Saint du Jour

Okay, some catch-up is required.

February 23rd:
Saint Margaret of Cortona
She was beautiful, she married well. Had a son. Apparently, she had an affair, and her lover was killed. She joined the Franciscan order. She did a lot of penance, and was granted a lot of graces. Thankfully, she wasn't martyred. Apparently, in pictoral representations, she appears with a dog. This dog supposedly found her lover's body.

February 24th
Saint Matthias, d. 1370
After Judas left the band, Joshua and crew needed to allow one more to join the ranks. It was narrowed down to two groupies, Justus and Matthias. I call them groupies because they hung around with the apostles (or the ministry of Jesus). So, Saint Matthias was promoted. So, they drew straws and God made Matthias pick the short straw. He was martyred spreading the gospel somewhere, but they aren't sure which, and there's no support sources to confirm that. I'm going to throw my guess in, which states that he died in a brothel in Palestine.


February 25th
Saint Avertanus and his sidekick Blessed Romeo

Avertanus was a pious boy, and when the time came to choose his avocation, he wanted to enter the Carmelite order at Limoges. His parents begged him to stay. "Have pity on my white hair," his old man said, "I shall die soon and whom will I have to close my eyes?"

Avertanus paused a moment and thought, "I'd rather spend all day praying on my knees until they feel like leather than watch my dad die." So, he replied that "...God never abandons those who do His will, that the happiness of parents consists in that of their children.."

Other sources claim that Avertanus also said, "Serves you right for not having more children. One of them could have stayed behind to 'close your eyes'. Man! All those chores you made me do seriously harshed my pious-time!" *

Apparently, he was a hard-core monk, and he had a desire to take a Pilgrimage to Rome. He was given Romeo, a lay brother (wink wink nudge nudge) of the convent. Apparently they were very good travelling companions. They prayed often and visited every church along the way. However, they had many difficulties, including contracting the plague, which they brought to the town of Lucca, and they died there.

See, kids! Happy endings do happen!

*I'm completely making this up, so you just need to believe that it's true.


February 26th

Saint Nestor, d. 250
Led a congregation of Christians. Helped them flee, but stayed behind to be captured by the authorities. Refused to embrace the pagan gods. Accused magistrate of being possessed by a demon. Was eventually crucified. Lather. Rinse, Repeat.

If the lives of the Saints tell you anything, it's that Churches and States need to be completely separate.

Lazy Sunday

I am still fending off this head cold action. Still fill some sensitivity around the sinus/eye area. Have a sore throat still. No nasty cough yet, or other feelings of malaise. I just don't like that weird feeling in the eyes, as if I am on the verge of tears.

I slept fairly well, despite some interruptions from the cats. It's now a lovely rainy day.

I have started some laundry, and made a brunch consisting of some leftovers. I had roasted some potatoes an made a sautee of spinach, onions and mushrooms earlier in the week. I sliced two strips of bacon, threw them into the pan and allowed them to cook a bit. Then I cut up those roasted potatoes and tossed them in with the bacon. Then I added the spinach sautee and let those goodies cook up a bit. Then I beat some eggs with a little soy milk and poured them over the potato-bacon-spinach hash. I cooked, flipped, and threw a bit of cheese on top of the fritatta. I ingested that little concoction with two cinnamon crumpets, on which I drizzled some orange flavored honey.

Now I am sated, but with this cold thing, I'm feeling like a nap.

The Sunday Philosophy Club

I just finished the The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith.

My reaction? It's definitely a good light read. If you're a Philosophy major of any sort, you might get a kick out of the applied ethics issues that Isabel Dalhousie wrestles with when solving crimes. The premise is fantastic: she's the "...editor of the Review of Applied Ethics and occasional sleuth, who is often accused of getting involved in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business."

So, we start with the idea that she's getting involved in affairs that she should not get involved in. And the exceptions to the rules go on from there.

You'll enjoy the character of Grace, who comes from less educated beginnings. She works for Isabel, and Isabel will frequently converse with her on ethical issues and compare her well-educated reaction to Grace's more visceral reaction to an ethical conundrum.

Fun with Google News

Mixup in articles? What does a teacher having sex with her students have to do with prostate issues? You tell me. After you tell me, tell Google.

Update: It looks like Google sort of corrected it, but if you look at all related articles, the Prostate Study still shows up.