Friday, October 04, 2024

The Inequity of the Pursuit of Excellence in College Sports;


Pareto Rule of College Sports: 99% of college players never make it to the professional league:


According to WalletHub financial writer Adam McCann in a July 2 article titled “Most & Least Educated Cities in America” (2024,) Ann Arbor, Michigan, was No. 1 on WalletHub’s list of most educated metropolitan areas with an overall score of 93.7 out 100.

Meanwhile, 100% of student athletes are subdidised by taxpayers.Why do you think the cost of operating a higher education institution has grown exponentially?


Meanwhile, Newsweek’s Joe Edwards reports that Washington state has not only seen the biggest influx of college-educated Americans, but Seattle is the least-religious large metro area. In addition. Washington not only has several student loan forgiveness programs that are specific to just the State of Washington, but residents can also qualify for various Federal student loan forgiveness programs. Consistent with the Law of Bilk; Residents who want to bilk the system go where they are welcomed and stay where they are protected and well treated. Soon, passing the bar exam will no longer be a requirement for becoming a lawyer in Washington.

In the past. a degree meant something: the degree holder was responsible, hard-worker, independent and most of all, was well versed in their field of study.. If that person left and went to another state, that would be a brain drain. It is no longre brain drain but more like dead weight augmentation for the receiving state.









So, when the likes of Adam McCann and Joe Edwards report about the Most and Least Educated Cities in America, they should really be more precise and identify whether they mean Educated, Indoctrinated or Degree Holders.

Thursday, October 03, 2024

NYT's Modern Fat Romance

The October 2, 2024 of the NYT's Modern Love, explores obesity and romance: ‘For me, the hardest was walking into a party with our friends, where I was like, I don’t want to be the fat couple.’

Gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins, is defined as excess in eating and drinking









For the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit; whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by others. - Romans 14:17



The NIH says the obesity epidemic is because people are responding to the forces in their environment, rather than lacking in willpower and self-control.62(pS141)



Likewise, the Fentanyl crisis, according to Yale Medicine, driving overdose deaths is because fentanyl is easy to manufacture, it is easy to ship around the country - not willpower and self-control.

WHO'S Bertolote argues that the mental health crisis is due to a lack of clear and widely accepted definition of mental health as a discipline was. - not willpower and self-control

Gone are the days of personal responsibility. The NYT, NIH, Yale Medicine, WHO et al, seem to have graduated from Stanford University Professor Nir Halevy's class on how to blame others:



To be fat, an addict  a mental health patient, straight or LGBT 
is not about shaming. It's not about boasting. After all, we are made in the image of God. Human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This notion is well-supported by Sacred Scriptures;
  • Genesis 1:26-31: God created man and woman in his image.
  • Deuteronomy 10:17-19: God loves the orphan, the widow, and the stranger.
  • Psalms 139:13-16: God formed each of us and knows us intimately.
  • Proverbs 22:2: The Lord is the maker of both rich and poor.
  • Luke 10:25-37: The good Samaritan recognized the dignity in the other and cared for his life.
  • John 4:1-42: Jesus broke with societal and religious customs to honor the dignity of the Samaritan woman.
  • Romans 12: 9-18: Love one another, contribute to the needs of others, live peaceably with all.
  • 1 Corinthians 3:16: You are holy, for you are God’s temple and God dwells in you.
  • Galatians 3:27-28; All Christians are one in Christ Jesus.
  • James 2:1-8: Honor the poor.
  • 1 John 3: 1-2: See what love the Father has for us, that we should be called Children of God.
  • 1 John 4:7-12: Let us love one another because love is from

We all have free will. (CCC 1732) As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame, merit or reproach. 
  The late Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar says we can choose to live an Ego-Drama, where everything we do revolves around ourselves and no one else; we write the script, we produce it and we star in it. Or we can live a Theo-Drama where  everything we do revolves around God. He writes the script.  He produces it.  We are merely a supporting cast.

Human failings are not only a result of the Ego-Drama but the demonic. As Bishop Robert Barron writes: “What are the signs of the demonic?  “What are the ways the demonic appears? Look at the names the Bible gives the devils, called in the Greek δῐᾰ́βολος (diabolos), diablo in Spanish, and le diable in French; διαβάλλειν (diaballein) means “to cast apart,” “to throw apart,” “to scatter.” The great sign of the demonic is scattering. God is a great gathering force. Whenever things come together, when a community forms, that is a sign of the Holy Spirit. The scattering power is a sign of the darker powers. When families get scattered, when business organizations, communities, and cultures get divided, that comes from the demonic.”




