Weekly Update: 11/15

Normally, I'd try to come up with something catchy. Today, I'm not going to do that.

A brief look at what I got done and what I plan to do next:

This week:

- TEQ Volume 4: Citizens of Ash: Rivers (Chapter 54)

Updates to maps:
Distisil
Istinis
Notirot
Sintison

Behind the Scenes:
- This week was rough, I'm really not going to try and sugarcoat it. And it wasn't for any reason like sleep deprivation or sickness, family issues or pet problems. It was, simply put, I came to realize some information that I had been more or less hiding myself from.
For those of you who don't know, I belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Having grown up Protestant, I only came into the Catholic faith about three years ago, when I met a rather cute girl who started talking about sacraments and Eucharist and other big words I didn't understand. Since then, I've come to love my Catholic faith, and have become deeply involved in my local parish.
When the abuse scandal broke midway through last year, it was absolutely devastating. The very thought that these men that I looked up to as carriers of God's word would do something so horrendous... There really aren't words. As word began to spread about the cover-ups in the hierarchy, Catholics began to fall into three groups: Those who left the Church altogether, those who spoke up vocally in defense of the true nature of the Church and condemnation for all those involved, and those who simply buried their heads in the sand and tried not to think about it. I am ashamed to say that I fell squarely into the final category.
After that point, news grew sparce as people simply stopped talking about it. There was no official response from the Vatican, and those of us in the sand were able to go back to our simple lives. And then the Amazon Synod happened.
When news of the Synod began to break, many of the older Catholics in my life gave the wisdom to simply ignore the horrid talk coming from the Vatican. According to Church teaching, the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church. If there is talk of heresy, it will be quashed by the Truth through the process of the synod. If there is talk of idolatry, it is a simple misunderstanding of a different way of worship. Everywhere, we were told to keep our heads down, keep looking at the ground. I read a few news stories here and there, and was rather shocked at what I was seeing, but I chalked it up to right-wing extremists and exaggeration. There was no way that such terrible things could actually be taking place. Right?
Well... This week I decided to take my head out of the sand. This move was precipitated by a number of issues, foremost among them a reported message from heaven from a nun who issued a dire warning back in the 80s. Now, whether or not this message is valid isn't what I consider the most important issue here. In short, it called for acts of penance across the entire Church, a message that is being echoed and pushed forward by hundreds of priests in the wake of the Synod. As I looked into the message, I started to look back at some of those older articles and began to actively look into newer articles still being published.
If I had to summarize it: What has happened in the last few years of the Catholic Church is among the most revolting things I have ever seen. The abuse of countless individuals from a Church dedicated to protecting everyone. The theft of money from a congregation who gave it to them with the hopes that it be used to help the poor and needy. The use of IDOLS inside the holiest locations on the planet, brought and placed on the same alter where our Blessed Lord is broken for us every day.
There is no possible way I could summarize the rampant abuse of power shown in the Vatican today in a single update, and I don't intend to do so. What I will say is that this week has left me shaken to the core. I desperately try to cling to that verse, that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. I do my best to separate the news from the conspiracies, the actual known facts from the speculation. It's left me exhausted, angry, and confused.
If you are reading this today as a Catholic, I beg of you to listen to the priests out there who are calling for penance. Pray the rosary, participate in fasts, ask your local priest to offer a Mass of reparation. Beg Mary to pray for us, to stand in the way of God's wrath.
If you are reading this today as a Protestant, then I would beg you to pray, desperately, for the Catholic Church today. Fast if you would, but lift your eyes to heaven and cry out for mercy. Even if you don't agree with the Catholic Church in any capacity at all, the fact that it is by far the largest Christian denomination is undeniable, and the fact that it holds sway over millions (if not billions) of souls is equally undeniable. Please, pray for us.
If you are reading this today as an atheist, agnostic, or someone of an entirely different background of faith, then I would just beg you to be aware. Picture something that you love more than anything else in the world. Maybe it's your religion. Maybe it's a person. Maybe it's a house, a truck, a dog, the list could go on. Now imagine that someone or something comes in and absolutely desecrates it. They set fire to your mosque, they kicked your dog so hard it shattered his ribs, they keyed your card or smeared mud over the interior of your home. Now imagine that the person who did it is someone you trusted intimately. Someone you would never think even remotely capable of such a heinous deed.
That's what this felt like.
I don't know where I'm going with this post. I honestly don't know how many people will read it or how many will care, but... I have to say something.
So yeah. That's been my week.

Next week:

- TEQ Volume 4: Citizens of Ash: Ghosts (Chapter 55)

Behind the Scenes:
- I don't even know. This week, I put what little energy I had into adding some new lore to the maps because I just didn't have the heart to write. Next week... I don't know. Maybe I'll wake up on Monday morning filled with motivation and add another 50k to Age of Saints. Maybe I'll putter through the week like I did this week. Maybe I'll work on The Eternal Quest, or maybe I'll just start a whole new project.
Because that's just it. I don't know. I want to stand and fight back against everything that's happening, I want to grab a sword, get on horseback, give some sort of inspirational speech and lead a charge against the heresy of the Church. I want to write something that will incite passion for change in people. And the terrified part of me just wants to go back to burying my head in the sand.

So yeah, sorry for the all-over-the-place post. I guess I'll be as surprised as you when next Friday comes around. 

Until next time-

Dakota