In my last post I told you about my Halloween tradition of watching three horror movies back-to-back; or “Hallowthreen” as I am now calling it.  Afterwards it occurred to me that one of the biggest complaints about a movie marathon is “it’ll take ages!”. Yes, movies are long. At an average length of 90 minutes, human beings can only just about handle three of them in a row before feeling like they never want to see another one ever again. Many of you may sight this as a reason for preferring television, considering that the common length of a tv-episode is a snappy 21 minutes. Ok, so maybe this Halloween you like the idea of watching a few different horror stories but don’t want to spend half a day on it. I get that, I really do, and luckily I have the solution for you:

Anthology films are films within films, or what some might call “filmception”.

What you’re basically getting here is a few short stories told within the framework of a larger story. It’s perfect for Halloween, because it allows the viewer to dive into several different genres and character pieces. The format has been explored quite a bit in the past, so let’s open the dusty pages and have a look at the yield.

There are a few weird things about this film which hint at the respect it has not been given by its producers. First off, the font they used for the title can be easily found on Microsoft Word; fail! Secondly, James Marsden and Amy Smart are featured heavily on the poster but…they’re hardly in the movie! Clearly the marketing company cared more about bringing in the cash than accurately portraying the narrative. So, what narrative is that  exactly?

“Four teenagers crash their car in the woods on their way back from a concert. Realising that they have to spend the night outside, they decide to light a campfire and begin to share spooky stories. “

- Cinema-Rant

The stories they tell are the most classic of the classic, starting with one about the escaped mental patient with a hook for a hand. Almost everyone’s heard it, but if you haven’t then I won’t ruin it for you. From there they reel off the stories of a couple on their honeymoon night being stalked by menacing creatures outside their camper van, a little girl alone one night who finds herself accidentally chatting online to a crazed serial killer, and a lone motorcyclist staying the night in a house owned by a mysterious and beautiful mute woman with a murderously overprotective father. Are the stories tied together in any way? Do they have any outlying significance? How can or do they affect the main characters? You’ll have to find out when you watch it.

For less of an american teenage feel and more of a British literature approach, we turn to Tales From the Crypt from 1972. The concept is…

“Five people get lost in a crypt and meet up with a strange crypt keeper who tells them the stories of how they will die if they do not change their immoral behaviour.”

- IMDB

Sounds heavy, right? It is, but it’s also very inventive. With twisted stories that could have been written by Edgar Allen Poe himself, it brings you into a world of intrigue, corruption, murder, and of course…the supernatural.

This one is great because it combines this post with my earlier one about Stephen King’s Misery. Stephen King is, as I’ve already told you, a legend in the world of horror stories. Who better, then, to lend their skills to a horror anthology movie?

“Three stories of suspense and horror are linked by a single stray cat moving in and out of each one.”

- Cinema-Rant

First of all I’ll put an end to some of the suspense by answering the most important question here: Yes, that is Drew Barrymore on the cover. Not only that, but the film also features James Woods and Robert Hays – so the cast list is solid. What I really love about it, though, is the uniqueness of the stories. These are obviously tales that only King himself could come up with. Firstly; we’re introduced to a man who tries to quit smoking by unknowingly joining a cult. Then; a man is offered to have his debt removed by a crime boss if he agrees to shimmy himself around the outside of a skyscraper for the bosses amusement. Finally; A child is unknowingly watched by a little devilish creature living in the walls of her room. You have to watch it to see how the premises play out into their inevitable conclusions, but it’s definitely satisfying.

Ok so…keep the Stephen King and now throw in a little George A. Romero, and you have the Creepshow movies. The godfather of zombies meeting the supreme ruler of shock can only mean good things.

The deal here is that the short stories do not take place within a greater one, but instead unfold like the pages of a comic book, with cartoon segments between them. Altogether there are seven stories featured with actors like Ed Harris, Leslie Nielsen, and Ted Danson portraying the characters as well as fun cameos from Tom Savini and Stephen King himself.

Creepshow – Trailer

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Alright, the last three films on this list are my favourite, in descending order with my absolute favourite being the last:

Now this is where these movies start to get really dark and bizarre, which is what I love about them. The plot, or rather plots, of Tales from the Darkside are a little twisted:

“A suburban woman, who reveals herself to secretly be a witch, has captured and imprisoned a young boy in her basement – she plans to cook him in a stew and eat him. In order to postpone his own death, the child reads her a series of frightening and outlandish tales from a nearby book.”

- Cinema-Rant

Yeah, you read every word of that correctly. A child is about to be diced and put into a pot…at the beginning of the movie! Believe it or not, it only gets madder from there. First we are read the story of a young student who unleashes the key to reanimating an ancient mummy and controlling it at will. That’s not freaky enough? How about a hit man who is summoned to a mansion by a wheelchair-bound geriatric who tells him that he wants him to assassinate his cat; a cat who, he says, is a cold hearted killing machine. Oh yeah, it gets stranger; with the fable of an artist who encounters a vicious gargoyle monster in the back alley behind a bar. The gargoyle lets him live in exchange for a promise: that he will never tell another living soul of what he saw.

There are a few things I need to acknowledge at this point. For one, Stephen King and George A. Romero seem to love the anthology format quite a bit, since they have their masterful hands knuckle-deep in this film as well. Also, what is up with the repetitious use of the word “tales”? We had Campfire Tales, followed by Tales from the Crypt, and now Tales from the Darkside. I didn’t even mention Roahl Dahls classic television show Tales of the Unexpected, but it used it too.  They should just make one giant movie called “Campfire Tales of the Unexpected from the Darkside of the Crypt” and call the whole thing off. Hey, I’d watch it!

So if Tales From the Darkside hasn’t interested you yet, I’ll make two last ditch effort to try and draw you in. I shall reveal the cast:

Still not impressed? How about the trailer?

Tales From The Darkside – Trailer

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Alright, so what could possibly be better than the previous combination of elements; Stephen King, George A. Romero, Arthur Conan Doyle, and that impeccable cast? Well, how about a combination of the 70′s and 80′s four most high-profile directors?

There’s no way you haven’t heard of The Twilight Zone, everyone has. It’s one of the most famous television shows ever, all about weird little stories of the paranormal, supernatural, and downright inexplicable.

The Tv show came and went throughout the 1950′s and 60′s. Then, 20 years later, a group of filmmakers teamed up and decided that they wanted to make a big, bold, anthology films that was a saturated tribute to the series. Who were these filmmakers? Why John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller of course. For those still sketchy on the significance of the names; That’s John Landis of The Blues Brothers and American Werewolf in London, Steven Spielberg of…all the Spielberg films, Joe Dante of Piranha and Gremlins, and George Miller of the Mad Max films.