Using analysis tools like the Ishikawa Diagram, the Pareto Rule, Security Professionals' Attack Tree and or Occams Razor, they all suggest that after the uber progressive Warren SCOTUS (1963) 
decided that teaching children about wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety,  fear of the Lord., charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and  chastity was too radical, and all hell broke lose.  A decade later Roe v Wade followed: California became No 1 Global Fentanyl Consumption, No 1 Child Exploitation, 43rd in education, we have had a mental health crisis. Infanticide turned into Black Genocide. African American nuclear family is in the extinct list, we have had an AIDS epidemic,  Opiod crisis, a fatherlesssness crisis,
a Trans Crisis, an Obesity crisis, and so on.

Its not about weight, wealth, addiction or sexual preferences. It's about personal responsibility. The best part is that when we feel we need help, expensive therapy is not required. There's always someone who can intercede for us is intercession in difficult or seemingly impossible challenges: for example, Saint Jude. He was on of the original twelve Apostles of Jesus and the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. Venerated by millions of people worldwide, he is believed to have miraculous powers, and his intercession is often sought for difficult or seemingly impossible. Then there is Dymphna is known as the patroness of nervous disorders and mental disease, depression and incest, but she is not the only saint who can help the faithful in times of mental anguish. Those looking for saintly intercession can choose from a pantheon of holy helpers.





Tuesday, October 01, 2024

October, the Month of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary

October is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary,  primarily because the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7.  It was instituted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful.




The Holy Rosary 

The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events in the history of our salvation. There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five Joyful Mysteries (said on Monday and Saturday), the five Luminous Mysteries (said on Thursday), the five Sorrowful Mysteries (said on Tuesday and Friday), and the five Glorious Mysteries (said on Wednesday and Sunday). As an exception, the Joyful Mysteries may be said on Sundays during Advent and Christmas, while the Sorrowful Mysteries may be said on the Sundays of Lent.



Pope Francis  calls for October 7 to be day of prayer and fasting for peace - October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Miracles Attributed to the Rosary


The mysteries of the Rosary are based on the incidents in the life of Our Lord and His Mother that are celebrated in the Liturgy. There is a parallel between the main feasts honoring our Lord and his Mother in the liturgical year, and the twenty mysteries of the Rosary. Consequently, one who recites the twenty mysteries of the Rosary inm one day reflects on the whole liturgical cycle that the Church commemorates during the course of each year. That is why some of the Popes have referred to the Rosary as a compendium of the Gospel:

Pope Pius XII (papacy: 1939-1958) said the Rosary is " a compendium of the entire Gospel" (AAS 38 [1946] p. 419). The Rosary draws its mysteries from the New Testament and is centered on the great events of the Incarnation and Redemption


John Paul II called the Rosary his favorite prayer, in which we meditate with Mary upon the mysteries which she as a mother meditated on in her heart (Lk. 2:19) (Osservatore Romano, 44; 30 Oct. 1979).0ĺ

The Rosary Center offer several different modes of praying the Rosary, including a scriptural-based mode: For exsmple The First Joyful Mystery – Mary is Chosen Mother of GOD


  1. Through the disobedience of Adam sin enters the world. Rom. 5:12
  2. The Father sends His Son to save the world. Jn. 3:17
  3. The Angel Gabriel is sent to a virgin named Mary. Lk. 1:26,27
  4. The Angel tells Mary: “You are to have a Son and will name Him Jesus.” Lk. 1:31
  5. He is the Son of God. Lk. 1:32
  6. Mary consents: “Let it be done to me.” Lk. 1:38
  7. God the Son becomes Man, in obedience to His Father. Lk. 1:35
  8. By His obedience many shall be saved. Rom. 5:19
  9. Mary becomes Mother of God. Lk. 1:35
  10. Nothing is impossible with God. Lk. 1:37

History of the Holy Rosary 


The feast was introduced by Pope St. Pius V (1504-1572) in the year 1571 to commemorate the miraculous victory of the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The pope attributed more to the "arms" of the Rosary than the power of cannons and the valor of the soldiers who fought there.  I
n 1571 when the Catholic League entered into battle against the Ottoman Empire to protect Italy from invasion. The Turks were on a warpath to overthrow all of Europe, killing millions of people and forcing Islamic conversion on survivors. They had conquered the Middle East and Mediterranean islands of Cyrus and Crete; Italy was next.

