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In this episode of Rooted Within, Lili and Dan speak with Rocky as he shares his journey of embracing his sexual-identity and finding happiness. They discuss the importance of self-acceptance, the freedom that comes with letting go of societal expectations, and the impact religion and culture can have on one's identity. The episode also touches on the complexities of family, marriage and the need for self-care. Tune in to be inspired by this conversation about love and personal fulfillment.On this episode, Rocky discusses:Hispanic family converting to IslamReligious identityFirst kisses and suppressed feelingsIdentity crisis and sacrificeSpeculating about sexualityComing out to your wife and childrenEmbracing love and living your truthWatch the full episode on Youtube.Follow Rooted Within on Instagram HERE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when Muslims from traditional families set out to pursue open and active sex lives in the West?

AcknowledgementThank you to my colleague, Mr. Sean Maddigan, M.Ed., for his assistance in the research and formulation of many of the finer points of the atonement of Christ in this episode. Thanks, Sean!Perception of Serious Problems - Selling Indulgences?If you say the word “indulgences” to most people today, they would bring up Martin Luther. However, indulgences have been explicitly preached in Catholic theology since the 11th Century, and there have been reductions of penalties since at least the 9th Century. So, where and when does Martin Luther enter the scene?On October 31, 1517, Fr. Martin Luther an Augustinian monk and lecturer at the University in Wittenberg, Germany, issued his propositions for debate concerning the question of indulgences. The proposed debate was intended to be with Fr. Johann Tetzel, a German Dominican friar and preacher. Fr. Tetzel was an appointed papel commissioner for indulgences and was sent to his native Germany to make money to help build St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.From 1503 to 1510, Tetzel preached on indulgences and was effective in doing so. There are countless modern sources which say that Pope Julius II authorized the sale of indulgences, and that, likewise, Pope Leo X sold indulgences too and used the money to build the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. However, the claim that indulgences, as such, were sold seems to be a myth. At one time, one of the spiritual acts that you could receive an indulgence for is contributing to a charitable cause, such as the building of a church. Charitable organizations offer incentives today to increase donations. In the 16th Century, the building fund of St. Peter's Basilica did increase as the result of Tetzel preaching indulgences. There were absolutely abuses in the practice of indulgences, to be sure! But it is important to understand what they actually are. One of the main contributing factors to knowledge of the controversy was Martin Luther's “95 Theses.” In Luther's time, and especially now, there is no end to the horribly wrong interpretations of the Catholic teaching on indulgences. I have also had a few friends ask if I'd be willing to do an episode on indulgences. So, here you go, gents!Catholic Understanding of AtonementAfter the Fall of Adam and Eve, it was fitting that the atonement or reconciliation of mankind be made by a man. However, what mere man could stand in place of all of humanity? When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, He did so as fully God and fully man. Thus, His death and resurrection were offered in our place, in His humanity, and offered perfectly, in His divinity. In the sixth Session of the Council of Trent, chapter ii, we hear:“Whence it came to pass, that the Heavenly Father, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1, 3), when that blessed fullness of the time was come (Galatians 4:4) sent unto men Jesus Christ, His own Son who had been, both before the Law and during the time of the Law, to many of the holy fathers announced and promised, that He might both redeem the Jews, who were under the Law and that the Gentiles who followed not after justice might attain to justice and that all men might receive the adoption of sons. Him God had proposed as a propitiator, through faith in His blood (Romans 3:25), for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for those of the whole world (I John ii, 2).”There are a lot of things to unpack here. God the Father sent His Son, who was foretold, to redeem the Jews and the Gentiles. This redemption brought with it adoption of each of us by God the Father, in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The reconciliation or atonement (literally meaning to become “at one” with), comes through the propitiation of sins merited by Jesus' death on the Cross. The just wrath of God earned by our sin was turned away by the self-offering (the sacrifice and oblation) of our Lord Jesus on the Cross. By His wounds, we are healed, quoting the Prophet Isaiah. The Nicene Creed we profess each Sunday at Mass reminds us of this reality:“who for us men and for our salvation, came down, took flesh, was made man; and suffered…”Jesus did not come for Himself, He came to give His life as a ransom for many. We say “many” because not everyone will accept this gift, sad to say. However, this does not diminish that the gift of Christ's atonement was won for all mankind, without exception. But what is this ransom? Who was holding the souls of the fallen men? It is the Enemy, Satan.In his commentary on Psalm 95, St. Augustine puts it this way:“Men were held captive under the devil and served the demons, but they were redeemed from captivity. For they could sell themselves. The Redeemer came, and gave the price; He poured forth his blood and bought the whole world. Do you ask what He bought? See what He gave, and find what He bought. The blood of Christ is the price. How much is it worth? What but the whole world? What but all nations? (Enarration on Psalm 95, no. 5).”He goes on to explain, in a figure of speech that the Cross was like a trap for the Enemy:"The Redeemer came and the deceiver was overcome. What did our Redeemer do to our Captor? In payment for us He set the trap, His Cross, with His blood for bait. He [Satan] could indeed shed that blood; but he deserved not to drink it. By shedding the blood of One who was not his debtor, he was forced to release his debtors (Serm. cxxx, part 2).”The debt owed to Divine Justice was paid in full by Jesus Christ. Divine Justice was satisfied. But not everyone agreed with St. Augustine's reasoning. St. Anselm and Peter Abelard, for example, rejected the notion that Satan had some sort of right over man. St. Anselm held that an equal satisfaction for sin was necessary to pay the debt to Divine Justice. Abelard, though, did not hold to this strict notion of satisfaction and he argued that God could have pardoned us without requiring satisfaction. So, the Incarnation and the death of Chirst was the pure love of God. And Abelard was condemned by St. Bernard for this view because he argued the effect of the atonement was only moral influence and not any objective payment of a debt.St. Thomas Aquinas, later, agreed with Abelard in rejecting the notion that full satisfaction was necessary. He agrees with Abelard in so far as the atonement was the greatest demonstration of love, but still holds that under God's economy of salvation, the sacrifice of Christ objectively paid the debt of justice (which Abelard denied). Restoring mankind to grace was a work of God's mercy and goodness. It was fitting that Christ should die on the Cross to show the depths of God's love for us, but not absolutely necessary. Along the ages, Blessed Duns Scotus and St. Bernard of Clairvaux had differing opinions than Abelard and Aquinas.Though there is disagreement among theologians throughout the ages, what is shared among them is this. The Atonement is essentially a sacrifice and an act of love. The outward Sacrifice is the sacrament of the invisible sacrifice which comes from the heart of God. As the Catholic Encyclopedia puts it so well:“It was by this inward sacrifice of obedience unto death, by this perfect love with which He laid down his life for His friends, that Christ paid the debt to justice, and taught us by His example, and drew all things to Himself; it was by this that He wrought our Atonement and Reconciliation with God, ‘making peace through the blood of His Cross.'”Imperfect in the Old, Perfect in the NewIn the Old Covenants, the Jewish people would offer “sin-offerings” in which a cereal offering or animal was immolated, offered to God in worship, and then consumed by the priest. Likewise, we get the word scapegoat from the ancient practice of placing, so to speak, all of the sins of the town onto a goat and then releasing the goat to wander into the wilderness, presumably to die. This ancient notion of atonement was no clearer than on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement is centered upon repentance, fasting, asceticism, and the confession of sins. However, the annual nature of this event shows that it is an incomplete and imperfect atonement. Atonement is made perfect in Jesus Christ, who died once for the sins of man and then rose from the dead, to die no more. In the Holy Mass, Christ does not die again. Instead, the Cross of Christ, a propitiatory Sacrifice is renewed daily in a bloodless manner on the altar. What Is An Indulgence?What does any of this have to do with indulgences? Well, everything, really. An indulgence is classically the remission of a debt. In Roman law, it meant to be release from imprisonment or punishment. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines an indulgence as “a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven.”So, an indulgence is not permission to sin, it is not stockpiling forgiveness for a future action, nor does it forgive sin or the guilt of sin. An indulgence presumes that God has already forgiven the person receiving it! What is being remitted is the temporal punishment due to sin.Our sins affect us, our relationship with God, and our relationship with others. Particularly egregious sins, like rape and murder, have lasting effects which cannot be put right this side of Heaven. And putting things right is in the nature of justice. God will always set things right, one way or another, though we might not see it until the end of things. Nonetheless, once someone experiences contrition, there is a deep desire, rooted in justice, to make restitution. Imagine that you are a kid playing baseball in the street. Of course, this is a bad idea. Mistakes will happen. You know this, and, yet, you wrongly believe that you are special. So, nothing bad will happen. You will hit the ball perfectly and everything will be just fine. Then… you hit the ball and it goes sailing through Mrs. Johnson's bay window. Immediately, you feel terrible about it. You did not mean for anything to be broken. You experience contrition for the wrong you have done. You knew, of course, that you should not be playing baseball in the street. What did you expect to happen?! Now, you have a choice: run away and hide or go and fess up to what you have done. You decide to go and ask for forgiveness. You ring the doorbell and Mrs. Johnson answers. You immediately apologize for breaking the window and tell her that you are truly sorry. And she forgives you! … That's it, right? That's the end of the story?... No way! You still have to make restitution. You have to pay for the window. In this example, we can see analogously, how we can be forgiven for something, but justice still demands restitution, satisfaction, and even punishment. This distinction between forgiveness and the temporal punishment due to sin seems to have gone by the wayside in Protestant theology over the last five hundred years. Really, if we look at it with fresh eyes, hopefully we can see that it is basic common sense that a wrong done demands restitution. So, why can Protestants not go there? The answer really has to do with Martin Luther. In Luther's view, we can do nothing to merit our salvation and Catholics agree we cannot merit the gift of initial justification; it is completely a gratuitous gift from God whereby we are covered by Jesus Christ. Nothing in the Lutheran view demands cooperation with grace or even the internal change brought about by Baptism, which Catholicism has always held. How, Theologically, Does an Indulgence Work?But with Baptism there is a true change, right down to the core of our being. And grace is given, but our free cooperation is necessary. God's love does not force itself upon us. This means that our good actions, united with Christ, are meritorious. Our sinful actions require restitution. The Atonement won by Jesus Christ on the Cross is superabundantly meritorious, to use the language of the Church. When we unite our actions with the Cross, they do not add to the merits of Jesus Christ, but they come into communion with them. Likewise, the forgiveness of sins is a communion with the Cross of Jesus Christ! But, in justice, our bad actions still require temporal punishment and restitution. As the 14th Session of the Council of Trent puts it:“Add to these things, that, whilst we thus, by making satisfaction, suffer for our sins, we are made conformable to Jesus Christ, who satisfied for our sins, from whom all our sufficiency is; having also thereby a most sure pledge, that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him. But neither is this satisfaction, which we discharge for our sins, so our own, as not to be through Jesus Christ. For we who can do nothing of ourselves, as of ourselves, can do all things, He cooperating, who strengthens us. Thus, man has not wherein to glory, but all our glorying is in Christ: in whom we live; in whom we merit; in whom we satisfy; bringing forth fruits worthy of penance, which from him have their efficacy; by him are offered to the Father; and through him are accepted by the Father (The Council of Trent: On the necessity and on the fruit of Satisfaction).”Some Protestants hold to the erroneous view of “penal substitution” which is a theory of the atonement that holds that God punished Jesus on the Cross. But there is one glaringly huge problem: an innocent person cannot be justly punished. Jesus took upon Himself the sufferings and death that were due to our sins, but He did not take on the just punishment for our sins.Understanding How Christ Took on Our Punishment (And What That Means)Jesus Christ took our punishment upon Himself. As St. Thomas teaches:“Now by Christ's Passion we have been delivered not only from the common sin of the whole human race, both as to its guilt and as to the debt of punishment, for which He paid the penalty on our behalf (ST III, q. 49, a. 5, co.).”When discussing the fittingness of the death of Christ, St. Thomas also mentions:“... in this way Christ by His death brought us back to life, when by His death He destroyed our death; just as he who bears another's punishment takes such punishment away (ST III, q. 50, a. 1, ad. 3).”Satisfaction means taking up a penalty voluntarily in order to restore justice. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of taking up this voluntary penalty as someone experiencing something against the will out of charity. In the case of sin and justice, in charity this action makes up for sin because sin is voluntarily doing one's own will at the expense of charity. In other words, satisfaction derives its power from the strength of the charity of the one offering it. There is no need for Jesus to suffer the pains of Hell to save us because even one drop of His Precious Blood could have satisfied the wrath of God. The payment of Jesus, who is sinless and perfect in charity, merits not only release from punishment. By the Cross, He merits for us eternal life!When a debt is to be paid, the punishment is measured. In merit, the root of charity is measured. When one merits for another, he merits more for himself. Yet, when one satisfies for another, he does not also satisfy for himself, because the measure of punishment still covers both him and the one on whose behalf he is satisfying. In the case of Jesus, who is without sin, He has no debt to pay. He is satisfying for sinful men out of perfect charity. The punishment He bore made satisfaction for the sins of all mankind and merited more than any man is capable of: eternal life!Back to IndulgencesTemporal punishment acknowledges that the eternal punishment for sin has been taken away on the Cross, but the temporal consequences of sin still remain. These temporal effects of sin require restitution, to the ability that we are able. We ought to make amends for wrongs done. Expiation, satisfaction, amends, and reparation all mean the same thing when referring to the temporal consequences and punishment due to sin.Going back to this notion of the superabundant merits of Christ on the Cross, we can also add all of the meritorious actions of the Baptized faithful through the ages, most notably the saints. The Treasury of Merit, as it is called, is the collection of the perfect, infinite, and superabundant merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, the expansive merits of