I wrote the below entry one year after my mom killed herself. This November it will be six years since she died and when my world was turned upside and shaken. Suicide is preventable. Educate yourself. Know the signs. We can help others who are suffering in silence, but only if we collectively stop avoiding the discussion because it makes us uncomfortable. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Please read this, share it and then take one minute to read the warning signs at http://tinyurl.com/mrgtcuw.
"Crazy drivers," "crazy neighbors"... I used to use the word crazy in my every day language...until my mom killed herself.
Of course no one ever used that term when describing her to me, but I know that's what some people were thinking. Seriously, someone would have to be "crazy" to kill themselves. At least that's what we tell ourselves to keep us safe and sane. As long as we are "normal," then we are protected from one of life's greatest threats.
Oh, there you go. That last one. Depressed. A word used so loosely in American society. It can mean everything from having a bad day to an illness that robs you of yourself and causes you to lose your life metaphorically or realistically.
She was never ill. She didn't drink more than the occasional glass of wine while making dinner or a cold beer on a hot day. She exercised. She had tons of friends. She had a daughter who was a best friend and a husband whom she loved endlessly. There were two grandsons who loved her and one who considered her a best friend. She was thin, beautiful and smart... all the things women are told that if they posses, then life will be good, should be good. There was little she wanted for. She was a woman admired by many, but of course, too modest to ever notice the admiration. And, if you pointed it out to her, she would argue that you were mistaken.
So, how could someone like this, choose to die?
That's the question all survivors of suicide are left asking. That's why those labels make it easier for us to process. If someone is "depressed," and dies by suicide, then we can say to ourselves that we're safe because we're not depressed.
I mean, we would never do anything crazy like that.
That's what my mom used to say. She was a "normal" healthy woman until her own mother died and she turned 60 all in the same year. Her depression moved in without warning, just like the thick fog that envelops the coast when the valley is too sunny. She always wondered if her depression was like the fog. Had her life been too sunny? Like the fog, was her depression here to balance all the sunny days she already had in her life?
Hindsight is 20/20. I would like to say that we all missed how seriously ill she was, but we knew. We just never thought it could possibly end this way. Her depression wasn't lifelong. It snuck up, grabbed on and wouldn't let go. We've all had those days where we don't want to get out of bed for whatever reason. That's all it started with, and eventually she was feeling that way everyday. This is when she would acknowledge all she had in life because she was trying to make sense of her depression.
"Why can't I be happy?"
"I have everything I want."
I was the first person to utter the word "depression." She didn't want to hear it. Oh, how she fought it. It had to be a post-menopausal thing. Lack of sleep. A vitamin D deficiency. Anything other than depression because then she would be labeled different, abnormal... crazy. Maybe not by others, but by herself. Like many, mental health was always something she thought one could control. Therapists and the like were as questionable as chiropractors were forty years ago. A hope that the therapists could help, but the belief that the only one that can get a person out of a dark day is oneself.
All tragedies are a series of small events that cumulate into one gigantic and horribly wrong event. My mom's suicide is the same. From being raised to think you only go to doctor's in the most dire of circumstances to refusing to admit some people will need medication for life. From always wanting everyone to know she's fine, even when she isn't, to reaching out to a therapist who in turn caused her more pain. From an uneducated family when it came to mental health to poor warnings on drug labels. From fearing she would cause her family anguish by helping her find a those sunny days again to having handguns in the house that were there to ease the pain her husband suffered from PTSD caused by war.
The small events go on. Like a snowball. Even if you manage to remove a single snowflake, the size and destructive power of that snowball once in motion doesn't diminish.
Suicide happens. It's the devastatingly sad and destructive loss of a person with mental illness. My mom shot herself in the head one year ago, and I still have a hard time admitting it to people. I still feel like I need to give an answer. To explain away the unexplainable.
I was her daughter. How could I not know?
Whenever I tell her story, I hesitate on mentioning she was falling back into the depression she overcame and feared so greatly. I don't want to give people a reason to think it can't happen to them.
Because if it can happen to her, we are all at risk... including me.


