It would be great if we could actually count on tests to be both accurate and plentiful enough to test everyone showing symptoms rather than just sending them home to self quarantine over what could be seasonal allergies since they share similar symptoms. That way the numbers might stand an actual chance of being accurate as well. https://www.axios.com/cdc-lab-coronavirus-contaminated-6dc9726d-dea3-423f-b5ad-eb7b1e44c2e2.html
Seasonal allergies don't cause fever. They certainly can and do though cause lots of coughing from post nasal drainage. This can sound dry.
I was at a funeral Mass tonight and at the dinner a Dr. was at our table. He is an Emergency Room Dr. and head of emergency health services for Mobile County. One of the people at our table asked him if all the beds in the hospital would be filled by the end of the month with Covid19 patients. He said no, by that time most of this will be over because warm temps. are coming and it doesn't survive in warmer weather. He said it is now in its seventh strain because it has mutated. None of the countries in the south have it unless someone travelled outside the country and brought it in. He said it will reappear next fall when the cooler temps come and the flu appeared early last fall, in the beginning of Oct. and is still on going. Perhaps they will have an antidote by next fall. Perhaps this is the miraculous retreat the President was referring to, that in a few weeks it will disappear due to warming temps. I know there are some cases in Fla., but it has been cold down there recently.
You have presented these messages (Luz de María) as being approved. "Approved" by who? You say "the Bishop" It has been pointed out that the Bishop you refer to has NO authority to rule on the authenticity because it is not his dioceses. You then claim it is the same situation as Our Lady of America. This is not the case. It has been established that the local Archbishop of those apparitions (the competent authority) approved of and promoted the devotion. In the case of the apparitions you promote (Luz de María) the Bishop you refer to is not the local Ordinary (The competent authority according to the Catholic Church). It is not a matter of which Bishop is more esteemed as you claim, but rather which Bishop has the authority to approve according to the Church. I would hope you would have the integrity to stop claiming these apparitions (Luz de María) are approved. That is intellectually dishonest. I quote below Cardinal Burke who investigated if the deceased local Bishop had approved of the Our Lady of America apparitions at the time they were happening.... "Archbishop Leibold was Sister Mary Ephrem's spiritual director from the time that he was Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati until he died in 1972. Archbishop Leibold was always clear that the approved devotion had its origin in private revelation received by Sister Mary Ephrem over many years. What can be concluded canonically is that the devotion was both approved by Archbishop Leibold and, what is more, was actively promoted by him. "
How true jackzokay. the only thing that might help avoid some disagreement about whither messages are valid. Any messages that are not fully approved by the Church can simply state "ALLEGED" the way the Medjugorje alleged messages have to be presented. In any event we are advised by Saint Paul to take what is good from what we hear, and be at peace, especially with one another.
We are in a similar situation. My grandson who lives with us has been told work from home while they deep clean his work place. A visitor from Milan to his company got the corona virus and died a few days ago, he was in his 30's. Another angle, if only because of my dark sense of humour. When my grandson heard this business visit was planned, he objected and said it was crazy to go ahead with the planned meeting from the point of view of spreading infection. He was told he was over reacting, so he challenged a few senior people at work to a bet of £50 they would end up with corona virus as a result of their decision. I know a few colleagues took him up on the bet, so he expects to make a few quid. I will have to ask him how much. The reality of course is, now my grandson has been exposed to the virus, and through him, so have we. Sigh.
