The overarching challenge in the world today is: how do we advance the institutions and practices capable of enacting a desirable quality of life for a burgeoning global population of 6.5 billion people? And how do we accomplish that in a way that does not burn up the planet in a Venus atmosphere of our own creation? That is a tall order to fill, yet it is the defining task of the 21st century.
More than anywhere else, Europe has fostered the types of innovations that point the way forward for the world to meet these challenges. Europe's brand of “social capitalism” is better suited for the 21st century than America's “Wall Street capitalism” because it has developed itself on several major fronts.
* Real family values: healthcare and supports for families and workers. European nations score at the top on social and health indicators, with Europeans today enjoying universal health care for all, generous retirement pensions, an average of five weeks paid vacation (compared to two in the U.S.), paid sick leave, paid parental leave, kiddy stipends (about $200 per month for children's needs), affordable childcare (Americans pay at least six times more for child care), low-cost higher education (in some countries it's free), and a shorter work week with comparable wages for their workers. Social spending in Europe runs 35 percent per capita above that in the United States; even in Greece, which has been beset by debt troubles recently, people still have more of these supports than most Americans.
European nations are rated by the World Health Organization as having the best health care systems in the world, yet they don't all use a British or Canadian style single-payer system. Some have single-payer, but others like France and Germany employ private nonprofit insurance companies as the backbone of their health care systems. As a result they spend only about half the amount (per capita) as the United States, which has a for-profit system, to provide universal coverage, even as 47 million Americans, many of them children, don't have any health care except a hospital emergency room. Despite spending far more money, U.S. health care is ranked 37th in the world — just ahead of Cuba and Kuwait. Even European nations like Croatia, with far less wealth than America, provide health care for all, truly a damning indictment of the American for-profit system.
- Environmental sustainability, readying for global warming. Europe is leading in preparing for global warming, with widespread deployment of conservation practices and “green design” in everything from skyscrapers, homes and automobiles to low wattage light bulbs, motion sensor lights and low flush toilets. Europe has moved forward aggressively with renewable energy technologies like solar, wind and sea power, as well as efficient mass transit, high speed trains and more. In the process, Europe has created hundreds of thousands of new green jobs. As a result of this transformation toward sustainability, the average European uses half the electricity of the average American, and it takes 40 percent more fuel to drive a mile in an American car compared to a European vehicle. Europe has reduced its “ecological footprint” (the per capita amount of the earth's capacity that a population consumes) to half that of the United States for the same standard of living.
- Economic power. The typical knock against Europe by American critics has been that these levels of support for workers, families, communities and the environment make the European economies weak and sclerotic, likened to a sick old man. However, this turns out to be a myth promoted by U.S. ideologues and their media accomplices. Even after the economic collapse of 2008, Europe has the largest economy in the world, producing nearly a third of the world's gross domestic product, almost as large as the United States and China combined. It has more Fortune 500 companies than the U.S. and China combined, and some of the most competitive national economies in the world, according to the World Economic Forum. The E.U. is now the largest trading partner with both the U.S. and China.
The US prides itself on its vibrant small-business sector, but Europe's economy actually has more small businesses than the U.S. that provide two-thirds of Europe's jobs, compared to less than half the jobs in the United States. So much for red tape supposedly strangling the European economy. Despite sovereign debt difficulties in a handful of countries, Europe's economy is hardly weak or sclerotic. And Europe is hardly socialist, indeed it is firmly capitalist, but it is a different kind of capitalism — social capitalism rather than Wall Street capitalism.
- Economic democracy. Practices like codetermination, works councils, co-operatives, public-private partnerships and a vibrant small-business sector are fostering a greater degree of economic democracy in Europe. Codetermination, first pioneered by Germany, allows workers at major corporations to elect their own representatives that sit side by side with stockholder representatives on corporate boards of directors. It also includes worker-elected works councils in most workplaces, which give workers a great deal of input and consultation at the shop floor level. Imagine if Wal-Mart were required by law that allow its workers to elect 50 percent of its board of directors – that's what Germany does. It's hard for Americans to even conceive of such a notion, yet many European nations employ some version of this as standard operating procedure.
Europe in effect has reinvented the corporation, yet across the Atlantic we know hardly anything about it. Critics like Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky criticize corporations and capitalism as if they operate the same everywhere, when in fact they don't. The impact of codetermination has been immensely significant, and yet it has not hurt Europe's economy; indeed various studies have shown that these practices have helped the economy.
- Robust political democracy. After centuries of kings and dictators, Europe has forged pluralistic political institutions and electoral methods like proportional representation, public financing of campaigns, free media time for campaigns and universal voter registration that have produced the most representative democracies in the world at the national level (at the European Union level, which is relatively new and still in formation, it's a different story). These modern practices have fostered inclusiveness, participation, multiparty representation and policy based on broad public support and consensus-building. Europe's robust political democracies ensure that politics rule over economics, instead of the other way around, ensuring that the benefits of its prosperous social capitalism are broadly shared.
One American myth says that “Europeans pay more taxes than Americans” for this social capitalism. But for their taxes, Europeans receive a seemingly endless list of supports and services for which Americans must pay extra, via out-of-pocket fees, premiums, deductibles, higher tuition and other charges, in addition to their taxes. For example, many Americans are paying escalating health care premiums and deductibles, while Europeans receive health care in return for a modest amount deducted from their paycheck. Other Americans are saving tens of thousands of dollars per child for their college education, yet European children attend for free or nearly so. Millions of Americans are scraping to save the amount they will need for retirement beyond Social Security, but the European public retirement systems are much more generous, paying out twice as much per individual as U.S. Social Security. Many Americans pay extra for child care (at least six times what Europeans pay), or self-finance their own parental leave after a birth, but Europeans receive all of these and more — in return for paying their taxes. When you sum up the total balance sheet – taxes paid as well as out-of-pocket — it turns out that many Americans pay out as much as or more than Europeans, but we get a lot less for our money.
Properly understood, Europe's economy, political democracies, social support system and environmental vision are all components of its well-designed social capitalism — an ingenious framework in which a capitalist economy has been harnessed to finance environmental as well as economic sustainability. In addition, the economic engine finances a social system that better supports families and employees in an age of globalized capitalism that threatens to turn most people into internationally disposable workers. Even the continent's conservative political leaders agree that this is the best way; indeed European conservatives are for the most part to the left of the Democratic Party in the U.S.
The transatlantic differences between the American and European ways is not a mere coincidence, but rather a direct result of basic differences in key economic, political and media/communication institutions and infrastructure that have been quietly incubating and developing in the post-World War II period. Taken together these differences in “fulcrum institutions” — the crucial institutions on which everything else pivots — are the keys to understanding the striking divergence between the European way and the American way.
Ironically, the land of “We, the People” still does not trust the people all that much, and its aging fulcrum institutions elect governments that fail to produce policy supported by a majority of Americans. Judging by the timid positions of President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats, this seems unlikely to change much, even if Democrats miraculously took back the House and held on to the Senate and presidency in 2012.
Consequently, the advances of the 21st century in political, economic, media and social organization will continue to take place in Europe, not America. Despite the short-term debt crises in some of the E.U. member states, if we are to survive the 21st century then Europe must step up its global leadership. Part of that process must involve spotlighting its fulcrum institutions – economic, environmental and political — as the basis for a new development model that offers hope to the world. In short, if the European Way didn't exist, we would have to invent it. In this make-or-break century beset by a worldwide economic crisis, global warming and new geopolitical tensions, the European model has the greatest potential to carry the world forward.


Venomous marine creatures include the blue-ringed octopus, stonefish, stinging fish, and cone shells.
The blue-ringed octopus may be found in rock pools, and bites can occur when people touch them or stand on them. The octopus shows their blue markings only when disturbed. Bites from a blue-ringed octopus are potentially fatal. For suspected blue-ringed octopus bites, call 000 for an ambulance, use the pressure-immobilisation technique, and have the patient taken immediately to the emergency department of the nearest hospital.
Box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) are found mostly in the warm waters north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Stings are potentially fatal.
Douse the tentacles with vinegar, and then call 000 for an ambulance. If the patient isn't breathing start "mouth-to-mouth" resuscitation. Do not attempt to remove the tentacles. Do not rub the sting.
(Photo: Box jellyfish, courtesy of Paul Sutherland)
Blue bottles (Physalia sp) can be found in all coastal waters. The sting can cause immediate intense pain followed by redness at the site.
