Video: "Israel Vibration & Roots Radics Live 2013"

Another great show here from Israel Vibration and Roots Radics in 2013! 

These guys played so many shows together and went on so many tours together, seeing so many countries and meeting so many people!! 

This is the meaning of Unity & Love!

 

"Vessel of Grace: The Life of Saint Paisios the Athonite" Inspiring Bio Video--

Saint Paisios, please look over me, a sick & suffering sinner.

 

"If I Were the Devil--" // Prophetic Voice

God help us.
This is happening today.
Look for the Truth.

Behind the Monastery Walls (Romanian documentary with English subtitles)

An absolutely beautiful & positive documentary. Monastic monks & nuns who love Jesus Christ with their entire mind, soul, body, and strength. It is a peaceful & loving situation that they choose to LIVE. Death to the world--death to the materialistic passions of this gross plane. We are stuck in this muck, treading water & living on borrowed time. The mortality rate for humans is 100%. Sometimes I wonder, 'what exactly am I supposed to do HERE? Why was I manifested on this globe? What does the Lord want from me? Anything? Nothing?' I'm of the opinion that the Lord wants nothing in particular from me. He gave me freewill, and I am to choose to LOVE.

A Few Videos//Documentaries About Monasticism, Eastern & Western Christianity

Excerpt from Wounded By Love: On Dispositions of the Heart [Eastern Orthodox Book]

"Wounded By Love" is an interesting book.  Kind of a hard read for some
reason.  I've read through it at least twice, and skipped around a half dozen
other times.  It's a great looking book, and sturdily bound.  I'm sure the
difficulty in digesting the book is due to my shortcomings, not the authors.

Excerpt from Wounded By Love: On Dispositions of the Heart [External Link]

Byzantine Catholics [A Crash Course on One of the Many Eastern Catholic Churches]

(Borrowed without permission from The All Saints Byzantine Catholic Church in Ft. Myers, Florida....)

In the mountainous region of Carpatho-Rus, known also as Carpatho-Ruthenia, situated between present day Slovakia and Ukraine, there is a group of Eastern Christians. Evangelized in the ninth century by those equals-to-the-apostles, Saints Cyril and Methodius, this group received the Holy Gospel and Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments) from the Byzantine Church of Constantinople. Although Cyril and his brother, Methodius, were Greek (from Thessalonika), they promoted the use of the ancient Slavonic language in worship. This language, later known as Old Church Slavonic, would become the liturgical language of the Carpatho-Rusyns and all Slavonic Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic. In time, Cyril and Methodius brought their liturgical books to Rome to receive the blessings of Pope Hadrian, and he in turn blessed their mission of establishing the Greek (Byzantine) Catholic religion in the Carpathian mountains of Central Europe.

Over time, a rift grew between East and West; and, in 1054, estrangement was realized with the Great Schism of Constantinople and Rome. Being an Eastern Church, the Carpatho-Rusyns were eventually drawn into by this unfortunate break and became members of the Orthodox Church. This ecclesia sui iuris (self-governing church) of Mukachevo-Uzhorod in time sought reunion with the Church of Rome, re-establishing its Catholic faith while maintaining the spirituality, ceremonies, and discipline of the Eastern Church. On April 24, 1646, in Saint George Castle Garden in Uzhorod, a number of priests and faithful proclaimed vocally their reunion with the Catholic Church, re-establishing the unity that Christ so ardently prayed for. From this nucleus would grow a reborn church which the Empress Maria Theresa of Austro-Hungary would later call "The Greek Catholic Church" -- "Greek" in its ritual, theology and art; "Catholic" in union with the Bishop of Rome. In time, the reunion would spread to other areas of Europe, and new eparchies (dioceses) would be created in such places as Presov (Slovakia), Krizevci (Croatia), Hajdudorog and Miskolc (Hungary).

 

In the 1870’s, the first wave of Carpatho-Rusyn immigration brought significant numbers of Greek Catholics to the United States of America. The first parish they founded on these shores was Saint Michael's in Shanandoah, PA followed by an establishment in Freeland, PA. Others were established in places like Wilkes-barre and Kingston, PA, and in Jersey City and Passaic, NJ. 

