As Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus said, "As this year has gone, so our life will go, and soon we shall say 'it is gone.' Let us not waste our time; soon eternity will shine for us."
In honor of the New Year, please accept a free e-copy of my medieval novel.
From Alpha News:
A new book examines the nation’s COVID-19 protocols and those who were censored and silenced for speaking out against them. The author of “What the Nurses Saw,” Ken McCarthy, joined Liz Collin Reports to discuss what he documented. McCarthy is known as an educator, entrepreneur, and internet commercialization pioneer. He describes the book as “an investigation into the systemic medical murders that took place in hospitals during the COVID panic and the nurses who fought back to save their patients.” On the podcast, McCarthy talked about how he knew in the winter of 2020 that something seemed off with the COVID story the public was being fed.
“The news was coming out of China and anybody that thinks the news coming out of China is straight is profoundly misled. Second, the news was coming out of China and through the U.S. mainstream news media. Anybody that thinks any story that comes on those screens can be trusted is misled,” McCarthy said as he reflected on the early months of the pandemic.
“There were videos of people falling over in the street and people going into contortions on hospital gurneys. That has nothing to do with respiratory disease. So, the whole thing, it struck me as an early winter vaccine promo for the flu shot,” he added. McCarthy said people he interviewed for the book also expressed concern about who was showing up to work in hospitals.
“There was a weird legal thing that took place. If you’re a doctor in another country and you move to the U.S. and you want to practice medicine, you must jump through 10 million hoops before you’re allowed to do that. They waived all that. So, anybody who could pretend to have an MD anywhere in the world, and these people were not vetted very well, were shipped to the United States to work in these COVID hospitals. Many of them were not even ICU doctors. You cannot jump into an ICU unit without training. Just like you can’t go to a podiatrist to get open heart surgery. These are specialties. They require special education, special supervision,” McCarthy said. (Read more.)
The world has changed. From The Greek Reporter:
New archaeological research reveals that the sea off northwestern Australia once had islands and a massive landmass. This area was so large it could support around half a million people, as reported in a study published in Quaternary Science Review.Share
The study maps a world that appeared and then disappeared as sea levels changed over the past seventy thousand years. People are believed to have migrated to this part of the world between forty-five thousand to sixty-five thousand years ago.
The area was part of a paleocontinent called Sahul, connecting Australia to New Guinea. The submersion of this land might have led to significant cultural and population changes in northern Australia. (Read more.)
From Breitbart:
Former first lady Melania Trump was with her ailing mother on Christmas, solving the mystery of her lack of appearance in a Christmas photo featuring members of the Trump family. The establishment media and anti-Trumpers were thirsty for a family scandal when they noticed that Melania was not included in the Trump family Christmas photos. Some of them claimed this was further proof that Melania is unhappy with Trump and leaving his side....The photo shows most of Trump’s family, although Eric Trump’s family is absent, and Melania’s father, Viktor Knavs, is included in the Mar-a-Lago photo shared by Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is engaged to Donald Trump Jr. But the rumors were finally put to rest. Never Trump speculation was wrong. Melania Trump spent Christmas with her ailing mother. (Read more.)Share
From Arkeonews:
Among the many castles in the Karst area, that of Rupinpiccolo is one of the best preserved. It stands immediately outside the town, on a limestone hill, the top of which is enclosed by a wall 3-4 meters thick, but which in some places reaches up to 7 meters. The height has been preserved for a maximum of 3 meters, but originally it must have reached 7-8 meters. Two large circular stones – two thick discs about 50 cm in diameter and 30 cm deep – were found near the entrance to the Castelliere and attracted the attention of archaeologists. One of the stones, according to Paolo Molaro of INAF and researchers from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and ICTP, is a representation of the sun, while the other is a carved celestial map dating from the 4th century BC. The German astronomy journal Astronomische Nachrichten published a study about the stones, in which the study’s authors said the celestial map shows the sky above Rupinpiccolo some 2,500 years ago, making the discovery the oldest known One of the celestial maps laid out in Italy. (Read more.)Share
I saw the film Maestro. I wish there had been more about Bernstein's work and less about his private proclivities. It was a brilliant film and it showed how his wife and his family were the source of his energy and creativity. From Architectural Digest:It’s no small thing to open your doors to a film crew, never mind for a movie that intimately depicts your parents. But that’s exactly what conductor Leonard Bernstein and actor Felicia Montealegre Bernstein’s children did during the production of Bradley Cooper’s movie Maestro. Cooper shot at the family’s Fairfield, Connecticut, home which the couple bought in 1962 and Leonard left to his children, Jamie, Nina, and Alexander Bernstein, when he died in 1990.
“When a movie is shot in your house, it’s a tremendous disruption,” Jamie says, explaining that she’d gone through the process on a previous film that was shot in her New York apartment. But she and her siblings didn’t let that knowledge stop them from allowing Cooper and his crew to film in Fairfield. “An element of trust ran through the entire project, so it’s not surprising that that trust extended to letting our house be part of the film. Everything Bradley did created this environment where everybody felt this bond and warmth and sense of trust and safety.”
Though Jamie and her siblings were never on set during production, friends who help take care of the property witnessed the prep and described it as if the filmmakers had “picked the house up and taken it upside down and shaken it.” But by the end of filming, everything was returned back to its rightful place.
Production designer Kevin Thompson was a part of that careful upturning, as he sought the best way of representing the central characters’ tastes as they manifest in their living space. Research is a part of any production designer’s process and the opportunity to be in the home, never mind shoot there, was an unparalleled route to understanding the film’s two subjects. “The home had not changed much in terms of architecture or wall coverings and things like that, so we were able to actually see the layers of things that Felicia had done to the house,” Thompson explains. “We were also able to get into the intimate aspect of family photos, Felicia’s paintings on the walls, the subjects that she painted, the things in the junk drawer, and there were still traces of them almost everywhere.”
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Felicia was the prime decorator for the Bernstein family, and though she worked with an interior decorator on their New York homes, she decorated the Fairfield home herself. “When Bradley and I went to the house the first time we walked around and we just got such an overwhelming emotional sense of what their country life was,” Thompson says. “It was very unpretentious. It was very comfortable. It was filled with little touches that Felicia had done because she was more the decorator, the flea market goer, the person that put the homes together.” On top of acting, Felicia was also a painter, particularly during time spent in Fairfield, and her artworks made their way into the film too. (Read more.)
