VATICAN CITY – Some 1.5 million pilgrims flooded Rome Sunday to watch Pope John Paul II move a step closer to sainthood in one of the largest Vatican Masses in history, an outpouring of adoration for a beloved and historic figure after years marred by church scandal.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
—1 Timothy 2:5

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

The turnout for the beatification far exceeded even the most optimistic expectation of 1 million people, the number Rome city officials predicted. For Catholics filling St. Peter’s Square and its surrounding streets, and for those watching around the world the beatification was a welcome hearkening back to the days when the pope was almost universally beloved.
“He was like a king to us, like a father,” Marynka Ulaszewska, a 28-year-old from Ciechocinek, Poland, said, weeping. “I hope these emotions will remain with us for a long time,” she said.
Pope Benedict XVI praised John Paul for turning back the seemingly “irreversible” tide of communism with faith, courage and “the strength of a titan, a strength which came to him from God.”
John Paul is universally credited with helping bring down communism in his native Poland with support for the Solidarity labor movement, accelerating the fall of the Iron Curtain.
“He rightly reclaimed for Christianity that impulse of hope which had in some sense faltered before Marxism and the ideology of progress,” Benedict said. “He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope.”

John Paul’s beatification, the fastest in modern times, has however triggered a new wave of anger from sex-abuse victims because much of the criminality occurred during his 27-year watch. Critics also say John Paul’s legacy is clouded by evidence of a dwindling faith: empty churches in Europe, too few priests in North and South America, priests who violate their celibacy requirement in places like Africa and a general decline of Catholicism in former Christian strongholds.
John Paul’s defenders argue that an entire generation of new priests owe their vocations to John Paul, and that millions of lay Catholics found their faith during the World Youth Days, which were a hallmark of his papacy.
Vatican officials have insisted that the saint-making process isn’t a judgment of how John Paul administered the church but rather whether he lived a life of Christian virtue.
Benedict put John Paul on the fast-track for possible sainthood when he dispensed with the traditional five-year waiting period and allowed the beatification process to begin weeks after his April 2, 2005, death. Benedict was responding to chants of “Santo Subito!” or “Sainthood Immediately” which erupted during John Paul’s funeral.
With a sea of red and white Polish flags fluttering in the square, the beatification Sunday evoked the days after the pope’s death in 2005, when some 3 million faithful held vigil under his studio window and filed past his remains for days on end.
Pilgrims from Mexico to Mali repeated the procession after the Mass Sunday, for hours filing past the simple wooden coffin that had been raised from the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s Basilica to the church’s center aisle, where it was surrounded by four Swiss Guards standing at attention.
Beatification is the last major milestone before a candidate is declared a saint. John Paul needs another miracle attributed to his intercession before he can be canonized.
Already, Vatican officials have said reports of inexplicable cures were pouring in, suggesting it is only a matter of time before John Paul is declared a saint, or even a doctor of the church — an even greater honor.
Police placed wide swaths of Rome miles (kilometers) from the Vatican off limits to private cars to ensure security for the estimated 16 heads of state, eight prime ministers and five members of European royal houses attending.
Helicopters flew overhead, police boats patrolled the nearby Tiber River and some 5,000 uniformed troops manned police barricades to ensure priests, official delegations and those with coveted VIP passes could get to their places amid the throngs of pilgrims.
Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia, wearing a black lace mantilla, mingled with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Poland’s historic Solidarity leader and former President Lech Walesa and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who sidestepped a European Union travel ban to attend.
“He went all over the world,” said Bishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali, who came to Rome for the ceremony. “Today, we’re coming to him.”
Many in Rome and in capitals around the world erupted in cheers, tears and applause as Benedict pronounced John Paul “Blessed” and an enormous color photo of a young, smiling John Paul was unveiled over the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“John Paul is an angel, he has such charisma,” said Esperanza Concilion, a 69-year-old hairdresser who traveled from Guadalajara, Mexico for the beatification.
Catholics jammed churches from Mexico to Australia to pray and watch broadcasts of the Rome Mass on television.
“He was a model and an inspiration who united the world with his extraordinary charisma,” said John Paul Bustillo, a 16-year-old medical student named after the pontiff who turned out Sunday along with more than 3,000 others for a six-mile (10-kilometer) race followed by a Mass near Manila Bay in the Philippines.
In Brazil, which has more Roman Catholics than any other nation, the beatification resonated among the faithful and sparked hope that it might renew faith in the church in the South American nation which is facing stiff competition for souls from evangelical Protestant movements.
“The beatification is going to renovate the faith of those who may have lost their way and left the church,” said Adimir Godoy, as he left a Sunday mass at the Santa Cecilia church in central Sao Paulo. “We were all blessed by the life of Pope John Paul and he deserves to be a saint.”
In John Paul’s native Poland, tens of thousands of people gathered in rain in a major sanctuary in Krakow and in Wadowice, where the pontiff was born in 1920 as Karol Wojtyla. Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his wife Malgorzata watched the ceremony together with Wadowice residents.
After the nearly three-hour Mass, Benedict prayed before John Paul’s coffin, which had a copy of the Lorsch Gospels on it, an illuminated medieval book of the Gospels that is one of the most precious in the Vatican’s collection.
The basilica was expected to stay open for as long as it takes to accommodate the throngs of faithful who paid their respects and took photos as loudspeakers piped in hymns and clips of some of John Paul’s most memorable homilies and speeches.
The sealed coffin will ultimately be moved to a side chapel inside the basilica just next to Michelangelo’s famous marble “Pieta” statue.
Police put the figure of those attending the Mass at 1.5 million; only a few hundred thousand could fit into St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding streets but others watched it on some of the 14 huge TV screens set up around town or listened to it on radios in Polish or Italian.
During the Mass, Benedict received a silver reliquary holding a vial of blood taken from John Paul during his final hospitalization. The relic, a key feature of beatification ceremonies, will be available for the faithful to venerate.
It was presented to him by Sister Tobiana, the Polish nun who tended to John Paul throughout his pontificate, and Sister Marie Simone-Pierre of France, whose inexplicable recovery from Parkinson’s disease was decreed to be the miracle necessary for John Paul to be beatified.
____
Associated Press writers Daniela Petroff in Vatican City, Bradley Brooks in Sao Paulo, Jim Gomez in Manila and Monika Scislowska in Krakow contributed to this story.