Prayers John. https://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/140419 My life has been only a handful of years, and of these, in how many of them have I really lived? – Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704) The following reflection, titled "The Brevity of Life," comes from the book Meditations for Lent, by Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704). Thanks to Sophia Institute Press for allowing me to publish this excerpt in my column. Click here to order a copy of the book. Like every finite thing, man is small. The time will come when this man who seemed so great to us will cease to be. The days of my life are all that stand between me and nothingness, and this is but a small difference. I enter into life under a law that commands my departure from it. I come to make my mark and to show myself as others do. Afterward, I will disappear. I have seen others pass before me; others shall succeed me, and these will present the same spectacle to their successors. All of us will at last be mixed together in nothingness. My life, all told, has been only a handful of years; and there were so many before me and will be so many after. How small a place do I occupy in the great abyss of time! I am nothing. This short interval is not capable of distinguishing me from the nothingness into which I must return. I have come only to take my number, and to this point no use has been made of me. The drama would have been no worse acted had I remained offstage. My part in this world is very small, and so insignificant that it seems to me only a dream that I am here, and all that I see an empty image: "the form of this world is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:31). The whole of my career has been only a handful of years; and in reaching this age how many perils have I escaped? How many illnesses? What has kept the course of my days from having come to an end at any moment? Death prepares many ambushes. In the end, we will fall into its hands. I see a tree battered by the wind; it loses leaves every minute; some resist more, others less; but those few that escape the storm will at last be conquered by winter, which always comes to wither them and make them fall. It is the same in life. The large number of men who run the same course ensures that some of them will reach the end of it; but after having avoided the various attacks of death, and arriving at the end after so many perils, they fall at the race's end. Their life extinguishes itself like a candle that consumes its own matter. My life has been only a handful of years, and of these, in how many of them have I really lived? Sleep resembles death more than life; childhood is the life of a beast. How many days would I like to erase from the days of my youth? And when I am older, how many more shall I add to that total? Let us see what remains. What shall I then count, if all of these are not to be reckoned? The time during which I felt a certain contentment, or in which I acquired some honor? But how much of this sort of time is scattered throughout my life? If I take away sleep, illnesses, and times of anxiety from my life, and I now take up all of the things in which I have had some contentment or honor, how much will that be? As to this contentment: did I enjoy it all at once? Have I not had it in parcels? Have I had it without anxiety? And, if there has been anxiety, should I count it as time that I reckon or time that I do not? Has not anxiety always divided every two moments of contentment? Is it not always thrown across them to prevent them from meeting one another? What then is left to me? Of lawful pleasures, a useless memory; of illicit ones, regret, and a debt to be paid in Hell, or by penance. How right we are to say that our time passes! Truly it passes, and we pass with it. My whole being rests upon a single moment: it is all that separates me from nothingness. When that moment has passed, I snatch another one. They pass one after the other, and one after the other I join them together, trying to reassure myself, and I do not perceive that they carry me with them, and that I will soon be out of time. This is my life, and what is so frightening is that what to my sight seems fleeting is to God an eternal present. These things have to do with me. What belongs to me belongs to time, because I myself depend upon time. Yet they belong to God before they belong to me, and they depend upon God before they depend upon time. Time cannot wrest them from his empire, for he is above time. To him, they remain, and they enter among his treasures. What I have lost I will find again. What I do in time passes through time to eternity, for time is comprehended by and is under the rule of eternity and leads to eternity. I enjoy the moments of this life only as they pass; when they pass, I must respond to them as if they had remained. It is not enough to say, "They have gone, I will think no more of them." They are gone to me, yes, but to God, no, and he will ask me for a reckoning of them. If this life is a small thing because it is passing, what are we to think of those pleasures that do not last for a whole lifetime and which pass by in a moment? Are they worth their price? O my God, I resolve with all my heart, in your presence, every day, to think about death, at least when I lie down and when I rise. And with this thought: "I have little time, I have a long road to travel, perhaps I have less further to go than I think." I will praise God for having brought me to think about repentance, and I will put order into my affairs, into my confession, into my meditation, thinking not about what passes, but with great care, great courage, and great diligence about what remains. Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704)
It seems that the Nicaraguan Bishop believed that the messages were of Divine origin and he used the full extent of his authority to support them - the extent of his authority being an Imprimater. Any Bishop has the authority to grant an Imprimater for a document to be published in his diocese, but only the local Bishop has the authority to approve apparitions. He read and believed the messages but nowhere does he say that he conducted an investigation. Perhaps that's because he knew that the investigation would have to be conducted by the Bishop of the place where the apparitions happened and that he would need her local Bishop's approval if he wanted to officially investigate it himself. The lady does seem to have kept her identity secret for a very long time and appears to have only gone public in very recent years although she says she began receiving messages over 25 years ago and began what she calls her mission in 1992. I read that she had eight children, so that could have been the reason for the secrecy. Incidentally, she says she received five secrets from Heaven. What I find baffling is that the lady lived between Costa Rica and Argentina, her son was/is a priest, she had studied basic theology, and she was in contact with theologians yet she went to a Bishop in Nicaragua for Church approval. Surely between them, the people close to her must have been aware that it's the local Ordinary who has the authority to investigate and approve such apparitions/messages? https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/ble...an-interview-with-luz-de-maria-back-t442.html We're not obliged to believe even officially approved private revelation and not believing them isn't the same as calling into question the honesty of the alleged seer. Very honest and holy people can be confused, mistaken or deceived. Something I only learned recently was that the Vatican can over-rule the decision of the local Bishop. That appears to have happened in the case of Edson Glauber. The situation there seems to be a right mess even to the extent of threatened legal action. It's all very sad: https://spiritdailyblog.com/apparitions/response-from-alleged-seer
Thanks, Mario. Very little narrative about it in the media. Unfortunately, 'reality' is what is reported in the media. I get more solid information here than from any other sources. I would expect that the entire human race is going to be exposed to this virus. It will be quite nasty for another year or two, then will be suppressed by human immunity, vaccines and a combination of both. The only thing spreading faster than the virus itself is the preceding panic. We are not a very brave generation. Let us pray and hope for the best while wary of the worst.