The Greek Catholic Church in America continued to grow, and there was seen a growing need for hierarchial leadership. In 1905, Father Andrew Hodobay was sent by Rome as Apostolic Visitor to care for the immigrant church; but, being a Hungarian, he was not the proper leader for a predominantly Slavic church. Rome, then, in turn, sent two men to care for what would become two separate administrations for the American Greek Catholics: Father Peter Poniatishyn for the Ukrainians, and Father Gabriel Martyak for the Carpatho-Rusyns (Ruthenians). By this time parishes were springing up all over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and the Northeast. In 1924 Rome raised the status of the American Greek Catholic Ruthenian community to that of an Exarchate (Apostolic Vicariate) with Bishop Basil Takach as its first Exarch, establishing Saint John the Baptist Cathedral in Pittsburgh’s Homestead/Munhall neighborhood as its seat. Meanwhile, Greek Catholic immigration continued from Carpathia as well as Hungary and Croatia. Not only were parishes and priests being established and assigned, but the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great received a call from Bishop Takach to minister to the immigrant church, and they eventually settled in Uniontown, PA, after a number of temporary locations.

 

As the decades of the twentieth century progressed, missionary efforts led to the establishment of parishes in California, Florida and even in Alaska. The term "Greek Catholic" would change to "Byzantine Catholic," stressing that the church was not Hellenic (Greek) in nationality, and that the spirituality and liturgical services were of the Byzantine Rite; also, English, now the vernacular, became the dominant liturgical language. The church was then honored in its growth and permanence by the elevation of Pittsburgh as an Eparchy (diocese) in 1963, with Bishop Nicholas T. Elko as first Eparch, after serving as Exarch since 1955. In addition, the East Coast was given their own Eparchy, Passaic, NJ, with Bishop Stephen J. Kocisko as first Eparch, and with the church of Saint Michael the Archangel designated as the Cathedral. The Eparchy of Passaic would encompass the entire eastern sea coast of the United States, from Maine to Florida. In 1968, Bishop Stephen Kocisko was transferred to the Eparchy of Pittsburgh, and subsequently Bishop Michael Dudick was consecrated and enthroned as the second Eparch of Passaic. The crowning achievement of this near century of ecclesiastical growth would be the creation, in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, of a Metropolian Church ecclesia sui uris based in Pittsburgh. This Metropolia would have as its suffragan sees the Eparchy of Passaic (covering the East) and the newly-created Eparchy of Parma, OH, (in the Midwest) governed by Bishop Emil Mihalik as its first eparch. The church of Saint John the Baptist in Parma, OH, would serve as Cathedral for the new eparchy. Bishop Mihalik endeavored to establish more churches in the outer-most parts of his eparchy in places such as Las Vegas, NV, Albuquerque, NM, and Denver, CO. The growth of these Western missions and churches was acknowledged by Pope John Paul II through the erection of a fourth jurisdiction for Byzantine Catholics: the Eparchy of Van Nuys, CA; and, through the selection of Bishop Thomas V. Dolinay (then Auxiliary Eparch of Passaic) as its first Eparch. He shepherded the Eparchy from his seat at Holy Protection of the Mother of God Cathedral in Van Nuys until he was chosen, in 1991, to be Metropolitan of Pittsburgh, succeeding the ailing former shepherd, Archbishop Stephen J. Kocisko. Consequently, the auxiliary Eparch of Passaic, Bishop George Kuzma, was enthroned as the second Eparch of Van Nuys, and, in 1997, moved his seat of administration to Saint Stephen Protomartyr Pro-Cathedral in Phoenix, AZ. In 1996, Bishop Michael J. Dudick retired after a long and pastorally beneficial ministry in the Eparchy of Passaic. Upon his retirement, the Holy Father appointed Bishop Andrew Pataki (formerly Eparch of Parma), as the third Eparch of Passaic.

