Kitty Werthmann’s Life Story Growing Up as a Child Living in Austria -
Freedom to Dictatorship in 5 Years
What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or will ever read in history books.
I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide – 98% of the vote. I’ve never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates. Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn’t want to work; there simply weren’t any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people – about 30 daily.
The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna , Linz , and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.
We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany, where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn’t have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group -- Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria . We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler. We were overjoyed, and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and everyone was fed.
After the election, German officials were appointed, and like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.
Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn’t support his family. Many women in the teaching profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been required to give up for marriage.
Hitler Targets Education –
Eliminates Religious Instruction for Children
Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler’s picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn’t pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang “Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles,” and had physical education.
Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail. The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination. The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free. We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.
My mother was very unhappy. When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn’t do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun – no sports, and no political indoctrination. I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing. Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler. It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn’t exposed to that kind of humanistic philosophy.
Equal Rights Hits Home
In 1939, the war started and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employ-ment law was passed which meant if you didn’t work, you didn’t get a ration card, and if you didn’t have a card, you starved to death. Women who stayed home to raise their families didn’t have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.
Soon after this, the draft was implemented. It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps. During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys. They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines. When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat. Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.
Hitler Restructured the Family Through Daycare
When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately established child care centers. You could take your children ages 4 weeks to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, 7 days a week, under the total care of the government. The state raised a whole generation of children. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.
Health Care and Small Business
Suffer Under Government Controls
Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna . After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything. When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full. If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine.
Research at the medical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.
As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80% of our income. Newlyweds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families. All day day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.
We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables. Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn’t meet all the demands. Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.
We had consumer protection. We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the live-stock, then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.
“Mercy Killing” Redefined
In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps . The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated. So people intermarried and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good manual work. I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van. I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months. They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesick-ness.
As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.
The Final Steps-Gun Laws
Next came gun registration. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long after-wards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily. No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.
Totalitarianism didn’t come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria . Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath. Instead, we had creeping gradualism. Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.
After World War II, Russian troops occupied Austria . Women were raped, preteen to elderly. The press never wrote about this either. When the Soviets left in 1955, they took everything that they could, dismantling whole factories in the process. They sawed down whole orchards of fruit, and what they couldn’t destroy, they burned. We called it The Burned Earth. Most of the population barricaded themselves in their houses. Women hid in their cellars for 6 weeks as the troops mobilized. Those who couldn’t, paid the price. There is a monument in Vienna today, dedicated to those women who were massacred by the Russians. This is an eye witness account.
“It’s true….those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity.
America Truly is the Greatest Country in the World. Don’t Let Freedom Slip Away
"After America , There is No Place to Go."
Dec 23, 2009
Dec 17, 2009
Massachusetts Special election Pro-Life Voter Guide
Election of Massachusetts US Senator is January 19, 2010. Even though Brown is not "Pro-Life", his actions speak louder than Coakley's mantra of all abortion all the time:
MARTHA COAKLEY (D) SCOTT BROWN (R)
favors Tax funding for abortion opposes
opposes Parental Consent favors
opposes Ban on Partial Birth Abortion favors
favors Freedom of Choice Act opposes
opposes Abortion specifically exempted favors
from national health plans
opposes Adult stem cell research favors
opposes Infants Born Alive Protection Act favors
Martha Coakley has been advertising her pro-abortion positions on paid TV. She stated she would not support a national health care bill if it included abortion restrictions.
Scott Brown has sponsored the Woman's Right to Know Act. He sponsored and passed Cord Blood legislation to provide an alternative to embryonic stem cell research. (from MCFL)
From Massresistance - "From a state-wide standpoint, the kind of representation we get in the US Senate could hardly be different. Martha Coakley is even more radically left-wing across the board than Ted Kennedy, if that's possible. Her long record of aggressive anti-family positions and activities is breathtaking. (We will be doing much more on this in the coming weeks.) Scott Brown is a pretty decent conservative (though not completely pro-life) who has mainstream positions (including pro-traditional marriage) and doesn't back down to left-wing pressure and intimidation."
MFI Voter Guide
MARTHA COAKLEY (D) SCOTT BROWN (R)
favors Tax funding for abortion opposes
opposes Parental Consent favors
opposes Ban on Partial Birth Abortion favors
favors Freedom of Choice Act opposes
opposes Abortion specifically exempted favors
from national health plans
opposes Adult stem cell research favors
opposes Infants Born Alive Protection Act favors
Martha Coakley has been advertising her pro-abortion positions on paid TV. She stated she would not support a national health care bill if it included abortion restrictions.
Scott Brown has sponsored the Woman's Right to Know Act. He sponsored and passed Cord Blood legislation to provide an alternative to embryonic stem cell research. (from MCFL)
From Massresistance - "From a state-wide standpoint, the kind of representation we get in the US Senate could hardly be different. Martha Coakley is even more radically left-wing across the board than Ted Kennedy, if that's possible. Her long record of aggressive anti-family positions and activities is breathtaking. (We will be doing much more on this in the coming weeks.) Scott Brown is a pretty decent conservative (though not completely pro-life) who has mainstream positions (including pro-traditional marriage) and doesn't back down to left-wing pressure and intimidation."
MFI Voter Guide
Dec 13, 2009
Bible Study 12/18/09 - First Crusade
Notes on the Crusades
the first, 1095-1101; Pope Urban II and the capture of Jerusalem
the second, headed by Louis VII (St. Bernard of Clairvaux), 1145-47; Shi’ia to the southwest, Sunni to Southeath, Seljuk Turks to the East, Constantinople at the rear.
the third, conducted by Philip Augustus and Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 1188-92; after Saladin retook Jerusalem, and killed King of Jerusalem Renaud de Châtillon by his own hand. All Muslims united under Saladin. Pope Gregory VIII united Europeans. Siege of Syrian coastal city Acre lasted two years.
the fourth, during which Constantinople was taken, 1204; Pope Innocent III focused all attention on retaking Jerusalem but intrigue undermined this goal, with Pope losing control of the Crusades. Thibaut IV, count of Champagne decided to attack Egypt without consulting the Pope. Isaac Angelus, the dethroned Emperor of the dethroned Emperor of Constantinople had sought refuge/help from West, while Pope Innocent negotiated with pretender/usurper Alexius III to reconcile with Rome and fight for Jerusalem. Boniface of Montferrat replaced Thibault on his death, and with Philip of Swabia (brother-in-law of Isaac Angelus) turned the Crusaders away from Jerusalem towards Constantinople. This is the crusade that started the trend of bad behavior by the Europeans that gave a bad name to the crusades.
Background to First Crusade
Long history of Europeans going on pilgrimage to Holy Land, either to visit the Holy Places or to follow the ascetic life among the monks of the Thebaid or Sinai.
385 AD St. Jerome and St. Paula founded the first Latin monasteries at Bethlehem
~580AD The Itinerary of St. Silvia (Mother of Pope St. Gregory the Great, born ~515; died about 592) shows the organization of these expeditions, which were directed by clerics and escorted by armed troops.
600 AD, St. Gregory the Great had a hospice erected in Jerusalem for the accommodation of pilgrims, sent alms to the monks of Mount Sinai, and, although the deplorable condition of Eastern Christendom after the Arab invasion rendered this intercourse more difficult, it did not by any means cease.
614 AD Persians capture Jerusalem under Shaharbarz, the son-in-law of Chosroes (Khusru) II, King of Persia with help of 26,000 Jews. 90,000 Christians killed. Relic of True cross taken to Persia
Modestus, Abbot of the monastery of St. Theodosius in the desert to the south, acting apparently as vicar for the captured patriarch, had already begun modest restoration the shrines around the Holy Sepulchre, including the round Anastasis.
622AD Roman Emperor Heraclius drives Persians out,
628AD Persians defeated, Relic of True cross returned
629AD Heraclius visits Jerusalem to venerate relic of true cross, reinstates ban of Hadrian on Jews in Jerusalem. Brief period of peace and rebuilding.
