NEW YORK I cant breathe! the crowd chanted, invoking the dying words spoken by George Floyd as a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck.

Kianna Ruff yelled it over and over along with hundreds of fellow protesters as they marched for hours through New York City, a kind of collective mantra that touched someplace deep inside those present.

I just started choking and I broke down, the 28-year-old activist and minister said. And I do feel like that that was also a spiritual experience that Ive never experienced before.

The demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism that have raged in the wake of Floyds killing are often led by young people who find a sense of purpose, ritual and community on the streets. Many involved say the protests deepen spiritual connections and embody familiar elements of traditional faith.

The demonstrators kneel. They observe mournful moments of silence. They break into call-and-response: What do we want? and Justice! From Los Angeles to New York, Milwaukee to Minneapolis, they stand shoulder-to-shoulder and find common cause in their shared fervor.

I can say this is liturgy in the street, said the Rev. Jacqueline Lewis, pastor of the Middle Collegiate Church in New Yorks East Village. This is church in the street, it is song in the street, it is lament in the street. The tears are in the street.

When the kids say, Black Lives Matter! Lewis continued, thats a prayer.

Americans are becoming less religious in the formal, traditional sense, and the trend is more marked among young adults, according to Pew Research Center surveys from recent years. Young people, who make up a core part of the protesters, are less likely to pray daily, attend religious services or believe in God.

Still, surveys show younger Americans are just as spiritual as their older counterparts, and many have found other expressions of faith outside formal religion.

In its How We Gather study, Harvard Divinity School researchers documented wide-ranging spiritual communities for the young ranging from Afro Flow Yoga and dinner churches to public meditation groups.

Fears about the future have also led many to activism. Tens of thousands walked out of schools in 2018 to demand action on gun violence in one of the biggest student protests since the Vietnam era. Inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, hundreds of thousands marched worldwide in 2019 demanding urgent action on climate change.

This year that has manifested in the struggle against police brutality and racism.

All of these issues intersect because they all disproportionately impact Black people, said 19-year-old Aalayah Eastmond, who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, became a gun-control activist and is now organizing protests against racial injustice with the group Concerned Citizens of D.C.

Her group begins demonstrations with a collective prayer thats inclusive of nonbelievers, she said the point is closeness and togetherness.

We stand in a circle and one person just prays for us to one, be safe in the middle of these protests, because they can get very violent. ... And for folks to really feel empowered and moved while theyre protesting, Eastmond said.

Nationwide, the demonstrations have tended to be diverse in terms of markers like generation, ethnicity and gender, but Ruff, a graduate of the divinity school at Union Theological Seminary in New York, said community thrives despite such differences.

Its about being in those groups and feeling that energy, you know, that God wants you there, Ruff said.

And theres so many people, she added. Whether they believe what you believe or not, thats not whats important. Whats important is the common goal.

During a recent Buddhists For Black Lives Matter march in Los Angeles, Tahil Sharma walked with others in a slow, wordless procession whose silence had a similarly powerful effect as the chanting of other demonstrations.

That march was so different. ... The emotional swelling that we felt of every second passing as we were breathing and praying was a reminder of the seconds of air that George Floyd was gasping for, said Sharma, a 28-year-old interfaith activist born to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother.

Many demonstrations have seen protesters honoring the dead by reciting their names in what resembles a litany.

Another common element is the creation of spaces explicitly or implicitly spiritual in nature and symbolism: In Minneapolis, protesters set up a floral altar memorial at the site where Floyd died, while in Houston, a newly painted mural depicts him with an angelic halo and wings.

People bring in pictures, flowers, theyre burning candles, incense, making music and really kind of creating a physical space where theyre holding the spirit of a loved one, said Casper ter Kuile, author of The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices.

Theres a really interesting kind of lived religion, as sociologists would call it, on the streets within these protests, ter Kuile said.

In Milwaukee, a Muslim artists collective recently spent hours painting a mural depicting a family on a sofa under the words: Our Kids Will Not Be Next, as passing drivers honked horns in solidarity.

Art is a perfect middle ground for people to unite, said Amal Azzam, the 27-year-old co-founder of Fanana Banana, which organized the event. Milwaukee is a very segregated city. ... These are the things that help connect the communities.

Thats a sentiment shared by Sharma, in Los Angeles, who became involved in interfaith literacy and social justice following the 2012 deadly shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

When I see that entire world marching with me to fight for the rights of others, I feel I am in prayer, he said. When we shut down systems of oppression together, acknowledging our differences for a common cause, thats when I know my prayers are being answered.

