The Newfound Link Between Probiotics and Your Weight

"Probiotic supplements during the first trimester of pregnancy can help women lose weight after their child’s birth, according to new findings.

Major Confusion on How to Do Breast Checks

"Is there a right way to check your breasts for early signs of cancer? Many women remain confused as experts now say there is no evidence that rigorous monthly "self-examination" -- widely recommended in the United States -- reduces breast cancer deaths. Plus, it can lead to unnecessary biopsies."

Is Insulin Condemning You to a Premature Death?

"In the U.S., over 70 million people -- one in four -- have diabetes, and the conventional medical treatments currently being provided are killing people. However, there are natural, effective treatments that can control, and in the case of type 2 diabetes, even reverse the disease."

More from Origen: catechesis on martyrdom

"Then in the beginning when you were going to be instructed, it would have been rightly said to you, 'And if you be unwilling to worship the Lord, choose, this day whom you will worship, whether the gods your fathers worshiped in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites among whom you dwell on the land.' And the catechist might have said to you, 'But as for me and my house, we will worship the Lord because he is holy' (Josh. 24:15). He does not have any reason to say this to you now; for then you said ' And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt ... and preserved us in all the way wherein we went' (Josh. 24:16-17). Moreover, in the agreement about religion long ago you gave your catechist this answer, 'We also will worship the Lord, for He is our God' (Josh. 24:18). If, therefore, the one who breaks agreements with men is outside any truce and alien to safety, what must be said of those who by denying make null and void the agreements they made with God, and who run back to Stan, whom they renounced when they were baptized? Such a person must be told the words spoken by Eli to his sons, 'If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him?' (I Sam. 2:25)"

Origen, An Exhortation to Martyrdom

A distinction between "bowing down" and "worshipping"

"Suppose, however, that the One who says, 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness, and the rest' (Ex. 20:4) implies that there is a difference between 'You shall not bow down to them' and 'You shall not worship them.' Then perhaps the person who really believes in idols worships them; but the one who does not believe but pretends to worship them through cowardice, which he calls an accommodating temper, so that he may seem to be religious like most other people does not worship idols but only bows down to them." (Origen, An Exhortation to Martyrdom)

Compare these thoughts with II Kings 5. In the narrative of Naaman the Syrian, when he was cleansed of leprosy, Naaman confesses to Elisha: "Thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing."

In other words, Naaman knows that he will bow down in the house of the false god; he will not worship there.

Active and retired top military brass met to discuss what really happened on 9/11

From the Wayne Madsen Report:

"WMR has learned from a well-informed source that in the months after the 9/11 attacks, a group of retired and active duty military officers, with ranks as high as general, met in an informal and hush-hush working group to discuss what actually occurred on September 11, 2001.

WMR has been told that those who met did not believe, in whole or in part, the official line that 19 Arabs nationals armed with box cutters hijacked four U.S. passenger planes and flew three of them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon."

What failure is not

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down."

Mary Pickford
1893-1979, Actress and Producer

What you're really made of

"I guess that one of the most important things I've learned is that nothing is ever completely bad. Even cancer. It has made me a better person. It has given me courage and a sense of purpose I never had before. But you don't have to do like I did...wait until you lose a leg or get some awful disease, before you take the time to find out what kind of stuff you're really made of. You can start now. Anybody can."

Terry Fox
1958-1981, Canadian man (with an artificial right leg) who ran across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

Thomas Sowell: on street beggars

"When I think of the people with serious physical or mental handicaps who nevertheless work, I find it hard to sympathize with able-bodied men who stand on the streets and beg. Nor can I sympathize with those who give them money that subsidizes a parasitic lifestyle which allows such men to be a constant nuisance, or even a danger, to others."

Thomas Sowell: on Barack Obama

"One of the most important talents for success in politics is the ability to make utter nonsense sound not only plausible but inspiring. Barack Obama has that talent. We will be lucky if we escape the catastrophes into which other countries have been led by leaders with that same charismatic talent."

Making Headway Against Autoimmune Diseases with Low Dose Naltrexone

Imagination

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

Albert Einstein
1879-1955, Physicist

Nothing you can't do

"There is nothing you can't do, if you set your mind to it. Anything is possible."

