Oh my, let's give a round of applause for Father Louis Maratne. Oh my, wow. Thank you, thank you. You guys are so wonderful, such wonderful people. Do I have to be center stage? Because I'm not. This is, this is 900 pounds. I made it look easy. All right, how y'all doing? And by the way, I say y'all because I think it makes sense. How do you distinguish between singular U and plural U? The Southern people got it right. Y'all, I only say that because my boss is Tanner. He's from Texas. Let us pray. Why don't we rise again so we can say a little prayer again together. And this time, by the way, they do have the clock on the screen for me. So I have no excuse. Holy Spirit come. Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, come. Come Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, come. Hallelujah, come with all of your hearts this morning, Lord, and teach our mind.   O'er the land of the sea, O'er the land of the sea. My children, I don't only give you my grace as a one-time installment, but I renew it every morning. And so my spirit, which I have given you, I renew for you today in waves. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Praise to you, Lord. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Amen. Have a seat, everyone. Holy Spirit is going to teach us. Amen. Are you ready? Wonderful. Well, it's so good to be with all of you this morning to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, because we are made for this for such a time. We are made. We are created for such a time. We have been justified in Christ Jesus. And this is the day that the Lord has made. This is indeed the day that the Lord has made. Amen. This is your day. Amen. This is your day. Amen. And I'm serious. This is your day for breakthrough. The Holy Spirit wants to break through to your mind, to your hearts, and to your passion this morning. Amen. The Holy Spirit wants to take you and turn you upside down and shake you up and turn you into something glorious. Amen. And that's exactly what is awaiting you this morning, because the truth of the Lord is coming upon you, walking in the glorious hope in Christ. What does it look like for us who have inherited? We have heard so much this week, and I hope to bring it sort of to a little conclusion for you to remind us of what the Holy Spirit has taught us, and then to allow our hearts to be filled with the hope of joy, the hope of heaven, the hope of God himself, and how that can send us forth into the world to walk in that hope of Jesus Christ. Amen. Because you see what you have received, you must walk in it so that you can share it with others. Amen. And that's precisely what we're gonna do this morning. Now we're gonna do a little catechesis first, okay? So get ready for your catechism, by the way. This is called the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It's a good little book. My favorite version of it is this from St. Paul's media people. It's the second edition. It is so tiny. It's pocket-sized. You've seen those huge ones. It's the exact same content, except this is cuter, and this fits in... This would fit not in my pocket, but in Chris Padgett's pocket, it fits definitely, because everything fits in his pocket. So I highly recommend that you get that. I think the bookstore is still open today, right? Yes? Okay, so I highly recommend that you get your catechism. And for you phone people, you can also download the PDF, or you can access it on the Vatican website for free. It is free. You have no excuse. This summarizes our faith for us. So if you want to know what Catholics believe, just open your Catholic book. The catechism. And then open your Catholic book, The Bible. Amen? Amen. Good. You have no excuse. So don't tell me, oh, I can't go to church. I don't want to go to church, because I'm not fed.  You have so much food on the table.  And meat. Look, this is meat.  This is meat and vegetables. Eat your food, children. So what more does Mother Church have to do to feed you? She gives you everything. You just don't use it. So let's get to it. So we're going to talk about hope. We'll be excited about it. I'm looking forward to what the Holy Spirit is going to talk about. He's going to teach me about hope this morning. But in order to talk about hope, let's give the context. OK, if you go to your Catechism, for those of you who have it, we're going to go in the in brief session after the virtue, I should say. So it starts out about virtue in general. What is virtue? It's not just anything, but it is a specific thing. Virtue in 1833 of the Catechism is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. Let's break that down. It's habitual. So it is the practice of good habits to the point where it becomes a firm disposition, meaning it becomes almost second nature. Virtue is those habits practiced so much that it becomes easier and easier to do. It is the opposite of vice, which is the practice of bad habits. And the more you do it, the easier it gets because you doll your mind, you doll your conscience to it. And so you keep doing the vice, and it becomes so easy to do, you can't get yourself out of it. But this morning, Jesus, though, comes with power to break you out of it, amen? And He's going to fill you with virtue, amen? So He's going to get rid of the vices. Last night, as we were praying for you, during the moment of ministering, I saw this image, this beautiful image. It was so glorious that I wanted to be lifted up to heaven. Did anybody see me levitate? OK, I guess I don't have the gift yet, but eventually, probably, because I like it. I felt like I was levitating. What I saw was before the Holy Spirit came to fill all of you, and He did, by the way, every single one of you received the Holy Spirit. Put your hands together for that. That's right. But the image I saw is of these things getting out of you, floating in the air. It's like dirt, dust. I don't know how to describe it. Things scraping off, and it's just hovering or moving away from you, and I'm thinking, oh my God, what are you doing? The Lord is removing the vices. The Lord is removing the sins of His people, the fears of His people, and especially the lies that have covered us. We have been covered with the dust of the lies of the enemy, and we've been walking on it, and they have covered our eyes just like the eyes of St. Paul were covered. And so the scales had to fall off before he could see. So last night, Jesus was taking off the scales from your eyes so you could see the beauty of His face and the fullness of His truth.  This room was filled. So don't even wonder, I wonder, did I receive the Holy Spirit? Because I wasn't doing that blabbering stuff that they were doing on stage. I don't even know what it's called. It's called speaking in tongues. Like Father David said, welcome to our world, amen. But here's the good part, it's your world. It is your world. Walking in the Spirit is your Christian hope. Walking in the power and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Could you help me out? Could you please repeat with me? Please don't put the Holy Spirit in a box. You didn't repeat it. Please do not put the Holy Spirit in a box because it's gonna burn the box. He gone, no, you don't have to repeat that. I'm just, I'm taking my talk back.  And the Holy Spirit wants to do so much with you. This morning, the Lord has an army that is going to walk in the hope of Christ. And this is how I picture the Christians walking in the hope of Christ. It might not look that good, but it feels awesome. And the hand is in the pocket, you know why?   And so you can walk even in the valley of the shadow of death and you can walk in the light of Christ. Amen. And that gets you through, my friends. So back to virtue. Virtue is that habitual and firm disposition to do the good instead of the bad. As you know, when God created us, we sinned. We fell into sin. One of the consequences of original sin is concupiscence. So even in baptism, when our original sin, which is not an act, but rather it is an inheritance, if you will, which the Lord has now removed in order to give us the inheritance of His Spirit, the inheritance of His Son, Jesus Christ. And He removed that inheritance of sin so that we are no longer deprived or depraved of the sanctifying grace that makes us children of God. That's original sin, okay? Now that is removed or that lack is removed because precisely because we are filled, we are no longer lacking the sanctifying grace. We have received it in our baptism. We have received the first installment of the Holy Spirit. So we are children of God. We are indeed children of God. So we are, that's what the Holy Spirit tells us. We'll believe it, it is true. Now, despite that, we have concupiscence. And concupiscence is that tendency to do evil. And because of concupiscence, you see, we walk like this. Okay? We're walking like this because we're leaning towards evil. Good is that way? Evil is this way. So we're walking leaning towards the evil because it's easier to do. Have you ever asked yourself, why the heck do I keep falling into the same sin? Because evil is easy. The good is hard. So in Christ, He has removed the sin, but the concupiscence remains. We are still, we still tend towards. And why did God leave the concupiscence? I really believe, and as the Catechism says, it's part of our dignity. Since we took ourselves into sin, now God has given us the grace by which to remove ourself and to build up the muscles against that tendency to lean towards evil. And as we build those muscles, the virtues, you see, we are climbing up in order to be upright with Christ. But the virtues go further. You're not only upright, you are diving into the good.  You are diving into joy. You are diving into virtue. And that is virtue, that is what it does. It helps you to correct that tendency towards evil in order to bring you to the tendency to a good. Now, we distinguish between the human virtues and the theological virtues. And so it has to do with the motive, with the origin and with the object. The human virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and the will that govern our acts, order our passions and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith. They can be grouped around the four cardinal virtues. So you've heard the four cardinal virtues. It doesn't mean these are the only four virtues that exist. It means they are the pivotal points around which other virtues are grouped. So there's a ton of different virtues that we ought to work on. And they are categorized under these four cardinal virtues, which are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. If I gave a quiz, other of you would fail. Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Now, these are the human virtues, okay? So they are, again, human virtues, they are of us. They come, their Lord give them to us as gifts. Yes, but we can work them out. We can ourselves work them out. They are part of humanity. Now, the theological virtues, however, they're slightly different, actually big time different. The theological virtues dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity, hallelujah. They dispose us to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. We can be in a relationship with the Holy Trinity? Yes, because of the covenant he made with us. He gave us the powers by which to be in relationship with him, to relate to him. Because you see, naturally speaking, we cannot relate to the Holy Trinity. Naturally speaking, we cannot be his sons and daughters because we are of different natures altogether.   You can't adopt them, but you can adopt a child. You can adopt a human person, amen? Amen, very good. So since we are of a different nature from God, in order for him to adopt us, he had to make a covenant with us, and through the covenant he gave us the specific virtues to help us relate to him and to be in relationship with him. So again, the theological virtues dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, their motive, and their object. So the theological virtues have God for their origin. In other words, God is the one who gives the theological virtues. They're called theological, not because they are an academic subject to study, but because they come from Pheos or Tanteon, which is the God himself. Chris Padgett reminded me that in America, we don't have to say the God. We don't have to put the article in front of God. I do it anyway, just to make him annoyed. Look at me, look at me, look at me.  So as you probably just gathered, the three theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity. Faith, hope, and charity are the three theological virtues. Now, faith, what's the relationship between faith, hope, and charity? Faith, by faith we believe in God, the intellect, we believe in God, and believe all that he has revealed to us, and that holy church proposes for our belief. Okay, so by faith we're able to believe, we're able to say, okay, yeah, you said that, it's true. I know it's true because you can't lie. That is the virtue of faith. It's a theological virtue, it's a gift that you receive at your baptism. Okay, so by faith we believe in God and all that he has revealed to us, and what the holy church proposes for our belief. That's right, because if you have that faith, that theological gift, then you can't be a cafeteria Catholic, okay? Or as they say, the cafeteria's closed. Holy Mother Church, are we Christians? We are at the banquet of the fullness of God.  All is good for us, even if you don't understand it. When your child asks, what is that green stuff? It's good for you, just eat it, okay?   But I don't understand the teaching on contraception or against contraception. What's the true teaching on marriage and sexuality? I'm not sure if I believe it. Well, guess what? This morning, start believing it because it's true. Okay, but I'm not sure if I believe in the Eucharist. This morning, start believing it because it is true. Or if you really feel that you are incapable, just do one thing. Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief, amen? Say that with me. Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief. May God bless you with faith, true faith. The faith that believes all things that God gives to us. Not only things that make us feel good or things that give us license to do whatever the heck we want to do. It is not an authentic life. An authentic life is living in conformity to the will of God for you. That is the authentic life, my brothers and sisters. Now by hope, we desire and with steadfast trust await from God eternal life and the graces to merit it. Let's break that down a little bit. So the virtue of hope, as contrasted to faith, faith is the belief, hope is the desire. It is the desire, but not just the desire, it is also the steadfast trust. We wait with steadfastness, we await with joyful hope for the joy to come, for the eternal life to come. With steadfast trust, await from God eternal life and the graces to merit it. And the graces to merit it. So if faith is the mind, hope is the heart. If faith is the mind, choosing, excuse me, agreeing with the truths that are proposed, accepting it, assenting to it, hope is the heart that yearns for God. That yearns for the fullness of the revelation of his face. That yearns for what we call the beatific vision. When we see God face to face. And as the song goes, I can only imagine. You know that song? Okay, that's all I know though. That's the only line I know in it. I don't know songs, unfortunately. I wish I knew songs, but I don't. Now, if hope is the heart that desires and awaits what God has in store for us, which eyes have not seen and ears have not heard, that is how great it is. And it's interesting because you see, the forefathers, the patriarchs, the prophets, they were all hoping as it is said of Abraham Romans, Abraham hoped against all hope for what was to come, for the fulfillment of the promises of God made to him. And those promises, by the way, God made them to Abraham to give him a nation and blessing, worldwide blessing to give him a son, a name, and all those promises, God upgraded them to oaths. The difference between an oath and a promise, you know what it is? A promise is done kind of in your own name, but an oath is sworn. It is sworn in God's name and it is forever. A promise has a limitation, the oath doesn't. And so the oath of God to Abraham, to give him these promises, Abraham hoped against all hope for what we have received. And eyes had not seen, ears had not heard. So the hope of Israel, as Paul said in the first reading yesterday, he is in chains for the hope of Israel, the hope to receive the Messiah, the hope to receive the land, the hope to be in Canaan. Yes, how nice and how good, how wonderful and yet how insufficient, how imperfect nonetheless.  And that is the Christian hope. We will receive that which is beyond our imagination. How can it be? You've received so much already, yes. Yes, you have received so much grace already, sonship, the grace which has repaired your humanity, which has perfected your humanity to make you true human, and that has elevated your humanity into the divine nature, as Katie was so careful to say last night, she didn't want to be a heretic, which is good.  Oh, did I say that? Sorry. Okay, sorry, sorry. Just don't be a heretic and be fine, okay? But here's another image to help you understand that beautiful truth of our faith. Take a piece of charcoal. What color is it? What's wrong with black? I'm watching you. Okay, and now put it next to a flame of fire. Spirit of flame.org, right, Bishop? Spirit of flame.org, there we go. Take flame and take charcoal. What do they have in common? No, they don't. Black charcoal does not produce heat at all. They have almost nothing in common. But if you take the charcoal and put it in the flame, what happens to the charcoal? It burns, it is consumed by the fire, and it becomes almost indistinguishable from the flame. It takes on the properties of the flame without becoming the flame. It preserves its own nature, and yet it participates in the nature of the flame. So too we, pieces of charcoal that we are, when we are consumed by the love and life of God, by being one in the sun, the inheritance, we take on his nature without losing ours. We remain human, but we look like him so much that we become indistinguishable from him. Not by nature, but by grace, by his grace. We are consumed, my dear brothers and sisters. So grace does that for you. It repairs your humanity, it perfects your humanity, and it elevates your humanity. You've received so much, and yet the Lord says, there's more. Can you say that with me? There's more, oh my God. There is more, there is more. And the small that there is, is not just wishful thinking. So we must distinguish wish from hope. Let us distinguish wish from hope. A wish is based on nothing. Anyone can wish for anything. Anyone can wish for anything. I could wish, I had a nice six pack, but that's based on nothing, it's not gonna happen. I could wish for many, many things, and they don't have to come true. It doesn't have to be based on anything. We call that wishful thinking, especially things from which we wish that probably will not come true. Now hope, however, is of a whole different nature. Hope is based on the promises of the God who doesn't deceive, who doesn't disappoint. Hope is based on the truths of the promises of God to be fulfilled because he said so. Very different things. Wishful thinking is to say a loved one that has passed, and you just wanna see the person, you just wish that they could be next to you again right here, they're gone, though. That's wishful thinking. But hope says, God, is going to fulfill me completely. Hope says, there is a heaven, and it's not just clouds in the sky, but it is the fullness of life with God. Hope says, there will be no tears, there will be no death, no gnashing of teeth, there will be no wants, there will be no needs, there will be only blissful joy. That is hope. And this hope is not wishful thinking because it's true because it's coming. When all evil will be wiped out of this earth. You see, I believe in our generation, we have moved away from the virtue of hope because we probably experienced another extreme in the past which is a sort of fideism, a sort of wishful thinkingism to allow ourselves, to picture ourselves in a big party in heaven, we picture heaven as receiving material things instead of the object of our fulfillment being God himself in his life. We just picture a little food and all that jazz and these things can be helpful as long as we don't make them the object of our hope. God is the object of our hope. And so one extreme says, well, I'm gonna go to heaven so I need to leave this earth, I don't need to do anything on this earth. And so you became unrealistic. You didn't live in the world but true Christian hope establishes you in God while you are in exile on earth and you are called to transform this earth because of the hope that is in you. And so true Christian hope doesn't remove your work of transformation in this world. True Christian hope doesn't remove you from the realm of politics, from business, from helping the poor but rather true Christian hope says I have a reason for which to act. I have a reason and which is why hope transforms because of the end of the teleology of the cause, the theological cause, that for which I am doing what I'm doing and because that for which I'm doing what I'm doing is God himself in eternal life with him. I have enough fuel to take me to the end of my life and forever. That is the fuel that keeps the Christian going every day even through struggles, even through pain, through suffering, through persecution, through chains in prison but you have an internal combustible engine, I don't even know if I'm using those words right but you have this power inside of you that keeps you going even more so than that battery. What's the battery? Energizer, whatever. We have a heavenly energizer because of the Christian hope that is in us. Now, how many people here have experienced a loved one being away for a long period of time and you just missed them so much you couldn't wait for them to return and well, first of all, how many of you have experienced that? A loved one? You're just like, I can't wait. Okay, now, the day that is going to return or that she's going to return. What are you feeling inside your belly? Butterflies? What's going on? Like, what's going on inside of you? Excitement, you're just like... And are you sad or are you happy? You're happy.   