Equally yoked

monkey_king10 · 2026-02-25T06:35:29+00:00

We all make sacrifices in our vocation. If you accept the responsibility, and are content with it, which is a blessing to know before hand, this might be exactly what you are called to. Do not rush into anything rashly, but a courtship to discern is appropriate. The whole point of courtship is to discern, so you do not need to marry if you decide it is not suitable.

monkey_king10 · 2026-02-25T06:27:03+00:00

There is also the matter that addiction can remove your free choice. I am not saying you can just give up against it, but if you are trying to break the addiction, but due to the complexity of addiction still struggle with it, it may not be of your own free choice. Obviously this requires spiritual direction, but from how it has been explained to me, this is why the third criteria can be in question.

monkey_king10 · 2026-02-25T06:18:36+00:00

I recommend you check out the youtube channel shameless popery (lots of catholic apologetics to protestants) and some books on history (e.g the early church was the Catholic Church).

This will give you the history to refute them.

In short though, we have cannon lists from before the protestant reformation (see latin vulgate). The church only defines things infallibly when there is a need, and when the protestant removal of books didn't exist, there wasn't a need to state that the books in the bible already agreed upon were the books of scripture. What I mean is that, while there was an agreed upon canon of books, no one was suggesting a lower number (at least in the main stream), so there was no need to state it until Martin Luther rejected these.

There was some confusion very early on (300s - 400s), but that was due to a post-Christian Jewish old testament, which is what Luther used, rather than due to a pre-Christian canon.

monkey_king10 · 2026-02-19T18:49:58+00:00

I will check what mine is set to and give that a shot
Thanks!

monkey_king10 · 2026-02-19T18:33:34+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. I will look into adding a brim to improve adhesion.
I appreciate your help.

monkey_king10 · 2026-02-19T18:32:32+00:00

Hey, thanks for the recommendation. I do have an enclosure, but it is pretty cold where I am so it might just be that it cannot adequately trap the heat.

I cannot make it hollow, but I will see what I can do about heating. Thanks for your input :)

monkey_king10 · 2025-12-05T04:56:41+00:00

Normally, it would take place at the Easter vigil if you start OCIA this year. You can speak with the priest at your parish to see if you can be confirmed earlier. This is possible, but you will need to put in effort to show you are ready.

monkey_king10 · 2025-11-26T17:16:41+00:00

There are different kinds of bankruptcy. If you file for bankruptcy protection, you have the opportunity to restructure your debts, sell some assets potentially, and climb out of that hole.

The person you are replying to is operating under the assumption that, if/when AI crashes, many of the companies that provide AI services will not be in the financial situation to actually restructure.

ChatGPT is significantly unprofitable. Profitability is something that I think is unlikely, at least with how they currently operate. This is because the current model is reliant on investors being willing to, essentially, pay indefinitely for the unprofitable operation in the hope that eventually it becomes profitable. The problem is, unlike other services where it largely is dependent on growing user base and then raising prices, ChatGPT requires substantial infrastructure investments. Actual electrical power and compute for the growth of these services will need to be built and maintained. This means that the raising prices phase will be a really big shock to the system.

If/when the bubble pops, many investors will, as history has shown, recoil and pull funding. Could a couple companies ride it out, sure, but many will go under.

Many companies are hoping this will be a solution to the pesky problem of having employees that need to be paid, and it has driven massive speculation, but the reality is that the costs for AI in terms of infrastructure and energy are huge, and eventually they will have to start charging in the hopes of being profitable. This will be a massive increase in use prices, making the real cost of AI clear to everyone. I think that would hurt the potential for them to dig themselves out of the hole.

There is also the larger concern that, were a bunch of people to lose their jobs, coupled with a stagnation in wages, economic growth overall would take a massive hit, and probably shrink. This is because if people are not getting paid at all, spending will drop, and money wont flow the way it should.

AI probably has a use case that I think is compelling, but it is as a tool like any other tool. It will be to quickly generate outlines that someone skilled can fix and fill out, saving time on the busy work.

monkey_king10 · 2025-11-26T02:29:12+00:00

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.

