“Good King Wenceslaus” is largely remembered today in the old Christmas carol that actually takes place on the second day of Christmas – December 26th, St. Stephen’s Day. In the song, Wenceslaus is revered as kind, gracious, courageous, and persevering. The real Wenceslaus, a prince of Bohemia, was born around the year 903AD to Duke Wratislaw (son of the devout Princess Ludmilla) and his wife Dragomir.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Hummingbirds buzz the sugar water buffet / At this junction for the connection to Mexico / I feel I should be wearing a white apron and cap / Refills for everyone – and will that be to go?
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Of course all our friends are dying away / Old age sneaks up on us, ghosting us in turn: / Yevgeny, Jimmy, Dusty, Judith, Rod, and we / Who blessed each other in our happy youth
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One of the most influential figures in both high-church Anglicanism and Catholicism, John Henry Newman was born in the city of London in the year 1801. His father, John, was a banker. The eldest of six, Newman was brought up a Calvinist and eventually went to Trinity College to complete his education as an Anglican priest.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Poor drought-dead leaves in mockery of autumn / Wind-rustle across the lawn as the dried husks they are
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By Cordelia Fitzgerald … Writing is really such a vulnerable sport! Up until the advent of records, a passing, but regrettable, utterance from an unfortunate individual would probably be forgotten. Alternatively, it could be passed from mouth to mouth, but would probably die out within a generation or two. Enter writing.
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Nicetas (also spelled Niketas) was a member of the Gothic people and lived near the Danube River in what is now Romania. We do not know under what circumstances Nicetas was brought to the Christian faith, but we do know he was baptized by Bishop Theophilis of the Goths.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Bubba Ebarb, of happy memory, required certain specific performances for his several successful restaurants. One of his rules was that the iced tea would never reach the old age of one hour before it was tossed and replaced with a fresh brewing of the refreshing leaf.
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By Amanda Pizzolatto … J. R. R. Tolkien has gone down in history as one of the greatest minds in literature. He single handedly created a brand new language, complete with the grammar and vocabulary rules. He then created a world for this language, followed by some myths and stories. But the one line that will forever be connected to him was “In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit.” And the rest is, of course, history.
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This realization spurred these students towards serving the impoverished around them, namely in the establishment of the Conference of Charity, later called the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, after Ozanam’s role model.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … There is no stillness like a cat / To the laws of physics a stillness unknown / When all is still he is stiller still / Even stiller than a stick or stone
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Association football, aka soccer, aka football, is said to be “the sweet sport,” though no one seems to know why. Soccer is nominally a healthy youth sport in which teams of young men and women kick a round ball and occasionally each other, but what one observes in the FIFA World Cup is a sour political mess of grownups acting like children without any positive role models.
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Also known as St. Simeon the Elder, Simeon was born circa 390 in Sisan, Cilicia (modern Syria) to Sisotian and Martha. Simeon became a monk at the age of eighteen…
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Also known as St. Simeon the Elder, Simeon was born circa 390 in Sisan, Cilicia (modern Syria) to Sisotian and Martha. Simeon became a monk at the age of eighteen…
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … In Texas most firefighters are unpaid volunteers, a rare contradiction to the axiom that you get what you pay for. Volunteer firefighters don’t get paid nothin’, but their names are written large on the scroll of Texas heroes.
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By Ruth Amsden … A recent disagreement between Dr. Jordan Peterson and Pope Francis left me feeling thoughtful. I was raised in an extremely anti-Catholic fundamentalist Christian sect, but have since come to cherish my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ. I have also, through long acquaintance with his work, come to cherish Dr. Peterson and his dear wife, Tammy.
Read MoreWhile performing a play that satirized the Christian rite of Baptism, Genesius felt the weight of his sins. Claiming to have seen an angel, Genesius demanded to be baptized. The actor playing the priest dumped a basin of water on him, believing this to be part of the show. Genesius, however, was quite serious. He began to preach Christ to the Emperor and all others in attendance, urging them to convert and be baptized.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … This August is indeed like a yellow flame / Death writhes among brown-burnt withering leaves / The grass is as sere as Macbeth’s acrid soul / And garden hoses drip in futility
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By Joseph Tuttle … Give me Thine eyes / with which to see / those in dire trouble / who send You their plea.
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Daig of Iniskeen was born to a noble family sometime in the middle of the Fifth Century, in County Meath, Ireland, possibly near the suburbs of Dublin. His father was named Cayrell, and was a descendant of legendary Irish king Naill of the Nine Hostages.
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