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thepastisalreadywritten · 9 months ago

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SAINT OF THE DAY (October 20)

St. Irene of Tomar was a Portuguese nun who was martyred in defense of her chastity in the year 653.

Her body was miraculously recovered after being thrown into the river.

She was canonized as a Catholic saint because of the great amount of miracles that occured at her tomb.

She was born into an affluent and influential family. Her parents secured a private tutor and sent her to a convent school.

Apparently, Irene was quite beautiful, and the few men who actually got a chance to see her were always enamored by her beauty.

There was one such man in the area named Britald. He began to watch for her to leave for church and then follow her.

The man became obsessed, then finally approached Irene and asked her to marry him.

She refused Britald, telling him she had taken a vow of celibacy and had given herself to God as a nun. The man was crushed and walked away.

However, there was another man who had hidden designs on Irene. It was her tutor, Remigio.

He was a monk entrusted by Irene’s parents not only to teach their daughter but to also guard her.

As time went by, Remigio grew in lust. One day, he shocked Irene by making unreasonable and impure advances towards her.

She turned him away as forcefully as she could, but Remigio would not merely go away. Instead, he became furious, quit as her tutor and plotted revenge.

Soon after, people began asking Remigio why he was no longer tutoring Irene.

He started telling people that he had found out she was pregnant and that there was no way he would have anything to do with her.

He sent a message to Irene, asking if he could meet with her for a few moments to give her some material to study.

As the rumors of her pregnancy continued to spread, Irene agreed to meet with Remigio.

He managed to offer her a drink, and she accepted. The legend accounts that Remigio had concocted a poison that would make her abdomen swell.

When people saw Irene with her swollen belly, they believed Remigio’s lie.

Word got back to Irene’s first rejected suitor, Britald.

He was absolutely livid that Irene had lied to him and had been promiscuous. He was not about to let this behavior stand.

Britald hired a mercenary to kill Irene.

Shortly after Britald’s “arrangement” had been made, Irene was walking home from afternoon prayer when the assassin struck.

He sneaked up from behind her and cut her throat. He dragged her lifeless body to the Tagus River and threw it in.

Folks no longer seeing Irene either going to Mass or praying in church thought that she had left the city in shame. What else could have possibly happened to her?

Legend says that her uncle, the abbot Celius, had received from Christ a revelation about the true story of her niece and the location of her body.

Her uncle gathered a procession of people and made a journey to the place where he knew her body would be found.

The water’s currents had carried Irene’s body to the shores of Scalabis, known today as Santarem, which means St. Irene.

When the procession reached the site, the waters receded, and the intact remains of Irene were found.

It was also noted that she was not pregnant and that she had been a victim of lies and slander.

The monks gave her a formal burial, and the story of St. Irene (Santa Iria) began to spread.

The Cova da Iria, where Our Lady appeared to the children of Fatima, was named after her.

Her shrine, the “Santarem,” has played a key role for the great quality and beauty of the Catholic Faith that the Portuguese people have lived even until today.

Irene is the patron saint of Tomar and namesake of Santarém.

#Saint of the Day #St. Irene #St. Irene of Tomar #Santarem #Cova da Iria

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pamphletstoinspire · 5 years ago

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November 29 - Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Beauraing.

Our Lady of Beauraing, Immaculate Virgin, bring to Jesus, your Son, all the intentions that we entrust to you today. Mother of the Golden Heart, reflection of the Father’s tenderness, look upon the men and women of our time with love and fill them with the joy of your presence. You, who promised to convert sinners, help us discover the infinite mercy of our God. Awaken within us the grace of conversion so that our lives may be a reflection of that mercy. Make every moment of our existence “a yes” to the question you ask today: “Do you love my Son? Do you love me?” Then the kingdom of Jesus will come to the world. Amen.

The world was staggering under the burdens of the catastrophic financial collapse of 1929, which led to the Great Depression in 1932. But soon after crawling out of the wreckage, the world was to be hurled once more into a devastating world war—number two—just as Our Lady of Fatima had prophesied!

Through this crucial time of self-determination—repent or be punished—Our Immaculate Mother was watching and endeavoring to lend her sweet assistance to rebellious mankind. Thus, in the Autumn of 1932, as in the Autumn of 1846, Our Lady came once again to young children. This time the country was Belgium, in the valley of Beauraing.

This time it was not to the mountains to which Our Lady came, but to the plains, and to a place which had something of beauty attached to it in the past, as its very name implies, though it was to bear an incomparable loveliness when graced by the immaculate presence of the Queen of Heaven.

Between November 29th, 1932, and January 3rd, 1933, Our Lady appeared thirty-three times to five children: Fernande, Albert, and Gilberte Voisin, and to Andrée and Gilberte Degeimbre. Although Our Lady appeared at various locations in and around the convent grounds, she appeared most of the time on a May tree—Mary’s tree! It was on a tree, also, that she appeared at Fatima, and she is said to have appeared on a tree at Heede, Germany, as well.

There is something significant about these trees on which Our Lady stood! It was through a tree, and that which grew on it, that Adam and Eve sinned, and the human race was damned forever. It was through a tree, and through Him Who hung upon it, that the same human race was Redeemed from that damnation. Now, once again, it is through a tree, and through her who stood upon it, that the sinful world is given the opportunity, and the only means, by which it can be saved from the unspeakable wrath of God at the sight of its countless sins. Many unheard-of atrocities in this world could be avoided, and as Our Lady said at Fatima, many souls could be saved from eternal damnation, if only we would do as she requested of us upon that “noble tree.”

As with Maximin at La Salette, and Francisco at Fatima, so now there appears on the scene another erstwhile skeptic; this time a grown woman, who brings with her a big stick to “knock It” with. On one occasion, Madame Degeimbre started to thrash the bushes, like poor Lucia’s mother at Fatima had thrashed her. But she also later became, like Lucia’s mother, a firm believer in the apparitions.

As at her visits to La Salette and Fatima, Our Lady appeared at Beauraing garbed in an unspeakable light, more dazzling than the sun. Here as at Fatima, she was dressed in spotless white, and both at La Salette and Beauraing she had golden rays shining around her Heart.

As Lucia had asked at Fatima, so Albert repeated here, “What do you wish?” And the first request of Our Lady was: “Always be good.” Thousands of the faithful began flocking to the place of the apparitions, and in December witnessed the children in ecstasy, much like St. Bernadette at Lourdes.

On December 29th, Our Lady appeared, opened her arms and revealed on her breast a Heart of Gold. Her actions were reminiscent of her apparition on June 13, 1917, when she revealed to the Fatima children her Immaculate Heart, surrounded by terrible thorns, which, they were told, were placed there by our sins and blasphemies.

