text:
Do you think about the cross of Christ?
And as for you, Capernaum, "Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld."
Our responsibility for our sins and our responsibility to repent are related to the graces the Lord has given us, for example, the miracles He has done in our midst. "When much has been given a man, much will be required of him. More will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted" (Lk 12:48).
Most of us reading this have been given the very greatest graces. Almost all of us are baptized. We have become new creations (Gal 6:15; 2 Cor 5:17). We are royal, priestly, and holy (1 Pt 2:9). God even lives in us, and we in Him (Jn 17:23; 6:56). Most of us are awesomely privileged to receive the body and blood of God as Catholics. Under these circumstances, it is obvious that we have a very great responsibility to respond to God's graces and to repent.
Nevertheless, as we are about to accept God's call to repentance, we are tempted to compare ourselves with others. Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum could have compared themselves with Nazareth. They seemed to have greater faith than did Nazareth, because Jesus did more miracles in them (Mk 6:5-6). Satan can so confuse us that we use our blessings as an excuse not to repent rather than an indication of a greater responsibility to repent.
Don't compare yourself with others, but compare your life to the graces God has given you. Then repent.
"Angels don't worry about you... They believe in you."
"Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Today's feast day honors the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the only angels mentioned by name in the Bible. We thank God for these three archangels. We need them now more than ever.
Angels are those beings who want to work for us and do jobs which must be done, although we can't do them or find anyone else to do them. It's just what we need — and for free! There are "thousands upon thousands" of them (Dn 7:10). One has been assigned to guard each of us.
The archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, will also help us. Michael's specialty is spiritual warfare — something we're engaged in daily, especially if we're living the life in the Spirit. "Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. Although the dragon and his angels fought back, they were overpowered and lost their place in heaven" (Rv 12:7-8). That war Michael finished in heaven is continuing on earth, and we're in it. St. Michael, pray for us. We need you.
Gabriel specializes in annunciations and revelations. He helped Daniel to understand Jeremiah's prophecy (see Dn 9:21-27) and carried to Mary the greatest message ever: God was to become man in her womb and His name would be Jesus (Lk 1:31-32).
Raphael works in the areas of guidance and healing (Tb 12:7). Goodness knows we need that. Remember, angels are "ministering spirits, sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation" (Heb 1:14).
If God called you to leave everything right now, like he did in today’s Gospel, could you truly drop everything and go? I know that the right response is, “Oh yes! Of course!” but have you ever really, truly thought about it? I know that I would ask God, " Can my family come with me, or at least can I go say goodbye to them " ? or "Can we postpone this until next week "? Why is it so hard for us to drop everything and follow the Lord?
Jesus flat out tells us about the personal costs that it would require to follow him. It requires sacrifice to follow the Lord, the sacrifice of all of our material possessions and creature comforts. Jesus knows this, but he appeals to our heart to detach from material goods and to not hold back. This is necessary to follow the Lord. We can’t be tied down to multiple things when our full attention should be on following his will. But, in today’s society, we are all not necessarily called to give up everything to spiritually follow Jesus. However, we need to give up anything that may hold us back from doing God's will. We have to look forward, and not look back at everything we leave behind.
Today, let us examine ourselves in terms of the challenges we face and our relationship with God. How is Jesus inviting us to respond? Let's ask for the graces to respond freely - with hope and confident trust - each day, in the concrete situations in which we find ourselves. Sometimes the call will be in terms of how quickly and lovingly we respond to the people closest to us. Sometimes we will be asked to participate, pitch in, contribute in some way to building a community of people positively responding to those in need.
Today's Gospel reminds me of one of the best homilies that I ever heard. The priest read from a short story by a Catholic writer, and it was about a woman who was very devout and proper, but had a bit of a superiority complex about her holiness, and looked down upon those who were not able to be as fervent in their pursuit of heaven as was she.
Then she has a vision of every ragged, motley and deranged person she had passed on the street being transported joyfully up to heaven, singing out of tune, weeping for joy and otherwise engaged in a sort of lunatic-like celebration of their salvation. And she wondered: How are those people going to heaven? And how are they getting there before me?
The disciples in the Gospel today remind me a bit of that woman, asking Jesus to rain down terror on the Samaritans. God loves the ragged people, and Jesus was friends with many of them, which caused Jesus to be looked down upon by the Pharisees and others.
The secret, I think, is recognizing our own raggedness. We have all sinned and we will all sin again. But if we recognized our own raggedness, instead of pretending that it doesn't exist, then perhaps we can engage in that lunatic-like celebration as we are taken up to heaven.
Gospel text (Lk 9,46-50): One day the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he took a little child and stood him by his side. Then He said to them, «Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. And listen: the one who is found to be the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest».
In the world, we don't welcome people because we don't welcome competition. We see other people as a threat. If they take their cut, there's less for us. We tend to be jealous, possessive, and contentious. We compare ourselves with others to see who is greatest (Lk 9:46).
In Jesus' kingdom, it should be the opposite. We welcome people with open arms. Other people are not "them"; they're "us." We're all members of the same body. "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members share its joy" (1 Cor 12:26). We owe encouragement (Phil 2:1) and love (Rm 13:8) to one another. When we welcome our brothers and sisters in Christ, we welcome Christ and the Father (Lk 9:48). When we welcome one part of Christ's body, we must welcome all. "If then you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me" (Phlm 17).
At our death or at the end of the world, we will be welcomed as we welcome.
In all churches, in cathedrals and religious houses, wherever the faithful gather to celebrate the Easter Vigil, that holiest of all nights begins with the lighting of the Paschal candle, whose light is then passed on to all who are present. One tiny flame spreads out to become many lights and fills the darkness of God's house with its brightness. This wonderful liturgical rite, which we have imitated in our prayer vigil tonight, reveals to us in signs more eloquent than words the mystery of our Christian faith. Jesus who says of himself: "I am the light of the world" (Jn 8:12), causes our lives to shine brightly, so that what we have just heard in the Gospel comes true: "You are the light of the world" (Mt 5:14).
It is not our human efforts or the technical progress of our era that brings light into this world. Again and again we have to experience how our striving to bring about a better and more just world hits against its limits. Innocent suffering and the ultimate fact of death awaiting every single person are an impenetrable darkness which may perhaps, through fresh experiences, be lit up for a moment, as if through a flash of lightning at night. In the end, though, a frightening darkness remains.
While all around us there may be darkness and gloom, yet we see a light: a small, tiny flame that is stronger than the seemingly powerful and invincible darkness. Christ, risen from the dead, shines in this world and he does so most brightly in those places where, in human terms, everything is sombre and hopeless. He has conquered death - he is alive - and faith in him, like a small light, cuts through all that is dark and threatening. To be sure, those who believe in Jesus do not lead lives of perpetual sunshine, as though they could be spared suffering and hardship, but there is always a bright glimmer there, lighting up the path that leads to fullness of life (cf. Jn 10:10). The eyes of those who believe in Christ see light even amid the darkest night and they already see the dawning of a new day.
Dear friends, the Lord says: "I am the light of the world - you are the light of the world." It is mysterious and wonderful that Jesus applies the same predicate to himself and to each one of us, namely "light". If we believe that he is the Son of God, who healed the sick and raised the dead, who rose from the grave himself and is truly alive, then we can understand that he is the light, the source of all the lights of this world. On the other hand, we experience more and more the failure of our efforts and our personal shortcomings, despite our best intentions.
In the final analysis, the world in which we live, in spite of its technical progress, does not seem to be getting any better. There is still war and terror, hunger and disease, bitter poverty and merciless oppression. And even those figures in our history who saw themselves as "bringers of light", but without being fired by Christ, the one true light, did not manage to create an earthly paradise, but set up dictatorships and totalitarian systems, in which even the smallest spark of true humanity is choked.
At this point we cannot remain silent about the existence of evil. We see it in so many places in this world; but we also see it - and this scares us - in our own lives. Truly, within our hearts there is a tendency towards evil, there is selfishness, envy, aggression. Perhaps with a certain self-discipline all this can to some degree be controlled. But it becomes more difficult with faults that are somewhat hidden, that can engulf us like a thick fog, such as sloth, or laziness in willing and doing good. Again and again in history, keen observers have pointed out that damage to the Church comes not from her opponents, but from uncommitted Christians.
So how can Christ say that Christians, presumably including these weak and often lukewarm Christians, are the light of the world? Perhaps we could understand if he were to call out to us: Repent! Be the light of the world! Change your life, make it bright and radiant! Should we not be surprised that the Lord directs no such appeal to us, but tells us that we are the light of the world, that we shine, that we light up the darkness?
Dear friends, Saint Paul in many of his letters does not shrink from calling his contemporaries, members of the local community, "saints". Here it becomes clear that every baptized person - even before accomplishing good works or special achievements - is sanctified by God. In baptism the Lord, as it were, sets our life alight with what the Catechism calls sanctifying grace. Those who watch over this light, who live by grace, are indeed holy.
Dear friends, again and again the very notion of saints has been caricatured and distorted, as if to be holy meant to be remote from the world, naive and joyless. Often it is thought that a saint has to be someone with great ascetic and moral achievements, who might well be revered, but could never be imitated in our own lives. How false and discouraging this opinion is! There is no saint, apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has not also known sin, who has never fallen.
Dear friends, Christ is not so much interested in how often in your lives you stumble and fall, as in how often you pick yourselves up again. He does not demand glittering achievements, but he wants his light to shine in you. He does not call you because you are good and perfect, but because he is good and he wants to make you his friends. Yes, you are the light of the world because Jesus is your light. You are Christians - not because you do special and extraordinary things, but because Christ is your life. You are holy because his grace is at work in you.