factions – Salve, Ms. B.!
I am only in my second year of teaching, so classroom management is something I am still struggling with a lot. One of the things that does help is the way our program does student grouping: factions, a name derived from the factions of Roman chariot racing. This idea is the brainchild of a dear colleague of mine. You can think of factions as an old-school Class Dojo.
Each of the three of us does factions a little differently. Here's what I do: a few days after the start of the semester (our students switch classes at the mid-year point), once I have a little bit of a feel for student personalities and needs, I divide the kids into factions. Typically, I want these to be four to five students (remember: we have small class sizes, capped at 24 but usually closer to 18). Factions work together in class on various activities, which is their big draw for me as a teacher. They're a great way to have students group up, and if you use heterogeneous grouping, students do a fantastic job of explaining concepts to one another.
For the kids, the big draw is the point system. Students earn points toward extra credit on their stage test, so the faction with the most points the day of the test will get the highest extra credit. Students earn faction points in a variety of ways: earning a 100 on a quiz, coming to me for help before or after school, emailing me cool Latin-related things, making Quizlets and Kahoots, answering tough questions in class, asking insightful questions, etc. It goes on and on. The main idea behind the points is that every type of student is rewarded: kids who struggle, kids who pick up Latin like it's their first language, and everyone in between. It also rewards students, especially my freshmen, who are learning a lot of academic skills, for trying new ways of studying and being an active participant in an intellectual community.
I keep track of points by student rather than solely by faction, for two main reasons. First, if you didn't earn any points for your faction, you can't get any of the extra credit if your faction wins the competition. Second, if I have to move students during the course of a stage for whatever reason, the points are easily transferable between factions. It also helps me to reflect on who might be better matched together if I rearrange factions between stages.
It's a great system for classroom management because you can also take a point away from a faction for a minor misdeed committed by a student – anything more than a point, in my opinion, becomes too much of a group punishment.
Let me know if you have questions about this system. It's simple, effective, and the kids totally buy in. Win-win-win.


Extreme colon cleansers are used to promote the digestive health by detoxifying the colon and other body parts. They contain fiber, probiotics, and detoxifying and anti parasitic agents along with other nutritional supplements.
Colon cleansers are formulated to promote the health of the colon or large intestine, which is necessary for the proper functioning of the digestive system. According to some studies, on an average, about 20 pounds of waste is accumulated in the colon of an adult. This waste act as a substrate for harboring bacteria, viruses, toxic fungi, and other microorganisms. This may eventually cause spreading of the microbes and toxic substances to other body organs, which can lead to infections and other health conditions.
Some of the common ailments associated with toxic waste accumulation in the colon include irregular bowel movements, abdominal pain, skin problems, weight gain, infectious diseases, low stamina, and fatigue. Considering the various complications associated toxic waste deposition in the colon, the demand for colon cleansing products is on the raise. Colon cleansers are available in the form of foods or laxatives, which help in expelling the waste substances deposited in the colon.
Extreme colon cleansers are body detoxifying products that contain several natural herbs. They are formulated to detoxify the whole body, rather than removing the toxic substances from the colon only.
The main ingredients of such a colon cleansers are fibers, detoxifying agents, anti parasitic substances, probiotics, and other nutritional supplements. Despite the name, these cleansers are not harsh laxatives. All the ingredients are extracted from natural sources. Therapeutic herbs like cayenne pepper, Irish moss, ginger, psyllium husk, butternut root bark, senna, buckthorn bark, kaolin, liquorice, cascara, and rhubarb are used in the formulation of these cleansers.
They are available in the form of powder, tablets, tea, or liquid supplements. The doses may differ based on the ingredients and the manufacturer. The maximum duration suggested for using any type of extreme colon cleanser is one month. Using these products for longer duration or higher doses may lead to unexpected and adverse side effects. Therefore, it is better to seek advice from a qualified physician before using them.
Besides the various claims regarding the benefits of these cleansers, some people think they are not beneficial as they remove valuable vitamins, nutrients, and useful microbes from the body. Another side effect of these cleansers is electrolyte imbalance due to excess absorption of water, which in turn can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. With regular use, the body may become dependent to such products.
The decision of using these cleansers is up to the user. As of now, there are no reliable clinical trials that prove the benefits or dangers of colon cleansers . Hence, it is advisable to consult a qualified physician about reliable products and their doses before using them. In case of any health conditions that are manifested after using the cleanser, one should get medical attention as soon as possible.


