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First Sunday of Lent: Reflect, repent as ‘sin and darkness’ show themselves in Russia-Ukraine war

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The 40 days of this 12 months’s Lenten season began this previous week, on Ash Wednesday, as Christian trustworthy everywhere in the world started the non secular commemoration of the 40 days that Jesus spent within the desert, when he was repeatedly tempted by Devil.

“This 12 months, the knowledge and cautions of Lent are heightened by the violence and uncertainty coming from Ukraine.”

Referencing these 40 days spent in prayer and preparation by Jesus forward of his public ministry, Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, a priest at Our Woman of Grace Parish in Indian Land, South Carolina, instructed Fox Information Digital that Christians ought to use this time period to work on their very own non secular renewal.

ASH WEDNESDAY, START OF LENT: WHEN ‘WORLD IS A MESS, WE MUST TURN TO GOD’

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They will do that via “prayer, fasting and almsgiving,” mentioned Kirby.

The first Sunday in Lent is additionally known as Quadragesima Sunday, which is derived from the Latin phrases which means “fortieth,” as this first Sunday is precisely 40 days earlier than Easter. 

A person’s arms are proven in prayer. All through all of Lent, we’re urged to “repent and consider within the Gospel,” mentioned Fr. Jeff Kirby of South Carolina. 

There are six Sundays in all in Lent, together with Palm Sunday.

LENT: WHAT IS IT AND WHY DO WE OBSERVE IT?

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The observance of Lent in its entirety retains the eyes of the trustworthy on God and on his guarantees contained within the Bible, mentioned Fr. Kirby, creator of the brand new guide, “Glory Unto Glory: A Primer on Ascetical Theology.”

“What’s going to we do with the reward of life?”

“On Ash Wednesday, the stark reminder was on condition that we’re mud and unto mud we will return,” he mentioned.

Ash Wednesday this past week marked the start of Lent this year — and at a time when there is such tragedy and violence occurring in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, we need to turn to God more than ever, urges one Catholic priest.

Ash Wednesday this previous week marked the beginning of Lent this 12 months — and at a time when there’s such tragedy and violence occurring in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, we have to flip to God greater than ever, urges one Catholic priest.
(Getty Photographs)

This thought reminds every of us that life itself “hangs within the stability,” and that all through your complete Lenten season we’re urged to “repent and consider within the Gospel.” 

Our lives at the moment are “juxtaposed” between our start and our dying, he mentioned. 

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“What’s going to we do with the reward of life? How will our lives contribute to what Saint Paul known as ‘the extra glorious approach of affection’?”

Fr. Jeff Kirby told Fox News Digital that during Lent, we must "repent and believe in the Gospel." He also said, "As a sovereign nation is invaded and fights for its very existence, we see the tragedy of sin and darkness play itself out in our fallen world."

Fr. Jeff Kirby instructed Fox Information Digital that in Lent, we should “repent and consider within the Gospel.” He additionally mentioned, “As a sovereign nation is invaded and fights for its very existence, we see the tragedy of sin and darkness play itself out in our fallen world.”
(Fr. Jeff Kirby)

Fr. Kirby mentioned that the dying and struggling we see within the persevering with struggle in Ukraine ought to function sobering reminders of the fact of evil and sin.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: ‘HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IS DETERIORATING RAPIDLY’

“This 12 months, each the knowledge and cautions of Lent are heightened by the violence and uncertainty coming from Ukraine,” he famous. 

“As a sovereign nation is invaded and fights for its very existence, we see the tragedy of sin and darkness play itself out in our fallen world.” 

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Destroyed buildings are seen on March 03, 2022, in Irpin, Ukraine.

Destroyed buildings are seen on March 03, 2022, in Irpin, Ukraine.
(Picture by Chris McGrath/Getty Photographs)

Saying that good persons are shocked and dazed by the fact of what’s occurring in Ukraine, Kirby famous that peace has been “shattered” by a merciless “will to energy.” 

POPE FRANCIS CALLS FOR DIALOGUE TO END RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT

“Tranquility has been overturned by uncooked aggression,” he mentioned.

The “calm of life” has been overtaken by “unprovoked brutalism.”

A Ukrainian mom, Karina, and her daughter Luna, age 3, speak with a UNICEF regional director for Europe and Central Asia inside Romania.

A Ukrainian mother, Karina, and her daughter Luna, age 3, converse with a UNICEF regional director for Europe and Central Asia inside Romania.
(UNICEF/Alex Nicodim)

Kirby defined that “darkish spirits … expose the fallenness of our world and remind Christians, and all folks of excellent will, of the tragic penalties of humanity’s capability for sin and destruction.”

