Today we celebrate the Holy New Martyr Aquilina of Zagliberi. Saint Aquilina's father denounced his faith and became a muslim out of fear when his daughter was still young. Her mother raised her a Christian, and taught her never to abandon her faith. When Aquilina came of age, the Muslim authorities pressured Aquilina's father to convert his daughter to Islam. When she heard this, she utterly refused, wishing to die rather than deny her faith. She was subject to torture, but this did not shake her faith. They then attempted to win her over with flattery, riches and even a prince to marry, however she remained steadfast in her faith. Eventually, they tortured her so harshly, they left her for dead in the court. Her mother collected her body, and noticing she was still alive, asked her daughter, "what have you done, my child?" To which she replied, "behold, I have preserved the confession of my Faith, just as we agreed.” With these words, she gave up her spirit. On the way to the cemetery, a divine light shine upon her holy relics which also emitted a heavenly fragrance. May the holy New Martyr intercede for us always + #saint #aquilina #akylina #akilina #newmartyr #martyr #turk #turkishoccupation #christian #islam #muslim #convert #faith #orthodox #saintoftheday (at Zaglivérion, Thessaloniki, Greece) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci_vfNCDd_-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
The girl had hidden under her desk. Aquilina let her, while she tended to her evening rounds, listening as her sniffling slowly died down. She took her time with it, chatting with the priestess who had twisted her ankle, explaining to the pregnant wife in her care how the birth would be handled; changed the cast on the wrist of a rather surly young boy while pointing out that the Guard, in the bed across from him and wheezing gently from a chest infection, was being much more polite and cooperative and he should follow his example.
By the time she had worked her way to the far end of the room, a curly blonde head was peeking out at her from around the desk.
Aquilina pretended not to notice it as she headed for the shelves on the back wall, the girl ducking out of sight as she straightened the supplies, gathering a few into her arms. She settled cross-legged on the floor, she kept the chair between them as she laid her things out, turning on the hot plate and setting a pot of water on it.
Aquilina glanced furtively towards the rest of the room. “I like to hide back here too,” she whispered to the girl. She leaned around the chair just far enough to peer at her, thumb of one hand in her mouth, the other fidgeting with her ear. She was flushed, probably running a fever, and hardly more than three. “It’s very safe and quiet, don’t you think?”
The girl nodded, if only just. “Intira said your name was Passercula,” Aquilina said. Another tiny nod, as the tugged her ear. Aquilina picked up a pouch from her pile of things, and gave the room another suspect look. “Well, Passercula, it’s very nice to meet you. I don’t have enough of these to share with everyone, but since we’re hiding together, I’ll share one with you.”
She hesitated, reaching for the bag of sweets, and Aquilina popped a small one in her own mouth. Passercula took a larger one, hardened honey and herbs that would help soothe her throat. She couldn’t help but smile as the girl’s face lit up at the taste, but fussed with her materials instead of press her, unscrewing a bottle and carefully squaring a bit of cloth. She finished her own candy before asking, “Does your ear hurt, Passercula?”
Passercula had crept further out of hiding to watch her work, and froze. She pulled at her ear again, but didn’t answer, still working on her treat. “I know a song that helps hurting ears,” Aquilina said. “But I need to put two drops of oil in it for it to work.”
It was amazing, the amount of skepticism that could be expressed by such a small face.
She pulled the dropper out of the bottle, and rubbed a dab of it onto the back of her hand. “It doesn’t hurt, and it smells nice,” she said, holding her hand out. Passercula leaned forward to smell it, her nose making a loud sniffling sound, left over from her crying. “Do you like it?” Aquilina asked, the skin already a little numb.
A slightly firmer nod, and Aquilina helped push the chair out of the way. The girl shuffled up on her knees, and Aquilina gestured for her to come closer when she hesitated. She pointed to the candies again, and was allowed another as she laid her head on the priestess’s lap.
The Legion had no use for lullabies, for anything but their forward march and the death it brought. But the Twisted Hairs had known the value of the gentle, the soft; and as a storyteller, a teacher, Aquilina herself knew the need to pass words from one to the next.
There was no way the girl understood the song, but low and gentle and simple as it was, she relaxed as she placed the drops and laid a warm cloth over her ear. Her eyes slowly closed, and Aquilina helped her wiggle further onto her lap, drifting off as she re-wet the cloth to warm it again.