Dear friends, this evening as we gather in prayer around the one Lord, we sense the truth of Christ's saying that the city built on a hilltop cannot remain hidden. This gathering shines in more ways than one - in the glow of innumerable lights, in the radiance of so many young people who believe in Christ. A candle can only give light if it lets itself be consumed by the flame. It would remain useless if its wax failed to nourish the fire.
Allow Christ to burn in you, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation. Do not be afraid that you might lose something and, so to speak, emerge empty-handed at the end. Have the courage to apply your talents and gifts for God's kingdom and to give yourselves - like candlewax - so that the Lord can light up the darkness through you. Dare to be glowing saints, in whose eyes and hearts the love of Christ beams and who thus bring light to the world. I am confident that you and many other young people here in Germany are lamps of hope that do not remain hidden. "You are the light of the world". Amen.
still others, "One of the ancient prophets has arisen.""
The gospel today is a fairly simple message, one that ought to make sense to us. But I would like to emphasize a word that I, at least, tend to just skip over: must.
Must is an interesting word with an interesting context. “I must go to work in order to make the money to pay the bills.” “You must always treat others with dignity and respect.” “One must first be an adult before they are allowed to vote.” From the sounds of things, “must” seems like a trap: a series of shackles that inhibits your freedom and keeps you from doing as you wish. So, was Jesus forced, obliged, coerced to be beaten by strips of leather, stabbed by a crown of piercing thorns, and then above all, to be crucified upon a cross?
The choice was made in an act of freedom; more importantly, by an act of nothing but pure love. Being fully human and fully God, Christ had every means to get himself down from the tree, or hide from Pilate’s army. Then again, he had every means to turn stone into bread, to worship Satan, or tempt his Father by thrusting himself from a mountain. But he chose not to do such, just as he chose to be crucified for you and I. That makes things personal; conscience and morals become involved. Christ did not have to die to for us; he rather knew that his actions would bring a greater good.
We are therefore left to better appreciate this act above all other acts. We must come to recognize that our own freedom is a gift that we are called to share with each and every one of our own brothers and sisters. I have come to learn that what “I” believe is not nearly as important as what “we” believe. And it is in this fashion that we strive to take something personal and make it something even more personal with each other.
That my friends….is simply a must.
The Lord is delighted by you. It does not say “vaguely amused” or “kind of joyful.” It says delight. There is so much more strength and sincerity behind the word 'delight'. This is not some kind of puppy love that ends when we make a mistake or fail to be perfect. This is not a relationship where we need to put on any mask or face of false perfection. This is the real, true “love ya til it hurts” kind of love.
“For the Lord LOVES his people…” The responsorial psalm today is joyful and reassuring, but I also look at it as a challenge. He thinks we’re pretty darn neat, and now we have to try and live up to it. We do not have to wear masks or pretend to be perfect, but we want to be perfect. We want to love the Lord back. It is so important to realize how much the Lord loves every person, how much they delight him. Our journey toward perfection starts with this. Growth and understanding happen with his love and delight.
This assignment for the Pharisees is our assignment today. How do we react to this message? This verse stands out to me anytime I’m around this part of the gospel, probably because I need this lesson so much. I feel more comfortable thinking about sacrifice. Sacrifice is concrete doing--doing something that you know to do. Mercy seems fuzzy.
Some interpretations say go and learn the meaning of this verse or this saying. Jesus would know that the Pharisees knew the origin of the words. The words come from Hosea 6:6. God tells the people in Hosea that they are getting it all wrong by focusing on animal sacrifice and ritual instead of taking care of people. Hosea goes on to remind the people of how many times they have gone off track.
So, we see how much the people of God need mercy. We can see in our own lives the ways we often go off track and how much we need mercy. Thankfully we have a God of mercy. We need mercy from one another too. Praise God for all those who show us mercy. Isn’t it a wonderful gift? When we show mercy to others in healthy ways we feel healing too. Consider how Jesus stresses this message in His teachings. The parable of the debtor and the king and the way He taught the disciples to pray are just two examples of teachings that stress a message of forgiveness and mercy.
As we honor Saint Matthew today it is fitting that we see how mercy plays out in his calling. The details are sparse, but Jesus appears to invite him with little notice and Matthew appears to accept the invitation and the mercy joyfully. So joyfully, in fact, that he wants to share this calling and this Jesus with his friends. He does not insist that his friends “clean up their act” first, just as Jesus did not appear to require that of Matthew before his calling. Yet, Matthew does walk away from the position that allowed him to take advantage of others and the gospel of Matthew emphasizes teachings of Jesus that set very high standards for caring for others and serving those who are disadvantaged.
I can be like the Pharisees. I am easily pulled into being skeptical of mercy. I can miss the awesome and ironic power of mercy to help people (including me) live up to a higher standard. This is particularly the case when the standard that matters most is authentic love. Receiving mercy helps us get back up again and helps us to do what is required to love others well, not out of a sense of righteousness and powerfulness, but with humility and compassion.
Isn’t love with humility and compassion what we so often see in Jesus?
"My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."
If your mother came to visit you, would you leave her standing outside while you were talking with other people? That's what Jesus did. Was Jesus disobeying the fourth commandment by not honoring His mother? No, Jesus was not refusing to honor His mother. He was honoring her even more for her hearing God's word and acting on it, even to the point of the Word becoming flesh in her womb (Jn 1:14). Furthermore, Jesus extended His honor of Mary to include anyone willing to hear God's word and act on it. So Jesus was not dishonoring Mary but honoring her more, and even honoring those who choose to live honorably by hearing and obeying His word.
Will you let the Lord honor you with Mary?
Jesus tells us what we need to do to likewise pertain to his family: «those who hear...» (Lk 8:21) and to hear him we must get close to him, as his own relatives did, when they went where He was, but could not get to him because of the crowd. But, then, they tried to get closer. It might be convenient for us to ask ourselves if, to get closer to the Word of God, we do fight and try to overcome the obstacles we keep finding on the way. Do I devote, every day, a few minutes to reading, listening to or mulling over the Holy Scriptures? St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us «we must continuously meditate on the Word of God (...); this meditation is a powerful help in our fight against sin».
And, finally, to abide by the Word. It is not enough to hear the Word; we must put it into action if we want to become God's relatives. We must put into practice what we are told! This is why it would perhaps be good to ask ourselves whether we only behave obediently when what we are asked just suits us well or is rather easy to do, or if, on the contrary, when it means giving up our comfort, our own prestige, our material things or whatever leisure time we may have at our disposal..., we use to place the Word between parenthesis, until some better time may come.
Let us pray to the Virgin Mary that, as She did, we may hear and abide by the Word of God, so that we shall, thus, be able to follow the path leading to eternal happiness.
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This is little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let shine, let it shine, let it shine.
The moment I read the words of Jesus in the Gospel today, that song popped into my head. Now I can’t get it out of my head. But, I think this little children’s song is a good reminder of the truths Jesus is trying to tell us in the Gospel.
In the Easter Vigil liturgy, as the newly blessed Paschal candle is brought into the sanctuary, the minister carrying the candle proclaims, “Christ our light!” We are a people who have been walking in darkness, and Christ is the light that banished that darkness. Just like putting a lamp under a bed or a bushel is a rather silly idea, hiding Christ from the world is detrimental. Hiding our faith in and love for Christ is as useful as concealing our lamps: no one can see the light.
Christ is our light, and we can shine that light into the world in countless ways. The choice to do so is ours, we make it everyday.
Remember this, you either add to the darkness or shine Christ's light into it.
In this parable, the grumblings of the workers of the first hour are enhanced. They are the parallel image of the elder brother of the parable of the prodigal son. Those who see their task to win the Kingdom of God (the work in the vineyard) as a heavy affliction («we have endured the day's burden and heat»: Mt 20:12) and not as a privilege which God favors them with, are not working with filial joy but with the ill temper manner of the servants.
Faith, for them, is something that binds and enslaves, and, deep inside, they envy those that “live life”, inasmuch as they conceive the Christian conscience as a constraint rather than as the wings that provide our human life with a divine flight. They think it is better to remain spiritually idle, instead of living under the glow of God's word. They feel entitled to their salvation and, accordingly, they are jealous. Their miserable and mean spirit notably contrasts with the Father's generosity, who «who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth» (1Tim 2:4), and this is why He calls us to his vineyard, «The Lord is good to all, compassionate to every creature» (Ps 145:9).
In our faith, we have the tendency to take what we hear from Scripture and let it flow through our mind and then slowly let the words fade away. We will try to use the ideas and messages behind the Scripture in our lives for a little while, but eventually the concepts will pass through our minds as we move on in life. The key to keeping our faith is understanding that the words of the Scriptures are the words of God himself. When God speaks to us we need to open our hearts and let Him in. When we do that, we are able to persevere through life which allows us to lead successful and truly happy lives.
God’s words teach us the way we should lead our life. From the way we worship to the way we treat others, God’s words are the manual to helping us live life in a proper way. Sometimes we are tempted to take other’s advice on how to live, but we must remember to put no one in front of the Lord, our God. He is almighty and will show us the way to the gates of heaven. If we remember that, then our lives will be filled with joy and peace.
Today, in the Gospel, we can appreciate what a normal day in the three years of Jesus' public life would have been. St. Luke explains it in a few words: «Jesus walked through towns and countryside, preaching and giving the Good News of the Kingdom of God» (Lk 8:1). This is what we contemplate in the third Mystery of Light of the Holy Rosary on Thursdays.
Jesus keeps on passing by close to us and offering us his supernatural goods: when we pray; when we read and ponder over the Gospel, to know and love him better and imitate his life; when we receive a sacrament, especially the Eucharist and the Penance; when we devote ourselves with effort and perseverance to our everyday's chores; when we have to deal with our family, our friends or our neighbors; when we help that person who is in need of material or spiritual help; when we have a rest or amuse ourselves... In all those circumstances we may find Jesus and follow him just as those Twelve and those saintly women also did.
But, above that, each one of us is called by God to also be “the passing Jesus”, that is, to speak to those we deal with —with our deeds and our words— about the faith that fills out of meaning our existence, about the hope that impels us to go on forward through the paths of life designed by God, and about the charity that should guide all our acts.
The first one to follow Jesus and “to be Jesus” is Mary. That with her example and mediation she may help us!