My work explores my research on the urban environment. I am repeatedly drawn to societies and changes, which occurs within them. Looking at architecture and spaces contained in these places, which I explore through paint and photography. The investigation is contextualized by the failure of post-modernism and its effects on society.
My most recent project specifically addresses the changes developing in Galway. Where once Galway communities would have revolved around the Catholic Church is now largely multi-cultural. Old shops and warehouses are giving way to multi-corporate chain stores and shopping centres. The identity of Galway itself is evolving as a city and is caught in a transition between 'old and new'. For example, sections of walls strewn with graffiti around NunsIsland, where old and new collide.
I graduated in 2013 with an Honours Degree in Fine Arts from CCAM, the Centre of Creative Arts and Media in Galway. I was the recipient of the Graduates Bursary and Residency Award supported by Galway Arts Council and the Galway Arts Centre. Some of my exhibitions include the Claremorris Open 2013, the Interceltique Festival in Lorient and Rua Red Dublin Open Show in 2014.


Radioembolisation is a local form of radiation-therapy that is increasingly used to treat primary liver tumours and metastases untreatable via surgery or chemotherapy. Currently, radioembolisation procedures are performed in two steps: 1) a scout-step which is used to identify (lung) shunting and to optimize dose using the non-therapeutic radiotracer 99m-technecium magroaggregate, and 2) therapeutic-step using rather costly microspheres containing therapeutic radio-isotopes (90-Ytrium or 166-Holmium).The sequential steps are performed as two discrete procedures, usually separated because of logistical reasons by a period of two weeks. While the clinical benefit of this approach has been demonstrated, its high cost and the preclusion of procedure-related toxicity to healthy tissue e.g. lung remains a challenge. Even when using a scout scan, shunting occurs in 10% and results in the displacement of a fraction of the therapeutic microspheres outside of the diseased area, leading to ineffective dose distribution and serious adverse effects such as radiation pneumonitis. Therefore a cheaper therapeutic alternative that provides higher accuracy is needed.
Firstly, LUMC researchers have used supramolecular chemistry to develop a two-step pre-targeting approach which integrates the scout- and therapeutic-steps in a single procedure. As the therapeutic component specifically targets the diagnostic component, this prevents discrepancies in accumulation. Hence, the dose prediction becomes more accurate and the shunting issue is solved. Uniquely, the chemical interactions chosen favour complex formation within the liver, meaning that the technology is less prone to toxic side-effects due to lung shunting. Secondly, the pre-targeting concept used creates flexibility in the therapeutic radioisotopes that can be used for the procedure. This means more easily produced radioisotopes can be used to help bring down the treatment cost. Further, the flexibility in the use of radioisotopes also allows for the creation of kit-based radioembolisation formulation that can be prepared in the hospital. With that the current therapeutic window of two weeks can be shortened to one of only hours. Thirdly, the supramolecular chemistry used in this invention could also be adapted for use in chemoembolization approaches or for the subcutaneous needle-injection based delivery of a therapeutic dose to isolated lesions. Again, in both these indications the ability to verify the accuracy of the delivery process before administering the therapeutic component is key.
Please note, header image is purely illustrative.
Allows for kit-based radioembolisation formulations to be created and, with that, improves the logistics of the supply chain.