ShareI try to make my novels as accurate as possible. I think that real history provides more drama than anything that can be invented. I am still going to see the Napoleon film. I still think it is funny how critics are clutching there pearls about the historical inaccuracy of the Napoleon film when so many other previous films are much worse. From The Critic:
Every Napoleon film has encountered these pointed critiques. The first cinematic depiction of Bonaparte was released in 1927 and directed by Abel Gance, running for more than eight hours. Historians praised the film for getting the basics about Napoleon right, though critics felt otherwise (Stanley Kubrick, who had expressed interest in making an epic about Napoleon, argued that in terms of story, it is a crude picture). Waterloo was slammed by some historians for depicting the battleground as muddy, when in reality, it was the opposite, playing out in key valleys like Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte. A critical difference between those films and the most recent depiction, though, is that Scott doesn’t take his subject seriously.
So far, the director has dismissed any criticism of cherry-picking. He crudely tells off historians who have corrected him. As someone who has written about movies and art, it’s easy to sympathise with the viewpoint that artistic liberties must come first to make a figure compelling. Historical accuracy is a nebulous term to define, as it is shaped by our own biases and open to a wide range of interpretations. Whilst directors have every right to apply their lens in approaching an event, though, it should not mean that historical integrity ought to be disregarded. It is a crucial aspect of the aesthetic of historical fiction, which aims to put real-life events under a microscope and make them alive for discerning viewers.
Whilst the goal of historical accuracy is not to give the plain facts, it is to highlight those which emphasises the significance of events and personalities. In effect, it is conserving and promoting truth.
As the film critic Scott Tobias wrote, directors need to know why they are approaching their subject in a certain manner and whether it is ultimately the right way to do it. Take Oppenheimer, for example. Whilst the film brushes over important details of Oppenheimer’s involvement with communism, it certainly achieves its objective of demonstrating why he is important and how his invention of the atomic bomb had a significant impact on the new world order. The viewer is both informed and moved by Christopher Nolan’s ability to illustrate his subject’s relevance.
Historical accuracy should encourage artists to weigh the strengths, the weaknesses and ultimately the significance of figures — or in Tobias’ more crude terms, “Find the saint in the asshole. Find the asshole in the saint.” Napoleon Bonaparte was a unique figure. He was a tyrannical emperor, yet also one of the best military commanders in history. Ridley Scott seems to portray him as a dull and merely malicious leader, whose decision-making in the field is largely influenced by his lover Josephine Bonaparte.
It’s part of the director’s aim to lampoon the mythos of Napoleon. Reviews, good and bad, have said there are more comedic than dramatic moments in Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Napoleon. That spin minimises the greatness of the French emperor — only highlighting his incompetence. For some, that might seem courageous and brave, but for everyone else, it is cowardly and distracting.
Films like Amadeus and The Social Network are not close to being wholly true, but they do not seek to diminish their central figures. Those films manage to capture the backdrop of the time and why someone should care about the prodigal genius of Mozart or the prophetic circumstances of Mark Zuckerberg transforming the world with Facebook. These men are larger than life yet also ultimately human — not caricatures.
Artists should be able to take some liberties in painting the backdrop of events, so that viewers and readers can be entertained. The more research an artist does, however, the more it enriches the story. Historical accuracy doesn’t make a film wholly good, but it certainly enhances its inherent qualities.
All of the films I’ve mentioned have been challenged with enamouring audiences whilst also maintaining accuracy. There’s no definitive answer to getting that balance right, but we know that not attempting to do both sets your effort up for failure. The reason for historical accuracy as an artistic choice is simple — you get closer to the truth. Without truth, why not make pure fiction? (Read more.)
From Principle Magazine:
ShareAt this point in his career, Jason Isaacs has likely been in something you’ve seen, even if you don’t know what a house elf is. The seasoned actor is more than thankful for his ever-growing list of projects, citing his desire to “keep things fresh” by “working with first-time directors” and up-and-coming talent as a big reason for that. In reality, it likely has more to do with his ability to fully embody a character or command a screen. He is incredibly humble, undeniably charismatic, and, above all else, has a true understanding of compassion. Three qualities that made Jason the perfect actor to take on the role of Archie Leach (AKA: Cary Grant) in ITV’s new four-part series, Archie.
Archie, written by Jeff Pope, is not the story of Cary Grant. The limited series isn’t for those looking for a tale that focuses on the debonair leading man whom audiences worldwide fell in love with and still swoon over today. Instead, it depicts the man as he was off camera: Archibald Leach, a tortured soul who constantly sought love and acceptance from those around him. The show is still filled with quippy dialogue and snapshots of old Hollywood glamour as the era it covers requires, but it also does not shy away from the darker moments found within the true story. It is equal parts superficially entertaining and emotionally mesmerizing. As the episodes unfold, you are guaranteed to see the award-winning actor in a new light and, if you really pay attention, may just learn a thing or two about what it means to be human in the process. (Read more.)
From ArtNet:
ShareThe work I’ve chosen is William Holman Hunt’s 1853 painting The Light of the World, which is hung in the side chapel of Keble College, Oxford. This feels like a potentially odd choice from an atheist because the painting is an allegorical depiction of Jesus taken from Revelation 3: Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
Jesus stands at a door, which is overgrown with ivy and which can only be opened from the inside as it has no handle. Almost-bare trees in the background and fallen fruit and leaves on the ground let us know that this is autumn. He’s holding a lit lantern and the warm glow that pours from it illuminates him from a deep, green, early dawn.
It’s said that it took Holman Hunt so long to complete the painting because he wanted to perfectly capture this moment, just before the sunrise. It’s classically Pre-Raphaelite in style. Jesus’s robe is heavily decorated and the lantern is ornate, with clear influence taken from Holman Hunt’s travels in the Middle East.
This artwork brings me joy because near to it in the chapel is a button that when you press it illuminates the painting, making the gold leaf shine. And I just think it’s a really fun idea. It is satisfying watching the painting change after you press the button, and I think that it shows that we can be creative in the way that we hang and display older artworks. It really brings this piece to life—almost in the same way that bringing a lit candle up close to paintings with gold leaf on them would have brought the colors to life in places of worship in the Middle Ages. (Read more.)
From The National Review:
ShareProfessor William Jacobson contemplates here the harm that has been done to the “Harvard brand.” He notes that Claudine Gay is a non-scholar whose academic publications wouldn’t get her tenure at a low-level college. Ah, but Harvard no longer cares about scholarship — it is clearly concerned only about having a leader who will push the “diversity” agenda full throttle. In that regard, she was in on the nasty attack on Professor Roland Fryer because he (a scholar of repute) wrote a paper that undermined the leftist narrative about race. He also writes that she plagiarized the work of (among others) Professor Carol Swain.
