REFLECTIONS

"I swear I will faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff, and his legitimate successors, and also devote myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing my life to defend them if necessary. I take on these same duties with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the See is vacant. Furthermore, I promise to the Captain Commander and to my other superiors respect, fidelity and obedience. This I swear! May God and our Holy Patrons assist me!" Now that a new pope will soon be in the Vatican, I was curious about the Swiss Guard.  I thought they were only for parades but they do protect the Pope and with modern weapons.  They often work undercover in plain clothes.   Some Details: Guards must be at least 5' 8", under 30 years old, unmarried, attended Swiss military school and be Catholics with a good reputation in their parishes. "Swiss Guards travel everywhere with the Holy Father; the plainclothes bodyguards you see aro

I edited my photo of one of those decorative plastic snow flakes that stick to the inside of a window. Some clouds floating across my backyard:

My first Holy Communion outfit. I saw some old black and white photos on the  ~Stonehouse Cottage Potpourri~  blog and I remembered wearing a large white bow tie at my first Holy Communion. My Mom and Dad and Brother Anthony. I searched through the basement until I found this photo. Notice the matching white shoes. Imagine wearing that outfit as an adult! It would definitely be more embarrassing than it was back then! My father's hands on my shoulders gives me a warm comfortable feeling.  I must have felt his love and protection and my mom was always there for me whenever I needed her. My brother was my steadfast companion. We had some arguments just like all families but I was lucky to have them. One day I intend to organized all the old photos but right now it's not a top priority.

This is the top part of my plant. It's a "Zebra" plant. Aphelandra Squarrosa is the official name.  I'm not familiar with the botanical names of plants.  The name was on the tag that came with the plant . This is where it was attached. Here is a closeup.  I put the top in some water. Is this what's supposed to happen when the plant grows or is it a disease?  Originally the flowers were bright yellow.  Will the top grow into another plant? If anyone knows please leave a comment.

"To the City and to the World" I had a strange thought when I saw this image again. I've seen it before but this time it took on a completely different meaning.  Isn't the man finding his location by realizing what is above and outside his ordinary world?  All he needs is the technology to make it happen. I believe most people use their GPS (Global Positioning System)  with the same lack of technical understanding as the man in the image. We know we can always look up how it works even if we don't really understand the explanation. But for everyday use it's only necessary to perform the "magical" rituals.  " Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."   Arthur C. Clarke Actual Definition: The Latin phrase "urbi et orbi" literally means "to the city and to the world." It has come to be used as the name for a specific type of blessing given by the pope on particularly

IS THIS HOW YOU MEDITATE? All these thoughts keep spinning through my mind. Is it best to just watch them go by? Am I doing it right? Maybe?

Best viewed with full screen. From the blog:    To Clear the Madness