What is God Like ?

 

Years ago, I heard a story which intrigued me. A family just had a new baby and her older brother, still very young himself, was always trying to be with the baby. The reason was revealed thanks to a bit of technology. They had an intercom set-up in the baby’s room in case she woke up and they would be able to hear her cries from the living room or bedroom as there were speakers there. 

One evening as the parents sat in the living room, they heard their son talking to the baby through the intercom and he said to his baby sister “tell me what God is like; I can hardly remember” 

It was the word ‘remember’ that caught my attention.  It points to the intimacy of the act of creation; like in Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. 

And in the Psalm 139:13 and 16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. and your eyes saw my unformed body.    

I wonder, as our Father created our immortal soul and incorporated body and soul, did we catch a glimpse of Him? Did He pause to gaze on His handiwork as He loved us into existence for His own purposes? 

The veil between the spiritual world and the physical is thin but quickly becomes blurred. I know of a family who when they used to pray the rosary together the toddlers could see their Guardian Angels but as they grew older their vision of the invisible world was lost. 

The ache in the human heart to return to God is helpful as it is unsettling. It points to the possibility of union or reunion with our heavenly Father, with the One who made us. We can have that intimacy again; fill the God-shaped hole in our being again by means of prayer. We knew Him once, we can know Him again. With open, persevering hearts, all of us can be made new, and we can grow in the experiential knowledge that we are truly His sons and daughters, beloved and precious to Him and utterly dependent on Him.

Wild at Heart Session 1

The Flame of Love

 

Elizabeth Kindelmann was a laywoman from Budapest, Hungary who died in 1985. She, like St. Faustina, was given a mission by God and His Mother for His Church to emphasize a special Grace from God for His Church. She was always obedient to priests and bishops. Our Lady told her to gather 12 special pastors, four from within Budapest and 8 from outside the city to start a Movement to spread this special Grace to the whole world. Elizabeth was instructed to keep a Diary, which explains the special Grace, which God calls the “Grace from the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and “the greatest Grace given to mankind since the Incarnation.” God promised that this Grace would be spread to the whole world. In the Diary, our Lady always speaks about the “Cause,” i.e. the Flame of Love Movement. She asks Elizabeth to be zealous and to speak often to these priests about “moving the Cause ahead.” Her priest confessors were sometimes slow to understand and slow to act, even though our Lady asked for action. Yet, they were accepting and sympathetic toward Elizabeth.

Fr. Gabriel Rona, S.J., a Hungarian priest, was also a missionary to Latin America and translated her diary into Spanish. (His book was used for the English translations of both the entire diary and the Simplified Version). He was appointed the Spiritual Director of the Movement for many years. In 1989, Cardinal Echeverria Ruiz (Archdiocese of Guayaquil, Ecuador) approved Fr. Rona’s translation. In 1996, he approved the Statutes of the Flame of Love Movement for his archdiocese and asked the Holy Father to approve the Movement for the whole world. Cardinal Stafford, prefect for the Congregation for the Laity, sent a letter encouraging the Cardinal in his work.

Cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Elizabeth’s Archdiocese of Budapest, went more deeply into the question by establishing a theological commission. In 2009, Cardinal Erdo said that the commission found her writings free from error. He gave his imprimatur; wrote about the importance of this Movement of Grace as a gift from God; and also formally established the Flame of Love as a Lay Movement in his Archdiocese.

Since then, other Hungarian dioceses have done the same, as have other dioceses around the world. In the United States, the Flame of Love Movement is just beginning under the International Pious Association of the Faithful established to spread the Message to the whole world. This association has been in existence for many years in other countries of the world.

The Flame of Love Movement in the US Origins – Early 2013

Fortunately, Elizabeth’s spiritual director, Fr. Rona, S.J., was a missionary to Latin America and translated her Hungarian diary into Spanish. The Movement started early in Latin America and came to some areas in the United States from Mexico, and from a Canadian center. Now, the center for the Flame of Love Movement in the United States is Philadelphia.