632AD 8 June Mohammed dies, Omar and Abu Bakr found Muslim Caliphate in opposition to Ali (Fatima’s husband). 1st Abu Bakr, 2nd Omar (Ali served Omar as Judge of Medina), 3rd Uthman (assassinated), 4th Ali (656-661 the first Fitna or civil war)
636AD Moslem army of Abu-'Ubaidah attacked (with OK from Omar). After 4 months of resistance, St. Sophronius the Patriarch of Jerusalem negotiating directly with Abu-'Ubaidah, proposing to capitulate on fair and honourable terms; the Christians were to keep their churches and sanctuaries, no one was to be forced to accept Islam, and Abu-'Ubaidah signed the treaty personally, entering the city with St. Sophronius, "and courteously discoursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiquities" (Gibbon, ci, ed. Bury, London, 1898, V, 436). It is said that when the hour for his prayer came he was in the Anastasis, but refused to say it there, lest in future times the Moslems should make that an excuse for breaking the treaty and confiscating the church.
Jerusalem is known to Moslems as Al-Kuds, the third holiest place in Islam after Mecca and Medina.
656AD Ali victorious at Battle of Bassorah (Basra, Iraq)
661AD Ali assassinated in Kufa by Kharijite Ab-al-Rahman ibn Muljam. Muawiyah become Caliph, establishing Umayyad Caliph. Ali’s son Hasan becomes leader of Kufi muslims. Umayyad highhandedness, misrule and repression were gradually to turn the minority of Ali's admirers into a majority. Ali considered 1st Shi’ia Caliph, Hasan 2nd.
684-705AD, during the reign of the fifth Ommaid caliph, at Damascus
People of Iraq revolt and block access to Mecca and Medina, so Caliph 'Abd-al-malik resolved to make Jerusalem a centre of pilgrimage
691AD 'Abd-al-malik has Byzantine architects build "Dome of the Rock" mosque in the middle of the Temple area. It is an eight-sided building crowned with a dome, covered outside with marble and most beautiful many-coloured tiles, certainly one of the most splendid monuments of architecture in the world. It stands over a great flat rock, probably the place of the old altar of holocausts
661-750AD Caliphs of Damascus rule Jerusalam, St. John Damascene holds an important office in their court
732AD Charles Martel stops Mohammedan invaders at Pointiers (near Lyon)
786-809AD Abbasid Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd English: Aaron the Upright, Aaron the Just, or Aaron the Rightly Guided; March 17, 763 – March 24, 809) was the fifth and most famous Abbasid Caliph. He was born in Rayy, near Tehran, Iran, and lived in Baghdad, Iraq and most of his reign was in Ar Raqqah at the middle Euphrates.
Gives Charlemagne the ‘keys’ to the Holy Sepulcher.
Source Einhard “The life of Charlemagne” written ~832AD
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.html
“His relations with Aaron [ie Harun Al-Rashid, 786-809], King of the Persians, who ruled over almost the whole of the East, India excepted, were so friendly that this prince preferred his favor to that of all the kings and potentates of the earth, and considered that to him alone marks of honor and munificence were due. Accordingly, when the ambassadors sent by Charles to visit the most holy sepulcher and place of resurrection of our Lord and Savior presented themselves before him with gifts, and made known their master's wishes, he not only granted what was asked, but gave possession of that holy and blessed spot. When they returned, he dispatched his ambassadors with them, and sent magnificent gifts, besides stuffs, perfumes, and other rich products of the Eastern lands.. A few years before this, Charles had asked him for an elephant, and he sent the only one that he had.”
903-904AD sect of the Karamita (Carmathians) devastate Syria, seize Mecca and prevent pilgrims from going there from 929 to 950, increasing pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
962AD Roman(Constantinople) Emperor Nicephorus Phocas with 100,000 men attacks Aleppo in N. Syria.
968AD Phocas reconquered Antioch. Christians in Jerusalem of course support this, and of course Moslems punish Christians for this support.
969AD Jerusalem Patriarch John VII put to death for treasonable correspondence with the Romans. - Seljuk Turks begin pouring into area after conversion to Islam. - Mu-'ezz-li-Din-Allah, the fourth Fatimide Caliph in Egypt, conquered Jerusalem in the same year.
1009 AD Hakem, (Al-Hakim bi-amr-Allah) 6th Fatimite Caliph of Egypt, in a fit of madness ordered the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre and all the Christian establishments in Jerusalem. For years thereafter Christians were cruelly persecuted. (See the recital of an eyewitness, Iahja of Antioch, in Schlumberger's "Epopée byzantine", II, 442.) In 1027 the Frankish protectorate was overthrown and replaced by that of the Byzantine emperors, to whose diplomacy was due the reconstruction of the Holy Sepulchre. The Christian quarter was even surrounded by a wall, and some Amalfi merchants, vassals of the Greek emperors, built hospices in Jerusalem for pilgrims, e.g. the Hospital of St. John, cradle of the Order of Hospitallers. Instead of diminishing, the enthusiasm of Western Christians for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem seemed rather to increase during the eleventh century. Not only princes, bishops, and knights, but even men and women of the humbler classes undertook the holy journey (Radulphus Glaber, IV, vi). Whole armies of pilgrims traversed Europe, and in the valley of the Danube hospices were established where they could replenish their provisions.
William of Tyre (1130-1186) cites the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcre by Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as a reason for the 1st Crusade.
1026 AD Richard, Abbot of Saint-Vannes, led 700 pilgrims into Palestine at the expense of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.
1064-1065 Great German Pilgrimage suffered attacks from local Muslims (The Crusades; A History pp1012 by Jonathan Riley-Smith)
1070 AD Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem
1071 Romanos IV Diogenes, the Greek emperor defeated and made captive at battle of Mantzikert by the Seljik Turk leader Alp Arslan on Aug. 26
1084 Antioch falls to Seljuk Turks.
1092 All Asia Minor but Constantinople fall to the Turks.
On the basis of contemporary Jewish Cairo Geniza documents, as well as later Muslim accounts, Moshe Gil argues that the Seljuk conquest and occupation of Palestine (c. 1073–1098) was a period of "slaughter and vandalism, of economic hardship, and the uprooting of populations".
1095 Pope Urban II, "On beholding the enormous injury that all, clergy or people, brought upon the Christian Faith . . . at the news that the Rumanian provinces had been taken from the Christians by the Turks, moved with compassion and impelled by the love of God, he crossed the mountains and descended into Gaul" (Foucher de Chartres, I, in "Histoire des Crois.", III, 321).
November 1095 Council of Clermont – On 27 November, the pope himself addressed the assembled multitudes, exhorting them to go forth and rescue the Holy Sepulchre. Amid wonderful enthusiasm and cries of "God wills it!" (Deus vult - Dieu le veut) all rushed towards the pontiff to pledge themselves by vow to depart for the Holy Land and receive the cross of red material to be worn on the shoulder.
1096 First disorganized, undisciplined, penniless hordes (one lead by the Picard), almost destitute of equipment, who, surging eastward through the valley of the Danube, plundered as they went along and murdered the Jews in the German cities. One of these bands, headed by Folkmar, a German cleric, was slaughtered by the Hungarians. Peter the Hermit, however, and the German knight, Walter the Pennyless (Gautier Sans Avoir), finally reached Constantinople with their disorganized troops. To save the city from plunder Alexius Comnenus ordered them to be conveyed across the Bosporus (August, 1096); in Asia Minor they turned to pillage and were nearly all slain by the Turks. Can you say wastrels?
1096AD Dec. 23 – Godfrey of Bouillon from lower Lorraine arrives after following Danube through Hungry
1097 April Raymond of Toulouse arrives with Adhemar, Bishop of Puy-en-Velay in France, apostolic Legate to the Crusade, the Spiritual leader and “glue” for the endeavor.