Keynote Address given by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at World Meeting of Families in Dublin on 23rd August 2018.
Well, let me say very clearly today, that I too am a member of a family. I was born into a family, grew up in a family. I too have lived through the ups and downs of family life, the arguments, the dining table full of tension, the times of unhappiness, as well as those of joy, of spontaneous laughter, inexplicable to the outsider, and of solemn awe at the wonder of it all. Certainly, I am no expert. But then no-one is. Each of us may know well our own family experience, but none of us has the right to generalise and project as normal the story or pathway that we have experienced. And in each of those stories, God is most certainly present, guiding, prompting, consoling us in a unique and precious way.
This is the wonder we contemplate today: the wonder of God's call, the vocation, that each of us is living.
Pope Francis has a way of speaking about our experience. He calls it God's call to holiness. Now that is not the way in which we think of our lives. But it is true. The way our lives unfold is God's call to holiness, even through all the failures we experience or, I might say, especially through those failures.
So today, before we begin to ponder the task of marriage preparation, this is the context we need to grasp: that we are made for holiness; that the pathway of our lives is best understood as God's call to holiness. The best, most rewarding way of looking at all that happens to us is to see it as steps on a journey to closeness to God, a closeness that will come to its completion in our final entry into God's presence and our surrender into the embrace of God's love.
'I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God's people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile…Very often it is a holiness found in our next door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, remind us of God's presence' (GE7).
He continues by saying that this holiness, to which we are all called, grows through daily actions, the small gestures which are the building blocks of family life.
Such holiness is the work of the Holy Spirit. In the lives of the saints, he says, the Holy Spirit writes a clear narrative of some aspect of the wonder of Jesus so that we may understand it more clearly and grasp it more nearly.
This is true in the life of each one of us.
In preparing for this talk, I thought about all that I have learned from my parents. I asked myself: 'What aspect of the life of Jesus has the Holy Spirit composed in their lives that I might learn and treasure?' This is my answer.
In the life of my father, I can see a story of great perseverance. Through thick and thin, and there was plenty of it, through moments of rejection and great difficulty, he stuck to his word, to the promises he gave. I can remember the day, in circumstances which I need not describe, when he said to me: 'This will require great perseverance.' He was right. And he was faithful. This was the Gospel he wrote for me in our family life.
My mother. She was different. A wonderful person who approached every day as a gift of God and wanted nothing more than to live it in generosity. Her favourite saying, which is written into my heart, was this: 'This is the day which the Lord has made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it!' And that is what she did, even on days when she was reduced to tears, or marked by patient love, ready to carry any cross.
So today, let us truly follow her word and recognise that this too is a day made by the Lord, such that we may rejoice and be glad in it!
Now, in the light of the Holy Father Pope Francis' Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL), I am going to talk about the love of couples who are preparing for their vocation to marriage. I will reflect briefly on the role of parish families in this preparation, and because marriage preparation is 'just the beginning' (AL218), as the Holy Father says, we also have to consider how we continue to accompany and support couples throughout their marriage and family life, helping them 'to keep dancing towards the future with immense hope' (AL219). This hope, Pope Francis says, is the leaven that makes it possible to look beyond arguments, conflicts and problems, and live fully in the present. In close harmony with my parents' lessons, Pope Francis concludes that the best way to prepare a solid future is to live well in the present moment (AL219).
As you know, I come from England. In our culture, as I'm sure in yours, we have been profoundly moved by the Holy Father's reflections and teaching in Amoris Laetitia.
Prior to the Synod on the Family, we held a programme of listening across the dioceses in England and Wales. Families told of 'living out their love as best they can' in a changing culture. One said: 'My family is the most precious thing to me… We never stop loving our children, even when we don't always agree with what they are doing.' Another: 'Children are born or adopted or blended into our families. Relationships are sustained. Relationships fail. We gain sons and daughters, nephews, nieces, brothers and sisters. And for each new arrival, we adapt and change.' Parishes spoke of the need to make room for all God's children: 'they are part of us'. Some asked: 'How can we better understand marriage as a vocation?' to which others responded, 'In the living of it… but no-one tells you that your daily living is a vocation.' Some spoke of the role of the family: 'To love, and to teach love, and to discover how our love fits with God's love and the Church's love'. And of marriage preparation and support for marriage and family life, families spoke of being so glad of it, believing that the Church has something very special to offer.
So what is this 'special thing' that we can offer?
Following all the listening, and in consultation with theologians and marriage preparation practitioners, our national marriage and family life team drew together our Guidelines for the Preparation of Couples for Marriage. These guidelines closely reflect the teaching of Pope Francis on marriage preparation.
At their heart is a key quality: marriage preparation as an expression of welcome and solidarity. We strive to offer a warm welcome, and a clear vision, to those who seek to be married. That vision includes our teaching about marriage, how it is rooted in the love of God and is to be an expression of the faithfulness and fruitfulness of God's love. We have a vision of marriage being intertwined with the love Christ has for his Church, a love which includes sacrifice, forgiveness and healing. Our teaching is a rich vision that informs all that we want to share with those who are starting out on married life.
