This summer the Bishop of Beaumont is promoting a good idea and the organizational skills to make it so throughout the diocese: small, easily transportable plastic bags of needful items for anyone displaced by hurricanes, fires, tornadoes, or other disasters.
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George Abbot, historically known as Archbishop of Canterbury, was born in 1562 in the humble town of Guildford, England. Abbot studied at Oxford, where he demonstrated academic excellence in intense theological study…
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“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things…” (Luke 10:41). This is probably not what Martha expected she would be known for, on the off chance she expected to be remembered at all.
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Among all the women in the Bible, none remain so controversial as Mary Magdalene, a mysterious female disciple who was very close to Jesus, almost as close as the Twelve.
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Many may know Saint Bonaventure’s name, but few know his story. This pious Franciscan monk was born in 1221 in Bagnoregio, Italy. He was initially baptized as John, but changed his name to Bonaventure when he joined the Franciscans. During a bout of severe illness in his youth, Bonaventure’s mother asked for the intercession of the recently canonized Saint Francis of Assisi.
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St. Kilian (sometimes spelled “Killian” or “Cillian”) was born in the mid 600s in Ireland. He became a missionary and a traveling bishop in the custom of the Irish Church…
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If you’ve ever heard the Ink Spots’ 1940 hit “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano”, you have St. Junipero Serra to thank. Junipero was born Miquel Serra on Majorca, an island off the coast of Spain. He joined the Franciscan monks…
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Someone near and dear to my pancreas gave (“gifted” is not a verb) me one of those clever aluminum MeWatches that claim to make one’s life more interesting in many ways and which come without any instructions because not sending instructions with a product is such a cool thing now.
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Theodore Beza was one of the lesser known Reformed theologians of the first hundred years of the Reformation, however, his influence on the Reformed movement cannot be denied.
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John Vernon McGee was born in 1904 in Hillsboro, Texas. His family moved to Tennessee when his father died in 1918. Vernon, as he was known, graduated college then seminary, then became the pastor of a church first in Decatur, Georgia, and afterward in Cleburne, Texas. It was there that Vernon met his future wife, Ruth Inez Jordan.
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Ephrem the Syrian was born in Nisibis, in the province of Mesopotamia (now Nusaybin, Turkey, lying 166 miles from Mosul, Iraq) in approximately 306 AD… Ephrem was baptized as a youth and began right away in building up the Body of Christ in Nisibis as a deacon. It is also highly likely that he was a “son of the Covenant,” an early type of friar or lay brother. As a deacon, he used his gift as a poet and composer to write instructional hymns, teaching the people to confront heresy through song.
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Justin Martyr was an early Christian apologist, born about the year 100 AD. He was a student of philosophy and was converted circa 130 AD in part by the witness of martyrs going joyfully to their deaths.
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The topic of trust came up the other day when one of the prisoners I visit each week remarked on the challenge of knowing how to find reliable information about the Virus-of-Many-Names.
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Nothing is known of the youth of the Apostle to the English. What we do know is that he was born sometime in the sixth century and was probably upper-class Roman. He was close friends with Pope Gregory the Great, and his mission to Britain was by the Pope’s specific request…
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With the ongoing direction of turning Disney’s cartoon classic movies into live action adaptations, some that work, others that don’t, many seem to forget that live action fairy tales were the norm when Disney was doing animated movies. One of these was a mini series put together and hosted by Shelley Duvall; another was put together and hosted by Shirley Temple.
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Lydia of Philippi is one of the comparatively few women mentioned by name in the Acts of the Apostles, but very little is known about her. Acts 16:11ff tells us that Lydia sold purple cloth, that she was from Thyatira, and she was a believer who took Paul, Silas, and Luke into her home when they arrived in Philippi.
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At first, Emily is delighted; a real pixie, just like in her favorite fairy tales! Then she learns that Candy has been sent to find the “Glitter Force” a group of mighty warriors who will defend earth, and Candy’s homeland, Jubiland (which we hope is badly translated) against the forces of evil, represented by an evil Jester, the Big Bad Wolf, a Witch, an Ogre, and the big bad, Emperor Nogo.
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on May 13th, 1917, three children tending sheep outside of Fatima, Portugal were visited by the Virgin Mary. Over the next several months, Mary appeared to the children on the 13th of every month to deliver visions of future events, including the end of World War I, the beginning of another war, and other important events in their future.
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Dominic Savio was born to Carlo (or Charles) and Brigitta Savio on April 2, 1842, one of ten children. At age seven, Dominic wrote down four resolutions, the fourth of which was “Death before sin.”
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Joseph of Arimathea was a man who followed Jesus Christ from a distance. He was a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, the leaders of the Jewish community.
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