text:
It has been a long winter and the summer sun is finally out to play. Sure, having a sun-kissed glow can look great (unless Edward Cullen's look is the goal), but increased sun exposure can cause painful sunburns, speed up the skin's aging process Risk reduction for nonmelanoma skin cancer with childhood sunscreen use. Stern, R.S., Weinstein, M.C., Baker, S.G. Archives of Dermatology, 1986 May; 122(5): 537-545., and basically cause a major "situation."Plus, don't forget that unprotected exposure to the sun's ultraviolet radiation can dramatically increase chances of melanoma (skin cancer) Melanoma risk in relation to use of sunscreen or other sun protection methods. Lazovich D, Isaksson Vogel R, Berwick R, et al. Epidemiology & Community Heath, University of Minnesota, MN. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2001 Oct 20..
So what's the best way to avoid the sizzle? Sunscreen saves the day.
SPFun - The Takeaway
To prevent sun damage, daily application of sunscreen is highly recommended. One study shows that regular use of an SPF 15 sunscreen can reduce the lifetime incidence of skin cancer by 78%! Risk reduction for nonmelanoma skin cancer with childhood sunscreen use. Stern, R.S., Weinstein, M.C., Baker, S.G. Archives of Dermatology, 1986 May; 122(5): 537-545. And sunscreen isn't only good for the skin- it turns out frequent sunscreen users have better attitudes, stronger social influence, and more self-efficacy Motives of Belgian Adolescents for Using Sunscreen: The Role of Action Plans. De Vries, H., Mesters, I., Riet, J., et al. Department of Health Education, Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2006 Jul; 15(7): 1360-1366..
Sun protection is a case where both quantity and quality matter. For ultimate defense, implement these suggested safe sunning techniques:
- Sunscreen should be applied to dry skin about 30 minutes before going outside, but each application typically lasts about two hours, so reapply throughout the day. (Waterproof sunscreen only lasts about 80 minutes.)
- Pay special attention to the face, ears, arms, and other exposed parts of the body- apply liberally for maximum protection.
- As a general rule of thumb, SPF 30 for the body and SPF 15 for lips are the go-to numbers for effective sun protection.
- Apply colored sunscreen to exposed areas of the body. (Blue may be the most effective, especially when worn with a loincloth and strings of beads.)
Although frequent and liberal application of sunscreen helps protect the skin, its use does not provide a free pass for unrestricted, intentional sun exposure. Just be sure to sun responsibly!
The Tip
Apply sunscreen frequently and liberally throughout the day to prevent sun damage and decrease chances of skin cancer.
Updated November 2011


text:
Dr. Marilyn Mehr
Selected Works
Such Charming Exiles: How Two Gay Women Learned to Live Openly and Love Fiercely
Two women--psychologists, professors and activists--love each other fiercely, but struggle against the invisibility and/or scorn of American society. As social activists, they must overcome their exile and have the courage to confront prejudice and live honest lives. These lessons hold for all women, men and their families. (purchase on Amazon.com. Barnes and Noble.com and Bootlocker.com)
Historical Fiction
Holding the World Together
Holding the World Together
is a captivating adventure, a touching love story and an evocation of the American West.
Broken Circuits: A Memoir of Alzheimer's Disease in Four Voices
by Marilyn Mehr, Nancy M. Snell, Judith M. Olson, Dennis R. Mehr
The book reveals the pain, personal growth and insights of adult children witnessing the loss of their cherished father deteriorating before their eyes.
The Courage to Achieve: Why America's Brightest Women Struggle to Achieve their Potential
by Betty Walker, Ph.D. and Marilyn Mehr, Ph.D.
Based on the first study ever done on academically gifted women and their life patterns of achievement. This is a ground-breaking work for and about women that is a blueprint for reaching one's maximum potential.
Quick Links
Authors Guild
Advocates for published authors since 1912
Authors Guild Directory
A compendium of member websites

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Welcome to NASCAR NATION! Thanks for joining. Navigate the site through the top menu bar. You can create and edit your own page, post in the blogs and forums, watch or embed youtube videos and more! Join us in chat by either clicking Chat in the menu bar, or in the bottom-right of your browser window, click where it says NASCAR NATION Chat. Then go introduce yourself to us in the message board.
Please put a picture on your avatar as soon as you can. If you need help, just ask.
Views: 212
© 2019 Created by Eve♥#9. Powered by


text:
Raspberri Pi gains support for Oracle's Java
Raspberries don't really go well with coffee, but somehow we think the Raspberry Pi gaining support for Oracle's Java is a bit different. The company has added the official hard-float Oracle Java 7 JDK to its repository.
All future "Raspbian" images will ship with Oracle Java out of the box. Existing users can install it by typing in the following command:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-jdk
The company says one of its longstanding goals has been for Raspberry Pi to ship with "a complete set of common programming languages" and Java was always a glaring omission from the list. Well, that's fixed. Next!
Top Image Credit: Sander Klaver
This post is brought to you by Shutterstock – over 30 million stock photos, illustrations, vectors, and videos.


text:
Christie D'Alessio of Irvington was appointed as a Greenburgh Town Judge Wednesday during the regular Town Board meeting.
"D'Alessio is a highly qualified candidate who has dedicated her legal career as a public servant," Supervisor Paul Feiner said.
D'Alessio earned her undergraduate degree from Mercy College and law degree Pace Law School with honors. After she was inspired by Chief Judge Janet Difiore during a Judicial Externship in Westchester County Court, D'Alessio worked with the Westchester County Attorney's office for 13 years as a litigator handling cases in local, state and federal court.
D'Alessio was appointed in 2014 as the Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Anne E. Minihan in Westchester County and Supreme Court and has been working in the judicial branch writing decisions for the Westchester County and Supreme Court where she continuously demonstrates compassion, professionalism, and respect for those who appear before the court, Feiner added.
She is a member of the Women's Bar Association and plans to join the Town Court to develop internship programs, alternatives to incarceration and programs available to improve the reduction of recidivism.
"The members of the Town Board feel that Christie is highly qualified and will be an exceptional addition to the Court," Feiner said.
D'Alessio's appointment runs until the end of the year. An election for Town Judge will be held in November 2018. She will join Delores Brathwaite and Bonnie Orden on the court.
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.


text:
Artist: EAST NEW YORK ENSEMBLE DE MUSIC
Title: At The Helm
Format: LP
Label: Folkways
Country: USA
Price: $19.00
|"Bilal Abdurahmans East New York Ensemble de Music came out of the diverse community of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, where African, West Indian & black American cultures converged. First and foremost a deep Spiritual Jazz record, At The Helm also incorporates elements of the West Indies, and both the Near and Far East. Originally released in 1974 this is an incredible, and unjustly forgotten, record lovingly reissued in a perfect replica of the original Folkways jacket." -Folkways


text:
Given the important function of life insurance in protecting the financial security of a family after the death of a family breadwinner, denial of a valid claim can cause extreme hardships. Whether you are a policyholder or beneficiary, the starting point to protecting your interest is to understand the type of life insurance coverage you need to fit your goals and needs. This blog post provides a broad overview of the basic features of the most common types of life insurance coverage. There are several categories of life insurance that serve various functions and provide disparate benefits. Common types of life insurance include the following:
- Whole Life Insurance: This form of coverage provides protection over the entire life of the policyholder. An important feature of this form of insurance is that it offers a set level of security. The insured can also borrow against the fluctuating cash value of the policy, which provides a financial safety net to respond to unanticipated financial emergencies.
- Variable Life Insurance: With this type of coverage, the policy has a cash value that can be invested in a range of investments that might include money market funds, stocks, and bonds. Because of the speculative nature of the investment products, there is no guarantee of the cash value of the policy. Rather, the value will be based on the performance of the investment sub-accounts. This type of policy offers tax benefits because investment earnings and capital gains can be tax deferred during the period the earnings remain invested.
- Term Life Insurance: This form of coverage only provides financial security for a fixed and specified period of time, such as ten, twenty, or thirty years. This type of coverage offers an important tradeoff that must be considered. While the policy will tend to be subject to a lower premium, this form of coverage offers no cash value. This form of coverage can have various features that include terms for return of premium and the ability to transform the policy to whole life coverage.
- Variable Universal Life Insurance: Like with variable life coverage, the cash value of this type of policy fluctuates based on the value of an investment sub-account. The entire form of coverage is regulated as a security. This form of insurance involves a more substantial financial risk.
- Universal Life Insurance: When putting together a long-term financial plan or engaging in retirement planning, this form of coverage provides certain advantages. The policy provides protection for the full life of the policyholder, and it accumulates a cash value. The coverage facilitates financial planning through flexibility in both face value and premiums.
- Permanent Life Insurance: The insured will receive a specific payout at the end of the policy term (i.e. the life of the insured) provided the premiums are kept up to date. Universal, variable, whole, and single premium are different forms of this type of policy.
Our Miami life insurance claims law firm invites you to contact us if your insurance carrier is refusing to comply with its contractual obligation. If you are a beneficiary with questions about life insurance claims, you are invited to contact our law firm to speak to an experienced Miami insurance claims attorney. My law firm specializes in representing policyholders in claims disputes in Miami and throughout Florida. Click here to read about some of our case results. The Law Firm of J.P. Gonzalez-Sirgo, P.A. offers free consultations and case evaluations. No Recovery, No Lawyer Fees. Call 305-461-1095 or Toll Free 1-866-71-CLAIM.


text:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl combine the beef, spinach, zucchini, onion, bulghur, egg, oregano, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and fill each pepper half with the meat mixture. Pour the tomatoes over the peppers and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the meat mixture is completely cooked and the peppers are tender, about 25 minutes longer.
2006, Ellie Krieger, All Rights Reserved


text:
My Account
Contact Us
: Science Weighs in On How Fat Raises Cancer Risk
Posted September 3, 2017
FRIDAY, Sept. 1, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have known for years that obesity can rise cancer risk, but how? Now, new research offers clues to how fat cells encourage tumors.
The issue is an important one, the study author said.
"Obesity is increasing dramatically worldwide, and is now also recognized as one of the major risk factors for cancer, with 16 different types of cancer linked to obesity," explained Cornelia Ulrich, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City.
To help prevent the disease, "we urgently need to identify the specific mechanisms that link obesity to cancer," she said.
Prior studies have already outlined several ways fat could play a role in cancer. For example, obesity increases inflammation in the body, which has long been associated with the disease.
Obesity can also affect cancer cell metabolism and undermine the immune system's natural defenses, which may help tumors to grow and spread.
Ulrich's team noted that the link between fat and cancer also hinges on cellular "crosstalk" -- changes in complex chemical signaling within cells. Finding ways to interrupt this "crosstalk" could lead to new ways to help prevent cancer, the researchers theorized.
In the new review, to be published Sept. 5 in Cancer Prevention Research, an international team of researchers looked at data from 20 existing studies. The studies were published over the past seven decades, and each focused on cellular crosstalk between fat cells and malignant tumors.
In several of these studies, certain fat cells -- known as "adipose stromal cells" -- were able to invade cancer lesions and then help spur the growth of tumors. The data also showed that obese people with prostate or breast cancer appeared to have more of these cells than thinner people.
Some types of fat cells are also more "metabolically active," releasing more substances that promote tumor growth, the review found.
Also, fat may be white, brown or beige, Ulrich's team noted. And these different types of fat each behave differently, depending on quantity and location in the body. For example, the review found that white fat tissue is linked with inflammation and worse outcomes for women with breast cancer.
The location of fat in the body also influences how it affects certain types of cancer, the review found. Fat tissue is usually adjacent to colon and rectal cancers, the research team noted, and it is part of the direct environment of breast tumors.
According to the team, future studies might help doctors figure out if it's possible to disrupt the processes that promote the growth of tumors by affecting nearby fat.
"We are just beginning to unravel the ways crosstalk occurs and the substances involved," Ulrich said in a journal news release. "The more we understand this process, the better we can identify targets and strategies for decreasing the burden of obesity-related cancer."
Two experts in obesity agreed that this type of research is important.
"Obesity is going to surpass cigarette smoking as the leading cause of cancer deaths," said Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of obesity surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
"The take-home message here is that proper nutrition and maintaining a proper weight is essential for successful preventative health," he said. "Obesity is not inert and impacts virtually every aspect of your body, and not in a positive manner."
Dr. Raymond Lau is an endocrinologist at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. He said that "there has long been an association between obesity and cancer risk. There is growing evidence that inflammation is the common link between these two disease states, and this review article helps to strengthen this relationship."
-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas
Copyright © 2017
. All rights reserved.
About Us
Sunflower Cafe Menus
Product Showcase
Store Specials
Store News
Events Calendar
Healthy Recipes
Ingredient Glossary
News & Features
Reference Library
Health & Wellness
Vitamins & Minerals
Children's Health
Adolescent's Health
Women's Health
Men's Health
Senior's Health
Conditions & Allergies
Functional Foods
Health Calculators
Store Locations
Blood Pressure
Bone Health
Chronic Pain
Eye Sight
Healthy Kids
Lung Health
Men's Health
Oral Health
Senior Health
Weight Management
Women's Health
About Us
Sunflower Cafe Menus
Product Showcase
Store Specials
Store News
Events Calendar
Healthy Recipes
News & Features
Reference Library
Store Locations
My Email Subscription
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
All contents © Copyright 1999-2019 Genius Central and Virginia's Health Food. All rights reserved. This internet site is hosted by Genius Central, a Web site service provider to natural health stores nationwide. Genius Central and Virginia's Health Food have no means of independently evaluating the safety or functionality of the products offered by their suppliers and affiliates and thus can neither endorse nor recommend products. Information presented is of a general nature for educational and informational purposes only. Statements about products and health conditions have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Products and information presented herein are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Your use of this site indicates your agreement to be bound by our
Terms and Conditions


text:
Main Navigation
Please sign in
To sign in, please select your digital library from the list below.
Please sign in
To sign in, type your school's name and select it from the list below.
- Bernice A. Ray School
Boynton Middle School
Brewster Academy
Coe-Brown Northwood Academy
Concord High School
Conval Regional High School
Ellis School
Gorham Randolph Shelburne Coop School District
Governor Wentworth Reg. School District
Great Brook School
Hampton Academy
Hanover High School
Henry W. Moore School
Hillsboro-Deering High School
Holderness School
Hollis-Brookline High School
Kearsarge Regional High School
Laconia Middle School
Lebanon Middle School
Lin-Wood Public School
Monadnock Regional Middle High School
Newfound Regional High School
Nottingham School
Oyster River High School
Paul Elementary School
Plainfield Elementary School
South Meadow School
Sunapee Central School
Sunapee Middle High School
Tri-City Christian Academy
US Performance Academy
Windham High School
Winnacunnet High School
Winnisquam Regional High School


text:
Jul 23, 2015
In this week's show we are really quite the mess. Hang in there with us, though, as we eventually get on track and bring you an interview with a really cool gent with an even cooler organization - we visit with Scott Zimmerman from AirBears.org! If you play the FPV game or even have the skills and gear to do Aerial Photography, I urge you to listen to this episode. This group has already assisted in the saving of 4 lives!
Woman Knocked Unconscious With What? (IOTW)
Firefighters' Efforts Hampered (IOTW)
Finally, A GOOD Report (NOT an IOTW)
RCACF Summer Fun Fly This Weekend
WATTS Over Owatonna This Weekend
This Week's Slideshow Pictures


text:
Two New Posters For Frank Miller's SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR
Check two new posters for Dimension's SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR. The obviously stylized posters are for the obviously stylized movie franchise but this time the movie will be in 3D - perfect for this genre based on the graphic novels of Frank Miller (300).
I'm actually much more excited about this movie because of the 3D than the original. Not surprising coming from me I know, but I really think that 3D will dramatically improve the audiences suspension of disbelief for this genre. Can't wait!
Here's the storyline for the movie:
Co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller reunite to bring Miller's visually stunning "Sin City" graphic novels back to the screen in SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR. Weaving together two of Miller's classic stories with new tales, the town's most hard boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more reviled inhabitants. SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR is the follow up to Rodriguez and Miller's 2005 groundbreaking film, FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY.
SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR opens on August 22 in 3D.
Source: IMP Awards


text:
Handmade Genuine Leather Messenger Satchel / 11" MacBook Air or 12" Laptop Bag (n54)
$98.00 Sold out
Very rigorous finishes, excellent choice of leather and hardware for ensuring strength and longevity of the product.
The properties of soft leather and vintage design make this item unique.
A truly one of a kind item.
Material: soft genuine cow leather; cotton fabric lining; brass hardware
Weight: 0.8Kg
W: 13.4" (34 cm)
H: 9.4" (24 cm)
D: 3.1" (8 cm)
Removable shoulder strap, adjustable to 55" (to 140 cm).
Internal structure: wall zippered pocket; cell phone pocket; wallet pocket.
One pocket on the back and two frontal pockets under the flap.
- It fits an 11" MacBook Air or a 12" laptop and some A4 files / books.
IMPORTANT!!! Please, provide your correct delivery address and a phone NO. for express delivery when purchasing.
Please contact me if you have other questions. Thank you!


text:
LIFT KIT | 2011-2016 GM 2500HD Diesel | 10" STAGE 1
- Print
- View full size
Superior fit, function and finish. Improved ride quality, O.E. steering geometry and O.E. track-width, just a few of the many reasons we are known as the reliable 2500HD guys. You could also say we paved the way for sub-frame style lift kits, twenty years ago and long before the current trend. Fifteen years later, like the 2500HD our lift kits are still evolving and still continue to uphold our reputation! The CSK-C3-16-8 kit includes front & rear lift components for a level stance at 9-10 inches of lift and four of our Dirt-Series 2.0 shocks!


