tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42512429681535453222024-02-19T07:24:02.403-05:00TASTE and SEERandom Sharings by Kathleen LaplanteKathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.comBlogger412125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-64751812470481104652023-09-30T13:12:00.003-04:002023-09-30T13:21:54.911-04:00Eternal Hope For Those Who Die By Suicide<p>Do you believe that a person will go straight to hell if they die by suicide? According to the Roman Catholic Church, that is not necessarily so. To better understand this mismatch, it helps to look at some of the theology behind sins.</p><p>There are venial sins and mortal sins. Venial sins diminish and wound the divine life in our souls while mortal sins destroy it, thereby separating oneself completely from God. To be a mortal sin, three conditions must be met: 1) The matter of the sin must be grave. Killing is grave. Suicide is killing, but the priest must check the other two conditions before concluding it is mortal. 2) The sinner must have full knowledge of the evil involved. People do not like hearing the word evil when it comes to suicide, but killing in itself originates from evil in the world. 3) Just like in marriage, the person must use the full consent of their will to carry out the action. If the person's mind is compromised in some way, the person did not use their will with full consent and the sin would not be mortal. [1]</p><p>Since the one doing the killing is dead, it is impossible to check in on the last two conditions. Therefore, we cannot say for sure that their action was a mortal sin. We do not know for sure if they completely separated themselves from God and put themselves in a state of Hell. We can then hope and pray for the person's eternal salvation of soul. If the person did separate themselves completely from God of their own free will, then the prayers will be used by God in some other beneficient situation.</p><p>Using my father as an example, he was an active alcoholic of at least 25 years and most likely depressed at the time of his suicide. One might say "he was not in his right mind" but no one knows for sure. Only God knows. So I pray that Jesus may have forgiven him for his action, and I hope at the least, he may be in Purgatory being healed of remaining sins and the effects of them in preparation for Heaven. That is, I continue to pray for him and the salvation of his soul, that he will be forever united with Jesus Christ. I choose to live in Hope.</p><p>Lastly, there is salutary repentance, mentioned below, which is forgiveness in ways only known to God. This is another reason to choose Hope and pray for the one who died by suicide.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">~ ~ ~</span></b></p><p>A good reference for this is The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition. Here are some useful excerpts.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"1037 God predestines no one to go to hell." [2] </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">To "go to hell," a person must willingly turn away from God in a grave manner, and persist in doing so. That is, they must <i>of their own volition</i> commit a mortal sin. Second, people do not actually<i> go to</i> hell. Hell is actually a state of the soul. It is "The state of definitive <i>self</i>-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed, reserved for those who refuse by their own free choice to believe and be converted from sin, even to the end of their lives. [3]" </blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">On the other hand, heaven is "the state of supreme and definitive happiness. [4]" It is "Eternal life with God; communion of life and love with the Trinity and all the blessed. [5]"</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.</p><p>2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to the love of the living God.</p><p> 2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility [i.e., culpability] of the one committing suicide [and thereby provide hope for the survivors of the one who took his/her life].</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation [i.e., getting to Heaven] of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to Him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives." [6]</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><i>The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, 1997, available online</i></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="142" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBx-81ErI-IwafCfuaZrkcd8Lc0uNRd6DPJHG__wk2bTgLmR5VwpgLsbm8joNu6cvIh0xjs_BUPNx8YCcnNCZXcoNEY7vIM3xa2R_vljDq_KskYO2knPaL3qHu0ERPqZYjarFSr5Tb_UKBqZTOeal5Ux-msP29jFRMCwnNSp_y0lxuCtnXIFK5sbZ1rg" width="181" /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">pdf version - <a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM">Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va)</a> [Section 2, Chapter 2, Article 5]</div><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">New & Used - <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Libreria-Editrice-Vaticana/dp/1601376499/">Amazon.com: Catechism of the Catholic Church: 9781601376497: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, USCCB: Books</a> </div><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Used - <a href="https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/7458955/?resultid=da5fe8ad-3f3f-4e72-9f79-fbfae22bd861#edition=28870890&idiq=41502520">Catechism of the Catholic Church book by Libreria Editrice Vaticana (thriftbooks.com)</a></div><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Abbreviated footnotes:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">1. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, 1997, p. 889.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">2. Ibid, p. 270.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">3. Ibid, p. 881.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">4. Ibid, p. 881.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">5. Ibid, p. 881.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">6. Ibid, p. 550.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">image - https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781574551105_p0_v4_s550x406.jpg</span></p><p><br /></p>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-8563836766677825972022-06-01T00:30:00.004-04:002022-11-13T15:51:31.756-05:00Unethical Doctors & Psychiatrists Should Be Reported &/or Prosecuted<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Unethical Doctors & Psychiatrists </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Should Be Reported &/or Prosecuted</span></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMVMFzdII1uts3DW7j2Snd9UJ5oISKoC-clOZVzlRiQsR-ZGqIO0osDt3PfG82xWiSvV6ALhIW-lHenPKDV4aCUDgUwf2h1wQX_4Ao2mZkn1ow8sImNuxVL1UOilM6KFI3srahWgDpkS42lCGJHEdA6SkwKEOgotecLKmTrqSh6NOQHhwudTMno-0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1170" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMVMFzdII1uts3DW7j2Snd9UJ5oISKoC-clOZVzlRiQsR-ZGqIO0osDt3PfG82xWiSvV6ALhIW-lHenPKDV4aCUDgUwf2h1wQX_4Ao2mZkn1ow8sImNuxVL1UOilM6KFI3srahWgDpkS42lCGJHEdA6SkwKEOgotecLKmTrqSh6NOQHhwudTMno-0" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need redress from your current or past doctor’s unethical practices in MA, like I do, seek out </span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-registration-in-medicine" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Board of Registration in Medicine</span></a></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.mass.gov/service-details/submit-a-complaint-against-a-physician" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Submit A Complaint Against A Physician</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;">The Board is </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;">responsible for licensing, regulation, and discipline of Massachusetts physicians and acupuncturists. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;">The Board of Registration in </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Medicine’s mission is to <b>ensure that only qualified and competent physicians of good moral character are licensed to pr</b></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; font-weight: bold; text-size-adjust: 100%;">actice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;">and that <b>those </b></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><b>physi</b></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(20, 20, 20); color: #141414; font-weight: bold; text-size-adjust: 100%;">cians and health care institutions in which they practice provide to their patients a high standard of care, and support an environment that maximizes the high quality of health care in Massachusetts.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In my case, my current psychiatrist is allowing my medical records to be falsified - diagnoses, billing, the uploading of my external and internal messages, appointment history and scheduling - ignoring my requests for prescription renewals and more. It is truly appalling and certainly does not meet the standards expected of doctors in this state.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Beware:</b> If Brian or Laura or Jill or (I have to listen to the recording again to recall the woman from today) are in your life in any fashion, do not submit your complaint online or mail it through the Marlboro, MA Post Office. Contact me first. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">06/01/2022 - Additions in blue.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">+ Please pray for Richard, </span><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Robert</span><span style="color: #800180;">, Brian, Laura, etc. - and me </span><span style="color: #2b00fe;">:)</span></b></span><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #800180;"> </span></b><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #800180;"> +</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image - <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/unethical-doctor-with-stethoscope-switchblade-money-and-glasses-white-background-gm171278693-20661711">https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/unethical-doctor-with-stethoscope-switchblade-money-and-glasses-white-background-gm171278693-20661711</a></span></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-61014512438183664632022-04-12T09:59:00.014-04:002024-01-12T22:52:42.466-05:00Unmasking Fake News, Misinformation, and Disinformation (FNMD)<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-size-adjust: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br />Unmasking Fake News, Misinformation, and Disinformation (FNMD)</b></div><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-size-adjust: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">It used to be called propaganda, the negative kind. Now it is called Fake News, Misinformation, and Disinformation. Whatever label you give it, it boils down to being a lie of some kind. <br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">White lie. Pathological lie. Lie of omission. Lie of fabrication. Lie of commission. Lie of influence. Lie of deception (except what lie is not of deception?). Lie. Lie. Lie. A fancier name for a lie is Subversive Truth Deflector (STD). Like sexually transmitted diseases, this STD results in millions of new “infections” every year. Like sexually transmitted diseases, this STD can reside in a person without them even knowing it. <br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Fake News is an umbrella for other information disorders (I love that label) such as misinformation (false or purposely misleading information) and disinformation (false information intentionally spread to deceive people). [1] The ultimate result is an ongoing insidious erosion of <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><i style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">The Constitution of the United States</i></span>.</div></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"> </div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Like propaganda, FNMD is misleading communications often created by news media, social media, lawyers, corrupt politicians and small and big businesses. It is also created by government officials looking to stay in power. Duping and cheating the marginalized to maintain “control” is typically the goal. It is a significant part of maintaining and deepening poverty and oppression. It can be sensational, but it can also be subtle, as is often found in legalese at all levels of government.<br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">FNMD is cunningly used to deceive people rather than to enlighten them. It is not information you necessarily disagree with at first glance. You may not even recognize you are being “duped.” Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation is craftily fabricated to resemble usual communications in appearance or sound, but not in intention. </div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation are inherently oppressive. </div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">FNMD outlets can become so entrenched in their misleading practices that they simply are unable to be transparent. They become unwilling and afraid to try. They dig themselves into irreparable cover ups. Trust with others is eroded, such that if authentic information is actually given, it is doubted and questioned, even by their own peers. It often takes outside forces to get rid of STD infections by pushing change-or-lose-your-job reform.</div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #26282a;">FNMD is not just in the media. It is in the very fabric of our lives. If we want to root it out and keep it out at the media and state and federal levels, we need to root it out and keep it out of our families, schools, school boards, committees, Select Boards, Police & Fire Department inspections and reports, Board of Health and Building Department </span><span style="color: #26282a;">inspections and reports, Housing Authority activity at all levels, Town & City records, and on across, down, and up the lines. </span></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #26282a;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #26282a;">Eliminating FNMD is critical to eliminating oppression of all kinds. </span></div></div><div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-size-adjust: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-size-adjust: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-size-adjust: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #1d2228; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">[1] <a href="https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: initial; color: #196ad4; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">https://guides.library.Cornell.edu/evaluate_news</a><div class="yiv9646937289ydpa443df82yiv6059029886ydpa07c83e9yiv7493455007ydpa1fac39byiv3390474853yqt5431442197" id="yiv9646937289ydpa443df82yiv6059029886ydpa07c83e9yiv7493455007ydpa1fac39byiv3390474853yqtfd52100" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="yiv9646937289ydpa443df82yiv6059029886ydpa07c83e9yiv7493455007ydpa1fac39byiv3390474853enhancr-placeholder-medium" data-size="medium" id="yiv9646937289ydpa443df82yiv6059029886ydpa07c83e9yiv7493455007ydpa1fac39byiv3390474853temp-enhancr-placeholder" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"></div></div></div><div class="yiv9646937289ydpa443df82yiv6059029886ydpa07c83e9yiv7493455007ydpa1fac39byiv3390474853yqt5431442197" id="yiv9646937289ydpa443df82yiv6059029886ydpa07c83e9yiv7493455007ydpa1fac39byiv3390474853yqtfd43354" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #1d2228; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: black; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Copyright © 2022 by </b></span><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">Kathleen Laplante</b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">All rights reserved. </b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">Related Posts - <a href="https://tasteandsee2.blogspot.com/2022/04/becoming-part-of-solution.html" target="_blank">Becoming Part of the Solution</a></span></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://tasteandsee2.blogspot.com/2022/04/mccright-associates-and-hudson-housing.