Pope Francis’ visit to Romania

As he continues efforts to bolster ties between Orthodox Christians and Catholics in Eastern Europe, Pope Francis arrived in Bucharest on Friday, the 31st of May 2019. It is the start of a three-day pilgrimage to majority-Orthodox Romania — the first papal visit since John Paul II in 1999.

After having been welcomed at Otopeni Airport by the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis, the Pope was driven through the capital where crowds lined the streets to see his motorcade.


Pope Francis will meet the patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church during his visit to the country, where Catholics are a minority.

During his trip, Pope Francis will celebrate mass at country’s most famous Marian shrine, Sumuleu Ciuc, in Eastern Transylvania and is scheduled to beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops who were martyred during communist rule, when Catholics were brutally persecuted.

He will also meet the patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the latest of his foreign trips to Christian countries where Catholics are a minority.

“I’m coming to you to walk together,” Francis said in a video message released on the eve of his visit.

Read more about it here and here.

The Orthodox view of salvation

In this video, Fr. Steve Robinson presents a comparison of the mainstream juridical-substitutionary atonement views and an Orthodox view of salvation illustrated with a couple of chairs.

I found it pretty interesting. Watch the video and let me know, in the comments section below, what you think about it.

Red nose day 2019

Today I would like to present to you one of the most unusual and coolest initiatives I’ve come across online lately – Red Nose Day. What is it? Well, you can read the entire FAQ here, but allow me to give you the gist of the matter: Red Nose Day is celebrated this year on May 23 and it is a campaign to end child poverty.

Through the power of entertainment, Red Nose Day raises money and awareness to keep children who need help the most stay safe, healthy and educated in America and around the world.

Red Nose Day was was founded in America, but people from all over the world can donate. On Red Nose Day, millions of Americans, celebrities and businesses come together wearing their Red Noses – sold exclusively at Walgreens – to fundraise, donate, and tune in for a special night of programming on NBC.

In its first four years, Red Nose Day has raised nearly $150 million and positively impacted the lives of over 16 million children.

Donate and find out how to get involved at http://rednoseday.org 

Catholic IQ test

I stumbled upon a very interesting website where people can take a rather long quiz to test their Bible knowledge. The site is: https://www.catholiciqtest.com/.

The quiz contains a lot of questions related to the Bible and Christianity (Catholic Christianity, to be more precise).

If you have some free time, I invite you to check it out and to see how many of the questions you can get right.

Happy World Bee Day, 2019!

World Bee Day 2019

According to the United Nations website, on the 20th of May, it’s World Bee Day. The date was chosen because it coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention.

Pollinators – our allies against climate change

You can read more about it here. Happy World Bee Day, 2019, everyone!

Eurovision 2019 – Final

Congratulations to the winner of the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, Duncan Laurence from The Netherlands!

Duncan Laurence – Arcade – Eurovision 2019 winner

Personally, I’m kind of disappointed with the results, but oh well. Also, congratulations to Italy and Russia for winning the second and third place, respectively.

Let me know, in the comments section, what you thought about this edition of the European song contest Eurovision. Who were you rooting for? Are you satisfied with the winner?

Eurovision 2019 – second semifinal

The second semifinal of the 2019 edition of the European song content has just ended. The countries that took part in this semifinal were:

1. Armenia: Serbic – Going Out
2. Ireland: Sarah McTernan – 22
3. Moldova: Ana Odobescu – Stay
4. Switzerland: Luke Hanni – She has me
5. Latvia: carousel – That night
6. Romania: Ester Peony – On Sunday
7. Denmark: Leonora – Love is forever
8. Sweden: John Lundwick – Too late for love
9. Austria: PÆNDA – Boundaries
10. Croatia: Rocco – Dream
11. Malta: Michelle – Chameleon
12. Lithuania: Yuri Veklenko – Run with the Lions
13. Russia: Sergei Lazarev – A scream
14. Albania: Yonida Maliqi – Kethek Tokes
15. Norway: KEiiNO – Spirit in the sky
16. Netherlands: Duncan Lawrence – Arcade
17. Northern Macedonia: Tamara Todevska – Gordana
18. Azerbaijan: Genghis – The Truth

The 10 acts that earned the most points and qualified to participate in the final on Saturday are:

  1. North Macedonia – Tamara Todevska with Proud
  2. The Netherlands – Duncan Laurence with Arcade
  3. Albania – Jonida Maliqi with Ktheju tokës
  4. Sweden – John Lundvik with Too Late For Love
  5. Russia – Sergey Lazarev with Scream
  6. Azerbaijan – Chingiz with Truth
  7. Denmark – Leonora with Love Is Forever
  8. Norway – KEiiNO with Spirit In The Sky
  9. Switzerland – Luca Hänni with She Got Me
  10. Malta – Michela with Chameleon

My favorite song that did not qualify is:

Moldova’s Stay by Ana Odobescu

My favorite song from the ones that made it to the final is:

North Macedonia’s Proud by Tamara Todevska

Let me know who were your favorites in the comments below. Were you disappointed by the results? Even if I was not a fan of Romania’s entry, I am kind of disappointed that my country did not make it into the final. Share your thoughts about the second semifinal.

Eurovision 2019 – first semifinal

The first semifinal of the 2019 edition of the European song content has just ended. The countries that took part in this semifinal were:

  1. Cyprus – Tamta with Replay
  2. Montenegro – D Mol with Heaven
  3. Finland – Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman with Look Away
  4. Poland – Tulia with Fire of Love (Pali się)
  5. Slovenia – Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl with Sebi
  6. Czech Republic – Lake Malawi with Friend Of A Friend
  7. Hungary – Joci Pápa with Az Én Apám
  8. Belarus – ZENA with Like It
  9. Serbia – Nevene Božović with Kruna
  10. Belgium – Eliot with Wake Up
  11. Georgia – Oto Nemsadze with Keep On Going
  12. Australia – Kate Miller-Heidke with Zero Gravity
  13. Iceland – Hatari with Hatrið mun sigra
  14. Estonia – Victor Crone with Storm
  15. Portugal – Conan Osiris with Telemóveis
  16. Greece – Katerine Duska with Better Love
  17. San Marino – Serhat with Say Na Na Na

The 10 acts that earned the most points and qualified to participate in the final on Saturday are:

  1. Greece – Katerine Duska
  2. Belarus – Zena
  3. Serbia – Nevena Bozovic
  4. Cyprus – Tamta
  5. Estonia – Victor Crone
  6. Czech Republic – Lake Malawi
  7. Australia – Kate Miller-Heidke
  8. Iceland – Hatari
  9. San Marino – Serhat
  10. Slovenia – Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl

My favorite song that did not qualify is:

Montenegro’s Heaven by D Mol

My favorite song from the ones that made it to the final is:

Belarus’ Better Love by Katerine Dusca:

Let me know who were your favorites in the comments below. Were you disappointed by the results? Share your thoughts about the first semifinal.