our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, and the merits of all the just. Our Lord gave to St. Peter, and to the Apostles and their successors, the authority to apply the fruits of these merits at their discretion when He said: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Mt. 16:18-19).”Likewise, in St. John's Gospel, Jesus says to the Apostles, and their successors by extension:“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld (Jn. 20:22-24).”When a confessor gives absolution to a penitent in the Sacrament of Penance, he is applying this forgiveness of sins which comes from God alone, through the instrument of the priest and the Church. Our guilt for sin and eternal punishment for sin are absolved, but the temporal punishment for sin remains. An indulgence is outside of the sacraments and it does not forgive sins. Instead, it applies the satisfaction of the Treasury of Merit to an individual thereby remitting their temporal punishment due to sin. In other words, by the merits of Christ and the saints, the debt of temporal restitution has been paid in full. The superabundant merits belong to God's mercy and justice, not to the Church absolutely. So, these concessions or diminishments of punishment are administered by the Church but they come from God as a free gift. There is value in what Christ has done for us. But there is also value in what Christ does through us. Either way, the primary action is God. But with our cooperation, we unite ourselves with the Sacred Action of Jesus. As St. Paul said:"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church (Col. 1:24).”What could possibly be lacking in the sufferings of Christ, except for our cooperation with His grace and our own meritorious actions? Not only do our good actions possess the value or merit, they also certainly possess the value of satisfaction.Luther Had a Couple Good Points, But a Lot of ErrorsIt must be said that Martin Luther had some great points in his 95 Theses. In fact, only 41 propositions of Luther's from the 95 Theses and his other writings up to that point, were rejected as heretical, scandalous, erroneous, seductive of simple minds, in opposition to Catholic truth, or offensive to pious ears by Pope Leo X in 1520. Let us look at the first three of the 95 Theses:* “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.* This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.* Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.”All three of these are true. Interior repentance is a reorienting of one's entire life, not just a momentary “I'll try a bit harder.” This call of our Lord to repentance does not refer to the Sacrament of Penance because it is a call which is first addressed to those who do not yet know Christ and the Gospel. And finally, interior conversion should find expression in visible signs, gestures, and penitential actions. It does seem, though, that Luther is presupposing that indulgences were being sold, with official authorization. This myth is prevalent today and it appears it was in Luther's day as well. Indulgences are drawn from the Treasury of Merit and applied freely when those seeking them fulfill the requirements with proper disposition. Luther's 95 Theses presents many theological errors in this regard. These errors are still being repeated today. For example, this 2009 article from “The New York Times” which gets it wrong from the title (the content of the article only goes from wrong to worse, by the way): “For Catholics, a Door to Absolution is Reopened.”By the way, to show just how seriously the Church took these abuses, Pope St. Pius V, in 1567, issued a decree which canceled all grants of indulgences involving any fees or other financial transactions.Seeking an IndulgenceMany Catholics think that indulgences, per se, were an abuse. They are not. And though it was a focal point in the Protestant Reformation, indulgences did not go anywhere. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church stated in the 1990s:"An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishment due for their sins… to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity" (CCC 1478).Everything that I have presented about indulgences belongs to the infallible teachings of the Church. We are not at liberty to dismiss them, diminish them, or disbelieve in them. The Council of Trent's anathema makes this clear:The Council of Trent "condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them."The Church does not remit temporal punishment due to sin with magic or the wave of a pen. The person who suffers those temporal punishments must be disposed to repentance and faith. As Pope St. Paul VI said:"Indulgences cannot be gained without a sincere conversion of outlook and unity with God (Indulgentarium Doctrina, 11).”Before the Second Vatican Council, indulgences were said to remove a certain number of “days” from punishment. Instead, this was to show that indulgences have two types: plenary and partial. Plenary, meaning full, means that all temporal punishment due to sin that a person owed is being remitted. Whereas, a partial indulgence remits part of the temporal punishment due to sin. In order to make this clearer, Pope St. Paul VI revised the handbook of indulgences (called the Enchiridion).As we have covered, satisfaction and temporal punishment for sin are ordered towards justice on the one hand and purification on the other hand. So, the actions for which one might receive an indulgence should likewise be ordered to justice, charity, and purification. Because the justice of God has been satisfied through the merits of Christ and the saints, applied to our lives, then the “time,” so to speak, needed for purification in charity after death has been lessened. Just as a checkpoint or reminder: indulgences remit the temporal punishment due to sin, not eternal punishment. Eternal punishment is remitted fully by the Cross of Jesus Christ, the merits of which we receive in the Sacrament of Baptism. Knowing rightly what an indulgence is, how can we receive this great gift? Please forgive the following lengthy quotation, but Jimmy Akin put it concisely and excellently in his Primer on Indulgences for EWTN:“To gain any indulgence you must be a Catholic in a state of grace. You must be a Catholic in order to be under the Church's jurisdiction, and you must be in a state of grace because apart from God's grace none of your actions are fundamentally pleasing to God (meritorious). You also must have at least the habitual intention of gaining an indulgence by the act performed.To gain a partial indulgence, you must perform with a contrite heart the act to which the indulgence is attached.To gain a plenary indulgence you must perform the act with a contrite heart plus you must go to confession (one confession may suffice for several plenary indulgences), receive Holy Communion, and pray for the pope's intentions. (An Our Father and a Hail Mary said for the pope's intentions are sufficient, although you are free to substitute other prayers of your own choosing.) The final condition is that you must be free from all attachment to sin, including venial sin.Because of the extreme difficulty in meeting the final condition, plenary indulgences are rarely obtained. If you attempt to receive a plenary indulgence, but are unable to meet the last condition, a partial indulgence is received instead.”The Church offers us special indulgences, both plenary and partial, for all sorts of things. But there are a couple of partial indulgences worth mentioning here. Partial indulgences are given by the Church for: * Devoutly spending time in mental prayer, * Reading Sacred Scripture with veneration as a form of spiritual reading (this one is plenary if done for at least 30 minutes), * Devoutly signing oneself with the Sign of the Cross and saying the customary formula: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”ConclusionIndulgences are not magic. They are a part of the infallible teaching of the Church. And they are for our spiritual well-being. We should not be wary of officially promulgated indulgences. We should be grateful to God for His superabundant mercy and His justice. Recognizing that we are sinners in need of His grace, we approach the Sacrament of Penance. Then, we do penance to seek temporal satisfaction and restitution for the consequences of our sins. All the while, we ought to seek out indulgences, because they are nothing more than being union and communion with Almighty God and striving to be more in love with Him who loved us first.Will Wright Catholic Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Will Wright Catholic Podcast at www.willwrightcatholic.com/subscribe

