He was still an unbaptized catechumen when he was forced to join the army at 15. The Roman army apparently had a law that required sons of veterans to serve in the military. Still, Martin found this so far removed from his desire to be a Christian monk that he had to be held in chains before taking the military oath. Once the oath was administered he felt bound to obey. He was assigned to a ceremonial cavalry unit that protected the emperor and rarely saw combat. Like his father, he became an officer and eventually was assigned to garrison duty in Gaul (present-day France).
Even in the military Martin attempted to live the life of a monk. Though he was entitled to a servant because he was an officer, he insisted on switching roles with his servant, cleaning the servant's boots instead of the other way around!
It was on this garrison duty at Amiens that the event took place that has been portrayed in art throughout the ages. On a bitterly cold winter day, the young tribune Martin rode through the gates, probably dressed in the regalia of his unit -- gleaming, flexible armor, ridged helmet, and a beautiful white cloak whose upper section was lined with lambswool. As he approached the gates he saw a beggar, with clothes so ragged that he was practically naked. The beggar must have been shaking and blue from the cold but no one reached out to help him. Martin, overcome with compassion, took off his mantle. In one quick stroke he slashed the lovely mantle in two with his sword, handed half to the freezing man and wrapped the remainder on his own shoulders. Many in the crowd thought this was so ridiculous a sight that they laughed and jeered but some realized that they were seeing Christian goodness. That night Martin dreamed that he saw Jesus wearing the half mantle he had given the beggar. Jesus said to the angels and saints that surrounded him, "See! this is the mantle that Martin, yet a catechumen, gave me." When he woke, it was the "yet a catechumen" that spurred Martin on and he went immediately to be baptized. He was eighteen years old.
The Battle of Tours (often called the Battle of Poitiers, but not to be confused with the Battle of Poitiers, 1356) was fought on October 10, 732 between forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel and a massive invading Islamic army led by Emir Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al Rahman, near the city of Tours, France. During the battle, the Franks defeated the Islamic army and Emir Abd er Rahman was killed. This battle stopped the northward advance of Islam from the Iberian peninsula, and is considered by most historians to be of macrohistorical importance, in that it halted the Islamic conquests, and preserved Christianity as the controlling faith in Europe, during a period in which Islam was overrunning the remains of the old Roman and Persian Empires.
Franks, led by Charles Martel. Estimates of the Frankish army defending Gaul vary, but by most accounts were between 15,000 and 75,000. Losses according to St. Denis were about 1,500.
Muslims, between 60,000 and 400,000 cavalry, (most likely closer to the lower number) under Abd er Rahman; besides source differences, this army is difficult to estimate in size, since it was often fractured into raiding parties to carry out the pillaging and plundering of various richly cultured Frankish centers; however, the entire Muslim army was present at Tours by Arab accounts. During the six days he waited to begin the Battle, Abd er Rahman recalled all those columns raiding and pillaging, so that on the seventh day, when by both eastern and western accounts the Battle began, both armies were at full strength. . . . No later Muslim attempts against Asturias or the Franks was made as conflict between what remained of the Umayyad Dynasty, (which was the Umayyad Emirate and then Caliphate of Iberia) and the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad prevented a unified assault on Europe. It would be another 700 years before the Ottomans managed to invade Europe via the Balkans.Christianity and Western culture was saved. Art, music, philosophy and architecture continued to reflect man's debt to God and despite the obvious misdeeds of Christian kings and popes and their minions - beautiful music, magnificent paintings and sculpture and the printed word moved men toward things eternal. Judeo - Christian man lived to aspire as well as submit to God's majesty. Name a great Muslim composer.
t's Senior Night at tomorrow's varsity football game against Mt. Carmel at the Kroc Center (1250 W. 119th St., Chicago). Come celebrate our senior class and the last regular home game of the season. Our Frosh-Soph plays at 5:00 p.m. and Varsity at 7:30 p.m.
On a painting trip to Brittany in 1904, Lavery, a widower since 1891, met Hazel Martyn (1887-1935), the daughter of a Chicago industrialist of Irish extraction. She was then engaged to a Canadian doctor, who died shortly after their marriage. In 1909 she and Lavery married. Hazel*, a beautiful and fashionable woman who herself liked to draw and paint, became Lavery's most frequent sitter. Her well known face and the characteristic red, purple and gold colour harmonies make The Red Rose immediately recognisable as a portrait of her. However, the canvas was begun in 1892 as a portrait of Mrs William Burrell. In 1912, it was transformed into a portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, and in the early twenties it was, for a brief period, a portrait of Viscountess Curzon.