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Faith in protest as young people find fervor on the street - La Grande Observer

Some of the key creators behind the beloved Suikoden franchise are attempting to crowdfund a spiritual successor. Today, a new team called Rabbit & Bear Studios announced an upcoming Kickstarter campaign to fund Eiyuden Chronicle, a roleplaying game designed to evoke PlayStation-era nostalgia. The campaign will debut on July 27th, and the team is led by Yoshitaka Murayama, director and writer on the first two Suikoden titles. This is a new title for me, Murayama tells The Verge. Or rather is a combination of all my experiences as a creator and trying to expand on that base.

Aside from Murayama, Rabbit & Bear features an impressive list of talent. That includes: Junko Kawano, the lead artist on Suikoden 1 and 4; Junichi Murakami, art director on Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow; Suikoden Tactics director Osamu Komuta; and composers Motoi Sakuraba and Michiko Naruke.

Over the past years the core creators have met up at different events, and of course you talk about the glory days as well as regrets, Murayama says. One common thing that always came up was Isnt it about time we make a game for ourselves? Something we really want to make? Something we can make for the fans? And that dream provided the spark for this current project.

For fans of the Suikoden franchise which debuted in 1995 but has been dormant for many years the new game will sound very familiar. Eiyuden Chronicle is described as an ode to the classic JRPG genre from the PlayStation era that will feature classic JRPG exploration and battles in high-resolution 2.5D graphics with a story of war and friendship and a diverse cast of 100 unique heroes. If the crowdfunding campaign is successful, Eiyuden Chronicle is expected to launch in the fall of 2022 on PC, with other platforms possible depending on stretch goals.

Heres the basic premise, according to the studio:

Our story begins in one corner of Allraan, a tapestry of nations with diverse cultures and values. By dint of sword, and by way of magical objects known as rune-lenses, the lands history has been shaped by the alliances and aggressions of the humans, beastmen, elves, and desert people who live there. The Galdean Empire has edged out other nations and discovered a technology that amplifies the rune-lenses magic. Now, the Empire is scouring the continent for an artifact that will expand their power even further. It is on one such expedition that Seign Kesling, a young and gifted imperial officer, and Nowa, a boy from a remote village, meet each other and become friends. However, a twist of fate will soon drag them into the fires of war, and force them both to reexamine everything they believe to be right and true.

Of course, even with established creators at the helm, crowdfunded video game projects can go awry. Back in 2017, the creator of PaRappa the Rapper failed to crowdfund a spiritual successor due in part to the extremely early state of the game. Other projects have run into issues around funding and delays. Even with these concerns, Murayama believes a platform like Kickstarter is the best option for this type of game.

While people have their valid complaints about crowdfunding, it still provides one of the only ways to connect to your core fans, he says. Anyone who is passionate enough to invest in a project 2-3 years in advance and have that hope and belief in something is the type of fan that you want to collaborate with. They in turn motive you and can help us get to our dream of making that game we really want to make. Its hard to say whether people will choose to believe or to just doubt in this day and age, but every person who chooses to have faith in this project, I see as a hero. They are certainly the hero of my personal story.

That said, it doesnt sound like the studio has a backup plan in case crowdfunding falls through. When asked what would happen if the Kickstarter campaign failed, Murayama said Hopefully some rich benefactor will take me in and let me live in their house.

The Kickstarter campaign will kick off on July 27th and run through August 28th.

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Suikodens creators are crowdfunding a spiritual successor - The Verge

An unidentified character from Halo Infinite. (Microsoft Xbox / 343 Industries Image)

Microsofts 343 Industries revealed more information Friday about its next game in the Halo franchise, the forthcoming Halo Infinite. In a series of closed Q&A sessions with journalists, held via Discord, 343s Chris Lee and Paul Crocker provided additional context and commentary for the campaign footage from Infinite that made its debut on Thursday mornings Xbox Games Showcase.

They described Infinite as not simply a sequel, but as a spiritual reboot to the series, and a platform that 343 can use to keep building on the Halo universe.

Microsoft is banking on Halo Infinite as a killer app for the new Xbox Series X, debuting later this year. Halo has been a tentpole franchise for the Xbox line of consoles for almost 20 years, dating back to the original game in 2001.