Margo Mateas is an award-winning writer, scientifically verified healer, ordained minister and spiritual teacher who's helped thousands of people in more than 12 countries around the world. Margo's divine clairvoyance has been featured on major media outlets including Coast to Coast AM, Sirius XM, Fade to Black, etc. She is the creator of Angelic Soul Clearing™ and works directly with the Archangels and other high-vibrational guides to clear the soul of darkness. She has a unique ability to see into energy centers and locate hidden entities and energies that are blocking a person's ability to heal and be happy. Devoutly religious and spiritual, Margo had her first premonition at the age of eight. At 13, she began having dreams in which she associated with angels. By the age of 14, she became a lay minister and professional speaker. She is now the lead pastor of Freed By The Light Ministries. Margo was an investigative reporter and newspaper editor for 10 years before working for the world's largest public relations firm and becoming an internationally-known trainer and executive coach to organizations including Google, Verizon and the Red Cross. She has been a featured speaker for the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society and many others. She is the author of the popular oracle, The Career Cards: A Practical Guide to Life and conducts online courses, workshops, speaking engagements and retreats all over the world. She can be reached at www.margomateas.com.

“A Note of Gratitude” by Austin J. Price: A senior resident honors his grandmother and expresses gratitude to a doctor who had a long lasting influence on him and his family.   TRANSCRIPT Narrator: “A Note of Gratitude” by Austin J. Price, MD-MPH (10.1200/JCO.21.01781) Mary Ann Richards-Elbrader was many things. Born in rural Kansas in 1936, she was a product of the pre-War Depression Era. That fact, I am sure, had an impact on the type of person she would become—a hard worker to a fault and a fiercely loyal family woman. She was the mother of five, the grandmother to 13 including me, and a friend to all, rarely knowing a stranger. Only a high school graduate herself, she believed wholly in the value of education, something that no other person could ever take away. Owing to that belief, all of her children earned college degrees, something that made her immensely proud. She was quick to anger and even quicker to apologize. Devoutly faithful, she taught her children to believe in something greater than themselves. On a more lighthearted note, she was known to lay back in the recliner after a hard day with a stiffly poured vodka. I recall the kindness ever present in her eyes, seen through large, clunky, 80's style frames and the lines on her face that easily divulged to the world she was someone who loved to laugh. The fact that she became a patient with cancer in 1995 is quite likely the least interesting thing about her. My grandmother's journey with cancer began, as many things did for her, in the service of others. She was a frequent blood donor. After giving blood once, she was found to be anemic and instructed to see her primary care doctor. The diagnosis came swiftly— colorectal cancer. From what I have been told, the goal initially was cure. I was very young and hardly able to grasp the nuances of her clinical course. Nonetheless, I know she had surgery and chemotherapy, and for a while after that, everything seemed fine. My mother and aunts recall a discussion when there was mention of age spots in her liver that would be monitored. That probably seemed harmless at the time, but it sounds so ominous to me now. Indeed after a 1.5-year remission, my grandmother experienced a roaring recurrence, this time in the liver. As tragic as it was, I share these details merely as a prelude to something wonderful. It was 1998, and my grandmother found herself seeking a second opinion at the University of Nebraska from a medical oncologist named Dr Tempero. As my family recalls, there was a clinical trial for patients with colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver ongoing at that time. My grandmother initially qualified but was soon disqualified for medical reasons. Despite that, our entire family quickly came to thoroughly appreciate this oncologist. What it was about her that resonated so deeply is difficult to express in words. In my mother's terms, it was her confident, no nonsense, but never cold, demeanor that provided assurance that she knew her stuff while still having her patients' best interests at heart. She was also very honest from the outset in a compassionate, preparatory way, without becoming bleak. Perhaps most striking, my mother recalls, was their last meeting in Omaha, when she explained that there was no more she could do from a medical prospective. There were tears in her eyes, but she did not cry. She exuded both empathy and resolve, which made her more human but no less professional. My grandmother succumbed to cancer on September 20, 1999. I was 8 years old. I never spoke to her specifically about Dr Tempero, but I remember hearing stories about that doctor in Omaha who was so acutely aware of the human experience. A decade later, I was about to start my freshman year of college. I had always been reasonably smart, fairly ambitious, and done well in school. However, as an 18-year-old, I shall admit that I was more preoccupied with the social aspects of college than I was with what might happen in 10 years. Slowly, I became more interested in the prospect of going on to medical school. Much of my early childhood had been fraught with my grandmother's illness and I recalled the various roles physicians had played in her life. My mother always told me, "If you are going to be a doctor, be like Dr Tempero.” I realized early on becoming such a physician would require much more than good grades and perseverance; it would require a constant commitment to being present, humble, and empathetic, without losing the confidence that allowed others to find comfort and value in my assessments. Ultimately, I decided that was a challenge I wanted and needed to pursue. With the unending support of my family and friends, I got into medical school and graduated in May 2019. I am now an internal medicine resident in San Francisco. My residency experience has been greatly different from what I anticipated. As the COVID-19 pandemic descended on our hospital, I found myself as an intern charged with facilitating end-of-life discussions through FaceTime, fully clad in personal protective equipment. Continually, I had to explain to families of the critically ill why they could not visit their loved ones. There was no instruction manual on how to have such conversations, but I know every day I channeled what I had garnered from my own family's experiences with the health care system. I am unsure if I succeeded in the ways that Dr Tempero did, but I have never stopped trying. In December 2020, I was triaging patients from the emergency department. While gathering the history on one patient, I asked “who is your oncologist?” When he replied, “Dr Tempero,” I froze. Surely it could not be the same doctor, the same one I had heard about since I was 8 years old? The one whose unique abilities I would always tried to emulate? When I left the room, it did not take much time on Google to realize it was. I shared portions of this story with my patient, who was extremely complimentary of her. That evening, when I got home, I called my mother to share this truly cathartic experience. Ultimately, it was she who implored me to personally reach out. I sat down at my desk and wrote her a note of gratitude. The following day I got an email notification while at work. I waited until I had a few minutes to read her response in privacy:   Dear Austin, Your letter is, without a doubt, the most touching letter I have ever received. I know how busy you must be right now, and I was doubly honored to know that you took the time to write this thoughtful message. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have had the privilege of helping so many patients over the years and each one becomes a gift. I may not be able to turn the course of their disease but I can always make the journey easier. On a Wednesday evening in early May 2021, a little over 23 years after she was my grandmother's doctor in Omaha, I met Dr Tempero for the first time. I joined her and her husband at their apartment in San Francisco for a glass of wine. We discussed medicine, our mutual love of travel, and of course the unique situation that precipitated our meeting. I could easily perceive the qualities my family had always admired about her. She was interested in my story and my goals, but yet forthcoming about her life, family, and career. Her persona was welcoming, but yet demanded respect. Two hours later, she walked me downstairs and waited until my Uber arrived at her door. As I rode across the city, I contemplated the miraculousness of these events. I wished, as I always will, that I had more memories of my grandmother that did not center upon her illness, but the reality is I do not. What I do have is the memory of this encounter that has left me with a sense of inner peace and optimism, reassured that I am exactly where I am meant to be. I write this in gratitude to a doctor, who had no way of knowing her kindnesses would have such lasting influence. Of course, I also hope to honor my grandmother's legacy. I know she would be honored to see how her own misfortune somehow managed to be the genesis of such positivity in my life. I believe she would also challenge us all, as do I, to be like that doctor in Omaha. Dr. Lidia Schapira: Welcome to JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology, brought to you by the ASCO Podcast Network, a collection of 9 programs covering a range of educational and scientific content and offering enriching insight into the world of cancer care. You can find all of the shows including this one at podcast.asco.org. I'm your host Lidia Schapira, Associate Editor for Art of Oncology and Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. With me today is Dr. Austin Price, a senior resident in internal medicine at California Pacific Medical Center, soon to be an infectious disease fellow at the University of Kansas. We'll be discussing his Art of Oncology article, “A Note of Gratitude”. Our guest has no disclosures. Austin, welcome to our podcast. Dr. Austin Price: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here. Dr. Lidia Schapira: Let me start by asking if you are, in addition to a writer, also an avid reader? Dr. Austin Price: Yes, in the past at least I have been somewhat stymied by going into residency, but in the past, I liked to read a lot. Dr. Lidia Schapira: So, tell me a little bit about your past readings and maybe favorite authors or books, something you'd like to share with our listeners. Dr. Austin Price: I like to read about medical history. And so, one of my favorite books actually is by Dr. Paul Offit, and it talks about the early days of vaccines and how there was, I think it's called The Cutter Incident, but it's a great book. I may be misquoting the actual name, but great book. When I was in Baltimore, and doing my master's, he gave some guest lectures. And that's where I became acquainted with some of his work, I like reading that. So, those are the kinds of things that I really enjoy. And then I think, of course, I have always really enjoyed F. Scott Fitzgerald, even from high school, and Hemingway. Dr. Lidia Schapira: Very classically trained. Tell me a little bit about writing. Writing is a way of sharing an experience or perhaps processing a difficult encounter with a patient, is that something that you routinely do or have thought of? Dr. Austin Price: Yeah, it's definitely become something that's been more robust as I've gone through residency. I think part of that certainly had to do with the pandemic, and just not being able to be as close with people and have those personal relationships. And I found myself kind of cut off, maybe from a support system that I would have otherwise had, being in California with most of my friends and family in the Midwest. And so, I used writing as a way to kind of compartmentalize my feelings and my interactions with patients and to check in with myself. And I find that it's therapeutic and also enjoyable. Dr. Lidia Schapira: That's fantastic. Let's talk about the essay that you submitted and we published in Art of Oncology, which is a way of honoring the memory of your grandmother, who had cancer when you were a child, and also talks about your sense of vocation and this ideal that was held up to you by your family of aspiring to be as empathic and wise, as a doctor, who is an oncologist who helped your grandmother. Let's start a little bit with your grandmother's illness and how you remember that now that you are a physician. Dr. Austin Price: Yeah, certainly. I mean, I just remember as a child, her getting very sick, and finding out that she had cancer, and knowing that that was a bad thing, but not really knowing any of the details of it. As it turned out, she had colorectal cancer, and had surgery, for a short time she seemed okay. And then she got sick again, this time with metastatic disease to the liver. And of course, she was very sick then and ended up seeking out a second opinion from an oncologist who becomes the person in the story that I write about, in Omaha. At that time, there really wasn't anything that could be done to save her life, essentially. But the interactions that they had were very impactful to both her and the rest of our family. So much so that all through my life, my family members said, if you want to become a doctor, which I thought kind of early on, I did, that I should be like this particular person, Dr. Tempero. And so, she had just always been this kind of person on a pedestal, if you will. Dr. Lidia Schapira: Let's talk a little bit about the impact that Dr. Tempero and her consultation had on your family. Can you tell me a little bit more about how they talked about that particular meeting? Many of us who are in oncology and have been for a long time often talk about the fact that there can be a therapeutic relationship between the oncologist and the patient and the family that can actually help during difficult times and even through bereavement. But it's so interesting to me to hear you speak about it from the perspective of a family member. Tell me a little bit about how that relationship impacted the way the family understood the illness and how they went through their loss? Dr. Austin Price: I definitely think that there was a therapeutic relationship established. And I think in a way, Dr. Tempero managed to be preparatory in the sense that she knew that the outcome was likely not going to be good. I think she did that without ever being bleak or ever losing hope, in doing so she really kind of helped, in her own way, move us slowly towards accepting reality, and then learning how to move forward and enjoy the time that we had left together. I think all of my mom's siblings remember her in the same way, they really trusted her in such a robust way that her assessment that there really wasn't anything else medically that could be done, really helped them to come to terms with it and to refocus their goals, and those goals being to spend as much quality time with my grandmother that they could. Dr. Lidia Schapira: And as you've gone through your medical training, I imagine that they'll have to dangle this idea of this ideal doctor in front of you more than once. How have you interpreted or internalized this aspiration to also be wise, empathic and so kind to your patients? Dr. Austin Price: Yeah, it's definitely something that my mother in