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'So, let me get this straight,' Graham the co-pilot says over the intercom. 'We're up here getting shot at. We have some guy on board who has spent a morning trying to kill US soldiers, whose very desire is to die in battle. We are spending $4,000 per hour per bird. We're shipping his ass to Bagram to give him the best medical care available in Afghanistan.' He pauses for effect. 'Just so he can get better and come after us all over again.' Another pause. 'Everyone OK with that?'

“Follow Me, the Doctor of Mercy” (Matthew 9:9-13)As many of you know, this is the “Year of St. Matthew” in our lectionary series. Matthew’s Gospel is the one that we’re following this year. But in our text this morning, we see Matthew himself doing the following. St. Matthew hears the call to follow, and we, the people of St. Matthew Lutheran Church--we hear it also, the call of Jesus, “Follow me.” St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, had something in common with quite a few pastors today (including this one): He was a “second-career man” in the ministry. The only thing...

A little girl fights for her life, and her last wish is to see her father. But that wish may not come true. "They didn't expect her to still be here. She's fighting, day by day, minute by minute," said Vonda Yaeger, mother. 10/11 has followed the story of 10-year-old Jayci Yaeger as she battled brain tumors. Now doctors say she is about to lose that fight. Her last wish is to spend what time she has left with her father, but he is in a federal prison for drug charges. Less than six months ago, Jayci was energetic, fun...

Gratitude should be expressed every day of every year Sometimes with a hug and sometimes with a cheer Come the month of November, at the start of the holiday season We all come together with thanksgiving as the reason We share a blessed dinner; enjoy a day of fun and peace We watch the game on TV; listen to stories which never cease Thanksgiving is a day where we express our thanks to others We thank our friends and our neighbors, our sisters and our brothers We thank them for loving us and for always being there We thank them...

DID I REALLY LEAVE THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH? The Journey into Evangelical Faith and Church Experience William Webster This article was first published by Moody Press in the book titled, Roman Catholicism: Evangelical Protestants Analyze What Divides and Unites Us in 1994. In light of the recent reversion of Francis Beckwith to Roman Catholicism I felt that perhaps the testimony of one who was Roman Catholic and is now a convinced evangelical Protestant might prove helpful to some. The arguments presented here as to why I could never become a Roman Catholic, based on the truth of Scripture and the...

THIS WEEK, California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and a group of Democratic legislators will reintroduce the California Compassionate Choices Act, which would allow terminally ill patients found to be of sound mind to request medication from doctors "to provide comfort with an assurance of peaceful dying if suffering becomes unbearable." Like the 1994 Oregon Death with Dignity law it is based on, the California bill nowhere mentions suicide, except to say that "actions taken in accordance with this bill shall not constitute suicide or homicide." That clause was framed to address concerns about legal liability, but the avoidance of "suicide"...

Saddam lieutenant pleads to Pope for mercy By Malcolm Moore in Rome, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 12:02am GMT 21/01/2007 Tariq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister of Iraq, has thrown himself on the mercy of the Pope in an attempt to secure his release from US custody. Tariq Aziz's letter to the Pope: Aziz faces a possible death penalty after being charged on Friday with ordering the deaths of tens of thousands of Shia Muslims who rebelled in 1991. Last week he sent a handwritten plea to the Vatican, asking Pope Benedict XVI to act as a guarantor for him...

If today’s Catholic bishops lived during the Nuremberg trials, they would have condemned the execution of nine of the defendants – including Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Hans Frank. Kaltenbrunner was responsible for mass executions of civilians and prisoners of war as Heinrich Himmler’s chief SS lieutenant; Frank oversaw the Nazis’ numerous atrocities as the governor of occupied Poland. Such a presumptuous proposition seems plausible given two Vatican officials’ opposition to Saddam Hussein’s death sentence – and the Catholic Church’s moral revisionism concerning capital punishment. Iraq’s High Tribunal convicted Saddam of committing crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death on Nov....

An LCMS World Relief/Human Care medical mercy team recently spent four days in Kenya, and treated nearly 1000 extremely impoverished individuals. The team of two doctors, three nurses, and two lay volunteers made medical assessments, dispensed free medications and changed dressings on injuries. The team saw many cases of malaria, as well as HIV infections and other maladies related to poor sanitation and malnutrition. Patients paid 20 shillings (approx. $0.28 USD) for a doctor visit. Sally Henrickson, RN, LCSW, who coordinates medical and material goods and medical personnel for LCMS World Relief/Human Care, organized and led this pilot trip to...

