Thursday, December 31, 2009
The Holy Virgin Mary appears in Egypt
The Bishop of Giza, Anba Theodosius, announces that the Holy Virgin has appeared in a transfiguration at the Church named after her in Warraq al-Hadar, Giza, in the early hours of Friday, December 11, 2009, at 1:00 am. The Holy Virgin appeared in her full height in luminous robes, above the middle dome of the church, in a pure white dress and a royal blue belt. She had a crown on her head, above which appeared the cross on top of the dome. The crosses on top of the church’s domes and towers glowed brightly with light. The Holy Virgin moved between the domes and on to the top of the church gate between its two twin towers. The local residents all saw her.
The apparition lasted from 1:00 am until 4:00 am on Friday, and was registered by cameras and cell phones. Some 3,000 people from the neighborhood, surrounding areas, and passers-by gathered in the street in front of the church to see the apparition.
Since Friday, the huge crowds gathered in the vicinity of the church have been seeing luminous white pigeons soaring above the church during various times of the night, as well as a star, which emerges suddenly in the heavens, travels some 200 meters across the sky, then disappears. The huge crowds gathered around the church do not cease singing hymns and praises for the Holy Virgin.
I personally find no reason to be skeptical about the idea of the Holy Virgin Mary appearing on the domes of her church during the blessed Nativity Fast, especially at this time. Her appearance as such has been confirmed by the Church in the past (e.g. her appearance at Zeitoun, Shoubra and Assiut).
The video footage, coming as it does from a camera phone, isn’t the best of quality, but it is clear enough in my opinion–and in the opinion of the commentators, who, by the way, are not Christian, and who do in fact briefly note and proceed to reply to some obvious typical objections to the footage. The display at 4:50-4:54 shows that the illumined figure is, contrary to the illumined crosses, not attached to the church’s structure. As is clearer to the eye witnesses, the light of the illumined figure differs remarkably from the dull yellow light of the crosses–it is a mixture of a bright blue and white light (the blue light presumably corresponding to her blue attire); eye-witnesses have furthermore noted that it does not retain a fixed position.
The Mother of Jesus was appearing for tens of thousands to see in the land of the pyramids at a Coptic church constructed to commemorate the area in Egypt where she had come with Joseph and Jesus when they all fled from Herod. Starting in April, 1968, her apparitions of light changed the lives of thousands. Her appearances in Zeitun were astounding. She was seen by more than a million people. The apparitions were broadcast by Egyptian TV, photographed by hundreds of professional photographers and personally witnessed by Egyptian President Abdul Nasser.
Her first visit was on the night of April 2, 1968. Two Muslim watchmen at a garage saw a woman walking the roof of the church across the street. Afraid she was going to jump, they ran out shouting at her not to take her life, summoning a crowd below. The priest of the chapel was the first to believe it was an apparition. The longest single appearance was on April 30, 1968, when the vision remained from 2:45 am until 5 am. The nightly apparition attracted vast crowds of both Copts and Muslims, and was declared a genuine miracle by the Coptic Church.
On the eve of Tuesday, March 25, 1986 (Baramhat 16, 1702 am), the Holy Virgin Mary started Her apparitions in the church of Saint Demiana, the martyr in Papadouplo, in the Shoubra quarter of Cairo. The church of Saint Demiana in Papadouplo is a very small and poor Coptic Orthodox church and the surrounding “streets” are very narrow (about 4 meters wide). On this day, our Lady appeared beside the two towers of the church of Saint Demiana and was first seen by people living in the houses overlooking the church’s towers; Her light shone in their houses and they saw Her in Her full body surrounded by a halo of light over the left (western) dome of the church. This apparition was repeated several times, then the news spread and people from all sects and religions came to see the apparitions. The very narrow streets surrounding the church became overcrowded with thousands of night vigils praying and singing doxologies, liturgies and hymns to the Mother of True Light for whole nights.
Also, in 2000, an apparition of the Virgin Mary had been spotted in the small Egyptian town of Assiut. Outside the church, hopeful pilgrims each night chanted “Come Mary, Come,” or “Your Light is on the Cross,” hoping to beseech the Virgin Mary to appear between the two towers of the church, as she had done the previous nights, they say.
It is believed by Christians in Egypt, that the Virgin Mary appears in times of crisis and unrest in order to support them at the time of adversity. She appeared at the Zeitun Church in 1968, the year after a setback of 67 , and these days, when Copts face Islamic persecution from the Egyptian regime and their follow Muslims, she has appeared again.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/holy-virgin-mary-appears-egypt
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Vatican exorcist Amorth speaks on Satan's smoke
Thursday, March 16, 2006By Stefano Maria Paci
Twenty-nine years have passed since that day, June 29 1972. It was the Feast of Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles. It was the Feast of Saint Paul who brought the Gospel of Christ to the extreme corners of the West. On that day, June 29, Feast of the Patron Saints of Rome, Peter’s successor who had taken the name of Paul issued a dramatic warning. Paul VI spoke of God’s enemy supreme, that enemy of man called Satan, enemy of the Church. “The smoke of Satan”, warned Paul VI, “has found its way into the Church through the fissures”. It was an anguished warning that caused great shock and scandal, even within the Catholic world.
