Well, after my last blog, I had the most interesting email from Peter O’Connor – a Brisbanite, which makes him a gentleman from Brisbane, Australia.

By the way, did you know there’s a category for the names used to indicate people’s geographic residency? There is. It’s demonym (origin, 1995 – 2000). Now you might be tempted to think the root here is demon (which is clearly not the case with our friend, Peter!) but it really comes from the Greek word “demos” which means people. Makes sense, right? Like Michigander, Floridian, or Montanan (but not in reference to Joe Montana (aka Comeback Kid”) – he was a San Franciscan or a 49’er depending on how you look at it!). He was a football player.

(Did you know football (and soccer and rugby, too) may have originated from an ancient rough and tumble Greek game called “harpaston”?  It involved two teams, and the actual play and scoring of points is quite similar to football today. You just never know, do you? History is so amazing!)

Ahem. I digress. (v – origin 1520 -30 – to move away from the main point in speaking or writing) Digression is a problem I have. And apparently it’s a very bad problem when you are a blogger. Did you know I am limited to word count?! “They” tell me a blog is supposed to be short and pithy (I’d define pithy for you complete with history but then I wouldn’t be pithy). But, when I researched “blog” I saw nothing about word count – not one word! However, I did discover the word “blog” is sometimes said to be a contraction, acronym, abbreviation, or slang expression for “web log.” Personally, I prefer the idea of a contraction the best (totally more fun), but then we would have to type it ‘blog – the apostrophe indicating the letters eliminated. Now that I think of it, there are several contractions in this ‘blog which is becoming non-pithy by the minute. Maybe you can find them and figure out which letters the apostrophe represents…and then, maybe not.

In his email, Peter gave me the etymology of my last name “Conner” and it was quite interesting – I’d tell you about it but word count allows me only to say that it has quite a bit to do with Irish Chieftains. Anyway, after reading Peter’s email, I started thinking about names. What’s in a name, I asked myself. So I decided to find out.

The Old English meaning for the word name (then nama or noma, from the Latin nomen, as in nomenclature – now that’s a good word!) gives us a clue. It is closely linked to the concept of “reputation.” And that really tells us something!

Far from following trends as we see today, names in ancient times had special significance and importance and were meant to tell us something about the person himself. 

Names were often selected in light of the hopes, dreams, or desired qualities to be exhibited by the person being named.  And sometimes the name represented a significant event in the life of the tribe or family. Other times it indicated an obvious characteristic about the person as was the case with Job’s daughters who were known to be “the fairest in all the land” (for example, his oldest daughter’s name was Jemima which means resembling a clear day as in connoting its brilliance).

But in all cases, the name was representative of its bearer, almost like his duplicate or counterpart. In a sense, the name was a type of prophetic utterance every time it was spoken.  (Brings new insight to praying the Sign of the Cross and ending our prayer “We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Cool, huh?)

In Scripture, we even see God change the name of a person as in the case of Abram (“exalted father”) whom He named Abraham (“father of a multitude”), and Miryam or Mary (“wished for child”) who became Full of Grace (an indication about her very essence). Jesus changed the name of Simon (“he heard”) to Peter (“rock”).  And Saul (“he asked for”) was changed to Paul (“little,” which perhaps indicated his humility upon conversion).

Oh dear! I am at 705 words now (including these, it’s 8 more and trying to keep you informed of my word count only adds more – you see what a problem this is!!!! So, I have to stop – RIGHT NOW!  I’m nearly corybantic over this thing and soooo tempted to define this word for you and tell you all about it, but…..STOP, Lexi, STOP!

And yet, good manners prevents me – absolutely prevents me, I say to the “Theys” of the world! – from signing off without thanking Peter, our Aussie Brisbanite.

Thanks, Peter O’Connor (“Rock from an Irish Chieftain!), for giving me an opportunity to explore names! You made my day – and this ‘blog!

Linguistically yours,
Lexi

P.S. Do you think there are “word count” police? Hmmmmmm…….

The Hill is reporting that Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) has introduced the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act (H.R. 2030) which makes it illegal for crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to “deceive” women who are seeking information about their pregnancy. Pro-abortion lawmakers and the abortion lobby have long accused the centers of advertising abortion services to attract patients, and then trying to convince them to keep their babies.

“Women shouldn’t be deliberately misled or coerced when they seek legitimate medical services,” Maloney said. “While I will defend crisis centers’ First Amendment rights even though I disagree with their view of abortion, those that practice bait-and-switch should be held accountable so that pregnant women are not deceived at an extremely vulnerable time in their lives.”

