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Oleander Aphids on a young Swamp Milkweed leaf. (I know it's Swamp Milkweed because I saw it blooming the year before.) The biggest one is 1.7 mm long. This is one of the critters that has adapted to feeding on this poisonous plant (milkweed contains cardiac glycosides; but a few species, such as the Monarch, have adapted to feed on it and concentrate the toxins in their own tissues, making themselves unpalatable to predators).
These same species of aphids were all over the Swamp Milkweed that I planted in front of my house last year. I think they may have been responsible for stunting the growth of some of the plants rather severely -- or maybe the plants were just too close to the yew.
Because I get my haircut in the Thompson Center, I’m one of few people with access to the building. Persons enter on a N. LaSalle Street entrance and can only go to the second level unless they are a state employee. Ground-floor access is limited to a small space at the bottom of the down escalator.
Completed in 1985, the James R. Thompson Center (formerly the State of Illinois Building) features a 13-story atrium. It was designed by architect Helmut Jahn. It is bounded by W. Randolph, N. LaSalle, W. Lake and N. Clark streets and named after the recently deceased governor. Periodic news reports have the building being either sold to private owners, modified or demolished. Ironically, the owners of the Sherman House, the hotel that stood at the corner of N. LaSalle and W. Randolph streets (demolished in 1973) offered to construct the building for half the price ultimately paid by the state, with a superior design by the young Helmut Jahn. Governor Thompson turned them down.
Val of Because Geek speaking at the 2017 Con of Thrones at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.
Because one day you'll be at a junction and a proper Range Rover will pull up beside you and make you feel inadequate.
AND I CHOOSE THAT BECAUSE I DID EXPECT WETLANDS HERE , IT WAS HOT WEATHER AND SLIPPERS WOULD NOT GO ALONG MY STEPS WELL.
LATER I DID FELL IN SUCH LARGE WATER AS SEEN HERE BUT WATER NOT SEEN SO GOOD AS HERE. I JUST FELLT UNEXPECTED AND I WALKED RAN FURTHER DURING FALLING AND SO ONLY MY EXPENSIVE SHOES AND TROUSERS WERE GONE VERY WET. THE WATER WAS SO CLEAN, THE SUN SO HOT I WAS CLEAN AND DRY WEN I CAME HOME AND THAT BY DOING NOTHING THAN WALKING HOME.
I DID AGREE WITH MY DECISION TO CHOOSE THAT EXPENSIVE PUMA SHOES AND WALK THEM BARE FEET. b
Huws Gray Alliance
Caernarforn Town 0
Holyhead Hotspur 0
atten 350
Beauty & The Beast
To be honest it wasnt a great game, even the locals apologised to me. There was no need because I had thoroughly enjoyed my time for many reasons. Chances were at a premium and even the new signing “The Beast” chances were limited. The real enjoyment was found meeting the people and learning what the Club is really all about.This was no Disney film as today i had seen with my own eyes 'The Beast' but more importantly 'The Beauty'.
The first football club in Caernarfon, known as Caernarvon Athletic, was formed in September 1876 and played at various grounds before moving to the Oval in 1888. On 30 October 1886, Caernarfon was the first team from north west Wales to enter the FA Cup and lost 10–1 away to Stoke City. Five years later, however, that particular club went out of existence but, in 1894, several former players began a new team called Caernarvon Ironopolis. That club competed in the North Wales Coast League, winning the championship on two occasions and reaching the semi-final of the Welsh Cup in 1900 and again in 1902. Unfortunately, following a dispute with the league, Ironopolis folded in 1903. The demise of the club resulted in some of the players forming the Caernarvon Colts while others affiliated to the Caernarvon RWF (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), both clubs playing at the Oval.
In 1906, the clubs amalgamated to form Caernarvon United and in 1909 the new club won both the Welsh and North Wales Amateur Cups. After the Great War, the demobbed United players formed a new club (Caernarvon Athletic) which, until 1921, played in the North Wales Coast League and thereafter the Welsh National League Division Two (West), with mixed fortune. In 1926, however, a limited company was formed and a full-time manager and professional team engaged. The club met with immediate success, winning the Welsh National League Division One championship in 1926–27, ahead of Bangor City and Rhyl, and repeating the feat in 1929–30 having been pipped to the title by Connah's Quay & Shotton 12 months earlier. Caernarvon Athletic are still remembered for their FA Cup run in 1929 when they defeated Darlington before going out to Bournemouth in a second round replay, the first game at the Oval attracting a crowd of some 9,000. In 1930, however, the club went into liquidation but two years later a re-formed team won the Welsh Combination before quitting over problems in using the Oval.