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>McCright & Associates and Hudson [MA] Housing Authority Exposed - Again</b></span></a></div><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></div><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></div><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></div><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></div><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: #26282a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b></div></div></div></div></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-7553224438068630492022-03-02T08:19:00.002-05:002022-04-21T20:46:50.109-04:00Lent 2022<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5-ouKSklgK1OnSAQhmpLBzqfNnAQncd0Bt2GGmlg64zi7Jp4O1cTPrF8mhGy1QlWLB-KGuIASZPx7qBsZICNKmqRyRBgXD3lmvg-TL8V1zKRKdYnB0dE_BARzqCAA1FLnYkMRgnVKaSrkv92ntwNFkDC2veAcgvrt9TvLiuu7aF4xlX7_WIMm8XE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1875" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5-ouKSklgK1OnSAQhmpLBzqfNnAQncd0Bt2GGmlg64zi7Jp4O1cTPrF8mhGy1QlWLB-KGuIASZPx7qBsZICNKmqRyRBgXD3lmvg-TL8V1zKRKdYnB0dE_BARzqCAA1FLnYkMRgnVKaSrkv92ntwNFkDC2veAcgvrt9TvLiuu7aF4xlX7_WIMm8XE" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><i><span style="color: #800180;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May yours be fruitful.</span> </span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image - <a href="http://www.emme-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/lent1-1.jpg">http://www.emme-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/lent1-1.jpg</a></span>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-62863645960443214782021-12-04T17:35:00.003-05:002022-06-04T10:25:11.929-04:00Lament of St. Nicholas by Paul Murano<h2 class="uiHeaderTitle" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I posted this other years. I decided to post it every year now, as long as I remember! It's worth some solemn meditation.</span></h2><div class="uiHeaderTitle" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></strong><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lament of St. Nicholas</span> by Paul Murano</span></span></strong><br /><em><span style="font-family: "arial";">('Twas the Week Before Christmas - in Contemporary America)</span></em><br /><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>‘</strong><strong>T</strong>was the week before Christmas and throughout heaven above</span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">the angels and saints were proclaiming God's love</span><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;">“<em><strong>Nicholas</strong></em><em>”</em><em>, </em>called Jesus,<strong> </strong><em>“</em><em><strong>Faithful servant on earth</strong></em></span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em>i</em><em>t's time for children to celebrate my birth</em></span></span></strong></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><em><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">Go on and inspire the parents of these</span></strong></em></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em><strong>to all of their hearts I now give you the keys</strong></em><em>”</em></span></span><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Yes Lord!</strong> cried Nicolas with the greatest of joys</span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">I love helping out with their clothes and their toys</span></strong></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">But most of all Lord what I work for these days</span></strong></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">is leading their minds back to you and your ways</span></strong><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">So he started his mission, this jolly ol’ soul,</span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">to the homes of God's children, the young and the old</span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">The trees were in place and the candy canes hung</span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">but he stared at the fireplace as carols were sung</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Something's wrong!</strong> said the saint, as it paused his delight</span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">Less than half of the stockings are hanging this night!</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">I see cars, DVR's, home computers, and more</span></strong></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">but I hear not the laughter that I heard once before!</span></strong><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">So he checked his list twice but it just didn't jive</span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">there were many more children that were meant to be alive</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 248, 196); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; float: left; margin-right: 1em; padding: 5px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEget30cmBdGo_m8pg_jioOccp4K50UAb7fPOmD0ZJ13cvVOtqGe1ihxEKf0mipqmooipIzfTQKTtlK1SHweVIb5jHPssVTv9v6EXbbjz7IVHeNGkfXceLucIxX0zLLyZXlT7h2U6nEgVdE/s1600/contraception.jpg" style="color: #4680c3; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEget30cmBdGo_m8pg_jioOccp4K50UAb7fPOmD0ZJ13cvVOtqGe1ihxEKf0mipqmooipIzfTQKTtlK1SHweVIb5jHPssVTv9v6EXbbjz7IVHeNGkfXceLucIxX0zLLyZXlT7h2U6nEgVdE/s1600/contraception.jpg" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reality of Contraception & Abortion</span></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><strong>Dear Lord,</strong> cried St. Nicholas with a voice of surprise</span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><strong>Many children are missing!</strong> as the tears filled his eyes</span></span><br /><br /><em><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">Oh Nicholas my servant, I thought that you knew</span></strong></em></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><em><strong>in many heart</strong></em><em><strong>$$ </strong></em><em><em><strong>green</strong></em></em><em> </em><em><strong>has replaced </strong></em><em><em><strong>pink</strong></em></em><em> </em><em><strong>and</strong></em><em> </em><em><em><strong>blue</strong></em></em></span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em><strong>And Nicholas,</strong></em> said Jesus with a sad solemn voice</span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;"></span><br /></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><em><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">in the past 40 years this is what they've called "choice"</span></strong></em><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">Then He took the saint's list and divided it thrice</span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #cc0000;">and revealed the true meaning of naughty and nice<strong>:</strong></span></span><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em><strong>This </strong></em><span class="fbUnderline"><strong><em><strong>first</strong></em></strong></span><em><strong> group has children I could never create</strong></em></span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em><strong>my</strong></em><em><strong> people used barriers and drugs with their mate</strong></em></span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em><strong>The </strong></em><span class="fbUnderline"><strong><em><strong>second</strong></em></strong></span><em><strong> are the children that had never been born</strong></em></span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><em><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">from the wombs of their mothers they were taken and torn</span></strong></em></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em><strong>And the </strong></em><span class="fbUnderline"><strong><em><strong>third</strong></em></strong></span><em><strong> group are now all the children on earth</strong></em></span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em><strong>they're the ones that </strong></em><em><em><strong>did</strong></em></em><em><strong> make it through conception and birth</strong></em></span></span><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Oh Jesus I'm sorry!</strong> ol' St. Nicholas cried</span></span><br /><br /><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">This shouldn't be happening - they forgot why You died!</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">Help me to show them how to be brave</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #38761d;">like the poor Virgin Mary giving birth in a cave!</span></strong><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><em><strong>I Am the hope many don't know,</strong></em> Jesus said</span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><em><strong><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">so go forth dear St. Nicholas – my light you must spread</span></strong></em><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;">'Twas the week before Christmas and St. Nicholas did pray<strong>:</strong></span></span></div><div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><strong>Merry Christmas to all ... and to all a </strong><strong><em>new</em></strong><strong> </strong><strong>day!</strong></span></span></div><br style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" /><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span><br /><br style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Photo and color scheme were added by me.</span><br /><br style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"></span><br style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #dbf8c4; color: #222222; font-size: xx-small;">image - <span style="color: #fce5cd;"><a href="http://dontbuytheabortionlie.blogspot.com/2011/02/contraception-is-not-solution.html" style="color: #4680c3; text-decoration: none;">http://dontbuytheabortionlie.blogspot.com/2011/02/contraception-is-not-solution.html</a></span></span>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-86247406923789080652021-11-23T08:52:00.000-05:002022-05-15T20:48:23.124-04:00Killing Off Baby Jesus<div>I saw an Advent calendar last week. It had the word Advent on it. Jesus was nowhere to be found. Christianity was nowhere to be found. Mary was nowhere to be found. The word Christmas was on it. Obscure unrelated and unknown fun-looking cartoon characters were found all over the place. </div><div><br /></div><div>It reminded me of my <b><a href="http://valleypatriot.com/" target="_blank">The Valley Patriot</a></b> article from 2010. It is even more fitting now. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://tasteandsee2.blogspot.com/2010/12/killing-off-baby-jesus.html">Killing Off Baby Jesus</a></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 class="date-header" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="color: #222222; letter-spacing: inherit; margin: 0px -10px; padding: 0.1em 10px;">December 14, 2010</span></h2><div class="date-posts" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="post-outer" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a name="6203144753677257991"></a></span><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 24.479999542236328px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">Killing Off Baby Jesus</h3><div class="post-header" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84000015258789px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6203144753677257991" itemprop="articleBody" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84000015258789px; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; width: 370px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>Copyright (c) 2010 originally published in <em><a href="http://www.valleypatriotonline.com/" style="color: #4680c3; text-decoration: none;">The Valley Patriot</a></em>, reprinted with permission.</strong></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">That is what Christmas is about these </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">days. Killing off and eliminating Baby </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus from the Christmas season. It’s infanticide,</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">of sorts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">For example, Happy Holidays, Happy </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hanukah and Season’s Greetings are okay, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">but Merry Christmas is </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">out. Holiday Gathering </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and Tree Lighting Day </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">are okay, but Christmas </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Party is not. Santa </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Claus and his reindeer </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and elves are in all the </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">stores and homes, but </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">St. Nicholas has long </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">been forgotten.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The extended gift </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">buying in December, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and now November, has become the norm. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The shift occurred during World War II, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">when many Americans were stationed </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">overseas in the military. People here </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">bought their gifts early in December to insure </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">that the packages would arrive in time </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">for Christmas. Merchants enjoyed the extra </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">revenue that year, that they expanded advertising </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and sales of Christmas merchandise </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">earlier into December on an ongoing </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">basis. Commercialization is now rampant.</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6203144753677257991" itemprop="articleBody" style="font-size: 15.84000015258789px; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; width: 370px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9BoBtxBc0ses4w1mrinCg6rAkYmh9vpxq2FmJhojIPIBFEiDDbKsDjriFegb3r10zlYuhpf7bNAdE5ymiGLDtr1MVu6j0z6Vmbdubi_-pnYoUHmn5JNTLwBXUFGb7J82lJ7Q2lBB8iQ/s1600/baby-jesus-bluebird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #4680c3; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="201" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9BoBtxBc0ses4w1mrinCg6rAkYmh9vpxq2FmJhojIPIBFEiDDbKsDjriFegb3r10zlYuhpf7bNAdE5ymiGLDtr1MVu6j0z6Vmbdubi_-pnYoUHmn5JNTLwBXUFGb7J82lJ7Q2lBB8iQ/s280/baby-jesus-bluebird.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; background-color: #dbf8c4; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 248, 196); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="280" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christmas carols are often diluted or </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">replaced with secular songs. (Heaven </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">forbid we say the name of Jesus in public.) </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Prayers are nowhere to be found in family </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">celebrations, and employees are told to </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">take down their pictures of Jesus, Mary and </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Joseph, because they might offend someone.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">This de-Christianization of Christmas </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">has greater problems. Other things get </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">killed off with Baby Jesus. For instance, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Advent is gone. It is the pre-Christmas </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">preparation for the coming of Jesus, and it </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">has been replaced with the extended gift </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">buying season mentioned above. February </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 is another example. It has traditionally </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">been a marking of the Presentation of Baby </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus in the Temple. It is 40 days after </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christmas, because in Hebrew tradition, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">the 40th day after birth is considered the </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">last stage of birth when the mother brings </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">the child to Temple. This Feast Day has </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">been replaced with Groundhog Day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">All is not lost, though. There are ways </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">we can reverse the trend. We can speak up </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">about the dangers of removing Nativity </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">scenes, and point out the benefits of keeping </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">them. Instead of remaining silent, we</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">can dare to say Merry Christmas to others. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">We can also bring St. Nicholas back into </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christmas celebrations, and curb extensive </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">gift buying, replacing it with Advent and </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">its wonderful practices for reflection and </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">preparation.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">We can do something new, like learn the </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">genealogy of Jesus. His lineage is recorded </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">in two places in the Bible, Matthew 1:1–17 </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and Luke 3:23–38. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">One account is </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">from Joseph’s side, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and the other is </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">from Mary’s side. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Both accounts are </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">rich with interesting </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">characters that </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">can be weaved </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">into the Christmas </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">story. The origin </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">of the date of </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christmas, December 25, is another topic </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">that can be researched. For many years, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">people thought it was arbitrarily chosen in </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">an attempt to override a pagan holiday, but </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">it was not. Recent research by Thomas J. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Talley testifies to that.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Taking any of these steps can gradually </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">bring Baby Jesus back to life, and lead to a </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">revitalization of Christianity, something we </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">terribly need. Ben Stein, a speech writer </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">for Presidents Nixon and Ford, could see </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">this back in 2005. At that time, he provided </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">some insightful commentary about what I </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">call the infanticide of Baby Jesus.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">He said, “I am a Jew, and every single </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">does not bother me even a little bit when </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">trees Christmas trees. I don’t feel </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">threatened. I don’t feel discriminated </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">against. That’s what they are: Christmas </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">trees. It doesn’t bother me a bit when </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">don’t think they are slighting me or getting </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">of like it. It shows that we are all brothers </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and sisters celebrating this happy time of </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">is a manger scene on display at a key intersection </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">near my beach house in Malibu. If </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">people want a crèche, it’s just as fine with </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">away.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Along those lines, Merry </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christmas to all! ;-)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Kathleen Laplante is a </em></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>member of the Catholic </em></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Church. She can be reached </em></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>at <a href="mailto:klaplante2@yahoo.com" style="color: #4680c3; text-decoration: none;">klaplante2@yahoo.com</a></em></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;">Copyright (c) 2010 originally published in <em><a href="http://www.valleypatriot.com/2010DEC/VP121010.pdf" style="color: #4680c3; text-decoration: none;">The Valley Patriot</a></em>, reprinted with permission.</span></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">image - <a href="http://www.evangelchristianschool.org/holiday.php" style="color: #4680c3; text-decoration: none;">http://www.evangelchristianschool.org/holiday.php</a> </span><br /><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><div style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: whitesmoke; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px;"></div></div></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-9207591950838333302021-09-10T00:38:00.006-04:002022-06-04T10:26:33.916-04:00Prayer as a Path to Finding Joy in Suffering<div><span style="font-size: large;">This is a prayer that the Holy Spirit brought me to pray for the hurtful and misguided people in my life, i.e., what the Bible calls my "enemies."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>May God bless you.</b></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>May He remove all evil from within you.</b></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>May He bring you joy, happiness, peace, and love.</b></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>And, May He open the windows for you to have a wonderful life.</b></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.</b></span></i></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">May you reap its spiritual rewards, like my "enemies" and I seem to have reaped thus far.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYQUnBauIyLL21JJCrOv-d0hqvPpUrRv44lEExEHdUR1BNk6b7tLjiJehlMGROfyCMfy9EkIJTcw2s1xBICp-CtEt2Ug-1Q6-aaWGMHJQtL4Yqr2z_HPppHX42bh8hKjSdswnS6_lY4g/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="600" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYQUnBauIyLL21JJCrOv-d0hqvPpUrRv44lEExEHdUR1BNk6b7tLjiJehlMGROfyCMfy9EkIJTcw2s1xBICp-CtEt2Ug-1Q6-aaWGMHJQtL4Yqr2z_HPppHX42bh8hKjSdswnS6_lY4g/w400-h209/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image - https://channelingerik.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/FindingJoyInSuffering-600x314.jpg</span><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-86856625209547793392021-09-02T14:54:00.005-04:002022-06-04T10:26:37.795-04:00Victory in Jesus by Carrie Underwood<div><div class="xaAUmb" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(60, 64, 67); color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 8px 16px;"><div jsname="WbKHeb"><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><a href="https://youtu.be/BPlsOPDQr_g">https://youtu.be/BPlsOPDQr_g</a></div><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRv6zWNbmX6TbqzLqcm91mGojquVqDqGB1CSv9pV5n9MFvn2Zg3WE3_hqRQYxB3Ky_YzKT_1wVesFH-aWgFSNSwYQ8Reih_7jfbSxzeXaeXvC8s-gXRSEXzos3Dg70KDExkJ7RJlsQjI/s1048/301987A4-A5A2-45C1-853A-DC27310551AE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="1048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRv6zWNbmX6TbqzLqcm91mGojquVqDqGB1CSv9pV5n9MFvn2Zg3WE3_hqRQYxB3Ky_YzKT_1wVesFH-aWgFSNSwYQ8Reih_7jfbSxzeXaeXvC8s-gXRSEXzos3Dg70KDExkJ7RJlsQjI/s320/301987A4-A5A2-45C1-853A-DC27310551AE.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Victory in Jesus</b></div><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;">“I heard an old, old story</div><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">How a Savior came from glory</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">How He gave His life on Calvary</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">To save a wretch like me</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">I heard about His groaning</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Of His precious blood's atoning</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Then I repented of my sins</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">And won the victory, yeah</span></div><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood</span></div><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">I heard about His healing</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Of His cleansing power revealing</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">How He made the lame to walk again</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">And caused the blind to see</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">And then I cried, "Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit"</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory</span></div><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He sought me, and He bought me with His redeeming blood</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood, oh. yeah</span></div><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">Sweet, sweet Jesus</span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">Yes, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He sought me, and He bought me with His redeeming blood</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Yes, He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood”</span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge"><br /></span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Song By Carrie Underwood</div></div></div><div class="f41I7 j04ED" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #70757a; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 5px 16px 16px;">Source: <a data-ved="2ahUKEwiftI7a-ODyAhVxleAKHTFdA7AQ5s4FegQIDhAC" href="https://www.musixmatch.com/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.musixmatch.com/&ved=2ahUKEwiftI7a-ODyAhVxleAKHTFdA7AQ5s4FegQIDhAC" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); color: #70757a; outline: 0px;">Musixmatch</a></div><div class="f41I7" data-ved="2ahUKEwiftI7a-ODyAhVxleAKHTFdA7AQycMBKAB6BAgOEAM" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(60, 64, 67); color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 5px 16px 16px;"><div class="auw0zb" style="color: #70757a; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 13px;">Songwriters: E.m. Bartlett</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">image - <a href="https://3brothersfilm.com/blog/2012/04/thursday-rethink-5-the-passion-is-not-a-meaningless-work-of-pornographic-violence">https://3brothersfilm.com/blog/2012/04/thursday-rethink-5-the-passion-is-not-a-meaningless-work-of-pornographic-violence</a></span>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-57969765857277682132021-08-22T19:59:00.007-04:002022-06-04T10:28:46.552-04:00Our Lady<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">O - <i>Obedient</i></span></b></div></span></b></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">U - <i>Underrated</i></span></b></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">R - <i>Rapturous</i></span></b></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">L - <i>Laudable</i></span></b></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">A - <i>Affectionate</i></span></b></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">D - <i>Devotional</i></span></b></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Y - <i>Yours!