While Sharon Lies Sleeping It may be nearly time to say good-bye to a fallen leader. Reports indicate that Ariel Sharon now suffers from kidney failure. This may be the problem that brings about his long delayed death. Ariel means Lion of God in Hebrew. Indeed he was something like a lion, participating boldly and strikingly as a warrior, helping to bring Israel to victory time and again, fighting against what seemed to be all odds…at least from a humanly-derived perspective. But his last name has a meaning, too. Sharon is an area of fruitful land in Israel. Something to...

Mercy  God-With-Us But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.  Hebrews 2:9, RSV Lord, the pain wraps around us, throbbing, throbbing, like the rhythm of the hammer fall piercing, deeper, lodging in the wood. The pain, oh the pain, a woman crying out as her loved one is slain, a child shocked at the blood falling from a beheaded parent, the armwrenching agony as they hauled you,...

THE scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real. Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man “closer to God”. His book, The Language of God, to be published in September, will reopen the age-old debate about the relationship between science and faith. “One of the great tragedies of our time is this impression that has been...

Mercy Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, Psalm 103 1-4 God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and...

Know anyone with the Italian surname of Esposito or Innocenti? Most of them are descended from an orphan taken care of by the Catholic Church. For centuries, Italian cities had hospitals where abandoned babies (espositi, innocenti) were taken in and cared for, and a number of them married and passed on to their own children a family name reflecting the foundling hospital in which they grew up. Nor was it always a grim existence; a good part of Vivaldi's music was composed to be performed by girls at the Catholic orphanage in Venice where, in the early 1700s, he was...

5/30/2006 - YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFPN) -- Three Airmen from the 374th Medical Group here are deployed to the U.S. Navy hospital ship, USNS Mercy, as it travels through Southeast Asia on a humanitarian mission. The mission is an opportunity for a U.S. team consisting of medical professionals from the Air Force, Army and Navy to work with members of the U.S. Public Health Service and nongovernmental organizations. The Airmen joined the Mercy crew in the Philippines and will get the opportunity for hands-on training in the field, including diagnosing and surveying diseases in the area; analyzing industrial hygiene;...

Day 8 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of...

Day 5 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of...

Day 4 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of...

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray...

Day 2 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of...

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray...

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2006 – Continuing America's longstanding tradition of helping those in need, the U.S. Navy recently deployed the hospital ship USNS Mercy on a proactive humanitarian mission to Southeast Asia, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said here yesterday. "The Mercy deployment (is) an exciting and important opportunity to assist friends and neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region, and to facilitate the security and stability and the prosperity, particularly in the maritime domain, in this region, in which we all share common interests," U.S. Navy Adm. Gary Roughead said during a State Department Foreign Press Center briefing. The...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- U.S Naval hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrived here May 2, making its first stop during a humanitarian assistance mission to the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. This deployment to the region exemplifies the U.S. commitment to South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific island nations while building upon relationships established during Operation Unified Assistance in 2005. Meeting the arriving ship at the pier, Adm. Gary Roughead, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, told members of the media and Mercy crew members that accomplishing the mission will be all about teamwork. “This is about a partnership,”...

A man suspected of burning and stabbing a pit bull puppy that later died was arrested early Thursday, according to reports. Deshann Brown, 21, was arrested shortly after midnight in Corinth, a community in Denton County, and charged with animal cruelty, according to a report from NBC 5. The 10-month-old puppy, named Mercy, died Sunday despite efforts to save her from extensive injuries. She had been cut, stabbed, doused with gasoline and set afire. At one point last week, her caretakers said she had experienced a comfortable night and was eating. Mercy was found about two weeks ago in a...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The U.S. Naval hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) is scheduled to depart its San Diego homeport April 24, in support of a five-month humanitarian assistance mission to the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. Following logistics stops along the way, Mercy should arrive in the Philippines in mid- to late May. The ship’s mission is being coordinated with host nations in the region and is being carried out in conjunction with non-governmental relief organizations to provide medical, dental and other humanitarian assistance programs ashore and afloat. “The deployment of USNS Mercy to Southeast Asia and...

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- The thunder of the C-130 Hercules engine vibrates through the cabin as the aircraft lifts off of the runway. Today’s mission is different than most. Today, Australians and Americans leave pallets and passengers behind, making room to gather the wounded and bring them back home. Affectionately called “the mercy channel,” this weekly mission pairs a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J and aircrew with a U.S. Air Force medical team. Moving more than 1,883 patients since August, these missions travel throughout Iraq and Kuwait, gathering injured servicemembers and delivering them to higher care facilities. “The patients we...

case of mercy versus justiceBy Paul PratherHERALD-LEADER CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST The Jewish prophet Micah said this: "And what does the lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." That statement seems as pertinent today, and as complicated, as it must have sounded several thousand years ago. We're at war with terrorists who intend to destroy us. We deal daily with less dangerous, but infuriating, annoyances: self- serving politicians, crooked business partners, drug users, crabby spouses. Meanwhile, God requires us to demonstrate justice, mercy and humility -- all at the same time....

