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    Por: Jesús lka Abuela Y Yo Grupo de Catecismo en You tube  

Gene-editing rules showed up in my news feed last Monday. So, indirectly, did genetically-edited twins who, as far as I know, are still alive. If I'd known how little I'd be able to verify about Dr. He Jiankui's famous (or infamous) twins, maybe I'd have picked another topic. But I did find a fair amount of information about genetic editing technology, and a hint at why Dr. He's science project produced twins: Gene-Edited Twins At Least Two "World's First" Defining "First" Not-So-Good News CRISPR Technology and Surprisingly Long-Tongued Rabbits Procedures, Perspectives and People CCR5Δ32, Recent History and Speculation Chromosomes, Science and Twins TALEN and CRISPR: Repurposing Prokaryotic Molecules A Genomic Revolution: New(ish) Territory Louise Joy Brown, HEK 293 and Me Making Sense: It's an Option Bioethics, From a Former Lab Rat's Perspective More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Genetically edite

  Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well Guercino [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 4:5-42  ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)     [For the shorter form (4:3-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42, omit the text in brackets.] Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to

I woke up a little late one morning (almost 7 am) and it seemed particularly light out--then I realized the sun was shining!   The sun breaking through the wintry clouds for a couple of days makes such a difference.  People seem to smile more, walk lighter and become more energized.  It is almost as if hope has arrived.  Admittedly, the daily challenges are not removed, but they somehow seem easier to manage. It's like that with God.  His light penetrates the darkness, bringing hope to the world. What is is light?  What is darkness, and what is the hope light brings? Let's talk about it. In religious terms, when we talk about light and darkness, there are these characteristics: Light is illuminating.  It gives you sight where you were not able to see.  Being a person of faith, you understand that light, as a descriptor for God, helps you to see more.  You see God as Father, as Creator of the world.  You see Jesus as the human/divine savior who actually walked this eart

I started writing about the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, "one of the colossal engineering flops of history". Or, my opinion, a basically good design that was rushed into service. The Snow Cruiser and Little America III reminded me of imperial ambitions and a massive attitude adjustment, the Collier's "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" series, Moon buggies and Elon Musk. Make that Moon buggies and looking ahead to permanent bases on the Moon and Mars. And why I think living in Minnesota is okay, even if humans aren't "perfectly adapted" to my home state's environment.... ...Loving God and neighbors was important two millennia back, it’s important now, and will be important when Sargon of Akkad, Julius Caesar and Dag Hammarskjöld seem like contemporaries.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (What went wrong with the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, why Antarctica mattered. Mars tractors of 1954, Moon buggies of 1971-1972, Living on Mars: opinion

  WHY DO YOU HAVE FAITH? IS IT BECAUSE YOU FEAR HELL? OR BECAUSE YOU LOVE GOD? IS YOUR FAITH A GIFT FROM GOD? HOW ABOUT THOSE WITH LITTLE FAITH? DID GOD NOT GIVE THEM ENOUGH? CLICK HERE

Yesterday we talked about Lent.  As promised, I'm continuing today on the message of Jonah and responding to a prophetic word. I've looked around.  I've checked.  I'm not seeing a lot of prophets in my neighborhood giving me a message from God.  That's probably good.   Prophets of old were not very well liked because they told people that what they were doing was wrong and that they needed to change.  Think of them more like that, than someone looking into a crystal ball to tell the future.  The future, they would say, isn't looking good for you if you don't change your ways. I think a not-so-emphasized message from the Book of Jonah that may be helpful to us is the people's response.  As I said yesterday, the people--and even their king--responded to Jonah's word of warning, by getting into the ashes.  They were penitent.  Upon hearing the truth, and being truly sorry, they responded appropriately for their time. Now we could dismiss t

  Transfiguration Cristofero Gherardi [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Matthew 17:1-9  ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)     After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.   And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.   And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.   And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”   He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”   When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces an

  Raise your hand if you gave up sweets for Lent?  How about smoking or a certain snack or technology? Yup.  I'm there with you.  But you know what hit me?  We often think, "I gave up sweets, so yes, I do Lent.  As long as I am faithful to my Lenten sacrifice, I'm covered." Raise your hand again, if you have ever thought that way. Actually--stay with me here--that "giving up" that we're doing is good, but it does not cover us for doing Lent.  I was thinking about the Book of Jonah (Chapter 3) and the response of the people of Nineveh.  You will recall Jonah was sent by God to give the people a warning about their impending doom.   In response to the news from the prophet, because they "believed God," the people fasted and put on  sackcloth.  Even the king of Nineveh "rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes!" Simply stated, when the people heard the news, they responded appr

