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Welcome all, to the eleventh issue of the Dominican Dispatch!
 
 
House News
By: The Editor (@Dr. Watson)
 
To begin with, Dominican has experienced changes with regards to its leadership in the past few days. Recently, @TheEfficientBaxter resigned due to personal reasons, meaning that our current leadership is at one. Many thanks for your past service! Such shall be remembered. Following this, @Tillie_the_Turtle was appointed as a replacement. Congratulations on your promotion! Your reign shall doubtless provide many achievements. 
As with previous times, several events are in progress, such as the April Debate Call, and a Fallacy Frenzy game of sorts. Details for both events can be found at the respective links provided. 
In a complimentary way to the prior theme for our house and so forth, a flag has been adopted, of which the specifics can be found in this topic. 
A poll has been made on the topic of whether or not Disputations should be used solely for the olden resolution debate format of pre-2022. 
Additionally, the monthly statistics shall be posted below for a historical record of sorts, among other reasons: 
Current member count: 119 Highest member count: 119 Current topic count: 412 Disputations count: 161 Current post count: ~43.2K.  Most popular debate: Was the US justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan in WWII? with 1.3K views and 188 replies. Finally, we wish to welcome our newest members of Dominican: 
@ehicks, @longshanks23, @lucyAG28, and @BellaFigueroa08.
Welcome, all! May you enjoy your extensive sojourn. 
 
 
 
 
The Controversy Column
There’s a suggested resolution for a debate at the end of each controversial article. Anyone is welcome to start that debate or one on the topic in Dominican’s Disputations. The author does not have to participate in the debate if it occurs, but it is assumed that what they say in the article will be taken account of in the debate.
 
The Historical Discordance Between Israel and Palestine
By: @Maurne R. Heroux
On October 7th, 2023, Hamas, a Palestinian militant movement, launched an air, land, and sea attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, taking people hostages, and the 1,300 deaths of Israeli citizens became the aftermath. Israel declared its state of war the next day, and the war began with Israeli Defense Forces executing air strikes on the Gaza Strip following the arrival of ground troops and armored vehicles. Dating to the end of the 19th century, the conflict between Israel and Palestine began. What was the main reason why the conflict between Israel and Palestine even existed? Why is it that until now, the conflict between the two countries has not ended? 
Predicaments the Jews faced in Europe in the late 19th century were part of the conflict's rationale. German authorities relegated the Jews to ghettos, which was the term for Nazi-controlled cities where German officials focused on the Jewish populations. They were also subject to starvation, discrimination, and economically marginalized because of their declining economic usefulness and social and religious status, which led to their eviction from England in 1290 and France in 1306. By the end of the 1870s, even when the Jewish community concentrated on Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias, and Hebron, they still experienced discrimination for who they were. Others treated them as merely scattered people and faced crowded, unsanitary conditions, deteriorated housing, poverty, malnutrition, and disease in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem.
A primary home of the Jewish diaspora was the Russian Empire. After the failure of the first Russian Revolution in 1905, many Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia began moving to Palestine. Had the Jews then found a homeland of safety and security? When the Spanish sovereignty in 1492 expelled the Jewish population residing in Spain, including those fleeing from religious persecution approaching the 20th century, refugees turned to Palestine. During the 1881 massacre of Jews by Russia, known as pogroms, another number of Jews moved and settled in Palestine. It was in the presence of other nations that a dream of a safe and secure homeland for the Jews experienced the most turbulence, specifically when Britain and France played a role in the conflict between Israel and Palestine of what it is today.
In 1917, former British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a Zionist leader, about The Balfour Declaration, which promised the establishment of Palestine as a national home for the Jews. The legacy of The Balfour Declaration is one of the factors for the existence of the State of Israel. According to the mandate system of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, the temporary administration of Palestine became entrusted to Britain in agreement that it would oversee its Jewish and Arab occupants. Arabs and Palestinians were infuriated by their failure to receive the nationhood as expected in return for their participation in the war against Turkey. After World War I, the Jewish population in Palestine immensely increased, along with instances of Jewish-Arab violence, and due to the instability of Palestine, Britain delayed deciding its future.
However, after the Holocaust and World War II, international support for Zionism grew, which led to the official declaration of the nation of Israel in 1948. Another power, France, emerged wherein Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed to offer Palestine as a homeland for Jews under the protection of France in 1799 to win Jewish aid in his invasion of Egypt. The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a clandestine consensus between the two countries to advance the settlement of a Jewish homeland, which, however, only remained a promise. At the end of World War II, when Jewish settlers discovered the British were still reluctant to leave Jerusalem. As a result, they attacked the British soldiers and authorities. These attacks were part of a campaign by Jewish militants to force the British to withdraw from Palestine and allow the creation of a Jewish state. The most famous attack was the bombing of the King David Hotel in July 1946, the headquarters of the British administration in Palestine.
The bombing of King David Hotel killed 91 people, including 28 British civilians, and became condemned, to which the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, the Partition Plan for Palestine of 1947. Within the same time frame, the Palestinians also dealt with discord. The Palestinians rejected Resolution 181 for two reasons. Firstly, Jews were given 56% of Palestine despite consisting of only 33% of the population. Secondly, Resolution 181 allocated the fertile coastal region to the Jews. 
Until then, Jews owned 6% of the Palestinian land. Soon, Jews began occupying the land designed for them, and the Palestinians fought back, but without much success. By May of 1948, Jews controlled most of the land promised to them, including Arab territories. It aimed to divide the British Mandate into Arab and Jewish domains, which brought into existence the State of Israel that sparked the Arab-Jewish war on May 14th, 1948. The Israelis were victorious at the end of the war, and 75,000 Palestinians were displaced, wherein the state became divided into three parts, which were the State of Israel, the West Bank of the Jordan River, and the Gaza Strip. Consequential events followed, such as the tension between Middle Eastern countries Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Syria. 
Contrarily, peace negotiations occurred in 1979, ending the thirty-year war between Egypt and Israel. However, while armistices were successful between Israel and its neighbors, the progressing conflict with Palestine remained unresolved. After the Six-Day War, Israel gained control over the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank, East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. During the Yom Kippur War, Egypt and Syria launched a two-front attack. 
In 1993, the Israeli Prime Minister and the Palestinian Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords. It was the first direct Israel-Palestinian peace agreement, and it has set up a framework for the Palestinians' self-governance in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli and Palestinian leadership recognized each other for the first time. Thereupon, the Oslo II Accords were signed in 1995 to expand on the first agreement, adding provisions that mandated the complete withdrawal of Israel from 6 cities and 450 towns in the West Bank. Between 2014 and 2021, a series of attacks, clashes, and violence characterized the conflict.
In 2014, a military confrontation between the Israeli military and Hamas fired nearly a thousand rockets at Israel despite these accords, which Israel retaliated with an offensive in Gaza. The confrontation ended in August 2014 with a cease-fire deal brokered by Egypt, but only after 73 Israelis and 2,251 Palestinians died. After waves of violence in 2015, President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah announced that the boundaries of territorial divisions for Palestinians would no longer be effective, which was created by the Oslo Accords. Israeli troops killed 183 and wounded 6,000 Palestinians in March 2018 because of the rock-throwing implemented by the Palestinians between the Gaza Strip and Israel fence. Shortly after, Hamas militants fired over one hundred rockets into Israel, to which Israel responded with strikes on more than fifty targets in Gaza. In May 2021, protests erupted after a court ruled in favor of evicting Palestinian families from East Jerusalem properties, and after consecutive days of violence, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launched hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes and artillery bombardments, impacting military and non-military infrastructures, residential buildings, media headquarters, and refugee and healthcare establishments. All of these led up to the incident of October 2023. Even after decades of discord, neither nation sustained a truce or peace negotiation long enough to settle a permanent understanding of both perspectives. Within current developments and after the attack in October 2023, Israel ordered the evacuation of more than one million Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza ahead of a ground invasion on October 27th. After decades of discord, the refusal by the Arab population of the mandate territory to accept Resolution 181 demonstrated that they were not interested in establishing their state if it meant allowing the existence of a Jewish state. This opposition to acknowledging the right of a Jewish state to exist still lies at the core of the conflict.
To this day, Israel and Palestine are fighting over three stretches of land. Palestine claims to have East Jerusalem as its capital, quarreling over the West Bank and the state of Jerusalem, as Israel states Jerusalem should remain as its eternal capital.  
 