On this feast the Church invites us to ponder Mary’s strength as she stands with her son at the foot of the cross. In this mystery, God reveals through Mary what it means to follow Our Lord to the end – with love, fidelity, and endurance. She is also our patron as we attentively encounter the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters in the Mystical Body of Christ today. On this day we thank Mary for being a living sacrament of God's enduring compassion.
In Mary’s sorrow we discover what we don’t much want to acknowledge: that real love, as it matures, will inevitably take the form of sorrow when those we love must endure pain, suffering and death. In the larger view of God’s plan of salvation, she shows us how to be with those who suffer at the hands of the greedy, inordinately ambitious, and arrogant agents of injustice in our daily lives and in our world. She is the one by whom God reveals what real sorrow is, and how sacred it is.
Our Lady of Sorrows, then, reveals what sorrow is from God’s perspective. It is a fundamental openness to the suffering of another. Her sorrow shows us the sacred power we all have not only to acknowledge another person’s pain, but also to desire to share in it. In real sorrow we open up to allow the suffering of another to find a place in our hearts. This is precisely the disposition Simeon refers to in his words to Mary, “And you yourself a sword will pierce.” As sons and daughters of Mary, we are called and have the grace through her to open ourselves more and more to others of our time who are living out the Paschal Mystery. This is a fundamental disposition of Christian life.
From Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, we learn to be men and women for others who stand with them in faith and love in times of darkness and suffering. She is a witness to us in her living faith and maternal love fulfiilling the most profound mysteries of the Redemption. She inspires us not only in her silent helplessness during Our Lord’s passion and death, but also as a young mother in her humble, hidden, and quiet activity in Nazareth, and as she lived out her later years mothering the Paschal Mystery into the life of the early Church.
The center of God's miraculous work of changing us is the cross. The cross was originally a symbol of disgrace, of capital punishment. Because of Jesus' death on the cross, it has been changed into the symbol of grace, salvation, and love. At the cross "bad thieves" become "good thieves" (Lk 23:39ff), sinners repent, centurions believe (Mk 15:39), and through His death we receive eternal life. When we "lift high the cross," the church is restored, the lukewarm are set afire, and the culture of death becomes a civilization of love and life. At the cross, let the Lord do the greatest changes. "Lift high the cross. The love of Christ proclaim till all the world adore His sacred name."
Do you carry your cross in such a way that it proclaims to everyone that "Jesus Christ is Lord"? (Phil 2:11) You are blessed with the unspeakable privilege of sharing in the victorious cross of a King (Phil 1:29). Therefore, glory in the cross and carry your cross so as to triumph (1 Cor 9:24).
In reading this fragment of the Gospel about the resurrection of that young man of Naim, we could emphasize Jesus' divinity and stand fast on it, by saying that only God could have brought back his life to this young man; but, today, I would rather stress Jesus Humanity as, here, we do not see Jesus as a remote being, or as someone very different to us, or even somebody so important that He could not arouse in us the confidence and trust a good friend would.
We, Christians, must learn to emulate Jesus. We must ask God for the grace to be like Christ for the sake of others. How wonderful if others could see us as Jesus' very image on this earth! Those who saw St. Francis of Assissi, for instance, were also seeing Jesus' image. Saints are those that carry Jesus in their words and deeds, and imitate his way of doing things and his goodness. Our society needs saints and you can be one in your environment.
Do not miss the opportunity!!!
and to my slave, Do this, and he does it."
Today, we are faced with an interesting question. Why did the captain in the Gospel not personally approach Jesus but rather, sent messengers ahead with the request to heal his servant? The captain answers this question for us in the Gospel passage. «You see I didn't approach you myself. Just give the order and my servant will be healed» (Lk 7:7).
A few months ago, I saw a bumper sticker that said something along the lines of, “It is God’s job to forgive Osama Bin Laden. It is our job to set up the meeting.” Funny, that isn’t exactly the message I took home from today’s readings.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, and four months after the killing of Osama Bin Laden. How has our country progressed since his death? Is there more peace in the world because of the steps taken in the last few months? What about the last ten years? I recently heard on the news that Americans abroad are advised to be cautious because violent attacks against them have escalated since Bin Laden was killed. When does it end? Killing leads to more killing. Vengeance to more vengeance. We become lost in a spiral of hate and violence. The only end that can be reached is pain. With that attitude, death has the final word.
Maybe our inability to forgive stems from not comprehending how much we are loved. God meets us where we are and loves us without having to change a thing. This is countercultural to us. We can love once someone fits our desires of who we think they should be. If they don’t fit our mold, we experience disappointment. But that’s not how God loves. God loves us where we are. If God can love and forgive all of us in whatever state we are in, we can do our best to forgive and love all those around us.
Forgive. Not once or twice, but forever. With forgiveness we can have peace. With forgiveness we can have life.
"Why do you call me, "Lord, Lord," but not do what I command?
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed."
"Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,"
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means "God is with us."
Today, Jesus' genealogy, the Saviour that had to come and be born of Mary, shows us how the work of God is interwoven into human history, and how God acts in the secret and silence of every single day. At the same time, we can see his reliability to accomplish his promises. Even Ruth and Rahab (cf. Mt 1:5), foreigners, converted to the faith of the only God (and Rahab was a harlot!), were our Saviour's ancestors.
The Holy Spirit, that mysteriously had to incarnate the Son in Mary, entered, therefore, in our history since a long time before, and traced a path leading to the Virgin Mary of Nazareth and, through her, to her Son Jesus. «The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and He will be called Emmanuel» (Mt 1:23). How spiritually delicate Mary's entrails, her heart and her will, must have been, to engage the attention of the Father and make her become the mother of “God-with-mankind”, He, who had to bring us the supernatural light and grace for the redemption of all of us. In this work, everything bring us to contemplate, admire and worship, through prayer, the greatness, the generosity and the simplicity of the divine action, that will extol and rescue our human lineage through our Lord’s personal involvement.
Further away, in Today's Gospel, we see how Mary was advised she would conceive God, the Saviour of his People. And let us realize that this girl, virgin and Jesus' mother, had to be also our mother. The special election of Mary, «Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!» (Lk 1:42), makes us to admire God's tenderness in his way of proceeding; because He did not redeem us —so to speak— “by remote control”, but by closely binding himself with our family and our history. Who could ever imagine God to be so great and so simple as to so intimately bind himself to us?
Blessed are the poor. At first glance, this sounds contradictory. How can someone be poor, hungry and hated and blessed?
This beatitude is the basis of all the others, because who is poor will be able to get the Kingdom of God as a gift. He who is poor will realize he must be hungry and thirsty: not of material things, but of the Word of God; not of power, but of love and justice. Who is poor will be able to cry over the world's sufferings. Who is poor, will know that God is all his wealth and, because of that, the world will not understand him and will harass him.
The world says happiness is wealth, personal satisfaction, maximum pleasure, and popularity. Too many Christians follow the world's idea of happiness and tacitly reject Jesus' beatitudes. However, Jesus is the Way to happiness, tells the Truth, and knows the meaning of Life (Jn 14:6).
Blest are you who love Jesus enough to take up the daily cross. Blest are you who love Jesus more than pleasure. Blest are you who are weeping for your sins. Blest are you who are so on fire for Christ as to be persecuted.
Today‘s Gospel tells us that “Jesus went out to the mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer to God”. Today we think of “pray” as any type of communication with or meditating about God – thanking, praising, imploring, and so forth. The word “pray” in the New Testament almost always means ask, or implore, or plead. When Jesus went off by Himself to “pray”, He went off to ask His Father something.
What was the Lord's prayer? What we can deduce from his life, it must have been a prayer full of confidence in the Father, of complete surrendering to his will —«for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me» (Jn 5:30)—, of clear union to God's work of salvation. Only through this profound, long and constant prayer —supported always by the action of the Holy Spirit that, at the moment of Jesus' Incarnation, had already fallen over him in his Baptism— could the Lord receive the necessary strength and light to go on with his mission of abiding by the Father to accomplish his work of salvation for mankind. The subsequent election of the Apostles —that as St. Cyril of Alexandria says, «the same Christ affirms having given them the same mission He received from the Father»—, shows us how the rising Church was the fruit of Jesus' prayer to the Father in the Holy Spirit and, therefore, the work of the Holy Trinity. «When day came, He called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them whom He called apostles» (Lk 6:13).
If only all our life as Christians, we could always be immersed in prayer and led by it. Do you imagine what God could accomplish through us if we did that?
"Come up and stand before us."
Today, Jesus provides us with an example of the freedom, which we speak so much about. But, contrary to what most claim or consider as “freedom”, Jesus' freedom, is totally associated and adhered to the Father's actions. He will say: «I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; He can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does» (Jn 5:19). And the Father only does and acts out of love.
Love cannot be imposed but forces us to act, pulls us together and largely reverts to life. Jesus' command: «Get up and stand in the middle» (Lk 6:8) has the vivifying strength of he who loves and responds to the Word. And, the last part of his order: «Stretch out your hand» (Lk 6:10), that concludes the miracle, definitely restores life and strength to what was powerless and dead. “To save” is to draw from death, and this same word translates as “healing”. By healing, Jesus is saving whatever that poor ailing man had dead, and this is a clear sign of God's fatherly love for his creatures. Thus, in the new creation, where the Son does only what He sees his Father doing, the new law that will prevail will be the law of the acting love rather than that of a “dormant” relaxation, including doing good to the brother in need.
Therefore, a conjugated freedom and love is the key for today. Freedom and love conjugated Jesus' way.
while the bridegroom is with them"
then they will fast in those days.
for he says, "The old is good."
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret .
It is so clear: we have to “come after Him,” even as He has come after us. It’s not enough for any one of us to be the fish only, we have to also be the fisherperson. It’s not enough for us to be lost sheep found only by Him, we have to be shepherds too. Every single one of us! Isn’t that why our beloved Church is going through such a crisis right now? She is still trying to keep most of us sheep when God’s Spirit is impelling us to be shepherds!
Let us join our prayers with his, remembering always that we have to be willing to go down into the depths, if we want to share the deep wisdom of God’s Spirit working always in all of creation!