text:
Vagina Jenkins is trying to purchase an RV/conversion van for traveling around N. America reclaiming even more space for fat,black,femme herstory!
Vagina Jenkins is trying to purchase an RV/conversion van for traveling around N. America reclaiming even more space for fat,black,femme herstory!
You know how awesome The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins is as a performer. You know, the crazy gloves peels, the sexy bedroom eyes, the 30 minute striptease marathons, the spectacle, the pure electricity!
Well, if you've experienced it, share it, I say!
I've been a radical performance artist for 10 years and have been performing burlesque for 7 years now. And while Atlanta/the southeast have loved and embraced the Vag, the rest of the world hasn't quite caught on.
I will never abandon my southern roots--Atlanta's art scene has nurtured me and made me what I am. I just want to be able to spread my mission/my art as far and wide as possible so that folks can see the southern take on burlesque and performance art.
As a burlesque performer, my mission is to reclaim visual and erotic space for all the marginalized communities I represent. Which is an overly academic way of saying that as queer woman of size and color I want to be a huge, big , bright, feathered beacon of awesome-ness.
Sure, I'm also an attention whore, but I also believe strongly that every woman deserves to take up space and be beautiful on her own terms, defying, queering and otherwise redefining what it means to be femme in the world.
So I'm trying to get the word out there. But in order to take up visual space and show the people far and wide what I'm all about and what SEXY freed from class/gender/orientation/race boundaries looks like--- I'm gonna have to get out there.
I'm going to need a little community support, y'all!
The traveling Vagina Jenkins Roadshow
My ultimate goal for 2010 is to travel the country performing and exposing myself and my mission to as much of North America as possible.
The only way I can see that I'd be able to do this is to RV it (or possibly a nice conversion van.)
I have a network of amazing queers, burlesque and drag performers across the country that are willing to book and house me, but the travel expenses of flying and Greyhounding it every other week are severely cutting into the rhinestone fund.
This past weekend, in NYC I made $160 in bookings/merch sales. My plane fare was $158...net profit $2...absolutely NOT sustainable.
So I'm looking for a little community help and support.
The Buck Tuck $5-$50
I will send you a handwritten, and personalized thank you note, that you can proudly display on your mantel or desk as proof that you, do ,in fact know a girl named "Vagina."
Friendly Fluffer $51-$100
For your donation at this level I will send you the personalized thank you note mentioned above, as well as an 8x10 glossy of my beautiful self, so that you have photographic evidence, that, really, there's a stripper named "Vagina."
Vaginal Support $101-$200
All of the above, plus your very own pair of officially liscensed Vagina Jenkins pasties...now with tassel twirling action!
Patron of the Vag $200 plus
All of the above, plus 2 VIP seats at the next Vagina Jenkins show of your choice
Team Va Jay Jay
For the group (3 or more folks working together) that raises the most funds for the Vagina Jenkins Travel fund, I will appear at your open-to-the-public event, and make a celebrity appearance and perform one number of your choice.
Please help in any way you can!
All donations monetary or otherwise are soooooo appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
Exes and Ohs,
-The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Funding period
- (89 days)


text:
Yes, it is a tragedy. But we've got lots of other wonderful things up our sleeve which will be taking its place in future weeks. I'll abandon the vomit analogy now - I don't want vomit up my sleeve, that would be horrid.
We also released episode six of Forgive Me Father!
Unlike Heaven's Gate, this series doesn't stop at six. Not even close, it goes on for ages. But there are lots of twists and turns to come, so you won't get bored, honest. Unless you have a very short attention span - in which case, don't worry! There's a special version just for you, which also doubles as a handy recap for everyone else. Here's the first six episodes in under a minute:
And that's not all! We released another video this week too! Four videos in one week? Surely not? Yes, we surely did! The next one is a thrilling reading from Clever Dick Holly's exciting zombie novella read by no less than the very author herself! And if you wonder why she's 'wearing' a hat, well, all I can say is, that's what happens when you grumble about your hair being a mess.
So that's everything that happened last week. Then at the weekend we got together to film some more wonderful sketches to feed our public's insatiable demand for new material, like some demonic colonial overlord, or a Pharaoh who can never seem to have enough pyramids. And now it's Monday and the whole process starts all over again!


text:
After each of St. Anthony's five goals, the scorer gazed skyward. A few blew kisses. Others scooped up some ice and lightly tossed it in the air as they looked up to the ceiling.
It was meant to acknowledge Marie Drisco, the program's beloved longtime general manager who lost her decade-long battle with cancer Tuesday morning.
"She was our heart and soul," St. Anthony's senior captain James Mazza said after the undefeated Friars' gritty 5-3 win over New Jersey power St. Peter's Prep at the Prudential Center in Newark in non-league hockey.
When the sad news was relayed to St. Anthony's coach Jeff Stelmok, he was unsure about going ahead with the scheduled showcase. But after talking to the program's many coaches, they agreed Drisco, who was with the team for more than 20 years, would've wanted them to play in her memory.
"They wore their hearts on their sleeves," Stelmok said of the two-time CHSHL Class A champions. "We won this game for Mrs. 'D.'"
Mazza, the star defenseman, described her as a tough motherly figure who was there for her "boys" whenever needed.
"She would push people to be the best," Mazza said. "She would kick you in the butt – she would actually kick you in the butt."
Drisco made sure the program, which has five teams – a varsity and junior varsity in the CHSHL, varsity and junior varsity in the Suffolk County High School League, which are classified as club teams, and an independent team – ran smoothly. She made sure every player interested in hockey had a place to play, creating the new teams over the years and was the driving force in St. Anthony's joining the CHSHL three years ago.
"She did everything imaginable," Stelmok said. "Everybody had a good relationship with Marie. She was always at practice. She came to all the games that she could. … The only reason why she couldn't [come to more games] was because she was getting her butt kicked by chemo or she was in the hospital fighting it."
Drisco was prepared to step down after her son graduated from St. Anthony's in the early 1990s, as rules then stipulated, but remained in the position when parents voted to change said rules.
St. Anthony's played for Drisco on Wednesday, picking up a quality win over a top opponent. After a slow start, the Friars raced out to a 2-0 lead, on goals from Joseph Loiacano and Nick Nici 51 seconds apart in the first period. After St. Peter's got even, the Long Island powerhouse surged ahead, extending to a 4-2 lead midway through the second period. Mike Marnell scored on a wraparound and Brett D'lorio banked in a goal off St. Peter's goaltender Tyler Kovach. The Marauders got within 4-3, but Chris Wallace iced it 10:11 into the final period.
"One thing I thought about on my way to the rink was to leave everything out there and play for her," said Wallace, who had two goals and an assist. "She pushed us to be better. To come out on top meant a lot to us and to her."
Unlike its league contests, which have been lopsided so far, St. Anthony's was tested on Wednesday – mentally and physically – and responded as Stelmok hoped.
"It's huge," the coach said. "For us to go on the road and play a quality team we've never seen before and have to make adjustments on the fly, in an arena like this, it's cool for our kids. But for us to play at a high level, it's a win for us in a lot of different aspects."
The win also kept St. Anthony's hope of a perfect season alive, a preseason goal. From the start, Wallace said he felt this was a special group, one capable of winning a state championship, a goal the last two teams have fallen just short of. The win, with heavy hearts, only emboldened those thoughts.
Along with the general manager they feel is still with them.
"Every time we step on the ice," Wallace said, "she'll be with us."


text:
Tag Archives: business plan for a coffee shop
How Much Does it Cost to Open a Coffee Shop?
If you're dreaming of opening a coffee shop, two questions you're probably asking yourself are: "How much does it cost to open a coffee shop?" and, "Do I need a coffee shop business plan?" There's no hard and fast answer … Read More
How to Calculate Coffee Shop Startup Costs
In a recent "Start-up Strategies" column for CoffeeTalk magazine, Greg Ubert addressed one of the first questions potential business owners ask: "How much will it cost to open my coffee shop?" He goes on to write, "Because every specialty coffee business … Read More
Why Do You Need a Coffee Shop Business Plan?
Are you dreaming about opening a coffee shop? Perhaps you see yourself working in a business you love. Serving the best coffee drinks in town. Creating a community gathering place. Maybe renovating a historic location, or building a sleek new … Read More
The Power of the Cup® in Opening a Coffee Shop
Thinking about opening a coffee shop? Consider putting the Power of the Cup® behind you. With the Power of the Cup®, you can learn everything you need to run a profitable – and enjoyable – independent coffee business. What's the … Read More
Choosing Equipment for Opening a Coffee Shop
Opening a coffee shop business can be a fun and exciting venture. Assuming that you have already taken care of the preliminary steps, including finding a great location and lining up funding, the next major step is purchasing coffee shop … Read More
Leo's Donuts and Coffee House Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
Congratulations to Terry and Andra Shortt, who celebrated the one-year anniversary of Leo's Donuts and Coffee House on April 22. The coffee-and-donut shop opened after completing our Seven Steps to Success coffee franchise alternative program. Leo's features an espresso bar, fresh … Read More
Greg Shares Startup Strategies in Coffeetalk Magazine
Dreaming of opening a coffee shop? Then check out Greg's recent column, "Seven Strategies for a Successful Coffee-Shop Start-up" in CoffeeTalk magazine. The strategies are based on the steps outlined in Greg's book, Seven Steps to Success in the Specialty … Read More


