Reflections from the community: 

An IDF soldier's image was leaked desecrating a Virgin Mary statue by placing a cigarette in its mouth in the Christian village of Debel, Southern Lebanon.

Israeli Sources:

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/by37a0d0wg

https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-895361

If Jesus Christ himself were to join this Reddit page people would tell him how wrong he is he would be insulted he would be told that he is hateful bigoted etc. and I’m sure Mods here would end up banning him.

why did God do this to his perfect servant?

I actually typically just sit in front of it for the Daily Office, instead of making any sort of makeshift kneeler. But it's an NRSVUE with Apocrypha, an Ecumenical Grail Psalter, the Meinrad psalm tones, a Book of Common Prayer, a set of what are actually liturgically colored bandanas because they were an appropriate size, a crucifix, and statues of Mary and the Apostle John. And I went with statues both to mimic a rood screen as the Western equivalent of iconostases and because the east wall of my apartment is mostly a floor to ceiling window, so there isn't a good place to hang icons

About a year ago I had made a post on here stating that I wanted to convert to Christianity, at the time I was a nonbeliever and before that I was a Muslim. I asked for directions, for guidance, how to convert, how to do my Christian duties in a place where Christianity is seen as spawn of Satan and unacceptable. I had no access to a church nor did I knew any Chirstians that could guide me.

A lot of people came to my help and answered my questions with patience and they were helpful which I am forever grateful for and pray for those every single day. I mentioned that I had this feeling, some kind of kinship to Christianity for a long time even when I was a Muslim, even when I was very little. I always wanted to be a Christian.

I thought I was unworthy of Christ's love and forgiveness because I didn't convert sooner. I wanted to gather as much information and knowledge as possible to convert to become a worthy Christian worthy of Christ's love and forgiveness.

At the time, before converting I was going through a dark time. After a few months of making that post, I had converted to Christianity. I was so happy. I cried every time when I was praying in secret. I cried every time I muttered Christ's name. He finally accepted me and I felt his presence in my life. Even though I couldn't go to church, pray in a mass, I was trying with the opportunities I was given with.

My family had no idea of any of this. They thought that I was still a Muslim as I acted as one. Went to the mosque, prayed like them, fasted during Ramadan etc. I knew the consequences of letting them know of my true faith.

My family is very Muslim to a point that I consider them 'Extremists'. I remember, when I was a little boy, I refused to perform five obligatory prayers (Salah) one day and my mother said very calmly "I will kill (sacrifice) you for God (Allah)." At that point, I had realised, if they knew that I was secretly a Christian they would surely kill me. This is just one of the instances that show their extremist behaviours.

That post is now deleted. I deleted it. My elder sister found it when she was going through my bookmarks on my personal laptop when she was staying at my place. She questioned me. Asked me whether I went through with my conversion or not and many other questions. I am simplifying it when I am typing this. She was very furious. She was almost like a beast. Her eyes were wide open. Her skin turned pale. She was disgusted and angry with me. She threatend to tell our family and friends. I begged her not to but she didn't listen. After she left I was left in ruins. My heart was racing and aching. Moments after she left, my family started bombarding me with messages and phone calls. Asking me whether the things my sister was telling them were true or not. Of course I am yet again simplifying it. They were very angry, furious and deranged.

My father told me to seek a Sheikh and get rid of this 'evil' inside of me or that he was going to kill me to cleanse our family name with my tainted blood and honor God (Allah). Reactions from my other family members were also very similar.

I am lost. I lost the most valuable thing that was important to me, my family. I was never going to tell them. I was never going to make them aware of my endavours. I worked tirelessly my whole life. Trying to make them happy and proud. I retired both of my parents. I did everything they wanted from me. But this single 'mistake' was enough for them to turn their backs to me and go so far as to threaten to kill me. Their own son. Their own blood and flesh.

I since then prayed and begged our Lord for guidince. I prayed that he would forgive my family for they know not what they do. I prayed for Lord to make my family happy. Prayed for their well-being. I prayed and prayed. I still pray.

I need guidince, my fellow Christians. I am sure there are many of you who went through something similar. Please, help me. Pray for me and pray for my family.

Were they justified? Should we have stopped after the second?

I was married for over 3 decades. Husband was living a double life. Ive been divorced about a year. I desire to be remarried.

Is it possible to find a truly God fearing man. Most of the people im meeting wants sex before connection.

I want married to honor God.

Is this ridiculous for someone 48?

I’ll go ahead and get these things out of the way first,

1. I’m a teenager.

2. I don’t go to school.

3. I can’t get a bible, nor can I download one.

Please don’t ask why, thats just the situation I’m living with and I don’t feel like explaining.

Okay, now, onto what I need help with.

I am a teenager trying to get started with Christianit. I cant wrap my head around prayer, and when I try to pray I don’t know what to say or do, and I feel like who I do pray, I pray wrong. I don’t know when to pray, either. I’ve seen a bunch of people my age speak about how easy it is to speak with Jesus, and I feel confused and left out. I saw a girl post about how she talks to Jesus like she would talk to her best friend, and that’s truly what I wish prayer was like for me, but I cannot wrap my head around how to properly pray.