</i></span></b></div></blockquote></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvWcJW71b_weHg2LCpz_I-ryP7zT0CmI9RtpJtuqJ97tcjxpqAVDgpzUj-4KajqyikpQErITa22gIX5HYESd1j8YtJbfckujUmKV-vv8ofFGf23x8vSrJqvAOkpWsf9t_Djr2zacxTZg/s1530/2953992C-5A6F-4341-BE6B-21DA8692372F.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvWcJW71b_weHg2LCpz_I-ryP7zT0CmI9RtpJtuqJ97tcjxpqAVDgpzUj-4KajqyikpQErITa22gIX5HYESd1j8YtJbfckujUmKV-vv8ofFGf23x8vSrJqvAOkpWsf9t_Djr2zacxTZg/s320/2953992C-5A6F-4341-BE6B-21DA8692372F.jpeg" width="245" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-20861128699857810302021-08-20T22:02:00.003-04:002022-03-01T20:20:28.245-05:00A Break in the Action - Wachusett Reservoir, Clinton, MA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazk2SeCF8GvzeLvlnpCpirkZZDSqe-z-duxB0XxBp_cOa-A0nGLXys4_0fLtxb2yzH8BN0aig7j-jbgBrkZvYXB_Hhq5lCbNUxZ5PdwyddN0YPyVQtXqIvWD0vxJ1T9vMu3d2iC5XLGI/s2048/38C3E496-B5D4-4AC2-A380-CC59C303CD29.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazk2SeCF8GvzeLvlnpCpirkZZDSqe-z-duxB0XxBp_cOa-A0nGLXys4_0fLtxb2yzH8BN0aig7j-jbgBrkZvYXB_Hhq5lCbNUxZ5PdwyddN0YPyVQtXqIvWD0vxJ1T9vMu3d2iC5XLGI/w640-h480/38C3E496-B5D4-4AC2-A380-CC59C303CD29.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0GpLTrP-bAqDOLxhFY9ssR1Ig5z0T9MJb0U60GpoK_M0jdByPDlFnkDuxrmnPAAsMBLK-tYvIbonyfLJKqmwaG-TD18ciOQ-jtgAMerF7vMZwOMWexA4TnuGz8-aUwzCkFXcfQLiqBo/w480-h640/75B73DF9-EB55-46B9-A71D-16F23DD221A4.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-SDCpfsQIcAyShPtIDB5S84meSfLRVSEkRDXxKKQ0LjrHgXYUiBjLNrrKljp8n1Cryx3DkhvG1qNg5NqeQ35OzVCebyeysoZ0HlJxwAVPsNGe_6dkXKWMlBFa3Niygugd9Re91A78Cw/s2048/470117FA-4818-4DCB-B957-653FC34EE7C7.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-SDCpfsQIcAyShPtIDB5S84meSfLRVSEkRDXxKKQ0LjrHgXYUiBjLNrrKljp8n1Cryx3DkhvG1qNg5NqeQ35OzVCebyeysoZ0HlJxwAVPsNGe_6dkXKWMlBFa3Niygugd9Re91A78Cw/w480-h640/470117FA-4818-4DCB-B957-653FC34EE7C7.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8vgGDJlIVSKlr_emvsDKQb2UwFdq3sPdByeTZPOgOdO-pPumF31j3espw2qBcCDC6Xf7lJpyXEshv4LWtdnSv6LTuLi15GRbK1-Rs6qJpPp8yiPo6eNEaa4BahAozsHUQTy21CBo1tY/s2048/A5EBAE46-3F81-4A52-BBA8-B6D42876F7BA.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8vgGDJlIVSKlr_emvsDKQb2UwFdq3sPdByeTZPOgOdO-pPumF31j3espw2qBcCDC6Xf7lJpyXEshv4LWtdnSv6LTuLi15GRbK1-Rs6qJpPp8yiPo6eNEaa4BahAozsHUQTy21CBo1tY/w480-h640/A5EBAE46-3F81-4A52-BBA8-B6D42876F7BA.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b>Yes, I climbed them all. </b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2iQtRoE8W5XQcaVO-60fLE7o2d4SJ2E1FYTwBT3NplhYIK9nrNjtNrLEzYWkQNwfS56e34qcs4foPrba81xhAV6RyqCOA0p-PCzXR11uwJHmhxR2K4V-lo40II1bR5L_48eqaJOkQbA/w480-h640/CD340C14-EF93-4833-8192-74D8A5D096D9.jpeg" width="480" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>images - personal collectionKathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-4852361997827346432021-08-18T00:42:00.002-04:002021-08-18T00:45:41.366-04:00MARY<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">M - Mother</span></b></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">A - Abounding</span></b></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">R - Resplendant</span></b></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Y - Yours!</span></b></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vAUtqR6USc3AlfJWVxz42eigBdzebVlGVyifhNGoaRF4fuqVMOMePASlumwn8GG_RfuwnjpPW3onjX8X5dlqxKyd1sJ1ZcWIS5U9Eme3iGR63maZ6UcrwiCQGXkQPhz8qn63zuXZ6-c/s2048/BE41248E-B9E0-4433-994A-3AF24C6695C4.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vAUtqR6USc3AlfJWVxz42eigBdzebVlGVyifhNGoaRF4fuqVMOMePASlumwn8GG_RfuwnjpPW3onjX8X5dlqxKyd1sJ1ZcWIS5U9Eme3iGR63maZ6UcrwiCQGXkQPhz8qn63zuXZ6-c/w480-h640/BE41248E-B9E0-4433-994A-3AF24C6695C4.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image - St. Benedict Abbey, Still River, MA</span>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-1956669849542957232021-08-17T09:40:00.006-04:002021-08-17T16:21:27.190-04:00CHRIST<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 24.48px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"> <b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">C - Compassion</span></b></h3></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3076648637592127111" itemprop="articleBody" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 370px;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">H - Hope</span></b></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3076648637592127111" itemprop="articleBody" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 370px;"><b><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">R - Resurrection</span></b></b></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3076648637592127111" itemprop="articleBody" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 370px;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> I - Integrity</span></b></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3076648637592127111" itemprop="articleBody" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 370px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">S - Salvation</span></b></div></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3076648637592127111" itemprop="articleBody" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 370px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">T - Teacher</span> </div></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3076648637592127111" itemprop="articleBody" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 370px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">.</span></div></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3076648637592127111" itemprop="articleBody" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 370px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7AvaG_T5SCdIHOfAQgVycta7GtTQPuTB_8_By35_X0MCzlJjISDyUI_DgnACkqHK5ToNkoiWzbli2Di3cTT4pIMQWl4IoQlPDudM5ka9kMruOYPpgJzzziTEXQuDclSkcC0mhxYBwUE/s2048/616817EF-2F8B-4047-BED7-3A3A2DD6B8F7.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7AvaG_T5SCdIHOfAQgVycta7GtTQPuTB_8_By35_X0MCzlJjISDyUI_DgnACkqHK5ToNkoiWzbli2Di3cTT4pIMQWl4IoQlPDudM5ka9kMruOYPpgJzzziTEXQuDclSkcC0mhxYBwUE/w480-h640/616817EF-2F8B-4047-BED7-3A3A2DD6B8F7.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">image - St. Benedict Abbey, Still River, MA</span><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">-</span></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-30766486375921271112021-08-16T22:33:00.006-04:002021-08-30T20:35:04.435-04:00JESUS<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">J - Just</span></b></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><b><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">E - Eternal</span></b></div></b></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><b><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">S - Sacrificial</span></b></div></b></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><b><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">U - Ubiquitous</span></b></div></b></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">S - Substantial, as in Tran</span></b></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p><br /></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXmm32TvD8n2NRZAxH5k6GZg1pvafrRoxZ7RyOOJzy5OJ_ZzmyQv-lJuspZ4GBgg1w5LYqm1qAiuddcAvnHZxwAGTJOQUBgezDqhacRruCwdBiAOWY_siiD4Veo5suOAeq_eCq5djhhs/s2048/F9EA57F5-54ED-4B9A-939C-5C32DA4490BF.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXmm32TvD8n2NRZAxH5k6GZg1pvafrRoxZ7RyOOJzy5OJ_ZzmyQv-lJuspZ4GBgg1w5LYqm1qAiuddcAvnHZxwAGTJOQUBgezDqhacRruCwdBiAOWY_siiD4Veo5suOAeq_eCq5djhhs/w480-h640/F9EA57F5-54ED-4B9A-939C-5C32DA4490BF.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">image - St. Benedict Abbey, Still River, MA</span>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-44145123811435654072021-07-06T21:27:00.018-04:002024-01-12T22:56:05.141-05:00The Reality of Being Suicidal<div><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">**Contains Triggers** Please check-in with yourself as you read, and stop if necessary.*</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Suicidal? What does that mean? For people who have never experienced it, it can be quite graphic, so please, <b>TAKE NOTE:</b> You may not have the stomach to read or view this. Please check-in with yourself as you read and stop, if necessary.</div><div><br /></div><div>At times, suicidal has basically meant having no desire to live, or wishing I was dead, but plugging forward. At other times, suicidal has meant planning a drive to the George Washington Bridge in New York City, or a flight to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, so when I really want to end my life, I would know just how to do it.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am a woman devoted to the Catholic Faith, which considers suicide to be a mortal sin. Many people say, but that's your religion; it is out of touch with reality. No. At its core, without watering it down with mitigating circumstances, I consider suicide to be a mortal sin. It is an outright rejection of God and the life He gave me, the life I fight for for the unborn.</div><div><br /></div><div>The pain and wearing down by my circumstances have resulted in my blowing off and outright rejecting Jesus and His Teachings, to entertain my "fantasies" and "plans." Suicidal tendencies are not rational. I have been a suicide prevention advocate for several years now, but in an actively suicidal state, I do not care. I throw all of my own advice out the window. I can convince myself that God will understand how sick these people are, and as a result, how sick they made me. I can convince myself that I do not have to do the upright thing because God will have mercy on me.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then, that's it. I am going to to the bridge, or I am going to take another overdose, etc. In my mind - and in my pain - it does not matter that my sons, and friends, and siblings, and now grandson, will miss me and be in an incredible amount of pain. I can convince myself that they have resources for healing that I never has when my Dad took his life on my birthday.</div><div><br /></div><div>In my mind - and in my pain - it does not matter that I have been dedicated to stopping the killing of human beings in the womb. The screen goes blank....until something in my being eventually kicks in. That something is the Grace of God.</div><div><br /></div><div>One time I felt incredible and what seemed to be uncontrollable pain, so I forced myself to reach out and I called around to psychiatric hospitals about their admission criteria. I did that because awhile ago, when I was in Canada and in distress, the hospital would not admit me because I was not actively doing something like slicing my wrists, or planning to go home and shoot myself. Suicidal consideration and the inability to cope were not enough. They made me leave.</div><div><br /></div><div>So this time in the United States, I called to see if the mental health decline had reached our locale - and it had. <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Four hospitals told me I would not get admitted because I was not far enough along in my suicidal state.</span> I gritted my way through it, but I easily have rapidly progressed in my suicidal state and not have been able to do that gritting - and have taken my life. I would not have been around for my grandson's birth, or my other son's new steady girlfriend, or the anniversary of my mother's death when I go to her grave site and pray the Rosary for her, and my other relatives there.</div><div><br /></div><div>I came to conclude that all the hospitals who claim to have Psychiatric Care in their list of treatment programs were misrepresenting themselves. One hospital listed Suicide Prevention, as an alternative, but when I called them, that was a misnomer too. It was only Imminent Suicide Prevention, i.e., one had to be slicing their wrists or going home to shoot themselves. If one was not far enough along in their suicidal state, oh well!</div><div><br /></div><div>Our mental health system needs help. <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Even more so, our world needs Jesus in our hearts, our minds, and our souls. +</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>NOT SUICIDAL "ENOUGH" FOR HOSPITAL CARE</b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqsfPHtZW9iJSrKsxWfGfq9LRvA7Spwf_EWYUX_JOsjPv_TN_86JR0SW4bTarrCmvtYlc0aslO9OfCfFahxtiKhJEKglARVdPO8qCTaD0xpJikrqpCsmGiOizrzQ6M9La7VSyooxXtVE/s622/w4.jpg"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqsfPHtZW9iJSrKsxWfGfq9LRvA7Spwf_EWYUX_JOsjPv_TN_86JR0SW4bTarrCmvtYlc0aslO9OfCfFahxtiKhJEKglARVdPO8qCTaD0xpJikrqpCsmGiOizrzQ6M9La7VSyooxXtVE/s320/w4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>SUICIDAL "ENOUGH" FOR HOSPITAL CARE</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIsuAGN1umVoqFutbRFl06j1zm_9QrYlqXxjQ__d1A9M5MHjuydTBFEAVeaQqn1NxQf9w_dnmp7RW0zAIxridzthzrX4p0XhC0l_8tElx-JGT9Xve8zFj6k7gV7x1rdN1LjjUMYYAjaM/s273/w1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="273" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIsuAGN1umVoqFutbRFl06j1zm_9QrYlqXxjQ__d1A9M5MHjuydTBFEAVeaQqn1NxQf9w_dnmp7RW0zAIxridzthzrX4p0XhC0l_8tElx-JGT9Xve8zFj6k7gV7x1rdN1LjjUMYYAjaM/w228-h152/w1.jpg" width="228" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc33E8JBXXdyFu4lR7CqEXYr9R6ohrCz5CuGk1bxkmY6g10rg-pdN4AScAJCx9sdecw-GhEE6lmu66yuyOzjLJth5PAJhnP5NwSvK6g82w9Wmc1Anwa0JP_FXk6yJpUoxQFmHHUnzjA0M/s758/t2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="758" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc33E8JBXXdyFu4lR7CqEXYr9R6ohrCz5CuGk1bxkmY6g10rg-pdN4AScAJCx9sdecw-GhEE6lmu66yuyOzjLJth5PAJhnP5NwSvK6g82w9Wmc1Anwa0JP_FXk6yJpUoxQFmHHUnzjA0M/w266-h151/t2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>OUR WORLD DESPERATELY NEEDS JESUS</b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQVQin9QmdCKhihcK_Uuapt8gQPxamdI-Zdxv2Y41ZHKtEoYl-zlUjUUY8CciLzPF19FhzfMAXi1oHXTaovCXb_FVnbO-dK6xBA26Qj7vYEbouuiH2I9UDPtEj5IYaapQm6eBTesBwKc/s1600/w3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQVQin9QmdCKhihcK_Uuapt8gQPxamdI-Zdxv2Y41ZHKtEoYl-zlUjUUY8CciLzPF19FhzfMAXi1oHXTaovCXb_FVnbO-dK6xBA26Qj7vYEbouuiH2I9UDPtEj5IYaapQm6eBTesBwKc/s320/w3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>*Updated 01/12/2024</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">images - </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">https://media.sciencephoto.com/image/c0087590/800wm/C0087590-Suicidal_man.jpg</span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">- https://il3.