In 2013, the Diary of the Flame of Love of Elizabeth Kindelmann was translated, simplified, and distributed through the efforts of First National Director for the U.S., Anthony Mullen. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput (Philadelphia) gave his imprimatur to the English translation of the Flame of Love Simplified Version of the Diary (translated from the Spanish Diary) which was released by the Center.

Since that time, the Fire of the Flame of Love has ignited throughout the United States, many parish cenacles have been formed, large spiritual gatherings continue to be held throughout the country.

Flame of Love Website (USA)

Flame of Love Diary

(pdf download)

Miraculous Medal Story

The Blessed Virgin herself designed the Medal of the Immaculate Conception—popularly known as the Miraculous Medal! No wonder, then, that it wins such extraordinary graces for those who wear it and pray for Mary’s intercession and help.


The First Apparition

The story begins on the night of July 18-19, 1830. A child (perhaps her guardian angel) awakened Sister (now Saint) Catherine Labouré, a novice in the community of the Daughters of Charity in Paris, and summoned her to the chapel. There she met with the Virgin Mary and spoke with her for several hours. During the conversation, Mary said to her, “My child, I am going to give you a mission.”


The Second Apparition

Mary gave her this mission in a vision during evening meditation on November 27, 1830. She saw Mary standing on what seemed to be half a globe and holding a golden globe in her hands as if offering it to heaven. On the globe was the word “France,” and our Lady explained that the globe represented the whole world, but especially France. The times were difficult in France, especially for the poor who were unemployed and often refugees from the many wars of the time. France was first to experience many of those troubles which ultimately reached other parts of the world and are even present today. Streaming from rings on Mary’s fingers as she held the globe were many rays of light. Mary explained that the rays symbolize the graces she obtains for those who ask for them. However, some of the gems on the rings were dark, and Mary explained that the rays and graces were available but did not come because no one had asked for them.


The Third Apparition and the Miraculous Medal

The vision then changed to show our Lady standing on a globe with her arms now outstretched and with the dazzling rays of light still streaming from her fingers. Framing the figure was an inscription: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

The Meaning of the Front Side of the Miraculous Medal

Mary is standing upon a globe, crushing the head of a serpent beneath her foot. She stands upon the globe, as the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Her feet crush the serpent to proclaim Satan and all his followers are helpless before her (Gn 3:15). The year of 1830 on the Miraculous Medal is the year the Blessed Mother gave the design of the Miraculous Medal to Saint Catherine Labouré. The reference to Mary conceived without sin supports the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary—not to be confused with the virgin birth of Jesus, and referring to Mary’s sinlessness, “full of grace” and “blessed among women” (Luke 1:28)—that was proclaimed 24 years later in 1854.

The vision turned and showed the design of the reverse side of the medal. Twelve stars encircled a large “M” from which arose a cross. Below are two hearts with flames arising from them. Thorns encircle one heart and a sword pierces the other.


The Meaning of the Back Side of the Miraculous Medal

The twelve stars can refer to the Apostles, who represent the entire Church as it surrounds Mary. They also recall the vision of Saint John, writer of the Book of Revelation (12:1), in which “a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars.” The cross can symbolize Christ and our redemption, with the bar under the cross a sign of the earth. The “M” stands for Mary, and the interleaving of her initial and the cross shows Mary’s close involvement with Jesus and our world. In this, we see Mary’s part in our salvation and her role as mother of the Church. The two hearts represent the love of Jesus and Mary for us. (See also Lk 2:35).

Then Mary spoke to Catherine: “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.” Catherine explained the entire series of apparitions to her confessor, and she worked through him to carry out Mary’s instructions. She did not reveal that she received the Medal until soon before her death 46 years later.

With approval of the Church, the first Medals were made in 1832 and were distributed in Paris. Almost immediately the blessings that Mary had promised began to shower down on those who wore her Medal. The devotion spread like wildfire. Marvels of grace and health, peace and prosperity, followed in its wake. Before long people were calling it the “Miraculous” Medal. In 1836, a canonical inquiry undertaken at Paris declared the apparitions to be genuine.

