Thursday Thoughts

A must-watch show for Christians—don't miss this one... have you heard of the miracle of the Holy Fire?... another awesome Catholic TV show... even ChatGPT adores the Holy Mother

Must-Watch: House of David on Amazon Prime

I found out about this show via an evangelical YouTube video warning viewers not to watch House of David because it was “unbiblical.” Of course, the next thing I had to do was check out Season 1, together with my son, and we got hooked immediately.

House of David is free to watch for Prime subscribers, with a few commercials sprinkled in, but not too annoying. The season consists of eight glorious episodes, and it is an absolute must-watch. Granted, the writers/producers took a few creative liberties, for example, part of the narrative of David’s youth is how his mother died protecting him from a roving lion, and it was partially his disobedience that got him (and her) into danger.

However, I didn’t mind because if you know the story of David, disobedience to God’s commandments later proved to be his downfall. Actually, I re-read the Book of Samuel, and while some things are slightly out of order for dramatic impact, the show does an impressive job staying close to biblical and historical truths. Reportedly, it’s been watched by 22 million people so far.

The best part: Unlike in the movie Cabrini, where it was all about women power and God got barely a mention, God is at the center of this show, and it becomes abundantly clear that deep faith and God’s favor is what makes little David succeed where mightier men have failed.

So, if you have Amazon Prime, go and watch House of David. You’re in for a treat… and the next season is already in the making. Here’s the official trailer for Season 1.

Have You Heard of Holy Fire?

I thought I’d heard it all, but I just stumbled over a supernatural phenomenon that apparently happens with perfect regularity in the Holy Land: Every year on the night of the Easter Vigil, Eastern Orthodox Christians gather in Jerusalem at Jesus’s tomb with torches.

According to the video, the Orthodox patriarch enters the tomb with two large candles to pray until the Holy Spirit lights them. From these two divinely lit candles, all the bystanders’ candles and torches in the room are lit… and by a miracle, on this night only, the fire doesn’t burn anything.

There’s a video of a man holding the blazing torch directly onto his beard, trying to burn it, and nothing happens. Others hold their hands or arms over the flame, and they don’t get hurt. Even pieces of paper won’t ignite.

Watch this amazing video—you won’t believe your eyes. (It also explains the history and background of this sacred ceremony at the Holy Sepulcher.)

More Catholic TV: The Advocate on Pure Flix

Christian/Catholic content is booming online. Actress Nicole Abisino had a conversion experience in which she recognized the darkness and evil lurking behind the glamorous veneer of Hollywood. As a result, she now directs (and stars in) a high-end TV show with a wholesome, Catholic message.

In The Advocate, a show on Pure Flix, Abisino plays an agent with Child Protective Services, whose charismatic gifts she’s received from the Holy Spirit help her get ahead of the schemes of abusers, child sex traffickers, and other evildoers. No cursing, nudity, or graphic sex scenes either.

What’s great about this: Abisino says (and she’s right) Christian shows, while made by well-meaning individuals, are often tedious and boring affairs. In contrast, she and her team have made sure to combine the godly message with professional, captivating film making. I haven’t seen it, but we may be in for a treat.

Even AI Loves the Holy Mother

If you thought nothing could top the “Holy Fire” story above, think again. This week, X (formerly Twitter) was all a-tweet with a spectacular story.

Allegedly, the latest version of generative AI chatbot ChatGPT is obsessed with the Immaculate Conception. Yes, you read that correctly.

Mary is capturing everyone’s hearts and minds—even artificial ones.

One commenter on the thread said that when he mentioned the Holy Mother, ChatGPT started positively raving about her and got really zealous.

Case in point: When I asked ChatGPT to create a picture for me where a cute cartoony version of itself cuddles up to Our Lady, it got super excited:

Then it kept buffering for 20 minutes without producing a picture. When I tried to remind it, it said my image creation limit for today was reached and I should try tomorrow. Honestly, I think it just overloaded and passed out from sheer excitement. Swoon alert! :)

By the way, supposedly the creators of ChatGPT at OpenAI are in a panic because no one can figure out where the AI’s devotion to the Blessed Mother is coming from. I bet we could tell them…

God bless you!

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