A Real Star

I've mentioned the program Britain's Got Talent before. There was the amazing performance by Andrew Johnston in the regional shows. Well, there's another star in the show, and wow, this girl is absolute class. She is just 12 years old! Yet the voice on her is fantastic. Singing Ave Maria, which is always a favourite of mine. I was surprised she didn't win, she didn't even make the top three. Scroll through to about 1 minute 45 in to hear her sing.

The Cost of Fuel

The price of fuel continues to rise. There were protests by truckers today, they were requesting a rebate of 25p per litre of fuel. If their demands are not met, they threaten to blockade the refineries. I remember the chaos the last time the refineries were blockaded.

In truth, whilst the cost of fuel is outrageously high, we are too dependent on a finite resource. We should be preparing for life without oil, instead of bickering over the price of the little that is left. Once it's gone, it's gone.

They Are Wrong

During the 19th century, slavers said black people weren't human. They were wrong. During the 20th century, the Nazis said Jews weren't human. They were wrong. Since 1967, the House of Commons has said the unborn are not human. They, too, are wrong.

From a statement made by Bishop O'Donoghue, on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, taken from the Saint Mary Magdalen Blog. Click here to read the full statement

What we mean by abortion

From Priests for Life, two videos that demonstrate how an abortion is performed. Under a campaign called "Is this what you mean?" Priests for Life set out to demonstrate exactly what abortion is. It's not pleasant, but for many the term abortion hides the reality, for most people abortion seems to mean someone who was pregnant no longer is. The mechanics of it all seem to be unimportant. If you are going to defend abortion you need to know what it is you are defending.

Suction Abortion


Dismemberment Abortion


Priests for Life

Mass for new Catholics

Yesterday at Westminster Cathedral a Mass was held for all in the diocese who had entered the Church at the Easter Vigil. I attended with Catherine, my friend who was received into the Church with me at Easter, plus Mike, Adrian and Caroline. Catherine and I went into Cathedral hall, where Cardinal Cormack Murphy O'Connor spoke to us briefly, and we then processed to the front of the Cathedral and walked to the seating at the front for Mass. On our way round we were given a Rosary which had been blessed by the Cardinal.

I always enjoy Mass, it really is the highlight of my week, and yesterday's occasion was very enjoyable. The meal afterwards was fun, good food and good company is always a winning formula.

Real Talent

I try to avoid trash TV if I can. So I don't watch Big Brother, or programs of that type, and I avoid things like X-Factor, Search for a Star and other similar programs. Of course, it can mean that every once in a while I miss a real gem. I hadn't seen this until I saw it on Fr Longenecker's Blog, Standing on my Head. Turn the volume on, press play, and if you haven't seen this either, prepare to be impressed. Even if you have seen it, it's certainly worth another look.

I Support the Pope (Pass It On)

Let us all pray for the safety of the Holy Father, and is guided by the Holy Spirit to make all the right decisions. At times the Pope is attacked by all sides, and it would be wrong of us to attack him as well. I will do my share of supporting our Pope, and think twice, and trice before I make a negative remark about any of his decisions.

Taken from Rise and Pray

Taking it Easy

I'm taking some time off. I need a break, I need some quiet time.

My New Toy

My new toy, an Asus eeePC. With this little beauty, I can carry around with me books and books worth of information, easily searched and cross referenced. There is no hard drive, just flash memory. 4GB internal memory, with an SD card expansion slot, which currently offers an extra 16GB of space. There are also 3 USB ports, which means I can further expand storage with a few USB storage disks. I currently have the database from Biblia Clerus installed, which is downloadable free from their site, and the content from New Advent, which is available on CD which can be ordered from the website for a small price.

The Asus is very small, much smaller than the average laptop, for those who recall them it is reminiscent of the Psion 7. The Asus runs on Linux, but I have Windows XP installed on mine, not because I'm a fan of Windows in any way, but this way I know the databases I want to store will work.

The Asus weighs less than a kilo, and I can easily access and reference the Catechism, the Holy Bible (Douay Rheims), the Summa Theologica, writings from the early Church Fathers, and documents from the Church councils.