I was going to show you the trailer but…it’s pretty terrible and shows you nothing of any value or atmosphere whatsoever, so I won’t. Instead I’ll share with you a creepy behind-the-scenes story on the making of the film:

During the production of the very first segment, directed by John Landis, there was a tragic accident. Not only tragic…it was insane! One of the scenes in the segment called for a ridiculously scary stunt in which a helicopter hovered mere meters above three of the actors heads, Vic Morrows and two vietnamese child actors; Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen. Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong when the helicopter actually crashed on top of them, decapitating and crushing them completely. Not only that, but the cameras were rolling as it happened – which means that the whole thing eventually found its way onto youtube. Then, as if that’s not crazy enough, John Landis nearly went to jail for murder, as he had ignored union film safety regulations. Now that’s some freaky spooky shit!

When I first saw the movie I had no idea that all this was in the background of it. Some might say that it warrants not completing the film, as it could be seen as profiting off the death of three people. I can understand that, but to me it makes the movie that much more interesting. Although I have written about death in somewhat respectful and philosophical terms before, I have a confession to make: I have a slight morbid obsession with it as well. Watching a movie like The Twilight Zone and knowing that three of the stars in the picture had their heads chopped off on set…makes it fascinating to me! Just like the Poltergeist curse, where a disturbing number of the actors ended up dying one after another to the point of suspicion, this event adds even more mystery and intrigue into an already mysterious and intriguing anthology film. I’m not going to lie, it does contribute to it’s high placement on the list.

But even that can’t boost it past my favourite anthology film of all time, which is…

I love Trick ‘r Treat! Love love love love love love love love love looooove it! I know that was very grammatically negligent of me, but the point needs to be made with some seriously heavy trauma!

It tells four separate stories, all within the same universe. As the stories play out periodically, they also intersect and affect one another. Staying true to all the traditions of horror anthology films, it provides us with morally corrupt central characters who quite literally face their demons in the form of gruesome and supernatural incarnations. Not only is this movie a tribute to anthology films and horror films alike, it’s a gorgeously penned love letter to Halloween! Every frame of this movie praises the very spirit of the holiday and childishly rolls around in it. OK, that’s it. Forget the rest of the movies I mentioned. Alright no, I mean – they’re all great and deserve your attention thoroughly…but this movie is it! If you only choose one movie out of all of them to watch this Halloween, make it this one! You cannot be disappointed! It’s not possible!

However, it’s very important to make sure that you buy or rent Trick ‘r Treat, not Trick or Treat. Trick or Treat is a 1986 film with Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne…and I am not endorsing that.

Please take a look at the trailer and let it inspire you. Become a child again and forget all the torture films and found-footage crap, this is where it’s at; going back to the classic atmosphere of all hallows eve. Open your chest, take out your heart, dip it in sugar, and enjoy! Yumm!

Trick ‘r Treat – Trailer

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I’m going to try and end each post from now till October 31st with an update on how my Hallowthreen is coming along. As you may remember last time I told you that I was possessed by the idea of selecting The Woman in Black as my first choice. I haven’t given up on that, but another film has begun to float around my attic recently and that’s Ti West’s The Innkeepers.

Ti West is an interesting guy. A few year ago he made a fantastic little cheap horror film called The House of the Devil. It intentionally used 1970′s stock, cameras, and filmmaking techniques to invoke the feeling of that decade. Not only that, but the film was also released on VHS as well as DVD and Blu-Ray, for no other reason than nostalgia. Tonally the movie reminded me very much of The Exorcist, and for any of you out there planning your own Hallowthreen, The House of the Devil is a great choice if you haven’t already seen it.

As for The Innkeepers, the trailer intrigues me but I’m not sure whether to laminate it in as my second choice, or paste it over my first. Trailers can be deceptive, as we all know. Aaarrgh, if only I was a poor starving african child living the simple life in a third world country – then I wouldn’t have to deal with these pressing issues! Please help me out, people.

Innkeepers – Trailer

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What do you think? Does it look scarier than The Woman in Black? Maybe some of you out there have even seen both of them and can tell me whether you think it was.

- Rant Over

For in my lives to never be a fish

To be hunted and eaten by heron and gull

And by hook from the water fishermen pull

To spend my life swimming, alone and in fear

Breathing in water that is not that clear

I figure from my thought on this day of rest

That I’m sure that being human is the best

After I returned home from  the hospital my little man and I knew there would be big changes in the way I ate and exercised. Things like whole grains, brown rice, fat-free, sugar-free, etc. would become the norm.

I didn’t say anything to him, but, I was more than a little forelorn and sad … I, of course, was thinking of all of the “could nots” … you know how that is.

But, he didn’t let it bother him at all … he began changing recipes… first, he changed the ingredients in the bread maker bread … and came up with a lovely chocolate-raisin bread, that was even better when toasted.

Stirring a cup of hot chocolate and eating  the toasted raisin bread, I realized two things … I still could have foods I loved, just made a different way … and, I realized how much I was loved as he went to so much trouble for me.

It was a wonderful gift … baked, stirred and eaten … thank You Father for the good things you give me … they are precious gifts!

Chocolate-Raisin Bread

3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 pkg Sweet ‘N Low
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon Yeast
1/4 cup raisins
1  3/4 cup  warm water (not hot)
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

Add salt, sweet ‘n low, cocoa powder, yeast  and shortening to water - pour into breadmaker pan, place flour on  the liquid in breadmaker pan, then pour raisins on top of that.  Follow breadmaker instructions.

Let cool, slice, toast …

The Guardian is reporting that Terry Vance Garner, a 69-year-old Oregonian farmer, never returned after he went to feed his animals last week.

A family member found Garner’s dentures and body parts in the pig enclosure several hours later. His remains had been consumed by the animals, said district attorney Paul Frasier. Several of the pigs weighed 700 pounds or more.

Officials are still trying to figure out how this could happen. It’s possible Garner had a medical problem, like a heart attack or was knocked down by the animals, then killed or eaten. Frasier added that at least one pig had previously bitten Garner.

The possibility of foul play is being investigated as well. “For all we know, it was a horrific accident, but it’s so doggone weird that we have to look at all possibilities,” Frasier said.

A pathologist has been unable to identify the exact cause of death.

“Those animals were his life,” Michael Garner, the victim’s brother, said. “He had all kinds of birds, and turkeys that ran all over the place. Everybody knew him.”

A tear slid down Meeshtar’s cheek, as The Meaowse’s Revenge sailed back out to flea.  This is the end, he thought, though it really wasn’t fair.  He had only been trying to help.  Killing Captain Smalls was an accident.  Why couldn’t the crew see it that way?  Instead, they found it fit to punish him with extreme measures.  Meeshtar knew right then, that he was never going to sleep under his favorite ottoman, watch his squirrel friends in the trees, or beg for another slab of salmon from his owner Caroline.  He was lost forever.