 
Theological Reflections
 
Fiat
By: @TheEfficientBaxter
Last Monday, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation. This major feast is customarily observed on March 25th expect when that date falls during Holy Week like it did this year. In such cases, it is delayed a fortnight so that it could be celebrated with proper solemnity. On this day, the Church remembers the Angel Gabriel’s announcement to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to be the Mother of God, her assenting Fiat, and the subsequent Incarnation of the Word in her pure womb. This is one of the most key events of history, yet one that is easy to take for granted.
Many people never stop to consider if it could have gone differently. Our Lady had free will like all humans and did not have to consent to Divine Motherhood. Moreover, God miraculously enabled her to understand the consequences of decision: the suffering and glorification it would entail for her and Jesus without being overwhelmed by that knowledge because He wanted her consent to be whole-hearted. With this illumination, Our Lady was equipped to giver her free and total consent or rejection.
When Gabriel delivered God’s invitation to Mary and waited for her response, the fate of the world hung in balance. The work of four thousand years of miracles, prophecies, and preparation for the Redemption would all be fruitless or come to abundant fruition in Our Lady’s answer. If she declined her role in the drama of mankind’s redemption, it would not mean that men would never be saved, but how many millennia would it take God’s second attempt? It took Him four thousand years in the first one. Furthermore, millions of souls would not experience the merits from Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary. However, if Mary accepted this offer, these souls could have the hope of salvation and those years of preparation for the Messiah would not be wasted. Then, came her reply, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). At that moment, the Holy Ghost overshadowed her, and “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Each person ever created is irreplaceable with a unique mission from God that only he or she can fulfill. While it may not be as obvious or dramatic as that of Our Blessed Mother, it is nevertheless crucial. Countless souls depended on whether Our Lady fulfilled her mission, and countless souls depend on those alive today to whom God asks, as he did the prophet Isaias, “Whom shall I send? And who shall go for us?” to bear witness to the Truth and spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Isaias 6:8a). Will they join Mary’s Fiat and Isaias in saying, “Lo, here am I, send me” (Isaias 6:8b)?
(All quotes from the Bible are taken from https://drbo.org/)
 