I will always prefer reading from a book, but for convenient portable reference with access to all this information the Asus is ideal.

Is This Really a Catholic Mass?

They don't do this at the Church I go to every week (Thankfully, I may add) Just what is the Priest doing? And that Altar Server with the candle? IS this *really* a Catholic Mass??


From Holy Smoke

The Fractured Society

Many people are aware that the decline in society can be traced to the breakdown of the family. The family as the building blocks of society is damaged, and it is nigh on impossible to build something with damaged components.

Mr Justice Coleridge understands where the problem lies, too. He has spent the last 8 years or so presiding over divorce cases, children in care and family break up. He says the breakdown of the family is behind almost every evil in society today. And you can be sure that behind this is the evil one himself. The Judge makes many insightful comments regarding this problem we face today. He says family breakdown is an epidemic affecting all in society from the family down. It is "on a scale, depth and breadth which few of us could have imagined even "a decade ago. It is a never-ending carnival of human misery. A ceaseless river of human distress.

He says "I am not saying every broken family produces dysfunctional children but I am saying that almost every dysfunctional child is the product of a broken family." He is not wrong.

I remember when reading Gaudium et Spes recently, in a study group from our Parish, there was a section on fostering the nobility of the family, and of marriage. A strong society is built on strong families, strong families are held together with strong marriage:

47. The well-being of the individual person and of human and Christian society is intimately linked with the healthy condition of that community produced by marriage and family. Hence Christians and all men who hold this community in high esteem sincerely rejoice in the various ways by which men today find help in fostering this community of love and perfecting its life, and by which parents are assisted in their lofty calling. Those who rejoice in such aids look for additional benefits from them and labor to bring them about.

Yet the excellence of this institution is not everywhere reflected with equal brilliance, since polygamy, the plague of divorce, so-called free love and other disfigurements have an obscuring effect. In addition, married love is too often profaned by excessive self-love, the worship of pleasure and illicit practices against human generation. Moreover, serious disturbances are caused in families by modern economic conditions, by influences at once social and psychological, and by the demands of civil society. Finally, in certain parts of the world problems resulting from population growth are generating concern.

All these situations have produced anxiety of consciences. Yet, the power and strength of the institution of marriage and family can also be seen in the fact that time and again, despite the difficulties produced, the profound changes in modern society reveal the true character of this institution in one way or another.

Therefore, by presenting certain key points of Church doctrine in a clearer light, this sacred synod wishes to offer guidance and support to those Christians and other men who are trying to preserve the holiness and to foster the natural dignity of the married state and its superlative value.

48. The intimate partnership of married life and love has been established by the Creator and qualified by His laws, and is rooted in the jugal covenant of irrevocable personal consent. Hence by that human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept each other a relationship arises which by divine will and in the eyes of society too is a lasting one. For the good of the spouses and their off-springs as well as of society, the existence of the sacred bond no longer depends on human decisions alone. For, God Himself is the author of matrimony, endowed as it is with various benefits and purposes.(1) All of these have a very decisive bearing on the continuation of the human race, on the personal development and eternal destiny of the individual members of a family, and on the dignity, stability, peace and prosperity of the family itself and of human society as a whole. By their very nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained for the procreation and education of children, and find in them their ultimate crown. Thus a man and a woman, who by their compact of conjugal love "are no longer two, but one flesh" (Matt. 19:ff), render mutual help and service to each other through an intimate union of their persons and of their actions. Through this union they experience the meaning of their oneness and attain to it with growing perfection day by day. As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate union and the good of the children impose total fidelity on the spouses and argue for an unbreakable oneness between them.(2)

Christ the Lord abundantly blessed this many-faceted love, welling up as it does from the fountain of divine love and structured as it is on the model of His union with His Church. For as God of old made Himself present(3) to His people through a covenant of love and fidelity, so now the Savior of men and the Spouse(4) of the Church comes into the lives of married Christians through the sacrament of matrimony. He abides with them thereafter so that just as He loved the Church and handed Himself over on her behalf,(6) the spouses may love each other with perpetual fidelity through mutual self-bestowal.