WARSAW, Poland — A vial containing blood drawn from Pope John Paul II shortly before he died will be installed as a relic in a Polish church soon after his beatification later this year, an official said Monday.

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False Proplets

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
—Matthew 7:15

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try•Strongs 1381: dokimazo, dok-im-ad´-zo; from 1384 ;to test (literally or figuratively); by implication, to approve: — allow, discern, examine, x like, (ap-)prove,
•Strongs 1384: dokimos, dok´-ee-mos; from 1380; properly, acceptable (current after assayal), i.e. approved: — approved, tried. the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
—1 John 4:1

Idols

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
—1 John 5:21

Piotr Sionko, the spokesman for the John Paul II Center, said the vial will be encased in crystal and built into the altar of a church in the southern city of Krakow that is opening in May.

The exact date of the opening is not yet known, but it should be shortly after John Paul’s beatification at the Vatican on May 1.

Sionko said the idea came from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the archbishop of Krakow and the longtime friend and secretary of the late Polish-born pontiff. The blood was drawn for medical tests at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic shortly before John Paul’s death on April 2, 2005, and is now in Dziwisz’s possession, he said.

“It was the cardinal’s proposal,” Sionko said. “He is of the opinion that this is the most precious relic of John Paul II and should be the focal point of the church.”

The church in the Lagiewniki district is part of a center that will be devoted to cultivating the memory and the teaching of the late pope – who was born Karol Wojtyla in Wadowice, southern Poland, and spent decades in Krakow.

Many Catholics in the world are rejoicing over Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement last week that he will beatify John Paul on May 1. Beatification is the last major step before possible sainthood.

The idea of displaying the pope’s relics has met with some reservations, even inside the Catholic Church.