Aquilina stroked her hair as she lay there, fine and curling and nearly white. She would have known too few real caretakers, and passed through too many hands on her way to the Temple, and likely would never recall her mother. Aquilina had seen how the children grew into it, boys and girls alike, turning either cold and distant far too young, or full of a thoughtless obedience that only resembled trust in passing.
The thought made her voice falter. Passercula stirred, and Aquilina lifted her as she stood, settling her on her lap as she sat on the chair. She started again, another song, one she had learned decades ago and wondered if she would ever sing to her own child.
She slept again as Aquilina worked through her papers one-handed. By her count, she had no children, yet far too many. And with everything in her, she was going to make sure those she could would remember something sweet and gentle.
Judge Rosemary Aquilina told Larry Nassar that his four-day sentencing for sexual assault could not compare to the pain he caused many women and girls.
According to Matt Mencarini of The Lansing State Journal, Nassar wrote in the letter that he wasn't sure he could "mentally" handle four days of victim-impact statements during his sentencing. According to Mencarini around 125 women and girls are expected to make victim-impact statements during the sentencing, with the number growing each day.
According to Mencarini, it's unclear to whom the letter was addressed. Judge Aquilina read parts of the letter aloud on Thursday, criticizing Nassar for certain parts of the letter.
"You spent thousands of hours perpetrating sexual assault on minors," Aquilina said to Nassar.
"Spending five or six days listening to them is significantly minor considering the thousands of hours of pleasure you had at their hands, ruining their lives," Aquilina said
Leave your pain here, go out and do magnificent things. #Repost @womens_funding_network ・・・ As heart-wrenching it has been to learn about the #LarryNassar sexual assault cases, it’s hard not to want to highlight the incredible work of Judge Rosemarie Aquilina and, most importantly, the bravery and resilience of the survivors who came forward and delivered their impact statements in court. It is unacceptable that it took so many years and so many instances of abuse for it to finally happen, but someone in power finally decided to advocate for these survivors and punish the perpetrator accordingly. This is what accountability looks like. Judge Aquilina created the space and time for more than 150 survivors to say their piece, not just to the perpetrator, but to the world. She called them loud and clear by the words that truly define them, superheroes, state of the art and urged them to “leave their pain [in court], and go out and do magnificent things.” #Metoo #TimesUp #Stopchildabuse #Aquilina #Nassar
Vintage postcard of John Brampton Howland’s Hollywood Hills home, originally known as Aquilina, then rechristened Monique on a whim, then settling into Chiquinquirá for the long haul.
Esteemed architects Omaha Leets and Greymond Trellis designed the Mission Revival residence in 1923, with extensive grounds featuring a Scottish thistle garden, a German knapweed garden, Chinese gooseberry court and man-made subterranean canoeing caves.
J.B. Howland hardly ever used his rocket pad, but kept a squocket (pronounced “squawket” and short for "squat rocket") fueled up and ready to go most weekends.
FUN FACT: Baby Gruenwald hated the dark, humid subteranean canoeing caves - unless he could play at being the Roman “pausarius” in a slave galley, the officer who beats the drum that gives time to the oarsmen. As you might guess, few wanted to play slave to the rather demanding baby.
Yesterday, we celebrated the Holy New Martyr Aquilina of Zagliberi. Saint Aquilina's father denounced his faith and became a muslim out of fear when his daughter was still young. Her mother raised her a Christian, and taught her never to abandon her faith. When Aquilina came of age, the Muslim authorities pressured Aquilina's father to convert his daughter to Islam. When she heard this, she utterly refused, wishing to die rather than deny her faith. She was subject to torture, but this did not shake her faith. They then attempted to win her over with flattery, riches and even a prince to marry, however she remained steadfast in her faith. Eventually, they tortured her so harshly, they left her for dead in the court. Her mother collected her body, and noticing she was still alive, asked her daughter, "what have you done, my child?" To which she replied, "behold, I have preserved the confession of my Faith, just as we agreed.” With these words, she gave up her spirit. On the way to the cemetery, a divine light shine upon her holy relics which also emitted a heavenly fragrance. May the holy New Martyr intercede for us always + #saint #aquilina #akylina #akilina #newmartyr #martyr #turk #turkishoccupation #christian #islam #muslim #convert #faith #orthodox #saintoftheday (at Zaglivérion, Thessaloniki, Greece) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUWYxTaoUOG/?utm_medium=tumblr