Authentic married love is caught up into divine love and is governed and enriched by Christ's redeeming power and the saving activity of the Church, so that this love may lead the spouses to God with powerful effect and may aid and strengthen them in sublime office of being a father or a mother.(6) For this reason Christian spouses have a special sacrament by which they are fortified and receive a kind of consecration in the duties and dignity of their state.(7) By virtue of this sacrament, as spouses fulfil their conjugal and family obligation, they are penetrated with the spirit of Christ, which suffuses their whole lives with faith, hope and charity. Thus they increasingly advance the perfection of their own personalities, as well as their mutual sanctification, and hence contribute jointly to the glory of God.

As a result, with their parents leading the way by example and family Prayer, children and indeed everyone gathered around the family hearth will find a readier path to human maturity, salvation and holiness. Graced with the dignity and office of fatherhood and motherhood, parents will energetically acquit themselves of a duty which devolves primarily on them, namely education and especially religious education.

As living members of the family, children contribute in their own way to making their parents holy. For they will respond to the kindness of their parents with sentiments of gratitude, with love and trust. They will stand by them as children should when hardships overtake their parents and old age brings its loneliness. Widowhood, accepted bravely as a continuation of the marriage vocation, should be esteemed by all.(8) Families too will share their spiritual riches generously with other families. Thus the Christian family, which springs from marriage as a reflection of the loving covenant uniting Christ with the Church,(9) and as a participation in that covenant, will manifest to all men Christ's living presence in the world, and the genuine nature of the Church. This the family will do by the mutual love of the spouses, by their generous fruitfulness, their solidarity and faithfulness, and by the loving way in which all members of the family assist one another.

49. The biblical Word of God several times urges the betrothed and the married to nourish and develop their wedlock by pure conjugal love and undivided affection.(10) Many men of our own age also highly regard true love between husband and wife as it manifests itself in a variety of ways depending on the worthy customs of various peoples and times.

This love is an eminently human one since it is directed from one person to another through an affection of the will; it involves the good of the whole person, and therefore can enrich the expressions of body and mind with a unique dignity, ennobling these expressions as special ingredients and signs of the friendship distinctive of marriage. This love God has judged worthy of special gifts, healing, perfecting and exalting gifts of grace and of charity. Such love, merging the human with the divine, leads the spouses to a free and mutual gift of themselves, a gift providing itself by gentle affection and by deed, such love pervades the whole of their lives:(11) indeed by its busy generosity it grows better and grows greater. Therefore it far excels mere erotic inclination, which, selfishly pursued, soon enough fades wretchedly away.

This love is uniquely expressed and perfected through the appropriate enterprise of matrimony. The actions within marriage by which the couple are united intimately and chastely are noble and worthy ones. Expressed in a manner which is truly human, these actions promote that mutual self-giving by which spouses enrich each other with a joyful and a ready will. Sealed by mutual faithfulness and be allowed above all by Christs sacrament, this love remains steadfastly true in body and in mind, in bright days or dark. It will never be profaned by adultery or divorce. Firmly established by the Lord, the unity of marriage will radiate from the equal personal dignity of wife and husband, a dignity acknowledged by mutual and total love. The constant fulfillment of the duties of this Christian vocation demands notable virtue. For this reason, strengthened by grace for holiness of life, the couple will painstakingly cultivate and pray for steadiness of love, large heartedness and the spirit of sacrifice.

Authentic conjugal love will be more highly prized, and wholesome public opinion created about it if Christian couples give outstanding witness to faithfulness and harmony in their love, and to their concern for educating their children also, if they do their part in bringing about the needed cultural, psychological and social renewal on behalf of marriage and the family. Especially in the heart of their own families, young people should be aptly and seasonably instructed in the dignity, duty and work of married love. Trained thus in the cultivation of chastity, they will be able at a suitable age to enter a marriage of their own after an honorable courtship.

50. Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the begetting and educating of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute very substantially to the welfare of their parents. The God Himself Who said, "it is not good for man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18) and "Who made man from the beginning male and female" (Matt. 19:4), wishing to share with man a certain special participation in His own creative work, blessed male and female, saying: "Increase and multiply" (Gen. 1:28). Hence, while not making the other purposes of matrimony of less account, the true practice of conjugal love, and the whole meaning of the family life which results from it, have this aim: that the couple be ready with stout hearts to cooperate with the love of the Creator and the Savior. Who through them will enlarge and enrich His own family day by day.

Parents should regard as their proper mission the task of transmitting human life and educating those to whom it has been transmitted. They should realize that they are thereby cooperators with the love of God the Creator, and are, so to speak, the interpreters of that love. Thus they will fulfil their task with human and Christian responsibility, and, with docile reverence toward God, will make decisions by common counsel and effort. Let them thoughtfully take into account both their own welfare and that of their children, those already born and those which the future may bring. For this accounting they need to reckon with both the material and the spiritual conditions of the times as well as of their state in life. Finally, they should consult the interests of the family group, of temporal society, and of the Church herself. The parents themselves and no one else should ultimately make this judgment in the sight of God. But in their manner of acting, spouses should be aware that they cannot proceed arbitrarily, but must always be governed according to a conscience dutifully conformed to the divine law itself, and should be submissive toward the Church's teaching office, which authentically interprets that law in the light of the Gospel. That divine law reveals and protects the integral meaning of conjugal love, and impels it toward a truly human fulfillment. Thus, trusting in divine Providence and refining the spirit of sacrifice,(12) married Christians glorify the Creator and strive toward fulfillment in Christ when with a generous human and Christian sense of responsibility they acquit themselves of the duty to procreate. Among the couples who fulfil their God-given task in this way, those merit special mention who with a gallant heart and with wise and common deliberation, undertake to bring up suitably even a relatively large family.(13)

Marriage to be sure is not instituted solely for procreation; rather, its very nature as an unbreakable compact between persons, and the welfare of the children, both demand that the mutual love of the spouses be embodied in a rightly ordered manner, that it grow and ripen. Therefore, marriage persists as a whole manner and communion of life, and maintains its value and indissolubility, even when despite the often intense desire of the couple, offspring are lacking.

51. This council realizes that certain modern conditions often keep couples from arranging their married lives harmoniously, and that they find themselves in circumstances where at least temporarily the size of their families should not be increased. As a result, the faithful exercise of love and the full intimacy of their lives is hard to maintain. But where the intimacy of married life is broken off, its faithfulness can sometimes be imperiled and its quality of fruitfulness ruined, for then the upbringing of the children and the courage to accept new ones are both endangered.

To these problems there are those who presume to offer dishonorable solutions indeed; they do not recoil even from the taking of life. But the Church issues the reminder that a true contradiction cannot exist between the divine laws pertaining to the transmission of life and those pertaining to authentic conjugal love.

For God, the Lord of life, has conferred on men the surpassing ministry of safeguarding life in a manner which is worthy of man. Therefore from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes. The sexual characteristics of man and the human faculty of reproduction wonderfully exceed the dispositions of lower forms of life. Hence the acts themselves which are proper to conjugal love and which are exercised in accord with genuine human dignity must be honored with great reverence. Hence when there is question of harmonizing conjugal love with the responsible transmission of life, the moral aspects of any procedure does not depend solely on sincere intentions or on an evaluation of motives, but must be determined by objective standards. These, based on the nature of the human person and his acts, preserve the full sense of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love. Such a goal cannot be achieved unless the virtue of conjugal chastity is sincerely practiced. Relying on these principles, sons of the Church may not undertake methods of birth control which are found blameworthy by the teaching authority of the Church in its unfolding of the divine law.(14)

All should be persuaded that human life and the task of transmitting it are not realities bound up with this world alone. Hence they cannot be measured or perceived only in terms of it, but always have a bearing on the eternal destiny of men.

52. The family is a kind of school of deeper humanity. But if it is to achieve the full flowering of its life and mission, it needs the kindly communion of minds and the joint deliberation of spouses, as well as the painstaking cooperation of parents in the education of their children. The active presence of the father is highly beneficial to their formation. The children, especially the younger among them, need the care of their mother at home. This domestic role of hers must be safely preserved, though the legitimate social progress of women should not be underrated on that account.

