Pamela Q. Fernandes's Blog, page 6

92 A Call for Christian Unity

People maybe Christian but they’re not putting Jesus or their Christian beliefs first.

Hanael Bianchi

Who is Hanael Bianchi?

Hanael Bianchi is a history professor at a community college in Maryland. He earned his doctorate in modern British history from the Catholic University of America and his master’s degree in modern German history from the University of Connecticut. Hanael is a husband and proud father of four children. He is the head of men’s ministry at St. John Parish in Westminster MD and author of the Catholic Review’s “Fertile Soil” blog and the pamphlet Spiritual Combat Boot Camp: A Two-Week Spiritual Exercise. You can reach him at hanaelb@yahoo.com.  

A Call For Christian UnityPQF · 92 A Call For Christian Unity

In this episode, Hanael Bianchi talks about Christian unity and why we’re so divided. He explains:
-Why are we not united despite the fact that more and more people are coming to Jesus?
-We are more divided than we have ever been politically, economically, racially, philosophically, why are we so divided in church over these matters and not rise above this?
-At the moment, there’s a lot of political disunity, what steps can we take to promote unity among our own churches?
-How do we unite outside of our church with fellow Christians and non-Christians?

Steps Toward Christian Unity

When I contact Hanael, we were well into November. Despite all the scheduling conflicts, he was so gracious to talk about this. I think I wrote him the same night the US elections results came out. And this was dwelling on my mind how Christians were so opposed with regards to the results.

I love how Hanael like a true historian qualifies everything. He says that this division comes mainly because Christians don’t really put Jesus, first our affiliations come before Christ and so they are more important to us. We are only Christian when it is conducive to us.

His steps towards unity are simple.

Unplug: Get away from social media.

Don’t make other people your enemy.

Direct the change within yourself.

Sounds pretty simple but this is hard. Christian unity is about loving other people without looking at them with judgment. That can be difficult especially when they are at their worst behavior. In the end, Hanael says we need to follow the gospel message. There will likely be division, but our job is to love. Direct all the correction within yourself. And those are really sound words.

As you celebrate thanksgiving, I hope you can focus on the bigger picture and be the better person if not the best. Don’t get drawn into the muck of politics and useless chatter. Drown out the noise and focus on what is good and important.

ENJOYED THIS PODCAST?

We hope you enjoyed this podcast. Check out our podcasts on the patron of prison ministries, St Maximilian Kolbe and Confession. If you liked this podcast, like us, leave us a comment and share our episodes on social media with those who may benefit from it. If there is a particular saint that you would like to hear about us, tell us and we’ll add him or her to our future episodes.

We are on iheartradio, Stitcher, Itunes, and tunein.com. We’d love to hear from you. If you hear us on Itunes, please rate and review us.

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Pictures from Barcelona, Catalunya

It’s been a while since I left Barcelona. With my mum’s fall and subsequent wrist fracture, there was little time to breathe. Finally, I have had some time to gather myself and all the pictures from Barcelona and thought to share them here.

Doha to Barcelona

This year I didn’t expect to be traveling to Barcelona. My mom was kind of frustrated that my brother couldn’t come home and he was homesick too, so I made a last minute decision to arrange for her to see him. It’s not easy to plan travel to Spain at the height of summer. Tickets were super expensive and hotels were mostly full. The easiest part was getting visas since we have traveled to Europe before.

I prefer Qatar Airways for long haul flights. This time I had no choice because everything else was full. At Doha, it’s easy to see they’re getting ready for the World Cup. There were huge mascots at the terminal. I think I shared pictures on Twitter. And the cars, the lottery cars. They always have them. This time though I couldn’t even read the brand. I’m so out of touch with the car world.

I saw a whole bunch of people around the cars and I actually had to go read the signboard to find it was McLaren Coupe. The color was nice but that was just about it. I don’t get the fascination with cars. I still took a selfie, with a car….

Barcelona City

When we got to Barcelona in the morning, it was easy to check in and get our bearings. We first picked at apartment suite because my mom wanted a a kitchenette. So we stayed in Gracia and loved the place here because there are so many wonderful restaurants here. We were also 1 minute away from the train and 10 minutes from the metro by walking.

The first day we headed to La Sagrada Familia Church and found you needed online tickets. There were none on site. So we just went on a tour of the city.

La Sagrada Familia

There’s so much to say about this absolute architectural masterpiece. It is so intricate. I highly advise taking the church tour because every single Biblical act depicted is explained. Remember everything you pay in terms of tickets helps build this Basilica. For mass, you have to register weeks in advance. Antoni Gaudi’s work is just lovely. He lived on site for much of the work. And Gaudi is revered as a Catalan architect.

Montserrat

We took a tour to Montserrat which I wouldn’t advise. It was too rushed and there was little time to even pee on our trip. If you go here, hire your own vehicle and do it at leisure. They have a hotel that you can check into for a few nights. The Montserrat mountains provide a good backdrop for Our Lady of Montserrat. It’s a lovely place and good place to pray. We also had a chance to listen to the boy’s choir that sings for about ten minutes at noon.

Badalona

It’s almost impossible that you come to Barcelona and not head to the beach. The only problem was that most of Barcelona’s beaches are nude and my mother would be absolutely scandalized. Not to mention that she would skin Mark and me. So he decided to take us to a conservative beach in Badalona on the outskirts of the city. It was a very hot day, so we spent the day by the water after taking the train ride. Pizza and lasagna by the beach was enough and then we headed back to the city.

