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Every life is a story (as seen in a touching video)…
When my father lay dying, I remember that one of the losses I began to grieve was that he was the keeper of so many family stories. He was the one who could look at an old family photograph, identify all the people, and tell you something about each one. As I saw him lying there, no longer able to talk much, I thought of all the memories stored up in his mind, all the stories, all the people he once knew and had spoken of so vividly. And it was not just the family stories he held; he was also a great historian and a great wellspring of the classics. He had read all of the “Great Books,” all of Shakespeare, all of Sacred Scripture, and so many other worthy writings. And he had memorized many lengthy quotes from each. Such an encyclopedic mind! He was full of vivid thoughts and vivid memorie...
Ephesians: The remarkable letter that just happens to mention husbands and wives…
By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio – articles – email ) | Feb 06, 2020 | In Scripture Series When we think of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, we tend to recall only the part which addresses one of our most practical preoccupations, the relationship between husbands and wives. In this twenty-first century after Christ, our culture regards marriage as in RUINS (Restrictive, Unnatural, Incomprehensible, Nugatory, and Senseless). We cannot avoid endless wrangling over the thirteen verses in Ephesians that deal with it. We ignore the 118 verses which precede Paul’s comments on it (1:1—5:21), along with most of the small number of verses in the conclusion which follows (cf. 6:10-20). This is a huge mistake. The whole point of the letter is to explain to the new Christians in Ephesus what it...
Jordan Peterson’s year of ‘absolute hell’ — Daughter Mikhaila gives update on his addiction and near-death in Russia …
Jordan Peterson is recovering from a severe addiction to benzodiazepine tranquilizers and was recently near death in an induced coma, his daughter Mikhaila said. He is being treated at a clinic in Russia after being repeatedly misdiagnosed at several hospitals in North America, she said. The University of Toronto psychologist who became an intellectual hero to a global audience by aligning self-help theory with anti-progressive politics was first prescribed the medication a few years ago to treat anxiety after what Mikhaila described as an autoimmune reaction to food. His physical dependence on it became apparent to his family last April, when his wife Tammy was diagnosed with cancer. The last year, which saw him retreat from public life after swiftly becoming one of the most famous author...
Negotiation tips: How to haggle like your old man…..
With our archives now 3,500+ articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Friday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. This article was originally published in May 2011. This is a guest post by Tyler Tervooren of Advanced Riskology. It’s learning how to negotiate to keep both sides happy – whether it’s for a multi-million dollar contract or just which show to watch on TV, that determines the quality and enjoyment of our lives. —Leigh Steinberg My old man was a master haggler; he could strike a deal with darn near anyone for darn near anything. To say I learned a lot about making deals while growing up would be an understatement. From buying a TV at the department store to negotiating over a used car in the local classifie...
This Sunday, Catholics are still the light of the world…
By Tom Hoopes, February 6, 2020 “You are accountable not only for your own life but also for that of the entire world.” That is how St. John Christendom sums up what Jesus says in the Gospel for the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time, Year A. Jesus calls Christians “the salt of the earth,” and “the light of the world” — showing what he respects and what he expects. Take salt, first. Food feels tasteless without it, but eating salt alone is unpleasant. Thus, as St. John Chrysostom puts it, “It is not for [a Christian] then to flatter and deal smoothly with men, but, on the contrary, to be rough and biting as salt is.” That’s why, “If salt loses its taste,” says Jesus, “it is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” And in fact we see this all around us. If eve...
How Catholics and Protestants can get along without getting it wrong…
Ecumenical optimists believe that Christians must find ways in which they agree with the other guys and build on those. Ecumenical partisans believe that Christians can’t find such agreements – not meaningful ones, anyway – and must maintain the space between themselves and the other guys. Both get it right and get it wrong, because they don’t understand how ecumenical friendships work. Catholic apologists will declare that Jesus wanted the Church to be one, but Protestants have thousands of churches (Ha!). Protestant apologists will dismiss some of Catholicism’s central dogmas with “That’s not in the Bible,” said with the confidence of someone throwing down a royal flush. Neither tries to see why the others believe what they do and think they are being faithful Christians in believing it....
