OM Ships International celebrates five years of God’s faithfulness through the ministry of Logos Hope around the world.

Vatican City, May 6, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Wednesday that Christ’s light illuminates the darkness of sin in our world and in ourselves.

“It is the mission of Jesus to bring light. And the mission of the apostles is to bring the light of Jesus,” Pope Francis said in his morning Mass homily on May 6.

“The Lord saves us from the darkness that we have inside, from the darkness of everyday life, of social life, of political life, of national, international life,” he said.

Speaking from the chapel of his Vatican City residence, Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis quoted chapter 12 of the Gospel of John: “I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.”

The pope said that “the drama is that the light of Jesus has been rejected” by many who are blinded by sin. 

“Sin blinds us and we cannot tolerate light,” he said. “It is not easy to live in the light. The light makes us see so many bad things inside us that we do not want to see: the vices, the sins.”

He continued: “We think of our pride. We think of our worldly spirit. These things blind us. They distance us from the light of Jesus.”

Conversion is an experience of moving from this darkness of the “slavery” of sin to the light of Christ, the pope said.

“Paul had this experience of the passage from darkness to light, when the Lord met him on the road to Damascus. He was blinded. Blind. The light of the Lord blinded him. And then, after a few days, with baptism, the light was restored,” he said. 

“He had this experience of the passage from the darkness, in which he was, to the light. It is also our passage, which we sacramentally received in Baptism … This is why in the baptism liturgy we receive a lit candle … because the child is illuminated,” he added.

Pope Francis said that the Lord asks us to “have the courage to see our darkness so that the light of the Lord may come in and save us.” He added that there is no reason to be afraid of the light of Jesus because he is gentle and good, and “he came to save us.”

“And this will be the struggle of Jesus. He continues to illuminate, to bring the light that shows things as they are,” the pope said. 

“He shows freedom. He shows the truth. He shows the way to go with the light of Jesus.”

Art prices running away.

Why and how OM EAST produces Christian comics to reach minority peoples

Dandelion Cafe

MY mother was known for her pizza but they were never round, not when we were growing up anyway. She would pull them from the ancient coal-fired cast iron range in the living room on long blackened oblong trays, the dough she had spent the day making puffed and undulating but always thin and super chewy.

Abuse, alcohol, drugs, gangs and poverty are the daily realities for many in the slums. Many arrive at OM MTI looking for food, safety, conversation, advise and help.

Celtic Connections

SCOTLAND’S towns and cities have seen a “stark decrease” in toxic traffic fumes since the coronavirus lockdown came into force.

AN SNP MP has been accused of capitalising on the virus crisis to undermine Nicola Sturgeon and boost their own profile following a series of remarks made in an online party meeting.

The Presbyterian minister's efforts in 1964 to send his son to an integrated school in Charlotte, N.C., led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding busing as a desegregation tool.

Aleksei Lomovtsev struck nine minutes after half-time as Russia's South Region kept themselves in contention going into the last group games; Olomouc are out.

The Importance of Being Earnest

The Metamorphosis

The Florida Department of Education is in a bitter dispute with a software company it hired to create online resources aligned with the standards for teachers and students.

Industry observers attribute the rise to heightened interest in ed-tech initiatives, decreasing technology costs, and the move to Common Core standards.

Following the thrill of launching new businesses, two ed-tech startups are facing the challenges of making smart decisions to attract more customers and grow revenues.

A private equity company plans to acquire Renaissance Learning for $1.1 billion in a deal that will be one of the largest acquisitions ever in educational technology.

IT’S all too easy to lose track of many of the quirky, moving, interesting films that have been shot in Scotland over the years. Some of the sparkling gems on these pages attracted decent reviews upon release before fading from view; others slipped under most people’s radar. The 10 films here are funny, or dark, or insightful. All have something to say; all are worth tracking down, and watching, whether it’s for the first time, or the first time since they were released.

A group of young people were filmed taunting a Native American man and military veteran who was participating in the Indigenous Peoples March.

If you have never given your gender much thought, count yourself lucky. If that tick in the box on almost every form requires no more effort than a flick of the wrist, be aware that for many people gender is not so straightforward.

IN THE five days since Scotland and the rest of the UK effectively went into lockdown, it is heartening to see the ways in which the vast majority of the population has responded, not merely with compliance and resilience, but with a community spirit and a great many acts of personal service and sacrifice.

By John-Paul Holden

CAN I tell you how I feel? I feel, sometimes, like everyone in my life has suddenly been reduced to flat, distant images on a computer screen, like we’re in Star Trek. And I don’t like it.

Penn State Schuylkill senior Abigayle Kaiser has embraced leadership roles on campus throughout her undergraduate experience. From Schuylkill Benefitting THON, to the Lion Ambassadors, the Blue & White Society and so much more, Kaiser is a student who did it all. As she nears graduation with a full-time marketing job secured, Kaiser reflects on her time as a Penn Stater.

The Olympiastadion was the venue as German youngsters battled it out to be named UEFA Young Champions and win UEFA Champions League final tickets, in a tournament organised by adidas.

The number of overweight and obese children has dramatically increased in recent decades. To combat this trend, information on possible gender-related differences in risk factors of overweight and obesity is critical.