Flamenco

Flamenco is a folk tradition of the gitano community in Andaluci. There’s dancing and traditional music. I didn’t understand much of it but its very high intensity. Mark joined us for this and made fun of me for wanting to see this but he was open to it, because its a different experience.

La Boqueria

There are lots of food markets all over Barcelona. We wanted to go to to local one, St Caterina but Mark just suggested we go to the more universal and famous one, lest we get swindled. So citing safety in numbers we came here for lunch. It was a nice place where I got gelato. You can get lost here. I found a sandwich shop and then we never found it again. My mom got the mixed fried fish snack box and the fish here is very fresh.

Barceloneta

Barceloneta was built for the 1992 Olympics. All the apartments and the beach were for the athletes and the city is very quiet here. Hardly anybody as you can see. I had my churros here and it was a rather cold but lovely day. It’s a good place for a walk.

Park Guell

A word of caution to people. This is a very steep hike. My mom and I were both out of breath and had to stop. The escalators tend to not work. It’s good to get a tour guide of Gaudi’s inspiration of a park and homes that he had planned to build here. Very colorful and something out of a fairytale novel.

Las Arenas

This used to be a bullfighting ring that has now been converted into a mall. Lots of big brands are here if you’re into shopping. The views from the top are amazing as you can see all of the city. Our hotel was pretty close to this and we planned to eat dinner here on the weekday. Except it was super crowded and ended up going for tapas elsewhere.

Tapas

It’s a very traditional thing in Spain to eat out and to eat tapas. Each person at the table buys a round of snacks. I really wanted to do the tapas thing because they are all over Spain and chewed Mark’s brains until he took us there. My mom wasn’t too keen but I insisted. We went to watch a football match I think Barcelona versus Bayern Munich to the sports bar and ordered our tapas. Fried eggplant, fish, meatballs and fried chilies.

Food in Barcelona

The food is amazing. You can eat for cheap and you can go to expensive places. You can get a decent breakfast for under 5 euros. We ate plenty of fish, sandwiches and as you can see I ate a lot of meat. The food here is very fresh. I did sample the local churros and baked items. I didn’t eat the paella since I don’t eat crustaceans anymore. And no one in my family wanted to eat it.

Transport

Barcelona is very well connected via public transport. Everywhere you are not two blocks from a metro station, bus, train, or tram. The city is designed that way. Even my mum loved that we could simply travel everywhere with ease. There were some days we just took a bus like we did in Prague and got off the last stop.

Impressions of Barcelona

Barcelona is a beautiful well organized city. Catalans can be a bit closed off but overall, while Spanish people are open and nice. They like to laugh, don’t take anything too seriously and you have a very relaxed vibe there. My mom and I both enjoyed the place and would love to go again. Not sure if my mom wants to go with me. I dragged her everywhere and it was quite tiring. Now when I think back, I actually feel sorry about it. She hopes I can find someone who will love to travel the world with me so she won’t have to. Haha.

I would love to visit other parts of Spain. Its not something you can do all in a a month. I know lots of people who covered the whole of Barcelona in 2 days but that would be too tiring even for me. As you can see from my pictures from Barcelona, it takes time to savor the city. For me it was all about seeing my brother and so even if we just sat on a bench, it didn’t matter, as long as we were with him.

I will return to Spain’s other regions, Girona, Asturias, Madrid are top of my list. Mark suggests Valencia and especially Galicia. Let’s see.

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91 The 8th Commandment: You Shall Not Bear False Witness

How can I honor the truth in a manner that is in harmony with love of God and love of neighbor? What words of truth would be truly good for another person and for the community as a whole?

Fr. Mark Nolette on the 8th commandment

Who is Fr. Mark Nolette? Fr. Mark Nolette

Fr. Mark has been a priest at the Diocese of Portland (Maine) since 1987, and in 2014 he was diagnosed with autism. He has served in Parish Ministry, chancery and tribunal work. He is the spiritual director of the Mission of St. Thorlak, an apostolate dedicated to recognizing the gifts of all members of the Body of Christ, particularly those with autism. You can find out more about him at http://www.theanchorite.net/ or https://autismconsecrated.com/way-of-saint-thorlak/.

The 8th Commandment: You Shall Not Bear False WitnessPQF · 91 The 8th Commandment: You Shall Not Bear False Witness

In this episode, Fr. Mark Nolette talks about the 8th commandment, thou shall not bear false witness. He explains:

-What is the 8th Commandment?

-What does it entail?

-What steps can we take to encourage the virtue of honesty?

-How do we deal with people lying to us?

Transcript of the episode

Narrated by Melvin Epps.

Tell us about yourself and your ministry.

I am a priest of the Diocese of Portland, Maine. I retired from active ministry in 2020, partly because of my autism and partly because of my discernment of a calling to a contemplative hermit life. I now live near Rochester, NY and am the spiritual director of Autism Consecrated, a website that seeks to offer support in various ways to autistic people under the patronage of St. Thorlak. St. Thorlak was a twelfth-century Icelandic bishop who had a number of personality traits resembling autism. Many autistic people see him as their patron saint.

What is the 8th Commandment?

The 8th Commandment is this: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

A word on the numbering of the Commandments. Some listeners may say that this isn’t the Eighth Commandment. Be aware that there are two listings of the Ten Commandments in Scripture – one in Exodus and one in Deuteronomy. Most Protestant denominations follow the Exodus listing. Catholics have traditionally used the Deuteronomy listing. The wording of both is nearly identical. The difference is over whether something counts as one or two Commandments. Is the line “I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me” one or two Commandments? Likewise, is the line “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife… or anything belonging to him” one or two Commandments? In each case, the Exodus and the Deuteronomy listings make a different choice. 

