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If Wars Can Be Started by Lies Then Peace Can Be Gained Through Truth

Father John Jimenez was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1998 and continues to serve as a priest, teacher, and chaplain. In a recent sermon, reflecting on the suffering, the hundreds of thousands of deaths of civilians, the thousands of American soldiers killed and injured in the wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, and now the current conflict in Ukraine, yet even recent revelations about the role of the CIA and FBI in the assassination of President Kennedy and subsequent upsurge of war in Vietnam and subsequent genocide in Cambodia, all of these recent conflicts have their roots in globalist forces who started World War I, especially the British and American elites who used American soldiers as cannon fodder to prop up their geopolitical ambitions, oil in the Middle East, and cheap labor in China and Southeast Asia to make their products for market in the U.S.. The current fentanyl crisis in the U.S. is blowback for British flooding China with opium in the early 20th century, the real root of the rise of Mao and the current conflict with China The title of this article, "If Wars Can Be Started By Lies Then Peace Can Be Gained Through Truth" is a quote from Julian Assange, who released information about many Deep State dealings of the U.S. Government, especially the CIA, and since then, has lived in house detention for several years. Reflect on how WWI began, perhaps unintentional, yet technology became a force out of control to become the illogical logic of trench warfare and mustard gas and soldiers sent as cannon fodder. Consider Mary Shellys' "Frankenstein" as a prophecy of the 20th century, the creator's narcissistic enamor with what he has created, yet the monster himself, in a desire to be a part of humanity, even to love and share, studies great works of science and literature and philosophy, and converses so with his creator, and yet, due to many misjudgments, becomes a destructive force beyond control, and his conclusion to live an isolated life in the frozen reaches of the North Pole Reflect on the victims of war, the civilians caught in the middle, and the soldiers who only want to defend their simple family and village life back home. Reflect on these words of a soldier of WWI caught in the trenches, Siegfried Sassoon

"I know a simple soldier boy who grinned at life in empty joy Slept soundly through the lonesome dark And whistled early with the lark In winter trenches cowed and glum With crumps and lice and lack of rum He put a bullet through his brain No one spoke of him again

You smugged faced with kinding eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by Sneak home and pray you'll never know The hell where youth and laughter go"

May the lies that beget wars be overcome by Truth that begets Peace

#Father John Jimenez

Prison Ministry Programs Move from Individual to Group Sessions

A resident of San Francisco, California, Father John Jimenez is a priest, teacher, and chaplain for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In addition to his role with the archdiocese, Father John Jimenez participates in prison ministry.

More prison ministry programs have moved from a one-on-one approach to group sessions facilitated by teams. While many in this field acknowledge that any assistance a prisoner gets is helpful, one-on-one programs can place volunteers at risk and are ineffective.

Volunteers who write letters to prisoners might lift the person out of loneliness, but age requirements and guidelines for conducting themselves are required to keep volunteers safe. Likewise, in-person counseling with support from the prison administration can be helpful. Still, volunteers are at risk of giving condescending and judgmental counsel unless they are clear on the prisoners’ needs.

According to a 2021 Southern New England Conference article, some have shifted from one-on-one ministry sessions to group programs to address shortcomings in prison ministry programs. The Kairos Prison Ministry program creates community through group discussions, lectures, and events such as retreats. A program geared toward female prisoners called Interfaith Prison Ministry for Women transitions women into society through one-on-one counseling. Still, when they finish the 16-week course, the women can join group support counseling sessions.

The prison ministry organization Prison Fellowship also focuses on offering ministry through a team effort. The organization also suggests churches that want to organize prison ministry efforts should do so in teams and in partnerships with a prison chaplain or social worker experienced with prisons.

#Father John Jimenez

The Church Moving Forward: Teach The Faith And Aid The Oppressed

Fr Jimenez is a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and before that taught science and math at Havenscourt Middle School and later at Castlemont High School in Oakland Unified School District From his experience in parish life and the life of families in public schools, his advice for those who live with doubt and discouragement about any good happening in the world or difficulty in trusting people is to focus on The Church's vital mission, to celebrate mass provide the sacraments to those in need, instead of turning the mass and the sacraments into a political statement or a means to power or as a vanity project. Second, is to pass the faith on of The Apostles, the light of truth to help guide people in their lives, rather than politically edit what the Faith teaches. The Church must change the world, not let the world change The Church Finally, we must keep focus coming to the aid of those most in need To help those who live under threats in the Middle East and Central Asia please see the website of Catholic Near East Welfare Association or CNEWA.org To help those in Latin America, please see Food For the Poor If you want to help my project, please see SFSudanRelief at googlesites, or email me at [email protected]