It's never quiet at The Oval as in 2010 they came uncomfortably close to folding completely. The tipping point came when they were served a suspension notice from the Welsh Alliance League. But for the determination of a group of supporters and a newly formed committee they somehow were able to fulfill the remaining fixtures.
The following season forward steps were made albeit baby steps. A better financial position and better results on the pitch lead to a serious attempt at gaining promotion to the second tier of the Welsh Pyramid. The last part of the jigsaw was the right type of Team Manager to lead them at a critical time in the club's renaissance. The 2012/3 season was a treble winning season on the pitch. But really it was a 'world cup' winning season off the pitch as the club had finallyregained its dignity and pride and then some.
The day started with a brisk walk along the beach at Rhos-on-Sea in the crisp winter sunshine and well earned Full English Breakfast washed down with delicious brewed coffee. My day came to an end watching another game Llandudno Albion v Llandudno Athletic. A feircely contested local derby one might presume ..... final score was 17-1. As the evening chill had set in and the score was standing at 13-1, i decided that the home win was now secure and it was an appropriate moment to vacate the premisis. A perfect start to the day and an enjoyable finale but it was what was in the middle that will live longer in the memory. Oval stays are enjoyable days !
Because they have the Model Muse body, they'll join my models. July with her rubies has been renamed Olivia, and August, jeweled in peridots, is now Emily.
KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF MY PUSSY
“Dreams are hopeful because they exist as pure possibility. Unlike memories, which are fossils, long dead and buried deep.” ―Shaun David Hutchinson, We Are the Ants
wheatpaste stencil downtown milwaukee
"Will you ever be a millionaire? Was I ever a working stiff? In your heart, you know the answer. Because AMERICA. Paid for by Americans for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, & Friends of M. Rothbard""
Because of this westie's haircut, he looks like some sort of mythical creature that is only found in the mountains of Tibet. Maybe it's just me.
This was taken at the SF Bay Westie Club's Tartan Games.
Sad because these are remnants of the Larsen B ice shelf that broke down a few years ago. We should not see tabular icebergs - not this size anyway. That's global warming at work.
The afternoon of day 15 of the trip and it's into the big house. Yes we were about to descend on Graceland. I said before I'm not the biggest Elvis fan, but it was amazing how I was becoming a huge admirer. Graceland wasn't as big as I thought it would be, and certainly not as outrageous. Okay maybe it was still a bit outrageous, but back in 1977 it must have been crazy ridiculous outrageous. What a life this man must have led. I also thought back in 1977 it certainly wouldn't have been on the main drag and "just across the road from the shops"!!! The tour was well worth it. Totally enjoyed the whole Elvis experience. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. I must have been really excited because I didn't eat much that day. In fact I ate nothing but a hot dog!!!
Kimberlite in the Jurassic of Pennsylvania, USA.
Kimberlites and lamproites have tremendous economic importance because they are host rocks for gem-grade and industrial-grade diamonds. Kimberlites & lamproites are unusual igneous bodies having overall pipe-shaped geometries. Their mode of formation is only moderately understood because they have not been observed forming. They are known from scattered localities throughout the world - only some are significantly diamondiferous. Classic localities for diamonds are India and Brazil. Africa was also discovered to have many kimberlites and is world-famous for producing large numbers of diamonds. Other notable diamondiferous kimberlite-lamproite occurrences include Russia, China, northwestern Australia, and northwestern Canada.
Kimberlites are named for the town of Kimberley, South Africa - several kimberlite pipes occur in that area. Kimberlites have a gently tapering-downward, pipe-shaped cross-section, somewhat like a carrot. Lamproites have a cross-section shape that resembles a martini glass.
The rock seen here is part of a non-diamondiferous kimberlite intrusion in Pennsylvania. Unlike most kimberlites, which have pipe-shaped geometries, this occurrence is an igneous dike. The groundmass consist of olivine, phlogopite mica, and opaque minerals. Phenocrysts and megacrysts reported from this unit include olivine (serpentinized) and pyrope garnet.