As part of the reboot, Infinites story campaign takes players back to basics. The high stakes and galactic scale of the last two games are, at least for now, gone. Youre once again playing as Master Chief, fighting your way across one of the Halo rings that named the franchise, up against a familiar array of Covenant aliens.

Specifically, youre fighting the Banished, a power-hungry splinter faction within the Covenant that was previously introduced in 2017s Halo Wars 2. The larger Covenant War is still over, but the Banished are still a going concern, and at the start of Infinite, have just captured a human research facility on a Halo construct. The Master Chief ends up stuck in the middle of Banished territory, under circumstances that have yet to be revealed, and is forced to shoot his way back out.

Infinite is still 100% a sequel to Halo 5, according to Crocker, but is also an attempt to distill much of the seriess traditional appeal into a single experience. The critical pillar of their design, as per Lee, is to draw on the entirety of the Halo franchise to date, to take all the things that worked and put them into Infinite at the point at which they were at their best.

When I first stepped out onto the ring in Halo: Combat Evolved all those years ago, Lee writes for Halo Waypoint, I was transported and immersed in a mysterious, awe-inspiring alien world extending into the sky With Halo Infinite, were now able to give players more freedom than ever before to explore a sprawling Halo ring.

Its a strange choice, but it explains the retro feel of the footage from the Showcase. The general idea behind Infinites design seems to be starting over, to try to recapture some of the original games impact and its difficult to overstate just how impactful the original Halo was, back in 2001 and use that as a basis for continuing to build out the Halo universe. They arent pushing the envelope here; theyre reinventing the wheel.

Lee and Crocker said that the map for Infinites campaign mode is several times bigger than that of Halo 4 and 5 put together, with more ways to explore it and rewards for doing so. Lee calls Infinite the most open, expansive campaign weve created, with the ability to reach and explore any area that you can see as you make your way across the ring.

While youll still have access to many of the traditional travel methods in Halo games, such as the seriess traditional human and alien vehicles, the big new addition introduced in the Showcase footage is the grapple shot. This is a retractable line built into the Chiefs gauntlet that lets you scale cliffs, rappel towards distant ledges, and pull both enemies and items over to yourself. The grapple shot lets you find new ways around the battlefield, to find your way to distant locations or spring sudden ambushes on enemy positions.

Youll also have access to a personal cover item that 343 calls a Drop Wall, a portable energy shield that you can use to deflect gunfire or even grenades. Both the grapple shot and the Drop Wall will be accessible in the games multiplayer modes, but as item pickups rather than standard character equipment.

Infinite runs on a new engine called Slipspace, named after the warp drives that power the Halo universes spaceships, which offers a previously-impossible degree of visual fidelity. This is a big reason why so much of the Showcase footage of Infinite was focused on the games new antagonist, the Banished warlord Escharum. His face by itself represents more fine detail in its character model than past Halo games were capable of, which opens up a lot of options for a virtual actor.

That in itself is significant. In a franchise thats traditionally known for high spectacle and pitched firefights, the big trailer moment for Infinite so far is a scene where an alien trash-talks you for a solid 90 seconds. Its a well-rendered, expressive alien, in a scene that wouldnt have been as colorful or detailed on the Xbox One, but its a strange choice for a trailer that was expected to showcase the technical might of the new Xboxs flagship title.

In fact, Infinite so far is a rough collection of strange choices. Microsoft has spent the better part of the last year hyping up the Xbox Series X as the most powerful video game console ever released, but its hotly-anticipated flagship title is a deliberate throwback to a 19-year-old game that, in the most extensively curated clip they could put together, still looks borderline retro.

However, the strategy behind Infinite also seems to mirror that of Microsoft with the Games Showcase itself. Both the Series X and Halo Infinite are foundation stones, seemingly built as something that Microsoft and 343 can build upon rather than as traditional products. The general thrust of the games shown at Thursdays Showcase was primarily towards their variety and accessibility, while Infinite is being specifically built as an easy jumping-on point that 343 can proceed to iterate upon.

Halo Infinite is still scheduled to release as a launch title for the Xbox Series X, the release date for which is still an unspecific point in the 2020 holiday season.

Infinite is the sixth mainline game in the Halo franchise, which began in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved. Set in the 26th century, the games initially tell the story of an interplanetary conflict between Earths United Nations Space Command and an alien coalition called the Covenant. While the Human-Covenant War ended with 2007s Halo 3, later games and related material have dealt with the events that followed the war. The franchises name comes from the Halo rings, a series of alien-built habitats that have provided the settings for several of the games, and which turned out to be the firing elements in an ancient super-weapon.