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: KENTUCKY MOM OF 8 DESPERATE TO RESCUE TEEN GIRL

We will observe the primary Sunday of Lent by wanting inward as we pray for peace throughout these horrifying and unsure instances, Fr. Kirby famous.

“The fallenness of the world serves as a continuing examination of conscience and a robust reminder, particularly throughout Lent,” mentioned Kirby, “of why we have to mood our spirits, search advantage and aspire to comply with the extra glorious approach of affection.”

Stick with Fox Information Digital via all of Lent this 12 months, as Christians put together for Easter. 

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Epstein grand jury records released, describe trafficker's network for 'grooming' underage girls

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Jeffrey Epstein, the sex-trafficking financier who died in federal custody while awaiting trial, had a network of groomed girls in Palm Beach, Florida, recruiting victims for him as far back as 2005, according to newly unsealed grand jury transcripts from a child trafficking case that he largely escaped with a slap on the wrist nearly 20 years ago.

The 176-page document contains new details about Epstein’s crimes, including specifics about cash payouts to teens who recruited one another for Epstein’s misdeeds, firsthand accounts from child sex-assault victims, and allegations of rape.

Palm Beach police initially opened the case after a fight between girls at a local high school, according to the transcript. One, just 16, had been accused of prostitution by a classmate, and a school official later found $300 in her purse, which originally came from Epstein, according to the documents. 

She testified that she had been instructed to concoct a fake life story and pretend to be 18 to get $200 to give Epstein a massage before the first time she met him. Then she revealed she was asked to strip down to her underwear and had a graphic sexual encounter with him.

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FLORIDA GOV RON DESANTIS SIGNS LAW WITH BIG POTENTIAL IMPACT ON EPSTEIN CASE

Jeffrey Epstein pictured in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Sept. 8, 2004. (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)

In a court order authorizing the release of the documents, Circuit Judge Luis Delgado warned that the contents were disturbing.

“It is widely accepted that Epstein is a notorious and serial pedophile,” the order reads. “The testimony taken by the Grand Jury concerns activity ranging from grossly unacceptable to rape – all of the conduct at issue is sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal.   The details in the record will be outrageous to decent people.”

Joseph Abruzzo, who serves as Palm Beach County’s court clerk and comptroller, announced the release of the documents shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday, hours after a new Florida law took effect legalizing the release of grand jury materials in certain cases. Grand jury proceedings are typically kept secret.

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The transcript shows that prosecutors asked the victims if they were aware that they may have committed the crime of prostitution and did not describe Epstein as a “pedophile” in questioning before the grand jury. 

EPSTEIN CELLMATE, AN EX-COP, CONVICTED OF KILLING 4 PEOPLE

Prince Andrew Virginia Roberts

Photo from 2001 that was included in court files shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (Florida Southern District Court) (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)

An investigator on the witness stand, however, referenced a March 14, 2005, phone call from a victim’s mother who was concerned about “sexual activity” involving her step-daughter.

“What had occurred was that [redacted] had gotten into a fight at [redacted] School,” the doc explains. “And subsequently, after the fight, they discovered $300 in her purse.”

“When questioning the $300, she had told ’em that she had received it from a man in Palm Beach.”

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The girl explained to a detective that she was taken to a house to massage “a wealthy man in Palm Beach,” – and the documents identified the man as Epstein.

PSYCHIATRIST HENRY JARECKI BLASTS EXPLOSIVE CLAIMS IN JEFFREY EPSTEIN ACCUSER’S NEW SEX TRAFFICKING LAWSUIT

A partially-redacted evidence photo shows various girls smiling for a picture on Jeffrey Epstein's Little St. James Island

A partially-redacted evidence photo shows various girls smiling for a picture on Jeffrey Epstein’s Little St. James Island in 2006. The documents pertaining to a 2017 civil lawsuit from Epstein-accuser Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell have been made public by a federal judge. (SDNY)

On page 102 of the document, a search of Jeffrey Epstein’s home found that a dildo was found in a bedroom. In earlier testimony, one of his underage accusers said he had offered her an extra $100 – on top of $200 for a massage – if she’d let him use a similar toy on her.

The documents also reveal one of Epstein’s victims being interviewed about the money she was given for acts she performed.

“And I was like, I got $300,” the girl said. “And I was like, kind – I was excited. $300.”

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One victim disclosed that she was 17 years old when she had sex with Epstein. The encounter took place on the day before her 18th birthday. Another said she was in her early teens when the financier used a sex toy on her and masturbated.

Mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein mugshot, 2019. (Kypros/Getty Images)

“And for my birthday he gave me, like, a couple [of] bras and panties,” the victim said. She was also asked to stay in the room while Epstein had sex with Nadia Marcinko.

