Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 26, 2022 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
To endure whatever
comes
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
The first reading of the day tells of the call and ap-
pointment of little lad Jeremiah when he is being formed
in his mother’s womb. The Lord chooses
him, commissioning him to the nations,
where he is sometimes rejected. The
Gospel reading tells of the rejection of
Christ in His own native town. They can’t
take the truth He is telling them. None of
us has any great desire to hear the truth Fr. Thankachan
when it exposes unpleasant things about Joseph
ourselves. We, too, reject messengers
God sends us.
The Prophet Jeremiah (1:4-5, 17-19) lived at a time
when Israel was going through a difficult period; it was
threatened from within by corruption and from without by
a military superpower. The situation disturbed Jeremiah
because he loved his country. Perhaps that is why he was
called to be a prophet to his friends and neighbors. Jere-
miah accepted God’s call with great reluctance because
he knew the difficulty of being a prophet in one’s own
country. When Jeremiah preached, he told the people
bluntly that their only hope of survival was to reform their
lives and turn to God for help. Like Jeremiah, every one
of us is called to be a prophet, and often we are called
to confront our very neighbors and friends when they go
against God’s commandments and compromise on the
truth. It is very challenging and demanding, never easy
to be prophetic in one’s own neighborhood and one’s
own community. Yet we have to take a stand. Either we
stand for God, or we are against him. God gives us the
assurance that He will be with us.
The Gospel this week is a continuation of the passage
at which we stopped last week. This Sunday we take the
Gospel passage from Luke 4:21-30, the continuation of
the preaching ministry of Christ in the temple. We see
Him in His own hometown, Nazareth, teaching in the
synagogue and preaching the good news. His reputation
as a great teacher and preacher goes before Him and the
initial reaction is one of acceptance and praise by every-
one. They wonder at His gracious words, but when He
announces that “today this scripture has been fulfilled in
your hearing,” they are taken aback. How could this young
man whom they know so well presume to make such a
statement? Is he not just the son of Joseph the carpenter?
Who does he think he is? Jesus is well aware of the chang-
ing of the tide of public opinion against Him. After all,
He knew the old proverb: No prophet is accepted in his
own country. Jesus tries to broaden their understanding
of His role. He quotes the story of his favorite prophets
Elijah and Elisha having worked many miracles among
some non-Jews and being more favorably received by
them than by some Jews. The implication was that Jesus’s
mission cannot be limited to one people or one social or
religious group; He had come for all men. Their prejudices
and the narrow-mindedness prevented the Israelites from
discovering the prophet in their midst. They refused to
accept Jesus and His teaching; they thought they knew
better; they interpreted the scriptures to suit their way
of thinking. From these rejection perspectives, we can
conclude three insights from today’s scripture readings:
a) Rejection is part of the mission: Though Jeremiah
was called and consecrated by God himself while he
was in the mother’s womb, God warns him that he may
meet with rejection. This truth is emphasized by Jesus
in today’s Gospel: “No prophet is accepted in his own
country.” Rejection is part of the mission. The people of
Nazareth rejected Jesus because they were familiar with
His history. The Jewish Christians rejected Paul because
they believed he was interfering in their religious life
by relaxing the Law for the sake of the Gentiles. The
Scribes and the Pharisees rejected Jesus for their own
selfish motives.
b) The missionary can overcome the rejection: During
his call, Jeremiah is also assured that no one will prevail
over him because God will deliver him. It is because of
his trust in God’s assurance that Jeremiah could endure
all the hardship during his mission. Jesus, too, overcomes
His rejection by gently disappearing from the crowd.
After experiencing tremendous rejection from the Jews,
St Paul turns to the Gentiles and gives them the secret of
overcoming rejection, namely, the secret of love.
c) Rejection can redirect mission: A true missionary
does not give up. He consults God and redirects his
mission. Jesus brings home this point by referring to the
ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, both rejected
by their own people, but they catered to the needs of the
Gentiles. By directing the mission to the Gentiles, God
expects repentance on the part of the Jews, who, seeing
how foreigners benefit from the divine power working in
and through His prophets (and Jesus), may turn to Him
and believe in Him. Prophets tell the bitter truth, and
this is what gets them into trouble, but they are ready to
endure whatever comes.
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at a cost of $10. Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net.
“Crimson Contagion” organized
To the editor:
In August of 2019 un-
der the lead of Dr. Anthony
Fauci, the CDC, HHS, Na-
tional Security Council and
multiple pharmaceutical
and high level government
executives organized an
operation called “Crimson
Contagion.” The purpose
of “Crimson Contagion”
was to simulate “critical
infrastructure protection,
economic impact, social
distancing, scarce resource
allocation, prioritization of
vaccines and other counter
measures.” (Crimson Con-
tagion 2019 Functional Ex-
ercise After- Action Report,
Dept. of H.H.S Ja. 2020)
Two months later in Oct.