Originally developed by the Bellevue, Wash.-based studio Bungie, Halo was regarded as the killer app for the original Xbox, and the games in the franchise are a significant driver of the Xboxs overall success as a platform.

In addition to the previous core games in the series, Halo also includes a line of best-selling novels, comics, and animated films, in addition to spin-offs like the strategy-based Halo Wars. Halo is currently developed by the Microsoft-owned 343 Industries, based in Redmond, Wash.

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Preview: Halo Infinite is a spiritual reboot of the linchpin Xbox series - GeekWire

Khawla Ali (Dubai)

The consequences of the Corona pandemic affected the atmosphere and rituals of the feast, and made us express our joy with its minimalistic solutions, committed to wearing the new, and willing to draw the features of this day, which looks different from the image we used to. We have come to realize the value of compassion and the importance of visiting, at a time when we are responsible towards ourselves and our community for adhering to preventive measures, to the extent that guarantees us and others safety. It remains for the feast, the glory and spirituality that we feel with the enlargements that the minarets shout in the morning, and our tongues rage behind it, cheering and arrogant, for it is the holiday that refuses to give up his spirituality in all circumstances.

In this context, Sheikha Al-Hajri (housewife) explains: We did not accustom the holiday to be from a distance, but we insist that we live in an atmosphere by adhering to showing rituals, and communicating even if it is electronic, so that we can bring joy to our children and our families, draw the joy of the feast, and create a beautiful atmosphere At home, away from the daily routine.

Our authentic customsAs Al-Yazia Al-Hosani (educational) says: The borders that we are forced to sometimes compel us to look around, instead of far away. And with the pandemic, we realized the importance of estimating things that we considered simple. Such as communication and its beautiful effect on souls, such as handshaking, kissing the heads of the elderly, family sharing dishes, and other behaviors that bring joy and joy and express the concept of the feast. On the other hand, we realized the huge amount of extravagance that we used to follow during the holidays, took simplicity, went back to our original customs, and wore the traditional dress (mkhawir), and we spent time with the most important people in our lives, whether through visual contact, or limited visits Among the first-class family, what emptied our minds of preoccupation with luxuries, and life became simpler than we imagined, and we became more concerned with moral matters, what was reflected on our souls, which became more light, and who knows? Maybe we will spend the holidays after the pandemic in new ways.

Self-discoveryJamila Al-Watani (lawyer) says: Eid, in any case, I returned, Eid What happened to a mother with an order in which you have renewal This house for the Mutanabbi in the Abbasid era, and with different times, this house stops us with the coming of Eid in light of the existential, psychological and physical spacing Imposed by the Corona pandemic, by its ability to set joys aside, including sticks, and some religious rituals, and forced us to meet by wearing gloves and avoiding handshaking, without deep embrace and spiritual smiles that appear behind the gags. And she explains: The passage of the two feasts in this case, perpetuates isolation, and steals the joy of attending the feast, but the conscious and productive man added a third feast to his life, which is the feast of challenge, when he comes out of forced isolation with important results, the first of which is creating an optimistic life model, and the second is transforming the laziness of isolation into a workshop Work, and expand the size of human and moral relations, and the third is self-discovery and self-confidence .

Positive thinkingHoda Al-Taher (housewife) confirms: The feast of 2020 will keep their memory alive. How can we forget holidays that coincided with the epidemic of the heart of the world upside down overnight, because the feeling and joy of the feast is not consistent with the word epidemic? The solution of Eid Al-Adha and the world is still Im walking the atmosphere of Covid 19, but we thank God, we lived the previous Eid Al-Fitr in the same circumstances, but we learned a lot from him, yes the Tarawih prayer did not take place in the mosques, but I will not forget my children rotating their Imam daily at home, and its conclusion with Eid prayer at home for the first time in My life, yes, it is an epidemic, we ask God to remove it from us, but it taught us to define the priorities of life: family, health and education. For her part, Maryam Fakhro (plastic artist) says: things differ from one person to another in how to deal with the events around him, the global epidemic imposed isolation on us, so that we remain safe, but in return, he charted for us a more positive way in our life, we looked at Aspects we were ignorant of, or we were not aware of its value, such as getting to know the neighbors, because the fast pace of life put us in a whirlpool, but the time of Corona was a real pause with the soul, during which we practiced a lot of sports activities, and interaction increased with the family, and we became delighted with the beauty of nature, And we realized the value of things around us. Live the moment and enjoy the positive energy in your bodies, minds and hearts, and fill life with love and generosity, she adds.

