action there), and considering that Ursula sang a song about how she had reformed to sway her into the deal, Ariel most likely didn't even KNOW Ursula was still after Triton's throne and most likely did think she reformed (and for the record, she actually was hesitant throughout the whole deal, and in fact, when F&J tried to directly suggest she go see Ursula, she outright refused them DESPITE being in emotional distress, so it clearly wasn't an easy decision for her to do, and she implies that part of her hesitance towards going through with the deal DID in fact deal with possibly being separated permanently from her family.). For a good comparison, play Mega Man Battle Network 3 and get to the chapter where Mr. Match tricks Lan Hikari into committing cyber arson. I might as well point out something else as well, she if anything tried to AVOID risking her family and friends, considering she initially insisted on going alone with F&J. Your complaints are probably far better fit for her counterpart from the original tale by Hans Christian Anderson than Ariel. Heck, Belle would have been a far better fit for those complaints (especially the endangerment thing) than Ariel (since unlike Ariel who at least can be excused with thinking Ursula had turned a new leaf, Belle actually DID know exactly what Gaston was truly like when she exposed Beast to that lynch mob, especially after she very clearly deduced that Gaston had orchestrated the arrest of her father as blackmail to force her hand in marriage, and that nearly got Beast and his servants outright MURDERED, and only barely managed to end things for the better via sheer dumb luck on her part. Ariel at least worked hard to clean up the mess she caused, and defeating Ursula was an easy fix compared to the situation with Gaston and the lynch mob, where no amount of magic could fix the deaths that were inflicted even if Gaston was killed, especially if she arrived AFTER the last pedal fell.). If you were truly consistent with your arguments, you'd probably rank Belle as low as Ariel, if not even LOWER than her, for precisely those reasons. And heck, at least Ariel didn't blame her father for her mistakes, unlike Belle who blamed Beast for the events leading up to the Wolf Incident despite the whole situation actually being largely HER fault.

Also, Ariel isn't selfish or a brat by any stretch. In the opening of the movie, she literally risked becoming shark food to save Flounder from becoming that, she actually risked being hit by flaming projectiles caused by Eric's ship exploding to save Eric when he was launched into the water and nearly drowned, she saved Sebastian from becoming Grimsby's meal, and that was DESPITE her most likely holding residual anger towards him for squealing to her dad), she let Vanessa marry Eric under the belief that he chose Vanessa, without even raising a hand against the marriage, despite not only being heartbroken by the decision, but her likely suffering eternal damnation at Ursula's hands as a result due to the nature of the deal, and in fact, when she did try to stop the wedding, it was ONLY after learning that Vanessa was Ursula in disguise and that she brainwashed Eric, in what was explicitly against her deal.), and last, but not least, when Ursula cursed her father, Ariel's first action is to try and outright ATTACK Ursula to avenge him, not gloat at Triton. And that's not even counting how she destroyed F&J when Ursula tried to destroy Eric with the Trident, saving his life again, or telling Eric to leave her behind (for that matter, that's not even counting the extension media featuring her). She if anything is one of the LEAST selfish DPs (if you ask me, her original counterpart was considerably more selfish, even WITH her deciding to spare the prince twice. I actually was not fond of the original tale for that reason, especially when she was essentially rewarded for the mass amounts of bad behavior she displayed in the book. If anything, the Disney version was an improvement.). Now, that all being said, I WILL agree with you that Ariel was naïve in the original film, and that such WAS a flaw of hers.

And don't think that in my defense of Ariel that I think Triton's a bad character by any stretch. Far from it, I if anything actually rank King Triton as being among the best Disney fathers, alongside Fa Zhou, Dr. James Possible, the remake version of Maurice, Mufasa, Simba in the sequels, and the 1959 film version of King Stefan, due to his coming across as genuinely impressive rather than an essentially an overgrown kid, a jerkwad, or incompetent (the latter three unfortunately being a common depiction of Disney fathers right now), not to mention actually protecting Ariel when it occurs and patching up relations with her. That doesn't mean I can't call him out on bad behavior or think he's blameless (and BTW, I also realize Ariel isn't blameless, so don't think I'm playing favorites, it's just that unlike you, I DON'T demonize Ariel despite being aware of her flaws, including naivety.).

[dailyaudiobible]

03/07/2018 DAB Transcript

Numbers 8:1-9:23, Mark 13:14-37, Psalms 50:1-23, Proverbs 10:29-30

Today is the 7th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today back in the rolling hills of Tennessee. I thank my wife Jill for leading us the last couple of days. Jet lag, guys, it just kicks my butt every single time. So like even now it's like where exactly am I and what time exactly is it. It's like I've got my body here in the rolling hills of Tennessee, my heart is somewhere in between but moving in the right direction. So glad to be back with you today as we dive in and take the next steps forward. We're reading from the New International Version this week. Today we'll read Numbers chapter 8 and 9 from our Old Testament readings.

Commentary:

Alright, in Mark’s gospel, Jesus is holding a discourse on the end times. And it is this message that the world is heading toward something. Something that will be very difficult for it to go through and earth’s people will move to that and then there will be a rebirth. This is an apocalyptic worldview. I've pointed this out on a number of occasions because that worldview...and we share it, right? Anyone, like I said, what? A month ago or whatever? Anyone who has that view that we're headed somewhere, that there will be difficulty, but on the other side of that, God will restore all things. It's an apocalyptic worldview. What's important to remember about that (is) it's kind of the underpinning of our faith. We don't pay attention to it much, we don't name it much, but it's always there. It influences the choices that we make today as we move forward. We think we're moving in this direction. In fact, we know we're moving in this direction. This is what would make a secular scholar label Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet in the same vein as John the Baptist and in the same vein as many other people that were saying these things in Jesus’ time. Of course, we know Jesus is and we believe in the Lord Jesus, but if we're back in the first century as Jewish people hearing Jesus, this is kind of how we would look at him as well. But when you start talking about this stuff, you immediately are prone to consider, like, when? When is this all going to happen? Like, if I could just know that, well then I could order my life accordingly. What's interesting is that Jesus says, about that day or hour no one knows. Not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. So Jesus counsels us that, yes this is a trajectory. This is where things are going, but you're not going to figure (it out). What you're supposed to do, your posture of heart in this worldview, knowing that we are moving somewhere, whether that in our lifetime or a thousand years or ten thousand years from now, no one knows. What your supposed to do is be on guard. Be alert. You don't know when that time will come and I'm quoting Jesus as I say this and his counsel is that we be vigilant. That we be aware and alert. That we are watching. And the interesting thing is what we're normally watching for is the signs of the times, right? Does anything add up here? Can we locate ourselves? That's what we're usually vigilant and watching out for. That's somewhat missing the point though because, according to Jesus, no one knows but the Father. What we're supposed to watch out for as we see in the teachings of Jesus, as we will see though the rest of the New Testament, as we will bear witness to in the Book of Revelation, is deception. It is deception that will be the main player in  that story. And if that sounds odd to you, then let me just quote Jesus again. At that time, if anyone says to you, look, here is the Messiah or look, there he is do not believe it. For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard. I've told you everything ahead of time. So in our lives right now and in our worldview that this is all headed somewhere, deception is the thing that we have to be vigilant about. Deception in our lives. Because, and we've talked about this at length already, it changes where we're heading. Vigilance not only invites us to experience the word of God but also to guard our hearts, giving it fully. Giving our full allegiance until death and beyond to Jesus. Because the way of the Lord has two outcomes. It's the way of the Lord, but how it's experienced will be very different for those who are walking with the Lord and those who are walking the path of evil. Or as the Proverb tells us today, The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil, right? It's the same way of the Lord being experienced very differently based on where our allegiance lies. So being aware of the deception in the world and in our own hearts is what we need to be vigilant about. And if we want to know what that looks like, what it would even look like for us to be deception-free and vigilant, all we have to do is look at Jesus. He's modelling for us and inviting us to live it. His sacrifice, what we're moving toward in the gospel of Mark right now, the last days of Jesus, he makes this possible for us as a gift. He restores us to God and has sent his Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, right? So if we're in all truth, nothing but the truth, then there is no deception.

Prayer:

So, Father we invite You into that. This is something that we've talked about already this year, it's something that we could mention and talk about every single day of this year because this is what we need to be vigilant about. And, so, come Holy Spirit. Lead us into all truth. Lead us on the path that leads to life. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It's home base. It's where you find out what's going on around here.

What's going on around here in my life is just kind of moving through the jet lag. It's so disorientating for me. But it takes a few days. Well, takes more than a few days. Takes about a week and then I start feeling like, okay, I'm back. I'm good. So, I'm sure I'm not the only one experiencing that. Thank you for your continued prayers over all of that. What a wonderful experience we had in the land of the Bible. And we'll be heading back about a year from now. A little less than a year from now. And if you want to be on that journey, you can check it out at dailyaudiobible.com. Just scroll down till you find Israel 2019. And I can't say I'm super excited about it right now, but I will be. Right now I'm just trying to get over the jet lag of coming back. But it's worth it. It's so worth it as I'm sure everyone who was there can attest to and I'm glad that we were able to experience the land of the Bible together virtually. And I'm excited on those long days where I'm just exhausted over there that I know I'm not alone. That the community’s here, that we're praying for each other, that we're loving one another, is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

So looking a little bit further on the calendar next month about a month from now, just a little over a month from now will be the More Gathering for Women. Springtime will be springing here in the south and we'll be up in the mountains of north Georgia for the More Gathering. And if you've been thinking about it, if you've been thinking, yeah, yeah I know there's more. I want more. And as new life springs forth on the earth, I want to participate. I want that new life to spring forth in me, then More Gathering is a great place to begin to explore that. A great sisterhood. You will meet people that you will know for the rest of your life. I know that because I've seen it. I've seen this happen every year. So you can check that out as well at moregathering.com and we'll look forward to seeing you soon.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. I cannot formulate the correct words that would describe the gratitude and humility that your partnership brings. We are a community and we don't exist any other way. We can't. So, if life is coming into your heart through the spoken word of God and the experience of community here, thank you for your partnership. If you're using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or if you prefer the mail, the mailing address is P.O Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I am Brian. I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Rebecca from Michigan. You know, I was learning something out of John 21, the book of John 21. And, you know how in the Bible how Jesus after he died on the cross He and then Peter, he went back to the fishing…he went back to his old life because he denied Jesus three times. And it was like a way of judging himself and condemning himself because he denied Jesus three times. And then Jesus came and showed up on the shore and lit a coal fire and then they had a fish dinner. And it’s like that’s where Jesus left off with him before he denied Jesus three times, that’s…before that happened there was a coal fire before he denied Jesus Christ three times. And I’m sure Peter felt like he was not worthy to even be a part of Jesus. Because Jesus said in verse 10, bring in the fish which you have caught. And Jesus in verse 12 says, come and dine with me, dine. And what I’m trying to say is, I realize that we make mistakes in our life, people goof up. And God’s forgiveness is so great that where left off in Him where you messed up on Him, He takes you all the way back before you denied Him before you walked away from Him, even if you are Christian before. He died on the cross for your sins and He offers forgiveness. So, if you ever feel like you’re not good enough for God’s kingdom or you…

