Taiwan | Holy Smack

The foe of my foe is my friend. That’s how the logic goes. If it’s true, then voters have some serious thinking to do for this 2020 doomsday election. Catholics and other Christians vying for Joe Biden should consider these points, since if President Trump is your enemy, then it seems to follow that others opposed to Trump are your allies in a common cause.

One ally in your camp is witches who have been throwing monthly hexes and spells on Trump since 2017. Occultists conjured evil spirits again to hex Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings, which an exorcist countered with his own prayers. At last, their satanic sacrifices paid off when Trump caught Covid-19, so the witches claim and believe. Ironically, the occultists actually think they are doing good by calling on evil sources for help. I don’t think they know who they’re dealing with.
The Democrat Party of today is funded and defended furiously by Planned Parenthood (PP) and other abortion advocates. These organizations may also provide other services for women, such as cancer screening and medication, but any organization that does so while also aborting children renders all its good works null. Imagine defending a government because it built schools, hospitals, parks, and campsites, but also murdered millions of Jews on the side. That analogy isn’t uncalled for, since PP’s founder was a racist and eugenicist who wanted non-whites aborted from society. But let’s hear directly from a former award-winning PP director herself:
The turmoil in Hong Kong (HK) and tension between China and Taiwan reveals even more about Trump’s policies. During the height of Hong Kong’s protests against Communist China, many HK citizens flew the American flag, sang the American anthem, and even praised Trump by name: As for Taiwan, the underdog against China in its fight for the right to exist, Trump’s relationship and support for the island and its pro-freedom president (a woman, nonetheless) is praiseworthy.

All this is not to say, however, that Trump is a perfect man. Like all humans, Trump is flawed on many levels and has a past. Yet, these three issues reveal that his fiercest opponents are far worse, among them including genocidal dictatorships (who monitor and imprison millions of citizens), systematic racists and eugenic planners (who inspired Hitler), and occultists (who conjure demons for favors).

Thus, the enemy of these enemies is my friend. And I am shocked to this day that Trump has became the leader who has dared to boldly poke these monsters in the eye. I never thought Trump would be worthy of support, and even if you aren’t convinced yet, remember that I know what you think. I was there before. Here’s another man who was there before, and became convinced:

I’ll be praying and fasting for the man’s continued conversion. May God use Donald J. Trump and all of us for His Kingdom.

Blessings this Feast Day of St. Raphael the Archangel.

Humankind is expressed in many different cultures.

The Faith of the Catholic Church is also expressed in many different cultures, different forms, different rites. And since the Lunar New Year (aka: Chinese New Year, Tết, and Spring Festival) is today, I thought to share a few photos (from a photographer by the name of Tommy Chiu) of a beautifully expressed Taiwanese-Chinese Catholic Church, in the fullness of religious freedom (click the photos to zoom in!):

[The view from the street! Notice how warm it looks... lush plants, subtropical... definitely not amidst polar vortex.]

[The view from the street! Notice how warm it all looks… lush plants, subtropical… definitely not amidst polar vortex.]

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[Look! There’s a mural! You can tell by the clouds this ain’t Medieval or European or American or anything like that. Betcha neva seen Jesus look like that before!]

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[But we all know the real razzle-dazzle of a reverently raised Catholic church is inside! I mean, Benedict XVI did say that stained windows look dark and dreary outside, but from within… BAM!]

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[The ceiling! There ain’t an inch untouched by brush in this church! That’s what I’m talkin bout! The beauty of God moves us to create beauty!]

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Now there’s a lot going on up here, but let me tell you about one thing: the golden dragons. In Chinese culture, a dragon is not some wicked serpent of fire-breathing tendencies. Instead, Chinese dragons are benevolent, wise, generous, and celestial, yet also powerful and terrifying. In a word: angelic! I believe that us Chinese would have represented the angels in Heaven as dragon-like, not human-like (as the Western cultures have beautifully done, however).

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[Here we are, gazing up as we move through the nave.]

[Here we are, gazing up with childlike wonder as we move through the nave.]

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Notice the Christian symbols in all the circular frames on the ceiling? Also, the icons of the Stations of the Cross lining the wall, just below the windows?

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[Red columns support the ceiling here, probably columns of wood since Traditional Chinese architecture for sacred spaces tended toward precious woods (like teak) rather than precious stones.]

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[Looking up at the sanctuary, we see a Chinese depiction of the Holy Trinity: God the Father in the center, God the Son (left), and God the Holy Spirit (right).]

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The Son (Jesus Christ) is holding a lamb, the Holy Spirit has a dove, and I actually can’t tell what the Father is holding in this icon. We also can see images of the Communion of Saints all surrounding the Trinity (One God of Three Persons) in a cloud of witnesses. I even think I see Adam and Eve, on the right, dressed in fig leaves.

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[Peering up, we notice the doves descending, a sign of the Holy Spirit’s descent upon Christ at His Baptism, and at our baptism.]

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[The fresco here, right above and behind a very Chinese tabernacle, illustrates the Last Supper. Can you tell Jesus and His Apostles are using chopsticks?]

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[Then of course, we tun around and see what’s behind us: a mural of God in Creation-mode, among other stories and saints.]

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You can see the Seven Days of Creation account here, one “day” represented in each circle. The 8th and 9th Stations of the Cross are also visible: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (left) and Jesus falls the third time (right). Along the bottom, we see various saints.

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