text:
While the Mayor must always focus on direct city services, a mayor must also do much more. I will be an education mayor and a leader who speaks loudly with and for our youth. Why? The city cannot fulfill its core missions if its schools are not preparing students for college or a career. The city can never spend enough on public safety if young people are idle and believe they have no opportunity.
Investing in our children and youth begins with ensuring they have access to quality preschool. Studies have shown numerous benefits from preschool, including most immediately, improved reading and math skills in elementary school and then down the line, attending preschool makes a child 40% more likely to graduate from high school. Even longer term, a child who attends preschool is likely to have fewer contacts with law enforcement and earn a higher income as an adult.
As the Senate leader, I pushed for universal preschool for every four-year-old in California. Ultimately, we were able to compromise with the Governor to secure $264 million to increase preschool slots for California's lowest income children. As Mayor, I will push for preschool opportunity for every four-year-old child in Sacramento. We will pull together funding from multiple sources including fees from those who can afford to pay for their preschool.
Investing in our children does not stop with preschool. We must continue to support learning with afterschool programs. On the City Council, I founded Sacramento START, a comprehensive afterschool program to help our most challenged students improve their test scores. Today, START is a model after-school program statewide.
Since my time on the City Council, as a result of recessions and other priorities, our commitment to youth in Sacramento has significantly decreased. This must change. We need to spend more on youth and better address the unmet needs of youth, especially those at-risk.
I am supporting a June ballot measure to create the Sacramento Children's Fund, a dedicated revenue stream for children and youth, projected to raise $5 million annually to help fund afterschool programs that support learning, technology-focused programs, as well as summer programs that prevent summer learning loss, youth violence and tie into gang prevention programs. It may not be perfect, but it demonstrates a tangible commitment to the youth of our community.
This still is not enough. The city must find room in its budget to make youth programming a higher priority, with a focus on joint use and programming with Sacramento's school districts. As Mayor, I will immediately convene a joint meeting between the City Council, Board of Supervisors, and city school districts –– including students––to develop a community wide joint use facilities and program vision for our city and its youth.
A Mayor must work to ensure that 16- and 17-year-olds have real life work experience consistent with their interests and career goals. We need to transform the high school experience by integrating academic rigor and career relevance to connect students with Sacramento's emerging high wage economy. As the Senate leader, I spearheaded an effort to reestablish connections between employers and K-12 schools to improve graduation rates and student readiness for college and the workforce. My work brought millions of dollars to Sacramento area schools in the first round of funding.
As Mayor, I will work with our schools and businesses to ensure our youth are getting the training to transition into the qualified workforce Sacramento employers need and Sacramento residents seek. We must work with Sacramento City College, Sacramento State University, and UC Davis to connect high schools and community colleges to pathways that prepare students for college or employment. By doing so, we will form a more direct pipeline for Sacramento's young people to productive high wage jobs.
I started my public service fighting for our youth, and I will continue to do so as Mayor.
Darrell outlines his priorities for business and our local economy to create economic prosperity for Sacramento.
Learn more
Darrell discusses the importance of public safety, putting more officers on the street, use of new technologies and enhancing community engagement.
Darrell talks about his plan to leverage state funding to build permanent supportive housing, helping people end the cycle of homelessness for good.
Darrell believes strong neighborhoods are essential to Sacramento's quality of life & vibrancy. As Mayor he will work to restore programs & services.
Darrell talks about his plan for affordable housing, making Sacramento more bike & pedestrian friendly and improving public transportation.
Darrell believes that supporting arts and culture is important for our economic vitality and quality of life in Sacramento.


text:
Beta Gamma Sigma Officers Elected
The following Montana State University College of Business students were elected officers of Beta Gamma Sigma for the 2004-2005 school year. Michael O'Toole, of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, president, Jaisen Pester, Forsyth, vice president of programs, and Sally Bruce of Malta, was elected vice president of membership.
Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) is a national scholastic honor society for business students. Qualifying for membership is the highest scholastic honor a student in business can attain. To be eligible, students must rank in the upper seven percent of their junior class, the upper ten percent of their senior class or the upper twenty percent of their graduate class.
The society was founded in 1913 for the purposes of encouraging and rewarding scholarship and accomplishment among students of business, for promoting the advancement of education in the art and science of business and for fostering integrity in the conduct of business. Students who receive this BGS award must attend schools that are accredited by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.


text:
Older news items are available in the news archive
As part of its steady expansion into new areas of study, on 21 June the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) ran an extremely successful symposium in the City on aspects of modern oil and gas law.
Organised in collaboration with Texas University's Centre for Energy Law and Business, based in Austin, Texas the event focused on recent developments in oil and gas law: in particular, investment arbitration, the legal regulation of fracking in Europe and the US, and problems of offshore exploitation and maritime boundary delimitation. A current running through the whole of the day's proceedings was the topic of Lex Petrolea and whether it can now be said that hydrocarbons have created their own self-contained body of law. To set the scene, a keynote address from Professor Terence Daintith (IALS) provocatively and unfashionably suggested that the answer was No. Other speakers in what turned out to be a very high-powered session included Professor Melinda E Taylor (Kay Bailey Hutchinson Center for Energy, Law and Business, University of Texas); Stephen Tromans QC (39 Essex Chambers); Sophie Nappert (Arbitrator, 3 Verulam Buildings); Dr Nima Tabari (IISTL); Professor Michael Sturley (Fannie Coplin Regents Chair in Law, University of Texas); Tabetha Kurtz-Shefford (IISTL); Randy Burton (Fisherbroyles, Houston, Texas) and Youri van Logchem (IISTL). Participants at the symposium, who were drawn not only from the UK but also widely from elsewhere in Europe, were very pleased with the quality of papers; they also played a significant part themselves in making the event a success with their interventions and questions.
Professor Melinda E Taylor (Kay Bailey Hutchinson Center for Energy, Law and Business, University of Texas) delivering her paper on fracking
Speaking immediately after the event the IISTL Director, Professor B. Soyer, commented: "This was a very important development for the IISTL for two reasons. First, consistently with our policy of developing international links with the best institutions there are out there, we have now established close co-oporation with a first-rate US academic organisation in the oil and gas field. This can only bode well for the future. Secondly, while we remain best known for maritime and commercial law, this has given us a golden opportunity to showcase our work in oil and gas and open it up to the wider world. A surprising number of our members have an interest in one part or another of this field; it is their work, plus the expertise of our senior professors, that has enabled us to launch a new and remarkably successful Oil and Gas LLM. This whole event has given me an enormous feeling of encouragement."
From left to right: Professor Michael Sturley (University of Texas), Tabetha Kurtz-Shefford (IISTL) and Youri van Logchem (IISTL)
The symposium ended with a reception very generously hosted by Informa Law, with whom the IISTL has a long-standing productive relationship and for whose unstinting support the organisation remains as ever enormously grateful.
- Wednesday 29 June 2016 16.33 BST
- Friday 22 July 2016 17.41 BST
- Samantha Duffy