Hi this is Missy from the Midwest. Today is Sunday, I believe it’s March 3rd, I think. And I just heard a young girl call in, I think from Canada, asking for prayer for her husband Devin. And she said he’s a good man but he doesn’t believe in God and you were praying for that. And I just wanted to encourage you. I was married to my husband for six years under the same circumstances. And when I finally was given counsel and came to realize that I was going to choose to love him whether he came to Christ or not, my goal was just love him. Within six months of that he gave his heart to the Lord. So, I just want to encourage you that in the Bible it tells us women to be a light to our husbands by our actions more than our words. And when I changed that and just decided that I was going to love him for who he was no matter what he saw that and that drew him to Christ. So, I just encourage you to do that and I am praying for you and Devin. And, I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name, but that weighs heavy on my heart because I was there. God bless you.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is Sean 316 calling once again from South Carolina. And today I am calling with something that I’ve wanted to do for a little while now. And it will not leave me alone, so I have to get it done today. And that is, I am calling to give a shout out to some of the brothers and sisters in the faith who have been a tremendous encouragement to me throughout the years that I’ve been listening and been a part of the Daily Audio Bible family. I mean just voices and your prayers alone have been monumental for me. So, God bless and shout out to Viola from Maryland, Blind Tony keep it flowin’ brother, Asia from Munich, cheers. Cherry Pie Cherry Chase. Annette Allison from Oklahoma City, Delta Alpha FoxTrot calling from the southern Texas front. And Slave of Jesus all right Holy Spirit let’s roll. And, of course, Brian we love you and will be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Kathleen in Mount Zion Illinois. It’s been a while since I’ve called in. In fact, this year I’ve been kind of struggling with listening. I’ve just been very busy with so many things and I just realized that, no, I need to come back to this. This is me putting my on my armor for the day and without it, yeah, it’s just things don’t work quite the same way and I really need to go face the day with my armor on. And anyway, I heard Nora. It is March 5th today. I just heard Nora from Canada. And man, of all the prayer requests that came in, yours just to hit my heart the most because you said you are now Christian after growing up in Islam and I know how difficult that is. And I have a son-in-law who is Muslim and I pray for him daily and truly believe that someday he will come to the Lord. And, so, you’re an inspiration for me and I’m going to put your name on my mirror. There are some people that I add to…I put things on my mirror so I see them every day. And I’m going to be praying for you in your growth and your strength and pray that you find a good Christian community to help you because you can’t do this alone. And also, of course, I’m very happy that you’re with Daily Audio Bible. I think it’s also good to get into a church that can help you grow in your area. So, anyway I will be praying for you. I love you. And all of you DABbers, I love you so much. And God bless you. Have a terrific day.

Dear God I just want to pray with my family this morning. Lord Jesus, we ask that you help us to weed out everything in our hearts that is not of You and that every desire in our lives that we continue to follow would help us to rip those out of the ground. Help us to choose the bread of life over the things of this world, over the desires, even the desires of our heart God. Help us turn our heart towards You. Help was torn our heart towards what is right and good. I pray for my brothers and sisters. I thank You for their calls. I was just listening and just praying for all of those who have called in with the struggles that we have over seeking out things that are sinful in life. Lord, those are empty promises of the devil. Just like in the garden Lord, he whispers for us that this would be powerful, but it’s not, it’s death. And I pray Lord, that we would understand and choose right. So, give us that strength, give us that discipline to go through our lives and ruthlessly, honestly tear those things out Lord and replace them with the seeds of life, the words of God, the precious bled of the covenant that You give us to give us, to give us eternal life, to give us what we need now. And we rely on You Lord Jesus. We rely on You with all that we are. In Jesus name I pray. Love you family. Thank you so much for your encouraging prayers. In Jesus name. Amen.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Wrapped in His Unfailing Love. It’s March 5th and I am calling for Nora, I believe your name is, the brand-new Christian woman who just bought a Bible. And I am rejoicing along with all the angels in heaven and all your brothers and sisters in this community. Congratulations and welcome to the family. I know that you’re struggling with some things and as we all do and we continue to do. But you know that nasty old devil is going to come in all the time and try to steal your joy but don’t let them do it. You just back him up in the name of Jesus, the most powerful name on earth and in heaven and anywhere in the universe. And I just wanted to give you this Scripture. It’s Romans 8:1. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Congratulations Nora. I am so happy for you. We love you here. And family, I love you. Jill thank you for reading today. God bless and bye-bye.

[pope-francis-quotes]

10th April >> (@RomeReports) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis Way of the Cross reflections for Good Friday. STATIONS OF THE CROSS 2020.

Introduction

The meditations on the Stations of the Cross this year were prepared by the chaplaincy of the “Due Palazzi” House of Detention in Padua. Fourteen people were invited by Pope Francis to meditate on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, bringing it to bear on their own situations. Those invited included five prisoners, a family that was the victim of a murder, the daughter of a man given a life sentence, a prison teacher, a civil magistrate, the mother of a prisoner, a catechist, a volunteer religious brother, a prison guard and a priest who was accused and then finally acquitted after eight years in the justice system.

Accompanying Christ on the Way of the Cross, with the raw voices of those who live behind the walls of a prison, is an opportunity to view the great battle between life and death, to discover how the threads of good and evil inevitably intertwine. Contemplating Calvary from behind bars is to believe that an entire life can be played out in a few moments, as happened to the good thief. All it takes is to fill those moments with truth: contrition for sins committed, the realization that death is not for ever, the certainty that Christ is the innocent man unjustly mocked. Everything is possible for those who believe, because even in the darkness of prison there resounds the proclamation full of hope: “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37). If someone holds out to them a hand, those capable of the most horrendous crimes can undergo the most unexpected resurrection. We can be certain that “even when we tell of evil, we can learn to leave room for redemption; in the midst of evil, we can also recognize the working of goodness and give it space” (Message of Pope Francis for World Communications Day 2020).

In this way, the Via Crucis becomes a Via Lucis.

The texts, compiled by the chaplain, Father Marco Pozza and volunteer Tatiana Mario, were written in the first person, but it was decided not to attribute names, for those who took part in this meditation wanted to lend their voice to all those throughout the world who are in the same situation. This evening, in the silence of prison, the voice of one wishes to become the voice of all.

Let us pray.

O God, Almighty Father,

in Jesus Christ your Son

you assumed the wounds and sufferings of humanity.

Today I have the courage to beseech you, like the good thief: “Remember me!”

I am here, alone before you, in the dark of this prison: poor, naked, hungry and despised, and I ask you to pour out upon my wounds the balm of forgiveness and consolation, and the wine of a solidarity that strengthens the heart.

Heal me with your grace and teach me hope in the midst of despair.

My Lord and my God, I believe; help my unbelief.

Merciful Father, continue to trust in me, to give me fresh opportunities,

to embrace me in your infinite love.

With your help and by the gift of the Holy Spirit, I too will be able to recognize you and serve you in my brothers and sisters.

Amen.

First Station

Jesus is condemned to death

(Meditation by a prisoner serving a life sentence)

Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus; but they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will(Lk 23:20-25).

Many times that cry, “Crucify him, crucify him!” is shouted out in court-rooms and in newspapers. It is a cry I even heard against me: I was condemned, together with my father, to a life sentence. My crucifixion began when I was a child: when I think back I see myself curled up on the bus that took me to school, sidelined because of my stutter, with no friends. I started to work when I was small, without having a chance to study: ignorance prevailed over innocence. Then bullying stole what was left of childhood from this boy born in Calabria during the 1970s. I am more like Barabbas than Christ, yet the harshest condemnation remains that of my own conscience: at night I open my eyes and I desperately search for a light that will shine upon my story.

Alone in my cell, when I re-read the pages of the Passion of Christ, I burst into tears: after 29 years in prison I have not yet lost the capacity to cry, to feel ashamed of my past history and of the evil I did. I feel like Barabbas, Peter and Judas in one single person. I am repelled by my past, even though I know it is my story. I have lived for years under the restrictive conditions of Article 41b of the Prison Administration Act and my father died under the same conditions. Many times at night I heard him crying in his cell. He tried to hide it, but I knew. We were both plunged into deep darkness. In that non-life, however, I was always searching for something that would be life: strange to say, prison was my salvation. If, for some, I am still Barabbas, that does not make me angry: I know in my heart that the Innocent One, condemned like me, came to find me in prison to teach me about life.

Lord Jesus, despite the uproar, we glimpse you among the crowds shouting for you to be crucified; perhaps we too are among them, blind to the evil of which we are capable. From our cells we want to pray to your Father for all those who, like you, are condemned to death and for all those who would substitute their own for your supreme judgment.

Let us pray.

O God, lover of life, in the sacrament of Reconciliation, you always give us a new opportunity to experience your infinite mercy. We ask you to grant us the gift of wisdom so that we can see every man and woman as a temple of your Spirit and respect their inviolable dignity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Second Station

Jesus takes up his Cross

(Meditation by two parents whose daughter was murdered)

The soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the praetorium); and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him(Mk 15:16-20).

During that horrible summer our life as parents died together with that of our two daughters. One of them was murdered along with her closest friend by the blind violence of a ruthless man; the other, who miraculously survived, was forever deprived of her smile. Ours was a life of sacrifices based on work and family. We taught our children to respect others and to value serving the poor. We often ask ourselves: “Why did it happen to us, this evil which engulfed us?”. We find no peace. Nor is justice, in which we had always trusted, able to relieve these deep wounds: our condemnation to suffering will never end.

Time has not eased the weight of the cross placed upon our shoulders: we are unable to forget our daughter who is no longer with us. We are elderly, more and more vulnerable and victims of the worst pain that can exist: surviving the death of a daughter.

This is difficult to say, but at the moment in which despair seems to take over, the Lord in different ways comes to meet us, giving us the grace to love one another as spouses, and to support one another, hard as it is. He invites us to keep the door of our home open to the poor and the despairing, welcoming whoever knocks, even if only for a bowl of soup. The commandment to perform acts of charity is for us a kind of salvation: we do not want to surrender to evil. God’s love is truly capable of renewing life because, before us, his Son Jesus underwent human suffering so as to experience true compassion.

Lord Jesus, it pains us to see you struck, mocked and stripped, an innocent victim of inhumane cruelty. On this night of sorrow, we plead with your Father and entrust to him all those who have endured violence and evil.