There is no superstition, nothing of magic, connected with the Miraculous Medal. The Miraculous Medal is not a “good-luck charm”. Rather, it is a great testimony to faith and the power of trusting prayer. Its greatest miracles are those of patience, forgiveness, repentance, and faith. God uses the Medal, not as a sacrament, but as an agent, an instrument, in bringing to pass certain marvelous results. “The weak things of this earth hath God chosen to confound the strong.”

When our Blessed Mother gave the design of the medal to Saint Catherine Labouré she said, “Now it must be given to the whole world and to every person.” The Association of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville, Missouri carries out our Lady’s request in many ways, including offering you a free Miraculous Medal (only in US and Canada)

Our Lady of Good Success ... Prophecy from Quito, Ecuador

 Date: very early 17th c., first approved 1611

Place: Quito, Ecuador

Visionary: Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres

The story of Our Lady of Good Success is a most fascinating one — and incredibly important and timely, as many of the prophecies of our Lady and our Lord given to Mariana pertain explicitly to the 20th c. and thereafter.

Mother Mariana was a Spanish Conceptionist nun, blessed with the charismata of discernment and prophecy, who ran a convent in Quito, Ecuador. First, Our Lady told her to make a life-sized statue of her holding the Infant Jesus under the title “Our Lady of Good Success.” The statue was begun by a local sculptor, but was miraculously completed in 1611 by the Archangels.

Our Lady told her that at the end of the 19th Century and especially in the 20th Century, Satan would reign almost completely by the means of the Masonic sect. She told Mother Mariana that this battle would reach its most acute stage because of various unfaithful religious, who, “under the appearance of virtue and bad-spirited zeal, would turn upon Religion, who nourished them at her breast.”

“During this time, insomuch as this poor country will lack the Christian spirit, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction will be little esteemed. Many people will die without receiving it – either because of the negligence of their families or their false sentimentality that tries to protect the sick from seeing the gravity of their situations, or because they will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil. Thus many souls will be deprived of innumerable graces, consolations and the strength they need to make that great leap from time to eternity…”

“As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church. The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. The effects of secular education will increase, which will be one reason for the lack of priestly and religious vocations…”

“The Sacred Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed and despised. …The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them. These corrupted priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will incite the hatred of the bad Christians and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church to fall upon all priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good Pastors of the Church….”

“Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women, and in this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent.”

“But know, beloved daughter, that when your name is made known in the 20th century, there will be many who will not believe, claiming that this devotion is not pleasing to God…A simple humble faith in the truth of My apparitions to you, My predilect child, will be reserved for humble and fervent souls docile to the inspirations of grace, for Our Heavenly Father communicates His secrets to the simple of heart, and not to those whose hearts are inflated with pride, pretending to know what they do not, or self-satisfied with empty knowledge…”

Our Lady said, “…the secular Clergy will leave much to be desired because priests will become careless in their sacred duties. Lacking the divine compass, they will stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain. How the Church will suffer during this dark night! Lacking a Prelate and Father to guide them with paternal love, gentleness, strength, wisdom and prudence, many priests will lose their spirit, placing their souls in great danger. This will mark the arrival of My hour.”

“Therefore, clamor insistently without tiring and weep with bitter tears in the privacy of your heart, imploring our Celestial Father that, for love of the Eucharistic Heart of my Most Holy Son and His Precious Blood shed with such generosity and the profound bitterness and sufferings of His cruel Passion and Death, He might take pity on His ministers and bring to an end those Ominous times, sending to this Church the Prelate who will restore the spirit of its priests.”

She predicted a truly Catholic president of Ecuador who would dedicate that country to the Sacred Heart and who would be assassinated by Masons (this happened during the presidency of Gabriel Garcia Moreno, 1821-1875. 

She predicted that the Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility would be strictly defined and declared dogma (these happened in 1854 and 1870, respectively).

She predicted that a Pope would be a prisoner in the Vatican and that there would come to pass “the unjust usurpation of the Pontifical States through the iniquity, envy and avarice of an earthly monarch” (these things happened in the 19th c. during the pontificate of Blessed Pope Pius IX).

Another prediction yet to come concerns the statue shown above left. The Infant Jesus part of the statue isn’t original: a Conceptionist sister hid the original statue during a revolution and died before revealing where she’d secreted it. Our Lady told Mother Mariana that the original statue would be found after the restoration of the Church had begun.