On December 30th, in addition to showing her Heart to three of the children, Our Lady said: “Pray. Pray very much.” On January 1 she said to Gilberte Voisin: “Pray always.” On January 2, she said: “Tomorrow I will speak to each one of you separately.”

A great crowd was on hand for what was to be the final appearance, January 3rd, 1933. After two decades of the Rosary, four of the children gave a joyful shout and fell to their knees. Fernande sobbed because she could not see the vision.

Our Lady gave three of the children a secret, which they never divulged. To one she also promised: “I will convert sinners.” Upon saying “goodbye” to the fourth child, she said: “I am the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven. Pray always.” She then showed the Heart of Gold as she disappeared.

Fernande remained kneeling while the other children went inside the convent to answer questions. Suddenly Our Lady appeared to her and asked: “Do you love my Son? Do you love me?” When Fernande answered “yes” to both questions, Our Lady added: “Then sacrifice yourself for me.” Again she showed her Golden Heart and disappeared, saying: “Goodbye.”

Here again, as the world was rushing to its destruction in the Second World War, Our Lady came at the eleventh hour, to call men back to God, through sacrifice, penance, and prayer!

Tragically, men refused to listen to the Mother of Eternal Wisdom, and men went forward erecting their flimsy temples to false peace and worldly pleasure. Thus, the chastisements came, just as she had predicted. War! The punishment for the sins of mankind! Many priests were martyred: 11,000 were slain by the Communists in Spain alone. Many homes were destroyed, many people were killed, just as she had foretold at Fatima, where she also said that “most of those who die in war go to Hell.”

Hell! A terrifying word; a word which we are told by the Saints to consider daily, but which most so-called Catholics, at the Devil’s suggestion, put out of their minds entirely. Many of them, in fact, following the heresy of the Modernists, don’t even believe that Hell exists! Ah, would that they could, like St. Teresa of Avila or Sister Josefa Menendez, go down into Hell but for a moment or two, and see the countless numbers of apparently “good” people suffering there forever in endless hate, unspeakable rage, and despair. If they could see, as Josefa did, a young girl going down to Hell and cursing her parents the while, because they had permitted her to read suggestive and immoral books!

No wonder Our Lady wept at La Salette! No wonder she opened the earth at Fatima and showed the children a horrifying vision of Hell, and told them, as Our Lord Himself declared in Scripture, that most human beings go there! No wonder the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady is wrenched with sorrow, pierced with thorns and bleeding! But because she is our Mother, the Mother given to us by Jesus from the Cross, she continues her miraculous warnings, to save her little ones from this unimaginable eternity of pain, separated from the infinite Good for which we were created.

So urgent was (is!) the need, and so short the time, that from thence onward, Our Lady began to come much more frequently and with shorter intervals between. The next year was an extra Holy Year, and in that Year, only a few days after her visit to Beauraing, Our Lady appeared again in Belgium, this time at Banneux. Some time later she would come to Heede and then to Marienfried.

OUR LADY TO FERNANDE VOISIN, JANUARY 3, 1933

IN 1932 ALBERT VOISIN was a lively boy of eleven with a fifteen-year-old sister, Fernande. One November evening they called for their friends Andree and Gilberte Degeimbre and made their way to the convent school in their small home town of Beauraing to collect another friend, Gilberte Voisin, at the end of the evening study.

As they waited at the school door Albert suddenly cried out, “Look, the Virgin Mary is walking over the railway bridge!” He was a notorious prankster, so the girls took no notice. But Albert assured them he was not joking. When at last they turned to look, they saw a woman in white strolling through the air above the bridge and the convent garden. The children were afraid and hammered at the door.

Sister Valeria came to the door with Gilberte Voisin. Gilberte looked towards the bridge and she too saw the apparition, but the nun saw nothing and told the children to go home. When she reported the alleged vision to Mother Theophile, the Superior, she was scolded for her credulity. The frightened children ran home to their respective parents, who were deeply skeptical and sent them to bed in disgrace for lying.

+ A SECOND APPARITION

The following day the children were at the convent school as usual to collect Gilberte Voisin when the apparition reappeared. Strangely, the youngsters were not frightened this time. Again they tried to convince Madame Germaine Degeimbre, but without success. She advised Hector Voisin that in future he should collect his daughter from school himself if the two families were not to be held up to ridicule all over the town.

The next evening, at about six o’clock, the Degeimbre children wanted to go to the convent again in the hope that the Virgin would appear. Their mother refused at first, but then she had second thoughts: what if someone was playing a practical joke on the children? She decided to accompany them and get to the bottom of the mystery. Other neighbors joined the group and they all set off for the convent. The children ran ahead and the adults heard their cries of delight: “She is here! She is here again!”

This time the vision appeared on the walkway between the garden and the convent door. Later the children reported that the Virgin was standing three feet above the ground. She wore a white dress and her hands were clasped in a gesture of prayer. Then she opened her arms to welcome them before vanishing. The adults saw nothing.

Later that night, Germaine decided to conduct further investigations on her own. Convinced that the children were not telling lies, she felt someone must be deceiving them with reflections or mirrors. The children begged to be allowed to go with her, and, when they were about to leave the garden, they saw the Lady in the hawthorn. And when they reached the convent they fell to their knees and began reciting the Ave Maria. Germaine walked towards the spot on which their eyes were fixed, but Andree Degeimbre warned her mother not to go further for fear of offending the Virgin. After a few moments the apparition vanished, and the distraught children cried. Germaine and the other adults then made a thorough search of the garden for the supposed trickster, but found no one.

In school the next day, Mother Theophile addressed all the children severely and said there was to be no talk of “visions”. Meanwhile, Madame Degeimbre and Madame Voisin had been to see the parish priest, Father Leon Lambert. The priest said that during Mass on December 8 he would pray for clarification: were the children being duped or was the Blessed Virgin truly visiting them?

+ WE WILL BE GOOD!

The following evening Mother Theophile padlocked the garden gate and let dogs loose in the yard as a further disincentive to the curious. Undeterred, the children went along as usual, followed by a small group of interested adults. Again the Virgin appeared and the young visionaries fell to their knees. The girls were silent but Albert asked them, “Is this the Blessed Virgin?” The Virgin nodded affirmatively, so he added, “What is it you want with us?” Then the girls spoke in chorus, as if in answer to a voice which they alone had heard: “Yes, we will always be good.” After this the vision disappeared.

On Sunday, December 4 the children went again to the convent school at about 6:30 in the evening. This time they took with them a little boy who had polio and a blind uncle of the Degeimbre girls. Again they asked the vision to declare unambiguously whether she was the Blessed Virgin or not. Later they reported that she had nodded her head. They then asked her to heal the two sick people they had brought with them. There was no apparent response.

They returned again on the 5th, and this time the accompanying group had grown into a crowd. Albert asked the Virgin for some sign to convince the adults that the vision was authentic. On the following day, December 6, the Feast of St. Nicholas, the Virgin appeared holding a rosary and the children at once began to recite it. The Virgin asked them to return on the Thursday, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Word of the apparitions had spread throughout Belgium, and on Thursday twelve thousand people turned up. This time the children went into an ecstatic trance during which they were subjected to investigation by doctors who were interested in abnormal psychological states. One Dr. Lurquin lit a match and held it under Gilberte Voisin’s hand. She uttered no cry of pain, and later examination revealed no burn mark. The doctor also nipped and pinched the children, but drew no response.

In the following days not every child saw or heard the same phenomena, and so discrepancies and confusion arose. As a result Mother Theophile suspected that the Devil was involved, so on Christmas Eve she fastened a medallion of St. Benedict to the tree in the garden where the Lady had appeared. The apparitions briefly ceased.

+ PRAY VERY MUCH

They resumed again on December 27, when the Virgin told the children, “My last appearance will happen quite soon now.” On the 29th nine thousand pilgrims arrived in the hope of receiving a miraculous sign. That evening, Fernande Voisin claimed to have seen the Virgin reveal a golden heart radiating heavenly light. She alone saw this phenomenon, which made the subsequent interrogations even more ill-tempered. The youngsters were constantly interviewed and cross-examined by doctors and officials until they were tired out. On December 30, Fernande and Gilberte Voisin and Andree Degeimbre claimed they had seen the luminous golden heart; but only Fernande said she had heard the Lady say, “Pray very much.”

On January 3, 1933, thirty-five thousand pilgrims made the journey to Beauraing. The children at once went into an ecstatic trance and began to pray the Ave Maria in unnaturally high-pitched tones. Each child received a private message from the Virgin; they were all deeply touched and wept openly—–all except Fernande, to whom the Lady had not appeared that evening. She was heartbroken.

Fernande knelt by the gate and began praying the rosary desperately. At that moment there was a brilliant flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. It was apparent from the look on Fernande’s face that she could see the Virgin once again. After this the visions ended.

+ BLESSINGS AND CURES

Enthusiasm for the visionaries’ story competed with a mood of skepticism, so that controversy raged throughout Belgium. In May 1933 the Bishop of Namur set up a committee to evaluate the visions. Then came the first reports of cures and blessings. A young girl, Pauline Dereppe, was healed of a severe bone disease after praying at Beauraing. A middle-aged woman, Madame Van Laer, was cured of her tuberculosis. As the news spread, the number of pilgrims increased phenomenally: there were two and a half million in 1933 alone.

All the children survived into adulthood, married and raised children. Albert became a missionary schoolmaster in the Belgian Congo. It was not until 1949 that the findings of the committee of inquiry into the apparitions at Beauraing were made public. The Bishop declared, “The Commission has thoroughly studied the events and we are convinced of the supernatural character of the visions.”

+ VISITING THE SHRINE

At the north-west end of the church is the Garden of the Hawthorn, marking the place where Our Lady first appeared to the children. This is also the site of the Railway Bridge. A lovely statue of the Virgin in Carrara marble stands to greet you. Two miraculous cures were officially recorded here: those of Maria Van Laer and Madeleine Acar. Here too are the very paving stones where the visionaries fell to their knees. Under the podium is the Crypt of St. John, which contains a beautiful statue of Our Lady as well as stations of the Cross by Max Van Der Linden.

Don’t leave without visiting the Votive Chapel and the commemorative stone to the pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II on 18 May 1985. Proceed through the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, where Mass is celebrated daily, to the Monumental Arch under which is the Altar to the Queen of Heaven.

At the head of the nave is the Upper Church which is reached by a stairway [there is a ramp for wheelchairs]. On the right is a silhouette entitled The Mother of God, traced by Maurice Rocher and realized in ceramics by Alice van der Gaast. Under the Upper Church you find the Rosary Church with the ceramics of the Mysteries of the Rosary by Max Van Der Linden and also the metal stations of the Cross by the Swiss artist Willi Buck.

Between the shrine steps and the Town Hall is the Marian Museum, which displays souvenirs of the apparitions including clothing Worn by the visionaries themselves. Each year tens of thousands visit the chapel built near the little convent school. Beauraing has become one of the best-loved of all the shrines of Our Lady.

On 21/22 of August each year an international pilgrimage takes place and the anniversary of the apparition is celebrated on November 29.

The Beauraing cemetery contains the tombs of Andree Degeimbre and Fernande Voisin.

#our lady of beauring

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angel0news · 3 years ago

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Anurag Batra – The Celebrated Media Mogul Who Adorns Many Hats

Anurag Batra is an Indian Entrepreneur living in New Delhi. He is an entrepreneur, journalist, internet evangelist and media expert all rolled into one. Anurag Batra is a first-generation entrepreneur who acquired the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld, one of the most respected business publications in the country. He is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld Group and also serves as the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Exchange4media Group.

Anurag Batra is an entrepreneur of a different flavour. Unpretentious and sincere, this dynamic entrepreneur is a name many will find instantly recognizable. He was born on August 27, 1972 and grew up in a middle-class family in Gurgaon. His wife, Niti Batra is a second-generation entrepreneur and leads her family business of travel services established 40 years back successfully. She is currently the director of Joy Travels Pvt Ltd. Anurag Batra’s daughter Prarthna Batra is a student at Vasant Valley School, New Delhi and also an entrepreneur in her own forte.

Anurag Batra BW completed his schooling at Our Lady of Fatima Convent High School, Gurgaon. Later he attended Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Haryana to complete his B. Tech in Computer Sciences (1990-1994). For his post-graduation, Dr. Anurag Batra attended the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, one of India’s Top 10 business schools from where he completed MBA in Marketing management and General management (1994-1996).

While he was doing his business studies, he had very limited ambition. During that period, his ambition was to join an IT services company in marketing. Just like his wish, he got placement through campus selection. But just before he joined the firm, came the turning point of his life. Through his friend, Anurag Batra met the people who were setting up Colliers Jardine in India. Batra’s mind changed and he joined Colliers Jardine. It was a joint venture between HDFC and Ireland affairs and did property services.

Anurag Batra was a person who is a lot interested in books. As a kid he would always read magazine. He used to read a lot of newspapers and books. He used to think in contrast to the traditional mindset of land broking and his thoughts led him to start the company called exchange for media, with the help of two of his friends. It was started to build a B-to-B exchange for buying and selling of media time and space. It was a failure for the first 3 years and then it evolved into a daily newsletter for the media advertising communication industry.

Anurag Batra is the man behind the expansion of BW Businessworld Media Group into one of the most respected business publications in the country. He serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-chief of the group since September 2013. Since taking over BW Businessworld, Anurag Batra has expanded the media organization into digital, events and BW communities and has taken into its fold www.digitalmarket.asia, a leading website on digital marketing, www.everythingexperiential.com - India’s leading experiential marketing website and launched BW Hotelier in partnership with hotelier international.

At present, Mr. Anurag Batra is building the BW Businessworld group into new fields and taking it to new heights. Launched more than three decades ago, BW Businessworld is among India's largest and most respected business magazines. Anurag Batra has launched several other communities, which cater to niche audiences in different sectors, under the BW Umbrella including BW Smart Cities, an editorial platform in a 360-degree format launched in mid-February 2015. BW Businessworld also includes BW Accelerate – a structured platform for mentorship and growth of entrepreneurs.

Mr. Batra also founded the exchange4media group and from March 2000 to 2008, he was the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Group. He currently serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the group since June 2000. Exchange4media group is India’s leading media industry company which houses several brands under its fold. The brands include - PITCH – India’s only Advertising, Marketing and Media Magazine; IMPACT – The Marketing Weekly; Franchisee Plus – Business Opportunity Magazine; Realty Plus – India’s leading monthly real estate magazine and samachar4media.com – leading media industry website in Hindi. Besides Mentoring leaders within the institution of E4M and within the eco system of media and digital, he is creating intrapreneurs.

In his past career, Dr. Anurag Batra was the Head of Portland Delhi and Media Planner, JWT from May 1999 till Aug 2000. JWT, previously known as J. Walter Thompson is a global advertising and marketing agency headquartered in New York City. He also served as the Principal Advisor of Stylekandy.com, one of India's premier fashion & lifestyle online magazines in Mumbai from Jan 2009 till Oct 2013. Anurag Batra also holds board and advisor roles including Board member at Management Development Institute, Gurgaon (MDI) and Director at Trilogic Digital Media.

Mr. Anurag Batra is also appointed by Government of India as the Chairman of an industry committee formed to come up with a vocational training framework for the media, communication and entertainment industry. He mentors many budding entrepreneurs and enjoys the process of reverse mentoring as in what he learns from these young entrepreneurs. At BW Businessworld BW Accelerate is an initiative to provide a structured platform to entrepreneurs for mentorship and growth.

Anurag Batra is also a regular speaker on National and International Conferences on Media, Internet, Television, Media policy and Entrepreneurship. As a member of the Sales & Marketing committee of the Delhi Management Association, he has a vital role to play in the decision-making processes of the industry circles. He is also the former President of the Franchising Association of India, Northern chapter. Anurag Batra is passionate about Magazines and is on the Executive Committee of the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM).

Dr. Anurag Batra also wants to give back to the industry, the benefit of his experiences and his love for teaching comes into play in his position as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of FMCC (Futuristic Media Communication Centre), a leading Media and Communication School in India. Annurag is also on the core group of TIE’s (The Indus Entrepreneurs), a special internet group focused on Education and Training. He is also advising the government through his white papers on Internet, Media and Television and their impact on society. He also writes a monthly column on Entrepreneurship, in India’s only Entrepreneurship magazine, Dare.

Anurag Batra thinks that the notion of helping other seems perfect. He also believes in the law of karma. He thinks what matters is sincerity and dedication. In his view, helping doesn’t mean that it may come in the form of money or in some material way, it may come in a way that is even more valuable than money. Even in his busy schedule, Anurag Batra spends time introducing people to people. Some of them ask for introduction, but he also does it even for people who don’t ask for introduction. It is something in which he invests his energy, time and mind. Anurag Batra believes that it is his duty to help people in some way.

In 2006, the prestigious Management Development Institute (MDI) and Mr. Batra’s Alma mater awarded him the “Most Distinguished Alumni of the Decade Award”. Dr. Anurag Batra believes that, if you make your hobby your profession, you don’t have to work and life is a blessing.

#Anurag batra #Anurag #Batra #Anurag Batra Businessworld #Anurag Batra BW

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merapatialaji · 5 years ago

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Lady fatima school Patiala. Get all information about fatima school.

#school

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annvassadress · 6 years ago

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Center of Innovation rises in Valenzuela

OLFU unveils RISE Tower

Distinguished guests join the OLFU Administrators in the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony.L-R: OLFU Executive Vice President Don August O. Santos; University President, Dr. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez; Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Kalookan, Most Rev. Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr., D.D.; CHED Commissioner Aldrin Darilag; Senator Win Gatchalian; Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Yvonne S. Guevara; Fatima University Medical Center President, Dr. Vicente O. Santos.

Progress is spurred by ideas born out of creativity, breaking beyond the confines of what is deemed as conventional. To continually develop, society needs more innovative minds – thinkers who refuse to stagnate, and citizens who act towards advancement.

In “improving man as man”, Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) believes that innovation powers the nation; hence its dedication to creating modern, empowering spaces for the promising learners and future visionaries.

Very recently, OLFU once again affirmed its commitment through the blessing and inauguration of the Research, Innovation, Science and Enterprise Tower, better known as the RISE Tower. Situated in Marulas, Valenzuela City, the RISE is a highly advanced facility housing simulation laboratories and collaborative areas with cutting-edge equipment and technologies.

“This facility was envisioned to serve as an integrated academic space where theories taught in the four walls of the classroom will be experienced and put into play”, University President Dr. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez said. Notably, the eight-story building features the Clinical Simulation Center furnished with training units and hi-fi manikins that teach pediatric care, obstetrics care, intensive care, surgical procedures, IV therapy and more; the Air Fatima, a mock airplane cabin; the Seven on the 6th, a mock hotel; and the Robotics Center, among others.

Another highlight is the Learning Commons which is a series of learning spaces for study, research, collaboration and discussion, as well as a repository of print and digital resources. Some of its amenities are the amphitheater-styled Lecture Hall, a spacious Reading Area, and Discussion Rooms. It is also home to the Research Development and Innovation Center, the University’s capital for new discoveries.

“We hope to build up creative and innovative thinking, encourage interactive discussions, and at the same time, develop confidence and professionalism in our students”, added Dr. Enriquez.

Several distinguished guests graced the event, including Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian; Valenzuela City officials, Mayor Rexlon “Rex” Gatchalian, Vice Mayor Lorena “Lorie” Natividad-Borja, District 1 Congressman Weslie “Wes” Gatchalian; Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Commissioner Aldrin Darilag, and CHED NCR Regional Director IV, Dr. Virginia Akiate. Senator Gatchalian applauded the facility’s ability to provide “hands-on experience”, counting it as “one of the most advanced facilities in the entire country”.

He likewise acknowledged how the City of Valenzuela and OLFU are historically intertwined since the school’s founding in 1967. “As Fatima progresses, develops, and expands, so does Valenzuela”, he said.

***

About OLFU:Starting as a 25-bed hospital in 1967 in the City of Valenzuela, OLFU evolved to become the esteemed, progressive institution that it is now – an ISO 9001:2015 Certified university known as the “Home of the Topnotchers” owing to its standing in licensure examinations, year-on-year. With over 50 years of perpetuating its quality brand of education, it has also established presence in Quezon City, Pampanga, Antipolo, Nueva Ecija, and recently, Laguna.

The RISE Tower is located on Fatima Avenue corner MacArthur Highway, Marulas, Valenzuela City, Metro Manila.

For more information, you may visit its official website, www.fatima.edu.ph, or its official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/fatima.university.

#OLFU #FatimaUniversity #ourladyoffatimauniversity #Valenzuela #Valenzuelaphilippines #health #medicalcenter

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aditisharmaji-blog · 8 years ago

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Our Lady of Fatima Convent Sec. School was built up in the year 1960, the point of the general public is the training of the adolescent, particularly poor people and the deserted youngsters. Since 1901 the General public is effectively occupied with the field of instruction in India. It is a co-instructive foundation subsidiary to Focal Leading body of Optional Training (CBSE). The medium of direction is English.

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robotics-news · 6 years ago

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Our Lady of Fatima School robotics team takes 4th place at national convention

A special honor for Our Lady of Fatima School. The Beta robotics team competed against 45 schools at the National Beta Convention in Oklahoma .. Read More

#robots #robotics #news #science #technology

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takenews-blog1 · 8 years ago

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CAA Cancels Golden Globes Party, Will Start Legal Defense Fund for #Sex #Harassment Cases (Exclusive)

New Post has been published on https://takenews.net/caa-cancels-golden-globes-party-will-start-legal-defense-fund-for-sex-harassment-cases-exclusive/

CAA Cancels Golden Globes Party, Will Start Legal Defense Fund for #Sex #Harassment Cases (Exclusive)

In lieu of its annual pre-Golden Globes get together, this 12 months CAA is establishing a authorized protection fund for sexual harassment instances, The Hollywood Reporter has discovered.

The monetary assets that usually can be dedicated to the Friday evening bash — which has been held previously at hotspots together with Soho Home and Catch LA — shall be redirected to arrange a authorized protection fund to help victims of office harassment instances from all industries, not simply leisure, a supply tells THR. The intention is to honor the company’s nominated shoppers — which embrace The Publish’s Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg; Molly’s Recreation’s Jessica Chastain and Aaron Sorkin; Large Little Lies’ Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon; I, Tonya’s Margot Robbie; and Woman Chook’s Saoirse Ronan — whereas being aware of the cultural reckoning that has taken place in Hollywood over the previous two months with respect to sexual harassment and different types of abuse, a course of that started with a number of accusations in opposition to Harvey Weinstein printed in The New York Occasions and The New Yorker in early October (Netflix has dropped its conventional Globes afterparty co-host The Weinstein Co.)

CAA itself was named in a Dec. 5 Occasions story about Weinstein’s “complicity machine,” which reported that a number of brokers had been informed concerning the producer’s conduct towards girls over time however continued to rearrange personal conferences with feminine shoppers for him. “We need to clarify to shoppers and colleagues that even one in all our shoppers being harassed over the corporate’s 42 years is one too many,” the company acknowledged in response to the article. “We apologize to any particular person the company let down for not assembly the excessive expectations we place on ourselves, as people and as an organization.”

CAA additionally has joined the “50-50 by 2020” pledge, which commits to reaching gender parity in firm management in three years’ time. “We’re so grateful to our feminine colleagues, shoppers and others throughout the trade for bringing focus to this crucial and overdue objective,” president Richard Lovett wrote in a memo despatched agencywide on Friday. “Lasting change requires new day-to-day habits. We should act in help of our shared reality: Our enterprise and our lives shall be higher and stronger if we deal with one another the way in which we want to be handled.”

The company’s pledge includes its administration committee — which two weeks in the past added Risa Gertner and Sherrie Sage Schwartz to affix committee member Michelle Kydd Lee — the CAA-TPG board and the operations group, the finance and office culture-focused physique that shaped two weeks in the past with a gender-balanced crew of 36 division heads and rising leaders.

ICM Companions introduced its participation within the pledge final week. In the meantime, WME supplied seed funding for Ladies in Movie’s sexual-harassment assist line, which went reside Dec. 1, and UTA hosted a dialog with Anita Hill and the Nationwide Ladies’s Regulation Middle president and CEO Fatima Goss Graves on Friday. In February, UTA canceled its pre-Oscar get together in favor of a rally to learn the American Civil Liberties Union and the Worldwide Rescue Committee.

Learn Lovett’s full memo under.

As we head into our closing weekend earlier than a well-deserved vacation break, I needed to share some further ideas with everybody.

For sure, what follows is a mirrored image of the work of leaders throughout the corporate – men and women.

Right this moment, let’s check out our commitments going ahead, in addition to commitments we made again in 1995, and what we discovered and completed alongside the way in which.

First, going ahead, we’re dedicated to 50/50 management by 2020.

Inside three years, we may have equal participation of men and women in our management and administration.

1. Our Administration Committee shall be 50/50 by 2020.

2. The CAA-TPG board shall be 50/50 by 2020.

three. Our 36-person Operations Group is already 50/50, comprised equally of men and women.

We’re so grateful to our feminine colleagues, shoppers and others throughout the trade for bringing focus to this crucial and overdue objective. We’re decided to make our shoppers proud and be an organization of which all of you’ll proceed to be proud.

We encourage others throughout our trade and past to think about becoming a member of us and the opposite firms who’ve additionally dedicated to 50/50 by 2020.

As everybody is aware of, we’ve got lengthy had many division leaders who’re girls. As well as, many men and women have led with no title, and are among the many finest executives within the trade.

I need to emphasize that the newly-formed Operations Group would be the middle of our forward-looking work and pondering.

Again at our firm retreat in 2013, as we continued our dialog about range, our buddy and visitor speaker Mellody Hobson posed the query: Is everybody on the desk?

We have been all moved and motivated by this easy and profound query that, as a few of chances are you’ll keep in mind, we posted on the partitions of our elevator as a day by day motivator, problem and reminder.

Our Operations Group makes clear that we’re dedicated to having the ability to reply that query: At CAA, everybody IS on the desk.

Lasting change requires new day-to-day habits. We should act in help of our shared reality: our enterprise and our lives shall be higher and stronger if we deal with one another the way in which we want to be handled. All of us need to be handled respectfully. All of us need to be included in energetic and constructive alternatives.

Everybody right here is at our greatest – individually and collectively – once we seize the chance for change and make a directional dedication.

This watershed second is simply such a chance.

We acknowledged an identical alternative in 1995.

As we started our management, CAA had no habits related to neighborhood service, outreach or cause-related work for our shoppers or our firm.

We regarded round and didn’t see many companies that have been examples of what we believed was a defining alternative for a brand new era of leaders.

We needed to outline success as an equation that started, after all, with the very best consumer service. We knew that monetary success would observe consumer service. However we additionally thought high-impact, participatory giving have to be on the middle of our definition of success.

We additionally knew that within the extra aggressive company world and past, different firms would observe our lead, in order to not be left behind. And we welcomed that, as a result of we knew that extra individuals in want can be helped in consequence.

Contemplate the affect and influence of the worldwide firm we’re immediately; our attain throughout leisure, sports activities, media, expertise and a lot extra. It’s clear that our work and management can have an immense constructive influence.

Again in 1995, we couldn’t have predicted the success of our basis and all that might observe.

As we at all times say: every part connects.

We will draw a line from our first rent in 1995, Michelle Kydd Lee, and the forming of the inspiration; to Christy Haubegger’s management of our range efforts, starting in 2005; to the formation of our Social Impression group, led by Judee Ann Williams and Aubree Curtis in 2016; and the creation of CAA AMPLIFY, the first-ever multicultural enterprise summit, held in June 2017.

Right this moment, we’ve got well-developed habits of high-impact service and giving throughout the corporate.

And now, shifting ahead, we’re dedicated to creating collectively all the advantages of equally shared alternative and accountability.

—

With all that stated, right here is a few further data for many who will not be totally conscious of the work led by our basis previously 20 years. Right here is only a sampling of our efforts:

The CAA Basis has supported 1000’s of organizations, offering monetary assets and investing human capital by collaborations with our staff, shoppers, and policymakers, all working collectively to create significant change.

We’re a crew of speedy responders.

Twelve years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, we proceed to make an influence with our efforts in New Orleans, sending groups of volunteers to help in rebuilding efforts annually.

We supplied on-site aid in Haiti following the devastating earthquake in 2010.

We have been in Tennessee after the floods in 2010 and twister in Tuscaloosa in 2011; created the Nashville Rising and ‘Bama Rising advantages, which collectively raised $four.four million for these shattered areas; and proceed to coordinate annual volunteer journeys to each areas yearly.

In partnership with AmeriCares, we despatched a crew to Japan after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011. We have been on the bottom in The Rockaways instantly after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and proceed to deliver help to the world.

Within the final 12 months alone, the CAA Basis has:

· Coordinated worker participation in girls’s marches globally and hosted the co-chairs of the Ladies’s March for a roundtable dialogue.

· Sponsored and hosted occasions for greater than 50 non-profit organizations together with GLAAD, MLT, South Central Students, Ladies in Movie, Step Up Ladies’s Community, Nationwide Affiliation of Latino Impartial Producers, American Black Movie Pageant, and Ghetto Movie College, amongst others.

· Donated vital money and time to essential causes, together with public schooling, the humanities; LGBTQ points, girls’s rights, navy veterans, refugees, and environmental points and extra.

· Launched Take Motion Day: a day-long, non-partisan summit that welcomed greater than two dozen thought-leaders, organizers and politicians to share insights and concepts on topical points and methods to take social motion.

· Shaped CAA Civics, a non-partisan employee-led and created group devoted to selling civic engagement and citizenship, our seventh employee-created and -led group.

· Hosted College Day: A marketing campaign that advantages the dropout prevention group Communities in Colleges which additionally features a day of programming in our workplaces for 200 hundred college students to be taught extra about increased schooling.

· Organized by the Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, and London chapters of the CAA Job Pressure, our annual profit occasions have collectively raised greater than three million for quite a lot of non-profit organizations.

· Hosted greater than 300 college students in our constructing by employee-led schooling workshops.

· Introduced vacation cheer to greater than 150 households in our communities by Undertake-A-Household and different vacation gifting packages.

In per week, we are going to full our 12 months after which get pleasure from trip with household and buddies.

Let’s come again rested and energized to create ground-breaking alternatives for our shoppers, and able to be our greatest in dealing with challenges and alternatives forward.

Dec. 11, three:55 p.m. Edited so as to add additional context.

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lauren-judith-anne · 8 years ago

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Just some delicate lilac beading 🌸🌸... This lovely dress got to have its night out this last weekend for Leanne's matric dance ... @knightebby #laurenjudithannedesign #custom #eveninggown #bespoke #handmade #lilac #floral #chiffon #southafricandesign #matricdance (at Our Lady of Fatima Dominican Convent School)

#eveninggown #custom #southafricandesign #bespoke #chiffon #laurenjudithannedesign #lilac #floral #handmade #matricdance

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suchagiantnerd · 9 years ago

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46 Books, 1 Year

In 2016 I didn’t QUITE make it to my goal of reading 50 books, but I sh*t out an adorable human instead so I don’t feel too bad. Because of the pregnancy and baby-having, I also decided to cut myself some slack and didn’t take notes after finishing each book (which I usually do), so this year’s reviews are not as detailed as usual. But if you’re interested in learning more about any of these reads, just message me and I can chat more about them!

1. The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country / Helen Russell I am obsessed with the Danish concept of hygge (which loosely translates to ‘coziness’). I wanted to learn more about how to live a life full of hygge and other ways of increasing happiness. This is a fitting read for this time of year. January doesn’t have to be cold and depressing; it can be full of candlelight, soft blankets, comforting food, and friends and family. The message seems to be to nestle in and hibernate together!

2. Dragonfly in Amber / Diana Gabaldon The second book in the Outlander series follows Claire and Jamie as the battle of Culloden approaches. Can they stop it? Or does attempting to change history result in even worse outcomes?

3. Voyager / Diana Gabaldon I can’t say much about the third book in the Outlander series, as it will spoil some big plot twists. So I’ll just say that the sex scenes are as great as ever!

4. Six Metres of Pavement / Farzana Doctor Set in Toronto, this story follows three broken people as they slowly find community and acceptance with each other - Ismail grieves his infant daughter years after her death (which was ultimately his fault), Celia, recently widowed, deals with loneliness and feeling unwanted, and Fatima, a queer university student, deals with the fallout of coming out to her traditional family. A heartwarming read, though the plot feels a bit too contrived.

5. The Light Between Oceans / M.L. Stedman You best read this one before the movie comes out! Or is it already out and I’m that out of touch now? This story will make you want to visit all the barren, lonely lighthouses you can find. It will also make you thank god for your relatively uncomplicated life. This book is heartbreaking and features baby-stealing (with the best of intentions), WWI PTSD, and a look at life (for better or worse) in small town Australia.

6. Cinder / Marissa Meyer You thought for a second I’d forgone my first love, YA Dystopian? Nuh uh! This is the first in a series that works fairytale characters into a futuristic world full of spaceships, robots, and a violent lunar people. “Cinder” obviously pays homage to Cinderella. But instead of one glass slipper, she’s got one bionic leg and is an expert mechanic.

7. Circling the Sun / Paula McLain Based on the real-life love triangle between Beryl Markham, Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton in while colonial Kenya, McLain takes us from Beryl’s “wild” childhood without a mother figure playing with her Kipsigis (a Kenyan tribe) best friend and riding horses, to her bold and sometimes disastrous adult years training horses, falling in and out of love and lust, and eventually becoming one of the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic. This is a well-written and dreamy story, but ignores most of the world outside the expat community. Is that irresponsible? I don’t know.

8. Wolf Winter / Cecilia Ekback If there’s a better “dead of winter” read, I don’t know what it is. I loved this tale taking place in 1717 in Swedish Lapland. A disparate group of settlers struggles to survive a particularly brutal winter just after one of their members turns up dead. Was it actually an animal attack? Many of the settlers believe otherwise as suspicion and cabin fever set in.

9. Behind the Beautiful Forevers / Katherine Boo This non-fiction account of a Mumbai slum reads like a novel. Journalist Katherine Boo spent months getting to know the slum’s residents, gaining insight into their hopes and dreams, the drudgery of their day-to-day existence, and the political and personal ties between them all. Their stories will break your heart.

10. Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know / Emily Oster I’ve always dreaded pregnancy, mainly because of all the policing of pregnant women’s bodies. This book is a nice antidote to all of that. When Oster, a statistician, became pregnant for the first time, she gathered together all of the valid studies about caffeine and alcohol consumption, gardening, certain foods, owning cats, etc, etc, etc and and complied their results, determining what’s really harmful to a growing baby and what’s not. Have your cup of coffee in the morning, ladies. And a glass of wine now and then is just fine! But no ciggies. No ciggies at all.

11. The Heart Goes Last / Margaret Atwood Atwood’s latest novel does not disappoint. Set in a near-dystopian future, a new gated community takes the prison-as-business model one step further. Rotating every month, half of the population acts as prisoners in an actual prison, while the other half maintain the town or work as prison guards. It’s efficient, right? Less housing required, the prisoners all do work to help the town, everyone gets a salary. But it just might be too good to be true…

12. Drums of Autumn / Diana Gabaldon Once again, I can’t say much about the fourth book in the Outlander series for fear of spoilers except that Jamie and Claire are a bit older now, and there’s a new generation of sexy Scottish people to populate your daydreams.

13. Fifteen Dogs / Andre Alexis I don’t know what to say about this book other than I both loved it and hated it? This is also the book my book club has spent the most time ever talking about. Set in Toronto, it follows 15 dogs staying the night at a veterinary clinic who are suddenly blessed/cursed with human consciousness. What follows is occasionally comedic, but mostly violent and terribly sad.

14. I Just Want to Pee Alone / Some Kick Ass Mom Bloggers I should probably have waited to read this collection of true stories until after I’d had the baby. In one story, a woman describes her post-birth vagina as a sad old elephant.

15. The Damned / Andrew Pyper Pyper is great at sketching out a truly creepy character. In this story, Dan is haunted by his deceased twin sister, who happened to be a sociopath while alive. Now that she’s dead, her ability to torture him seems to have no bounds. I also really liked the book’s setting of Detroit.

16. Scarlet / Marissa Meyer The second book in the “Lunar Chronicles” series, this book focuses on a Red Riding Hood-inspired protagonist. And the love interest is pretty wolf-like. Oooh mama!

17. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century / Steven Pinker Full disclosure: This is a grammar book. Basically you shouldn’t read this unless you write for a living / want to really improve your writing. I’m not even sure I should have read it. Some tips were great, others were too detailed for me to grasp, others I already forget.

18. Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time / Jeff Speck Though this book focuses on American cities, it applies to anywhere. If you’re an amateur urban planning nerd like me, you’ll love this book. Two fun factoids - trees increase a neighbourhood’s value and liveability A LOT and you’re more likely to suffer a heart attack in the few hours after you’ve been driving a car. Driving in a city is THAT stressful.

19. How to Be a Woman / Caitlin Moran In this non-fiction tome of memories / essays, well-known British feminist Moran takes on body image, sex, working in the music industry, pregnancy and childbirth, living in poverty, and abortion.

20. The Jade Peony / Wayson Choy This novel reads more like a series of related short stories, and follows the childhoods and teenage years of three siblings, Jook-Liang, Jung-Sum and Sek-Lung living in Vancouver’s Chinatown in the 1930s and 40s. This is a touching book, and each child deals with their own stresses and troubles from losing a beloved grandmother to realizing one’s sexuality to the difficulties of life as a child of new immigrants.

21. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman / Lindy West Lindy West is my hero, and the author of my favourite piece of comedic writing ever, a hilarious review of Jurassic Park from beginning to end. She’s also a fiercely intelligent feminist and this is her first book. It’s about trying to make herself as small and quiet as possible, only to realize that that’s bullshit. As women, we should be as big and loud as we want.

22. I Was Told There’d Be Cake / Sloane Crosley This is a non-fiction collection of stories from Crosley’s life. Who is she? I didn’t know before and I still don’t really know, but she’s a Jewish New Yorker who is a good writer and is pretty funny. This collection is not heavy in the least - it’s just some funny and amusing anecdotes from a regular person’s life.

23. Tampa / Alissa Nutting Hooooooooo boy. What can I say about this one? Nutting tells the story of Celeste Price, a 26-year old middle school teacher who is a pedophile. And Price is relentless in her pursuit of the perfect victims, searching for boys just on the cusp of puberty. This is kind of a reverse “Lolita”. But I gather it’s way grittier (I have not read “Lolita” so I can’t say for sure). Nutting is a good writer and her style is very, shall we say, visceral? But this book is not for everyone.

24. The Widow / Fiona Barton This book felt like Barton’s attempt to get on the “Gone Girl” / “The Girl on the Train” bandwagon, and it fell short. I don’t recommend it. I also hated the main character, a simpering weakling of a woman.

25. Time Zero / Carolyn Cohagan This feels like a “The Giver” of our time. It’s also a truly feminist YA dystopian novel. In it, Cohagan has created a world (in what used to be Manhattan) run by men with a set of very harsh rules for women. In a poignant twist, all of the rules in the novel are actual rules that various women around the world today have to live under. I really believe this book should be added to the public school curriculum.

26. Battle Royale / Koushun Tatami Before “The Hunger Games”, there was “Battle Royale”. Set in a dystopian Japan, each year in a government experiment, random classes of ninth graders are sent to secluded locations and forced to kill each other until one survivor remains. To prevent runaways, each student must also wear a collar which explodes if the student tries to escape. YIKES. A cult classic, this is a sad and violent read full of interesting characters.

27. Before the Fall / Noah Hawley A private plane crashes into the Atlantic ocean, and of the 11 people on board, only two survive - a young boy and the lone outsider, an aspiring artist who’d recently befriended one of the rich passengers. This is a tight, scintillating thriller, and as the mystery of what (or who) caused the crash unfolds, we get an inside look at each of the passenger’s thoughts and backgrounds. I didn’t love the resolution, but the excellent lead-up was worth the read.

28. The Passage / Justin Cronin I reread this for the third time in advance of the release of “The City of Mirrors” (book 30), the third in this trilogy. This remains my favourite book / series of all time. It’s a dystopian/sci-fi/thriller/epic full of an amazing cast of characters and spanning over a century.

29. The Twelve / Justin Cronin I also reread the second book in “The Passage” trilogy.

30. The City of Mirrors / Justin Cronin As expected, the final book in this trilogy both thrilled me and broke my heart.

31. The Haunting of Maddy Clare / Simone St. James I just wanted a good old-fashioned book about a ghost set in the British countryside. This book was that, but was cheesier than I thought it would be. And unexpectedly involved a sexy romance sub-plot which was enjoyable and terrible at the same time.

32. The Girls / Emma Cline In the summer of 1969, bored and naive teenager Evie befriends a mysterious older girl named Suzanne, who slowly brings her into the folds of a Manson-inspired cult. The Manson-y cult leader isn’t quite as big a character as you might think, and the book, like the title, really does focus on the relationships between young girls that we can all relate to - the idolization, the obsessiveness, the jealously, the fervent love we sometimes feel for each other.

33. The Last Star / Rick Yancey I had to read the final book in “The Fifth Wave” alien trilogy, and much like the “Divergent” series, this series gets worse with each tome.

34. The Bluest Eye / Toni Morrison Penola is a young Black girl growing up in Ohio in the post-Great Depression era. Her life is shit. Daughter to an abusive father and an overtired and busy working mother, teased at school, and simply put, already beaten down by life, all Pecola wants are for her eyes to turn blue. This is a classic and an important read for these times.

35. Indian Horse / Richard Wagamese This novel tells the story of Saul, an Ojibway boy sent to a residential school after his family spends a few years trying to protect him from just such a fate. Saul’s only escape from the horrors of the school is his growing love of hockey. It turns out that he’s a gifted player, and his talent allows him a chance at a better life. All Canadians should read this book. The racism Saul experiences in the 1970s is still alive and well today all across this country.

36. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child / J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne If you’re a Potter fan, you’ve also already read this, and if you’re not, you don’t care!

37. After Birth / Elisa Albert I read this novel in preparation for motherhood. In it, we meet Ari, a first-time mother dealing with feelings of loneliness and the emotional fallout of her caesarian section. She cannot get over it, and her anger and sadness are palpable. She later befriends mother-to-be Mina, and the two develop their own little support system (or should I call it a lifeline?). This is a much needed story about pregnancy, birth, mothering, female friendship, and the importance of support from friends, family, and the medical profession.

38. Sex Object: A Memoir / Jessica Valenti In this collection of anecdotes from feminist and journalist Valenti, she tackles issues of sexism, harassment, internet trolling and your everyday, run-of-the-mill misogyny against the backdrop of her youth and young adulthood in New York. Add this to your growing feminist library (we all have one, right?)

39. Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue: How to Raise Your Kids Free of Gender Stereotypes / Christia Spears Brown, PhD The title says it all. But as you’ve probably seen, Fern wears a lot of pink. You can’t say no to hand-me-downs and gifts! I guess I’ll work to combat gender stereotypes in other ways…

40. Middlesex / Jeffrey Eugenides This is a sprawling coming-of-age story about Cal, who is intersex. When born, Cal appeared to be a girl and was raised as such. As they go through puberty, Cal’s transformation is more confusing and painful than that of most, and they start to question their identity. Eugenides also details the strange and somewhat taboo history of Cal’s family, illustrating that nothing occurs in a vacuum. We exist in the context of our families. This was a thoughtful and engaging read.

41. Everything I Never Told You / Celeste Ng This novel explores all the things we don’t tell those we are closest to - our spouses, our children, our parents, our siblings - and the fallout of these omissions. It also explores the unique challenges of a mixed-race family living in 1970s America including overt and subtle racism, feelings of not belonging, and questioning one’s own identity. On top of all this, Ng has also rolled in a gripping mystery.

42. The Japanese Lover / Isabel Allende Allende is one of my favourite authors, but this book fell flat. The dialogue felt forced and preachy, and the characters, especially the Japanese ones, were often stereotypes. A tale of illicit love and Japanese internment camps (sounds promising, right?) I would skip this one, especially if you’ve never read Allende before.

43. North American Lake Monsters / Nathan Ballingrud I was so excited to read this collection of strange and scary short stories, but it was a disappointment. Ballingrud does not take any of these stories far enough, and the endings were almost all vague and left things up in the air. I don’t consider this tactic all that artistic anymore, it just seems lazy. COMMIT TO AN ENDING, authors, COMMIT TO A DANG ENDING!

44. Cold Mountain / Charles Frazier Towards the end of the Civil War, soldier Inman has had enough. Recovering from a serious neck wound in hospital, he decides to defect and make his way home to Cold Mountain and his love, Ada. Meanwhile, back on Cold Mountain, Ada’s fallen on hard times and is in serious survival mode. As Inman makes his long way home, Frazier paints a broken and bloody countryside on the cusp of something new.

45. Mrs. Poe / Lynn Cullen This is a juicy historical fiction novel about the love triangle between Edgar Allan Poe, his wife, and his contemporary, writer Frances Osgood. Surprisingly, the delicate ingenue Mrs. Poe seems like the creepiest one of the three (whether or not this is based on fact, I don’t know). I loved the setting, the plot, and the literati cast of characters, but the style of writing was a bit fluffy. It felt as though Cullen was writing with a future movie deal in mind.

46. All My Puny Sorrows / Miriam Toews Set in Winnipeg and Toronto, this story follows a Mennonite family plagued by tragedy after tragedy. Toews explores issues of intergenerational trauma, suicide, mental health, the damaging effects of patriarchy, and how amidst all that, love still flourishes.