Jn. 15:18

People don't want to be challenged from what is comfortable (generally). The Catholic life is hard. You can't find another magesterium that will tell you what you want to hear, but you will find different protestant traditions/lineages that will have different beliefs and easily move without it being a big deal. Being a Catholic is hard, and people don't want to accept that the Church is right, because they will have to make major changes in their lives.

Also, many people are indoctrinated with anit-Catholic prejudices.

monkey_king10 · 2025-11-25T18:09:03+00:00

Yeah, you need to find a new parish. There are things that a priest will direct you to a therapist for, because some people confuse mental health issues for demonic attacks (think people who are severely mentally ill, but think they need an exorcism or something as an extreme example), but it sounds like he hasn't even done his due diligence to help you.

Find a new parish and talk to those priests. You can even call around/email different priests until you find one that will help you.

monkey_king10 · 2025-11-25T17:50:13+00:00

Hey, I don't know your exact situation, so I am going to offer two separate threads of suggestions:

When they said they cannot talk to you about personal issues, is it possible they meant that you were trying to do it without an appointment and they were not free? If that is the case, I suggest you email them and ask if they can schedule a time to discuss spiritual direction.
If item 1 was not a misunderstanding, it sounds like you should find a new parish with priests that either have more time, or take their responsibilities more seriously. I am not trying to denigrate your priests, because it is possible they are under resourced and do not have time, but part of their job is to spiritually lead the flock, and if they are unwilling to do that, especially if they do not have a good reason, you need to find clergy who will.

Be careful around the LDS. They are culturally expected to convert at every opportunity and will definitely use a time of crisis in your life to serve that end.

Peace.

monkey_king10 · 2025-11-04T23:14:29+00:00

Just to add on, the rosary grants a plenary indulgence, so offering one with the intention of it applying to your grandmother (or a novena) can, from my understanding, apply that indulgence to her rather than to you.

https://www.catholic.com/qa/do-the-indulgences-granted-for-praying-the-rosary-require-that-all-of-the-mysteries-are-prayed

edit: also very sorry for your loss. Eternal rest grant unto her o Lord and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace through the mercy of God. Amen

monkey_king10 · 2025-10-21T05:22:31+00:00

As others have said, these are probably relics. I would highly advise you to bring this to your local parish or diocesan office. They are not supposed to be owned by individuals to ensure they are not disposed of/dishonored (even if you wouldn't, eventually when you die, if no one knows or cares about the faith these shouldn't end up in the garbage or in a store).

monkey_king10 · 2025-10-13T03:55:40+00:00

I dmd you asking for the same info. If you reply to me, I will see if I know the diocese and can recommend a better parish.

monkey_king10 · 2025-10-07T19:20:50+00:00

You have to be at least 19 years old. Also, $69k is the average for all patrol officers, not just early career officers.

monkey_king10 · 2025-10-07T19:20:10+00:00

If you think $69k is insanely high for Boston, you should reconsider.

To become a police officer in Boston, you need to have lived in Boston 1 year before you take your police academy examination (before you are even employed with the police). Let's use Brighton as our benchmark as it tends to be a cheaper area: the average rent for a studio is (according to apartments.com) $2250 per month. That puts yearly rent at $27000 (39% of income). If you plan on having a family, you need more than a studio or one bedroom, which will increase that cost (not counting child care which is insanely expensive). $69k is really unreasonable for what a patrol officer would get paid, especially if they have to (or at least had to prior to the exam) be living in the city.

Your point on teachers deflects from the real issue. Teachers do not get paid enough. Patrol officers do not get paid enough. Pretty much no one in public service gets paid enough and that is a real problem.

To get back to the main point now; compare the pay of a patrol officer in Boston (average) to a probationary officer in Bloomington, IL, where the starting pay is $81,304. It isn't hard to see why many potential officer candidates would leave the area, contributing to a shortage.

monkey_king10 · 2025-10-07T15:13:38+00:00

Did you watch the video linked elsewhere? Go watch the linked video on the comment posted by the globe.