 
 
The Science Section
 
Dwarf Planet Series Finale: Ceres
By: @Tillie_the_Turtle
Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and many others have one thing in common: they exist beyond Neptune in the farthest reaches of our solar system, but that is actually not a defining feature of dwarf planets. One exception to this trend is Ceres, the biggest thing in the asteroid belt, and its unique position compared to other dwarf planets has implications from its history to its composition and possibility for life.
Ceres was discovered before the asteroid belt by Italian astronomer, Giuseppe Piazzi, on January 1, 1801, while he was searching for a star. The newly discovered planet was named after the Roman goddess of corn and harvests. In fact, the word cereal comes from the name Ceres. After the discovery, many other objects were discovered in the same area, all smaller than Ceres. The list of planets grew to include Pallas, Juno, Vesta, and many others until it eventually became clear that the progressively smaller findings were asteroids in a region that came to be known as the asteroid belt. Although much larger than all the asteroids, comprising 25% of the asteroid belt's total mass, with enough gravity to be round, Ceres was roped in with the others and declared an asteroid. It may be because of the demotion of Pluto that no one noticed, but for Ceres, the 2006 recategorization and redefinition of planets was actually an upgrade. Having been mislabelled as an asteroid for years, Ceres was officially noted to be a dwarf planet instead.
That’s the history of Ceres, at least, from Earth’s perspective, but Ceres’ location has affected its history in physical ways as well as in how we thought of the planet. Because of its closeness to Jupiter, Ceres is what scientists call an “embryonic planet,” meaning it is a planet that started to form but didn't quite finish because Jupiter's strong gravity prevented it from becoming fully formed. Ceres’ closeness to the sun compared to other dwarfs also affects it. The cold but not impossible temperature on Ceres as well as the possibility that Ceres has more water than Earth does means there could be microscopic life or evidence of extinct microscopic life to be found there. Ceres could be composed of as much as 25% water, most of which is in its water-ice mantle. (Note that asteroids don’t have mantles, cores, or anything like them, another reason Ceres is more like a terrestrial planet than an asteroid.) This means it could experience cryovolcanism, tectonic and volcanic activity that involves liquids and vapors that would be frozen solid at the planetary surface temperatures of icy bodies but are liquid or gaseous because they were stored in the mantle before erupting. This could explain why Ceres’ crust has large salt deposits, and why, despite what should be a constant battering of asteroids on the planet, its many craters are small and young. According to NASA, “The surface features could smooth out over time if ice or another lower-density material, such as salt, is just below the surface. It's also possible that past hydrothermal activity, such as ice volcanoes, erased some large craters.”
Finally, because of its closeness to Earth compared to the others, Ceres was the first dwarf planet to be visited by spacecraft. This was called the Dawn Mission in which an unmanned (obviously) orbiter went to Vesta, the giant asteroid once considered a planet, and Ceres in 2012 and 2016 respectively. This mission is the source of most of what we know about Ceres. This includes an explanation for Ceres’ unique bright spots, which, it turns out, are caused by salt deposits. Dawn also found recently emerged liquid on Ceres’ surface.
This, as with every article in this series, is just scratching the salty surface of what there is to know about Ceres. Usually, this is where the hint at the next article would be, but alas, even though there are more dwarf planets to look into and so much more to say about each one, this introductory series ends here. If it was successful in piquing your interest in the dwarf planets, the reddish brown, slow-orbiting Makemake is a good planet to research next. You could even go back and learn more about one of the ones I covered in this series. Pluto and its moons, for example, have much more to tell.
 
 
L’Article de Belles-Lettres
Though the modern meaning of Belles-Lettres is generally literature that does not fall into the main genres, it originally, and literally, meant "beautiful writing". 
 
A Man of Many Gifts
By: @TheEfficientBaxter
Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was born on December 3, 1857 in a Polish province under Russian occupation to parents of the Polish aristocracy.  He entered the French merchant marine at the age of seventeen to avoid conscription in the Russian military. Conrad then spent the next twenty years of his life as a seaman, switching to the British merchant marine in 1878. In 1886, he became both a captain and a British subject. Around 1894, he retired from life on the sea and began writing. Over the next thirty years, Conrad drew from the wealth of his travels around the world as well as his cosmopolitan background to author numerous novels and short stories under the penname Joseph Conrad, an Anglicized version of his given name. In 1924, he passed away from a heart attack at the age of sixty-six.
Joseph Conrad was a truly remarkable man who achieved more in one lifetime than most people ever dream of. To begin with, he had two full careers in such distinct areas as the sea and the literary world. In the first, he travelled through the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Africa, India, southeast Asia, and Australia. In the latter, he became a notable author not in his first but in his third language, his first two languages being Polish and French. Few people have travelled as much as Joseph Conrad did, and fewer still write true works of literature in their own language let alone a third one.
It is difficult to convey the greatness of his literary works, the broad range of topics they cover, and the depth at which he probes the human experience. By no means a light author, Joseph Conrad is one of the greats and worth the effort it takes to read his writings. According to the Athenium Review, his best works are Heart of Darkness (1899) and Lord Jim (1900).
(Main source for this article was the Introduction written by A. Michael Matin to Barnes & Noble Classics’ publishing of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.)
 