Children should be so educated that as adults they can follow their vocation, including a religious one, with a mature sense of responsibility and can choose their state of life; if they marry, they can thereby establish their family in favorable moral, social and economic conditions. Parents or guardians should by prudent advice provide guidance to their young with respect to founding a family, and the young ought to listen gladly. At the same time no pressure, direct or indirect, should be put on the young to make them enter marriage or choose a specific partner.

Thus the family, in which the various generations come together and help one another grow wiser and harmonize personal rights with the other requirements of social life, is the foundation of society. All those, therefore, who exercise influence over communities and social groups should work efficiently for the welfare of marriage and the family. Public authority should regard it as a sacred duty to recognize, protect and promote their authentic nature, to shield public morality and to favor the prosperity of home life. The right of parents to beget and educate their children in the bosom of the family must be safeguarded. Children too who unhappily lack the blessing of a family should be protected by prudent legislation and various undertakings and assisted by the help they need.

Christians, redeeming the present time(13) and distinguishing eternal realities from their changing expressions, should actively promote the values of marriage and the family, both by the examples of their own lives and by cooperation with other men of good will. Thus when difficulties arise, Christians will provide, on behalf of family life, those necessities and helps which are suitably modern. To this end, the Christian instincts of the faithful, the upright moral consciences of men, and the wisdom and experience of persons versed in the sacred sciences will have much to contribute.

Those too who are skilled in other sciences, notably the medical, biological, social and psychological, can considerably advance the welfare of marriage and the family along with peace of conscience if by pooling their efforts they labor to explain more thoroughly the various conditions favoring a proper regulation of births.

It devolves on priests duly trained about family matters to nurture the vocation of spouses by a variety of pastoral means, by preaching God's word, by liturgical worship, and by other spiritual aids to conjugal and family life; to sustain them sympathetically and patiently in difficulties, and to make them courageous through love, so that families which are truly illustrious can be formed.

Various organizations, especially family associations, should try by their programs of instruction and action to strengthen young people and spouses themselves, particularly those recently wed, and to train them for family, social and apostolic life.

Finally, let the spouses themselves, made to the image of the living God and enjoying the authentic dignity of persons, be joined to one another(16) in equal affection, harmony of mind and the work of mutual sanctification. Thus, following Christ who is the principle of life,(17) by the sacrifices and joys of their vocation and through their faithful love, married people can become witnesses of the mystery of love which the Lord revealed to the world by His dying and His rising up to life again.(18)

Taken from Gaudium et Spes

The decline of the Church in the community and the decline of the importance of Christian morals in society has left us with this mess. We all have a responsibility, in one way or another, to work to fix the damage before it gets any worse.

There is an article on the Judge's words over at the Daily Mail

A Meme

I've been tagged for a Meme by Mac at the Mulier Fortis blog.

These are the rules:

1. When tagged place the name and URL on your blog.
2. Post rules on your blog.
3. Write 7 non-important things/habit/quirks about yourself.
4. Name 7 of your favourite blogs.
5. Send an email/comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged.

Ok, first two done, here is part 3:

1. I'm a mobile phone addict, and a fully signed up member of the Mobile Communication age.
2. I can communicate in BSL, and have taken and passed the first year exam.
3. I never finish a book from cover to cover at the first attempt. I always get distracted to another book, and sometimes it takes three or four attempts before I finish a book I've started.
4. I am fluent in Italian
5. I like to play darts
6. I enjoy a good practical joke
7. I drink too much Lucozade

Ok, for part four I need to nominate 7 other blogs, so I will list Ellasdevil, Mel's Diner, This is not my country, Loved Sinner, Adoro te devote, Te Deum and Child of Mary. I don't really know all the people who write those blogs, but they are some of the many I like to read on a regular basis. Let's see if they will play....

Welcome Home

It has been an Easter to remember for so many reasons. I am not the best wordsmith in the world, so my blog posts tend to be few and far between, I hope to do justice to the events of the last four days.

