chat alvarado

You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. -St. Augustine

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

AMEN.

[Coworkeroftruth @coworkeroftruth]

The False Western Vision of Religion

Too often in the West, religion is presented as an activity in the service of human well-being. Religion is equated with humanitarian efforts, acts of charity, the welcoming of migrants and the homeless, the promotion of universal fraternity and peace in the world. Spirituality is viewed as a form of personal development, meant to offer some comfort to modern man absorbed in his usual political and economic pursuits.

Even if these matters are important, this vision of religion is false. Religion is not a matter of food or humanitarian action. In the desert, this was the first temptation that Jesus rejected. To redeem humanity, one must overcome the misery of hunger and poverty—this is what the devil proposed to the Lord. But Jesus replied that this is not the path of redemption. He shows us that even if all people had enough to eat, even if prosperity extended to all, humanity would not be redeemed.

We see clearly how, in lands of comfort, wealth, and abundance, man destroys himself, self-destructs, because he forgets God and thinks only of his riches and earthly well-being. What saves the world is the bread of God. Man must be nourished with the bread of God—and the bread of God is Christ Himself. What will save the world is man kneeling before God, to adore and to serve Him. God is not at our service. It is we who are at His service.
—Cardinal Robert Sarah

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

On the evening of Tuesday, 30 September, a strong earthquake struck the central region of the Philippines, particularly the province of Cebu and its neighboring provinces. I express my closeness to the dear Filipino people, and in particular I pray for those who are most severely affected by the consequences of the earthquake. Faced with any danger, let us remain united and supportive in our trust in God and in the intercession of our Blessed Mother.

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

❤️❤️❤️

[William Penn @penn_williamE]

Today is Michaelmas.

The autumn feast of St. Michael the Archangel: guardian of high places, weigher of souls, heavenly warrior against evil, defender against the dark.

Below, the light strikes the high altar at the Magnificat for Michaelmas Vespers.

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@jk_rowling Wow! Still amazed how you can eloquently translate all those feelings and thoughts in words. It’s cathartic, even for me who’s not even involved in the situation. It’s everything I would have said to Emma and her lot. Thank you for bringing much needed clarity in this issue.

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

I'm seeing quite a bit of comment about this, so I want to make a couple of points.

I'm not owed eternal agreement from any actor who once played a character I created. The idea is as ludicrous as me checking with the boss I had when I was twenty-one for what opinions I should hold these days.

Emma Watson and her co-stars have every right to embrace gender identity ideology. Such beliefs are legally protected, and I wouldn't want to see any of them threatened with loss of work, or violence, or death, because of them.

However, Emma and Dan in particular have both made it clear over the last few years that they think our former professional association gives them a particular right - nay, obligation - to critique me and my views in public. Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created.

When you've known people since they were ten years old it's hard to shake a certain protectiveness. Until quite recently, I hadn't managed to throw off the memory of children who needed to be gently coaxed through their dialogue in a big scary film studio. For the past few years, I've repeatedly declined invitations from journalists to comment on Emma specifically, most notably on the Witch Trials of JK Rowling. Ironically, I told the producers that I didn't want her to be hounded as the result of anything I said.

The television presenter in the attached clip highlights Emma's 'all witches' speech, and in truth, that was a turning point for me, but it had a postscript that hurt far more than the speech itself. Emma asked someone to pass on a handwritten note from her to me, which contained the single sentence 'I'm so sorry for what you're going through' (she has my phone number). This was back when the death, rape and torture threats against me were at their peak, at a time when my personal security measures had had to be tightened considerably and I was constantly worried for my family's safety. Emma had just publicly poured more petrol on the flames, yet thought a one line expression of concern from her would reassure me of her fundamental sympathy and kindness.

Like other people who've never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame, Emma has so little experience of real life she's ignorant of how ignorant she is. She'll never need a homeless shelter. She's never going to be placed on a mixed sex public hospital ward. I'd be astounded if she's been in a high street changing room since childhood. Her 'public bathroom' is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door. Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool? Is she ever likely to need a state-run rape crisis centre that refuses to guarantee an all-female service? To find herself sharing a prison cell with a male rapist who's identified into the women's prison?

I wasn't a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous. I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women's rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges.

The greatest irony here is that, had Emma not decided in her most recent interview to declare that she loves and treasures me - a change of tack I suspect she's adopted because she's noticed full-throated condemnation of me is no longer quite as fashionable as it was - I might never have been this honest.

Adults can't expect to cosy up to an activist movement that regularly calls for a friend's assassination, then assert their right to the former friend's love, as though the friend was in fact their mother. Emma is rightly free to disagree with me and indeed to discuss her feelings about me in public - but I have the same right, and I've finally decided to exercise it.

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@PixelPopgirl @Susan_E_J_USA @OkayBiology She, like many others, merely brought home a diploma—not an education.

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@ChristianHaley_ @matt_vanswol Trump is merely echoing studies conducted by scientists. Here's the most recent research from Harvard: https://t.co/cM1jGcXtz2

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@jk_rowling Exactly! What if all males say they are all transgender women, does that mean feminism won and no women's rights will ever be violated?

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Let us #PrayTogether that the leaders of nations may be free from the temptation to use wealth against humanity, turning it into weapons that destroy peoples and monopolies that demean workers. Whoever serves God becomes free from wealth, but whoever serves wealth remains its slave! Whoever seeks justice transforms wealth into the common good; whoever seeks domination transforms the common good into the prey of their own greed.

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@News5PH Ano nagawa nya bilang VP? Bilang secretary of Education? Wala. Puro anomalya. Puro pagkamal ng pera. Tapos uunlad tayo pag siya presidente? Jimmy, konting hiya naman sa sarili.

[❥❥❥ᗰoᒪᒪie❥❥❥ @mollie_don]

Charlie Kirk was not a racist. Please watch this video to understand Charlie Kirk’s true stance on the Civil Rights Act.

Instead of relying on half-truths from others, watch videos of Charlie Kirk and pay close attention to his words.

Do you agree with Charlie?

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@Michele_Tafoya Or maybe Charlie was mentioned already? He died Sep 10 and you just went to mass today, Sep 14.

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@Pontifex Happy birthday, Papa!

[chat alvarado @aymchat]

@rla323 @TaraBull808 Freedom is not absolute. And there’s always a line. Your opinion reveals your values and heart. Imagine a doctor or a health worker celebrating the death of someone or saying they deserved to be shot just because of differing opinions, can you trust them to honor their oath?

[Franciscan University @FranciscanU]

When the nation turns violent, we turn to Christ.

In the face of assassination, church shootings, and acts of violence across our land, we answer tomorrow with a campus wide day of prayer and fasting.

Join us.

Only the peace of Christ can save our hearts and our nation.

[Coworkeroftruth @coworkeroftruth]

Homosexual behavior is contrary to God’s will. The Church must say so without fear, even if it is unpopular or politically incorrect. Truth is not determined by majority opinion.
—Cardinal Robert Sarah

[Lila Rose @LilaGraceRose]

What matters most is God. Everything is for Him. We were made for Heaven. Rest in peace, Charlie

[Fr Joseph Hudson @acloudofsaints]

He was leading young people to God. To Jesus. To His Most Blessed Mother.

May the angels lead you into Paradise; may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you to the holy city.

[Catholic Arena @CatholicArena]

'They want something ancient and beautiful'

Charlie Kirk speaking about young men returning to Catholicism

[Sachin Jose @Sachinettiyil]

Charlie Kirk spoke about young men flocking to Catholicism. Perhaps he would have become a Catholic one day.

Video: Tucker Carlson