The Presentation of Jesus

Today, February 2, the Church celebrates the Feast of the presentation of Our Lord Jesus in the Temple in both East and West. In the Byzantine Churches, it is referred to as the "Purification of the Blessed Virgin" called "Hypapente to Kyriou" in Greek (i.e. the meeting of the Lord and his mother with Simeon and Anna). According to scholarly articles written in The Catholic Encyclopedia, the first solemn introduction of Christ into the house of God was in the earliest times celebrated in the Church of Jerusalem. In Leveticus, the Law of Moses requires the mother of a male to be purified in the Temple after 40 days of his birth (Leveticus 12:2-8). "Fourty" is also symbolic in Jewish Tradition that awaits the advent of the Messiah (Cf. Moses awaits for 40 days to see the Lord on Mount Sinai). Driven by the Spirit, Jesus fasted for forty days during which he was tempted by the Devil who left Christ for an opportune time until after the Last Supper Jesus was left alone praying in Gethsemane while Judas planned to betray him (Luke 4:13;  Luke 22:44). In the Gospel according to St. Luke, it is written "When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.' Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: 'Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.' The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.' " (Luke 2: 22-35). Here is Jesus; the salvation and light for all nations - the "Sun of Justice" brought to light through Mary the "Morning Star"...Christ risen from the dead is the "Glory for Israel" (i.e. the People of God). Christ was destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel - He reveals the truth and founds the New Israel through his Apostles and disciples "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28: 19, 20). And his mother the ever-Virgin immaculate Mary accepted the sword that would pierce her soul...It is the sorrow she felt when she was under the cross as she saw her son put to death as a criminal while 4 centuries later this same God and Christ is described by repentant St. Augustine in his Confessions "Late have I loved you O ancient beauty and New". Her joy was complete when she saw her son again after he rose from the dead and ascended bodily to heaven. Or is it probably that heaven came to earth?

The Sacred Cosmos of God

Years ago I read a book titled "The Sacred Cosmos" by  the late Terence Nichols who was Professor of Theology at St. Thomas University. The cosmos has been the object of scientific discoveries since the beginning of the 20th century.
On January 10, 2019, NOVA published a phenomenal research on the vast cosmos of which the earth is only a tiny planet. Named "Einstein's Quantum Riddle", scientists in the video explain how ​Einstein called it “spooky action at a distance,” but today quantum entanglement is poised to revolutionize technology from computers to cryptography. Physicists have gradually become convinced that the phenomenon—two subatomic particles that mirror changes in each other instantaneously over any distance—is real. But a few doubts remain. NOVA follows a ground-breaking experiment in the Canary Islands to use quasars at opposite ends of the universe to once and for all settle remaining questions. (Premiered January 9, 2019.) See this fascinating video here...

On January 10, 2019, TechRepublic published a report showing how IBM has made its own quantum computer (see it here and here).  This is also a milestone in the competition with Google in developing deep learning and other advanced technologies (here).

Only humans have been able to send people to the Moon, and recently NASA sent its so-called "Curiosity" discovery which gave us pictures from Mars for the first time (a sample can be seen here - See also this report here).

In June, 2018, I wrote here about a couple of recent phenomenal lectures by two outstanding professors in two countries whose research enlightened us about the vast cosmos we live in and its quantum fields that penetrate every creature on earth. The first lecture was given by Professor Leo Kowenhoven at Delft University in the Netherlands, 2015 (here). In his talk Professor Kowenhoven showed how nature itself works through quantum processes...As an example, a plant leaf takes the light of the Sun and, through quantum superposition, electrons find a way to efficiently bind to the oxygen molecule thus they together produce oxygen that is necessary for human life...Professor Kouwenhoven was speaking about building quantum computers already made in the lab - But the most interesting ideas come near the end of the talk where starting around the 11th minute he talks about the big challenges that people face such as spoiling energy, wasting materials, and not getting the right medicine,  then shows how (with investment by big IT companies), super quantum computers would help solve these problems and others such as electrical cables with zero loss of energy, better airplane design, optimization for robotics, machine learning, and of providing healthcare to needy people using nanotechnology, or avoiding the risk of climate change. The second lecture was given by Professor David Tong at Cambridge University in Britain, 2017 (here). 

as Meanwhile, some 10,000 physicists have been busy at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in CERN, Switzerland looking for new findings of sub-particles that have so far generated more questions than answers. Some of the insights explained refer to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity (space-time flow), J. J. Thomson's discovery of the electron, Ernest Rutherford's model of the atom in which he showed by experiment that the mass of the nucleus of an atom fundamentally consists of protons and neutrons while electrons are much lighter that move around the nucleus,  Faraday's discovery of electromagnetism, James Maxwell's work that demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves at the speed of light, Schrodinger's Wave-Particle Equation used in Quantum Mechanics, Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty and the thought-experiment of Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen (EPR) referred to as "Quantum Entanglement." 