The spiritual life of the Byzantine Catholic Church was and continues to grow with assistance not only from the Basilians of Uniontown, but also from Monasteries for men and women, such as The Basilian Fathers of Mariapoch, Matawan, NJ, as well as from Holy Dormition Franciscan Monastery, Sybertsville, PA.

The Byzantine Catholic Church is an Eastern Church in union with Rome; Carpatho-Rusyn in background and flavor, but indeed an American Eastern Church celebrating the Gospel in words, symbols, and action. We are unique in our mystical theology, blending the colors of our many ikons with the congregational acapella chants; raising up our hands and our fragrant incense in prayer and inviting you to come and see who we are and what we are all about as part of the Eastern half of the Universal Church.

http://www.allsaintsbyzantinechurch.com/Site/Byzantine_Catholics.html

Excellent Website About Mount Athos~

Mount Athos Information [link]

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos.....Modern Saint--

Elder Paisios is my hero.  I have a couple of books written by or about him.  He is truly full of sage, wise advice---all freely given to those asking, " Abba please give me a word."  I like to think of him secluded on Mount Athos living on locusts and honey.

"The Underground: A Hidden Reality and The True Story of Phil Schneider"

R.I.P. Charlie Anderberg

Andrew Charles  Anderberg was born March 23, 1975 in Salina, Kansas, and died September 4, 2014 in Fort Myers, Florida.
Raised in Houston, TX and Ann Arbor, MI, Charlie was a graduate of Fr. Gabriel Richard High School, Ann Arbor (1993). Charlie graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University (2009) and completed his Masters in Social Work at Barry University, Miami, FL (2010). Charlie made it his life's mission to help and be of service to others who were suffering and in pain. He said that he saw the face of Jesus in each person he served. In 8 years of hard-won sobriety, Charlie completed his education and worked for the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative, the Delonis Center Homeless Shelter in Ann Arbor, and the Veteran's Administration in Homeless Veteran Outreach in Miami and Ft. Myers.
Charlie was preceded in death by his brother, Tim Anderberg. 

He is the beloved son of Roger and Lorrie Anderberg, brother of Christi Mangan, Claire Anderberg, and Therese Anderberg, uncle of Eva, Camilla, Anastasia, and Xavier Mangan, nephew, cousin, and true friend to many who love him and grieve his passing. 

"Then [Jesus] will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. ...Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Mt. 25: 34-40.

Please visit Charlie's tribute page to share a memory at www.niefuneralhomes.com

"The Monks Of Simonopetra Monastery: 'Agni Parthene'" & A Few Other Full CD's of Eastern Orthodox Chants & Hymns!! Beautiful!

Some beautiful music for you. Always use love. Thank God for what we have, don't fret over what we DON'T have. Gratitude. Sobriety. Peace.

Video: "Shadow of the Templars" by Henry Lincoln

"A Great, Big 'Ole, Pile of Books Was Dumped in My Backyard Recently"

"Mary Magdalene: The True Life Story of the Legendary Figure"
   -by Lynn Picknett

"The Divine Commodity: Discovering Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity"
   -by Skye Jethani

"Cyril of Alexandria"
   -by N. Russell

"Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned"
   -by K.C. Davis

"Barlaam and Josaphat: A Christian Tale of the Buddha"
   -by Gui de Cambrai

"Inside the Gas Chambers: Eight Months in the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz"
   -by Shlomo Venezia

"Black Holes in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Conspiracy, The History, The Meaning, The Truth"
   -by Robert Feather

"An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt"
   -by K.A. Bard

"Invoking the Scribes of Ancient Egypt: The Initiatory Path of Spiritual Journaling"
   -by Normndi Ellis & Gloria Taylor Brown

"Sense and Stigma in the Gospels: Depictions of Sensory-Disabled Characters"
   -by L.J. Lawrence

"Ancient Egypt 39,000 BCE: The History, Technology, & Philosophy of Civilization X"
   -by Edward Malkowski

"The Sign: The Shroud of Turin & the Birth of Christianity"
   -by Thomas de Wesselow