Let us pray.

O God, our justice and our redemption, who gave us your only Son and glorified him on the throne of the cross, instil your hope in our hearts so that we can recognize you present in the dark moments of our life. Comfort us in every affliction and support us in our trials as we await the coming of your kingdom. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Third Station

Jesus falls for the first time

(Meditation by a prisoner)

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all(Is 53:4-6).

It was the first time that I fell, but for me that fall was death: I took someone’s life. It only takes a day to pass from a blameless life to committing an act which encompasses the violation of all the commandments. I feel like a modern version of that thief who implored Christ with the words “Remember me!”. I imagine him less a penitent than someone conscious of being on the wrong path. From my childhood I remember the cold and hostile environment in which I grew up. All it took was for me to figure out someone’s weakness in order to transform it into a kind of entertainment. I was looking for real friends, I wanted to be accepted for who I was, but I was unable. I resented the happiness of others, I felt hamstrung, they asked of me only sacrifices and to obey the rules: I felt like a stranger to everyone and I sought revenge at all costs.

I hadn’t realized that evil was slowly growing inside me. Until, one evening, my own hour of darkness struck: in a second, like an avalanche, the memories of all the injustices I had suffered in life exploded. Anger killed my kindness, I committed an evil immensely greater than any of those that I had received. Then, in prison the ill-treatment by others led me to self-hatred: I was close to ending it all, I had reached the limit. I had also ruined my family: because of me they lost their name and respectability; they had become merely the family of a murderer. I make no excuses and seek no reductions, I will serve my sentence to the end because in prison I have found people who have given me back the faith I had lost.

My first fall was failing to realize that goodness exists in this world. My second, the murder, was really its consequence, for I was already dead inside.

Lord Jesus, you, too, fell to the ground. Perhaps your first fall was the hardest because it was entirely new: the impact was hard and left you shaken. We entrust to your Father all those who are so caught up in themselves that they are unable to acknowledge the sins they have committed.

Let us pray.

O God, you raised mankind up when we had fallen. We ask you to come to help us in our weakness and to grant us eyes to see the signs of your love everywhere in our daily lives. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Fourth Station

Jesus meets his Mother

(Meditation by the mother of a prisoner)

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home(Jn 19:25-27).

Not for a moment was I tempted to abandon my son in the face of his sentence. The day he was arrested changed our entire life: the whole family went into prison with him. Today people’s judgment remains implacable: like a sharp knife, fingers pointed are against all of us, increasing the suffering we already bear in our hearts.

The wounds grow with each passing day, they take our breath away.

I feel Mother Mary close to me: she helps me not to give into despair and to cope with the pain. I’ve entrusted my son to her: only to Mary can I confide my fears, since she herself experienced them on the way to Calvary. In her heart she knew that her Son would not escape human evil, yet she did not abandon him. She stood there sharing in his suffering, keeping him company by her presence. I think of Jesus looking up, seeing those eyes so full of love, and not feeling alone.

I would like to do the same.

I blamed myself for my son’s sins. I asked forgiveness also for my own responsibility. I beg for the mercy that only a mother is able to experience, so that my son can return to life after having paid for his crime. I pray constantly for him, so that day by day he can grow into a different man, capable once more of loving himself and others.

Lord Jesus, meeting your mother on the way of the cross is perhaps the most moving and most sorrowful of all.

Between your eyes and hers, we place all families and friends who feel pained and helpless before the fate of their loved ones.

Let us pray.

O Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, faithful disciple of your Son, we turn to you and entrust to your loving gaze and to the care of your maternal heart the cry of all humanity which awaits with anguish the day when every tear will be wiped away from their faces. Amen.

Fifth Station

Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross

(Meditation by a prisoner)

As they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus (Lk 23:26).

With my job I helped generations of children to believe in themselves. Then one day I found myself lying on the ground. It was as if they broke my back: my job was the pretext for a shameful conviction. I entered prison: prison entered my home. Since then I have become an outcast in the city: I have lost my name, I am now known by the crime of which I have been charged, I am no longer the master of my life. When I think about it, that child with worn-out shoes, wet feet, secondhand clothes comes to mind: that child was me, I was once that child. Then, one day, my arrest: three men in uniform, a rigid protocol, the prison that swallowed me alive in its concrete maw.

The cross they placed on my shoulders is a heavy one. Over time I have learned to live with it, to look it in the face, to call it by name: we spend many nights keeping each other company. Inside prisons, Simon of Cyrene is known by everyone: it is the second name of volunteers, of those who mount this Calvary to help carry a cross; they are people who reject the law of the pack and listen to their conscience. Simon of Cyrene, too, is my cellmate: I met him my first night in prison. He was a man who had lived on a bench for years, without affection or income. His only wealth was a box of candies. He has a sweet tooth, but he insisted that I bring it to my wife the first time she visited me: she burst into tears at that unexpected and thoughtful gesture.

I’m growing old in prison: I dream that one day, I will be able to trust others.

To become a Cyrenean, bringing joy to someone.

Lord Jesus, from the moment of your birth to the time you met a stranger who helped you carry your cross, you wanted to depend on our help. We too, like the Cyrenean, desire to be close to our brothers and sisters and to help in offering the Father’s mercy that breaks the yoke that oppresses them.

Let us pray.

O God, defender of the poor and comforter of the afflicted, strengthen us with your presence and help us to bear each day the easy yoke of your commandment of love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sixth Station

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

(Meditation by a catechist)

My heart says to you,“Your face, Lord, do I seek”. Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation! (Ps 27:8-9).

As a catechist, I wipe away many tears, letting them flow: they flood uncontrollably from hearts that are broken. Many times I meet despairing souls who, in the darkness of prison, try to find a reason for the evil that to them seems infinite. Their tears are those of defeat and loneliness, of remorse and lack of understanding. I often imagine Jesus here in prison in my stead: how would he wipe away the tears? How would he ease the anguish of these men who feel trapped by what they have become in yielding to evil?

Coming up with an answer is hard, often impossible within the limits of our petty human logic. The way pointed out to me by Christ is to contemplate, without fear, those faces marred by suffering. I am asked to remain there with them, respecting their silence, listening to their pain, and seeking to look beyond prejudice. In the same way that Christ looks at our own weaknesses and limitations with eyes full of love. Everyone, including those in prison, has an opportunity each day to become a new person, thanks to Christ’s look which does not judge, but gives life and hope.

In this way, the tears that fall can become the seed of a beauty that was difficult even to imagine.

Lord Jesus, Veronica had pity on you: she encountered a suffering person and discovered the face of God. In prayer we entrust to your Father the men and women of our times who seek to wipe away the tears of so many of our brothers and sisters.

Let us pray.

O God, true light and source of all light, in weakness you reveal the power and radicalism of love. Imprint your face in our hearts, so that we can recognize you in all human suffering. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Seventh Station

Jesus falls for the second time

(Meditation by a prisoner)

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. And they cast lots to divide his garments (Lk 23:34).

In the past, whenever I walked past a prison, I looked the other way: “I will never end up in there”, I said to myself. The times I did look, I felt sadness and darkness: I felt like I was walking past a cemetery of the living dead. Then one day, I ended up behind bars, together with my brother. As if that wasn’t enough, I also brought my father and mother in there. From the foreign country it had been, the prison is now our home: we men were in one cell, our mother in another. I looked at them and I felt ashamed of myself. I no longer feel like I am a man. They are growing old in prison because of me.

I fell twice. The first time was when evil attracted me and I gave in: peddling drugs, in my eyes, was worth more than the work of my father, who was breaking his back ten hours a day. The second was when, after ruining the family, I began to ask myself: “Who am I that Christ should die for me?”. The cry of Jesus – “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” – I saw reflected in my mother’s eyes: she took on the shame of all the men of the house to save the family. And I saw it in the face of my father, as he secretly despaired in his cell. Only today can I admit it: in those years I didn’t know what I was doing. Now that I know, I am trying to rebuild my life with the help of God. I owe it to my parents: years ago, they sold all that we had of value because they didn’t want me to live on the street. I owe it above all to myself: the idea that evil can continue to guide my life is intolerable. This is what has become my way of the cross.

Lord Jesus, once again you have fallen to the ground: crushed by my attachment to evil, by my fear of not being able to become a better person. In faith we turn to your Father and pray for all those not yet able to break free from the power of Satan, from all his allurements and his manifold seductions.

Let us pray.

O God, you do not leave us in the darkness and shadow of death. Strengthen us in our weakness, free us from the bonds of evil and shield us by your power, so that we may forever sing of your mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Eighth Station

Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

(Meditation by the daughter of a man sentenced to life imprisonment)

There followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us’” (Lk 23:27-30).

How many times, as the daughter of someone in prison, have I been asked: “You love your father: do you ever think about the pain he inflicted on his victims?”. Over these years I have never failed to answer: “Of course, it is impossible for me not to think about it”. But then I ask them this question: “Have you ever thought that, of all the victims of my father’s action, I was the first? For twenty-eight years I have been serving the sentence of growing up without a father”. For all these years I have lived with anger, restlessness, sadness: his absence is a heavy burden to bear. I have travelled throughout Italy, from south to north, to stay with him: I know its cities not for their monuments but for the prisons I have visited. I seem to be like Telemachus when he went in search of his father Odysseus: my journey takes me to Italian prisons and loved ones.

Years ago, I missed love because I am the daughter of a prisoner, my mother fell prey to depression, the family collapsed. I was left, with my small salary, to bear the weight of this sorry story. Life forced me to become an adult without ever being a child. In my home, everything is a via crucis: Dad is one of those sentenced to life imprisonment. The day I got married, I dreamed of having him beside me: even then he was thinking of me, though hundreds of kilometres away. “Such is life!”, I say, to encourage myself. It’s true: there are parents who, out of love, learn to wait for their children to grow up. In my own case, for love, I wait for my Dad’s return.For people like us, hope is a duty.

Lord Jesus, we see your words to the women of Jerusalem as a warning to each of us. Those words invite us to conversion, to pass from a sentimental religiosity to a faith rooted in your word. We pray for those who are forced to bear the burden of shame, the suffering of abandonment, the lack of a presence. And for each of us, that the sins of parents may not fall on their children.

Let us pray.

O God, Father of all kindness, you do not abandon your children in the trials of life. Give us the grace to be able to rest in your love and to enjoy forever the consolation of your presence. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ninth Station

Jesus falls for the third time

(Meditation by a prisoner)

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust – there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, and be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love (Lam 3:27-32).