particular is always reminding me to do, because it's not always easy, as we all know. And there are times when I'm frustrated and tired and all those sorts of things. So, she and I've had many conversations where I'm maybe lamenting about feeling overworked or this or that. And she's always reminding me to be present and to realize that, although I'm tired that I'm oftentimes interfacing with people at bad points in their life. So, I always try to keep that at the forefront of my mind and try to decompress before each patient interaction, in hopes that I can be at least to some degree like Dr. Tempero was for my family. I'm sure that I don't always succeed in the ways that she did, but I hope that I do most of the time. Dr. Lidia Schapira: I assume Dr. Tempero would reassure you that even she may have a bad day or a bad hour in a day. Your essay has a moment of suspense and a twist in the plot when you find yourself now as a physician in an emergency room looking after a patient who tells you that their oncologist is none other than Dr. Tempero. Tell us a little bit about what that felt like? Dr. Austin Price: Well, I mean, it was just altogether shocking, honestly, because I had never met her and I really had never even Googled her name in the past. She was just always this person that my mother talked about so much. And then I had come to a kind of honor but I assumed for all I knew that she was still in Omaha. And so, when I heard this name, I thought, well, how many oncologists named Dr. Tempero are? Well, there's probably more than just her, but I immediately left the room and started to Google and realized, just quickly, that it was her or that I assumed that it was because she had done her training in Omaha at the University of Nebraska. It was shocking and emotional too, I will say. I immediately remember texting my mom and being like, oh my gosh, this patient just told me that Dr. Tempero was their oncologist. And I have to go back in there and finish the assessment because I kind of had to leave the room to just decompress a little. Yeah, it was a wonderful feeling and also just one of those moments where you're just like, life is so interesting in the way that you come into contact with people and in situations that are just so unique. Dr. Lidia Schapira: And then you reached out to her? Dr. Austin Price: I did. Yeah, my mom told me, she said, she may not have time to get back to you about this but you should at least reach out and explain how this made you feel. And thank her for the way that she treated our family and thanked her for the ways in which she or the idea of her has kind of impacted the type of physician that you aspire to be. Dr. Lidia Schapira: So, you wrote to her, and she wrote you back. What was that like and what happened after that? Dr. Austin Price: Well, I just remember being shocked that she wrote back so quickly. I know that she's incredibly busy. And so, I was very happy that she'd written back so quickly. Honestly, when it was written, this all happened at Christmas time. So, I wasn't able to be there because of COVID and working through the holidays. It was just the first time in 30 years that my mom hadn't seen me for the holidays. So, she was emotional about that. And so, getting to read Dr. Tempero's response to the family over FaceTime on Christmas, really was kind of like the best gift that they could have gotten. They really enjoyed it. That kind of helped to stifle the blow a little bit of me not being able to be there for the first time. Dr. Lidia Schapira: I'm just getting teary just thinking about that scene of you're reading this message to the family over FaceTime, and then talking Dr. Tempero invited you to meet her, and you had a long conversation, tell us a little bit or share with us what you feel is appropriate so that we can understand how important that reunion was for both of you? Dr. Austin Price: Yeah, sure. From the first response email, she said, 'I would like for us to get together and for us to meet in person when it's safe to do so', because when this interaction initially happened, none of us had been vaccinated yet, and so we're still in the throes of COVID and still petrified and all those things. And so, once we had been vaccinated, I reached out to her and said, I actually have started to write this essay, and I just wanted to know your thoughts on it. And she read it and she said, and this was many iterations ago when it wasn't as good as I think it is now, but she was like, 'Oh, I'm very much in support of this and I'm very honored, and by the way, we're vaccinated now and it's time for us to finally meet.' So, we did. It was great. I met her and her husband at their apartment in Mission Bay in San Francisco. We just had a lovely evening, had a glass of wine, some hors d'oeuvres, and just talked about this unique situation that had brought us together, and also talked a lot about my life and what I want to do in my career and my future. She was more interested in me than sharing so much about her life, but was very forthcoming when I would ask her questions as well, then also just had this kind of commanding aura, but welcoming at the same time, just very likable. I don't know how to explain it, other than that it was amazing and I was so thrilled to experience it. Dr. Lidia Schapira: I think you've explained it very well. It's a beautiful story for us to read, for all of us who have been in oncology for all these years, and those who are just starting, it's really inspiring. We think a lot about mentoring our students or junior faculty, but the idea that we in our clinical roles, can also have sort of in a way an indirect mentorship, relationship with or an influence with other young members of the families is really beautiful and moving. I thank you so much for having sent it to us and for sharing that experience. Is there something else, Austin, that you would like our readers and listeners to know about the essay itself, your family, or the intention that you had that brought you to not only write but share your writing so publicly? Dr. Austin Price: Yeah, I hope to honor my grandmother, because I think it's been interesting, this experience brought me a lot of joy, and I think it brought our family a lot of joy. The fact that that came from such a sad place and sad reality, I think is really great. For clinicians, it's just really important to realize how far-reaching our interactions with patients can be because we are seeing them, oftentimes, really in bad times of their lives, times that they're going to remember for a long time. And so, we can then be remembered in kind of good ways and bad. I think it's so unique in the situation that in an interaction that Dr. Tempero had with my family, nearly a quarter-century ago, it only took the mention of her name, to bring back this whole flood of memories and spawn all of this. I think that's really cool and something that we should always be cognizant of. We have very far-reaching impacts for our patients. I just think that that's cool, and a good thing to be reminded of. Dr. Lidia Schapira: I think it's very cool too and I thank you so much, Austin, for sharing your essay and for taking part in this conversation. Dr. Austin Price: Thank you for having me. Dr. Lidia Schapira: Until next time, thank you for listening to this JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology Podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard today, don't forget to give us a rating or review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. While you're there, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode of JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology Podcast. This is just one of many ASCOs podcasts. You can find all of the shows at podcast.asco.org   The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions.   Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.