As the impending battle loomed, Pope Pius V called on various religious communities throughout Europe to join him in praying the Rosary, including public recitations, to defeat the Islamic threat. Heading into battle, every man in the Catholic League’s forces carried a Rosary. Their fleet was no match for the competition; they were vastly outnumbered.

Miraculously, the Catholic League returned victorious after a daylong battle known as the Battle of Lepanto that took place off the coast of Greece. In thanksgiving for Mary’s intercession and protection, Pope Pius V declared the day — October 7 — as a feast day for Our Lady of the Rosary. To celebrate, a Rosary procession was held in Saint Peter’s Square.

The history of the Rosary is replete with facts, truths, legends, myths and genuine piety. For more than 600 years, the Rosary has been a hallmark of Catholic devotional life and has been and is a most engaging form of prayer for countless millions.

The roots of the Rosary go back to two distinct sources: the first is 3000 years old and is found in the psalms attributed to King David in the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament; the second is the practice of keeping track of prayers by counting with beads, pebbles, or marks on wood or stone. This practice, found in the great religions of the world such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Islam, is very ancient as well.

The 150 psalms come from the early Hebrew writings around the time of Kings David and Solomon. The psalms were prayed by the Jews at the time of Jesus, and He prayed them and quoted from them even on the cross as he was dying: “My God, My God, why have you abandoned Me?” (Psalm 22).


Early Christian monks who had fled to the desert to escape the distractions of the world and to seek God and pursue holiness prayed the psalms in sets of 50. They imagined that they were praying the psalms in the company of King David and the prophets and holy men and women of old and also in the company of Jesus. They soon were praying the psalms together in community and used scrolls of papyrus or lambskin to read from. Many of the monks could not read or understand Latin, the language of the Bible in the early Middle Ages.

Most of the people outside the monasteries did not have scrolls or books and likewise never learned to read and write. However, illiterate monks working in the fields and many devout laypeople wished to share in the prayer life of the literate Monks and of the Church. Since they did not know Latin and could not memorize all 150 psalms, they gradually began substituting the Paternosters (Our Fathers) for the psalms. They needed a way to keep track of how many they prayed, so they grouped the prayers into sets of 50, as the psalms were in the Psalter. They still needed a way to keep count, so they collected small pebbles or other items, which eventually become beads, similar to those used in other religions to count prayers and acts of devotion

Legend tells us that the Rosary as a form of prayer was given to St. Dominic (1170-1221) by Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, who entrusted it to him as an aid in the conflicts with the Albigensians. 
The most vibrant heresy in Europe was Catharism, also known as Albigensianism—for Albi, a city in southern France where it flourished. Catharism held that the universe was a battleground between good, which was spirit, and evil, which was matter. Human beings were believed to be spirits trapped in physical bodies.


The Dominican pope, St. Pius V, did much to further the spread of the Rosary and it thereafter became one of the most popular devotions in Christendom. It was the same Pope St. Pius V, who in 1569 officially approved the Rosary in its present form with the Papal Bull, Consueverunt Romani Pontifices. It had been completed by the addition of the second half of the "Hail Mary" and the "Glory be to the Father" at the conclusion of each mystery.


During the Middle Ages, the Rosary was popular in various medieval monasteries as a substitute for the Divine Office for the lay monks and devout lay persons who did not know how to read. Instead of the 150 psalms, they would pray 150 "Our Fathers" counting them on a ring of beads known as the crown or "corona." With the growth of popularity of Marian devotion in the twelfth century, the "Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary" evolved substituting 150 "Hail Marys" in place of the "Our Fathers."  
Divine Office, also referred to as The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the whole People of God. In it, Christ himself “continues his priestly work through his Church.” His members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives. The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office either with the priests, among themselves, or individually.

The celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours demands not only harmonizing the voice with the praying heart, but also a deeper “understanding of the liturgy and of the Bible, especially of the Psalms.  The laity,  are encouraged to recite the divine office either with the priests, among themselves, or individually



The 150 "Hail Marys" were subsequently subdivided into fifteen decades by the young Dominican friar, Henry Kalkar (1328-1408), with each decade referring to an event in the life of Jesus and Mary. The Dominican, Alanus de Rupe (1428-1478) further divided the episodes in the history of salvation into the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. He also attributed the origin of the Rosary, then known as the "Psalter of the Blessed Virgin" to St. Dominic and thus spurred the Dominican Order to make the Apostolate of the Rosary their special concern. The Dominicans have, since then, promulgated the Rosary.