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/6633992/thumb/1.jpg</span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">- </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">https://article1000.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Management-of-suicidal-behavior.jpg</span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">- </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">https://ldsmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/MaryandJoseph.jpg</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-58439342630599333202021-03-14T23:18:00.005-04:002022-05-15T21:19:22.983-04:00Staying the Course<div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlBpRAn9mSDzF80OYMz-FcCeoZzOgsQYslBpQU8bTgI46jn9lQDqTvThVkHhqY7fifeAntOKUL1enO2qb3EBoj-Q9d-9SffESYznZaTHAz2EqydZmibnit-inhpDEUsGj_-NCn6Y7c6A/s225/0C011D9F-CB61-4CE7-BF8A-441A55EA8FAE.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlBpRAn9mSDzF80OYMz-FcCeoZzOgsQYslBpQU8bTgI46jn9lQDqTvThVkHhqY7fifeAntOKUL1enO2qb3EBoj-Q9d-9SffESYznZaTHAz2EqydZmibnit-inhpDEUsGj_-NCn6Y7c6A/s0/0C011D9F-CB61-4CE7-BF8A-441A55EA8FAE.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Sometimes when I get heat for speaking the truth about abortion, suicide, the damage done by suicide advocates who support the killing of human beings in the womb, police reform that is needed, underhanded landlords and neighbors, deviant priests and bishops, etc., I think about creating a fake FB or Twitter profile and using that instead. Then I remember my commitment to standing strong for Truth, myself and those being harmed, and for Jesus Christ, and I stay the course. +</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>image - <a href="https://images.app.goo.gl/szxQnByZr7F3GoZ7A">https://images.app.goo.gl/szxQnByZr7F3GoZ7A</a> Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-46481643984810876092020-11-19T23:15:00.002-05:002020-11-19T23:16:18.650-05:00Can We #StopSuicide? Only If We #StopAbortion Too<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p align="center" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><b>Abortion Undermines Suicide Prevention</b></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKjWj_vAjPDTu2icFeQmU-Qbgs5VUfEGFRy8vc5fV-Eeh5Tc5wok3go-Qp1Jlf9wz3WjPUskvCafCCsX0WoD8qJRjVtZ13tFYND3CBXZnZ9aAcH2il-SWy8sh1TD7mc2Di9fxzGZI9Aw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="534" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKjWj_vAjPDTu2icFeQmU-Qbgs5VUfEGFRy8vc5fV-Eeh5Tc5wok3go-Qp1Jlf9wz3WjPUskvCafCCsX0WoD8qJRjVtZ13tFYND3CBXZnZ9aAcH2il-SWy8sh1TD7mc2Di9fxzGZI9Aw/w449-h418/image.png" width="449" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-10344240948330748262020-11-08T23:28:00.004-05:002022-06-04T10:40:17.725-04:00Jesus Christ and Fear-Mongering Do Not Go Together<div class="separator"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div></div><div>dictionary.com</div><div><br /></div><div><div aria-label=" Listen" class="gycwpf hide-focus-ring D5gqpe" data-animation-enabled="true" data-audio-play-tts="false" data-language-code="" data-tts-string="" data-ved="2ahUKEwjsrerwx_TsAhXXkHIEHTcSB9UQlfQBMAB6BAgDEAc" jsaction="rcuQ6b:npT2md;DiIjNc;xLXIyb:DGzHQ" jscontroller="HLiDHf" role="button" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(60, 64, 67); color: #3c4043; cursor: pointer; float: left; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-right: 12px; outline: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0"><div class="brWULd" style="height: 36px; margin: -4px; padding: 4px; width: 36px;"><div class="KnZOyc" jsname="FJYLhd" style="background-color: #e8f0fe; border-bottom-left-radius: 50%; border-bottom-right-radius: 50%; border-top-left-radius: 50%; border-top-right-radius: 50%; border: 1px solid rgb(210, 227, 252); height: 34px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 34px;"></div><div class="pkt1Wd fjnQw" style="background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHdpZHRoPSIyMiIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyMiIgdmlld2JveD0iMCAwIDIyIDIyIj4KICA8cG9seWdvbiBmaWxsPSIjMUE3M0U4IiBwb2ludHM9IjIuNzUgOC4yNSAyLjc1IDEzLjc1IDYuNDE3IDEzLjc1IDExIDE4LjMzMyAxMSAzLjY2NyA2LjQxNyA4LjI1IiAvPgo8L3N2Zz4K"); height: 22px; margin: 7px; position: absolute; width: 22px;"></div><div class="pkt1Wd nIW5Sd" jsname="m1xdOb" style="background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHdpZHRoPSIyMiIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyMiIgdmlld2JveD0iMCAwIDIyIDIyIj4KICA8cGF0aCBkPSJNMTUuMTI1LDExIEMxNS4xMjUsOS4zNzc1IDE0LjE5LDcuOTg0MTY2NjcgMTIuODMzMzMzMyw3LjMwNTgzMzMzIEwxMi44MzMzMzMzLDE0LjY4NSBDMTQuMTksMTQuMDE1ODMzMyAxNS4xMjUsMTIuNjIyNSAxNS4xMjUsMTEgWiIgZmlsbD0iIzFBNzNFOCIgZmlsbC1ydWxlPSJldmVub2RkIiAvPgo8L3N2Zz4K"); height: 22px; margin: 7px; position: absolute; width: 22px;"></div><div class="pkt1Wd byDyWd" jsname="DFrD7b" style="background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); height: 22px; margin: 7px; position: absolute; width: 22px;"></div></div></div><div class="WI9k4c" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(60, 64, 67); color: #3c4043; display: table; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; word-break: break-word;"><div class="GgmXif" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px;"><div class="DgZBFd XcVN5d" style="line-height: 32px; vertical-align: middle;"><span data-dobid="hdw">fear·mon·ger·ing</span></div></div><div class="S23sjd" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="XpoqFe" style="line-height: 20px;">/ˈfirˌməNGəriNG/</span></div></div><div class="ABgcGb vmod" jsname="p0q1Sd" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(60, 64, 67); color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-left: -16px; margin-right: -16px;"></div><div class="vmod" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(60, 64, 67); color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><div class="lW8rQd" style="display: flex;"><div class="vpx4Fd"><div class="pgRvse vdBwhd" style="min-height: 20px; padding-top: 10px;"><i>noun</i></div><div class="vmod vk_gy" jsname="jUIvqc" style="color: #878787;">noun: <b>fear-mongering</b></div></div></div><ol class="eQJLDd" style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><li jsname="gskXhf" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="vmod"><div class="thODed Uekwlc XpoqFe" style="line-height: 20px; padding-top: 8px;"><div data-topic="" jsname="cJAsRb"><div style="margin-left: 20px;"><div class="QIclbb XpoqFe" style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px; margin-left: -20px;"><div data-dobid="dfn" style="display: inline;">the action of deliberately arousing public fear or alarm about a particular issue.</div></div></div></div></div></div></li></ol></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I congratulate Biden/Harris supporters on the current electoral count, unless it is proven otherwise.</div><div><br /></div><div>If their votes were based on unacceptable fear-mongering by Trump, one must look at the fear-mongering that goes on toward those facing unexpected pregnancies to the point of widespread genocide of human beings in the womb. This is the fear-mongering they upport by supporting Biden and Harris who want to make abortion more widespread. </div><div><br /></div><div>I grew up in poverty. And that is fearful in itself and it is why I suspect Biden/Harris supporters are in fear of women facing unexpected pregnancies. </div><div><br /></div><div>For some reason, I was faced with pregnancy in college and may have likely killed my baby, while today, I believe that action would have come from a place of scarcity (instead of abundance and trust in God), and it would have been dreadfully wrong. I believe life always wins over death, especially death of innocent human beings, and death of any other form of anticipated social/physical comfort.</div><div><br /></div><div>That is what I believe we need to change with improved social constructs. I do not believe greater encouragement and access to kill more and more human beings in the womb is a good foundation of democracy. That is scarcity, not abundance and trust in God. </div><div><br /></div><div>But that is not the only reason I don't approve of Biden/Harris. They tout Marxist, socialist, and similar ideologies. We will really learn what it is to lose our personal freedom and money we earned/earn.</div><div><br /></div><div>KL</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Jesus/Abundance:</div><div>Children didn’t ruin my social life. They gave me one. I made some life time friends through them. </div><div><br /></div><div><img height="224" src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/09bc3017-a91c-4be7-b1e1-12f46ddf4ed3" width="320" /></div><div><br /></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-66030975567387196602020-09-22T22:37:00.019-04:002022-06-04T10:40:53.704-04:00Whistleblowing in the Catholic Church: A Spiritual Trial for the Unborn<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Reprint of blog post originally published on 07/21/2020.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b>Added 08/30/2020</b> - "The Catholic community has the right to expect the priests of the archdiocese and those entrusted with handing on the faith to be clear and unequivocal on the church's teaching concerning respect and protection for life from the first moment of conception to natural death," [Archbishop Sean] O'Malley said in a statement published in the Pilot. "This teaching is of the highest priority for the Church." Click <b><a href="https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?Source=Popular&ID=188342" target="_blank">here</a></b> for the article. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><font><br /></font></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><font>============== end of addition, start of original blog entry =================</font></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><font><br /></font></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><font><b>NOTE:</b> Personal stories (sharing of real life experiences) are considered a valuable resource in various fields of study, e.g., employee satisfaction, suicide prevention, and Church membership. Stories provide unique insight that cannot be captured by traditional science. The insight leads to improved advocacy efforts.</font></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><font><br /></font></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><font>For example, </font><b><a href="http://whyimcatholic.com/index.php/conversion-stories/catholic-reverts/item/127-catholic-revert-kathleen-laplante" target="_blank">my spiritual reversion story</a></b><span> </span><font>has inspired many Catholic converts and reverts to persevere in their spiritual pursuit of our faith. Here in this blog post, I share a personal story in hope of helping other parishioners, and clergy, if they find themselves on either side of a scandal, where chaos and confusion</font><span style="text-align: justify;">—</span><font>and sin and redemption</font><span style="text-align: justify;">—</span><font>often arise.</font></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, serif; text-align: center;"><b>~~~~~ </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, serif; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, serif; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">My Personal Story</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, serif; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">A Real Life Experience</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial, serif;"><b>2019-2020</b></span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px;"><font face="arial" size="2">There comes a time when parishioners must call out priests, pastors, and even bishops on their ignominious behaviors. Being dismissive, ignoring parishioners’ flagrant opposition to Catholic Church teaching, evading or, worse, retaliating against the whistleblower, lying, unjustly protecting other clergy, and prioritizing headcount above preserving the Faith, are some of those behaviors. Victims of the Church’s sex abuse scandal would likely agree.</font></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>A whistleblower with perseverance is often needed. Look up synonyms for whistleblower, and you will be hard pressed to find a </font></font></span><font>complimentary one. More readily you will find “snitch,” “rat,” “big-mouth,” and “betrayer.” Those words </font><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">cause damage in whistleblower’s </span></font></font><font>personal and professional relationships.</font></font></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>I am not talking about Judas Iscariot who outright betrayed Jesus for money. I am talking about upright, concerned parishioners who step forward on behalf of the Church. They frequently incur hostility from other parishioners and clergy, and often disappear from the parish, and even the Church. Breaks with family and employers are common. M</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>any also develop significant mental health issues, beginning if their higher ups sidestep the concern brought forward, by claiming the whistleblower is unstable. [1] </font></font></span><font color="#000000"><font>The virtue in a whistleblower’s attempt to right wrongs is painfully lost in labels like “informant,” “big-mouth,” and “betrayer.”</font></font></font></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; text-align: justify;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>I had no idea I would be a whistleblower when I met my Melkite (Eastern Catholic) pastor to ask why he was not withholding the Eucharist from a particular parishioner. After all, this woman publicly </font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">claimed </span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>her ProChoice identity in a ProLife thread on the parish Facebook Page, and in parish emails. </font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">S</span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>he also publicly vowed to fight me tooth and nail about the issue. And, she claimed other ProChoice Melkites exist—and are proud of their beliefs.</font></font></span></font></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>Our pastor oversaw and participated in our communications, thereby being a witness as it unfolded. This ProChoice woman’s status in </font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>our citywide </font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>community made the need to correct and educate her, more compelling. S</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>he counseled female teens, and women, potentially facing crisis pregnancies and considering abortion. She also gave a public talk at our parish without apprising the committee of her ProChoi</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>c</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font><font>e affiliation.