Falling down is never pleasant; but beyond the fact that it is unpleasant, falling over and over again becomes itself a kind of condemnation, as if one is no longer capable of remaining standing. As a man, I have fallen all too many times: I have also gotten up many times. In prison I often think about how many times a child falls to the ground before learning to walk: I am coming to think that these are preparations for all the times when we will fall as adults. As a child, my home was like a prison: I lived in fear of punishment, alternating between the melancholy of adults and the carefreeness of children. Of those years I remember Sister Gabriella, the only happy image: she was the only one who saw the best in me. Like Peter, I have sought and found many excuses for my mistakes: the strange fact is that a fragment of goodness always remained alive in me.

I became a grandfather in prison: I didn’t experience my daughter’s pregnancy. One day, I will tell my granddaughter the story of only the goodness I have found and not the evil I have done. I will tell her about the one who, when I lay fallen on the ground, brought me the mercy of God. In prison, the worst form of despair is to think that life no longer has meaning. It is the greatest suffering: of all the lonely people in the world, you feel like the loneliest. It is true that my life was shattered into a thousand pieces, but the wonderful thing is that those pieces can still be put together. It is not easy, but it is the only thing that still makes sense here.

Lord Jesus, you fall a third time to the ground and, when everyone thinks that this is the end, once again you get up. We confidently put ourselves in the hands of your Father and entrust to him all those who feel imprisoned in the abyss of their errors, so that they may be granted the strength to get up and the courage to let themselves be helped.

Let us pray.

O God, strength of those who hope in you, you give peace to those who follow your teachings. Sustain our staggering steps, raise us when we fall through our unfaithfulness. Pour the balm of consolation and the wine of hope on our wounds. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Tenth Station

Jesus is stripped of his garments

(Meditation by a prison teacher)

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture, “They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Jn 19:23-24).

As a teacher in a prison, I see people entering jail deprived of everything: stripped of all dignity because of the crimes they have committed, stripped of all respect for themselves and for others. Every day I see how they become more and more dependent behind bars: they need me even to help write a letter. These are the unsettled lives entrusted to my care: helpless, frustrated by their weakness, frequently deprived of even the ability to understand the wrong they have done. At times, however, they are like newborn babies who can still be formed. I sense that their lives can start over in another direction, definitively turning away from evil.

My strength, however, is fading day by day. Encountering daily all this anger, pain and hidden malice ends up wearing down even the most experienced of us. I chose this work after my mother was killed in a head-on collision by a young drug addict: I decided to respond immediately to that evil with good. But even though I love this job, I sometimes struggle to find the strength to carry on.

In so sensitive a service, we need to feel that we are not abandoned, in order to be able to support the many lives entrusted to us, lives that each day run the risk of ruin.

Lord Jesus, when we gaze at you stripped of your garments we feel embarrassed and ashamed. Beginning with the first man, in the face of the naked truth we started to run away. We hide behind masks of respectability and clothe ourselves with lies, frequently with the threadbare rags of the poor, exploited by our greedy thirst for money and power. May the Father have mercy on us and patiently help us to become more simple, more transparent, more authentic: ready to abandon definitively the weapons of hypocrisy.

Let us pray.

O God, you set us free by your truth. Strip us of our interior resistance and clothe us with your light, that we may be the reflection of your glory in the world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Eleventh Station

Jesus is nailed to the Cross

(Meditation by a priest accused and later acquitted)

When they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews”. One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong”. And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power”. And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”(Lk 23:33-43).

Christ nailed to the Cross. How often, as a priest, have I meditated on this page of the Gospel. When later, one day, they put me on a cross, I felt the full weight of that wood: the accusation was made in words as hard as nails, the ascent became steep, suffering weighed me down. The darkest moment was seeing my name pasted outside the courtroom: at that moment I realized that I was a guiltless man forced to prove his innocence. I hung on the cross for ten years: my Way of the Cross was populated with dossiers, suspicions, accusations, insults. Each time I was in the courtroom, I looked for the crucifix: I kept my eyes fixed on it as the law investigated my story.

For a moment, shame led me to think that it would be better to end it all. But then I decided to remain the priest I always was. I never thought of lessening my cross, even when the law permitted it. I chose to submit myself to a regular trial: I owed it to myself, to the young men I taught during the years at the seminary, to their families. While I was climbing my Calvary, I found them all along the way: they became my Cyreneans, they bore the weight of the cross with me, they dried my many tears. Together with me, many of them prayed for the young man who accused me: they never stopped. The day on which I was fully acquitted, I found myself happier than I had been ten years before: I experienced first-hand God working in my life. Hanging on the cross, I discovered the meaning of my priesthood.

[pomegranate-salad]

ÜbeR-rated

For whatever reason, Word War 2 and Nazism have been on my mind a lot lately, so I finally got around to reading Über, all 27 issues of it, plus the specials and the beginning of Über Invasion. And I wrote a 5K analysis of it in the context of the fictionalization of Nazis. This is a thing I did to myself. And if you don’t want to feel left out, now you can read it too.

Heavy spoilers for the whole Über run, TW for pretty much everything you’d expect from a WW2 comic (except screenshots, because… well). Enjoy (?)

…

 What am I looking at here ?

  It’s 11 pm here and I’ve been staring blankly at my computer screen for thirty minutes, trying to find the proper way to kick off this essay, when all I had to do was to take a look at the additional rewards of the Kickstarter for the new Über arc, in order to introduce the point I want to start this piece on : I AM VERY, VERY WARY OF WW2-BASED FICTION. It’s not to say I’m opposed to it on principle, as I know some people are ; no matter how hard the topic, there’s always use for fiction. Fiction is a vector. It can be used right and it can be used wrong, but while on some levels it cannot hope to ever hold the same value as historical content, there are similarly elements only a piece of fiction can grasp. And if this kind of ethical discussion is always going to be around, it’s because fictionalization of real-life events is always going to be around. It’s an inevitable processing device of the human mind, and as much as possible I try to examine artistic material without resting my entire appreciation on their rapport to their source material, if only because part of their value comes from their ability to stray away from it.

But if there’s one event around which the tensions between history and fiction have made themselves an integrant and even a central part of any discussion of their artistic merits, it would be World War Two, and more specifically the Third Reich aspect of it. Maybe that’s unfair. But the historicity that has to be worked with on other topics here becomes a prerequisite concern : if the transposition from real events to fiction is handled poorly, it stands at risk of disqualifying the entire work. And even in works from thoughtful, ethically-minded creators (as it is the case with Über) you’re never safe from a “what the hell were they thinking” type of blunder. I hope they still sell those shirts next time I visit an Avatar booth so I finally get something to go with my “I <3 Auschwitz” tote bag.

 However, once we get past the fact that the “offensiveness” of the work is always going to be part of the discussion, there is a lot to be said on the link between historical events and their fictionalization on a pure narrative level. Even when this fictionalization is done wrong from an ethical point of view, it can teach us a lot about our own need for fiction and the inner workings of real events-based artworks.

 I felt this introduction was necessary, as this piece is going to feature both discussions of the ethical stakes raised by the choices Über made when fictionalizing WW2, and discussions of the same choices from a storytelling and aesthetic perspective. Nevertheless, even when these two aspects – ethical and artistic – are discussed separately, it should be understood that they are coexisting lenses of appreciation of Über as a whole, and that a negative or positive appreciation of a narrative choice from one perspective should in no way be taken as a validation or denigration from the other. To put it simply, the fact that I will praise some of Über’s creative decisions doesn’t mean I consider them free of ethical issues ; reciprocally, my criticism of Über’s handling of some ethical issues doesn’t mean I consider it worthless as a piece of art.

If you are of the opinion that ethical deficiency should prevent any artistic analysis of this work to take place, I will not argue ; similarly, if you want to avail yourself of a right to enjoy fiction without concerning yourself with ethical debates – well, you’re wrong, but that’s not an argument I will start here. Personally, I think these two aspects need to be analysed concurrently here, as Über is kind of a perfect case study in WW2 fictionalization in that it’s a thought-provoking work in large part because it is riddled with questionable choices, instead of being thought-provoking in spite of them.

 In conclusion to this introduction folks, Über is a land of contrasts.

  The Three Big Bad Wolves

 At its most basic level, the premise of Über is nothing that hasn’t been done before : at some point in WW2, we enter an alternate timeline in which Nazis somehow manage to take the advantage thanks to a technical breakthrough. It’s a handy premise as it has long served as an oblique way to discuss the American use of the atom bomb in Japan, and the subsequent nuclear race, without being hit with the “would you rather have had the Nazis win the war ?” inevitable defence. Put the dangerous toy in the hands of the most recognizable villainous figure of the 20th century, and suddenly, the conversion loses its controversial aspect. However, I’d also argue it loses its pertinence. It doesn’t have to, but more often than not, the identification of debatable means to an undebatable villain tends to wash out any reflexion on the mean itself to instead reinforce the evil of the character. The Nazi atom bomb is evil because it’s Nazi, not because it’s a weapon of mass destruction. There’s no equivalent to the nuclear escalation started by the US bomb in the Nazi atom bomb timeline : any technological progress made to counter Nazis is ultimately being coloured as good, because it’s fighting Nazis we’re talking about.

This is where Über does something interesting : instead of trying for a weak “no blameless sides” approach that could only pale in comparison with the culturally engrained goal of stopping Nazis, it turns the original premise to eleven and watches it unfold. The Nazi atom bomb is not just the American one with the eagle painted black, it’s one that dons an unmistakably Nazi idea : the rise of a superior race of men. So when the USSR and the UK and then the US have to retaliate, they have to do so by implementing a technology that is tainted with the very ideology they are fighting against. In that sense, it’s very telling that we see this technology collide with the Allies’ own racist ideology : America is willing to put itself at a disadvantage by under-employing some of its potential “enhanced men” because they are black. In the war of ideas presented in Über, Germany has already won : it’s now fighting on its own field.

 That’s the enhanced men premise in terms of sides ; what about the enhanced men on their own ? Where do they stand in the context of fictionalizing WW2 ? There’s of course an inevitable comparison to be made between Captain America and Über, but one I will leave to someone who actually knows their stuff about Captain America. Instead, I want to look at this premise from a larger perspective : is there a use for a superior version of Nazis ? A sci-fi device is handy to compensate for an overpowered adversary ; in Über’s case in particular, any modern WW2-based fiction has to work with the limitations of hindsight : we live in a world that was built on a Nazi defeat, therefore it is hard to conceive of a winning Germany without somehow rebalancing the odds. This is where fiction might benefit from a re-actualization that is inherently impossible for historical material : we could make Nazis win, so we can beat them again.