1097 AD May, Hugh of Vermandois, brother of King Philip I of France, Robert Courte-Heuse, Duke of Normandy (son of William the Conqueror), and Count Stephen of Blois arrive in Constantinople after travelling to Southern Italy and sailing from Puglia (Bari) to Albania (Dyrrhachium or Durrës), then travelling by land across Thessalonica.
1097 the Normans of Southern Italy with Tancred and his uncle Bohemond of Taranto arrive April 26
1097 June 1 Crusaders laid siege to the city of Nicæa, but Alexius negotiated with the Turks, had the city delivered to him, and prohibited the crusaders from entering it
1097 July 1 Crusader Victory in the battle of Dorylæum
1097 Oct. 20 Crusaders arrive at fortified (walled with 450 towers) and well-provisioned Antioch in Syria. Carpenters and engineers who belonged to a Genoese fleet that had arrived at the mouth of the Orontes, the crusaders were enabled to construct battering-machines
1098 Edessa captured, kept by Crusaders until 1144 when Turk Zengi killed most all of its inhabitants including the Latin archbishop.
1098 June 2, Antioch captured. Hugh Vermandois sent to Constantinople to ask for reinforcements. None given, Hugh goes back to France. Killed in minor Crusade of 1101 at Tarsus. Bohemond stayed in Antioch to solidify his claim to it, only going to Jerusalem by Christmas of 1099.
June 3 Kerbûga, Ameer of Mosul attacks Crusaders inside Antioch. Repulsed by June 28 after Holy Lance “found”.
Adhemar dies of typhus, but many foot soldiers continue to think of him as their Spiritual leader, some claiming to see his ghost during the siege of Jerusalem – the ghost instructed them to circle the walls of Jerusalem once more -
April 1099 March to Jerusalem starts after infighting between Raymond and Bohemond over who would rule Antioch
June 7 1099 siege of Jerusalem begins. Genoese fleet arrived at Jaffa and, as at Antioch, furnished the engineers necessary for a siege. After a general procession which the crusaders made barefooted around the city walls amid the insults and incantations of Mohammedan sorcerers, the attack began 14 July, 1099. Next day the Christians entered Jerusalem from all sides and slew its inhabitants regardless of age or sex.*
July 1099 Jerusalem captured. Having accomplished their pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, the knights chose as lord of the new conquest Godfrey of Bouillon, who called himself "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre". They had then to repulse an Egyptian army, which was defeated at Ascalon, 12 August, 1099. Their position was nevertheless very insecure. Alexius Comnenus threatened the principality of Antioch, and in 1100 Bohemond himself was made prisoner by the Turks, while most of the cities on the coast were still under Mohammedan control. Before his death, 29 July, 1099, Urban II once more proclaimed the crusade. In 1101 three expeditions crossed Europe under the leadership of Count Stephen of Blois, Duke William IX of Aquitaine, and Welf IV, Duke of Bavaria. All three managed to reach Asia Minor, but were massacred by the Turks. On his release from prison Bohemond attacked the Byzantine Empire, but was surrounded by the imperial army and forced to acknowledge himself the vassal of Alexius. On Bohemond's death, however, in 1111, Tancred refused to live up to the treaty and retained Antioch. Godfrey of Bouillon died at Jerusalem 18 July, 1100. His brother and successor, Baldwin of Edessa, was crowned King of Jerusalem in the Basilica of Bethlehem, 25 December, 1100. In 1112, with the aid of Norwegians under Sigurd Jorsalafari and the support of Genoese, Pisan, and Venetian fleets, Baldwin I began the conquest of the ports of Syria, which was completed in 1124 by the capture of Tyre. Ascalon alone kept an Egyptian garrison until 1153
*Many Muslims sought shelter in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and the Temple Mount area generally. According to the Gesta Francorum, speaking only of the Temple Mount area, "...[our men] were killing and slaying even to the Temple of Solomon, where the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles..." According to Raymond of Aguilers, also writing solely of the Temple Mount area, " in the Temple and porch of Solomon men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins." However, this imagery should not be taken literally; it was taken directly from biblical passage Apocalypse 14:20.[4] Writing about the Temple Mount area alone Fulcher of Chartres, who was not an eyewitness to the Jerusalem siege because he had stayed with Baldwin in Edessa at the time, says: "In this temple 10,000 were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet coloured to our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women nor children were spared".[5] The slaughter of large numbers of Muslims on the Temple Mount is sometimes dubiously projected into the entire city, with some modern commentators claiming that all or almost all of the inhabitants of the city were killed. There is no eyewitness evidence for such a wholesale slaughter outside the Temple Mount area.
The eyewitness Gesta Francorum states that some people managed to escape the siege unharmed. Its anonymous author wrote, "When the pagans had been overcome, our men seized great numbers, both men and women, either killing them or keeping them captive, as they wished."[6] Later the same source writes, "[Our leaders] also ordered all the Saracen dead to be cast outside because of the great stench, since the whole city was filled with their corpses; and so the living Saracens dragged the dead before the exits of the gates and arranged them in heaps, as if they were houses. No one ever saw or heard of such slaughter of pagan people, for funeral pyres were formed from them like pyramids, and no one knows their number except God alone." [7]
Another eyewitness source, Raymond of Aguilers, suggests that some Muslims survived. After recounting the slaughter on the Temple Mount he reports of some who "took refuge in the Tower of David, and, petitioning Count Raymond for protection, surrendered the Tower into his hands." These Muslims left with the Fatimid governor for Ascalon. [9] A version of this tradition is also known to the later Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir (10, 193-95), who recounts that after the city was taken and pillaged: "A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of David (Mihrab Dawud) and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives in return for surrendering. The Franks honoured their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon."[10] One Cairo Geniza letter also refers to some Jewish residents who left with the Fatimid governor.[11]
Tancred claimed the Temple quarter for himself and offered protection to some of the Muslims there, but he was unable to prevent their deaths at the hands of his fellow Crusaders. The eyewitness Gesta Francorum states that some people managed to escape the siege unharmed. Its anonymous author wrote, "When the pagans had been overcome, our men seized great numbers, both men and women, either killing them or keeping them captive, as they wished."[6] Later the same source says, "[Our leaders] also ordered all the Saracen dead to be cast outside because of the great stench, since the whole city was filled with their corpses; and so the living Saracens dragged the dead before the exits of the gates and arranged them in heaps, as if they were houses. No one ever saw or heard of such slaughter of pagan people, for funeral pyres were formed from them like pyramids, and no one knows their number except God alone. But Raymond caused the Emir and the others who were with him to be conducted to Ascalon, whole and unhurt."[12] The other eyewitness source, Raymond of Aguilers, also reports that Raymond allowed some Muslims to leave unharmed: "[they] took refuge in the Tower of David, and, petitioning Count Raymond for protection, surrendered the Tower into his hands." [13] A version of this tradition is also known to the later Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir (10, 193-95), who recounts that after the city was taken and pillaged: "A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of David (Mihrab Dawud) and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives in return for surrendering. The Franks honoured their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon." [14]
Although the Crusaders killed many of the Muslim and Jewish residents, eyewitness accounts (Gesta Francorum, Raymond of Aguilers, and the Cairo Geniza documents) demonstrate that some Muslim and Jewish residents were allowed to live, as long as they left Jerusalem.[15] All modern estimates of the numbers actually killed in Jerusalem after the Crusader siege are entirely speculative; the primary sources from the period simply do not allow a reliable estimate to be made.