Remove any remaining adherent tentacles by washing the area with water. Soaking the affected area in hot but not scolding water (ideally 45 C) for 20 minutes may relieve the pain. This is not suitable for infants, the very elderly, or those with poor skin condition as hot water may burn the skin.
Do not use vinegar. If pain persists, patient should see their local doctor.
Irukandji syndrome is caused by a sting from the Carukia barnesi jellyfish, which is found mainly in northern Australia. Although the majority of cases are not life threatening, irukandj syndrome can be a potentially lethal condition. The initial sting is often innocouous and usually not felt, but this can develop into a progressive syndrome (over minustes to hours) characterised by restlessness, sweating, nausea, vomiting and severe pain affecting the limbs, back, abdomen or chest.
For suspected irukandji syndrome, irrigate the site with water and then douse with vinegar. The patient should be transported to the nearest hospital for medical assessment.
Other jellyfish can produce painful stings. Remove any remaining adherent tentacles by washing with water, and then apply ice packs to relieve the pain. The patient should see their local doctor if the pain is severe and not relieved by pain-killers.
Stonefish are found in all coastal waters and some fresh water sites. Although there are no reported deaths in Australia, stonefish stings can be potentially fatal. Stone fish spine penetration can result in severe and persistent pain and in these cases the patient should be transported to the nearest hospital immediately for treatment. Antivenom is available.
First aid for stone fish stings involves washing the wound site immediately and soaking the affected area in hot but not scolding water (ideally 45 C) for up to 90 minutes may relieve the pain. This is not suitable for infants, the very elderly, or those with poor skin condition as hot water may burn the skin.
Stinging fish, including butterfly cod, scorpion cod, cobbler, catfish, happy moments and flathead, can produce painful injuries. For these stings, soaking the affected area in hot but not scolding water (ideally 45 C) for up to 90 minutes may relieve the pain. If pain persists, the sting has caused a deep wound, or other symptoms are present, the patient should see their local doctor.
The cone shell has a small "harpoon" that can penetrate the skin and cause envenomation. The venom can very quickly cause life-threatening paralysis. For all stings from a cone shell call 000 for an ambulance, use the pressure-immobilisation technique, and have the patient taken immediately to the emergency department of the nearest hospital.


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Roselyne Sachiti Features, Health & Society Editor
Last week, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) disseminated wide-ranging findings from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2019).
Notable was the decline in maternal deaths, an indication that the country was taking the right steps to achieve its goals of ending the scourge.
In the latest MICS report, Zimbabwe recorded a decrease in maternal mortality from 614 to 462 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births since 2014, and an increase in full immunisation coverage to 85 percent.
The latest findings echo the country’s commitment made at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) in Nairobi, Kenya, last year.
At the summit, top on the list of Zimbabwe’s pledges was to halve maternal deaths from 614 to 325 per 100 000 live births by 2030.
Policies and partnerships
This, of course, is a result of Government policies and donor efforts that include the scrapping of maternity fees in public hospitals, the introduction of mothers waiting shelters/homes, free blood coupons, among others.
For example, waiting shelters as an intervention have helped women at most rural health facilities where distribution of healthcare facilities is uneven.
Before the intervention, some rural women found it difficult to access the nearest health facilities because of long distances.
The provision of shelters or maternity waiting homes has helped in decreasing maternal and perinatal mortality by improving access to skilled birth attendance and emergency specialised care, particularly for women in rural areas.
Mothers’ waiting homes also play a critical role in the reduction of maternal mortality as they help curb the three delays, which are delay in decision to seek care; delay in reaching care and delay in receiving adequate healthcare.
In Zimbabwe, most funding of the mothers’ waiting shelters comes from development partners like the United Nations Children’s Fund under programmes like the H4+ and the Health Transition Fund (HTF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), among others.
This is done through technical and financial support to the Government through the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC).
Even with the funding more still needs to be done to ensure sustainability in the event that donors who are contributing to their running pull out.
In Zimbabwe, direct and measurable causes of deaths in pregnancy and childbirth are mainly severe bleeding (mostly after childbirth), infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia). To curb these, Government and its stakeholders have partnered to ensure these are reduced.
For example, United Bulawayo Hospitals which records about 4 756 deliveries annually with a 40 percent C Section rate has benefited from a partnership between the Ministry of Health and UNFPA.
When UNFPA East and Southern Africa Region (UNFPA-ESARO) director Dr Julitta Onabanjo recently toured UBH, gynaecologist Dr Harrison Rambanepasi briefed her that UNFPA provided them with maternity kits, blood and blood products through blood coupons.
However, the Government of Zimbabwe has taken over the funding of blood coupons.
Through UNFPA support, he added, the hospital also received lifesaving maternal health drugs, oxytocin, magnesium and sulphate just to name a few. All these interventions help reduce maternal deaths.
UNFPA has provided funding for the refurbishment of a dilapidated building which will house the obstetrics and gynaecological department at UBH and once completed, a bigger maternity facility will benefit hundreds of women.
When completed, the refurbished building will have two operating rooms, two intensive care units and a 15-bed gynaecological ward.
Additionally, they have supported the training of midwives, nurses, doctors on basic and emergency maternal and neonatal care refresher courses.
They have also supported midwifery institutions and nurse training institutions and provided family planning.
Another intervention introduced to curb maternal deaths is the Government policy that resulted in the scrapping of user fees in public health institutions.
MICS at a glance
The large-scale and challenging field survey was conducted between January and April last year for the 2019 MICS and received funding from the European Union, UKAID, and the Government of Sweden as well as UNICEF and UNFPA. Through these efforts, Zimbabwe became only the 14th country to complete and release the 6th round of MICS results.
The main objectives of the survey are to collect socio-economic data on health, education, child protection, water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, human capital and well-being of children, women and men of Zimbabwe that can be used for monitoring progress towards achievement of SDGs, Medium Term Plan, ZUNDAF and Transition Funds.
MICS also seeks to build capacity of national partners in data collection, compilation, processing, analysis and reporting on the situation of children, women and men.
This survey also provides decision makers with evidence on the situation of children and women’s rights and other vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe and to produce the multi-dimensional child poverty measurement.
“Though other countries are following, including some in the Southern African region, having Zimbabwe as one of the first few to complete the survey is testament to the value that the Government of Zimbabwe attaches to the importance of robust indicators on the situation of children and women,” said UNICEF Representative Laylee Moshiri last week.
“I am very excited today that we are disseminating the 2019 MICS results. The results could not have come at any better time than now when the Government of Zimbabwe is in the process of coming up with the first Five Year National Development Plan aimed at steering the country towards sustainable development,” she added.
The survey findings provide disaggregated data to measure progress and assess gaps on key indicators in numerous thematic areas affecting women and children’s lives such as child and maternal mortality, fertility, child health and nutrition, amongst many others.
“The MICS are conducted under the auspices of the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF) jointly coordinated by the Office of the President and Cabinet and the UN Resident Coordinator,” said Mr Taguma Mahonde, ZIMSTAT Director-General.
“I would like to commend UNICEF for coordinating the provision of financial and technical assistance for the MICS without which this survey would not have been possible. The partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe is appreciated and I hope it will grow from strength to strength,” he said.
Since its inception in 1995, 326 MICS surveys have been conducted by 116 countries generating data on key indicators on the well-being of children and women, and helping shape policies and programmes for the improvement of their lives. MICS is a major source of data for countries to measure progress on the 2030 Agenda and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The MICS involves a wide range of stakeholders at different levels including key Government departments, namely ZIMSTAT, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ministry of Health and Child Care; Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, and Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
The latest MICS also carries new topics that include: rapid water quality testing, social transfers, foundational learning skills (children age 7-14), child and adult functioning, migration status, use of clean fuels and technology, and victimisation.
The 2018/19 MICS also provides a wealth of social statistics for the assessment of progress towards achievement of expected social outcomes and impacts for the children, women and men of Zimbabwe as well as for the development of new programmes in 2019.


The provision heuristic, for example, may be the inclination to overestimate the importance of something which transpires to return commonly to thoughts.
The system was led to 1906.[a hundred and forty] In Europe, mental evaluation took a far more physiological technique, with theories of physiognomy—judgment of character determined by the facial area—explained by Aristotle in 4th century BC Greece. Physiognomy remained latest from the Enlightenment, and included the doctrine of phrenology: a research of intellect and intelligence based upon easy evaluation of neuroanatomy.