2019, under the leadership
of Bill Gates “Event 201”
the simulation of a world-
wide coronavirus pandemic
was fine tuned. In addi-
tion to the participants of
“Crimson Contagion” the
World Bank, World Eco-
nomic Forum, Bloomberg/
John’s Hopkins University,
Chinese Government, phar-
maceutical companies, CIA
and NSA and more attended
in the event also called the
“Great Reset.” “At Gates
direction the participants
role-played members of a
pandemic control council,
war gaming a contagion
that served as a pretext
for an insurgency against
American democracy. They
drilled a retinue of psycho-
logical warfare techniques
for controlling official nar-
ratives, silencing dissent,
forcibly masking large pop-
ulations and leveraging the
pandemic to promote mass
vaccinations.” (Event 201
centerforhealthsecurity.
org/ event201. Pandemic
Exercise Segment 4 Tran-
script.1)
Dr. Anthony Fauci and
Bill Gates, through control
of the CDC, NIH, NIAID,
WHO, HHS, big pharma,
the national media/news in-
stitutions and the American
government have teamed up
to essentially control fund-
ing for global biomedical
research, pharmaceutical
and vaccine patents, as well
as funding for American
research, hospitals, medical
universities, medical clinics
and even private practices.
(Biomedical Research, gao.
gov/ products/GA 0-21-
52) The power of control
of billions of dollars of
funding allows Dr. Fauci
“to craft and perpetuate the
reigning global narrative
and can fortify the canon
that he himself is science
incarnate.” (Daniel Payne,
John Soloman, Fauci Files:
Celebrated doc’s career
dotted with ethics, safety
controversies inside the
NIH. July 23, 2020) Doc-
tors, hospitals, news media,
government officials, etc.,
either sing the Fauci song or
lose their funding. I do not
judge these American citi-
zens, however their silence
in the face of this tyranny
is causing many to be con-
fused and/or deceived.
The truth of Dr. Fauci’s
reign as director of the Na-
tional Institution of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID) since 1984 and
now his reign as America’s
doctor must be scrutinized.
This man is more powerful
than any President or Com-
munist Dictator yet as an
unelected technocrat, Fauci
controls the fate of billions
of citizens of planet earth
through draconian diktats
imposed without legisla-
tive approval or judicial
review. “Under Fauci’s
leadership, the allergic,
HJSHS announces
first semester top
grades
The Heppner Junior/
Senior High School has
released the names of the
students receiving the top
grades for the first semester
of the 2021-2022 school
year. To be on the list, stu-
dents must attain at least a
3.5 GPA.
Students with a 4.0
GPA: Seniors: Harley An-
derson, Blake Carter, Julie
Dyer, Hannah Finch, Cody
Fletcher, Serena Hum-
phreys, Blane Mahoney
and Zabrena Masterson.
Juniors: Tyler Boor, Sam-
uel Finch, Paul Lindsay,
Trevor Nichols, Madison
Palmer, Daralynn Teeman,
Brooklyn Wilson and Kath-
erine Wilson. Sophomores:
Thomas Bales, Morgan
Cutsforth, Caden George,
Irelynn Kollman, Cameron
Proudfoot, Dailen Schul-
tz and Arianna Worden.
Freshmen: Hallee Hisler,
John Lindsay, Mason Orem
and Katie Spivey. Eighth
grade: Elizabeth Finch,
Lilyanna Nichols, Rylee
Palmer, Delilah Sauceda
and Loren Trujillo. Seventh
grade: Lincoln Ellsworth,
Claire Lindsay, Hailey Mc-
Daniel and Maya Payne.
Students with at least
a 3.5 GPA: Seniors: Conor
Brosnan, Hailey Cunning-
ham, Aundrea Pirtle, Zan-
der Fisher, Lillian Imes,
Brock Hisler, Kason Cim-
miyotti, Brian Lindsay,
Jace Coe and Kegan Stea-
gall. Juniors: Hailey Wen-
berg, Jacob Lentz, Kylie
Holden, Camryn Scrivner,
Dusty Robinson and Dae-
mon Worden. Sophomores:
Piper Kelton, Cade Cun-
ningham, Landon Mitch-
ell, Joseph Jensen, Nathan
Ellsworth and Hadlie Na-
tion. Freshmen: Jackson
Coiner, Jaime Cavan-Har-
ris and Makiyah Chris-
tian. Eighth grade: Caleb
George, Landon McMahon,
Augustus Cayce and Riley
Archer. Seventh grade:
Rebecca Ellsworth, Eli-
jah Quilter, Healy Hisler,
Caylan Proudfoot, Avree
Lathrop, Mason Seitz and
Natalie Piper.
Justice Court Report
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace, Glen Diehl,
has released the following
Justice Court report:
-Michael D Lynch, 63,
Heppner, was convicted of
driving while suspended,
fine $440.