 However, this is where the unicity of WW2 as an historical event comes to undercut the use of fiction. WW2 and the Holocaust aren’t just real events : they were a cultural breaking point. To grossly paraphrase Theodor Adorno, one cannot think in the paradigm that led to Auschwitz anymore. With the end of WW2, a page of the human book of thoughts was turned. Our intellect, our culture, came across something that couldn’t be assimilated : both had to be profoundly rerouted to make sense of the world. Nazism is an intellectual dead-end : it represent the moment an entire intellectual and cultural paradigm imploded into total loss of meaning. What it means is that, even today, Nazism is Nazism precisely because we can’t conceive of it, and yet it did come to exist. Understanding the historicity of Nazism takes more than faith in the facts ; it takes suspension of disbelief IRL. The key factor in understanding the cultural impact of WW2 is its reality. Nazis aren’t scary because they were evil, they are scary because they were real. So if your premise is something along the lines of “Nazis, but scarier”, all you can accomplish is further remove Nazism from what gives it its cultural impact and straight into fiction territory. By pushing it into deliberate incredibility instead of forcing the audience to confront its actual incredibility, you anchor your story into a sanitized environment in which Nazism has been replaced by its cultural shorthand. Your Nazi is evil, but they’re not real, and therefore not scary.

This is why to me, using fictional enhancement to compensate for the historicity of Nazism is a device that is doomed from the start. This is a case where Reality wins ; even the slightest confrontation to real-life Nazi brutality has more narrative impact than all the sci-fi body horror in the world. What it meant for me reading Über is that I was aware of the impact the übermensch were supposed to have on the reader but I never felt this impact for myself. I’d argue the scariest moment in the whole Über run occurs in the Special, specifically Markus’ backstory. Here we see a child born into national-socialist ideology commit a hate crime. The implacable use of infantile impulses to indoctrinate hatred ; now this is a taste of the unbelievable Reality of Nazism. In comparison, Klaudia destroying all of Paris elicits no emotion because it belongs wholly in the cogs of fiction.

Now this would be alright if Über’s only ambition was to tell a story set in the context of WW2, but it’s a comic with the ambition to make a statement about WW2, meaning it wants me to be invested both in its actual story and in the fact that it’s a WW2 story. But it doesn’t work as a standalone story because its stakes are so rooted in its historical basis, and it cannot hope to one-up this basis as a work of fiction. As a result, Über sits uncomfortably between its premise and its stakes, lowering the latter by furthering the former.

  Killing cities in a night, repeatedly

 The fictionalized and historical aspects of Über also come to collide in its graphic decisions. Violence – both its level and its regularity – is a recurrent issue encountered by WW2-based works, including non-fiction ones : what to show ? How much to show ? This is a matter of responsibility but also impact : setting a standard of violence is also what will help you to highlight and judge these actions relatively. What kind of violence do the “good guys” allow themselves ? What is the line that indicates a wrongdoing ?

WW2 here comes with its specific set of problems, as it is an era in which brutality and barbarism wasn’t only pushed further than ever before, it was also generalized and systematized ; meaning that violence can virtually be present at every instant and not feel like an exaggeration. Moreover, there is such a variety of ways this violence can be painted, from clinical and cold to outrageous and unbearable, that each representation of violence cannot help but feel like a statement.

Every WW2-based work has provided us with its own answer to this problem. In Merle’s Death is my trade, the violence of Auschwitz is perceived through the eyes of a detached, efficiency-minded SS top officer : here, violence is a numbing succession of technical examination, the result of a cost and benefits analysis devoid of any empathy. In Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino went in the opposite direction : this is one of his least violent films from a frequency perspective, but when violence occurs, it is never anodyne. Sometimes it is glorious, other times gruesome, but the movie makes sure you are there to appreciate every single bit of it.

 So safe to say there are many ways the litany of horrors of WW2 can be approached. But the solution Über came up with is in my sense a particularly creative, meaningful one, and one I can’t recall ever seeing before. Violence is Über is ever-present, ever-extreme, and yet somehow always centred. Generally, representing violence in WW2-based work takes the form of an arbitration between frequency and impact. You either use violence to world-building purposes in order to create an ever-brutal environment, or you save it to put emphasis on a couple of significant moments. But in this debate of violence as a beat versus violence as a drop, Über never really takes position. Every other panel features someone being ripped apart, some mash of flesh on the ground, every confrontation brings its lot of snuff visuals. It should be numbing or acclimating, but we are forced to keep paying attention by the constant spot the story shines on it. Violence in Über is both the stage and the play ; even when it has relatively little effect on you – as it is my case – you are always half-forced to integrate it and half-forced to focus on it.

But even more interestingly, if everything is violence, then it means there is no background or forefront violence. A plot-wise insignificant rape of a nameless character in the first issue is depicted with the exact same crudeness as HMH Churchill’s leg ripping off during the most decisive battle of the first arc. No violent act is either meaningless or meaningful. No violent act is ever narratively highlighted, therefore no violent act is ever justified. I’ve often read that Über “doesn’t pick sides”, but it definitely does ; what it doesn’t pick is a demarcating line. Violence is the great equalizer of Über : brutality is brutality, whether it’s kicking a puppy or winning a war. This is a courageous position because it goes beyond the “all sides are bad” easy rhetoric of most Manichean WW2 narratives. The violence in Über is not a rhetorical tool, it is not up for discussion, it resists both analysis and relativizing. It is a whole that cannot be picked apart and deconstructed. This is a very punk rock use of violence in that it says almost nothing but makes it emptiness meaningful.

 [I can’t help, however, but point to the only narrative decision so far I consider unequivocally wrong : to wait until the story takes place in the US in Invasion to dedicate some consequent space and speaking time to casualties and civilians. I know where this decision comes from – render the stakes of a Nazi invasion more personal to an historically untouched America – but the fact that this is the first time this aspect of war is evoked on its own feels not only like a gross erasure of actual history, it perpetuates the long Hollywoodian tradition of only being able to care about things when they happen to good US citizen. Somehow I feel like if millions of people can march around the world in preventive solidarity with the US, any member of the presumed Anglo-Saxon readership should be able to grasp at the horror of devastated Europe and Asia without being able to spell the last name of the victims. Anyway, Über Invasion #2 is a perfect example of how a good standalone chapter can lose all of its compelling power when taken in the context of its own series. Back to the essay.]

  The Jewish Question

yup and I’m sure this header will never bring in my notifications the delightful people who frantically search it on every website

 Because violence is an equalizer in Über, it means everything that’s represented in the comics stands at the same level of horror as everything else. What this entails is that, if there is something the authors do consider reaching a superior level of horror, this superiority cannot be expressed within the pages ; there is no way to double down on ultraviolence. Therefore, the only solution to do this particular act justice is to leave it out. There are no degrees of violence, only representation or lack thereof. And this is a determining factor Über uses extensively.

Despite being described in virtually review as “uncompromising”, I find Über to be on the contrary built on compromise ; only the compromising happens before anything makes it onto the page. Because of its particular subject matter, it gives ethical significance to anything “making the cut”, which reveals a level of thoughtfulness of the creators that I wish I could see more often around difficult material.

 And maybe with no surprise, there is one thing Über is decidedly not showing. I call Über a WW2 comic, a Nazism comic, but it is not, by any means, a Holocaust comic. You could count on one hand the number of times the camps are mentioned ; we witness but two acts of antisemitism, and that’s if we include the special ; of the two featured queer characters, one is a Nazi ; there is no Rromani character ; and if not for Leah Cohen, the comic would be entirely devoid of named Jewish characters. Really, this is such a glaring hole in the comic’s narrative fabric that it cannot be something other than intentional. The comic twists into at times frankly comical contortions to avoid the subject : the Nazis are experimenting on humans, but they’re mostly non-Jewish Slavs. Bloody doctor Mengele shows up and he doesn’t do a goddamn thing.

So I think the intentionality is pretty clear here. Now I’ve said in my Tara piece that I will always respect a creator’s decision to stay away from a topic if they don’t see themselves having the legitimacy or the shoulders to handle it properly. It’s especially true when this decision was made out of respect for that topic, which I believe was the case here. I do see why one would want to avoid discussing the Holocaust in their comic about human nuclear bomb Nazis wiping off most of Europe.

 However justified – and possibly right – this choice was, it begs a different question regardless : can you make a comic about WW2, and one exploring literal Nazi doctrine at that, that mostly ignores the Holocaust ? Well obviously you can, but can you make this work meaningful while cutting out the most central and recognizable aspect of WW2 ?

Let’s say it straight up : I don’t have an answer to that. I don’t think an abstract answer can even be given here. But we can look at the answer Über gives us.

 On a pure narrative level, Über does evacuate most of the problem by situating its story after the liberation of the camps. I’d argue that given what a pressing matter the imminent discovery of the camps by the Allies was to losing Germany (google “death march” next time you feel like your life is going too well), it’s hard to conceive why Sankt didn't just take one of the battleships for a stroll to the camps and have them literally blink every evidence out of existence, but let’s accept there are in-universe reasons why the topic can be cautiously worked around.

On a conceptual level, things are more complicated. Über is a comic about WW2, but one that explicitly focuses on Nazis and Nazi ideology. It’s natural for a work about Pearl Harbour not to peep a word of the Holocaust. But when the foundation of the comic rests on Nazi soldiers and the people directly fighting them, the absence of the Holocaust aspect feels like there’s something missing. As a thought experiment, I tried to imagine if the comic would have worked if it had taken place in WWI instead. The protagonists are similar, so are, roughly, the battlefields. There is virtually no reason why WWI Germany wouldn’t work as an antagonist in a sci-fi comic. In fact I’m pretty sure there’s at least one comic out there with this scenario. And yet it feels like Über wouldn’t work at all in WWI. As a second thought experiment, I wondered if the premise would have worked if the Allies had come up with the enhanced human first and realized I’d invented Captain America.

In both instances, the transposition doesn’t work, because of one reason : Nazis. As I said earlier, there is something irreplaceable in the combination of Nazi characters and Nazi ideology-based sci-fi. Über doesn’t work as simply “a war comic in which one side gets enhancing technology” because its core relies way too much on our shared understanding and approach to Nazis. And this is where the absence of a Holocaust narrative in the plot can deprive it of meaning. Nazism is Nazism and not Any Other Nationalist ideology because of the Holocaust. The world we live in today is built on the identity between Nazism and the Holocaust. You cannot think of one without thinking of the other. So when Über rests its premise on Nazism while consciously avoiding discussing the Holocaust, it’s effectively using Nazis out of their context and into a made-up one. It borrows the cultural significance of Nazism while cutting out its signifier.

This leads to a bizarre situation in which only two of the Nazis featured in Hitler are ever seen partaking in Nazi ideology, and the people who are actually seen torturing an –  albeit willing – Jewish character are British. A situation in which the entire core of the racist Nazi ideology feels like a bygone idea destined to die with an insane Hitler to make room for tacticians and economists.