To make matters worse, his ex-crew-mates didn’t even bother to give him an ointment for his clotted, wounded back.  ”So much for treating fellow pirates with respect,” he muttered.  His skin stung where the nine knotted whips had sliced him up like a slab of ham.  ”Might as well have eaten me too,” he said, rotating the gun in his paw.

Lingering near the waves, pistol calked and ready to fire, Meeshtar daydreamed about putting an end to his misery.  But he knew deep down that he was way too much of a coward to ever pull the trigger on himself. He sighed and chucked the pistol to the sand.  ”I’ve got to get off this island,” he said, wrapping his arms around his bent legs, burying his nose between his knees.

The wind howled about him, blowing sand-shards into his eyes, and pelting his face.  A sheet of tarnished, weathered parchment slammed against his legs, and wrapped around as though it were plastered there.  He snatched it up.  As the fibers unfolded and cracked in his paws, his eyes fell upon a giant “X”.

This wasn’t just any ordinary sheet of paper.  No, it turned out, Meeshtar was a very lucky cat!  He’d been marooned on the exact isle where Captain Smalls buried his long-forgotten treasure, and he was now the proud owner of one “Captain Smalls Famous But Forgotten Treasure Map”–or so the title claimed.  Meeshtar was hoping for something spectacular.  ”With a title like that, it has to be grand,” he said.

So, Meeshtar studied the map, snatched up the pistol with the single shot (just in case), located his backpack–even though there wasn’t much in it, it may come in handy–the pirate crew had so generously stashed behind a palm tree before leaving Meeshar to starve to death, and took off toward the center of the island on the path that claimed to lead him to “The Cave of Forgotten Dreams”, where the riches were supposedly stashed.

The path wound through palm trees, alongside a stream, which eventually–according to the map–would form a swamp.  Meeshtar marveled at the beauty of the island he was left on.  He’d never seen anything quite like it.  The sky glowed a bright shade of orange, which, incidentally was his favorite color, and the mountain range in the center of the island painted itself across the pink horizon; the majestic peaks pointed at the sun, as though they were begging him to climb their cliffs and reach for the fiery mass.

He took a quick break alongside the brook to gather bananas from the trees.  Turns out he wasn’t going to starve after all.  ”I could make quite a nice home here,” he said.

As Meeshtar continued through the woods, the trees grew thicker.  The shade began to take over the light, and Meeshtar was having a bit of trouble seeing the path ahead of him.  It was like someone turned off the sun.  Scarfing a banana like a monkey with a whole hoard that were about to go rotten, he made his way through the darkness, until he came to a fork in the road.

The path branched off in three directions.  The map showed all three paths, and it seemed that each one would take him to his destination, though one or two were a little more direct.  Above each pathway was a sign, carved in wood and lit up by a street light.  The path to the left lead to “The Gator Swamp.”  Meeshtar shuttered.  ”I don’t think I’ll go that way,” he said, envisioning the gators, their sharp teeth snapping at him as they slithered through the swamp with their snakelike movements.

The second path–the more direct route–said it lead to “Merango Volcano, and The Ice Cliffs”.  ”That’d be one way to freeze and burn,” he said.  ”No, I don’t like that one either.”

His third option, the path to the right, lead through “The Daisy Fields.”  He giggled.  ”How bad can that be,” he asked?  Daisies were just flowers after all.  What in the world would a flower do to him?  Petal him to death?  So, glancing at the map one last time, Meeshtar made up his mind.  ”Daisy fields it is,” he said.  And so, he continued on his way to the cave, following the right path.  But, how right was this path, he began to wonder?

You see, Meeshtar found himself eyeballing more lit signs along the road; one that read, “Beware, Hungry Daisies Ahead,” and another, “I’d turn back, if I were you.”  Meeshtar’s stomach felt a bit queazy, and he wondered if this whole treasure thing was such a good idea.

to be continued…,

Today, we had a horrible experience with a doctor in Columbus, Ohio.

This is not his actual picture. I think we’d have rather seen this guy, actually.

My first reaction lead me to want to spit in his face as he pushed forward into mine and cut me off, suggesting that after nearly a year of dealing with my husband’s injury and researching his infection, that I didn’t know what I was talking about, because he preferred a different jargon to describe an injury he had no history on and had looked at for less than 30 seconds.

My second reaction was to write a strongly worded letter and send it to him, letting him know that he offended both of us and after driving over 10,000 miles just since this spring in regards to trying to treat this injury and subsequent infection, and having to buy a new car, because the original one couldn’t handle the driving… after having my husband near death multiple times… after over 200 doses of Vancomycin, which we later found out my husband was allergic to and is now experiencing kidney failure from (as well as half a dozen other antibiotics that just didn’t do anything)… after three surgeries and a seemingly infinite number more in our future… after sleepless nights and thousands of dollars spent that are “unreimbursable”… after waiting hours and hours in waiting rooms, imposing upon friends, borrowing more money than we can possibly keep track of or repay, after watching my husband deal with unimaginable pain and fear… after watching him go through severe narcotic withdrawal because the doctors couldn’t agree what was wrong and took him from Oxycontin and Dauladid to Motrin without appropriate titration… after hearing that most of the extensor tendons in his hand were eaten by bacteria and that hopefully it could repaired once the infection was gone… after seeing dozens of gory pictures that were seemingly of anyone until I clearing recognized the bend of the wrist, and my stomach turned a little as it truly clicked that the open hand I was looking at belonged to the man that had used it to caress my skin and might never be able to do so the same again… after countless tears and driving after little to no sleep back and forth across state lines to get the proper treatment… after being told for three months that it was excema or a “legion of unknown original” only to find out that he would have died had we not driven to get another opinion when we did, against the wishes of workers comp and knowing that we’d have hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills that we couldn’t pay… after dealing with workers comp in general and dozens of people who seemingly couldn’t find the records the previous person had promised they had shared… after trying to hide fear and tears and trying to stay strong and continue to ask questions, despite the fact that most of the doctors look at me like I’m nuts or like I snuck a peak at a chart I wasn’t supposed to or listened in on one of their hushed conversations… after paying hundreds of dollars for medical records and pouring over them for an attorney, reading them over and over and marking things that were wrong (I am certain that we are the only people that have read his medical records completely)… after repeating the story so many times to so many individuals that all of the dates and fancy medical terms are permanently etched into my mind, I could probably tell this story in my sleep…  letting him know that it wasn’t okay.