      Por: Lourdes Domenzain 

      Here's a question:  If God put our first parents--Adam & Eve--in a paradise that was perfect, then how would Eve have known what evil was and that the snake was bad?  I mean, if she hadn't been exposed to evil until she met the snake, is it possible she didn't recognize him as evil ?  Sure she was disobedient, since God had warned her not to eat of the fruit in the middle of the garden, or even touch it, but at that point, could she actually identify evil as evil? Figuring that out is above my pay grade, but I'm starting to wonder if it is possible that Eve has gotten a bad rap all these years. What we do know is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.  It is God's self-revelation to us.  In these early chapters of Genesis we have before us some good lessons we would be wise to pay attention to.  In these, our Father in heaven has given us a word of warning. And, admittedly, it looks like human nature has not changed all that much over all

  DO YOU FEAR GOD? WHY? HOW? CLICK HERE

...The Webb data had already been used in 21 research papers, back in February. I'd prefer looking up a few of them, picking out one that sounded interesting, and talking about it. But I've had a distracted week. So today I'll focus on some really cool pictures from the JWST/Webb telescope. Mostly. NGC 1433: Hubble Space Telescope's View Abell 2744, 'Pandora's Cluster': Closer Look, New Details of Distant Galaxies Galaxies, Gravity and More Galaxies Lensed Galaxies: Showing How Gravity Lenses Work Earth-Size, But Not Earth 2.0 LHS 475 b: Methane, No; Carbon Dioxide, Maybe; Or Maybe No Atmosphere At All Terrestrial, Telluric, Solid, or Rocky: There's No Place Like Home More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A closer look at NGC 1433, Abell 2744: and distant galaxies. LHS 475 b, Earth-size but not Earth-like. Defining terrestrial planets.)

HAVE YOU FOUND PEACE? WHERE? HOW? CLICK HERE    

Landscape with the Temptation of Christ Joos de Momper [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)   Gospel   Matthew 4:1-11  ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)     Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,     but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple   and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you’, and “‘On their hands they will bear you up,     lest you strike your foot

 22nd Feb 2023 Ash Wednesday always comes as a bit of a surprise to me. And here we are again.  Yesterday, I found a Christmas bauble from the tree, under the units in the hallway. A remnant of the celebrations and the beautiful season that seem to be only just finished. Is it my age?  Now, today we start the journey of lent . I'll go to Holy Mass as I do most days. But there will be some differences. All the statues will be draped in purple and the priests will be dressed in the same colour. There will be no Alleluia and we'll ask the Lord, "A pure heart create for me O God..." Yes, we'll be reminded that we are sinners.  Of course, we'll also get the ashes: "Remember man that thou are dust ,  and unto dust thou shalt return." Later,  hubby and I will decided together how to approach the fasting and abstaining that's required of us. And boy, will that be difficult with visitors coming, who we'll try and host without them knowing what we are

This post should be online just after midnight, on the morning of Ash Wednesday Meanwhile, New Orleans will have almost six hours of their Mardi Gras left. There's a reason for that, and it's not that New Orleans Mardi Gras folks are ignoring Lent. A Catholic Citizen in America is on UTC time, Greenwich Mean Time's successor. Midnight, UTC, is 6:00 p.m. in New Orleans, Louisiana. 1 Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday: Meat, Cheese and New Orleans Lent: Pointing Myself Towards God Original Sin: Living With Consequences Wounded, But Still Basically Good The Bible, Very Briefly Goals: Short- and Long-Term Simple, Yes; Easy, No Looking Back at Lent 2022 More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Mardi Gras, very briefly. The purpose of Lent. Original sin and consequences. The Bible, briefly. Goals, short and long term.)

  MY BOOK IN MY HANDS The book is published. My memoir. To say I’m thrilled sounds like a thank you to a supermarket till worker, in comparison to how I really feel. As the boxes were brought into the house, I ran to find an implement to open them with. Why on earth were they wrapped so tightly. OK. Yes, I am grateful they were, seeing as they came from Poland. “Calm down,” hubby stood solid, sharp knife in hand, “let me do it.” “I’m nearly in,” I try and poke the edge of the scissors into the celophane wrapping the box. When we get inside this box, we find two more boxes, smaller, also wrapped. I am just so impatient, I rush at it, with thumping in my chest and tummy doing somersaults. Eventually we have one of the boxes open. It takes me a minute to ease one of the books away from it’s tightly packed companions. I held the book to my heart, rubbed it, turned it , and screamed, “Oh my word, it’s a real book!” No words can describe the emotion that coursed through my body as I cried an

...[A BBC News article] reminded me that it’s been some time since I talked about evolution and how Age of Enlightenment aristocrats viewed different species. And why I don't see a point in complaining about how this universe works.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Some of the oldest stone tools made by humans, assuming Paranthropus is human. Looking at the human family tree, changing assumptions, and accepting what we are learning.)

  Christ the Saviour El Greco [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Matthew 5:38-48  ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)     Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’   But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.   And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, [ a ]  let him have your cloak as well.   And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.   Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’   But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,   so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.