#Father John Jimenez

How To Help The Mentally Ill: Look To Jesus Healing The Leper

The priest, teacher, and chaplain at the Archdiocese of San Francisco, California, father john Jimenez, graduated with a bachelor of arts in social work from San Francisco University, and taught at Castlemont High School in Oakland In chapter 2 of the Gospel of Mark we see Jesus manifest a sign of the kingdom of God in the healing of a leper living on the fringe of town, in the isolation of a desert In those days, lepers had to live apart from everyone else because the disease could easily spread upon touch or presence. Yet, Jesus seeks this person out. Today, many who are homeless in our society are also mentally ill. Perhaps they once had a good job, even a family. Then, a nervous breakdown trying to live up to a fast paced society, or live up to an image or peer pressure on social media, or propagandized to use marijuana and succumbing to it's addictive contents, and gateway to smoking heroin, and now recently, fentanyl Maybe they were depressed, victimized by abuse growing up in a culture of sexual dysfunction, or perhaps hurt by a profound infidelity, which objectification often leads to, and now living with a deep sense of lack of self-worth.. Instability, lack of trust, become schizophrenia and inability to connect or find direction or meaning, lost in a sea of cultural and familial breakdown. How do we treat those whose behaviors say, "I'm unclean! I'm unclean!"? Years ago when I was chaplain at SF General Hospital, I met an elderly man in the psych unit named Bill. For years he lived on the street, sleeping in doorways, living on handouts. It was hard to say if his mental illness was just from the instability of living on the streets, or some other trauma, being on the front lines during the Korean War, bombs going off, the constant tension of always being on alert for attacks, the horror of seeing your friend step on a land mine and explode in front of your eyes. After all he had been through, it was amazing to see the effect of a stable, caring environment that the psychiatric unit had on him. Here he did not have to fend for himself against attacks, past or present, here he had people who listened and were interested in him, here his own religious upbringing of prayers and devotion could awaken again and bring him back to a relation with God and our bond with the good God has created. For those who are displaced by our high tech society, here is a way to work instead for the Kingdom of God

#Father John Jimenez

"Homo Deus/" or "World Without Mind"?

When Franklin Foer, long time, highly regarded editor of the "New Republic" magazine, at the time regarded as a fair minded magazine covering significant trends in society and understanding their history, was dismissed so that the magazine could become a propaganda piece, or, in current language, a vessel to "shape the narrative", we see not only the loss of independence in journalism, the publishing industry, and small independent businesses, but a broader movement in society and the world of globalist tech and financial forces that run contrary to local, independent control, be it over markets and production of goods, be it peasants pushed off their lands, or families and those on fixed income pushed out of their homes by gentrification, be it employees and students mandated to take vaccines they do not need, with the threat of being cancelled, or employees or even in the realm of free speech platforms, people cancelled, or even threatened, if they present contrary evidence., be it concerning information about the corona virus, about the 2020 elections, or now, the proxy war in Ukraine, with parallels to what happened and still is happening in Iraq and Syria The title "Homo/Deus" Progress or "World Without Mind" summarizes these competing ideas, where tech driven globalist financial interests are dominating and displacing independent, local communities, an idea well explained in Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel", that history is not necessarily "progress", when you see who is displaced by the group with superior technology, or who, by chance, were more adaptable to disease. Today, a major ideology shaping the thinking of elites is summarized in two books, Hariri's "Homo Deus", whose main point is to look at the history of human "progress", mostly by their tech inventions, and that there is no objective truth, just the shaping of :narratives: and that we are progressing to a superior, AI controlled world where all decisions are made based on "rational" algorithms (like when you buy something online, and then are "suggested" another item), and the book "Inevitable" that describes how these tech mechanisms work, like algorithms, the cloud, or blockchain transactions and Data Mining that are analyzed and acted upon by Artificial Intelligence. Yet, the personal experience that Foer went through, the way he was discarded, and what happened to the magazine that he worked for, and the end of independent thought that occurred, summarizes the problem with a tech run society when he says: "The tech companies are destroying something precious, the possibility of contemplation. They have created a world in which we are constantly watched and distracted. Through their accumulation of data, they have constructed portraits of our minds which they use to guide mass behavior, and even individual behavior, to further their financial interests. They have ended the integrity of institutions, especially the media and publications, that supply the intellectual material for thought and guides democracy. Their most precious asset is our most precious asset, and they have abused it."