Rick Hansen
Wheelchair Athlete, Speaker and Author

The glory of human nature

"Do you see then to what height of glory human nature has been raised? Is it not from earth to heaven? Is it not from corruption to incorruption? How hard would not someone toil in order to become the intimate friend of a corruptible king here below? But we, although we were alienated and hostile in our intent by evil deeds, have not only been reconciled to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, but we have also soared aloft to sonship, and now our nature is worshipped in the heavens by every creature seen and unseen."

St Ephrem - Catechesis 7

The coming of the Holy Spirit

"In His ineffable wisdom the Son of God deigned to communicate step by step to His Disciples an understanding of the truths of His saving faith; for their human hearts could not grasp it all at once. And in the discourses He had already spoken to them He had, as I showed you in my last sermon, made known to them many things concerning the Oneness of His own divinity with that of the Father; making clear that there was no separation between Them; so that even the words He spoke to them were not, He declared, His but the Father’s: And the word which you have heard, is not mine; but the Father’s who sent me (John 14.14). In this sentence He makes it abundantly clear that all who reject the teaching of His Only-Begotten Son reject the teaching of the Father also; since the Son says that the words He spoke are not His but the Father’s; and from this it follows that if they are the words of the Father, they are also the words of the Son; for He declares: All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine (John 16.15)."

On the Promised Coming of the Paraclete
St. Gaudentius, Bishop of Brescia

When the disciples remembered

"When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

John 2.22

The new and improved library

From Bill Myers:

"Until recently, my wife and I typically spent $300 a month on
books and magazines and DVD rentals.

Once a week, we'd take a trip to the local Barnes & Noble or
Books-a-Million bookstore, and load up on the latest novels and
magazines.

Rarely did we get out of these bookstores without spending a
hundred dollars or more - each and every week.

But a few months back, we found something better and far less
expensive than Barnes & Noble, or Books a Million or even Amazon.

We found our local library.

Don't laugh. Libraries have come a long way from what you may
remember from your school days.

For example, our local library has a website where we can search
their catalogs, then reserve, renew and even request books,
magazines and DVDs.

This means we can sit at home, find the best sellers or DVDs we
want at Amazon, and then reserve them at our local library.

As soon as these items become available, the library sends us an
email, and they hold the item until we pick it up - all for free.

So instead of going to the local bookstores or Amazon, these days
we just head to the library and pick up the books or DVDs or
magazines we want - without spending a penny.

It may not sound like a big deal - but going to the library is
likely to save us close to $4,000 this year - money that can be
used for other things - like adding to my boat fund.

If you have a local library, you might want to check it out. You
may be surprised with what you find.

One final point - our local library (like most) has free wifi.

This means whenever your internet connection is down, or you just
want a quiet place with internet, you can head to your local
library."

How Light Helps Fight Psoriasis

"Ultraviolet light is a proven treatment for psoriasis, and sunshine itself can also beat back the chronic autoimmune disorder of the skin."

New Research Shows Vitamin D Can Dramatically Increase Athletic Performance

"According to a new review of research, evidence suggests that adequate treatment of vitamin D deficient athletes could dramatically improve their performance. Activated vitamin D is a steroid hormone which regulates more than 1,000 human genes. Recent research indicates that intracellular vitamin D levels in numerous human tissues, including nerve and muscle tissue, are increased when inputs of its substrate, the prehormone vitamin D, are increased."

Vitamin D May Make Seniors Smarter

"Getting more of the "Sunshine vitamin" may make you brighter later in life, according to a study that bolsters evidence vitamin D may help older people stay mentally fit."

Heaven is opened

"And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

John 1.51

What is a "gentile"?

From I Thessalonians 4.5: "the Gentiles which know not God."

The New Testament makes a three fold distinction among humanity: Jews, Gentiles, and the Church. (cf. I Corinthians 10.32, " Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.")

