Saint Anthony of Padua

Also known as

• Antonio da Padova
• Evangelical Doctor

Memorial

• 13 June

Profile

Anthony’s wealthy family wanted him to be a great nobleman, but for the sake of Christ he became a poor Franciscan. Priest.
When the remains of Saint Berard and his companions, the first Franciscan martyrs, were brought to be buried in his church, Anthony was moved to leave his order, enter the Friars Minor, and go to Morocco to evangelize. Shipwrecked at Sicily, he joined some other brothers who were going to the church in Portiuncula. Lived in a cave at San Paolo leaving only to attend Mass and sweep the nearby monastery. One day when a scheduled speaker failed to appear, the brothers pressed him into speaking. He impressed them so that he was thereafter constantly travelling, evangelizing, preaching, and teaching theology through Italy and France.
A gifted speaker, he attracted crowds everywhere he went, speaking in multiple tongues; legend says that even the fish loved to listen. Miracle worker. One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are found everywhere – though none of them portray him as a heavy-set man, which some reports claim he was. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 16 January 1946.
One source of the well-known patronage for the recovery of lost objects comes from a legend that, long after Anthony’s death, his old prayer book was kept as a treasured relic, and one day it disappeared. People prayed for help in finding the lost item, a novice found it and returned it; he later admitted that he had “borrowed” the book and returned it after receiving a vision of an angry Anthony.

Born

• 1195 at Lisbon, Portugal

Died

• 13 June 1231 of natural causes

Canonized

• 30 May 1232 by Pope Gregory IX at Spoleto, Italy

Patronage

• against barrenness
• against shipwreck
• against starvation
• against starving
• against sterility
• American Indians
• amputees
• animals
• asses
• boatmen
• domestic animals
• elderly people
• expectant mothers
• faith in the Blessed Sacrament
• fishermen
• harvests
• horses
• lost articles
• lower animals
• mail
• mariners
• oppressed people
• paupers
• poor people
• pregnant women
• sailors
• seekers of lost articles
• starving people
• swineherds
• travel hostesses
• travellers
• watermen
• —
• Brazil
• Portugal
• Tigua Indians
• —
• Beaumont, Texas, diocese of
• Masbate, Philippines, diocese of
• Timmins, Ontario, diocese of
• —
• Amantea, Italy
• Anzio, Italy
• Cianciana, Agrigento, Italy
• Dorado, Puerto Rico
• Favara, Italy
• Ferrazzano, Italy
• Giano Vetusto, Italy
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Nicolosi, Italy
• Padua, Italy
• San Antonio Tlayacapan, Mexico
• San Fulgencio, Spain
• Sandia Indian Pueblo

Representation

• book
• bread
• Infant Jesus
• lily

Images

• Gallery of images of Saint Anthony

Prayers

• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua I
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua II
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua III
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua IV
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua V
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua VI
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua VII
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua VIII

---

• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Consoler of the Afflicted
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Disperser of Devils
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Example of Humility
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Generator of Charity
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Guide of Pilgrims
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Liberator of Prisoners
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Martyr of Deisre
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Model of Perfection
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Patron of seekers of lost articles
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Performer of Miracles
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Restorer of Sight to the Blind
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Restorer of Speech to the Mute
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Reviver of the Dead
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Wonder-Worker
• Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Zealous for Justice

---

• Litany to Saint Anthony of Padua

---

• Prayer by Saint Anthony of Padua …Blessing
• Prayer by Saint Anthony of Padua …for the Help of the Holy Spirit

Storefront

• Books
• Chaplets
• Medals
• General Site

Additional Information

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Brother Lawrence Lew, OP: Eucharistic Miracle of Saint Anthony and the mule
• Catholic Encyclopedia
• Dictionary of Patron Saints’ Names, by Thomas W Sheehan
• For All The Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
• Google Directory
• New Catholic Dictionary
• Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
• Wikipedia

Readings

The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive intheir heart the invitation of Christ. - Saint Anthony of Padua
Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak. We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore are cursed by the Lord, since he himself cursed the fig tree when he found no fruit but only leaves. It is useless for a man to flaunt his knowledge of the law if he undermines its teaching by his actions.
But the apostles “spoke as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.” Happy the man whose words issue from the Holy Spirit and not from himself!
We should speak, then, as the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of speech. Our humble and sincere request to the Spirit for ourselves should be that we may bring the day of Pentecost to fulfillment, insofar as he infuses us with his grace, by using our bodily senses in a perfect manner by keeping the commandments. Likewise we shall request that we may be filled with a keen sense of sorrow and with fiery tongues for confessing the faith so our deserved reward may be to stand in the blazing splendor of the saints and to look upon the triune God. - from a sermon by Saint Anthony of Padua

  Franciscan Thaumaturgist, born at Lisbon, 1195; died at Vercelli [actually Arcella --Ed.], 13 June, 1231. He received in baptism the nameof Ferdinand.

Later writers of the fifteenth century asserted that his father was Martin Bouillon, descendant of the renowned Godfrey de Bouillon, commander of the First Crusade, and his mother, Theresa Tavejra, descendant of Froila I, fourth king of Asturia. Unfortunately, however, his genealogy is uncertain; all that we know of his parents is that they were noble, powerful, and God-fearing people, and at the time of Ferdinand's birth were both still young, and living near the Cathedral of Lisbon.

Having been educated in the Cathedral school, Ferdinand, at the age of fifteen, joined the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, in theconvent of St. Vincent, just outside the city walls (1210). Two years later to avoid being distracted by relatives and friends, who frequently came to visit him, he betook himself with permission of his superior to the Convent of Santa Croce in Cóimbra (1212), where he remained for eight years, occupying his time mainly with study and prayer. Gifted with an excellent understanding and a prodigiousmemory, he soon gathered from the Sacred Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers a treasure of theological knowledge.

In the year 1220, having seen conveyed into the Church of Santa Croce the bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs, who had suffered death at Morocco, 16 January of the same year, he too was inflamed with the desire of martyrdom, and resolved to become a Friar Minor, that he might preach the Faith to the Saracens and suffer for Christ's sake. Having confided his intention to some of the brethren of theconvent of Olivares (near Cóimbra), who came to beg alms at the Abbey of the Canons Regular, he received from their hands theFranciscan habit in the same Convent of Santa Croce. Thus Ferdinand left the Canons Regular of St. Augustine to join the Order of Friars Minor, taking at the same time the new name of Anthony, a name which later on the Convent of Olivares also adopted.

A short time after his entry into the order, Anthony started for Morocco, but, stricken down by a severe illness, which affected him the entire winter, he was compelled to sail for Portugal the following spring, 1221. His ship, however, was overtaken by a violent storm and driven upon the coast of Sicily, where Anthony then remained for some time, till he had regained his health. Having heard meanwhile from the brethren of Messina that a general chapter was to be held at Assisi, 30 May, he journeyed thither, arriving in time to take part in it. The chapter over, Anthony remained entirely unnoticed.

"He said not a word of his studies", writes his earliest biographer, "nor of the services he had performed; his only desire was to followJesus Christ and Him crucified". Accordingly, he applied to Father Graziano, Provincial of Cóimbra, for a place where he could live in solitude and penance, and enter more fully into the spirit and discipline of Franciscan life. Father Graziano, being just at that time in need of a priest for the hermitage of Montepaolo (near Forli), sent him thither, that he might celebrate Mass for the lay-brethren.

While Anthony lived retired at Montepaolo it happened, one day, that a number of Franciscan and Dominican friars were sent together toForli for ordination. Anthony was also present, but simply as companion of the Provincial. When the time for ordination had arrived, it was found that no one had been appointed to preach. The superior turned first to the Dominicans, and asked that one of their number should address a few words to the assembled brethren; but everyone declined, saying he was not prepared. In their emergency they then chose Anthony, whom they thought only able to read the Missal and Breviary, and commanded him to speak whatever the spirit of God might put into his mouth. Anthony, compelled by obedience, spoke at first slowly and timidly, but soon enkindled with fervour, he began to explain the most hidden sense of Holy Scripture with such profound erudition and sublime doctrine that all were struck with astonishment. With that moment began Anthony's public career.