Oh, whatever, whatever. My honey is coming home. I am happy. The kids mess around, sure. The kids want ice cream for breakfast, whatever. My honey is coming home. You begin to look at things through the lens of the hope that you have. And so too, when you await your lover, Jesus Christ, who promised to return for his church and for you, so that where he is, you can be forever, everything begins to look different. Prison begins to look different. Insults begin to look different. Pain and suffering begin to look different. Your actions begin to look different. I'm gonna go a little bit into those sufferings, but first, let's close the loop on the three theological virtues. Charity is a third. So by charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. Charity, the form of all virtues, binds everything together in perfect harmony. It is the virtue of virtues. It is the one that will last. It is the one that will remain forever. We love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. So charity is the virtue by which we love God and we love neighbor for the sake of God. So everything goes back to God. Charity orders things for God. Now, if I love my neighbor for me, that selfishness, it doesn't work. That's why some relationships fail because people try to love for themselves. It doesn't work. Sometimes people also turn the other into their God. It also doesn't work. It's also unfair. No one can play that role of being God. Only God can be God. The other is a sign of God for you and your fulfillment must be only in God. If you think, if I can only be with so and so, then I'll be happy forever.  Only the infinite can fulfill that desire that you have, that hope that you have. The theological virtue of hope comes to purify our human hopes. So then, charity, if faith is the mind, hope is the heart, charity is the hands and feet of our Christian walk. Charity is the hands and feet. Is that by which we act to prove our love?   That is charity. So it is action. It is action in God. So the mind, the heart, the hands and feet. In other words, you are made into a complete man, a complete woman to be able to walk through this as an ambassador of Christ as you walk in your Christian hope. You will look different because you'll begin to live out the Beatitudes. You will begin to live out the Beatitudes. Can anybody tell me where we can find the Beatitudes in Scripture? Oh, look at that! Matthew five, very good, not Acts 29? Okay, that's right. Matthew chapter five, we know that. By the way, I have a student, I have a couple of students actually that memorized all three chapters of Matthew five, six and seven, the Charter of the Christian Faith. There are three wonderful chapters. I highly recommend that you read them all. Okay, read the three chapters of Matthew five, six and seven, it's very exciting. And then you'll begin to ask yourself, am I really a Christian? Because I'm not doing half of these things. And that's when you call upon the Lord. Because you see the virtue of hope, not only does it wait or does it desire God, but like I said, it's the graces to merit the eternal life with God. Did you catch that at the end of the definition? Hope, by hope would desire and would step fast, trust or wait from God eternal life and the graces to merit it. So not only do I wait for and desire eternal life with God, but the graces that I need in order to attain that, God also gives it, I also hope in those. And that is the antidote to despair. The antidote to despair is the virtue of hope because it says, despair says, I need to get all the way over there, there's no way I can make it. I might as well sit here and cry. Hope says, I need to get there, there's no way I can make it. God help me. And God helps you. And God carries you on his wings, my dear brothers and my dear sisters. See in the crowds, he went up the mountain and when he sat down, his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. These are the signs of the Christian who walks in the hope of Christ. It turns the world upside down, it takes the values of the world and turns them on their heads. The opposite of what the world thinks is what you do. That's what you look like and that is your hope and when you do those, your hope in the land. Israel was hoping for the physical land, we hope for the heavenly Jerusalem, which is to come to us. And the good thing is we've already tasted of that goodness. Hebrews chapter 12 says that we have verse 18 to 24, we have already approached Mount Zion, where the heavenly Jerusalem is present, God the Father is there, Jesus our Savior and the spirits of the just made perfect are waiting for us in the communion of saints. We've already tasted of that goodness and yet the Lord says there is more and that is the Christian hope. In this Christian hope I said we'll touch upon our sense of suffering because we all suffer, let's face it.  I cannot lie to you and tell you that if you believe in Christ, all sufferings are taken away. That is false. In fact, I can't guarantee you if you believe in Christ, you will suffer probably more. Because you have a cross to carry. If you want to follow me, says Jesus, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow after me. We have a cross to carry. It looks scary, doesn't it? Despair says I can't do it. Hope says God help me. So when you look at your crosses, say God help me. And here's the beautiful thing. Our God is a sovereign God. He is powerful, He can do all things. And therefore I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. What verse is that, anybody? Philippians 4.13, I love you Catholics.  That's right. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, not by your own power. So when you feel distant from Christ, don't run further but run closer because I guarantee you, don't let shame stop you from running into Him but dive into Him. When you feel like you've done something that keeps you away, like I'm not worthy, dive into Him. Just dive. Anybody seen that little video on Facebook?  And he's practicing, he's doing what do you call that? He's karate. He's doing karate chops. Yeah, yeah, yeah.  And so he's punching, he's punching with his trainer. And his trainer moves up the way and his dad, who's in the military, who had been away for a long time, takes the place of the trainer and the dad is fighting him, right? And the dad doesn't say anything. So he thinks he's fighting the trainer. And then he keeps fighting and the dad says, give some instruction. All right, not bad, not bad. And the boy stops. And he's like, did I? Nah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And he keeps fighting and the dad says something. And he's like, no, it can't be. And he keeps fighting. And the third time the dad says something, he stops, he removes the mask, sees his daddy and literally dives into him. He went, and just, he just stayed there in the embrace of his father that he had not seen for so long, but whom he had been hoping to see for so long. He just dove into him. So to dive into your Christ, he is there for you. He is there for you to receive you back. He will always accept you. Now, in Romans chapter five, we read this from verses one to five. Listen very carefully. Okay, if anybody's sleeping next to you, I give you permission to elbow them. Please don't do it. Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen, say peace. Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God. This is the peace Jesus says he gives you, not like the world gives. Because this peace is not dependent on what is going on outside of you, but on what has gone on inside of you, what the Lord has accomplished on the cross for you and with you. Through him, we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. This is your homework. It's to go eat that passage as Jeremiah ate the Word of God. Jeremiah 15, 16, your words, O Lord, I have found and I devoured them. Not my words, the words of scripture. Devour this word, live this word, believe this word, hope in this word. All three theological virtues are present. Justified by faith, rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces endurance and endurance character produces hope. And it says, and hope does not disappoint us because God's love, charity, has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. So my dear friends, suffering is no longer your enemy. It becomes your sacrifice. You see, we don't have lambs to offer anymore. We don't have goats to offer. We don't have to travel to Jerusalem to the temple.  It is your suffering. It is the insults. It is all that you suffered, Matthew five. Those become the sacrifices of praise that you offer unto the Lord and the Lord receives you. You see my brothers, one can only endure in pain if one has Christian hope, but you don't only stop in the hope, you must dive into the charity that is the virtue of all virtues. This charity that makes you love God and makes you love neighbor. And if you love your neighbor, and this is the final go, how can you love someone and see them on the path of destruction and not do anything about it? So the final thing I will tell you is run. Wear the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, but put your feet in the readiness to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yesterday we got to speak about that power of evangelizing and how it is the primary service that the church can render the world. So as you leave this place, my dear brothers and sisters, I don't want you to walk, but you need to run. You need to run to the world. Run to your family, run to your neighbor. Run to everyone who's got ears to hear and tell them the fulfillment of the hope that is in them. You will not bring something foreign to them. You will bring precisely what they're looking for because God placed that hope in them for him. Proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone. How do I do that? Well, funny you should ask. Steubenville has a wonderful program called the Steubenville Discipleship Quads. You've probably heard me talk about it several times because I'm in love with that program. It is a way to become true disciples of Jesus Christ and all of you need to do it because if you don't, you will die. It's free. You pick three other people. You journey together as community in discipleship for one year about. And then each of these people will pick another three people to make a quad so that the goodness of Jesus Christ can be established in the whole world and his kingdom will come. Hope in eternal life. Hope in the joy to come which is so, so close to us because in Jesus, hope does not disappoint. Amen.