 
Cultural Corner
 
Welcome to the Ceilidh!
By: @Mairi
The Gaels, who emigrated from Scotland and Ireland to Nova Scotia in the tens of thousands throughout the 1800s, have largely influenced the culture of the province. Many of the cultural Gaelic events are still happening today, such as the milling frolic, which I discussed in my previous article. Another of these events is the Ceilidh (KAY-lee), which translates directly to “visit” in English. It is also sometimes referred to as a “kitchen party.” A Ceilidh often includes Gaelic singing, traditional music, step dancing, and storytelling. 
The term “Ceilidh” covers a wide variety of events. For example, sometimes people hold large events that are more like concerts with traditional Gaelic music and refreshments and call that a Ceilidh. Another kind of Ceilidh might just be a visit between just two people. You might hear someone say “So-and-so stopped by to pick up the book she lent me and she sat down for a cup of tea and we had a nice little Ceilidh.” The third picture of a Ceilidh that I will give you aligns more with the term “kitchen party.” These are get-togethers in people’s homes that can be either planned or completely spontaneous. At one of these, it is normal to see people sitting or standing around the kitchen enjoying food, hot tea, and friendship. The lyrics of The Mull River Shuffle (a Nova Scotia song by the Rankin Family) give a pretty good idea of what the general atmosphere is like with the words, “You're sitting around the kitchen table under the dim light of a kerosene lantern; everyone is laughing and joking and telling stories about their neighbours.” Someone might then sit down at the piano and somebody else pulls out his fiddle. They are just starting to play, and then someone else has gotten up and began to step dance. Soon, the whole party is tapping their feet to the music (no clapping to the music), and people are pulling out their instruments to join in the familiar tunes. Everyone is joyful and lighthearted, with smiles on their faces. As a lifelong Nova Scotia resident, I have been to a wide variety of Ceilidhs, and I never get tired of them. They are important events that keep the Gaelic culture and traditions alive and help bring friends, family, and even whole communities together.
 
 
The Home for History
 
Kings Crusade Battle: Siege of Arce
By: @Samurai
In 1187 the initial Crusader host set siege to Arce in order to weaken the islamic hold upon the holy land.  As Arce was a crusail port city for the kingdom of Jerusalem before its fall.  Saladin too saw its worth as a future base for new crusader hosts.  So he fortified and garrisoned the city as it was an arms depot, and a port of great wealth.  Guy of Lusignan, a key crusader figure per the third crusade mustard a force of 7000 men 400 knights and a small fleet.  Rallied at  tyre, as Conrad of Montferrat was currently ruling it he had stood garrison and defeated islamic forces while Guy feld.  And Conrad refused to yield control of the Guy’s last remaining stronghold.  As Conrad had rightfully won it by right of conquest Guy was forced to ask Conrad’s help in taking Acre as it represented Guy’s greatest chance at reclaiming the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Then marching on Arce and supported by Tyre and a Small Pisan fleet.  Guy set siege to Acre.  a force of 12,000 troops from Denmark, Germany, England, France, Frisia, and Flanders reinforced Guy as they besieged Acre.  due to the garrison's defenses the fleet could not properly blockade the city and due to the presence of elite troops the Crusaders were unable to beat them in the land battle.   Then saladin’s host set siege to the siegers.  Sorties and assaults by both the crusaders and the Islamic hosts were unable to dislodge each other.  The garrison barely held the city.  The crusaders were unable to take the city.  And saladin unable to break the siege, as the crusaders had entrenched their forces.  This stalemate lasted for more than two years until king Richard arrived and with his superior fleet, Saladin was unable to continue his resupply of the Arce and it now became a race against time.  But with additional English and french hosts bolstering the ranks of the Crusaders and new siege equipment supplied by Richard.  it became clear to the garrison that the so called “great” Saladin could no longer save them and after one last assault by the garrison surrendered under the promise that Saladin would ransom for their freedom.  As the crusaders had recently lost battles, Saladin had many Crusader prisoners. Saladin and Richard came to agreements as to the rates at which they would exchange prisoners.  It worked out that Saladin would pay reparations and release all Christian soldiers.  Delivering the pay meant and realizing the crusaders in small deposits Saladin deviously broke his word time and time again to bring less gold and fewer prisoners than promised in an attempt to stall the crusaders.  Richard quickly caught on and after three warnings by richard and continued offenses saladin forced richards hand and richard marched the remainder of the islamic garrison out and had them executed.   Richard is attacked for this but Saladin is to blame.  As he was attempting to waste Richard’s time, time that Richard would need.  Saladin was gambling with his men's lives, and all of saladins supporters blamed him for the fate of there troops at Acre.  By doing this Richard made Saladin’s troops unwilling to main garrisons which saved more Christian lives. This represented the first of Richards' victories against Saladin.  And if not for infighting amongst the crusader hosts as well as foreign threats to England Richard would have destroyed saladin's kingdom
 