A "gentile" in the NT is someone who does not know God. (Jews who rejected their Messiah do not know God -- cf. I John 2.23: " Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father" -- but their rejection is a sad and special case: they were entrusted with the "oracles of God" -- Romans 3.2 -- and their not knowing God is a willful rejection).

The end of Ascension Day

"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen."

Luke 24.44-53

'The Occult and the Third Reich: The Mystical Origins of Nazism and the Search for the Holy Grail': an Amazon review

"Your run-of-the-mill historian doesn't quite make it work for most students when it comes to Adolf Hitler and the whole Nazi movement.

Hitler is either portrayed as an idiot, a fool, or a lunatic. And while there may have been parts of all these in his personality, none of these explain the attraction and drive that Nazism brought to a civilized, cultured country such as Germany, and which persuaded large numbers of Germans to cooperate in unspeakable acts of horror.

These authors ("Jean-Michel Angebert" is a pastiche of the 2 authors' names) instead try to determine what lay under the Nazi movement and specifically beneath Hitler's personality, and they find it in occult and gnostic thought. In the end, the authors fail to clinch their case because -- at least when the book was published in 1975 -- the evidence is not there for tying up the loose ends. But the book makes a good and persuasive case for believing that Hitler and the Nazi movement had an underlying motif that explains their evil in ways not easily understood if we look at Nazism as a conventional political movement."

A blessed Ascension Day to you all!

The Reasons for the Angels' Appearance at the Ascension

"The angels appeared to the disciples for two reasons, namely, to console them in their sorrow at his ascension by reminding them of his return, and to show that he had truly gone to heaven, not merely apparently so, as in the case of Elijah."

Bede, Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

Keeping Watch

"'It is not for you to know times or seasons.' He has hidden that from us so that we might keep watch, and that each of us might think that this coming would take place during our life. for, if the time of his coming were to be revealed, his coming would be in vain, and it would not have been desired by the nations and the ages in which it was to take place. He has indeed said that he will come, but he did not define when, and thus all generations and ages thirst for Him."

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Tatian's Diatessaron

Amazon review: 'JFK and Vietnam,' by John Newman

"Most of us have a vague idea that the Vietnam war grew gradually until 1965, when the main force of US action began.

Vietnam is an important series of events in American history. An entire generation of Americans were deeply shaped by what happened during that war, the political side effects of the war shaped the resurgence of the Republican party in the 1970s and 1980s, and there are some who wonder if the deaths of President Kennedy and other such events were not related to the war.

Newman's book details 2 strains in the Kennedy administration. One was President Kennedy's, who was seeking to draw down the number and strength of US advisers serving in Vietnam. The other strain had leadership from Vice President Johnson, and sought to escalate US military intervention. This book provides careful, well thought out analysis of both the pro and anti interventionist groups, and details the strengths and weaknesses both sides brought to the table, as well as the personalities in each group.

Newman is methodical and does not draw out conclusions that he cannot sustain by factual information. This book provides much needed information and details about a segment of American history that has shaped current events, but about which most of us don't know enough. It is a good, well done, and superbly interesting book."

That's silly

The word "silly" originally meant (Old English -- approximately the 5th-12th centuries) "blessed," or "happy."

The word's considerable sense development moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (c.1280), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1576).

Word meanings change, and that's why those old manuscripts can be confusing.

The Authorized Version ("King James Version") of the Bible is often a good marker for word meanings. In Job 5.2 ("For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one") we have the still current meaning of silly in use. (The word "gay" hasn't fared as well from 1611 -- see James 2.3, "him that weareth the gay clothing.")

Reaching your goals

"If you make the unconditional commitment to reach your most important goals, if the strength of your decision is sufficient, you will find the way and the power to achieve your goals."

Robert Conklin

Habits of success

"The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might of the force of habit and must understand that practices are what create habits. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires."

J. Paul Getty
1892-1976, American Oil Tycoon

Blessings of love and kindness

"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver."

Barbara De Angelis

Israeli founds world's first tuition-free online university

"An Israeli entrepreneur who has started what is believed to be the world's first tuition-free online university said Saturday he hopes the effort will expand education to less fortunate people around the world.

