Monday, October 31, 2016

November 1 - All Saints Day

All Saints' Day is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually on November 1. The day is dedicated to the saints of the Church, that is, all those who have attained heaven.

10 Bizarre UNEXPLAINED MIRACLES from Around the World!

Friday, October 28, 2016

Saints Simon and Jude




Today the Church celebrates the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude whose names occur together in the Canon of the Mass and are also celebrated on the same day. Possibly this is because they both preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia and Persia where it is said they had both been sent, but in actual fact we know nothing for certain about them beyond what is told us of their being called as Apostles in the New Testament. St. Jude is the author of a short Epistle which forms part of the New Testament.

St. Jude
Patron: Desperate situations; forgotten causes; hospital workers; hospitals; impossible causes; lost causes; diocese of Saint Petersburg, Florida.
Symbols: Bearded man holding an oar, a boat, boat hook, a club, an axe or a book; nearly every image depicts him wearing a medallion with a profile of Jesus, and usually with a small flame above his head; often carries a pen or sits at a writing location to make reference to the canonical Epistle; sailboat; inverted cross; square; halbert; club; loaves and fish; long cross; knotted club; boat hook; fuller's bat; lance; saw; flail; closed book; shield: red with sailboat with a cross on the mast.
St. Simon
Patron: Curriers; sawmen; sawyers; tanners.
Symbols: Boat; fish; man being sawn in two longitudinally; fish and book; oar; saw; two fishes; lance; fuller's bat; axe; cross; saw and oar saltire; fish on a boat hood; sword; shield: red background with two oars and a hatchet.

Monday, October 17, 2016

MEMORIAL OF IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, BISHOP, MARTYR

Make room for everyone
Catholics can take pride in the fact that the word catholic comes from the Greek katholikos meaning universal, complete, whole. Saint Ignatius gave us the first example of the word’s use way back in the year 107 when he wrote in a Letter to the Smyrnaeans, “. . . wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” We have a 1,900-year legacy of being an inclusive people, of making room for one and all. Now more than ever, in this age of strife and division, let’s affirm our catholic tradition.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

The #1 Public Health Issue Doctors Aren't Talking About

When Lissa Rankin, MD researched what optimizes the health of the body and what predisposes the body to illness, she was surprised by what she found. When asked "What's the greatest risk factor for disease?" she found that perhaps it's not our diet, our exercise regimen, the absence of bad habits like smoking, or genetics that most profoundly affect the health of the body. To her surprise, she found that scientific evidence suggests that loneliness may be the greatest public health issue few people are talking about. We are tribal beings, and when we feel lonely, our nervous systems sense a threat, activating stress responses that predispose the body to illness. When we come together in conscious community, our nervous systems relax and the body's self-healing mechanisms activate, which may be the most important medicine we need. What is the cure for this underrepresented public health issue? Dr. Rankin's prescription may surprise you.

Lissa Rankin, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine, The Fear Cure, and The Anatomy of a Calling, is a physician, speaker, founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute, and mystic. Passionate about what makes people optimally healthy and what predisposes them to illness, she hopes to merge science and spirituality in a way that not only facilitates the health of the individual, but also uplifts the collective. Bridging between seemingly disparate worlds, Lissa broadcasts not only her unique visionary ideas, but also those of cutting edge visionaries she discerns and trusts, especially in the field of her latest research into "Sacred Medicine." Lissa has starred in two National Public Television specials and also leads workshops, both online and at retreat centers. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her daughter. She blogs at LissaRankin.com and posts regularly on Facebook.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Feeding everyone needs everyone

Alan Bjerga explores the issues surrounding world hunger and the availability of scarce resources in third-world countries.

Alan Bjerga is an American journalist, author of the book Endless Appetites: How the Commodities Casino Creates Hunger and Unrest and the 2010 president of the National Press club. He covers agricultural policy for Bloomberg News. In 2012 he joined the faculty of Georgetown University as an adjunct instructor. He has been recognized for his work covering U.S. and international agricultural issues, receiving awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the New York Press Club, the Kansas Press Association, the North American Agricultural Journalists, and the Overseas Press Club. He is also a frequent commentator on food and agricultural issues, appearing on Bloomberg Television, National Public Radio, the BBC and PBS Newshour, among other programs. Before working for Bloomberg News, Bjerga won the NAAJ's top writing award while working for the Knight-Ridder Washington Bureau.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Tinfoil cape

Kristin Geer talks about resilience in women and why some women are able to bounce forward, instead of just bouncing back from adversity. She talks about how society needs to help us cope through our predestined pivot points, and how working together can ultimately change one's perspective on the world itself.

Kristin Geer is a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist who pivoted from television news after an ovarian cancer diagnosis and started a nonprofit to raise money for cancer research and education. She also started a television production studio, producing nationally syndicated television shows but had to pivot again, during the recession.

Kristin is a 1991 graduate of Concordia College, currently pursuing her Master’s Degree at Johns Hopkins University. Her goal is to incorporate her thesis research into a book she’s writing about pivotal transformations by women, who have not only bounced back after surviving a crisis, have gone on to turn their pain into purpose for the greater good.