By the way, Amazon, here we come. Watch. Watch. Big labor supporters like President Joe Biden are cheering the first successful vote to unionize workers at an Amazon facility. In this case, an 8,000 worker warehouse in Staten Island, New York, spearheaded by a couple of best friends who built support on TikTok. The New York Times gleefully called it one of the most significant labor victories in a generation and indicative of an era of rising worker power. Former Times Labor reporter Stephen Greenhouse called it by far the biggest beating the odds David versus Goliath unionization win I've seen in 25 years of reporting. But the Staten Island story is overshadowed by other colossal unionization failures, including attempts to organize other Amazon warehouses such as in Bessemer, Alabama, where last year 71% voted against joining the retail wholesale and department store union, which lost about a quarter of its members from 2002 to 2019. It's proven so hard for unions to gain a toehold at Amazon because it's actually a pretty good place to work. If we are indeed in a time of rising worker power, that's because of incredibly low unemployment rates and historically high job vacancies giving the rank and file more leverage than ever to negotiate more pay and better conditions. For its part, Amazon has consistently increased its wages and benefits to attract and retain workers, especially during the pandemic when it went on a hiring sprit. It set a minimum wage of $15 an hour back in 2018 and last year boosted its starting wage to $18 an hour while also offering health insurance reimbursement for college courses and signing bonuses of up to $3,000. More than anything else, those sorts of perks explain the overwhelming failure of unionization efforts. For the second year in a row, LinkedIn named Amazon the top company to work at if you want to grow your career. It's not just Amazon either. The main reason that unions in the private sector have been fading for decades isn't because there are union-busting Pinkerton's terrorizing organizers, but because of the changing nature of work and the willingness of employers to offer better terms. Unions flourished during the era of assembly lines and standardization. When schedules were rigid and outputs employees and even customers were expected to be identical. As everything in our lives becomes more personalized, it only makes sense unions would fade. In 2021, just 6% of private sector workers were unionized, down from 17% in 1983. Unions are even losing cloud in the public sector. After peaking at 39% in 1994, unionization among federal state and local employees is down to 34% and shows little sign of turning around. If K through 12 teachers are any indication, the decline is explained by unions inability to increase starting salaries. While unions such as the NEA and AFT successfully lobby for health insurance and retirement benefits, the inflation-adjusted average starting salaries for teachers have actually declined from a decade ago. Why keep paying dues to a union that isn't delivering to younger teachers who are more interested in money now rather than promises down the road? Labor organizers are turning to the federal government for help in strong-arming workers to rejoin their ranks. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, would abolish right-to-work laws that keep unions from forcing non-members to pay dues in 27 states. But the PRO Act, which would reclassify millions of independent contractors as employees, has no chance of passing an evenly divided Senate, especially in a midterm election year where the Democrats are already expected to lose big in both houses. Joe Biden can come after Amazon, Starbucks, and any other public or private sector employer all he wants. But it's unlikely that he or any other politician or labor organizer is going to be able to turn around a decades-long decline in union membership. The biggest problem for unions, it turns out, is that workers are making real progress without them.


Did you do that? I didn't do it. What are you talking about? What'd you do, James? I don't know, but apparently they think I did it. I'm sorry, that.  You want to be more specific? No. So I have to guess what that is? It's like a word association test. It's like, yeah, we had to.  Why did you do that? Because I like feeling good. I like feeling sexy. And really, it's a glorious day out tonight, today, this afternoon. Is that your question? One question? Okay. My question to you, sir. Why did you do that? Because I felt like... Do what? Because I felt it. I had to. I needed to. I was compelled. You know, I was alright. I wasn't as good as I was expecting. Yeah. Sorry about that. I should be alright, I think. I think you will be. You think so? It's just, why did you do that? What? Well, see, I was drunk. Why did you do that? I didn't do anything. Yup. Because I like to do it. Awesome. Thank you. I'll get off early. Are you waiting tables? At that fancy place? Why did you do that? Well, because when you get lonely like that, it just... You gotta do something. And that was the first thing that popped into mind. What did you do? I fell asleep. What did you dream about? Well, I don't know if I could get into that. The police might be looking for me afterwards. Some things in there that really shouldn't be spoken of. Why did you do that? I guess for the fun of it. She told me it was okay. I mean, you can only think about it for so long, and then you gotta do something. So it felt like the right thing to do. I did it. I would do it again. Why did you do that? Well, it all started back in 1992, when a few of us were out by the river. And it had to be done, because no one else could do it. Why did you do that? Because my girlfriend has all the credit card debt in her name. Why did you do that? Do what? You mean this? Get him up to me, man. Are you ready? I'm ready to rumble. Alright. Nick Glass. Why did you do that? I did it because it feels good. Why did I do that? Because my mom was never home. Why did you do that? Why did what? Why did you do that? Why did you do that? Why did you do that? What I did? Yeah, whatever. I did it because I did it. Can I ask for a TV right now? Come on. Yeah, you did. Yeah, you did. There you go. Let me see your cigarette, old son. Where's my dad's cigarette? This is rich, and that's grab. Yeah. Come on, then. Hey, where you going? We call them rich and grab. That's how you can't play it, damn. Play Old Chicago. I said, come on. Well, step back and get it. I think I'm going to burn my fingers. Why did you do that? Why did I do what? Why did you do that? Do what? Why did I do what? That's the whole point, whatever you want to answer to. Because it pleases me. Awesome. It pleases me. This is, you know, I've been through a bunch of women, but I keep playing the guitar. See, the guitar don't turn on me. Everybody else does. The guitar gets along with me. That's my best friend. It's the only friend I got, really. I mean, it has an inanimate logic. I mean, I got some animate people that say they're my friends, but I got to check them out for 10 years before I figure out if that's the truth or not. Because everybody dies. Nobody loves me, but my mother, she might be dying, too. And this whole blues, you know, it's a way of life. It pleases me. I'm 57 years old. I've been doing this for, you know, 40 years, or 30 years, you know. And I always come back to it because it supports me. It keeps me fed. It keeps me happy.  As long as I got a guitar. Even though I don't have a guitar, I can think about music and keep myself from music, you know? See, like, I read a quote one time, just boredom is insult to yourself. I never get bored.  And it's just a process. I'm still at it, and I'm gonna stay at it, man. I ain't quitting now.