Shai Reshef said University of the People has about 150 students from 35 countries who have enrolled since the school began last week. He hopes to expand the program to include 15,000 students in four years."

The triumph of English

I've commented before on this video:



which features

a Finn (Markus Poyhonen)

and Estonian Sanna Hento

dancing in Helsinki

to a song with a French title

sung by 2 Americans

of west African ancestry.

But the song I posted earlier today shows how English triumphs. It's a song

sung by a Norwegian

who was born in Belarus (when it was part of the Soviet Union)

performing in Moscow

in a European contest

singing a song with Russian folk influences

and sung completely in English.

Those who speak English from childhood have no idea how lucky we are. We speak the Latin of the 21st century, the one language that serves as everyone's second language. (That is, when it's not their first language: that's the case for some 375 million people).

Eurovision winner from Moscow

OK, there's more than a bit of bubblegum here, but this is more complex than it initially sounds. From yesterday's Eurovision contest in Moscow, Norway's Alexander Rybak.

Make it difficult to throw away your business card

"If you want to increase the odds that someone keeps your business card when you give it to them, add something valuable to the back of the card that makes it worth keeping.

For example, you could have a industry specific reference guide printed on the back. Or a calendar. Or a football team's schedule. Or a list of important phone numbers. Or first aid information.

The goal is to have something your target market finds useful enough to carry around in their wallet - with your business card printed on the front."

Don’t Believe the Hype -- Fructose Truly is Much Worse Than Glucose

"New research shows that there are big differences in how the sugars fructose and glucose are metabolized by your body. Overweight study participants showed more evidence of insulin resistance and other risk factors for heart disease and diabetes when 25 percent of their calories came from fructose-sweetened beverages instead of glucose-sweetened beverages."

The first emoticon

The very first recorded emoticon: from 1611 A.D.

In Colossians 2.22: (KJV only, please) "Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?"

:)

Good night, everyone!

Spinach Knocks Out Cancer and Boosts Brain Power

"Popeye was the poster boy for spinach, at least in the cartoons. He could swallow down a can and be able to knock out Bluto who was twice his size. Popeye was probably pretty healthy too, avoiding the pitfalls of aging and disease that come from a diet lacking in flavonoids and other nutrients found in spinach. Recent research has highlighted how well these nutrients work to safeguard health."

Vitamin D Deficiency Increasingly Linked to Serious Illnesses

"A letter published in the April 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine states that almost half of critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are deficient in vitamin D, a common thread increasingly being linked to all sorts of adverse health conditions. Dr. Paul Lee, an endocrinologist and research fellow at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia and author of the recent study, admits a direct correlation between vitamin D deficiency and serious illness; this is a hypothesis long acknowledged by many in the natural health community who understand the critical role vitamin D plays in maintaining health and preventing disease."

More Americans “Pro-Life” Than “Pro-Choice” for First Time

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll, conducted May 7-10, finds 51% of Americans calling themselves "pro-life" on the issue of abortion and 42% "pro-choice." This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question in 1995.

Benefit Of Grapes May Be More Than Skin Deep: Lower Blood Pressure, Reduced Heart Damage

"A University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests grapes may prevent heart health risks beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. The benefits may be the result of the phytochemicals – naturally occurring antioxidants – turning on a protective process in the genes that reduces damage to the heart muscle."

Vitamin D Levels in Kids are So Low that Rickets is Back with a Vengeance

"(NaturalNews) Kids get so little Vitamin D these days, that Rickets- a disease that was thought to be virtually eradicated over 50 years ago in developed countries- is back again. With it's characteristic bowed legs from improper bone hardening, rickets is caused by a simple nutritional deficiency, yet children right here in the US are getting this easily preventable disease in numbers never thought possible."

What's in us, we find in others

"The kinder and more thoughtful a person is, the more kindness they can find in other people."

Leo Tolstoy
1828-1910, Novelist and Philosopher

Asthmatics: Have You Tried this Yet?

New research provides evidence for a link between vitamin D insufficiency and asthma severity. Serum vitamin D levels in more than 600 children were inversely linked to several indicators of allergy and asthma severity.

