In the 2004 movie, The Incredibles – and if you haven’t seen it… well, just stop reading this, go find a copy, and watch a great movie. Anyway, where was I…. there is a scene in the movie when Dash Parr, the super-powered speedster son of Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) and his wife Helen (Elastigirl), has just been told to hide his incredible speed and let the other kids have a chance at winning so that he can fit in and be normal. When Dash resists the suggestion noting that his speed makes him special, this dialogue ensues:
Helen/Elastigirl: “Everyone is special, Dash.”
Dash: “That’s just another way of saying no one is.” Continue reading
I have to admit that I never wondered about the depiction of saints and their halos. It was just the way things were. True, but it is not the way things always were. Ever wonder why halos? Philip Kosloski over at 
The Purpose of the Parables. Verses 10-17 are formally an interlude between the first parable and its explanation, but they are essential to the understanding of the chapter as a whole, as they set out the division between the enlightened disciples and the unresponsive crowd which is the focus both of the structure of the chapter and of much of its contents.
Fatima: How July 13, 1917 “changed” the Church
Unlike Mark (Mark 3:13–14) and Luke (Luke 6:12–16), Matthew has no story of Jesus’ appointing the Twelve, he assumes that the formation of the group is already known to the reader. “Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.” (Mt 10:1-4)
July 9th is the feast day of St. Mark Ji Tianxiang, a Chinese layman who was murdered in 1900, along with dozens of other Catholics in his village, in the vicious persecution of Christians during the Boxer rebellion. What’s unusual about St. Mark is that he was an opium addict. To be clear, he was an opium addict. Not had been an opium addict. He was an opium addict at the time of his death. 
Back in the day, along with a group of friends, I used to camp and backpack in the wilderness of Virginia and West Virginia. Generally, it was just for a long weekend – maybe two or three days. We would carry everything in/out. I remember having fun, enjoying it all, but I always felt like I needed a day to recover. Perhaps it was the infrequency of carrying a load, the hiking, and all that goes with the adventure, but come Monday, there was always a stiffness about my neck, arms, shoulders, upper back and all the rest that is connected to those parts. I could still feel the after effects of the pack’s burden. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” It sounded like the perfect scripture for the post-camping Monday mornings. 
friarmusings 