St. Francis, informed of his learning, directed him by the following letter to teach theology to the brethren:

To Brother Anthony, my bishop (i.e. teacher of sacred sciences), Brother Francis sends his greetings. It is my pleasure that thou teach theology to the brethren, provided, however, that as the Rule prescribes, the spirit of prayer and devotion may not be extinguished. Farewell. (1224)

Before undertaking the instruction, Anthony went for some time to Vercelli, to confer with the famous Abbot, Thomas Gallo; thence he taught successively in Bologna and Montpellier in 1224, and later at Toulouse. Nothing whatever is left of his instruction; the primitive documents, as well as the legendary ones, maintain complete silence on this point. Nevertheless, by studying his works, we can form for ourselves a sufficient idea of the character of his doctrine; a doctrine, namely, which, leaving aside all arid speculation, prefers an entirely seraphic character, corresponding to the spirit and ideal of St. Francis.

It was as an orator, however, rather than as professor, that Anthony reaped his richest harvest. He possessed in an eminent degree all the good qualities that characterize an eloquent preacher: a loud and clear voice, a winning countenance, wonderful memory, and profound learning, to which were added from on high the spirit of prophecy and an extraordinary gift of miracles. With the zeal of anapostle he undertook to reform the morality of his time by combating in an especial manner the vices of luxury, avarice, and tyranny. The fruit of his sermons was, therefore, as admirable as his eloquence itself. No less fervent was he in the extinction of heresy, notably that of the Cathares and the Patarines, which infested the centre and north of Italy, and probably also that of the Albigenses in the south ofFrance, though we have no authorized documents to that effect. Among the many miracles St. Anthony wrought in the conversion ofheretics; the three most noted recorded by his biographers are the following:

• The first is that of a horse, which, kept fasting for three days, refused the oats placed before him, till he had knelt down and adoredthe Blessed Sacrament, which St. Anthony held in his hands. Legendary narratives of the fourteenth century say this miracle took place at Toulouse, at Wadding, at Bruges; the real place, however, was Rimini.
• The second most important miracle is that of the poisoned food offered him by some Italian heretics, which he rendered innoxious by the sign of the cross.
• The third miracle worthy of mention is that of the famous sermon to the fishes on the bank of the river Brenta in the neighbourhood of Padua; not at Padua, as is generally supposed.

The zeal with which St. Anthony fought against heresy, and the great and numerous conversions he made rendered him worthy of the glorious title of Malleus hereticorum (Hammer of the Heretics). Though his preaching was always seasoned with the salt of discretion, nevertheless he spoke openly to all, to the rich as to the poor, to the people as well as those in authority. In a synod at Bourges in the presence of many prelates, he reproved the Archbishop, Simon de Sully, so severely, that he induced him to sincere amendment.

After having been Guardian at Le-Puy (1224), we find Anthony in the year 1226, Custos Provincial in the province of Limousin. The most authentic miracles of that period are the following:

• Preaching one night on Holy Thursday in the Church of St. Pierre du Queriox at Limoges, he remembered he had to sing a Lesson of the Divine Office. Interrupting suddenly his discourse, he appeared at the same moment among the friars in choir to sing his Lesson, after which he continued his sermon.
• Another day preaching in the square des creux des Arenes at Limoges, he miraculously preserved his audience from the rain.
• At St. Junien during the sermon, he predicted that by an artifice of the devil the pulpit would break down, but that all should remain safe and sound. And so it occurred; for while he was preaching, the pulpit was overthrown, but no one hurt; not even the saint himself.
• In a monastery of Benedictines, where he had fallen ill, he delivered by means of his tunic one of the monks from great temptations.
• Likewise, by breathing on the face of a novice (whom he had himself received into the order), he confirmed him in his vocation.
• At Brive, where he had founded a convent, he preserved from the rain the maid-servant of a benefactress who was bringing some vegetables to the brethren for their meagre repast.

This is all that is historically certain of the sojourn of St. Anthony in Limousin.

Regarding the celebrated apparition of the Infant Jesus to our saint, French writers maintain it took place in the province of Limousin at the Castle of Chateauneuf-la-Forêt, between Limoges and Eymoutiers, whereas the Italian hagiographers fix the place at Camposanpiero, near Padua. The existing documents, however, do not decide the question. We have more certainty regarding the apparition of St. Francisto St. Anthony at the Provincial Chapter of Arles, whilst the latter was preaching about the mysteries of the Cross.

After the death of St. Francis, 3 October, 1226, Anthony returned to Italy. His way led him through La Provence on which occasion he wrought the following miracle: Fatigued by the journey, he and his companion entered the house of a poor woman, who placed bread and wine before them. She had forgotten, however, to shut off the tap of the wine-barrel, and to add to this misfortune, the Saint's companion broke his glass. Anthony began to pray, and suddenly the glass was made whole, and the barrel filled anew with wine.

Shortly after his return to Italy, Anthony was elected Minister Provincial of Emilia. But in order to devote more time to preaching, he resigned this office at the General Chapter of Assisi, 30 May, 1230, and retired to the Convent of Padua, which he had himself founded. The last Lent he preached was that of 1231; the crowd of people which came from all parts to hear him, frequently numbered 30,000 and more. His last sermons were principally directed against hatred and enmity, and his efforts were crowned with wonderful success. Permanent reconciliations were effected, peace and concord re-established, liberty given to debtors and other prisoners, restitutions made, and enormous scandals repaired; in fact, the priests of Padua were no longer sufficient for the number of penitents, and many of these declared they had been warned by celestial visions, and sent to St. Anthony, to be guided by his counsel. Others after his death said that he appeared to them in their slumbers, admonishing them to go to confession.

At Padua also took place the famous miracle of the amputated foot, which Franciscan writers attribute to St. Anthony. A young man, Leonardo by name, in a fit of anger kicked his own mother. Repentant, he confessed his fault to St. Anthony who said to him: "The foot of him who kicks his mother deserves to be cut off." Leonardo ran home and cut off his foot. Learning of this, St. Anthony took the amputated member of the unfortunate youth and miraculously rejoined it.

Through the exertions of St. Anthony, the Municipality of Padua, 15 March, 1231, passed a law in favour of debtors who could not pay their debts. A copy of this law is still preserved in the museum of Padua. From this, as well as the following occurrence, the civil andreligious importance of the Saint's influence in the thirteenth century is easily understood. In 1230, while war raged in Lombardy, St. Anthony betook himself to Verona to solicit from the ferocious Ezzelino the liberty of the Guelph prisoners. An apocryphal legend relates that the tyrant humbled himself before the Saint and granted his request. This is not the case, but what does it matter, even if he failed in his attempt; he nevertheless jeopardized his own life for the sake of those oppressed by tyranny, and thereby showed his love and sympathy for the people. Invited to preach at the funeral of a usurer, he took for his text the words of the Gospel: "Where thy treasure is, there also is thy heart." In the course of the sermon he said: "That rich man is dead and buried in hell; but go to his treasures and there you will find his heart." The relatives and friends of the deceased, led by curiosity, followed this injunction, and found the heart, still warm, among the coins. Thus the triumph of St. Anthony's missionary career manifests itself not only in his holiness and his numerousmiracles, but also in the popularity and subject matter of his sermons, since he had to fight against the three most obstinate vices of luxury, avarice and tyranny.

At the end of Lent, 1231, Anthony retired to Camposanpiero, in the neighbourhood of Padua, where, after a short time he was taken with a severe illness. Transferred to Vercelli, and strengthened by the apparition of Our Lord, he died at the age of thirty-six years, on 13 June, 1231. He had lived fifteen years with his parents, ten years as a Canon Regular of St. Augustine, and eleven years in the Order of Friars Minor.