“The tradition of relics comes from medieval practices of teaching the Bible through images and symbols,” said the Rev. Krzysztof Madel, a Jesuit priest in Nowy Sacz who has publicly questioned the usefulness of displaying John Paul’s blood. “But in today’s rationalized world the message should rather come through teaching about someone’s life.”

After John Paul’s death, some Polish officials said they hoped John Paul’s heart would be removed from his body and returned to his homeland for burial. However, church officials dismissed any possibility of dismembering the body, saying the age had passed for that practice.

Dziwisz said Friday that he has always been against dividing of the body, but that “relics have always existed and will always exist.”

IRREVERENT Australian cheers echoed around St Peter’s Square as the Pope recognised the battling nun Mary MacKillop as Australia’s first saint.

To view dictionary popup window put your cursor on the blue words

Idols

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations•Strongs 946: bdelugma, bdel´-oog-mah; from 948; a detestation, i.e. (specially) idolatry: — abomination. and filthiness of her fornication:”
Revelation 17:4

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
—1 Timothy 2:5

More than 8000 Australian pilgrims yelled and applauded and many wept as the Pope bestowed the new name “Saint Mary of the Cross” on the Melbourne-born teacher and founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

A religious journey that began when 24-year-old MacKillop opened a school for the poor in a converted stable in Penola, South Australia, in 1866 reached its climax with the bestowal of the church’s greatest honour in an outdoor mass for 50,000 people under a glorious clear sky in the heart of the Vatican.

As Australian and Aboriginal flags fluttered around the enormous square, the gold-robed Pope lauded MacKillop for her “courageous and saintly example of zeal, perseverance and prayer”, saying that she had inspired and helped countless Australians.

“She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other women to join her in the first women’s community of religious sisters of that country,” the Pope said in his homily.

“She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her, without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual formation.

“Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the church with faith and humility.”

Lake Macquarie grandmother Kathleen Evans, whose 1993 recovery from cancer was deemed by the church to be a miracle attributable to MacKillop, presented the Pope with a newly holy “relic” in the form of a cross carved from red gum from Penola and encasing strands of the new saint’s hair.

In St Peter’s Square, Sydney woman Mounira Jabbour wept as she listened to the Pope, saying it was “a dream come true to see Mary become a saint”.

Ms Jabbour, 54, from Earlswood, and her son James, 26, were in the square before dawn as the first people to stake out positions for the ritual.

“The Pope looked gorgeous. I have been crying because I am so happy and so blessed to be here.”

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd called it “a great day for all Australians”.

Anthony Rush, a graphic designer from East Brunswick in Melbourne, who travelled to Rome with his family, said the pageantry “was probably a bit much for the sort of down-to-earth woman she was, but I suppose it is fitting for the occasion”.

Mr Rush’s 14-year-old daughter, Madeleine, said the spectacle had been “just as exciting” as the AFL Grand Final replay “but it is still different and very special”.

Sixteen-year-old Callum Ryan, the captain of McKillop House at St Ignatius College, Riverview, in Sydney, said the occasion was “just fantastic”.

Callum, who attended with nine other students and 25 supporters from the school, said it was “amazing to be here and see it live”.

“The scale of everything is just incredible.

“The Pope was about 15m from us. All the Australians were pretty rowdy early on but then they quietened down at the right time.”

A 3m-high portrait of MacKillop was draped across the front of Catholicism’s greatest church, St Peter’s Basilica, alongside those of five other new Catholic saints as five cardinals, 23 bishops and 20 other clerics joined the Pope.

The other new saints came from Italy, Spain, Poland and Canada, but the media and public interest in the ceremony was dominated by Australians because of MacKillop’s status as the nation’s first saint.

Almost 150 nuns from MacKillop’s order were in the crowd for what Cardinal George Pell said was one of the great moments in the history of the Catholic Church in Australia. Cardinal Pell said the canonisation could give new energy and excitement to the church in Australia and would serve as a reminder to the church hierarchy that senior clerics could easily make mistakes.

Throughout her career, MacKillop was often obstructed and opposed by priests and bishops, even being excommunicated or thrown out of the church for five months in 1871.

