Saint Priscilla (Patron Saint of Homemakers)

Saint Priscilla

Patron Saint: Homemakers

Also known as: Prisca

Born: Early first century

Died: Mid - late first century. Martyred in Rome

Why she is venerated by the Holy Roman Catholic Church:

Married to St. Aquila

Converted to Christianity during the time in Rome when it was illegal

Used her home as a church

Martyr

Biblical References:

Acts 18

Romans 16

Timothy 4

Corinthians 16

Fast Food Forward?

When I walk into a Mcdonalds, I'm usually greeted by a young man or woman learning the ropes about work. We all worked in fast food, bussed tables, or had entry level jobs which taught us work ethic and the value of the dollar.

None of us expected to get rich off these jobs. We were making minimum wage. We expected to move onto another job which would teach us and pay us more.

Entry level jobs aren't designed to become a career. There's alot of turnover, and a spot is almost always open for the next batch of high school students.

The problem we're facing now is that for some, the entry level job is becoming a career.

In comes the grassroots protest movement: Fastfood Forward.

Fastfood Forward is made up of around 200 fastfood employees. Their demands?

• $15 an hour
• Unionization
• Full Benefits

What's wrong with this picture?

The same people protesting could find themselves out of a job. If Mcdonalds had to pay someone $15 an hour, provide full benefits, and deal with a Union, theyre going to be extremely selective of who they hire. It will be a golden privilege to work at Mcdonalds.

The employees at this new Mcdonalds will most likely be qualified salespeople. Mcdonalds will have to generate significant revenue to pay these kinds of wages.

Competition will be fierce. Resumes will come from all over. People will move from one state to another to take advantage of Mcdonald's job opportunities.

Unemployment rates for high school kids will rise dramatically. It will be much harder for a high school kid to find a job, and competition will be fierce on that as well.

Prices will go up. A value meal won't be $7 - $8 dollars. It will be more like $15 - $16.

We're already re-thinking fast food because we're trying to eat healthier. We're not going to Mcdonalds if prices are too high.

There's already several politicians supporting the protests. I'm sure these protests are going to expand as time goes on. There will be unintended consequences for this, and we're all going to end up paying for it if this happens.

Falling off the Fiscal Cliff

John Stossel did a piece on the spending of the Federal Government. Below is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdgyJ6styW4

It's called the Money Hole. I'm shocked by how politicians spend our hard-earned money.

Some of these "grants" include:

• Testing how fast shrimp run on treadmills
• Massive Alpaca farming tax deductions
• Robots that fold laundry
• And many many more

Why are we paying for this stuff?

Government just loves to spend money. It's easy to spend other people's money, especially when you can print more when you've gone over budget.

Is this how we got to the Fiscal Cliff?

I wonder what would happen if we fell off the Fiscal Cliff. It will probably mean that the Government will be forced to spend a little less. That's it.

It's a good start. Anything is better than this deficit. No country is able to sustain this. Look at Greece!

Our children and grandchildren will be paying back our deficit many years from now. Maybe falling off the Fiscal Cliff is just what we need.

Romney Didn't Inspire Us

The Presidential election came and went in a New York minute. In less than an hour, both Republicans and Democrats were shocked. Everyone thought it was going to be so close. It wasn't.

Why?

Romney didn't inspire us. Plain and simple. It had nothing to do with demographics, the mandate on the Catholic Church, gay rights or even the economy. Romney just didn't inspire us.

Reagan inspired us. His ability to transcend party lines couldn't be quantified. George W Bush had a similar ability, albeit not nearly as special. We liked and trusted him. We gave him two terms.

Obama was the Reagan for the 2008 Democrat party. He inspired us. We gave him a term. He didn't however inspire us in 2012, but neither did Romney. Obama was the incumbent. He won because people didn't want to change. They were uninspired.

Now the Democrat party is trying to eliminate the Republican party. They want to reign Republicans in and turn them into the Democrat party. Democrats are saying that Republicans need to change their focus, and try to get votes from all the different demographics.