Mother Mariana predicted the day and exact hour of her death (she died at 3:00 P.M. on January 16, 1635). After death, her body remained flexible and lovely. A blind girl was cured at Mother’s wake when a flower that encircled Mother’s head was touched to her eyes.

In 1906, Mother Mariana’s casket was opened and her body was found to be incorrupt, exuding the fragrance of lilies. One may view it by visiting the convent in Quito.kip to content

Miracles of Saint Charbel, a Saint from Lebanon

 

Lebanon's Hermit

After 16 years of strict asceticism he was granted permission by his superiors to withdraw from the world and become a hermit. In a hermitage near the monastery he lived the rest of his life in prayer and contemplation, frequent fasting and manual labor.

Tradition has it that Charbel showed ample evidence of extraordinary gifts during his life. And so it was, for instance, that he was able to rescue fellow monks from a poisonous snake simply by asking the creature if it would mind going away. There are also tales of clairvoyance and healing associated with his name. Even at his death, on 24 December 1898, it was noted in the Monastery's records that he was expected to remain active after his death. In a dedication to him his obedience was described as "more angelic than human".

Grave's brightness - Miracles

The expectation that the world would be hearing more of Charbel was soon fulfilled: his grave was immediately surrounded by an "extraordinary brightness", according to a booklet produced by the Monastery about its most famous son. The light only finally faded after 45 days, unlike public interest which continued to wax brightly: pilgrims even tried to steal pieces of his remains, which gave the authorities a reason to open the grave. The body was found floating in mud but was itself completely free from signs of deterioration "as if it had been buried that same day." It was noticed that a "blood-like liquid" exuded from the body's a phenomenon which can still be seen even now. The liquid is caught in a cloth and, according to the Monastery, has over the years been responsible for many cases of healing.

In this century his grave has been opened four times, the last time being in 1955, and each time "it has been noticed that his bleeding body still has its flexibility as if it were alive".

Sister Maria Abdel Kamari

The beatification of Charbel followed the healing of a nun, Sister Maria Abdel Kamari. She suffered serious intestinal problems, could not keep food down, had been bedridden for 14 years and had already received the sacrament of extreme unction three times. In 1950 she was taken to Charbel's grave and on praying suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy and was able to stand unaided. Since then Sister Maria Abel Kamari has been completely free of her previous ailments.

Samira Hannoch

More recently, in 1992, some of Charbel's "miracles" reached the Western press. Swedish papers and the British daily, The Guardian, printed the story of 15-year-old Samira Hannoch who reported having had a vision of Charbel in her home near Stockholm. Since then oil has been pouring from a portrait of Charbel and has been associated with a number of healings.

Nouhad El Chami (operation)

A couple of months later, in January 1993, another incident occurred, this time in Lebanon, with 59-year-old Nouhad El-Chami in the main role. Nouhad, a mother of 12 children, suddenly became paralyzed as a result of a narrowing of arteries in a very advanced stage.

On 21 January 1993 Nouhad had a "dream". "Two monks came towards my bed. One of them, St Charbel, came nearer, uncovered my neck, put his hand on it and said: I have come to operate on you. I turned my head to see his face, but I couldn't, because the light coming from his body and eyes was too blinding and powerful. I was so confused, and asked him: Father, why do you want to operate on me? The doctor didn't say I need an operation. But St Charbel said: Definitely, you need an operation, and I, Father Charbel, have come to do it for you. I looked towards the statue of the Virgin, placed near me, and said: Holy Mary, please help me; how are these monks going to operate without anesthetics or sutures ? Then I realized that the Virgin's statue was standing between the monks. "Suddenly, I felt a terrible pain under Charbel's fingers, which were rubbing my neck. When St Charbel finished the operation, the other monk approached, put me in a sitting position, and placed a pillow behind my back. He reached for a glass of water, put his hand behind my head and said: Drink this water. I cannot drink without a straw, I said. He replied: We have operated on you, and now you will drink this water; then you will stand up and walk.

