Religious Quote: Joseph Ratzinger

A just laicism allows religious freedom. The state does not impose religion but rather gives space to religions with a responsibility toward civil society, and therefore it allows these religions to be factors in building up society.
Joseph Ratzinger

Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. There may be legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not... with regard to abortion and euthanasia.
Joseph Ratzinger

Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church is often labeled today as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching, look like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards.
Joseph Ratzinger

The wrath of God is a way of saying that I have been living in a way that is contrary to the love that is God. Anyone who begins to live and grow away from God, who lives away from what is good, is turning his life toward wrath.
Joseph Ratzinger

To me, its seems necessary to rediscover - and the energy to do so exists - that even the political and economic spheres need moral responsibility, a responsibility that is born in man's heart and, in the end, has to do with the presence or absence of God.
Joseph Ratzinger

The Cross is the approbation of our existence, not in words, but in an act so completely radical that it caused God to become flesh and pierced this flesh to the quick; that, to God, it was worth the death of his incarnate Son.
Joseph Ratzinger

We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.
Joseph Ratzinger

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/josephratz189006.html

Joseph Ratzinger

Monday, November 26, 2012

What Happens Now?

Author's Note: In this short essay, I wrote a prediction on what would happen if the 3:15 story continued. From my prediction, I claimed that terrible envy would approach. My prediction is very logical and something that someone would not expect. My prediction may seem very long, but it's a long prediction that will give you the chills. A new frightening, evil shadow awakens.  

Here is what I predicted:
As Cody took home the heavy golden hook of Clarence Buchanan, he stared at it, wondering how he got a gold hook. When Cody got home, he entered his house and set the hook on the table. Cody grabbed a big pot, got some water and brought it to a boil. Once the water was boiling, Cody turned around, grabbed the golden hook with a firm grasp, went back over to the pot and carefully set the hook into the boiling hot water. Immediately after Cody set the hook into the pot, he felt a burning sensation in his head. He could hear Mr. Buchanan's voice, saying, "I told you to leave my golden treasure in my coffin, buried with me!" Over and over again, Cody could hear Mr. Buchanan's voice  repeating the same phrase until Cody had enough.
About 10 minutes had passed with the continuous pain of Mr. Buchanan's voice. Finally, Cody screamed, "Enough! I'll give you your treasure back!" He turned around, grabbed a towel and carefully but quickly, grabbed the gold out of the pot. As Cody was taking the gold out of the pot, he felt that there was no point. Cody took the gold out and saw that it had been melted into a solid, brick piece of gold. It was no longer the hook of Mr. Buchanan. Cody cried out a horrendous scream and started to panic. Since Cody was to foolish to leave the hook in the gave, he now destroyed Mr. Buchanan's golden hook. From what Cody had seen and what he had done to Mr. Buchanan's hook, Cody dried off what now was a golden brick and walked out the front door of his home with the golden brick and a shovel, to do something he has never done before. Slowly walking away from his house, Cody went where he buried Mr. Buchanan, Cody took his shovel had started digging out Mr. Buchanan's coffin. Later on, Cody opened the coffin of Mr. Buchanan and looked at the golden brick one last time. Gently and ever so sweetly, Cody placed the golden brick into the coffin of Mr. Buchanan, returning the once golden hook, to a golden brick back to its rightful owner. Once the brick was placed in the coffin, Cody knelt beside Mr. Buchanan and said, "I'm so sorry Mr. Buchanan that I took your golden hook. I am the most selfish person you will ever know. I realized what my actions were and I plan to not continue on with what I have done. I am returning your gold back to you and will never again steal anything." Taking one last look at Mr. Buchanan, Cody closed the coffin door shut, sealed it and buried Mr. Buchanan once more. Cody felt a warm feeling inside of him and heard another voice. "Cody, thank you for returning my gold. I appreciate you apologizing and now my hook is safe with me. Never again will you steal from me." As happy as ever, Cody realized that Mr. Buchanan had said "hook." 'But I turned his hook into a golden brick.' Cody said to himself. As fast as possible, Cody dug out Mr. Buchanan's grave once more, opened it up and saw the golden brick. It was no brick anymore, it was turned back to Mr. Buchanan's golden hook remembering the time when Mr. Buchanan's hand got crushed. Cody felt Mr. Buchanan getting his hand back, safe and sound.