Bearing false witness is more than just lying. What else does the 8th commandment entail?

The context of the Eighth Commandment is that it is among the Commandments that focus on love of neighbor.  We can summarize its meaning here by saying that we are not to harm our neighbor by any abuse of the truth. Or, put positively, we are to honor our neighbor by how we honor the truth.

This Commandment may have been intended originally for trials. People were not to bear false witness against someone else. We remember the examples of Jezebel arranging for false witnesses to condemn Naboth, or the false witnesses brought in to condemn Jesus. This Commandment had the poor and powerless in mind as they were most vulnerable to false witnesses or any abuse of truth or power in a trial. Wealthy people – then as well as now – were far less vulnerable to this.  It soon become clear to the ancient Israelites that this Commandment had a broader application than this. It had to do with showing love of neighbor through how one honors the truth.

Let me offer two examples of this from traditional Catholic moral teaching. This Commandment relates to two sins, calumny and detraction. Calumny is about trying to destroy someone’s good name or reputation by telling lies or spreading false gossip about that person. Detraction is about trying to destroy someone’s good name or reputation by bringing up true things about that person that others may not have the right to know. Calumny may be easy to see as a sin. Detraction may be harder to understand. Let me offer this.

From the perspective of this Commandment, truth serves love of neighbor. Take the example of someone who lived a sinful life but then had a genuine conversion. Someone else learns about this person’s past and then gossips about it out of jealousy, perhaps. The gossip may be true, but the intention is sinful. It violates love of neighbor.

Moreover, it is traditional Catholic teaching that people do not have the right to know every truth about someone. Some things should be private. Knowing them would not serve the common good. This may also be hard to understand in a digital age where true privacy is rare or nonexistent, but perhaps for that very reason, people may be more open today to receiving the wisdom of Catholic tradition about this.

On the other hand, love of God and love of neighbor may require us to warn the community about someone who is a danger in some way. In such a case, speaking the truth serves the common good. The sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is, to a large extent, a tragic example of failure in this regard. 

What steps can we take to encourage the virtue of honesty?

Based on what we have said so far, we can say that the virtue of honesty must serve the love of God and the love of neighbor. Anything we do to encourage honesty needs to keep this in mind. How can I honor the truth in a manner that is in harmony with love of God and love of neighbor? What words of truth would be truly good for another person and for the community as a whole?

Moreover, we can ask ourselves how willing we are to hear or face the truth about ourselves. If we cannot accept truth about ourselves, it will be very difficult for us to be honest or truthful in ways that are consistent with this Commandment. 

How do we answer people who justify their lies with good intention and claim that Rahab lied when she hid the spies, that lies were involved in the hiding of the infant Moses, and other such arguments?

We have stressed that the Eighth Commandment places truth in the service of love of God and love of neighbor. Normally, truth and the love of neighbor are in harmony. Yet, as we have seen in the case of detraction, truth can be abused and turned into a weapon against one’s neighbor. Moreover, not everyone has the right to know every truth.

With these things in mind, a response to this question comes into focus. In the case of Rahab and the spies, Rahab knows that the spies have come from the Israelites. She believes that they are the Lord’s people, and that it is the Lord’s will that they enter this land. The spies, then, are acting in harmony with God’s will. For Rahab to inform the rulers of Jericho that the spies ate with her would be to speak a truth that ends up violating the love of God and neighbor. Truth must serve God’s purposes. We can say something similar about the birth and subsequent hiding of the baby Moses.

More importantly, we need to stress that the Scriptures portray such events as rare exceptions. We are expected to speak the truth in nearly all circumstances.  These examples are exceptions. The question about people using these examples to justify their lies makes us ask if they are trying to use these exceptions to justify something they want to do (lying) on a regular basis. It is like ‘pro-choice’ people who use the more difficult cases in an attempt to justify all abortions. 

How do we deal with people who lie to us?

We always want to honor the truth in the context of love of God and love of neighbor. How we do this in the case of someone whom we know is lying to us can depend on the specifics of the situation. Is the lie concerning something that is more or less common knowledge? Would it help the community as a whole – and the liar, if the liar is at all open to correction – to correct the liar?

Then, any correction should be aimed at the lie and not at the liar. In most cases, calling the person a liar might not get you very far. However, pointing out something you know to be true could invite the liar to have a second look and perhaps see the error in what he or she said.

Would speaking the truth to the liar help? If you know the liar to be a gossip, or if the lie is about a person the liar hates, then it might not be good for the liar to know the truth. In such a case, silence might be a good option. Or, you can bring up a good point about the person who is being lied about as a subtle way to counteract the lie.

Where can people find you?

If anyone would like to know a bit more about me and what I do, feel free to check out my blog at www.theanchorite.net and also www.autismconsecrated.com. 

ENJOYED THIS PODCAST?

We hope you enjoyed this podcast. Check out our podcasts on the patron of prison ministries, St Maximilian Kolbe and Confession. If you liked this podcast, like us, leave us a comment and share our episodes on social media with those who may benefit from it. If there is a particular saint that you would like to hear about us, tell us and we’ll add him or her to our future episodes.

We are on iheartradio, Stitcher, Itunes, and tunein.com. We’d love to hear from you. If you hear us on Itunes, please rate and review us.

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Malpractice Insurance: Things to Know

No matter which part of the world you live. Medical practices need malpractice insurance. If you work for an institution, then this is usually covered. Most physicians will look for this information when a problem arises. However, if you are in a small group, your own practice or a big hospital, there are some things you must know about the malpractice insurance covering you or if you’re looking for one.