"The How-to Book of Catholic Devotions" (I won this in an email contest from The Coming Home organization, part of the "Coming Home Network" t.v. show on EWTN channel!  I love winning things!
This book is a bit rudimentary, but I can brush up on some things I may have forgotten. Then I'm gonna' give it to my friend Shaun who just became fully Catholic this Easter!♥)
   -by Mike Aquilina & Regis J. Flaherty

"Atlantis Beneath the Ice: The Fate of the Lost Continent"
   -by Rand & Rose Flem-Ath

"The Three Ages of Atlantis: The Great Floods that Destroyed Civilization"
   -by Diego Marin, Ph.D., Ivan Minella, & Erik Schievenin

"The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments"
   -by Miroslav Verner

"A Pelican in the Wilderness: Hermits, Solitaries, and Recluses"
   -by Isabel Colgate

"Maximus the Confessor"
   -by A. Louth

"Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory"
   -by Gerard J.M. Van Den Aardweg

"The Cross & the Crescent: The Dramatic Story of the Earliest Encounters Between Christians and Muslims"
   -by Richard Fletcher

"Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids from Lost Egypt to Ancient America"
   -by Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D.

"The Parapsychology Revolution: A Concise Anthology of Paranormal & Psychical Research"
   -by Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D., and Logan Yonavjak

"The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution"
   -by G. Cochran & Henry Harpending

"The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel"  (This is awesome!!)
   -by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

"Is the Holocaust Unique? Perspectives on Comparable Genocide"
   -ed. by Alan S. Rosenbaum

"The Sacred Universe: Earth, Spirituality, and Religion in the 20th Century"
   -by T. Berry

"The Age of the Sages: The Axial Age and the Near East"
   -by M.W. Muesse

"Eichmann's Jews: The Jewish Administration of Holocaust Vienna, 1938 - 1945"
   -by Doron Rabinovici

"The First New Testament: Marcion's Scriptural Canon"
   -by Jason D. BeDuhn

"How to Read the Bible Book by Book"
   -by G.D. Fee & D. Stuart

"How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth"
  -by G.D. Fee & D. Stuart

"Born Divine: The Births of Jesus & Other Sons of God"
   -by R.J. Miller

"The Miracle Detective"
   -by R. Sullivan

"A Guide to the Buddhas"
   -by Vessantara

"A Guide to the Bodhisattvas"
   -by Vessantara

"Return to the Golden Age: Ancient History and the Key to Our Collective Future"
   -by Edward Malkowski

"Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, & Politics in the Book of Revelation"
   -by Elaine Pagels

"Muslims & Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions, and Complexities"
   -ed. by Reza Aslan & Aaron J. Hahn Tapper

"From Coffin to Heaven: A Psychological Study of Christian Conversion in Drug Rehabilitation"
   -by Ho-yee Ng

"The Occult in Mediaeval Europe"
   -ed. by P.G. Maxwell-Stuart


"The Medieval Christian Philosophers"
   -by R. Cross


"The Bosnian Church Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Century"
   -by John Fine


"Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt"
   -by J. Tyldesley

"In Due Season: A Catholic Life"
   -by Paul Wilkes


"Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn & Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar"
   -by R. Lebling


"Tutankhamen: The Search for an Egyptian King"
   -by Joyce Tyldesley


"The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to its History, Doctrine, & Spiritual Culture"
   -by John Anthony McGuckin


"The Rig Veda"
   -trans. by W. Doniger  (Penguin Classics--I love the huge selection of these books!)


"Desert Fathers and Mothers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings"
   -sayings, prayers, advise, etc from the worlds first Christians

"Glory to God for All Things" [Excellent Eastern Orthodox Blog!!] ♥♥♥

"Glory to God for All Things Blog" [link]

Elder Cleopa (of the Eastern Orthodox Holy Christian Church) "Fear of God"

This man (saint) is so full of wisdom.
 

Some More Books to Brag About & A New Picture of Me!! ♥

The past two weeks or so have seen me inundated with an amazing array of great reading material!
In addition to a shit ton of magazines & journals, I've been blessed with some mighty fine books.