industry_corpus2: Others


text: White tea is appreciated by tea connoisseurs for their unmatched subtlety, complexity, natural sweetness and delicacy. It comes with a multitude of health benefits ranging from anti-cancer properties to weight loss management and many more. Made in Nagaland.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


text:
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) announced today it completed the sale of 1735 Market Street, a 1.3 million square foot office property, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a gross sale price of $451.6 million. Proceeds after credits for capital costs, contractual lease costs, and rent abatements were $435.4 million.
Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) is a Chicago based, internally managed and self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) with commercial office properties in the United States. As of March 27, 2019, EQC’s portfolio comprised 9 properties and 3.8 million square feet.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


text:
Limerick Diocese - Need to Talk?
You are here: Life Events » Need to Talk?
Sometimes we all need to talk to someone outside of our family or usual circle of friends. Whether we choose one-to-one support or find a group to support us, the most important thing is that we choose the support we need.
The following is a list of some services and support groups available to you in the Limerick area. We hope that this information is of help to you in your search. However any decision about what is best for you and your family can only be made by you, based on your needs and your experiences.
ACCORD's aim is to help couples prepare for, achieve and sustain their marriage and family relationships, to offer ongoing relationship support and assist them in times of difficulty or crisis. Core services are Marriage and Relationship Counselling and Marriage Preparation Programmes. Other services offered are Marriage Enrichment, Marital Sexual Therapy, Fertility Management, Schools Programmes and Personal Enrichment.
Adapt house provides refuge (24 hour emergency accommodation) and support to women and children who experience domestic violence. Where: Adapt House, Rosbrien.
Thousands of people suffering from depression have received help through the Aware loCall helpline, the depression support groups we run all over Ireland and our confidential email support service. We are also putting additional online support services in place, including a depression discussion board and online support groups. You can also call the helpline if you are worried about someone who may be depressed or for information about depression or Aware services.
The Bedford Road Project offers hospitality to visitors, adults and children, at Limerick Prison. They listen to the experience of people affected by imprisonment and allow that experience to shape the direction of the project.
To provide emotional and psychological support to young people and their families in Limerick city. Music and art therapy, primarily through partnerships with schools.
Bodywhys offers support to the 200,000 people in Ireland who suffer from eating disorder as well as specific services for family and friends.
The helpline is open for two hours each day and is delivered by a team of trained volunteers. It offers a non-judgemental and confidential support and information service. Callers can access names of local health professionals, details of all Bodywhys support services and other voluntary organisations where appropiate. We also have details of resources on eating disorders and self-help. Aside from information, a helpline call is primarily a space for the caller to explore their feelings. It is through their own exploration that individuals can find solutions to their own challenges.
Thursdays 10am – 12pm, Fridays 12.30pm-2.30pm, Saturday 11am-1pm, Sunday 7-9pm.
Welcome to CanTeen Ireland, Ireland's young people's cancer support group. In Today's World the word cancer is a commonplace illness that affects thousands of people. In many countries groups have been set up to help people with cancer, and some particularly to help young people who have to deal with such an illness early in their lives.
CanTeen Ireland is a nation-wide support group for young people who have or have had cancer, and for their brothers, sisters and friends. CanTeen Ireland was set up in 1990 by a group of dedicated health professionals. We are associated with the Irish Cancer Society, and can be contacted through our address which can be found later on, by the Irish Cancer Society, or through the social worker in the hospitals.
So what do we actually do?
One of the biggest things we do is Weekends Away. Throughout the year we have 4/5 weekends away. We go to various activity centres all over Ireland, and we go to the Barretstown Gang Camp once a year. We have also been to Alton Towers, the Share Centre in Fermanagh, Shielbaggan Outdoor Adventure Centre, to name but a few. We have also been to Scotland, and even as far way as Australia, and New Zealand. As a group we meet up 6 to 8 times a year. At these meetings we have a chance to talk, share stories and have a bit of fun.
CARI: Children at risk in Ireland.
54 Catherine Street. Tel: 061 311 444. Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 9.30am-4.30pm (through lunch).
Consumer Affairs Hours Last Thurs of each month: 10am - 1 pm, and 2- 4p.m.
FLAC Hours Wed 7.30 - 9.00 pm.
Ombudsman Hours Last Tuesday of each month.
Supporting those who have experienced a loss through suicide.
CURA is a voluntary organisation, which offers support and help to those who are faced with a crisis pregnancy. Locall number 1850 62 26 26.
Development organisation for asylum seekers and refugees.
The Family Mediation Service is a professional, confidential service which enables couples who have decided to separate, or who have already separated, to negotiate their own separation agreement. This is done with the help of a trained mediator, without resorting to adjudication through the courts. Couples are offered a way of negotiating separation agreements which deal with such matters as maintenance, the division of property and custody of, and access to, their children with the help of a neutral third party. The service is free and is available to married and non-married couples.
It is not marriage counselling nor a legal advice centre.
Grow a Mental Health Organisation which helps people who have suffered, or are suffering, from mental health problems. Members are helped to recover from all forms of mental breakdown, or indeed, to prevent such happening. GROW, founded in Australia in 1957 by former mental sufferers, has a national network of over 130 Groups in Ireland. Its principal strength is the support members give each other from their own experience in matters to do with mental health. GROW is grant aided by all of the Health Boards and by the Department of Health and Children. GROW is currently developing GROW groups for Young Adults (18-30 age group). If there is no Young Adult group in your region go to the main page to see a full listing of all GROW groups nationwide.
LIMERICK – GROW Office, 65 O'Connell Street, Limerick.
A Little Lifetime Foundation (formerly Isands), providing information and support to bereaved parents and families since 1983. Working with Health Care Professionals and Others to develop good practices in the area of Infant death. A Little Lifetime Foundation is a registered charity with support and services provided by volunteers.
Adult education courses, information, support, links. Courses in basic computers, Microsoft, Internet, ECDL, Spanish, reflexology, etc etc.
Counselling services: Now available city and at 3 locations in county limerick. Call the social services centre on 061 314111, to make an appointment.
To support and encourage young people to be active participants in shaping their futures.
General youth work, social inclusion programmes, and youth information and support.
Living Links provides Outreach Support to the Suicide Bereaved.
When you're at the end of the lines, so are we.
Community Development. 87 O'Connell St, Limerick.
Rainbows is a peer support program which assists children and adolescents who are grieving a life altering loss – including bereavement, or, parental separation. It is not counselling or therapy, though its results may be theraputic. It has no charge attached.
Samaritans provides confidential non-judgmental emotional support, 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair. No appointment is necessary.
Drop in centre: The Lane, Hartstonge St. Offering food, laundry, shower/change of clothes. Help with accommodation, counselling. A place of welcome and rest.
For full details of our diocesan policy, support and resources see HERE.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