In China, psychological comprehension grew within the philosophical will work of Laozi and Confucius, and afterwards with the doctrines of Buddhism. This entire body of information requires insights drawn from introspection and observation, in addition to techniques for concentrated contemplating and performing. It frames the universe being a division of, and conversation in between, Actual physical truth and psychological fact, with the emphasis on purifying the brain in order to raise virtue and electricity. An historic text generally known as The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Interior Medicine identifies the brain as the nexus of knowledge and sensation, features theories of temperament dependant on yin–yang balance, and analyzes psychological dysfunction with regard to physiological and social disequilibria.
Some preferred media shops have lately spotlighted a replication disaster in psychology, arguing that many results in the field cannot be reproduced. Repeats of some famous research haven't achieved a similar conclusions, and a few scientists are already accused of outright fraud inside their effects.
In 1890, William James outlined psychology as "the science of mental existence, both of its phenomena as well as their circumstances". This definition savored common forex for many years. However, this this means was contested, notably by radical behaviorists for example John B. Watson, who in his 1913 manifesto described the self-discipline of psychology since the acquisition of data beneficial to the control of behavior.
Longitudinal research observe the exact same people today, and so detect a lot more specific, as an alternative to cultural, variations. Having said that, they put up with lack of controls and from confounding components which include selective attrition (the bias released when a specific type of subject matter disproportionately leaves a research).
Social psychology is the review of how individuals think of one another and how they relate to one another. Social psychologists study these types of matters given that the affect of Many others on somebody's conduct (e.g. conformity, persuasion), and the development of beliefs, attitudes, and stereotypes about other people. Social cognition fuses components of social and cognitive psychology so that you can know how men and women course of action, remember, or distort social details. The research of group dynamics reveals specifics of the character and probable optimization of leadership, conversation, and also other phenomena that arise at the least at the microsocial amount.
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help pupils to find out. In truth, it’s really hard to imagine what that evidence could possibly appear to be – over and above recurring results that homework usually isn’t even linked to higher accomplishment.
In a few spots, governments legally regulate who can provide psychological solutions or signify themselves to be a "psychologist". The American Psychological from this source Affiliation defines a psychologist as someone with a doctoral diploma in psychology.
Determine and implement integrative indicators to measure organizational performance and uncover growth possibilities
Include theory and investigation into conceptual frameworks that provide internet marketing and item growth insights
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Côte d'Ivoire's wealth rests essentially on the production of coffee, cocoa, cotton, and tropical woods, which account for over 40% of GDP and two-thirds of exports. It has become the largest cotton producer south of the Sahara and is also investing in rubber production, with the goal of joining Liberia as one of Africa's leading rubber producers. The nation is the world's fifth-largest producer of coffee and the world's largest producer of cocoa; bananas, palm oil, and pineapples are other products of importance. Industrial activity, consisting chiefly of processing industries, is well developed. Mining remains of limited significance, with diamonds and offshore oil the only important minerals produced.
For the first 15 years after independence, Côte d'Ivoire's economy expanded at a remarkable rate reaching the double digits. During the 1980s, however, Côte d'Ivoire began experiencing an economic slowdown because of falling export prices, rising import prices, and heavy debt-service costs as a result of borrowing during the boom years.
In January 1994 France devalued the CFA franc, cutting its value in half. Within days of the devaluation, marketplace fights became common as shoppers reacted to merchants' attempts to cut their losses by marking up the prices of existing stocks. The population was forced to stop buying expensive imports in favor of locally produced products, which put more money into the pockets of local farmers and tradesmen. In addition, exports became more competitive, encouraging economic production. Despite the initial trauma, the devaluation ultimately led to average growth rates of 7% per year between 1995 and 1999. Although inflation initially shot up to 32% in 1994, it fell to7.7% in 1995, and 2.5% in 2000. The post-devaluation boom waned in 1999, though, because of lower coffee, palm, rubber, and cocoa prices. The GDP growth rate in 2001 was estimated at -1%. Commodity prices, however, rebounded in 2001.
Due to the instability following the attempted coup that took place in 2002, and the resulting fighting, Côte d'Ivoire's economy suffered greatly, affecting everyone from business people to local artisans and farmers. Côte d'Ivoire's neighbors—including Burkina Faso and Mali—also felt the blow from the civil war.


To commemorate the finding in December 17th 1790 of the Sun Stone at the Main Square (Zocalo) of Mexico City, the most important Internet search engine, Google
, dedicated its logo to the emblematic Mexica sculpture.
The monolith also known as Aztec Calendar weights more than 22 tons and was carved on olivine basalt. The 3.22 meters diameter stone was found during excavations made to level and tile up that section of Mexico City center.
Miguel Angel Alva, Marketing director of Google Mexico, commented that the election of the logo or doodle referring to the Sun Stone was made based on proposals sent every trimester to the United States referring to relevant events or commemorations for culture in every country of the world.
After its finding, the monolith was attached to one of the towers of the Cathedral. It was exhibited there from 1790 to 1885, when President Porfirio Diaz ordered it was moved to the National Museum at Moneda Street, to preside the Monolith Hall. It was in 1964 when it was moved to the recently opened National Museum of Anthropology (MNA), where it is exhibited at the Mexica Hall.
The image of the Aztec Calendar in the search engine logo appeared in the page www.google.com.mx
, from where public could access the different websites of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
The last is part of the agreement between the National Institute and Google Mexico signed to promote internationally Mexican cultural heritage though the Internet. It is also part of the 70th anniversary of the creation of INAH celebrations.
According to specialists, the Sun Stone was originally set in a horizontal position and served as recipient of the heart and blood of defeated warriors that were sacrificed as offering so the Sun could reappear each day, overcoming the feminine nightly powers represented by the Moon and stars.
There are no data regarding the exact date of its manufacture, but in the top there is a glyph that represents the year 13 Cane (1479), which corresponds to the Mexica date when the Fifth Sun was born in Teotihuacan, during Axayacatl ruling.
A high definition interactive screen has recently installed at MNA, which allows knowing details of the Mexica sculpture such as the 5 concentric circles and the iconography.
The Marketing director of Google Mexico recalled that the search engine logo has been dedicated to other relevant dates in Mexico, such as the Independence, Childrens Day and Day of the Dead.
The next icon related to our country will be uploaded in March 31st 2010, to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of the Literature Nobel Prize Octavio Paz. Other commemorations to be celebrated are the anniversaries of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.


A standard denture is a removable dental appliance that replaces missing teeth and surrounding tissue. Dentures are made to closely resemble your natural teeth and may even enhance your smile.
There are two types of dentures: complete dentures and partial dentures. Complete dentures are used when all of the teeth are missing, while partial dentures are used when some natural teeth remain. A partial denture fills in the spaces created by missing teeth, providing a new chewing surface and preventing other teeth from shifting.
A complete denture may be either “conventional” or “immediate.” The conventional type is made after the teeth have been removed and the gum tissue has healed, which usually takes 4 to 6 weeks. During this time the patient will go without teeth. Immediate dentures are made in advance and immediately placed after the teeth are removed, thus preventing the patient from having to be without teeth during the healing process. Once the tissues shrink and heal, adjustments will have to be made to the immediate denture.
Dentures are very durable appliances and will last many years, but they do not last forever. They may have to be remade, repaired, or readjusted due to normal wear.
Reasons for dentures:
Complete Denture – to replace all teeth in an arch
Partial Denture – to replace several teeth in an arch
Avoid sunken or aged-looking facial tissues
Improve chewing, speech, and confidence
What does getting dentures involve?
The process of getting dentures requires several appointments, usually over several weeks. Highly accurate impressions (molds) and measurements are taken and used to create your custom denture. Several “try-in” appointments may be necessary to ensure proper shape, color, and fit. At the final appointment, your dentist will precisely adjust and place the completed denture, ensuring a natural and comfortable fit.
It is normal to experience increased saliva flow, some soreness, and possible speech and chewing difficulty when your partial or complete denture is first placed. However, this will subside as your muscles and tissues get used to the new dentures.
You will be given care instructions for your new dentures. Proper cleaning of your new dental appliance, good oral hygiene, and regular dental visits will aid in extending the life of your new dentures.


The evolution of tree roots may have triggered a series of mass extinctions that rocked the Earth’s oceans during the Devonian Period over 300 million years ago, according to a study.
Scientists have used gene technology to understand more about the make-up of the evolution of brassicas – paving the way for bigger and more climate resilient yields from this group of crops that have been grown for thousands of years.