Half of the cup is fullIsraa al-Samarrai (university professor) says: These events that happen to us, make us recall the hadith of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him: Whoever of you becomes safe in his swarm, recovering in his body, has the strength of his day, as if the world has attained it with its fountains. Praise be to God for That is, if we program our thoughts in this way, we will be happy with what God has given us, and look at the full half of the cup, then we will feel the pleasure of what we are in, and forget what else is, so our awareness is what makes us happy, or unhappy. It is true that a feast has passed and a holiday is feast, and the world is still suffering due to the spread of the Coronavirus, but we are still alive and enjoying our health, and if we were not with pilgrims on a regular basis, we can be proud and satisfied while we are in our homes, and we feel the pleasure of that, To draw closer to God through various obedience, which in turn brings satisfaction, tranquility and calm to ourselves, and this is the height of happiness. She added: To adapt to our current circumstance, by taking the precautionary precautions and the obligation to protect ourselves and our families from the threat of the virus, explaining: This epidemic will go, and we will return to our normal life, which we did not feel its pleasure previously.

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The spirituality of the vacations is agency regardless of Corona - Pledge Times

In the 1990s Harold Caballeros was minister of a church of 350 members in Guatemala City. It was growing and going well, and they had found valuable real estate at an affordable price on one of the main avenues of the city. Caballeros exulted that it was an absolute miracle.

Then everything went wrong. As he prayed one day in his office, leaning on a stool in front of a bureau, the stool began to elevate and then disappeared. In its place lay an enormous coiled white snake. As it came alive, furious and menacing, its eyes stared red, profound, and charged with hate. Caballeros began to tremble with fear. It is true that in my work as a pastor I had participated in deliverances, he reported. He had seen demonic manifestations, but nothing compared with this moment.

Then, he said, the Lord Jesus Christ intervened. From within his own chest came a voice with power and authority. Isnt My name enough? Is the authority of My name not enough for you? Caballeros realized, I wasnt alone. He was with me.

Filled with hope and resolve, Caballeros approached the ten-meter-long snake. Though it betrayed no fear, the pastor rebuked it in the name of Jesus Christ. I could see that what the serpent was losing in confidence, I was gaining. Unexpectedly I could feel that fear had disappeared from me, and the serpent started to uncoil. The fight was tougher by the moment, and I soon saw fear it its eyes. I was obtaining victory. . . The serpent backed away and suddenly, traversing the wall, it went into the street.

Surprising even himself, Caballeros took chase, following the snake into the middle of Sixth Avenue. Continuing to rebuke it for several blocks, he finally ordered the serpent with all the authority he could muster, to flee. The intervention worked. He reported that the snake moved with greater speed by the moment, fleeing, afraid.

This spiritual experience fortified Caballeros for what came next. After El Shaddai Church began to build, the governments Institute of Institute of Anthropology and History put a halt to construction. The church stood on a pre-Columbian archaeological site: The Great Mound of the Snake of the Valley of Guatemala, which had been discovered only thirty years before.

Stuck, Caballeros began doing his own research which he said was guided by the Holy Spirit. He discovered that the Mound of the Snake was made by indigenous hands about two hundred years before Christ. Built in the form of an elongated pyramid, the mound was thirty meters wide, fifteen meters high, and twenty-two kilometers long. It was used ceremonially to honor Quetzalcoatl, the flying serpent.

Caballeros agreed with anthropologists that the Mound was significant. He disagreed with them about exactly how. To this Pentecostal pastor, the Mound signified a corruption of gospel truth. He explained:

Each year, during the spring solstice, this serpent undergoes a particular process. Its skin becomes opaque and dry, all its body acquires a gray-like color, a veil falls over its eyes, as would a cataract, and abruptly the viper breaks its covering, abandons it and emerges with a new skin, alive and fresh. The it adds a new rattle. This phenomenon is called caput zijil, which means, To be born again. If we add to this that the number four is the number of the sun and of Quetzalcoatlof whom is said that he died for his people and came back to life on the fourth daywe will see that we are facing a falsification of Christ

Caballeros further reported that for the Mayas, the cult of the serpent took on such importance that they went to the extreme of taking two tablets to pressure the skull of their children and, in the process, deform them. They would file down their childrens teeth and voluntarily make them cross-eyed, in an effort to make them physically similar to the serpent.