 
Saintly Synopsis
 
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys
By: @Mairi
Marguerite Bourgeoys was born at Troyes, France on April 17, 1620, the sixth of twelve children. When her mother died when Marguerite was only 19 years old, she helped to raise her siblings. When she was twenty, Marguerite had a conversion experience during a religious procession that influenced her future mission and focused her values. She felt called by the Blessed Virgin, and in response she joined a local group of women who gathered to do charitable work as an extension of a cloister in Troyes. St. Marguerite became the leader of this extern group, and she taught the children in the poorer areas.
 In 1653, after her siblings were raised and her father had passed away, Marguerite was invited by Paul de Maisoneuve, the founder of Montreal, to come with him to the New World as a teacher. She would instruct the children of the settlement and those of the Native Americans. Marguerite accepted the offer and, after giving away her inheritance to family members, she departed from Nantes on a three-month voyage across the Atlantic.
On the ship that brought her from France to Canada, an epidemic broke out and Marguerite cared for the sick and buried the dead. After a long crossing over the Atlantic, she arrived in Ville-Marie, as Montreal was known at that time. She began construction of a chapel to honor Our Lady of Good Help. On April 30, 1658, Marguerite opened her first school in a stable that had been given to her by Paul de Maisoneuve. She opened a boarding school for girls in Montreal, a domestic arts school, and a school for Indigenous girls on the reserve of La Montagne, recruiting French and Canadian girls as teachers. In 1659 and then again in 1670, Marguerite made the long journey back to France to recruit more teachers.
Marguerite was a very religious person, having a deep faith and a love of serving God through serving others. Marguerite visited the sick, buried the dead, consoled the conflicted, and taught the catechism to settlers. She and her companions formed a religious congregation, but were not allowed to take official vows until 1698. Bishop Saint-Vallier invited Marguerite and her companions to open a school on the Île d'Orléans. Soon, they had a domestic arts school and a primary school in the town of Québec. Marguerite and her sisters eventually opened little schools all over New France.
They helped the people of the colony to survive when food was scarce and taught young people how to run a home and farm. Soon, Marguerite’s congregation numbered 18 sisters, seven of whom were Canadians. Marguerite formed respectful ties with the First Nations and welcomed immigrants to the colony, teaching them how to survive in their new home. These immigrants included the Filles du Roy, girls brought from France to marry settlers and populate the New World. Marguerite died on January 12, 1700, a victim of fever, having spent the last two years of her life in prayer and meditation.
Marguerite left a lasting impression on the history of Montreal and the history of education in Canada. She is remembered for her spirituality, her hard work, and her impact on society and the Church in North America. Marguerite opened the First school in New France, and significantly contributed to the development of what is now the city of Montreal. In 1982, Marguerite was canonized by Pope John Paul II, becoming the first female saint of Canada. Today, her sisters, the Congregation de Notre Dame, number several thousand and have expanded their work to the United States and Japan, where their schools are widely renowned despite the small Catholic population. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, pray for us!
 
 
 
Food for Thought
 
Unfortunately, sufficient materiel for this section was unable to be obtained.
 
 
Farewell/Closing
By: The Editor
 
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude on the topic of TheEfficientBaxter's service with the Dominican Dispatch during her time. As always, our authors are much appreciated, not solely for their work on this issue, but on the presence they maintain in Dominican and their efforts to effectively propagate said House's characteristics via the monthly articles. Lastly, I wish to thank our readers for the time invested in viewing each and every section accommodated herein. 
Farewell, and may God bless all of you!

Hello and welcome! Spring is here, and as my allergies attest, in full swing. 

With that, welcome to April's Theresian Telephone!
☏
 
𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚢𝚐𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚜
A very warm welcome to @Catholic Cowgirl, @reelirishgoat, and @João Garbin!
𝚂𝚠𝚊𝚗 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚝: 𝙰 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚕𝚢 𝚁𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝
Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott is currently the Book of the Month, but be sure to head over to the voting booth to pick May's read!
The April photography contest is still open for anyone who would like a chance to win with their lovely Easter-themed picture!
If you are more art-minded, the March/April Art Prompt is still open for contestants!
If you would like to play another round of Theresian Mafia, (No gore! Only colorful ghosts) the Editor suggests you lobby this person to show your anticipation and eagerness!
 
𝙸𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚝𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝
 