#Homo Deus

Frank Herbert's Insight on "Thinking Machines"

Fr John Jimenez, serving for 30 years as a public and parochial school teacher in San Francisco and Oakland, and 23 years as a parish priest in the Archdiocese, in a recent commentary, spoke of Frank Herbert's book series "Dune", making an analogy to why "thinking machines" were banned in that galaxy, and current problems caused by algorithmically driven, Artificial Intelligence driven, social media driven conflict and misinformation Herbert's narrator explains, "Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free, but that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them." Another way to see this is a recent Dilbert cartoon, in his dialog with his pointy-headed boss. "I invented a technology that will manipulate people's brains for profit" he says. the boss replies, "don't say that out loud"...."tell me more" Dilbert says, "the technology will create civil strife and destroy relationships" the pointed headed boss replies, "but will it make lots of money?" "lots and lots" says Dilbert The boss replies, "I could finally afford that trophy wife" "What is this technology?" "Social Media"

#Novel #Dune

Covid Vaccines Violate The Gospel of Life

Father John Jimenez, 30 year teacher in San Francisco and Oakland, and 23 years as a priest of the Archdiocese, recently gave pastoral counsel to parishioners who feel conflicted about the covid vaccine and mandates. Simply put, young adults and children should not be mandated to take this vaccine in order to go to school. This is a decision between them, their parents and their doctor, and weigh the moral options described below. So, too, workers should not be threatened with the loss of their job due to these mandates. The moral dimension. Many scientific, medical leaders, even bishops, promote the use of the Covid 19 vaccines as a proportional good, stating that the use of the vaccines from a line of cells distantly related to aborted fetuses is a proportional good serving many that outweighs the evil done in destroying one human life. Yet, for the great majority of people, who are low risk, there are alternative therapies if one gets sick. For those who are high risk, consider what Pope John Paul says in his encyclical "The Gospel of Life" about "proportional" reasoning, and discuss with your confessor, and weigh the medical options with your doctor. In paragraphs 62 and 63 he states, "No law can make licit that which is illicit, since it is contrary to the law of God and proclaimed by the Church. The use of human embryos or fetuses as an object of experimentation constitutes a crime against the dignity of the human person, who have the right to the same respect owed a child once born. This moral condemnation of procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses even for the treatment of diseases. The killing of human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act." The pope goes on to point out the consequences of not protecting the dignity of life. We then begin to treat all human life as objects and unleash a Cain vs. Abel, envious, scapegoating and violence upon society, tribalism rather than the rule of law (protection of people's medical privacy under the HIPPA law), the powerful who oppress the weak (authoritarians using health mandates to enhance their power), identity politics over free responsibility, ultimately a darkening of conscience and the rise of the Authoritarian State (in our current time, enhanced by Big Tech)

#Covid Vaccines

St. Anthony's Dining Room Providing Meals

Father John Jimenez grew up in the San Francisco area and graduated from San Francisco State University and St. Patrick's seminary and holds a master of divinity. Father John Jimenez currently serves as the chaplain and priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The Archdiocese of San Francisco partners with organizations such as the St. Anthony's Dining Room in order to provide food for people who cannot afford it as about one American in five lacks the resources to acquire food for themselves or for the family. The services offered by St. Anthony's Dining Room are available for all people who do not afford it such as homeless people, the working poor, veterans, seniors and immigrants. Many of the people that come to St. Anthony's Dining Room have few other places to eat. Even though the pandemic has made it hard for everyone, the dining room remained open throughout the period and served fresh meals every day. The organization works with the help of volunteers and corporate companies that are willing to make donations but ordinary people can also contribute to the cause and donate food for the needy.

#Dining Room

What We Should Learn from COVID

Father John Jimenez is an experienced educator and priest working with Northern California communities through the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Some of Father John Jimenez’s works include writings and publications on contemporary societal issues in spirituality and technological growth. One of the major recent issues that has required our attention is the COVID pandemic. The spiritual problems behind the introduction of new vaccines like the COVID vaccine lie in their development using cells from aborted fetuses. Many scientists and even bishops promote these methods as a proportional good serving the benefits of the many. However, this is directly opposite to laws outlined in “The Gospel of Life” by Pope John Paul II. The use of human embryos is a crime against human decency and should be taken into consideration when deciding medical treatments and preservation options. The COVID pandemic has also accentuated the use of social media and continued the rapid decline of local communities. Many social movements, some started after the pandemic, aim to dehumanize others and disrupt human ethics and spirituality. By working together, the human race must turn towards views of compassion rather than algorithmic methods outlined by tech and pharmaceutical companies.

