This may seem odd at first but give it a chance. It is only 4 and half minutes.
Test your archery skills HERE. WARNING: Addiction level LOW
FUN FACTS ABOUT ST. SEBASTIAN
St. Sebastian is one of the very few martyrs not pictured in they way he was martyred. (He survived being shot with arrows, recovered, and then was clubbed to death by Emperor Diocletian.)
The earliest depictions of St. Sebastian was that of an older man with gray hair and beard. It was only later that he grew progressively younger in art.
The United States Navy had a patrol ship named the U.S.S. Saint Sebastian in the early part of the 20th century.
(This is a detail from a painting by Eric Armusik that hangs at St. Sebastian Parish, Akron)
In addition to being patron saint of athletes, soldiers, and archers, he has also been known as patron saint of pin makers, (have you ever known a pin maker?), book binders (only heard that once so . . . ) But several sources name him patron saint of those who are dying, police officers, and is one to invoke against plague and enemies of religion.
I can't believe (well, actually I can) that I missed MY OWN ANNIVERSARY! ADAM'S ALE turned eight years old this past February 9th. Every few months I think about hanging it up. I am surprised that it has lasted as long as it has. Just when I start praying and asking God if this project has run its course, something happens - one of you will say something - and I take it as a sign to keep writing. I do (most of the time) enjoy this little project. Nothing like combining ministry with a hobby of sorts. But it wouldn't mean anything without you. Thank you for reading.
To date there have been:
328,352 visits
476,588 page views
About 115 unique readers each day.
64% of readers are from North America. (Hello to everyone!)
2% are from Canada don't you know. (I'll be up that way in September. Canada is awesome.)
1% read ADAM'S ALE in Russian. Dobroye utro!
1% read this in Spanish. Hola!
The most read post of all time is "How Come I Don't Remember." But it was not a great post. I think it just got read a lot because of it's title. See it HERE
China, United Kingdom, Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands all make it on the percentage board for reading this blog the past year. Keep the faith brothers and sisters.
There have been 8,685 comments made.
2,081 post have been written.
Just for something fun to do on this day - here is a Lenten Game that sounds easy but requires some thinking and time. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. Go HERE. WARNING: Addiction level MODERATE.
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “The New Atheists like to snark that we Christians might as well be worshiping a Flying Spaghetti Monster, and they have a good reason for saying that: Because they are insufferable. And, sad to say, insecure. Why else would Oxford- or Cambridge-educated, highly paid writers spend thousands of cumulative pages preening about how intelligent and well-informed they are, compared to Mexican landscapers with Guadalupe tattoos or elderly Russian ladies lighting candles in front of icons?” from John Zmirak’s "The Bad Catholic's Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins"
QUOTE II: “Do ever feel like you are a pair of brown shoes in a tuxedo world?”
IN OTHER NEWS:
M sent this in and it made me laugh so I thought I would share it if you have not seen it already: " The results of a computerized survey indicate the perfect priest preaches exactly fifteen minutes. He condemns sins but never upsets anyone. He works from 8:00 AM until midnight and is also a janitor. He makes $50 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books, drives a good car, and gives about $50 weekly to the poor. He is 28 years old and has preached 30 years. He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all of his time with senior citizens.
The perfect priest smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work. He makes 15 calls daily on parish families, shut-ins and the
hospitalized, and is always in his office when needed.
If your priest does not measure up, simply send this letter to six other churches that are tired of their priest, too. Then bundle up your priest and send him to the church on the top of the list. In one week, you will receive 1,643 priests and one of them will be perfect. Have faith in this procedure.
One parish broke the chain and got its old priest back in less than three weeks."
P sent this in. Steve Jobs who died this past week could have been included in this video also.
News from the Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter: You may have read about the the latest scandal of church closings in the Diocese in the Plain Dealer. Here is the Diocesan version of the story.
From the same source: "Sunday, September 25th was not only the Indians' final home game at Progressive Field for the 2011 season, it also marked the final celebration of Sunday Mass inside the ballpark for 2011." Read more here.
Ellen Finan sent this in: "Attention! The 31st Annual G.K. Chesterton Conference will be Aug. 2-4, 2012, at the Silver Legacy Hotel (and Casino) in Reno, Nevada. It will be the 100th anniversary of Chesterton’s novel, Manalive. To celebrate, we will be showing the world premiere of the movie, “Manalive”, directed by Joey Odendahl and starring Mark Shea and Kevin O’Brien. Featured speakers are Dale Ahlquist and Joseph Pearce And also: Mark Shea and Kevin O’Brien. And Joey Odendahl himself. We will also have Jason Jones, the producer of the movie “Bella”.