For young plants, timing is just about everything. Now, scientists have found that herbivores, animals that consume plants, have a lot to say about evolution at this vulnerable life stage.
Once a plant seedling breaches the soil surface and begins to grow, a broad range of factors will determine whether it thrives or perishes.
Scientists have long perceived that natural selection favors early rising seeds. Seedlings that emerge early in the growing season should have a competitive advantage in monopolizing precious soil resources. Early growth also should mean more access to light, since early growers can block sunlight for seedlings that emerge later in the season.
Despite plenty of proof that germinating early is highly advantageous, many plants germinate later. Why?
University of California San Diego researchers found in a recent study that herbivores have a lot to say in determining how germination time contributes to plant growth.
Research published in the journal Evolution Letters by former UC San Diego graduate student Joseph Waterton and Division of Biological Sciences Professor Elsa Cleland has shown that certain vertebrate herbivores—including mice, rabbits and birds—play an underappreciated role in shaping natural selection in plant growth. Due to earlier seasonal growth patterns emerging from climate change, the new findings may factor into evolutionary responses to global environmental changes.
“Germination timing is a really important trait that influences the fitness of plants and their ability to survive and reproduce,” said Waterton, who received his PhD in Biological Sciences and is now at Indiana University. “Until this study we didn’t understand the role herbivores played in the evolution of this trait—we had very little idea of what shaped this trait besides aspects of the abiotic environment, such as climate.”
In field studies using two California grass species, Waterton and Cleland found that early emerging seedlings were more impacted by vertebrate herbivores compared to those that emerged later, likely because they were the first and biggest bits of greenery available on the landscape at the start of the growing season when not much else was growing. They found that such early season consumption by herbivores shrinks the benefit of early seedling emergence.
Conducted at the UC San Diego Biology Field Station in early 2018, the researchers’ study examined native Stipa pulchra and non‐native Bromus diandrus grasses, common California grass species with vastly different origins and growth strategies, in neighboring plots that either excluded or allowed access to vertebrate herbivores. Herbivores consistently weakened the success of early emergers in both grass species, the results showed.
With climate change forces shifting the timing of many plant life stages earlier in the year, the new study shows that herbivores are likely working as a counteracting force.
“Plants that germinate earlier than their neighbors tend to win out. But our study shows that herbivory early in the growing season can counteract the advantage of early germination,” said Cleland, a professor in the Ecology, Behavior and Evolution Section. “This is important because in order to persist and keep pace with climate change, many species will need to shift their seasonal timing. Our study shows that we can’t accurately estimate the strength of natural selection on key traits if we don’t account for realistic forces acting in nature, such as herbivory on plants.”
The study was funded by a graduate student researcher fellowship from the University of California’s Institute for the Study of Ecological Effects of Climate Impacts (ISEECI) and a Jeanne M. Messier Memorial Fellowship.
Read the paper: Evolution Letters
Article source: UC San Diego
Image: At UC San Diego’s Biology Field Station, scientists tested California grasses in plots that allowed or excluded the influence of birds, mice, rabbits and other plant consumers. Credit: UC San Diego
Global warming already affects Siberian primrose, a plant species that is threatened in Finland and Norway. According to a recently completed study, individuals of Siberian primrose originating in the Finnish coast on the Bothnian Bay currently fare better in northern Norway than in their home area. The results indicate that the species may not be able to adapt to quickly progressing climate change, which could potentially lead to its extinction.
Lichens may be the most easily overlooked life forms in nature. If you spend much time outside, you probably see some every day, although you might not know it – most people are likely to think they’re moss.
Plant geneticists seeking to understand the history of the plants we eat can decode the genomes of ancient crops from rare, well-preserved samples. However, this approach leaves significant gaps in the timelines of where and when many modern-day fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops evolved, and paints an incomplete picture of what they looked like. A Science & Society article details a unique approach to filling these gaps using art–and calls on museum goers and art aficionados to help find paintings that could have useful depictions.
In the Eocene, some of the world’s most important mountain ranges emerged and large climate changes took place that affected the future of the planet. In this era, about 50 million years ago, large groups of mammals and other animals also came , as did Daniellia clade, an array of legume plants which carry environmental relevance.
In a new manuscript, scientist argues that all of the earliest traits of plant domestication are linked to a mutualistic relationship in which plants recruited humans for seed dispersal.
Tropical forest trees are the centerpiece of debates on conservation, climate change and carbon sequestration today. While their ecological importance has never been doubted, what has often been ignored is their ability to store cultural heritage. Using recent advances in scientific methods and a better understanding of the growth of these trees, researchers can now uncover, in detail, the growing conditions, including human management, that have occurred around these ancient giants over their centuries-long life span.
Scientists have made a significant discovery about the genetic origins of how plants evolved from living in water to land 470 million years ago.


Essential Questions: Why are rules made? Why are rules followed?
Focus of the week:Students will explain how and why rules are made/why rules should be followed.
Standard- SSKCG1(a/b): The student will demonstrate an understanding of good citizenship.
Performance level descriptors for the above skill/element.
|Not Yet Demonstrated
||Student does not explain how and why rules should be followed.
Student explains how rules are but NOT why rules are made and followed.
||Student explains how rules AND why rules are made and followed.
Please watch the video why people have laws.
watch the video why people have laws.


|JESUS LIVING IN MARY:
HANDBOOK OF THE SPIRITUALITY OF ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT
I. Montfort the Artist: 1. Youth; 2. Art in service of the mission: a. A restorer of churches and chapels, b. The Calvary of Pontchâteau, c. An inspired producer. II. Montfort the Statue Maker: 1. The Virgins of Roussay; 2. The Virgins of Choletais; 3. Our Lady of Wisdom; 4. The Crucifix of Saint-Lazare; 5. The Little Virgin and Child. III. Montfort Iconography: 1. The Rennes Paining; 2. The Beauvoir painting; 3. Grotesque iconography and statuary; 4. The evolution of the Montfort image in the twentieth century.
I. Montfort the Artist
From an early age, Louis Marie had a taste for the arts, a feeling for the beautiful. Gifted with an uncommon intelligence and a studious pupil of the Jesuits at Rennes, he became interested as a youth in poetry and painting. These two activities earned the young artist a reputation as an eccentric.1
His fellow student, Jean-Baptiste Blain, called the free time he devoted to drawing and painting "innocent." He went on to say: "If he had any other more natural [talent], he limited himself to painting, for which he had a special taste and flair. If he had cultivated it, he most certainly would have excelled without a teacher. He taught himself how to draw very well and to paint miniatures. He had such a facility for art that he had only to see something in order to reproduce it. A painter he visited was so astounded that he used to stop working and hide everything related to his craft the moment the young Grignion came to his door. He wanted money if he was to become more receptive to the young man. But Louis Grignion had none (his uncle2 told me this since I came back). Providence blessed him with a small but rather singular stroke of luck. A small, well-executed devotional painting fell into the hands of the young school boy, and he copied it so well that it was a perfect likeness of the original. A man who had a liking for this kind of work saw it and was so satisfied with it that he gave him a golden louis for it. It was this money that enabled the young Grignion to have better access to the painter."3
At the age of nineteen, Louis Marie left Rennes for Paris. There, under the aegis of the Saint-Sulpice Seminary, was a community of poor ecclesiastical students under the direction of M. de la Barmondière. Neither the historical monuments nor the many great palaces that gave the capital its reputation attracted Louis interest. Fr. Blain notes: "The first thing Grignion sacrificed at the outskirts and entrance to Paris was his curiosity. He made a pact with his eyes not to let them see anything that could give them pleasure . . . nothing of that opulence, that splendor, of so many rare objects and art masterpieces that make Paris the most beautiful city in the world and attract so many strangers."4 On the other hand, he often doffed his hat to salute a statue of the Blessed Virgin that otherwise caught no ones eye. "One day," Blain goes on, "surprised at seeing him doff his hat so often to someone unseen, I asked him who he was greeting. And he answered me that he was paying his respects to the images of the Blessed Virgin on the doors of the houses; they were indeed there but so indistinct that I had to strain to see them."5 In Rennes and in Paris, he used to spend a long time admiring the statues of Mary adorning the Marian shrines and the altars of the Virgin. It is likely that he had begun to sculpt replicas of these "images."
