Icu Bed

Genre of the film: Indies film Setting: The film happened during the modern days at a hospital. Characters: * Eddie Garcia as Joseph * Angel Aquinas as Beth * Ion Bemoaning as Joe * Irma Dolan as Cell * Happen Sys as Ann * Irvin Viola as Joshua Plot: The plot of the movie happened in the middle part. Many things were going on, tragedies, happiness, and sufferings. One of those tragedies was when Ann found out that she was pregnant, and the father of her child doesn't want to claim their baby. Another one Is when Cell found out that her husband was cheating on her.Her husband had another family. And the last one is when Joseph, their father, was getting sicker and sicker. Conflict: The conflict of the story was when Joseph didn't want to stop doing his illegal fetish, despite of his Illness. He keeps on doing what he wants to do, and he doesn't even bother if it's going to harm him or not. How conflict was resolved: The conflict was resolved when Joseph had a dream while he was in his hospital bed. He dreamt about what would happen to him if he was dead, and honestly, it wasn't too good. So, when he woke up and realized he was still alive, he decided to do hat he can to live.He didn't totally give up on his bad habits but still, he lived. Summary: Once there was an old man named Joseph. He had many bad habits. Some of these were smoking, drinking, and gambling. One day, he reached his limits and he was sent to the hospital. He was there for a long time, not knowing when he will be cured. His family did everything for him to survive, but, like any other families, they too had their own problems. These problems were teenage pregnancy, family problems, and bad parenting. Josephs family was very full of disorder but they managed to solve these problems.As time passed by, Joseph has been cured from his illness; Ann had decided to keep her baby even though she was not at the right age for it, Joshua finally obeys his parent's, and the two sisters conquered their probl ems. The end. Values learned: One of the values learned In this movie was to not give up even though you are really struggling from your problem. Giving up was never a choice whenever you have problems. Always remember that there are people around you who are going to support you for whatever that'll happen in your life. Another lesson is to take care of yourself. Take care of your body, your health, and your mind.Don't do things that you know will harm yourself. Always remember that whenever you do bad things, you will have to repay some debts and you will have some consequences, in order for you to 1 OFF learn that lesson. Personal reactions: Honestly, I have many reactions about this movie. I really felt that I connected with the movie because the things that happened to Joseph were really similar to what happened to my grandfather who had Just passed away. I think that the movie was very legit in a sense that it was really realistic, unlike other movies that are very sectional a nd you really wouldn't think it would happen in real life.The scenes in this movie would really happen in real life, and I actually liked that fact that the director made the movie like this. It was very creative of him to do a movie that was very true to life. I think the goal of the director of the movie, Rica Reveal, was to make sure that her audience would connect with the movie they're watching. And I appreciate that very well. I am glad that I had watched this movie because I learned so many things, I realized so many things, and I discovered so many things that I haven't learned in my life before.

The Benefits of High School and College Educational Attainment

â€Å"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes. † Johann Von Goethe wrote the previous quote. He was trying to emphasize that everything in life brings about change. Attending high school and college is a decision that brings about consistency as well as change. Even though they both serve the purpose of educating, there are great differences and similarities in the high school and college experience. Honors and advance placement classes in secondary school prepare one for the challenge of higher educational opportunities in college. On the other hand, the freshmen experience in college is much more challenging. One must dedicate much more time to his or her studies in order to succeed. Essentially, in order to move on to a higher educational level, one must enhance his or her character, mature, and accept and adapt to change. Both high school and college make a certain commitment to each student. They are committed to provide the students with remarkable opportunities to pursue and enhance their education. For example, scholarships, loans, and financial aid can provide the student with an opportunity to pursue his or her education, no matter what their financial status is. Aside from the students, high school and college would be meaningless without its faculty. Most teachers and professors in high school and college are well-educated individuals. They have spent some years studying to obtain a teaching degree. As teachers and professors, their main concern (or goal) is for the student to learn, understand, and master the course they teach. The teacher or professor may accomplish this goal by reviewing the material, emphasizing key points, or providing the students with examples that they could easily relate to. Most of them are willing to dedicate extra time to help the student meet his or her needs. Several high school teachers, as well as some college professors go beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic. They teach you about life in general, all its hardships and all its rewards. Receiving a good education is great, but enhancing your individuality and growing as a person is just as important. Some teachers and professors discuss their own personal experiences and lessons, which they have encountered throughout life. These lessons in life could impact the student and educate them as well. As high school or college level students, countless efforts are required to successfully achieve certain goals. One common goal shared by many high school and college students is the desire to get good grades. This goal is not always easy to attain; therefore it requires much effort. Determination, dedication, perseverance, and patience are all key factors for success in school. It is also necessary to pay attention in class, take down good notes, complete all the assignments instructed by the professor, and study (in advance) for exams. These key factors and study habits will help you attain a good grade. Remember, successfully achieving in school is hard, yet not impossible. Another similarity between high school and college is the multi-cultural and multi-racial school setting. It is quite interesting to observe many different and unique individuals coming together for one sole purpose: to receive an education. Similarly, both high school and college provide the opportunity to meet and associate with a variety of different people. Having group discussions in class, and doing assigned group projects may lead to meeting different students that you normally would not associate with. Meeting these different students could result in the beginning of flourishing friendships and wonderful relationships. There is a distinct variation between the teaching methods in high school and in college. In high school, most teachers lecture and dictate the exact notes necessary to pass the exam. Most classes function and interact on a more personal, one on one level. On the contrary, in college, the professor lectures while the student has to use his or her own judgement to gather important information for the notes. Some college classes consist of about two hundred students, making it difficult to carry on class discussions and to become familiar (or build a student-teacher relationship) with your professor. Another difference between high school and college is the change from being fairly dependent to becoming independent. In high school, you are constantly depending on your teachers. You expect the teachers to remind you when assignments are due, or about quiz and test dates. College, on the other hand, is different. All college professors provide their students with a syllabus. This syllabus explains all the requirements and objectives of the course. It is the student†s responsibility to refer back to the syllabus. You have little or no freedom in high school, whereas in college, you experience much more freedom. Along with this freedom comes great responsibility. College professors refer to the students as mature adults, and they have high expectations from each student. High school and college vary in other areas as well. There is a wider age range in college than in high school. A college class may consist of students that range from the ages of eighteen to forty, or perhaps even more. In college, you also receive the benefit of choosing classes that will accommodate your daily schedule. For example, if you have a part-time job in the mornings, you can choose classes in the afternoon. Unfortunately, you do not get this same opportunity in high school. Although getting good grades is a common goal shared by many high school and college students, they have different goals as well. The goals students set for themselves in high school tend to change when they get to college. For instance, when you are in high school, one of your main goals is usually to get accepted into the college of your choice. However, the college student sets different goals and priorities for himself or herself. Now that they already entered college, they are concerned about their major and starting a successful career. Attending high school and entering college is a path in life that many of us choose. This path in life, along with any other of life†s routes, brings about change. You may view change as being positive or negative. Whichever way you view it, change is a part of life. It can bring forth many challenges, as well as adventures and new experiences. When people are confronted with change, some feel awkward and insecure. Although several people attempt to avoid it, change is inevitable. Despite change, these remain: the importance of setting priorities and goals for yourself, having determination, and doing your outright best. (Faith, hope, and love will also remain constant, steadfast and true. ) Do not only grow intellectually (in book knowledge), but be wise and grow as an individual with morals and values as well. The following quote, written by John Dewey, summarizes the definition of education. â€Å"Education is a social process†¦ Education is growth†¦ Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself. â€Å"

Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Philosophy - Assignment Example If an â€Å"E† statement is false, that means the â€Å"I† version of the statement is true. â€Å"I† and â€Å"O† are subcontrary, which means that while both cannot be false at the same time, they may still be true at the same time, making the argument valid. How do you know? The premise is a false â€Å"E† statement while the inference is a false â€Å"O† statement. A false â€Å"E† statement is equivalent to a true â€Å"I† version of the statement, and a false â€Å"O† statement is equivalent to a true â€Å"I† version of the statement as well. Therefore, the argument becomes that some trees bear fruit, therefore some trees bear fruit, which is a tautology and is valid. How do you know? The premise is a false â€Å"I† statement while the inference is a true â€Å"O† statement. A false â€Å"I† statement is equivalent to a true â€Å"O† statement, which re-words the argument as some berries are not beans, therefore some berries are not beans. The result is a tautology and is valid. How do you know? The premise is a true â€Å"A† statement while the inference is a false â€Å"O† statement. A false â€Å"O† statement is logically equivalent to a â€Å"I† statement. An â€Å"A† statement leading to an â€Å"I† statement is a subalternation, in which the premise implies the truth of the inference. Valid or invalid? Valid. The premise is a true â€Å"I† statement. The inference is a false â€Å"E† statement. We know by the contradictory relation that the â€Å"E† statement must be false, which is what the conclusion indicates. Valid or invalid? Valid. The premise is a false â€Å"A† statement. The inference is a false â€Å"I† statement. The premise is logically equivalent to a true â€Å"O† statement (i.e. that some soccer balls are not round objects) while the inference is logically equivalent to a true â€Å"E† statement (i.e. that no soccer balls are round objects). The truth of the premise does not lead to the truth of the inference, which is how subalternation

Lab report about prism spectrometer Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