In my prediction, I predicted that Cody was going to take the hook and melt it down into a golden brick and then realize his guilt and take it back to Mr. Buchanan's coffin and put the golden brick back into the coffin and return home. My prediction was wrong. The part where Cody was going to take the hook and melt it was correct but he didn't have the chance to do it. There were distractions that prevented him from melting it. The shadow of Mr. Buchanan.

In the end, as Cody is getting multiple distractions, a terrifying monster appears that doesn't show its face. The hook is by Cody's neck, slowly making its way to the back of his collar. Once it was there, a shocking ending that no one would expect. A strong pull into complete darkness and within the coffin, the golden ring that Cody Miller had stolen in the beginning of the story was hanging on the hook of Clarence Buchanan inside the coffin. 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

A New Era

Author’s Note- This is a character development/analyzation about a recent book that I am reading, which is Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. This analyzation talks about Harry Potter and his role in the book. Look for some strong use of vocabulary.

Imagine yourself, in your crib, the thunder roaring, the blinding lightning and the ruthless clashes of the rain smashing against the ground. You then hear your parents bolting through the house and a flash of green light, when your mother charges through the door and swings the door closed with a loud crash. Your mother goes to your crib, crying, and starts to say that she loves you and your dad loves you, when all of a sudden, the door is plunged to the ground and a black hooded figure with a white face and a large wand, says the most terrifying words that will change your life forever. Your mother is laying on the floor, not moving a muscle and you have a large N imprinted on your forehead, from the most deadliest wizard of all time that you will one day face to determine your destiny. Your lifelong journey has now begun.

Ever since the death of Harry’s parents, he has lived his life with no family, except his annoying cousins, The Dursleys. Harry has grown up not knowing what happened when he was just a small infant. Harry Potter was then called, “The Boy Who Lived” since the one day that changed his life. The whole story and movies is based off of Harry Potter and why he lived through that one night. People try to kill him so Voldemort, the evil dark wizard, can become the new “king” and take over all wizards. If I had to describe Harry Potter in one word, the word would be bold. I describe Harry Potter as a bold person because he always listens to his heart, his friends and always trusts his instincts. When a problem pops up and needs to be fixed immediately, he comes up with strategies and figures out how to solve the problem. Harry also has great friends that support him and care for him, especially since he has no family to talk to. In the movies, Harry and his friends fight for their lives and fight to the death to help protect Harry because of his importance. Harry Potter is a brave, intelligent and heroic young man, considering the fact that  he has lost everything important to him.

Harry Potter changes throughout the novels and movies. He goes from a boy who lost everything, to the most famous wizard in history. As time progresses, Harry and his friends change their personalities. They grew up and became stronger and started to treat each other as brothers and sisters. Just like Rodger in L.H.’s short story, “Thank You Ma’am,” Rodger is a teenage boy who goes from stealing a lady’s purse for shoes, to a young man who got the shoes and learned not to steal. Same situation with Harry Potter, except with wizardry. He learns nothing in the beginning of his life because his parents died and had no one to live with. Then goes to a man who can take care of himself and fight on his own and sooner or later, be able to go and face the most darkest wizard of all.

Besides the fact that Harry Potter is the most famous wizard of all, he is just like any other teenager who goes to school, gets an education, has friends and experiences difficulties in his life. Harry Potter can be described as a person who faces the most difficult challenges in his lifetime and learns to face them and not to run away from his problems. In another book that I have read is “Between Shades of Gray” by Ruta Sepetys. I could compare Harry Potter and a teenage girl named Lina are somewhat alike to each other. One thing that they both have in common is they both face the most biggest challenges in their life. Lina is a girl who is living a wonderful life in Lithuania, and one day everyone is being captured, men being sent to prison camp and women and children to be slaves and be sold. Harry Potter on the other hand, describes himself as a person he doesn’t know. He faces life in a way that most people would not think about. To us, we think that Hogwarts and everything in the wizarding world is more terrific than having a regular life. For Harry Potter, life in the wizarding world is harder than it looks. If you could spend one day with Harry Potter and be a wizard, I guarantee that you would want to have your original life. Lina and Harry both face challenges and fight for what they know is right and wrong and to save their friends and family, not just themselves.

As the story develops, Harry and his friends face the most extreme battles of their life. As many of these treacherous battles continue, Harry and his friends become stronger, bold and independent. They also change their looks when they get older and become more smart when it comes to battle strategies or life threatening strategies. When Harry comes up with these strategies, he influences the people around him and many strangers. People look up to Harry because he has a bright personality and everybody thinks that when they are around Harry, they can’t be touched and they’re safe from any kind of danger, even when they’re fighting. Since the attack on Harry when he was a young boy, the wizards wonder how he survived that terrifying night. If I was a wizard and I found out about what happened that made everyone call Harry, “The Boy Who Lived,” I would definitely look up to Harry for help, a hero and survivor who can help and save hundreds and possibly millions of innocent people.

Harry Potter, “The Boy Who Lived,” began his lifelong journey at a baby’s age and begins his life with nothing. He then became a wise and independent person, who has encouraging friends, almost like they’re his family. Starting out with nothing in your life when you grow up is extremely difficult. Almost impossible. Since Harry Potter is so valuable throughout all the novels, he loses many wonderful people that he cares for the most such as his parents, Dobby the elf, Remus and Tonks, Dumbledore and many more people. If you grow up and had a similar life to Harry Potter, nothing in your life would make sense. The days that had passed after the attack on Harry, he lived his life, not knowing who he was or who his parents were. He got the help of friends and adults to guide his way and make the right decisions in his life. Harry never gave up on who he was, how his life started and who he parents were. He sacrificed many things and grew up having the best life anyone could ever imagine and spent his life, not in agony, but in victory and pride for who he was.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Yorkie-chon Puppies and Their Health Problems


Yorkie-chon puppies are very loveable, cuddly and furry little creatures that will make your heart sink the minute you see them. When you buy a yorkie-chon puppy, they need plenty of exercise because the more the exercise, the happier and healthier they get. They are also dogs that love to eat a lot which is a bad combo. Yorkie-chons are also very easy to train, especially when you start at a young age. There is something about this dog that many people may not know. Yorkie-chon puppies tend to have multiple seizures. This is because yorkie-chons have what’s called “abnormalities.” Abnormalities are in the liver of a yorkie-chon puppy and abnormalities are an abnormal feature, characteristic, or occurrence in the liver of this wonderful dog. Some of the names of diseases that causes dogs to have seizures are Cirrhosis, Hepatitis, Fatty liver, Viral hepatitis and Jaundice. All of these affect the liver and cause seizures to happen. If your dog has a seizure, then comfort him in a calm voice, turn all sounds off and dim the lights to calm your dog down. What you would want to do is take your dog to the vet and get him checked out and get your dog treated immediately so the seizures are most likely not to come back. The doctor will most likely give your dog a small pill that will help support the liver and make it stronger to help prevent the attacks on your dog’s liver.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Way People Can Change- “Thank You Ma’am”

Author's Note- This short response is from L.H.'s short story of "Thank You Ma'am." It talks about some points in the story of how Rodger behaved and the foolish choices that he made. Look for a couple of tricky vocabulary words in the story.

In L.H.’s short story “Thank You Ma’am,” we learn how people can affect others in a positive way. Rodger, a teenage boy who has no family and has nothing, decides to go up to a large woman to try and steal her purse for money so he can buy some blue suede shoes. The lady that had the purse, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, noticed that this boy was lonely and had nothing in his life. Mrs. Jones wanted to help this young boy, so she took him into her household and began teaching this boy to not steal and had Rodger wash his face and clean himself up from his selfish ways.

Throughout the story, Rodger is being transformed into a new person so he wouldn’t go back to his treacherous ways. I think that Rodger behaved the way he did because there is a song by Elvis Presley called, “Blue Suede Shoes.” When Rodger listen to this song, heard or saw the shoes, he instantly wanted them and because Rodger has no family or money, he went and snatched people’s purses to get money and buy the shoes. Rodger behaved like this just for shoes. When Mrs. Jones took Rodger into her house, he learned to end his ways on stealing purses from other people. Many people, like Rodger, will get desperate for something that they really want and start their bad ways, by taking other people’s money and they end up going to jail. If Rodger would have stolen Mrs. Jones’s purse and got away, then he could have gotten caught and gone to jail, rather than being taken in and being taught the right ways instead of the wrong ways and buying the blue suede shoes at the end of the story. Never be selfish and get desperate for something you really want. Think of the right ways that can keep you out of trouble.