But the last four days are the culmination of a journey that started back in January 2006. In fact, it was only just January 06, as the moment I can pinpoint when I felt the pull of Christ. In the early hours of the morning of Jan 1st, a couple of hours after the midnight celebrations of New Year's Eve, I had my conversion moment. One day I will attempt to describe exactly what happened back then, but I doubt I would be able to adequately define the events that led to where I am today.

I'm waffling, lets move on. After that special moment, I had no doubts in my mind where I was being called to. It was just obvious it was the Catholic Church, no other option even entered my mind. Not knowing anyone who went to Church, I wasn't sure what to do next. Obviously, I needed to start going to Church, but it didn't seem that simple. Was I just supposed to turn up, and start praying? How were you supposed to pray? What would happen in Church? I was sure everyone would notice me straight away, that I would stand out from the crowd, and I really find that uncomfortable. I hadn't had much religious thought in my life, I was unsure what to do. And after all, maybe this feeling would go away. But it didn't. After a few days, I decided to get a book to help me understand what I might be getting into. A quick browse around Amazon, I found "Catholicism for Dummies" and I thought that would be a nice easy introduction, and that's how it turned out. A nice simple explanation to what Catholics believe, and why.

From the book, I found at that for a Catholic to miss Sunday Mass without valid reason, could be considered a Mortal Sin. That's the push I needed, I just knew if I was going to go the full way into 'becoming Catholic' I *had* to go to Mass. The very next Sunday I went to my first Mass, and have done every week since. I don't remember much about my first Mass, I just recall sitting in a pew tucked away in the corner, watching everyone else, standing up when they did, sitting, kneeling, and trying to follow what was happening in the Missal. Which wasn't that easy, as it goes, after the readings I soon lost my place once we went to the Eucharistic prayers. I was too self conscious to make the sign of the cross, to say the prayers out loud, to make the responses after the readings, I thought I would be in a community where everyone knew each other and I would stand out like the stranger in those films who walks into the quiet country pub and everyone stops talking to watch what they do.

After Mass, I had a feeling of confusion, not really understanding what had happened, but underlying it all a feeling that it was the right thing to do. After a couple of months I noticed something in the newsletter. It said something along the lines of "If you are thinking of becoming a Catholic, call this number" I wished there was an email address, but there was not. The notice was in the newsletter for a couple of weeks, but I hadn't plucked up the courage to call. Then it disappeared, I guess to make way for other notices, but a few weeks later it was back. I had to make the call. I had been going to Mass every week for about three months now, I knew I wanted to get more understanding of what to do at Mass, I thought that is what I would get from the advertised RCIA, I wouldn't get much further trying to work things out on my own, so I made the call. The voice at the end of the phone was a joy. So calm, so nice and relaxed, so welcoming. I stumbled and stuttered an explanation of what I thought I was looking for, and I was invited to join the next session, which would be held in the Church, on a Thursday evening.

The RCIA group was around 6 or 7 people as I recall, Father was there, and a few others who seemed to know each other quite well. I just sat there, trying to understand what was happening. It all went over my head, and for the whole session I never said a word, until near the end, after one of the Catechists had given a fairly lengthy explanation or some such, somebody said "I don't get what you mean" I breathed a deep sigh of relief and said my only words of the night "me neither!". Of course, just the point was being talked about, I was talking about the whole group session thing! It didn't make sense to me at all. Where I had thought it would be a group that explained to wannabe Catholics why we did what we did in Mass, it was a discussion about something else, I don't even recall what.

But I went back the following week, where some others were there who had not been at the first session, including someone who had joined just a few weeks before me. What a relief, to find I wasn't the only newbie there. After a few weeks I started to recall people's names, and the group settled down into a regular bunch of people I started to feel comfortable with, but I was still saying very little. In fact, throughout my whole time in RCIA I haven't said much, really, even on occasions when I have had something relevant to add. The words would stick in my mouth, with the thought in my mind "Better to keep quiet and let people think you are stupid than open your mouth and confirm it". An old saying but one I took to heart. I knew little about the Bible, even less about the Catholic Faith, I didn't feel able to pass comment initially, and that is pretty much how I stayed, even as I started to learn and understand more.