Geologic unit: Gates-Adah Kimberlite Dike, middle Early Jurassic, 185 Ma
Locality: Gates-Adah Kimberlite Dike trend, near Middle Run, east of the Monongahela River, north or northeast of the town of Gates, far-western Fayette County, southwestern Pennsylvania, USA
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Info. at:
‘Well then, what did you make of his stuff?’
‘You really want to know?’
‘Yeh, I’m interested’
‘Alright, well, the guys an idiot. A f*cking, w***y pretentious idiot’
‘That’s a bit harsh isn’t it? I thought he had some nice stuff’
‘Yeh, yeh, the one with the couple on the bench and the fuzzy guys was pretty enough, but still, you know, it’s just nonsense most of it. I mean, what the hell was all that with the angry faces, aye right mate, the guys a ponce and you know it’
‘Aye, well, no defence there’
And the ones with him under the dressing table, seriously man, that was just b*lloclks. I mean Hazel was looking pretty hot an’ all in those shots, he’s a lucky get so he is but seriously, what the f*ck was he up to taking c*ap like that?’
‘Well, that was a bit random to be fair, but I’m sure it had some deeper meaning’
‘Like?’
‘Ehm, well, maybe it represented one mans struggle with domesticity’
‘Seriously! You did not just say that’
‘All right, all right, calm down will you. OK, well, maybe the cramped awkward figure was representative of, ehhh, the inability of the artist to conform to social norms. A surreal metaphor for the strictures of an emotionally repressed culture and the flawed attempts by a creative person to adapt and fit in.’
‘Aw man, you my friend are full of s**t’
‘Aye, I know, sorry. I always get this way after I’ve been to an exhibition. I think it’s emblematic of my insecurity when confronted with work that harmonises both humour and pathos to create cathartic images that speak directly to the viewer about their own life and situation’
‘Are you taking the piss!?’
‘Yes’
‘Oh, right. Good. Right, well, that’s enough of the fancy b*llocks for another year. Next time he invites us to a showing I’ll be sure to be busy, very f*cking busy. Life’s too short for c*ap like that’
‘Eloquently put’
‘F*ck off will you, that was pure sh*te and you know it. Now, do you fancy a pint or what? Should be some footie on later an’ all. Could have a wee sesh, get bevvied and then head home’
‘Sounds good to me. First rounds on you ya big philistine’
Finally got my stuff set up on desktop as I like it. Apple Fanboys and Girls eat your heart out. I am a Vista Fanboy!!!
This is a classic Crème Patisserie often used in bakeries and restaurants. It can be used as a filling for cakes, tarts or pastries. To make a lighter filling,
500ml milk
4 tablespoons caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
4 tablespoons cornflour
1 tesco Edler's Sweet Pastry Case
79p
Tesco Organic Strawberries (300g)
£1.99
HOME MADE crème pâtissière...
5 tablespoons caster sugar
25g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation method
1.In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 4 tablespoons sugar. Bring to the boil over medium heat.
2.In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornflour; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to the boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to the boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don't curdle or scorch on the bottom.
3.When the mixture comes to the boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of cling film directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.
AFTER DECORATING FLAN TOP WITH GLAZE
home made glaze
arrowroot
water
sugar
drip of colouring optional
boil cool
dress flan
boil cool
1. When I fall asleep, I have a dream about falling from some stairs. It wakes me up, because I jerk myself.
2. If I could I would eat only soya biscuits and drink only red wine.
3. Sometimes I soliloquize... I talk to myself up... but everybody does this, doesn't he?
4. I listen to music most of the day. I do arithmetics, read a book, go by bus, eat my lunch and I listen to music at the same time.
5. My mother used to said: "Don't forget the wallet, mobile-phone, keys and handkerchiefs." Now I tell it to myself always when I go away from our flat.
6. I like jogging and it's the only one sport that I do tolerably regularly.
7. When our teacher asked me and my schoolmates What is your idea of the best evening? The answered: "With friends in a pub.." and I said: "Alone in my room with the bottle of wine."
8. I have many favourite books, but because my laziness I will never be able to write a general scripts about them.
9. I like second hands, haberdasheries and shops with small unneeded things...
10. I often enthuse over something/somebody, but after while it's boring for me...
11. I like people twho can make me laugh. I hate people who have problems and complexes and destroy the others.
12. Many people said to me that I behave like clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKN0VFCZB9w&feature=related This is my favourite movie by the way.