#COVID

Resisting the Expanding Bubble of Desire

Father John Jimenez is a faithful priest, chaplain, and educator. Through his connection with the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Father John Jimenez has worked as a chaplain and teacher in the Archbishop Riordan High School since 2017. His online publications include a 2018 article about the “expanding bubble of desire.” The term is based on the writings of the late Rene Girard, an anthropologist from Stanford. The bubble of desire refers to the consistent and continual dehumanization of others, primarily through various social media movements and retargeting blame for personal shortcomings. The bubble of desire can be seen in the recent mass shootings and displacement policies running rampant throughout ‘civilized’ society. By working closely together, local communities have a chance to resist the urge to dehumanize others and become beacons of ethics and liberty. It’s imperative to take a deep look within to ensure libertarian views do not become too libertine and focus on systems that benefit others, thus ensuring our own safety.

#Bubble

"The Tyranny of Big Tech" by Josh Hawley

Father John Jimenez is a long-time contributor to the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Through his work as a teacher, chaplain, and spirituality promoter, Father John Jimenez has published papers condemning the recent tech company practices like censorship and dehumanization. From the book jacket of Senator Josh Hawley's book, " The reign of Big Tech is here, and America's First Amendment rights hang by a keystroke. Amassing huge amounts of personal data, giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple- once symbols of American ingenuity and freedom- have become techno-oligarchs with overwhelming economic and political power. Decades of unchecked data collection have given Big Tech more targeted control over American's daily lives than any company or government in the world. In 'The Tyranny of Big Tech', Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri argues that these mega-corporations-controlled by robber barons o f the modern era-are the greatest threat to American liberty in decades. To reverse this course, we must correct progressives' mistakes of the past. That means recovering the link between liberty and democratic participation, building an economy that makes the working class strong, independent, and beholden to no one, and curbing the influence of corporate and political elites." This book can be ordered at the Regnery Press website, or independent book websites like IndieBound or Books A Million

#The Tyranny of Big Tech

Developing Local Communities to Prevent

Father John Jimenez is a long-time priest and educator working closely with the Archdiocese of San Francisco. As a teacher in several schools, Father John Jimenez focuses on fostering local communities and ensuring lasting spirituality and unity. His writings include comments on the “expanding bubble of desire.” The bubble of desire was defined by the late anthropologist Rene Girard. In essence, the bubble is a culmination of long-term societal shifts present in today’s media and behavior. In the bubble, people dehumanize others by shifting blame and displacing their problems onto unrelated problems and communities. The bubble is accentuated by today’s social media efforts increasingly promoting algorithmic behavior that ignores local community bonds and promotes otherness. By working in a tight-knit community that focuses on the ethical treatment of its members and other communities, humans can strive towards popping the bubble. Discarding the inherently destructive principles like survival of the fittest, fostering balanced use of resources, and conscientious housing and development will ensure long-lasting local and global prosperity.

#Local Communities

Social Media Caused Strife and Mimetic Desire

Father John Jimenez, a resident of San Francisco, California, has been both an educator and a priest and chaplain for the Archdiocese of San Francisco since 1998. In addition to his work with his parish and in the classroom, Father John Jimenez has written extensively on topics such as Rene Girard’s mimetic theory. Here is a recent cartoon by Scott Adams that shows how Social Media plays on our natural tendency to covet what others have and scapegoat them, mimetic desire, that begins with the original sin of thinking we can be like God, being easily deceived by things that appear good, and thinking that sin does not lead to death and destruction, that we can create our own reality. First Box: Dilbert says to his pointy headed boss, "I invented a technology that will manipulate people's brain for our profit" Next Box: Pointy -headed boss says, "Shh! You can't say that part out loud" Next Box: Pointy -headed boss says to Dilbert, " Tell me more." Next Box, direct frontal view of geeky looking Dilbert saying, "The technology will create civil strife and destroy relationships" Next Box, Pointy-headed boss asks, "But, would we make lots of money?" Dilbert responds, "Lots and Lots" Next Box, Pointy-headed boss says, "I could finally afford the trophy wife I always wanted" Next Box, Dilbert says, "Shh! you can't say that out loud" Next Box, Pointy-headed boss asks, "What is this miracle technology called?" Dilbert responds, "Social Media"