Jacobson writes, “Gay is a child of privilege who learned how to play the game among other elites — she stole from Swain and shut down Fryer on her path to the presidency.” Bullseye! That’s what DEI is all about — a game that elites from “underrepresented” groups can play to get ahead. You don’t have to be good; you just have to say the right things, which won’t be challenged by anyone else who’s playing the game. Harvard’s choice of Claudine Gay as president is cut from the same cloth as the thousands of academic decisions these days where having the right ancestry and pledging fealty to the idea that America is irredeemably racist and must be completely transformed puts you at the top of the ladder. (Read more.)
From English Heritage:
By the 15th century ‘boy bishops’ had become the principal form of status inversion associated with the rituals of the Church. On mid-winter feast days especially associated with children (St Nicholas on 6 December and Holy Innocents on 28 December), a choirboy was elected by his peers to assume the duties of the bishop or abbot. Clad in a miniature episcopal mitre, boy bishops led processions and even preached sermons. They are documented at cathedrals and numerous abbeys.
The great Benedictine monastery at Bury St Edmunds was especially associated with boy bishops. Small lead tokens resembling late medieval coins have been found within the precincts of the abbey and elsewhere, especially in East Anglia. Some are inscribed with the opening verse of a hymn sung to welcome Henry VI to the abbey at Christmas 1433. The exact purpose of these tokens is open to question but it’s been suggested boy bishops distributed them to children and the poor who then exchanged them for treats at the abbey’s almonry.(Read more.)
From Archbishop Chaput at First Things:
Where to begin?
First, a key role of the pope is to unify the Church, not divide her, especially on matters of faith and morals. He has a similar duty to unify the bishops and not divide them.
Second, an essential task of a loving pastor is to correct as well as accompany. Blessings should encourage, but also, when necessary, challenge. People in same-sex and other non-marital sexual unions need a challenging accompaniment from the Church. Popes, bishops, priests, and deacons are called by their vocations to be prophets as well as pastors. Pope Francis often seems to separate these roles while Jesus himself always embodied both in his ministry. His words to the woman caught in adultery were not simply “Your sins are forgiven” but also “Go and sin no more.”
Third, relationships that the Church has always seen as sinful are now often described as “irregular.” This neuters the reality of morally defective behavior and leads to confusion about what we can and can’t call “sin.”
Finally, while the document does not in fact change Church teaching on marriage, it does seem to change Church teaching on the sinfulness of same-sex activity. Marriage isn’t the point of Fiducia Supplicans. Its point is the moral nature of same-sex unions, and this is a crucial distinction.
Bishops in this country and abroad have issued statements reiterating Catholic teaching on matters of human sexuality and same-sex relationships. Nigeria’s bishops noted that there was “no possibility in the Church of blessing same-sex unions and activities” because they would “go against God's law [and] the teachings of the Church.” And some insightful critiques of the Vatican document (along with some quite caustic ones)—for example, here, here, here, and here—have already appeared. Others are in the pipeline. But all such comments seek to mitigate damage already done. Whether the hearer is delighted or angered by the latest Vatican text, the practical fallout is a wave of confusion in the bloodstream of the Church at Christmas—a season meant for joy, but now tangled up with frustration, doubt, and conflict. (Read more.)
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From Anne O'Brien:
ShareWe know that Cecily must have marked the occasion at Eltham with the usual high degree of medieval feasting and merriment since it was placed on record by the London Chronicler of the day. Although no details remain, it is presumed that a feast was held, all seemly and dignified. Strict protocol was laid down in the Ryalle Book about the seating and serving of guests appropriate to Cecily’s household on special occasions. Cecily would not share dishes with anyone except her younger sons. Any bishop present would be seated at the upper end of Cecily’s table whereas the nobility took the seats at the lower end. Cecily’s daughter Margaret – later to become Duchess of Burgundy – would be seated above all the Duchesses of England, in spite of her lack of title at this time.
We presume that as well as the feasting, the usual games and festivities, with music and dancing, were held to mark the birth of the Christ Child. But midway through this festive time, Cecily pursued a distinct change in atmosphere. The 30th day of December was the first anniversary of the death of Richard, Duke of York, at the Battle of Wakefield where he and their son Rutland were both decapitated, their heads placed with that of Salisbury, Cecily’s brother, on Micklegate Bar in York. A paper crown adorned York’s brow in a final act of malicious humiliation. (Read more.)
For Lady Leicester, it’s a passion project that, over the past decade and a half, has gone from a one-room makeover to a ten-room takeover gathering around 20,000 intrigued guests from across the country to embrace the wonder and whimsy of Christmas. ‘We never have an overall theme, we find that’s almost too rigid. We like to have different stories in each room,’ she explains. Naturally, it’s one that comes with a whole lot of planning. In fact, ideas for the following years’ designs often start as early as when decking out the the current year.
In recent years, such themes have come to life in the form of ‘The Dog Room’ (‘there was a Batoni portrait out on loan, so we did the same portrait but with one of my dog’s faces,’ says Lady Leicester. ‘It became a Pompeo Bark-oni, and we had artwork with all the dogs in it as if they were having their grand portraits done – and a gingerbread kennel. It was one of our crazier ideas’). As well as ‘The Paper Room’ (‘we worked with a local couture dress designer who made an amazing wedding dress all out of paper. I’ll never forget all the different pieces and pinning it all together. We also had huge paper Christmas trees,’ she beams).
This year, the wedding bells do chime again. As both Lady Leicester and Lady Glenconner are displaying their very own gowns as part of the exhibition. ‘How did we get into our wedding dresses?’ Lady Glenconner ponders. ‘I can’t get into it anymore. My arm is bigger than the waist!’ she laughs. It was Norman Hartnell who created Lady Glenconner’s lace-sleeved dress for the occasion – the same designer who made the late Queen Elizbaeth II’s, where Glenconner was maid of honour. ‘I was married here [at Holkham]. It’s an amazing house to celebrate in,’ she says. (Read more.)
People who accuse Trump of being Hitler are totally ignorant of the real Hitler. From The Federalist:
ShareOne of the most unintentionally hilarious quotes from the media of 2023 appeared in Thursday’s edition of the Politico Playbook newsletter. “The first reaction was shock,” an anonymous Washington Post reporter said, referring to a recent round of forced buyouts for nearly 250 staff writers and editors at the paper. “The Washington Post had done so well — was so profitable in the years of Trump, of Covid, and was owned by one of the richest people in the world … We’re talking about a ‘baby and the bath water,’ sort of ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ approach that left people really confused.”