In some cultures, and certainly in England and Wales, marriage has become a very 'private' thing. Couples are often caught up in the 'industry' of weddings, centred on the couple's big day, easily losing sight of the family or community context for marriage. As Catholic families, and as the Church, we want to embrace this moment, helping couples to see the wider richness of the step they are taking, and making clear our hopes and dreams for couples in their grace-filled calling to marriage and family life.
This wider vision of marriage, as understood in our Catholic teaching and way of life, shapes all of the work of marriage preparation.
The Holy Father urges greater effort on the part of the parish in our shared responsibility to welcome and accompany families, stressing the witness of other families, particularly for couples who come knocking at the presbytery door asking to be married. Let's be ready as a community.
2) Pope Francis also teaches us that part of this vision is that we are to be 'humble and realistic' (AL36) and always to trust in God's grace. This means that in marriage preparation, we must remember that the Holy Spirit has been there before us and will continue to accompany that couple in their lives. This reminds us of the importance of prayer. We can pray into a deeper reality a couple's commitment to each other. Everyone comes to a marriage bearing wounds, large and small, from their past: disappointment, hurt, a sense of failure or loss of self-esteem. These and many other sorrows can be soothed and transformed by this new and lasting relationship, supported by our love and prayer.
3) We also 'need to find the right language' to use (AL40) to reach the hearts of young people and appeal to their capacity for generosity, inviting them to take up the challenge of their vocation with enthusiasm, courage and heroism. Here we have to recognise that there is a gap between formal language (in theology or liturgy) and a family's everyday language, although Pope Francis seems to bridge that gap quite remarkably! We also have to recognise that not a few couples start with little desire for marriage preparation.
Finding the right language and good communication are key to any relationship. In marriage preparation, couples can learn new skills for good communication, keeping a relationship open and healthy. In our country, poor communication is cited as the main reason for relationship breakdown. Little things like sulking, being critical, shouting, can be so destructive, and lead to isolation and detachment. Getting to know one another as a couple is not always smooth and painless: each of the spouses has to be a bit vulnerable in order for the other to know them more deeply. They might prefer to keep some things hidden!
4) In marriage preparation, we can help the couple to discover the vocation they are receiving from God. We can ask: 'How did you know he or she was "the one" for you?' This is a lovely exercise for engaged couples to do with older couples. It gives the older couples a chance to tell their stories of how they met, what attracted them to the other, and something of their experience of marriage. Then the engaged couples tell their stories of falling in love. In discussing their hopes and expectations, they can ask themselves, 'Do these match, and if not, is there room for growth, ensuring we are building on common ground?' Can we as companions help the couple discern the deeper reasons that will keep them together in married life?
5) In marriage preparation, we seek to balance the call to love each other with the innate call to welcome the gift of children. There is, of course, a fruitfulness in both of these forms of generous love (cf AL151). What we can offer is a fuller vision, deepened through giving oneself and living for the other. Planning a family together is a great privilege. The couple must make their decisions honestly, thoughtfully, taking into full account the teaching of the Church, their own welfare, and the welfare of other children. Children are a gift and treasure for the parents and for the Church. Through them, the Lord renews the world.
6) In marriage preparation, we also can address the gift of sexuality, the gift of the body, as a vital part of the fruitfulness of marriage.
It can help to start with human experience from the very beginning, in the womb. In an ultrasound scan, you will see the baby already beginning to explore its environment and respond to touch. For a newborn, touch is critical to their sense of well-being and attachment to their mum and dad. A baby slowly discovers the joy of having a body: 'here is one hand, and oh,… here is another one'. The baby uses his or her hands to eat. In fact, the baby puts everything into its mouth. As we grow up, we use our hands to greet one another, to hold, to hug, to comfort, to play, to find our way, to look after each other. As lovers, you use your hands to share your love together. Blind people read with their hands, deaf people speak with their hands. They are so very precious!
On this journey, many things will be learned, about each other, about likes and dislikes, about wider families, about the children. I was once told that often in life we set out choosing what we love: a vocation, a wife or husband, a child, a neighbourhood. But the real secret of life is to learn to love what we have been given. Only slowly does that gift emerge. Now on this journey one quality is very important. It is this: learning to sense how and where God is present.
Pope Francis often speaks of this quality. He calls it 'discernment'. It is a quiet and gentle reflection on all that happens to us, trying to discern how and when the Lord is speaking to us, providing us with all that we need, even in the simplest of ways. And all of this takes place within the realities of daily family life. Discernment needs time and patience, a readiness to talk over together the events of a day and the precious moments of clarity and grace that can suddenly appear. They are not to be buried and forgotten as did the man in the parable of the talents who lived in fear. In this way we can grow in 'an understanding of God's patience and timetable, which are never our own', says Pope Francis, continuing thus: 'God does not pour down fire upon those who are unfaithful (Lk 9.54), or allow the zealous to uproot the tares growing among the wheat (Mt 13.29)... Discernment is not about discovering what more we can get out of this life, but about recognising how we can better accomplish the mission entrusted to us at our baptism' (GE 174). And marriage is precisely one such mission.