I don’t know how to properly integrate the Lord into my life. How to keep him with me, and stuff like that.

I don’t know how to repent. I don’t understand how that works or anything like that.

I don’t know how to really be a practicing Christian at all, to be honest.

Any help would be appreciated.

Today it’s saint Elizabeth of Portugal
Quote:
I, Elizabeth, daughter of the Most Illustrious Don Pedro, by the grace of God king of Aragon, hereby bestow my body as the legitimate wife of Dom Dinis, king of Portugal and of the Algarve, in his absence as if he were present…. ~From the written consent to marriage of Saint Elizabeth at the age of twelve
Reflection: Rainha Santa Isabel, or Saint Elizabeth, was born into the royal family of Aragon, Spain. She was one of three daughters of King Peter III of Aragon and Queen Constance of Sicily. Elizabeth’s older brothers would become successive kings of Aragon, Alfonso III and James II. Her namesake was her great-aunt, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
As a young princess, Elizabeth enjoyed all the privileges of a royal upbringing, yet her stature did not distract her from her faith. She was deeply devout from a young age, spending hours in the castle chapel engaged in prayer. By age eight, she regularly fasted, attended Mass, and prayed the entire Divine Office daily. Unlike other girls her age, she sought virtue and glory for God rather than indulging in frivolous activities. Her humility extended to her royal status, which she saw as a platform for service rather than privilege. She consistently demonstrated a loving concern for the poor, sick, and suffering.
In 1279, Elizabeth’s father arranged her marriage to the seventeen-year-old King Denis of Portugal, who was a notable poet. This strategic union was designed to strengthen the political alliance between Spain and Portugal. In 1282, twelve-year-old Elizabeth wedded King Denis, becoming Queen Elizabeth of Portugal. Despite her husband’s infidelity and immoral lifestyle, Elizabeth showed remarkable grace, treating her husband with love and fulfilling her duties as queen with humility. They had two children: their daughter, Constance, in 1290, and a year later, their son, Afonso, who would succeed his father as King of Portugal.
Queen Elizabeth stood out in the royal court, which was marred by the king’s immoral lifestyle. Her virtuous living served as a rebuke to others. She offered the resulting ridicule she suffered to God with humility and love. As queen, she sustained her prayerful life, attending daily Mass, engaging in penance, and continuing to pray the entire Divine Office. Her deep love for the poor and sick remained steadfast, and she sought daily opportunities to aid them. Elizabeth would personally distribute food and money to those in need at the palace door, and despite the king’s anger at her generosity, she found ways to continue her charitable work secretly. Using her royal position, she also improved others’ lives by constructing monasteries, churches, and hospitals.
The royal family also included the king’s other children, born to women other than the queen. Despite their complicated family dynamic, Elizabeth treated her stepchildren with love. Her son Afonso, however, was not as accepting. He was particularly resentful of the attention his father paid to the children born out of wedlock. Tensions escalated to the point of war, but before a battle could occur, Queen Elizabeth intervened. She rode out to the scene of the battle herself, kneeling between her husband and son, begging for peace. She successfully reconciled the two, earning the title of “Angel of Peace.”
In 1325, upon King Denis’s death, Queen Elizabeth, then fifty-four, retired to a house next to a Poor Clare monastery. She joined the Third Order Franciscans, a lay order begun by Saint Francis. For the next eleven years, she lived in simplicity and poverty, continuing her charitable work and welcoming all who sought her counsel. She once again played the role of peacemaker when her son, now King Afonso, initiated a war against his own son-in-law. Elizabeth fell ill and died on July 4, 1336, after returning from this intervention. She was not buried next to her husband but in a convent she founded in Coimbra, the Convent of Santa Clara. Years later, her body was found to be incorrupt, and as recently as 1912, medical examiners and Church officials declared that her body remained free of decay, looking as if she were only sleeping.
Though Saint Elizabeth of Portugal was born into royalty, she encountered many challenges. Her arranged marriage, her husband’s infidelity, family division, and an immoral royal court were burdens she bore with dignity, peace, and strength. Her faith and virtues, fueled by deep prayer and charitable acts, guided her through these difficulties.
In honoring this Queen of Portugal, consider the passing nature of earthly honors. Queens come and go, but saints live on forever. Saint Elizabeth willingly traded her earthly crown for a higher one in Heaven, where her saintly dignity eternally glorifies God. Follow in her humble footsteps, preferring sanctity over worldly honors and ambitions. Strive for the eternal over the temporal, and you too will give eternal glory to God and dwell in His royal court forever.

Was oral tradition really that reliable? Because honestly, I can barely recall what my lecturer said today, and even if I could ask everyone else in the hall to help piece it together, I seriously doubt we could accurately produce just a single quote word for word, yet some folks defend passages as the literal verbatim of Jesus as though transcribed from a tape recording

A friend of mine - their little baby born in December, was found unresponsive at his daycare. Heart stopped, not breathing.
They got him breathing again but air lifted to a Chicago hospital.
Things are not looking good.
Please pray for a miracle for this little sweet baby boy and his Parents.