Shorter version: Life was pretty great at the Post when we could run non-stop hysterical coverage of Donald Trump and an uncontrollable virus that scared everyone just in time for the election! Plus, we had a billionaire backer who gave it all his blessing! Those were the days…
To be sure, nobody should celebrate when a person loses their income. And that’s why I’m just as sorry for all of them as they would be for me if I lost my job. (It’s okay to laugh.)
It turns out that fomenting racial divisions, hyping up a worrisome pandemic, and perpetuating the Russia-collusion fake out was just a short-term business strategy. Who could’ve known?!
Now the Post is trying to recapture the magic with ridiculous stories like the one this week headlined, “Trump reprises dehumanizing language on undocumented immigrants, warns of ‘invasion.'” It had all the greatest hits.
Think of the children!: “During a campaign event in Reno, Nev.,” the article said, “the clear polling leader in the Republican race blamed President Biden for what he portrayed as a dangerous incursion on the homeland — although many migrants detained at the southern border are parents and children seeking protection, and studies show that undocumented immigrants are less likely than U.S. citizens to commit crimes.”
That’s a classic. Rather than acknowledge that, at minimum, Americans say in large majorities that the open Southern border is a serious problem that Biden and Democrats refuse to address, the Post, just as before, is fixated on reminding its readers that ackshully, many of the world’s destitute dumping themselves into our care are women and children, so have a heart, will ya?
Trump is Hitler!: Trump “accused them in a speech and in a social media post of ‘poisoning the blood’ of the country,” the story continued. “That language has caused alarm among some civil rights advocates and immigrant groups, who have compared it to the writings of Adolf Hitler.” (Read more.)
It is said Richard’s father was experiencing some financial difficulty but, in any case, being the third and youngest son and thus highly unlikely to stand much chance of coming into a useful inheritance, he was apprenticed at an unknown date to a London mercer. The mercers of those times dealt with the wonderful luxurious fabrics worn by the nobility and well to do: silk, linen, fustian, worsted, and luxury small goods, and the wealthiest of the trade expected to participate in the export of English wool, woollen cloth, and worsted, and to import the other merceries (2). While some young men may have ended up bitter, twisted and truculent by being sent away from their families to take up a trade instead of effortlessly inheriting the family jewels, young Richard seems to have taken to it like a duck to water becoming very proficient in his trade but perhaps it is more a modern trait to endlessly whinge about how unfair life can be and how hard done by you are. He supplied his luxury goods to members of the royal court and in doing so he became a favourite of King Richard II. These members of the nobility included John of Gaunt, Thomas of Woodstock, Henry Bolinbroke (the future Henry IV), the Staffords and ‘royal favourite Robert de Vere to whom he supplied nearly £2,000 worth of mercery’. The king himself now turned to Richard to supply his wants and needs. Initially it was quite modest buys including in 1389 £11 for two cloths of gold which the king gifted to two knights who had come down from Scotland as messengers. However in 1392-4 Richard’s career as a mercer was on a roll when he sold goods worth £3,474 16s 8 and a half pence to the Royal Wardrobe. These goods included velvets, cloths of gold, damasks taffetas and gold embroidered velvets. Richard Whittington had arrived as they say. Anne Sutton wrote that Richard II and his uncle Thomas of Woodstock were perhaps Richard’s most profit spinning customers. Clearly the goods Richard supplied – some of which were from Italy – must have been exquisite and he has been described by Caroline Barron as a ‘connoisseur of works of craftsmanship’. When Bolingbroke took the throne as Henry IV, Richard would continue to supply Henry’s court with luxury wares. These would include some of the sumptuous fabrics required for the marriages of the king’s daughters Philippa and Blanche such as ten cloths of gold for Blanche’s marriage at a total cost of £215 13s 4d and pearls and cloths of gold costing £248 10s 6d for Philippa’s nuptials.
Besides providing wonderful things he also made many loans to Richard II as well as Henry IV and his son, Henry V. At the time Richard II was evicted from the throne he still owed £1,000 to our Richard. The newly crowned Henry IV agreed that Richard should be repaid this amount. Richard’s career, now a very wealthy man, had evolved into that of a successful money lender particularly to kings and those of the nobility including Sir Simon Burley and John Beaufort, earl of Somerset. From 23 August 1388 to 23 July 1422, he made least 59 separate loans to the Crown of sums ranging from £4 to £2,833 (3).
About 1402 Richard made an advantageous marriage to Alice, daughter of Sir Ivo Fitzwaryn, a wealthy landowner who had no male heirs. This marriage thus brought with it the prospect of a generous inheritance. In 1402 Fitzwaryn actually settled properties in Somerset and Wiltshire upon his daughter and new son-in-law but Richard, ever preferring liquid capital to property, offered the titles to his brother-in-law, John Chideok, for the sum of £340 (4). However as things came to pass Alice predeceased both her father and husband. Sadly there would be no children from the marriage which seems to have been happy and when Alice fell mortally ill in 1409/10 Richard obtained a special license from the king to bring a renowned Jewish doctor – Master Thomas Sampson from Mierbeawe – over from the continent to treat her. After Alice’s death Richard would remain a widower for the rest of his life. (Read more.)
More HERE.
More about the children's story about Dick Whittington and his cat that many of us grew up with, HERE.
Poor Whittington was severely beaten at home by his tyrannical mistress the cook, who used him so cruelly, and made such game of him for sending his cat to sea, that at last the poor boy determined to run away from his place.... He traveled as far as Holloway, and there sat down on a stone to consider what course he should take; but while he was thus ruminating, Bow bells, of which there were only six, began to ring; and he thought their sounds addressed him in this manner:"Turn again, Whittington, Thrice Lord Mayor of London."Share
"Lord Mayor of London!" said he to himself, "what would not one endure to be Lord Mayor of London..!" So home he went....
~from "Dick Whittington and His Cat"
From Law and Crime:
Donnie Smith’s family said that the father of two sons and one daughter, and grandfather to one granddaughter, died on Dec. 18, one week before Christmas. Smith “loved race cars, softball, and sports,” his obituary said. Franklin County court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Evans-Bennett and Hughes were arrested Wednesday and had arraignments scheduled for Thursday morning. The third suspect, a minor, was arrested the same day as his co-defendants. It’s unclear at this time if the 17-year-old is being charged as an adult. (Read more.)Share
From Discover:
ShareToday, that changes thanks to the work of Sébastien Philippe at Princeton University and colleagues. This team have used a state-of-the art weather simulation for the 5 days after each nuclear test to simulate how the fallout would have dispersed.