I’m sorry I showed up in jeans and Birkenstocks and with a bad hair dye job, I had dress clothes in the car, but I had to drive three hours after the appointment and jeans were just more comfortable…

This is not me… but this is a picture of a random overly tired woman who’s hair is the color I was aiming for when mine turned the funky color it is now.

with bags under my eyes and some annoyance at the fact that his nurse had no idea why we were there or what the past medical history was… that the worker’s compensation representative was late and also had no idea what was going on… that I used the word “active” when you preferred the word “contaminated”… that my husband winced in pain when you grabbed his hand and bent it up and down and all around, speaking quickly and looking irritated, having not even bothered to wash your hands before (OR AFTER!) touching his oozing bleeding wound (I really hope you didn’t transfer his CONTAMINATION to your next patient), without knowing what it was or having asked any questions about him at all or even introducing yourself… but… FUCK YOU!

I really wanted to post your picture here, Dr. Mean, with your real name and contact information so everyone could contact you and tell you how horrible you are… but I’m not sure if you could then sue me for slander, so instead, I am a posting a picture of Dr. Peter Evans. This is the man that saved my husband’s life twice and continues to treat us with dignity and respect. His nurse calls back within an hour if I call with questions. When he doesn’t know the answer, he finds it. He’s amazing. I’m sad that we had to meet him under such horrible conditions, but thankful for his existence and his passion for his job. This man’s picture should appear whenever anyone talks about a good doctor and will in my mind until the day I die. Thank you, Dr. Evans.

The fact that you got in my face and told me I was wrong TWICE while interrupting my narrative… the fact that you violently grabbed my husband’s hand as you told me I was wrong and poked harshly at what is most obviously a sore and infected bubble of infection near the incision… the fact that you said at least a dozen times “this is an open wound and all open wounds are contaminated” loudly as if you were declaring a law or policy to a nation of listeners… the fact that you wouldn’t listen to him at all and that you spoke directly to the workers comp representative, rolling your eyes when she suggest you were going to have to fill out a two page form… you never asked for anyone’s name and never told us yours… that you rudely told me to use a “simple bandage” and then rewrapped the hand almost exactly as I have hundreds of times (no exaggeration) but not with nearly the same love and care that I do, actually causing your patient more pain.

Not Trav’s hand, not my handy (lol, right?) work. Too tired to get the camera out and take my own pictures.

We have spent the last 10 months, almost a year, dealing with this, researching this, seeing countless doctors and hearing “experts” tell us lies and give incorrect information… begging for help and insisting that someone look one more time… asking things that doctors refused to answer or didn’t know how to answer… I already ranted about just a few of our troubles, I won’t list them all again, but, I will get to the part that pertains to all doctors, here is a list of 10 suggestions, 1 for each month we’ve been dealing with many of the worst (and BEST!) representatives of your profession:

1.  Don’t ever walk into a room and not wash your hands.  You should walk into the room, introduce yourself as you wash your hands and then shake my husband’s LEFT hand… not the injured one… and then shake mine.  Ask THE PATIENT who he has with them today and talk to THE PATIENT.
2. Never see a patient you don’t have some history on… be prepared ahead of time as much as possible.  I know you are busy and we aren’t your only patients, but we’ve seen enough great doctors to know that the best ones make you feel like you are the only important part of their day.
3. Always ask about pain before you start bending and prodding at anyone.
4. Remember that the person you are evaluating is a HUMAN BEING and not a case or a time slot.
5. Don’t ask for information and then interrupt the person, especially to correct their grammar or jargon.  If it’s important, make a note and when they are done talking, explain, POLITELY, the difference… this is a chance to educate a person or offend a person… to make or break the appointment.
6. Remember that you are employed because you have patients.  Listen to them.  Whether they have medical knowledge or not, they are the only ones who know how they really feel and what seems to be wrong… they could give you valuable tips regarding symptoms you can’t see.  Medicine is a logics puzzle and you need as many pieces as possible.
7. Keep in mind that most people you see are scared, undereducated and would rather be anywhere else.  Be approachable and kind.
8. Ask your patients how they are doing.  Try to reassure, but don’t lie and tell them they will be fine when you really have no idea or even worse, you know that they won’t be fine.
9. Be willing to accept that you could be wrong when the evidence suggests that you are wrong.  Consult other doctors, look at prior notes and work as a team.  The goal is a healthy patient, right?
10. Just because you’re a doctor, this doesn’t mean you know everything about all aspects of medicine.  Be humble.

This open letter, this rant, and this list is my attempt at a third reaction and hopefully a healthy one.  Having recently graduated with a degree in Biology (yes, Dr. Jerkface, I have taken an infectious disease class, yes I know about the human body and something about how it works and yes, you’ll be getting a letter about the nature and causes of necrotizing fasciitis (with a formal reference page) in the near future).

Yes, I heard you say that it’s caused by Strep… but…
Not only does Dr. Englund, our infectious disease doctor say that it’s Flesh Eating bacteria caused by staph., but these sites also point out that it can be things other than Strep, Dr. Rude:
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/543648_3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrotizing_fasciitis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829043/ (this is the kind my husband has, even if you rudely insist that I’m wrong)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16211146
http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Necrotizing_Fasciitis_(flesh_eating_bacteria_)
http://www.hindawi.com/crim/id/2012/453685/
If this isn’t good enough, I can find you approximately 117,000 other links, just by typing “Nec Fas Staph” into a google search engine. Imagine what you could learn if you opened your mind!?!?

I know a number of doctors, recent graduates of medical school, M1s-M4s, professors, etc… and I am hoping that some of you will take the time to read my blog today and take some of it into consideration.

I respect how hard you have worked to get where you are and the knowledge you have acquired.  I have no doubt that your medical capabilities far outweigh my own and that you know much more than I do about many things.  If I have gone out of my way to tag you, it’s because I think you’re a great doctor or will be a great doctor and I want you to have the patient’s perspective on a bad day… just one of many in a bad situation…

I also want to thank you for being a great person and dedicating your life to this difficult and often frustrating career.  To all of the great doctors we’ve encountered in the last ten months… Dr. Johnston, Dr. Evans, Dr. Englund, Dr. Deitzel, Dr. Noah (a first year resident and the most attentive doctor I’ve ever met) and even more that I can’t remember the names of offhand… THANK YOU!

What a beauty!!

After our wander looking at the bikes, trikes and scooters we went for a drink before the weather turned and I had Jeremiah Weed root brew, it’s yummy ginger style root beer from Kentucky I have had both this one and their sour mash brew before, I prefer the Sour mash brew one but they had run out where we went. The one thing that annoys me as a weight watcher is there is never any nutritional information on bottles of alcohol.. So I have Googled it and the only thing I can find is that they both are 120 calories for 500ml?! That can’t be right surely!! I have no taken it upon myself to email the company and ask them for the nutritional info for both bottles so I can safely propoint it without having to guestimate!! 

So my menu today was: 

Breakfast: None, we didn’t actually get out of bed till 11:30am.. So it seemed like the most sensible idea was to wait for lunch.