13. I like nice romantic french comedies. The best is from Godard - A Bout De Souffle - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9Tisn7KxE&feature=related
14. I think that the relationship can't work, if you don't think, that you will be with your
partner for ages.. till the end.
15. Maybe I'm not sensitive person, because I don't remember when it was the last time when I cried. But I know the momements when I should have cried and I didn't.
16. I want to be a journalist.
CZ
1. Když usínám, tak se mi často zdá, že padám ze schodů, trhnu sebou a zase se vzbudim.
2. Kdyby bylo po mym klidně bych žila jenom o sójovejch tyčinkách a červenym víně.
3. Někdy si mluvim nahlas sama pro sebe. (Ale to dělají všichni, ne?)
4. Většinu dne poslouchám muziku. Poslouchám ji při všem, při hodině matiky, při cestě autobusem, při obědě, při čtení knížky...
5. Maminka mi tak dlouho říkala: "Máš všechno? Peněženku, mobil, klíče, kapesníky?", že si to už teď opakuju taky, když jdu pryč.
6. Ráda běhám a je to jediný sport, co dělám jakž takž pravidelně.
7. Když jsme měli ve škole odpovědět na otázku "Jak si představujete svůj nejlepší večer?", většina lidí odpověděla: "S kamarády v hospodě..." a já řekla: "Sama doma s flaškou vína..."
8. Mám spoustu oblíbenejch knížek, ale nikdy si o nich díky svojí lenosti neudělám přehlednej zápis.
9. Mám ráda secondhandy, galanterie a obchody se zbytečnostma...
10. Strašně rychle se pro něco/někoho nadchnu a pak mě omrzí.
11. Mám ráda lidi, co mě umí rozesmát. Štvou mě lidi, co maj problémy sami se sebou, a vybíjej si svoje komplexy na ostatních.
12. Hodně lidí už mi řeklo, že se chovám jako Clementine v Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKN0VFCZB9w&feature=related Je to zároveň můj nejoblíbenější film.
13. Mám ráda milý francouzský romantický komedie. Hlavně Godardovo A Bout De Souffle - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9Tisn7KxE&feature=related
14. Myslím si, že vztah nemůže vyjít, pokud nedoufáte v to, že s partnerem budete až na věky věků.
15. Asi jsem málo citlivá, protože si nepamatuju, kdy jsem naposledy brečela, za to moc dobře vim, že jsem nebrečela, když jsem brečet měla.
16. Chci být novinářkou.
You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You can't be sure where it will take you. But it doesn't matter. . .
Photo by OSC.
Because no matter how badly a thing is hurting us, sometimes letting it go hurts even worse.
Grey's Anatomy
"Because tonight, the world turned in me
Because right now, I don't dare to breath
Oh babe I know, it's alive and somewhere for us to find tonight,
Chase this light with me"
-Jimmy Eat World
I've noticed that I shoot each senior a different way. Sometimes a strobist style will dominate the photos and sometimes, like this one, I'll use more natural light.
Relic under my family custody
More miraculous stories in the life of Saint Padre Pio
(This article is a continuation of miraculous stories in the life of St Padre Pio. Part 1 which is entitled "Little known stories in the life of St Padre Pio" can be found here.
I would like to sincerely thank Brother Michael of the Cross and also Thomas Warner M.D. for transcribing these stories. -Webmaster)
The cure of Gaspare di Prazzo, Cianciana, Agrigento
Mr. Gaspare di Prazzo had a case of Mediterranean Fever which had become very serious. A woman, Signora Vacarro, knew of Padre Pio and recommended the patient invoke Padre Pio's help for a cure and Signora Vacarro gave Gaspare a picture of Padre Pio to use while invoking his intercession. Upon receiving the photo, the patient kissed the photograph of Padre Pio and begged him to cure him.
A few days passed when one evening at 6pm the patient said to his wife: "Put someone at the door and don't let anyone in, because Padre Pio is coming, and I don't want to be seen by anyone.'
The wife nodded assent and assured him that their nephew was already near the door.
Later that night, at eleven o'clock, when all were in bed and only his wife was sitting up by the patient's bedside, and the patient had a significant fever he said to his wife: 'Put out the light because Padre Pio is about to come, and I don't want to be seen by anyone, not even by you.'