The result is the highest resolution estimate ever made of the spread of radioactive fallout across the U.S. It marks the start of the Anthropocene with extraordinary precision and it throws up some significant surprises. Some parts of the U.S. are known to have received high levels of fallout and the new work is consistent with this. But the research also reveals some parts of the US that received significant fallout without anybody realizing.
The findings “provide an opportunity for re-evaluating the public health and environmental implications from atmospheric nuclear testing,” say Philippe and co. Between 1945 and 1962, the U.S. conducted 94 atmospheric nuclear tests that generated yields of up to 74 kilotons of TNT. (Seven other tests were damp squibs.) 93 of these tests took place in Nevada but the first, the Trinity test in the Oppenheimer film, took place in New Mexico. (Read more.)
In the preface to The Three Musketeers, Dumas claims that he was researching Louis XIV in the Bibliothéque nationale de France when he happened upon the first volume of The Memoirs of M. d’Artagnan. This is not entirely true: he found the book in the public library in Marseilles, borrowed it and never returned it.
The Memoirs of M. d’Artagnan is a first-person pseudo memoir written by a former soldier, Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras, and first published in 1700. It tells the story of d’Artagnan, a young man setting out on his journey to become a musketeer. As well as d’Artagnan, Dumas discovered Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who would eventually become major characters in The Three Musketeers. He also found Milady de Winter. Courtilz never gives Milady’s name. Instead, she is referred to simply as ‘Milady’ followed by a dash or asterisks where her name should be. She is introduced as a maid of honour to Henrietta Maria, queen to the executed Charles I of England, whose exile in France Milady shares.
The daughter of an English peer, Milady has as much wit as beauty, and d’Artagnan thinks her the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He promptly falls in love with her. There then follows a complicated sexual intrigue, one of several for Courtilz’s d’Artagnan. Once it is over, Milady is never heard from again. This is the episode that Dumas adapted for The Three Musketeers. The affair of the queen’s diamonds is absent from Courtilz, but at least part of the story as Dumas told it is supported by several contemporary memoirs. Those of Françoise Bertaut de Motteville, Pierre de La Porte and Henri-Auguste de Loménie, Comte de Brienne – all of whom served at the royal court of France – each provide an account of the Duke of Buckingham’s visit to France in 1625. Buckingham had been sent to escort Henrietta Maria, then Charles I’s new queen, to England. While in France, he ostentatiously courted the queen, Anne of Austria.
None of these memoirs, however, mention the diamonds that Anne was said to have given to the duke. For this part of the story, it is necessary to consult the memoirs of Henri-Auguste's son, an obscure publication known as Recueil A, and the memoirs of François de La Rochefoucauld. Louis-Henri de Loménie, Comte de Brienne served Louis XIV as secretary of state, a position he inherited from his father. He left a memoir, which was published in the early 19th century. Certain editions, particularly that edited by Jean François Barrière, include an account of the queen’s diamonds.Share
It does not form part of Brienne’s original narrative – he was not even born at the time of the alleged diamond affair. Instead, it is mentioned in an introductory essay, written by the editor, explaining the manners and customs of 17th-century France. It is then related in full in an appendix, Éclaircissements historiques, or ‘historical clarifications’. In this version, the diamond thief is named as Lady Clarik. However, the story was lifted word-for-word from Recueil A, and inserted into the memoir. Recueil A is the first volume of a large collection published in the 18th century. It comprises an assortment of documents, including extracts of memoirs, concerning the history of France. The author of the account of the diamond affair is enigmatically identified as ‘M. le M. de T’. Behind these initials, according to the anonymous editor of the Recueil, is René de Froulay, Comte de Tessé.
The Comte de Tessé was a real person. Born in 1651, he was a military man, diplomat and courtier. He did indeed leave a memoir, but the diamond affair does not appear in it. The story as found in Recueil A and later inserted into the memoir by Brienne is, therefore, unreliable. What then of La Rochefoucauld? In his memoir, the lady who stole the diamonds was not Lady Clarik but the countess of Carlisle. In fact, Lady Clarik did not exist – but Lady Carlisle certainly did. (Read more.)
From The Federalist:
Innuendo masquerading as reporting is the point. Its purposeful implication is that Thomas can be bought. By my estimation, at least two-thirds of the article rehashes the outlet’s previous stories about Thomas’s relationship with Harlan Crow, who never had a case in front of the justice.Share
The hit lacks any evidence Thomas engaged in unethical behavior to benefit anyone, much less himself. Nothing prohibits justices from attending conferences. Nothing prohibits them from having friends. Nothing prohibits them from taking out loans to buy a house or an RV. Nothing prohibits them from whining about their salaries. If anything, the story only confirms that Thomas, one of the least wealthy members of the court, would rather grouse about a lack of money-making opportunities than seek them out unethically.
But it’s also important to remember that no single story about “conservative” SCOTUS justices really matters in and of itself. The quality of the journalism isn’t the point. The quality sucks. The point is flooding the zone. (Read more.)
From History:
Long before Santa Claus, caroling and light-strewn Christmas trees, people in medieval Europe celebrated the Christmas season with 12 full days of feasting and revelry culminating with Twelfth Night and the raucous crowning of a “King of Misrule.”
Christmas in the Middle Ages was preceded by the month-long fast of Advent, during which Christians avoided rich foods and overindulgence. But all bets were off starting on the morning of December 25, according to Anne Lawrence-Mathers, a historian at the University of Reading in the UK where she specializes in medieval England, a period that runs roughly from the 5th century A.D. to 1500 A.D.
“Once Christmas Day came around, if you had the stamina, then you were expected to eat, drink, be merry, dress up, play games, go dancing around the neighborhood for 12 days solid before you collapsed in a heap,” she says. (Read more.)
From The Daily Wire:
“A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the ruling said. “Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.”
The Trump campaign responded to the ruling by saying that they would “swiftly file an appeal,” calling it “a completely flawed decision” that was “deeply undemocratic.”
“We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” a spokesperson for the campaign said. (Read more.)
More HERE.
ShareFrom The History Desk:
Are the Jews the only Semites?Share
No. The semitic people are spread out from Mesopotamia, to Egypt, and the border with Iran.
Is there a genotype to indicate someone is a Semite?