8) Next on my list, and you might have been waiting for this, comes preparing for the wedding liturgy itself. Some may want to start with this, as a way of meeting the initial expectations of the couple coming to get married. But I think it comes best much later in the process. It can be called 'immediate preparation', approached after some more fundamental issues have been opened up. Sometimes, however, it may well be the best place to start, the only 'open door'.
* I give you this ring… with my body, I honour you, all that I am I give you, all that I have I share with you…Amen! Yes!
Many couples have said that the preparation for the wedding ceremony was a powerful moment for them. We have a great opportunity here to help young couples to be alert to this experience of liturgy, to be able to touch and nourish them in years ahead. Looking again at the wedding photographs can renew those moments of grace, as well as raise a bemused smile or two!
So, the couple has walked down the aisle. They have posed for all those photographs and the party has ended. But their vocation is beginning and the role of pastoral accompaniment remains vital. What does this mean in practice? Here are some headlines.
* Try to ensure that your parish is intentionally welcoming. Have ways of being on the lookout not just for newlyweds (for they might have been married elsewhere) but also for those who are newly arrived, whatever their stage in life.
* Give moments in which marriage is celebrated, either at the regular Sunday Mass or on special occasions (AL223). Across many dioceses in England and Wales, we have an annual celebration of Marriage. In my own Diocese of Westminster over 600 couples, with a combined total of 39,830 years of marriage, recently attended a Mass in Thanksgiving for Marriage in the cathedral.
* Encourage daily rituals at home. Patterns of saying 'Please, thank you, sorry' make such a difference, as does sharing both prayers and chores, parents giving nightly blessings to their children before they go to sleep. I remember them well, and they have shaped me for the rest of my life.
* Teach couples to pray together. This can begin with the passages of Scripture they choose for their wedding. This aspect of marriage preparation may be the first time they have approached the Scriptures together and a good starting point for shared prayerful reflection. Our pastoral work on behalf of the family must help people to be touched and formed by the word of God in Scripture, comfort, challenge, guidance, a light for the path (cf AL227). Resources abound, many of them skilfully designed for family life. Some may prefer to say the Rosary together. That's just fine, as that too is a Scripture-based prayer of the highest quality.
* Remember that marriage preparation, in the widest sense, begins at birth! As Pope Francis says: 'Learning to love someone doesn't happen automatically, nor can it be taught in a workshop just prior to the celebration of marriage. For every couple, marriage preparation begins at birth' (AL208). Children need to know from experience that they are both loved and loveable. This is the foundation for healthy, strong relationships in adult life. The family is the place where the uniqueness and dignity of each child are first experienced, nurtured and grow towards maturity. For young people growing up, discerning their own pathway in life, or vocation, it's vital that they sense marriage to be a vocation, and that there is both the time and willingness to give it the space and attention it needs. There are many excellent resources that support this vital ministry with children and young people.
* Remember, too, that there is no such thing as an 'average' or even 'normal' marriage. Every one is different. And all will have within them times or areas of difficulty and difference. Sources of support for couples and families are often needed. They are 'on offer' in a parish but never to be forced. A parish school can be a great source of such support, offering chances for mothers to meet together, to pray together (Have you heard of the movement called Mothers' Prayers? well worth discovering!), to support each other, even if just at the school gate. But why not invite them in! Parish support can be so important if one spouse comes from a different faith background. Showing respect, talking about shared values, leaving time for questions are all important aspects of pastoral support. After all, love is always a gift of God (AL228). Such moments emerge if, for example, a parish carries out sacramental preparation in a family format, with sessions for parents as well as children. These are great, not least for parents who have drifted away from the practice of their faith but who want to do their very best for their children. Many precious moments have occurred in such sessions!
I am getting near to the end! But it is impossible to speak about marriage and family life without a word about fragility and brokenness. Here we touch on one of the great themes of this Pontificate: the mercy of God. Pope Francis goes as far as to say that the name of God is mercy, for mercy is the shape, the form, taken by the love of God when it meets and embraces our failure and sin.
Many are tempted to ask: 'Can I be broken, fragile, and holy?' Yes. We may indeed carry a deep sense of failure, guilt or shame. We may judge ourselves to be unworthy. This is what we bring to the Lord, for holiness is his business. We are recipients, receivers of his mercy and therefore of his holiness. Pope Francis affirms that all of family life can be a 'shepherding in mercy' (AL322), and in that way powerfully reflects the truth of our loving Father. Today, this is often our biggest challenge.
In conclusion a prayer, taken not surprisingly, from the marriage liturgy.
May God the eternal Father keep you one of heart in love for one another that the peace of Christ may dwell in you and abide always in your homes. May you be blessed in your children, have solace in your friends, and enjoy true peace with everyone. May you be witnesses in the world to God's love, so that the afflicted and needy who have known your kindness, may one day receive you thankfully into the eternal dwelling of God. Amen.