Professor Tong spoke about the inflationary universe that started 13.8 billion years ago. He said that in the first milliseconds, the universe was a huge energy that with time solidified in the galaxies, stars, creating the so-called Black Holes since a Black Hole is that fearsome cosmic phenomenon created when a star dies which then would swallow everything in its surrounding...It is possible that the entire universe would be long dead before a Black Hole eats up the rest of things in its way. But a better understanding is found in this presentation at the World Science Festival in 2015 in the presence of the late British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking here. 

I studied most of the above introduction to quantum physics in my undergraduate studies in electronic engineering at Ain-Shams University in Cairo. My interest in space has been intensive since my late teens. I have continued to follow developments in quantum physics and space since our arrival to Canada. In reading, I found much material written by Sir John Polkinghorne, retired professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, on quantum physics starting in the 1980s.  In 1982, Alain Aspect and his team were able to experimentally prove that two photons emitted from the same atom will still be in contact tens of miles away... The reader may wish to listen to his lecture here. John Polkinghorne, too, wrote, in one of his latest books: Quantum Physics and Theology in 2008, about relationship as science is attempting to discover it at the subnuclear level: “Quantum theory brought to light a remarkable form of entanglement between subatomic particles that have once interacted with each other (the so-called EPR effect), which implies that they remain effectively a single system however far they may subsequently separate spatially- a counterintuitive togetherness-in-separation that has been abundantly confirmed experimentally as a property of nature. The physical world looks more and more like a universe that would be the fitting creation of the trinitarian God, the One whose deepest reality is relational.” (Cf. John Polkinghorne, 2008, "Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship" Published by Yale University Press). Dr. Stephen Barr has written extensively on the relationship of quantum physics and theology (See, for example, his article in First Things here).

The above findings support the 2 most important observations in quantum physics:
1. The probabilistic nature of particles which yields the Uncertainty Principle
2. The communication between particles at long distances (quantum entanglement)
From 2 above, everything must be in a relationship to live. In Christianity God is a relatedness or a relationship of selfless love. It is our belief that God the Father being love (1 John 4: 8) abandons the fullness of divinity and gives all he has to his image the Son (John 10:30; Col 1: 15-19; Phil 2: 6-11 ) who in turn returns this  love in the Holy Spirit who is the binding love of Father and Son (John 15). The concept that God is relatedness or relational is found not only in Holy Scriptures but also in doctors of the Church including St. Thomas Aquinas and, in our days,  Joseph Ratzinger (Bishop of Rome Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI).
If this is true, then we can say that the cosmos is signed by the stamp of the Triune God of Christians.
From 1, we all live in a cosmos still in development. Certainty is achieved beyond this life when we are in the togetherness of the family of the kingdom of God.  The reader may wish to read two posts here written in 2013 and 2017 respectively:

"The Quantum Synthesis" http://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-quantum-sign-of-life.html

"The Quantum Universe": http://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-quantum-universe.html

Fr. Georges Farah added to my knowledge about another great scientist. Georges LeMaitre, Professor of astronomy and physics at the Catholic University of Louvain from 1923 to the late 1930s is also well-known for his research on the origin of the universe and the Big Bang. He had several discussions with Einstein, Edwin Hubble, and in the United States participated in research at Harvard and MIT, and in Toronto with Ludwik Silberstein. His interest in Catholicism is shown in his Thomist approach to the distinction between "creation" and "beginning".  In order to reconcile the scientific approach with Biblical Christianity, he interpreted Genesis in a non-literal interpretation...Pope Saint John XXIII made him president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences...Georges LeMaitre passed away in 1964.

I should add my experience with, and graduate Masters study of, new technology to the above.

The advances in robotics are related to the advances in quantum computers that work fast and both are related to advances in Artificial Intelligence.
The search engine in Google uses a form of artificial intelligence that allows readers to search the Internet for any combination of words and pictures. Scientists are learning to predict psychosis years in advance.   On November 10, 2017,  IBM announced  its marketing for the first quantum process system -  its "20 qubit IBM Q Commercial Quantum Computer." Artificial Intelligence is also used for marketing of Amazon.com products online...If you look for a book/item on Amazon.com, the next time you open the Amazon.com page associated with Google’s YouTube, you will notice that it displays a set of books/items that you would be interested in buying. More info about the benefits and risks of using artificial intelligence can be found here.
Movies that show futuristic-machines usually give the impression that humanity may one day be enslaved to artificially-intelligent computers. The use of such automated systems by military forces is already found in missiles owned/used by current armies in battles. However, the human mind is still in control. International treaties are signed to protect humanity from the calamities of going to war with the threat of using advanced technology as weapons! But can this technology be used for the good of humanity?

All of the above could be used for reflection and deep thought about the implications as well as the benefits of applying new insights to help humanity.

Jesus of Nazareth

"Jesus of Nazareth" is the title of the movie of the life of Christ directed by Franco Zeffirelli produced in 1977.
The reader may wish to watch the 6-hours movie spoken and subtitled in English here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruLjkt-5Kao&t=121s
I recall that the youth at Jesus the King parish in Toronto used to watch it on Good Friday since there were no lectures on that day busy with services served by priests and choirs, and attended by many faithful that the church could hardly accommodate.
The movie reflects such great events from the time when the Angel of the Lord announced to the Virgin Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of the Saviour by the power of the Holy Spirit.