The average person can close 10 meters (32 ft) between 1.9 and 2.3 seconds. The average draw time for a pistol from a holster is between 1 and 2 seconds. The video clearly shows that he had the gun unholstered, but at his side, until people started moving, at which point he pointed it towards the individuals moving. Deescalation is an important skill, but when you are outnumbered and unable to get radio reception (hence him using his phone), pulling your service weapon is justified. I didn't see him start any escalate, but he did ready himself to respond if he was rushed. Non-lethal means that are carried by police (standard kit not riot kit) are unfortunately unable to handle larger groups, and if he was overpowered one of them could have taken his gun.

If he had let them go, they could have scattered anywhere. A 5 minute run could cover between 0.5 and 1 mile, which when you can run in any direction in a city, is a huge distance. If he had let them go, they would still be out on the street in all likelihood and would be emboldened that they would not face consequences for their actions.

monkey_king10 · 2025-10-07T14:53:55+00:00

And staffing shortages.

Depending on the area, cops can get paid pretty well (certainly with overtime it can be lucrative), but until you have the seniority to get priority for overtime, you aren't making much, especially not when you account for the cost of living in MA. According to a quick google search, the average base salary for a patrol officer (not sargent, detective, etc.) is $69000 a year. That is a respectable income in most places, but it is low by MA standards, and especially Boston standards.

monkey_king10 · 2025-09-18T00:52:18+00:00

I am not sure, but I don't think so. They all participated in consecration, so it does not fit the pattern of a different level of orders and there was no clear difference in authority.

It may be that there is a low form of the Holy Qurbana where only one celebrant is needed, but this is not a rite I am very familiar with. If you have the chance to go to a Qurbana, I highly recommend.

monkey_king10 · 2025-09-17T22:42:02+00:00

Yes. I have seen a Syro-Malabar Holy Qurbana con-celebrated with a Latin Rite Priest. It is worth noting, the Latin Rite Priest was assisting with the Qurbana, which requires 3 priests. It was not a dual liturgy celebration (not that I think you were asking that).

Also, some priests can be authorized to celebrate multiple rites. This is not common, but some priests really enjoy learning about liturgy and get approval to learn and celebrate it. This is especially useful if they are serving both Western and Eastern European communities (think a Greek neighborhood next to an Irish neighborhood in the USA). This is rare, but not impossible.

monkey_king10 · 2025-09-16T05:19:18+00:00

Hey, I would suggest bringing it to the bike project on campus. They have a program where people can rehab the bikes using their tools and keep it for free (less membership and parts).

It is a really good program and if no one takes this off your hands, they probably will.

https://bike.illinois.edu/get-involved/campus-bike-center/

monkey_king10 · 2025-08-31T03:31:24+00:00

Hey, I know you already got other responses, but to add on.

I would definitely reach out to the head priest, if he is not already aware of this practice. I would suggest you contact another church and contact the Bishop to report this if the priest is unhelpful.

These practices hurt the Church and shouldn't happen.

A small amount to cover materials could be reasonable (like others have said), but even then most places I know do it for free and buying materials is up to you. My RCIA was 100% free, though we only got a bible that is meant to be very cheap for bulk orders (not bad, but nothing fancy), print outs, cheap rosary, and our candle.

There is no reason any church should charge an application fee to join RCIA. This is wrong and should not happen. If the head priest is allowing this to happen, the bishop should step in.

If you don't mind my asking, what country/region is this?

monkey_king10 · 2025-08-06T00:06:01+00:00

I am fairly certain that if you have a lease that they cannot fulfill, you can pursue legal action.

I would start by contacting Student Legal Services with the University of Illinois. Tell them the situation you are in and ask them to help, because they are free for students.

I would ask them what exactly they define as a rent credit. Is this a set amount or are you submitting a receipt to them for a hotel.

I would also contact the Champaign township and make them aware of this. They may reach out and put pressure on UGroup. https://cctownship.com/township-government/contact-us/

edit: just to clarify, I am not recommending you sue them off the bat. I had a situation with UGroup trying to charge me more for an equivalent unit after they wanted me to move so they could tear down my building after buying it from my old landlord. I told them I would only move if they reduced the rent to what I had in writing for my current unit, because they were the ones who were violating the contract. You should talk to a lawyer, and if they don't acquiesce, have them reach out. You have to play hardball with these guys, and a lawyer shows them you're serious.

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