Thomas Asbridge, U.London wrote The First Crusade, a New History, “Greed is unlikely to have been a major factor because of the extremely high cost of travelling so far from home, and because almost all of the crusaders eventually returned home after completing their pilgrimage, rather than trying to carve out possessions for themselves in the Holy Land.”
the first, 1095-1101; Pope Urban II and the capture of Jerusalem
the second, headed by Louis VII (St. Bernard of Clairvaux), 1145-47; Shi’ia to the southwest, Sunni to Southeath, Seljuk Turks to the East, Constantinople at the rear.
the third, conducted by Philip Augustus and Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 1188-92; after Saladin retook Jerusalem, and killed King of Jerusalem Renaud de Châtillon by his own hand. All Muslims united under Saladin. Pope Gregory VIII united Europeans. Siege of Syrian coastal city Acre lasted two years.
the fourth, during which Constantinople was taken, 1204; Pope Innocent III focused all attention on retaking Jerusalem but intrigue undermined this goal, with Pope losing control of the Crusades. Thibaut IV, count of Champagne decided to attack Egypt without consulting the Pope. Isaac Angelus, the dethroned Emperor of the dethroned Emperor of Constantinople had sought refuge/help from West, while Pope Innocent negotiated with pretender/usurper Alexius III to reconcile with Rome and fight for Jerusalem. Boniface of Montferrat replaced Thibault on his death, and with Philip of Swabia (brother-in-law of Isaac Angelus) turned the Crusaders away from Jerusalem towards Constantinople. This is the crusade that started the trend of bad behavior by the Europeans that gave a bad name to the crusades.
Background to First Crusade
Long history of Europeans going on pilgrimage to Holy Land, either to visit the Holy Places or to follow the ascetic life among the monks of the Thebaid or Sinai.
385 AD St. Jerome and St. Paula founded the first Latin monasteries at Bethlehem
~580AD The Itinerary of St. Silvia (Mother of Pope St. Gregory the Great, born ~515; died about 592) shows the organization of these expeditions, which were directed by clerics and escorted by armed troops.
600 AD, St. Gregory the Great had a hospice erected in Jerusalem for the accommodation of pilgrims, sent alms to the monks of Mount Sinai, and, although the deplorable condition of Eastern Christendom after the Arab invasion rendered this intercourse more difficult, it did not by any means cease.
614 AD Persians capture Jerusalem under Shaharbarz, the son-in-law of Chosroes (Khusru) II, King of Persia with help of 26,000 Jews. 90,000 Christians killed. Relic of True cross taken to Persia
Modestus, Abbot of the monastery of St. Theodosius in the desert to the south, acting apparently as vicar for the captured patriarch, had already begun modest restoration the shrines around the Holy Sepulchre, including the round Anastasis.
622AD Roman Emperor Heraclius drives Persians out,
628AD Persians defeated, Relic of True cross returned
629AD Heraclius visits Jerusalem to venerate relic of true cross, reinstates ban of Hadrian on Jews in Jerusalem. Brief period of peace and rebuilding.
632AD 8 June Mohammed dies, Omar and Abu Bakr found Muslim Caliphate in opposition to Ali (Fatima’s husband). 1st Abu Bakr, 2nd Omar (Ali served Omar as Judge of Medina), 3rd Uthman (assassinated), 4th Ali (656-661 the first Fitna or civil war)
636AD Moslem army of Abu-'Ubaidah attacked (with OK from Omar). After 4 months of resistance, St. Sophronius the Patriarch of Jerusalem negotiating directly with Abu-'Ubaidah, proposing to capitulate on fair and honourable terms; the Christians were to keep their churches and sanctuaries, no one was to be forced to accept Islam, and Abu-'Ubaidah signed the treaty personally, entering the city with St. Sophronius, "and courteously discoursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiquities" (Gibbon, ci, ed. Bury, London, 1898, V, 436). It is said that when the hour for his prayer came he was in the Anastasis, but refused to say it there, lest in future times the Moslems should make that an excuse for breaking the treaty and confiscating the church.
Jerusalem is known to Moslems as Al-Kuds, the third holiest place in Islam after Mecca and Medina.
656AD Ali victorious at Battle of Bassorah (Basra, Iraq)
661AD Ali assassinated in Kufa by Kharijite Ab-al-Rahman ibn Muljam. Muawiyah become Caliph, establishing Umayyad Caliph. Ali’s son Hasan becomes leader of Kufi muslims. Umayyad highhandedness, misrule and repression were gradually to turn the minority of Ali's admirers into a majority. Ali considered 1st Shi’ia Caliph, Hasan 2nd.
684-705AD, during the reign of the fifth Ommaid caliph, at Damascus
People of Iraq revolt and block access to Mecca and Medina, so Caliph 'Abd-al-malik resolved to make Jerusalem a centre of pilgrimage
691AD 'Abd-al-malik has Byzantine architects build "Dome of the Rock" mosque in the middle of the Temple area. It is an eight-sided building crowned with a dome, covered outside with marble and most beautiful many-coloured tiles, certainly one of the most splendid monuments of architecture in the world. It stands over a great flat rock, probably the place of the old altar of holocausts
661-750AD Caliphs of Damascus rule Jerusalam, St. John Damascene holds an important office in their court
732AD Charles Martel stops Mohammedan invaders at Pointiers (near Lyon)
786-809AD Abbasid Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd English: Aaron the Upright, Aaron the Just, or Aaron the Rightly Guided; March 17, 763 – March 24, 809) was the fifth and most famous Abbasid Caliph. He was born in Rayy, near Tehran, Iran, and lived in Baghdad, Iraq and most of his reign was in Ar Raqqah at the middle Euphrates.
Gives Charlemagne the ‘keys’ to the Holy Sepulcher.
Source Einhard “The life of Charlemagne” written ~832AD
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.html
“His relations with Aaron [ie Harun Al-Rashid, 786-809], King of the Persians, who ruled over almost the whole of the East, India excepted, were so friendly that this prince preferred his favor to that of all the kings and potentates of the earth, and considered that to him alone marks of honor and munificence were due. Accordingly, when the ambassadors sent by Charles to visit the most holy sepulcher and place of resurrection of our Lord and Savior presented themselves before him with gifts, and made known their master's wishes, he not only granted what was asked, but gave possession of that holy and blessed spot. When they returned, he dispatched his ambassadors with them, and sent magnificent gifts, besides stuffs, perfumes, and other rich products of the Eastern lands.. A few years before this, Charles had asked him for an elephant, and he sent the only one that he had.”
903-904AD sect of the Karamita (Carmathians) devastate Syria, seize Mecca and prevent pilgrims from going there from 929 to 950, increasing pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
962AD Roman(Constantinople) Emperor Nicephorus Phocas with 100,000 men attacks Aleppo in N. Syria.
968AD Phocas reconquered Antioch. Christians in Jerusalem of course support this, and of course Moslems punish Christians for this support.
969AD Jerusalem Patriarch John VII put to death for treasonable correspondence with the Romans. - Seljuk Turks begin pouring into area after conversion to Islam. - Mu-'ezz-li-Din-Allah, the fourth Fatimide Caliph in Egypt, conquered Jerusalem in the same year.
1009 AD Hakem, (Al-Hakim bi-amr-Allah) 6th Fatimite Caliph of Egypt, in a fit of madness ordered the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre and all the Christian establishments in Jerusalem. For years thereafter Christians were cruelly persecuted. (See the recital of an eyewitness, Iahja of Antioch, in Schlumberger's "Epopée byzantine", II, 442.) In 1027 the Frankish protectorate was overthrown and replaced by that of the Byzantine emperors, to whose diplomacy was due the reconstruction of the Holy Sepulchre. The Christian quarter was even surrounded by a wall, and some Amalfi merchants, vassals of the Greek emperors, built hospices in Jerusalem for pilgrims, e.g. the Hospital of St. John, cradle of the Order of Hospitallers. Instead of diminishing, the enthusiasm of Western Christians for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem seemed rather to increase during the eleventh century. Not only princes, bishops, and knights, but even men and women of the humbler classes undertook the holy journey (Radulphus Glaber, IV, vi). Whole armies of pilgrims traversed Europe, and in the valley of the Danube hospices were established where they could replenish their provisions.
William of Tyre (1130-1186) cites the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcre by Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as a reason for the 1st Crusade.