The most important moment in Caballeross research came when he and other church leaders spotted Quetzalcoatl in Hebrew scriptures. We could barely believe our eyes. Through the book of Isaiah, God was confirming our findings. The specific passage was Isaiah 14:29: Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpents root will come forth a viper, and its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. They also found Quetzalcoatl in Isaiah 30:6: The burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from which come the lioness and lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who shall not benefit them.

Caballeros determined that this prophecy had become terrifyingly true for the countries of Meso America. They had been handed over to, dedicated to, or given over to this evil spirit. The cultures of pre-Hispanic America had been given an inheritance of curse, darkness, and pain to the next generations. Instead of worshipping the true God, the Maya, Aztec, and Inca worshiped birds (the quetzal), animals (the jaguar), and reptiles (the rattlesnake). And they sacrificed humans. Caballeros explained, During all of the research process, our attention was powerfully drawn to the bloodthirstiness of that cultthe human sacrificesand the unique way in which the sacrifices were conducted.

What did this inheritance look like in Caballeross twentieth-century Guatemala? The equivalent to ancient human sacrifices, he maintained, was the radical politics of socialist guerrillas, who had destabilized society and caused economic problems. Significantly, Caballeros pointed out, the quetzal was the national bird and name of the currency. He wrote, The number of crotalic or serpentine symbols in them increased in direct proportion to the devaluation of the currency.

The bottom line: political virtue requires spiritual integrity. We understood, said Caballeros, that the intervention of the church is necessary to settle those ancestral problems spiritually if we want to see the freedom of our nations. . . . God was speaking to us, letting us know that the situation of our nation was due to spiritual circumstancesto the direct action of forces that were hidden to the human eyebut that are absolutely real.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Cabelleros conceived of a project called Jesus is Lord of Guatemala. He recruited a great army of intercessors who would redeem the nation from the hands of the enemy, and together they read the book Prayer, the Key to Revival by Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho. Based on this template, Caballeros held an exorcism in which he sought to expel Mayan spirits from strategic zones around the city. At one site, he killed an actual snake that stared hatefully at him from an aqueduct linked to ancient Mayan ruins.

It seemed to work. El Shaddai successfully built on the site, and attendance multiplied by seven in only two years. The church, said Caballeros, also grew in quality. It became a praying church, a warring church. When a member of the church, Jorge Serrano Elas, became a candidate for the presidency of Guatemala in 1991, the church prayed for his victory. Teams from El Shaddai fanned out to strategic cardinal points across the nation to clear the way of strongmen who might overtake Serrano in the polls.

When he won the election, Serrano called for a national exorcism. Members of El Shaddaialong with 75,000 other evangelicalsparaded through the streets of Guatemala City to declare to the principalities and powers that Jesus, not Maximn or any other false god, is Lord over Guatemala. This event represented an evangelical surge in a nation that was already the most evangelical in all Latin America after its Protestant population had risen from 2 percent to 40 percent in less than four decades.

This basic narrative comes from a chapter in a 2001 book published by Thomas Nelson called Victorious Warfare: Discovering Your Rightful Place in Gods Kingdom. Written matter-of-factly by Caballeros himself, How I Learned That Spiritual Warfare Exists is an exemplary articulation of Guatemalan Pentecostalism. It is impossible, says the chapter, to disentangle the material from the immaterial. Spiritual warfare can be found in everyday life. Prayer has material consequences. As Caballeros put it, Spiritual warfare really constitutes the normal way of life for the believers that have been redeemed by Christ from the slavery of the devil. Pentecostals believe that there is a spirit world populated by angels and demons warring over poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, and the soul of every human being.

Critics, noting that the story did not end with the election, do not agree. Serrano was exiled to Panama in disgrace after he illegally suspended the Constitution, imposed censorship, and dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court. Indeed, evangelicals have remained silent about the violence inflicted by their own. As scholar Maren Christensen Bjune has contended, Pentecostal participation in politics has not transformed politics as much as preserved the status quo. Others say that spiritual warfare eradicates the nations own heritage by blaming Mayan culture for negative, superstitious, and violent characteristics of Guatemalan culture.

