St. Louis de Monfort and His Books

St. Louis de Monfort was, according to Wikipedia:

"was a French Roman Catholic priest and Confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI.

As well as preaching, Montfort found time to write a number of books which went on to become classic Catholic titles and influenced several popes. Montfort is known for his particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the practice of praying the Rosary.Montfort is considered as one of the early writers in the field of Mariology. His most notable works regarding Marian devotions are contained in The Secret of Mary and theTrue Devotion to Mary.

The Roman Catholic Church, under the pontificate of Pope Pius XII canonized Montfort on July 20, 1947. A "founders statue" created by Giacomo Parisini is located in an upper niche of the south nave of Saint Peter's Basilica." 

St. Louis went on a mission and traveled on foot and was also known as a priest, preacher, Mariology writer, poet and founder of a congregation.

He wrote several books:

• Admirable Secret of the Rosary
• True Devotion to Mary
• The Love of Eternal Wisdom
• True Devotion to Mary.
• Secret of the Rosary

Right now I'm reading his book called True Devotion to Mary.  Just click on the link and you may download the book for free.

Here are five website links where you can legally download Catholic books for free:

1. Free Catholic eBooks Download
2. Free Traditional Catholic Books
3. Good Catholic Books
4. Catholic Spiritual Direction
5. Catholic Books Online 

Hope you guys find the spiritual book you need.

World Religions: Handouts for Sacred Places

I found an acrobat document which appears to be a scanned pages of Special Edition of US News and World Report issued November 26- December 3, 2007. The cover title says Sacred Places, Inside the World's Most Spiritually Important Sites and What they Mean Today.

For those who are looking for something substantial and insightful on the subject, this will hopefully serve as a good introduction.

The link is here with the ebay link.

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

As we celebrate the birthday anniversary of Robert "Bobby" Fischer, the American chess Grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion, I am sharing one of my favorite chess books: Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. A chess puzzle book written by Fischer himself and co-authored by Stuart Marguiles and Don Mosenfelder. Both Marguiles and Mosenfelder were leaders in the educational design of their time.

A great starter book for any beginner or interested student of the game. I have given copies of this book to my students and friends. I have repeatedly read and gone through the pages through the years and it helped sharpen my chess skills: tactics and more tactics.

He was an eccentric genius who was known for his controversial public remarks in his later years. He had trouble with the United States Government and this prevented him from going back to his native country in the last years of his life.

Happy birthday Bobby!

My Notes on The Future of Faiths

As I journey through the third term with my seventh graders for my World Religions class, I can't help but smile and give my students an imaginary pat on their backs after the first part of our discussion of the future of religions.

They had been with me since sixth grade and their growth in their knowledge of world religions, different faiths and beliefs were tremendous. Coming from our Face to Faith Team Blogging activity in second term, these kids are now almost-ready to take on their Ethics class next school year.

Thanks be to God for the beauty and satisfaction I find everyday in teaching and the opportunity to be part of the lives of my students. Praise be to God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit and to the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and all the angels and saints!

I'm sharing my notes on my lecture-discussion on the topic The Future of Faiths:

Looking Over the Spiritual Horizon (Religion  Today and Tomorrow) from the book Many Peoples, Many Faith, Women and Men in the World Religions by Robert S. Ellwood and Barbara A. McGraw.

Things Old and New

1. Some of the religions and belief systems we have looked at are very much rooted in the past, if not irrevocably locked in the past. Some of these religions may give religion a romantic patina or sprinkle it with the blood of grisly sacrifices that are all gone, thankfully they're gone.

2. The past is much simpler, more pristine or pure, the works of the Divine more evident and the moral teachings or values are clearer, somewhat.

3. As we move through time and space, as we practice and live our beliefs, it is expected that we bring along our traditions with us, continuously evolving yet staying in the past.

Will religion survive? Will God survive?

In the 18th century, the scholars and eminent voices from the "learned" circles all over the world have predicted the fading away of religion. If we look at history, as we always do in our class, "Death of god" is nothing new. We have seen how a society's religion and the gods it brings along dies or are placed on the sides when a new, more dominant and stronger "civilization" led by its mega-strong army claimed its rightful place in the conquered society.

Religion is always changing. That's a fact. Maybe subtle or the opposite, but it changes.

What are the factors affecting Religions Today?

1. Nuclear Proliferation
2. Technology
3. Ecological and Population Crises
4. Gender Inequity

Work on your reading assignments and we will continue our lecture-discussion next week.Have a great day! Be safe and my the blessing and protection of God be with you all!