[Comment: Treasure] Friends of the Rosary: What we accumulate on Earth is temporary and it doesn't mostly enrich our souls. We enjoy with gratitude all of the material goods that the Lord is giving us. Life is suffering as well as celebration, as we saw in the mystery of the Wedding at Cana. However, what matters is to store up treasures in heaven, as Jesus said to His disciples — and we read yesterday (Mt 6:19-23). Serving Jesus and Mary is how we save treasures in heaven. An essential part of that service is daily prayer and meditation. Devoutly reciting the Rosary of Mary is time well spent that greatly pleases the Heavens. The daily Rosary is one wisest decision we can take. Not to say that is a request formulated by the Virgin Mary Herself. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! + Mikel A. | TheRosaryNetwork.org, New York _ Live Rosary at 7:30 pm ET on YouTube.com/TheRosaryNetwork | Video available right after the Broadcast

Keith and Chemda reminisce over KATG Week 2021 before going into the big world news: Devoutly religious Bachelor Colton Underwood is gay??!! Oh, and George Floyd murderer Derek Chauvin is found guilty on all 3 counts. KATG discusses free weed in NYC, Keith’s COVID vaccine shot, and Washington D.C. becoming a state. Thanks for sharing this episode!

In this podcast episode, Dr. Finlayson-Fife joins The Betrayed, The Addicted, And The Expert Podcast to talk about: The common relational patterns at the root of addiction and betrayal and how to change these dysfunctional dynamics. How to relate to religious belief to foster courage and integrity rather than fear. What “sex-positive” means in a religious context. How women can integrate their sexuality without being vulnerable to a sexually irresponsible or indulgent spouse. How to understand aspects of sexual compulsivity. AND MORE! To learn more about Dr. Finlayson-Fife’s work, visit our Website, check out our Online Course Page, and take a look at our upcoming Events. You can also follow Dr. Finlayson-Fife on Instagram or join her FREE Facebook Group for greater access to her insights. www.Finlayson-Fife.com Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and Stitcher.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Finlayson-Fife joins The Betrayed, The Addicted, and The Expert Podcast to talk about:-The common relational patterns at the root of addiction and betrayal and how to change these dysfunctional dynamics.-How to relate to religious belief to foster courage and integrity rather than fear.-What “sex-positive” means in a religious context.-How women can integrate their sexuality without being vulnerable to a sexually irresponsible or indulgent spouse.-How to understand aspects of sexual compulsivity.AND MORE!To learn more about Dr. Finlayson-Fife’s work, visit our Website, check out our Online Course Page, and take a look at our upcoming Events. You can also follow Dr. Finlayson-Fife on Instagram or join her FREE Facebook Group for greater access to her insights.www.Finlayson-Fife.comListen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and Stitcher.