His wife obeyed and put out the light. All of a sudden the patient began to speak, very joyfully: "Oh! Padre Pio, are you here to heal me? I thank you. Pass your hand from my head to my feet. I cannot go on anymore and I do not want to leave my wife a widow...'
The patient felt Padre Pio near his bed. He passed his stigmatized hand over all his body. His wife saw nobody, but understood that Padre Pio was beside her beloved spouse, and trembling in a corner of the room on her knees, weeping she also prayed to Padre Pio: ' As you have come, Padre Pio, ask Our Lord for the grace of my husband's cure.'
After a few minutes, the wife asked her husband if she could put on the light, and the patient replied: 'No, because Padre Pio has not gone out yet, he is still by my bedside.'
Another ten minutes passed, then the husband told his wife to put on the light, because Padre Pio was gone. After putting on the light, his sister and Dr. Giannone came around the bed of the patient, whose eyes were shining, and who was emitting deep sighs. He said he felt better, and then told them the following:
"A little while ago I found myself in a beautiful church, where Padre Pio was celebrating Mass, and I was on my knees . I saw the Holy Ghost in the beautiful form of a dove above the altar. After Mass, I drew closer to him, and he said to me: 'Have faith in God. But you must go to confession and you must not swear any more.' Being thirsty, I asked Padre Pio for water, and he accompanied me to a cistern. I filled a bottle with lovely fresh water; groaning with pain I drank it in one draught, burning with fever. As soon as I had drunk the water I smelt perfume which resembled the smell of vanilla. Then Padre Pio went away."
After this account the patient repeated that he felt better. The cousin,a medical physician, examined him an noted a very significant change: the fever had already diminished, and by the next morning he was without any, and the fever never returned. Early that next morning Signora Vacarro went to visit him - the reader will recall that it was she who lent him the photograph of Padre Pio - and joyfully upon seeing him she said:
"The grace has been given! I dreamt of Padre Pio last night and he said to me: 'The grace has been given.'"
-and truly the grace had been obtained, for a few days afterwards the patient got up cured and went to church to thank Our Lord. Later he had a solemn day of the Blessed Eucharist celebrated in the Church of the Liguorini, where he confessed and received Holy Communion, after having been away from the Sacraments for ten years. From then on Signor Piazzi has never swore again and he is very grateful to Padre Pio, whose photograph he always carries about with him."
Cure of a diabetic through a vision of Padre Pio
On Corpus Christi, June 20, 1946, at about 6pm a nun named Lucia was suffering from severe diabetes and because of this was impelled to drank quarts of water for relief. Suddenly however she no longer felt the need to drink water and she called the Mother Superior. She said she must now go to the chapel to pray.
Nevertheless, the Mother Superior asked the sister to bring along a glass of water. The Mother Superior had a presentiment that it was the beginning of the end. Lucia told her with a happy smille: "I will die soon, Mother, Padre Pio came to see me. He was just like picture on the bureau. He said I could not be cured (i.e. by the doctors). But he also told me to hope, and to have faith in the help of Heaven.
Evidently, from the succession of events we will read below, Lucia has initially misunderstood Padre Pio. Two sisters assisted her to the chapel. She did not ask for water, and even refused when offered the glass that had been taken along. It was now already a quarter of an hour since she had taken anything to drink. After finishing her prayers she was brought back to her little room as it appeared that she was fainting. The chaplain was called and a drinking tube was put into her mouth, but she immediately pushed it away. Suddenly she opened her eyes with a strange smile on her lips. She sat up in her bed and gesticulated joyously, saying Padre Pio had just told her in the name of God: "You are cured. Get up! Come immediately to my monastery. I want to bless you and thank the Almighty with you." Lucia went to the monastery with two of the sisters on June 17. When they appeared before Padre Pio, he said with a smile: "I was waiting for you," and he blessed her.
__________________
A spiritual grace, Porto Maurizio, September 11, 1940
A gentleman from Porto Maurizio writes:
"No matter how much I say with regard to the graces received through Padre Pio, I could not say enough, for he procured me a great number, and continued to do so. When I saw Padre Pio for the first time, it seemed to me like a dream, and my heart leapt for joy.