1026 AD Richard, Abbot of Saint-Vannes, led 700 pilgrims into Palestine at the expense of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.
1064-1065 Great German Pilgrimage suffered attacks from local Muslims (The Crusades; A History pp1012 by Jonathan Riley-Smith)
1070 AD Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem
1071 Romanos IV Diogenes, the Greek emperor defeated and made captive at battle of Mantzikert by the Seljik Turk leader Alp Arslan on Aug. 26
1084 Antioch falls to Seljuk Turks.
1092 All Asia Minor but Constantinople fall to the Turks.
On the basis of contemporary Jewish Cairo Geniza documents, as well as later Muslim accounts, Moshe Gil argues that the Seljuk conquest and occupation of Palestine (c. 1073–1098) was a period of "slaughter and vandalism, of economic hardship, and the uprooting of populations".
1095 Pope Urban II, "On beholding the enormous injury that all, clergy or people, brought upon the Christian Faith . . . at the news that the Rumanian provinces had been taken from the Christians by the Turks, moved with compassion and impelled by the love of God, he crossed the mountains and descended into Gaul" (Foucher de Chartres, I, in "Histoire des Crois.", III, 321).
November 1095 Council of Clermont – On 27 November, the pope himself addressed the assembled multitudes, exhorting them to go forth and rescue the Holy Sepulchre. Amid wonderful enthusiasm and cries of "God wills it!" (Deus vult - Dieu le veut) all rushed towards the pontiff to pledge themselves by vow to depart for the Holy Land and receive the cross of red material to be worn on the shoulder.
1096 First disorganized, undisciplined, penniless hordes (one lead by the Picard), almost destitute of equipment, who, surging eastward through the valley of the Danube, plundered as they went along and murdered the Jews in the German cities. One of these bands, headed by Folkmar, a German cleric, was slaughtered by the Hungarians. Peter the Hermit, however, and the German knight, Walter the Pennyless (Gautier Sans Avoir), finally reached Constantinople with their disorganized troops. To save the city from plunder Alexius Comnenus ordered them to be conveyed across the Bosporus (August, 1096); in Asia Minor they turned to pillage and were nearly all slain by the Turks. Can you say wastrels?
1096AD Dec. 23 – Godfrey of Bouillon from lower Lorraine arrives after following Danube through Hungry
1097 April Raymond of Toulouse arrives with Adhemar, Bishop of Puy-en-Velay in France, apostolic Legate to the Crusade, the Spiritual leader and “glue” for the endeavor.
1097 AD May, Hugh of Vermandois, brother of King Philip I of France, Robert Courte-Heuse, Duke of Normandy (son of William the Conqueror), and Count Stephen of Blois arrive in Constantinople after travelling to Southern Italy and sailing from Puglia (Bari) to Albania (Dyrrhachium or Durrës), then travelling by land across Thessalonica.
1097 the Normans of Southern Italy with Tancred and his uncle Bohemond of Taranto arrive April 26
1097 June 1 Crusaders laid siege to the city of Nicæa, but Alexius negotiated with the Turks, had the city delivered to him, and prohibited the crusaders from entering it
1097 July 1 Crusader Victory in the battle of Dorylæum
1097 Oct. 20 Crusaders arrive at fortified (walled with 450 towers) and well-provisioned Antioch in Syria. Carpenters and engineers who belonged to a Genoese fleet that had arrived at the mouth of the Orontes, the crusaders were enabled to construct battering-machines
1098 Edessa captured, kept by Crusaders until 1144 when Turk Zengi killed most all of its inhabitants including the Latin archbishop.
1098 June 2, Antioch captured. Hugh Vermandois sent to Constantinople to ask for reinforcements. None given, Hugh goes back to France. Killed in minor Crusade of 1101 at Tarsus. Bohemond stayed in Antioch to solidify his claim to it, only going to Jerusalem by Christmas of 1099.
June 3 Kerbûga, Ameer of Mosul attacks Crusaders inside Antioch. Repulsed by June 28 after Holy Lance “found”.
Adhemar dies of typhus, but many foot soldiers continue to think of him as their Spiritual leader, some claiming to see his ghost during the siege of Jerusalem – the ghost instructed them to circle the walls of Jerusalem once more -
April 1099 March to Jerusalem starts after infighting between Raymond and Bohemond over who would rule Antioch
June 7 1099 siege of Jerusalem begins. Genoese fleet arrived at Jaffa and, as at Antioch, furnished the engineers necessary for a siege. After a general procession which the crusaders made barefooted around the city walls amid the insults and incantations of Mohammedan sorcerers, the attack began 14 July, 1099. Next day the Christians entered Jerusalem from all sides and slew its inhabitants regardless of age or sex.*
July 1099 Jerusalem captured. Having accomplished their pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, the knights chose as lord of the new conquest Godfrey of Bouillon, who called himself "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre". They had then to repulse an Egyptian army, which was defeated at Ascalon, 12 August, 1099. Their position was nevertheless very insecure. Alexius Comnenus threatened the principality of Antioch, and in 1100 Bohemond himself was made prisoner by the Turks, while most of the cities on the coast were still under Mohammedan control. Before his death, 29 July, 1099, Urban II once more proclaimed the crusade. In 1101 three expeditions crossed Europe under the leadership of Count Stephen of Blois, Duke William IX of Aquitaine, and Welf IV, Duke of Bavaria. All three managed to reach Asia Minor, but were massacred by the Turks. On his release from prison Bohemond attacked the Byzantine Empire, but was surrounded by the imperial army and forced to acknowledge himself the vassal of Alexius. On Bohemond's death, however, in 1111, Tancred refused to live up to the treaty and retained Antioch. Godfrey of Bouillon died at Jerusalem 18 July, 1100. His brother and successor, Baldwin of Edessa, was crowned King of Jerusalem in the Basilica of Bethlehem, 25 December, 1100. In 1112, with the aid of Norwegians under Sigurd Jorsalafari and the support of Genoese, Pisan, and Venetian fleets, Baldwin I began the conquest of the ports of Syria, which was completed in 1124 by the capture of Tyre. Ascalon alone kept an Egyptian garrison until 1153
*Many Muslims sought shelter in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and the Temple Mount area generally. According to the Gesta Francorum, speaking only of the Temple Mount area, "...[our men] were killing and slaying even to the Temple of Solomon, where the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles..." According to Raymond of Aguilers, also writing solely of the Temple Mount area, " in the Temple and porch of Solomon men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins." However, this imagery should not be taken literally; it was taken directly from biblical passage Apocalypse 14:20.[4] Writing about the Temple Mount area alone Fulcher of Chartres, who was not an eyewitness to the Jerusalem siege because he had stayed with Baldwin in Edessa at the time, says: "In this temple 10,000 were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet coloured to our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women nor children were spared".[5] The slaughter of large numbers of Muslims on the Temple Mount is sometimes dubiously projected into the entire city, with some modern commentators claiming that all or almost all of the inhabitants of the city were killed. There is no eyewitness evidence for such a wholesale slaughter outside the Temple Mount area.
