Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Stained Glass window, at Immaculate Conception Church, in Union, Missouri

New Junior Dictionary Debuts

"It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought — that is, a thought diverging from the principles of IngSoc [English Socialism] — should be literally unthinkable, a least so far as thought is dependent on words. Its vocabulary was so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express, while excluding all other meaning and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods. This was done partly by the invention of new words, but chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meaning whatever. To give a single example, the word free still existed in Newspeak, but could only be used in such statements as "The dog is free from lice" or "This field is free from weeds." It could not be used in its old sense of "politically free" or "intellectually free," since political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts, and were therefore of necessity nameless. Quite apart from the suppression of definitely heretical words, reduction of vocabulary was regarded as an end in itself, and no word that could be dispensed with was allowed to survive.

"Newspeak was designed not to extend but to diminish the range of thought, and this purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum...."

— from The Principles of Newspeak, by George Orwell (Eric Blair), 1948.

Oxford University Press has published a new edition of its Junior Dictionary. According to an article in the Telegraph, here are the changes:

Words removed:

Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe

Dwarf, elf, goblin

Abbey, aisle, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, vicar

Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire, monarch, decade

adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.

Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow

New entries in the dictionary:

Blog, broadband, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, analogue

Celebrity, tolerant, vandalism, negotiate, interdependent, creep, citizenship, childhood, conflict, common sense, debate, EU, drought, brainy, boisterous, cautionary tale, bilingual, bungee jumping, committee, compulsory, cope, democratic, allergic, biodegradable, emotion, dyslexic, donate, endangered, Euro

Apparatus, food chain, incisor, square number, trapezium, alliteration, colloquial, idiom, curriculum, classify, chronological, block graph

Net 100 words removed from the dictionary: words overwhelming related to Christianity, the Monarchy, and nature. Added: a few words on computer technology, and a number of words related to political propaganda and contemporary psychology. Mr. Orwell is again quite prescient.

Oddly enough, many words about nature are removed, which is strange since Environmentalism is such such a strong political movement these days. However, contemporary thinking seems to care more for abstractions than in specific concrete individuals, which is a deadly attitude.

Dictionaries ought to be as large and comprehensive as possible, and best serve readers when they help explain that which is concrete and historical. Neologisms, of course, earn their place in comprehensive dictionaries merely by their usage, but are less suited for a compact dictionary, where space is at a premium, and where uncommon or easily confused words are those that really need to be defined. I recall in my youth one such new children's dictionary, that proudly announced the inclusion of such 'new' words as 'hippy' and 'sit-in', which I found so laughable because those words were already passé even as the book was fresh from the printing press.

A New Classically Inspired Church...

...GOES UP in North Carolina.

Saint Ann's Parish.

— Thanks to Kat.

Happy Feast Day of Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bishop and Wonderworker

Photo of an icon of the Saint, taken at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Bishop of Myra, Lycia, in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey). According to legend, Saint Nicholas punched out the heretic Arius at the Council of Nicaea, and saved three poor girls from being sold into prostitution by secretly casting bags of gold into their father's house.

Click here to see what he may have looked like.

Photos of Saint Bernard Church, in Albers, Illinois

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Bernard Church, in Albers, Illinois. The church is located in Clinton County and is about 34 highway miles east of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri.



According to a history of Clinton County:

The first settlers in the vicinity of the present town of Albers came from Hanover and Westphalia, Germany, in the early [18]40’s and attended to their religious duties at Germantown. When later on churches were built at Damiansville and Aviston, those considerably nearer to these places attended divine service there.

When in the year 1889 a railroad, known as the Air Line, was built, the Company for the convenience of the people of Damiansville, made a stopping-place on the main road from Damiansville, and named it Damiansville Station. A few years later, the name of the Station was changed to Albers Station, the land for the switches and depot having been donated by F. H. ALBERS.

For a number of years there were only five houses at the "Station." Since 1900 gradually one family after the other settled here, till in 1908 there were 12 families residing close by. It being rather inconvenient for those families to attend church at Damiansville, which is 2 ½ miles distant, a new congregation as formed, and July 8, 1908, the Rev. Bernard PETERS was appointed the first pastor.

Immediately after his appointment, the Rev. Pastor arranged to build a suitable church. This building is of solid pressed brick, 85 ft. long and 48 ft. wide and has a seating capacity of 420.

On the arch above the apse are the symbols of the Evangelists, with the Lamb of God and Book of Seven Seals of the Apocalypse at the top.

Old high altar, with panels showing the sacrifices of Abraham and Melchisedech, and the Last Supper.

Altar of Mary; side-panels show her Presentation in the Temple and the Annunciation.

Altar of Saint Joseph, with side-panels showing the Holy Family, and the flight into Egypt.

The first Station of the Cross; Pilate condemns Jesus to die.  Consider how Jesus Christ, after being scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross.

(I notice that many Catholic polychrome statues use a modulation of tone to enhance the three-dimensional quality: you can see this here in the folds of the garments.  In digital photography, there is an equivalent technique called 'local contrast enhancement' which is considered rather advanced.)

Stained glass window of the Ascension: 

Et cum hæc dixisset, videntibus illis, elevatus est: et nubes suscepit eum ab oculis eorum.
And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight.
— Acts 1:9

The Wedding Feast at Cana:

Et die tertia nuptiæ factæ sunt in Cana Galilææ, et erat mater Jesu ibi.
And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there.
— John 2:1

Window detail of the Annunciation.

Ecce ancilla Domini: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.

— Luke 1:38

Baptismal font, in the narthex.

euntes ergo docete omnes gentes: baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti
Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
— Matt. 28:19

Click here for photos of more Catholic churches in Clinton County.

Address:
202 North Broadway Street
Albers, Illinois 62215