Immediately after his death he appeared at Vercelli to the Abbot, Thomas Gallo, and his death was also announced to the citizens ofPadua by a troop of children, crying: "The holy Father is dead; St. Anthony is dead!" Gregory IX, firmly persuaded of his sanctity by the numerous miracles he had wrought, inscribed him within a year of his death (Pentecost, 30 May, 1232), in the calendar of saints of theCathedral of Spoleto. In the Bull of canonization he declared he had personally known the saint, and we know that the same pontiff, having heard one of his sermons at Rome, and astonished at his profound knowledge of the Holy Scripture called him: "Ark of the Covenant". That this title is well-founded is also shown by his several works: "Expositio in Psalmos", written at Montpellier, 1224; the "Sermones de tempore", and the "Sermones de Sanctis", written at Padua, 1229-30.

The name of Anthony became celebrated throughout the world, and with it the name of Padua. The inhabitants of that city erected to his memory a magnificent temple, whither his precious relics were transferred in 1263, in presence of St. Bonaventure, Minister General at the time. When the vault in which for thirty years his sacred body had reposed was opened, the flesh was found reduced to dust but the tongue uninjured, fresh, and of a lively red colour. St. Bonaventure, beholding this wonder, took the tongue affectionately in his hands and kissed it, exclaiming: "O Blessed Tongue that always praised the Lord, and made others bless Him, now it is evident what great meritthou hast before God."

The fame of St. Anthony's miracles has never diminished, and even at the present day he is acknowledged as the greatest thaumaturgistof the times. He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost, as is also expressed in the celebrated responsory of Friar Julian of Spires:

Si quaeris miracula . . .
. . . resque perditas.

Indeed his very popularity has to a certain extent obscured his personality. If we may believe the conclusions of recent critics, some of the Saint's biographers, in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for the marvellous displayed by his devout clients, and comparatively oblivious of the historical features of his life, have devoted themselves to the task of handing down to posterity the posthumous miracleswrought by his intercession. We need not be surprised, therefore, to find accounts of his miracles that may seem to the modern mind trivial or incredible occupying so large a space in the earlier biographies of St. Anthony. It may be true that some of the miraclesattributed to St. Anthony are legendary, but others come to us on such high authority that it is impossible either to eliminate them or explain them away a priori without doing violence to the facts of history.
   St Anthony and His Preaching in France

Vicente Carducho 1576-1638

The Vision of St Anthony of Padua

1631

Oil on canvas, 227 x 170 cm

The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Giotto di Bondone 1267-1337

Legend of St Francis: 18. Apparition at Arles

1297-1300

Fresco, 270 x 230 cm

Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

During a meeting of the order, St. Anthony of Padua was preaching in the cloister at Arles - Giotto shows a generously proportioned Gothic room. Suddenly, Francis appeared. Only St. Anthony, who had just been speaking about Christ, and one other member of the Order notice the apparition. Giotto shows all the others listening with full attention.

Attributed to Jean Boachon

The Life and Miracles of St Anthony of Padua (c.1515)

Oil on wooden panel

74 x 82cm

Musée de Brou, Bourg-en-Bresse

Église Saint-Pierre-du-Queyroix, Limoges

The Sermones Dominicales and the Sermones Festivi of St Anthony of Padua are not as they stand sermons preached by Saint Anthony, although they contain material he preached. They depart from his oral style in important ways, notably in being much longer and more systematic. Antony himself indicates that they contain material, or ‘themes’, for a number of ‘sermons’

We have a number of eye witness accounts of the preaching of St Anthony.

As regards his preaching in France we are dependent on the history of Jean Rigauld, (the first Franciscan archbishop of Rouen) who, however, seems to have been conscientious in recording the accounts of eye-witnesses.

"During the time that he was appointed Custos of the brethren of the Limoges custody, he was in the city of Limoges around midnight on the night of Holy Thursday, in the church called St Peter de Queyroux. This was so that when the Office of Matins was over, which is said there at midnight, he might sow the seed of the word of life to the people gathered in the church."

Rigauld comments on the frequency with which Antony treated the theme of poverty. Already, Anthony often found that there were too many people wanting to hear him to fit into the local church:

"On one occasion, at the church of St Junien in the diocese of Limoges, he was preaching, and the congregation was so large that the church was not big enough to hold it; and so the man of God had to transfer to a wide open space, with the crowd that had gathered. A wooden pulpit was improvised, and the man of God climbed up onto it, remarking that he foresaw that the Enemy might soon cause a disturbance in the sermon, but that they should not be frightened, because no-one would be hurt by it. Not long afterwards, the place the saint was standing on collapsed, to everyone’s surprise, and yet neither he nor anyone else was injured. Because of this, the people were brought to even greater reverence for the man of God, seeing a prophetic spirit strong in him; and when a new place had been made ready, they listened to him with even greater attention."

As well as such popular preaching, Antony was in demand at important clerical gatherings:

"I learned from a reliable account by certain friars that one occasion he was preaching at a Synod at Bourges. Directing his words to the Archbishop in fervour of spirit, he said, ‘It’s you I’m talking to, in the mitre.’ He began to rebuke, fervently and with well-chosen texts of Scripture, certain vices which troubled the conscience of the Archbishop; so that all at once the Archbishop was moved to compunction, and tears, and devotion, that he had not felt before. When the Synod was over, he took him aside and opened his wounded conscience; and from then on was more devoted both to God and to the friars, and was more conscientious about the service of God."

On one occasion he solemnly called together the people of Limoges for a sermon, and the crowd that gathered was so great that every church was reckoned too small to hold such a multitude. He therefore called the people together at a very spacious place, where a pagan palace had once stood, called ‘Creux des Arènes’. There the people could sit down comfortably, and listen quietly to the divine word.

While Antony was speaking, a thunderstorm arose, and the people began to panic, until Antony called them to order.

"The man of God continued his sermon as long as he was pleased, and the people listened attentively. When they got up from the sermon, they found that the ground all around was soaked, but where they had been sitting was completely dry; and they praised the wonderful kindness of God, who is wonderful in his saints. Many friars were still living when I entered the Order of Friars Minor, who had been present at that sermon, and could repeat the gist of his preaching. Their testimony is entirely reliable, because they spoke of what they had seen with their eyes and heard with their ears."

The Franciscans settled at Limoges in 1223. According to the chronicle of Pierre Coral, rector of St. Martin of Limoges, St. Anthony of Padua established a convent there in 1226 and departed in the first months of 1227. On the night of Holy Thursday, it is said, he was preaching in the church of St. Pierre du Queyroix, when he stopped for a moment and remained silent. At the same instant he appeared in the choir of the Franciscan monastery and read a lesson. It was doubtlessly at Châteauneuf in the territory of Limoges that took place the celebrated apparition of the Infant Jesus to St. Anthony

In his biography of St Antony, Fr Leopold de Chérancé gives a sermon which the Saint is said to have delivered in 1226, in the Benedictine abbey of St Martin at Limoges. His authority is the Chronicle of Pierre Coral, Abbot of St Martin at Limoges, Librairie Nationale MS n. 5,452, fol. cix.

If authentic, this seems to be the only record of a sermon as actually preached by the Saint

After preaching in the cemetery of St Paul’s on the text ‘In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness’ (Ps 29.67). The occasion may have been All Souls’ Day, or perhaps a funeral, the next day he preached in the Abbey on the excellence of monastic life

"Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest! [Ps 54.7]

Such is the cry of a soul that is weary of this world and longs for the solitude and peace of the cloister life. It is of the religious life that the Prophet Jeremias spoke when he said:

Leave the cities, ye that dwell in Moab, and dwell in the rock;

and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole in the highest place. [Jer 48.28]

Leave the cities, that is, the sins and vices which dishonour, the tumult which prevents the soul from raising herself to God, and, often, even from thinking of him. Leave the cities, for it is written:

I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city.