Over the weeks and months, I found I was developing a real thirst for knowledge and understanding, I wanted to learn more, to know more, to understand more. My enthusiasm was high, and my hunger for the Word of God was insatiable. I searched the internet and found a whole world of resource, information and explanation on a variety of websites. I'm a bit of a phone geek, and I soon found software that lets me have the Bible on my phone, and I started to download 100's of podcasts and MP3 files that detailed so many different aspects of the Faith. Finally, I was in my element. I stored loads of MP3 files and podcasts to my phone to listen to on the move, I burned loads of CD's and kept them in my car, eventually I purchased an iPod for the extra storage and put everything I had there. On the way to work, and on the way home, which is around an hour each way, I listened to what I had downloaded. Of everything I have ever used, five people are top of the MP3 list for the help I have received on understanding the Faith. First, there is Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Then, there is Father John Corapi. Next, is Scott Hahn, then Michael Voris, and finally Father Robert Baron. Each person listed here is passionate about the Faith, each teaches what the Church teaches, not what they *think* the Church should teach and each has the ability to take a sometimes difficult subject and explain it in a way that makes it easy to understand without taking away from the fullness of the teaching. A wonderful gift indeed. If you've never listened to any of these people, I'd suggest you give it a try.

I subsequently found, on the satellite system I have for Italian TV, EWTN. I'd heard of EWTN on Catholic Forums, but as far as I knew, it was an American based station. To find it transmitting on Satellite, to find Catholic programming I could watch anytime I wanted was just amazing. In the UK, I am not aware of any transmission of Catholic programming, either radio or TV, so finding EWTN was a real bonus. A few weeks later I discovered EWTN transmits on SKY TV, hidden amongst other religious channels. A gem in a sea of trash, it really is.

And that is how I progressed, with podcasts, internet forums, TV, radio, all supplementing my study at RCIA, leading me into a love for the Word of God, feeding my desire for more, never satisfying it, the more I got, the more I understood the more I wanted. I still do. I started buying more books from Amazon; I've bought more books in the last 18 months than I have in the last 10 years, easily.

All of this helped. As I learned the importance of the Mass, learned the teachings of the Church, it felt more and more like something I wanted. I wanted to be a full member of the Church. The more I learned, the more I accepted everything the Church teaches. Often, I wouldn't fully understand straight away but accepted fully the teachings of the Church. I am very straight in my understanding, there is little room for grey areas, I'm very black and white on my understanding of the Church teachings. I don't think I have blind Faith, where I will accept anything just because the Church says so, but I have yet to hear something that I can't accept.

And that became my weekly ritual, and has been for the last year and a half. My journey to completing the first step of the rest of my life. And that brings me, finally, to Easter 2008. Everything I've looked for over the last two years has led me to this point. To the Easter Vigil, to full membership of the Church, to be in communion with the Church, to be able to partake in the Eucharist, the ultimate objective, the thing I came to desire more than anything else. I'd already been christened when I was young, but not for religious reasons. It was just the done thing, when you had a child back then, you got christened. As I was christened in the Church of England, it is recognised as valid by the Catholic Church, so Easter Vigil meant for me, confirmation and first communion. The person who was on the RCIA program just a few weeks before I joined, and who I've shared many wonderful moments with over the last two years, also joined the Church this Easter, and she was baptised, as well as receiving confirmation and first communion. It has been good to have someone to share the journey with.

So the Easter Vigil. Only the third I've ever attended in all my life, a moving Mass, so emotional and meaningful for so many reasons. The Church, in darkness, the lighting of the candle, the passing of the light through the Church, the readings, the incense, the choir hitting form at just the right moment, the congregation giving it their all as they join in the hymns, it is a wonderful experience, to share the fellowship with everyone around. After the homily, my friend and I were called up front. She was baptised, and we were confirmed. Now, for my confirmation name, I was sure it would be Joseph. I truly love St Joseph, for so many reasons, and I feel a strong connection with him, but eventually, my confirmation name was Augustine.