A Compelling New Finding of The Universe...

Einstein's Quantum Riddle - NOVA - Published January 10, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGF34iPfPDY

Should Christians be concerned? Strategies to dominate the world through space missiles and artificial intelligence

Yesterday, January 20, 2019, I published an article of a report from Donald Trump, President of the United States dated January 17 in which he announced the expansion of U.S. missile defense. "Donald Trump has announced that the United States will develop new technologies -- including in space -- to acquire unrivaled missile-defense capabilities and maintain an advantage over adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea...Speaking after acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Trump said the U.S. goal was simple: 'that we can detect and destroy' any incoming missile launched against the United States 'anywhere, any time, any place.'" Quoted too was the first reaction of Russia's Viktor Bondaryov, the chairman of the Defense and Security Committee in Russia's upper house of parliament. He said "an additional layer of space-based sensors to detect missiles can be viewed as a component of a policy of increasing tensions...Under no circumstances should attack weapons be based in space. This is fraught with catastrophe." The feeling of being under threat is not new. What is new is the use of space to launch attacks using advanced intelligence. This is far more complex than conventional wars because advanced technology, including computer-simulated machines, quantum computers, artificial intelligence and big data in space can be catastrophic not only for nations attacked but for the nation that started the attack. Space satellites have been used by the powers of the world to spy on each other and influence their strategies on smaller nations such as those of Islamic and/or Arab identity that challenge Israel in the Middle East. But the United States has kept its superior military advances in the Middle East since the Egyptian Pan-Arab nationalist leader Abdel-Nasser challenged the West. Abdel-Nasser's rhetoric helped Israel defeat Arabs one more time in June 1967. When his successor Sadat reversed Nasser's dependence on the Soviet Union military experts, Americans got in. When Sadat got the Egyptian army to cross the occupied Suez Canal in 1973, his heroic military act was hailed by Arabs but in 1976 he went to Jerusalem in order to end 'the blood of wars' with Israel. He was encouraged by the diplomacy of America's Secretary of State Henry Kissinger working closely with President Nixon. America's ascendance to the state of superpower took place with President Ronald Reagan's collaboration with Pope Saint John Paul II to end communism in Europe and the role played by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to end the dictatorship of the USSR.  It was later seen in the use of force by George H. Bush when Iraq' Saddam Hussein dared to invade Kuwait in 1990, and his son George W. Bush's direct invasion of Baghdad to finish off Sadam's government in 2003. Earlier the United Stated suffered humiliation in the 9/11 2001 Islamic terrorist attack when airplanes were hijacked and went through two towers in New York killing thousands of Americans (see this documentary here). With the increasing anti-Islamic tensions, books written by the late philosopher Professor René Girard increased in sales as he revealed the mimetic tendencies found in early and primitive cultures including those of Islamic cultures and how Christ's divinity and cross are the foundation of truth (here in First Things, 1996) - see also Bishop Robert Barron's article about Girard after the latter passed away here). John Haldane, Professor of Philosophy at St. Andrews University was invited by BBC Radio to comment, among other scholars, on the Thomistic powerful work that helped in the  ascendance of Christian Europe in the 13th century AD while commentaries on Aristotle's natural philosophy by the Islamic philosopher Averroes were banned by Islamic authorities (here). It was St. Thomas Aquinas who started the scientific exploration that the West inherited and continues to make its own. 
Alarmed by the decline of Western Europe's Christianity in face of  politically-correct leaders welcoming immigration of radical Muslims to Europe, the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad gave a powerful homily in France in October 2017 calling on Europe to rediscover its Christian roots (here in French).The challenge today is not only against Islam where many Muslims are leaving their heritage but also the new wave of lovers of death in Islamic culture that they wish to take lives of innocents in Europe and North America - How they penetrated Western institutions (in Arabic here: صندوق الإسلام with Hamed Abd el-Samad published in January 2019).
Back to the advanced technologies we need to explore how giants like China and Russia have put the West on an alarming note. In March 2018, Russia's President Putin addressed his Federal Assembly with powerful promises (here). In December 2018, Forbes published a report that showed how China has advanced its own Artificial Intelligence (here).
Why should Christians be concerned? 
First: The challenge of radical Islam,
Second: The challenge of powerful dictators (Russia's Putin and China's Xi Jinping) 
Third: The United States President Trump warned his allies that they should pay back for America's military protection: (NATO), Japan, South Korea. But he has withdrawn from Syria leaving it to the Russians, Turks, and Iran against advice by his top aides. His sanctions against Iran seems to be effective in trade between European countries and Iran but how far could they be effective within Iran itself? The CIA is working to effectively bring Iran's leaders to their knees. His negotiations with Kim Jong un of North Korea have not improved but are expected to continue in February 2019 (see The New York Times here).
As the week of prayers for Christian unity comes to a close, let us pray for peace.