Hello, I am Karen Butler-Purrey and this is my fourth year as a C3E ambassador. I am one of nine C3E ambassadors who will be introducing the award winners over the next two days. So now the Education and Advocacy Award. This award recognizes clean energy advocates of our educators who have driven greater uptake of clean energy policies and technologies in society or have helped to increase clean energy literacy and our workforce development. I am honored to introduce our 2021 U.S. C3E Education and Advocacy Award winner, Marina Badoyan-Criticos. Marina is a research scientist at the Houston Advanced Research Center, Hark, where she also serves as assistant director of the U.S. Department of Energy, Upper West Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership, and senior program advisor to the Texas Property Assessed Clean Energy Authority. Hark's mission is to provide independent analysis on clean energy, air and water issues to people seeking scientific answers and to operate as a research hub, finding solutions for a sustainable future. Marina's research focuses on the intersection of energy, climate, resilience, natural resource policy, and program adoption, and implementation and strategies that advance environmental, social and corporate governance integration and sustainability performance. As an electrical engineering researcher who develops new methods for improving the resilience of power grids with distributed energy resources, I greatly appreciate the important work that Marina does in advancing the acceptance and implementation of the technology that my peers and I develop. As joining Hark in 2017, Marina has created a statewide network, driving the acceptance of clean energy policies and technologies in urban centers and communities across Texas and beyond. For example, she provided technical assistance and coordinated stakeholder engagement, essential to the development of the 2020 Houston Climate Action Plan. In addition to her role with Texas PACE Authority, she works to build Texas into a leading market for commercial PACE finance. Since 2015, her efforts have contributed to PACE policies in over 60 regions across Texas, structuring over 170 million in transactions. Her nominator, Lisa Gonzalez, president and CEO of Hark states, Marina is an exemplary role model for other women in the industry. She stands out in her creative ability for problem solving and she's unparalleled in her ability to identify shared purposes that make new network connections and collaborations possible. Marina has also advanced the field of clean energy through the many programs that she has created and led. For example, she has co-created the Texas Clean Energy Hub, which disseminates tools, webinars and guides to accelerate adoption of distributed generation. She's also developed a student internship program at Hark that connects, engages and educates the next generation of diverse sustainability leaders. And she, through her work with the IAC Women for Energy Efficiency Network, she mentors women and non-binary students to increase gender diversity in the larger energy and engineering industry. Marina received a bachelor's science degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Houston downtown. She credits Arliss Brody, a female business development manager, with taking a chance on hiring her right out of school and introducing her to other women who have been instrumental throughout her career. Marina has a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old daughter working from home has provided opportunities for her daughters to expand their interests in and understanding of their mother's work as an energy professional. So now I will turn it over to Marina for her remarks. Thank you. Hello, everyone. And Karen, thank you so much for that kind introduction. And for all of the work that you have done throughout your career. I'm honored.  For nearly a decade, as we saw from the clip earlier, the C3E program has really provided invaluable opportunities for women in clean energy. And the symposium really is an inspiration for us to continue to think differently as we look to transform energy systems across the nation and throughout the world. So first, a heartfelt thank you to the C3E committee ambassadors and organizers for putting together this fantastic and fabulous event. I would like to recognize and thank my nominator, Lisa Gonzalez, who along with my other mentors, as Karen pointed out, have really helped and supported and guided me throughout my career. It's truly these women who have taught me the importance of women help move other women forward and the impact of paying that forward by investing in and empowering other women at all stages in their careers. So really thanks to their guidance and a little bit of luck. I'm so blessed to be where I am right now. For the past five years, I've had the privilege to work at Hark amongst a group of engaging colleagues in an atmosphere that honestly is fun and interesting and challenges me every single day. As Karen mentioned, Hark is known for its science-based research and policy analysis on climate, air, energy, and water issues with a goal that helped people find solutions for a sustainable future. So for nearly 40 years, Hark has served as an independent research hub and I'm truly delighted to be part of an interdisciplinary team that focuses on the science, the engineering, and policy analysis needed to understand and address a variety of issues, including climate change, climate equity, and clean energy. In my work, I weave together engineering, economics, and social science to identify equitable solutions to public policy challenges focused on the built environment and the shift to a clean energy economy. I'm passionate about translating science and policy into action and get to collaborate with communities, government officials, and individuals to identify and implement equitable and economic climate solutions that work. And I'm really so excited about the opportunities that are currently going on in this space and look forward to the innovations that are yet to come. So in closing, thank you to the C3E organizers. I'm so grateful to be here with you today. Thank you to my family for supporting and encouraging me in my career. And thank all of you for participating in and supporting this event. The work that we are all doing in this space is so important, both now and for the future leaders that are yet to come. So thank you.


ۚ ۛ ۰ ۪ ۛ ۢ ۶ ۧ ۥ ۜ ۥ ۢ ۪ ۦ ۋ ۜ ... ۛ ۛ ۛ ۴ ۛ ۜ ۣ ۜ ۥ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۢ ۢ ۪ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۛ jiang ی ۛ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۝ ۗ ۉ ۛ ۛ ۜ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۖ ۜ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۜ ۛ ۛ ۛ ۑ ۜ ۛ ۜ ۛ ۛ ۞ ۛ ۛ ۜ  ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ ༼ �


So Allah SWT says, وما أرسلناك إلا رحمة للعالمين. And this statement by itself is amazing and every Muslim should have this memorized. When I go to churches, I tell them this is the equivalent of John 316. We see 316 everywhere, go to a sports, watch a football game, you see it written everywhere. What does it mean? This is the essence of our belief about the Prophet ﷺ, 21.107 of the Qur'an. وما أرسلناك إلا رحمة للعالمين. We did not send you, Allah SWT speaks to the Prophet ﷺ and the second person in the Qur'an. You didn't say وما أرسلنا محمداك كاف الخطاب. We did not send you, it's very personal, speaking directly to the Prophet ﷺ. إلا, an exception for strong emphasis, رحمة نكرة, it's indefinite. Unlimited mercy, unfathomable mercy. Mercy that is not restricted, mercy to everything. Interestingly enough too, Allah SWT, the Ulama point out, he uses a noun here, he doesn't use a verb. He didn't say وما أرسلناك إلا أن ترحم العالمين or something like that. We didn't send you except that you show mercy to people. Allah says you are mercy, you are رحمة. This is your that, this is your essence, that you're mercy للعالمين to all of the worlds. So he uses the indefinite article. The mercy of the Prophet ﷺ is something that is unrestricted, something that is unbelievable. The Prophet ﷺ, one time he came into the masjid and he saw a man and he was broken hearted in the masjid and tears. And the Prophet ﷺ said, what's wrong with you? And he said, oh I've done this and I've done that, he said I don't want to hear it. Just come here, just come over here. Let's sit, raise your hands, repeat after me. Allahumma ma l-firatu aw sa' min du'lubi. Pray this du'a with me. Oh Allah, your forgiveness is more vast than my sins, my transgressions. And he said, قُم قَرْخَفْرَ اللَّهُ لَكْ Now stand up, your sins have been forgiven. The Prophet ﷺ had a deep concern for the ummah, not just for the ummah, a deep concern for all of humanity ﷺ. When he was repeating that verse all night long, all night long, into عذبهم فإنهم عبادكم وإن تغثير لهم فإنك أنت العزيز والحكيم. Our mother Aisha said that he recited this verse the whole night. قام رسول الله ﷺ the آية من القرآن الليلة, the entire night, he's reciting this verse. If you punish them, they are your servants. But if you forgive them, if you forgive them, then you are great and wise. And then she said he collapsed into sajdah, collapsed. And she heard him say Allahumma umma ti, Allahumma umma ti. Praying for the ummah, Allahumma, what does it mean? It's a vocative address. When you say Allahumma, it means you're calling Allah ﷺ by all of his names and attributes. The ones you don't, the ones you know, the ones you don't know.


NR2F1A is a transcription factor that plays a key role in regulating the development of the heart. It is essential for maintaining the identity of cardiomyocytes, which are cells found in the heart muscle. When NR2F1A is absent or reduced, it can lead to the formation of abnormal heart structures and arrhythmia. This study shows how NR2F1A helps to maintain the identity of cardiomyocytes by preventing them from becoming pacemaker cells, which are responsible for controlling the heartbeat. By studying the effects of NR2F1A on cardiomyocytes, researchers were able to identify a specific region of DNA that is important for maintaining their identity. They also discovered that this region is responsible for regulating the expression of genes involved in the development of pacemaker cells. This article was authored by Kendall E. Martin, Padma Priyadasaniravazankar, Manabirans, and others.


