“I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel." #PopeLeoXIV

Calling for a cease-fire in the evening does not somehow erase calling for the genocide of an entire civilization the same day. This is erratic and reckless leadership. In fact it isn't leadership at all. It has never been leadership. It has always been authoritarianism, white supremacy, and greed. And to think this even remotely represents Christianity is just beyond comprehension. It still must be opposed. It still must end. Our country deserves better. Our men and women in uniform deserve better. Our kids deserve better. Our world deserves better.

Impossible to disagree with a single word that Ben Rhodes (Obama era NSC official) is saying here:

That donkey might have started to think he was the star of the show. But the donkey had to learn the same thing we all have to learn. The glory is not ours. We're just the asses that get to carry Jesus.

When you insist on seeing God in the face of the emperor, no matter how corrupt they are, and refuse to see God in the face of the immigrant being arrested after being falsely accused of being a criminal, you have yet to understand the gospel of Jesus.

“The Lord proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor. Don’t exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t spill the blood of the innocent in this place.” -Jeremiah 22:3

“Renee Good was a domestic terrorist.”

“Liam Conejo’s father fled the scene.”

“Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist.”

These are all examples of our “Christian government” breaking the 9th commandment:

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exodus 20:16)

A Christianity that sides with the empire over the immigrant, the poor, the sick, the hungry, the marginalized, the vulnerable, and the oppressed, is a Christianity that follows someone other than Jesus.

Good to be at Sandringham Parish Church this morning to preside and preach at Holy Communion. Quoted Gregory of Nazianzus: “The one who is becomes. The uncreated is created. The uncontainable is contained through a thinking soul.”

The story of the Wise Men from the East led by a star to worship the Christ child is one of the most enchanting stories in the gospel. And for two thousand years this story has fascinated artists of all kinds—painters and poets, composers and writers.

Tomorrow I'll tell the story in my own way.

"Even a stable can become more sacred than a temple." #PopeLeoXIV #MerryChristmas

"I wish to recreate the birth of the Babe born in Bethlehem, so that we can see with our own eyes how he did not have even the barest necessities, how he lay in a manger with an ox and an ass." #SaintFrancisOfAssisi #LiveTheGospel #RememberThePoor #Christmas

‘The Anxiety of St Joseph’, James Tissot, 1886-94.

In the Birth Narratives in both Matthew and Luke, Joseph is silent. He remains on the sidelines saying nothing. But his actions are of profound significance. He simply does what the Lord commands.

Your mysteries……..

I bless the Somalis living in Minnesota. I bless them because I am a Christian and they are children of God.

Pink hyacinths flowering in a lead planter in a sunny garden

Miniature daffodils blooming in a stone pot in a sunny garden

Anemones and miniature daffodils flowering around the base of a large tree trunk

For the #SpringEquinox, these sunny pictures were taken yesterday in College Garden.

The 900-year-old Garden is where the monks grew food and herbs for the occupants of the medieval Abbey, and you can enjoy a peaceful moment here when you visit us.

Response to Welfare Reform announcements | The Church of England The Archbishop of York, The Bishop of Leicester and Canon Alice Kemp respond to the Government statement on Welfare Reform.

Three CofE leaders criticise the government’s decision to cut benefits by £5bn a year by 2030. Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, warned consequences should not be borne by the most vulnerable.

There are many versions of Christianity that simply use the faith as a way of escaping this world, rather than something that compels us to transform it.

I believe in life after death. But I also believe God cares about life before death.