About prism spectrometer - Lab Report Example Those colors emanated from the, white, Hydrogen and Mercury light sources. The main objective of carrying out this study on prisms is to learn the aspects of prism spectrometer theory so as to enhance the ability of explaining the practicability of its components. This was mainly achieved through observation of the mercury spectrum discharge lamp while taking subsequent angle of deviation records regarding the spectral lines. This hence creates the capability of determining the refraction index of the given glass prism for a number of wavelengths. It also gives insights on how to utilize the calibrated prism for the ultimate measurement of unknown wavelengths. Finally, it enables one to make a general observation regarding color sensation that is caused by the prevailing light of specific wavelengths. The main tool that is used in this lab experiment is the spectroscope. This is an instrument that is used for production an ultimate viewing of spectra. It is often comprised of three main parts that includes; a collimator for production of parallel light beams, a prism that is majorly responsible for light dispersion towards the spectrum, and the telescope that is ultimately meant for spectrum examination (GutieÃŒ rrez-Vega, Julio et.at, 2007). When there is transmission of light beam from air to the glass, the bending of the ray occurs with accordance to the Snells law. Therefore this can be summarized by an equation that is stated as sin q air = n sin q glass; whereby the subsequent measurement of subsequent angles is done on the normal surface in which n refers to the refraction index of the entire glass. The refraction index is hence a dimension-less value and is simply a clear measurement of the intensity in which the medium can bend light. The increase in the size of n is directly proportional to the increased bending of light. The usual refractive index of air is always 1. For a glass, n often varies from the value of between 1.3 and 1.8,

Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Memo - Essay Example Canada has a gross domestic income per capital of $41,000 and a total population of 34.3 million inhabitants (Culturegrams, 2012). Zamada Motors is looking to expand its operations into the Canadian marketplace. The firm in 2014 plans on launching a small compact car called the â€Å"2.2†. The car is a small two seater with high fuel economy that is targeted to compete with Fiat, Mini, Ford and Toyota. The purpose of this memo is to provide a comprehensive integrated marketing strategy for Zamada Motors. The company has a marketing budget of one million dollars. A million dollars might seem like a lot of money, but to launch an introductory mass marketing campaign in a foreign country the budget the firm has is limited. Despite the budget constraints there are marketing channels that can be used in a combined manner to achieve the goals of the company. The first step for the company is to let the Canadian population know about existence of the Zamada brand. The marketing plan will start by focusing on the brand. The second step of the strategy is to emphasize on the â€Å"2.2† to drive the sales of the product. The marketing budget of the firm will be divided in two initiates. The company will spend 20% of its budget to get the word out about the brand. The remaining 80% of the budget will be used to market the â€Å"2.2† car model. ... To minimize cost the company will select to launch its ads in popular shows that are not part of primetime television. The firm will place three commercials per week for a period of three months. The firm will contact all Canadian TV stations to negotiate a deal for the marketing package. The bid the company will make for the commercials will be valued at $150,000. If for some reason the firm is not able to negotiate a contract based on those parameters the company will lower its expectations to two commercials per week instead of three. The second marketing channel that the company will use is the written press. Some of the potential newspapers the firm might perform business with include Georgia Straight, The Fountain Pen, High River Times, and Oxford Review (Onlinenewspapers, 2012). The marketing budget for the written press initiative is $20,000. For that budget the company expects to have a daily ad in the newspaper for a period of three months. The final channel that will be us ed for the initial public relation launch of the company is the radio. The company will place four radio ads per week for a period of three months. The marketing budget for the radio campaign is $30,000. The second phase of the integrated marketing campaign is to introduce the â€Å"2.2† car model to the general public of Canada. The firm has a marketing budget of $800,000 for this initiative. The company will use some of the marketing channels utilized in phase one as well as other marketing channels that are better suited for a marketing strategy to target a specific demographic group. The company will once again utilize television as one of its channel. The television campaign to introduce the â€Å"2.2† will be shorter than in phase

Case Study Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Case Study Assignment - Essay Example The automobile manufacturing industry is globalised by its very nature. Several industry analysts and marketing scholars have affirmed the aforementioned, arguing that with very few exceptions, car manufacturers look towards the global market, identify segments therein and seek to create a niche for themselves within that expansive, borderless market (Dickson-Simpson, 2007; Schweinsberg et al., 2007; Van Acker and Uludag, 2007). It is a globalised industry due to the universal nature of its product, the fact that not all countries have a domestic automobile manufacturing industry, and that variant and divergent consumer cost, design and quality requirements cannot be satisfied by a limited number of manufactures (Dickson-Simpson, 2007; Schweinsberg et al., 2007; Van Acker and Uludag, 2007). In other words, the very nature of the industry, product, market trends and consumer demands have determined this as a global and globalised industry. Consequently, being a global industry, the su rvival of firms within is dependant upon the accurate identification of the industry's threats and opportunities and the extent to which a company's operations are, themselves, globalised. The imperatives of Daimler Chrysler's evolving into a truly global automobile manufacturer may be established through a detailed industry analysis using Porter's Five Forces. Proceeding first with the factor of rivalry, one finds that within the context of this industry rivalry is extremely high and is intensifying as a direct outcome to the formation of horizontal alliances between budget and high-end manufacturers for the explicit purpose of cutting down on costs. Not only is rivalry intense but it is intensifying due to the emergence, not only of new industry players but of alliances which may be identified as a bid by smaller firms to become market leaders. For example, Fiat is allying itself with Tata, an Indian automobile manufacturer, fir the explicit purpose of supplying developing markets with the much demanded cheap/economy automobiles. Similarly, GM is forming an alliance with Daewoo for the production of an economic Chevrolet model in South Korea. The implication here is that even in the absence of direct mergers and takeovers, manufactures are teaming up for the design and manufacture of models as would expand their existing market shares in particular automobile market segments. As one looks towards Daimler, one finds that it has not, in its marriage with Chrysler, embraced the imperatives of globalisation for the purpose of maximising its competitive edge. Chrysler is not a manufacturer of budget automobiles and its production costs are high. It is, furthermore, just as the case with Daimler, centred in an industrialised market. This means that the aforementioned marriage has not expanded Daimler's global market presence and has certainly not allowed it to cut down on production costs and to venture into different segments of the automobile market. In other words, whereas competitors are forming alliances which facilitate the realisation of the latter mentioned goal, thereby giving them a competitive advantage over rivals, Daimler has not. Within the context of the stated, it falls short of being a global company, despite its presence in the global market place. As regards the second of Porter's Five Forces, the global nature of the industry has made the threat

Roles of the Nurse Leader Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Roles of the Nurse Leader - Term Paper Example Answer: No: 2 A nurse leader injects the sense of responsibility in the minds of other nurses. She also makes them aware of the roles and responsibilities of a nurse as a healthcare provider. A nurse leader performs her job related activities with full commitment and dedication. A nurse leader gives priority to her responsibilities over her personal matters. A nurse leader provides proper treatment to the patients based on her job related experiences and knowledge. â€Å"They may be responsible for overseeing a ward, scheduling, supervision, employee reviews and other business aspects of the medical field† (Ellis-Christensen, n.d.). Moreover, a nurse leader is a self-driven person who not only performs her professional activities up to the level of perfection but also mobilizes and motivates young nurses to be committed with their job responsibilities. Answer: No: 3 In maintaining continuous competency within the nursing profession, a nurse leader works with full commitment to wards the goals. If a nurse leader shows some kind of negligence towards the job responsibilities, it affects the whole career of that nurse. Therefore, it is very important for a nurse leader to show dedication and commitment towards her job in order to achieve excellence and experience. It is the role of a nurse leader to motivate other nurses to carry out their job responsibilities with complete faith and devotion because nursing profession is a social service related to health, which can not bear any kind of negligence towards any of the responsibilities. Answer: No: 4 A nurse leader’s leadership role within the nursing profession is multidimensional. A nurse leader protects the rights of other members related to the profession and injects a sense of self-respect in the members. A nurse leader guides other nurses towards the path of ethics and principles. A nurse leader never lets other members feel down due to any problem related to the profession, rather mobilizes all m embers to raise their voice against the policies, which affect their rights. Answer: No: 5 A nurse leader plays a considerable role as a professional role model for young nurses. Punctuality, good manners, and job commitment are some of the factors, which make a nurse a real role model for the young nurses. If a nurse leader does not come to the hospital on time or if she communicates rudely with patients and other nurses, she cannot become a good role model for other nurses because of the bad image, which she reflects to the young nurses. Therefore, it is extremely important for a nurse leader to have good manners in order to become a professional role model. Answer: No: 6 I will make every effort to become a professional role model for other nurses. I will promote and support nursing as one of the best professions of the world. As a professional nurse, I will give priority to my job responsibilities over my personal matters. I will not show any kind of negligence towards my job re sponsibilities and will show complete commitment and dedication towards my profession. Moreover, I will try to exhibit a dynamic personality in order to become a perfect role model for my subordinates. Part: 2 Answer: No: 1 A nurse leader plays the role of a researcher by identifying various researchable issues and taking steps to resolve those issues. A nurse leader takes part in different scientific investigations. A nurse leader is always aware of all research issues and plays a