Day and night shall iniquity surround it upon its walls;

and in the midst thereof are labour and injustice.

And usury and deceits have not departed from its streets. [Ps 54.10-12]

There is to be found iniquity against God and man; contradiction against the preacher of truth; labour in the ambitious cares of the world; injustice in its dealings; knavery and usury in its business transactions.

Ye that dwell in Moab, that is in the world which is seated in pride as the city of Moab. All is pride in the world: pride of the intellect, which refuses to humble itself before God; pride of the will, which refuses to submit to the will of God; pride of the senses, which rebel against reason and dominate it… But to leave the world, live remote from the tumult of cities, to keep oneself unspotted from their vices, is not sufficient for the religious soul.

Hence the Prophet adds: Dwell in the rock. Now this rock is Jesus Christ. Establish yourself in him; let him be the constant theme of your thoughts, the object of your affections. Jacob reposed upon a stone in the wilderness, and while he slept he saw the heavens opened and conversed with angels, receiving a blessing from the Lord [cf. Gen 28.11-16].

Thus will it be with those who place their entire trust in Jesus Christ.

They will be favoured with heavenly visions; they will live in the company of angels, they will be blessed as Jacob was, to the north and south, to the east and west [Gen 28.14]. To the north, which is the divine breath mortifying the flesh with its concupiscences; to the east, which is the light of faith and the merit of good works; to the south, which is the full meridian splendour of wisdom and charity; to the west, which is the burial of the old man with his vices. But as to the soul which does not repose upon this rock, it cannot expect to be blessed by the Lord.

And be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole of the highest place.

If Jesus Christ is the rock, the hole of the rock, in which the religious soul is to seek shelter and take up her abode, is the wound in the side of Jesus Christ. This is the safe harbour of refuge, to which the Divine Spouse calls the religious soul when he speaks to her in the words of the Canticle:

Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come, O my dove,

that art in the clefts of the rock. in the deep hollow of the wall. [Cant 2.13-14]

The Divine Spouse speaks of the numberless clefts of the rock, but he also speaks of the deep hollow. There were, indeed, in his body numberless wounds, and one deep wound in his side; this leads to his heart, and it is hither he calls the soul he has espoused. To her he extends his arms, to her he opens wide his sacred hide and divine heart, that she may come and hide therein. By retiring into the clefts of the rock the dove is safe from the pursuit of birds of prey, and, at the same time, she prepares for herself a quiet refuge where she may calmly repose and coo in peace.

So the religious soul finds in the heart of Jesus a secure refuge against the wiles and attacks of Satan, and a delightful retreat. But we must not rest merely at the entrance to the hole in the rock, we must penetrate its depths. At the mouth of the deep hollow, at the mouth of the wound in his side we shall, indeed, find the precious blood which has redeemed us. This blood pleads for us and demands mercy for us. But the religious soul must not stay at the entrance. When she has heard, and understood, the voice of the divine blood, she must hasten to the very source from which it springs, into the very innermost sanctuary of the heart of Jesus. There she will find light, peace, and ineffable consolations.

And be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the deep hollow of the rock. The dove builds her nest with little pieces of straw she gathers up here and there. And how are we to build an abode in the heart of Jesus? This Divine Saviour, who so mercifully gives us the place wherein we are to make our abode, furnishes us at the same time with the materials with which to construct it. O religious soul, dove beloved of Christ, behold those little pieces of straw which the world tramples under its feet. They are the virtues practised by thy Saviour and thy Spouse, of which he himself has set thee an example: humility, meekness, poverty, penance, patience and mortification. The world despises them as useless pieces of straw; nevertheless, they will be for thee the material wherewith to construct thy dwelling-place, for ever, in the profound hollow of the rock, in the heart of Jesus.

(From St. Anthony of Padua, by Father Leopold de Chérancé, O.S.F.C., rendered into English by Father Marianus, O.S.F.C. with an introduction by Father Anselm, O.S.F.C. (Eighth Edition, London, Burns Oates & Washbourne), 83-86.)

It was in Limoges that another astonishing event occurred in the Church of St. Pierre-du-Queyroix. At about midnight on Holy Thursday, St. Anthony was transported among his friars to sing the liturgy since it was his responsibility.

The year 1226 also saw Anthony establishing a friary in Brive. It was here that Anthony found the necessary peace to restore his strength after the exhausting labours of preaching. He withdrew to some caves just outside the town. Here he dedicated himself to penance and contemplation.

After his death, his memory was kept alive among the inhabitants of Brive, and the caves where he stayed have become a place of pilgrimage

Although having been confiscated by the state during the uncertain times following the French Revolution, the sanctuary of Brive was bought back by the friars in 1874 and re-consecrated in 1895. Since then it has become the national centre of Anthonian devotion in France.  

MDG Countdown 2011

The UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell and USAID Administrator Raj Shah hosted an event during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) - MDG Countdown 2011: Celebrating successes and innovations.

The event's purpose was to highlight and celebrate the success of countries that are achieving progress in each Millennium Development Goal (MDG). The following programmes have achieved real progress by transforming people’s lives, bringing hope and a way out of poverty for millions.

	MDG 1: Brazil – a government programme of conditional cash transfers which has lifted more than 12 million people out of poverty.
	MDG 2: Zambia – an education policy which includes investment, free basic education, girls and boys parity enrolment policies, community schooling, and re-entry for girls that become pregnant.
	MDG 3: Gambia – government legislation and investment are getting girls into school, with particular success in rural areas.
	MDG 4: Peru – a significant fall in child mortality through improving women’s education levels, better management of infections and vaccines, and better access to water and sanitation.
	MDG 5: Nepal – a progressive programme that has seen maternity fall from being the number one cause of deaths amongst women of reproductive age.
	MDG 6: Ethiopia – an innovative programme to tackle the shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas and improve quality.
	MDG 7: Vietnam – a national programme on water and sanitation incorporating a subsidised credit lending program for poorer households.
	MDG 8: GAVI Alliance – a public-private partnership that has immunised millions of children in developing countries against killer diseases.

The World's Newest Country In Dire Straits

The deteriorating humanitarian situation in South Sudan caused by soaring food and fuel prices, rising poverty and intensification of clashes, is hitting vulnerable families and pushing up to a third of the population into hunger

Pregnant mums need to stay cool

Queensland University of Technology

"We found that increases in temperature increased the risk of stillbirth, and this was particularly true in the earlier stages of pregnancy before 28 weeks." Image: Moncherie/iStockphoto Queensland University of Technology (QUT) world-first research has found a link between increases in temperature and the incidence of stillbirth and shorter pregnancies. Associate Professor Adrian Barnett of QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) led a study that looked at the incidence of still and premature births in Brisbane over a four-year period from 2005. Professor Barnett said a total of 101,870 births were recorded throughout the period and of these 653 or 0.6% were stillbirths. "We found that increases in temperature increased the risk of stillbirth, and this was particularly true in the earlier stages of pregnancy before 28 weeks," he said. "Our estimated numbers were at 15°C there would be 353 stillbirths per 100,000 pregnancies, as compared with 610 stillbirths per 100,000 pregnancies at 23°C. "Increased temperatures also shortened gestation times, which means more preterm babies who often have serious long-term health problems such as cerebral palsy and impaired vision and hearing." Professor Barnett's study recorded weekly temperature, humidity and air pollution levels for each pregnancy. He said that the lowest risks were in the coolest weeks, and that warm temperatures with weekly means of 23°C were just as dangerous as the hottest weeks. "This could be because most pregnant women would be more conscious of trying to remain cool on the hottest days and would generally seek air conditioning," he said. While other studies have looked at the relationship between temperature and pre-term births the QUT study is the first to investigate the relationship between temperature and stillbirth. Professor Barnett said as global temperatures rise, the study could have serious public health implications. "Pregnant women should protect themselves from overheating to reduce the likelihood of pre-term or stillbirths," he said. "Stillbirths are obviously devastating for families, and many stillbirths have an unknown cause so more research is needed to help prevent them. "It is known that women should avoid hot tubs or Jacuzzis during pregnancy as this can cause a pregnancy termination, and that dehydration caused by heat stress and sweating could be harmful to a foetus and induce birth." Professor Barnett's research paper 'Maternal Exposure to Ambient Temperature and the Risks of preterm Birth and Stillbirth in Brisbane, Australia', has just been published in the American Journal of Epidemiology http://is.gd/Iy1TXU. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