Lunch: 1 weightwatchers tortilla wrap 3pp, 40g wafer thin turkey 1pp, 75g Nume piri piri chicken sandwich filler 2pp (The tikka one is the best!), 1 mini pepper sliced 0pp, 1 mushroom sliced 0pp.

Dinner: 50g cous cous 2pp, 1 pack Bernard Matthews tikka turkey chunks 3pp, handful fresh chopped parsley 0pp, 1 tbsp lime juice 0pp, 1 mini pepper sliced 0pp, 2 mushrooms sliced 0pp. 

Snacks: 1 slice of gloopy strawberry cheesecake 4pp, 1 bottle Jeremiah weed which I am pro pointing as 6 for now as I’d rather over point than under point. 

Total used 21/26, 0 weeklies used. 

5pp dinner!!

So that’s me for today, tomorrow I start my Aspire swim the channel challenge.. My aim is to swim at least 3 miles a week and hopefully get it completed in less than the 1 weeks they give you to do it, So Please Please give anything you can to help me raise some money for these amazing people with spinal injuries  
http://www.justgiving.com/ACS2012-GemsAllSwimNoSinkChallenge

I aim to raise at least £200 for this fantastic charity but would love to exceed that so please even if you can only afford £1, think about how much of a difference that can make as it all adds up! Thanks so much for taking the time to keep reading this far down.. Take care, Much Love Gems  

Today I have done nothing except pop to the shop and back and it has been lovely just chilling indoors watching some tv and browsing the web for recipes, I always find myself doing this when I have time on my hands.. I have about 200 bookmarked blogs and recipe websites on my laptop! In fact whilst browsing this is where I found my dinner for tonight, as I still do not have my cooker connected I thought I would search for some microwave recipes which were suitable for weightwatchers and found one that is perfect for me as it uses tortilla wraps… which as everyone who reads my blog will have worked out by now that I am slightly addicted to  Recipe is here at  http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=78521&sc=3022

It’s called a Quesadilla.. Ooohhh exotic I hear you say! I changed the recipe slightly to my tastes and to make it a bit more filling here’s the recipe I made:

 

Weigh in tomorrow am expecting a gain or a stay the same at least.. I have done nothing different this week apart from use my weeklies later in the week and do more exercise , which you would think was a good thing :/ Anyhow the scales have not been looking kind the last few days but this is something of a routine for me I seem to have a couple of good losses, then either a sts/gain so I am not too worried I know I have eaten well and sometimes the body just does thing like this to us! Good luck to everyone on a new week! Much love Gems  

As DROOL is trickled from the mouths of the displaced,
We still carry our blue-ribbon prints like souvenirs of SPIT.
Our hearts are SIPPED at like goblets spilling lust,
While yesterday is dissolved, we’ll be SWALLOWING tomorrow.

Innocence is crushed as bubbles turn to FOAM,
As doubt is sheltered, sorrow lies GUSHING white.
The constant drone of a bathroom tap leaves us with nothing but DRIP, DRIP, DRIP.

Fashion Bug retail store. Image Credit: signlite.net

My friend Cara told me that soon her job would be gone thanks to Fashion Bug stores around the country being closed. Aparently, Ascena Retail Group Inc. has bought out Charming Shoppes to downsize the competition.  Justice, Maurices and Dressbarn, their own stores, are not that common in a lot of areas. I grew up with Fashion Bug, and I enjoy their styles. If they close Lane Bryant next, which they have no grounds to do so because it’s a popular and thriving store, they will lose out on many plus size customers and bury themselves deeper because their 3 Ascena based stores (Justice, Dressbarn, and Maurices) do not cater to anyone over size 26.

I attempted to get comments from Fashion Bug employees on where they were going after the stores were closed out, but none cared to comment. I don’t blame them, they will have no company provided insurance and will be nailed with a fine if they get denied unemployment insurance because they’ll be uninsured liabilities (to the money hungry medical system that is), their bank accounts will be wiped away in the matter of weeks because very few Americans know how to save for an emergency, and there are now even less jobs available out there for them to try and grab up.

Thousands will be out of work and fighting for jobs that in all honesty have no interest in hiring them because it’s just a ‘cold posting’ to keep up with human resource requirements to ‘attempt to fill jobs’ that they have vacant on purpose to save money. Retail will be hit very hard, and if Ascena gets another loan, there will be even more companies eaten up by this corporate locust.

Your teeth your mouth

I don’t know how I will stay alive

You have started with my heart

and have moved on to my soul

ripping me apart

leaving not any of me whole

the pain

is driving me insane

I asked you WHY?

You have no reply

I asked me WHY?

Still no reply

Should I say it… Good BYE?

In this photo the Teeny Tiny TARDIS visits the kitchen where I learned the first night that I should NOT leave food out on the counter. As you can see, the banana was partially eaten by…something. We never actually found what it was (thankfully), though the centipedes were more than enough crawly-ness for me. Interestingly enough, earlier in the spring I found a moldy banana in my dorm room, with no idea whose it was or how long it had been sitting on the shelf. It suffices to say that it no longer looked like a banana. Makes me wonder what will happen to the banana that’s sitting on my desk right now.

Bananas are good.

 

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary

Today’s Content:

• ·        Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• ·        Catholic History Today
• ·        Joke of the Day
• ·        Sundays Gospel Reading
• ·        Gospel Reflection
• ·        Reflection Prayer
• ·        Catholic Apologetics
• ·        A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day
• ·        Reflection on an article of  the OFS Rule

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Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations:

I am asking for some input from my readers in regard to my blog format.  It is trying for me to amass all the information I needed for each blog normally posted on Saturdays.  For this reason, I have decided to change my format somewhat.  Starting next week, I will be splitting my blog sections between Wednesdays and Saturdays.  On Wednesdays, I will post the following sections:

• ·        (on occasion) Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• ·        Catholic History Today
• ·        Catholic Apologetics
• ·        A Franciscan’s Saint of the Day
• ·        Reflection on an article of  the OFS Rule

Then, on Saturdays, I will continue to post these sections:

• ·        Dan’s Deliberations, Discoveries, & Declarations
• ·        Joke of the Day
• ·        Sundays Gospel Reading
• ·        Gospel Reflection
• ·        Reflection Prayer

Please let me know your opinions on this matter, and if I should add or totally delete sections from my blog.  After all, this blog is as much yours as it is mine, because it is for YOU.

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Do not forget to vote on Tuesday, August 7^th, (in Missouri at least).  Although a “Party Primary” election, local and state issues may also be on the ballot.  Voting is a “right” every eligible American should be proud to participate in as a citizen of this great “Godly” country.