MGMT 436 U5 DB Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGMT 436 U5 DB - Research Paper Example Which of the 4 change projects should the consulting group suggest helping the company design and develop? Which function can the company OD do better (as primary lead consultant) than an external group? The consulting group should suggest a change project which would assist the company in generating the most profits within the minimum cost. As such, the company OD, who has access to pertinent information, which is privy to an external group, would enable them to function better. Generate ideas about how you can move toward making the leadership team more independent. What would you have to see happen or what evidence would you look for to see that you can terminate your relationship with the team without any damage being done? To make the leadership team become more independent, the following suggestions are proposed: (1) assign a team leader who would be tasked to solicit ideas, comments, suggestions to undertake a particular project or task; (2) delegate roles and responsibilities of members; (3) monitor progress of the project regularly; and (4) only elevate crucial issues that cannot be resolved by the team to authorized superiors. As such, when the team is able to operate and perform independently and has been able to consistently deliver the expected outcome or defined goals, then, one could terminate the relationship with the team without any damage being done. Provide your thoughts about with which projects the consulting group should be involved. You know you could help with them all, but what is ethical? How much money and time can you, as consultants, lose or make based on this decision? What should drive the decision process? The projects that the consulting group should be involved are those that have never been undertaken by any teams within the organization. This means that the project should be new, complex or not within the traditional area of specialization of the organization. It is therefore ethical to

Biomedicine and AIDS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biomedicine and AIDS - Essay Example How this article functions to describe the seven components of the scientific method is explained as follows: Experts have observed that in an HIV infected person the CD4 cells or transfer cells which function to regulate the messages sent from the immune system to the rest of the body get infected by HIV. This results in two things. Number one, the HIV infection causes some CD4 cells to be infected, and secondly the rest of the healthy cells which are not infected by HIV tend to cease to function properly and die early despite the fact that they were not infected. Therefore present drugs focus on inhibiting the infection ability to reproduce. However they do nothing to stop the healthy CD4 cells from dying without any reason. This causes ultimate damage. A drug invented to stop the healthy uninfected CD4 cells from dying would function to keep the immune system in working order and therefore it can prevent deaths. This is the drug that is being tested. A drug immudel-gp120 is being developed which is structured in a way that it would destroy the HIV infection's ability to destroy the healthy CD4 cells. HIV infection is covered with a protein called gp120. This gp120 protein falls off and moves freely in the bloodstream. It then sticks to CD4 cells but we can still not call them infected because gp120 alone is not harmful. B cells in the body function to produce antibodies which stick to anything they identify as foreign, entering the body so that the rest of the immune system can destroy it. The B cells identify the gp120 stuck on the healthy CD4 cells as foreign bodies therefore antibodies are produced which bind themselves to the gp120 on the healthy CD4 cells thus making the CD4 cells inactive. Immudel-gp 120 consists of two parts. First gp120 which does not bind to healthy CD4 cells but only to B cells which produce antibodies. The second part is a protein that kills anything it enters but it cannot enter on its own. It can only get into a cell if its other part i.e. the gp120 attached to it leads it inside the cell. And the only cells the gp120 can get into are the B cells that the scientists are trying to eliminate. The B cells attract the gp120 to themselves and are then destroyed by the protein thus as they are destroyed they can no more produce antibodies which play a role in destroying the CD4 cells. So this drug is administered to HIV infected patients and this is the experimental design of the drug. Data Collection Data collected indicates that the harmful B cells are eliminated due to the action of the drug. The pilot tests have been conducted on mice and humans. Data collection shows that using the drug immudel-gp120 as opposed to not using it shows a lower background level of antibody production in all three cases of no foreign particle entering the body, gp-120 entering the body and pokeweed mitogen entering the body. Use of no immudel-gp120 shows only lower background level in the case of no foreign particle entering, but in the other two cases the danger and risk factor of antibody production was very high. Results So results show that immudel-gp120 eliminated the production of anti-gp120 antibodies but does not harm the production of antibodies to other foreign proteins. Results also show no side effects of the drug in humans and mice. Conclusion It is safe to use the drug

Share Price Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Share Price Report - Essay Example Therefore; this study will provide a sharp insight of Tesco plc and Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets PLC as discussed. 1. A plot of the share price of the project companies (Tesco plc and Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets PLC) over the study period relative to movements in the FTSE 100 index. Source: Author Source: Author 2. Assess major economic and other events that have affected these companies and their share price over the project period (1st October 2012 – 22nd March 2013). Tesco supermarket operates under the parent Tesco private limited company that operates supermarkets and 5 hypermarkets. The supermarket operates under retail industry and offer products such as clothes, toys, Groceries, music, electric products to mention just but a few. The company reported revenue of 3.15 billion pounds as at 2008.Additionally the profit margin was reported to rise by 9.5% in the subsequent periods (The Telegraph, 2013). This increase was attributed to its large market share of non-food items c ausing the prices and the value of its shares to rise. In above connection, Tesco Company had shown great improvements with respect to its shares prices. This could have been attributed to adoption of online trade making it possible for Tesco supermarket to reach numerous customers within a shortest time possible (The Telegraph. 2013). On the other hand, Morrison (Wm) Supermarket is the public limited company that operates in retail industry with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the company offers variety of products such; food stuffs, wines, health products, spirits, furnitures, entertainment items pharmacy items to mention just but a few. It has been reported that Morrison supermarket is the fourth largest super market after Tesco and is among FTSE 100 index. Morrison (Wm) Supermarket reported revenue of 18.116 billion pounds in 2013 and a net income of 647 billion pounds (The Telegraph, 2013). Morrison share prices have been influenced by market forces, econo mic factors such as recession, competitors and technology employed causing a fluctuation on its share prices as shown in table 1.2 at the end of text. According to The Telegraph, 2013, the company was planning to employ grocery technology in order to increase its efficiency, it is predicted that application of grocery technology will help to improve its stocks performance (The Telegraph, 2013). 3. Discuss factors which have affected the sector as a whole. Economic condition was reported to affect performance of the retail sectors more significantly. For instance, the 2008 economic recession was still felt in 2012 and 2013. Such condition may have impacted significantly causing the two supermarkets to increase prices of food staffs (Yahoo finance, 2013). This further caused share prices for both Tesco and Morrison supermarkets to decline making the value of shares to fall. On the other hand, government and market regulations may have impacted on share prices. Whereby, government may increase corporate taxes, making the company to experience low returns. This may consequently cause a negative influence to the entire sector. Connectively, unfavourable political climate may negatively influence shares price due to uncertainty (Puxty, Dodds and Wilson, 1988). 4. Compare and contrast these events and share price movements in these companies with what has happened to the comparator company (Sainsbury (J) PLC) over the project

Network Hardening Essay Example for Free

Network Hardening Essay Network Hardening Network Layout 4 : VPN (Remote Access Domain) – Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with VPN software and Secure Socket Layer/VPN (SSL/VPN) tunnels A Virtual Private Network or VPN enables a computer or network-enabled device to send and receive data through shared or public networks as if it were directly connected to the private network, while it’s benefiting from the functionality, security and management policies of the private network. It was created to establish a virtual pint-to-point connection through the using of dedicated connections, virtual tunneling protocols or traffic encryptions. Three Strategies for hardening the network environment 1 Firewall Friendly VPN The increase demands of e-business come with a compelling requirement for data security. Virtual Private Network with IP Security Architecture (IPsec VPN) meets this requirement by providing end-to end encryption and authentication at the IPlayer and protecting confidential data that flows over possibly untrustworthy networks. IPsec has the advantage of a wide scope of coverage and agile granularity of protection; however, incompatibilities exist between IPsec VPN and the Network Address Translation (NAT) that firewalls use. 2 Security policy enforcement: Means of enforcement of security policy should be a primary consideration throughout the research, test and implementation phases of any security technology. Careful research, review of manufacturer’s documentation, questions presented to vendors and manufacturers, and testing of the technology can serve to meet this criteria. Without a method of enforcement, effectiveness of security policy is questionable at best. While audit trails, hardware analysis and security logs should be reviewed regularly; it is a time-intensive process and this alone alerts the administrator to violations and security threats after they have occurred. Without a means of  enforcement, the administrator is risking the security of the VPN by relying upon the remote VPN users to voluntarily comply with policy. As the secure network perimeter is being extended to encompass the VPN client, security policy must be enforced in ‘real-time’ to protect the integrity of both the VPN client and t he network. Having addressed security policy issues that require the VPN client to have antivirus software installed and using the latest update; policy also requires a properly configured personal firewall to be running on the client PC or Laptop, and requires a time limit on inactive VPN sessions. How is this to be made obligatory, and remove the responsibility from the VPN user to voluntarily comply with policy? The answer is as stated above – by defining the need and carefully researching solutions available to fulfill this need. The VPN Concentrator, a managed antivirus package, will fulfill the dictated requirements. 3 Web content filtering: Filtering incoming and outgoing traffic, using signatures, reputation ratings and other heuristics. Whitelist allowed types of web content, preferably blocking all executable content by default and use a process to enable individual selected access if a business justification exists. †¢ Preferably disallow ActiveX, Java, Flash Player, HTML inline frames and JavaScript except for whitelisted web sites. †¢ Preferably use a solution that can similarly inspect SSL traffic for malicious content, especially SSL communications with unfamiliar web sites. †¢ Preferably use technology that automatically opens downloaded files in a sandbox to detect anomalous behavior such as network traffic or changes to the file system or registry. †¢ Preferably, since this approach is more proactive and thorough than blacklisting a tiny percentage of malicious domains. †¢ An example implementation is available at http://whitetrash.sourceforge.net Reference www.computer.howstuffworks.com/vpn.htm www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network www.iprodeveloper.com www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs www.cisco.com/web/about/security/intelligence/firewall-best-practices.html