No. It’s a family of languages that includes people who are Arabic, and Hebrew. Plus others. Ergo, it would be rational to say, if you are “anti-semitic” you are against both Arabs and Jews. Nonetheless, rarely do folks think of Arabs as Semites. Arabs get to be Arabs, and Jews get to be Semites.
When it comes to the Middle East, folks in the West can be a little thick. Why aren’t Westerners more savvy, when so much happens in the Middle East that affects the world? We never ignore their wars. We don’t want to ignore them. But what if we did? What if we let their problems be their problems?
The analogy is to ask the proverbial question: If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around, does it still make a sound?
Sound is something animals can hear, and react to, so yes, it still makes a sound. Carrying that forward, what if only the surrounding countries, those that can hear the sound along the Mediterranean Coast, Turkey and India, if those countries paid attention to those wars, would they bother to get themselves involved if we didn’t? After all, it is in their back yard. We know Iran is involved. They sort of play the same card America plays in the Ukraine-Russia war: throw in money and toys, but no soldiers allowed in.
Europeans have delved into the Levant and Mesopotamia for thousands of years. Because the Persians and Phoenicians introduced themselves to the Mediterranean countries, the Greeks, and then the Romans, returned the favor. The Middle East adopted many of the Grecian ways, including their language. The Greek language remained, even after the Romans took control. Note that the New Testament was written largely in Greek, because it was the lingua franca of that era. Not Latin.
Before there was an Israel and a Judea, the Semitic languages flourished. The Canaanites, Phoenicians and the Akkadians spoke a Semitic language. Even some Ethiopians spoke a Semite language. Well, there are Jews among the Ethiopians.
Where did the Semites originate from?
Migration is the MO of the Earth’s people. Not only Sapiens, but Homo erectus, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and others, left their comfort zone to see what else the planet had to offer. Sapiens and Neanderthals mixed it up a bit, so that we still have Neanderthal DNA in many people alive today. The rest? They dwindled away. And no, white Europeans did not kill them off. At about 30,000 years ago, Sapiens were the only game in town. It was our ancestors who set up budding villages that turned into towns that turned into cities. Nevertheless, migrations continued. (Read more.)
Catholics are having meltdowns over Fiducia Supplicans. My understanding is that it is a response to the German bishops who have been divided over the blessing of same-sex unions. The Vatican document upholds the sacrament of matrimony being between one man and one woman while maintaining that same-sex couples may not receive a blessing similar to a nuptial blessing. But they can receive a generic blessing such as a priest gives everyone, saints, sinners, baptized, unbaptized, such as at the end of Mass. Which has always been the case. But, people are confused, and the subversive element in the Church is proclaiming that the Pope gave permission to bless same-sex couples, which he did not. And keeping in mind that the Pope does NOT have the authority to change the laws of God or of nature. But like everything since Vatican II, such as when Latin was upheld as the official language of the liturgy in Sacrosanctum Concilium, but then disappeared from most parishes for half a century, never to return at all in some places, what the document says, and how it is actually carried out, noticeably diverge. In the words of Fr. Longnecker:
So first of all, in analyzing the text from the Vatican we should be clear about what a blessing is and is not. By all means offer prayers for support and guidance to sinners and follow up on your good words of support and guidance by supporting and guiding them to the confessional. However, if you are a priest or deacon and you are giving a blessing, then it should be a formal, liturgical blessing by which you, through your apostolic power, impart God’s blessing on that person or object. To say a blessing should not be liturgical cheapens the blessing to not much more than a cheerful wave and greeting, “God Bless You!” a comment after someone sneezes or a condescending remark from a Southerner… ” Bless her heart….Aww, Bless.”
To be clear what I mean by blessing I should compare it to a curse. If you curse someone or something, by your willful subjection of that thing or person to Satan you consecrate that person or thing for damnation. Those who work in the ministry of deliverance will testify to the fact that curses and maledictions DO something. They put that person under a cloud of spiritual malevolence. The object cursed for use in occult ceremonies can carry evil into a person’s life. That’s why when a person is delivered from occult bondage they must burn their tarot cards, ouija boards, occult books and all other paraphernalia associated with the dark side.
A blessing is the opposite of a curse. It is a real invocation of God’s power, protection, providence and prosperity for that person. It is a little exorcism if you like–consecrating that person, that object, that food, that drink for the goodness, light, life and love of God. To bless a person in this respect it would be most appropriate to do so after they have been to confession and received absolution. This is comparable to the blessing a priest gives at the end of Mass. At that point the people have been forgiven and made their communion so they are in a state of grace to actually receive God’s blessing most abundantly.
This is what a blessing is. It is not just praying for God to help someone. It is not a pat on the head saying, “I like you. I think you’re grand and God does too.!” It is not simply a smile and a nod approving a person’s lifestyle because you want to be kind. If people think that is what a blessing is, they’ve got it mixed up with a greeting card.
[...]
In that sense, at the parish level, it’s business as usual. However, I can see that Fiducia Supplicans will have other effects in other places. Firstly, although the document states, “From a strictly liturgical point of view, a blessing requires that what is blessed be conformed to God’s will, as expressed in the teachings of the Church” it is unavoidable to conclude that the blessing of “a couple in an irregular relationship” implies approval of that relationship. Also, the document says that blessings of same sex couples should not be liturgical or cause confusion with marriage ceremonies. From my experience in the Anglican Church, this is a piece of naivety on a monumental level. (Read more.)
So we can assume that the whole thing is going to be abused by people who place their own evil agenda ahead of the law of God. However, while I was reading and processing it yesterday and encouraging people to read the document before criticizing it, I had people condemning me and saying that I was trying to justify evil. The reaction of many Catholics to the document verges on despair. I have never seen so much hatred, rage and anger in my life. Such hatred, such wrath towards other human beings, is not of God. So I had to draw some boundaries. Anyone who comes on my social media and starts lecturing and accusing me and my friends of being sinful or heretical or *whatever* is going to be hidden, blocked or deleted. I know many do not care. Fine. I do not care any more either to maintain relationships with raging fanatics. Fanaticism is not faith.
I have never seen such a lack of the virtue of hope manifested by Catholics. Despair is a sin! And during Advent it is especially pitiable to be so full of despair! What happened to faith and confidence in God? Even if the Antichrist were to begin rounding us all up it is not a reason for despair. Thanks be to God we still have the freedom to openly worship God. That may end someday. God put each of us here IN THIS TIME OF HISTORY for a reason, and despair has no part in it. It is not like we are suddenly confronted by corrupt priests and bishops. I have lived through the clergy abuse scandals which was a definite low point, if not the low point.