This study examines associations of gender and physiologic and behavior measurements with potential cardiovascular risk. Lunch consumption and screen time were associated with weight; however, other associations with weight differ by gender. This information can be used to tailor future interventions. (Read the full article)

Prosmoking messages, delivered through marketing and the media, can reach very young children and influence attitudes and behaviors around smoking.

Marketing of tobacco and cigarette brands has successfully reached young children in low- and middle-income countries. More effective measures are needed to restrict the reach of tobacco marketing. (Read the full article)

Food marketing can lead to increases in food intake, purchase intentions, and brand preferences. Food companies use athlete endorsements as 1 form of food marketing. One study revealed that parents perceive athlete-endorsed food products as healthier than nonendorsed products.

This study assessed the (1) prevalence of athlete endorsements of food, (2) nutritional profile of foods endorsed by athletes, and (3) youth exposure to athlete endorsements of foods. This study reveals that adolescents saw more athlete-endorsement food commercials than adults. (Read the full article)

In 2007, manufacturers voluntarily withdrew over-the-counter (OTC) infant cough and cold medications (CCMs) from the US market. A year later, manufacturers announced OTC CCM labeling would be revised to warn against OTC CCM use by children aged <4 years.

Among children aged <2 and 2 to 3 years, emergency department visits for CCM adverse events declined nationally after the withdrawal and labeling revision announcement relative to all adverse drug event visits. Unsupervised ingestions caused most CCM adverse events after each intervention. (Read the full article)

Medical devices approved for adults can be used to treat children despite the lack of rigorous evidence. In 2007, Congress passed the Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act to stimulate pediatric device development.

Most pediatric devices approved since the legislative change have had limited premarket study in children, with pediatric patients representing <10% of trial participants. Postmarketing studies required by the US Food and Drug Administration also yielded limited additional pediatric data. (Read the full article)

With the publication of evidence-based guidelines for asthma, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia, numerous efforts have been made to standardize and improve the quality of care. However, despite these guidelines, variation in care exists.

This study establishes clinically achievable benchmarks of care for asthma, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. Using a published method for achievable benchmarks of care, we calculated average utilization among the high-performers, which can serve as achievable goals for local quality improvement. (Read the full article)

Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs in up to 50% of children after cardiopulmonary bypass and is associated with adverse outcomes. Renal biomarkers have been shown to predict postoperative AKI, but few studies have examined cardiac biomarkers for risk classification.

Preoperative levels of creatine kinase-MB and heart-type fatty acid binding protein are strongly associated with the development of postoperative AKI after pediatric cardiac surgery and can be used to improve preoperative clinical risk prediction. (Read the full article)

Insulin resistance plays a role in obesity. Recently it has been associated with increased risk of AD. Aβ42 and PSEN1 are molecules associated with increased risk of later AD. Patients affected by AD show elevated levels of plasma Aβ42.

Levels of Aβ42 and PSEN1 are significantly elevated in obese adolescents and correlated with the degree of both adiposity and systemic insulin resistance. (Read the full article)

Children with cystic fibrosis demonstrate gas exchange abnormalities and increased respiratory loads during sleep independent of lung function, age, and BMI. Assessment of breathing patterns during sleep provides an opportunity for detection of early lung disease progression.

Children with cystic fibrosis demonstrated increased respiratory loads and gas exchange abnormalities during sleep compared with controls. Based on these findings, sleep assessment in this patient population can identify markers for the early detection of lung disease progression. (Read the full article)

Are you in your twenties and wonder how you can use the current market crash caused by fears related to the coronavirus pandemic as a way to get into the investment market?

Email marketing software offers quick and easy tools that can help you grow your business, and we've tested the best of them.

In rural Kentucky, teachers and students are awarded innovation grants to solve a challenge facing their community or classroom.

Canon is lifting the lid on the tech inside its upcoming EOS-1D X Mark III SLR. It's a fully pro, and fully loaded camera, with 20fps Raw imaging and 5.5K Raw video capture.

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III is an appealing camera for photographers already invested in Micro Four Thirds gear, but it isn't as innovative as previous entries in the series.

The international watchdog which seeks to prevent diamonds from fuelling conflict, the Kimberley Process, should take a very close look at the situation in the Central African Republic

Equity markets have rallied Monday as countries eased coronavirus lockdown measures, but oil prices tumbled as a supply glut offset output cuts.

Stock markets plunged on Thursday after economic growth data confirmed fears of Covid-19's bruising impact on the world economy.

Deep losses were recorded across most European benchmarks except the FTSE 100 which managed to trade relatively flat on the day.

On the currency market, the rand traded softer against the greenback as it slipped to a session low of R18.77/$.

Still, there was disappointment in terms of economic data following the release of the SACCI Business Confidence index data for April which came in at 77.8, compared to a forecast of 89.2.

Oil headed for its first back-to-back weekly gain since February as output cuts from the biggest producers and a nascent recovery in demand began to rebalance a market awash with crude.

Even with the increase in streaming competitors, Netflix remains at the top of the pack—but how long will its dominance last?

RANGERS vice-chairman John Bennett last night dismissed a claim that Ibrox chairman Douglas Park had threatened SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster as “unfounded”.