And what of today, 29 years later? Has that smoke been dispersed or has it continued to drift?
Trad more at http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=2879
North Magnetic Pole Moving East Due to Core Flux
December 24, 2009
Earth's north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet's core, new research says.
The core is too deep for scientists to directly detect its magnetic field. But researchers can infer the field's movements by tracking how Earth's magnetic field has been changing at the surface and in space.
Now, newly analyzed data suggest that there's a region of rapidly changing magnetism on the core's surface, possibly being created by a mysterious "plume" of magnetism arising from deeper in the core.
And it's this region that could be pulling the magnetic pole away from its long-time location in northern Canada, said Arnaud Chulliat, a geophysicist at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France.
Finding North
Magnetic north, which is the place where compass needles actually point, is near but not exactly in the same place as the geographic North Pole. Right now, magnetic north is close to Canada's Ellesmere Island.
Navigators have used magnetic north for centuries to orient themselves when they're far from recognizable landmarks.
Although global positioning systems have largely replaced such traditional techniques, many people still find compasses useful for getting around underwater and underground where GPS satellites can't communicate.
The magnetic north pole had moved little from the time scientists first located it in 1831. Then in 1904, the pole began shifting northeastward at a steady pace of about 9 miles (15 kilometers) a year.
In 1989 it sped up again, and in 2007 scientists confirmed that the pole is now galloping toward Siberia at 34 to 37 miles (55 to 60 kilometers) a year.
A rapidly shifting magnetic pole means that magnetic-field maps need to be updated more often to allow compass users to make the crucial adjustment from magnetic north to true North.
Wandering Pole
Geologists think Earth has a magnetic field because the core is made up of a solid iron center surrounded by rapidly spinning liquid rock. This creates a "dynamo" that drives our magnetic field.
Scientists had long suspected that, since the molten core is constantly moving, changes in its magnetism might be affecting the surface location of magnetic north.
Although the new research seems to back up this idea, Chulliat is not ready to say whether magnetic north will eventually cross into Russia.
"It's too difficult to forecast," Chulliat said.
Also, nobody knows when another change in the core might pop up elsewhere, sending magnetic north wandering in a new direction.
Chulliat presented his work this week at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
At http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091224-north-pole-magnetic-russia-earth-core.html
Monday, December 21, 2009
The sun in 2012
During the solar maximum the sun's magnetic poles will reverse.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012
The onset of a new solar cycle is significant because of our increasingly space-based technological society.
"Solar storms can disable satellites that we depend on for weather forecasts and GPS navigation," says Hathaway. Radio bursts from solar flares can directly interfere with cell phone reception while coronal mass ejections (CMEs) hitting Earth can cause electrical power outages. "The most famous example is the Quebec outage of 1989, which left some Canadians without power for as much as six days."
Air travel can be affected, too.
Every year, intercontinental flights carry thousands of passengers over Earth’s poles. It's the shortest distance between, say, New York and Tokyo or Beijing and Chicago. In 1999, United Airlines made just twelve trips over the Arctic. By 2005, the number of flights had ballooned to 1,402. Other airlines report similar growth.
"Solar storms have a big effect on polar regions of our planet," says Steve Hill of the Space Weather Prediction Center. "When airplanes fly over the poles during solar storms, they can experience radio blackouts, navigation errors and computer reboots all caused by space radiation." Avoiding the poles during solar storms solves the problem, but it costs extra time, money and fuel to "take the long way around."
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/10jan_solarcycle24.htm
The Sun Does a Flip
NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say that our star's awesome magnetic field is flipping -- a sure sign that solar maximum is here.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast15feb_1.htm
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Apparitions in Egypt today
Crowds flock to Giza as news spreads of an apparition of the Virgin Mary,
reports Sherine Nasr
"If I could only see Her tonight, it will be the happiest day of my life," said 25-year-old sales representative Fadi Amir. He had been standing all night, his eyes fixed on the church's towers in hope of catching a glimpse of the Virgin Mary.
More at http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/977/fr2.htm
Also
THOUSANDS GATHER IN FRENZIED CROWDS AS MARY SAID TO APPEAR AGAIN IN CAIRO, EGYPT
Videos on YouTube indicate that unusual lights are again appearing on a Coptic Orthodox church in the Cairo metropolitan area, this time in a neighborhood known as Warraq.
There are no details as yet as to when the phenomena began, but according to blog reports crowds began forming on December 9 -- a day after the Immaculate Conception feast -- and thousands are now gathering each night, chanting, singing Arabic-style Christian songs, and loudly exclaiming as forms or flashes of light materialize.