"I assisted at the Mass he celebrated with saintly ardor. I was also fortunate enough to see him at close range, for I was kneeling at the side of the altar; large drops of tears fell from his eyes ... in that instant I repented of my sins and implored forgiveness for myself and for all mankind. At the Consecration, I was doubly wrapped in prayer, and at the Elevation of the Host I looked up with faith, and to my astonishment it appeared radiant and beautiful. I said nothing about it to anyone that day, but the following day I went to the confessional of the Padre and I said, 'Father,the Host consecrated by you does not look the same as the others.' 'What,' he said, 'is there something special about mine?' 'Yes, I replied, 'the Host of every other priest looks ordinary, and there is a crucifix in the center, while yours appears beautiful and radiant.' he did not reply, so I continued, "Tell me Father, is this so, or is it an illusion?' Entering into a state of recollection within himself, he replied with gravity, 'What you saw in fact was true.'
________________
Padre Pio predicts a boy to a childless couple, and later baptizes the baby under miraculous circumstances
A couple from Genoa visited Padre Pio to tell him they had no children. "Bring him to me to be baptized when he is born," was his answer. He could often foretell the sex of an unborn child.
The following year the fortunate couple returned to the monastery Church with their new baby boy, but in the Church of Our Lady of Graces there was such a large crowd that it was impossible to reach Padre Pio who was hearing confessions and then reciting the evening prayers . The mother remained in the parish house of San Giovanni Rotundo one mile away, whilst the father went to the monastery to talk to Padre Pio's fellow priests, telling them that Padre Pio had invited them to come there and that they were to meet with him; hoping to try to arrange a meeting with him in the next few days. Since by then it was getting quite late, he was told to come back in the morning. So, he returned to his wife at the parish house and when he arrived his wife informed him that Padre Pio had come to baptise the baby earlier in the evening. "But how is that possible!" he replied, because at the time specified Padre Pio was without a doubt in the Church reciting the evening prayers and hearing confessions of the many people assembled there.
_________________
A woman is revived from a coma
On July 20, 1921, a Monsignor D'Indico of Florence, whom this author [Fr. Charles Carty] met in 1923 when studying theology at the Archbishop's Seminary in Florence, was alone in his study. He felt the sensation of having someone at his back. He turned and saw a monk, who disappeared. He left his room to tell a chaplain what happened. The chaplain thought it was mere hallucination due to his state of anxiety over his sister, who was very ill. He invited him to take a short walk for mental distraction. When they returned they went to see his sister in her sick room. His sister, who a little before had been in state of coma, at the same hour when her brother felt the sensation of being in the presence of Padre Pio, told how she had seen a monk enter her room who approached her and said : "Don't be afraid; tomorrow your fever will disappear, and after a few days there will be no trace of your illness in your body." But, Padre, she answered, "are you then a saint?" "No, I am simply a creature who serves the Lord through His mercies."
"Let me kiss your habit, Padre."
"Kiss the sign of the Passion," and he showed his hands transfixed and bleeding.
"Padre, I recommend to you my husband and child."
"Pray, pray that you will be good, and be assured that your child will be under my protection," and blessing her, he vanished.
She immediately got better and in eight days was entirely cured.
____________________
Fr. Antonio narrates that during the war in Africa an Italian soldier was standing behind a large rock, while a fierce battle was going on. Suddenly a monk stood beside him and pulled him gently by the sleeve, saying he should get out form behind the rock. The soldier did not want to leave what he thought was a safe place. The monk pulled a second time, and was more emphatic. he did not move. Then the monk pulled him out by force. Right after that the entire place where the soldier had been standing blew up. The monk disappeared. Some days after as he was relating this to a fellow soldier, the companion showed him a picture of Padre Pio which he always carried with him. The soldier whose life had been saved exclaimed: "Why, that is definitely the monk who saved my life!"
Prior to this he had never seen Padre Pio or heard of him before.
_____________________
The Church approved miracle for the canonisation of Padre Pio
January 20th , 2000, was a regular school day for seven years old Matteo Pio Colella of San Giovanni Rotondo until he started to shiver and develop a fever. He was brought home weak and vomiting. That he evening he was progressively worse with the development of bleeding into and necrosis of his skin. In the modern hospital of San Giovanni Rotondo (Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza ) he was found to have clots in his blood vessels, signs of kidney and liver failure and hyperacute meningitis with septicaemia : an extremely serious condition, which by next morning, had rapidly affected all organ systems with septic shock, respiratory failure, cyanosis, a heart rate of 20 , dilated pupils and cardiac arrest. Despite therapy, the prognosis for survival was hopeless. Meanwhile, prayers for his recovery were being offered by many through the intercession of Padre Pio. By mid-day, despite the most morbid prognostication, he showed signs of improvement. Even with a persistent lung problem he made great progress within ten days. In a few weeks recovery was complete.