</font><font color="#d9ead3">m</font></font></span></font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDWgIm8PBVituW_sCiR_f41FKWCX9ZAOU5CIfuJ0rIaDHoP-5gAdQPiFfz37i9diWUil5WYLTaLT_xGXqkm1q9TyMp3h50_pr2A29yr__pxzPmznDCaz-3EZI_IqrUS540iECdWjaCgE/s462/w3+crop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="arial" size="2"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="333" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDWgIm8PBVituW_sCiR_f41FKWCX9ZAOU5CIfuJ0rIaDHoP-5gAdQPiFfz37i9diWUil5WYLTaLT_xGXqkm1q9TyMp3h50_pr2A29yr__pxzPmznDCaz-3EZI_IqrUS540iECdWjaCgE/w185-h256/w3+crop.jpg" width="185" /></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="arial" size="2"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><font color="#000000"><font face="">I prayed, did some research, and sought counsel with two trustworthy priests. The following statement of Melkite Bishop John Adel Elya (now deceased) left no room for ambiguity:, </font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><i>“Our Eastern and Western Tradition is unanimous in its teaching that any form of abortion is contrary to God's law and a serious offense against the Life-Giver.</i></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><font color="#ff0000"><font face=""><i> </i></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><i>It is impossible to receive Christ, our Life, in Holy Communion and remain obstinately pro abortion. Indeed, politicians who, by their actions, promote abortion cooperate with evil. If they receive Holy Communion without sincere repentance they do so at the peril of their own souls. Such is cause for great scandal.” </i></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><font color="#000000"><font face="">[2]</font></font></span></font></div><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>I thought surely my pastor would be grateful for this pertinent information. </font></font></font></span><font face=""><font>I was stunned when he told me he could never withhold the Eucharist from anyone. Even </font></font><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>Eastern and Western Canon Law forbids dissenters from receiving the Eucharist. [3]</font></font></font></span></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font face=""><font>I reminded him: This ProChoice woman i</font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">s</span></font></font></font><font face=""><font> a public figure in the community, openly sharing her parish membership and openly condoning abortion, which the Catholic Church—and our Faith—strongly oppose. My pastor </font></font><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">appeared unmoved and </span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">I wondered if </span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang=""><i>he</i></span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang=""> were ProChoice also.</span></font></font></font></span></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font face="arial" size="2">I sought more prayer and consults until too much time lapsed with no results. I wrote to the current bishop. He never replied to me with his thoughts. The situation was truly a scandal. I was embarrassed for the parish and Church—and for Jesus Himself. After more than ten years of service, I finally stepped down from my work for the parish and Eparchy (akin to Diocese).</font></font></font></span></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font face=""><font>As a well-known figure in the parish, I wrote to several parishioners explaining my actions. I included my research. O</font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>nly two of those parishioners directly responded to me. They both supported and encouraged me in my efforts. </font></font></font><font face=""><font>Unfortunately, the intensity of my concern may have </font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>ta</font></font></font><font face=""><font>inted my message for others, who </font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>became angry and distanced themselves from me. I felt isolated. Was </font></font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">it </span></font></font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>my message, my tone, or a combination of these two? I never knew.</font></font></font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font face="arial" size="2">I became disheartened.</font></font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font face="arial" size="2">Meanwhile, my pastor continued giving the Eucharist to this actively ProChoice woman. His lack of action with her scandal was indirectly condoning the killing of babies in the womb. He did not like hearing that. Again, I wondered if he were ProChoice. </font></font></font></p><font face="arial" size="2"><br /></font><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_H3IrUaYERsSLWpfQ4vGaDrbv6XizVWHXS-rtAhNWuQ2vE5_9aKKQqwmZHTZVaNpHeB28LlDno9P9LexKy0AXrA5sFp4bF_hhUf00aHqG-W8EmpFEwtqev7Vu8HfMYCRw7aLPLsVAF8/s1000/w4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="arial" size="2"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_H3IrUaYERsSLWpfQ4vGaDrbv6XizVWHXS-rtAhNWuQ2vE5_9aKKQqwmZHTZVaNpHeB28LlDno9P9LexKy0AXrA5sFp4bF_hhUf00aHqG-W8EmpFEwtqev7Vu8HfMYCRw7aLPLsVAF8/s320/w4.jpg" width="320" /></font></a></div><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font face="arial"><span lang=""><font face="">The ProChoice woman eventually responded to my letter with one of her own. It was addressed to the parish’s legal entity a</font>nd copied to the </span></font></font><font face="arial"><font>bishop, the </font><font color="#000000"><font>pastor</font></font><font>, and me. However, I never received my copy directly from her, even after asking her for it twice. In her letter, she said she wanted the bishop, the pastor, or me, to issue a public correction of items she thought were false or defamatory in my letter to some of the parishioners. She also explained she will not participate in the ProLife movement because she advocates for human and reproductive rights. She then </font><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">set forth the ProC</span></font></font><font>hoice position, saying it </font><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">advocates fo</span></font></font><font color="#000000"><font>r ongoing legalization of abortion. Her disclosures confirmed the soundness of my whistleblowing.</font></font></font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">Continuing in her letter, the ProChoice woman repeated her claim that other Melkite ProChoicers exist (even more reason for our clergy to uphold our Faith). Sh</span></font></font><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">e presented an ultimatum: She gave the bishop, the pastor, and me, ten (10) business days or </span></font></font><font>she would be compelled to take legal action. Halfway into the ten days, </font><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">my pastor suggested that he and I meet. He did not mention the ProChoice woman’s letter, but when we met, he offered me a copy.</span></font></font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">In our meeting, my pastor informed me that the </span></font></font></font><font face=""><font>bishop and he decided </font></font><font face=""><font><i>I </i></font></font><font face=""><font>should write the response to this woman—with </font></font><font face=""><font><i>his</i></font></font><font face=""><font> ove</font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>rsight. G</font></font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>iven the tight deadline, </font></font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font>I declined. He became unsettled and alluded to me being excommunicated. I reminded him that he could not excommunicate me. His facial expression changed to one of realizing I was correct. He then alluded that the bishop would certainly excommunicate me. I reminded him that the bishop could not excommunicate me either and </font></font></font><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">I remained firm in the face of his inexplicable hostility.</span></font></font></font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font face="arial" size="2">I summarized my thoughts about the meeting and the situation at hand in a letter to my pastor and bishop. Among other things, I included a suggestion to establish a prolife education and ministry program in our parish and in the Eparchy. Neither of them responded to me.</font></font></font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font color="#000000"><font face="arial" size="2"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPy_W6hdUopXt2B1KBsak6M2PiRyizmsbBmq4vYmhDvp2Y9-KK5lz8e94vKXgxHVdnvgOi1s3xvp9ZzZdzxaT5YmCqqgyXqewhqmTImZwLRTUHFC1uhBBJUSZNHcOlwmqmCUDzgoxBw0/s1600/w1+theo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPy_W6hdUopXt2B1KBsak6M2PiRyizmsbBmq4vYmhDvp2Y9-KK5lz8e94vKXgxHVdnvgOi1s3xvp9ZzZdzxaT5YmCqqgyXqewhqmTImZwLRTUHFC1uhBBJUSZNHcOlwmqmCUDzgoxBw0/s320/w1+theo.jpg" width="320" /></a></font></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2">In the end, which was five month’s after I first approached him, my pastor composed his own response to this woman’s letter. Whether he did this on his own, or because he was obeying an order from the bishop, is unclear. He copied it to all parishioners without mentioning the threat of legal action by the ProChoice woman. He also omitted dates. Their omission obscured the timeline for him and the bishop to take responsibility. His use of generic, broad-sweep descriptors masked the accountability of their actions. He averred that he does not agree with the woman’s views on abortion, which oppose Catholic Church teachings.</font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font color="#000000"><font face="arial" size="2">He said “after consulting the bishop,” he decided to withhold the Eucharist from her. “Consulting the bishop” is one of those broad-sweeping qualifiers that hides my pastor’s ultimate motivation for his action. As before, was his action stemming from his own free will, or was it stemming from being obedient to an order from the bishop to withhold the Eucharist from the ProChoice woman? After all, he had told me that he could never withhold the Eucharist from anyone.</font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font color="#000000"><font face="arial" size="2">Multiple times in his letter, the pastor mentioned that my letter to some parishioners could be construed as demeaning to the woman of concern. I get it. I was the whistleblower. He was likely accommodating her to avoid legal entanglement. It stung nonetheless. I sought spiritual solace by asking Jesus to unite my suffering with His salvific suffering on the Cross, to bring about conversions for all involved.</font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">Concurrently, I learned of a </span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#1d2228"><font><span lang="">public fundraiser—for Planned Parenthood—on the ProChoice woman’s personal Facebook page. </span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#1d2228"><font><span lang=""><i>Planned Parenthood is the largest single provider of abortions in the United States.</i></span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#1d2228"><font><span lang="">[4] She had given the fundraiser the name, “BANS OFF MY BODY” [all caps hers], </span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">a catch phrase used by Planned Parenthood after several states enacted bans on abortion. Some donations had already been received. I was again validated on the soundness of my whistleblowing.</span></font></font></span></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font color="#000000"><font>The ProChoice woman quickly responded to our pastor’s letter and copied all parishioners. In her reply, she reiterated the ProChoice position and </font></font><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">affirmed to all of us that </span></font></font><font color="#000000"><font>she is ProChoice. I felt further strengthened in my position.</font></font></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font color="#000000"><font>The ProChoice woman m</font></font><font color="#000000"><font>entioned another item. She said she emailed the bishop and requested a meeting with him. </font></font><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">She said h</span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">e did not respond to her. He did not respond to me either, so one wonders: Was he not making laity a priority? Was he covering up for his pastor? Was he not wanting to be involved? Or was it some combination of these? A brief explanation directly from him would have allayed, or maybe eliminated, our dismay.</span></font></font></span></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>Many people misunderstood my motive for all of this. Some suggested I should feel settled because “I got what I wanted.” </font></font></span><font><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">A Melkite Tribunal priest, </span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">from whom I sought clarification of </span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">general </span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">Tribunal protocol,</span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang=""> and </span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">who said he heard of the scandal from our former pastor, </span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font><span lang="">even suggested that. </span></font></font></font></span></font><font><span>This myopic view commonly undermines whistleblowers, who are often treated as being self-centered. For me, my motive originated fr</span></font><span>om a higher place. At each step, I talked with the wise people supporting me, and I did my best to discern what Jesus would have wanted, as in WWJD. I then did my best to carry that out.</span></span></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">Ultimately, m</span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>y pastor and bishop did the right thing, but taking five months to do it was reprehensible. The ProChoice woman and her parents withdrew from the paris</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>h. I eventually did the same [due to backlash and mistrust]. Remaining par</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font>ishioners must now rebuild their trust with the pastor and bishop, and each other.</font></font></span></font></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face="arial" size="2">With no known commitment to a program for prolife education and ministry in the parish, or in the Melkite Catholic Eparchy, prochoice ideology can continue to fester, and even take root, among clergy and parishioners. We all must therefore remain vigilant, and prepare ourselves to be whistleblowers if necessary.