text:
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Discernment: open to God, learning from God
What does today's Gospel (Luke 10: 21-24) tell us about being open to, learning and understanding god's manner of interacting with us, that is, revealing the Father's will in our lives? I believe the clue is in the phrase "I praise you. Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to the childlike." One of the key elements of discerning god's plan is giving God praise. When we praise another human being for who she/he is, we open our beings to God at work in that person. When we praise God for who God is, we open ourselves to who God is for us and in that openness God's power touches us. The passage says of God that He has "hidden these things from the wise and learned." In terms of deciphering the ways of the good Spirit, God's Holy Spirit revealing God's will to us implies that we need to approach God humbly and with a heart open to learning from God. A not knowing is present as it is in the mind of a child. So three key aspects of discernment are revealed in this passage: praise of God, humility and openness to learning from God.
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see"
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see...and the ears that hear what you hear" (Luke 10: 23,24). We see and hear with eyes and ears of faith because it is "the gracious will" (Lk. 10: 22) of the Father that we see and hear things the first disciples of Jesus saw and heard! What a gift from a loving, caring, intimate God! We see a sunrise and think of the risking Son of Justice. We see a rosebud opening to the sun light and see God opening our beings so as to reveal God's glory to those whose lives we touch. We peer into the faces of the young and the old and see a reflection of God's radiance. We grapple with sin in our lives and the hope of redemption swells from within. We listen to the birds sing and we hear creation praising their Creator. We listen to the Scriptures being read in each liturgy and hear God speaking to us personally. "O blessed are the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear. and never heard it" (Lk 10: 23-24).
What will you see today that opens your heart and mind to the Kingdom of God in your midst and that reveals God's presence alive in the things you do and say today?
What will you see today that opens your heart and mind to the Kingdom of God in your midst and that reveals God's presence alive in the things you do and say today?
Monday, November 28, 2011
"My servant is paralyzed"
Notice in today's Gospel (Mt. 8: 5-11) a centurion in a matter-of-fact manner telling Jesus that his servant is at home paralyzed. Think for a moment of sharing a major concern with Jesus as you encounter Him throughout the day and believing that Jesus can help you, beyond a doubt, and is as concerned as you are. Without a formal request, Jesus says to you: "I will help." "I'll be there for you." "I'll do whatever needs to be done to rectify this situation for you." "I will do whatever needs to be done." That is the kind of person Jesus is: compassionate, understanding, insightful, intuitive, caring, looking for ways to assist you.
We might also ask ourselves in light of the Scriptures: what in my life is paralyzed, not engaging, not life-giving, not love-generating, not reconciling? What within me is paralyzing my faith, my hope, my love, my way of being there for others? And bring all of that to the Lord, honestly sharing our concerns with him concerning our own paralyzing states.
We might also ask ourselves in light of the Scriptures: what in my life is paralyzed, not engaging, not life-giving, not love-generating, not reconciling? What within me is paralyzing my faith, my hope, my love, my way of being there for others? And bring all of that to the Lord, honestly sharing our concerns with him concerning our own paralyzing states.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Prepare ye the way of the Lord
This coming Sunday we begin the celebration of Advent! All of us can hear John the
Baptist's cry: "Prepare the way for the Lord." Each of us faces several questions: what do I need to do to prepare for God's daily visitations? How have I done that in the past? What has been missing in my preparations in past Advents? What do I want to be different this year? To make that difference, what needs to change in my routine or in my thinking? In my meditation this morning, the following prayer came to mind:
Baptist's cry: "Prepare the way for the Lord." Each of us faces several questions: what do I need to do to prepare for God's daily visitations? How have I done that in the past? What has been missing in my preparations in past Advents? What do I want to be different this year? To make that difference, what needs to change in my routine or in my thinking? In my meditation this morning, the following prayer came to mind:
Lord, open my heart to love you,
open my mind to know you
and open my will to follow you.
With that prayer, I hope that I will put forth serious efforts during this Advent to prepare for the Lord's coming into my life each day: through the sisters with whom I live, how I interact with them; through the challenges to take care of myself so that I am able to serve others and carry our my ministry with greater love, deeper hope, and stronger faith and thus find God hidden in the mangers of my life.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! As I began my thanksgiving list, the top of the list was my religious community. Seven of us gathered today for a thanksgiving dinner and Vespers. It was a joyous occasion for us. I am also grateful for the gift of my faith, a faith to which Daniel gives witness in today's first reading. Daniel was thrown into the lion's den because he disobeyed the king's decree that no one in the kingdom was to pray to any god or man except to the king over the next thirty days. Daniel trusted God. God closed the lions' mouths and none of them attacked Daniel the whole night through. In the morning the king released Daniel and had those who came up with the wicked scheme to trap Daniel and guarantee his demise were thrown into the den. They were immediately devoured. The miracle extended beyond saving Daniel's life. The king declared a second decree and this one was that everyone one in his kingdom would worship the one true God: "He is the living God, he endures forever, his kingdom will never be destroyed and his empire never come to an end. He saves, sets free, and works signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth; he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions" (Dan 6:28). From what has God saved you? And for what are you grateful this day?
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The writing on the wall
Today's first reading, Daniel 5: 1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28, tells the story of King Belshazzar who gives a great banquet for thousands of his lords, with whom he drank. He used the golden and silver vessels used in temple, thus defiling these sacred vessels. In the midst of this wild party a hand starts writing on the wall. The King calls Daniel to interpret the message. God is always at work in our lives, calling us back to a life of holiness and integrity. Satan's power and deceitful ways will be exposed, as they were by the handwriting on the wall of the banquet room in which the Babylonian King and his friends were partying. God sees the truth and how far we may have strayed. As with the King, God sends wise men and women into our lives to open our eyes to the truth. This intervention for some may be our justice system, for others a pastor, a minister or a rabbi; for still others a husband or wife, a sibling or friend, a church group or a coworker, a professor or a counselor, a spiritual writer or the Bible itself, nature, the Eucharist, the sacrament of Reconciliation and so much more. What opens your eyes? Who interprets the writing on the wall of your life?
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Discernment: what does confusion tell me?
"God is not a God of confusion but of peace" (1 Cor 14:33). If "God is not a God of confusion but of peace, and St. Paul, I believe is correct, then, if I am confused about something, that is not the time to make a decision about that issue. I need to wait upon God to bring clarity and peace. I also need to continue my search for a) the vocation in life to which God is calling me, b) the person I am called to marry, c) the career in which I will best serve the Lord and humankind or d) concerning the decision with which I am grappling.
Working in the Kingdom of God or serving this world's kingdoms
Today's reading, Daniel 2: 31-45, certainly speaks to us today. It relates the king's dream of a magnificent huge, exceedingly bright and terrifying statue. Its head pure gold, its chest and arms silver, bronze belly and thighs, iron legs and feet made of iron and clay. A humongous stone rolls down the mountain shattering this statue. This stone fills the entire earth--a kingdom set up by God that will never be destroyed. The feet and toes of the statue are made of iron and clay, which never mix and symbolize a divided kingdom, fragility and strength.
What a portrait of today's world and of us. God created humankind in His image and likeness. As such we are magnificent in Christ. Pure gold and silver symbolize our beauty in Christ Jesus. We, too, however, have feet of iron and clay--weak humanly speaking with a propensity to live divided lives: lives of greatness in God as well as lives chasing after that which alienates us from God and puts us in disharmony with ourselves and others. Jesus tells us in the Gospels that we cannot serve both God and mammon. We will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. Am I aware that, left to myself apart from the sacraments and the Word of God, I am standing on clay feet, not growing in my love for God or of neighbor, that I can be as self-serving and engage simply in accumulating the riches and accolades of this world as did King Nebuchadnezzar, treasures that will be blown in the wind and become chaff that will be scattered at the final judgment?
What a portrait of today's world and of us. God created humankind in His image and likeness. As such we are magnificent in Christ. Pure gold and silver symbolize our beauty in Christ Jesus. We, too, however, have feet of iron and clay--weak humanly speaking with a propensity to live divided lives: lives of greatness in God as well as lives chasing after that which alienates us from God and puts us in disharmony with ourselves and others. Jesus tells us in the Gospels that we cannot serve both God and mammon. We will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. Am I aware that, left to myself apart from the sacraments and the Word of God, I am standing on clay feet, not growing in my love for God or of neighbor, that I can be as self-serving and engage simply in accumulating the riches and accolades of this world as did King Nebuchadnezzar, treasures that will be blown in the wind and become chaff that will be scattered at the final judgment?
Monday, November 21, 2011
Giving our all in obedience to God's laws
Today's Gospel, Luke 21: 1-4, is the story of the woman who puts two small coins in the treasury. Jesus notices her generosity--she's give of her livelihood, everything she possesses. In the first reading , Dan 1: 1-6, 8-20, Daniel, in order to remain true to the Mosaic dietary laws, requests that he and his companions be served a vegetarian diet. The chief chamberlain is terrified that if he says "yes" that he may be put to death by the King if Daniel and his companions do not measure up to the same physical robustness as other servants but goes along with Daniel's request for a trial period. Daniel and his companions thrive physically and are found to excel, as well, in wisdom and prudence. The woman, Daniel and his companions and Mary in the Presentation in the Temple, which feast we celebrate today, give God their all. Their poverty is their wealth. God sees the heart. God notices the generosity of those who are obedient to His Father. It is God's noticing and it's our obedience to our God that transforms the little we have into wealth beyond measure.
Friday, November 18, 2011
My Father's house is a house of prayer
Today's Scripture readings (Mac 4: 36-37, 52-59 and Lk 19: 45-48) are about the rebuilding of the Temple, a place of worship and prayer. Our very beings are dwelling places for our God, built into holy dwellings through our baptism, renewed into the image of Christ in each Eucharist and cleansed in the sacrament of Reconciliation. The Spirit of God dwells within us and in all of creation. Just as the Gentiles in the first reading and the merchants in the Gospel were using the Temple for purposes other than giving honor and glory to God, so, too, can we misuse the Temples of our bodies and of the universe. Both we and the universe were brought into existence to give glory and honor to our Creator, to further God's Kingdom here on this earth and to radiate God's goodness, love, justice, compassion, and forgiveness, as we wait the return of Christ when heaven and earth will be transformed. The question we now face is: what are we doing in the here and now to realize a world in which wars will cease and nations, religions, cultures, races, women and men, parents and children, the young and the old, humankind and the universe are working toward the harmony promised us when Christ returns?
Thursday, November 17, 2011
God's gift of adoption