The new law would authorize the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports of any misleading claims from CPCs in the same manner in which they investigate other consumer products and services.

Maloney’s bill currently has 12 co-sponsors, all Democrats, and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has introduced a companion bill in the Senate. .

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins calls the new bill a “witch hunt” against pregnancy resource centers which is intended to distract attention from the real problem – unregulated and unethical abortion clinics.

“It’s a defense mechanism–pure and simple,” Perkins writes. “While the rest of the country looks with shock on the inhumanity of born-alive abortion, Democrats in Congress are trying to crack down on a movement helping women to meet basic needs and make a safe and informed decision: pregnancy care centers.”

Maloney and Menendez are so intent on discrediting CPCs that they’re willing to expose their own hypocrisy to do so, Perkins says.

“If anyone’s in favor of full disclosure, it’s the pro-life movement! Unlike the Left, these centers tell moms what Planned Parenthood won’t: that there are ways of coping with unexpected pregnancies other than abortion. And unlike their competition, they don’t have a financial stake in the outcome! If Congress is going to scrutinize anyone, shouldn’t it be the groups actually profiting from their agenda?”

Instead, these lawmakers need to focus on the deception that is going on in their own clinics.

“Why aren’t its clinics required to admit, ‘We’ll encourage your underage daughters to have an abortion without your knowledge or consent’? Or, ‘Our employees willingly cover-up sexual abuse, defraud taxpayers, and never perform in-house mammograms?’ If anyone needs truth in advertising, it’s the industry telling mothers their baby is just ‘a blob of tissue’ or that late-term abortions are only performed in ‘life-threatening emergencies’.”

He concludes, “If Senator Maloney and pals want to bring some accountability to the process, then it’s time to look in the mirror–not at pro-lifers.”

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com

LifeSiteNews.com is reporting that a  new report issued by the Governor’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM) found that there were 103 more deaths than births in the state from July 2011 to July 2012.

Maine and West Virginia are the only states where deaths exceeded births during this period and marks the first time in 70 years that more people died in Maine than were born in a single year. The 12,694 births in 2011 was the lowest yearly total on record, dating back to 1940.

“The state’s birth rate has steadily fallen over the last 23 years, from 14.1 live births per 1,000 women in 1990 to 10.2 per 1,000 women today,” LifeSite reports.

Census data shows that Maine has the highest percentage of Baby Boomers in the country at 29.4 percent. The median age is 43 with just over 20 percent of the state’s population composed of people under the age of 18.

“A few aspects of Maine’s demographic picture stand out: an older population with a large number of baby boomers, relatively few children, and low numbers of racial and ethnic minorities,” the report states.

These numbers are bad news for the state’s economy.

“Business executives look at workforce availability when making plans for the future. In addition to information about the makeup of their current workforce, they look at how many working-age people will be available in the coming years,” the OPM report states.

The OPM is not the only report giving a warning about the state’s future outlook. The state’s Department of Labor issued a similar report entitled “The Maine Labor Force – Aging and Slowly Growing.”

“An aging, slowly growing population and the declining rate of residents participating in the labor force will result in slow labor force growth during the coming years,” the report stated. “No county will escape the demographic challenge posed by the aging work force.”

State Economist Amanda Rector agreed that the natural decreases are an economic challenge for the state.

“Population growth is directly related to economic growth,” she told the Portland Press Herald. “Businesses that want to move here or expand need to be able to fill their work force needs.”

Economists are hoping that improvements in the economy will spur the birth rate, which it often does. If not, the state may have to rely on bringing in people from other states or countries to fill their workplace needs.

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com

This legislation is the direct result of the horrific killing of infants that occurred in the West Philadelphia abortion clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and is designed to spare the unborn the kind of painful brutalities endured at the hands of late-term abortionists who kill babies born alive after abortions by snipping their spines with scissors, slitting their throats, or leaving them to die from neglect.

“The case of Kermit Gosnell shocked the sensibilities of millions of Americans,” Rep. Franks said. “However, the crushing fact is that abortions on babies just like the ones killed by Kermit Gosnell have been happening hundreds of times per day, every single day, for the past 40 years. Indeed, let us not forget that, had Kermit Gosnell dismembered these babies before they had traveled down the birth canal only moments earlier, he would have, in many places nationwide, been performing an entirely legal procedure. If America truly understands that horrifying reality, hearts and laws will change.”