The forms of light are vague as taken with what appear to be cell phones and presented on internet videos but like apparitions that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s at other Orthodox churches in Cairo seem to show a bright light in the form of Mary moving amid the domes or over an entrance near an illuminated Cross as a frenzied crowd and beeping taxi horns form an audio backdrop.
---
From 1968 to 1973, highly similar forms were photographed at St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in Zeitoun -- a Cairo suburb (above right; see too photos here and video here). Orthodox leaders officially approved the apparitions, which were seen by millions, including then-president Abdul Nasser and Church officials. The city checked for lights and could find no physical explanation. That was just before Egypt surrendered to Israel in the Six-Day War.
Later, she also was said to appear at St. Mark's Orthodox Church in the ancient city of Assiut, about 250 miles from Cairo (left; see video) nine years ago. There were no "messages" -- just the luminous phenomena, which also included strange clouds like incense and what appeared to be doves. Meanwhile, there were also phenomena in Assiut starting August 15, 2001, less than a month before the attacks of September 11, which involved terrorists with links to the country. However, there also have been eruptions of manifestations in between.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Persecution in Iraq
27/11/2009 (0:57)
Cardinal Emmanuel Delly
His patriarchate in Iraq came at a fairly difficult time period. Before he became Patriarch he had been accidentally injured by shattered glass in an attack. Hence he has been strongly concerned about the security situation there. Although optimistic about the Iraqi elections he has expressed criticisms about upsurges in violences against Christians. He has taken efforts to improve the population's morale, maintain friendly relations with Islamic leaders, improve safety, and work for the release of kidnapping victims.
Benedict XVI: Take care of Creation
It is the duty of every person to protect the natural environment in order to build a peaceful world. The Holy Father reiterates this in his Message for the World Day of Peace, on January 1, 2010. The message was presented this morning in the Vatican Press Office, with the theme: "If you want to cultivate peace, preserve creation".
http://www.h2onews.org/english/53-the-pope/224345-benedict-xvi-take-care-of-creation.html
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Deliver us from evil
In the last installment, we covered some of the spiritual dangers posed to our society by the evil in our age, as spelled out in an intriguing new book by a priest, Father Joseph M. Esper, from the Detroit area, who has the approval of his bishop for this work.
He spoke of human monitoring. He spoke of the "microchip." He spoke of potential abuse and persecution via societal means.
We don't know what to make of every aspect, but we do know that his major point -- the rise of evil -- is obvious all around us. People are speaking to each other sharply. Evil has infiltrated everywhere. There are apparitions that may be deceptions -- demonic. There is the New Age.
What about spiritual attack on a more personal level?
Here, Father Esper is especially intriguing.
Evil spirits, he notes, come at us in many ways. They may come through those who are jealous. They may come from past transgressions. They may come through the generations.
We must wage war with them, says the priest: combat.
More at
http://www.spiritdaily.com/esper2.htm
Monday, December 7, 2009
Pope to climate summit: respect God's creation
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has told world leaders attending the climate summit in Copenhagen that caring for God's creation requires they adopt sober and responsible lifestyles.
Benedict said Sunday he hoped the meeting, which opens Monday, would outline actions that respect creation and promote development while respecting human dignity and the common good.
The Vatican, which has U.N. observer status, is sending a delegation to Copenhagen.
Benedict has spoken out frequently about the need to care for the planet, dedicating a good part of his last encyclical to the issue. Under his pontificate, the Vatican has also installed photovoltaic cells on the roof of its auditorium and begun a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its C02 emissions.
At http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqNAzOA7tCyudqxq-hK_2WEgZlhQD9CDP98G0
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Prophecy in Brasil
"Don't lose heart. Don't back out. You are not alone. I am your Mom and I am at your side. When you feel the weight of your difficulties, call on Jesus. He will be your support in moments of pain. Don't forget, there is no victory without the Cross. Imitate My Son Jesus. I come from Heaven to offer you my love. Open your hearts to my call and joyfully live my messages. Humanity has become spiritually poor because people have withdrawn from their Creator. Pray. Pray. Pray. Something frightening will happen in Europe and three countries will be struck at the same time. People will have to weep and lament. Seek strength in prayer and in the Eucharist. Your victory is coming closer. Stay with the Lord. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at peace."
Three countries in Europe.
What do we make of such specificity?
Just a week before, a message from the same seer said:
"Dear sons and daughters, humanity will drink the bitter cup of suffering because of unexplained phenomena of nature that will come. Bend your knees in prayer so you can support the weight of the Cross. The Andes chain of mountains will descend and many nations will carry a heavy Cross. The earth will pass through great transformations, but in the end victory will come to men and women of faith."
And just three weeks before that:
"A great happening will shake the faith of many people. It will be in the land of the Holy Cross (Brazil)."
It's not all dismal:
"A great discovery will happen for the good of mankind. It will be the object of one of the miracles of My Son Jesus," said another November message, again in Brazil. "This is the mystery."
From http://www.spiritdaily.com/prophecynovend.htm