Finding drawing to be a more "secular" art than sculpting statues and composing hymns, he resolved to sacrifice this artistic diversion. But his superior, Fr. de la Barmondière, found him to have a "great predisposition" for painting as well as for sculpture, architecture, and the other fields of knowledge requiring "a fine imagination." He ordered Louis Marie to cultivate and develop his talents. The future would justify the wisdom of that decision.
2. Art in service of the mission
Montfort was able to give free reign to his artistic soul during his days as an itinerant missionary. At the start of his career, he was an "apprentice" to such famous missionaries as Fr. Leuduger. Not wanting him to appear odd, they allowed him little expression for his many talents. During his later years in La Rochelle, he convincingly demonstrated that a fiery apostle and missionary could also be a genuine artist.
a. A restorer of churches and chapels.
Appointed chaplain to the general hospital in Poitiers, Montfort busied himself there with projects that combined spiritual and material restoration. Wishing to obtain greater cleanliness and hygiene in the institution, he wanted to repair its chapel.6 But a conspiracy forced him to leave the hospital before he was able to realize this plan. Desiring to become a missionary, he started his new apostolate in Montbernage, a working-class district near the church of St. Radegonde. There he transformed the barn of La Bergerie from a dance hall into the chapel of Our Lady Queen of All Hearts. In the middle of this improvised oratory he placed a crucifix. He decorated the walls with fifteen standards, representing the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. On one of the supports of the Joubert bridge existed the ruins of a little oratory dedicated to the Queen of the Angels. Built in the thirteenth century, it had been damaged by a flooding of the Clain river and later wrecked by the Huguenots. Under the guise of a memorial mission, Montfort undertook to restore the chapel. Upon its completion he placed in it a Madonna. He did the same thing with the so-called Temple of St. John, where modern archaeologists had found Gallo-Roman remains. In principle, the clergy did not oppose its restoration, especially since Montfort intended to dedicate this future oratory to St. John the Apostle. This explains the capricious remark of the dean of the chapter of canons: "Fr. Grignion, werent you transported to the island of Patmos, where God revealed to you that He wanted you to rebuild the Temple of St. John?" The missionary took up a collection for this work. He received many unexpected gifts. Volunteers helped him to transport stones and sand. As a result, in only a few months the Temple was restored "from top to bottom." This led the astonished people of Poitou to say, "Only a saint could have accomplished such a feat!"
In 1707, Montfort offered his services to a missionary team from Saint-Brieuc. People used to say that when St. Vincent Ferrer was preaching a mission there in 1417, he stood before the ruins of the chapel of Our Lady of Pity and exclaimed: "There will come a man who will be much badgered and ridiculed but despite it all will finish its restoration." During a mission three centuries later, Montfort took up the challenge. This restoration was to be his first great work. He drew up the plans, gathered the craftsmen, ordered the statues from a sculptor in Nantes, and directed their transport and installation. During some rare leisure moments in his itinerant missionary life, Montfort would often return to La Chèze to see the completion of the chapel, "one of the most beautiful in the diocese," according to Fr. Besnard.
Dismissed by Dom Leuduger, Fr. de Montfort went off to Montfort-la- Cane, his birthplace. There he found shelter in the priory of Saint- Lazare. For years this former house for lepers had fallen into disuse. It had become a two-family farm. For Louis Marie, Saint-Lazare was far from unknown. His grandfather had been the seneschal and sole judge there in 1666. And his own father, Jean-Baptiste Grignion, had been its farmer general. In Saint-Lazare as well, St. Louis Marie cleaned the chapel and restored order to it. More will be said later about Montforts stay in Saint-Lazare.
In the diocese of Nantes there are several churches that Montfort restored. At the time, the general custom was to bury the dead in the church buildings. Arriving at the church of Campbon in February 1709, he found it in a sorry state. On its grimy walls hung the black mourning band with the coat of arms of the Coislin dukes. Tombstones were strewn everywhere.7 First Montfort had the tombstones returned to the graveyard. Then he had the masons, stonecutters, and painters brighten the church itself. A few days later he got into trouble with seigniorial justice for whitewashing over the arms of the Duc de Coislin, the chief lord of the parish.
At Crossac, Montfort repeated his Campbon exploit. Fortified by several judgments of the Brittany parliament against those who wished to continue burying their dead in the church, the missionary profited from the good will of the parishioners and had them sign, before a notary, a surrender of their right to entombment inside the church building. After this, he had the tombstones removed and the sanctuary of the church paved, whitened, decorated, and repaired.
In the diocese of Luçon, he restored the chapel of Our Lady of Victory at La Garnache. In the diocese of La Rochelle, he restored the chapel of Our Lady of Patience at La Séguinière, and the church at Mervent.
Little by little, Montfort became aware of the advantage to be derived from having laypeople or religious assist him in the work of parish missions. Moreover, we know that Montfort, as founder of the Missionaries of the Company of Mary, had formally foreseen in his Rule that "lay Brothers [be] admitted into the Company to take care of temporal affairs provided they are detached, robust, and obedient, ready to do all they are told to do" (RM 4). And in W, he said: "I have no private money belonging to me, but there are 135 pounds belonging to Nicholas of Poitiers." Grandet points out that Montfort had sent "Brother" Nicholas to Poitiers to learn the "craft of sculptor" so that he might be able to decorate churches.8 In RM, he stipulated that the Missionaries of the Company of Mary were to explain the prayers and the mysteries of the Rosary "either by instructions or by pictures and statues which they have for this purpose" (RM 57).
b. The Calvary of Pontchâteau.
The Calvary of Pontchâteau in the diocese of Nantes remains Montforts masterpiece, a monumental mission memorial that demonstrated his genius as an architect of religious art. Inspired by the achievements of Mont- Valérien, Montfort wanted an artificial mountain to become the "Holy Land" of the West of Francesince "The Turk still keeps Holy Calvary / Where Jesus Christ died" (H 164:1). "The missionary engineer had drawn three concentric circles. The first marked the location of the Calvary. Between the second and the third, moats hollowed out by clearing away the shrubbery surrounded the holy mountain and protected it. A bit farther away, beyond the third circle, 150 fir trees were planted, intersected by fifteen cypresses that formed an immense rosary around the cross. A few chapels recalled the mysteries of Jesus and Mary."9 "The Calvary Fr. de Montfort built a few leagues from Nantes, at so great an expense and labor, is a testimony without equal of the grace God gave him and the power he had over peoples hearts. This work, which a governor of a province would scarcely have undertaken, and which would have cost a prince a vast amount of money, was not only attempted, but completed by the poorest of all priests. According to what people told me, he called upon farmers and laborers from ten or twelve leagues around and some from even farther away to work there. And these poor folk came to do his bidding with a zeal animated by his own, in throngs and thousands, to give their day, their sweat, and their painful efforts to a man who had no salary or recompense to give them other than what heaven could supply. I heard that over twenty thousand men came to work there, and since these men were not looking to waste the time they so freely gave for the love of God, each of them took a heavier load than two salaried people would have done, which is easy to believe. What happened was that this immense work of building a Calvary, which would have taken even a prince with fifty thousand men several months to build, was finished in relatively little time by the care and blessed ingenuity of a missionary zealot."10 Its enormous size was the very reason for the loss of the Calvary of Pontchâteau. Fearing that the English might land on the coast and use its moats as trenches and its chapels as blockhouses, a royal edict ordered its demolition in 1710.
c. An inspired producer.
A century after the death of their founder, the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (as the Company of Mary was then called) were renowned for the splendor of their "mission pageants." They were a unique characteristic of Montforts missions. Indeed, Montfort had an innate sense of how to create a religious production. He composed real medieval mystery plays and never hesitated to participate in a play himself, even to taking the part of a dead man on his way to judgment.
A handwritten page of Montforts gives the details of the production, along with a supporting sketch, of a short mystery play of 650 verses entitled "The Abandoned Soul Delivered from Purgatory by the Prayers of the Poor and Children" (H 127). Here is the complete text: "Dialog in the form of a canticle. Preface. In order to sing this dialog in a manner acceptable to God, edifying to our neighbor, and of benefit to the souls in Purgatory, it is necessary to:
1. Begin with the Veni Creator Spiritus: Accende lumen sensibus; and then the Ave maris stella: Monstra te esse Matrem.
2. There must be twenty characters: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin, the Guardian Angels, the Devil, the Abandoned Soul, Four Suffering Souls, Four Living Souls, Geneviève, Catherine, Agnes, Françoise, Armelle. And this is not counting the angels who surround Gods throne nor the poor who will be praying in unison.