So first off, I'm happy to see Dr. Hatch is here because today is National Signing Day for the recruits. And I thought he'd maybe, you know, researching what Utah is signing this year. The recruiting class doesn't look to be super great, but I think we're ranked like 70th right now. It's a down year for us. But anyways, our next presenter is Marilyn McCassan. She's also a PGY3 neurology resident. And like when we do our neuroophthalmology rotation, we have to do a certain number of grand rounds and presentations.  She's finished her neuroophthalm rotation a couple months ago. They hunted her down to come back. So she's going to present chronic relapsing, inflammatory optic neuropathy. We'll be found. You cannot escape. Right, so yeah, I'm talking about chronic relapsing, inflammatory optic neuropathy. This also is a patient that I saw with Dr. Warner. So I'll talk about our case and then talk about the disease a little bit and then we'll just return to our case to see kind of where he is now. So our patient is a 48-year-old man. He presented a little over six months ago with right eye pain that was worse with eye movements. And that was followed shortly thereafter by complete vision loss in his right eye. On review of systems, he had a little bit of fatigue, but otherwise, that was about it. History of hypothyroidism and depression. He's had a couple of surgeries in the past. Nothing too remarkable on his social history. In his family history, his mother had hypothyroidism, so maybe a little bit of autoimmunity in pancreatic cancer and father just had hypertension. On his physical exam at his initial presentation, his visual acuity in his right eye was hand motion, but normal on the left. He had a very slightly elevated intraocular pressure on the right, normal on the left. He did have an afferent pupillary defect on his right eye. Extraocular movements were slightly limited just by pain, but otherwise were intact. He had impaired color vision on the right eye. And then on his anterior segment exam, he just had some mild blepharitis, maybe some trace cataracts, but then on his dilated fundoscopic exam, he did have some edema of the optic nerve on the right. These are his visual fields from when he first presented, and you can see that in his left eye looks pretty normal, but almost completely obliterated there on the right. And this is his initial MRI, and this is a contrast-enhanced MRI, and you can see there on the coronal view that on the right he has enhancement of his optic nerve, whereas we don't see that enhancement on the left eye, and you can see the same thing on the axial view there. And then, I mean, I don't have images looking at the rest of the brain, but his brain looked normal. So he had a pretty extensive laboratory workup that was mostly unremarkable. BMP and CBC were normal. He had aquapor in four antibodies tested, looking for NMO, and those were negative. They tested an ACE level, looking for sarcoidosis, which was normal. ANA was not detected. Lysosine was normal. RPR was non-reactive. ESR was normal. And then he also had West Nile virus titers that were negative. He had a lumbar puncture, and his CSF was normal. And he has a couple of labs that are pending right now testing for optic nerve antibodies, as well as CRMP5 antibodies, which are part of a perineoplastic syndrome that can affect the optic nerves. And then he also had a chest x-ray, again looking for changes that would suggest sarcoidosis, and that was also normal. So, yeah, like I said, his labs and imaging were pretty unrevealing, except for that optic nerve enhancement. So at this point, he really just has an isolated optic neuritis. He was treated then after this episode with methylprednisalone infusions for three days, followed by oral prednisone that was tapered over time. And with that, his pain resolved and his vision improved almost back to normal in that right eye. However, over the course of the next six months, he had two relapses of optic neuritis on his left eye and another relapse on the right eye. With each relapse, he was treated again with another IV course of steroids. And his vision, again, would return to normal almost normal. Each course of IV steroids was followed by oral prednisone, which was tapered over time. And it was noted that every time he would taper his oral prednisone down to either like zero to maybe about five milligrams daily is when he would have another relapse. And this just shows his visual fields on one of his return visits. And you can see that the right eye, which was the one that was initially affected, was almost returned to normal, and now the left eye is affected. So at this point, with so many relapses, he can be considered to have chronic relapsing inflammatory optic neuropathy. This is a really rare disease, and it's actually pretty new to the literature. So we've known about optic neuritis for a long time, and we've known that it can be its own isolated event, or it can eventually, over time, progress to multiple sclerosis or NMO, or it can be part of another systemic disease, like many of the things that this patient was tested for. But in some instances, we don't find any other disease, and these patients can just have relapses of optic neuritis, and that's when they get the diagnosis of cryon. So this was first described in 2003, so it hasn't really been around for that long, or at least that we've known about. In 2004, the NMO antibody was first described, or first discovered, I guess, and so at first people were saying, well, maybe cryon is part of NMO, but as this was studied more, it was found that these are really pretty separate entities. 95% of patients who present with optic neuritis are negative for the NMO antibody, and we also know that these diseases have different mechanisms of action, and with NMO, there's a complement activation that causes astrocytic necrosis, and there's a G-FAP biomarker that you can use to detect this process, and that is not detected in cryon, so that kind of helps to distinguish the two diseases as well. So, Petzel and Plant recently published a review of all of the 122 cases that have been reported in the literature since 2003. So really not something that we see very often, but from their review, they found that patients aged, or were aged anywhere from 14 to 69 years old with a mean of about 35 years, probably a little bit more prevalent in females, although in a 32% of the cases, the gender wasn't reported, so hard to know exactly. The etiology's certainly not understood, although it is thought to be some kind of autoimmune process because these patients do respond really well to immunosuppressive therapies, but we don't have any biomarkers for this disease, like we do, like for example, the NMO antibody that we have with NMO. So these patients present with either monocular or bilateral vision loss, which is usually severe, like we saw in our patients. The course of the disease and the prognosis is a little bit difficult to know right now with only a few cases in the literature and very variable time of follow-up with each of those cases, but the authors note that in their experience, the disease activity can settle over a decade or so. Anywhere from two to 18 episodes of relapse have been reported, although again it's hard to know because there's kind of a variety of lengths of follow-up. And most people do present with pain with their vision loss, like we would see with a typical optic neuritis. So when we evaluate these patients with optic neuritis, the differential is pretty broad. Usually these patients should get an MRI of their orbits and brain, as well as the spinal cord with and without contrast. For cryon, you should see optic nerve enhancement, but the MRI can also look for evidence of demyelinating lesions, which could make you think that maybe this is actually MS or NMO or some kind of compressive lesion affecting the optic nerve. But for cryon, there really shouldn't be any other MRI abnormalities that would explain the patient's symptoms. These patients should get an NMO antibody tested and usually should be negative, although approximately 5% of cases of cryon in the literature have a positive NMO antibody, which makes things a little bit confusing. Also on the differential is ischemic optic neuropathy, and you could think about this in somebody who has vascular risk factors. Maybe think about a temporal artery biopsy if you're worried about GCA. In someone with a family history, you could think about an hereditary optic neuropathy. And then testing for any of the systemic diseases that can cause optic neuritis, like diabetic papillitis, any of the toxicities or nutritional deficiencies that can cause this. There are several infections. Other autoimmune or inflammatory diseases like lupus. The authors of the Petzlilin Plant paper that at the review of all of these cases, they stress that they don't think that a lumbar puncture is needed to make this diagnosis, although of course it can be helpful if you have any reason to suspect MS or an infectious cause that a CSF analysis could help to differentiate. So the treatment can be broken down into three phases. In the acute phase, your goal is to restore the lost vision. Most people have used solumetrol or methylprednisolone for this. You can also use plasmapheresis. Once you've done that, you want to stabilize the vision. And this has usually been done with oral steroids. The authors of this review paper suggest using prednisone one meg per gig per day and then gradually tapering over time. Some patients are able to be tapered off with prednisone completely, but others will require oral steroids chronically in order to prevent relapses. And then in the long term, finding an immunomodulatory therapy that can allow the patient to come off of steroids is ideal, and a variety of things have been used for this even IVIG and plasmapheresis. So these authors proposed a set of diagnostic criteria for cryon. So they suggest that in the history, someone would have to have optic neuroritis with at least one relapse. They would have to have objective evidence for loss of visual function. They should have a negative NMO antibody ideally. MRIs should show contrast enhancement of the optic nerve, and these patients should respond to immunosuppressive therapies. So to follow up on our patients, when he was last seen, I think in January, his vision in his right eye was 2040, but 2020 on the left. And recently, he's been started on methotrexate in hopes to hopefully get him off of steroids. He had a recent MRI with maybe some faint optic nerve enhancement, but you can see here, this is his MRI, both optic nerves look pretty good, or at least closer to normal than his first MRI did. So I think that's it. Thank you.