Hello and welcome to another section of In the Spotlight! Today I, @KoalaTash, will be interviewing a fellow Theresian, @Philomena
Why did you join the Theresian House? I joined the Theresian House mainly because I loved all the people in it and wanted to get to know them better. :)
How long have you been in the Theresian house? I have been in Theresian for 4 months.
Have you been to any other houses? Yes, I have been to all the others, but I think that this one will be where I stay. I love the aspects of all the others: debating, personal journals, chats, but Theresian feels like more than a house to me, it is home!
What's your favorite part of the Theresian house? The people! I just really love how warm and kind everyone is and how in the chat we can just talk (or listen, in my case XD) about anything and someone is there to listen or chat no matter what it is. 
What is something that made you really want to join Theresian? I really wanted to join because of the art and literature aspect of it. Even when I am not really part of the book of the month, I like to read what other people have said about it and follow along. Every bit as interesting as being a part of it. :)
Do you have any words for anyone considering joining Theresian? Here you are likely to find in interest in trying your hand at art that you may never have had, take joy in seeing the perfect shots and find warm-hearted people who lighten your life with their craziness (partly joke, but the rest can be taken as a complement XD) and caring. 
Thank you @Philomena!!!
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝙻𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚢
Viola: Traitors and Roses, by @KoalaTash
Chapter 15
1 ½ weeks later
It was only a couple of days before we would have to travel to Lerend. My jaw had healed very well and I could barely even tell I had hurt it. The days before we traveled to Lerend were crazily hectic.
Everyone was busy preparing everything we needed to bring to the wedding. Even Clarain was probably the only calm one in the castle, quietly helping me pack everything I would need. I also tried to spend more time with my parents, as I knew me moving out would be hard for them.
Clarain would be coming to stay in Lerend with me. She was the only servant I was bringing. I had only ever needed one servant and I didn’t expect I would need any more now. The day we left was pretty crazy as well.
We finally got on the road and I relaxed slightly. Clarain smiled from where she was sitting across from me in the carriage. “It was a crazy morning, wasn’t it?” she asked. I nodded, smiling slightly. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.
When we got to Lerend, my parents’ carriage was first. Our carriage stopped a second later. “Nervous?” Clarain asked. I nodded and slowly let out my breath. “Here goes nothing” I whispered, opening the door and stepping out.
Drew, his parents, and his two siblings were standing there, waiting for us. I was wearing a simple purple dress and had braided my hair into a crown that morning. I hesitated nervously a second, then walked up to stand beside Will and my parents.
“Princess Viola, welcome” the King of Lerend said. I curtsied and thanked him. The same thing was repeated with his mother. Then I turned to Drew. “Good morning, Viola” he said quietly.
His father glanced at him confused and his younger brother raised an eyebrow. I lifted my chin slightly and looked him straight in the eye. “If you could remember that the sun is west in the afternoon, not the morning, then you would be able to tell that it isn’t morning, Prince Andrew” I shot back.
“I’m confused” Drew’s little brother said, sensing a joke was amiss. “Well you see, when Viola and I met at” Drew started. “It’s nothing” I said quickly, giving Drew a warning look. “I’m Viola” I said, turning to Drew’s younger brother.
“Gabe” he responded with a smile. He was about my age and looked a lot like Drew, with black hair and mischievous twinkling blue green eyes. “So,” Gabe said, winking at Drew, “is it true?” he asked. I looked at him in confusion.
“Is what true?” I asked. “Did you really save your brother from bandits, get lost in a strange town, get pushed off a cliff, and fight off a Pentroskian spy?” he asked. I blushed a deep red and looked at the ground.
“Oh, you forgot the getting poisoned in the middle of a ball” Drew added, his eyes twinkling. “And those are all the things she did after you met her” Will said with a laugh. I groaned and gave Will a don’t you dare look. Drew’s little sister laughed.
“Don’t mind them” she said with a smile, “I’m Anya. Come on, I’ll show you your room” she said, taking my hand. I glanced back at Drew then followed her.
 
 
 
And here we have a poem titled Tiny Gifts of Spring by @Bluebird29!
 
The birds are gliding,
To and fro.
The plants are sprouting,
Watch them grow!
The sun is shining,
In gentle rays,
The colder weather,
Has changed to warm days.
I've learned to love the little things,
And ever since, I'm quite convinced.
There's no better time than Spring.
The gentle breeze blows,
Through tall waving grasses,
The creek in the meadow,
Bubbles and splashes.
Small newborn animals,
Wobble by their mothers,
Everyone has a smile,
For one another.
I've learned to love the little things,
And ever since, I'm quite convinced,
There's no better time than Spring.
But Spring doesn't bring,
Just the joys of outdoors,
It brings back good memories,
And makes room for more.
Ice cream, and swimming,
Or taking a walk.
Or calling a friend,
For a good old long talk.
I'm glad God has shown me to love little things,
And that even with all of the time in the world,
He chose three gorgeous months, and He chose them for Spring.
𝙸𝚗 𝙵𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜
Photographing Fruit
by @Isabel

 
Fruit is very aesthetic, so it is fun to take pictures of. This is a picture of a tiny orange in my work break room. The beautiful bowl it is in adds to the aestheticism. I also enjoy photographing fruit because of the bright colors.
*For centuries, people have enjoyed pictures of food. Cavemen painted pictures of game on the walls of their subterranean homes, perhaps fantasizing about hunting and eating the mighty animals. In the 17th century, still-life became a popular painting subject, and laden dinner tables were often the focus. Artists tried their hardest to make realistic cheese, wine, bread, and juicy-looking fruit. Even in times of want or winter, one could look at the painting and remember the luscious taste of fresh produce and hearty suppers. Even today people spend a lot of time posting pictures of their food on social media, even though the subject doesn't seem very interesting on the surface. Pictures of food can't really be said to hold a candle to all the other things we could be entertaining ourselves with; and yet, we keep doing it. I suppose it's an innate human urge to show off that we have stuff to eat. Now that we have cameras, we can just arrange the food and have a tantalizing picture within seconds. 
𝙿𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝
Here we have a lovely shot of the Eclipse!
 
 

 
 
Uh, whoops... Wrong one.
 

This cool shot was taken by our very own @Bluebell!
𝙷𝚞𝚖𝚘𝚛 𝚁𝚞𝚖𝚘𝚛





𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎
𝙷𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝙼𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜
by @The Horse Enthusiast
 
Hello! Welcome back to the songwriting column. I hope your enjoying the wonderful season of Easter. Today, I'm sharing my most recent song, it called I'll Fight. The song is about a person who has big dreams but people keep telling him that his dreams are foolish and that he  should face reality and not try. But the person decides that he's not gonna give up and he'll keep fighting for his dreams. There's a small lesson in the song, if you have a big dream, as long as that dream has a good purpose, it worth going after. Even if it seems impossible, God is there to help in anything even in small things like the the things we dream of accomplishing on Earth as long as they are done for the glory of God. With God, everything is possible. I hope you enjoy the song.God bless!
 