The practice of dedicating the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary developed toward the end of the last century. Pope Leo XIII (papacy: 1878-1903) strongly promoted the increase of devotion to the Blessed Mother by encouraging the constant use of the Rosary.

Beginning on September 1, 1883, with Supremo Apostolatus Officio, he wrote a total of eleven encyclicals on the Rosary, ending with Diuturni Temporis in 1898. We are currently celebrating the centennial of these papal encyclicals.

Many other popes have contributed to help increase devotion to the Rosary by their writings. In the recent past, Pope Paul VI ( papacy: 1963-1978) devoted the last section of his Apostolic Exhortation MARIALIS CULTUS to the Angelus and the Rosary (MC 40-55). In this document, he wrote that "the Rosary retains an unaltered value and intact freshness." (MC, 41)



Selected Miracles Attributed to the Rosary 


Pope Francis  calls for October 7 to be day of prayer and fasting for peace - October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary



The Rosary Defeats Muslim Forces in The Battle of Lepanto ~ 1571


The Rosary Converts Pompeii from Satanic Influence, Late 1800's

Father Patrick Peyton, The Rosary Priest 1909


The Rosary Protects Jesuit Priests from The Atom Bomb at Hiroshima ~ 1945


The Rosary Frees Austria from Communist Rule in 1955

The Rosary Saves Brazil from Communism, 1962‐1964



The Rosary stops a serial killer 1978


The Rosary Defeats a Philippino Dictatorship in 193333osary Saves Man’s Life on September 11 2001





 

Little Saint, Thérèse of Lisieux's Little Way, The Greatest Saint of Modern Times

Little Saint, Thérèse of Lisieux's Little Way, The Greatest Saint of Modern Times, All in the Saintly Family,  A Child Doctor of the Church, all describe St. Thérèse of Lisieux. St. Thérèse has been a highly influential model of sanctity for Catholics because of the simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life. She is one of the most popular saints in the history of the church,although she was obscure during her lifetime. Pope Pius X called her "the greatest saint of modern times." Patron saint of missionaries, florists, pilots, and priests, she died at the age of 24 from tuberculosis.





St. Thérèse was beatified and canonized by Pope Pius XIIn 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church - the four great women of the Church: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

Her feast day in the General Roman Calendar is 1 October.   In 2015 St. Thérèse’s parents, Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin, were canonized by Pope Francis; they were the first spouses to be canonized as a couple.






The long journey to personal holiness starts but with The Little Way -the simplicity in God’s service - As Francis Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Blessed Lady, 1912, writes in the preface to the electronic version of the Story of a Soul” – by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux - of the perfect accomplishment of small recurring duties, of trustful confidence in Him who made and has redeemed and sanctified us. Humility, self-effacement, obedience, hiddenness, unfaltering charity, with all the self-control and constant effort that they imply,

In the deeply religious atmosphere of her home, Therese felt an early call to religious lifeher piety developed early and intensively. All four of her elder sisters became nuns, and at the age of 15 she entered the cloistered Carmelite community of LisieuxNormand, another sister, Céline, also later joined the order.  After nine years as a Carmelite nun, having fulfilled various offices such as sacristan and assistant to the novice mistress, in her last eighteen months in Carmel she fell into a night of faith, in which she is said to have felt Jesus was absent and been tormented by doubts that God existed. 


The story of Thérèse’s spiritual development was related in a collection of her epistolary essays, written by order of the prioresses, who happened to be her sister,
and published in 1898 under the title Histoire d’une âme (Story of a Soul, trans. from French 1996). Her popularity is largely a result of this work, which conveys her loving pursuit of holiness in ordinary life. Thérèse defined her doctrine of the Little Way as “the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute surrender.”


The Story of a Soul, is the autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux,  a spiritual classic and one of the most beautiful autobiographies ever written. Sister Thérèse wrote this autobiography out of obedience to Mother Agnes of Jesus, her religious superior who was also her sister, Pauline. Her autobiography reveals her deep love of God and draws the reader into the beautiful workings of grace within her soul.
The free version of the Story of a Soul is in the public domain and may be used and copied without restriction thanks to the Gutenberg Project



Even in prayer, Therese teaches simplicity – talking to God and Jesus in direct, personal and heartfelt ways. She prayed from her heart as a child speaks honestly and trustingly to a parent they love.