Ten Commandments of Internet Behavior

http://marysaggies.blogspot.com/Tuesday April 20th 2010
A list of action steps to keep children safe while networking online.

10 Commandments of Internet Behavior

1. You shall remember that you and those you communicate with on the Internet are
created in the image of God and you shall treat all people with respect.

2. You shall take personal responsibility for holding up the dignity of all people by
refusing to take part in activities that embarrass or threaten another person.

3. You shall communicate with your parents or other trusted adults if someone or
something on the Internet makes you feel uncomfortable.

4. You shall not participate in cyber-bullying; your messages will be truthful and will
not harm others.

5. You shall take personal responsibility for protecting your name, your passwords,
and all of your personal information while using the Internet.

6. You shall not use the passwords of others at any time or for any purpose.

7. You shall use security software and update it regularly.

8. You shall never meet someone “in person” whom you’ve “met” online.

9. You shall never use the Internet to steal someone’s graphic, written, recorded, or
real property.

10.You shall always think twice, and then think again, before clicking your “send” key.

We grownups should heed these rules as well. HT: Marcel at Aggie Catholic

A new blogroll addition!

Micki, from Holy Cards of Inspiration, has been working on her beautiful blog for as long as I've been blogging...3 years. Well, I was honored to receive an email from her the other day asking me to add her new blog to the Pillars' blogroll. First of all, if you haven't looked at the Holy Cards... blog you are missing true inspiration, now Micki's new blog is just as wonderful with inspiring words from many resources. Our world is blessed once again!

Just to give you a taste of her work, please see below:

Monday, April 19, 2010

Our Life-long Guest
"But just as He stood quietly among His apostles

in the amazing beauty of His resurrection...

so does He abide with us in the Blessed Sacrament,

that we may get to know Him, to outlive our tremulous agitation,

and the novelty of our surprise, and to grow familiar with Him,

if we can, as our life-long Guest.

There we can bring our sorrowsand cares and necessities at all hours...

We can choose our own time, and our visit can be

as short or as long as duties permit or as love desires.

There is an unction and a power in the mere silent companionship

of the Blessed Sacrament which is beyond all words.

"Fr. Frederick William Faber

The Blessed Sacrament

The Pillars had an Interview

Ok, I know things have been rather serious and even somewhat scarce this past year. Well, I think we can shake it up alittle and do something off the cuff.

Here is an interview that I was invited to do. It's simple, has a few typos (mea culpa!), but please leave a kind comment and vote for me!!

Thank YOU!

10 people I would like to spend 10 minutes with

1. Pope John Paul II

2. Mother Mary

3. Mr. Rogers

4. Lavar Burton, of Reading Rainbow

5. My father's parents, Loretta and William

6. Mother Theresa of Calcutta

7. Dolly Parton

8. GK Chesterton

9. my guardian angel

10. St. Veronica, her bravery is amazing

There are more, I am sure. My reason for not choosing Jesus or God? I'd be too scared and figure 10 minutes wouldn't be enough.

Now it's your turn.......who do you want to sit down with for 10 minutes? What would you talk about? I'm waiting to hear from you!

Divine Mercy Sunday

Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday.

We will be celebrating it at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. I was there in January for the March for Life and was so taken by the large mosaic behind the Altar of "Christ in Majesty" and I can't wait to be there again for 12 noon Mass.

There is no Unbelief;

Whoever plants a seed beneath the sod
And waits to see it push away the clod,
He trusts in God.

Whoever says when clouds are in the sky,
Be patient, heart, light breaketh by and by,
Trusts the Most High.

Whoever sees neath the field of winter snow,
The silent harvest of the future grow
God's power must know.

~Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Zenit: John Paul II's Tomb, 5 Years Later

Now One of Rome's Most Visited Sites
By Carmen Elena Villa

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Since 2005 when Pope John Paul II passed away, the Vatican grottoes where his tomb is found has become one of the most frequented tourist sites in Rome.

Officials at St. Peter's Basilica told ZENIT that an average of 12,000 people visit the tomb each day. It's open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 in the evening (6 in the summer). Many pontiffs rest near John Paul II, not least on the list, the first Pontiff ever: St. Peter.

An announcer in several languages calls visitors to silence and recollection, reminding that the place is sacred.

The entrance to the grottoes is made from the right of St. Peter's. Tourists descending the stairs will also see remains of columns from the first basilica, built under Constantine in the years 326-333.

They will come across the tomb of Callistus III and then the tombs of Boniface VIII, Nicholas III, Innocence VII, Nicholas V, Paul II, Paul VI, Marcellus II, John Paul I and Innocence IX.

Some of the tombs show the image of the Pope buried there -- the same images that can be seen in St. Paul Outside the Walls, which is adorned with the portraits of the unbroken line of 266 popes.

In a recent visit to the tomb, this correspondent noted that the great majority arrive specifically to find John Paul II's resting place. Others, particularly older visitors, pause before the tombs of Paul VI and John Paul I. Some ask where John XXIII is found (since 2002, his resting place is in the basilica. John Paul II now rests where the Good Pope's tomb used to lie).

There is always a guard at John Paul II's tomb. He asks those who want to pause in prayer to move back to a roped-off space, leaving the passageway clear. Many come to leave flowers, rosaries, medals and other sacred items. Some just look with curiosity.

"Since John Paul II died, we've had to organize everything differently, due to the number of pilgrims who come every day from around the world," a custodian of the tomb explained to ZENIT. "There is not a single day in which a multitude doesn't come."

Previously, access to the grottoes was from within the basilica itself. There weren't clear signs and few descended. Today pilgrims come asking how to find the remains of the Polish Pope.

"I loved seeing it because this is the first time I've been here," one pilgrim from Spain told ZENIT, just after visiting the tomb. "I've always read and heard about him and I liked him a lot and it has moved me to see where he is buried. I loved the atmosphere and the attitudes of the people."

Another Spanish pilgrim told us that seeing the tomb was one of his principal goals in coming to Rome.

"I admire his simplicity and closeness with the people," he said. "It was too bad when he died because he was so important, because he left a mark in the history of Christianity and also in the history of the world."

An Argentinean pilgrim affirmed that she was excited to visit his resting place. "Seeing the tomb of John Paul II, the memory of his life came to my mind. He was a very simple person, human, close. It was a great sadness when he died, even though the Pope we now have is also a marvelous person."

So, amid the sacred music always playing in this space so as to favor recollection, the pilgrims recall and thank that Pontiff who died on an April 2 like today, accompanied by the prayers of tens of thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square.

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On the Net:
Webcam of John Paul II's tomb: www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/webcam/index?cam=webcam2&testo=Tomba%20di%20Giovanni%20Paolo%20II