One hundred and one years after her death, the Pope completed the recognition of her saintly status by declaring MacKillop and the five other clergy members being canonised should be “definitively declared saints and included in the book of saints (and) devoutly honoured . . . in all the church”.

The most senior cardinal assisting him in the ceremony, the Archbishop of Montreal, Jean-Claude Turcotte, gave a response in which he became the first person to formally use MacKillop’s new title, Saint Mary of the Cross.

Sister Maria Casey, the official advocate of MacKillop’s cause, knelt before the Pope and he held her hands as she thanked him for the elevation of MacKillop.

The gospel reading in the mass was read twice, once in Greek and once in Latin, to signify the Pope’s decision applies to the universal church as it covers both its eastern and western wings.

Monroe, Ohio — A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said.

Idols

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
—1 John 5:21

The “King of Kings” statue, one of southwest Ohio’s most familiar landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.
The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m., Monroe police dispatchers said.

The sculpture, 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way his arms were raised, as though signaling a touchdown. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained early today.
The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, Police Chief Mark Neu said. The Fire Department would release a monetary damage estimate today, he said.
The huge statue by the roadside often startled travelers on Interstate 75, but many said America needs more symbols like it. So many people stopped at the church campus that church officials had to build a walkway to accommodate them.
The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by former horse trader Lawrence Bishop and his wife. Bishop said in 2004 he was trying to help people, not impress them, with the statue. He said his wife proposed the Jesus figure as a beacon of hope and salvation and they spent about $250,000 to finance it.

COTTONWOOD — Many questions that have arisen in Cottonwood should be answered Dec 16 between 10 a.m. and noon. That is the day when 600 dignitaries and guests from around the world will gather to celebrate the new Mago Earth Park and landmark statue of “Mago Mother Earth.

To view dictionary popup window put your cursor on the blue scripture words.

Idols

“Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings•Strongs 4878: mshuwbah, mesh-oo-baw´; or hDb¨vVm mshubah, mesh-oo-baw´; from 7725; apostasy:—backsliding, turning away. shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken•Strongs 5800: {azab, aw-zab´; a primitive root; to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.:—commit self, fail, forsake, fortify, help, leave (destitute, off), refuse, x surely. the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.”
—Jeremiah 2:19

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
—1 John 5:21

The six-acre park just north of Cottonwood has been created by the non-denominational, non-profit, Tao Fellowship, founded by Ilchi Lee, and operated by Sedona Mago Retreat Center, the 160-acre sanctuary for spiritual growth and meditation. Ilchi Lee, recognized by the United Nations for a life in the pursuit of world peace, is a brain educator, author, and philosopher, according to a press release from Tao Fellowship.

The park will operate under the motto “Love for Humanity and Love for the Earth.” A special address by Ilchi Lee at nearby Sedona Mago Retreat Center will highlight this occasion. After the day of celebration, some visitors will spend more time in the Verde Valley/Sedona region attending a special week-long workshop featuring lectures by Ilchi Lee.

According to the Tao Fellowship news release, the future Mago Earth Park will host a variety of educational events for the purpose of promoting peace and environmental sustainability. With this combination of community park and sculpture garden, people of all ages will find a comfortable place to play, relax and reflect. Possible activities and events held at the park may include farmers’ markets, festivals, and fairs featuring crafts, art, and music of local artisans, according to retreat spokespersons.

The 39-foot-tall statue, representing Mago, which in Korean means the “Soul of The Earth,” has captured the interest of motorists who have passed the Bill Gray Road area, where the Mago Earth Park stands across the road from the new Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

The name Mago, according to Tao Fellowship, derives from ancient East Asian tradition. “Ma,” a nearly universal sound representing “Mother,” is combined with “Go,” meaning “eminent and ancient origin.” This is an ancient respectful name for “Mother Earth.”

According to the Tao Fellowship news release, “This event will celebrate respect and love for Mother Earth. We believe Mother Earth’s greatest desire is for all of her children to recover their original connection to nature, to rediscover their true selves, by nurturing Earth’s bounty and safeguarding its precious environment.”

