It has been twenty-four years — nearly a quarter of a century — since the followers of a demonic ideology attacked our nation. For some Americans, memories have faded. Others choose to forget or forgive. A whole generation has grown up with no firsthand knowledge of that day and little grasp of its history. Yet the events of September 11, 2001 brought a horror to our shores that the world must never be allowed to forget.
The same ideology that fueled those attacks still spreads violence across Europe and throughout the world. It continues to bring evil to our own shores as well. And yet, many remain complacent, blind, or willfully ignorant. Worse still, some within our own government aid and placate those who threaten us.
Today we remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the first responders who ran toward danger, and the families whose grief has never faded. Their sacrifice and suffering deserve not only our remembrance but also our resolve.
We must remember what was done to us on that bright September morning. We must stand firm against it. Be vigilant, for the evil one and his minions have not relented. The threat endures.
This festive holiday traces its origins back to the pious deed of St. Hopswald of Aleyard, the first man to buy his priest a beer. The legend goes that St. Hopswald, a master brewer by trade, was a Teutonic pagan who was converted and baptized by a zealous Catholic priest.
One day, St. Hopswald committed a grievous sin. Without wasting a moment, he ran quickly to his priest and confessed. Later that day, as he was particularly enjoying the peace of a clean conscience, St. Hopswald was so filled with gratitude for his priest’s sacramental ministry that he rushed to the rectory and offered to buy his priest a beer.
Okay, if you haven’t figured it out by now, St. Hopswald wasn’t real, but your priest is, and without priestly ministry, getting to heaven would be well nigh impossible!
Believe it or not, priests are real people, and they enjoy socializing over good food and drink as much as anyone. They also have a thankless and difficult job, a job that we couldn’t get to heaven without. Priests are the lifeblood of the Church, and they deserve some appreciation.
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| The late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI celebrates his 88th birthday. |
Christmas 1924 was celebrated according to the Club’s tradition, and in fact about fifteen members gathered that night in a private chapel at 9 Via Ormea where Canon Bues celebrated Mass. I was among those who were invited by Pier Giorgio, who went on and on about how beautiful the Mass would be, as well as the gastronomic delights that would follow. Pier Giorgio and Carlo Pol served the Mass, and I remember how it was difficult to move in the chapel because it was standing room only.Pier Giorgio had some cigars in his suit coat pocket, and they started to fall out when he was making a genuflection. He blushed deeply as he stuffed them back into his pocket. Then, turning toward my side of the chapel and seeing that I had seen everything that had happened, he made a face as if to excuse himself and he suppressed a smile, returning to his prayers with greater intensity than before.I continued to watch him, and the longer the Mass went on, and the more intense and spiritually delightful it became, the more I was moved to see that group of university students follow the liturgy of the Mass with such devotion.
... we know that the last gift he received from his sister was a cigar case that he chose for himself that day while they shopped together. Later, he joked with a maid, “Two cigars. Today you have to give me two cigars: one for St. Peter and one for St. Paul; it's a double feast today!”
90+F today in Richmond. 70F tomorrow. Welcome to fall in Richmond. The run of cool temps two weeks ago was fake fall, which was followed by second summer this week with temps back up in the 90s and the drop tomorrow is RVA settling into fall for real. The 4 seasons thing is a fake news. We have 13 seasons in Richmond.
Last weekend was glorious. 3 days with no cell service at the campground and absolutely perfect weather the entire time. I wish I could do that every weekend. Work continues to keep me very busy, although I feel like I'm working much harder this year and making less. Welcome to self-employment? I'm not sure what I'll be doing year. I may have options for FT employment, maybe a PT job and PT self-employment, or maybe I stay FT freelance. Or maybe I hit the $1.8 billion Powerball this weekend and none of you ever hear from me again.
What would you do if you won the lottery for really big bucks? I would put an insane amount aside to live on, like $50 million or something, write big checks to family, and then start a foundation and my "job" for the rest of my life would be to give it all away to people working to make the world a better place.
I don't have many links again. I need to work harder at saving things I find online.
A list of some off the best streaming indie radio stations in the US. I've completely quit Spotify, etc. as my source of background music when working or whatever. I always go with streaming radio stations now.
This article about Octavia Butler's uncannily accurate predictions of the future is interesting.
The best wildlife photos of the year, so far.
A new blog about productivity software from the early days of the PC area. Wordstar and Lotus 123 FTW!
And that is it for this week. Remember, in a world where you can choose to be anything, you can choose to be kind.