Today was a travel day for me, a time to be alone in a very special way with the Lord. Through the grace of God, I chose to begin again to read the letters of St. Paul. What a gift he left us in all of the epistles. The ones I read today in their entirety were his letter to the Romans and 1 Corinthians. I was deeply touched by many phrases but especially by the statement in Rom 11:5-6 that "there are a few people God has chosen by his grace" and "it is not for things they have done. If they could be made God's people by what they did, God's gift of grace would not really be a gift." What an awesome God, who gave His only begotten Son to ransom us from sin and adopt us as His children, a chosen people set apart to serve Him and one another! How great thou art, O God!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Choosing to be faithful
Today's Scripture passage is about a Maccabean mother and her seven sons who refused to violate the law and were put to death. Each of the sons were tortured as their mother watched. When her youngest son was faced with accepting the lavish gifts the king would bestow on him if he obeyed, the mother encouraged him to remain strong in his faith. Though none of us will likely be faced with torture or death, yet every day we are invited to die to self and rise with Christ in small, heroic ways. For instance, the Spirit invites us 1) to stand up for another who is being bullied by gossip, 2) to not entertain ourselves or other others by gossiping ourselves, 3) to tell the truth when tempted to be deceptive, 4) or, when another is promoting her/himself with grandiose descriptions of how better his/her way is from ours, we can choose the way of humility rather than bringing this person down by countering with our own personal grandiose accomplishments. To realize by our behaviors that any good we do is God acting through us is an attitude that will give us the courage to sing God's praises and "die" to singing our own, being the queen/king others worship and choosing to worship only God. Will I, like the seven sons and the mother, serve God or self today in the little things that contribute to heroic choices made out of humility and from a stance of faith?
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Come,fall in love with Jesus with us
This past weekend I have had the privilege of attending a program for young men and women
who are studying to become members of religious orders of women and men. We looked at
the essence of religious life, namely falling in love with Jesus and nurturing that relationship day
in and day out. The speaker, Brother Sean Sammon, FMS, challenged us to go back to the charism of our religious communities. He described "charism" to all religious communities as the Spirit leading our Founders and Foundresses to read the signs of the times and respond according to God's will. His belief was that anyone completing a novitiate today needs to accomplish two things: 1) fall in love with Jesus and 2) assimilate and embrace the Founder/Foundresses' gift to the church. He went on to suggest that the question that is before us religious, both our newest members—postulants and novices and temporary professed—and the "seasoned" members is how do we read the signs of the times and to what is the Spirit leading us in response to the signs of the times? Brother Sean reminded us that in Mary's day the Word of God broke out among the marginalized of society. Mary herself was a Jewish peasant, most likely illiterate, and considered, as a woman in the culture of her day, a second-class citizen. Then, as now, the Word of God was revealed, not among the rich and powerful, but among the poor and marginalized, Brother Sean stated. As members of religious communities today, we are among the marginalized of the world—this is where the Word of God will be revealed and God's will manifested. So what a grace to be in religious life in this century, Brother Sean mused. Just as Mary said "yes" to God's call and transformed the world and salvation history in her day, so, too, are we called to be a source of transformation in the world and in the church of our day. Are we willing, Brother Sean asked, to allow the Spirit to lead us in the direction that God wants us to go as a congregation, all of us endorsing a common vision, a common mission to be carried out in a variety of ways, as our Foundresses and Founders and earliest members did? Our Foundresses and Founders, Brother Sean commented, would probably be impatient with us who say that we are dwindling, diminishing, dying, and therefore don't have the resources to do what needs to be done in the world of today. With fewer members and much, much less material resources, they committed themselves to a daunting task of developing a healthcare, educational, and social justice agencies/systems that thrive to this day. They read the signs of the times in their day and responded, not with material wealth, but with the wealth they possessed in loving God and His Ways above all else. They truly had fallen in love with Jesus and nothing He asked was too much for them. What about us?
Monday, November 14, 2011
What do you want of the Lord
Today's Gospel is the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar shouting to Jesus to show him pity. The disciples want Bartimaeus to stop his shouting. But he does not. He persists and Jesus notices and instructs the crowd to tell Bartimaeus to come forward. "What do you want of me," Jesus asks. And Bartimaeus is just as direct: "I want to see." A couple of things, of course: am I as persistent? do I know what I want of Jesus? Does the crowd, or whoever or whatever wants to shut me up or wants me to remain blind, get to me? Do I then withdraw my request, melt into the floorboards or wall, so to speak, and simply give up in despair, in apathy and/or lukewarmness? Or do I persevere, knowing who Jesus is and who I am, that is, that I need God's intervention in my life if I am going to see clearly God's coming into my life and my world; if I am going to see clearly that God's Kingdom is imminent in the world of today; if I am going to see clearly what it is God is asking of me as His disciple in making Him and His ways known?
Mother Frances Streitel: Her riches were the Lord
Amalia Frances Rose Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, aka Sister Angela Streitel: In my last blog on Mother Frances I mentioned that she was living for something beyond herself and that she lived her life for others. The Other for whom she lived her life, obviously, is Christ. She wanted to belong totally to the Lord by how she lived her life here on earth. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was to come between her and her Beloved. She'd give her all. One of the means she used was that of holy poverty. Her riches were Christ. Her "Enough" was Christ. So she treated material things as unimportant. She wanted to be as detached from material things as humanly possible, as was St. Francis of Assisi, her model of living the vow of poverty. One of the things she did as superior of the Marian Institute was to ask the sisters to exchange rooms, taking nothing with them in the exchange except their personal linen, so as to practice the virtue of detachment. Her request was not appreciated by many of the Sisters who denounced her to her Superior General. I recall in my earlier religious life having nothing but three habits, a bible, the Constitution of the Congregation, and my personal "linens." It was a very freeing experience. My joy was complete. I had fallen in love with the Lord and the Lord alone. I could move from place to place with one suitcase! My joy, to this day, is simplicity of living, having little and always trying to trim down to only the essentials. I tell myself: all you need, Dorothy Ann, is the Bible. How I wish!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Figuring out what God's will is for me
Discernment: Concluding this segment of the discernment blogs which were based on St. Ignatius' material of how to figure out whether a good spirit or an evil spirit (a spirit that blocks us from following God's will) is the motivating factor, I would like to share a summary of this section. A prayerful decision will obviously include prayer, looking at the decision from as many angles as possible (marriage--this man/this woman, single life, religious life). Making a good decision means that we need to be patient and trust the process. Waiting upon the Lord to reveal the direction is sometimes a lengthy process. We need to trust that God, ultimately, will lead us in the right direction. We will know, in our heart of hearts, what direction that is. In the end we need trust our gut instincts and move in the direction that seems right for us. Complete clarity and certainty is a rarity. Once, however, that we have prayerfully considered the decision, consulted spiritually mature individuals, and have gathered all the data that we need, then it is time to take that leap of faith and move forward with a decision. In terms of religious life, the postulancy is the first step in becoming a sister. This is a period of discernment, in which God's will continues to be sought, as is true as well, in the novitiate and temporary vow periods. If, at any time during the initial formative process, it is clear to you and your directors that religious life is not for you and that initial formation was simply a necessary means God used for you to arrive at that clarity, then that decision is followed at that time. Or, on the other hand, initial formation may definitely confirm that religious life is right for you. (Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615, p. 18-19)
Seeing the Creator in creation
How is it, the author of Wis 13: 1-9, asks that we can be ignorant of the author of creation, of which we stand in awe: sunsets, sunrises, the beauty of the seasons—fall, winter, spring, summer—the stateliness, strength or power of the horse, the bear, the deer, and so much more of the natural world and know not the Source of that beauty and power. "…who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan?" we are asked in the first reading of today's liturgy. If I am struck by the power and the energy of a vast universe, says the author of this passage, may I also realize how much more powerful is the One who created it!
I just drove home from the Newark airport. The brightness of some of the autumn colors was striking. The harmony of the bright reds, oranges, yellows and browns touched my soul. Soon these trees will be bare, that is, they will enter into a dormant stage in preparation for winter and await rebirth in the spring of 2012. All of creation follows a similar pattern of letting go/dying that leads to new life, a dormancy that prepares for renewed living (sleep/awake pattern in humans), a springtime, a summertime, an autumn and a winter. These cycles occur on the physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of our lives as well. They also occur on the interpersonal and social dimensions of human existence. Nature and human nature mirror each other: a reality orchestrated by our Creator! What an awesome God!
Mother Frances Streitel: Finding meaning in suffering
Amalia Frances Rose Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, aka Sister Angela Streitel: In this morning's meditation was a quoted reflection by Viktor Frankl on how anyone is able to survive suffering. He states, as quoted in the November 2011, Magnificat, p. 151, "In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice….In accepting to suffer bravely, life has a meaning up to the last moment, and it retains this meaning literally to the end…My comrades'…question was, 'Will we survive the [concentration] camp? For, if not, all this suffering has no meaning.' The question which beset me was, 'Has all this suffering, this dying around us, a meaning? For, if not, then ultimately there is no meaning to survival; for a life whose meaning depends upon such a happenstance—as whether one escapes or not—ultimately would not be worth living at all.'"
Sister Angela found meaning in her suffering and is the reason she was able to say to Mother Salesia, her Superior General, that taking up the assignment at the Marian Institute caused her no suffering. When I first read that my reaction was: "Oh, yeah, sure. Who are you kidding! I just read that you stood beneath the cross with a bleeding heart (Walk in Love, p. 29) and that you could neither eat nor sleep and asked the Lord to allow this chalice to pass you by! And then you say: "Before God I can declare that the occupying of the Marian Institute caused me absolutely no sorrow or pain" (Letter of July 8, 1879).
Reflecting on Dr. Frankl's experience of the concentration camp shed light on Sister Angela's statement. She had found meaning in suffering, the same meaning that Jesus found in offering His life for His flock, in being obedient to the Father's plan for our salvation. In explaining herself to Bishop Pankratius concerning this period in her life, Sister Angela states that she realized that she could offer her pain in reparation for her own sinful behaviors. Not only did finding meaning in her sufferings help her, so, too, was the fact that Sister Angela lived for others and for something beyond herself. Dr. Frankl explains that "being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself—be it a meaning to fulfill or another being to encounter. The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself…" (Ibid.) Truly Sister Angela became more human through her suffering and became more and more her unique self, coming to her full potential as a human being.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
"Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion" (Wis 7: 24)