Here is a partial list, which also includes some older books I've yet to read fully.
I did get thoroughly into a book I picked up several weeks ago, "Petrus Romanus: the Final Pope is Here"  by T. Horn & C. Putnam.   Despite it's obvious anti-Catholic bigotry, it's very interesting and an exciting read!

New Books That Have Arrived in the Mail--

Let me just say that I STILL LOVE getting mail! Real, physical, tangible mail.  "Snail-mail" so to speak. [I wonder where that term first originated? And by whom?]  In the early to mid 90's I had a post office box (p.o. box), especially useful when I was doing 'Book of Lies' fanzine (which incidentally never actually got finished & printed. In many ways this blog is a continuation of that 'zine) & receiving lots & lots of mail, music for review, letters, and ads for records & labels. Over a fifteen year period or so I had two different p.o. boxes. Nowadays the mail just gets delivered to my house & is more convenient than having to go check the ole' p.o. box everyday or so.  But little else has changed & I still get excited whenever the mail lady comes! I'm blessed to receive so many books, magazines, journals, fanzines, & letters! But in my insatiable thirst, it's still 'never enough.'  This is one of my biggest character defects. And believe me, I'm working on it (kind of).
Here are several books that I've received over the past week. m//r

" Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer " Documentary--

Here we have an excellent movie on prayer & meditation. More specifically, the "Jesus Prayer." It is a prayer of the Eastern Orthodox & Eastern Catholic faith's. Thousands of monks & priests have been saying this prayer since who-knows-when! It is an ancient prayer, and a simple one. "Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen." There is also a great book that recently came out that is kind of the same thing as this movie. It's an interesting read.

Got Several New Books In the Mail Today & Learned To Control My Mouth & My Brain--

________________________________________________
It was a good mail day today. After being a shitty day early on, the mail lady came & brightened things up for me a bit.  Other than that my "boss" still didn't pay me today!!! I called him last night to ask him if he could please drop off my check to me this morning, since he DID say he was going to pay me today, and he told me no, he couldn't bring it to me because he wasn't even gonna' be around today!  What?!?  He told me two Friday's ago that he couldn't pay me that day but he would pay me on Tues., after the holiday. Then on Tues. he said we weren't working that day--ostensibly due to rain--but we would be working on Wed. So I assumed he'd pay me Wed. Nope. He told me there wasn't much more work for me, but he'd have a check first thing Mon. morning for me. That's why I called him last night. I tried calling him today but there's no answer. He DID tell me last night that he had another big job & needed me this week, so we'll see. But he already owes me over $300 and I'm not sure I want to work for him anymore. Things could change, and I do need the money. I've got some serious bills that need my attention, not to mention rent that is past due now. Last night he promised me a check this Friday. Hmmm. Seems like he's dodging me. Fortunately for me I made him cut me a check last week for $240, but he asked me not to cash it yet, that he'd pay me my full amount due a.s.a.p. So I've been holding off on putting this check through, but if, by this Fri., he doesn't pay me the full sum of what I'm owed, I'll cash this check and cut me losses. Lesson learned. when dealing with racist, half-assed, inbred, 21 yr old chodes, BE CAREFUL. 
That's my rant on the b.s. of the day. If it's not one thing it's another. I've had some comfort with my Christian meditation lately. Between Eucharistic Adoration & some mystical Christianity (of the Roman Catholic variety) books I've got my nose in, I've been able to sleep a little easier, and calm down when my mind gets to racing. I take comfort in knowing that my Lord, Jesus Christ, is with me all the time, at every step of the way. I try to picture Jesus sitting with me, at the end of my bed, verbally telling me, "it's all right My son."  THAT is a big help. Say what you may about my religious/spiritual leanings, but it works for me. "Restraint of pen & tongue" is about the greatest piece of advice I've ever read.
Use love. ♥ m//r
______________________________________________________________________
Here's a few of the titles the mail lady brought me today:

"The Dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian Relations: Theory, History, and Cases"
  -by Ben Soetendorp

"UFO Religion: Inside Flying Saucer Cults & Culture"
  -by Greg L. Reece

"The Station: Travels to the Holy Mountain of Greece"
  -by Robert Byron

......and a couple of history & religious books.