 To reiterate, I don’t know if leaving the Holocaust out was the wrong decision or not. Maybe the risk of feeling exploitative was too great and the creative team was wise to leave it out as much as possible. But as a result, it can’t help but lean a bit more on erasure. The fact is that when your mean of respecting something is to leave it out, then you won’t have the opportunity to compensate for whatever opposite content does make it in the comic. There is nothing offensive about the Holocaust in Über, but there’s nothing reverent about it either.

  Prisoners of fate

 In fact, there’s not much reverence for anything inside Über. There is respect as I’ve discussed earlier, on a structural level, determined by what makes it into the comic. But what gets to be on the page cannot expect any kind of special, tasteful treatment. I think Über readers only learned exactly what they were in for with the concurrent deaths of Hitler and Churchill. If Hitler gets regularly offed by more or less talented creators, Winston Churchill is one of the Gandalfs of WW2, an immediately reassuring presence who eases out your reading by bringing one certainty to it : no matter how bad things get, he’s not going to die. This is the most commonly adopted bias in WW2-based materials : preserving historical figures in order not to throw the audience too much off track. In Über, historical figures enjoy no such immunity. This is an extreme but equally crafty solution to the coexistence of reality-based and purely fictional characters. This is a problem with which a fair share of WW2-based works struggle. Take something like Costa-Gravas’ Amen : the superposition of real-life figure Kurt Gerstein and fictional character Riccardo Fontana doesn’t work at all, as they both serve basically the same narrative purpose and diminish each other’s impact on the story. But in Über, a character’s real-life basis always comes second to the internal logic of the story. That’s not to say there isn’t room for them in the grand scheme of things, but as more and more enhanced characters take the stage, these characters can’t help but feel more and more irrelevant. That is maybe the great paradox at the heart of Über, that it still features a division between the enhanced soldiers instead of one between them and regular humans – a transition Wicdiv underwent recently. I suspect the simplifier or this paradox lies on what Über has to say on Authority, but I’m saving that subject for a separate essay.

 But this “no character is ever safe” stance contributes to another sentiment that runs all the way through Über : implacability. This is a very fatalistic comic, probably even more than Wicdiv. This is particularly palpable in the fight scenes. Despite what the covers would have you think, battles in Über are quite short : four, five pages at best before something breaks it down. But most importantly, they are predictable. There is no last minute turnaround in Über : the second the protagonists collide, you know who’s going to fall short. The only unknown factor is just how scarring this defeat will be. Not only that, there is no narrative logic as to who’s going to emerge the winner : Allies are not due a victory because they last suffered a loss, no side can expect proportional returns to its sacrifices, no battleship is guaranteed to win out of virtue of being a charismatic character. There is only one law in Über, and that’s the Rule of war. The winning side wins because they had the superior technology, the superior information, the superior strategy. The issue of a battle is settled long before the two enhanced fighters even meet, as two groups of high-ranking officers stand above some maps. This is why the story of Über so often seems to be happening in its own background : most of the time, what we see is a consequence of the plot more than the plot itself.

The story is not completely devoid of typically Gillen-esque clever bits, like the “cloning” of Hitler and pretty much everything about Maria. But those are outstanders waiting to be integrated in the grand logic of the story, and until then, often feel out of place – Maria in particular.

 Then there is the second lens we have to see the story through, one that gives the story the full measure of its fatalistic weight : the narration. I said I wasn’t particularly touched by the art on its own ; however, the contrast between the extreme graphics and the cold, factual narration is one of the comic’s best assets. One of the issues’ back pages feature a script excerpt describing a gory mutated monster in very graphic details ; but this sort of writing never makes it into Über. The narration is abundant, but always curiously removed from the visual action, at times even clunky and annoying to read. I wasn’t sure how to make sense of it until I got to a particular description of a piece of art created by the power of the enhanced men. What was interesting is the mention that it was the “first” one, something that would be impossible to know unless you were observing the scene from a distant point in the future. The narration is dry for a reason : this is archivist talk. Whatever perspective we’re observing the story from, this is one that is way ahead of us, possessing some additional information, short on more trivial matters. Über only tricks you into thinking this is a re-actualisation of WW2 : in its own timeline, the war we’re looking at is long over. The fictional heroes, the historical figures, the technological progress, the countries, they are all trapped in their little sandbox, playing a game that only seems undecided, when in reality everything that will happen will do so to arrive at that unknown moment in the future, the vantage point from which we are watching the ants burn each other.

  How can you read Über while holding this intense feeling of vanity ? You can’t ; you have to get into the story, do what the narration cannot do, get closer to these characters, and try to understand them. But you can never fully connect with them either : you are from a different world, both outside and inside the story, a world built on the ashes of the one fuming under your eyes. A world that had to reinvent itself to make sense of the contagious barbarity born of revenge, ideology and desperation. What does the world Über is talking to us from look like ? Does is look like ours ? Is it better ? Worse ? Only one thing is certain : it, too, has suffered a scar. One that may never actually have healed. And this is why, despite the inherent limitations of its premise, despite maybe being too well-minded for its own good, despite the tragic irony of trying to one-up the Nazi threat right at the time it’s being proven the world doesn’t need any kind of incentive to fall for the exact same act a second time, I still think there’s a place for something like Über in WW2-based material. At its core, like several other works over the last year, and maybe premonitorily, Über is about what killed the world.

[marcellorecords-blog]

Babylon vs Jerusalem

There are many controversies  Mount Horeb Bible in the Bible but the leading controversy, when exposed, will open the door to eliminate all other disputes or difficulties. It is the difference between Babylon and Jerusalem. And why there needs to be what the Bible refers to as the Heavenly Jerusalem, Revelation 21:2.

Babel / Babylon

The New Webster’s Dictionary defines Babel: A city in Shinar, which after the flood of Noah, whose people tried to build a high tower to reach heaven and were prevented by God from doing so.

Webster’s says of Babylon: an ancient city, the capitol of Babylonia; noted for wealth, luxury, and wickedness.

Genesis the 11th chapter gives us God’s version of Babel:

Genesis 11:4, And they said, ” Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

The people knew about the Sixth Day Creation flood and Noah’s Ark otherwise they wouldn’t be building a high tower. The importance of verse 4 is that they wanted to make a name for themselves. In doing so, they wanted their independence from God, and would never need to call upon the name of God.

Today, we have the same situation, men, even the noblest of men, trying to make a name for themselves. In books, and in the arts, and academia, realizing it or not, that they are trying to make a name for themselves. That is the natural way for our secular world. A world full of people and cities, not knowing why they even exist or what life is all about. The good news of all of this is that God has not forgotten that they are His children, and they, who are seeking a city, will eventually be inhabitants of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

God’s punishment

In the story of the Tower of Babel, we read that God took notice of the work that they were doing and that they were of one language.

Genesis 11:6, And the Lord said, “Behold the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” 7, “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Today, just as in the story of the Tower of Babel, Christianity Perfect Law of Liberty  is the same way. Our churches and denominations are under God’s punishment as well. There are many churches, all called by different names, who don’t want to understand one another, or because of the competition between them, that they choose to remain separate. The churches and the denominations are all scattered in their speaking and what they believe. The Presbyterians don’t understand the Baptist, the Baptist don’t understand the Roman Catholics, the Roman Catholics don’t understand the Muslims and so on. If they did, they wouldn’t be separate but united in their beliefs. They are all the product of human effort. All these organizations speak the English language, but they do not understand one another and want to be separate. These, whether they realize it or not, are under the confounding and punishment of God. When He is ready for them to come out of their confusion, He will draw them out, John 6:44; 12:32.

People Scattered

Continuing with the story of the Tower of Babel we read that they were all scattered.

Genesis 11:9,Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth.

In the local church’s, those churches which are built up with the Spirit of God, are all united. In the local churches we  Online Sheet Music are all being gathered together not scattered. During the time of the nation of Israel, the entire Nation was gathered together to the place of God’s choosing. They were to come together three times during the year, the Feast of unleavened bread, Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, and rest with Him in the place of His choosing, Deuteronomy 16:16. God always wants unity not division. God’s place of His choosing would be Jerusalem. Why Jerusalem? Because King David conquered the Jebusites and defeated all the inhabitants of the land. Jerusalem then became the city of peace and God allowed King David’s son, Solomon, to built Him a house to dwell in.

There are local churches being raised up by no other than the Spirit of Christ, our Lord, 2nd Corinthians 3:17. Jesus Christ told the Apostle Peter that He would build His Church, Matthew 16:18. These Churches are being gathered together and all speak the same thing and are called “The Church of God” because they are built by and through one Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, 1st Peter 1:11.

Jerusalem

The Bible speaks of the City of Jerusalem in two ways. The Earthy Jerusalem and the Heavenly Jerusalem. The Earthly Jerusalem is in the Middle East, where a physical temple is planned awaiting the Messiah, the God of Moses, to return. They don’t know or believe that the name Jesus Christ is the only name by which men will be saved, Acts 4:10,12.

The Heavenly Jerusalem is the pinnacle of God’s purpose.

1st Corinthians 1:10, “Now I beseech you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there is no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

How is it possible for the apostle Paul to expect the people to be united in their minds with no divisions among them?

Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.6, one God and Father of all, and through all and in all.”

This is an example of how the local churches are being raised up. There is and can Sheet Music Maker only be oneness among God’s people because all the local churches are being raised up by one Spirit, God’s Spirit. There is no divisions among God’s people. They have one mind and speak the same thing because of God’s spirit within them.

John 4:23, “But the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. 24, God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth.”

The Apostle Paul tells us of what the human body is made of:

1st Thessalonians 5:23, “and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Because God is Spirit, the only way we can hear Him and speak to him is through our spirit, not our minds, our ideas, or reasoning. We need to forget about our own thoughts and ideas and follow the oneness of His Spirit. We have nothing to contribute but our obedience. Only then will the divisions and the quarreling stop among us. It is through our spirit and the leading and teaching of God’s Spirit that we are to be a part of the Heavenly Jerusalem which will bring about a lasting peace among the brethren. We need to put aside doctrine, our opinions, and worldly teachings by the exercising of our spirit. God’s Spirit is the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is not a territory on earth but resides in the heavens, Revelation 21:2.

Hebrews 12:22, “For ye have come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to a innumerable company of angels.”

When we are in the Spirit of Christ, we are in the heavenly Jerusalem.

Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways saith the Lord.”

We all need a renewing of our mind, Romans 12:2, and letting this mind, the mind of Jesus Christ, be in us, Philippians 2:5.\

The difference between Babylon and the Heavenly Jerusalem is as different as night is from daylight. We, in the local churches, are being built up by God through His Spirit, therefore there will never be any divisions among us. No one is trying to make a name for himself and all are coming out of confusion. We, as well as anyone who has a heart for God will be included, and will continue to grow and fill the whole earth.