We had Lent study groups this year, based on the theme "Who is my Neighbour". All parishioners who want to share time together sign up for the groups, and we are divided into groups and assigned a day when we can meet up and talk about one of the Sunday readings and how that relates to the Who is my Neighbour theme. At our very first group at some point during the session, one of the participants made a throw away remark about "that wretched man Augustine". It wasn't nasty, or mean, but I was shocked at how that phrase came out. It prompted me to do some browsing around the net, I also recalled that our Holy Father Pope Benedict had given a series on St Augustine at back in Early January. Over the Lent period, as we studied the excellent readings from the Gospel of John, for both RCIA and the Lent group, it seemed everywhere I looked I was finding St Augustine. I found some new website I had not used before, readings from the Church Fathers on the Gospel of St John, and the one that stood out time and again was St Augustine, I found some stuff on the New Advent website on the Gospel, all from St Augustine. I listened to Fr Baron's homilies during Lent, and he kept on quoting St Augustine. I purchased a book, the Confessions of St Augustine. I looked around the Biblia Clerus site for study, and St Augustine was prominent, everywhere I looked. I had a feeling in my mind that maybe Augustine would be my confirmation name, but I dismissed it, I had already decided to take St Joseph. Until, in conversation with my fellow RCIA colleague, when I was again going on about the wonderful writings I had found from St Augustine, she said "You know, you should take Augustine as your confirmation name, you seem to be connecting so much with him recently". It just clarified the thought I'd had before. I prayed, and made the choice, and Augustine is the name I took. It was a strange experience as I received confirmation, to hear the Priest call me Augustine.

After that, my friend and I sat down, we had the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and because we were sitting at the front, we waited as everyone filed past until finally, it was our moment. Of everything, this for me was THE moment I had longed for, for the last two years. Finally, finally, I could take Holy Communion. No longer would I have to sit there in my pew as everyone else filed past. It was torturous, the wait has been sometimes so long, but every single second I had to wait was worth it. I went up to Father, and as well as I could, I opened my mouth and took communion. It seemed like that moment lasted forever, as if it was suspended, I could sense nothing else other than what I was doing right in that moment, I couldn't hear the choir, nor was I aware of anyone around me, all I knew in that second was just an overwhelming sensation. It means so much, there, right before me IS Jesus Christ, and I am sharing in something so huge, I am not ashamed to admit I don't fully understand, but that doesn't matter, it really doesn't. The finer points of how, why, are important, of course, but in that moment it is just me and my Lord. It means everything, it IS everything, it was really painful waiting for this moment, at every Mass when I couldn't take communion, but I would never change one thing. At that moment, it was just Jesus Christ, and me. And that is something so special, I will never be able to find words to do the experience credit, never.

After Mass, some special people who've made a real contribution to the journey gave us some nice gifts, and some cards with wonderful heartfelt messages inside. One of the cards had a message inside, with a heading "Welcome Home". And I know I am home.

I've gone on a bit. If you've just read all that, well done. This would be the moment, where I thank Alan who was my sponsor, where I thank Adrian, Angela, Janet, Joyce and Walter for giving their time in RCIA, where I thank John and Sandra who joined RCIA in the last few months, where I thank Caroline who has shared the journey, and given so much, and where I thank Catherine, my fellow new Catholic. Also Monsignor Turner, Father Robert, and David, who have all made a huge impact on my journey over the last two years. There are many other people who have made an impact on me, people who have shared my enthusiasm for the Faith and people who have challenged me in how I view the Faith, who I won't name here, but I will make sure they know how grateful I am.

I'm just going to finish by saying for everyone who ever reads this and is not Catholic, but is thinking about joining the Church, just do it. If anything is holding you back, work it out, and get to the Church. It is worth it. Anyone who is currently going through RCIA, stick with it. However long your journey is, it will be worth it. And even when you become a full member of the Church, there is still so much more to come. And anyone who is Catholic, keep in mind just how fantastic, how amazing, how great it is, to be Catholic.

He is Risen!

Descent

La Pieta

Crucifixion

Carrying the Cross

Crowning with Thorns

The Scourging