3. Each character learns his songs by heart, sings them unhurriedly, and will practice the ceremonies of which he is a part. Set up five chairs with the middle one higher than the others, and the actors will be positioned pretty much in this way: [there follows a small drawing by the author]."
The young Louis Marie certainly relished the great procession of the "consecration," which made Montfort-la-Cane famous throughout Brittany at the end of the seventeenth century. The whole city turned out. Behind the mayor and the aldermen were the harquebusiers, mounted or on foot, the count, represented by his squire, the dignitaries of the seigniorial court, with the herald of arms in his fancy hoqueton, the six paymasters carrying the chief banners of their parishes, the members of the various brotherhoods with their respective ensigns and standards, the troop of musicians that had come from Rennes, and the four chief worthies carrying the canopy. This was a format that one day would be reintroduced and brought to perfection by Montfort. The bishop of Saint- Malo personally carried the Blessed Sacrament. He was then greeted with great pomp at the town hall, a canon was fired, and upon their return a reception was held.11
Claude Masse, a military engineer at La Rochelle, had the good idea of sketching in comic-strip form the closing procession of the womens mission on August 16, 1711. Actually, this picturesque report proves Montfort to be a past master in the art of spectacular processions. In the mind of the saint, nothing was too beautiful for the eyes of God.
Here is the text of the explanatory captions that accompany Claude Masses drawing: "A. Banner of the Jacobin Fathers (Dominicans), before which marched a large number of people of both sexes. B. A group of daughters of the common people, barefoot and dressed in white. C. A white standard for the same. D. A group of the daughters of merchants, most of whom were barefoot, carrying a cross, a candle, a rosary and a picture on which was written: contract of renewal of baptismal promises. E. A blue standard for the daughters of the townsfolk. F. Brother Mathurin,12 missionary assistants, keeping the marchers in order and leading the singing of the different songs. G. The clergy also controlling and ordering the march and leading the singing of hymns. H. A red standard for married women, a few of whom were barefoot. I. Another standard for the young ladies of the town. K. Two ladies carrying torches. L. Two gunners oboes that were played at the close of each of the verses sung by the women. M. The banner of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. N. A black and white standard for the Sisters of the Dominican Third Order. O. Navy men to maintain order and keep back the crowds present at various places. P. The cross of the Dominican Fathers with the rosary around it. Q. The chief dance masters and violinists of the town, whom the Father missionary railed against in his sermons and who were paid with a good supper, like the sargents and soldiers. R. Fr. Chauvet, the hospital chaplain and dispenser in reserved cases. S. Fr. M. Grignion,13 the missionarys brother, who held a few procession rehearsals inside and outside the town in order to familiarize the women with its rubrics; he almost always carried the book of Gospels.14 T. Fr. de Montfort, missionary and secular priest of the province of Brittany; he had given several missions, always using the rosary as a principle. V. Fr. Colusson, a Jesuit seminary professor, who followed a part of the procession. X. The Dominican Fr. Doiteau, who always accompanied the missionary in his processions. Y. Sergeants and soldiers from the regiments of Angles and La Lande, then garrisoned at La Rochelle, to control the crowds."15 "This procession of women," Masse adds, "started at two oclock from the Dominican church and passed in front of the town hall, where the Maréchal de Chamilly, then commander in this province, watched them march by along with the members of his court, which created quite an imposing spectacle. Women carried standards, and all sang the hymns and anthems in the missionarys style to all the latest tunes."
II. MONTFORT THE STATUE MAKER
Quérard notes that in his traveling missionary team, Montfort had "a sculptor and a painter, whom he directed in the decorating of churches, chapels, and calvaries." But Grandet, whom he quotes, had added a moralizing intention that annoyed the purists: "On his missions he always had a painter and a sculptor with him in order to cover or redo those pictures and statues of the saints that were offensive or badly done."
In his leisure moments, Montfort himself became a sculptor. Tradition attributes to him a number of statues and other sculptures. Knowing Montforts taste for the plastic arts and his love for Our Lady, it is almost certain that he made most of them, despite the lack of written documentation.
1. The Virgins of Roussay (May 1714)
"People have preserved as relics a few objects that belonged to the saint: a pearwood statue of Mary in the parish church, two other statuettes of the Blessed Virgin that were donated by him and adorn his restored chapel."16
2. The Virgins of Choletais
Maurice Laurentin made a special study of this series of Madonnas in Saint-Laurent, La Séguinière, and Saint-Amand attributed to the saint. He concluded: "Examination and comparison both favor the tradition. They [the Madonnas] are a bit clumsy and were obviously not done by a professional but by an amateur who had before him a fine statue that he copied. They reveal the gaps in training and the hesitancy of a gifted sculptor, but one who had little experience and who had never fully grasped the laws of anatomy and the rules of modeling. But they are not without skill. They have the charm of the feeling that inspired them. . . . They possess that essential quality of a sacred work which Paul Doncoeur calls chastity. They attract attention neither by their beauty nor by their worth. They do not move the art lover or dilettante in us. But they do move the believer. . . . Looking at these relics, a Christian understands the soul of a saint and the secret of his inspiration. For him the work of art was a means of action, a lasting sign of his spiritual teaching, and an instrument of an interior reform."17
The chief proof of the authenticity of all the works attributed to Fr. de Montfort is that they reveal a similar technique. The sculptures depict the Virgin draped like a patrician, holding the child with a globe in his hand. In their own way, they illustrate a trilogy of Montfort characteristics: 1) Mary, 2) who is utterly submitted to Jesus Christ, 3) who is the Savior of the world.
These signs of Montfort authenticity take on further importance when we compare these later works (1713-1715) with those earlier sculptures correctly attributed to the talents of Louis Marie. This brings us to the period in Montforts life when he had been dismissed by Dom Leuduger and he had made his headquarters the priory of Saint-Lazare in Montfort, his birthplace. While there, he had some auspicious moments of "free time" at his disposal. This allowed him to use his artistic talents. We owe to this period a number of striking works.
3. Our Lady of Wisdom
Once the chapel of the old priory had been cleaned, Montfort immediately began to decorate it. He sought to make it a complete artistic unity, one that reflected his unique missionary vision. In addition, he decided to turn the priory into the oratory for the first Montfort community (with Brothers Mathurin and Jean). Above the altar he placed a dove with silver wings, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, and below it the name of Jesus in large letters. Lastly, on the altar itself he placed the statue of Our Lady of Wisdom. In the sanctuary he installed a priedieu supporting a long rosary, whose chain was in forged iron with beads the size of walnuts. There was enough room to allow several people to recite it at the same time.18
4. The Crucifix of Saint-Lazare
The so-called Saint-Lazare crucifix is preserved in the bedroom where, according to tradition, Fr. de Montfort stayed. It is of the same rather clumsy technique mentioned by Laurentin about the Virgins of Choletais, as is the following piece.
5. The Little Virgin and Child
This is the little statue that Montfort carried on the top of his walking stick.
The authenticity of the first two such Madonnas that Montfort made is beyond question. They served as models for the later sculptures that we have described above. Later other statuettes of the Virgin in the same Montfort style were discovered. All came from the religious communities of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre. One of them, which had been given to the Daughters of Wisdom of Mont-Saint-Michel, has been carefully preserved by the community of Pontorson.
III. Montfort Iconography
Besnard (1717-1788), the third successor of Louis de Montfort, gives the following portrait of him: "He was of above average height with a robust constitution. He had a noble manner with an air of kindness about him. He was considerate, affable, and good-natured. He had rather ruddy cheeks, a long face, a high and broad forehead, with large bright eyes that were often self-effacing, a gently aquiline nose, as people picture him, with a somewhat prominent chin, straight and quite short chestnut hair falling softly on the top of his head just above his forehead."
Besnard wrote these lines in 1767, some fifty years after Montforts death. Although he may not have known the great missionary, he was on the mission band for five years with Fr. René Mulot, the saints second recruit. Even then Montfort iconography had already begun to be marketed throughout France in response to Fr. de Montforts growing fame. When Fr. Adrien Vatel, the saints first recruit (1715), announced Montforts death to the superior of the Seminary of the Holy Spirit in Paris, he was able to include with his letter "two little engravings (or images)" of Fr. de Montfort.19 This presupposes that working drawings for the engravings had already been made even before Montforts death. Fr. Besnard was able to see these two engravings again in Paris in 1767. Is this engraving among those preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale? We do not think so, since all of those engravings mention Fr. de Montforts death. Furthermore, the engraving showing the Calvary of Pontchâteau gives such a tiny sketch of the missionary that nothing worthwhile can be obtained from it.