The eyewitness Gesta Francorum states that some people managed to escape the siege unharmed. Its anonymous author wrote, "When the pagans had been overcome, our men seized great numbers, both men and women, either killing them or keeping them captive, as they wished."[6] Later the same source writes, "[Our leaders] also ordered all the Saracen dead to be cast outside because of the great stench, since the whole city was filled with their corpses; and so the living Saracens dragged the dead before the exits of the gates and arranged them in heaps, as if they were houses. No one ever saw or heard of such slaughter of pagan people, for funeral pyres were formed from them like pyramids, and no one knows their number except God alone." [7]
Another eyewitness source, Raymond of Aguilers, suggests that some Muslims survived. After recounting the slaughter on the Temple Mount he reports of some who "took refuge in the Tower of David, and, petitioning Count Raymond for protection, surrendered the Tower into his hands." These Muslims left with the Fatimid governor for Ascalon. [9] A version of this tradition is also known to the later Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir (10, 193-95), who recounts that after the city was taken and pillaged: "A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of David (Mihrab Dawud) and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives in return for surrendering. The Franks honoured their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon."[10] One Cairo Geniza letter also refers to some Jewish residents who left with the Fatimid governor.[11]
Tancred claimed the Temple quarter for himself and offered protection to some of the Muslims there, but he was unable to prevent their deaths at the hands of his fellow Crusaders. The eyewitness Gesta Francorum states that some people managed to escape the siege unharmed. Its anonymous author wrote, "When the pagans had been overcome, our men seized great numbers, both men and women, either killing them or keeping them captive, as they wished."[6] Later the same source says, "[Our leaders] also ordered all the Saracen dead to be cast outside because of the great stench, since the whole city was filled with their corpses; and so the living Saracens dragged the dead before the exits of the gates and arranged them in heaps, as if they were houses. No one ever saw or heard of such slaughter of pagan people, for funeral pyres were formed from them like pyramids, and no one knows their number except God alone. But Raymond caused the Emir and the others who were with him to be conducted to Ascalon, whole and unhurt."[12] The other eyewitness source, Raymond of Aguilers, also reports that Raymond allowed some Muslims to leave unharmed: "[they] took refuge in the Tower of David, and, petitioning Count Raymond for protection, surrendered the Tower into his hands." [13] A version of this tradition is also known to the later Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir (10, 193-95), who recounts that after the city was taken and pillaged: "A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of David (Mihrab Dawud) and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives in return for surrendering. The Franks honoured their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon." [14]
Although the Crusaders killed many of the Muslim and Jewish residents, eyewitness accounts (Gesta Francorum, Raymond of Aguilers, and the Cairo Geniza documents) demonstrate that some Muslim and Jewish residents were allowed to live, as long as they left Jerusalem.[15] All modern estimates of the numbers actually killed in Jerusalem after the Crusader siege are entirely speculative; the primary sources from the period simply do not allow a reliable estimate to be made.
Thomas Asbridge, U.London wrote The First Crusade, a New History, “Greed is unlikely to have been a major factor because of the extremely high cost of travelling so far from home, and because almost all of the crusaders eventually returned home after completing their pilgrimage, rather than trying to carve out possessions for themselves in the Holy Land.”
Message from December 12
Midnight Service at the United Hearts Field
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12, 2009
(This message was given in multiple parts.)
Blessed Mother says: "Praise be to Jesus."
"Dear children, tonight I come once again seeking your unity in truth - the truth of Holy Love. Do not be surprised that Heaven's call here focuses upon truth, for it is Satan's lies that are leading souls and whole nations astray. When governments began to accept abortion as a legal right, they were, in fact, surrendering to the father of lies - Satan. They did not gain freedom but became prisoners of sin."
"This was when the abyss between Heaven and earth began to widen. Now the Vessel of Justice - My Son's Heart - is overflowing. I need your cooperation - your unity in truth - to withhold the Arm of Justice."
"My Son has poured out His Mercy at this site and through these Messages, but it has been met with so much disdain.* People and nations continue to choose slavery to sin over freedom in the truth. I came many years ago in an effort to protect the Faith, but My protection was scorned. Now you are left with the closing of many churches. Churches all over the world stand empty - many in countries which have been given the greatest graces. You must realize that what you accept or reject in the present affects your future."
"Today the world has many problems which cannot be solved without God. Through this messenger and at this site, I am calling souls back to the reality of God's Divine Will and pursuit of personal holiness. Yet My efforts continue to be misunderstood. So, My dear little children, tonight I am here to speak to the Remnant Faithful - those who listen and persevere in truth."
"To these Remnant few, I say you are chosen to influence many. Do not fear rejection or ridicule. My Son suffered gravely at the hands of a pharisaical spirit, but He was victorious in the end. You must persevere as did He - with Holy Boldness. Prayer is the vehicle which moves hearts and motivates action. Therefore, pray before you evangelize; then My angels will assist you."
"Worldly reputation is of no account in God's Eyes. It is passing as is money, power and all of material value. It is the evil one who places the desire in your hearts to cling to these things."
"You, as My Remnant, need to cling to the Refuge of Holy Love that is My Heart, which raises you above prideful temptations."
"The world is about to suffer grave consequences for its dependence upon self and not God. Technology will be an enemy of freedoms which have been taken for granted. Mankind's independent nature which he has seen as a 'be all and end all,' will become even more the divisive factor in church and world politics."
"Please understand that these things must happen by way of purification. It is a purification which will return hearts to the truth that mankind's welfare is in the Hands of God."
"With certainty, understand that the ways in which this Mission and these Messages have been rejected is a sign that such a purification is needed - even imminent."
Missionary Servants of Holy Love Page 2 of 2
12/12/09
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12, 2009
(This message was given in multiple parts.)
Blessed Mother says: "Praise be to Jesus."
"Dear children, tonight I come once again seeking your unity in truth - the truth of Holy Love. Do not be surprised that Heaven's call here focuses upon truth, for it is Satan's lies that are leading souls and whole nations astray. When governments began to accept abortion as a legal right, they were, in fact, surrendering to the father of lies - Satan. They did not gain freedom but became prisoners of sin."
"This was when the abyss between Heaven and earth began to widen. Now the Vessel of Justice - My Son's Heart - is overflowing. I need your cooperation - your unity in truth - to withhold the Arm of Justice."
"My Son has poured out His Mercy at this site and through these Messages, but it has been met with so much disdain.* People and nations continue to choose slavery to sin over freedom in the truth. I came many years ago in an effort to protect the Faith, but My protection was scorned. Now you are left with the closing of many churches. Churches all over the world stand empty - many in countries which have been given the greatest graces. You must realize that what you accept or reject in the present affects your future."
"Today the world has many problems which cannot be solved without God. Through this messenger and at this site, I am calling souls back to the reality of God's Divine Will and pursuit of personal holiness. Yet My efforts continue to be misunderstood. So, My dear little children, tonight I am here to speak to the Remnant Faithful - those who listen and persevere in truth."
"To these Remnant few, I say you are chosen to influence many. Do not fear rejection or ridicule. My Son suffered gravely at the hands of a pharisaical spirit, but He was victorious in the end. You must persevere as did He - with Holy Boldness. Prayer is the vehicle which moves hearts and motivates action. Therefore, pray before you evangelize; then My angels will assist you."
"Worldly reputation is of no account in God's Eyes. It is passing as is money, power and all of material value. It is the evil one who places the desire in your hearts to cling to these things."
"You, as My Remnant, need to cling to the Refuge of Holy Love that is My Heart, which raises you above prideful temptations."
"The world is about to suffer grave consequences for its dependence upon self and not God. Technology will be an enemy of freedoms which have been taken for granted. Mankind's independent nature which he has seen as a 'be all and end all,' will become even more the divisive factor in church and world politics."
"Please understand that these things must happen by way of purification. It is a purification which will return hearts to the truth that mankind's welfare is in the Hands of God."
"With certainty, understand that the ways in which this Mission and these Messages have been rejected is a sign that such a purification is needed - even imminent."
Missionary Servants of Holy Love Page 2 of 2
12/12/09
Dec 7, 2009
Lament of St. Nicholas
Lament of St. Nicholas
'Twas the Week Before Christmas in contemporary America
‘Twas the week before Christmas and throughout heaven above
and the angels and saints were proclaiming God's love
Nicholas my son, faithful servant on earth
it's time for children to celebrate my birth
Go on and inspire the parents of these
to all of their hearts I now give you the keys
Yes Lord! he said with the greatest of joys
I love helping them out with their clothes and their toys
But most of all Lord what I work for these days
is to lead all their minds back to you and your ways
So he started his mission, this jolly ol’ soul,
to the homes of God's children, the young and the old
The trees were in place and the candy canes hung
but he stared at the fireplace as carols were sung
Something's wrong! said the saint, as it stopped his delight
less than half of the stockings are hanging this night!