Lady Hazel Lavery was a rare beauty. There are many good looking Women and women considered to be sexy. To me, sexy is never skanky, cheap, over-board or manly. Men are lumpy hideous creatures only kept in check of the savage natures by beautiful women.
The Beverly Area Planning Association hosted the forum in the wake of racist graffiti that was spray-painted on several cars, garages and buildings over a two-day span beginning late Sept. 19. The Beverly Area Planning Association hosted the forum in the wake of racist graffiti that was spray-painted on several cars, garages and buildings over a two-day span beginning late Sept. 19.DNA ChicagoNow, how did I miss that?
Thoughtful? Confused? Bewitched,?Bothered, Bewildered? 
Caught in a Fib? No. This is an affliction cuased from a nasty case of Illinois voter amnesia and untreated hubris. Senator Dick Durbin's pie-hole remains puckered
in confused and much 'pu-upon' martydom due to a career in the Senate marked by pandering, posing, posturing and punishing people he just don't like. The man has swallowed gallons of bile and spleen squeezings, causing a build up of smarm. The resultant malady - a kind of Oral Sphincter of Oddi.
Kashper’s parents, Jewish refugees from Communist Russia, brought him to the US in 1976 when he was just 6 years old, according to a source close to the entrepreneur.I drank the Mountie as a young scapegrace. I was a delightful young chap and as merry-hearted as Sigmund Romberg opereretta.
Kashper went on to study at Columbia University. It was only after graduating from college in 1992 that Kashper set out to build a beer empire in the Eastern bloc.
Now, Kashper is “very concerned about being viewed as Russian” in light of the “recent political climate,” according to the source.
Often after a a few cheeksful of Drewrys, I'd coax one nd sundry to join me for a jaunt around the Ward in my alligator powered chariot -Mon Bijou! Ubi sunt!
Romantics will delight in dining lakeside, with a view so close they can toss a coin into the ageless waters and wish for a love to match.
Economists will adore the prices. Shrimp, fish, oysters and other seafood are not only tasty but also a bargain for the pricey Near North Side.Both types of lovers quickly join the regulars at Rocky`s: anglers with their tackle boxes and police officers who dock department boats at the bait shop near Navy Pier.Among the more popular items are the large, french-fried shrimp ($4.50 a half order) and Rocky`s fish sandwich ($1.50), a treat for those familiar with fast-food versions. While both are prepared in a crunchy batter, the shrimp and fish themselves are moist and tender. -Manuel Galvan, Chicago Tribune 1987
“Catholic schools in both Israel and in the Palestinian Territories, especially in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, are in a precarious predicament,” Fr. Burwell said. “The State of Israel has as its primary concern a deep commitment to care for its Jewish residents. As a result of this understandable perspective, the Israeli government is not altogether concerned with non-Jewish schools.”
Fr. Burwell added that “the Israeli government can do what it pleases when it comes to Catholic schools.” Catholic schools are in the power of the government, because anything they have “is theirs completely and totally because of Israeli generosity,” he said. ( unlike here in Blaine Amendment Illinois)
Meanwhile, according to Fr. Burwell, Catholic schools in the Palestinian Territories “are in much more dire financial situations” because Palestine is in the midst of political upheaval and tremendous poverty. “Many Christians are leaving the region, which means that the vast majority of Catholic school teachers are in fact Islamic,” Fr. Burwell explained. “It is self-evident that a poor Catholic school that is largely staffed by Muslims can do very little to embrace the notion of evangelization, particularly as the region itself teeters on social and political unrest.”
An Augustinian Examiner ( Austin Friars in UK)" . . .However, there does not seem to have been any 'proper' exams at Oxford for a degree during Medieval times. A student would be presented before his college chancellor and would then have to swear on oath that he had read certain books on his subject and then nine tutors had to testify on each student's ability within his subject. The student would then have to argue on an academic subject before a Master of Arts - usually an Augustinian monk, thus giving the process its nickname 'doing Austins'. " Medieval StudiesAustin examiner -What is your idea of a Catholic school? Specifically, What is your vision for a gender specific Catholic college preparatory high school?
Me - Delightful, really. Do go to my link and enjoy the whole piece, but, in essence, let me summarize the salient point with this passage, When Catholics departed the ( inner City and plagued by violence) neighborhoods, so did the Protestants and Jews. White flight became the all too simplistic neologism that helped further polarize races. Black folks attended smaller, non-institutional churches that did not have the economic infrastructure to provide social outreach for poor people. The big churches were deconsecrated and became real estate blight.