text:
Acne Serum Spot Treatment by Beauty Facial Extreme is a product which prides itself on speed of action and effectiveness. Beauty Facial Extreme claim that Acne Serum Spot Treatment provides results within 24 hours.
You may be concerned by now that this product uses many synthetic irritant chemicals to achieve these great results, well don’t worry too much. Though this product is not the gentlest option out there, it does utilize non-invasive chemicals such as Micronized Benzoyl Peroxide and Glycolic Acid, which only rarely cause irritation.
This product claims not only to clear acne and blackheads but also to repair the damage caused by these skin conditions. Its skin restorative formula supposedly reduces the appearance of acne scars with a high success rate.
Beauty Facial Extreme claims that Acne Serum Spot Treatment can act as a preventative solution to blackheads and acne by reducing oil production in pores by 85%. Also, moisturizing components are used to prevent subsequent skin dryness. There are many other claimed features of this product, including exfoliating elements which increase cell turnover and speed up the process of rejuvenating the skin.
In our opinion, the best aspect of this product is its claimed speed and effectiveness.
May cause irritation in some people.
If you are looking for a quick fix to blackheads and acne, this could be a suitable product for you.


text:
A Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid charging at MOM’s Market in Mosaic District, Falls Church, VA.
When I was there about six months ago, I spoke with one of the security guards who told me that they were proactive about keeping non-electric cars out of the spots reserved for charging. If an ICE car is observed in a charging spot, he said they put a warning notice on the car and will tow it if it is not moved in a half-hour.
When the Mosaic District first opened several years ago, the charging stations had no signs at all and were frequently ICEd. I called the General Manager and talked with him about the need for signs. He said that he wanted few signs in the garage to fit with the minimal design aesthetic. He told me he was counting on common courtesy to keep people from parking at the charging stations. I argued that many people won’t even know what the charging stations are without a sign designating them. He agreed to monitor the situation and post signs if they saw it becoming a problem. Of course, it was a problem and the signs went up. Now, with the added warning about towing, the signs will get even more respect.

industry_corpus2: Automobiles


text:
Especially if you leave a cookbook on the stove and turn on the wrong burner.
There wasn't an actual fire... just LOTS of smoke. The smoke detector went off, the dog freaked out, the kids ran around griping about how badly it smelled. I'm thankful the cover had a coated paper... had it just been paper, it would have gone up in flames for sure.
As if that wasn't bad enough, in the process of trying to clear out the smoke, I forgot to turn off the burner. So, while I'm opening windows (which required peeling up weatherizing plastic) and doors, the remnants of the cookbook are continuing to "cook" on the stovetop. GRR.
I am so thankful it was one of the very mild (nearly 40˚F) days we've had recently. The house aired out nicely.
Sadly, this is as good as this hood gets... it's rusty, and really doesn't work.
My kids learned first-hand why I'm always telling them to NEVER put anything on the stove (unless you're cooking *wink*).
We had a busy weekend rearranging things in the house. The piano is now OUT of the dining room!! Yay! Feels much more roomy. We originally planned only to move the piano and rearrange things in the toy room. We ended up doing MUCH more than that, and are very pleased with the results!
We painted just the one wall so it’s no longer pink (didn’t want to have to move the piano again to paint!). Nice improvement, huh!? It was still bright pink (the photo doesn’t nearly do it justice!!) from when it was Victory’s bedroom!! We plan to try to get one wall done each weekend. By spring we could have a whole new house! ;) Not sure if I can handle the entire room that bright, but I’m pleased with the result for now. And the kids love it!
During school this week, Alex brought me an assignment and said, "I can read the first part of this two ways."
Needless to say, the assignment was done in the intended fashion.
One project, that was started at least TWO years ago, was finally completed early in the year. Alex chose the fabric (fleece) and we found a simple pattern to make a pullover hoodie with a pocket on the front.
The size is nearly perfect, with enough "growing room" it should get him through this winter as well... and maybe even next fall??
It's reversible... and I think she really likes it (I assume this, since she's still using it. *grin*).
Here's another bag I made. Originally I made it for myself, but then I realized it really fit the personality of my friend Karri, and I gifted it to her. :) It is also reversible... Both of these bags were made using my own modifications to this pattern, and this one.
The curtains below were a project that was fairly simple. After hanging the rod, I made the curtains long enough that they would hang on the floor a bit. I used my snap press to set snaps along the top to make it easy to remove for washing (which reminds me...! LOL). I let it hang in place for a few weeks before doing the final hem at the bottom. The floor is not quite level, and I wanted to make sure the fabric had stretched before deciding on a final length so it wouldn't hang on the floor after it was hemmed. That was probably the hardest part... I have a really hard time sewing a "crooked" hem on something!! (Now, if you NEED it straight... haha... I'm talking about doing this on purpose...) But, it looks great, and gives the kids sleeping area the privacy it needs.
Not so much a crafty thing, but an attempt to allow more craftiness... I cleaned my sewing table. Sadly, it currently looks worse than the first picture. It never ends, does it?
Victory loves to play "mommy". I have several varieties of slings for my own babies, and Victory is always having me tie her blankets around her to use in the same fashion. It never works quite right, and falls off quickly. I finally made her one to use for her own babies. :) I used a pattern I found here.
I receive a newsletter from Lion Brand Yarn and they often have ideas I'd love to try. This pattern was called "Bebop Cardi". I used yarn I already had and made this as a birthday gift for Victory. Overall, I'm happy with the results. I did find a few minor issues with the pattern that I would modify if I were to make another one. But, the recipient was happy, so I'm happy!
Earlier this fall a friend of mine delivered quadruplets. They were MUCH too early (by the time their "due date" arrived in December, they were already 3 months old!!), and we continue to pray for their continued growth. They are beginning to come home now, and are also able to wear hats and clothing. I made these hats for them. I wish the picture was better quality... sadly, this is the only picture I took of the finished project!! But, it was fun to do something so simple for these precious bundles.


text: Vada was really pleased with her new glasses- and doesn’t she look cute?. Glasses can be so important to enable a child to see and develop normally, but it is not always obvious that they are needed. Book an appointment for your children on 01382 224620 and let our friendly team care for your family’s vision.


text:
We would like the ability to hide the Dashboard and Access tabs based on trustees. We can limit the functions/applications underneath now, but some customers we do not want them to have the entire tab.
My customer would certainly like to hide the Dashboard tab.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


text: Safe N’ Easy is one of Dumond Chemicals ,Inc. product lines. Dumond noticed a gap in the market for a cost effective, heavy duty cleaning solution that was easy to apply, user-friendly and quick. Safe N’ Easy technologies are specifically developed to be environmentally friendly, and safe for users. In the Safe N’ Easy range of products there are industrial strength cleaning products specifically designed for; oil and grease removal, architectural cleaning, heavy duty cleaning, limestone cleaning, rust removal, metal restoring, efflorescence removing, and more. All of the formulas are very safe to use, have a low level of odor and VOCs, and will not burn if coming into contact with skin. Dumond put an emphasis on manufacturing environmentally safe products. The ready-to-use formula are very easy to apply, you can use a spray, brush or roller to apply the product to the surface being treated. Washing off with a pressure washer after the time directed on the packaging.

industry_corpus2: Petrochemicals


text:
Another ransomware outbreak has occurred proving to be a serious threat to companies globally. More than 200,000 victims have already been infected across 150 different countries.
The ransomware works similar to the WannaCry epidemic and is typically spread via an email containing an attachment. When opened it exploits Microsoft office vulnerabilities, infects your device and spreads throughout your internal network.
Any device not fully patched with Microsoft security updates, or up-to-date with anti-virus definitions are at risk.
If you're unsure contact your IT support team for assistance, or if you have any questions please give us a call on 02 4254 5444, or email askus@thebmsgroup.com.au. We'd be happy to help.