New tool tests for pesticides

RMIT University

“With diminishing water reserves and increasing pesticide use, our waterways are at growing risk of contamination." Image: NNehring/iStockphoto A rapid screening tool developed by an RMIT University doctoral researcher could enable the instant detection of pesticide residues in Australia’s water catchments. Dr David Beale investigated the development of a portable instrument for detecting the presence of commonly used pesticides in water as part of his PhD research in RMIT’s School of Applied Sciences. The method he developed enables the rapid screening of bulk waters using chemiluminescence – a highly-sensitive technique that allows the detection of minute quantities of an organic compound. “With diminishing water reserves and increasing pesticide use, our waterways are at growing risk of contamination,” Dr Beale said. “Typical pesticide monitoring involves collecting samples on site then taking them back to a laboratory for analysis, a process that can take several days. “By instantly identifying the presence of specific pesticide residues, this new method would enable water utilities to find out on the spot if a water catchment is contaminated. “With future development, I hope the tool could enable water utilities to monitor their catchments in-situ and in real time for a variety of pesticide classes.” The method developed by Dr Beale as part of his PhD can give an on-the-spot indicative reading identifying the presence of triazines, triazinone and selected organophosphates in water samples, with confirmation performed by traditional analytical techniques in a laboratory. Sensitive enough to detect minute traces of pesticide residues under the maximum levels set by Australian guidelines for safe drinking water, the method could be easily incorporated into a portable field instrument, which is the basis of further research at RMIT. “I hope my work could enable water utilities to catch any contamination earlier, as well as boosting the amount of testing conducted within our water catchments,” he said. A research scientist at the CSIRO, Dr Beale said his research focus drew on a long-standing interest in water. “For as long as I can remember, water has been an integral part of my life; my father worked as a master mariner, the family home was close to the ocean and as a teenager the ocean was my playground,” he said. “But it was not until I started university that I started to develop a greater appreciation of water as a resource and the impact humans have on its quality. “In my undergraduate environmental science degree I was exposed to small water quality research projects. “During my honours year, I realised the enormity of pesticide contamination in water and my attention shifted to the investigation of pesticide residue in drinking water – a topic that I continued to research during my PhD.” Dr Beale said his doctoral research had helped him build many skills that had contributed to his professional development, including the ability to self-motivate, methodically tackle problems and look for solutions, and communicate key findings to research peers and the broader community. “Undertaking a PhD is like journey – at the start you find yourself enthusiastic and optimistic to what lies ahead and as a new candidate, I started my journey with open eyes and high hopes to what could be achieved,” he said. “As the journey progresses I went through periods of doubt, anxiety and frustration as what I initially planned wasn’t as easy as I had envisioned. “However, through hard work and determination those challenges were overcome, which made completing my PhD so rewarding and fulfilling. “I now reflect back on this period in my life as one of transition – transitioning from an undergraduate to a research scientist, with the tools and collaborative network that can tackle any problem that is presented to me.” Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Athletes warming up wrong

Athletes warming up wrong

Victoria University

The research showed that static stretching decreased jumping performance by almost 8 per cent. Image: JenniferPhotographyImaging/iStockphoto Static stretching warm ups are being overused by athletes even though they can be counter-productive, according to Victoria University research. James Zois from Victoria University’s School of Sport & Exercise Science said too many athletes were using static stretching such as calf, quad and hip flex stretches just before competing even though it has been shown to reduce power. “It’s an epidemic: I see it at almost every AFL club, tennis match or international soccer event were athletes are stretching on the sidelines just prior to playing,” he said. “People just aren’t getting the message.” Mr Zois’ research showed static stretching decreased jumping performance by almost 8 per cent, while a more dynamic warm-up increased participants’ vertical jump by 3 per cent. Dynamic warm-ups included range of motion activities like high-knee raises, leg swings and run-throughs or change of direction tasks. Mr Zois said the study proved that, from a power point of view, static stretching was worse than no warm up at all. “It’s called a warm-up because its aim is to increase the metabolic processes, heart rate, muscle temperature and oxygen delivery to working muscles,” he said. “If you do anything passive, like static stretching, you actually reverse those processes and so are actually doing the opposite of a warm up.” With an almost 11 per cent difference between static and dynamic stretching, Mr Zois said athletes could not afford to ignore the facts. “Too many athletes still use the counterproductive technique of static stretching during the warm-up”, he said. He said there was definitely a place for static stretching, particularly for those with chronic injuries or muscle stiffness concerns, but that it should not be a part of a normal athlete’s warm-up regime inside an hour of performance. Mr Zois has been working with the Collingwood Football Club to improve warm-up techniques and is currently Tennis Victoria’s strength and conditioning performance manager. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Courtroom Neuroscience Not Ready for Prime Time

by Sara Reardon 

 

Proof positive? New Royal Society report concludes that many fruits of neuroscience, such as this brain scan, aren't yet ready for use in legal proceedings.

Credit: National Institutes of Health

LONDON—The tantalizing prospect of using a brain scanner to determine whether a witness is lying, or a genetic analysis to determine whether a murder suspect is predisposed to commit violent crimes, are premature and unrealistic, according to a new report on neuroscience and the law presented today by the U.K. Royal Society. But neuroscientists might be able to provide evidence for determining whether head injuries are accidental, and whether a violent offender is likely to strike again.
As neuroscience advances, it's easy to see why lawyers are tempted to bring its tools into play on their clients' behalf, the report's authors say. "Neuroscience is engaged in understanding behavior and the law is engaged in regulating behavior," experimental psychologist Nicholas Mackintosh of the University of Cambridge, who headed the Royal Society's working group on neuroscience and the law, said at a press briefing last week. Although it's not known whether lawyers have brought mental health reports or brain imaging into U.K. courtrooms as evidence, mental health is used as a defence about 200 times per year in the United States, the report noted, especially in murder trials where the defendant may receive the death penalty.
One useful application of neuroscience in the courtroom would be the ability to detect lies by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). But at best, Mackintosh said, such imaging might be able to detect deliberate lies; it would be useless if a witness truly believed that he was telling the truth. That limitation hasn't stopped at least two U.S.-based companies from marketing such lie detectors, however, and "we take a singularly skeptical view of that," Mackintosh said. "Neuroscience, although very promising, is very young."
Legal expert Roger Brownsword of King's College London warns that, like forensic genetic evidence, neuroscientific evidence might be subject to "facile translations" by lay juries or the media. "The perceptions of jurors might be rather dangerous unless they've been tutored in what the science is," he said. Juries, for instance, could be too impressed by brain images presented in the courtroom if they don't understand their limitations.