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Today in Catholic History:

†   1579 – Death of Stanislaus Hosius, Polish Catholic cardinal (b. 1504)
†   1900 – Death of James Augustine Healy, black Roman Catholic bishop, dies at 80
†   1912 – Birth of Abbé Pierre, French Catholic priest (d. 2007)

(From the “On This Day” Blog Site
otday.wordpress.com &/OR
“Today in Catholic History”

http://www.historyorb.com)

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Joke of the Day:

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Today’s reflection: Jesus teaches the crowds that He is the “bread of life.” We know who He is: the question I’m supposing is, “Who Are WE??!!”  Ask yourself this question: “Why are you seeking out Jesus?”

(NAB John 6:24–35)  ²⁴ When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.  ²⁵ And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  ²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.  ²⁷ Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”  ²⁸ So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”  ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”  ³⁰ So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?  What can you do?  ³¹ Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:  ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”  ³² So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.   ³³ For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  ³⁴ So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”  ³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

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Gospel Reflection:

Last Sunday, we heard about Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 with 5 loaves of barley bread and two fish, leaving enough leftover to fill twelve wicker baskets.  Between last Sunday’s Gospel and today’s Gospel is the short story of the disciples leaving for Bethsaida for Capernaum by boat as Jesus leaves for “the mountain alone” (John 6:15).  After an unknown amount of time (probably several hours at least):

“the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus” (John 6:24).

This Sunday we continue to read from the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, but not in continuity with last Sunday’s Gospel.  What we are not told (and what the “crowd” did not see) is the story between these two readings: Jesus’ walking on water (cf., John 16-21).  This event will be explored, and possibly revealed, in my reflection blog at a later date.

In today’s gospel, upon discovering the absence of Jesus and His closest of disciples, the crowd went in search for them:

“When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus” (John 6:24).

Upon finding their “New Moses” (please refer to my reflection from last week), they inquired of Jesus how He arrived there, and arrived there BEFORE them (since they knew Jesus went into the mountains):

“When they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” (John 6:25)

In the dialogue that follows, Jesus unfolds for us the gift of “Himself”, which He gives to us in and through the Holy Eucharist.

The crowd had come by boat, the fastest way possible for them, knowing Jesus would have had to walk to Capernaum since there were no other boats available for Him to use.  However, Jesus’ answer was NOT the one they were expecting to hear:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (John 6:25). 

“Amen, Amen” – - Interesting words indeed!  A little trivia time: did you know there are 25 “Amen’s” in John’s Gospel alone (with only 52 “Amen’s” total in all 3 of the Synoptic Gospels)?  So, why do you suppose Jesus decided to start a sentence with a word never before used at the beginning of a statement?  These initial “Amen’s” are truly unique to Jesus, and are unparalleled, otherwise unknown in any other Hebrew writings.  Why (?) – - the reason is that “Amen” – - at the beginning of a sentence – - does not refer to the words of a previous speaker as one would assume (I bet His English teacher was mad at Him for such usage!).  I believe Jesus used the combined (and amplified) words “Amen, Amen” to introduce a new thought, a new way for gaining entrance to God’s kingdom on earth and in heaven.  In this case, the new way for gaining entrance to God’s kingdom is in seeing and believing His signs of His divine nature.

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Jesus goes on to say in today’s reading:

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on Him the Father, God, has set His seal” (John 6:27).

Jesus is telling all who come to Him (then and now) to change their priorities, both in life and in death.  Our secularized and materialistic world will someday perish.  I am sure we have all heard the axiom, “You can’t take it with you”.  This axiom references the materialistic, worldly items we accrue though life.  What you WILL take with you on your day of judgment is the way – - the “how” – - you USED these materialistic items, and the “way and how” of using ALL of God’s graces, powers, and “Words” given to you freely and FREE!  (Jesus has already paid the cost!!)

Jesus answers the crowd, saying who HE truly is:  “the bread of life”:

“This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.  This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:50, 51, 54, 58).

Only through Jesus Christ’s grace, can you, I, or anyone else, enter into God the Father’s Kingdom.  Only through Jesus Christ are we provided the life-sustaining food (and water) which endures and gives eternal life:

“Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

The above verse (John 4:13) gives a new meaning to Christ being present – - truly and fully – - in each morsel and drop of both “species” of the Eucharist: the body and blood of the Risen Jesus Christ!

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Having heard what Jesus just said, the crowd wanted to know:

“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” (John 6:28).

Jesus answered:

“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent.” (John 6:29)

That just seems to be a little too simple, maybe even cunning or crafty, in the simplicity of His “Words”.  Many believe that ALL you have to do is simply “believe Jesus is the ‘one’ sent by God”.  However, there is a “little” more to this statement than just “believing”; for to believe, one must also accept the premise that Jesus is truly “the one sent” as prophesized in Jewish scripture.  In reality, in order to believe Jesus is truly “the one sent”, you must also believe ALL that the prophets had to say about this “one sent”.

Image from the following website:

http://www.cai.org/bible-studies/

prophecies-concerning-jesus-and-their-fulfilment\

In believing, the crowd would be accepting that Jesus IS (and STILL IS) fulfilling EVERY prophecy made from the entirety of the great Prophets of old; where and who He would be born to, His work and mission, how He would die, His resurrection, and His ascension into heaven.  Through Jesus Christ, these prophecies of a “kingly” and “suffering” Savior Messiah had arrived to this crowd (and to US!)! 

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This crowd wanted even further proof from what they had already seen – - as a perfect sign in itself – - with the multiplication of the bread and fish.  So, the crowd says to Jesus:

“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?  What can you do?” (John 6:30).

Haven’t they seen ENOUGH to prove who Jesus truly and fully was (and is)?  Oh, those of so little faith!!  Then again, they were not the first ones to ask for proof from Jesus regarding His divine nature.  They were not the first to ask for, nay, demand a sign.  So, when:

“The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. (Matthew 16:1);

Then, Jesus responds thusly:

An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’ ” (Matthew 16:4).

Luke further elaborated on this:

 “While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, ‘This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.  Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation’” (Luke 11:29–30).

The “Son of Man” was a “sign” to this generation (and ours) as Jonah was a “sign” to the Ninevites of his generation.  Jonah is the “sign”, and his message was repentance, and, looking at and seeing the supernatural dimension of their lives.  Jesus is the “sign”, and His message was also that of repentance, and, looking at and seeing the supernatural divine nature of the “Son of Man”.

The Jews of the Exodus story demanded a “sign”, demanding bread from Moses – - and God gave them “manna”.  The crowd demanded from Jesus what the Israelites demanded of Moses – - a “sign” – - the “bread from heaven”:

 “Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’” (John 6:31). 