Most Influential Theologians

Most Influential Theologians St. Thomas Aquinas St. Thomas was born toward the end of 1226 and was born in Italy. St. Thomas was an Italian scholar and the most influential theologian in the Catholic Church. In 1243 he joined the Dominican order which was not like by his parents and they put him in jail for two years. St. Thomas wrote many works philosophy and theology but his most famous is Summa Theological. In it he gives proof of God and his existence. In another section he talks about ethics and how it roots in Aristole. In a chain of acts of will man strives for the highest end. The third part is about Christ. Thomas teaches that Christ is to be regarded as redeemer after his human nature. Thomas was sent to Paris to study under Albert the Great. He served with Albert as his teaching assistant. In 1252 he began to become a master of theology. Thomas was regonized as an excellent theology. He was very holy and would celebrate mass and then have lunch with the friars. Then in the evening he would pray and read. When he became a Dominican he parents really wanted him to become a monk. He was 19 when this happened. He was in Rome but removed and sent to Paris by his parents. His family became desperate to have him not join but he remained determined. At last the he was sent to Rome to meet the master general of the Dominicans. In 1274 St. Thomas died and never got to finish Summa Theologica. He is known as the model for people studying priesthood. In 1333 he was canonized and was declared one of the doctors of the church by Pope Pius V. Kateri Tekakwitha Young Kateri Tekakwitha, born in 1656 near a town called Auriesville in New York, was the daughter of the Mohawk Chief and a Catholic Algonquin. In 1660, at the age of four, her parents and baby brother were killed by a disease that attacked the village, leaving her an orphan. Tekakwitha survived. Although, she was partially blind. She would feel around to find her way. Seeing this, the others called her a name that by which means The One Who Walks Groping for Her Way. Later on, her uncle and two aunts adopted her. They went back to the village where the disease killed her family and rebuilt a village known as Caughnawaga. Over time, she grew into a sweet, shy young woman. She would spend time with her aunts working in the fields. She would often go to the neighboring forest and gather firewood water from the stream and certain roots to make medicine and die. Despite her poor sight, she was very skilled at beadwork. Also, at the woods she would go alone to pray to god and listen to his and her own voice. At the age of 18, is when her holy and religious life truly began. A priest came to their village and established a chapel. Kateri wanted to learn more about Jesus so she decided to be baptized. At the Age of twenty, she was baptized on Easter. Although, her family did not accept her choice to embace Christ so she became a village outcast. Tekakwitha was treated very badly by others in her settlement. In 1677, she left her village and fled to the Catholic Mission of St. Francis Xavier at Sault Saint Louis, near Montreal. Her journey to get to the mission took over two months but because of her determination, she was allowed to receive her First Holy Communion on Christmas day of that same year. She helped the young and came to the assistance of those who were sick. Her favorite devotion was to fashion crosses out of sticks and place them throughout the woods. this would be the sign that whenever she saw one, she would take a moment to pray. One thing that she loved was the rosary, which she wore around her neck every day. People always asked her to tell them a story. they would listen for a long time because when they were with her they felt the presence of God. One day, a priest came to the people and asked why they always circle around Kateri. Their answer would be, We feel closer to God when she is around and her face glows and looks different when she prays.so beautiful as if she were looking at Gods face . On March 25, 1617 she made a vow of perpetual virginity. She wanted to start a convent of Native American sisters but she was discouraged. Due to bad health, Kateri Tekakwitha died in 1680 at the age of twenty-four. her last words were Jesus, I love you. Like the flower she was named for, the lily, her life was short and beautiful. Moments after her death the scarred face of Kateri Tekakwitha was transformed into a beautiful, flawless face. This was witnessed by many people. She was known as Lily of the Mohawks. In 1943, the Catholic church declared her venerable and beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. Her feast day id celebrated on July 14 and she is the patroness of World Youth Day 2002. Although not a saint yet, she is the first native American to be declared Blessed. St. Jerome St. Jerome was born at Stridon, a small town in the Roman province of Dalmatia, around 347. In Latin, he was known as Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymus. St. Jerome was not baptized until about 360 or 366 when he went to Rome with his friend Bonosus to pursue their studies. As a student in Rome, he learned how to speak both Greek and Latin but he also engaged in bad activities and needed to repent. To make himself feel better, St. Jerome would visit the remains and items left by the martyrs and the apostles at their catacombs. This experience would remind him of the terrors of hell. To describe Christian concepts, Jerome initially used classical authors but later on converted to Christianity himself. After several years in Rome, he travelled with Bonosus to Gaul and settled in Trier where he began to take up his theological studies as well as meeting many Christian friends. Some of his friends accompanied him when he set out on a journey through Thrace and the Asia Minor. On this journey, two of his friends died and Jerome was seriously ill. During his illness, he had visions that led him to put aside secular studies and devote himself to God. St. Jerome wanted to live a new life of penance so he went for a time to the desert of Chalcis. There he studied, wrote, and attempted to learn the Hebrew language with the guidance of a converted Jew. Returning to Antioch, he was ordained by Bishop Paulinus and continued to study and write. At this time, St. Jerome was a main teacher of the church and was attached to Pope Damascus I and the leading Roman Christians. One of his most famous accomplishments was translating the Bible from Hebrew to Latin so that everyone could understand Gods teachings. Jerome continued to do many important things with the church later on in his life. St. Jerome died near Bethlehem on September 30, 420. His remains were buried in Bethlehem but were later transferred to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. St. Jerome became the patron saint of librarians and is recognized as the Doctor of the Church. His feast day is on September 30. St. Matthew The writer of the first Gospel and one of the twelve Apostles was not only a strong believer in God but a sinning tax collector as well. St. Matthew was born in the first century Judea as the son of a tax collector named Alpheus. The young Matthew grew up like any boy would have if he lived in that time; learning how to complete his fathers job. His father was a tax collector and taught him how to be a good tax collector like Joseph taught Jesus to be a carpenter. From a sinner, to an Apostle, to a writer of the Gospel, Matthew lived a life a lot like Jesus. He was soon hired by Herod Antipas to collect taxes like his father had. As a tax collector he was given an office located in Capernaum. He soon became despised and thought of as an outcast like all tax collectors. While in a large tax collector meeting in his office, Matthew was called by Jesus to live a life devoted to God like the other eleven Apostles. Although many people were skeptical when Jesus asked a sinning tax collector to follow him, Matthew rose up right then and there, converted and started to follow Jesus. As one of the early Apostles, Matthew was often known as Levi. He is often paired with St. Thomas in the Bible and is thought to be involved with a group of early Christians called the Nazarenes. With this group, Matthew and the Apostles proclaimed that Jesus was the son of God and the everlasting Messiah. Matthew was sent to Palestine alone by Jesus to continue preaching the word of God. He isnt mentioned in the Gospel any more other than in the names of the Apostles. Some historical facts place him in Gentile places preaching to those who lived there. Matthew was present with Mary during Jesus Resurrection and Ascension. Matthew was most likely very literate which was an uncommon trait for people in that time. It is unknown where he began writing the first Gospel also known as the Gospel of the Hebrews. It is called this because he began writing it in Hebrew for the early Hebrew Christians. St. Matthew wrote his Gospel the Gospel of Mark somewhere between AD 50 to AD 55. Matthews Gospel reproduces about 90% of Marks. His Gospel was later translated into Greek so more people could read it but the Greek copy was soon lost. The Hebrew copy was placed in the Library of Caesarea where it was kept for many centuries. St. Matthew turned his life around with the help of a fellow Jew. He became an Apostle, and then wrote the first of the four Gospels. Matthew wrote It is unsure whether he died of natural cause or if he was a martyr. We celebrate his feast day on September 21st. He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX. St. Matthew grew up a sinning tax collector, was called by Jesus, lived the rest of his life devoted to God, and died with the satisfaction of keeping the oldest and greatest memories alive. St. Jude Personal Life St. Jude was born in the first century AD in the area of Galilee, Palestine. He is also known as St. Jude Thaddeus, Thaddeus being his last name which means the brave one while Jude means giver of joy. It is stated in Matthew 13:55 that St. Jude was a brethren of Jesus, brethren being a Hebrew word indicating a blood relationship. It is also reported that his father, Cleophas was a brother of St. Joseph and was later persecuted for his faith, and his mother, Mary was a cousin of the Blessed Virgin and was said to have stood by the Immaculate Conceptions side while Jesus was crucified. St. Jude also had many brothers, two of which was St. James the Less, and St. Simeon the Zealot. Missionary Work St. Jude was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus along with his brothers James and Simeon, and is remembered for asking Christ at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. His name is not to be confused with Judas of Iscariot, another one of the twelve apostles since both their names are a Greek Variant of the word Judah. After the Pentecost (in which he was present) St. Jude continued to preach the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Libya, and Mesopotamia, where he became a leader of the Church of The East that St. Thomas established there around 37 AD. Although little is known about St. Jude, one of his acknowledged works is the conversion of King Abgar. This idea comes from a Biblical story in which King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) asked Jesus to cure him of leprosy and sent an artist to bring him a drawing of Jesus. Impressed with Abgars great faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to take to Abgar. Once the King saw Jesus image he was cured and he converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. This cloth is believed to be the famous Shroud of Jesus which is currently on display in Turin, Italy. St. Jude is also credited for helping start the Armenian Church, and is believed to be the human author of the Epistle of St. Jude, which is the shortest book in the New Testament. One of his last works before his death was his aid in the election of the bishop of Jerusalem in 62 AD, the bishop that was chosen turned out to be his brother Simeon the Zealot Death Little is known about St. Jude, since he was confused with Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, and his veneration was avoided, thus resulting in being known as the Forgotten Saint. Also, there is