A lot of St Patrick's Day parades are cancelled here in Ireland, Carol. Including the big-Dublin one. However - and I think you'll marvel at this, there is a horse-racing festival called Cheltenham (google it) which takes place in England every year in March. It is the biggest racing event of the year. Attendance is well in excess of 200,000 people - many of them Irish, and travelling over and back. And guess what!? It starts today, and its going ahead... Close a few schools, cancel a few parades.. but a gathering of 200,000 people - who will disperse all over these islands once the event is concluded - well, that's just fine! Once the virus spreads, they wont point towards Cheltenham and similar public gatherings; they'll very likely blame the mass and the mass-goers. As i write this I'm having breakfast and listening to the radio (Radio Ulster, The Nolan Show, 9am - 10:30am). And the cancelling of events / closing of schools is the topic of choice today. What good these minor measures though when they give Cheltenham the green light. This crazy-world!
Funeral guidance 'not meant to alarm' The Irish Association of Funeral Directors says it did not want "to alarm the public" or "be insensitive" after it issued advice that any person who dies of coronavirus should be immediately cremated or buried without a funeral service.
I couldn't believe it when I heard that Cheltenham is going ahead. I think it goes on for a week and the attendance can be close to half a million people, very many Irish among them. That's people from all over these islands mingling with each other at the races and in the surrounding pubs and restaurants. Let's hope that people have the sense to stay away this year although I wouldn't bet the house on it.
J., I agree, it's a crazy world. On the Dems based news here, I heard them say that rallies should be cancelled. Of course, they are referring to President Trump's rallies. Then on Fox News which is far more Republican leaning, someone stated that the Democratic convention should be cancelled. This is all very suspicious imo and often divisive. *** Edited to add: Some are even asking if congress should close. Number of Congressional Lawmakers in Self-Quarantine Due to Coronavirus Climbs to Six Possible exposure at CPAC gathering is cited by five Republicans; a Democratic congresswoman is affected By Siobhan Hughes and Alex Leary Updated March 9, 2020 10:08 pm ET https://www.wsj.com/articles/number...-in-self-quarantine-grows-to-five-11583785594 WASHINGTON—The number of congressional lawmakers who are placing themselves into self-quarantine grew to six Monday, because of contacts with people who have tested positive for coronavirus infections, ramping up concerns on Capitol Hill about vulnerability to an outbreak. Five Republicans said they were taking the step after learning that they had contact with an individual at the annualConservative Political Action Conference who has now been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.) made the announcement on Sunday, followed by Reps. Mark Meadows (R., N.C.), Doug Collins (R., Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) on Monday. Mr. Meadows has been named by President Trump as the next White House chief of staff. Separately, one Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Julia Brownley of California, said she would self-quarantine after meeting with a person who tested positive for Covid-19. The latest developments stoked debate among lawmakers over whether to recess Congress for longer than the break planned for next week, even as congressional leaders said there were no plans for such a move. Some lawmakers said Monday they don’t want to take an extended recess in a crisis, saying it would be irresponsible, while others are nervous about traveling back and forth between Washington and their own districts, as well as day-to-day meetings with constituents and lobbyists. “There is a consequence to overreaction just as there is a consequence of underreaction,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), a physician who serves on the Senate panel that oversees health policy. All the GOP lawmakers who are self-quarantining said they have no symptoms but plan to stay isolated for 14 days from the date of their interaction with the man at CPAC in late February, a step recommended by the Capitol’s Office of Attending Physician. The office said the individual, who is from New Jersey, was able to recall specific people he had met at CPAC, which drew about 10,000 attendees and dozens of speakers. ... [Please click on the link above to continue reading the article.]