When asked if she wanted to have sexual intercourse with him, the victim answered no but said that it was “stupid of [her] to put myself in that situation.” A juror also asked the question, “Did he take away from your person, your being, your spirit?”

“Yes,” she replied. The witness also told jurors that she Epstein was well aware of her age at the time, but did not want to testify against Epstein.

“I would like to put it behind me for the most part,” she said. “I was successful until about two days ago.”

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Jury proceedings also revealed that a witness saw Epstein sexually assault a stripper.

“When Jeffrey entered [redacted], did she ask him to stop at all?”

A close-up of Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, MA on 9/8/04. Epstein is connected with several prominent people including politicians, actors and academics. Epstein was convicted of having sex with an underaged woman. (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)

“She screaming no,” the witness replied. The witness also added that he later apologized and offered her a thousand dollars in return.

The documents also mention former President Bill Clinton, who knew Epstein. It was in relation to a girl mentioning the former president on her blog, according to the investigator on the witness stand.

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“There is a notion on one of her blogs, that she says she would like to meet Bill Clinton this week, because – and this is in quotes now – ‘Someone could be so famous for sucking his d–k; that’s how famous I could be.’” 

She did not accuse the former president of wrongdoing or indicate that she’d actually met him.

Recalled to the stand, Palm Beach Detective Joe Recarey testified that investigators found evidence that one of Epstein’s “assistants,” as his groomers were known, recruited a 23-year-old woman for Epstein, but he turned her away.

“He told her, the younger, the better,” he testified. “She brought a 23-year-old to massage him, and he told her that she was too old and he wanted someone younger.”

Epstein received a lenient punishment of just 13 months for the 2005 child sex case. As a result, a group of accusers in February announced a lawsuit against the FBI, alleging it failed to properly investigate him at the time, allowing him to continue harming children and young women for years.

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Kentucky Gov Beshear responds to rumors that he’ll run for president: 'It's flattering'

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Kentucky Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Monday that even though President Biden’s recent debate performance was “rough,” he has no intention of sliding into presidential contention unless Biden bows out of the race.

Reporters asked Beshear what he thought about Biden’s performance in last week’s debate and whether he should remain in the race.

“Well, the debate performance was rough. It was a very bad night for the president,” the Kentucky governor said. “But he is still the candidate. Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy, so as long as he continues to be in the race, that’s important.”

The question came just days after the first presidential debate between Biden and former President Trump, which left many Democrats shocked and concerned about the current president’s performance. Biden’s rambling answers and raspy voice raised concerns about his age, mental state and whether he is fit to serve another four years.

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TOP HOUSE DEM ADMITS BIDEN DEBATE WAS A ‘SETBACK,’ CALLS FOR COMEBACK AFTER ‘UNDERWHELMING PERFORMANCE’

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was asked about his thoughts on President Biden’s debate performance and whether he would consider sliding in to run for the top spot on the ticket in November. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley/File)

Following the debate, multiple Democrat figures and media outlets called for the current president to step out of the race and allow another Democrat to take the party’s spot at the top of the ticket.

When asked if he would slide into the slot if Biden were to bow out of the race, Beshear reiterated that only the president can determine his future as a candidate.

“He is the candidate, and as long as he is, I’m supporting him,” Beshear said.

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BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

Three shots of Biden during the debate

Voters have expressed concerns over Biden’s age and capability to serve a second term after the debate. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

But he also told reporters that he was flattered when people mention his name as someone being considered to lead the party as a presidential candidate.

“I think it’s a reflection of all the good things going on in Kentucky. As compared to the rest of the country, the temperature’s been turned down here,” Beshear said.

He explained that state Democrats and Republicans are excited about the jobs the state has created as well as the record-low unemployment and decreases in overdose deaths, among other things.

BIDEN REPORTEDLY HUMILIATED BY DEBATE PERFORMANCE, LACKS CONFIDENCE: ‘IT’S A MESS’

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Democrat Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaking at an event

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley/File)

Beshear said he thinks the rest of the country is turning to the things being done in Kentucky, and he talked about how a Democrat governor and a Republican general assembly can get good results.

“I think the answer to that is everything is not partisan, and people are tired of the clashes, day in and day out,” he said. “So, when they look at what we have done in Kentucky, they see a better future that’s beyond some of the back-and-forth that we see on the federal level.”

Biden has not bowed out of the race, though he was reportedly humiliated by his debate performance and “devoid of confidence,” according to an NBC News report that cited a person familiar with the president’s mood.

“It’s a mess,” the source reportedly told NBC News.

The outlet reported that several prominent Democrats expressed concern in private over Biden’s chances of beating Trump in November after his debate performance. However, they remain steadfast in their support for Biden in public.

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During a speech at a New Jersey fundraiser on Saturday, the president acknowledged he didn’t have a “great night.”