We possess two portraits of Montfort that might be called "prototypes," since it is apparent that they were used as models for all subsequent iconography of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
1. The Rennes painting
Fr. Fernand Fradet writes: "When Marie Louise of Jesus, the first Daughter of Wisdom, came to Rennes in 1724, called there by the woman who was President of Montigny to set up the first school of her Congregation, she discovered, among the few pieces of furniture left to the institution by its first benefactress, a portrait of the founder, still jealously preserved today in the private clinic of Rennes. What was the origin of this canvas? May it be supposed that Montfort consented to pose for it? Did his universally benevolent charity allow him to give in to the entreaties of some noble friend? It is too bad that history gives us no details."20 The author begins from the hypothesis that the Rennes painting was done during Montforts lifetime. But there seems to be a simpler explanation. This painting was taken from Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre after Fr. de Montforts death. The Marquis de Magnanne21 was staying in Rennes in 1714 with M. Bédouèt dOrville both of them were friends of the great missionarywhen he acquired the house that was to become the first residence of the Daughters of Wisdom. In 1720, hence after Montforts death, the Marquis entrusted the school founded by the saint to Mademoiselle Elisabeth Dauvaise, another great benefactress of the work of Fr. de Montfort. It is highly likely, then, that on May 12, 1722, when one of the representatives of Mademoiselle Dauvaise from Nantes took possession of the school in Rennes, she brought the famous painting along with her luggage.
The explanation Fr. Fradet gave of the original painting is even more valid for the Rennes canvas. "It is possible that a member of his family [Dupleix] was in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre at the time of the Saints death and that he was allowed to reproduce the features of the missionary as he lay on his deathbed."22 It is probable that an artist made a quick death sketch, which then served as a model for the first painter. "The features of this odd painting are those one would find in the countless portraits that were to follow. Only the body was made to stand up. The hands remained joined and the eyes lowered. Later they were half opened in order to give the face a more lifelike expression. All that had to be done now was to surround the saint with the things that he loved best and were the symbols of his work."23
The fact that the original was "recumbent" explains the emaciated face and the extremely aquiline profile that successive reproductions were to exaggerate to the point of caricature. Besnard pointed this out in 1767. We may therefore rightly look upon the Rennes painting as the prototype and the Beauvoir painting as only a copy.
2. The Beauvoir painting
In 1888, the year of Fr. de Montforts beatification, Fr. Deval, a Montfort missionary, was preaching in Beauvoir-sur-Mer, Vendée. He paid a visit to the octogenarian widow Dupleix in the company of the pastor of the parish. In her room, he noticed a painting that amazed him because the figure in the painting resembled the customary portraits of Fr. de Montfort.
"Convinced that he was in the presence of a genuine portrait and one painted by an eyewitness, he did not hesitate to ask Madame Dupleix for the old painting. Never! she replied, It is a painting that has been in my family for more than 150 years and must belong to the eldest of my children. I must leave it therefore to my eldest son, who is an officer. You may offer me many gold pieces for it, but I will never give it up, since our family cares about it so much. But, Madame, you cant refuse. I think it is the portrait of Fr. de Montfort, who has just been beatified. Would you know the origin of this painting? Undoubtedly it is by a family member, since we are so attached to it. If you are willing to give it to me, I will pay for a beautiful statue of Blessed Louis Marie for the church in Beauvoir, and I would come and preach a triduum for its installation. What the pastor had to say sounded like Montfort speaking, and soon Madame Dupleix gave in, saying that the replacement would please her son. The priest took away the treasure. It is what is called the Rome picture, the most venerable and authentic of the portraits, since it is a barely retouched copy of the canvas. It shows the actual features of Fr. de Montfort as they were on the last day of his life."24
3. Grotesque iconography and statuary
Up to the beginning of the twentieth century, no one dreamed of being offended by the pictures of Montfort that today seem so grotesque to us. It is quite odd to note that there were fewer of the engravings and holy pictures inspired by the Rennes canvas in circulation than copies of the first pictures preserved in the Biblio-thèque Nationale, which had been so badly recast. When there was a need to provide the areas that had been evangelized by Montfort with statues of his likeness, sculptors outdid themselves in the art of ugliness and caricature. In the Vendée we can still hear the expression "ugly as a Grignion." Proof of such distortions can be found in the ugliness of Montforts statue in the Mervent grotto and the gruesome painting by Michel Poussin in the hermitage of Saint-Eloi in La Rochelle.
4. The evolution of the Montfort image in the twentieth century
Today painters and sculptors have attempted to give Montfort a "better face." The results have been uneven. There have been different interpretations of the image of Montfort, based on the artistic taste, spirituality, and cultural period of the artists and those for whom they are creating. The richness and complexity of Montforts personality lend themselves to varied and almost contradictory images.
Several artists, especially at the beginning of the century, portrayed Montfort as a contemplative who lived for Wisdom and who consecrated himself totally to Christ through Mary. Typical in this regard were the two Carrara marble statues from the chisel of the famous sculptor Paolo Bartolini. One is placed in front of the great Gothic chapel of the Daughters of Wisdom in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre. The other is the Mary Queen of All Hearts statue, venerated in Rome at the shrine on the Via Romagna. The same attitude of ecstatic contemplation can be seen in the statue of Montfort, sculpted by H. Elström, in the church of Mary Mediatrix in Louvain and in the painting by G. Pranovi (1964) in the Montfort Marian Center in Rome. It depicts Montfort in solitude at the rue Pot-de-Fer in Paris. The colossal statue of Montfort in St. Peters Basilica in Rome deserves special mention. The sculptor Galileo Parisini (1948) translated into marble TD 114, on the fate of the "little book," in which with a motion of his hand the saint stops the devil from tearing it up.
From a popular perspective, another statue remains noteworthy. It is in the house where the saint was born in Montfort-sur-Meu. It depicts Montfort walking along, singing his famous hymn: "So it is, throughout the world I run . . . / To save my poor neighbor" (H 22:1). In the same house, the Montfort artist Alessandro Leidi (1980s) depicts in his magnificent ceramic work a young Louis Marie with common but pleasant features. Jap Min created a cycle of paintings in 1953 for the chapel of the Montfort scholasticate at Oirschot in Holland. We see Montfort taking his pen from Marys Heart in order to write TD. Another shows the saint carrying the poor man of Dinan, who bears the features of the crucified Christ. Another depicts Montfort as the apostle of the latter days as he moves forward into the fire to destroy the reign of Belial and restore that of Jesus Christ.
During the 1990s something new was introduced into Montfort art, the use of the icon. Following the rules of Russian and Greek icon painting, Vittoria Paravicini Bagliani produced an icon of Montfort in front of the grotto of Mervent; it leads into the interior world of the saint and into the mysteries he lived and proclaimed (1992).
Lastly, the so-called Montfort Canada statue, at the entrance to the Montfort Marian Center in Montreal. The Austrian artist Josef Zenzmaier, who conceived it in 1966, "deviated deliberately from the usual models. He made him rough and peasant-like. . . . But he especially wanted his work to be in motion and to have the walk of a resolute man charging into the wind. . . . But as if to counteract this animation, . . . his tilting head stops and centers on tormented shapes, expressions of his most secret contemplation."25
In the future, we expect to see interpretations of Montfort by artists from the young Churches of Africa or Asia. The new images of Montfort will certainly succeed in their purpose of remaining faithful to the prototype while inculturating him within their own context. No doubt they will still retain, however, a profound connection with Montforts spirituality, which now belongs to the universal Church, to the Church of all times and places.