</font></font></span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><br /></font></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJ-2OdugMT21PYDs0HBLIE-NdP6uZ28jjYMZNwz3CtaNxurkhFH6ePPlsmygv7SkQbRWi51HJWLyf1Eqm2UnSiriSkaMvntXu4c41PDLDKvBPsnos-WrTsv4ghr2eja-J88SEyDH6kjw/s1025/w1++res.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1025" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJ-2OdugMT21PYDs0HBLIE-NdP6uZ28jjYMZNwz3CtaNxurkhFH6ePPlsmygv7SkQbRWi51HJWLyf1Eqm2UnSiriSkaMvntXu4c41PDLDKvBPsnos-WrTsv4ghr2eja-J88SEyDH6kjw/s320/w1++res.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#333333"><span lang=""><i><b>"I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out</b></i></span></font></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><span lang=""><i><b> (Luke 19:40)!”</b></i></span></font></span></p><p align="center" class="western" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><br /></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang=""><i><b>Kathleen Laplante</b></i></span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><font color="#000000"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang=""><i> is an author, a mother of two, and a long time revert to the Catholic Faith. </i></span></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><font color="#1d2228"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang=""><i>She writes articles about Catholic Teachings. She speaks as a member of the Catholic Church, not as the Catholic Church Herself.</i></span></font></font></font></span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial, serif; text-align: center;"> <font size="5"> ~~~~~</font></b></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><u style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><b>REFERENCES</b></u></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font>[1] “</font><font>Whistleblower,” </font><font><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower</a>, </font><font>June 20</font><font>, 2020.</font></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font>[2</font><font>] </font><font>Elya, John Adel.</font><font>“WHAT IS THE TEACHING ON ABORTION? WHAT ABOUT POLITICIANS WHO SUPPORT PRO-ABORTION STANCES AND LAWS?” </font><font><a href="https://melkite.org/eparchy/bishop-john/what-is-the-teaching-on-abortion-what-about-politicians-who-support-pro-abortion-stances-and-laws">https://melkite.org/eparchy/bishop-john/what-is-the-teaching-on-abortion-what-about-politicians-who-support-pro-abortion-stances-and-laws</a>, </font><font>February 25, 2003.</font></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font>[</font><font>3] a) Canon Law Society of America. “</font><font color="#1d2228"><font><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches: New English</span></font></font></font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">Translation,” 2001, </font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">p. 272, </font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">Washington, DC. "</font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><b>CAN. 712</b></font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">†</font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><i>Those who are publicly unworthy are forbidden to receive the Divine </i></font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><i>Eucharist."</i></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">b)<i> </i></font><font style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">The Vatican. “</font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">Code of Canon </font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">Law“ (</font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">Western Churches, </font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">i.e., Roman Catholic),</font><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_p39.HTM">http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_p39.HTM</a>, July 20, 2020. "<b>CAN. 915</b></span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><b>†</b> <i>Those who have been </i></span><i style="color: #1d2228; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">excommunicated or interdicted </i><font face="arial" size="2" style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #1d2228;">after the imposition or</i> </font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><i>declaration of the </i></font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><i>penalty and others obsti</i></font><font color="#1d2228" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><i>nately persevering in manifest grave sin are not </i></font><i style="color: #1d2228; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">to be admitted to holy communion.”</i></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><font face="arial" size="2"><font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">[4] </span></font></font></span></font><font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">Rovner, Julie. </span></font></font></span></font><font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">“</span></font></font></span></font><font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">Planned Parenthood: A Thorn In Abortion Foes' Sides, </span></font></font></span></span></font></font><a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135354952/planned-parenthood-makes-abortion-foes-see-red" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135354952/planned-parenthood-makes-abortion-foes-see-red</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">, April 12, 2011.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><u><font face="arial" size="1">IMAGES</font></u></b></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font size="1"><font face="arial">Crucifixion Icon - </font><a href="https://www.facebook.com/olphmelkiteworcester/photos/dormition-of-theotokosolph-icon/10151294794829978/" style="text-align: left;"><font face="arial">https://www.facebook.com/olphmelkiteworcester/photos</font></a></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="1">Our Lady of Perpetual Help Icon - Unknown</font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial" size="1">Theophany Icon - <a href="http://tokandylaki.blogspot.com/2014_01_04_archive.html" style="text-align: left;">http://tokandylaki.blogspot.com/2014_01_04_archive.html</a></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font size="1"><font face="arial" style="text-align: left;">Descent Into Hades Icon - </font><a href="https://www.orthodoxroad.com/christs-descent-into-hell-icon-explanation/" style="text-align: left;"><font face="arial">https://www.orthodoxroad.com/christs-descent-into-hell-icon-explanation/</font></a></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br /></p></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-22927577411910603452020-09-03T01:06:00.008-04:002020-09-04T18:52:52.652-04:00Faith Into Action with Pregnant Women in Crisis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I keep coming back to the idea that we need to put more focus on helping the pregnant women in crisis to make it through their pregnancies, to either give birth to their babies or give birth and then give for adoption. So here is my suggestion for the day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><img border="0" data-original-height="1221" data-original-width="2500" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRy9Y-iYiJwLT1_e1JlrfhuevvBH_KuA4cFWD1JEb8eM_Pj86z0SVJ4xyx8bJVSQjQkNb6w7su-SehfCNsdklbTcPGbBWiez_aD4BmhoR9DCudefzDE2C3rjSi77xtUiXslv9pFbtJw4/w400-h195/Untitled+1+r2+2-page-001+Resized.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Do something big or small. Be a friend. Invite a single mom to lunch. Offer to babysit some time. Talk to others - Is there a woman in the area who needs help with the challenges of her crisis pregnancy? Help your local pregnancy crisis center, maternity home, or homeless shelter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">~Added 09/04/2020 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I encourage everyone to use hashtags when it makes sense.</div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>#BeHereTomorrow #LetThereBeLife</b></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>#WeLikeThemBoth #Pregnancy<br /></b></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>#StopAbortion #ProLife and #ProChoice</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>image - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/?modal=admin_todo_tour">https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/</a></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>.</div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-31602365232486835452020-07-22T18:16:00.014-04:002020-09-03T01:10:16.503-04:00Claiming My Grandmotherhood, ProLife Style<span face="">When my son and his wife recently announced they are with child, I claimed my first-time grandmotherhood. </span><span face="">So exciting! </span><br />
<span face=""><br /></span>
<span face="">"<b><i>But wait</i></b>--that won't happen until after the baby is born." </span><span face="">No</span><span face="">t so. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""><b>1)</b> Would</span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""> we </span><span face="">deny that Jesus's life on earth began at the Annunciation, </span></span><span face="" style="text-align: justify;">when </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face="" style="text-align: justify;">Angel Gabriel announced to Jesus's mother, Mary, that she was with child? </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i>No</i>. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicX-PuZIrZMs_hTt6g6XiedT1jE9lRJVD_KmDe92I2m_QfRYmB9U1OH4C7etY9me-ZNTKjxF0Iznb4lt1wmMkkI75W04iHo7Z4mun2ZpYGqdBW3oAWT-QyYwg_I1KSVpFvD-cZCD2kEpY/s900/w+annunciation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="569" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicX-PuZIrZMs_hTt6g6XiedT1jE9lRJVD_KmDe92I2m_QfRYmB9U1OH4C7etY9me-ZNTKjxF0Iznb4lt1wmMkkI75W04iHo7Z4mun2ZpYGqdBW3oAWT-QyYwg_I1KSVpFvD-cZCD2kEpY/s320/w+annunciation.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""><b>2) </b>Would we deny science's discovery and pictures of the </span><span face="">sperm </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face="">and </span><span face="">egg uniting to initiate a new human being? </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>No.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img alt="How Long After Sex Does Conception Occur? | HowStuffWorks" height="112" src="https://resize.hswstatic.com/w_907/gif/sperm-egg.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span face="">We therefore cannot deny that the life of every human being begins at the moment of conception. By His conception, that moment is consecrated for all of us. Science confirms it on the natural level.</span><br />
<b><span face="" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""><b><span style="color: #351c75;">I hereby hold to my claim: <i>I am a first-time grandmother!</i> </span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""><b><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face="" style="color: #351c75;"><b>+ St. Gerard, please pray for my pregnant daughter-in-law and our new baby! </b></span><b style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">+</b></div>
<br />
<b><span face="" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<b><span face="" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span face="" style="font-size: x-small;">Source - </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Let There Be Life</a></b><br />
<br />
<span face="" style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Images</b> </span><br />
<span face="" style="font-size: xx-small;">- </span><span face="" style="color: #0000ee; font-size: xx-small;"><u>https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/prague-czech-republic-fresco-annunciation-church-kostel-svat%C3%A9ho-cyrila-metodeje-petr-maixner-october-134890726.jpg</u></span><br />
<span face="" style="font-size: xx-small;">- <a href="https://resize.hswstatic.com/w_907/gif/sperm-egg.jpg">https://resize.hswstatic.com/w_907/gif/sperm-egg.jpg</a> </span><br />
<br /><div><font face="arial" size="1"><b>Edits</b></font></div><div><font face="arial" size="1">07/24/2020 - added "my pregnant daughter-in-law and" to St. Gerard prayers</font></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-86364809021809510382020-07-19T15:58:00.011-04:002020-09-22T00:57:08.365-04:00ProChoice & ProAbortion Efforts Thwart Suicide Prevention<div align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font>Suicide
prevention advocates fight really hard to save human beings in daily
life. Reason follows that </font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font><span lang="">they
would</span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font>
fight just as hard to save human beings in the womb, yet they do not
always do that.</font></font></span></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font>Some
are ProLife for suicide, but ProChoice or ProAbortion for crisis
pregnancy. They forbid killing human beings in one instance, and
allow – even encourage – killing them in the other. With this
dichotomy, a suicidal person should push back on a prevention
advocate with, “Why are you telling me</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font>
not to </font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font>kill
myself? Life can’t be precious if mothers are legally killing their
babies in the womb every day.”</font></font></span></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face="arial" size="2">Truth
becomes precarious, which is a lie. The lie fractures the integrity
of suicide prevention efforts. Trust between the suicidal and the
prevention advocates then erodes. See Figure 1.</font></font></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face="arial" size="2"><br /></font></font></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""></font></font></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMOUqQ0nqHtLWTg3tH7n7_04fas6uqAOs_5veoboYGU8vkT2nkIg6wkY7L2QiH8hQOIeV9RUAFpw52zwJ-yk3OHyesfZZ6LIoiiwz-_fAZlX6f110XdVgUGYwcs1rGWWaoR6wus_mXcI/s2048/Laplante+for+vp+07192020+++chart1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="2048" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMOUqQ0nqHtLWTg3tH7n7_04fas6uqAOs_5veoboYGU8vkT2nkIg6wkY7L2QiH8hQOIeV9RUAFpw52zwJ-yk3OHyesfZZ6LIoiiwz-_fAZlX6f110XdVgUGYwcs1rGWWaoR6wus_mXcI/w500-h286/Laplante+for+vp+07192020+++chart1.jpg" width="500" /></a></font></font></div><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></font></font></font><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<font face="arial" size="2"><font>Both
situations call us to raise up the dignity of human life, and we can
only do that with congruent messages to those in crisis. Truth will