Portfolio & Portfolio.Invested not defined?
I am a new learner for Python quant. I am following a very simple strategy to learn. But during backtest, it either mentions "Portfolio not defined" or "Portfolio.Invested not defined". May I know how to solve it?
The Portfolio property needs to be accessed by referencing QCAlgorithm using self. Good luck!


text:
«Як цуп цоп» (также  или ) — 27-секундный флеш-ролик, в котором использован фрагмент песни «Ievan Polkka» финской фолк-группы Loituma из их дебютного альбома 1995 года Things of Beauty. Широко распространился по каналам Интернета в конце апреля 2006 года.

В качестве видеоряда использованы 4 кадра с изображением Орихимэ Иноуэ, героини популярных манги и аниме «Блич».

Совокупность факторов: непривычный для большинства пользователей акцент песни, запоминающаяся мелодия польки, и, в особенности, глупое и счастливое выражение лица анимированной девушки, помахивающей луком (это лук-батун, яп. «нэги»; однако весьма распространено мнение, что это лук-порей), — привела к лавинообразному распространению ролика. За несколько дней он был размещён на многих тысячах сайтов, превратившись таким образом в типичный интернет-мем.

Видеоряд
В аниме Орихимэ крутит лук-батун в часто повторяемой шутке-рефрене, в которой девушка сообщает другому герою, что собирается что-то приготовить (как правило, нечто очень необычное или откровенно несъедобное).

Звук
В ролике используется 2-я половина 5-й строфы (4 строки) и вся 6-я строфа (8 строк) из песни «Полька Евы». В отличие от остальной песни, эти строфы не несут в себе никакого смысла и представляют собой фонетический мусор (схоже с направлением скэт в джазе: характерные примеры — песня «Vertigogo» из саундтрека к фильму «Четыре комнаты» и саундтрек из The Neverhood). При исполнении песни эти строфы произвольно меняются и поэтому обычно исключаются из публикуемого текста, что зачастую вызывает недоумение у тех, кто узнал о песне через ролик.

В адаптированной транскрипции (в духе misheard lyrics) использованный в ролике фрагмент выглядит примерно так:
Як цуп цоп парви каридола тык паривила тиц тандула
диби даби дала руп-патирупирам курикан губкая кили-кан-ко.
Ра-цай-цай ариби даби дила бариц дан дила ландэн ландо
абариб факта пари-пари-бари-бери-бери-бери стан дэн лан до.
Я бари ласдэн ландэ яло ара-вара-вара-вара вади вияву.
Барис дан лэн ласдэн ландо бадака-дага-дага ду-ду-де яло!

Интересные факты
 В 2011 году на сайте YouTube появился ролик любительской группы The Gag Quartet, названный Internet Medley, включающий в себя около сорока интернет-мемов. В том числе немного изменённый участниками группы «Як-цуп-цоп», под который Орихимэ время от времени выскакивает из-за спин участников, крутя лук.

Резонанс
После выхода ролика  «Ievan Polkka» стала самым вирусным роликом на видеохостингах Youtube и Nico Nico Douga. Наибольшую популярность принесла кавер-версия в исполнении Vocaloid Мику Хацунэ. На данный момент оригинал имеет в сумме более 9 миллионов просмотров.

На правах интернет-мема с подзаголовком «Як цуп цоп парви каридола» ролик занял третье место на профессиональном конкурсе интернет-деятелей РОТОР-2007 в номинации «Влияние на офлайн».

См. также
 Caramelldansen
 Prisencolinensinainciusol

Примечания

Интернет-мемы, появившиеся в 2006 году
Музыкальные мемы
Блич
Лауреаты премии РОТОР

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