For the Jews of His day, Jesus is declaring that He IS the prophesized “sign”, the “bread from heaven” as revealed in Exodus:

 “Then the LORD said to Moses: I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. …  But Moses told them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. … Moses then told Aaron, ‘Take a jar and put a full omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to keep it for your future generations.’” (Exodus 16:4-34)

 This “bread from heaven” – - the “manna” – - was a divine sign, a gift from God the Father to His children.  This “manna” is similar to a natural substance, still found today in small quantities, on the Sinai Peninsula, and is associated with the honey-like resin from the tamarisk tree.  However, God’s “manna” is clearly an extraordinary, supernatural sign of God’s providence toward His “chosen” people, who needed His help.  Per Jewish tradition, the “manna” – - the “food” from heaven – - was (and is) expected to reappear miraculously at Passover, during “the last days”.  Christian tradition regards the “manna” of Exodus as a type of the Eucharist which Jesus fulfilled and is still fulfilling today.

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In verse 6:31, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat”, Jesus now starts referencing a single, specific, part of the prayer He taught to His disciples during the “Our Father” prayer:

“Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

St. Francis of Assisi explained this specific portion of the “Our Father Prayer” in a beautiful and succinct way:

“Give us today our daily bread: Your own beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to remind us of the love God showed for us and to help us understand and appreciate everything that He did or said or suffered.”

Jesus Christ IS OUR DAILY BREAD!!  (I can’t say this fact enough!)  Through Jesus in the Eucharist, we are reminded and showed to understand and appreciate the true, and full totality of His life, death, resurrection, ascension, promises, hope, love, trust, and return – - in our lives NOW!!.  HOLY WOW!!!  HOLY AWESOME!!!

The “manna” of the Exodus story prefigured, and pointed to, the superabundance of the unique “bread” of the Eucharist which Jesus gave to His disciples on the eve of His sacrifice.  The “bread” Jesus offers His disciples still sustains us not only on our journey to His heavenly paradise; it also gives us the abundant supernatural life of God Himself, sustaining us now and for all eternity.  

When we receive the Holy Eucharist, we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ Himself, who makes us sharers in His body and blood, thus partaking in His divine life.  The Holy Eucharist is the “supernatural food” of healing – - for both body and soul – - and gives us strength for our journey to the paradise of God’s heavenly banquet (cf., Hebrews 12:18-24).

After initially answering the crowds question for a “sign”, Jesus then directly and unequivocally says:

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35).

I believe Jesus could not have been much clearer.  The people present certainly knew Jesus was referring to the prophecies in Isaiah and Amos among others:

 “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!  You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat; Come, buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost!  Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what does not satisfy?  Only listen to me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.  Pay attention and come to me; listen, that you may have life.  I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the steadfast loyalty promised to David.”  (Isaiah 55:1–3);

“See, days are coming—oracle [revelation] of the Lord GOD— when I will send a famine upon the land: Not a hunger for bread, or a thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD. … On that day, beautiful young women and young men shall faint from thirst” (Amos 8:11–13).

Jesus makes a claim which only God can make: He is the true “bread of heaven” which can satisfy the deepest hunger, thirst, and longing every human being experiences in life.  We must believe in Christ, listen to His “Word”, pay attention to Him – - and most importantly – - “come to” Him in the Eucharist!!

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In today’s Gospel, there are four exchanges between Jesus and the crowd.  In the first, the crowd, after finding Jesus already at Capernaum, before them, asks a very “matter of fact” question: “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  Jesus replies by identifying their motivation in pursuing Him: their being fed earthly, worldly, bread.  Jesus acknowledges their physical feeding, yet challenges them to see beyond their material needs.  Instead, they (and we) should be seeking out Jesus because He can give eternal life!

As the second dialogue begins, it seems that the crowd might be on their way to accepting Jesus and His mission.  They ask: “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”  Jesus replies that the “works of God” is that they “BELIEVE” (have faith in) the one sent from God.  

Notice, Jesus is clearly declaring that He IS the One sent by God the Father – - the “New Moses”!!

However, in the third dialogue, the crowd reveals their inability to see Jesus’ true identity; the crowd reveals their “blindness”.  They ask Jesus for a sign so that they might know Jesus is truly sent from God the Father.  This request for a sign sounds strange since Jesus had just fed more than 5000 people, and for the most part, the SAME people now asking for a “sign” again.  I must add, what more is expected from Jesus to prove His true divine nature?  (Maybe He needs to raise someone from the dead!  Um … wait; He does, including Himself!)

The crowd cannot see beyond the surface of the “sign” Jesus gave in the multiplication of the loaves and fish.  By their description, they identify Jesus with Moses.  So, just as Moses gave the people “manna” in the desert, the crowd wanted Jesus to give them a sign so they will know Jesus was truly from God.  They were looking to identify Jesus as a “prophet” without realizing “God the Son” was standing before them.  

As God “fulfilled” the crowd’s ancestors’ needs in the desert, so God still provides food for eternal life (and still provides NOW TODAY)!   In the bread which they received from Jesus, they received physical nourishment as well as spiritual nourishment.  Jesus wanted the crowd then (and wants us today) to see beyond the surface – - to the One who provides true nourishment, God the Father through God the Son working through the Holy Spirit, even through material things.

The conclusion of the dialogue also further reveals the crowd’s “blindness”: they CANNOT “see” the divine Christ in their midst.  They asked for what Jesus had just told them they have found: “Sir, give us this bread always” (verse 34).  Jesus answers plainly that He Himself IS the “Bread of Life” they are seeking; the Bread of Life who will satisfy every hunger and thirst.  We can understand this fact better when we remember that God revealed His name to the “chosen” people of Israel as “I am” – - “Yahweh”.  Jesus claims this name – - “I AM” – - for Himself!!  Jesus’ claim [to fame] will bring many into His kingdom.  On the other hand, Jesus’ claim – - though it is true – - will have a negative effect as well, for some.  In the weeks ahead, in the Gospel readings at Mass, we will see how this claim offended others in the crowd.

Jesus offers a new relationship with God, a new life – - a life of sacrificial love, selfless service, and the forgiveness of others – - corresponding to God’s mercy, goodness and loving kindness.  This new life is a life of holiness, purity, and truth, corresponding to God’s holiness.  This new life is a life of obedience and trust, corresponding to God’s offer of abundant life, peace, and happiness.  This is the true definition of “work” which Jesus directs us to do, and enables us to perform through the power of the Holy Spirit.  I am truly hungry for the “bread” which comes down from heaven; and I thirst for the “Words” of everlasting life in, with, and through God!!  (What about you?)

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Sometimes, we don’t recognize the wonderful things our Trinitarian God has done for us in ours, and in others, lives.  Sometimes, out of habit or need, we simply forget and ask for further evidence of His love and care.  Pray that God, in these times, will remove our “blindness” so that we can receive and appreciate – - with thanks, praise, and love – - all the wonderful things which God truly accomplishes in our lives.