We aren't statistics. We're people. We aren't demographics. We're human beings. The Republicans don't need to change, or focus energies on attracting specific demographic blocks. We need a leader who inspires all of us.

Patrick
www.apostle.com

Saint Patricia (Patron of Naples)

Also Known as: St. Patricia of Naples

Patron Saint: Naples

Memorial: August 25th

Born: Early - Mid 600s, Modern Turkey

Died: 665 in Naples, Italy

Why she is venerated by the Holy Roman Catholic Church:

Noblewoman who fled an arranged marriage to protect her virginity for God

Pilgrim

Nun of Rome

Miracles:

In the Monastery of Santa Patrizia in Naples, a vial of her blood can be found. Every few years the blood miraculously liquefies and then slowly returns to it's former state.

http://apostle.com/medals/silver-patron-saints/female/saint-patricia-figurine-medal-patron-of-naples

Saint Nicole (Patron of Lost Family Members)

Patron Saint: Loss of Family Members

Name Means: Victorious Army

Also Known as: St. Colette of Corbie

Born: January, 1381

Died: March, 1447 of Natural Causes

Beautified: 1604 by Pope Clement VIII

Canonized: May, 1807

We must faithfully keep what we have promised. If through human weakness we fail, we must always without delay arise again by means of holy penance, and give our attention to leading a good life and to dying a holy death. May the Father of all mercy, the Son by his holy passion, and the Holy Spirit, source of peace, sweetness and love, fill us with their consolation. Amen. 
- Saint Colette, in her spiritual testament to her sisters

Why she is venerated by the Holy Roman Catholic Church:

Franciscan Tertiary

Hermitess and Visionary: - Remained in a cell for days on end with just a window and enough water to subsist. She did this to free herself of outside influence and focus entirely on her visions

Vision of St. Francis of Assisi instructing her to re-establish the Poor Claires, who spread the Message of Christ as missionaries, but did not accept money from anyone

Ecstacy: Was devout in the Passion of Christ, would Meditate and Pray for days experienceing constant and intense visions of Christ

Prophetess: Foretold the day of her death

Life of a Saint:

Founded the Colletines branch of the Poor Claires

Missionary

Founded 14 Convents

Aided in the Healing the French Papal Schism, and is partially responsible for the returning of the Catholic Church to Rome in the late 1300's

Saint Monica (Patron Saint of Disappointing Children)

"Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled".

The Conversion of Augustine - St. Monica

Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine was born to Christian parents in North Africa, year 333 A.D.

Monica was married at a young age to a man named Patritius who was an alcoholic and considered of bad repute. Patritius however, knew of Monica's piousness and held her in a very high regard. Saint Monica bore 3 of his children, the first being Augustine.

Saint Augustine was never Baptised because Patritius who was a Pagan, did not allow it. Augustine in his childhood was a troublemaker. Monica was forced, according to scripture, to "wrestle with God for his soul" It was during this time that Saint Monica was able to convert Patritius to Christianity and to give up his ways of debauchery. Augustine however fell deeper into sin.

Patritius died shortly after he converted and Monica vowed never to marry again. Monica devoted a great deal of her time to saving Augustine's soul.

Augustine fled to Rome without her knowledge and when she found out, chased after him. During a Divine Vision she recieved, she was told where to find him. When she did find him, she sought the help of a Holy Bishop that gave Augustine his Baptism. She shared six months of peace with him, and he was captured by such great emotion it changed his life. Augustine from that day forward, was prepared to dedicate his life to the service of God.

Memoriai: August 27th

Born: 332 AD, Algeria

Died: 387 AD, Italy

Additional Patronages: Disappointing Children, Difficult Marriages, Victims of Unfaithfulness and Widows

Why she is venerated by the Holy Roman Catholic Church:

Converted St. Augustine from a life of sin to Christ

Converted Abusive husband to Christ

Exceptional amount of time spent in prayer trying to convert both

Spiritually advised by St. Ambrose