Want to Lose Weight? Try Vegetable Juice

"Drinking at least one glass of low-sodium vegetable juice daily may help overweight dieters lose more weight."

How Grapes Protect Your Heart

"A diet enriched by grapes may prevent the downhill sequence of heart failure after years of high blood pressure. A study suggests that grapes may prevent heart health risks beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering benefits that come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables."

True friendship

"False friendship, like the ivy, decays and ruins the walls it embraces; but true friendship gives new life and animation to the object it supports."

Sir Richard Burton
1821-1890, Explorer

Defending the indefensible

Free speech sometimes means defending the indefensible.

Free speech is sometimes ugly, sometimes painful, but always necessary. Especially in times like these, free speech is the guarantee that truth can be told. It's not always going to be told, but at least there's the chance.

Giving the mind wings

"All the virtues assist the mind in the pursuit of divine love, but above all does pure prayer. By it the mind is given wings to go ahead to God."

St. Maximus the Confessor

(From First Century: 86, 11, 79 in Four Hundred Chapters on Love)

It's Not That We Have a Short Time to Live, But That We Waste a Lot of It

"'On The Shortness of Life' is one of Lucius Seneca’s most famous letters. It’s valuable to read it whenever you feel the urge to succumb to social pressure and treat time as less valuable than income. Time is non-renewable, and 'On The Shortness of Life' helps put this in a practical context, as relevant now as it was nearly 2,000 years ago."

Do not despise the little ones

"Seest thou by how many things He is urging to the care of our mean brethren. Say not then, "Such a one is a blacksmith, a shoemaker, he is a ploughman, he is a fool," and so despise him. For in order that thou shouldest not feel this, see by how many motives He persuades thee to practise moderation, and presses thee into a care for these. He set a little child, and saith, "Be ye as little children." And, "Whosoever receiveth such a little child receiveth me;" and, "Whosoever shall offend," shall suffer the utmost penalties. And He was not even satisfied with the comparison of the "millstone," but added also His "woe," and commanded us to cut off such, though they be in the place of hands and eyes to us. And by the angels again that are entrusted with these same mean brethren, He makes them objects of veneration, and from His own will and passion (for when He said, "The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost," He signifies even the cross, like as Paul saith, speaking of a brother, "For whom Christ died"); and from the Father, for that neither to Him doth it seem good that one should perish; and from common custom, because the shepherd leaves them that are safe, and seeks what is lost; and when he hath found what was gone astray, he is greatly delighted at the finding and the saving of this."

St John Chrysostom, on Matthew 18

In the present

"I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness."

Abraham Maslow
1908-1970, Psychologist

Criminalizing Criticism Of Israel

"On October 16, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the Israel Lobby's bill, the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act. This legislation requires the US Department of State to monitor anti-semitism world wide.

To monitor anti-semitism, it has to be defined. What is the definition? Basically, as defined by the Israel Lobby and Abe Foxman, it boils down to any criticism of Israel or Jews.

Rahm Israel Emanuel hasn't been mopping floors at the White House. As soon as he gets the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 passed, it will become a crime for any American to tell the truth about Israel's treatment of Palestinians and theft of their lands.

It will be a crime for Christians to acknowledge the New Testament's account of Jews demanding the crucifixion of Jesus."

Blueberries Reduce Belly Fat and Diabetes Risk

"Eating blueberries could help you get rid of belly fat, and a blueberry-enriched diet could stem the conditions that lead to diabetes.

New research gives tantalizing clues to the potential of blueberries in reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of naturally occurring antioxidants called phytochemicals contained in blueberries."

Omega 3's Protects Against Parkinson's

"New research findings show that omega-3 fats in your diet may protect your brain cells. It works by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's."

New Hope for Natural Weight Loss

"Curcumin is the pigment that gives turmeric -- a spice most often associated with Indian food, curry and yellow mustard -- its yellow-orange color.

Revered in India as "holy powder," turmeric has been used for centuries to treat wounds, infections and other health problems, and in recent years there has been increasing research into turmeric's main ingredient curcumin and its astonishing array of antioxidant, anti-cancer, antibiotic, antiviral and other properties.