It was very hot for the spectators and I think the athletes weren't too bad, they didn't mind it, but when they tried to satisfy the spectators and then the athletes were affected. Peter Viles from Goldock contacted Griffith looking for someone to do some computational fluid dynamics simulation of the velodrome, although I thought it was to install some fans inside the velodrome and to try and use those fans to make it comfortable for the spectators without interfering with the athletes on the track or the cyclists. Once he broke you down kind of told us what the possible solutions could be then with the help of the Goldock team I knew would be able to solve it. I had an advantage already especially using fundamental principles of heat and mass, transfer thermodynamics and applying it to to the velodrome. Unknown to them they they did have a good skill knowledge already from thermodynamics heat transfer. If we increase the temperature of the air keeping the pressure the same we'll reduce the density and therefore reduce the drag. Air circulation, air density plays a huge part and we're very fortunate to live in Queensland where we have really hot weather. It feels effortless and it feels like you're just moving so fast and so fluid. An internship at Goldock really puts you above other graduates because not many graduates can say they've been a part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.


This animation shows how the level of immunoglobulins change during the specific, adaptive, immune response that develops as a result of infection with a pathogen or following immunization. When vaccine antigen enters the body, it triggers an inflammatory reaction. This is initially mediated by the non-specific innate immune system, but subsequently develops to involve the specific adaptive immune system too. Dendritic cells are retracted to the antigen. The antigens are taken up by the dendritic cells, also known as antigen-presenting cells, and presented on the cell-service membrane. They migrate to the lymph nodes. The primary specific adaptive immune response is now underway. T cells that recognize the specific antigen being presented by the dendritic cell bind to the antigen. This process activates the T cell to become a helper T cell. Meanwhile, immature B cells pick up the antigen on their surface immunoglobulins and process it. Once processed, the antigen is presented on the surface of the B cell. There are approximately 10 million different types of immature B cells. Each cell carries a unique immunoglobulin on its surface that combines to only one specific antigen. The helper T cell binds to the antigen on the B cell and then releases cytokines that stimulate the B cell. Once stimulated, B cells undergo rapid proliferation and differentiation into plasma cells and memory B cells. One such B cell can produce thousands of daughter cells in a few days. This action increases the capacity to produce stronger binding soluble antibodies. The antibody concentration rises in the blood serum. Further stimulation of B cells by T cell action leads to affinity maturation where high affinity antibodies are produced. The concentration of antibodies is now at a peak. Infection is over.  This is known as the contraction phase. The specific adaptive immune system retains memory of the antigen for future use. Memory B cells remain in bone marrow and may circulate between lymph nodes ready to recognize the antigen again if it presents itself. They continue to secrete a low level of high affinity antibodies. This is known as immunological memory. When the body is exposed to the same antigen again, these high affinity antibodies in the blood bind to the antigen. This acts as a signal to circulating cells that recognize the antigen quickly and the secondary response begins. Memory B cells and T cells are activated more rapidly than on primary contact with the antigen as the antigen is already familiar to the immune system. The memory B cells proliferate and differentiate into plasma cells that produce high affinity antibodies in higher concentration than found in the primary response. Often, during the secondary response, further maturation occurs, leading to the antibodies that are more specific. Consequently, each time the body is exposed to a particular pathogen, the antibody response becomes quicker, more sustained and of higher affinity, offering even better immunological protection.


Good morning, everyone. It is a Monday morning as you guys saw. I made breakfast and I read for a bit in my office Today is a work day. I need to do schoolwork and I need to do a lot of work My birthday is on Thursday and then I go out of town for a week like pretty much after that So I'm trying to get everything done. I'm also in summer classes. It's not that fun But I wanted to start off my morning with a face mask This is the origins clear improvement active charcoal mask. I showed this in the last vlog. I actually worked with them But I'm not working them again. I just want to use the mask. I love Origins face masks, but I also just like haven't been on my routine as far as a skincare as much lately Oh my gosh, this like goes on so smooth Big fan. I'll obviously double it. I'm looking at everything. I've never made better about that this summer I'm in the middle of doing some laundry and I'm gonna go into my office and lock myself in for the day So you guys are just gonna hang out with me as I get a lot of stuff done And yeah, it's gonna be great So if you guys follow my Instagram stories, you guys know my Instagram it'll be linked down below You guys know that I have a new favorite help a lot easier Dylan. She's teaching tonight at 7 15 So I'm going and I really never go to PM classes Ever and the fact that I'm going to a night class instead of a morning class because I really like showing If I'm warning the Pilates is saying something that shows how much I love her So we're gonna get a plot aside as well, but you guys are new here Subscribe we're just gonna be getting some stuff done now.  I know okay If that's really annoying about this class I'm in is that I have to record speeches in front of like three people and Three people is actually a lot to gather around for like a speech. That's really annoying so I honest I Hate it so much.  Oh my gosh. The mask is off Just heated up some lunch I used my meal prep trays that I got on Amazon and it's like my go-to lunch you guys know obsessed with it's Broccoli kale rice and then I just put soy sauce and coconut aminos on it as well as carrots I made this a billion times, but like it's just one of those meals that I'm so obsessed with I just want to keep eating it every single day of my life. Okay guys prepare to be very proud of me I really needed some like reusable cups that I could use in the morning bring to coffee shops All that that are better for the environment so I've been wanting the quarter ones for a second. I'm so excited because this is so cute I always look at these in anthropology. They're like $25 each. So like yeah, definitely Pricy, you don't have to spend this money to help the environment, but I really just want this one Specifically and it's like I use it every single day. I want it in every color. Oh my gosh. See I'm gonna use it all the time and It goes all the way up so like you get actually a lot in here and it's just so perfect and it closes So I don't even have to put it in my cup holder all the time if I don't have like this is just amazing I love this and then I got some Nespresso pods because I've had a Nespresso machine for the year I don't really use it which is surprising. So I got some Nespresso pods. I'm going to start making drinks Comment down below what your favorite Nespresso drink is to make Everyone who's excited for me and my new mug that I love it's actually I have a hot lemon water in here And the mug itself is really hot so Didn't know it's gonna happen Anyways, hi guys. Sorry. I stopped vlogging yesterday, but today is a new day. It's Tuesday I'm currently on my way. It's like 7 30. I'm on my way to Hapalates Then I need to go to the studio and then I'm just filming and stuff today It's gonna be a good freaking day guys I'm so excited for one for next week because they go to test what I almost said test it They go to Texas in Boston Which will be so fun and the vlogs will be different and it'll be like so cool And then when I come home, I'm here for like two days and then Quintin and I go to San Diego with my parents for like a day and then I have college orientation and my senior year starts so Basically the next few weeks are gonna be crazy August is gonna be a very good month and I'm really excited, but I'm also just really excited because I'm excited to be back My routine one with school I'm like ready for that and I'm just ready to go back to school. It's my last year and I love my program and then I Just feel like it's gonna be so busy and like all the vlogs are gonna be so much better So now that I'm not busy this summer. It's just I have a lot to do It's just like kind of the same stuff over and over again, and I didn't travel as much. I don't know Whatever also, I was with Quintin like most of the summer.  I'm listening to thick and thin with Katie. I love it. It's so good It's the perfect like nighttime podcast Like I drove home from Quintin's last night and I listened to it and I was like, wow This is just amazing, but I'm finishing this and then I'm gonna lose a tune. It's gonna come in a jolt as always Also, I'm wearing a fabletics set As always I I literally survive in the meal of stats like I have the pay I have like four or five colors And I wear them all the time so I Wish this wasn't so hot cuz I'm like I need to finish it, but it's so hot. Oh my gosh All right guys. Sorry all the windows are down. I'm out of hot Pilates I am so gross and I couldn't shower after cuz the showers were all full, but I'm on my way Okay, I'm sorry. This is probably so annoying It was a great class I took from a harder teacher Um It's still so long away the blue bottle. I'm gonna get some breakfast and then I have to go to the studio We're gonna record intros ads, and I think maybe a little um a little Trailer for podcasts. I don't know much Taylor my producer texted me and was like we need to record on it I don't really know what it is. I think I do know what it is, but I'm not sure Anyways, I'm in a really good mood working out in the morning and getting out of my house It's just like the best thing ever because I have to like film and take some photos and stuff later I think we might go to the movies tonight because apparently AMC is like $5 movies on Tuesdays Like why don't we just do that more often? I need this card though.  