What is the Type of Policy covering you & your practice?

Malpractice insurance policies come in two forms. Claims-made policies and occurrence policies. The majority of them tend to be claims made policies.

Claims-made malpractice insurance

These provide coverage for any incidents that occur or are reported while you are insured. So the incident and its filing takes place while your policy is ongoing. If you discontinue this policy, there’s no coverage for later suits unless you have “tail coverage.” This is usually 3x the premium but provides future coverage as well. You can also have what is called nose coverage. This is where your new insurance policy covers liability from a previous claims-made policy.

Tip: Always negotiate or get it written in your employment contract about tail coverage if you leave a group and who pays for it.

Occurrence Policies

These policies cover all occurrences while the policy is in effect. It is kind of a lifetime policy so claims filed years later are all covered if the policy was in effect.

When you compare claims made policies are cheaper and premiums climb as the years pass by.

Matching Coverage

The policy coverage must match the size of your practice, the specialty you practice in and the geographical area. Normally, it ranges from from $100,000 to $300,000 and $1 million to $3 million. What do these numbers mean? The first is the maximum payout per claim during a year. The second is the maximum payout for all claims in a year.

These differ from country to country, state to state and specialty to specialty. Some states like California, Florida, and Texas have caps on payments.

Tip: Include your staff and all clinical activities. If you fly solo, try to get a locum tenens coverage.

Compare Malpractice Insurance Coverage

This is a very competitive market. You have to shop around and understand the technicalities. Check if you have assessable coverage. This means that the insurance company can add a surcharge if they see some claims. You want to avoid the ones that keep adding surcharges. If there are low premiums, ask why. Read the finer points.

Consent to Settle

This is a clause that allows a company to settle an insurance claim without your written consent even if you are not fault. Try to ensure this doesn’t happen. Any settlement made by an insurance company gets reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank. This can affect your future insurance, managed-care group participation, and hospital privileges.

Tip: Always negotiate to include the consent to settle clause and find out who will pay for defense costs.

Key Criteria

Before choosing a company, look at a few key criteria. The fiscal health of the company, how well they handle claims, and how responsive they are. Consider the premiums and talk to other doctors served by them. Get details about their process and customer satisfaction.

How long has the company been in business? Do they offer risk management advice? For fiscal health, research their A.M. Best rating. You want them to be at least A minus.

Tip: Get more information from the state insurance commissioner’s office once you have finalized your top two choices.

Insurance Type

Insurers differ bases on who owns them and their organization. The most common types of insurance carriers are commercial, mutual, trust, risk retention and captive. Another fact is if a carrier is physician owned. These tend to insure more than half of the doctors in the US buying their own insurance. They tend to be well liked by physicians because they advocate for their doctors and are fairer.

Tip: Choose a carrier that will listen to you and not just shoehorn you without hearing what you have to say.

Are There Endorsements?

Are there any endorsements or policy extras? Is there coverage for cyber liability for patient records? Are they covering Medicare and Medicaid? Is there administrative/ medical board defense coverage? These are features of high-quality policies. If you are a procedure heavy specialty, is there coverage for those procedures and are all the locations of those procedures added to the policy. Are there exclusions for certain medications or procedures?

Tip: Ask about the exclusions and endorsements.

Maintain Good Records

Record keeping is important. Keep a copy of your insurance coverage for every year during your training and later. The carrier is not required to have a copy that they covered you but you should. Maintain a record of all work activities, shared practice, moonlighting, dates you worked, where you worked, timings, and which malpractice insurance covered you, Keep a copy of your Certificate of Insurance for every malpractice insurance policy you have ever had.

Tip: If your employer hasn’t given you your Certificate of Insurance, ask for a copy.

How do you deal with malpractice insurance. What are your tips for individual doctors and smaller practices especially in a post COVID world?

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90 The Seventh Commandment: You Shall Not Steal

“We’ve all stolen in little things. Little things become medium things and then they become big things. Next, you notice you’re doing things you never imagined yourself doing before.

Charles Johnston

WHO IS CHARLES JOHNSTON?Charles Johnston

Charles Johnston is a father and husband in Phoenix, Arizona. His conversion journey has taken years, as he felt God pulling him toward His Church but he resisted until he couldn’t take it anymore. He gave in and fell in love with His Church.  He blogs for ‘NowthatImcatholic.com’ You can reach out to him on Facebook. His book, The Beauty Of The Mass is available on Amazon.

The Seventh Commandment: You Shall Not StealPQF · 90 The 7th Commandment: You Shall Not Steal

In this episode, Charles Johnston talks about the 7th commandment, thou shall not steal. He explains:
– What is the seventh commandment?
– Why is stealing a sin?
– What are the ways we steal?
– How do we deal with it?

The Ways We Steal

It’s been a year since we had Charles on the podcast and finally he’s back talking to us about the seventh commandment.

The Catechism (CCC) has a long list of the various ways that we can steal. For e.g., business fraud, unjust wages, overpricing, tax evasion, poorly done work, forgery of checks and invoices, excessive expenses and waste, damaging private or public property (C 2409). Other forms of stealing are scams, embezzlement, money-laundering, white-collar crime, wasting taxpayer’s money. (Source; Fr. Eamon Tobin ©
Ascension Catholic Church Melbourne, FL)

There’s a far detailed list that you can use from any of the examinations of conscience available online. However, there are many ways we may not even notice it. Like using office stationary, the copier or printer, not completing work on time, wasting people’s time, skimming off profits or commissions, kickbacks, etc. are all ways of stealing. The best way to identify it is like Charles said by asking Jesus who is the light to shin all the area of darkness that you may not even know exists.