Whatever the case, Guatemalan Pentecostalism enjoys far greater range than just Guatemala. El Shaddai now boasts 12,000 members in Guatemala Citybut also more than eighty branch churches in several countries in America and Europe. It enjoys close ties with the New Apostolic Reformation, a Pentecostal network with ties to Michele Bachmann, Sam Brownback, Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, and Ted Cruz. The Spiritual Warfare Network, which Caballeros helped develop, covers the globe, and one of its meetingsthe 2006 World Congress on Intercession, Spiritual Warfare, and Evangelismwas hosted by El Shaddai and included representatives from twenty-four nations.

Indeed, what is most striking to me is how transnational the spiritual warfare movement is. This story alone involves a Korean prophet, an American vice-presidential candidate, an Argentinian pastor, and a Guatemalan president. The global circulation of religious ideas and practices, on overdrive since the Immigration Act of 1965, continues even during 2020 pandemic. In the last few months Caballeross podcasts and Youtube sermons on a range of issues related to spiritual warfare have been getting a lot of play in Guatemala, the United States (check out the books on his desk in this video), and around the world.

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Exorcising Quetzalcoatl: Spiritual Warfare in Guatemalaand Beyond - Patheos

On Tuesday 28 July, the Australian National Council of The Catenian Association and the Sisters of St Joseph announced that St Mary of The Cross MacKillop will become The Catenians Patron Saint for Australia on 8 August 2020, the Solemnity of the Saint.

The Catenian Association is an international fraternity of Catholic laymen. Founded in Manchester in 1908, it was established in Australia in 1971 and now has approximately 900 Australian members.

Speaking from the Mary MacKillop Chapel North Sydney following a Mass to celebrate St. Mary MacKillops feast day, the Associations Australian National President, George Kazs, said that following the beatification of Mary MacKillop in 1995, Australian Catenians have adopted the practice of seeking her intercession at the commencement of meetings and when new members join the fraternity.

Since then, Sisters of the Congregation through their generous support have enriched the spiritual life of Catenians through encountering the charism of St Mary MacKillopher faith in a loving and provident God, her uniquely Australian response to Gods call to provide for those in need, her respect for the dignity of all and her affection for her Sisters and for those she served.

These encounters have opened Catenians to the possibility that life as a Catenian can be lived with a uniquely Australian spirituality within an international context. That, like St Mary MacKillop, a Catenian can be truly Australian and strive to be genuinely holy, he said.

Through her example of prayerful and attentively listening for the movement of the Holy Spirit, Australian Catenians have discerned that an Australian expression of Catenian spirituality is a spirituality of interdependence, one lived through faith, friendship, respect and service. A spirituality that reflects the charism of St Mary MacKillop.

The Association wished to acknowledge that the Australian expression of Catenian spirituality reflects the charism of St Mary MacKillop by adopting her as its Patron Saint for Australia and requested the Congregation to support it in making this acknowledgment.

The Congregation has agreed to support the Association in acknowledging its adoption of St Mary of The Cross MacKillop as its patron Saint for Australia by its representatives joining with members of the Association in a ritual of adoption held at the Saints tomb during the celebration of a Mass of her Solemnity on 27 July 2020 and by joining with the Association in announcing its adoption of the Saint as its Patron Saint for Australia.

Speaking after the Mass Sister Monica Cavanagh RSJ, the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of St Joseph, said that the Sisters are delighted to share this occasion with the Catenians. She went on to observe that from the earliest days of the Institute Mary MacKillop recognised the importance of establishing partnerships with people who supported her work and mission. Mary MacKillops way of living the gospel in our Australian context aligns closely with values at the heart of what it means to be a Catenian. Her practical down to earth spirituality has much to offer the work of the Catenians in Australia today.

With thanks to the Australian National Council of The Catenian Association.

Excerpt from:

St Mary of The Cross MacKillop the Patron Saint for Australian Catenians - Catholic Outlook

Cosmic Health is your day-by-day source of celestial advicewith a wellness twist. Astrologer Jennifer Racioppi looks to the stars to find out whats in store for your week when it comes to food, fitness, sleep, sex, and more. See All

With the sun zooming through the early degrees of Leo, and the last week of July upon us, its time to make the most of the summer, pandemic in tow. With just a few weeks of peak-season sun left, its essential to find joy where ever you can and to savor those moments. Thankfully, astrologically speaking, the next few days allow for an enhanced experience of spiritual well-being. Even with a cardinal square brewing between Mercury in Cancer, Mars in Aries, and the ongoing stellium in Capricorn, there are uplifting aspects, like Mercury square Mars, that are worthy of highlighting and leaning into.