text:
Hey guys, in my 2005 S2000 I'm having an issue with water getting into the trunk. I've read some articles on the forums and many of them point towards water getting in through the trunk vent. I looked there and it just doesn't seem to be the problem to me but I could be wrong. Only the right side of the carpet is getting wet, the left side is bone dry no signs of water at all. Just looking for some second opinions. Thanks!
I bought an AP2 back in June that had water in the trunk. Mine was running down the left hand side and into the trunk tub. I stripped the interior, sealed the trunk vent, and checked to top drains to start off and still had some leakage.. My car also had an aftermarket top that was recently installed when I bought it. I noticed some details about the top install that seemed somewhat poorly done and assumed my leak was likely due to a top install. I found an installer on this board that has done hundreds of them and drove up to have him take a look. He determined that my rain rail was leaking/damaged and I needed to buy a new one. A new rain rail was around $200 + shipping for a large package and labor for having someone backtrack through a top install. The guy knew exactly what he was doing to gut the back side of the top in about 30 minutes and get to the root of the problem. The previous installer had broken a bunch of interior plastics and just botched the job. I replaced the plastics while I was in it.
Basically, I drove 1.5 hours up to him at first for him to diagnose it. I bought a new rain rail and the other interior plastics that I wanted to replace in the process and drove up again to have it fixed. A few hundred dollars later and I'm all sealed up. And this is why I am very specific as to who I let work on my car. I replaced a trunk pan in my old S2k due to a leaking trunk and didn't want to do it again. Because the old owner took a cheap/easy way to replace the top, the work sucked and caused what could have been a bigger/more expensive problem.
TL;DR Pour water on the backside of the top and see if it comes in through there. Clean the drains out, seal the vent anyways. Leave the interior out and see if you're still leaking. Find a known top installer and have them inspect your rain rail. If bad, replace it. If your top is bad at the same time, best to use the labor you're paying for to just replace the top at the same time.
S2k trunk water leak common?
Quick Reply: Water in my trunk?


text:
The One-Straw Revolution is one of the foundational texts of the permaculture movement. The author, Masanobu Fukuoka, was a Japanese farmer-philosopher who questioned the transition to “modern” farming methods. However, Fukuoka did not desire to return to traditional Asian farming practices, which were sustainable but highly labor intensive [as excellently documented in Farmers of Forty Centuries]. Instead, he wanted to come up with a new system, where the farmer worked with nature, instead of against it. Fukuoka determined that plants left to their own devices and produce food. Without plowing and chemicals, the soil will improve its own fertility.
Masanobu Fukuoka grew up on a farm in Japan in the pre-war period. At the time, Japan was rapidly industrializing as the empire began to expand. There was a great interest in new, scientific farming methods which were becoming popular in the West. This included both mechanization and modern agricultural chemicals. On top of this, a biological exchange was still taking place, with new crops and pests from the Americas. Japan’s soil, which was well preserved by millennia of traditional farming practices, had begun to degrade rapidly under the heavy plow.
Upon completing college Fukuoka got a job as a crop scientist, studying fungus in rice. Though he was successful in the field and having fun in the city, he began to feel his life was incomplete. At age 25, he had a revelation about the limitations of human knowledge, and abruptly resigned his position as a research scientist. Like a classic philosopher, Fukuoka began to wander Japan in meditation. Once, he stopped for a long period of weeks to spend his time staring at the sea. After this, he began challenging people with his conviction that, “everything is meaningless and of no value, and that everything returns to nothingness.” Like all great philosophers, he was almost universally dismissed as an eccentric by those he encountered. And like those who practice alternative agriculture, he would hear that for the rest of his life.
Fukuoka’s spent World War II out of combat, but dreaming of the day he could go back to take over the farm. When he did, he began formulating his “do-nothing” farming method. Instead of trying new techniques over time, Fukuoka worked backwards, removing activities he deemed unnecessary. Over time, he developed a fully natural farming method. This method involves no plowing and weeding, fertilizing, spraying, or many of the other “essentials” of conventional farming. Fukuoka went as far as to even end crop rotation, something unthinkable to many natural farmers.
Fukuoka’s biggest innovation was the discovery that destroying old rice straw is wasteful and unnecessary. In traditional Japanese farming the rice straw was burnt to prevent disease. At times, the practice was government mandated. Fukuoka found that old rice stalks nourish fields, and that a healthy field left alone will not develop disease. Unlike some other no-till systems, he would hand seed into the standing grain a few weeks before harvest, adding crucial time to the growing season. This system does not use any man made compost but instead relies on natural processes breaking down organic matter in the fields. Despite doing almost nothing but planting seeds and harvesting, he managed to get some of the highest yields seen in Japan. It almost beggars belief: if natural farming is this productive, how did conventional farming develop?
Fukuoka achieved almost complete self-sufficiency on his farm, bringing in little from outside but cooking oil. He believed in eating a simple, seasonal, and rough diet of primarily rice and vegetables. One of the farm’s main exports was citrus. The citrus trees were planted with adequate space and left completely unpruned, except for removing dead wood. Fukuoka explains that cutting a single bud with scissors can disrupt a trees pattern and introduce disorder, which can lead to branches overcrowding and inviting diseased. An untouched tree knows where all the leaves need to go, and places them so that everything gets proper sunlight.
The vegetables on the mountain farm were spread throughout the orchards in a random fashion. This is not efficient for large scale export production, but is great producing one’s own food. For the most part, once the vegetables have been established they are left to thrive, and it is only a matter of harvesting them here and there as they are ready. In this fashion, Fukuoka and his student-farmers were able to produce enough food to live happy and simple lives in harmony with nature.
The One Straw-Revolution is a truly revolutionary text. It is easy to see why so many sought out Fukuoka’s wisdom on his bucolic mountain farm. Far better than most, he was able to see the soul sickness created by the modern world and how it paralleled the environmental degradation caused by industrial society. Fukuoka saw a different way, where man can live in harmony with nature- and let nature do the farm work; his wisdom on farming, nature, humanity, and society are timeless.


text: The Bruuns Bazaar Alma Turquoise Cardigan is soft and fuzzy. It is great to throw on over anything. It will keep you warm and cozy.


text: ^ Back to text1. Border and Transborder Armed Actions (Prov. Meas.) case,  9.

industry_corpus2: Law & Justice


text:
Check out the students that were members of Blacksburg Blacksburg, VA Cross Country. Visit the registration page if you would like to be listed.
Looking for Blacksburg Blacksburg, VA alumni who participated in Cross Country but are not listed? Classmates.com® has hundreds of more Blacksburg Blacksburg, VA alumni listed.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


text:
x10 cigarettes in a pack. One of our best sellers, our cigarettes are so real looking and comfortable to manipulate that they received acclaim by magicians all over the world. Stick with the original as copies will not offer the same quality !
Now with some added punch with our own sparkle additive added inside them! Can be brought with or with out.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