ENJOYED THIS PODCAST?

We hope you enjoyed this podcast. Check out our podcasts on the patron of prison ministries, St Maximilian Kolbe and Confession. If you liked this podcast, like us, leave us a comment and share our episodes on social media with those who may benefit from it. If there is a particular saint that you would like to hear about us, tell us and we’ll add him or her to our future episodes.

We are on iheartradio, Stitcher, Itunes, and tunein.com. We’d love to hear from you. If you hear us on Itunes, please rate and review us.

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89 The 6th Commandment: You shall not Commit Adultery

When we do it in the context of God’s plan for us, it is so much better.

Mike Landry

WHO IS MIKE LANDRY?Mike Landry

Mike Landry was a teenager whose faith was awakened thanks to a parish youth ministry program launched during his high school years.  Now he has spent more than twenty-four years trying to share the truth, beauty, and goodness of the Catholic Christian faith with others. Currently he works full-time as division Chaplain for Evergreen Catholic Schools, serving ten schools west of Edmonton, AB.  Mike and his amazing wife Jennifer live in Stony Plain, AB with their five children.

Mike’s ministry includes twenty years as a music ministry leader, five summers on staff at a Camp St. Louis, and ten years as a parish youth minister. He also speaks, sings, and leads parish missions and retreats in Churches and schools in Canada and the USA.  Mike is a contributing writer for AllproDad.com, the Archdiocese of Edmonton’s Newsletter, “The Window,” and the ATA’s Religious & Moral Education Council (print) publication,“Fully Alive”. Mike holds an Advanced Certificate in Youth Ministry (2003), a Bachelor of Theology from Newman Theological College (2009), and a Master of Arts in Graduate Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville (2014).

The 6th Commandment: You shall not Commit AdulteryPQF · 89 The 6th Commandment: You shall not Commit Adultery

In this episode, Mike Landry talks about the 6th commandment, thou shall not commit adultery. He explains:
– What is the sixth commandment? What are its two parts? Why is adultery expressly mentioned
– What are the Other Sins Against Chastity Are Forbidden
– How to obey the sixth commandment? Some means of practicing purity
– What should we avoid?
– Any specific advice can you give to married people, singles, widows?
– What does someone do if they have fallen short of this commandment?

Adultery and Chastity

Mike wrote a whole piece on the 6th commandment. When I wrote to Mike, I was so glad that he responded enthusiastically. Mike’s commitment to the youth is clear. I love when he says we’re all called to chastity whether we are married, single or widowed. Everyone is supposed to live up to their vocation.

Jesus calls us to a higher standard. Even a lingering glance is a step too far. Mike is clear. Irrespective of what happens around us we need to hold ourselves to that standard. He recommends looking every woman in the eye while talking to them. Pretty neat advice.

What to do if you have Committed Adultery or had Pre-marital sex?

Mike has shared a few helpful tips for someone who sins against the virtue of chastity:

The Sacrament of ReconciliationGet help with a therapist or counselingLook for practical resources like Integrity Restored for porn addictionPray during temptationHave accountability partnersEnd dead-end relationshipsDon’t put yourself in a position of temptationWork with your partner to build trustLook in the right place for relationships when you’re lonelyRemember no human can fill the God shaped hole in your heartRemember God is a divine healerENJOYED THIS PODCAST?

We hope you enjoyed this podcast. Check out our podcasts on Overcoming An Addiction To Porn and St Teresa of Avila. Finally, if you liked this podcast, like us, leave us a comment and share our episodes on social media with those who may benefit from it. If there is a particular saint that you would like to hear about us, tell us and we’ll add him or her to our future episodes.

We are on iheartradio, Stitcher, Itunes, Spotify, Pandora and tunein.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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Pictures from Egypt: Holy Land Tour

Today I’m sharing pictures from Egypt. So part 3 of this trip is here. Egypt by far was the fun part of this trip. The Israel portion of the tour was very reflective and kind of intense. In Egypt, there was a distinctive change in mood. By now our group felt like friends.

Jerusalem To Taba

We woke up pretty early to start the long 6 hour drive to Egypt. I was so sad to leave Israel.

After breakfast we left for Taba. On the way, we had a chance to see Qumran, the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls written by the Essenes were found. There are hundreds of caves here. These cave entrances are high up. The Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1946 and have papyrus of nearly every book of the Bible.

We also had a chance to view a statue of Lot’s wife. This was a very dry place and there are salt rocks everywhere. Arid, barren, and dry. I remember thinking about the journey of one million strong nation of Israel across this place. We were shown where Israel entered and instead of the few hours journey, they were going in circles for 40 years.

The desert drive was a good time to think about my own journey in life. The one thing I have to mention is that we drove through the national highways of Egypt. And the roads are just perfect. We drove almost 14 hours in total and it had not one pothole. Kudos to the Road and Highway Department of Egypt.

On the way we drive parallel to the Red Sea. It is red due to the reflection of the red soil of the mountains in the water. Once we arrived at the border we transferred to Egypt via Tabha border. Egypt is mired in old cronyism. We queued up until the officer decided to stop working. Spent over 90 minutes here. But when you have friends it doesn’t matter.

Testimony

I also continued to have foot sprain with a screaming pain. My mother asked me to confess sculpture before sleeping. Isaiah 53:5. I knew it. So I repeated it, “He was wounded for my transgressions, And by His stripes, I am healed.”