Cottonwood Community Development Director George Gehlert says the site was originally established in 2006. In November, the Commission considered an amendment to the conditional use permit, but agreed to continue that discussion Dec. 21, 6 p.m., at the Cottonwood Public Safety Building on Sixth Street and Aspen.

In November, the P&Z Commission allowed a stipulation that permits the Mago statue to be erected for a period of time until commissioners could further review the application.

The statue of Mago stands on a 10-foot pedestal.

By comparison, the ridgeline of the neighboring Catholic Church is 38-feet tall, but its spires rise to 60 feet.

According to the Tao Fellowship news release, “the Mago Earth Park and Mago statue will be a statement to the world that the state of Arizona and the people of the Verde Valley are world leaders in their commitment to peace and to living in harmony with the Earth and all people.”

Former President Bill Clinton, seen here on September 22, basked Tuesday in his unofficial role of world problem solver as he opened the fifth annual session of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), timed to coincide with the huge UN meeting a few blocks away. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Spencer Platt)

President Barack Obama gave the keynote speech, saying “Bill Clinton has helped improve and save the lives of millions.”

Idols

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
—1 John 5:21

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
—Exodus 20:3

NEW YORK (AFP) – World leaders gathering in New York to resolve global problems? Sounds like the UN General Assembly — well, except when they’re all across town with Bill Clinton.
The Democratic Party legend basked Tuesday in his unofficial role of world problem solver as he opened the fifth annual session of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), timed to coincide with the huge UN meeting a few blocks away.
Swelling, movie-style music accompanied the white-haired Clinton as he took the stage at the Sheraton hotel where he joked of having been afraid, following the 2008 Wall Street meltdown, that “we’d throw a party and no one would come.”
Not that there were real worries on that score.
President Barack Obama gave the keynote speech, saying “Bill Clinton has helped improve and save the lives of millions.”
In the audience sat another 60 current and former heads of state, along with the chief executives of Coca-Cola, Nissan, ExxonMobil and Goldman Sachs, while Hollywood stars like Matt Damon and Demi Moore added the sort of pizazz the United Nations rarely enjoys.
Unlike at the UN building there was no dissension in the Sheraton and, contrasting with the famously slow-moving United Nations, the CGI emphasized the need to turn good words into deeds.
Among its accomplishments, the CGI says, are commitments to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 60 million tons, treat 34 million people for tropical diseases, give 10 million children better education, and provide safe drinking water to three million people in Asia.
The annual four-day networking, brain-storming and fundraising session also gives Clinton an extraordinarily high-profile platform eight years after leaving the White House.
His wife Hillary may be secretary of state, but the 42nd president remains as famous, if not more so — a status boosted by his successful mission to Pyongyang in August to bring back two US journalists arrested in North Korea.
As Obama said, Clinton could “have settled for a life of quiet, a life of ease, a life of improved golf scores — my understanding is they have not improved that much since he was in office — but he chose a different path.”
“This global initiative reminds us of what we can each do as individuals.”
During last year’s presidential campaign Clinton was not always as friendly with Obama, who took on and ultimately defeated Hillary for the Democratic nomination.
But on Tuesday, Obama could not praise his one-time rival too warmly, jokingly recounting how Clinton’s famous schmoozing skills had persuaded him to attend.
“I think everyone knows what it’s like when Bill Clinton asks you to make a commitment,” Obama said.
“He looks you in the eye, he feels your pain, he makes you feel like you’re the only person in the room. What could I say? I was vulnerable, just like all of you have been vulnerable, to his charms.”
Clinton said he had only one complaint about his family’s high-flying lifestyle: not getting to see enough of his “favorite member of the Obama administration.”
He’ll see her on Friday — at the CGI where Hillary Clinton was scheduled to make the final key note speech.

TOKYO (AP) – Opening a car trunk or controlling a home air conditioner could become just a wish away with Honda’s new technology that connects thoughts inside a brain with robotics.