#Mimetic Desire

Mallard Fillmore's Insight On Created Virus

In addition to his role as chaplain and priest with the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Father John Jimenez has been an educator since the mid-1980s. Algebra has been one of the subjects that Father John Jimenez has taught at various San Francisco high schools. One of the reasons he has taught math and science is to help the disadvantaged rise out of their circumstances to stable positions in life where they can help their family and community. Yet, also, to teach the lesson of young Mary Shelly when she wrote in the 19th century, her insight, and prophecy, of what could happen when we think that through our own invention, we can progress. Frankenstein is her example of when a creator becomes enamored with what one has created, and is blind to the uncontrolled monster that they have created. An example of this can be found in a recent Mallard Fillmore cartoon, by Bruce Tinsley The duck billed Mallard says, "Health experts are now beginning to express serious concerns about the new "lambda" variant of covid-19" ........."a strain which has potentially evolved the capability to cause even more media fear mongering and authoritarian government power grabs than the delta variant"

#Authoritarianism

San Francisco's Buyout Loophole in Control Laws

Father John Jimenez has long been a supporter of community causes in the San Francisco, California area. In his role as a chaplain and priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Father John Jimenez lent his support to a rent control proposition in 2018.

San Francisco is one of the many cities that has implemented rent control laws, which mostly protect tenants from high living costs, but have also culminated in landlords selling their properties as opposed to submitting to rent control. According to the San Francisco government website, rent control laws include stipulations for how much rent can be increased and frameworks for the length of time that must pass before increases can happen. Moreover, they have to give tenants reasonable notice for rent hikes. However, landlords can ask tenants to vacate the space if they plan to make renovations to the property. They must pay for the tenant to vacate the home under what is termed a buyout. In 2020, the city recorded 300 buyouts with the largest amount being near half a million dollars and the average being $50,000. These buyouts benefit the affluent renters; they do not accurately illustrate what is happening in the market for everyone else. For the working class and poor, buyout stipulations can adversely affect the whole idea of providing affordable housing to those of modest means. As a result of more buyouts and fewer landlords being incentivized to rent properties, the majority must compete for housing in a smaller market, or leave the city for more affordable options.

#Law

Marianist Principles in the Secondary School

Since 1985, Father John Jimenez has been an educator working in various Northern California schools. In his present role as priest, chaplain, and instructor, Father John Jimenez teaches religion and math at Archbishop Riordan High School, a San Francisco institution that follows Marianist principles in its classrooms. Founded in France in 1817, and present in the US since 1849, the Society of Mary, or Marianists, is a global congregation that looks to the life of Mary, Mother of Jesus, to guide their actions. Marianist principles dictate that gifts given from God should be shared for the benefit of the community. Termed charisms, these gifts require that followers be people of faith, mission leaders, disciples of equality, people of community, and more significantly, followers of Mary. As such, one of the main goals of the Marianist mission is education. Currently, 18 secondary schools throughout the US collaborate with the North American Center for Marianist Studies and the Marianist Office of Sponsorship to develop continuing teacher education programs, networking opportunities, and sustainable instructional strategies that incorporate Marianist values with evolving curricular needs. Throughout their interactions, teachers must embody five key characteristics: educating in faith formation; providing quality education; inculcating a family spirit; educating toward service, justice, peace, and integrity; and educating toward change and adaptation. These aim to guide students in growing mutual respect, appreciating diversity, and leading by example.

#Classroom

Dilbert's Ironic Comic Strip About Social Media

Father John Jimenez is a Northern California chaplain and educator who has a passion for assisting the less fortunate, including those cast aside in society. As a commentary on how social media has contributed to labeling and scapegoating people into groups, and the resulting conflict, he recently used the example from a "Dilbert" comic strip to illustrate the point. In a Dilbert comic strip in late July of 2021, we see a nerdy looking Dilbert in an office conversation with his pointy headed boss. Dilbert says to his boss, "I invented a technology that will manipulate people's brains for our profit" His boss replies, "Shhh!! You can't say that part out loud." Then the boss continues, "Tell me more." Dilbert replies, with the comic strip giving a frontal view of him, saying in a matter of fact way, "The technology will create civil strife and destroy relationships." The pointy headed boss replies, "But we would make lots of money?" Dilbert replies, "lots and lots of money." The pointy headed boss replies, with a frontal view of him, "I could finally afford the trophy wife I always wanted." Dilbert responds in a startled, secretive way, "Shhh!! you can't say that out loud." The boss asks Dilbert, "What is this miracle technology?" Dilbert replies, "social media."

#Comic strip

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