"I woke up and felt water running down my throat, and found myself sitting in the same position as the Father had placed me in. Suddenly I felt a burning in my neck, and unconsciously put my hand there, to find out what was happening. Then I realized that my paralyzed hand had become normal again; I felt my [paralyzed] foot moving normally under the blanket. I got out of bed in a semi-conscious state and knelt before the picture of St Charbel and the statue of the Virgin, to thank them. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror; I saw two wounds of twelve centimeters each, at both sides of my neck. "I went to my husband's bedroom and turned on the light. My husband looked at me and shouted: Woman! How did you get here alone? Now you'll stumble and fall and a new catastrophe will be added upon another! I raised my paralyzed hand and told him: "Have no fear, St Charbel operated on me, and now I can walk."

This story, described in a second booklet published by the Monastery in which Charbel lived, has a follow-up to it: after another dream, in which Charbel appeared to her, Nouhad discovered that there was oil flowing from a portrait of the Saint. This has continued up to the present moment, as our colleague in Lebanon, Nabil Matraji, was able to verify for himself: "It is an amazing sight," he said. However, it is not only Charbel's portrait in Nouhad's home which oozes healing oil. The same phenomenon is happening with oil flowing from the portrait of a fourth century saint s the founder of the Maronite Order, St Maroun (given in the English and American reference books as St Maroun) after whom the order was named. The same Maroun, so Nouhad learned in a later dream, was the second monk who had helped in the operation which cured her.

Nadia Sader

In an article in Al-Anwar on 10 September 1996 Nadia Sader described what happened to her when she drank a brew in which oak leaves from Nouhad's tree had been soaked. Nadia's illness had progressed quickly and aggressively and within a short time she was totally paralyzed; she suffered tremendous pain and expected to die at any moment. Her mother-in-law suggested trying the oak leaves which had been blessed by St Charbel s an idea she complied with only after much persuasion.

"As I drank the hot liquid, I felt a burning inside," she told Al-Anwar. "It was horrible, indescribable. I was suffering from my chin down to my right foot. I was howling, screaming, from pain and also from fear. Suddenly I saw the most wonderful scene in my life: I saw the heart of Jesus, red like blood, beating. The heart was all surrounded by light and my children were standing around it. Then I lost consciousness… People around me saw my right foot making violent movements, rising up and falling down with an unbelievable force. I remember nothing of all of this. [Later] the gathering saw my left foot making the same violent movements as the right one had done before. It was so violent that I fell down on the floor. My foot continued its sudden movements with more power than three men were capable of restraining. I was still unconscious. I stayed in bed, weakened, till the morning of the third day, when my little child woke me up; only then did I know I had been cured, and I was able to walk again normally and serve my family."

Nadia Sader still did not know what to make of it all, wavering between belief and non-belief, even after several more appearances to her of Charbel and Jesus. "I have snatched you from your deathbed, and you still don't believe?" Jesus asked her. Nadia's home became a place of pilgrimage where icons of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St Charbel exuded oil but Nadia herself continued to swing between faith and fear, especially after a medium told her that the oil had evil origins and was the work of the devil.

Only after repeated appearances of Jesus to her did Nadia finally admit that she was convinced. She subsequently began receiving messages from St Charbel. The following are quotations from these messages: "Always ask for the healing of the soul, and don't fear the illness of the body." "Pray for the living, because most of the living are dead, and the dead are living."

Raymond Nader

Raymond Nader, a Lebanese electro-mechanical engineer, carries with him quite spectacular evidence of Charbel's activities: on one arm he has five fingerprints literally burnt into his skin. The scorched fingerprints have already renewed themselves six times.