I'm just in such a good mood yesterday. It was really hard for me to focus I honestly just had like a What the heck is this car doing? It's just super annoying this cars I had honestly like one of the worst days I've had in a second so I just took a break So today's a much better day I'm in a very good mood and I'm gonna get so much stuff done and it's gonna be amazing Welcome back to the I love you so much podcast with the Kenzie. Oh my gosh, okay Hey guys, welcome back to the I love you so much podcast with me Kenzie Elizabeth and my producer Taylor I would like to be the first person to officially say happy birthday to you Thank you so much. I'm 22 which is really wild. All right guys. I'm home from the studio I just showered obviously and I'm gonna let my hair air dry. I think my brows and my pedicure I really need one and I apply drying my hair so I'm maximizing time this way But I'm listening to a really good podcast again give my iPad and get some work done while I'm getting my pedicure and Yeah, it's gonna be a good day I just threw an athletic close again because I didn't want to like get actually ready I just went home and showered really quickly. I'm on my way to get a pedicure and my brows done I'm currently washing my rugable rug We're in the middle of hanging all these up right now and here I am of I just finished filming two videos I vlog him or died and then I just took a bunch of brand photos Quinton's on his way over right now He's gonna help me take I literally have four more brand photos to take I've never had more Instagram deals in my life So I need to get all those taken edited and sent in I already sent in that stuff to Olay this morning Like it's just a lot so it's been very productive. I've gotten a lot done. I did laundry I'm in the middle of cooking. I just haven't really been able to vlog because my camera was dead It's been a good day a much needed very productive day He'll be here in like 10 minutes and then I'm gonna finish shooting all about stuff make dinner and I have So much trash to take out right now So I'm gonna show you guys like two packages that I want to unbox on camera I'm gonna show you guys so I can take up the rest of that trash and then also I'm gonna have him finish framing all that are hanging those up. It's just amazing The first thing I have I think this is I think I know what this is Quintin's also listening I had him listen to the skinny confidential podcast with Michael boss today because there's like he has a solo one He's both was all on and I had to listen to that one yet And he was like producer Taylor brings you up at 37 minute mark. So What a nice surprise Friggin hot this package is really cute So I picked out this these two items probably like a month and a half ago And they got sent here and they sent back it's in this whole thing because I wasn't home to sign when it came Anyways got said back. I'm just not getting it and then I saw Molly's vlog yesterday that she picked out the exact same Two pieces I think that I got which is really funny. Of course we did but neither of us copied each other Look, we just picked the exact same thing. Oh my gosh. This is so cute. Okay, so first I'm gonna take my little eyes. This jewelry is handcrafted for Kenzie So freaking cute. Okay Okay, I got this really pretty little dainty necklace heart necklace that I'm literally gonna wear every single day It's so cute and then I just got these really nice small and gold hoops that I can just wear every day You guys can see so I'm really excited for these and I'm literally gonna wear these every single day like as soon as I finish shooting these brand photos I will be wearing these Immediately. Okay, the next thing is my birthday present from my mom. So as you guys know, I have my Ken possible call me to be Instagram account, which is my disposable Instagram account, which I've had for a while and now they're really popular Um, I definitely I don't mean I hate that person. I don't mean to be that person I just mean like I had I'm being that person but now everyone has them So I really like the accounts what I'm saying I don't mean that in an annoying I had it first way, but it just definitely sounded like that and there's really no saving it anyways, I wanted an actual film camera because I Have so many disposables and I felt like it was time So for my birthday, this is what I asked for. Oh Cute it comes in a little camera bag Here's my phone camera. Oh, how does it work? I literally have no idea how to work this. I'm an amateur But I bought film so That'll be coming in I think tomorrow and then I'll have film and then I can take a bunch of photos And I'll have this with me all the time, and it's super nice of me. Give me this bag. That's cute So I'm really excited about all these things.  Oh, it's stuff. It's definitely something drinks. Let's see. What a melon summer splash mocktail. Oh Oh my gosh, we can make mocktails. They give us a big mocktails. We'll make those tonight What's in a mockup not alcohol Clinton? I promise you that's why it's called a mocktail. I know but what's in it? What look at all these lines? Look at this Cocktail rumors. Oh my gosh. This is so fun.  I'm lazy. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. That's so perfect I'm making this mocktail tonight. Hey guys. We just ate so literally a year ago. Well 11 months ago Quintin and I were Hold on. How did I find this? What did I type? Can deal with this. Quintin and I obviously went to the same school. So I was like, I know that there's a clip of us From like passion or from why am I saying that's what I need more just so bad. There's a clip of us In a college week of my life video because somebody shouted it out somebody brought it up one time I'm one of your comments.  So I was like messing with him any but people would call me. That's how I remembered Wait, where's it? Okay? This is so funny Okay, basically who would like call himself that anyways so weird So we're gonna go to matcha and then go watch a sunset and then go watch Jeremy buyer I'm gonna show you guys the house updates And then I'll walk tomorrow the rug is back We have these prints hung up and then this print hung up Quintin good job Okay, guys, look at how cute my new necklaces like it's so dainty and so pretty Afternoon everyone. I didn't vlog at all this morning because I've just been working for my house It is my birthday Eve. It's 5 30. Literally not vlog until 5 30. I'm gonna do a little Night routine this guy's just staring at me.  So today or tonight. I'm gonna go hop a lot of use I'm going in the morning as well I really just need this to break up my day and then tonight I still have a lot of editing and a lot of stuff I want to do the month of August is gonna be so good for me like I'm really excited So I wanted to make sure that I'm prepared and ready and that is my plan So I'm doing all of that tonight. It's gonna be one of those nights where I just like crank a lot of stuff out So also update on my like majority Jewelry I'm literally obsessed like so freaking cute. This is just so dainty and pretty. I like I just can't stop staring at it But it's going to hop a lot ease and I'm getting a Celsius, which I'm so excited for I really need it Here's my workout after the day of this night. He sports bra on and then these phabletics Biker shorts and then my favorite brandy jacket. I don't wear this in class and I just have my slides on oh Hey Yeah, I'm in my car though. Okay. I'm in a neighborhood. So this is fine But guys like this is literally my drive freaking home. I don't even think you can tell how beautiful. This is what it's beautiful Okay, I'm on a Pilates. I was in a weird mood all day, and I'm so glad I worked out I feel so much better, and I'm ready to do a lot Morgan is texting me and we have plans for after my birthday. So that'll be super exciting And that will be an entire vlog in itself Okay perfect Been listening to gals on the go love them just got home and showered and I self-tanned with my isle of paradise Self-tanner I talked about in like a favorites video. I'm just wearing really baggy clothes So it'll dry and I'm gonna go edit. I haven't had dinner, but it's already nine They had like a late lunch. So working out at night really throws off my meals. I'm gonna do we have some house updates This is finally done after a year of being unfinished and these frames have been hung They're from Disney.  That's good. I hate it That's there. What should we get there guys? The rug is from Ruggable. I just washed it yesterday. It's like really not even a hassle to do It's kind of annoying because it's big, but Coco thinks that I'm recording her also. Look how funny this is. There's an emoji Little toy. That's her, but she doesn't really like it Hi, do you want that? No Okay, so the house is looking so much better Clean perfect amazing I just wanted it to be organized until for my birthday and I finished editing tomorrow's video I'm exhausted. It's only like 11. We're gonna I think I'm gonna end off the vlog here I've gotten a lot done and I'm prepped for the whole month and I've cleaned and I feel good about it So I hope you guys enjoy my last hour being 21. My birthday vlog is coming Podcast down below Instagram down below. Love you guys so much and I'll see you later. Bye