For example, when the Irish Christian brothers parted ways with Leo High School, the monastery on the south west corner of 79th & Sangamon Street was abandoned and became a danger to the community. Leo High School’s President Robert W. Foster ordered the demolition of that building, when it had been broken into, looted of brass, copper and other marketable metals, wiring, wood and stained glass to avoid injury or assault upon our neighbors. It cost Leo High School a great deal of money to do the demolition.
Leo High School also raised money from the Alumni and a few foundations and acquired one whole block of neighboring buildings that had been abandoned as well and developed a recreational field open to the community and used by the school’s athletic teams.
Leo High School remains open, a Catholic institution, because of the grace of God and our Alumni and friends. It is costly, but Leo High School educates wonderful young men who turned the brass door knobs embossed with Christ’s cross. Leo President Dan McGrath raised more support revenue in the last two years than at any time in the school’s history. Most of that revenue went to tuition support and capital improvements. Leo’s revenue pie-chart is upside down – fund raising revenue far exceeds tuition revenue. ( parenthetical my own)Austin Examiner - Delightful . . .somewhat
Marines and sailors showing the flag in Vera Cruz 1914.
Using military force against an enemy to punish, avenge a wrong, as retribution is a timeless cause of armed conflict. There are many examples throughout history of successful punitiveoperations. Analyzing historical punitive expeditions for the elements that made them successful or unsuccessful can aid future military and government leaders in framing strategic and operational conflicts, and serve as a backplane for attempting to understand the nature of punitive expeditions and strikes. - Punishment, Revenge, and Retribution: A Historical Analysis of Punitive Operations MAJ Brandon D Newton U.S.ArmyThomas Friedman of the New York Times coined the term 'The Arab Spring" which followed in the wake of President Barack H. Obama's nicely ironic Cairo Speech and his now wildly ironic Apology Tours. The Arab Spring was intended to signal the triumph of the Obama Doctrine over two hundred years of American Foreign Policy. The Arab Spring was the mythical dance between Islam and Democracy - it was no walz. Rather, the Arab Spring became conga line lead by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Al Queda and the Wahabbist mullahs - a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Royal Family. Egypt was only saved from anarchy and Shariah theocracy by the military. Elsewhere, the Arab and Levantine worlds gushed blood, while America went all Dunkirk in Iraq and Afghanistan.
LONDON — An existential struggle is taking place in the Arab world today. But is it ours or is it theirs? Before we step up military action in Iraq and Syria, that’s the question that needs answering.
What concerns me most about President Obama’s decision to re-engage in Iraq is that it feels as if it’s being done in response to some deliberately exaggerated fears — fear engendered by YouTube videos of the beheadings of two U.S. journalists — and fear that ISIS, a.k.a., the Islamic State, is coming to a mall near you. How did we start getting so afraid again so fast? Didn’t we build a Department of Homeland Security?
I am not dismissing ISIS. Obama is right that ISIS needs to be degraded and destroyed. But when you act out of fear, you don’t think strategically and you glide over essential questions, like why is it that Shiite Iran, which helped trigger this whole Sunni rebellion in Iraq, is scoffing at even coordinating with us, and Turkey and some Arab states are setting limits on their involvement?
I agree wholly, Brother Friedman. The Saudis, Turks and Emirs du jour will again sit this one out, because - -
“This is a war over the soul of Islam — that is what differentiates this moment from all others,” argues Ahmad Khalidi, a Palestinian scholar associated with St. Antony’s College, Oxford. Here is why: For decades, Saudi Arabia has been the top funder of the mosques and schools throughout the Muslim world that promote the most puritanical version of Islam, known as Salafism, which is hostile to modernity, women and religious pluralism, or even Islamic pluralism.audi financing for these groups is a byproduct of the ruling bargain there between the al-Saud family and its Salafist religious establishment, known as the Wahhabis. The al-Sauds get to rule and live how they like behind walls, and the Wahhabis get to propagate Salafist Islam both inside Saudi Arabia and across the Muslim world, using Saudi oil wealth. Saudi Arabia is, in effect, helping to fund both the war against ISIS and the Islamist ideology that creates ISIS members (some 1,000 Saudis are believed to be fighting with jihadist groups in Syria), through Salafist mosques in Europe, Pakistan, Central Asia and the Arab world.Yep and then some.
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The killing or wounding or capture of those opposed to us and the destruction of their property. The destruction of the property of those who aid and abet those hostile to us. The laying waste of entire sections inhabited by people generally supporting those hostile to us. The removal and dispersion of all of the inhabitants of an area of unrest
Major Harold H. Utley, “An Introduction to the Tactics and Techniques of Small Wars.” Marine
Corps Gazette 16, no. 1 (May 1931): 51.
I am a
Canna
What Flower
Are You?