5th Sunday of the Year: Pass the salt and turn on the lights…
In the Gospel today the Lord describes metaphorically what a Christian is and what He expects of us. Note five things about what God says: I. The Definitiveness of His Proclamation– The text says, You are the Salt of the earth. … You are the light of the World. … But if salt goes flat it is good for nothing. … No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. The Lord is definitive in two ways. First,He says, “You.” He is not talking just to people long ago or to the person next to you. He is not merely talking to your pastor or the Saints. He is talking to you. Youare salt. Youare light. You. It’s too easy to say, “Look at what the Lord is saying to those people long ago near the lakeside.” It’s not long ago; it’s now. It’s you. The second way that the Lord is definitive isin saying that b...
Pope’s Sunday Angelus: “Be salt, resisting sin and worldliness. Be light, proclaiming Christ in word and deed…”…
“Jesus invites us not to be afraid to live in the world, even if sometimes there are conditions of conflict and sin in it,” said Pope Francis. “Jesus at the last supper did not ask the Father to remove the disciples from the world, but to keep them from the spirit of the evil one.” Through people trafficking, “criminal organisations are increasingly using modern means of communication to entice victims through deception.” For Syria, the pontiff calls for “talks and negotiations, in accordance with international humanitarian law, to safeguard the lives and welfare of civilians.” Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In his Angelus address today, Pope Francis urged Christians to live the “presence and testimony” as “salt” and “light” in the world. “J...
Chernobyl shocker as fungi that eats radiation found inside nuclear reactor…
A type of black fungus that eats radiation was discovered inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. In 1991, the strange fungus was found growing up the walls of the reactor, which baffled scientists due to the extreme, radiation-heavy environment. Researchers eventually realized that not only was the fungi impervious to the deadly radiation, it seemed to be attracted to it. A decade later, researchers tested some of the fungi and determined that it had a large amount of the pigment melanin — which is also found, among other places, in the skin of humans. INCREDIBLE NASA VIDEO SHOWS WHAT EARTH WOULD LOOK LIKE IF OCEANS DISAPPEARED Ruined reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in in 2016 (iStock) SKELETON UNEARTHED ON TINY ISLAND MAY BE 18TH-CENTURY ROYAL NAVY SAILOR...
Rereading ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ after the fire…
Victor Hugo begins The Hunchback of Notre Dame, amazingly, by discussing a fire! Not any fire, but one that destroyed a beautiful and historical Gothic building. The story opens in the Grand Hall of Paris’ Royal Palace on the 6th on January 1482, with a crowd awaiting a miracle play, performed to honor ambassador’s from Flanders (a play that likewise meets a tragic end). The book truly reads like a history of Parisian architecture, with a narrative woven through Hugo’s descriptions of palaces, houses, churches, abbeys, streets, prisons, cells of recluses, bridges, and, of course, the mistress of all the city’s buildings, Notre Dame. In the first chapter, he draws the reader into the great hall, where justice was administered, in the king’s palace: With the reader’s consent, we will e...
Pro-life bills advance in several U.S. states…
Washington D.C., Feb 8, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- Several state-level pro-life measures cleared legislative hurdles this week. Lawmakers have considered several of the proposals before, and already a number of the proposals have advanced further than they did last year. A bill that would temporarily revoke a doctor’s license for performing an abortion has advanced in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and will proceed to the Senate. HB 1182 passed the Oklahoma house Feb. 6 by a vote of 71-21. The bill would revoke a physician’s medical license for a minimum of six months and would also provide for a minimum fine of $500. An amendment added to the bill before the vote provides an exception for a case of an abortion being necessary “to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a...
Did you help the saints of old to become holy?
There is a remarkable statement at the end of the eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews. It speaks to the unity of the mystical Body of Christ and to the treasury of merit, which extends both backward and forward in time. Hebrews 11 is devoted to reciting the glory of many Old Testament saints. That litany concludes with the following verses: These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. Since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect (Heb 11:39-40). It is astonishing to think that we who live now might have had anything to do with the sanctity and heroism of the saints who came before us, but the text says that without us they would not have been perfected. How can this be? Simply put, it is...