text:
Tarekh mein kuch sachi mohabbat kerne wale aese bhi paye jate hain jin kay wajood to aaj nahain rahe hain leakin un ke mohabbato ke misale aaj bhi de jate hain aur jin kay dilo mein chahat kay diyay jal chuke ho woh un ke aramgaho pe hazari dete hain. Aik aesa he jora Heer aur Ranjhe ka hai jin ke mohabbat to sachi thee leakin hasid dilo ne un kay pyar ko nazar laga de aur un ko milan se pehle moat ke wadi pe utaar deya gya. Aaj bhi latadad chahne wale Heer kay abaye gaou Jhang, Punjab, Pakistan pe ja kay us badnaseed joray ke yaado ko taza kerte aur khud hamesha saath nibhane ke aik dosre ko yaqeen dehaani kerate hain.
Heer, Ranjha ke mashhoor tareen dastan mashhoor shaer Waris Shah ne 1766 mein likhe howe hai. Zayadaeh logo ka kehna hai yeh aik sachi dastan hai aur Waris Shah ne Jhang kay abaye logo se jo dastan sune howe hai usse shaerana andaz mein beyan keya howa hai.
Heer ka taloq aik ameer Jutt gharane se thaa aur woh inthaye khoobsorat larke thee. Ranjha Darya-e-Chenab kay qareeb “Takht Hazara” mein aik Jutt gharane mein paeda howa thaa aur apne charo bhaeyo mein sub se choota thaa. Apne baap ka ladla beta hone kay natay usse baqi bhaeyo ke terah kheto mein mehnat nahain kerne perte thee. Woh bansuri bajaya kerta thaa. Zameen kay mamle pe jhagra hone ke wajah se Ranjha ghar chor deta hai. Waris Shah ke dastan mein yeh likha gya howa hai kay Ranjhay kay bhaee ke biwi Ranjhay ko khana dene se enkar ker dete hai to Ranjha ghar chor deta hai. Phir woh Heer kay gaou pohanch jata hai jaha usse Heer se ishq ho jate hai. Heer ka baap Ranjhay ko raywar ke nokre day de thee. Ranjha jaese bansuri bajata hota thaa Heer mashoor ho jate hai aur Ranjhay se mohabbat kerne lagte hai. Heer aur Ranjha kafi saal chup kay milte rehte hain aur phir aik dafa Heer ka chacha Qaedo aur us kay walid Chuchak aur walda Malki ko pakkar lete hain. Heer ko majboor keya jata hai kay woh kissi aur “Saida Khera” naame mard kay saath shadi kare.
Ranjhay ka dil tot jata hai aur woh dehe elaqo mein tanha mara, mara phirta rehta thaa. Gorakhnath jo kay jogiyo kay “kanphata” firqe ka bani hota hai us se Ranjhay ke “Tilla Jogian” pe mulaqat ho jate hai. Ranjha kaan chaed leta hai, jogi ka roop ekhteyar ker leta hai aur madi duniya se talouq tor deta hai. Ranjha Rab ka naam le ker phir se Punjab bhar mein mara, mara phirne lagta hai aur Heer kay gaou pohanch jata hai.
Es dafa Heer kay Waldaen Heer ke shadi Ranjhay kay saath kerne kay liye razamand ho jate hain leakin aen shadi kay roz Heer ka chacha Kaedo, Heer ke khurak mein zehar dal deta hai ta kay yeh shadi na ho sake. Ranjha yeh khabar sun ker Heer ke imdad ke liye bhaga, bhaga jata hai leakin badqismati se daer ho chuke hote hai. Ranjha dilbardashta ho ker zehrela laddo khud bhi khaa leta hai aur Heer kay saath woh bhi mar jata hai.
Heer – Ranjha is a tale of woe and despair written by Waris Shah, telling the tragic story of two young lovers. Deedo lately known as Ranjha was a lucky man in some ways, but unlucky in so many others. As the youngest of four brothers in a small farming community, he was exempt from the duties that his brothers were responsible for. His father favoured him over the others and so he allowed Ranjha to live a peaceful life, playing the flute while his brothers toiled day and night on the farm. Naturally this caused resentment between Ranjha and his three brothers. The four of them argued bitterly over the question of who would inherit the land on the farm when their father died. Ranjha, being the favourite, was of the opinion that he deserved his fair share. His brothers thought differently, telling him that he did not deserve any of the land because he never helped them work on it. Eventually, his brother’s wife poisoned his mind and began refusing to prepare food for him so he left the village of Takht Hazara in search of better fortunes. Unfortunately, his journey would only bring him heartbreak and sorrow in the end.
Just as he was beginning to give up hope, he came across a village similar to the one he had left behind. He walked into a nearby farm and laid eyes on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. At this moment, he decided that all of this would be worth it if he would make her love him as much as he loved her. Her name was Heer. Her father offered Ranjha a job herding cattle and he stayed with the family. He did manage to make Heer fall in love with him by playing his beautiful flute music to her. She loved those subtle melodies so much she knew that she had to be with the man who created them.
They began a secret affair for they knew Heer’s father would not approve. For a few wonderful years, they enjoyed their time together, not minding that they could not tell anybody of their love because they had each other. But this could not last forever. One day, Heer’s uncle Kaido discovered their secret love and told her parents of it. They decided to force her into marrying another man and Ranjha was banished from the village.
Lost once again, Ranjha continued his aimless wandering around Punjab. After what seems like an eternity, he meets the Kanphata sect of Jogi’s that decided to take him in and help him. Upon arriving, Ranjha joins these priests in relinquishing the material world and dedicating his life to the Lord, Rab.
With his new found piety, he returned to Heer’s village. Her parents agree to the marriage and Ranjha rejoices in the knowledge that he can finally be with the only woman he has ever truly loved. But it was not to be. Kaido still did not approve of the wedding and so he came up with a plot to stop it. He poisoned the food in the hope that the wedding would be cancelled and Heer ate some of it. Upon hearing this, Ranjha rushed to save her, but he did not make it in time and she had already succumbed to the poison. Looking at her lifeless corpse, Ranjha made a decision. There was no way that he could live without her, he wouldn’t want to. The moment she had died he had lost everything worth living for and so he reached out and took the food on the plate. Placing it in his mouth gently, he sat down and closed his eyes. Waiting for the inevitable. The two were buried in the hometown of Heer i.e. Jhang. Their graves are regularly visited by couples.

industry_corpus2: Literature & Emotions


text:
Advertise your new cars, used cars and add coupons for service absorption. Each mailer is customizable to a dealership's needs and can be co-op approved. All prize mailers are insured.
9x12 Jumbo Postcard - Get your point accross quickly with this 2-sided mailer!
8 Page Booklets - Our best seller! This mailer allows for over 400% more ad space vs. the postcard or fold out mailer.
17x22 Fold Out Mailer - This interactive piece folds out into four sections for a poster-like feel. Use each section to market your dealership today and grab your customer's attention!
High Line - This new series of mailers are based off of specific manufacturer brand guidelines and are designed to let the vehicles do the talking.


text:
Homemade pasta dough is one of my labors of love, usually reserved for weekends or special occasions. Otherwise, we skip pasta or rely on the dried variety for a quick weeknight dinner. Either way, homemade ravioli has definitely never been a weekday option — that is, until I discovered wonton wrappers.
Cook the Mushrooms with Red unions and add Gorgonzola.
In a large mixing bowl put the first 5 ingredients and stir until well combined.
Put around 1 heaping Tablespoon of the filling on a won ton wrapper.
Wet the edges of the won ton wrapper with either water.
Top with another won ton and seal the edges tightly together.
Finish putting together the raviolies. You can either cook them immediately or put them in the fridge until later on in the day. Make sure that they are well covered so that they don’t dry out in the fridge.
When it is time to cook the raviolies in a vegetable stock. Add around 10-12 won tons and let the water come to a boil again. Cook 2 minutes only or the raviolies will get too soft and the filling might start to leak out.
Lift the cooked raviolies from the boiling water and add another batch.
Keep cooking until you have cooked the desired amount of won tons. Serve at once with desired sauce.
This looks so so so delicious.
I need to try and make it myself.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


text:
The life expectancy at birth in Laos is 63.51 while in The United States it is 79.56.
The number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in Laos is 54.53 while in The United States it is 6.17.
The GINI index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income. In Laos it is 36.70 while in The United States it is 45.00.
The percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS in Laos is 0.30% while in The United States it is 0.60%. 400 people in Laos and 17,000 people in The United States die from AIDS each year.
The annual number of births per 1,000 people in Laos is 24.76 while in The United States it is 13.42.
With its 6,803,699 people, Laos is the 103rd largest country in the world by population. It is the 84th largest country in the world by area with 236,800 square kilometers.


text:
A view north on 21st Street shows the 21st Street bridge (protected by guardrails). Projects by Colorado Springs Utilities and City Engineering this year will upgrade the bridge, sidewalks, drainage and road surface between Highway 24 and Colorado Avenue. Also planned is an eight-foot-wide concrete path for pedestrians and bicycles along the opposite (east) side of the roadway, including the bridge.
A view south on 21st Street from Cucharras shows a typical rush-hour back-up between Colorado Avenue and Highway 24. The off-road terminus of the Midland Trail is at far left in background (with the split-rail fence).
UPDATE, March 14: A project-priority change by Colorado Springs Utilities apparently will delay the work schedule outlined in the article below. (See Westside Pioneer article at this link.) When a new schedule for this project is announced, it will be reported in a new Pioneer article.
By the end of the year, 21st Street won't be less congested for motorized traffic between Highway 24 and Colorado Avenue, but at least the ride will be smoother… and, for nonmotorized users, more user-friendly.
The smooth road surface will result from a 2C paving project, scheduled in the fall. Before that, starting in mid-March, there will be successive upgrade projects by Colorado Springs Utilities and the City of Colorado Springs that will likely affect traffic at times until mid-September, according to information from sources for both entities.
The nonmotorized benefit will result from the city portion of the project, which will include construction of an eight-foot-wide concrete “path,” as it's being called. It will go to Highway 24 from the current 21st Street terminus of the off-road Midland Trail.
“Trail users will cross 21st Street at the [highway] signal and continue on a multi-use path over to Naegle Road,” project manager Ryan Phipps of Colorado Springs Engineering outlined in an e-mail.
Ryan Phipps of Colorado Springs Engineering, who oversaw the Centennial Boulevard reconstruction project (which ended in late 2017), is managing the project for Engineering this year to upgrade and change 21st Street between Colorado Avenue and Highway 24. He is shown here during a meeting to seek public input before the Centennial project. No such meetings have been set for 21st.
room. No sidewalk is there now. The one on the bridge's west side is about half that width.
Along Naegele, trail users will “share the road” west to 25th, Phipps said, where the off-road Midland Trail resumes westerly, following the creek.
Asked why the project this year will not include traffic-flow improvements for motorists, Phipps said that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is considering a future lengthening of southbound 21st Street's right turn onto westbound Highway 24.
A city sign faces westbound traffic on the current Midland Trail route, which uses Cucharras between 21st and 25th streets. The plan for this year's 21st Street project calls for construction of a new concrete path for pedestrians and bicyclists as part of a new "alternate route" for the trail that uses Naegele Road between 21st and 25th.
only so much that can be done between Colorado Avenue and Highway 24 to improve congestion,” he summarized.
The new multi-use path is being funded with Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority bicycle money, Phipps said. The estimated cost is $85,000.
The combined expenditure for this year's 21st Street work by all the government entities will be about $1 million, according to Natalie Eckhart of Utilities.
- Mid-March to mid-June - Utilities crews will replace water mains along 21st.
- September to October - 2C paving by a city contractor. The portion over the bridge will be given a “new waterproof membrane,” the website states.
The city and Utilities chose not to hold public meetings to help shape project plans. But before work starts, people will be notified through a “project website, press releases, door hangers and construction coordination with OWN [the Organization of Westside Neighbors],” Phipps outlined in an e-mail.
The website is coloradosprings.gov/21stbridge. Other information is available from Utilities at 668-5527 or the city at 385-5069.