The authors recommended that law schools and court systems do more to build "bridges" between scientists and those involved in the law. U.K. law schools, for instance, could provide courses on neuroscience like some U.S. law schools such as Yale University already do.
One area where Mackintosh said neuroscience does hold potential for providing "hard evidence" is in the area of risk assessment: determining which criminals, if released, are likely to reoffend. For instance, a gene that codes for monoamine oxidase (MAOA) has been touted as the "violence gene" because many violent criminals who were abused as children have one form of the gene. Although other genes and environmental factors are certainly involved, Mackintosh said, "If this gene even slightly increases the probability of reoffending, then that's what risk assessment is all about," he says. "It's at least something worth thinking about." All the same, he noted, "risk assessment is a risky business and is notoriously inaccurate."
Most neuroscientists and the Royal Society, however, reject the idea that "having a psychopathic brain" is a general defense against criminal charges. "It doesn't force you to behave in a criminal way," Mackintosh said.
Another question the report examined is the age at which children should be held fully responsible for crimes. In Britain, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old—one of the lowest in the world. This young age has been controversial in the past, particularly in several recent murder cases involving children, and, more recently, the spate of riots in August. While the Royal Society didn't take a position on what the age should be, Mackintosh said that "the science certainly suggests that a 10-year-old brain is immature in important respects. It also suggests there is huge individual variation," and that therefore other factors should be considered. Perhaps, he added, "there should not be an arbitrary cutoff age for criminal responsibility."
Other ways in which neuroscience might be closer to bearing fruit in the courtroom are in determining whether a baby's head injury is accidental or a result of shaken baby syndrome, Mackintosh said. Pathologists are more or less agreed on which symptoms constitute evidence of shaking in a baby more than 6 months old, but it is controversial whether these same criteria can diagnose abuse in younger infants. Researchers are also studying whether brain scans could one day be used to determine whether the amount of pain a person reports is actually being felt, or if that person is malingering for the purpose of getting government benefits. Mackintosh cautions that reported pain does not always correlate with the actual extent of an injury and many other mental phenomena are coming into play.

Source: Science
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/12/courtroom-neuroscience-not-ready.html?ref=em&elq=08be7fd7d8a4493d86107c6f8c2d9d43

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

General Admission

“One party is very jealous while looking at Janaka welcoming everybody. The place was so crowded on the inside and out that one cannot describe it.” (Janaki Mangala, 13)
janakahiṃ eka sihāhiṃ dekhi sanamānata |
bāhara bhītara bhīra na banai bakhānata ||
You work hard, play by the rules, administer to the needs of your close family members and are responsible with money so that you can have a comfortable establishment that is the home. The association with the spouse, relatives and children comes together when there is a nice gathering place, a dwelling you can call “home”. The more inviting the establishment the more people will want to visit. The more people that come over the more satisfied you feel about the life that you work so hard to maintain. While the quality of the erected structure may draw the attention of others, what will keep them coming back is the quality of the inhabitants, the hosts who welcome the guests and provide them a pleasurable experience. One person in particular had such good qualities that when he hosted a wedding ceremony for his daughter, the number of people that came from around the world could not be counted. However long their journey was and whatever crowds they had to sift through to attend this event, the effort was worth it.
Despite your best attempt to establish a comfortable dwelling, you are not the only one living this lifestyle. Many others, especially those following religious principles, accept the grihastha ashrama, the second stage of life as delineated by the Vedas, the scriptural texts providing guidance on all aspects of life since the beginning of time. An ashrama is a spiritual institution, so even the time one spends married and raising children is meant for the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, with the consciousness ideally ascending to the platform of detachment from the rigors of daily life, which is filled with constant ups and downs.
Remaining detached is very difficult, because with each successful outcome comes a realization of just how difficult the effort was. At least for those living In America, buying a new home is not easy at all, especially if there are thirty years of mortgage payments one has to assume responsibility for upon purchase. It’s one thing to enroll in school knowing that you have to attend classes for a certain number of years or accept the responsibility of a child for the first eighteen years of their life, but the mortgage on the house purchase is there for thirty years. Surely you can sell the house at any time, but if you want to continue living there, you better deliver the goods month after month for many, many years.
Knowing the difficulty in securing material possessions - especially in an advanced technological age where the simple, rural lifestyle is shunned as being outdated - it’s very easy to become attached to what you do have. Moreover, if you have a system in place to provide the comforts in life going forward, if anything should happen to threaten the vitality of that system, tremendous disappointment and fear will arise. This can only happen when there is attachment, for if we don’t care about something, how can we be sad when it disappears from our vision?
Adding further complexity to the mix is envy, seeing someone else in your field surpassing you. In family life, the worthiness of the home is established in part by how many guests come over and how welcome they feel. It is one thing to invite people to the home, but it is another to have them want to come over.
The householder is given a specific responsibility in the Vedas. They are to first feed the Supreme Lord through offering sumptuous food preparations, whatever can be made. If a man is wealthy and has time, he can offer elaborate preparations, and if one is not well off they can even offer something simple like a flower, fruit or some water. The Supreme Lord in His personal form of Krishna validates that such offerings are accepted, provided that the mood of the devotee is proper.

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

In some households, tradition calls for worship of other divine figures, those who work directly under Krishna to provide targeted benefits to their devotees. Though every ashrama is meant for reaching the final goal of full detachment from material life and complete attachment to the lotus feet of Krishna, it is unavoidable to have some fears over the potential obstructions that may arise and the loss of fortune. Therefore demigod worship has been popularly patronized since the beginning of time. The householder, if they are so inclined, can offer the remnants of Krishna’s prasadam to such figures and thus maintain their family traditions.
More importantly, when prasadam is fed to guests, the Lord’s mercy is distributed all around. Taking care of a guest is part of dharma, or religiosity, as is described in the Mahabharata. While many people inherently know to treat guests properly, to learn that hospitality falls in line with one’s gradual progression towards a purified consciousness validates the behavior. As is the case with any endeavor, however, there is bound to be jealousy. If we see someone else who has more people coming to their house regularly, we might feel inferior. “What do they have that we don’t? Why can’t people come to our home instead?”
These envious feelings increase when the viewing eyes believe that their dwelling is more opulent or that they are more deserving of attention because of their standing in society. Add to the mix a royal palace, which is expected to be viewed with awe and reverence, and you can see why so many kings were jealous of Maharaja Janaka many thousands of years ago. He lived during a time when dedication to Vedic principles was very high. Though he was a ruler, Janaka was not attached to anything about material life. He went through the rules and regulations as a matter of procedure, for he had no need to purify his consciousness. This shows that even one who is above the work prescribed to those desiring fruits to their action accepts obligations to set a good example for the rest of society.
While Janaka certainly had a kingdom worth visiting, what really drew attention to his home on one particular occasion was his chivalry, knowledge of the Vedas, and general love for humanity. He also had a beautiful daughter who was considered the goddess of fortune on earth, and in reality she was the goddess of fortune from heaven, appearing on earth to take part in the real-life play that would later be called the Ramayana.
Named Sita because the king found her as a baby coming out of the earth, when Janaka’s daughter reached an age appropriate for marriage, the king decided to hold a svayamvara, or self-choice ceremony, to decide her nuptials. The planning for Sita’s svayamvara can’t be compared to how weddings are organized today. If you don’t own a large plot of land, you’re limited in the number of guests you can invite. Plus, if you have to rent out a hall, the complexity of per head charges and a minimum number of guests gets thrown into the mix. With some modern weddings the host worries about either having enough people to fill the minimum seat requirement or trying to cap the number of guests so as to not go over the maximum occupancy limit reserved for the price range that they’re willing to meet.
For Janaka there were no such concerns, for he was the ruler of a majestic kingdom in Tirahuta. He could accommodate as many guests as desired to come. There was no need for making elaborate arrangements in that regard, as anyone who wanted to attend was allowed. Since Janaka was known as Videha, or bodiless, and since both he and his daughter were of the topmost quality, practically all the kings from around the world attended the svayamvara. They loaded up the caravan with their royal paraphernalia and entourage and made the trek to Janaka’s city.
In the above referenced verse from the Janaki Mangala, Goswami Tulsidas is continuing his description of the scene on the day the kings arrived. Though a self-choice ceremony, the occasion of Sita’s marriage was more a contest. In the central arena, or marked earth [rangabhumi], was a very heavy bow initially belonging to Lord Shiva. Whoever could lift the bow would win Sita’s hand in marriage. The bow was so heavy and there were so many arriving princes that from afar the line looked like a conveyor belt forming. One person was arriving, another was stepping up to the bow, another was trying to lift it, and another was going back to sit down after having failed to even move it.
While this was going on, King Janaka was welcoming the many guests. There was a huge crowd both on the inside and outside of the city. Some arriving kings couldn’t help but look at Janaka with envy. How can they be blamed for this? If you have an opulent kingdom filled with every material amenity, you will naturally want others to visit it and be welcomed. The President of the United States throws elaborate State Dinners for this very purpose. Yet Janaka wasn’t even trying to host any one person in particular. He was just holding a marriage ceremony for his daughter and then so many people showed up. Because of the attention he got, the other kings felt defeated by Janaka, which actually wasn’t a bad thing.
Why is this? For starters, the fact that Janaka welcomed everyone added to his stature as a pious king. In addition, if you look around you, there are so many people that are candidates for receiving high blessings and honors. The fact that the honor of hosting the most widely attended wedding in history was bestowed upon Janaka meant that he was worthy of it. The source of his worthiness would prove to be an invaluable educational tool for others. Janaka’s real wealth was his love for Sita, who is God’s wife in the spiritual world. Janaka’s love was pure too; he wanted nothing from his daughter, though Sita can turn even the poorest man into a millionaire in a second.
Janaka received spiritual wealth from being able to love Sita with parental affection. She was the goddess of fortune to him through her association, which would subsequently bring Lord Rama’s company as well. Rama is the Supreme Lord Himself, who is eternally linked to Sita in the spiritual world. Not surprisingly, Rama would arrive on the scene and lift the bow without a problem. He would give the massive general admission crowd their money’s worth. For even the jealous kings the event was worth attending, for they got to see Sita wed Rama, an event which is still talked about to this day. Janaka, by remaining pious and hosting a number of guests too large to count, took part in the largest prasadam distribution known to man. He distributed spiritual food for the eyes, which then turned into mental images that the onlookers would never forget.
In Closing:
Guests to the home one likes to invite,
Hope that in hospitality they delight.
Others with more guests makes one jealous,
“What could their home possibly have on us?”