little information written about him in the Bible since he was known to travel around the world to preach the Gospel. One of the countries that St. Jude traveled to was Armenia, and it was there where he was reportedly murdered for his faith around the year 65 AD, although there are some instances that claim that St. Jude suffered of martyrdom alongside St. Simon in Persia. Armenia was a country that did not completely convert to Christianity until the 3rd century, about 250 years after St. Judes death. We do not know the specifics of St. Judes death, but he is often depicted carrying an axe or a club, suggesting the way in which he was murdered. After his death, his body was brought back to Rome and was placed in a crypt beneath St. Peters Basilica, which people continue to visit to this day. Sainthood St. Jude was canonized pre-congregation, meaning that he was recognized as a saint before the Catholic Church had a formal process of canonization. His feast day for Western Christianity is on October 28, and his feast day for Eastern Christianity it is celebrated on June 19. St. Jude is often associated with St. Simeon the Zealot, whom he shares his feast day with. He is renowned for being the patron saint of Armenia, lost causes, desperate situations, ibises, hospitals, St. Petersburg, Florida, Cotta Lucena City Quezon, the Chicago Police Department, Club de Regattas do Flamengo (soccer team) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Remembrance Today Even though St. Jude isnt as well known as some of the other saints, he is still as important and is venerated in many religions including the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, the Church of the East, the Coptic Church, and the Anglican Communion. Nowadays, St. Jude is probably best known for being the namesake of many hospitals specializing in treating people, and specifically children in terminal illnesses since he is the patron saint of desperate causes. We pray to him now in time of desperate need for the reason that he provided a lot of inspirational support to a group of Christians who were being persecuted in Eastern churches and he exhorted them to keep their faith and to stay in the love of God as they had been taught. We usually see St. Jude depicted carrying the image of Jesus (taken from the story of King Agbar), carrying an Axe, club, boat, oar, and/or a medallion. The following is a common prayer dedicated to St. Jude: Most holy apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever. I promise, O blessed Saint Jude, to be mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen. Saint John the Apostle Saints to me are always people we can look up to and know that they were true followers of Jesus. Saints are a great guide on how to act and be when we grow up or even as teenagers. When we are in doubt we sometimes ask our selves what would Jesus do but we can also ask are selves what would the saints do and know that we would get the right answer. St. John the apostle was the son of Zebedee and was called to be on of the 12 apostles of Jesus along with his brother James. They also were with Jesus on his ministries. John appears on the list of the apostles in Acts and in the synoptic gospels. James and John were also believed to be given the nick name Boanerges which means sons of thunder due to their tempers. In the Bible there are no details about how old john might have been when he became one of Jesus disciples but the Christians say that he lived to at least 100 CE which would have been pretty old. There is also nothing in the Bible telling about how long his activity in Judea lasted. Christian traditions also say that John had a important position in the Apostolic body. John was also present at the transfiguration of Jesus. This is some of the things we have gotten from the Bible. John, according to the Bible, was said to be more important than all the other apostles. The reason why was because he was present at many important time such as the transfiguration, and at the Garden of Gethsemane before Jesus was arrested. Paul later in the Bible also calls John the pillar of the Jerusalem church. John was also important because he has been believed to be the author of the fourth gospel, three canonical letters, and the book of revelation. There are so many thing we can learn from saints and these are the most important things that I took from Saint John the Apostle. Again next time you need help deciding what to do just ask yourself what would Jesus do OR what would the saints do. St. Nicholas Having a wonderful family will get you many places, just like were it got Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas came from a wealth family who loved him very much. Sadly, Nicholas parents died while he was still young. Nick was a devoted catholic and when he received his fortune from his parents death, he decided to use it to help the poor and needy. Instead of using the money for himself, he used it for others, which was a start of his generosity. As a young man, Nicholas was known for his kindness. He devoted his life to serving God and became Bishop of Myra while still a young man. He took control of this job to show how responsible he was. This position was very good for Nick and I think it taught him many important things in life. Many people in the land knew that this man was a generous, kindhearted, children loving man who had concerns for other people just like sailors and ships sailings on the oceans. For loving and doing all these things, Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned for believing in god, just like Jesus. This conflict made many people angry and trying to rebel. At this time, there were so many priest, deacons, and other religious believers imprisoned that there was no room for murders, thieves and robbers. After he was released, Nicholas joined the council of Nicaea. After leaving the council, St. Nicholas died on December 6, which is his feast day. On this day, it is a time to reflect on how St. Nicholas was kind to everyone, just like we should be to. Creating this great example for us shows that we need to follow his good ways. Remembering this day will make us realize that we should all commit good deeds no matter what day it is. St. Nicholas was the Patron Saint of Russia. He has many churches named after is glorious name. As a young boy, St. Nick proved to not only himself, but also others that he was a responsible adult. Many people believe you become responsible when youre older, but Saint Nick proved them wrong. He left behind a great example and reputation that will live on forever. St. Augustine of Hippo St. Augustine of Hippo, also known as Aurelius Augustinus, was born into a middle class family on November 13, 354 in Tagaste, modern day Algeria. He was the son of St. Monica and of Patricius. As a young boy, Augustine received a catholic education. His father had believed that he was successful that he had sent him to Cathage, to prepare for his forensic career. St. Augustine was a man of belief, strength, and success. For this he had succeeded in life. Augustine came into the church for having such a strong belief. The reason why he became such a strong believer, was when he had become very ill and could not receive baptism, but he pursued that dream of his. He had joined the men of prayer group and he had three ideas stuck deep in his heart. The first idea was a divine providence or the virtue of prudence. The second one was the future with terrible sanctions or going to hell. The last idea that was in his heart was Christ is above all and the Savior. He also became close with the church when he had given up on Divine Truth and had prayed to the Blessed Mother. The prayers to the blessed mother brought him back to his faith and decided that Christianity was the religion for him. At the start of his religious life he became a priest. The only thing he had kept when he became a priest was his familys house which became a monastic house. Then later on in his life he became a bishop. As he came back to his Christian faith, he wrote about his experiences in books called, Retractions. As he lived his life of prayer, he became closer to God. He also learned how to live a life of peace. As his life drew near so did his life of becoming a saint. On August 28, 430, at the age of seventy-five, Augustines life had come to an end. Augustine was a patron of brewers. As his life came close to its end, he spent almost every moment praying to God. Augustine has become one of my favorite saints as I have learned more about him. His life was powerful and interesting to me. I will try to live my life as an image of him and live out my faith, become closer to the church and God. St. Leo the Great Saint Leo the great was and Italian aristocrat and is the first pope of the Catholic Church to be called The Great. He is best known for meeting Attila the Hun in 452 AD and persuading him to turn back on the invasion of Western Europe. He is also known for being called the Doctor of the Church. St. Leos date of birth is still unknown to this day, but he was born in Tuscany, in Northern France, but refers to Rome and his home town. But it is said that his family moved to Rome when he was very young. The earliest information about Saint Leo being part of the churchs clergy when he was a deacon under Pope Celestine I. While Leo was away on a civil mission to bring peace to France, Pope Sixtus III on August 19, 440. As the people of Rome knew of Leos care and love for the individual souls, Leo was voted by the people to be their bishop. But when the people asked Leo to come back to Rome the Holy Spirit was working through all the faithful, so when Leo came back he was anointed Pope of Rome. He was elected on September 9, 440 AD and would reign as pope for the next 21 years. As pope of the Rome Leo labored constantly to protect the integrity of Faith by waging wars, taking strenuous actions against regions, and ordered to correct the errors of countries in Spain. He did all of this because he cared about the people and the faithful. He wanted them to have the most loving gift of all and that was the teachings of Christ that was handed down by the apostles. He continued to do this by defending the unity of the Catholic Church and with constancy strove to teach all men who were doctrines to lead their souls to the greatest fulfillment of salvation. Pope Leo the Greats pontificate was a continuous period of tireless effort directed at upholding the unity of the Church as the people thought. But after this he did much more. He cared about the Church so much that he tried his hardest to stop invasions in order to save more lives. Such as when he went to Atilla the Hun in 452 and persuading him with all his power to turn back on the invasion of Western Europe. Legend has it that Attila, on looking above St. Leo, saw in a vision that Saints Peter and Paul would support the Popes wishes, which struck him with fear. One of his most important persuasions was with Genseric the Vandal, who had captured the city of Rome. But thanks to Pope Leos intervention the Vandals didnt even touch Rome by not hurting or killing anyone or even taking down the Churches. Pope Saint Leo the Great certainly possessed true care and love for the Church. He submitted his whole heart to Christ, labored to lead others into committing themselves into the See of Peter, and used all his influence to maintain the unity of the Church. If you ask me I would say Saint Leo the Great modeled his life after the sixth Beatitude, which proclaims, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. He has a connection between purity of heart and of faith. He exemplifies love of truth and orthodoxy of faith. In 1754 Benedict XIV exalted St. Leo to the dignity of Doctor of the Church. Not quite two centuries later, Pope Pius XII, in a sermon given on October 12, 1952, noted that Pope Saint Leo is the greatest among the great. Saint Martin of Tours Saint Martin of Tours was born around the time 317 A.D in modern-day Hungary. Martins father was a senior officer in the Roman Army; he was stationed in Ticinum, Cisalpine Gaul (now Pavia, Italy) where Martin grew up. Later, in Martins pre-teen years, he found God and took charge of his religious life. Martin learned many things about God