Oh, the male sex..... We talk about the archaic ideas still rampant in our societies all around the world, especially within religion pertaining to the male view of women and sex. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amorist-eclectic/support

Oh, the male sex..... We talk about the archaic ideas still rampant in our societies all around the world, especially within religion pertaining to the male view of women and sex. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amorist-eclectic/support

Oh, the male sex..... We talk about the archaic ideas still rampant in our societies all around the world, especially within religion pertaining to the male view of women and sex. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amorist-eclectic/support

Jesus is the "Servant" in Isaiah 42. He is the covenant, the unending pact between God and us. Our side of that covenant is to reject Godless ways and to live temperately, devoutly, and justly. Devoutly must include not only the Eucharist, but personal p

Jesus is the "Servant" in Isaiah 42. He is the covenant, the unending pact between God and us. Our side of that covenant is to reject Godless ways and to live temperately, devoutly, and justly. Devoutly must include not only the Eucharist, but personal p

Welcome to the church of Secular Fundamentalism.  Many, and probably most American cities dump their carefully collected “recyclables” into the local landfill!  That’s right!  After you laboriously separate your pizza boxes and beer cans from your papaya skins and T-Bone steak left-overs, after you arduously rinse out spaghetti sauce jars and baked bean cans, and after you religiously do all this and place each in its designated container, your city picks it up and dumps it all into exactly the same landfill into which they put your baby’s dirty diapers and the avocado pits from yesterday’s guacamole.  China is tired of being the trash dump for North America.  “Recycling” is impossibly expensive and hopelessly uneconomical, in other words, if you did manufacture plastic or glass bottles out of trash produced by your city, nobody would purchase your products as they’d cost so much more than freshly manufactured equivalents.  How companies lie when they tell you their products contain 30% recycled material.  The religion of Secular Fundamentalism has its saints and its sinners like most other religions.  It should cost no more than $5/ month to get rid of your household trash; check your city bill now!  Meanwhile, continue being forced to participate in the sacred sacraments of the official government religion of Secular Fundamentalism and genuflect in your kitchen before the blue cylindrical shaped idol that you piously feed with carefully selected tidbits.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the church of Secular Fundamentalism. Many, and probably most American cities dump their carefully collected “recyclables” into the local landfill! That’s right! After you laboriously separate your pizza boxes and beer cans from your papaya skins and T-Bone steak left-overs, after you arduously rinse out spaghetti sauce jars and baked bean cans, and after you religiously do all this and place each in its designated container, your city picks it up and dumps it all into exactly the same landfill into which they put your baby’s dirty diapers and the avocado pits from yesterday’s guacamole. China is tired of being the trash dump for North America. “Recycling” is impossibly expensive and hopelessly uneconomical, in other words, if you did manufacture plastic or glass bottles out of trash produced by your city, nobody would purchase your products as they’d cost so much more than freshly manufactured equivalents. How companies lie when they tell you their products contain 30% recycled material. The religion of Secular Fundamentalism has its saints and its sinners like most other religions. It should cost no more than $5/month to get rid of your household trash; check your city bill now! Meanwhile, continue being forced to participate in the sacred sacraments of the official government religion of Secular Fundamentalism and genuflect in your kitchen before the blue cylindrical shaped idol that you piously feed with carefully selected tidbits. 

To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause—there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action.

Margo Mateas is an award-winning writer, scientifically verified healer, ordained minister and spiritual teacher who’s helped thousands of people in more than 12 countries around the world. Margo’s divine clairvoyance has been featured on major media outlets including Coast to Coast AM, Sirius XM, Fade to Black, etc. She is the creator of Angelic Soul Clearing™ and works directly with the Archangels and other high-vibrational guides to clear the soul of darkness. She has a unique ability to see into energy centers and locate hidden entities and energies that are blocking a person’s ability to heal and be happy. Devoutly religious and spiritual, Margo had her first premonition at the age of eight. At 13, she began having dreams in which she associated with angels. By the age of 14, she became a lay minister and professional speaker. She is now the lead pastor of Freed By The Light Ministries. Margo was an investigative reporter and newspaper editor for 10 years before working for the world’s largest public relations firm and becoming an internationally-known trainer and executive coach to organizations including Google, Verizon and the Red Cross. She has been a featured speaker for the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society and many others. She is the author of the popular oracle, The Career Cards: A Practical Guide to Life and conducts online courses, workshops, speaking engagements and retreats all over the world. She can be reached at www.margomateas.com.

Margo Mateas is an award-winning writer, scientifically verified healer, ordained minister and spiritual teacher who’s helped thousands of people in more than 12 countries around the world. Margo’s divine clairvoyance has been featured on major media outlets including Coast to Coast AM, Sirius XM, Fade to Black, etc. She is the creator of Angelic Soul Clearing™ and works directly with the Archangels and other high-vibrational guides to clear the soul of darkness. She has a unique ability to see into energy centers and locate hidden entities and energies that are blocking a person’s ability to heal and be happy. Devoutly religious and spiritual, Margo had her first premonition at the age of eight. At 13, she began having dreams in which she associated with angels. By the age of 14, she became a lay minister and professional speaker. She is now the lead pastor of Freed By The Light Ministries. Margo was an investigative reporter and newspaper editor for 10 years before working for the world’s largest public relations firm and becoming an internationally-known trainer and executive coach to organizations including Google, Verizon and the Red Cross. She has been a featured speaker for the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society and many others. She is the author of the popular oracle, The Career Cards: A Practical Guide to Life and conducts online courses, workshops, speaking engagements and retreats all over the world. She can be reached at www.margomateas.com.

To outsource or not to outsource -- that is the question: Whether 'tis more efficient to tap The skills and talents of those who bill by the hour, Or to bring resources inside as full-time staff, And, by doing so, manage them. To contract, to outsource -- No more -- and by outsource to say we get Our insights and our implementation work Managed by others -- 'tis a scenario Devoutly to be wished. To contract, to outsource -- To outsource, perchance to analyze. Aye, there's the rub. Besides ignoring iambic pentameter in the process of butchering a Shakespearean reference, this episode, perchance, also makes reference to the following: House of Lies Analytics Made Skeezy Data Smart by John Forman Sim Daltonism