then remain intact. Accord will be struck and it will strengthen the
integrity of suicide prevention efforts. </font><font color="#000000"><font><span lang="">Trust
between the</span></font></font><font>
suicidal persons and the prevention advocates will also flourish. See Figure
2.</font></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></font></font></font></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""></font></font></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNfYaOTT00Wv8-cl1U3HW_zlZKQX3Mksz1_KlhVTZlfELW-s0fQnTCmGI3WSJMHLfgRyRG5-wzNdK55ZPcStxDWKWrp0CWWIRGxZfE2DMNqm-1mhosPGwJ2jp1u3nJIoP0b1tIWrT-mk/s2048/Laplante+for+vp+07192020++chart2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNfYaOTT00Wv8-cl1U3HW_zlZKQX3Mksz1_KlhVTZlfELW-s0fQnTCmGI3WSJMHLfgRyRG5-wzNdK55ZPcStxDWKWrp0CWWIRGxZfE2DMNqm-1mhosPGwJ2jp1u3nJIoP0b1tIWrT-mk/w500-h269/Laplante+for+vp+07192020++chart2.jpg" width="500" /></a></font></font></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font size="1"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font><b>*
</b></font></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><font color="#222222"><font face="arial"><font><b>Those
left behind after someone’s abortion: Mother, father, siblings,
aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc., </b></font></font></font></span></font></div></blockquote></blockquote><div> <span style="font-size: x-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face="arial"><b>can experience grief, directly or
indirectly. </b></font></font></span><span style="font-size: x-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face="arial"><b>See
</b></font></font></span><a href="https://tasteandsee2.blogspot.com/2016/06/mourning-my-loved-ones-lost-to-abortion.html" style="font-size: x-small;" target="_blank"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#2b00fe" face=""><i><b>Mourning
My Loved Ones Lost to Abortion</b></i></font></span></a></div><div> </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div></blockquote></blockquote><div align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<font face="arial" size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font>Admittedly,
we must overcome many socioeconomic and political challenges to keep
human beings alive in both scenarios. However, we are fabulously
capable of shifting minds and monies to conquer them. So l</font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font><span lang="">et’s
commit to activity that eliminates the scarcity mindset of abortion, and
replaces it with the abundant hopefulness of ProLife, i.e., </span></font></font></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font><b>All
Lives Matter.</b></font></font></span></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
</span></p><br /><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font face="arial"><b>RELATED LINKS</b></font></font></font></span></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font size="2"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font><i>1) My Book, </i></font></font></font></span></font><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unraveling-Fathers-Suicide-Kathleen-Laplante/dp/0692409882" target="_blank">Unraveling
My Father's Suicide</a></i></font></font></span><font face="" style="text-align: left;"><i> </i></font></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="" style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"><i>2) My Facebook Page, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unraveling-Fathers-Suicide-Kathleen-Laplante/dp/0692409882" target="_blank">Unraveling My Father's Suicide</a> </i></font></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="" style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"><i>3) My Facebook Page, </i></font><i style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/?modal=admin_todo_tour" target="_blank">Let There Be Life</a>. </i></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"><br /></i></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="text-align: left;"><font size="2"><font face="arial">My email: </font><i> </i><a href="mailto:klaplante2@yahoo.com" style="font-style: italic;">klaplante2@yahoo.com</a></font></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></font></font></font></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 12pt;">Coming soon in a local newspaper near me. <a href="http://valleypatriot.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Valley Patriot</i></a>.</font></font></font></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><font color="#222222"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></font></font></font></span></p></div>
Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-89207861431610216512020-07-18T21:39:00.001-04:002020-07-18T21:39:16.824-04:00Abortion. Abomination.I admit it. I watch a soap opera. <i>Days of Our Lives</i>. One of the dramas is about a woman breaking up with her boyfriend, having a one night fling with another man, getting back together with her boyfriend, finding out she is pregnant, finding out the extraneous man is the father, and lying to everyone by announcing her boyfriend as the father, and living it out that way. (Sounds like a soap opera, doesn't it?) <div><br /></div><div>Most viewers would classify this situation as an abomination. How can we call it anything less than that when a real-life woman kills her baby in her womb? Like in the soap opera, her child misses out on knowing her biological father, her mother and siblings, her grandparents and aunts and uncles on both sides of the family. And they miss out on knowing her. And what about all the friends God planned for this child who has been annihilated? </div><div><br /></div><div>It is total deprivation. This deprivation manifests as holes and vacuums in the souls of all those who are interconnected. As the holes and vacuums propagate through family and friend networks, they get passed down through generations. This far-reaching spiritual deprivation opposes God's plan for love, life, and family. </div><div><br /></div><div>We need help. Calling all prayer warriors! Let's pray that His Divine Providence provides us the grace and strength to persevere through so much sin, as we journey to reach the Gates of Heaven.</div><div><div><div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for deprivation abortion" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT4V7zFTCNB31bzHEocQrELf8TksUBdjtuUD2bt2cp66E_Qppox" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><font face="arial" size="2">This is our future so many women are obliterating.</font></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div><div><b>Related Posts</b></div><div>1) <a href="https://tasteandsee2.blogspot.com/2016/06/mourning-my-loved-ones-lost-to-abortion.html"><i>Mourning My Loved Ones Lost to Abortion</i></a></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">image - unknown</span></div></div></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-67365592350146118242020-05-27T12:58:00.001-04:002020-06-30T00:58:27.365-04:00Let There Be Life!<span style="font-size: large;">As I perused my photos for pictures of my second son who is turning 30 this year, I found this one. It is a powerful ProLife message. Here it is from my Facebook Page, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/"><b>Let There Be Life</b></a>:</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/lettherebelife1/"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Let There Be Life</span></b></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Published by Kathleen Laplante</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My second child was in there! No doubt in my mind - he was a <i>baby</i> then. 1990. He's turning 30 this year!</span><br /><br />
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8j27hp3t1rnoHl1g4K3N15w2t1rl0DojzOrRyajqL6B2okWKoX6DPBY7YzAfk0LuHrCB7ueFUl_qx4khGDkqT7XE_Xuo_pO9I7AJlhpenLfqFzeebj8Lz55GTYYkwVO7eko4v-NMotI/s3326/mb+me+pregnant+with+alden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2248" data-original-width="3326" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8j27hp3t1rnoHl1g4K3N15w2t1rl0DojzOrRyajqL6B2okWKoX6DPBY7YzAfk0LuHrCB7ueFUl_qx4khGDkqT7XE_Xuo_pO9I7AJlhpenLfqFzeebj8Lz55GTYYkwVO7eko4v-NMotI/w500-h338/mb+me+pregnant+with+alden.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-27523920085055656452020-02-07T12:10:00.001-05:002020-02-10T18:46:29.018-05:00Sex Education in Schools<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><a href="https://thebridgehead.ca/2019/01/08/dr-jordan-peterson-says-the-government-should-get-out-of-sex-education-altogether/"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Dr. Jordan Peterson says the government should get out of sex education altogether.</span></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;">I agree.</span></span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">image - https://thebridgehead.ca/2019/01/08/dr-jordan-peterson-says-the-government-should-get-out-of-sex-education-altogether/</span>Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251242968153545322.post-53720822726392197672019-12-19T22:05:00.000-05:002019-12-21T11:57:47.211-05:00The Reality of Abortion & Artificial Contraception<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I reprint this poem every Christmas. It's worth some solemn meditation.</span></span></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lament of St. Nicholas</span> by Paul Murano</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>‘</b><b>T</b>was the week before Christmas and throughout heaven above</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the angels and saints were proclaiming God's love</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">“<i><b>Nicholas</b></i><i>”</i><i>, </i>called Jesus,<b> </b><i>“</i><i><b>Faithful servant on earth</b></i></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>i</i><i>t's time for children to celebrate my birth</i></span></span></b></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Go on and inspire the parents of these</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>to all of their hearts I now give you the keys</b></i><i>”</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Yes Lord!</b> cried Nicholas with the greatest of joys</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love helping out with their clothes and their toys</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But most of all Lord what I work for these days</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is leading their minds back to you and your ways</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So he started his mission, this jolly ol’ soul,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to the homes of God's children, the young and the old</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The trees were in place and the candy canes hung</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but he stared at the fireplace as carols were sung</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Something's wrong!</b> said the saint, as it paused his delight</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Less than half of the stockings are hanging this night!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I see cars, DVR's, home computers, and more</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but I hear not the laughter that I heard once before!</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So he checked his list twice but it just didn't jive</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">there were many more children that were meant to be alive</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Dear Lord,</b> cried St. Nicholas with a voice of surprise</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Many children are missing!</b> as the tears filled his eyes</span></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh Nicholas my servant, I thought that you knew</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>in many heart</b></i><i><b>$$ </b></i><i><i><b>green</b></i></i><i> </i><i><b>has replaced <span style="color: magenta;">pink</span> </b></i><i></i><i><b>and</b></i><i> </i><span style="color: blue;"><i><i><b>blue</b></i></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>And Nicholas,</b></i> said Jesus with a sad solemn voice</span></span>
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<i><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in the past 40 years this is what they've called "choice"</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then He took the saint's list and divided it thrice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">and revealed the true meaning of naughty and nice<b>:</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>This </b></i><span class="fbUnderline"><b><i><b>first</b></i></b></span><i><b> group has children I could never create</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>my</b></i><i><b> people used barriers and drugs with their mate</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>The </b></i><span class="fbUnderline"><b><i><b>second</b></i></b></span><i><b> are the children that had never been born</b></i></span></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">from the wombs of their mothers they were taken and torn</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>And the </b></i><span class="fbUnderline"><b><i><b>third</b></i></b></span><i><b> group are now all the children on earth</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>they're the ones that </b></i><i><i><b>did</b></i></i><i><b> make it through conception and birth</b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Oh Jesus I'm sorry!</b> ol' St. Nicholas cried</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This shouldn't be happening - they forgot why You died!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Help me to show them how to be brave</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">like the poor Virgin Mary giving birth in a cave!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>I Am the hope many don't know,</b></i> Jesus said</span></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">so go forth dear St. Nicholas – my light you must spread</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">'Twas the week before Christmas and St. Nicholas did pray<b>:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Merry Christmas to all ... and to all a </b><b><i>new</i></b><b> </b><b>day!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Photo and color scheme added by me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">image - <span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://dontbuytheabortionlie.blogspot.com/2011/02/contraception-is-not-solution.html"><span style="color: #4680c3;">http://dontbuytheabortionlie.blogspot.com/2011/02/contraception-is-not-solution.html</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">source - http://bit.ly/2tzefUV </span><br />
<br />Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11614831661509531420noreply@blogger.com0