and started on his way to becoming a saint. When Martin was ten years old he went to the church against his parents and became a candidate for baptism. His parents were very upset with him because he went against their wishes. When Martin was fifteen years old, because his father was a retired officer, Martin was required to join the army. While Martin was stationed in Amiens, he experienced the vision that is most remembered today. He was at the gates of the city of Amiens with his soldiers when he met a scarcely dressed beggar. He automatically cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptized; he has clad me. (Sulpicius, ch 2). This dream confirmed Martins fidelity. He was then baptized at the age of eighteen. Later Martin thought his faith prohibited him from fighting and shouted I am a soldier of Christ. I cannot fight. He was charged of cowardice and put in jail. Martin followed the way of the Lord and always served others. Some of the things he was known for were that he was against poverty and did everything he could to help the less fortunate. Some emblems that remind us of him are trees, beggars, soldiers and cloaks. He was known for many great deeds and acts of charity and kindness. Martin died on November 8, 397, in Candes, Gaul (modern-day France). Martin of Tours was just over eighty when he died. He is the patron Saint of beggars and soldiers. We celebrate his feast day on November 11th. Prayer: God, Your Bishop Saint Martin glorified You by both his life and death. Renew in us Your grace, so that neither death nor life can separate us from Your love. Amen Saint John the Baptist But He who acts in truth comes into the light, to make clear that his deeds are done in God. (Luke 3:21) Saint John was the cousin of Jesus. He was a baptizer. He was born to the people named Elizabeth and Zachariah. He had many duties such as; being the first baptizer, writing a gospel ect He told the people to repent and that the Lord is upon them. But his cry was not answered by many passing people. John was often mistaken for the Messiah. He was very holy, and spread Gods word so well that he was called The Anointed One. You yourselves are witnesses to the fact that I said: I am not the Messiah; I am sent before Him.'(Luke 3:28) To be a saint you have to have humility, you have to be willing to die for your faith. You have to be open to the fact that you have to make sacrifices to be a soldier of Christ. He took His chance and became that soldier and was the first priest, and was the first leader to baptize someone. He had a lot of weight on his shoulders that day. The cousin of the Lord being asked to baptize someone when you have no idea what to do. He had to be brave to be that kind of person. In current life today we should be Johns. We should be able to die for our faith and give it all up for the Lord. We were all sent by God to do his will and to be the messengers for his faith. We are to live by example and be the little Johns of the world. If we love and care for Jesus and God then we should be able to understand how we are part of the great plan of salvation. From John, we can learn that we just cant sit here and wait for miracles to happen, we need to write of the Lords love, sing of the Lords love, be the Lords love. Saint Anthony the Abbot Saint Anthony the Abbot was born in 251 at Heracleus, Egypt. He is also known by many names such as Abba Antonius, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, and Anthony the Anchorite. Anthony grew up in a wealthy family. He lived a good childhood and a healthy life. But unexpectedly everything changed. When he was about 20 years old his parents unexpectedly died. He ensured that his sister got a good education and that was about all he could do. But then the lord spoke to him and said If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell, what thou hast, and give to the poor. After Anthony heard this he gave away all of his possessions and started his holy life in the desert. He lived as a hermit in an old abandoned fort for more than 20 years praying in solitude. But the devil tried to tempt him many times and he never gave in to its temptations. But he wasnt always alone. Many followers and admirers came into his fort. He healed many of the sick who came and was also a spiritual counselor for others. He had so many disciples following him that he had to build two monasteries! A lot of people helped him by weaving baskets and making brushes for him which made him the patron of those 2 trades. Saint Anthony was also the patron saint of grave diggers and people who work with pigs. He was patron of gravediggers because he buried an Anchorite which was someone who walled themselves up to be alone in prayer. He was patron of pigs because he used pork to reduce inflammation and itching. An artist drew a picture of him with a pig and someone took it as Anthony being the patron saint of pigs. In 311 Anthony shortly left his fort to go fight Arianism in Alexandria. He also left to comfort the victims of the persecutions at Maximinus. While he was out of his fort he met his sister. It turns out she had also become a holy person and chosen to become a nun. Anthony did return to the desert but he did not return to his fort. He retired in a cave in Mount Colzim. Saint Anthony also knew some other saints. During the later part of his life he became good friends with Saint Paul the Hermit. And his biography was written by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. He also founded a religious order of hermits. Saint Anthony died at Mount Colzim in 356 due to natural causes. Many people still follow his influences to this day. His order of hermits is still around. People give away possessions to help others. He was canonized by the Pre-Congregation which is where saints are canonized by local church officials so no one knows the exact canonization date. Saint Dominic Saint Dominic is the founder of the Order of Preachers, more commonly known as the Dominican Order. He is also the patron saint of astronomers and the Dominican Republic. Close friends with our patron, Saint Francis of Assisi, he was born into a very re Most Influential Theologians Most Influential Theologians St. Thomas Aquinas St. Thomas was born toward the end of 1226 and was born in Italy. St. Thomas was an Italian scholar and the most influential theologian in the Catholic Church. In 1243 he joined the Dominican order which was not like by his parents and they put him in jail for two years. St. Thomas wrote many works philosophy and theology but his most famous is Summa Theological. In it he gives proof of God and his existence. In another section he talks about ethics and how it roots in Aristole. In a chain of acts of will man strives for the highest end. The third part is about Christ. Thomas teaches that Christ is to be regarded as redeemer after his human nature. Thomas was sent to Paris to study under Albert the Great. He served with Albert as his teaching assistant. In 1252 he began to become a master of theology. Thomas was regonized as an excellent theology. He was very holy and would celebrate mass and then have lunch with the friars. Then in the evening he would pray and read. When he became a Dominican he parents really wanted him to become a monk. He was 19 when this happened. He was in Rome but removed and sent to Paris by his parents. His family became desperate to have him not join but he remained determined. At last the he was sent to Rome to meet the master general of the Dominicans. In 1274 St. Thomas died and never got to finish Summa Theologica. He is known as the model for people studying priesthood. In 1333 he was canonized and was declared one of the doctors of the church by Pope Pius V. Kateri Tekakwitha Young Kateri Tekakwitha, born in 1656 near a town called Auriesville in New York, was the daughter of the Mohawk Chief and a Catholic Algonquin. In 1660, at the age of four, her parents and baby brother were killed by a disease that attacked the village, leaving her an orphan. Tekakwitha survived. Although, she was partially blind. She would feel around to find her way. Seeing this, the others called her a name that by which means The One Who Walks Groping for Her Way. Later on, her uncle and two aunts adopted her. They went back to the village where the disease killed her family and rebuilt a village known as Caughnawaga. Over time, she grew into a sweet, shy young woman. She would spend time with her aunts working in the fields. She would often go to the neighboring forest and gather firewood water from the stream and certain roots to make medicine and die. Despite her poor sight, she was very skilled at beadwork. Also, at the woods she would go alone to pray to god and listen to his and her own voice. At the age of 18, is when her holy and religious life truly began. A priest came to their village and established a chapel. Kateri wanted to learn more about Jesus so she decided to be baptized. At the Age of twenty, she was baptized on Easter. Although, her family did not accept her choice to embace Christ so she became a village outcast. Tekakwitha was treated very badly by others in her settlement. In 1677, she left her village and fled to the Catholic Mission of St. Francis Xavier at Sault Saint Louis, near Montreal. Her journey to get to the mission took over two months but because of her determination, she was allowed to receive her First Holy Communion on Christmas day of that same year. She helped the young and came to the assistance of those who were sick. Her favorite devotion was to fashion crosses out of sticks and place them throughout the woods. this would be the sign that whenever she saw one, she would take a moment to pray. One thing that she loved was the rosary, which she wore around her neck every day. People always asked her to tell them a story. they would listen for a long time because when they were with her they felt the presence of God. One day, a priest came to the people and asked why they always circle around Kateri. Their answer would be, We feel closer to God when she is around and her face glows and looks different when she prays.so beautiful as if she were looking at Gods face . On March 25, 1617 she made a vow of perpetual virginity. She wanted to start a convent of Native American sisters but she was discouraged. Due to bad health, Kateri Tekakwitha died in 1680 at the age of twenty-four. her last words were Jesus, I love you. Like the flower she was named for, the lily, her life was short and beautiful. Moments after her death the scarred face of Kateri Tekakwitha was transformed into a beautiful, flawless face. This was witnessed by many people. She was known as Lily of the Mohawks. In 1943, the Catholic church declared her venerable and beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. Her feast day id celebrated on July 14 and she is the patroness of World Youth Day 2002. Although not a saint yet, she is the first native American to be declared Blessed. St. Jerome St. Jerome was born at Stridon, a small town in the Roman province of Dalmatia, around 347. In Latin, he was known as Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymus. St. Jerome was not baptized until about 360 or 366 when he went to Rome with his friend Bonosus to pursue their studies. As a student in Rome, he learned how to speak both Greek and Latin but he also engaged in bad activities and needed to repent. To make himself feel better, St. Jerome would visit the remains and items left by the martyrs and the apostles at their catacombs. This experience would remind him of the terrors of hell. To describe Christian concepts, Jerome initially used classical authors but later on converted to Christianity himself. After several years in Rome, he travelled with Bonosus to Gaul and settled in Trier where he began to take up his theological studies as well as meeting many Christian friends. Some of his friends accompanied him when he set out on a journey through Thrace and the Asia Minor. On this journey, two of his friends died and Jerome was seriously ill. During his illness, he had visions that led him to put aside secular studies and devote himself to God. St. Jerome wanted to live a new life of penance so he went for a time to the desert of Chalcis. There he studied, wrote, and