I see cars, DVRs, home computers, and more
but I hear not the laughter that I heard once before!
So he checked his list twice but it just didn't jive
there were many more children that were meant to be alive
Dear Lord, cried St. Nicholas with a voice of surprise
many children are missing! as the tears filled his eyes
Oh Nicholas my servant, I thought that you knew
in many heart$ green has replaced pink and blue
And Nicholas, said Jesus with a sad solemn voice
in the last 40 years this is what they've called "choice"
Then He took the saint's list and divided it thrice
and revealed the true meaning of naughty and nice:
The first section has children I could never create
my people used barriers and drugs with their mate
The second are the children that had never been born
from the womb of their mothers they were taken and torn
And the third section has now all the children on earth
they're the ones that did make it through conception and birth
Oh Jesus I'm sorry!, ol' St. Nicholas cried
this shouldn't be happening; to prevent this you died!
Help me to show them Christmas means to be brave
like the poor Virgin Mary giving birth in a cave
I'm the hope that not all of them know, Jesus said
so go forth dear St. Nicholas - my light you must spread
'Twas the week before Christmas and St. Nicholas did pray:
Merry Christmas to all ... and to all a new day!
- Paul J. Murano
'Twas the Week Before Christmas in contemporary America
‘Twas the week before Christmas and throughout heaven above
and the angels and saints were proclaiming God's love
Nicholas my son, faithful servant on earth
it's time for children to celebrate my birth
Go on and inspire the parents of these
to all of their hearts I now give you the keys
Yes Lord! he said with the greatest of joys
I love helping them out with their clothes and their toys
But most of all Lord what I work for these days
is to lead all their minds back to you and your ways
So he started his mission, this jolly ol’ soul,
to the homes of God's children, the young and the old
The trees were in place and the candy canes hung
but he stared at the fireplace as carols were sung
Something's wrong! said the saint, as it stopped his delight
less than half of the stockings are hanging this night!
I see cars, DVRs, home computers, and more
but I hear not the laughter that I heard once before!
So he checked his list twice but it just didn't jive
there were many more children that were meant to be alive
Dear Lord, cried St. Nicholas with a voice of surprise
many children are missing! as the tears filled his eyes
Oh Nicholas my servant, I thought that you knew
in many heart$ green has replaced pink and blue
And Nicholas, said Jesus with a sad solemn voice
in the last 40 years this is what they've called "choice"
Then He took the saint's list and divided it thrice
and revealed the true meaning of naughty and nice:
The first section has children I could never create
my people used barriers and drugs with their mate
The second are the children that had never been born
from the womb of their mothers they were taken and torn
And the third section has now all the children on earth
they're the ones that did make it through conception and birth
Oh Jesus I'm sorry!, ol' St. Nicholas cried
this shouldn't be happening; to prevent this you died!
Help me to show them Christmas means to be brave
like the poor Virgin Mary giving birth in a cave
I'm the hope that not all of them know, Jesus said
so go forth dear St. Nicholas - my light you must spread
'Twas the week before Christmas and St. Nicholas did pray:
Merry Christmas to all ... and to all a new day!
- Paul J. Murano
Dec 6, 2009
Thou shalt not kill
During a recent Bible study the following question came up; did God tell the Israelites to kill all of their enemies, including women and children?
The short answer is Yes, but the big question is why?
Before we can answer why, we need to know the context, who exactly did this command affect.
Who?
So this command specifically relates to the Hethites, Amorrhites, Chanaanites, Pherezites, Hevites and Jebusites; the tribes who lived in land of Channan before God gave the land to the Irsaelites.
But why? Was this some sort of Divine arbitrariness, a preference for one tribe over 6 other tribes for no particular reason. The answer is No. These tribes were being punished for something they did, and the Israelites would be punished in the same manner if they did likewise.
But what could be so heinous that would cause God to wipe out an entire people, for God to commit genocide as it were? There is an answer, and an answer that I think reasonable people would be forced to accept. Unreasonable people would allow this heinousness to continue unabated, but I am addressing reasonable people here because I believe the Judeo-Christian heritage is eminently reasonable.
So what did they do that was so bad? They killed through ritual sacrifice their own children.
The religious texts discovered at Ras Shamra (Ugarit), near the Mediterranean coast of Syria, have provided a remarkable picture of the religion of the Canaanites; El chief god & father of the 70 gods, Asherah was El’s consort and mother of all the gods also the goddess of fertility and her symbol was the wooden pole. In the Ras Shamra texts, Baal was the god of rain and fertility whose name means “master,” “owner.” Anath was the consort of Baal, the goddess of war and sexuality.
The sacrifice of the firstborn is attested in Canaanite religious texts.
Of course a husband and father could not simply announce to his wife "honey, I'm sacrificing little johnnie to appease the gods" No, the wives had to be in on it, and the other children as well.
Sadly, the Israelites eventually did copy the Chanaanites.
So while the Hethites, Amorrhites, Chanaanites, Pherezites, Hevites and Jebusites had a long standing practice of killing their own children, only some of the Jews fell into this abhorrent ritual human sacrifice, and fell into it rather late historically speaking, so God punished the Jews to a lesser degree.
I would argue that this lesser punishment, following the complete punishment of the Hethites, Amorrhites, Chanaanites, Pherezites, Hevites and Jebusites, worked, because ritual child sacrifice is virtually non-existent today. But then again, we are an unritualistic people, so we might have to address the question if abortion is an unritualistic child sacrifice.
End note
The evidence that Phoenicians ritually sacrificed their children comes from four sources, all of which are hotly debated. Classical authors and biblical prophets charge the Phoenicians with the practice. Stelae associated with burial urns found at Carthage bear decorations alluding to sacrifice and inscriptions expressing vows to Phoenician deities. Urns buried beneath these stelae contain remains of children (and sometimes of animals) who were cremated as described in the sources or implied by the inscriptions.
Evidence from archaeology. The burned bones found inside jars from the Carthage Tophet provide conclusive evidence for Phoenician child sacrifice. Animal remains, mostly sheep and goats, found inside some of the Tophet urns strongly suggest that this was not a burial ground for children who died prematurely.
The short answer is Yes, but the big question is why?
Before we can answer why, we need to know the context, who exactly did this command affect.
Who?
Dt20:10 If at any time thou come to fight against a city, thou shalt first offer it peace. 11 If they receive it, and open the gates to thee, all the people that are therein, shall be saved, and shall serve thee paying tribute. 12 But if they will not make peace, and shall begin war against thee, thou shalt besiege it. 13 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, thou shalt slay all that are therein of the male sex, with the edge of the sword, 14 Excepting women and children, cattle and other things, that are in the city. And thou shalt divide all the prey to the army, and thou shalt eat the spoils of thy enemies, which the Lord thy God shall give thee. 15 So shalt thou do to all cities that are at a great distance from thee, and are not of these cities which thou shalt receive in possession. 16 But of those cities that shall be given thee, thou shalt suffer none at all to live: 17 But shalt kill them with the edge of the sword, to wit, the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee: 18 Lest they teach you to do all the abominations which they have done to their gods: and you should sin against the Lord your God.
So this command specifically relates to the Hethites, Amorrhites, Chanaanites, Pherezites, Hevites and Jebusites; the tribes who lived in land of Channan before God gave the land to the Irsaelites.
But why? Was this some sort of Divine arbitrariness, a preference for one tribe over 6 other tribes for no particular reason. The answer is No. These tribes were being punished for something they did, and the Israelites would be punished in the same manner if they did likewise.
But what could be so heinous that would cause God to wipe out an entire people, for God to commit genocide as it were? There is an answer, and an answer that I think reasonable people would be forced to accept. Unreasonable people would allow this heinousness to continue unabated, but I am addressing reasonable people here because I believe the Judeo-Christian heritage is eminently reasonable.