I said it probably over a hundred times until I slept. In the morning, when everyone asked me how was the foot, I could not confess against the Sculpture so I said I’m healed. I’m better. As I was crossing the border, the pain completely vanished. It re-enforced my belief in the power of the Word. Speak it. Believe it.

Red Sea

Taba was beautiful. This is the same area that connects all the holiday destinations along the Red Sea like Sharm-el-sheik. There are lots of holidaying Arabs here enjoying the water. At the Tolip hotel, it was all fun and games.

We had a wonderful time here. Poolside and then at the beach. The Red Sea is not sandy though. It’s rocky, so you have to be careful about that as you get into the water. There are lots of activities here. Late night poolside BBQ, games at the beach and saunas. I loved it here.

Sinai

After breakfast we drove to Sinai to visit St Catherine’s monastery and visit the burning bush. The monastery is named after St. Catherine of Alexandria. The backdrop of Mt Sinai and Mt Horeb is fitting.

The burning bush itself is a gigantic tree. My brain just couldn’t process the historic importance of this site. I did pick up a piece of the rock that is for sale. Every time you break the rock, it has that dendritic pattern like flames.

Later we drove through the new Suez Canal and arrived in Cairo. By law we have to drive with a police escort throughout the desert which I thought was pretty cool. We stopped by for lunch and then as is my custom, I picked up a lays. I Have tasted potato chips of every country I have visited. It’s just a quirk of mine.

This entire journey took us 7 hours. It was a Saturday and so we made good time without traffic. Cairo is crazy. There are no traffic rules. Paul, our guide was telling is how here green means go and amber means go faster.

We stayed in Giza very close to the Pyramids at the Pyramids Park hotel so we can just wake up to the view of the Pyramids.

Food in Egypt

The food in Egypt is a mix of local vegetables and meat. There was a lot of meat. There are tons of salads and fruit. It was just so fresh and delicious. My jeans were tight after I was done with this trip, the food was that good. I usually don’t eat certain vegetables like eggplant but I don’t know why I enjoyed the way they cooked it here.

Giza

After Breakfast we visited Pyramids, Sphinx and the Christian Church. The Pyramids are unbelievable. Just a single “brick” is taller than me and weighs tons. By the time I climbed to the third row of stones, I was a bit jittery of the height. How they carried these huge rocks and piled them on top of each other fascinates me.

We also visited the place where the Holy Family lived in Egypt. They spent 3 years and moved from one place to another until Herod died. We went to the church where they spent 3 months. Cairo is devoid of color. We’re so used to seeing paint in our country that this city looks dull and numerous buildings are being torn down to make way for the new highway.

My roommate kept joking, no wonder the Holy Family left Egypt. It did not look as vibrant as Mumbai, Panaji, Haifa or even Amman. There’s very little greenery apart from the area along the Nile. I may be wrong because these are just the parts we saw.

We were then taken to the Papyrus & Perfume factory to see how Papyrus and perfumes are made.

By late evening we dressed for the Nile cruise with dinner on board. We were entertained by Tanoura dance where the guy spins continuously. It was dizzying to simply watch.

Adieu Egypt

I think I learned a lot from this trip. I had so many prayer intentions but once I was there I forgot all about them and I just refocused on what was important. Everything else got stripped away. My family was super worried about my trip especially when there was no internet. Egypt really has crazy connectivity problems. It gave me time to myself though.

Going with Zion tours is awesome since our guide Paul makes this a very spiritual experience. The best part was the friends I have made on this trip. Cyra and Benicia are such funny people, that every single day of this tri I laughed until my belly hurt.

Our voice of reason Lumen, with her sarcastic wit and humor rounded us out so that I still have so many memories and when we catch up on the phone, her jokes still makes me smile. And so many others that I can’t forget including our priest.

I experienced the Lord speaking to me through the ordinary conversations with so many wonderful people. This group was a blessing in ways I cannot enumerate.

Visit the HolyLand

I guess I am encouraging everyone who experiences the call to go to the Holyland. It is a lifechanging experience. You won’t regret it. It will enrich your spiritual walk.

The post Pictures from Egypt: Holy Land Tour appeared first on PAMELA Q. FERNANDES.

Starting Again is An Audiobook

The Audiobook Starting Again is now available. I’m so happy to release the audio version. This second book has been narrated by the same voice actress Madeline Starr. As always she has done a fantastic job.

This is the second book in the Starting in Henderson county series and covers the story of Gage and Dawn.

Where Can I Buy the Audiobook?

Here are the links for anyone who wants to purchase the audiobook.

If you want to listen to a peek here’s the first chapter.

Buy Links

Nook: Buy Nook Audiobook

Bingebooks: Buy Bingebook Audiobook

StoryTel: Buy Storytel Audiobook

Scribd: Buy Scribd Audiobook

Kobo: Buy Kobo Audiobook

Special Launch Price

Since we launched this book on July 1, 2022, it’s going to be available at a special launch price of $2.99 until July 31, 2022. After that, it will be at $5.

So take advantage of the launch period and grab your copy today.

And just for people who are interested in Book 1 of the series, B & N is offering Audiobook Starting Over at a discount of $1.99 as well.

20 Free Audiobooks On LibraryThing

If you want a free audiobook, then 20 copies are available for free via LibraryThing.

Click here to request your copy.

These audiobooks will be given via Author’s Direct.

It has taken over 4 months to produce this book. And even though it’s a book for the holidays, I thought it would be great to release it now.

If you listen to the book, let me know how you liked it. You can leave a review at any of your favorite book sellers website.

Happy Listening!

The post Starting Again is An Audiobook appeared first on PAMELA Q. FERNANDES.