Today's first Scripture reading is from Wis 7: 22b-8:1). Wow! What a reading! The passage opens with the phrase: "In Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy , unique." Think of the fact that each one of us is created in the image of God. That means that we are created in the image of Wisdom. Each of us is "an intelligent, holy, unique spirit." Obviously, we don't always experience ourselves or the other as speaking or acting out of that intelligence, holiness or uniqueness. This is when life gets difficult and relationships suffer. Our consolation certainly can be to remember that Wisdom, God's gift to us who seek her, is "firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeking, and pervading all spirits…" Neither the other or myself are Wisdom; God is! So each of us will experience limitation in being firm, in being secure and tranquil. We are weak and God is strong. Our seeking is limited and blurred; God's is not. "… Wisdom… penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity." Yes, she penetrates and pervades my being and yours and brings with her the purity of God. She is "the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of God's goodness. She, who is one, can do all things and renews everything...; and passing into holy souls from age to age." Yes, she enters into that which is sullied by sin in order to purify us. May each of us welcome God into our "houses" through love, forgiveness, humility and through the Eucharist, so we, in turn, "mirror the power of God," and image the goodness of God while being renewed by the Wisdom, who is one with God.
Tempations to avoid or reverse good decisions
Two spirits function within us: one encourages us and the other discourages us from doing God's will. We need to develop an awareness of both and decipher which one is pulling at our heart strings, so to speak. St. Ignatius of Loyola calls the spirit of discouragement desolation. When we are down and out that is not a time to make a new decision or change one we have already made. In desolation the decision we are likely to make sits on sandy soil and could easily be a decision we regret when we are thinking clearly and are out of that foggy, confused state. When desolate, go apart to pray more intensely. Also talk to your spiritual director or a good friend, whom you consider wise, trustworthy and spiritually mature: put everything out on the table, so to speak. Temptations to reverse or avoid good decisions are reduced in their potency when they are looked at in prayer and with another spiritually mature person, one, who with you, is seeking God's will above all. Rev. Sazama, in Discernment of Spirits, gives an example of a young man who was confident of his decision to enter the seminary after graduation from college. He had come to this decision over a three-year period and felt a lot of peace and joy, a sense of rightness, about the decision. A few months before the time of his entrance into the seminary approached, he was thrown into a lot of confusion about it. He followed this counsel not to reverse his decision—a decision made in consolation—when thrown into turmoil. Throughout his seminary training, he remained confident, his peace and joy returned over a subsequent five-year period. Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615, p. 17-18.
Mother Frances Streitel: "Going up to Jerusalem" with Jesus
Amalia Frances Rose Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, aka Sister Angela Streitel: In the last few blogs I shared with you Sister Angela's way of embracing the cross of suffering, of walking with Jesus to "Calvary," "going up to Jerusalem" with the Lord. Sister Angela, I believe, is a woman who gave 100-150%. We have heard it said that if a marriage is going to work, both husband and wife need to give their all. Sometimes that "all" is translated into percentages! Earlier in my religious life, I was taught a prayer that went something like: may I never count the cost. All of us have mentors who never counted the cost of their discipleship as husband/wife, as members of a religious community, as lay ministers in the Church. Sister Angela was that kind of woman, I believe. Truly an inspiration. She says to her Superior General, after taking up her assignment at the Marian Institute: "Before God I can declare that the occupying of the Marian Institute caused me absolutely no sorrow or pain" (Letter of July 8, 1879) We know from previous blogs, that a lot of pain preceded her and also surrounded her once she assumed full responsibility of bringing order back into a situation that had fallen into ruin. No easy task for anyone. Resistances abound! Jealousies rear their heads. Anger surfaces. Sister Angela was a young nun. "Who is this whipper snipper? I'm older than she? Who does she think she is?" are thoughts that could have emerged in the minds of much older religious. Of course, there were others who supported her 100% and were pleased that someone had the courage to "take the bull by the horns," so to speak. Sister Angela focused on what she was being asked to do. Her strength came from the Lord, "who made heaven and earth" (Ps 121) and from the fact, I believe, that she lived a prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Transformed by grace
Amalia Frances Rose Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, aka Sister Angela Streitel: Sister Angela was strong in the practice of virtue already in the early years of her religious life, as evidenced by the way she handled rejection, misunderstanding, and human heartache, experiences in every person's life. As indicated in the last blog entitled "Bitterness transformed into holiness," through her sufferings she was transformed into the heart of Christ. When her pain was so great that she believed "mind and body would have suffered ruin," she was still able, through grace, to show love and grace to her fellow Sisters. "I had a cordial manner, and, in all this, in a house with a hundred persons of every type, with a heart steeped in sorrow….for in the motherhouse no one was regarded with less favour than I….I came to the [Marian] Institute, but what a flood of pain and suffering, of harshness and humiliation followed me" (Ibid.). She tells us in a letter to Bishop Pancratius that her goal, in all of this, was to increase her praying and to draw closer and closer to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. What she accomplished at Marian Institute in a few short months revealed the potency of her prayer, the depth of her faith and strength of her trust in God. (Source: Walk in Love, p. 29)
Made in God's image
Today's Scripture (Wis 23-3:9) begins with the statement: "God formed [me] to be imperishable; the image of [God's] own nature [God] made [me]." God's nature is goodness, love, reconciliation, forgiveness, honesty, integrity and much, much more. Evil, hatred, disunity, revenge, deceit do not exist in God. Having been made in God's image means that if I am being truly myself I then act out of goodness, truth and integrity (my inside self and outside self match or are in harmony--who I am inside is who I am outside and is what others experience of me). When I am living from my God-centered self, my behaviors reflect my truth, I am not living a pretentious life, I am not living a life of duplicity. As Jesus said of Nathaniel: there is no guile in him. To live more and more of the truth of my life, I need to be seeking the truth that exists in the depth of my being and in others. No one person has the whole truth, nor do I. Each person possesses a part of the truth. My truth and their truth contributes to a greater portion of the truth. That is why openness, listening, dialogue and obedience are essential elements of spiritual growth. I need to be listening to my interior self as well as entering into dialogue with others concerning issues shared between us to arrive at more and more of the truth and hence greater personal and interpersonal freedom.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Discernment: The role of excuses
That spirit that wants to block us from the good we are called to do will attack our vulnerabilities. This spirit knew, for instance, that Moses was weak as a speaker (Ex 4:10), that Gideon perceived himself as the least of his siblings (Judges 6:15), that Jeremiah considered his youth as a reason for not being God's chosen one (Jer 1:4). So the spirit that is in opposition to God's will used these perceptions to discourage the one called. Moses said to God: I can't be your instrument in freeing your people from Pharaoh; I stutter. Gideon's response to God was: I can't do what you are asking in saving the Israelites from their enemies; I am insignificant. Jeremiah argued that he was a mere youth; how could he possibly be a prophet. What excuses surface within you when God is calling you to be His instrument in bringing about a good? Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Developing the contemplative dimension of our personalities
I am in Trinidad where we are having a retreat day—a day of solitude, prayer and reflection with the novice and pre-postulants. Input is being given by Sisters Julie Marie, Delia Marie and myself. We are reflecting on the following elements of the charism—contemplation, service to the poor, sacrifice, Eucharist and obedience. The importance of developing a contemplative lifestyle was emphasized, that is developing an interior life. On a daily basis, am I willing to become aware of who I am, what I am thinking, feeling, how I am acting and how those actions impact my relationship with self, others, God and creation? Am I engaging in life, fully participating in life each day or am I withdrawing, isolating? Am I listening (being obedient) to life and how it is impacting me and the messages from God that come to me through all of life, all of me (feeling self, thinking self, acting self, relating self, choosing self)? We reflected on the importance of serving the poor, beginning with oneself. Am I aware of the poverty of my affective life, my thinking, my behaviors, my relationships and able to acknowledge this poverty? Do I engage in the sacrifice of letting go by sharing my poverty with significant others: bringing it out into the open so that I can transform my poverty into a richness that comes from the truth, from dialogue, from engagement, from self-disclosure that leads self-integrity? Being Eucharistic people, "bringing fuller life to others"—the tagline of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother—means that I am living a full life, not an impoverished life that manifests itself in an unwillingness to become aware of, acknowledge, and accept the pains and sufferings of life (bread broken and shared with others), an unwillingness to stand beneath the cross, to hold my pain and the pain of others on my lap, so to speak, as Mary held the body of her dead Son, to let go of my pain as Mary let go of her dead Son and buried Him. Do I live my Good Fridays and Holy Saturdays (enter into my emptiness) and heed Jesus command "Woman, behold your son; son, behold your mother"—take care of each other, relate to each other, in a way that leads to the experience of Easter—the resurrection of a new way of being me and a new way of being in relationships? From entering into this Paschal Mystery and living as Eucharistic people, we also experience Pentecost, that is, our persons are set on fire with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we become both Good News persons and proclaimers of the Good News.
Friday, November 4, 2011
The joy of working with young women answering the call to religious life
Today I am in Trinidad at our new novitiate house. What a blessing to be a part of this community. The rhythm of prayer and activity took me back to my years in formation. What peace and what a great feeling of putting God at the very center of one's life, as symbolized by praying the divine office: morning prayer, midday prayer, vespers and night prayer.
I spent the day interviewing a young woman being called to religious life. And what a blessing that was. Yes, there are many women out there being called to religious life--are you one of them? Answering that call is a challenge, takes a lot of faith and trust in the Lord. But what a grace for me to be with someone, who, above all, wants to be doing God's will and feels strongly attracted to St. Francis of Assisi and all that he stands for, especially his total commitment to God, his joy and delight in serving the Lord. Like many, for a long time, this young woman was not paying attention to God's call to become a Franciscan but what a joy to now taking the first step in answering that call, that is going through the application process and becoming a pre-postulant.
I spent the day interviewing a young woman being called to religious life. And what a blessing that was. Yes, there are many women out there being called to religious life--are you one of them? Answering that call is a challenge, takes a lot of faith and trust in the Lord. But what a grace for me to be with someone, who, above all, wants to be doing God's will and feels strongly attracted to St. Francis of Assisi and all that he stands for, especially his total commitment to God, his joy and delight in serving the Lord. Like many, for a long time, this young woman was not paying attention to God's call to become a Franciscan but what a joy to now taking the first step in answering that call, that is going through the application process and becoming a pre-postulant.
Mother Frances Streitel: Bitterness transformed into holiness
Amalia Frances Rose Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, aka Sister Angela Streitel. As a Maria Stern Franciscan, Sister Angela's last assignment before answering God's call to enter Carmel was at the Marian Institute. Within a few months of assuming her administrative responsibilities, Sister Angela put that mission on solid financial footing and transformed its domestic woes, as well. Her efforts to bring the Sisters to embrace radical poverty as lived by St. Francis of Assisi, however, caused much suffering for herself and for some of the Sisters. She took her suffering to the foot of the cross. There in prayer, as she was complaining bitterly of "condemned without a hearing," she says to herself: "Enough of this." She resolved not to allow bitterness to lodge in her heart and united her pain with Jesus' sufferings on the cross in reparation for her own sinfulness. In no way was Sister Angela going to allow bitterness and anger to block her openness to God. How have you dealt with anger and bitterness in your life?(Walk in Love, p. 29).