[swipestream]

SUPERVERSIVE: “Magi” is an awesome show and that you don’t know that is sad

I’ve realized that unless I think the battle scenes and characters are really, REALLY awesome I actually prefer watching people deal with politics and economics. This is the exact reason “Log Horizon” is such a great show, and one of the things that makes “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” so great are the vast background machinations going on between various semi-independent groups that may or may not be at odds with one another.

“My Hero Academia” is that rare show that has action scenes that are so awesome and characters so memorable that I’m happy with them being the focus of the show, and ditto with “Yu Yu Hakusho”. My second favorite shonen (to MHA), however, is not particularly notable for its action scenes (which are at a perfectly passable level) or its characters (which are never offensively terrible but are hit and miss in terms of memorability and creativity). What it is absolutely great at is dealing with the political machinations of its world and in making its characters act realistically within it.

This show is “Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic” and its sequel season “Magi: The Kingdom of Magic”, and it is a damn shame that they have fallen so far under the radar in recent years.One can be forgiven for thinking it’s a typical shonen action show if one only watched the first arc, or even the first two arcs (at least the second, by far the show’s weakest, is very short). It’s a fairly straightforward adventure story about quirky characters who meet up in an Arabian-inspired fantasy world and decide to run off with each other and go treasure hunting. Even so, as far as those stories go the characters are entertaining, particularly Ali Baba, who soon becomes the most interesting and complex character in the entire show, and one of my all-time favorite anime characters. The action is fun.

And there are points of interest even here. “Magi” does an admirable job of not whitewashing the horrors of the Arab world while at the same time making its appeal clear. The world is beautiful, atmospheric, and has an air of adventure, but the social systems are cruel and suffering is commonplace. Ali Baba himself fluctuates wildly between bravery and cowardice in a way not really common among protagonists in shonen shows, and the hints at his mysterious backstory are well-placed.

The second arc unfortunately moves away from Ali Baba and focuses on Aladdin, a cheerful 12 year old and the titular magi, which at this point as far as we know means he has especially strong magic powers and is friends with a genie. This arc is easily the worst of the show, focusing on Aladdin’s relationship with a small tribe of desert people who find themselves suddenly at odds with the massive Koh Empire, a growing world power with the goal of eventually getting, through force or otherwise, the entire known world under their thumb. The main thing to take out of this arc is the introduction of the Koh Empire, an explanation of the show’s magic system, and the show’s running theme of the perils of globalism that make the show especially timely. Outside of that, the best I can say about this arc is that it’s mercifully brief.

In between this is an arc following the character of Morgiana. I’ll get to this later.

Luckily, it is after this that the show REALLY hits its stride. What follows is the Fog Troupe arc, and I think I can honestly say that it’s one of my favorite arcs in any anime ever. Aladdin returns to the kingdom of Balbadd to meet up with Ali Baba and passes through the kingdom of Sindria, lead by Sinbad. Yes, this is THE Sinbad the Sailor. Magi makes the interesting decision to have our characters find Sinbad when he is already a powerful and well-established king (there would eventually be a prequel series about the rise of Sinbad that was entertaining enough). Aladdin decides to travel with Sinbad, who is on his way to Balbadd himself to deal with a mysterious group known as the Fog Troupe that have been robbing his merchants.

And it is there that Aladdin and Sinbad discover the shocking truth behind the Fog Troupe’s shadowy leader, a discovery that leads to a chain of events that rapidly spiral out of control.

Right. In terms of summary I’m going to stop here. It is from this point on that the show moves from “Good” to “Great”. The Fog Troupe arc delves deep into the difficult political situation in Balbadd, the difficulties inherent in finding ways to deal with it, the decisions made by other nations when they notice the quickly unraveling stability of the nation, and the backstory of Ali Baba and how that affects his actions. Interspersed in this are some truly stellar battle scenes. Ali Baba comes into his own as an outstanding character, one of the only ones I’ve ever seen who is capable of carrying both entirely comedic and entirely dramatic roles in the narrative equally well. In fact, the only other character I can think of with that ability is Vash the Stampede. Now that’s good company!

The very best thing I can say about the Fog Troupe arc is that the show manages to maintain this level of quality, or close to it, for the entire rest of its run! Season 2 actually leaves Ali Baba behind for the majority of it but the complex social structures it explores along with the behind scenes machinations of the various competing nations makes it damn near just as compelling as the best parts of season 1, and sometimes even more so.

I mentioned above that I would get to Morgiana, and I will. Morgiana is a somewhat unusual character in that she doesn’t actually HAVE to be involved in anything going on but continually makes the decision to join our other protagonists of her own accord. Freed from slavery by Ali Baba despite the fact that she also tried to kill him under the orders of her master in the show’s first arc, Morgiana’s original goal is to return to her people’s homeland but she eventually comes to the conclusion that she owes too much to Ali Baba to leave him behind in the middle of such a huge crisis.

I could summarize a lot of the show without mentioning her but I decided to bring her up here because I would be doing her a disservice if she was never mentioned. Morgiana is a great character. Her personality is actually interesting! She plays a distinctly feminine role in the narrative as support for the male leads, and acts incredibly grateful to them because of her kindness. She is essentially superpowered due to her race, which is what makes her so valuable as a slave, but she uses that power always in service to others. Her character arc partially plays out in a separate arc but it is very well-handled. Her scenes also tend to be very fun – because of her powers the animation tends to be very on point when she gets the spotlight (take a particular look at her animation in the first OP, because wow).

She also has one of the most interesting character designs I’ve seen yet for an anime heroine. She is supposed to be a foreigner and she actually looks like a foreigner. She’s pretty, but there is something slightly unconventional about her appearance that really makes her stand out amongst the rest of the cast in the best possible way. The actress also manages to somehow make her actually sound like a former slave – there is a sort of quietness to her voice that gives the impression she is unused to voicing her own opinions or expressing strong emotions. This is a credit to the English voice actress, who does an excellent job imbuing the character with a unique personality.

I really wish I could talk more about the specifics of what makes the show great, but for once I don’t want to spoil things. When it explores the complex social and class-based differences that lead to the chaotic and dangerously tyrannical structures of the various governments it does so without forgetting that there are multiple parties involved, that even the underclass aren’t necessarily blameless when it comes to their circumstances, and that the line between oppressor and oppressed is far less black and white than it originally appears. And yet it does all of this without ever compromising on the idea that good and evil exist and it is our duty to do good. That a shonen action show manages to explore ideas in such depth while still managing to feel like a shonen action show is incredibly impressive.

There isn’t much else to say about the show except, I suppose, that it’s very pleasant. The show benefits greatly from scenes where the characters just hang out with each other. It makes their relationships feel realistic, and their comradery feel earned. This helps a lot when the main cast gets separated for any length of time. They can meet up and hit it off immediately without anyone feeling like they missed anything.

If I had one comparison to make of the show, I would call it a somewhat inferior version of “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”, and since I consider “Brotherhood” one of the greatest shows of all time this is still a very high compliment. It breaks a lot of interesting ground for a shonen in the complexity of its international and social politics.

Unfortunately I think its first two arcs got it to slip under the radar a bit, and that’s really a shame. After I finished season 2 (and the fun if rather slight prequel “The Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor”) I actually went and found the manga because I was so excited to continue the story, and so far I definitely haven’t been disappointed.

This is a true hidden gem and one of my favorite anime ever, and I highly recommend it…if only to drum up enough interest for a season 3!

Two final notes, ones I make often:

The dub is really excellent, especially the voices of Ali Baba and Morgiana, who manage to cover an impressive amount of range. If you look for that sort of thing this one is definitely worth it.

Every OP and even ED is killer in this show, though my personal favorites are the first ones of each.

Really fun!

SUPERVERSIVE: “Magi” is an awesome show and that you don’t know that is sad published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[dailyaudiobible]

01/17/2017 DAB Transcript

Genesis 35:1-36:43 ~ Matthew 12:1-21 ~ Psalm 15:1-5 ~ Proverbs 3:21-26

Today is the 17th day of January.  Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible.  I'm Brian and I'm delighted that we can be here for the next step forward in this grand and epic adventure that the Bible is.  But before we get into that, I just want to take this one moment to say thank you for the outpouring of love toward me, toward our family in the loss of my mom.  

I have read your posts and your emails and your cards and I continue to do that in some of my maybe more sadder moments.  Grief is an interesting thing because you can be moving along fine and then have a gut punch.  I'm in that stage and I'm just trying to be present to it.  I think I have some things to say, but I’m just kind of staying present to this transition and all that it means is really important.  

I just wanted to say thank you.  You have been a comfort in ways that I can’t even express and in some cases even process right now.  So thank you. I mean, I haven’t been talking about it for a couple of days.  I'm trying to not let it take over what we do.  What we do here is take another step forward every day and so taking that next step forward every day is really important not only to what we do, but in this time of grieving.  So thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, with my heart wide open.  I love you and I appreciate it more than I can possibly tell you.  We’ll talk about it soon.  

We are here to take the next step forward in the Bible.  So today we’ll be reading from the New International Version and we’re following in the footsteps of Jacob whose name has been changed to Israel. That name change alone explains so much of what happens next in the Bible and that reverberates all the way until today.  Genesis chapter 35, verse 1 through 36:43 today.  

Commentary

In the book of Genesis we have a little bit of a genealogical record. When you come to the genealogical stuff that is in the Bible, which there is more to come later, at least for me, as a kid growing up around the Bible, I always thought why page after page of names?  This is so boring.  But once you start putting things into context you realize what is going on.

So what we have going on in the book of Genesis today is just sort of a rounding out of the story.  We’ve been following Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob and Esau and their estrangement and Jacob fleeing to the north.  We stuck with him for a couple of decades.  This is where 11 of the 12 children were born and the 12th one was born today, Benjamin, on the way back to the homeland where Jacob lost his wife, Rachel. Meanwhile, Jacob's twin brother Esau did live during those two decades and we get this recap very briefly in a genealogical record of his descendants who become the Edomites.  

The Edomites have a role to play later on in the story.  If we’ll remember this, it is really important because Jacob and Esau were twin brothers so every descendant after them are interrelated as blood related family.  The Edomites and the Israelites are not going to be like brothers.  They are going to be like enemies even though they are brothers. So much of that animosity still exists in that region today and all throughout the earth.  So we basically just did a recap, a filling in the story as we begin to move forward into the story in the book of Genesis.  

In the book of Matthew we have Jesus bucking tradition.  They are trying to figure out whether it is okay to heal somebody on the Sabbath, a new question for these folks to wrestle with. The Pharisees, the ultra-zealous practitioners of the Jewish faith have already gone after Jesus’ disciples for picking some grain as they walked along because they were hungry and Jesus had to defend them.  And he did it by using the scriptures.  