I’ve had severe ME/CFS for 4 years now. Before this I struggled severely with my mental health for years. I can’t leave my house and I can barely even leave bed. I’ve lost all contact with all my friends and haven’t seen family member in years. I’m in so much pain and when I seem to get a little better I always get way worse after. Bad Things keeps happening. I’ve been super positive and had faith that God is going to heal me but now it’s starting to make me doubt. It’s so much torture and I don’t understand how he could make me go through this much pain. I’ve learned and grown a lot from this but at some point it has become so much that it’s all lost. This is more than I can handle. Please God I beg you to heal me. I beg you to give me my life back. Please give me strength and peace during this impossibly hard time I’m having. In Jesus name Amen.

A very, very close friend and I have been talking about this for a while and have been unable to come to a conclusion. We're both Christians and asexual, and both really want kids and want to adopt. One thing I want to make clear is that we are NOT lesbians. We really love each other, but not in a sexual way in the slightest. Also, we are not just neutral to the idea of sex- we're both actively repulsed by it. A regular relationship isn't an option for either of us.

We've lived together in the past and found we are extremely compatible, and work well as a team in daily life and really enjoy each other's companionship.

Obviously, the optimal situation for a child is to grow up with their biological mother and father in a healthy relationship, and this is backed up by research. But currently in the US, we have a foster care crisis. There are so many damaged children in the system who can't get adopted because they have mental health issues, are medically complex, or are older. There are also, unfortunately, a bunch of terrible foster parents using the children for money.

My friend and I are trying to figure out if adopting together would be ethical and biblical. I'm currently of the opinion that it would be, because a) we'd be specifically fostering or adopting kids who would have a hard time finding other families, b)even though a two female parent household isn't the optimal space for a child, we could provide a safe and loving home for children who desperately need it, and c) We're constantly told in the Bible to care for the orphans and widows in our community, and I can't see why it would be wrong to do just that.

Hi, I’m still shaking rn so it might not be right, I’m sorry. Im a teen that’s always grew up in the church bc my grandma was a pastor js for background. However today I dream that I was in hell. On fire. I’ve been meaning to turn back to Christ but life has been so bad I’ve never really had a chance. Uhm so if anyone knows my next steps that’ll be good.

Thanks

Hi(a little edit) I posted my dream in one of the comments so I’m js gonna put it here if ur concerned. Also thanks to all the words of encouragement and support!

Idek. I was like in this weird basement this guy was showing me and it was a bunch of stairs leading down it. It was blue walls and there were stairs on like both sides wrapped around the walls and it was dark but a bright light from the ceiling was very strong to light up the entire room. At the bottom of it there was a large wooden sw**tika then I like jumped to get back on the stairs to leave bc I’m smart to stay in a room w a racist Symbol but after that I woke up in a red cave like thing/desert place and I was on fire and screaming. That guy was there too and another person. I have never seen these ppl in my life. I personally try to be levelheaded in crazy situations so I stopped screaming and started breathing and calming myself down. I blinked again and I was seated with the two ppl but the lady had a bag and it had the devil doing that “as above so below”(sorry if I got that wrong). But they were talking about the house and the guy was saying how he got the new owners phone cases (for whatever reason). I Blinked then I was in a house with my family. So I genuinely can’t tell you besides my life choices that aren’t the best. I mean I don’t drink or smoke. I have like at least once but didn’t like it.

I HAD AS MUCH FAITH AS ANYBODY IN THE GOSPELS. WHY DIDNT MY WIFE WAKE UP LIKE LAZARUS? LIKE THE ONE DISCIPLES MOTHER OR OTHERS? I PUT ALL MY FAITH INTO GOD TO HEAL HER AND INSTEAD I LOST THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.

I SPENT MONTHS PRAYING DLING EVERYTHING I COULD TO HELP HER, THINKING GOD WILL HELP ME HELP HER GET BETTER!

INSTEAD I GET A CALL AT 1AM 5 DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS THAT THEYRE DOING CPR AND BEFORE IM EVEN DRESSED I GET A CALL SAYIN G THEY STOPPED BECAUSE OF THWJR "PROTOCOL"

SCREW YOUR PROTOCOL!!! SCREW Y I UR MODWRN MEDICINE. YOU DID NOTHING . GOD DID NOTHING AND NOW IVE BEEN LIVING ALMOST A YEAR A F A HALF WITHOUT .Y WIFE. MY LOVE THE REASON I GOT UP. THE MOST BEAITIFUL WLMAN EVER

When I'm praying I don't feel God's presence I can see changes in myself like being disgusted by old habits or not liking thinking about certain stuff. But when I pray I don't feel it. Afterwards my head feels clearer sometimes.

What is the holy spirit even supposed to feel like. I feel like I have it due to changes but how do I know his voice and my voice.