With king increased is responsibility,

To host unlimited guests kingdom’s ability.
Many kings did Janaka to home welcome,
Size of crowd in and out just awesome.
Jealous kings the reward of their eyes to take,
When Sita wedded Rama, who bow did break.

Three Reasons Why Your Employees Are Quitting

Are you having trouble retaining employees and are not sure why? These reasons may shed some light on the situation. Learn how you can make positive changes in your company to keep your top employees!
INC shares…
1. The business grew—and so did your ego. Early on you were hesitant, unsure, and filled with doubt; those feelings come with the entrepreneurship territory. You worked closely with key employees and naturally shared some of your feelings. Those employees didn’t see you as weak. Instead they respected your honesty and openness, enjoyed the professional and personal connection, and felt good knowing you relied on them. Then you landed major customers, built a solid revenue base, and started to believe your own hype. Key employees knew you before you were “somebody.” Make sure they always get to see the real person behind your brand shell, because that’s the person they want to work with.
2. A cool startup became a corporation. Growth naturally results in some amount of processes, procedures, and systems. Running to another person’s office with a great idea got replaced by your Monday strategy meetings. Following a hunch and taking a chance on an unproven vendor got replaced by your formal RFP process. “All hands on deck” got replaced by formal job descriptions and meaningless battles over turf. Key employees typically hate processes and procedures, especially when early on anything went—and often worked. Building too many systems and imposing too many constraints, especially without getting input from key employees, makes your best employees start to reminisce about the good old days… and eventually leave.
3. The sky is no longer the limit. Dreaming is fun. Entrepreneurs dream. So do employees. In time some dreams become reality while others are clearly no longer possible. Great employees may not know what they want to do two, five, or 10 years from now, but they want to know they have possibilities. When your business matures and the only promotion left is replacing you, those possibilities disappear. You may not be able to change that fact, but you can talk openly about it. Ask key employees for their ideas. Ask how you can help them feel they are still progressing. If a great employee feels every other door is closed, they’ll head for the exit door.
Get more information at INC!

Book on teen brains can help improve decision making

Teenage brains undergo significant changes and will look or function like adult brains well into their 20s. In the first book on the adolescent brain and development of higher cognition, a Cornell professor helps highlight recent neuroscience discoveries about how the brain develops their implications for real-world problems and how we teach young people and prepare them to make healthy life choices. For the new book, "The Adolescent Brain: Learning, Reasoning, and Decision Making" (APA Books), Valerie Reyna, professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology and co-director of Cornell's Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research, brought together an interdisciplinary group of leading scientists to focus on brain development and higher cognition, which is necessary for students to learn math and science and make good decisions. Higher cognition is the thinking skills students use to manipulate information and ideas in ways that lead to problem-solving and new insights.

"A major implication of the provocative research highlighted in this book is the contrast between adolescents' cognitive skills, which are at a lifetime peak, and their frequent inability to use this competence in everyday decision-making," said Reyna, who co-edited the volume with Sandra Chapman, director of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas; Michael Dougherty, professor of psychology at University of Maryland; and Jere Confrey, professor of mathematics education at North Carolina State University.

"But the evidence suggests that the way young people learn, reason, and decide can be changed," said Reyna. "We must move education beyond rote learning to fostering the cognitive skills essential for academic achievement and economic well-being in our knowledge-based economy. Higher cognition is critical for individuals and our country to be competitive. This volume introduces a new framework for interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists in neuroscience, psychology and education."

"The Adolescent Brain" addresses the major changes in memory, learning and decision-making experienced by adolescents as they mature, beginning with a review of the changes in brain anatomy and physiology based on extensive neuroimaging studies. The ensuing chapters examine the adolescent brain's developing capacity, covering topics such as intelligence and problem-solving, strategies for training teen reasoning abilities, effectively teaching mathematical concepts, the effects of emotion on reasoning, and factors that promote teen engagement in health-related behaviors.

The book wraps up with a chapter by Reyna and Ph.D. student Christina Chick that integrates the behavioral and neuroscience evidence in a process model of adolescent risky decision making. Chick and Reyna explain, for example, how massive pruning of gray matter in late adolescence fits with the growth of adolescents' ability to connect the dots and understand the underlying meaning of situations. This gist thinking facilitates recognition of danger and protects against unhealthy risk-taking, they say.

The book is intended for researchers, students and professionals in cognitive neuroscience and psychology and for education policymakers and educators, especially in mathematics.

More information: Reyna will present a talk on the "Adolescent Brain" March 1 at 4-5:30 p.m., 160 Mann Library.

Provided by Cornell University

"Book on teen brains can help improve decision making." December 16th, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-teen-brains-decision.html

Posted by

Robert Karl Stonjek

Language Learning

“The holy name of Krishna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krishna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krishna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows.” (Padma Purana)
You’re heading to a new country, but they speak a different language, so your excitement is a little tempered. There is so much you want to see and so many places you want to go, but in order to get around you need to make sure that you can ask for simple things. For instance, what if you want to take a taxi to a specific destination? What if you want to go to a restaurant? Better yet, what if you want to find out what that restaurant is serving, what their menu is like? Rather than carry a dictionary for translating or rely on your mobile phone’s app to do the quick conversion, a better option is to immerse yourself in the new language by listening to tapes. Coupled with the hearing is recitation, repeating the sentences and phrases you’ll need to utter when you go to the new country. Oddly enough, this simple formula can be used to find spiritual enlightenment as well.
How does this work exactly? For starters, the recitation program for learning a new language is effective for a reason. You can try to memorize the words and phrases you’ll need to invoke, but that information is very easy to forget. The process is like placing something into your memory that never gets extracted. It is sometimes said that certain people have better memory than others, but that is actually not the case. Memory increases with remembrance; a revelation that shouldn’t be earthshattering. If you have a specific incident or day in your life that you revert back to constantly within your mind, you will have no problem remembering it on the spot, should the occasion come up in conversation. On the other hand, someone else who was with you on that memorable day may not have ever gone back in time in their mind and relived the experience. Therefore, for them, remembering the incident will be very difficult.
If the foreign language is studied only theoretically, there is not much chance for forced remembrance. For starters, when would the need to invoke the words put to memory ever arise? If your time is spent speaking a specific language by necessity, why would you take the mental effort to think of a different language? Necessity is the mother of invention, so without a pressing need for speaking the new language, the relevant words won’t be remembered. The method of learning through hearing and speaking allows for the tongue to become accustomed to the phrases and the pronunciation. It’s almost like singing a song. You may not know what you are singing sometimes, but since you have heard the song enough, the specific lines start to play in your head. The repetition is so frequent and natural that it sounds like the song is actually playing for real on the outside.
Through enough practice, even the driver learns to operate their vehicle without applying conscious thought. You can drive to work every day without paying attention to the turns, the time, or your location on the road. This doesn’t mean that you are asleep or that you’re not able to deal with unexpected situations on the road. Rather, your brain has just been programmed, through enough practice, to automatically account for red lights, changes in the speed of the traffic, and the proper exits to take and streets on which to turn.