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The mother of an American journalist kidnapped in Iraq appealed for her daughter's life on Thursday, the eve of a deadline set by her captors for the release of all women in U.S. custody in the country. "Taking vengeance on my innocent daughter, who loves Iraq and its people, will not create justice," Mary Beth Carroll said in a message aimed at the gunmen holding Jill Carroll, 28. Sunni Muslim leaders in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East joined intensifying calls for mercy. But as new video images emerged Thursday of the pale, dark-haired woman surrounded...

'We will cut them until Iran asks for mercy' By Massoud Ansari (Filed: 15/01/2006) Deep in the lawless triangle connecting Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, eight terrified Iranian soldiers are being held hostage by a Sunni group that is vowing to "slaughter" them if Teheran does not bow to its demands. "We will chop their heads once our deadline is over," Abdul Hameed Reeki, chief spokesman of the Jundallah or Brigade of God group, told the Sunday Telegraph, slowly drawing an index finger across his neck to demonstrate the seriousness of his intent. The deadline for the men is tomorrow. The...

Army's mercy mission to save baby January 02, 2006 ATLANTA: An Iraqi baby with a life-threatening birth defect has arrived in the US for medical treatment after being sent by American soldiers who found her during a raid on her family's home. Three-month-old Baby Noor, as she is called in the US media, was taken by ambulance to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia, a pediatric hospital that is donating surgery and other care for the infant. Noor al-Zahra was born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal column fails to completely close, leaving part of the spinal...

Elijah, mighty man of God, Sat under a broom tree, Feeling sorry for himself. He was all alone, Fleeing from Jezebel, Despite the fire from heaven on Mount Carmel. But God spoke to him, saying “Eat and drink, and keep moving, Seven thousand have not bent the knee to Baal.” Jonah, preacher to Nineveh, Sat under a gourd, Feeling sorry for himself For Nineveh would not be destroyed Which was his heart’s desire But God spoke to him, Saying, “And should I not feel sorry for them? They do not know Me.” Jesus, son of Joseph, Knelt in a garden,...

Shortly after Michael and Cathryn Borden of Lititz, Pa., were slain by their daughter's boyfriend (David Ludwig), family and clergy – at least those who presented themselves to the media – indicated their readiness to forgive little Lizzie, I mean Kara Borden. Forgiveness at least implies some acknowledgment of wrongdoing. The media, for the most, wouldn't even impugn the girl. After the shootings, Borden hopped into her beau's get-away car. She told him she wanted to "get as far away as possible, get married and start a new life." Only after Borden was confronted with surveillance cameras did she confess...

Attorneys for the parents of a deceased 4-year-old boy say hospital intimidated witness. WILKES-BARRE (PA) – Officials from Mercy Hospital used “threats and intimidation” toward a former employee expected to offer testimony criticizing the hospital’s treatment of a 4-year-old boy who later died, attorneys said. The attorneys, from the law firm of Hourigan, Kluger and Quinn, called the hospital’s acts “scare tactics” used to intimidate the witness, former nurse Andrea Shaw, as part of the its ongoing effort to hide the improper care the hospital staff provided to the boy, leading to his death. The claim came from attorney Michelle...

Folks, in view of our recent national tragedy, I want to reproduce for you the Catholic Encyclopedia's article on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and remind all of us that this teaching has never, ever has gone out of style. It remains a divine mandate that we pursue these works of mercy every way we can: Mercy as it is here contemplated is said to be a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune. It is the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas that although mercy is as it were the...

(AgapePress) - Two Christian leaders in New Orleans are testifying to God's mercy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One suggests that the death toll could have been much higher had it not been for God's mercy -- and the other that God may have used the hurricane to purge wickedness from the city. Chuck Kelley is president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, with facilities located near the southern banks of Lake Pontchartrain and in Chalmette, east of the city. Baptist Press reports that Kelley now finds himself homeless and with only a few personal belongings following Hurricane Katrina's...

WILL SUICIDE BOMBERS OBTAIN HEAVEN? Those who seek to terrorize others by killing themselves along with innocent people can never be assured of reaching Heaven. Among those in the Sacred Scriptures who committed suicide is Judas. And through the Word of God we know he lost his soul: “And Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, one of the twelve” (Luke 22:3). “And he indeed hath possessed a field of the reward of iniquity, and being hanged (Judas hung himself), burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out....So that the field is called....’The field of blood‘”...