For starters, on Monday, Neptune, the planet of dreams, makes a sextile to Jupiter in Capricorn. When Neptune sextiles the biggest and most expansive planet in the sky, you can quite possibly catch a wave of spiritual growth. Neptune in Pisces offers a sense of transcendence, and as he approaches this harmonious angle to Jupiter, which perfects on Monday at 12:06 p.m., ET, your intuition, emotional awareness, and ability to visualize amplifies.

On the same day, Venus in Gemini makes a square to Neptune. While a square often indicates a challenge or challenges, in this situation, it amplifies the mystical. Venus is now making her third square to Neptune, with previous squares having occurred on May 3rd and May 20th. Since this is the third in the sequence (due to her retrograde in Gemini), we can potentially experience a deep spiritual knowing akin to awakening.

Venus squaring Neptune invites in the dream. After months spent refining and coming to a deeper understanding of the personal values that guide your life, its essential to now claim the essence of what youve refined since early Maya perfect activity for the waxing moon. Take a moment and reflect on what youve learned. Pay attention to what you are releasing, and connect to the new dream emerging from within.

To tap into the essence of Jupiters sextile to Neptune and the planet of dreams square to Venus, check out Taylor Swifts latest album, Folklore,which she surprise released last week, right after the sun moved into Leo. Its lyrically, sonically, and thematically on point with these transits, serving both as a therapeutic source and artistic inspiration. Like the week ahead, it embodies a whimsical, soft but deep and true to self essence of magic. The highest calling under these transits is to animate the soul voice within, possibly even unleashing your inner artist. No matter what inspires youSwift or notseek art that uplifts your soul.

As you do, you might find connection to the most pure impulse within to unlock your own mystical healingeven more so, with Mercury square Mars. Mercury represents analytical and communicative capacities, and is in Cancer, which rules the moon and represents cardinal water, which connects with emotions and the ability to self-nurture.

Mercury square Mars asks you to articulate the highest expression of your soul. In doing so, sadness may arise, as you recognize what needs to change or has already changed, as well as any losses you are still reconciling.

Mars represents dynamic action and accelerates opportunities for growth. Mercury square Mars asks you to articulate the highest expression of your soul. In doing so, sadness may arise, as you recognize what needs to change or has already changed, as well as any losses you are still reconciling. Remember, grief and pain are an important part of life. They are essential and a part of any spiritual awakening. While Marss position on Monday and throughout the entire week ahead is antagonistic, its important to lean into his antagonism. Let Mars provoke your yearnings, your drive, your determination, your feelings, and, most importantly, your passion.

As the week goes on, Mercury opposes Jupiter and Pluto, bringing more unseen and/or unintegrated emotions to the surface. Should insecurities arise, trust they are leading you to make choices that advance your healing. At the same time, Mercury will trine Neptune, bringing even more mystical vibes, unlocking your access to your own healing magic. Again, art, self-expression, and tuning into the voice of your soul are essential.

Come Friday, the sun in Leo trines Chiron in Aries. This is a very special moment. The sun in Leo asks you to tune into where you are meant to shine. Chiron in Aries asks you to look at the wounding that holds you back from self-expression. This combination of Mercury opposing Jupiter and Pluto while squaring Mars (forming a cardinal square), while trining Neptune, at the time of the sun in Leo trining Chiron in Aries, is particularly potent.

It invites you to reconcile the pain that keeps you from healing. It serves as a key to leveraging your own experiences to become more compassionate, kind, and capable of assisting others on their healing journey. Ultimately though, its about liberation. Its about forgiving the past, and finding new ways to be with the present moment. Its about accessing the courage within to self-express, stay compassionate towards others, and use your pain as an access point into your power.

The theme of the week ahead is awakening. As the sun shines, and the heat encourages growth, joy, and pleasure, let yourself feel, play and create. In doing so, you may just find yourself attuned to new heights of spiritual awareness.

Jennifer Racioppiis the creator of Lunar Logica philosophy that integrates the deep wisdom of both science and spirituality, and blends her expertise in astrology, positive psychology, and womens healthwhich she uses to coach high-achieving female entrepreneurs to reach their next level of success. Pre-order her book,Cosmic Health(January 2021), here.

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The Spiritual Theme Of the Week Ahead Is AwakeningHeres Exactly What To Expect - Well+Good