Notes: (1) Let us note that the Huguenot Grignions of London (cf. article Family/marriage), who came from Loudun like the Montfort Grignions, during the eighteenth century excelled in the arts of watchmaking, engraving, and painting. We have a portrait of two of them. They show a striking similarity to Montforts features in the Rennes painting (cf. below). (2) Alain Robert (1653-1735), who was sacristan of Saint-Sauveur de Rennes when he died. (3) Blain, 5-6. (4) Ibid., 19. (5) Ibid., 19-20. (6) Grandet, 67. (7) Also buried in the Campbon church were a great uncle of Fr. de Montfort, Pierre Grignion (1612-1640), his wife, Françoise Bécigneul (1613-1704), as well as one of their sons, Eustache Grignion (1638-1643). (8) Grandet, 311. (9) Le Crom, 229. (10) Blain, 166-167. (11) M. Sibold, Le Sang des Grignion (The Blood of the Grignions), Rome 1987, 82. (12) Mathurin Rangeard (1687-1760), who died at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre as a tonsured cleric. (13) Gabriel Grignion (1682-1717). (14) Since La Rochelle had a large Protestant minority, Fr. de Montfort wanted to give prominence publicly to the Scriptures. (15) Archives of Charente-Maritime, Ms. B 501. (16) Le Crom, 279. (17) M. Laurentin, Le bienheureux Père de Montfort statuaire. Le bienheureux Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort est-il lauteur de statues que la Vendée lui a attribué? (Blessed Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Statue Maker: Is He the Sculptor of the Statues Attributed to Him in the Vendée?), L.-J. Biton, Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre 1936, 30-31. (18) This statue, mentioned since 1726 and hidden during the Revolution, is today in the oratory of the house of his birth in Montfort-sur-Meu. (19) Besnard II, 161. (20) Histoire de la Compagnie de Marie (History of the Company of Mary), Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre 1914, 1920. (21) Henri- François de Racappé, marquis de Magnanne (1664-1750), had a definitive influence in placing Montforts religious communities in Saint-Laurent- sur-Sèvre. He died there in 1750. He was buried in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin opposite Fr. de Montfort. (22) A. David, Le Père de Montfort par ses meilleurs historiens (Fr. de Montfort by His Best Historians), Librairie Mariale, Paris 1947, 9 (23) A. David, Le Père de Montfort, 11. (24) Ibid. Under the signature of Th. Ronsin, a typed article is to be found in AGCM: "Quelques détails iconographiques relatifs au Bx Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort de sa mort (1716) à lannée 1850 (Some Iconographic Details Relating to Bl. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort from His Death (1716) to the Year 1850)," 6 pages. He mentions the following portraits of Montfort: 1. Montfort on his deathbed; 2. the Rennes picture; 3. the picture in Holy Spirit refectory in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre; 4. an engraving by E. Desrochers; 5. an engraving by J. Massard; 6. an engraving done in Rome (1835-1836); 7. an engraving made after that of Rome; 8. a picture of Blessed de Montfort, of the Massard type; 9. an engraving by Bouasse-Lebel, no. 220; 10. a portrait of Montfort at Charpentier in Nantes; 11. a picture of Montfort, after the picture of Rennes and Saint-Laurent; 12. an engraving by Charles de Chergé; 13. a popular image, souvenir of the Mervent grotto; 14. a popular image, an announcement or remembrance of a mission. There follow four pages of Montfort correspondence. (25) B. Papàsogli, Lhomme venu du vent. Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Editions Bellarmin, Montreal 1984, 7. English translation, Montfort, a Prophet for Our Times, Edizioni Monfortane, Rome 1991.
Taken from: Jesus Living in
Mary: Handbook of the Spirituality of St.
Provided courtesy of the Montfort Fathers © All Rights Reserved.
Electronic Copyright © 1998 EWTN
Eternal Word Television Network


October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The important observance has connected survivors, advocates, and organizations for the past thirty years. Learn more about why domestic violence awareness month matters and how to get involved.
What is Domestic Violence Awareness Month?
Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) was first launched in October 1981 as a national “Day of Unity.” From there it evolved into a month-long awareness campaign.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, this month grew as advocates and survivors held activities “mourning those who have died because of domestic violence, celebrating those who have survived, and connecting those who work to end violence.”
October is a chance for everyone to stand together to help end domestic violence.
Domestic violence affects millions of Americans, with consequences including injury, fear, and safety concerns. In the United States, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Domestic violence, also called intimate partner violence or IPV, can include:
- Physical violence
- Sexual abuse and rape
- Economic abuse
- Reproductive coercion
DVAM provides an opportunity for advocates to band together to raise awareness for this important issue, helping individuals understand how to recognize domestic violence and learn what they can do to help stop it.
What Can I Do to Get Involved?
Interested in joining the fight to help end domestic violence in October and beyond? There are some important steps you can take to help support the cause this Domestic Violence Awareness Month:
- Donate to and support organizations like the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence or the Domestic Violence Awareness Project.
- Get informed on topics surrounding domestic violence with resources like The National Domestic Violence Hotline or Mandated Reporter’s blog.
- Raise awareness by sharing what you’re doing to help stop domestic violence on social media. You can use hashtags like #1Thing, #WeAreResilient, and #NDVAM2022.
- Volunteer for a local shelter or other organization helping to support survivors and prevent domestic violence.
Am I a Mandated Reporter of Domestic Violence?
Certain states have laws in place requiring relevant professionals to report incidents that could be connected to domestic violence, such as injuries like burns or gunshot wounds. Knowing if you are required to report domestic violence and getting training so you can respond appropriately can help keep everyone involved safe. Enter your state here to learn more.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a call to action to raise awareness of the horrifying reality of domestic violence and what we can all do to help prevent it. If you need help in a domestic violence situation, reach out to The Hotline online, call them at 1.800.799.7233, or text 88788.


It only took 92 years, but the Telegraph declares World War I is at an end:
The final payment of £59.5 million, writes off the crippling debt that was the price for one world war and laid the foundations for another.
Germany was forced to pay the reparations at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 as compensation to the war-ravaged nations of Belgium and France and to pay the Allies some of the costs of waging what was then the bloodiest conflict in history, leaving nearly ten million soldiers dead.
The initial sum agreed upon for war damages in 1919 was 226 billion Reichsmarks, a sum later reduced to 132 billion, £22 billion at the time.
The bill would have been settled much earlier had Adolf Hitler not reneged on reparations during his reign.
Hatred of the settlement agreed at Versailles, which crippled Germany as it tried to shape itself into a democracy following armistice, was of significant importance in propelling the Nazis to power.
But then, from the first communist nation to the rise of fascism to the map of the Middle East, to the Wilson retreads drafting the New Deal (“We planned in war!”) what part of the 20th century didn’t World War I shape? And from that perspective, the after effects of the Great War continue to ripple, even if the last reparation check has been written.


While less known today, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a prominent and influential English composer of the early 20th century. His works were so well received in both Europe and America that New York orchestral players described him as the “Black Mahler.” Although this comment is slightly problematic, the point it makes is easily understood. His most famous work, Longfellow’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, has been described as “haunting melodic phrases, bold harmonic scheme, and vivid orchestration.”
However, how does an English Composer fit in with a class focused “American Music”? In part it has to do with his collection of African melodies entitled Twenty-four negro melodies transcribed for the piano by S. Coleridge-Taylor. Op. 59. The work also includes a preface written by Booker T. Washington, a prominent American Educator and Leader in the African American Community in the early 20th century. In Washington’s Preface, he talks extensively on how much of relates back to slave music of American, and in turn, to Africa. In particular this quote stood out,
Negro music is essentially spontaneous. In Africa it sprang into life at war dance, at funerals, and at marriage festivals. Upon the African foundation the plantation songs of the South were built.
Not only does this sound very similar to jazz, but it is a spontaneous character that gave Coleridge-Taylor’s music its character.
His work, moreover, possess not only charm but distinction, the individual note. The genuineness, the depth and intensity of his feeling, coupled with his mastery of technique, spontaneity, and ability to think in his own way, explain the force of the appeal his compositions make.
While this can be applied to all of Coleridge-Taylor’s works, Washington is of course referring to the 24 melodies Transcribed for piano. Something we have talked extensively in our class has been issues with authenticity. Something unique to this book is that Coleridge-Taylor address this in his forward. Instead of maintaining their authentic forms and sounds, he states that he is simply trying to elaborate on already pretty melodies, and while doing so, he clearly states that they are not true representations of the music and do loos some of their value when being removed from their cultural context. However, again related to topics discussed in our class, he makes these transcriptions in order to elevate and celebrate African music. By treating the music in this manner, I would consider Coleridge-Taylor as American of a composer as any American-born composer.
Coleridge-Taylor, Washington, Tortolano, Washington, Booker T., and Tortolano, William. Twenty-four Negro Melodies. Da Capo Press Edition / New Introduction by William Tortolano. ed. Musicians Library (Boston, Mass.). New York: Da Capo, 1980.
Stephen Banfield and Jeremy Dibble. “Coleridge-Taylor, Samuel.” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed November 16, 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/06083.