attempted to learn the Hebrew language with the guidance of a converted Jew. Returning to Antioch, he was ordained by Bishop Paulinus and continued to study and write. At this time, St. Jerome was a main teacher of the church and was attached to Pope Damascus I and the leading Roman Christians. One of his most famous accomplishments was translating the Bible from Hebrew to Latin so that everyone could understand Gods teachings. Jerome continued to do many important things with the church later on in his life. St. Jerome died near Bethlehem on September 30, 420. His remains were buried in Bethlehem but were later transferred to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. St. Jerome became the patron saint of librarians and is recognized as the Doctor of the Church. His feast day is on September 30. St. Matthew The writer of the first Gospel and one of the twelve Apostles was not only a strong believer in God but a sinning tax collector as well. St. Matthew was born in the first century Judea as the son of a tax collector named Alpheus. The young Matthew grew up like any boy would have if he lived in that time; learning how to complete his fathers job. His father was a tax collector and taught him how to be a good tax collector like Joseph taught Jesus to be a carpenter. From a sinner, to an Apostle, to a writer of the Gospel, Matthew lived a life a lot like Jesus. He was soon hired by Herod Antipas to collect taxes like his father had. As a tax collector he was given an office located in Capernaum. He soon became despised and thought of as an outcast like all tax collectors. While in a large tax collector meeting in his office, Matthew was called by Jesus to live a life devoted to God like the other eleven Apostles. Although many people were skeptical when Jesus asked a sinning tax collector to follow him, Matthew rose up right then and there, converted and started to follow Jesus. As one of the early Apostles, Matthew was often known as Levi. He is often paired with St. Thomas in the Bible and is thought to be involved with a group of early Christians called the Nazarenes. With this group, Matthew and the Apostles proclaimed that Jesus was the son of God and the everlasting Messiah. Matthew was sent to Palestine alone by Jesus to continue preaching the word of God. He isnt mentioned in the Gospel any more other than in the names of the Apostles. Some historical facts place him in Gentile places preaching to those who lived there. Matthew was present with Mary during Jesus Resurrection and Ascension. Matthew was most likely very literate which was an uncommon trait for people in that time. It is unknown where he began writing the first Gospel also known as the Gospel of the Hebrews. It is called this because he began writing it in Hebrew for the early Hebrew Christians. St. Matthew wrote his Gospel the Gospel of Mark somewhere between AD 50 to AD 55. Matthews Gospel reproduces about 90% of Marks. His Gospel was later translated into Greek so more people could read it but the Greek copy was soon lost. The Hebrew copy was placed in the Library of Caesarea where it was kept for many centuries. St. Matthew turned his life around with the help of a fellow Jew. He became an Apostle, and then wrote the first of the four Gospels. Matthew wrote It is unsure whether he died of natural cause or if he was a martyr. We celebrate his feast day on September 21st. He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX. St. Matthew grew up a sinning tax collector, was called by Jesus, lived the rest of his life devoted to God, and died with the satisfaction of keeping the oldest and greatest memories alive. St. Jude Personal Life St. Jude was born in the first century AD in the area of Galilee, Palestine. He is also known as St. Jude Thaddeus, Thaddeus being his last name which means the brave one while Jude means giver of joy. It is stated in Matthew 13:55 that St. Jude was a brethren of Jesus, brethren being a Hebrew word indicating a blood relationship. It is also reported that his father, Cleophas was a brother of St. Joseph and was later persecuted for his faith, and his mother, Mary was a cousin of the Blessed Virgin and was said to have stood by the Immaculate Conceptions side while Jesus was crucified. St. Jude also had many brothers, two of which was St. James the Less, and St. Simeon the Zealot. Missionary Work St. Jude was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus along with his brothers James and Simeon, and is remembered for asking Christ at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. His name is not to be confused with Judas of Iscariot, another one of the twelve apostles since both their names are a Greek Variant of the word Judah. After the Pentecost (in which he was present) St. Jude continued to preach the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Libya, and Mesopotamia, where he became a leader of the Church of The East that St. Thomas established there around 37 AD. Although little is known about St. Jude, one of his acknowledged works is the conversion of King Abgar. This idea comes from a Biblical story in which King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) asked Jesus to cure him of leprosy and sent an artist to bring him a drawing of Jesus. Impressed with Abgars great faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to take to Abgar. Once the King saw Jesus image he was cured and he converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. This cloth is believed to be the famous Shroud of Jesus which is currently on display in Turin, Italy. St. Jude is also credited for helping start the Armenian Church, and is believed to be the human author of the Epistle of St. Jude, which is the shortest book in the New Testament. One of his last works before his death was his aid in the election of the bishop of Jerusalem in 62 AD, the bishop that was chosen turned out to be his brother Simeon the Zealot Death Little is known about St. Jude, since he was confused with Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, and his veneration was avoided, thus resulting in being known as the Forgotten Saint. Also, there is little information written about him in the Bible since he was known to travel around the world to preach the Gospel. One of the countries that St. Jude traveled to was Armenia, and it was there where he was reportedly murdered for his faith around the year 65 AD, although there are some instances that claim that St. Jude suffered of martyrdom alongside St. Simon in Persia. Armenia was a country that did not completely convert to Christianity until the 3rd century, about 250 years after St. Judes death. We do not know the specifics of St. Judes death, but he is often depicted carrying an axe or a club, suggesting the way in which he was murdered. After his death, his body was brought back to Rome and was placed in a crypt beneath St. Peters Basilica, which people continue to visit to this day. Sainthood St. Jude was canonized pre-congregation, meaning that he was recognized as a saint before the Catholic Church had a formal process of canonization. His feast day for Western Christianity is on October 28, and his feast day for Eastern Christianity it is celebrated on June 19. St. Jude is often associated with St. Simeon the Zealot, whom he shares his feast day with. He is renowned for being the patron saint of Armenia, lost causes, desperate situations, ibises, hospitals, St. Petersburg, Florida, Cotta Lucena City Quezon, the Chicago Police Department, Club de Regattas do Flamengo (soccer team) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Remembrance Today Even though St. Jude isnt as well known as some of the other saints, he is still as important and is venerated in many religions including the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, the Church of the East, the Coptic Church, and the Anglican Communion. Nowadays, St. Jude is probably best known for being the namesake of many hospitals specializing in treating people, and specifically children in terminal illnesses since he is the patron saint of desperate causes. We pray to him now in time of desperate need for the reason that he provided a lot of inspirational support to a group of Christians who were being persecuted in Eastern churches and he exhorted them to keep their faith and to stay in the love of God as they had been taught. We usually see St. Jude depicted carrying the image of Jesus (taken from the story of King Agbar), carrying an Axe, club, boat, oar, and/or a medallion. The following is a common prayer dedicated to St. Jude: Most holy apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever. I promise, O blessed Saint Jude, to be mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen. Saint John the Apostle Saints to me are always people we can look up to and know that they were true followers of Jesus. Saints are a great guide on how to act and be when we grow up or even as teenagers. When we are in doubt we sometimes ask our selves what would Jesus do but we can also ask are selves what would the saints do and know that we would get the right answer. St. John the apostle was the son of Zebedee and was called to be on of the 12 apostles of Jesus along with his brother James. They also were with Jesus on his ministries. John appears on the list of the apostles in Acts and in the synoptic gospels. James and John were also believed to be given the nick name Boanerges which means sons of thunder due to their tempers. In the Bible there are no details about how old john might have been when he became one of Jesus disciples but the Christians say that he lived to at least 100 CE which would have been pretty old. There is also nothing in the Bible telling about how long his activity in Judea lasted. Christian traditions also say that John had a important position in the Apostolic body. John was also present at the transfiguration of Jesus. This is some of the things we have gotten from the Bible. John, according to the Bible, was said to be more important than all the other apostles. The reason why was because he was present at many important time such as the transfiguration, and at the Garden of Gethsemane before Jesus was arrested. Paul later in the Bible also calls John the pillar of the Jerusalem church. John was also important because he has been believed to be the author of the fourth gospel, three canonical letters, and the book of revelation. There are so many thing we can learn from saints and these are the most important things that I took from Saint John the Apostle. Again next time you need help deciding what to do just ask yourself what would Jesus do OR what would the saints do. St. Nicholas Having a wonderful family will get you many places, just like were it got Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas came from a wealth family who loved him very much. Sadly, Nicholas parents died while he was still young. Nick was a devoted catholic and when he received his fortune from his parents death, he decided to use it to help the poor and needy. Instead of using the money for himself, he used it for others, which was a start of his generosity. As a young man, Nicholas was known for his kindness. He devoted his life to serving God and became Bishop of Myra while still a young man. He took control of this job to show how responsible he was. This position was very good for Nick and I think it taught him many important things in life. Many people in the land knew that this man was a generous, kindhearted, children loving man who had concerns for other people just like sailors and ships sailings on the oceans. For loving and doing all these things, Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned for believing in god, just like Jesus. This conflict made many people angry and trying to rebel. At this time, there were so many priest, deacons, and other religious believers imprisoned that there was no room for murders, thieves and robbers. After he was released, Nicholas joined the council of Nicaea. After leaving the council, St. Nicholas died on December 6, which is his feast day. On this day, it is a time to reflect on how St. Nicholas was kind to everyone, just like we should be to. Creating this great example for us shows that we need to follow his good ways. Remembering