American capitalism gone with a whimper

Our country is in sad shape. Let us pray that we do not end up the USSA (United Soviet Socialist of America)!

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-0/

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

It is Enough (Ich Habe Genug)

I have been ready the Life and Works of Fr. Seraphim Rose. In this book it makes mentions of his love of classical music as a young man, particularly the composer Bach's "Ich Habe Genug". This is absolutely heavenly music. This cantana is based upon the Canticle of Simeon in Luke, 2:29-32

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen : thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

For those of you that do not speak German (like myself) here is an English translation of this beautiful meditation.

Song 1

It is enough.
I have held the Savior, the hope of all peoples,
In the warm embrace of my arms.
It is enough.

I have seen him,
My faith has impressed Jesus on my heart;
Now I wish this very day
To depart from here with joy.

Recitation 2

It is enough.
My one consolation is this:
That I am Jesus’ beloved and he is mine.
In faith, I hold him.
For in Simeon, I already see
The joy of life to come.
Let us go forth with Simeon!
Ah! if only the Lord
Would free me from my body’s enslavement;
Ah! if indeed my liberation were soon,
With joy I would say to you, O World,
It is enough.

Song 3

Slumber, my weary eyes,
Fall softly and close in contentment.

O World, I will linger here no more.
For indeed, I find nothing in you
Pleasing to my soul.

Here I am resigned to misery,
But there, there I shall feel
Sweet peace and quiet rest.

Recitation 4

My God! When will I hear that precious word: “Now!”
Then I will depart in peace,
And rest both here in the humus of the cool earth
And there within your bosom.
My departure is at hand,
O World, good night!

Song 5

With gladness, I look forward to my death,
(Ah! if only it had already come.)

Then shall I escape all despair
That still enslaves me now on earth.

Gay Marriage

With the legalization of gay marriage in several states, gay marriage is well on it way to being fully acceptable and legitimatized throughout the entire US. Especially with such a mobile population that moves from state to state regularly. I suspect that states that do not currently recognize homosexual marriage will in fact have to accept the legitimacy of the marriages from other states in the near future. When this happens and what is happening is that we have entire generations of young people (and older people) being formed and reformed according to secular views rather than Traditional Orthodox Christian principles.

Fr. John McCuen provided some great advice regarding this topic on his blog see here

"If we are going to seek to uproot and destroy evil, as we should, let us begin with ourselves; but let us be merciful and gentle to all others, praying earnestly for them to be delivered from their passions and the sins to which the passions lead them, and judge them not, lest we also be judged."

I do have to admit that it is difficult to preserve in silence and non-judgment. This is due to my own weaknesses and the fact that we as Christians are exposed to a gay agenda on a daily basis when we turn on the TV, read the newspaper, go shopping, school, etc. The gay agenda is shoved down our throats daily, so I can really appreciate distinguishing between others sins that are discreet as opposed to in your face.

However as I mentioned already our "godless authority" seems intent on putting the gay lifestyle on equal footing to the Christian union of Husband and Wife. This is inevitable I guess, and when the law of the whole land is gay friendly we must take a stand and take heed to the the advice of St. Euphemia:

“Both the Emperor’s commands and yours [a person in authority] must be obeyed if they are not contrary to the God of heaven. If they are, they must not only not be obeyed; they must be resisted.”

Then at this point we will need to be even more so a voice of reason and love and vocalize what Christian(and Natural law) teachings are. However, As Fr. John's blog has expressed - "We also need to be careful, in our words and in our actions, not to vilify those persons who may have been misled by our culture into believing that any impulse they experience is meant to be expressed."

Truly wise advice!

Reminds me of a St. John Climacus saying:

"If you want, or rather intend, to take a splinter out of another person, then do not hack at it with a stick instead of a lancet, for you will only drive it in deeper. And this is a stick – rude speech and rough gestures. And this is a lancet – tempered instruction and patient reprimand. “Reprove,” says the Apostle, “rebuke, exhort,” but he did not say “beat.” (II Timothy 4:2) And if even this is required, do it rarely, and not with your own hand."

Michael
Sinner Servant

BBC: Extreme Pilgrim - Ascetic Christianity

Sunday of Holy Myrrhbearers Woman!

Troparion (Tone 2)

The noble Joseph, taking down thy most pure Body from the Tree,

Wrapped it in clean linen and sweet spices and laid it in a new tomb.

But on the third day thou didst rise,

O Lord, granting the world great mercy.

Troparion (Tone 2)

Verily, the angel came to the tomb and said to the ointment-bearing women,

"the ointment is meet for the dead,

but Christ is shown to be remote from corruption.

But cry ye, 'The Lord is risen, granting the world the Great Mercy.'"

Kontakion - Tone 2

You did command the myrrh-bearers to rejoice, O Christ!

By Your Resurrection, You did stop the lamentation of Eve, O God!

You did command Your apostles to preach: The Savior is Risen!

The term Myrrhbearers refers to the women who came to the tomb of Christ early in the morning and were the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus. Also included are Joseph of Arimathea and, who took the body of Jesus down from the cross, embalmed it with myrrh and aloes, wrapped it in clean, and placed it in a new tomb. (Matthew 27:55-61, Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 15:40-16:11, Luke 23:50-24:10, John 19:38-20:18).

The Myrrhbearing women followed Jesus during his earthly ministry in, providing for him and his followers out of their own means (Mark 15:41). They remained faithful to him even during the most dangerous time of his arrest and execution, and not only stood by the cross, but accompanied him to his burial, noticing where the tomb was located. Because of the impending Sabaoth, it was necessary for the burial preparations to be brief. Jewish custom at the time dictated that mourners return to the tomb every day for three days, and once the Sabbath had passed the women returned at the earliest possible moment, bringing myrrh to anoint the body. It is at this point that the Resurrection was revealed to them, and they were commissioned to go and tell the Apostles. They were, in effect, the apostles to the Apostles. For this reason, the Myrrhbearing women, especially Mary Magdalene, are sometimes referred to as "Equal to the Apostles."

Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly (John 19:38). He went to Pontius Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus and, together with Nicodemus, hurriedly prepared the body for burial. He donated his own new tomb for the burial. A native of Arimathea, he was apparently a man of wealth, and probably a member of the Sanhedrin (which is the way the biblical Greek, bouleutēs — literally, "counselor" — is often interpreted in Matthew 27:57 and Luke 23:50). Joseph was an "honourable counselor, who waited (or "was searching") for the kingdom of God" (Mark 15:43). Luke describes him as "a good man, and just" (Luke 23:50).

Nicodemus (Greek: Νικόδημος) was a Pharisee and also a member of the Sanhedrin, who is first mentioned early in the , when he visits Jesus to listen to his teachings, but he comes by night out of fear (John 3:1-21). He is mentioned again when he states the teaching of the Law of Moses concerning the arrest of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:45-51). He is last mentioned following the Crucifixion, when he and Joseph of Arimathea prepare the body of Jesus for burial (John 19:39-42). There is an apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus that purports to be written by him.

The Myrrhbearers are traditionally listed as:

• Mary Magdalene
• Mary, the wife of Cleopas
• Joanna, the wife of Chuza the steward of Herod Antipas
• Salome, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee
• Susanna
• Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus
• Joseph of Arimathea
• Nicodemus
  

The Gospels also mention "Mary, the mother of James and Joses" (Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40). This is traditionally understood to be a reference to the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), James and Joses are mentioned in the New Testament as being the brothers of Jesus, and are traditionally interpreted as being the children of Joseph by an earlier marriage. Thus the Virgin Mary would be their step mother.

There are also generally accepted to be other Myrrhbearers, whose names are not known.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrhbearers