Archive for December 26, 2023

The 2nd Day of Christmas The Stark Reminder of St. Stephen’s Martyrdom

Posted: December 26, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, catholic devotions
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Christmas is of course a time of joy to celebrate the birth of the world redeemer, however December 26th the 2nd day of Christmas is a stark reminder that while the souls of uncounted millions will be delivered thanks to the events of the 25th, it is not without cost.

Because this is the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian Martyr.

Now for those immersed in propaganda of Hamas it might be a surprise that until Muslims started blowing themselves up in their quest to kill Jews a martyr was understood as someone who gave up their live for the cause of the faith without harming anyone else.

Before St. Maximilian Kolbe was killed by the Nazis, before St. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, before Sts. Thomas Moore and St. John Fisher were beheaded, before the first Christian was thrown to the lions and even before the Apostle James the greater was killed by Herod, there was St. Stephen.

St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church singled out for mention in the list of the seven in scripture as: ”a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit “ I suspect, although scripture does not say some ancient authorities suggest that he might have been one of the 72 who were sent out to the various towns to prepare the way for Christ. This would explain his ability to confound the members of the Synagogue of Freedman in his arguments which led to their accusations of blasphemy before the San Hendren.

At his trial he re-iterated the history of Israel from Abraham to Solomon before closing with the words that set them off and led to his death:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”

When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.

Unlike the execution of Jesus which was sanctioned by Rome, Stephen’s stoning was done by a mob in a fit of passion, ironically much like the mobs currently running amok in western cities over Gaza

But note how as they are stoning him what his final words are:

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them“; and when he said this, he fell asleep.

emphasis mine

And by those two acts, the first dedicating himself to God and interceding for those who murdered him, he gave the example that the great Christian Saints have followed for two thousand years. The example of loving God and loving neighbor, even your enemies.

All of us are not called to martyrdom as Stephen was, but all of us are called to follow his example of the love of God and of neighbor, even our enemies.

May we learn this lesson well.

Ending the indignity of self-checkout

Posted: December 26, 2023 by chrisharper in Uncategorized

By Christopher Harper


If you choose self-checkout, you may be considered a glutton for punishment.

With each selection, the automated voice gets more exasperated with your mistakes.

You need to place all the items in the bagging area.

Didn’t you get that necessity the first time? Or the second time? Now it’s the sixth time!

Have you checked all the items? Are you really trying to steal something?
Your card cannot be read. Please try again.

Would you like to add 57 cents to give money to people who aren’t jerks like you?

The card reader failed!

I’ve never liked shopping, and I guess it seemed that self-checkout would be faster the first time I used it. It probably is.

But self-checkout is a way to get me to do all the work that a real person has done for years.

But Ben Cohen of The Wall Street Journal wrote recently about a system that ends the frustration and the embarrassment of self-checkout.

At a clothing store called Uniqlo, the company has simplified the process using old rather than new technology: radio frequency identification readers or RFID tags.

“I picked one of the dozen self-checkout machines, followed the instructions on the screen, and placed my clothing in the box. The machine did the rest of the work. I confirmed the number of scanned items, tapped to pay, and grabbed my receipt. And that was it,” Cohen wrote.

The key to the whole operation was RFID tags and their declining cost. As the technology became more precise and less costly, retailers could afford to buy RFID chips in bulk and deploy them in novel ways: predicting demand, adjusting production, optimizing distribution, preventing theft—and reinventing self-checkout.

Uniqlo said the new self-checkout system cuts waiting times in half—and the longer it’s been in a market, the more customers prefer it.

Putting RFID cards on some products, such as tomatoes and bananas, may be difficult. But stores have found ways to counter such products’ lack of bar codes.

The only further change would be a way to silence the ever-present school marm who anticipates and notes every conceivable mistake you make!