Now we can add weight loss to the long list of turmeric’s benefits. The study found that curcumin reduced the formation of fat tissue by suppressing the blood vessels needed to form it. As the researchers stated:

'Our results clearly demonstrate that curcumin at cellular and whole organism levels displays remarkable potential health benefits for prevention of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.'"

Asking from Jesus

"And ye now therefore have sorrow-[but I will see you again, and your sorrow shall be turned into joy]." Then, to show that He shall die no more, He saith, "And no man taketh it from you. And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing."

Again He proveth nothing else by these words, but that He is from God. "For then ye shall for the time to come know all things." But what is, "Ye shall not ask Me"? "Ye shall need no intercessor, but it is sufficient that ye call on My Name, and so gain all things."

St John Chrysostom on John 16:23-33

Imagination

Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.

Albert Einstein

All men have angels

"Then in another way also He makes them objects of reverence, saying, 'That their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven.'

Hence it is evident, that the saints have angels, or even all men. For the apostle too saith of the woman, 'That she ought to have power on her head because of the angels.' And Moses, 'He set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.'"

St John Chrysostom, on Matthew 18

Achieving excellence

"If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work."

Thomas J. Watson
1874-1956, Founder of IBM

Where action begins

"Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination."

Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Author and Publicist

Sheep and the Shepherd

"He goes on to add the following words concerning the sheep: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life.' A little earlier he said also: If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.' That is to say, he will go in to faith, and go out from faith to vision, from belief to contemplation, and he will find pasture at the everlasting feast.

So the sheep find the Lord's pastures; for anyone who follows him with an undivided heart is nourished in a pasture which is forever green. What are the pastures of these sheep if they are not the deepest joys of the everlasting fresh pastures of paradise? For the pasture of the saints is to see God face to face; when the vision of God never fails, the soul receives its fill of the food of life for ever."

Pope St. Gregory the Great, on John 10

What prayer is

"Prayer is not made perfect by uttering syllables, O Brethren, but in the purpose of the soul, and in the just actions of a lifetime. Nor are we to believe that God has need of being reminded through our words. We are not to think that we complete our prayer by murmuring a number of syllables, but rather, O Brethren, by the purpose of our soul, and in deeds of virtue extending into every action and moment of our life. Neither are we to think that God needs the reminder of our spoken words; rather are we to believe that He knows our need whether we ask of Him or not. The ear of God has no need of our cry, since He can see even from the movements of our soul what it is that we seek for."

St. Basil the Great, On Prayer

It Always Is 1918 at the CDC

"Wherever one turns, whether it is on the broadcast news or the Internet, we are bombarded with Swine Flu stories. Government tells us not to "panic," while it simultaneously engages in activities meant to spread widespread fear.

Indeed, as Robert Higgs has written, the very basis of government rests upon cultivating human fear."

Rice: When the president approves it, it is not illegal

"When Stanford University students recently asked former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about waterboarding and torture, her response was uncannily close to Richard Nixon’s infamous claim, “When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.”

Can Working Indoors Give You Skin Cancer?

"This is why an epidemic of melanoma has broken out among indoor workers. In fact, indoor workers get three to nine times LESS solar UV exposure than outdoor workers get, yet only indoor workers have increasing rates of melanoma -- and the rates have been increasing since before 1940."

Have You Written Your '101 Goals' List Yet?

"If you want to know what a goal is, it can be defined in just 5 words: “A dream with a deadline.” Goal setting is the single most important life skill that over 97 percent of people never learn how to do properly.

In Brian Tracy’s book Goals -- How to Get Everything You Want Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, he claims that “Less than 3 percent of adults have clear written goals with plans on how to achieve them.” The key word is written. Those who earn most of the money, who are the best athletes and who are the top producers in any type of business have written goals."

The Shepherd still defends His sheep

"The good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep has not left us even now. He is present and tends and guides and knows his own, and is known by his own. And, though bodily invisible, [he] is spiritually recognized, and defends his flock against the wolves, and allows no one to climb over into the fold as a robber and traitor."

St. Gregory of Nazianzus

On the Death of His Father, Oration 18.4