Today is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Today we honor Saint Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (died 304). Today is also the Fifth Day of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, with the overall theme for 2012 is “We will all be changed by the Victory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Cor 15:51-58): for today, we highlight Changed by the Peace of the Risen Lord. And as today is the 39th anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision of Row v. Wade, today would normally be a Day of Prayer and Penance for Life, but this Day will be postponed until tomorrow, since today is a Sunday.
Born in Heusca, Aragon (in modern Spain), today’s Saint was a friend of Saint Valerius of Saragossa in Spain, and served as his deacon. Imprisoned and tortured in Valencia, Spain for his faith during the persecutions of Diocletian, he spent part of his time being burned on a gridiron. While in prison, he converted his jailer. He was finally offered release if he would give up the scripture texts for burning, but he refused. After further torture, he was released to the care of his friends; they cleaned him up and put him in a bed, where he promptly died. He is the Patron Saint of Lisbon, Portugal, and of all things having to do with wine and wine-making. Today is also the Fifth Day of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; for today, we highlight Changed by the Peace of the Risen Lord, and we pray, “Loving and merciful God, teach us the joy of sharing in Your peace. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so that we may tear down the walls of hostility separating us. May the risen Christ, who is our peace, help us to overcome all division and unite us as members of His household. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, to whom with You and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.” And, as today is the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973, today would normally be a Day of Prayer and Penance for Life, but this Day will be postponed until tomorrow, since today is a Sunday.
On Saturday night I charged up my spare BlackBerry battery, and charged up my camera. Also our LSU Men’s Basketball team lost their game with #17 Florida by the score of 64 to 76.
Today I did my Devotional Reading on our way to work; once at work, Richard was dealing on Let It Ride, and I was the relief dealer for Pai-Gow, Mini-Baccarat, and (for one rotation) a Blackjack game. Otherwise, our day at work was uneventful.
Once home from work, I read the Sunday papers and ate my lunch salad; I then took a nap. While I slept, our LSU Women’s Basketball team lost their game with Arkansas by the score of 52 to 72, I did not go to Mass (this is the second weekend I’ve missed), and Michelle came in; Richard reported that she seemed much better in mental outlook. I woke up about 8:00 pm, and figured that I’d better do my Daily Update before going back to sleep.
Tomorrow is Monday; besides working, I need to get a haircut in the afternoon and to do the Weekly Computer Maintenance.
Our Parting Quote on this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time comes to us from Joe Paterno, American college football coach. Born as Joseph Paterno in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, after serving a year in the Army, he attended Brown University; where he played quarterback and cornerback. Paterno graduated with the Brown University Class of 1950 and joined his college coach Rip Engle as an assistant coach at Penn State in 1950. Engle retired after the 1965 season, and Paterno was named his successor. For the rest of his professional life, he was the head coach at Penn State. The Pittsburgh Steelers offered their head coach position to Paterno in 1969, an offer he considered seriously. Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham contacted Paterno in 1969 to see if he would accept the vacant Michigan job; Paterno turned down the offer. In 1972 he was offered the head coaching position by the New England Patriots. He accepted their offer, but only three weeks later decided to back out of it. The New York Giants reportedly offered Paterno their head coaching spot numerous times during the team’s struggles during the 1970s and early 1980s. He led the Nittany Lions to National Championships in 1982 and 1986; in the latter year he was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. In 1995 Paterno was forced to apologize for a profanity-laced tirade directed at Rutgers then-head coach Doug Graber at the conclusion of a nationally televised game. Paterno was well-known for his gameday image—thick glasses, rolled-up pants (by his admission, to save on cleaning bills), white socks and Brooklyn-tinged speech. Reflecting the growth in Penn State’s stature during his tenure, Beaver Stadium was expanded six times during his tenure, more than doubling in size in the process (from 46,284 in 1966 to 106,572 in 2001). He was accused of “making light of sexual assault” in 2006 by the National Organization for Women which called for his resignation. In November 2006 Paterno was involved in a sideline collision during a game against Wisconsin. He was unable to avoid the play and was