88 The 5th Commandment: You Shall Not Kill

Every time a person is treated as less than a child of God, that is killing.

Ansel Augustine

WHO IS DR ANSEL AUGUSTINE?Dr. Ansel Augustine

Dr. Ansel Augustine is the Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries for the
Archdiocese of New Orleans. He is also the Emmy Nominated Producer of the Black Faith Matters documentary. He has served as the New Orleans Area Director for Vagabond Missions.

Ansel is the former Executive Director of Cultural Diversity and Outreach for the Archdiocese of Washington. Previously he served as the Associate Director/Coordinator of Black Youth & YA Ministry for the CYO Youth & YA Ministry Office. He is also on the Faculty of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, Graduate Theological Foundation, and Loyola University New Orleans’ Institute for Ministry. Additionally, Dr. Augustine has served as a Campus Minister at Xavier University of Louisiana, Loyola University New Orleans, and St. John’s University in Queens, NY.

Ansel has served on the board of directors for the National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association and the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry.  He began his career in ministry over 20 years ago as a youth minister at his home parish of St. Peter Claver in Treme, New Orleans. He helped to rebuild following hurricane Katrina. He has written about including The African American Catholic Youth Bible. His latest book is Leveling the Praying Field: Can the Church we Love, Love us Back?.

Ansel has worked in prison ministry for over 25 years in various capacities. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the Knights of Columbus, and the Knights of Peter Claver.  He is also an Associate Member of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans, LA. His website is www.holyhotboy.info.

88 The 5th Commandment: You Shall Not KillPQF · 88 The 5th Commandment: You Shall Not Kill

In this episode, Dr. Ansel Augustine talks about the 5th commandment, thou shall not kill. He explains:
-What is the fifth commandment?
-Homicide, abortion, euthanasia. The big 3 violations of the 5th commandment.
-What does respecting human dignity mean ?

You Shall Not Kill

This is a very deep dive into all the things that involve the 5th commandment. Homicide, abortion, suicide, gossip; we talked about it all. We recorded this episode on the feast of St John the Baptist. And the Roe vs Wade ruling came just the next day on the feast of the Sacred Heart.

I received so many emails that day from various speakers who have been on our podcast before about this. Thank you for writing to me.

Also as we recorded this episode, I think everyone must have noticed I sound unusually hoarse. After my trip from the Holy Land, I had COVID and by God’s grace recovered in three weeks. My voice seems to have been affected and you can hear the occasional cough. So I apologize to our listeners because of the delay and also because of the clarity of the episode.

A Look at Ourselves

A look can kill, a word can kill, an action can kill. It may not always be murder. And then there is murder. Ansel outlines what we can do to prevent this. By addressing the needs of the community, ensuring growth for all, making the church a place of love, reaching out to people, and forgiving one another.

Ansel encourages the sacrament of reconciliation and mending fences where possible. He talks in detail about what each individual means as a child of God, something we forget when we’re angry or upset.

I hope and pray that through this episode, lots of people will look at preventable measures in their own family when it comes to the 5th commandment.

ENJOYED THIS PODCAST?

We hope you enjoyed this podcast. Check out our podcasts on Confession and St Teresa of Avila. Finally, if you liked this podcast, like us, leave us a comment and share our episodes on social media with those who may benefit from it. If there is a particular saint that you would like to hear about us, tell us and we’ll add him or her to our future episodes.

We are on iheartradio, Stitcher, Itunes, Spotify, Pandora and tunein.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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Pictures from Israel

This is the second part of Trip to The Holy Land. The first part in Jordan is here. These are my pictures from Israel. As I mentioned in my previous post, my phone screen shattered and so my pictures are a bit hazy. For those who didn’t read my previous post, we were a group of 48 traveling with Paul from Zion Tours.

Before I left for my trip I had grand plans about doing a Vlog. I took my tripod and stuff. However, I found that I couldn’t enjoy myself while filming. So I chucked that idea and the tripod. I decided to just soak in the place and allow myself to have fun. Vlog recording is very timing consuming. Hats off to people who do it. How do people do that and enjoy their vacay anyway?

Journey Across the Border

Jordan was pretty cold. I had taken winter clothes with me so I was prepared but we were traveling during a period where the winter was on its way out and summer was coming in. So I just took along something to cover all the seasons.

Crossing the border was a smooth process. You get a lot of strange questions at Border Control. No photos are allowed. And things are pretty strict. We crossed the Sheikh Hussain Bridge to cross the border. Even as we were driving here, you can see the landscape change. Lots of trees and greenery. After completing the customs & immigration formalities we officially entered Israel.

Capernaum- Sea of Galilee

The first place in Israel we visited was Tiberias/ Sea of Galilee area. This is a beautiful place. Then we went to Tabgha, the traditional site of the multiplication of loaves and fish, followed by a boat ride on the
Sea of Galilee. We stayed overnight in Tiberias. The Sea of Galilee is pretty big. In fact, the day before, when the strong winds were gusting, all boat tours were cancelled. Thankfully, we were in Jordan at Mount Nebo.

The Primacy of Peter is where Jesus appeared to his disciples after the Resurrection and where he performed the miraculous catch of the 153 fish and conferred Church authority upon Peter. This is believed to be the place where Jesus dined with his disciples.
The flat rock known as Mensa Christi or Christ’s table commemorates this event. Capernaum was the center of Jesus’ ministry after he left Nazareth, there we visited Jesus synagogue
and the House of St. Peter.

After our visit we went to eat St. Peter’s Fish. A whole fish is served to each individual with salad and khabus.