“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan. 6,” he said. “People remember the bad things during his presidency.”

Biden’s campaign said it has raised $27 million since his debate performance.

Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

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Biden is destroying girls’ sports and we are going to stop him

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Title IX has long recognized biological differences between the two sexes, but the Biden administration insists that sex is effectively the same as “gender identity.” The implications of this redefinition aren’t just theoretical. 
 
We are both part of a lawsuit in which a federal district court in Kentucky recently stood up for the privacy and safety of women and girls, halting the Biden administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX through a new rule that would have allowed men who identify as females into women’s locker rooms, restrooms, and showers. 
 
One of us is Patrick Morrisey, the attorney general of West Virginia. I count it a privilege to represent my state’s interest in protecting women’s safety and privacy. 

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CECÉ TELFER, TRANSGENDER ATHLETE WHO WON NCAA TITLE, VOWS TO ‘TAKE ALL THE RECORDS’ IN INDOOR COMPETITIONS
 
The other one of us is Adaleia Cross, a 15-year-old female athlete represented by Alliance Defending Freedom who has competed in a variety of track-and-field events — including discus, pole vault, and shot put — since middle school.  

President Joe Biden gutted the true meaning of Title IX regulations. The result harms female athletes and forces them to compete with biological males. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

I was recently forced to compete against a male athlete identifying as a girl. Predictably, the male student beat me many times and bumped me from a conference championship I had worked all season to qualify for. 
 
Simply put, with a biological male competing alongside me, I began losing opportunities to compete because of the male student outperforming me. Until April 2023, I was in the top three on my team for discus, and I was usually in the top three or four for shot put as well. 
 
And when off the field, as I shared in my affidavit filed in court, other female teammates and I were forced to share locker rooms and restrooms with a male student. But women and girls should never be forced to face a boy when we change or shower in a restroom or locker room.  

In addition, we can all agree that no one should experience sexual harassment in these places. We must protect women and private spaces and ensure women are not put in uncomfortable situations, as I was. 

My affidavit contains a simple request, true to the heart of Title IX: “I want girls to have an opportunity to compete on a level and safe playing field, and I know that will never happen if boys are allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams. It seems that people have forgotten the whole point of making girls’ sports separate. It was impossible for girls to compete in boys’ sports safely and competitively. Letting biological males into women’s sports defeats the whole purpose of even having them in the first place. We simply cannot compete with men.” 
 
West Virginia state officials rightfully recognize biological reality. Our legislature passed the Save Women’s Sports Act to buttress Title IX’s protections and defend women’s sports. Yet the Biden administration’s new rule would override even that law. 
 
In the face of this not-so-slight-of-hand erasure of women’s rights, we (West Virginia and Adaleia) sued the Biden administration in May. Joining us was a coalition of states — Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Virginia — and Christian Educators Association International, also represented by ADF. 
 
Title IX is simple: It demands that girls and women get their fair share of opportunities in education, and its regulations make clear that this can be accomplished in school athletic programs by having “separate teams for members of each sex.”  

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And because of the enduring physical differences between men and women and importance of privacy, Title IX has always allowed the sex-specific spaces — like bathrooms and locker rooms — that are ubiquitous across the nation. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION 
 
The administration’s notion to include “gender identity” in its definition of sex deprives girls of the opportunity to continue to get a fair shake. The rule forces states like West Virginia to accept radical gender ideology in their schools. And this administration has done so in blatant defiance of Congress’ repeated refusal to extend Title IX’s protections to anything other than sex. 
 
The sweeping Title IX mandate by the Biden administration would upend schools’ long-lawful practices protecting student privacy, unfairly undermine women’s academic and athletic achievements and related advancements in society, and punish states for following their laws. Federal bureaucrats have no right to rewrite the statutes Congress passes, let alone fundamentally change what it means to be a man or a woman. 
 
Allowing such a mandate would be a shame because the impact of Title IX on women’s sports has been profound. Before the law, just one in 27 young women played sports. Today, that figure is 10 in 25. 

West Virginia state officials rightfully recognize biological reality. Our legislature passed the Save Women’s Sports Act to buttress Title IX’s protections and defend women’s sports. Yet the Biden administration’s new rule would override even that law. 

In the guise of confronting “gender identity discrimination,” the administration’s Department of Education is, simply put, attempting to abolish sex-based distinctions in educational activities and programs. 


 
In the end, Title IX is about basic fairness. We must honor and defend this law to guarantee future generations of girls and women benefit from its many protections. Rest assured we will fight these radical changes to Title IX with every available tool in our arsenal. 
 
Women deserve nothing less. 

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Adaleia Cross is a 15-year-old student in West Virginia. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM PATRICK MORRISEY

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ADALEIA CROSS

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