A similar bill that applies only to the District of Columbia garnered a majority of the vote in the House in 2012. This new version will expand its scope to include the entire nation.

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is warning that pro-abortion groups are rallying their membership to call and email Congress to ask them to vote against the bill.

“Pro-abortion groups and their allies in Congress have made it clear that they intend to try to delay, obstruct, and defeat this bill,” the NRLC said, and is urging pro-life people to “send messages to your representative in the U.S. House and to your two U.S. senators, urging them to cosponsor H.R. 1797 or S. 886, if they have not already done so, and to urge its speedy passage.”

Click here to find contact information for your representatives.

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com

I’m happy to report that there is nothing New Age about origami.

Origami is considered a Japanese art form that involves the intricate folding of paper. It’s origin is under debate but most believe it came to Japan shortly after paper was introduced to that country by Buddhist monks which occurred in the sixth century AD.

According to the Origami Resource Center , paper was too expensive at first and origami was used sparingly. It was given only on formal occasions such as to accompany a valuable gift or to serve as a certificate of authenticity.

Another form of origami, Tsutsumi consisted of formal gift wrappers with ceremonial folds that symbolized sincerity and purity.

It was not until the 1890′s that the art was given the name origami.

“In the 1950, Akira Yoshizana and Sam Randlett developed a standard set of origami symbols to describe how to fold paper into models,” the Center reports. “These symbols remained essentially the same and are used in origami diagrams today.”

This statue of Sadako Sasaki stands in Naku-Ku, Hiroshima, Japan

One of the most moving legends associated with Origami is the story of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who was just two kilometers from ground zero during the bombing of Hiroshima. By the age of twelve, she had developed leukemia. A friend visited her in a hospital and taught her how to make a paper crane, telling her of an ancient Japanese belief that whoever folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted whatever they wish by the gods. She set to work folding cranes from whatever paper she could find in the hospital. However, she was only able to fold 644 cranes before her death. Her friends completed the rest of the 1,000, burying the cranes with her.

A statue of Sadako stands in the center of Seattle Peace Park as a memorial to the children who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and as a call for peace and an end to the ravages of war.

Send your New Age questions to newage@womenofgrace.com

Hymn to Saint Rita of Cascia

Come, virgins chaste; pure brides, draw near:
Let Earth exult and Heaven hear
The Hymn that grateful accents raise,
Our song of joy in Rita’s praise.

By fast her sinless frame is weak;
Her livid flesh the scourges streak.
In pity for her Savior’s woes,
Her days and even nights are closed.

The thorn-wound on her brow is shown,
The crimson rose in winter blown,
And full-ripe figs on frozen tree
At Rita’s wish the wonders see.

The widowed spouse and wedded wife
The way to heaven see in her life;
The way secure our Rita trod,
In life’s dim day, through paint o God.

Praise to the Father and the Son,
Praise to the Spirit, Three in One;
O grant us grace in heaven to reign
Through Rita’s prayer and life-long pain.

Thou hast signed thy servant Rita
With the sign of thy Love and Passion.

O God! who didst deign to confer on St. Rita for imitating Thee in love of her enemies, the favor of bearing her heart and brow the marks of Thy Love and Passion, grant we beseech Thee, that through her intercession and merit, we may, pierced by the thorns of compunction, ever contemplate the sufferings of Thy Passion, who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

This is the translation of the hymn of Lauds, office of Saint Rita, approved by Decree of S.C.R. 24 November 1900.

For Reflection: 

In this hymn to St. Rita, what most speaks to my heart? Why? If this were God’s word for me, what would be my response to Him?

According to the International Business Times, a video of the incident was shown on TV 2000, which is owned by the Italian bishop’s conference, and shows the pope placing his hands on the head of a boy in a wheelchair. While he prayed, the boy began to convulse and tremble. Other news reports said he then slumped forward in the chair.

Exorcists commented on the scene, saying the pope was “either reciting a prayer for freeing from the devil, or performing an exorcism.”

However, the Vatican was much more cautious in their assessment of the event.

“The Holy Father did not intend to perform any exorcism,” said spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi. “As he often does with sick and suffering people who are presented to him, he simply intended to pray for the suffering person.”

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com

KFOR in Oklahoma City is reporting that officials have now confirmed at least 24 dead and 233 injured by an historic tornado that nearly obliterated the Oklahoma City suburb town of Moore yesterday.