Knowledge Increased

“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•Strongs 2161: zamam, zaw-mam´; a primitive root; to plan, usually in a bad sense:—consider, devise, imagine, plot, purpose, think (evil). to do.”
—Genesis 11:6

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain•Strongs 3154: mataioo, mat-ah-yo´-o; from 3152; to render (passively, become) foolish, i.e. (morally) wicked or (specially), idolatrous:—become vain.
•Strongs 3152: mataios, mat´-ah-yos; from the base of 3155; empty, i.e. (literally) profitless, or (specially), an idol:—vain, vanity. in their imaginations•Strongs 1261: dialogismos, dee-al-og-is-mos´; from 1260; discussion, i.e. (internal) consideration (by implication, purpose), or (external) debate:—dispute, doubtful(-ing), imagination, reasoning, thought. , and their foolish heart was darkened.”
—Romans 1:21

“And he had power to give life unto the image•Strongs 1504: eikon, i-kone´; from 1503; a likeness, i.e. (literally) statue, profile, or (figuratively) representation, resemblance:—image. of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”
—Revelation 13:15

Honda Motor Co. (HMC) has developed a way to read patterns of electric currents on a person’s scalp as well as changes in cerebral blood flow when a person thinks about four simple movements – moving the right hand, moving the left hand, running and eating.
Honda succeeded in analyzing such thought patterns, and then relaying them as wireless commands for Asimo, its human-shaped robot.
In a video shown Tuesday at Tokyo headquarters, a person wearing a helmet sat still but thought about moving his right hand – a thought that was picked up by cords attached to his head inside the helmet. After several seconds, Asimo, programmed to respond to brain signals, lifted its right arm.
Honda said the technology wasn’t quite ready for a live demonstration because of possible distractions in the person’s thinking. Another problem is that brain patterns differ greatly among individuals, and so about two to three hours of studying them in advance are needed for the technology to work.
The company, a leader in robotics, acknowledged the technology was still at a basic research stage with no immediate practical applications in the works.
“I’m talking about dreams today,” said Yasuhisa Arai, executive at Honda Research Institute Japan Co., the company’s research unit. “Practical uses are still way into the future.”
Japan boasts one of the leading robotics industries in the world, and the government is pushing to develop the industry as a road to growth.
Research on the brain is being tackled around the world, but Honda said its research was among the most advanced in figuring out a way to read brain patterns without having to hurt the person, such as embedding sensors into the skin.
Honda has made robotics a centerpiece of its image, sending Asimo to events and starring the walking, talking robot in TV ads. Among the challenges for the brain technology is to make the reading-device smaller so it can be portable, according to Honda.
Arai didn’t rule out the possibility of a car that may some day drive itself – even without a steering wheel.
“Our products are for people to use. It is important for us to understand human behavior,” he said. “We think this is the ultimate in making machines move.”

To view dictionary popup window put your cursor on the blue scripture words.

Idols

“Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings•Strongs 4878: mshuwbah, mesh-oo-baw´; or hDb¨vVm mshubah, mesh-oo-baw´; from 7725; apostasy:—backsliding, turning away. shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken•Strongs 5800: {azab, aw-zab´; a primitive root; to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.:—commit self, fail, forsake, fortify, help, leave (destitute, off), refuse, x surely. the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.”
—Jeremiah 2:19

Editors note about this article•Didn’t John Lenon and the Beatles think this also.

In the first such survey, in 2001, Jesus was first, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was second and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was third. Obama wasn’t mentioned.

Now, after the president, Jesus and King, the new top 10 includes former U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln; U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; former President John F. Kennedy; hero airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger; and humanitarian Mother Teresa. God was 11th, the poll said.

The most mentioned reason for making the list (89 percent) was “Doing what’s right regardless of personal consequences.”

Poll officials said the survey was conducted among 2,634 U.S. adults who answered spontaneously in contacts Jan. 12-19.

Idols

“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:”
—Revelation 9:20

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

When John and Suzy Burton decided to move to a smaller house, they informed the removal men that they would like to take a few precious stones with them.

To be more precise, 13 huge rocks from the garden.

Mr Burton, a druid, and his wife, a witch, were the proud owners of a stone circle which, they say, gives them positive energy.

So when the pagan couple left their historic £1million mansion, Abbotts Court in Weymouth, Dorset, a dozen men with a crane and a fleet of trucks took the rocks to their new home in Dorchester, ten miles away.

