National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, (27 April). The free event will be held from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. As of this writing, there are 500 collection sites planned in New England, including 55 in Connecticut, 50 in Maine, 188 in Massachusetts, 120 in New Hampshire, 38 in Rhode Island, and 49 in Vermont.

Public health, law enforcement, and other government and community representatives will be working at these sites to collect expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs that are potentially dangerous if left in the family’s medicine cabinet.

This National Take-Back Day is designed to provide an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction. These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and are considered an unacceptable risk to public health and safety.

This one-day effort is designed to bring national focus to the issue of increasing pharmaceutical controlled substance abuse. The program is anonymous, and it focuses on prescription and over the counter solid dosage medications (i.e., tablets and capsules). Intravenous solutions, injectables, and needles will not be accepted. In addition, illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative.

To view a list of collection sites in a specific state, please click on the following:

US DEA: National Take Back Initiative Collection Site Search

Edvard Grieg: String Quartet No. 1 in G minor

It's time for some classical music. This is a presentation of Edvard Grieg’s String Quartet No. 1 in G minor (op. 27) as given by the Nordic String Quartet:

 

Reflection from Henry Ward Beecher

"I used to think the Lord's Prayer was a short prayer; but as I live longer, and see more of life, I begin to believe there is no such thing as getting through it. If a man, in praying that prayer, were to be stopped by every word until he had thoroughly prayed it, it would take him a lifetime. 'Our Father' - there would be a wall a hundred feet high in just those two words to most men. If they might say, 'Our Tyrant,' or 'Our Monarch,' or even 'Our Creator,' they could get along with it; but 'Our Father' - why, a man is almost a saint who can pray that.

"You read, 'Thy will be done,' and you say to yourself, 'Oh, I can pray that;' and all the time your mind goes round and round in immense circuits and far-off distances; but God is continually bringing the circuits nearer to you, till He says, 'How is it about your temper and your pride? How is it about your business and your daily life?'

"This is a revolutionary petition. It would make many a man's shop and store tumble to the ground to utter it. Who can stand at the end of the avenue along which all his pleasant thoughts and wishes are blossoming like flowers, and send these terrible words, 'Thy will be done,' crashing down through it? I think it is the most fearful prayer to pray in the world." - Henry Ward Beecher

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of networking breakfasts.

Fr. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, on the Gospel of Mark

"When I was in high school, we learned about the New Testament in my freshman religion class. Fr. Joseph Murray, an Oblate who seemed to know everything about the Bible, taught us that the Gospel of Mark was the shortest of the four gospels. . . .

"Later theology classes would confirm what I had first learned as a freshman at Northeast Catholic High School. While they expanded my understanding of scripture and explained the Gospels in more detail, the core concepts of the Bible were shared with me while I was reading The Catcher in the Rye and trying to grasp the complexities of geometry. The idea that we could encounter Jesus alive in the pages of an ancient book appealed to me as a young man looking for meaning in life. . . ."

In a recent commentary, Father Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, reflected on how St. Mark's Gospel invites readers "to encounter the real Jesus and to let the Savior of the world change our world."

To access Fr. Kolodziej's complete post, please visit:

De Sales Weekly: Provincial's Reflection: Responding to the Gospel (25 APR 24)

Reflection Starter from Joyce Meyer

"Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting." - Joyce Meyer

Birthday Blessings, Jake!!!

Birthday greetings to (great) nephew Jake Duggan, who birthday is today!! May this day, and each day of the coming year, be richly blessed!!!

The Earls: "Remember Then"

It’s time for some doo wop. In this video, The Earls present "Remember Then":

 

National Youth Violence Prevention Week

This week, the week of 22-26 April, is being observed as National Youth Violence Prevention Week, an initiative designed to raise awareness and to educate students, teachers, school administrators, counselors, school resource officers, school staff, parents, and the public on effective ways to prevent or reduce youth violence.

Background information:

Sandy Hook Promise: National Youth Violence Prevention Week

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of those who teach literacy to adults.

Bill Schmitt on Defining Authenticity

"The editors at Merriam-Webster recently announced that 'authentic' was their 'word of the year' for 2023. They affirmed the perceptiveness voiced decades ago by comedian Robin Williams regarding our experiences: 'Reality - what a concept!'

"More people are wondering about reality, whether they want to embrace it, pursue it, manipulate it, or marginalize it. . . .

"In this culture where truth seems to be up for grabs, dictionary fans realize authenticity is important.

"However, in their news release, Merriam-Webster acknowledged that 'authentic' is a quality that is 'subject to debate.' As they put it, 'the line between "real" and "fake' has become increasingly blurred.'"

In a recent commentary, writer Bill Schmitt reflected on some of the ways we may face the authenticity challenge.

To access Mr. Schmitt's complete post, please visit:

Magis Center: We Seek Authenticity, But Be Careful Defining What's Real (23 APR 24)

Reflection Starter from the Gospel According to Mark

"[W]hoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:43-45