The National Weather Service issued an initial finding that the tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale, the second most-powerful type of twister.

As of this writing, the tornado, which at times was over a mile wide, also killed an unconfirmed number of children at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore. Search and rescue personnel say the children were hunkered down in a hallway when the tornado made a direct hit on the school, tearing off the roof and sending it crashing down on the children. Burst water pipes are said to have drowned some of the victims who were pulled from the rubble last night.

Other victims included a family four with a baby who tried to take shelter in a freezer when the tornado struck. There were no survivors.

Meanwhile, survivors are crowding into local hospitals in search of missing loved ones.

“Wait, that’s all we can do is wait,” Mark Troxell told KFOR yesterday.

The youngest of nine, Troxell is searching for his older brother Mark who was caught in the middle of the storm and hasn’t been heard from since.

“What I heard is he was opening the front door and then his house blew away,” Troxell said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of Oklahoma to supplement state recovery efforts in all areas affected by storms that struck the area beginning on May 18.

Local churches have set up shelters for homeless families and the Red Cross is in the area dispensing aid.

Anyone wishing to help victims is asked to make a donation to the American Red Cross by visiting to www.redcross.org/okc or www.redcross.org or texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com

The BSA is expected to take up its Membership Standards Resolution at its National Annual Meeting in Grapevine, Texas on May 24. This long-awaited meeting will see a resolution to a dilemma that has plagued the Scouts for years – whether or not to permit open and avowed homosexuals to become scouts and/or to lead troops.

As a compromise, BSA leaders developed new standards that would permit same-sex attracted scouts to join, but ban all homosexuals from serving as troop leaders or in other leadership positions.

The NCCS statement says that while those inclined toward homosexuality must be treated with dignity and respect, it has no intention of going along with any standard that violates Church teaching in troops that meet on its premises.

” . . . (T)he Church reserves the right to seek to place those who live by its teachings in leadership positions that serve our youth, as well as the right to continue to call our young people to live by the teachings of our faith and by moral truth which can be known by all.”

But if the Boy Scouts new resolution is only referring to scout membership, why does the NCCS statement focus on leadership positions which, according to the BSA, will remain the same?

Because many insiders know that these new resolutions will never stand up in court and will eventually be struck down, thus opening the door to homosexual scouting.

Cathy Ruse, Esq., Senior Fellow for Legal Studies at the Family Research Council, explains how this dissolution of the Boy Scouts will occur.

“The Boy Scouts allow older youth members to apply for leadership positions with significant authority over younger members in the troop,” she explains. “The proposed membership change would authorize open and avowed homosexuality on the part of older teens in leadership posts.”

Another reason is because the practical and legal result of a split membership policy will inevitably effect the policy on adult leaders as well.

“Practically speaking, if the resolution passes, open homosexuality will be officially consistent with the Scouting code throughout a Scout’s career until the moment he turns 18, when it suddenly becomes inconsistent with the code. Under the new policy, some action against the Scout will be required, but no troop leader would want to enforce such an irrational rule and few will. A de facto change in the rule for adults will occur almost immediately,” Ruse explains.

“What’s more, the new policy would forfeit the legal victory the Scouts won at the Supreme Court over a decade ago. When the organization was sued for unlawful discrimination because of its membership policy, the Court ruled in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale that the policy is constitutional under the Boy Scouts’ First Amendment speech and association rights. But if the Scouts’ new ‘speech’ is incoherent — open homosexuality is consistent with the Scouting code except when it isn’t — there will be no legal basis left for courts to uphold the prohibitory portion of the policy.”

The result?  “The Scouts will be sued, they will lose, and it will be impossible for them to continue to prohibit open and avowed homosexuality on the part of adult leaders,” Ruse writes.

The BSA is heading down a long and difficult road if it decides to change its policy. This is especially true because 72 percent of their chartering organizations, which are largely faith-based institutions such as Catholic parishes, oppose changing the policy.

“How can Catholic churches sponsor troops with leaders who live in open and avowed opposition to the truths of the Catholic faith and the teachings of its Church?” Ruse asks.

“It is a question that all Catholic delegates must ponder before they vote in Grapevine . . . .”

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                                                                                    -Henri Nouwen

For Reflection: 

When I pray rote prayers or participate at Mass, do I sound like an auctioneer moving quickly from item to item, or do I sound like a lover speaking to her beloved?