Raymond Nader told his story earlier this year, in April 1997, in front of the TV cameras. On 9 November 1994 he spent a night in the hermitage where Charbel had lived for 23 years. He wanted to meditate and had lit five candles. It was a still, cold night. "Suddenly," he told Murr Television, "I felt warmth around me in the cold night, and a fiery, warm wind began to blow. However, to my great surprise the flames of the candles were steady and still. I tried to reason scientifically, but I thought I might be dreaming or hallucinating. Suddenly I lost my five senses. There was no more warmth or wind or flames. I was in a different world, a world bathed in light. Not the usual light we know, not white, but transparent like crystal water. The light didn't come from a specific direction, but from everywhere. It was a billion times brighter than the light of the Sun… "In that light I felt a Presence, I couldn't see it, but I was aware of it. "No, you are not dreaming, YOU ARE MORE AWAKE THAN EVER. The Voice came from nowhere and yet from everywhere. I heard it in every part of me, not with my physical ears. It expressed itself to me with no words, no sounds. The Presence presented itself to me as a "feeling" of deep peace, and joy and love. At a certain moment I felt that this experience had come to an end. I wanted this joy and peace to last for ever, and if the Presence couldn't stay, I wished at least it would take me with it; but He made me understand that He is always here."

Gradually Nader returned to normal consciousness. "I looked at the candles with astonishment: they were totally consumed. My watch indicated that four hours has passed in a blink of an eye. I left the hermitage, and on the way to my car I felt heat in my arm. I thought it might be a scratch, or an animal's sting. But the heat grew stronger. I took off my pullover, and in the light of my car saw five fingerprints on my arm, showing every detail of human fingers, including the wrinkles and the nails. It was very hot, but there was no pain at all, only itching. For five days it oozed blood and water."

Dr Nabil Hokayem, a plastic surgeon, one of the most famous surgeons in Lebanon, confirmed that it was a second-degree burn. On the occasion of the Feast Day of Charbel on 15 July in 1995, Raymond Nader had a new and extraordinary experience while visiting the Monastery of St Maroun. "On my way to Charbel's hermitage, I saw a procession ahead of me. I recognized the monks of the monastery, but at the end of the procession was a very old priest. I approached him to ask a few questions. As I came closer to him, everything around me changed. All sounds disappeared, but the old priest's voice resounded inside my head." It was then that Nader heard one of six messages which he attributes to Charbel. With each message the fingerprints on his arm were renewed.

The following are quotations from these messages:

"The Lord has created each human being to shine, to enlighten the world; you are the light of the world. Each man is a lantern meant to shine; the Lord has provided a clear and transparent glass to the lantern, to enable that light to shine and illuminate the world; but they are taking care of the glass and forgetting about the light; they are caring about the glass shape, coloring and decorating it, until it becomes thick, opaque, preventing light from shining forth, and thus is the world drowned in darkness. The Lord insists on illuminating the world. Your glass must become transparent again. You should realize the purpose for which you are born in this world."

"Christ knows what is in your hearts, and it is your hearts that he wants. Don't seek for the truth outside the Christ; when you know the Christ, you will know the Truth and you will be free. The Christ wants you to be free. Fear not, and be sure that the Christ has defeated the world."

"The Church of the Christ is a rock upon which are being shattered the waves of evil. Christ is the way. Crosses of light will flood the Earth."

A long Way from Eden ..

 

In one of his novels, the Russian writer Turgenev has a character who, somewhat exasperated by the company of some well-heeled and well-oiled babbling companions; stood up and said “This is Bedlam” and left. That is how I feel these days when I watch the news most evenings. 

If I had any doubts that we are living in Bedlam, they were laid to rest this week after reading a story on the prolife news website (Life Site) about a Film award ceremony in Holland where the video of a Dutch pop group’s song “Kill the Baby” had been nominated for one of their ‘Golden Calf’ awards (you couldn’t make this stuff up). 

The video, which I watched, is truly disturbing; beginning with an animated scene, set in the womb, where the two band members home in on the foetus in space ships and annihilate the ‘intruder’ with ‘ray-guns’. Fairly tame compared to what comes next, which uses baby dolls to demonstrate a variety of execution techniques, including setting fire to one, a mock-up of an electric chair, being mauled by a dog, thrown from a building and being shot .

 It seems that one of the band members had an abortion and this is her way of trivialising abortion and processing her feelings about that. 

Whilst the gates of Eden were shut behind us long ago; humanity has journeyed a long way in the opposite direction. I wonder how much worse it could get; how much longer before the cry of the hearts of His children are heard “Come Lord Jesus” and He Illuminates the consciences of the world.

Link to Video (Exercise discernment rather than curiosity before viewing)