struck in the knee by Badgers linebacker DeAndre Levy’s helmet. Paterno, then 79 years old, suffered a fractured shin bone and damage to knee ligaments. He was was involved in a road rage incident in 2007. Also in 2007 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach, and after five years of court battles, the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) revealed Paterno’s salary in November 2007: $512,664. The figure was not inclusive of other compensation, such as money from television and apparel contracts as well as other bonuses that Paterno and other football bowl subdivision coaches earned, said Robert Gentzel, SERS communications director. In 2008, due to a litany of football players’ off-the-field legal problems, including 46 Penn State football players having faced 163 criminal charges according to an ESPN analysis of Pennsylvania court records and reports dating to 2002, ESPN questioned Paterno’s and the university’s control over the Penn State football program by producing and airing an ESPN’s Outside the Lines feature covering the subject. Paterno was criticized for his response dismissing the allegations as a “witch hunt”, and chiding reporters for asking about problems. On November 6, 2010, he recorded his 400th career victory with a 35–21 victory over Northwestern. Facing a 21–0 deficit, Penn State scored 35 unanswered points, tying Paterno’s largest comeback victory as a coach. The 2009 season was Paterno’s 44th as head coach of the Nittany Lions, passing Amos Alonzo Stagg for the most years as head coach at a single institution in Division I. In 2009 Paterno was named to Sporting News’ list of the 50 greatest coaches of all time (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, college basketball, and college football). He is listed in position 13. On October 29, 2011, Paterno recorded his 409th career victory with a 10–7 victory over Illinois. Facing a 7–3 deficit, Penn State drove 86 yards on their final drive to score a touchdown. A missed 42-yard field goal by Illinois which would have sent the game to overtime secured Paterno’s 409th victory. With this victory, Paterno passed Eddie Robinson to become the winningest head coach in Division I college football. He trails the leader, John Gagliardi of Division III Saint John’s University (Minnesota), by 73 wins. Paterno holds more bowl victories (24) than any coach in history. He also tops the list of bowl appearances with 37. He has a bowl record of 24 wins, 12 losses, and 1 tie following a defeat in the 2011 Outback Bowl. Paterno is the only coach with the distinction of having won each of the current four major bowls—Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar—as well as the Cotton Bowl Classic, at least once. Under Paterno, Penn State won at least three bowl games each decade since 1970. On November 5, 2011, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts relating to sexual abuse of eight young boys over a 15-year period, including alleged incidents that occurred at Penn State. A 2011 grand jury investigation reported that then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary told Paterno in 2002 that he had seen Sandusky abusing a 10-year-old boy in Penn State football’s shower facilities. According to the report, Paterno notified Athletic Director Tim Curley the next day about the incident, and later notified Gary Schultz, director of business and finance, who oversaw the University Police. Prosecutors have stated that Paterno was not accused of any wrongdoing, as he fulfilled his legal obligation to report the incident to his immediate supervisor, Curley. However, he was harshly criticized for not reporting the incident to police himself, or at least seeing to it that it was reported, as many have concluded from the facts that are currently known. On the night of November 8, hundreds of students gathered in front on Paterno’s home in support of the coach. Paterno thanked the crowd and announced the following day that he would retire at the end of the season. Later that evening, however, the Board of Trustees voted to relieve him of his coaching duties effective immediately. On January 12, the board of trustees announced that Paterno would remain a tenured member of the Penn State faculty even though he was no longer a coach, and Penn State was to honor his contract as if he retired at the end of the season. The details of his retirement were still being finalized when he died (2012): “You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional.”
Max Snyder had a letter ( now called letter of intent) to Penn State, hoping to play football. He walked in, heard a ruckus opened a door and saw a guy trying to force a girl. She ran out the now open door, the man snarled at Max telling him hed nver play at Penn State. He went upstairs to talk to Coach Engle who said reportedly “Son you just don’t understand football.”
So Max A Pennylvania boy to his toes forever rooted against Penn State, Played for Juniata which BEAT Penn State ( to his delight) and when asked Why he was from near AState College but refused to support Penn State he would always say ” Joe Paterno will end his career in a sex scandle”
Eternal Rest Joe, You were of a generation that saw nothing wrong with abuse