Neighbours watched in amazement as the stones, each weighing between half and three-quarters of a ton, were placed in the garden.

The couple – both antique dealers – had them aligned at special points around the extensive grounds of the £600,000, six-bedroom property to encircle themselves with energy.

Each was apparently placed along a ley line which runs from Maiden Castle, an Iron-Age hill fort near Dorchester, through to Maumbury Rings, a Roman amphitheatre.

Mrs Burton then invited 20 witches from her coven to dedicate the stone circle during a night-time ritual.

The 60-year-old – whose mother and grandmother were witches – said: ‘We had a blessing of the stones and we brought the energy back.

‘You could feel the energy circling the stones. We feel they are a place between worlds.

‘It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you are near these stones – but it is something extremely powerful.

‘You can feel the energy pulsing around you, moving inside you – you feel at one with nature and get a real high.’

The stone circle was erected in the ten-acre grounds of 11-bedroom Abbotts Court by Thomas Burberry, founder of the fashion house, in the early 1900s.

Mr Burton, 64, and his wife, who teaches magic and witchcraft, discovered it when they bought the property in 1980 and planned to leave it as an historic landmark when they downsized and moved to Dorchester.

But the property developer who bought the mansion threatened to throw out the stones if they were left behind.

So the couple employed a specialist removal firm to rehome the rocks.

Mrs Burton, who has five children and 12 grandchildren, said: ‘It was a really big job bringing the stones with us.

‘We had to employ about a dozen rather burly men and a crane to transport it all – but it was well worth it. Although I think a few of the neighbours were a little surprised, on the whole I think it’s been really well received.

‘We are so happy finally to have it all sorted.

‘We were very upset at the thought of these stones just being dumped – but couldn’t think of how we could get them with us.

‘They’ve made such a difference to our lives. We were delighted when we realised we would be able to take the stones with us.’

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
—Exodus 20:3

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.”
—Jeremiah 7:18

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
—1 Timothy 2:5

The Pope’s leading of the Supplication of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, a prayer written by Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) was one of the high points of this 12th pastoral trip in Italy.

“We implore you to have pity today on the nations that have gone astray, on all Europe, on the whole world, that they might repent and return to your heart,” the text of the prayer reads.

With the words of Bartolo, the Pontiff turned to Mary, saying: “If you will not help us because we are ungrateful and unworthy children of your protection, we will not know to whom to turn.”

In a gesture of filial love, the Pope then offered the Madonna a golden rose.

The Holy Father traveled by helicopter this morning to Pompeii, and was welcomed by 50,000 faithful. This is the third time a Pope has visited the shrine.

Pompeii was destroyed by the lava and ashes from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

The new Pompeii arose 1,796 years later, when, in 1872, Bartolo Longo, a lawyer and lay Dominican, built a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.

The shrine contains an image of Mary to which hundreds of miracles and healings are attributed.

God’s face

In the homily delivered during Holy Mass today, the Pope evoked the figure of Bartolo Longo, who, like St. Paul, had persecuted the Church, “becoming militantly anticlerical and engaging in spiritualist and superstitious practices.”

Longo was a Satanist priest who later repented when he encountered the “true face of God,” the Holy Father said.

“Wherever God comes in this desert, flowers bloom,” said Benedict XVI. “Even Blessed Bartolo Longo, with his personal conversion, bears witness to this spiritual power that transforms man from within and makes him capable of doing great things according to God’s designs.

“This city, which he re-founded is thus a historical demonstration of how God transforms the world: filling man’s heart with charity.”

“Here in Pompeii,” the Pope continued, “it is understood that love for God and love for neighbor are inseparable.

“Here at Mary’s feet, families rediscover or reinforce the joy of love that keeps them united.”

The secret of Pompeii, the Holy Father revealed, is the rosary: “This prayer leads us through Mary to Jesus.”

“The rosary is a contemplative prayer that is accessible to all: great and small, lay people and clerics, cultured and uncultured,” he said. “The rosary is a spiritual weapon in the struggle against evil, against all violence, for peace in hearts, in families, in society and in the world.”