The mortality from his illness ---fulminant meningitis with acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ (nine organ systems) failure ---- is 100 percent. His recovery was medically inexplicable and was declared a miracle by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints in the presence of Pope John Paul II.
An unusual visitor
While asleep, Matteo said that he was unable to pray to Padre Pio but started to do so, on awakening. “As soon as I awoke, I put out my hand searching for another hand saying: I want Padre Pio “. However during his ‘sleep’ he was not alone but was visited by an old man with a white beard and a long brown garment. This man, smiling, gave him his hand and said “Matteo don’t be worried you will soon be healed “. Beside this man he saw three angels, one dressed in white with green wings and two in red with white wings; their faces were not clear because of their brilliance. Another day afterwards, he told his uncle Giovanni that the very night he was healed there was a child with green eyes and black hair, lying rigid, on a little bed in a hospital in Rome. Subsequently he related the dream to his mother who asked: “How did you get to Rome? “. Matteo told her that he made a kind of flight with Padre Pio who held him by the hand and who spoke to him interiorly; when they arrived Padre Pio asked: “Do you want to be healed ? And Matteo replied “How will that happen? “ “Will it with prayer”.
Then his mother asked: “How did you know you were in Rome? “ Matteo recognized Luna Park ( a theme park ) which he had visited with uncle Giovanni! In conclusion, Matteo said “I was healed by Padre Pio“
Matteo was present in Saint Peter’s Square for the canonization of Padre Pio (June 16th, 2002 ) and at this Mass he made his First Holy Communion. Incidentally, Matteo has green eyes and black hair.
Finally, as if to remind us of an unusual ‘event’ in the Saint’s life, the official missal for the occasion had on the cover an icon depicting Jesus Christ crucified with Saint Francis beneath one arm of the Cross and Padre Pio beneath the other. This ‘event’, to be described briefly, was reported by Fr. Alberto D’Apolito, a friend of Padre Pio’s.
Jacopa and the Third Order
Giovanna Rizzani Boschi, a shy lady from Udine, became a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio in 1923. In 1905, while her father lay dying her mother gave birth to Giovanna in their courtyard where, during labour, she thought she saw a Capuchin friar. Meanwhile , in 1905, as a seminarian in the Capuchin friary Padre Pio wrote about a similar incident in which he found himself in a nobleman’s home during the birth of a child as her father was dying. The Virgin Mary appeared to Padre Pio and said: “I am entrusting this child to you --- she will seek you out --- but first you will meet her in St. Peter’s.
The Boschi family moved to Rome in 1922. One afternoon Giovanna visited St. Peter’s where she discussed doubts about her faith in a confessional with a Capuchin friar. She waited for this “gifted man “ before the Basilica was closed to arrange a further meeting. The sacristan showed her that the confessional was empty; he had vanished. Later, she heard about Padre Pio for the first time and decided she must meet him and arranged a trip to San Giovanni Rotondo. While Padre Pio was passing through a large crowd he stopped in front of her and said: “Giovanna, I know you. You were born the day your father died.” And he continued to reveal details of her birth and her visit to St. Peter’s. On a later visit he asked her to join the Franciscian Third Order, giving her the name Jacopa which she didn’t like. But he insisted, saying that a noble Roman woman called Jacopa was present at the death of St. Francis of Assisi. “One day you will be present at my death”.
In September 1968, the anniversary of the stigmata, Giovanna heard his voice calling her to San Giovanni because he was going away. She arrived and went to confession. After Mass, on September 22nd, Padre Pio became ill, but not seriously. That night, either in a dream or a vision, she found herself in Padre Pio’s cell where he lay dying, surrounded by friars and two doctors. She woke up and cried out to her friend that Padre Pio was dying. She got dressed and outside the monastery was told by a friar that Padre Pio was dead. Later, she related the strange events to Fr. Alberto D’Apolito and described in detail the interior of Padre Pio’s room (which before his death had never been photographed). He agreed with her description.