Nazareth

The first place we visited is the Basilica of the Annunciation. It is built over the grotto where Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would bear a son, Jesus. We also stop by Mary’s well and St. Joseph’s Workshop. The town of Jesus is so small. It’s said that Joseph and Mary were neighbors.

A huge church is built above it in the shape of a boat.

Right beside the town is the old synagogue where Jesus grew up.

The church of the annunciation is another beautiful sight with each country donating expensive mosaic work of their interpretation of Our Lady. The most expensive one here, that of Japan with gold water.

Mount Tabor – Mount of Beatitude

Mount Tabor is where Jesus was transfigured with Moses and Elijah. Later proceed to Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.

We celebrated mass here at one of the outside altars. Fr Regan Fernandes was our priest accompanying us. And this place is so peacful and calm that its no wonder, Jesus used this place to teach.

Day 5 -Mount Carmel-Haifa-Tel Aviv-Jerusalem – Bethlehem

After breakfast we visited Mt. Carmel and Elijah’s Cave (Stella Maris Church). We also went to the Bahai Gardens and for some reason the place was closed. Haifa is super clean and a very beautiful city. One of the best I’ve seen. Its a very nice place for a visit.

We then drove through Acre and Ceaseria along the coastal road where the old city of Jaffa (Joppa) is
located where the miraculous healing of Tabitha took place. We traveled via Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

We visited the Milk Grotto that is entirely white and the Church of Nativity – the Birth Place of the Lord Jesus.

Bahai Gardens

The visit to Cana was a highlight for many in our group. There was one couple celebrating 47 years of marriage. There were many who were above 30 and 20 years of marriage. So they all renewed their marriage vows at the place where Jesus performed his first miracle of changing water into wine. Look at the size of the jar! Fr Reagan had a very beautiful message here. Invite Mary into your circumstances and she will notice what is missing and tell Jesus about it. I loved this message.

After the wedding vows in the evening, we all had a sing along with some famous Cana wine and the guitar.

Bethlehem

The Church of the Nativity is a Greek Orthodox church where there is a constant crowd of people going into the small underground cave where the Lord was born. To get inside you have to bend low as a sign to humble yourself before the Lord.

Day 6 – Mount of Olives – Gethsemane

Mount of Olives gives you a panoramic view of Jerusalem. This was a really busy day where we visited the Church of Ascension, which commemorates the ascension of Jesus into Heaven. The Pater Noster Church is believed to be the place where Jesus gave his disciples the Lord’s Prayer.

We walk along the Palm Sunday road down to the Chapel of Dominus Flevit where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. This is a very long downhill walk. Then we visited the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed while Judas betrayed him to the Romans. The Basilica of the Agony (Church of All Nations) is right beside the garden. The Garden has six trees from the time of Jesus.

Then we went to the Last Supper Room, where we remember the Last Supper and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on Pentecost.

Mount Zion – Calvary

We walked to the Dormition Abby and the traditional site of the Tomb of King David (visit other Upper
room). We also visited the Church of St. Peter of Gallicantu which symbolizes Peter’s denial of Jesus
as he had prophesized at the Last Supper.

We went to the traditional House of Caipas where Jesus was kept in the dungeon. He was lowered into the hole where he stayed in that position all night. This was a tremendous moment for me. I realized that nothing we go through in life is as severe is what Jesus has been through for us. Here Paul prayed over each of the group and a nun who was praying here in tongues. Some people received a prophecy and others words of knowledge.

Then we went to Jerusalem where we entered the Old City through St. Stephen’s or Lion’s Gate. We continued on foot to the Church of Condemnation and Flagellation, where we began the Via Dolorosa (Way of Grief). The Via Dolorosa is a very busy marketplace but still bears the signs of the station of the Cross. We did the stations with hymns and it was and a long tiring road. Imagine carrying a cross.

The last five Stations of the Cross were situated inside the Holy Sepulcher. We followed the footsteps of our Lord Jesus on his way to Calvary, culminating the journey to Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified.

Finally, we visited “The Tomb” widely believed to be the part of the stone that covered Jesus Tomb.

We ended the day with the visit to the Western Wailing Wall considered to be the holiest site for the Jews Overnight stay at Jerusalem/Bethlehem. I placed my petitions in one of the crevices here like all the other people visiting here did. The Wall is the only remnant of the Old Temple which housed the Ark of the Covenant.

Ein Karem – Bethany –

We traveled to Yardenit where we renew our baptismal vows right at the Jordan River.

We also visited Ein-Karem-the city of Judah and birthplace of John the Baptist, son of Elizabeth & Zechariah. The rock is the stone behind which Elizabeth is said to have hidden with John the Baptist and so his life was spread while all other 3 year old males were killed.
Our next stop was the church of Visitation, where Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. We also stop by Mary’s spring where the water gushes and is so cold.

Jericho – Dead Sea

From there we went to Bethany, the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus (Lazarus Tomb). Then it was onto Jericho to see the Mount of Temptation (outside view) and Sycamore Tree where Zacchaeus was asked to come down.

Then we drove to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth (1305 ft. below sea level), float in the salty buoyant water, rich in minerals. The Dead Sea area is a tourists paradise. The place is teeming with big malls, all the fast food, the restaurants and outlets.

On to Egypt

After our morning breakfast the next day, we headed to Egypt. That will be another post. I honestly have a ton of pictures of Israel but the post won’t support it and there’s too many places we’ve visited. I haven’t even touched on some of them because it would be so confusing. Often we’d have mass at a particular location and then visit a set of different places. So there are a lot of churches here.

I shared the most important places so that maybe you will be inspired to visit the land of Jesus someday. It will change your life.

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