Everyone should read True Devotion by St. Louis de Montfort about how the saints of the Last Times will shine with great light through consecration to Mary. I really wonder if those who rage against the pope pray the rosary. Do you people even pray the rosary? Or the Office? Read the Bible? If people do not pray they WILL be lost, no matter what the pope is doing or not doing.
I found the exact quote from St. Louis de Montfort about the Children of Mary in the Last Times:
“But what will they be like, these servants, these slaves, these children of Mary? They will be ministers of the Lord who, like a flaming fire, will enkindle everywhere the fires of divine love. They will become, in Mary’s powerful hands, like sharp arrows, with which she will transfix her enemies”.
“They will be true apostles of the latter times to whom the Lord of Hosts will give eloquence and strength to work wonders and carry off glorious spoils from his enemies”.
“…They will be true disciples of Jesus Christ, imitating his poverty, his humility, his contempt of the world and his love. They will point out the narrow way to God in pure truth according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world”. (Read more.)
This is what we are called to be.
From Gizmodo:
ShareThough Uranus’ rings were imaged before—by Hubble in November 2014 and November 2022 and by Webb in April, the new, gorgeous image adds some detail. For one, this Webb image—taken by the observatory’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)—captures the planet’s faint Zeta ring, the ring closest to the planet.
The close-up above shows nine of the planet’s moons. In clockwise order, starting at 2 o’ clock, they are Rosalind, Puck, Belinda, Desdemona, Cressida, Bianca, Portia, Juliet, and Perdita. Uranus’ moons are sometimes called the “literary moons,” NASA’s website states, because they are named for characters in the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.
Uranus has 27 known moons, 14 of which are visible in the image below: Oberon, Titania, Umbriel, Juliet, Perdita, Rosalind, Puck, Belinda, Desdemona, Cressida, Ariel, Miranda, Bianca, and Portia, according to an ESA release. (Read more.)
ShareWhen Hall arrived in Paris in 1766, he was already a fully fledged miniature portraitist, with a particular talent for reproducing the finish of garment fabrics. This was to become something of a trademark. He used relatively thick layers of watercolour in relief, a technique known as impasto, to create the illusion of reflected light on various materials, especially textiles. Folds were emphasised with wide brushstrokes and lines. Another revolutionary feature of Hall’s free style was the way he depicted a glowing skin by taking advantage of the ivory on which miniatures were painted and allowing it to shine through a thin, transparent layer of watercolour paint.
In 1767, a mere year after his arrival, Hall received a royal commission. Two years later he became an associate member of the French academy of fine arts, but he never applied for full membership as expected of him. He was so secure in his success that he clearly felt no need to devote time to producing a reception piece in order to become a full member. Besides his artistic talent and skill, there was another reason for Hall’s rapid progress in Paris: he was an adept social climber.
The exhibition traced how Hall’s painting style changed over the years. The colour palette became warmer, and the subjects were portrayed more freely. In the 1780s he enjoyed great success, was incredibly productive and made a lot of money. Perhaps out of a desire to please his subjects, Hall eventually developed a somewhat affected style which meant that, in particular, all the women in his portraits looked alike. The French Revolution put an abrupt end to all this. Hall’s patrons left the country, and he went too. He departed for Brussels in May 1791 and died two years later in Liège.
Although Hall’s style of portraiture did not survive the French Revolution, his innovative miniature paintings influenced several of his younger French contemporaries. The exhibition includes some 70 portrait miniatures from the museum’s collection, both by Hall himself and some of these followers who were heavily influenced by his mastery of free style.
The exhibition was on show for a few months in the spring and summer of 2023, adjacent to the Treasury on the middle floor of Nationalmuseum. It formed a thematic extension to the permanent exhibition of pieces from the museum’s miniatures collection, which is the world’s largest. This collection comprises 5,700 miniatures, mainly portraits, by Swedish and European artists from the 16th to the mid 20th century. The Treasury houses 1,170 small works of significance, the majority of which are miniature portraits. (Read more.)
From The Federalist:
ShareDemocrats’ Marxist takeover of America’s education system is rearing its ugly head on an almost daily basis, and the latest stories out of Illinois are further proof of it. On Thursday, Parents Defending Education reported that students attending the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) orchestrated a protest and walkout on Dec. 8 demanding harsh punishments for individuals who have “bias incident reports” filed against them. According to the academy’s website, anyone from IMSA students to alumni and visitors can file on-the-record or anonymous reports alleging incidents of “bias” committed by other IMSA community members. The reports are then investigated by school staff such as the chief human resources/equity officer and/or the director of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
IMSA students who participated in the Dec. 8 demonstration, however, are demanding the university take its leftist policies even further. Included in their list of demands are requests for the school to publicize a list of “possible consequences for students following a bias incident report,” including “detentions, removal from leadership positions, suspensions, expulsions, and notification to parents.”
But the students who chanted “Silence is complacence!” and “Why are our pronouns not used?” during the Dec. 8 demonstration didn’t stop there. They also want the university to notify any “potential future colleges” that offending students may consider transferring to or attending in the future, after they are presumably expelled for their supposed transgressions. In essence, the demonstrators want to destroy possible offenders’ future educational and career prospects based on potentially-anonymous reporting of “incidents” like not using a person’s preferred pronouns.
The list also includes a demand that possible consequences for offending faculty members be publicized, recommending punishments that “include, but go beyond only educational conversations and required training.” (Read more.)
A story which always intrigued me growing up in Maryland was the story of Elizabeth Patterson, a young Baltimore lady
who married one of Napoleon's brothers. The Pattersons were one of the
wealthiest families in Maryland, second only to the Carrolls. Like many
old families of Maryland and Virgina, the Pattersons certainly deemed
one of their daughters worthy of a Bonaparte; whether an upstart
Bonaparte would be worthy of a Patterson was another story. In spite of being married by Bishop John Carroll,
Jerome Bonaparte deserted Elizabeth. It was not entirely his fault; his
brother Napoleon threatened him with poverty and exile. Jerome
preferred his prestige as a Bonaparte prince to being with his beloved
wife. At Napoleon's command, he married a fat German princess. Since
the Bonaparte rule was short-lived, the sacrifice was for nothing.
Elizabeth lived to be a feisty, rich old lady, full of stories of her
naughty and handsome husband. She attempted to marry her son to a
European princess, but Bo preferred a Maryland girl. From The Baltimore Banner:
After life’s fitful fever, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s estranged family sleeps well in Baltimore.