Indeed, in 1209, when St. Francis travelled to Rome to submit the rule of his new order to Pope Innocent III, he was supported by a Roman noblewoman called Jacopa de Settesoli. Subsequently she followed St. Francis’ life of austerity and was probably the inspiration for the founding of the Third Order of St. Francis. Jacopa was present at the death of St. Francis in Assisi. She died in Assisi in 1239 where her remains were placed in the “Saint’s Crypt“ bearing the inscription : HIC REQUIESCIT IACOPA SANCTA NOBLISQUE ROMANA
Beatification-Canonisation
Patience is a virtue and a virtue that was recognized as such by the devotees, prayer groups and spiritual children of Padre Pio. Even though the cause for canonization could have been initiated in 1973, ten more years elapsed before the complex process of beatification would begin with anihil obstat in 1982. In December 1997 the Decree of heroic virtue was promulgated in the presence of Pope John Paul II. The Servant of God was now Venerable. The medical board of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints examined a miracle attributed to the intercession of Padre Pio and the Decree on the miracle was promulgated again in the presence of the Pope in December 1998. His beatification by the Pope followed on May 2nd.1999 in the presence of a huge crowd.
Pope John Paul met Padre Pio in 1947, confessed to him and attended his Mass. This made a lasting impression on Fr. Wojtyla who recalled that Padre Pio “physically suffered “during the Eucharistic celebration. Also, in 1962 Bishop Wojtyla wrote to Padre Pio asking for his prayers for a friend who had advanced cancer. The malignancy disappeared the day before scheduled surgery.
There was no shortage of miracles during the life of “the man of prayer and suffering”, as Pope Paul VI called him. However, only those miracles occurring after death are considered for beatification with another, following that, for canonization. Again, the canonical documents were sent from the diocese of Manfredonia-Vieste to the Congregation and the medical testimony from Matteo’s cure was examined. In December 2000 the Theological Consultors met, followed by the Session of Cardinals and Bishops. Finally, the Decree of miracle and subsequently the Decree of Canonization were promulgated in the presence of Pope John Paul II.
Piazza San Pietro was packed for Mass on Sunday, June 16th. 2002. A large tapestry with the image of Padre Pio hung over the main door of the Basilica. No doubt many of his followers and spiritual children were ecstatic. The introduction included prayers, hymns and readings from Padre Pio’s writings. The choir sang the “Canto d’ingresso” followed by Psalm 97. Then the Pope recited a beautiful prayer in Italian, beginning with: “My dear brothers and sisters, today the Church inscribes the name of Blessed Padre Pio of Pietrelcina in the Register of the Saints---“,followed by the Miserere nostri ---. The Litany of the Saints preceded the Rite of Canonization with the Formula solemnly read in Latin by the Pope “ --- Beatum Pium a Pietrelcina Sanctum esse decernimus et definimus, ac Sanctorum Catalogo adscribimus ----“. “In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti”. Amen.
Padre Pio's feast day falls on September 23rd, the anniversary of his holy death.
References:
1. San Pio da Pietrelcina: Gerardo di Flumeri & Luciano Lotti; Frati Minori Cappuccin,Provincia di “Sant’ Angelo e Padre Pio”.
2. "Padre Pio, Man of Hope" Renzo Allegri; Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, MI.
3. "Witness to Hope" George Weigel; Harper Collins, New York.
4. "Padre Pio, The Stigmatist". Fr. Charles Mortimer Carty. Tan Books.
Because it just is.
Remember that feeling of digging your little kid fingers into the tightly-packed box of crayons to get JUST the color you wanted? And then trying to squeeze the crayon back in between two others once you were done?
Because I Haven't Done A Matchbox Car For A While I Thought I Would Have A Little Fun While Getting My Eye In Again, This Is A Tool Delivery Vehicle :-)
I have visited Howth many times over the last ten years but until today I never saw the launching of a trawler.
Edenvale WD-218A. According to the workers at the boatyard this is a larger than normal flat-bottomed mussel trawler. I have seen the following description on some specialized UK websites: "Different design of mussel dredger, dredges are towed over the stern".
There has been an increased interest in mussel dredging around the coast of Ireland. The mussel business in Ireland has expanded partly because of problems in Holland and partly because of an increase in official support.