this day will make us realize that we should all commit good deeds no matter what day it is. St. Nicholas was the Patron Saint of Russia. He has many churches named after is glorious name. As a young boy, St. Nick proved to not only himself, but also others that he was a responsible adult. Many people believe you become responsible when youre older, but Saint Nick proved them wrong. He left behind a great example and reputation that will live on forever. St. Augustine of Hippo St. Augustine of Hippo, also known as Aurelius Augustinus, was born into a middle class family on November 13, 354 in Tagaste, modern day Algeria. He was the son of St. Monica and of Patricius. As a young boy, Augustine received a catholic education. His father had believed that he was successful that he had sent him to Cathage, to prepare for his forensic career. St. Augustine was a man of belief, strength, and success. For this he had succeeded in life. Augustine came into the church for having such a strong belief. The reason why he became such a strong believer, was when he had become very ill and could not receive baptism, but he pursued that dream of his. He had joined the men of prayer group and he had three ideas stuck deep in his heart. The first idea was a divine providence or the virtue of prudence. The second one was the future with terrible sanctions or going to hell. The last idea that was in his heart was Christ is above all and the Savior. He also became close with the church when he had given up on Divine Truth and had prayed to the Blessed Mother. The prayers to the blessed mother brought him back to his faith and decided that Christianity was the religion for him. At the start of his religious life he became a priest. The only thing he had kept when he became a priest was his familys house which became a monastic house. Then later on in his life he became a bishop. As he came back to his Christian faith, he wrote about his experiences in books called, Retractions. As he lived his life of prayer, he became closer to God. He also learned how to live a life of peace. As his life drew near so did his life of becoming a saint. On August 28, 430, at the age of seventy-five, Augustines life had come to an end. Augustine was a patron of brewers. As his life came close to its end, he spent almost every moment praying to God. Augustine has become one of my favorite saints as I have learned more about him. His life was powerful and interesting to me. I will try to live my life as an image of him and live out my faith, become closer to the church and God. St. Leo the Great Saint Leo the great was and Italian aristocrat and is the first pope of the Catholic Church to be called The Great. He is best known for meeting Attila the Hun in 452 AD and persuading him to turn back on the invasion of Western Europe. He is also known for being called the Doctor of the Church. St. Leos date of birth is still unknown to this day, but he was born in Tuscany, in Northern France, but refers to Rome and his home town. But it is said that his family moved to Rome when he was very young. The earliest information about Saint Leo being part of the churchs clergy when he was a deacon under Pope Celestine I. While Leo was away on a civil mission to bring peace to France, Pope Sixtus III on August 19, 440. As the people of Rome knew of Leos care and love for the individual souls, Leo was voted by the people to be their bishop. But when the people asked Leo to come back to Rome the Holy Spirit was working through all the faithful, so when Leo came back he was anointed Pope of Rome. He was elected on September 9, 440 AD and would reign as pope for the next 21 years. As pope of the Rome Leo labored constantly to protect the integrity of Faith by waging wars, taking strenuous actions against regions, and ordered to correct the errors of countries in Spain. He did all of this because he cared about the people and the faithful. He wanted them to have the most loving gift of all and that was the teachings of Christ that was handed down by the apostles. He continued to do this by defending the unity of the Catholic Church and with constancy strove to teach all men who were doctrines to lead their souls to the greatest fulfillment of salvation. Pope Leo the Greats pontificate was a continuous period of tireless effort directed at upholding the unity of the Church as the people thought. But after this he did much more. He cared about the Church so much that he tried his hardest to stop invasions in order to save more lives. Such as when he went to Atilla the Hun in 452 and persuading him with all his power to turn back on the invasion of Western Europe. Legend has it that Attila, on looking above St. Leo, saw in a vision that Saints Peter and Paul would support the Popes wishes, which struck him with fear. One of his most important persuasions was with Genseric the Vandal, who had captured the city of Rome. But thanks to Pope Leos intervention the Vandals didnt even touch Rome by not hurting or killing anyone or even taking down the Churches. Pope Saint Leo the Great certainly possessed true care and love for the Church. He submitted his whole heart to Christ, labored to lead others into committing themselves into the See of Peter, and used all his influence to maintain the unity of the Church. If you ask me I would say Saint Leo the Great modeled his life after the sixth Beatitude, which proclaims, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. He has a connection between purity of heart and of faith. He exemplifies love of truth and orthodoxy of faith. In 1754 Benedict XIV exalted St. Leo to the dignity of Doctor of the Church. Not quite two centuries later, Pope Pius XII, in a sermon given on October 12, 1952, noted that Pope Saint Leo is the greatest among the great. Saint Martin of Tours Saint Martin of Tours was born around the time 317 A.D in modern-day Hungary. Martins father was a senior officer in the Roman Army; he was stationed in Ticinum, Cisalpine Gaul (now Pavia, Italy) where Martin grew up. Later, in Martins pre-teen years, he found God and took charge of his religious life. Martin learned many things about God and started on his way to becoming a saint. When Martin was ten years old he went to the church against his parents and became a candidate for baptism. His parents were very upset with him because he went against their wishes. When Martin was fifteen years old, because his father was a retired officer, Martin was required to join the army. While Martin was stationed in Amiens, he experienced the vision that is most remembered today. He was at the gates of the city of Amiens with his soldiers when he met a scarcely dressed beggar. He automatically cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptized; he has clad me. (Sulpicius, ch 2). This dream confirmed Martins fidelity. He was then baptized at the age of eighteen. Later Martin thought his faith prohibited him from fighting and shouted I am a soldier of Christ. I cannot fight. He was charged of cowardice and put in jail. Martin followed the way of the Lord and always served others. Some of the things he was known for were that he was against poverty and did everything he could to help the less fortunate. Some emblems that remind us of him are trees, beggars, soldiers and cloaks. He was known for many great deeds and acts of charity and kindness. Martin died on November 8, 397, in Candes, Gaul (modern-day France). Martin of Tours was just over eighty when he died. He is the patron Saint of beggars and soldiers. We celebrate his feast day on November 11th. Prayer: God, Your Bishop Saint Martin glorified You by both his life and death. Renew in us Your grace, so that neither death nor life can separate us from Your love. Amen Saint John the Baptist But He who acts in truth comes into the light, to make clear that his deeds are done in God. (Luke 3:21) Saint John was the cousin of Jesus. He was a baptizer. He was born to the people named Elizabeth and Zachariah. He had many duties such as; being the first baptizer, writing a gospel ect He told the people to repent and that the Lord is upon them. But his cry was not answered by many passing people. John was often mistaken for the Messiah. He was very holy, and spread Gods word so well that he was called The Anointed One. You yourselves are witnesses to the fact that I said: I am not the Messiah; I am sent before Him.'(Luke 3:28) To be a saint you have to have humility, you have to be willing to die for your faith. You have to be open to the fact that you have to make sacrifices to be a soldier of Christ. He took His chance and became that soldier and was the first priest, and was the first leader to baptize someone. He had a lot of weight on his shoulders that day. The cousin of the Lord being asked to baptize someone when you have no idea what to do. He had to be brave to be that kind of person. In current life today we should be Johns. We should be able to die for our faith and give it all up for the Lord. We were all sent by God to do his will and to be the messengers for his faith. We are to live by example and be the little Johns of the world. If we love and care for Jesus and God then we should be able to understand how we are part of the great plan of salvation. From John, we can learn that we just cant sit here and wait for miracles to happen, we need to write of the Lords love, sing of the Lords love, be the Lords love. Saint Anthony the Abbot Saint Anthony the Abbot was born in 251 at Heracleus, Egypt. He is also known by many names such as Abba Antonius, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, and Anthony the Anchorite. Anthony grew up in a wealthy family. He lived a good childhood and a healthy life. But unexpectedly everything changed. When he was about 20 years old his parents unexpectedly died. He ensured that his sister got a good education and that was about all he could do. But then the lord spoke to him and said If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell, what thou hast, and give to the poor. After Anthony heard this he gave away all of his possessions and started his holy life in the desert. He lived as a hermit in an old abandoned fort for more than 20 years praying in solitude. But the devil tried to tempt him many times and he never gave in to its temptations. But he wasnt always alone. Many followers and admirers came into his fort. He healed many of the sick who came and was also a spiritual counselor for others. He had so many disciples following him that he had to build two monasteries! A lot of people helped him by weaving baskets and making brushes for him which made him the patron of those 2 trades. Saint Anthony was also the patron saint of grave diggers and people who work with pigs. He was patron of gravediggers because he buried an Anchorite which was someone who walled themselves up to be alone in prayer. He was patron of pigs because he used pork to reduce inflammation and itching. An artist drew a picture of him with a pig and someone took it as Anthony being the patron saint of pigs. In 311 Anthony shortly left his fort to go fight Arianism in Alexandria. He also left to comfort the victims of the persecutions at Maximinus. While he was out of his fort he met his sister. It turns out she had also become a holy person and chosen to become a nun. Anthony did return to the desert but he did not return to his fort. He retired in a cave in Mount Colzim. Saint Anthony also knew some other saints. During the later part of his life he became good friends with Saint Paul the Hermit. And his biography was written by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. He also founded a religious order of hermits. Saint Anthony died at Mount Colzim in 356 due to natural causes. Many people still follow his influences to this day. His order of hermits is still around. People give away possessions to help others. He was canonized by the Pre-Congregation which is where saints are canonized by local church officials so no one knows the exact canonization date. Saint Dominic Saint Dominic is the founder of the Order of Preachers, more commonly known as the Dominican Order. He is also the patron saint of astronomers and the Dominican Republic. Close friends with our patron, Saint Francis of Assisi, he was born into a very re