So says the epitaph etched on Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte’s tombstone in Green Mount Cemetery. The fever perhaps first flared when her notorious brother-in-law objected to her nuptials to Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger brother, on Christmas Eve in 1803. Though the marriage eventually ended in divorce, it ignited for Elizabeth what would become a decadeslong legal battle for diplomatic recognition and legitimacy for her son.
“Nature never intended me for obscurity,” the Baltimore Bonaparte once stated in a letter to her father.
Long before Baltimore’s other famous divorcée Wallis Simpson fell in love with a European ruler, Patterson’s love story did not sit well with her new family in France. Thursday’s anticipated release of the biopic “Napoleon,” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Joaquin Phoenix, has renewed interest in Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and her tussle with the French emperor. (Read more.)
More HERE.
He should be imprisoned for life. Those who were raped and tortured for his pleasure will never be the same again. From Christine Niles at Stella Maria Media:
At the start of hearing, the prosecutor, John McAdams, spoke first, noting that 18 victim impact statements had been submitted to the court and reminding all present that the victims in child porn are real individuals who were raped and tortured.
"I've been before you many years," McAdams said. "It's a very serious crime. The nature and circumstances of this offense are deeply, deeply disturbing." Referring to media reports, he noted that this "is a case that's received more attention than most do," urging "that the court keep in mind at the front and center of the determination the victims of the case" and "to speak out on their behalf ... to impose a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the defendant's conduct."
The prosecutor also noted that Jackson's position as a "Roman Catholic priest" is "irrelevant" in terms of sentencing, other than the fact that he was in a position of authority. The judge engaged in extended questioning over what he felt was a "low" recommendation of only five years in prison, considering the gravity of the crimes and the fact that Jackson violated his pre-trial release terms and was arrested a second time.
"I can understand why certain people might think it's too low; I can see why you might think it's too low," McAdams said, "but it's consistent with our recommendations over the course of the years."
Defense attorney John Calcagni presented arguments for why the five-year recommendation was appropriate. As noted, the judge chose to impose a term of six years instead. On Aug. 6, Jackson sent a handwritten letter of apology to his religious community admitting to his "vile sin" and acknowledging that he would spend the rest of his life doing reparation. Jackson is facing possible criminal charges in Kansas, where he was arrested in the spring for accessing child porn again. (Read more.)
From Medievalists:
ShareHow should one run a business? For Christine de Pizan, the famous medieval French writer, those who lived by trade should follow these simple rules.
Christine de Pizan (1364 – c. 1430) is one of those unique figures from the Middle Ages who showed how the period was changing in new and interesting ways. Born in Italy, but having grown up in Paris, she received a very good education. Widowed at the age of 25 with three young children to support, Christine turned to writing to earn an income. At first she might have been viewed as a novelty, but soon Christine proved herself to be a formidable intellectual. Her most famous works include The City of Ladies and her poem eulogizing Joan of Arc. (Read more.)
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ShareSo Martin penned new lyrics whose underlying message was less “Make the most of this Christmas, because you’ll spend every Christmas hereafter pining for it,” and more “Our problems won’t last forever—don’t let them ruin Christmas.”
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yuletide gay
Next year all our troubles will be miles away
Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who were dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a Merry little Christmas now”This was the version heard in the film and released as a single that same year. For a nation at war, its hope and nostalgia struck a chord; according to one (possibly apocryphal) story, military members were moved to tears when Garland performed it for them at the Hollywood Canteen. (Read more.)
From Catholicism:
ShareOrdo ab chao — “order out of chaos” — is a motto used in various permutations of Freemasonry. It refers to the “new world order” that the revolutionary Masons will bring out of the chaos they create in their revolutions bent on first separating and then destroying “throne and altar.” At its heart, Freemasonry is diabolical, even if many of its adherents call themselves Christians. The devil being the simia Dei — “the ape of God” — many of the trappings of Freemasonry have been pilfered from that Christendom the Masons so hate: their degrees, their symbols, and even their name, that of the Catholic guild of the stone masons — all are stolen Catholic goods.
The concept of ordo ab chao, while it is a revolutionary motto put at the service of evil, is actually quite Catholic if we understand it correctly. How might we do that? When we Christians look at the world and see so much disorder, we can assure ourselves, by our divine and Catholic faith, that the Providence of the all-wise God is serenely seated above this madness and will bring an order out of it that will astonish us all — His friends and foes alike. We have good reason to believe this. “And we know,” Saint Paul tells us, “that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints” (Rom. 8:28). There is nothing omitted from those “all things”; Saint Augustine assures us that even our past sins are included. (Read more.)
From Maryland's History:
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, applied to Charles I for a royal charter for what was to become the Province of Maryland. After Calvert died in April 1632, the charter for "Maryland Colony" was granted to his son, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, on June 20, 1632.
The colony was named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I. Led by Leonard Calvert, Cecil Calvert's younger brother, the first settlers departed from Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, on November 22, 1633 aboard two small ships, the Ark and the Dove. Their landing on March 25, 1634 at St. Clement's Island in southern Maryland, is commemorated by the state each year on that date as Maryland Day. This was the site of the first Catholic mass in the Colonies, with Father Andrew White leading the service. The first group of colonists consisted of 17 gentlemen and their wives, and about two hundred others, mostly indentured servants who could work off their passage.
After purchasing land from the Yaocomico Indians and establishing the town of St. Mary's, Leonard, per his brother's instructions, attempted to govern the country under feudalistic precepts. Meeting resistance, in February 1635, he summoned a colonial assembly. In 1638, the Assembly forced him to govern according to the laws of England. The right to initiate legislation passed to the assembly.
In 1638, Calvert seized a trading post in Kent Island established by the Virginian William Claiborne. In 1644, Claiborne led an uprising of Maryland Protestants. Calvert was forced to flee to Virginia, but he returned at the head of an armed force in 1646 and reasserted proprietarial rule.
Maryland soon became one of the few predominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in North America. Maryland was also one of the key destinations where the government sent tens of thousands of English convicts punished by sentences of transportation. Such punishment persisted until the Revolutionary War.
The founders designed the city plan of the colonial capital, St. Mary's City, to reflect their world view. At the center of the city was the home of the mayor of St. Mary's City. From that point, streets were laid out that created two triangles. Located at two points of the triangle extending to the west were the first Maryland state house and a jail. Extending to the north of the mayor's home, the remaining two points of the second triangle were defined by a Catholic church and a school. The design of the city was a literal separation of church and state that reinforced the importance of religious freedom. The largest site of the original Maryland colony, St. Mary's City was the seat of colonial government until 1708. (Read more.)