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.19)

Life’s most difficult task is to become reacquainted with God. This fact is confirmed through both outward perception and the authorized instruction passed on by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We accept Krishna as God because the Vedas tell us as much, and since the Vedas provide so much other valuable information, we trust the information they provide. One person may be skeptical of the existence of God and the statements pointing to the fact in scripture and another person may believe in the same statements completely, but authority is presented in either situation. One person says to be religious and another says don’t, and they are both making assertions that they hope others will follow. Authority is determined locally by the individual’s trust in a particular entity and their words. The relevant entity’s position of authority is established through a track record of delivering on what is promised, on proving that your words are true.
In this respect the followers of the Vedas take the sacred texts of India and the people who sincerely follow its teachings as authority sources because of the effectiveness of the recommendations passed on. The Vedic seers all agree that in the present age of Kali, the fourth and final period of each cycle of creation, the only means for salvation is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. The skeptic will scoff at the suggestion to chant, considering it to be a mechanism targeted for the unintelligent who don’t know how to fill the void in their life. The skeptic might also take the recommendation to be dogmatic insistence aimed at converting the world to a specific religion.
Those who accept the Vedas, Krishna, and His treatise on spirituality known as the Bhagavad-gita as authority follow the chanting routine because it turns out to be extremely effective. The practice makes one an actual believer in God versus just a blind follower. Is one worse than the other? Shouldn’t believing in God be enough? Will not that safeguard from going to hell? Belief in the Almighty means that you acknowledge His existence, whereas chanting His names in a loving mood makes you aware of His capabilities, qualities, activities and divine nature. Familiarity with these features is far superior to basic acknowledgment because of the interaction of emotion it allows for. In every other area of endeavor, the experience is enhanced when emotions can be exchanged, when there can be vulnerability introduced and reliance on the target of service. Why should these properties be absent in spiritual life?
Finding and accepting real religion is so difficult precisely because the blissful exchange of emotion is missing in the lower rungs of worship. When learning the basics of the new language, putting to memory certain words will not automatically make them easier to remember. The mind drifts off to new areas of interest at every second, so to rein in the mind is very difficult. As a result, just accepting God’s existence and then never remembering Him doesn’t really do anything for consciousness, our state of being. On the other hand, chanting His names regularly at least makes the tongue familiar with the sound vibration representation of the Absolute Truth.
”Chant the holy names and you’ll gradually awaken sublime wisdom within the heart”, is the recommendation. The effectiveness of the chanting method can only be realized when the process is trusted and acted upon. This isn’t that difficult to do, as we extend faith to so many people already. We trust the airline pilot to take us safely to the intended destination, the pharmacist to not mess up when making our prescription drugs, the leader of the country to not destroy our economic system and make everyone destitute, and so on.
The person hesitant to accept the recommendations of the Vedas supports their viewpoint by relying instead on the past evidence of so many religious cheaters, who were either zealots looking to scare people or were simply after money. But upon second look we see that there is no cost imposed with the chanting recommendation. There is no loss on the worshiper’s part. Words are already spoken and songs already sung, so why not dedicate some time to reciting the most sacred formula? Chanting is a much better option than immersing oneself in literature that is difficult to understand or visiting a place of worship on a regular basis and not understanding what is going on. Active participation is what keeps the consciousness immersed in spiritual life, allowing for future remembrance to take place without difficulty.
To add further authority to the Vedic recommendation for chanting, there are countless historical personalities who followed the chanting routine and found complete happiness. From connecting with God in a mood of love, the spark of devotion lights up within the individual. This then leads to further anticipation in connecting with the beloved Krishna, who is the Supreme Lord in His form that displays His transcendental features fully. The sunlight, the wind, the amazing outer space and the incomprehensible material nature are but partial manifestations of Krishna’s energies, impersonal features that show that He exists. Just as the clouds part to reveal the splendor of the sun, when the ignorance borne of material contact dissipates, the individual soul sees the Supreme Lord in His blissful position, ready to connect with all His sons and daughters.
The holy name is the best way to awaken and maintain that connection, and the best way to hold on to the holy name is to hear it as often as possible. To hear it regularly, one can simply chant it. In this way even if the names of Krishna and Rama are foreign, as Sanskrit is the oldest language in the world, one gradually learns them and can invoke them without a problem. Chanting and hearing open the door to the world of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, which is man’s real business, to be readily engaged in service to the one entity who is most deserving of it. Chanting, hearing, offering prayers, reading books, congregating with fellow devotees - these activities make up the bhakti discipline. Yoga provides a better future condition, one which takes care of both body and mind. Bhakti is the culmination of yoga practice, as it deals with the consciousness, which is the key ingredient to happiness.

“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 9.14)

Whether one is rich or poor, alone or with family, at work or relaxing, the consciousness can be trained to connect with Krishna through His names, thus resulting in a peaceful condition. Focusing on consciousness makes the difficult task of God realization a lot easier. All of these hidden secrets are revealed to those who take a sincere interest in Vedic teachings, the most important of which are presented by Krishna Himself in the Bhagavad-gita. In that work the Lord says that the devotees are always chanting His glories, dedicating their work to Him.
Hearing and repeating the phrases of the new language allows for quickly gaining a basic ability to survive in a foreign country. As God is the original proprietor, the person who has the rightful claim to all property, this entire world is His home. The language used to connect with Him is divine love, and the chanting of His names allow anyone to learn that language very quickly. The maha-mantra is the perfect prayer because it is free of personal desires, such as those relating to sensual enjoyments, the alleviation of distress through annihilation of material activity, knowledge of the absolute, and mystical perfection.
“The foreign language tapes just cover the basics, but in order to really learn I need to immerse myself in the new city and culture. How do I do that with Krishna?”
Chanting and hearing allow entry into bhakti-yoga, which can be practiced anywhere. Therefore there is no need to travel far to become immersed in the ancient art of divine love, which is the real business of the soul. The recommendation of the topmost Krishna devotees, the exalted spiritual masters, is that one chant the maha-mantra on a set of japa beads at least sixteen rounds a day coupled with abstention from meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex. The routine of bhakti-yoga allows for sufficient time to be spent in connecting with God, with the mind sober throughout the experience. The sober experience is easier to remember and more effective in changing consciousness. The spiritually surcharged consciousness then looks for more and more outlets to exercise devotion, thus paving the way for bhava, or full transcendental ecstasy. Since these changes can take place in any person at any time and at any place, the benevolence of bhakti and its beneficiary are revealed. The authority of bhakti’s greatest champions is also well-established. With all bases covered, why not at least try chanting Krishna’s names and become familiar with the language of divine love?
In Closing:
In foreign city’s culture one must immerse,
In order to get by, with others converse.
Rather than on dictionary and mobile apps’ suite,
Purchase language tapes and new phrases repeat.
From following this method faster you will learn,
So getting food and directions no concern.
In grander scheme of God we must know,
From bhakti knowledge and attachment’s seed grow.

The holy names recited with love bhakti’s language,

Accept this path for brightest future to salvage.