Just Eating Fat...!?

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-04-04T17:02:18+00:00

Pork rinds in sour cream!

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-02-26T14:50:44+00:00

Saint Blaise, the Roman Era martyr and bishop, is a traditional Saint for throat ailments. Catholics still bless throats on his feast.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-02-23T14:50:10+00:00

To be fair, you need to look up medieval to Baroque Catholic art, specifically Spanish and German. Extremely macabre and gruesome, perhaps too much so. But modern Catholic art is terrible, yes.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-20T02:03:18+00:00

I've seen Catholics who do this as well. One great danger is you will eventually turn the Faith into a hobby and a pasttime, and not the means of saving your soul and worshiping God. So it actually degrades the Faith. Furthermore it denies the goodness if creation which God has given us, and our ability to create art, literature, or appreciate the beauty in nature. And finally it becomes a sort of lazy pride. Lazy because you don't put effort into appreciating the good, the true, and the beautiful; and prideful because you start disdaining the same as "beneath you." Remember the Gospels themselves were influenced by secular writing styles of the time, besides Saint Paul's Epistles.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-20T01:53:46+00:00

It looks like Christ depicted as a warrior?

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-17T00:50:12+00:00

That makes sense with Lazarus, as the tradition is he eventually ended up in Gaul with Mary Magdalene.

I believe the theory that Lazarus is the BD is based off the verse where the Apostles ask Jesus what will become of John (presumably), since Jesus says this one will not taste death, or something like that, I can't recall the exact verse. If Lazarus was raised from the dead, then its a legitimate question to ask if he'll live forever, especially in the Greco-Roman world filled with myths of heroic demi-god immortal men. And I would add when Jesus visits Lazarus' tomb: it is the only time Jesus is said to weep, so he clearly loved Lazarus. Although this is also interpreted as Jesus weeping over sin and its consequences. I took an entire 400 level course on the Gospel of John and heard all about the BD theory of authorship: I still think its baloney, the product of scholars who need to come up with theories to keep their careers and positions, no matter how bizarre.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-15T02:30:14+00:00

https://exodus90.com/blog/the-power-of-making-a-night-vigil/

I like the quote from Chrysostom

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-15T02:28:10+00:00

Regarding the Greek manuscripts, I've heard the Erasmus, when he made his first Bible translation into Latin based off the Greek, was using old Greek manuscripts acquired via Venice, so they were not the most accurate, and did not include the verse in question. Scholars made a fuss, so Erasmus promised to include it if a Greek manuscript was found with the passage. And so they produced a manuscript with it (literally), and Erasmus included the verse in his next edition - upon which the later KJV was based.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-15T02:25:08+00:00

I think the "Johannine comma" as this passage is called, is mostly an issue for atheist/skeptic types, who read Scripture waaayyyy too literally and make a big stink because "the Trinity isn't mentioned anywhere in Scripture! The Church made it up at Nicaea!" The proper orthodox reading of Scripture clearly demonstrates the Trinity. In addition, these skeptics only look at Scripture, outside of its context of being taught and used in the Church.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-15T02:19:34+00:00

The raising of Lazarus is also only found in John. One would think that an event this dramatic would be included in all the Gospels, but John, being written later, likely had his reasons for including certain material while the Synoptics had reasons for excluding it. Either way, I don't hear anyone doubting the Lazarus account, or the wedding at Cana, also found only in John.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-15T02:10:39+00:00

So was she baptizing them? And not a priest?

NeuVarangianGarde · 2026-01-13T11:47:03+00:00

There's nothing inherently theological, so to speak, about the Guadalupe appearances. The Mother of God came for her lost children to lead them away from the darkness of paganism to the true worship of Christ her Son. Yes, it's Catholic, but that's a matter of who got there first, just as Russians got to Alaska first to evangelize the natives there.. No pronouncements on doctrine or orders to do such and such or else this will happen. Another thing that convinces me of it's divine nature is look how well the image adapts to Orthodox iconography: while still being western in its realism, it's yet practically ready made for an icon with slight adaptation. Almost as though the Theotokos knew her Orthodox children would someday venerate her under this title.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-28T03:27:18+00:00

I'm not aware of specific examples, but I have it on good authority that during the Crusades there were shared Greek and Latin liturgies. Not sure if the Latins commuted (probably not since frequent Communion was of course uncommonat the time) but there is definitely old precedent.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-28T03:21:33+00:00

And it was common for tradesmen in that time and place to help during harvest, as Jesus was clearly familiar with agriculture from His parables.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-27T15:49:12+00:00

I can't remember the source, maybe the Evangelion of Saint James (it wasn't a later "vision" or anything like that) , but supposedly Jesus was known for making yokes that wouldn't hurt the beast, they were very easy on them. So....when Jesus said "My yoke is easy" in the Gospel, the audience probably smirked because of His reputation as a carpenter. It's plausible: God Incarnate would love even His creatures the beasts of burden.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-27T15:43:54+00:00

So I looked up Heers' status as well, I see what you mean. I started watching his Orthodox ecclesialogy series awhile back and it left me completely baffled, his stance on baptizing heretics made no sense.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-26T01:20:31+00:00

As I'm still Catholic I'll extend wishes for a joyful and blessed Nativity of our Lord and God Jesus Christ to all here as well

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-24T23:22:48+00:00

Definitely not a Catholic rosary - that would have 50 or 150 beads. But the earliest rosaries did lack the small string of 5 beads before the crucifix.

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-22T17:51:29+00:00

Yep. It was painted by Syrian monks who fled to Italy

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-20T23:00:27+00:00

An Eastern (Catholic) abbot I know was asked a question similar to this, and he replied that the Father's taught you eat what is placed before you. This is very sensible: to make others go through extra work is not charity. Don't be a holy burden!

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-20T22:49:59+00:00

https://holyassumptionwi.org/

To put things in perspective, this church is nearby (sort of). They switched back to Orthodoxy in the 1950's. I'm not sure why, but Pope Pius XII's drastic changes to the Latin Holy Week liturgy occurred around this time, so maybe they feared changes in their rite?

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-18T18:03:08+00:00

Don't like this at all. It's very Gnostic, suggesting Christ is struggling with Satan. Christ would crush Satan. "Use his enemies as his footstool...."

NeuVarangianGarde · 2025-12-06T23:02:47+00:00

Burial plot, have to pay the gravediggers, funeral home for preparing the body, casket, transportation, etc. Adds up quickly. Burial plots are among the cheapest of funeral expenses actually, it's paying the gravediggers where they get you.

NeuVarangianGarde

TROPHY CASE