And then he's in the synagogue and they are trying to trap him because he is going to heal somebody on the Sabbath and that is work and you cannot work on the Sabbath.  Jesus sort of dismantles that argument and heals somebody and for the first time in the Bible, the first time in the Jesus story they decide that they need to have him killed.  They’ve been watching him and they have not necessarily been antagonistic to him.  He has a gift.  People follow him and he is talking about a kingdom.  The way he describes it doesn’t make sense, but he's talking about a kingdom and they are looking for a Messiah, so they are watching him.  To have a guy like this with this kind of authority in speech and deed could be very, very powerful in the movement that they are trying to get going, but Jesus just isn’t playing ball.  He just can’t be recruited and fast-tracked.  That is not why he is here.  They realize that he is willing to step right up to them and face them down, so for the first time having Jesus killed in some way is introduced.  

I think what was spoken of in the Psalms and the Proverbs, especially in terms of looking for margin in our lives is where the meat is today.  What if I were to tell you, listen, I have some secrets. If you will follow these steps, you will never be shaken.  We would want that formula, right?  That is what is given in the Psalms today.  

Whoever does these things will never be shaken, the Bible says.  So what are those things?  The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart, whose tongue utters no slander (so that cuts gossip out of the picture), who does no wrong to a neighbor (that cuts carrying offenses around out of the picture) and casts no slur on others (that cuts judgment out of the picture), who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps an oath even when it hurts and does not change their mind, who lends money to the poor without interest, who does not accept a bribe against the innocent, whoever does these things will never be shaken.

So there you go.  If one of the reasons that you're immersing yourself in the Bible is to find what life is supposed to look like, well then there you go.  This happens quite often in the Bible.  So here is this list of characteristics that all have to be lived out from the central place inside of us, from our identity, from our heart. You can simply look at this list and contrast it with our own lives and it explains a lot, but we’re not done.  The Proverbs moves into this territory as well.

My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight.  That requires a significant amount of vigilance. If you're a parent and you’ve ever had a toddler in your life, then this is what we’re talking about.  You cannot let that little child who has a wide-eyed wonder at the world and has no idea what danger might be, you can’t let them out of your sight.  You have to protect them.  That is what we’re talking about with wisdom and understanding.  We can never let them out of our sight.  We must preserve sound judgment and discretion, treat it like the treasure that it is.  Preserve it, care for it, cultivate it.  

So don’t let wisdom and understanding out of your sight and treasure sound judgment and discretion.  They will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck.  Then you’ll go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble.  You will not be shaken.  When you lie down you will not be afraid.  When you lie down your sleep will be sweet.  You’ll have no fear of sudden disaster or the ruin that overtakes the wicked for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.

Both the psalm and the proverb today are worth memorizing or committing to your journal or writing down somewhere so that you can refer back to them because you cannot let them out of your sight if you want this to work.  If you want margin in your life, if you want to be stable and have the ability to operate from a balanced place, then these are the things that our lives have got to be filled with.  This is what the shape of life has to be.  If it becomes the shape of our life, then we will not stumble and we will not be shaken.  So if you are stumbling and you are shaken, well then contrast your life with these things and it will reveal the things that cannot be in your life anymore because they are making you stumble and they are shaking you.  

Prayer

Jesus, we invite you into this.  Holy Spirit, come because this is really important.  You are inviting us back to who we were created to be.  You are inviting us into this great dance where we get to play a role in your kingdom.  You are showing us clearly what that needs to look like.  Here we are at a fork in the road.  Will we slow down enough to pay attention to this very explicit and detailed information that we need for our lives or will we just move on? That choice will affect everything that comes next for us.  So come, Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus and guide us through this process of contrasting what your word says life can and should look like and how ours does look like and help us to understand the gravity of the decisions that we make, that when we make a decision we are choosing wholeness or we are choosing otherwise, but we are choosing.  Come Holy Spirit, we pray.  In Jesus’ name, amen.  

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website.  That is home base.  It’s where you find out what is going on around here, so be sure to check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you.  Thank you humbly.  There is a link on the home page.  You can find that link in the app if you push the More button in the lower right-hand corner. Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.  

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today.  I'm Brian. I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Hello Daily Audio Bible family.  For those that have been here for a while, you might recognize my voice. This is Jamie T.  Last year, 2016 was a very difficult time for me and my husband.  We’ve gone through several surgeries and my husband is still mending from surgery, so I kind of backed off on the Daily Audio Bible and just was feeling like something was missing in my life so I started up again this year.  My heart is overjoyed to hear all these people that I’ve heard before and new people that I’ve not heard before and just realizing I was missing my family.  So it is not just the reading of the Bible, which is the most important of this thing, but it's the family.  I love you guys and I have missed you guys so.  Happy New Year!  I'm going to be listening to your voices and praying for you all.  I love you.  Bye.  

Hi.  My name is Amanda.  I'm a new believer.  I became a Christian on September 27, 2016, and I’ve been going through a lot of things and a lot of things have been very hard.  2016 was a very hard year.  I struggle with forgiveness.  It's been very difficult for me to forgive the people in my life.  I would just ask that you help pray for me that God will take this from me, that he will just take it.  Yeah, thank you, you all.  

Family, this is Biola from Maryland.  Hope you're all doing well.  Brian, I grieve with you over your mother's transition and at this point I want to pray over you what has given me comfort, the priestly blessing that I know you know, that my father used to pray over us.  So I pray that as you grieve, Brian, you, your family, your children and your siblings, I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you. That he will make his face shine upon you all and be gracious to you.  That the Lord will lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. I salute the warrior that your mother is, the warrior that gave birth to you and, of course, your father as well, a man of valor no doubt.  I salute the resilience that she built up within you, Brian, that causes you to be so committed to read this Bible and stay with it day in, day out every year.  I salute you, Brother.  I salute you, man of God.  And Jill, I salute you.  Definitely. You are the woman behind this stalwart of a man.  God bless you.  And I'm praying for the More Conference.  Ladies, if you haven’t registered, go and register.  I'm also praying for those who are grieving.  Lana, I’ve been praying for you, that God would wrap his arms around you and comfort you by the loss of your mother as well.  And as you grieve, you will know that God has a special heart for the brokenhearted.  There is no right or wrong way to grieve, Sister, so give yourself time to grieve. I am grieving too, but life does not stop.  Life does not stop.  And little Autumn, I am sorry to hear about your grandmother's passing.  I pray that God would comfort you as well.  Young lady, you agreed to be a prayer warrior for the Lord.  God bless you.  I was so encouraged by your phone call.  God bless you, family.

Hello family.  This is Candace from Oregon.  It's January 9 as I speak, Monday.  This call is for I think her name is Lisa H.  Her house burned to the ground Thursday night, Friday morning.  Single mom of two children.  Please join me now in prayer for her.  Lord, thank you that this woman whose faithfully been one of us now for many years has had her first-time call and that you have kept her, that there was no loss of life in this fire.  Thank you, Lord, that you hold her in the palm of your hand.  I pray alongside of her that her insurance will fully pay for her and that her life will be restored so well that it will be just beyond anything she could have asked or thought of.  Hold her, Lord, in the palm of your hand every hour. Thank you that you, Lord, are faithful and true.  Thank you that you love us so much.  Please bring great, great blessing and goodness to this woman and her two children and we ask this in Jesus’ name for his sake.  

Hey family.  This is Kenny and I'm from the suburbs of Los Angeles.  I'm a born again Christian by the grace of God since 2008.  If you guys can please pray for me.  I’ll list some simple prayer requests, but they are really important to me.  One of them would be for my family's health, my dad, my brother, my two sisters.  If you can please be praying for their health just in general and then salvation for my entire family.  I wasn’t raised in church and I got saved in 2008 and I witness to my family.  My brother is really hostile towards even talking about God.  My dad wasn’t interested at all.  It's a long story, but please just pray for my entire family's salvation.  And for my walk with Christ in general, if you can please pray that I want to grow in holiness, of course.  I want to be a doer of the word and I just want to continuously grow every day in the way that God is calling me to live as a Christian.  I just really want to be something like in Psalm 1, the tree that is planted by the water that bears all that fruit.  I want to be like one of those trees, the water being the word of God and I want to bear fruit one hundredfold.  I just want to meditate on God's word day and night and I want to please God with my entire life and I want to worship God with my life, the way that pleases him most.  I want to be so far away from any sin, especially habitual sin.  I do not want to relapse on any sin.  Yeah, I just want God to continue using me and I want to feel like I'm making God proud so to speak.  Yeah, if you can pray for a wife for me too, but thank you guys so much.  

Hello Daily Audio Bible family.  This is Joelle and I am calling.  I was so moved by the podcast on the 7th of January.  It was just a very powerful epiphany in my heart.  That podcast really moved me and as we all focus on the new word margin this year, I am really wanting to model or learn from the model of the Daily Audio Bible the prayerfulness of our family here because I'm not as good at praying as I should be.  I have a lot of room to grow that way.  And just the many examples of the faithfulness in our community moved me and helped me to want a deeper, richer relationship with the Lord and with Jesus.  So I just thank each of you for the prayerfulness and the attention that you pay in our readings together.  And I also really am focusing on another aspect which is obedience and self-discipline.  So thank you for being such an important part of my faith journey.  I have so much love for all of you.  Thank you.  

Hi Daily Audio Bible family.  This is Joyce.  Hi Brian. I just wanted to say I'm so sorry that you lost your mom and I just wanted to thank you because you shared such beautiful memories of her and it honestly broke my heart.  I listened to you saying that about her calling out Jesus’ name and that is what happened with my grandma too when she passed.  I just wanted to say thank you for just always being here for us.  You’re always here.  You’re always loving and kind and deeply insightful and you're here for us.  We’re lifting you up behind the scenes all the time, even if we don’t call out your name, but we love your family and we are your family and we lift you up all the time.  Just wanted to remind you what you read about in Job where you said that sometimes the best thing a person can do is just to sit with you.  So today I spent some time and I sat with you and mourned and grieved. I wanted to let you know that you’re not alone and that we’re lifting you up and we’re grieving with you.  We love you guys so much.  God bless you.  Bye-bye.

Hey guys.  I need prayer.  My name is Mike and I'm currently living in Louisiana, not sure how much longer, but I'm just getting frustrated.  I'm trying to just get my life on track which I’ve been trying for years and it's not working.  Trying to hear Jesus and see what he tells me to do and not clear.  I get little hints like maybe go to Joel Olstean's church in Houston, so I'm looking at medical missions conferences, but things don’t seem to line up at times and money is tight and I'm in debt.  I'm not sure where to go or what to do and I want to do something serving God and I want to do something where I'm not just broke and getting into debt.  I want to do something to help and love people.  I need help. My name is Mike.  Prayer is appreciated.  Yeah, and guidance.  Thank you.