October 21, 2022
🙏🏼 VERSE OF THE WEEK
“I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.”
Romans 8:38-39 (TLB)
🍬 GREETINGS
Hey there!
It’s Friday, which means a new issue of The Sheepish. A big hello to everyone who’s new this week. Thank you for giving me space in your inbox!
With Halloween fast approaching, I found this map showing the most popular Halloween candy by state. Reese’s was the most popular, with 36% of the states choosing it, while Kit Kat followed in second with 18%.
Due to the pandemic, Halloween candy sales in 2020 were down by 19%. In 2021, they made a slight comeback with an increase of 11%. Projections are suggesting we are going to make a full comeback this year, with a forecasted increase of 23% over last year.
*Amount of candy sold each Halloween, by tons.
In related news, Hersey reassured us all that their Halloween candy shortage claim was ‘greatly exaggerated’, stating that there will be even more seasonal products available to the consumer this year than last year.
So rest assured, there will be enough candy to make all of us parents regret letting our kids have as much as they can eat.
Pax et Bonum,
Krista
PS. 🎃 Here’s a really good read titled ‘A Good Catholic’s Guide to Halloween”, explaining how we went from All Hallow’s Eve (a Catholic holiday) to modern-day Halloween. Hint - it has a lot to do with retailers and the world of consumerism.
🌎 NEWS
🦀 Crab Season is Canceled
After an 80% population drop in 4 years, Wildlife officials in Alaska announced the cancellation of fall king crab season in Bristol Bay for the second straight year and the winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea for the first time. The Bering Sea cancellation will cause a significant economic hit to the Pacific Northwest, with fleets bringing in roughly $280M in recent years, before the drop in population. Last year’s snow crab harvest was 5.6 million pounds, the smallest in over 40 years. For comparison, the 2020 harvest was 36.6 million pounds. Scientists are suggesting a combination of warming water and an increase in predators is causing the dramatic decrease.
Related:
📉 NOAA website for Alaska Snow Crabs
🪖 Ukraine
Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, are facing widespread power outages as nearly 30% of the country’s power stations have been destroyed by Russian airstrikes. Russia has expanded its use of Iranian-made kamikaze drones since October 10th in retaliation for the explosion of the only bridge that connects Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. In total, more than 100 missiles have critically struck infrastructures and residential buildings in the past week. Officials say more than 1,160 towns and villages are without power ahead of a winter season with typical low temperatures near 20 degrees.
Yesterday, Putin declared martial law in Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine; ordering the evacuation of civilians from the city of Kherson. Kherson, a major port city on the Black Sea, was captured by Russia in March, but a recent push brought Ukrainian forces to within 20 miles of its border.
A survey taken in early September found 70% of Ukrainians say their country should continue fighting until it wins the war with Russia. Just over 1 in 4 say they want to negotiate to end it as soon as possible. 91% of people said their definition of victory includes Ukraine retaking all territory lost between 2014 and now, including Crimea.
😷 COVID
COVID is trying to make a comeback this winter. Two new subvariants, BQ.1 and BQ1.1, are becoming distinct, with 10% of that cases within a week of being named. Dr. Fauci feels they are ‘pretty troublesome’ and could have the potential of evading current interventions. Due to mutation, the BQs could neutralize existing treatments for people with compromised immune systems; “If you have a variant that does not respond or isn’t sensitive to one of the most important tools that we have, that’s very concerning,” said Dr. Fauci.
Related:
💀 A history of how we deal with pandemics
🧣 UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
October 22 Memorial of St. John Paul II
October 24 Memorial of St Anthony Claret
🌪️ THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
October 21, 335
Roman Emperor Constantine the Great rules that Jews are not allowed to purchase and circumcise Christian salves
October 22, 170
The Scilly Naval Disaster took place; a shipwreck of four Royal navy warships led to the loss of 1,400 men during the storm off the Scilly Isles. This event prompted the 1714 British Act of Parliament competition to find longitude lines at sea.
October 23, 1091
A tornado strikes the heart of London, killing two and demolishing the wooden London Bridge.
October 24, 1260
The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France
October 25, 1415
The Battle of Agincourt takes place. Henry V’s troops defeat the much larger French army and the longbow defeats the armored knight
October 26, 740
An earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing damage to city walls and buildings
October 27, 312
Roman Emperor Constantine the Great received his famous Vision of the Cross
🍫 FUN FACTS
Halloween accounts for about 10% of Hershey’s annual sales.
🌤️ QUOTE
"What is in front of us is a discovery that is rare on a global scale."
Dr. Humam Saad, the associate director of the excavation and archaeological research, describes a large, intact, mosaic that dates back to the Roman era in the town of Rastan, Syria. The mosaic is about 1,300 square feet and depicts scenes from the Trojan War between the Greeks and Trojans, as well as Neptune and 40 of his mistresses.
🛋️ READ
This sermon by John Wesley
📜 HISTORY LESSON
Leon Bonnat’s “The Martyrdom of Saint Denis”
Denis was born in the early third century in Italy. Few details are available regarding his early life, but we do know that St. Denis was one of seven bishops sent by Pope Fabian to convert Gaul to Christianity. At the time, the population of Gaul consisted of Romans coexisting with the original inhabitants, creating a “Gallo-roman” culture; a mixture of Celtic traits and Roman culture. Basically, the Parisii were polytheists. Denis journeyed to what is now the city of Paris, where he was heard and accepted by an important bunch of followers. He was eventually appointed a bishop. Roman authorities, however, didn’t agree. As Christianity began to spread, the Emperor decided to persecute those who didn’t worship the Roman gods.
By the end of the 3rd century, Denis was caught and sentenced to death. He was beheaded on a tall hill known as the Mount of Martyrs (now known as Montmartre), outside the walls of Lutetia. Legend has it that after he was beheaded, Denis picked up his severed head and walked North, for six miles, from Montmartre to the future site of Abbey of St. Denis, before finally collapsing in a place he chose to be buried.
👻 OFF-TOPIC
👋🏼 CLOSING
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed today’s issue.
What would you like to see in the next publication? Any suggestions on how to improve? What did you love? Hit reply and let me know!
Feel free to forward this to any friends you think would like this as well.
Krista