So what did they do that was so bad? They killed through ritual sacrifice their own children.
Lv18: 1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do according to the custom of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt: neither shall you act according to the manner of the country of Chanaan, into which I will bring you. Nor shall you walk in their ordinances. … 21 Thou shalt not give any of thy seed to be consecrated to the idol Moloch, nor defile the name of thy God. I am the Lord. … 24 Defile not yourselves with any of these things with which all the nations have been defiled, which I will cast out before you, 25 And with which the land is defiled: the abominations of which I will visit, that it may vomit out its inhabitants. 26 Keep ye my ordinances and my judgments: and do not any of these abominations. Neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. 27 For all these detestable things the inhabitants of the land have done, that were before you, and have defiled it. 28 Beware then, lest in like manner, it vomit you also out, if you do the like things: as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
The religious texts discovered at Ras Shamra (Ugarit), near the Mediterranean coast of Syria, have provided a remarkable picture of the religion of the Canaanites; El chief god & father of the 70 gods, Asherah was El’s consort and mother of all the gods also the goddess of fertility and her symbol was the wooden pole. In the Ras Shamra texts, Baal was the god of rain and fertility whose name means “master,” “owner.” Anath was the consort of Baal, the goddess of war and sexuality.
The sacrifice of the firstborn is attested in Canaanite religious texts.
Of course a husband and father could not simply announce to his wife "honey, I'm sacrificing little johnnie to appease the gods" No, the wives had to be in on it, and the other children as well.
Lv20: 1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: If any man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that dwell in Israel, give of his seed to the idol Moloch, dying let him die. The people of the land shall stone him. 3 And I will set my face against him: and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath given of his seed to Moloch, and hath defiled my sanctuary, and profaned my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land neglecting, and as it were little regarding my commandment, let alone the man that hath given of his seed to Moloch, and will not kill him: 5 I will set my face against that man, and his kindred, and will cut off both him and all that consented with him, to commit fornication with Moloch, out of the midst of their people. … 22 Keep my laws and my judgments, and do them: lest the land into which you are to enter to dwell therein, vomit you also out. 23 Walk not after the laws of the nations, which I will cast out before you. For they have done all these things: and therefore I abhorred them. 24 But to you I say: Possess their land which I will give you for an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from other people.
Dt12: 30 Beware lest thou imitate them, after they are destroyed at thy coming in, and lest thou seek after their ceremonies, saying: As these nations have worshipped their gods, so will I also worship. 31 Thou shalt not do in like manner to the Lord thy God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations which the Lord abhorreth, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire.
Sadly, the Israelites eventually did copy the Chanaanites.
Ps105/106: 34 They did not destroy the nations of which the Lord spoke unto them.
35 And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works:
36 And served their idols, and it became a stumbling block to them.
37 And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils.
38 And they shed innocent blood: the blood of their sons and of their daughters which they sacrificed to the idols of Chanaan. And the land was polluted with blood,
39 And was defiled with their works: and they went aside after their own inventions.
40 And the Lord was exceedingly angry with his people: and he abhorred his inheritance.
41 And he delivered them into the hands of the nations: and they that hated them had dominion over them.
So while the Hethites, Amorrhites, Chanaanites, Pherezites, Hevites and Jebusites had a long standing practice of killing their own children, only some of the Jews fell into this abhorrent ritual human sacrifice, and fell into it rather late historically speaking, so God punished the Jews to a lesser degree.
Hosea 4:14 I will not visit upon (punish) your daughters, when they shall commit fornication (whoredom), and upon your spouses when they shall commit adultery: because themselves conversed (separated) with harlots (whores), and offered sacrifice with the effeminate (harlots), and the people that doth not understand shall be beaten (fall).
I would argue that this lesser punishment, following the complete punishment of the Hethites, Amorrhites, Chanaanites, Pherezites, Hevites and Jebusites, worked, because ritual child sacrifice is virtually non-existent today. But then again, we are an unritualistic people, so we might have to address the question if abortion is an unritualistic child sacrifice.
End note
The evidence that Phoenicians ritually sacrificed their children comes from four sources, all of which are hotly debated. Classical authors and biblical prophets charge the Phoenicians with the practice. Stelae associated with burial urns found at Carthage bear decorations alluding to sacrifice and inscriptions expressing vows to Phoenician deities. Urns buried beneath these stelae contain remains of children (and sometimes of animals) who were cremated as described in the sources or implied by the inscriptions.
Evidence from archaeology. The burned bones found inside jars from the Carthage Tophet provide conclusive evidence for Phoenician child sacrifice. Animal remains, mostly sheep and goats, found inside some of the Tophet urns strongly suggest that this was not a burial ground for children who died prematurely.
adult children of homosexual parents
Clinical psychologist Dr. Trayce Hansen has reviewed all the research into the sexual behavior and preferences of children raised by homosexuals and discovered that Studies thus far find between 8% and 21% of homosexually parented children ultimately identify as non-heterosexual. For comparison purposes, approximately 2% of the general population are non-heterosexual. Therefore, if these percentages continue to hold true, children of homosexuals have a 4 to 10 times greater likelihood of developing a non-heterosexual preference than other children.
Dr. Hansen cites two well-known pro-homosexual researchers, Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, who share one reason why this finding should not be surprising: . . . it is difficult to conceive of a credible theory of sexual development that would not expect the adult children of lesbigay parents to display a somewhat higher incidence of homoerotic desire, behavior, and identity than children of heterosexual parents.
Here are just a few of Dr. Hansen's discoveries:
- From F.W.Bozett's study entitled "Social control of identity of children of gay fathers," Dr. Hansen found that "33% of the male children of homosexual fathers identified themselves as homosexual."
- From A. Goldberg's study entitled "(How) does it make a difference? Perspectives of adults with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents," Dr. Hansen found that "91% of them believed that having non-heterosexual parents 'influenced their ideas about gender and relationships,' and 'that 17% of Goldberg's subjects identified themselves as non-heterosexual (lesbian, bisexual or gender-queer)."
- And from J.P. Paul's doctoral dissertation entitled "Growing up with a gay, lesbian, or bisexual parent: an exploratory study of experiences and perceptions," Dr. Hansen found that "Although 15% of Paul's sample did self-identify as gay or lesbian, another 6% identified themselves as bisexual."
This raises questions about how identification as non-heterosexual is influenced by social/familal and not genetic factors, and does an increase in the number of children raised by homosexual parents give a corresponding increase the numbers of those children who later self-identify as non-homosexual.
Dr. Hansen cites two well-known pro-homosexual researchers, Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, who share one reason why this finding should not be surprising: . . . it is difficult to conceive of a credible theory of sexual development that would not expect the adult children of lesbigay parents to display a somewhat higher incidence of homoerotic desire, behavior, and identity than children of heterosexual parents.
Here are just a few of Dr. Hansen's discoveries:
- From F.W.Bozett's study entitled "Social control of identity of children of gay fathers," Dr. Hansen found that "33% of the male children of homosexual fathers identified themselves as homosexual."
- From A. Goldberg's study entitled "(How) does it make a difference? Perspectives of adults with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents," Dr. Hansen found that "91% of them believed that having non-heterosexual parents 'influenced their ideas about gender and relationships,' and 'that 17% of Goldberg's subjects identified themselves as non-heterosexual (lesbian, bisexual or gender-queer)."
- And from J.P. Paul's doctoral dissertation entitled "Growing up with a gay, lesbian, or bisexual parent: an exploratory study of experiences and perceptions," Dr. Hansen found that "Although 15% of Paul's sample did self-identify as gay or lesbian, another 6% identified themselves as bisexual."
This raises questions about how identification as non-heterosexual is influenced by social/familal and not genetic factors, and does an increase in the number of children raised by homosexual parents give a corresponding increase the numbers of those children who later self-identify as non-homosexual.
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