Title: I'll Fight
 
Dreams they say,
Are full of waves,
Some they tell you,
Your the one that  is afraid, 
To realize that dreams are a reality’s play, 
Other say or your just crazy to,
But what can I say?
When I’m determined to make it through,



 
When people shoot me down,
And tell me to get out of foolishness town,
Well, I tell them I’m not running aground,
 
Because I’ll fight,
Until is the day is done,
Because I’m not afraid,
Reality is what I made,
I’ll fight 
until all my breath is  gone,
I’ll fight,
Until the day  is won,



 
When people tell it to my face,
That dreams are a foolish game,
Or  that I’m foolish and should be full of shame,
 I’ll stare them right in the eyes,
You think I can’t accomplish what is on my mind?
Well I’ll make it through with every fiber of my life,


 
When people start to shoot me down,
And tell me to get out of foolishness town,
 Well, I’m tell them I’m not running aground, 
 
Because I’ll fight,
Until is the day is done,
Because I’m not afraid,
Reality is what I made,
I’ll fight 
until all my breath is all  gone,
I’ll fight,
Until the day is won,
 
Family behind me,
Love in front of me,
God beside me,
I have all the fight within me,

 
When people shoot me down,
And tell me to get out of foolishness town,
 Well, I tell them I’m not running aground,

 
Because I’ll fight,
Until is the day is done,
Because I’m not afraid,
Reality is what I made,
I’ll fight 
until all my breath is all  gone,
I’ll fight,
Until until the day is  won
 
𝙰𝚁𝚃𝚒𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜
     Art.
What is it? O, if we could but count the definitions...
Or, because we have the Internet, let's quit using our brains and just look the word up.
1.  Using your braëns to do cool stuff, basically.
2. Drawing, music, or other creative art. What you usually think of when you see the word.
3. All of the resulting cool things, collectively.
 
    So, many things are art. Most popularly, it's drawing or painting; but there's also martial arts. Sewing. Dancing. Music, of course. 
But what about more normal things- like cooking or sweeping the floor? Well, look at that first criteria up there! So many hobbies or occupations can fit into that description. Just about anything one does with effort, passion, and practice, to make something admirable or beautiful, is probably art as well!
So say you're a guy with an old truck, and you want to restore it to good working order. Along the way you come to appreciate the vehicle; its model, its style and its potential for a dull rumbling roar that sounds as cool as fire looks. So if you got so invested in it that you chose to restore it even further, to make it even more beautiful in the sounds and looks department... That is apparently art.
Or if you make your desk, dresser, or other space an orderly, de-cluttered, and nice looking arrangement... that is a form of art.
Or if you make bread for your family, and you score and garnish it to make it more pretty and appealing...
Or if you straighten the napkins on the table to make it look nicer for supper...
Or if you make flower arrangements...
Or if you like to style your hair...
Or if you strive to make your soul more every day more beautiful... That is also art.
Congratulations! You are probably an artist.
(Theresian could be the house for you! XP)
𝚂𝚠𝚊𝚗 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚗
Here's the lovely winning picture of the February Art Contest, by @Mandy 2007!

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝙶𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚗
Hello there! 
Today I would like to bother you with... tulips :D 
Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the Tulipa genus. You might not have known that technical term, but I'm sure you've met this happy spring flower!

According to Wikipedia, tulips were first found from southern Europe to central Asia. They are now most famous for being a Dutch thing, as one may recall from reading The Black Tulip. Apparently the black tulip craze was, in fact, a real happening, though I'm rather certain that the gardener didn't have to go to prison after all! The incredibly rare black tulip was achieved by crossing two very dark purple bulbs- Queen of the Night and Weinerwald. Artists, gardeners, and everyone else there became fascinated with them, especially the blooms which took on a striped appearance due to Tulip Break Virus. In many of the Dutch Golden Age paintings, tulips are ever-present to add a splash of color and beauty.
In Christianity, tulips represent belief and love, while white varieties recall forgiveness. Purple ones are said to represent royalty, which can recall to mind Christ's Kingship over the universe.
Farms where I live raise tulips in huge fields, and cars line up for miles to get a glimpse of the colorful stripes of flowers spreading across the land. Traffic in these towns about this time of year is just terrible, almost giving tulips a bad name. I say don't blame them for being so pretty!
 
