33 photos from the US Presidency

On this election day, while you wait for the winner to be announced, browse through these 33 milestone photos from the past 180 years of US President’s history. This is an article published on Saturday in UK’s newspaper on line ‘The Guardian.’ Just a little history of elections in the USA....the winner needs to get 270 votes from the 50 US states. Each state has a number of votes, depending on how big the state is. So Texas and California have more votes, while Rhode Island and Hawaii have a few votes. Moreover, each town and village in the USA have to vote also for a number of senators, 2 in each state, 100 in all; and a number of congressmen, 435 in total. Senators are elected for 6 years and congressmen for 2 years. Each town also votes for school boards, firehouse boards, Governors, Mayors, abortion or  other controversial issues, and many other positions. But every 4 years the election includes the President, which is happening today, between Trump and Harris. But enjoy these 33 photos and the story behind them......click on this link......

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/02/33-pivotal-us-presidential-moments-captured-on-camera

St Charles Borromeo

St Charles Borromeo helping the poor in Rome

Today's saint would have been a great Pope if he was elected, but the other cardinals did not want a relative the previous Pope. St. Charles Borromeo was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2, 1538. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to a Benedictine abbey at Arona for his education. In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named Charles his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees of the third and last group of sessions. He was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect, measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocese, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits to be more visible and active. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of Protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions. He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4, 1584 and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times.

The Bible at Ground Zero

A professional photographer, Joel Meyerowitz spent nine months at Ground Zero in New York City after the terrorist attacks in 2001 to document the wreckage. As he was sifting through debris one day, a firefighter handed him something that would have a deep impact on anyone who sees it. Meyerowitz received a page of the Bible melted onto a piece of “heart-shaped steel.” What is most significant about the find, superseding the fact that fragile pieces of paper could survive such a disaster, is the passage of Scripture the Bible was open to. The page was open on Matthew 5:38-39 where Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” Out of all the pages of the Bible that it would be open to, that was remarkable. That day the Bible was found, Meyerowitz wrapped it in a scarf and put it in his bag. He kept it safe for years in his studio, until he found the right institution to give it to. He gave the Bible to the 9/11 Memorial Museum in 2010, right where he found it at Ground Zero.

Remembering our loved ones

The commemoration of All Souls is being observed today around the world, as people visit cemeteries to pay respect to their loved ones, place some flowers, light a candle, and say a prayer. Even though in the USA, such an event is observed on Memorial Day, still in most Christians countries, November is always cherished as the month when we remember our loved ones, who have entered eternal life before us.  We often look at death as a medical occasion, connected with hospitals, doctors, nurses, tests, pills, and other emotions that are heart-breaking for the immediate family. Instead, we should start to look at death as a spiritual experience which will see us reach heaven. So, instead of disappointment, we should feel a sense of reassurance, instead of sadness, contentment, instead of the end of everything, the beginning of a new life. "For those whom we love and lose are no longer where they were before, but they are now wherever we are, in our hearts, in our minds, in our souls." Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may the perpetual light shine upon them. May our loved ones rest in peace.

Scary, Saints and Souls

I see three Triduums in our liturgical year. The most obvious one is the Holy Week Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Then there is the Christmas, New Year and Epiphany Triduum, which all come within two weeks of each other. Then there is the Triduum of All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints and All Souls, which come back-to-back-to back, Oct 31, Nov 1 and 2. Halloween is a time for reflecting on our mortal state, for acknowledging our natural fear of mortality, but also to look at this in a jovial albeit a scary way. It’s cute to see children dress up in their favorite characters’ costumes and beg for candy with no harm at all. However the grown-ups are giving this festivity a scary and spooky trait, even adding some mischief as I remember in my years in the USA, by spraying shaving cream at each other and wearing hideous masks. But today we get more serious as we commemorate All the Saints that have been canonized by the church, and those that are canonized in our hearts, like our parents and relatives we knew lived a truly holy life. Tomorrow we remember those who may still be waiting in purgatory to enter into heaven. And for this to happen, our prayers, sacrifices and Masses we offer will speed up their entrance into heaven’s Hall of Fame. In these three days we see 3 categories of Christians, the Church Militant, the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering. The Militant church is all of us still struggling through our life. The Triumphant church comprises all the saints who have already received their reward. And the Suffering church are the souls in purgatory, still waiting to receive their ultimate reward.