Discernment: what is motivating me?
Part of discerning where a desire originates--is it from God or a force blocking us from doing God's will--is to examine what one's motivation is. Am I being moved by pride or humility, selfishness or altruism? Do I want to look better than another person or show up the other person? Am I trying to get ahead? Am I motivated by greed? by anger or revenge? Or do I truly want to be doing what God wants of me as revealed to me in the Gospels? Do I truly want to be serving the Lord and to be of service to others as Jesus was? Am I acting out of love--love for God, love for others, truly loving myself and thus choosing what is best for me (what God is asking of me, choosing life, not death)? In short,how pure is my desire?
Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.
Belonging to the Lord
St. Paul tells me in the Scripture readings of Nov. 3, 2011 that in life and in death, I belong to the Lord. I live for the Lord and I die for the Lord, as does every human being and all of creation. All who enter this world do so for and through and with the Lord. In God, with God and through God each of us lives, moves and has our being. Blessed by the name of the Lord. What an awesome, humbling thought: the newest member of our families and the ones to be conceived in the future, the eldest member of our families and the ones who will be the next to die, each of our co-workers, all those we serve, every one with whom we live as well as those we struggle to love--yes, all have been created to live for God and die for God. Every knee, St. Paul tells us, shall bend before God and every tongue praise God. So what an insult when any one of us lives for selfish reasons and chooses that which is not of God, not for God and not through God but leads us on a path away from the Holy of Holies, the Giver of Life and the Savior from death.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
All Souls' Day: The faithful departed gazing on no stranger!
Today we celebrate "All Souls Day." In Job 19: 23-27, Job says: "I know that I have a living Defender and that he will rise up last, on the dust of the earth. After my awakening, he will set me close to him, and from my flesh I shall look on God. He whom I shall see will take my part: my eyes will be gazing on no stranger. My heart sinks within me. …. since the wrath bursts into flame at wicked deeds and then you will learn that there is indeed a judgement!" Our loved ones who have passed through the threshold of death have learned that there is indeed a judgment. In purgatory, the faithful departed are between death and eternal happiness as they endure the purification necessary to enter into the presence of God. Heaven is theirs but not yet. That intense longing is the pain that purifies them. "They are joyful with their desires, for they already possess what they seek; they are sorrowful with their desires, for they do not completely possess what they seek. Their pain, consequently, is evoked by the intensity of their desire. This pain is purifying,… The more it purifies, the greater the love, the closer the full possession, and mysteriously enough the greater the pain. Loving ever more passionately yet separated ever more slightly, how much more painful is the longing for the loved one" (Carroll Stuhlmeuller, C.P., Biblical Meditation for Ordinary Time—Weeks 23-34, p. 414).
Mother Frances Streitel: Saved in the wounds of Christ
Amalia Frances Rose Streitel aka Mother Frances Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, and, as a Maria Stern Franciscan, known as Sister Angela. Sister Angela is assigned to the Marian Institute in April of 1880, "when conditions there were sorely in need of betterment" (Walk in Love, p. 27). Sister Angela assumed the administrative position, knowing that the condition of the Marian Institute had serious economic problems as well as other challenges that needed the attention of a skilled administrator. She went to the Marian Institute under obedience but knew in her heart, already then, that God had other plans in store for her. She says "yes" to her Superior General, but adds "I shall not work there long, for God is calling me elsewhere" (Walk in Love, p. 27).
No reformer is met with open arms and exuberant cheers. Sister Angela, in reforming the "financial, domestic, and even religious conditions" at the Marian institute, met significant opposition. Some Sisters believed that she abused her authority and went too far in what she asked of the Sisters, especially in the observance of the vow of poverty. Complaints against her reached the ears of her Superior General. Sisters at the motherhouse regarded her with disdain. The results of her actions, even though she had permission to make changes, were disastrous, as some of the Sisters even left the order as a result of Sister Angela's reforms.
Ever address issues that you were convinced needed to be talked about and changes made with the end result being anything you ever imagined! Suddenly the tables are turned on you, your intentions misinterpreted, your actions judged harshly! That is the position in which Sister Angela found herself. She says "If the help of grace had not been so plentiful at that time, mind and body would have suffered ruin. The salvific power of the wounds of the Lord saved me" (Walk in Love, p. 29).
By their fruits you will know the source
Discernment: If the choices we make are respectable ones, ones that lead us to virtue, then, of course, the spirit directing us is also good. Any desire from God will lead to godliness, a noble, virtuous end, one that delights us. Inner promptings that lead to an evil end, even if our first impression is that what is happening is good, the spirit moving us is not of God. So we need to look at the results of an action. If the results are evil, degrading, malevolent, sinful, obviously the inner movement that led us toward that end is also evil. The spirit guiding us to sin is not the Spirit of God.
Let's say that the choices we are making lead us more into selfishness than altruism, more deeply into self-centeredness than being other-centered, more toward avarice than generosity, further into deceitfulness rather than the truth of who we are, then the spirit directing us is not of God. The good spirit always leads to unselfishness, concern for others, charity and truth.
Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The Feast of All Saints
Today is the feast of All Saints! We are celebrating the people in heaven from every nationality, every culture, every language, every race upon the earth—too many to count, we read in the book of Revelation—who stand "before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cry out in a loud voice: 'Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.'" I believe, that the fullness of salvation—the gift of life with God in heaven--has come to my deceased grandparents, parents, siblings, Aunts and Uncles, cousins, and every deceased Sister of the Sorrowful Mother, SSM Associate, and their family members. They are, I believe, among the huge, uncountable number of saints in heaven. And I know that is our inheritance, as well, as Peter praises God on our behalf in 1 Peter: 1: 3-5: Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you who are being kept safe by God's power through faith until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the final point of time."
The two kinds of spirits involved in our lives
Discernment: Back to St. Ignatius' teaching on the two kinds of spirits involved in our lives: those that encourage us to carry out the will of God and those that put whatever obstacle possible in our paths. When following the urges of the Holy Spirit, one's being is filled with joy, peace, and contentment. There is an upsurge of confidence that one is able to overcome whatever obstacles one comes upon in doing what is perceived as God's will. Nothing is too much for the person who is determined to follow God's will, as God's help is abundant. Think of David slaying the Phillistine or Moses going to Pharaoh or parting the Red Sea. Think of Mary and Joseph. Think of the apostles who immediately left their boats and followed Jesus. For the person being called to religious life and following that call, the Holy Spirit offers encouragement and provides the necessary strength. The discerner is consoled as he/she encounters opposition.The evil spirit, on the other hand, will put doubts in the mind of the discerner, do whatever possible to discourage the person from taking the necessary steps, and will surface all kinds of fears. Think of Moses telling God that he is not an eloquent speaker (Ex. 4: 10-12), Jeremiah telling God that he is too young (Jer. 1:4), Gideon telling God that he is unimportant (Judges 6:15), and Isaiah telling God that he comes from a people of unclean lips(Is 6:5). Or think of the people Jesus invited to the banquet and all of them had excuses: I just got married, I just bought some oxen, I have to bury the dead; in short, I'm too busy with other things.
Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.
Which spirit is guiding you?
Mother Frances Streitel: Strong in the storms of life
Amalia Frances Rose Streitel aka Mother
Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, and, as a Maria Stern Franciscan, known as Sister Angela. As you probably surmised from the entries above, Father Beckert repented of his actions and begged for Sister Angela to be reassigned to the Marian Institute. In one of his correspondences or by word of mouth, he says: "Tell Sister Angela I will entrust the direction to her with utmost confidence, and not only shall I keep Father Braun entirely away but myself shall also keep out of the way…." That statement certainly must have meant a lot to Sister Angela, at least it would have been a welcomed message to my ears. One of the most difficult situations to be in, humanly speaking, for me is to be given a position and then have another person micromanage that position or interfere in its operation. Confidence is eroded, to say the least; creativity is then stretched to the hilt! Sister Angela reveals her strength in her prayers for Father Braun, begging the Lord to "preserve him from grief such as He permitted me to have" (May 9, 1879 Letter to Mother Salesia Ellersdorfer, her Superior General). In that same letter she prays that God's holy will be done concerning the Marian Institute and thanks the Lord for the humiliations she endured. That she has been blessed throughout this ordeal is obvious in the following statements: "May the Lord extol me in eternity. Oh, how good the Lord is to the soul who loves Him. It will be strong in the storms of this life….In spite of insomnia and lack of appetite, I am, God be praised, well and cheerful. Never before have I felt, as I do this time, the power of sufferings borne for the love of God" (Ibid.). Wow! What a testimony to grace working within her. Definitely she did not get in God's way but let God be God in working through the messiness of this situation.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Construction underwater also known as commercial diving has a wide range of activities which take place. This usually happens under the surface of water. Activities such as inspecting bridges, building bridges and even repairs are times when this process is followed. It's important to know that during the construction of bridges and dams usually the foundation aspect of it lies underwater. When a situation like this is to take place, underwater construction is bound to occur. You need to understand that construction in water is set to possess many forms of difficulties, especially in places where the depth is questioned.
Since the construction is set to take place under water the possibilities of a dangerous activity taking place is relatively high. Therefore, it's important to take safety measures. Some of the dangers which could take place under the surface of the water are oxygen toxicity, decompression sickness and nitrogen narcosis and these are caused because harmful gases could be inhaled. Therefore, due to the extra dangers which are bound to take place it's important to ensure that the necessary safety precautions are taken. You could start off by installing diving systems in all the boats. This would ensure the safety of the divers so that they would have enough supply of oxygen and all the additional resources which are needed.
SPHL support module could also be integrated into the system. It's also important to look into the dangers which could take place underwater. Therefore, diving teams could take safety precautions by closely looking into the air supply and also by being cautious on how certain equipment might react underwater. The laws of physics are usually altered underwater which might result in different equipment reacting differently under the surface. Therefore, it's important to be cautious of the reactions which are set to take place.
All in all, depending on your need the construction purpose might vary. At times it might not be construction at all. Your team might be hired to take care of some maintenance activities. Depending on your need, it's important to ensure that all the items which are necessary are intact. It's also important to ensure the safety of yourself and all the crew members present. Since everything will take place under water the risk is higher. Being extra careful is very important because it might be quite challenging to get out of a situation if something bizarre takes occurs. Finally, you need to always ensure that the team which is set to work with you is full of professionals and they know how to carry out activities with any hesitation.