text:
12:20 pm ENERGIZER HOLDINGS INC ENR Hoskins Alan R.
9:26 pm CHEGG INC CHGG Schultz Nathan J.
5:21 pm CAREFUSION Corp CFN Hinrichs James F.
5:03 pm Workday Inc. WDAY Stankey Michael A.
4:52 pm NCI Inc. NCIT Gaspard Thomas C.
4:36 pm REALPAGE INC RP Seren Capital Ltd.
4:15 pm ISIS PHARMACEUTICALS INC ISIS O'NEIL PATRICK R.
4:06 pm TANGOE INC TNGO Gamble Charles D.
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 21:35:11 -0500 SEC is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR is a trademark of the SEC. SecForm4.Com is not affiliated with or approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

industry_corpus2: Finance & Economics


text:
God’s promises never fail! Even when faced with the impossible this is a God-Fact you can rely on.
Recently, while attending a real estate continuing education course, I listened to a lecture on contracts. In our business we deal with contracts all the time. There are listing contracts, purchase contracts, and auction contracts, to name a few. In order for these contracts to be valid, both parties to the contract must agree to the terms and sign their names showing that they intend to uphold their side of the deal. These are called bilateral contracts.
A unilateral contract is different. In this case one party (the offeror) makes an express promise to do something in exchange for a specific action by another party (the offeree.) Once the action is completed by the offeree, then there is only one promise that needs to be kept.
Abraham comes to mind as I consider the unilateral contract. In Genesis 12 God called Abraham to leave his country, his people, and father’s household to go to a land that He would show him. God then made a promise to him that 1) He would make him into a great nation; 2) He would make his name great; 3) He would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him; and 4) that through him all the peoples of the earth would be blessed.
So Abraham in faith acted on God’s offer. He left his hometown and set out with his wife and nephew on a journey directed by God. The action was accomplished and from then on the execution of the unilateral contract was up to God.
Years passed and the childless couple waited for God to give them the son they so hoped for. But the ticking of the biological clock changes the human body. Abraham and Sarah grew old and there was no longer any possible human way for them to give birth to this long dreamed of child.
God credited Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness, and in due time God fulfilled His promise. A tiny baby born was born to this infertile, elderly couple. Over time their descendants multiplied more than the stars in the sky, and from Abraham’s family tree the Savior, Jesus Christ, was born – the Son of God Who brought salvation to the world.
Ours is a God Who keeps His word no matter how impossible the circumstances. When you face a difficult trial and it seems that all hope has died, hang onto the promises of God. Memorize a Bible verse that applies to your situation, recite it daily, and hope against hope – because when God signs a contract He always comes through.


text:
Congratulations on your upcoming vacation to Walt Disney World Resort! Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort, and you will love it.
The "light fare" breakfast is located in The Cononino Cove Lounge at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. Access to the lounge is an exclusive amenity for those that are guests of the Club Level resort rooms. The "light fare" breakfast consists of a variety snacks such as bagels, fruits, veggies, drinks, and more. Breakfast is served from 7am-10am.

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography


text:
Quality made in Germany – perceptible in every nobilia kitchen.
From receipt of goods to production and to delivery – nobilia has installed a sophisticated control system for all process steps, to guarantee the high quality of every single kitchen. In addition to the testing stations, up to 21 complete fitted kitchens are put through the paces of a quality audit every day. Quality, environment and energy have been core to our company philosophy since our very beginning. Every single nobilia kitchen meets the stringent international quality, environment and energy guidelines.
Stress test for kitchens – proof of quality is in the quality control testing laboratory.
Furniture, components and materials must prove themselves fit for daily wear and tear through extensive testing in our own QC testing laboratory. Indeed, for 15 years worth of wear and tear. All materials used are tested for this minimum service life.
Only furniture that has passed all the qualification tests in nobilia’s testing laboratory, are allowed in the new collection. The QC testing laboratory is thus an important building block in nobilia’s zero error strategy.
Quality assurance down to the smallest detail.
Regular product audits, ramp audits (review of the unloading process) and return shipment reviews are important components of our consistent quality assurance. A quality circle group and trainings with customers as well as workshops for trade partners and collaborating fitting installation companies also ensure the highest nobilia quality.
From the very first glance nobilia quality can be seen, felt and experienced every day. Our awards from independent testing institutes are the proof.
On a regular basis, TÜV Rheinland / LGA InterCert reviews and certifies our quality management system according to ISO 9001, our environmental management system according to ISO 14001 and our energy management system according to ISO 50001.
The ISO 9001 norm establishes the standards for a quality management system in order to satisfy customer requirements and ensure product quality. The ISO 14001 norm for environmental management systems helps improve a company’s environmental performance. Companies can continuously improve their energy efficiency with the energy management norm ISO 50001.
All three norms are globally recognised standards.
We will gladly provide you with our Quality and Environmental Policy, please use our contact form to request this.
This certificate is awarded by LGA Nürnberg (furniture testing institute). The LGA belongs to the TÜV Rheinland Group and is Europe’s largest and most important furniture testing institute. The GS quality seal for tested safety is a voluntary safety seal that has meaning far beyond the borders of Germany.
In the area of consumers and occupational health and safety, it provides the guarantee that the safety requirements have been met and are regularly reviewed by an independent institute such as the LGA. LGA product certification for furniture, furniture parts, components and accessories is a recognition mark for tested and monitored quality and product safety.
This seal of quality is awarded by the Deutschen Gütegemeinschaft Möbel e. V. (German quality control association). The stringent requirements of the DGM (German quality control association) lie far above the national and international guidelines and distinguish products with above-average quality. Quality tested furniture must be sturdy, safe, made to last and well crafted – and it is not allowed to contain any substances that are hazardous to health. Careful tests and strict controls ensure that furniture with the RAL seal of quality meet the extensive requirements.
The “Golden M” is recognised both nationally and internationally as one of the most important certificates of quality awarded according to the absolute strictest criteria. It offers consumers the security of first class quality products and environmentally friendly manufacturing practices. The many years of intensive collaboration between the DGM (German quality control association), the German Verbraucherzentrale (consumer protection agency) and the Stiftung Warentest (German independent consumer testing organisation) is an important confidence basis for consumers.
We put the focus on sustainability at nobilia. The same goes for the subject of greenhouse gas emissions. Here, it is of primary importance to face the responsibility – alongside other manufacturers – that this generation has toward future generations and the environment. One year ago the DGM (German quality control association) initiated the ”Climate Agreement for the Furniture Industry” and nobilia is an established member. In order for the CO2 footprint to gradually be reduced and ideally neutralised, it is important to nobilia to take a pioneering role in making this topic public and raising awareness.
Having met all award requirements, nobilia's kitchen furniture was awarded the highest emissions class of A by the Deutschen Gütegemeinschaft Möbel e.V. (German quality control association).
Since July 2009 nobilia is the first ever kitchen manufacturer certified in accordance with PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes). In this way, nobilia documents its dedication to an environment worth living in as well as responsibility in handling the valuable raw material wood. Since the derived timber products processed all come from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources. Forest certification provides the guarantee that the wood products that consumers purchase are not coming from questionable sources nor from overexploitation, but come from managed semi-natural forests.
By applying for PEFC certification, nobilia kitchens demonstrates to the customer a sense of responsibility for our environment.
In July 2012 the company was the first – and to date only – kitchen furniture manufacturer awarded the environmental seal “Der Blaue Engel” (blue angel). This mark of the German Federal Environmental Agency promotes the concerns of environmental and health protection as well as consumer protection. The products and services which are distinguished are those –– when viewed holistically – which are particularly environmentally friendly and at the same time meet the high standards for occupational health and safety as well as usability. The “Blaue Engel” (blue angel) was awarded to the following ranges: 102, 149, 153, 253, 312, 314, 351, 371, 555, 593, 615, 636, 648, 753, 757, 917, 933 and 977.
In Germany, we participate in the RKT (Recycling Kontor Transportverpackungen) return and recycling system. We thus ensure that our packaging is gathered, collected, and recycled in accordance with the packaging laws.
The entire mail and package dispatch is taken care of by the CO2 neutral GOGREEN services of the German postal service and DHL. With this, nobilia offsets the CO2 emissions created during transport. The offset is certified through an independent certification company (Societé Général de Surveillance, SGS) according to ISO 14064.


text:
Meh..... Not many good rolls there.
I opened two supercontainers yesterday.
This is the second time I got a Premium ship in the last 3~years. The other was the Warspite.
Yours seemed a bit down on luck though. Regular flags have no business being in a supercontainer as far as I'm concerned. It always feels like a slap in the face when you get a supercontainer expecting some exciting reward but you get 100 November Foxtrots (-5% to consumable reload) instead.
Gratz on the Perth! I love the ship, just don't get to give it enough attention because there is always something else needing more attention. I can not wait until I am at a spot in the game to grind up my Perth captain to 19 points and go to town. Good luck with her and gratz again!
Last three have been coal, the one before that was 50 flags of some sort.
If I get another Tier X ship by the 28th, and that SC is also coal? I will be adding another container for the Salem. I find them to be underwhelming most of the time.
Yeah I had pretty much the same results....did get 1500 steel though.

industry_corpus2: Gaming