-Jered L. Wicklund, 45,
Heppner, was convicted of
dog as public nuisance, fine
$265.
-William R. Brannon,
55, Heppner, was convicted
of violation of basic rule,
fine $265
-Rick W. Read, 78,
Heppner, was convicted of
careless driving, fine $235.
-James P. Milligan II,
33, Bend, OR, was convict-
ed of violation of basic rule,
fine $165.
autoimmune and chronic
illness, which Congress
specifically charged his
NIAID to investigate and
prevent has mushroomed
to afflict 57 percent of chil-
dren, up from 12.8 percent
when Dr. Fauci took over
the NIAID in 1984.” (Chil-
drenshealthdefense.org/
news, April 18,18) Chil-
dren born after Fauci’s
elevation to lead NIAID
are the sickest generation
in American history. Why?
Fauci’s control through
funding of the CDC, NHI,
big pharma, vaccine pat-
ents, and all regulatory
institutions “has left our
children drowning in a toxic
soup of pesticide residues,
high fructose corn syrup,
aspartame, and processed
foods, plus 69 mandated
vaccinations.” (cdc.gov/
vaccines/schedules 2021).
How has America fared
during the world Covid 19
pandemic under America’s
doctor Fauci? As of Sept.
30, 21 America’s death rate
from Covid 19 was 2,107
per 1 million, the worst
rate in the world. Germa-
ny’s rate was half at 1,126.
India was 327. Hong Kong
was 139. Under America’s
doctor Fauci there has been
an unprecedented decline
in life expectancy of two
years, roughly 8.5 times
higher than any other com-
parable western nation.
I exhort all Americans
that love our country, that
love our God blessed lib-
erty and way of life, un-
paralleled in the world to-
day, to purchase and study
Robert Kennedy Jr’s “The
Real Anthony Fauci.” The
hour of America’s great-
est peril has arrived. This
Covid pandemic has been
orchestrated to destroy the
liberty of the remaining
free citizens of the world.
Those citizens that refuse
to yield to this tyranny,
especially Christian’s that
will bow only to the Lord
Jesus Christ, are the only
threshold left to thwart this
‘beast’ system that is taking
over the world according to
prophecy in the Bible. On
January 12 the Washington
State board of Health will
make a determination to
apply current infectious dis-
ease WAC codes to include
all Washington citizens.
That means “Allowing lo-
cal health officers to use law
enforcement (WAC 246-
100-070) to force an emer-
gency order to involuntary
detain a person or group
of persons (families) to be
isolated in a quarantine fa-
cility (WAC 246-100-045)
following refusal to volun-
tarily comply with requests
for medical examination,
testing, treatment, counsel-
ing, vaccination (WAC 246-
100-040).” (WAC website)
Oregon will be next.
The German people
supported the oppression
of the Jews. They had been
deceived to believe they
would be protected. The
same oppression is happen-
ing to those that refuse to be
vaccinated with the govern-
ment controlled, unlabeled,
uninsurable and ineffective
Covid vaccinations. When
the Gestapo came for those
that agreed with blaming
the Jews (unvaccinated),
there was no one left to
protect them. Those that
refuse to yield to the lie of
the Covid 19 vaccine are
not the enemy, they are the
watchmen on the wall, the
standard bearers of liberty
and truth.
Stuart Dick, Irrigon
Go to story time, get
free book
Flood Town Books and
Morrow County 4-H are
collaborating for a three-
part story time series over
the next several months.
This Saturday at 11 a.m.,
families who join Andrea
at Flood Town Books for
story time will be given a
copy of the book, “Up in
the Garden, Down in the
Dirt” and will work with
4-H ambassadors to learn
about composting.
This will be a fun and
interactive opportunity for
all ages. For additional
information, contact Flood
Town Books at floodtown-
books@gmail.com.
BMCC releases fall
term honor roll
Blue Mountain Com-
munity College fall term
2021-2022 honor roll rec-
ognition went to the fol-
lowing full-time students
from Morrow and Gilliam
Counties:
President’s List (3.75
- 4.0 GPA): Gustavo Ama-
ya, Aramis Corpus, Keith
Fleming, Zoey Gilbert,
Brady Harrington, Barrera
Madrigal, Brian Mendo-
za, Carlos Meza, Katie
Mosqueda, Jake O’Brien,
Belen Ponce, Jason Rea,
Samantha Rea, Faith Ros-
en, Katelynn Sowa, Samuel
Strong, Miranda Wasser-
man.
Vice President’s List
(3.5 to 3.74): Lesly Anzo-
ra, Yazeli Ayala, Abigail
Bozarth, Kala Branson, Jes-
sica Cain, Leonel Carrillo,
Kassidee Cimmiyotti, Chad
Doherty, Coady Hepton,
Wyatt McNary, Ivonne
Navarro, Renee Peterson,
Noah Reaves, Alit Rosales.
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