(IsraelNN.com) Channel 10 TV on Friday night will air its video footage depicting Negev police commander Brigadier-General Miso Shacham. Speaking to the area border police commander, Shacham is recorded instructing his forces to beat anyone who breaks away from the Kfar Maimon group, seeking to enter Gush Katif. He called for the indiscriminate use of the water cannon, giving him authority to do so without hesitation or approval, as well as telling him to use batons and “hit them hard, blows to the lower extremities to teach them a lesson”. The documented footage includes a fair share of vulgarities and...

God Names Me His Beneficiary! Into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. (1 Peter 1:4) I'M A RICH MAN - God Himself has named me His beneficiary! I came to the conclusion long ago that a Christian who places a proper value upon the true riches of eternity will have little inclination to fret and worry about being remembered here in some relative's last will and testament. Peter deals with this matter of the reality of the divine benefits, describing our future inheritance with the words "that can never perish, spoil or fade." He indicates that those...

Isaiah 55:7-9 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God; for He will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Seventh Day Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy*, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death. Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those...

Terri Schiavo, Martyr, By: Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC The news out of Pinellas Park, Florida breaks the hearts of all decent people. It should shake us to the core. Terri Schiavo is dead, intentionally deprived of food and water, with the force of the raw power of government holding the hands of the executioners. She was killed deliberately, by starvation and dehydration. No Court, Legislative body or Chief Executive had the courage to stop this killing. She was deprived of her substantive due process rights by every branch of government. Terri was not dying. She was not...

He was the commander of the Aggressors. An ass-kicking group of tankers out of the 1st Armored Division. He got the bullet hole in his flak vest the old fashioned way – in the dark of the night on some Iraqi back street. And when Najaf fell he was the one who told the world about the 40 insurgents they had to take out to make it so. He’s on trial this week. For something just short of murder. His name is Capt. Roger Maynulet. A 30-year-old out of the ROTC program at Champaign-Urbana. By all accounts he is a...

John 20: 1-16 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him!”So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the...

IN HER 1993 NOVEL The Children of Men, P.D. James depicts the world of 2021. A mysterious infection has rendered humanity infertile--the last baby is believed to have been born in 1995--yet British authorities move forward with their program of "voluntary" euthanasia for the elderly and others who cannot meet society's standards for "quality of life." The euthanasia program, called the Quietus, involves an inspirational, music-accompanied mass march into the sea, and is depicted by the authorities as pleasant, gentle, even euphoric. But a single old woman changes her mind at the last minute, and has to be clubbed to...

I see no reason whatsoever that President Bush could not use his Presidential Pardon power to pardon Terri Schiavo. Our founding fathers granted the presidnet this power to protect the individual against evil in the judiciary. No mention is made between civil or criminal cases, and the only recourse from those opposed is the ballot box or impeachment.President Bush could pardon Terri Shiavo, pick her up in the presidential helicopter, and keep her in the Lincoln bedroom to guarantee her safety during rehabilitation. Terri's mother could file for divorce on her behalf. With access to Terri, the news media and...

p> The matter is admittedly not simple. But the Christian church has, at least until recent decades, spoken on it with a fairly unified voice. Here as in other issues related to human life and sexuality, the Roman Catholic Church has done a good job of defining and sticking by its official position. On the other hand, at the grassroots, more conservative Protestants than Catholics or any other group of Christians have taken an uncompromising position against euthanasia—to put it in the language of the Catholic Catechism, "an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in...

WHAT BETTER WAY TO SPEND EASTER WEEK??? Everyone GO and try to give Terri water in person. They've already arrested one Catholic worker. Four other Saturday or Sunday. Are there only five trying? Imagine if by tonight tens and hundreds of THOUSANDS are showing up being arrested as they try to give this innocent woman water. And tomorrow. And the next day.

Prayer for Terri Schiavo and the Schindlers In to your hands, O Lord, we commit our dear sister Terri and her loving family. Strengthen them, O Lord, for the days and tasks ahead, open the doors that the dark one has tried to shutter close and have mercy on this family. Bring mercy and wisdom to the minds of those who deal with her. May the judges who wrestle with these issues be gifted with respect for mercy and life. Terri and her family are such a symbol of life, of it's preciousness, and of the evil that men do...

Please pray for a friend's mom who has died. She was very dear to him and raised him to be a good Christian. He is a FReeper (sock). There is also a thread on Angelqueen where he frequents if you would like to post there.

The court-martial of a 1st Armored Division captain accused of murdering an Iraqi man last year is set to begin March 28, according to Army officials. If coverage of the preliminary hearings last fall is any indication, the trial of Capt. Rogelio M. Maynulet should generate great interest among servicemembers and the media. Some view the case as “an act of mercy” to a dead or dying man, while Army prosecutors maintain it was murder. Maynulet is charged with premeditated murder and dereliction of duty relating to the May 21 death of a man believed to be associated with the...