St. Francis said, “Who are You, Lord, and who am I?”  The “manna” from heaven and John’s supernatural Christology (nature, character, and actions of Jesus Christ) draws out the theme of nourishment from God, and especially, the new life we receive through Christ, who is the “Bread of Life”.  How awesome and wonderful is it that we ALL have a Trinitarian God who is close to us – - truly one of us – - through the “Risen” human flesh of Jesus, and as near and physically present as in the Holy Eucharist.  We need to come to realize that the importance of the immanent nature (God existing in, and extending into, all parts of the created universe) of God is truly and absolutely important for our daily spiritual lives!!

The second half of Saint Francis’ question above, “Who am I?” is as equally important as the first half, “Who are You, Lord”.  I might rephrase this question as: “Who am I that I can relate to my (and your) immanent God and His call to freedom and a new life?”  Like the Israelites, we actually sometimes desire a bondage to our personal addictions or societal failings.  Let us remember that we do have choices.  We can choose to feed on the “Bread of Life”; or we can feed on the “dry bones” of an exploited, materialistic, and secularized human existence without everlasting life.  (Here Fido, you take the bone and I’ll take the bread!)

It is interesting for me that, often, we are not only complacent with oppressive situations and rewards in life, we are also even sometimes “grateful” for the mere “scraps” we receive in life.   We need to remember that in times of trials and tribulations, the “scraps” of worldly materialistic items and conveniences are no match for the overwhelmingly bounty of God – - through the “Bread of Life”, Jesus Christ!

Recall the wonderful gifts God has given you, and the remarkable deeds God has accomplished in and through you.  Remember, it is truly important to stop and count our blessings.  We can all easily miss recognizing all of the wonderful things God has done (and does) for us on a daily basis.  Recall that we have this gift from Jesus – - in the Eucharist – - TODAY and FOREVER!!  (and even in heaven!)   Thank God for all He had (and has) given to us. 

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Reflection Prayer: 

“Bread of Life Prayer”

“Bread of Life, you feed
us through word and sacrament.
The bread we share
a remembrance
of your presence with
us. Strengthen us for
service, that seeds we sow
in fertile places
might grow and flourish,
that food we share
in fellowship
might nourish and revive,
that words we share
in our daily walk
might glorify your name.
Bread of Life, you feed us
through word and
sacrament that we might feed others.
Blessed be your name!  Amen.”

http://www.faithandworship.com/Jesus_bread_of_life.htm

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 Catholic Apologetics:

My reason and purpose for this section on my blog is to provide “scriptural confirmation” for our beliefs and doctrines, not to cause dissention or opposition with my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, yet not in union with the Roman Catholic Church.  Whether God speaks to us through the “Bible”, or through “Tradition”, it is the Holy Spirit who inspires the “Word” from which all authentic tradition flows.

Tradition can be separated into two aspects: oral and behavioral.  Oral tradition includes written forms.  After all, it ALL started with oral tradition.  Behavioral tradition includes Baptism, Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, Laying on of hands for healing, Intercessory prayer, and Ordination. 

All Scriptural verses are taken from both the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible and the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Christ’s Divinity

“In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.” (Hebrews 1:1-3) RSV.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3) KJV.

***

“But of the Son he says, ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom. … And, ‘Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands’” (Hebrews 1:8, 10) RSV.

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.  … And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:8, 10) KJV.

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A Franciscan’s Saint [Commemoration] of the Day:  Dedication of the Church of St. Mary Major Basilica

First raised at the order of Pope Liberius in the mid-fourth century, the Liberian basilica was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III shortly after the Council of Ephesus affirmed Mary’s title as Mother of God in 431.  Rededicated at that time to the Mother of God, St. Mary Major is the largest church in the world honoring God through Mary.  Standing atop one of Rome’s seven hills, the Esquiline, it has survived many restorations without losing its character as an early Roman basilica.  Its interior retains three naves divided by colonnades in the style of Constantine’s era.  Fifth-century mosaics on its walls testify to its antiquity.

St. Mary Major is one of the four Roman basilicas known as patriarchal cathedrals in memory of the first centers of the Church.  St. John Lateran represents Rome, the See of Peter; St. Paul Outside the Walls, the See of Alexandria, allegedly the see presided over by Mark; St. Peter’s, the See of Constantinople; and St. Mary’s, the See of Antioch, where Mary is supposed to have spent most of her life.

One legend, unreported before the year 1000, gives another name to this feast: Our Lady of the Snows.  According to that story, a wealthy Roman couple pledged their fortune to the Mother of God.  In affirmation, she produced a miraculous summer snowfall and told them to build a church on the site.  The legend was long celebrated by releasing a shower of white rose petals from the basilica’s dome every August 5.

Comment:

Theological debate over Christ’s nature as God and man reached fever pitch in Constantinople in the early fifth century.  The chaplain of Bishop Nestorius began preaching against the title Theotokos, “Mother of God,” insisting that the Virgin was mother only of the human Jesus.  Nestorius agreed, decreeing that Mary would henceforth be named “Mother of Christ” in his see.  The people of Constantinople virtually revolted against their bishop’s refutation of a cherished belief.  When the Council of Ephesus refuted Nestorius, believers took to the streets, enthusiastically chanting, “Theotokos!  Theotokos!”

Quote:

“From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title of Mother of God, in whose protection the faithful take refuge together in prayer in all their perils and needs.  Accordingly, following the Council of Ephesus, there was a remarkable growth in the cult of the People of God towards Mary, in veneration and love, in invocation and imitation…” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 66).

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast
By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.;
revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
(From http://www.americancatholic.org website)

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Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) Rule
Article #’s 5 & 6 of 26:

05.  Secular Franciscans, therefore, should seek to encounter the living and active person of Christ in their brothers and sisters, in Sacred Scripture, in the Church, and in liturgical activity.  The faith of St. Francis, who often said, “I see nothing bodily of the Most High Son of God in this world except His most holy body and blood,” should be the inspiration and pattern of their Eucharistic life.

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06.  They have been made living members of the Church by being buried and raised with Christ in baptism; they have been united more intimately with the Church by profession.  Therefore, they should go forth as witnesses and instruments of her mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by their life and words.

Called like Saint Francis to rebuild the Church and inspired by his example, let them devote themselves energetically to living in full communion with the pope, bishops, and priests, fostering an open and trusting dialog of apostolic effectiveness and creativity.

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1-2 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

5-6 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

9 In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.

10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.

11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

15-16 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

18-19 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

22-23 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

26-29 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

ISAIAH 6:1-13

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

6-7 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

11-12 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

ISAIAH 7:1-25

1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

3-4 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear–jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

5-7 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.

9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

10-11 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

21-22 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.

23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.

24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

ISAIAH 8:1-22

1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher–shalal–hash–baz.

2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Maher–shalal–hash–baz.

4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

5-8 The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.

10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

11-12 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.