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚝
by @ellieviola
Saint Peter Canisius: Apostle of Germany
Feast Day: April 27th
 
In 1565, the Vatican was looking for a secret agent. The Council of Trent had just come to a close and the decrees of the council needed to be distributed among all the European bishops. While this may seem like a simple errand, Europe was shattered by the Protestant revolt and violence and civil unrest ruled the land. The first envoy who tried to carry the decrees through the territory of hostile Protestants and vicious thieves was robbed of the precious documents, leaving Rome searching for a courageous man who would be above the suspicion of the people. There was no better choice than Peter Canisius. At forty-three, he was a well-known Jesuit who had founded colleges that even Protestants respected, therefore giving him a cover as official "visitor" of Jesuit foundations. In the sixteenth century, however, unlike modern day secret agents, Peter could not just carry invisible messages hidden on buttons or inside the soles of his shoes; his job required far more courage and tenacity. Instead, Peter traveled from Rome and crisscrossed Germany successfully loaded down with the massive copies of the Tridentine tomes — 250 pages each — not to mention the three sacks of books he took along for his own university.
Peter was born to a humble family in the Netherlands, but his extraordinary intellect and education made him a most estimable candidate for the Vatican’s risky mission into hostile territory. Although Peter thought himself idle in his youth and often wished that he had devoted more of his years to the Lord’s service, it truly is impossible for him to have been idle for very long, for he earned a Masters’ Degree from the University of Cologne when he was only nineteen years old and spent his formative years devoted to prayer and penance. Until he encountered the renowned Peter Faber, a beloved disciple of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first members of the recently founded Society of Jesus, Peter Canisius wished to remain at the university and pursue advanced theological studies. After his meeting with the Jesuit, however, Peter was inflamed with a desire to serve the Lord as a priest in the order of Saint Ignatius. Already widely acknowledged for his austerity, love of prayer, and great intellectual and academic achievements, Peter was accepted into the Society of Jesus by his mentor, Father Faber, on his twenty-second birthday and was ordained to the priesthood three years later, in 1546.
Peter’s ordination was certainly the crowning moment of his life, but it was merely the beginning of a long and vibrant career in the service of the Lord. He quickly became recognized for his comprehensive translations of the writings of Leo the Great and Cyril of Alexandria and his knowledge of Scripture was immense, sparking the interest of Church and civil authorities alike. The Society of Jesus noticed Peter’s extraordinary knowledge and teaching abilities and sent him to Sicily, where he taught in the first Jesuit college ever founded. It was at this point that Peter’s greatest work began: the conversion of Germany. Young Peter, only twenty-eight at the time and a priest for a mere three years, was given the immense task of resurrecting the dying German Church and leading the erroneous faithful back to the true fold of the Faith. The Protestant Reformation had a death grip upon the poorly catechised laity and more and more Catholics began to leave the Church, especially in the regions of Germany where the Faith had never been strongly established. 
Peter traveled at once to Ingolstadt, Germany, where he began to teach at the Jesuit university in that city. The college was famous for its professors and was attended by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, allowing Peter to spread the message of the Church among hundreds of eager listeners. From college classes to street corners, Peter took his message and preached it fearlessly wherever he could find an audience. His brilliant tongue and warm and convincing message won many a heart back to the grace of the Church. This method of conversion became the pattern after which his future missions would forever be modeled. From Ingolstadt to Vienna, Prague to Fribourg, Peter continued to travel and preach to the people of Europe. Each city he entered, even if they met him first with hostility, swiftly realized that Peter was the shepherd they required to lead them back to true peace and tranquility. The colleges and seminaries he founded attracted hundreds of students and served to increase the number of converts and reverts to the Faith. In addition, during the years spent in Vienna, Peter wrote a comprehensive edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church – exactly what the faithful needed to combat the attacks of the Protestants. Because his first edition was so popular and gained such favor among laity and clergy alike, Peter wrote two more catechisms, one for intermediate students that explained the teachings of the Church in a concise and clear manner, and one for children that taught them from a young age to pray and practice virtue. 
Then came the Council of Trent, when Peter was called into action by the Vatican because of his academic stature and knowledge of Church teaching. Although Peter was intent on the truth and on enforcing the rules of the Church, he truly embodied the Jesuit rule that harsh words should never be used. Even in his debates during the sessions of the Council of Trent, Peter spoke only with charity and patience, knowing that more souls would be drawn to gentleness and docility than to harsh words and violence. Because of his position and his notoriety, the Vatican officials recognized that there was no better candidate to spread the decrees of the Council than Peter Canisius. Thus, in 1565, when Peter was forty-four, he was sent out into violent Protestant territory to serve in a capacity that modern-day readers can only label as a “secret agent” on a top secret mission. Openly carrying the immense volumes of writing recorded during the Council, Peter traveled across Europe, stopping in every diocese he traveled through until the tomes had been distributed throughout all of the Church. The Council of Trent was successful due in great part to Peter Canisius.
Peter spent the rest of his life teaching and preaching across the European Church, although his heart always remained in Germany, where he focused much of his ministry and was dearly beloved by the people. Every Jesuit college across the continent recognized him and welcomed him with open arms, knowing that Peter would bring peace and charity in addition to intellect to every dispute. His final years were peaceful and quiet, dedicated to spreading the word of God and living in accordance with His commandments. He died in Fribourg, Switzerland, at the age of 76, honored by the Vatican and admired by all. He was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1864 and was canonized several decades later by Pope Pius XI, who declared him a Doctor of the Church for his prolific work and years of service for the Vatican. May we all live our lives with such docility and zeal for the Lord!
Saint Peter Canisius, Apostle of Germany, ora pro nobis!
And that is all for now! 
With love from the Carmelite Contributors: @Bluebell @Cath @Rita @CatholicIrishDancer @Isabel @The Horse Enthusiast @HallieMae @Stulta Artifex @ellieviola @Rina Maria & The Theresian House!