The Garabandal Story

Mother Mary, the Mother of God, and St. Michael the Archangel visiting a small, laid-back village called San Sebastian de Garabandal in the early years of 1960's.

According to the Official Website of the Workers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel:

"San Sebastian de Garabandal is situated at the very end of a winding road cut into the side of the mountain. A solitary cluster of nine pine trees stands starkly on a rise against the horizon to the south. The village itself consists of some eighty rustic stone buildings huddled together on a small strip of land overlooking a wooded valley.

Like Fatima and Lourdes, Garabandal is a place of unearthly serenity and beauty. The villagers were known throughout the region for their piety and their faithful observance of devotional prayer which they offered together as a community several times each day.

In 1961, it was the poorest and most isolated of all the agricultural hamlets in the region. The only access to the village was via the three and a half mile oxcart path that went up from Cosio, the next closest village."

Here are the videos I recently watched and gave me the motivation to pursue the story:

Maria Saraco's First Focus Interview:


Maria Saraco's Second Focus Interview"

Sunday Secrets Since 2004

I've been reading and following Post Secret blog since 2004 and I've seen it from being just a crazy idea from Frank Warren to become a touring event across North America and publish books in the last ten years or so.

Today is a Sunday and while I wait for this week's post to be uploaded, I checked out Frank Warren's Half A Million TED Talk and I'm sharing them to you below:

 

Secrets...

Coursera: Intro to the Science of Cancer

After accomplishing a verified course at Coursera, I enrolled myself in another course, this time its the Introduction to the Science of Cancer. Since March is the time of the year when Colorectal Cancer Awareness is celebrated, I'll be sharing the videos from this course in parts.

Here's the overview from the course:

"The OSUCCC - James is offering this course to help you better understand the many different diseases that together we call “cancer.” We believe that if more people have a better understanding of cancer, they are more likely to take steps to lower the risk of cancer for themselves, their families and their communities. Helping people achieve a deeper understanding of cancer can also lead to improved care for cancer patients.

The course is designed to be accessible to those with limited knowledge of science, but it will also be useful to healthcare professionals who may have limited background in the field of cancer. It is organized so that earlier modules provide information that will help you better understand later modules.

The course is organized so that the earlier modules provide foundational information, through lectures and readings, that will help you better understand later modules. For example, the first four lectures in Module 1 will orient you to the nature of cancer from a holistic and human body point of view, while the last three lectures take you into the cell, where cancer actually starts. These lectuers describe key components of cells, followed by the fundamental cause of cancer: changes in DNA and genes.

Moving on through the course, modules 2 and 3 explain how cancer is diagnosed and treated and build on our first module. Those first three modules together underscore the importance of cancer prevention, which is the topic of module 4. While there is always a possibility that someone will develop cancer during his or her life, there are ways to lower the risk of certain cancers, and those measures will be explained.

Our fifth and last module is about cancer research. Here you will be introduced you to the various types of research and how they advance our knowledge about cancer and lead to new ways to treat and prevent these diseases.

As you progress through the course, be sure to read the articles we’ve chosen from Frontiers, our magazine about cancer research at the OSUCCC – James. In each module, we also provide links to interesting and related videos and web sites. Last but not least, be sure to follow—and contribute to—the course discussion."

There are five (5) modules for the course with required quizzes and final project. You may or may not go through the quizzes and project if you do not intend to have the certificate just like me. I'm taking this one to arm me with the basic knowledge of Cancer --my wife was recently diagnosed with colon cancer, Stage 2.

Module Topics:

1. Module One : What is Cancer? 
2. Module Two : Diagnosis of Cancer 
3. Module Three : Treatment of Cancer 
4. Module Four : Prevention of Cancer 
5. Module Five : Cancer Research 

The course creators are a collection of knowledgeable and veteran doctors and educational program specialists from OSUCCC – James Translational Therapeutics Program and led by Michael A. Caligiuri, MD.

You can check out the team of experts behind the scenes here.

I've downloaded the lecture videos from Module 1 and the links are shared below. Please spread the word. Your act of sharing the information can help you or someone you know who is going through Cancer. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power.

1. Introduction to Module 1

2. What is Cancer?

3. Solid tumors

4. Hematologic cancers

5. Childhood cancers

6. Childhood cancers 2

7. Anatomy of a cell

8. DNA, RNA and Protein

9. Genes and the changes that lead to cancer

Share away and spread the awareness!