Blog Surfing

One of my favourite habits when I have a few moments to waste on the internet is blog surfing. This is when I select a blog from the list on my bloroll, and select a bog from their blogroll, and read through, then pick a blog from that blogroll, and so on. You get the idea.

I was doing this just the other night, and from the Standing on my head blog I found the Roving Medievalist blog, an excellent blog, to be recommended. Whilst reading through I found this post, and I thought it to be one of the best posts on a blog I've read in a long while. Here's a taster:

Making a stand is a good thing. Working for just laws is a good thing. But good can be perverted, if it's made into a god. You can march on Washington all you want, but you're not doing God's will if you hate the opposition. You can vote Republican until the cows come home, but you're not doing God's will if you place a party or a cause above God's Church. You can vilify "baby killers" all you want, but don't lie to yourself. You're not called to vilify. You're called to love. You're not called to imprison them. You're called to forgive them. You're not called to build God's Kingdom on earth by political means. You're called to do God's will by being Christ-like.

Click here to get the rest of the post, and be sure to check the blog in full. You'll find some excellent photos posted.

What's in your pocket?

I am a fan of technology, in particular mobile phones. The modern era of mobile communications brings with it many benefits, and the devices we use are becoming increasingly more advanced. For example, I use a Nokia NSeries N82. It is loaded with features, built in GPS, WiFi, internet connection, 5.0 megapixel camera, FM radio, MP3 player, etc, etc. I have recently acquired an 8GB memory card for my phone, and that means I can carry around with me loads of music files. I also have hours and hours and hours of talks from the likes of Father Corapi, Scott Hahn, the One True Faith with Michael Voris, and many others. There is some Gregorian chant, some quality classical music, and more. I also have two copies of the Bible on my phone, one RSV text and one Douay Rheims, both downloaded from Olive Tree. I also download podcasts, such as those from Catholic Answers and Word on Fire. Using the WiFi connection on the phone iti s simple to connect to my home broadband connection and download the podcasts, which I usually listen to in the car on the way to work.

There is so much you can use phones for, more than just phone calls. It almost excuses Nokia for calling their phones 'Multimedia Computers' these days, that's almost what they are.

I saw a clip on the SQPN website, an excellent spoof of the Apple iPhone advert. It reminded me so much of how I use my phone. I'm not a big iPhone fan, but all the same the ad is excellent:

Buy Catholic books and help Westminster Cathedral

In an effort to help raise money for the Westminster Cathedral fund, I have started my own affiliate bookshop with Amazon. You can get to it by clicking on the picture in this post, or by clicking here, or by clicking on the permanent link set up in my side bar. I've selected a category for Catholic books, just browse through the pages available or search by title/author in the search bar. All orders are fulfilled by Amazon, just as if you had purchased directly through that site. The benefit of buying through my store is commission is generated for every sale made, but all the prices are the same as the Amazon main site.

50% of all commission earned through the scheme will be donated to the Westminster Cathedral fund, with the other 50% going to worthy charitable causes. Please take a look. If you don't buy now, remember the shop in the future, anytime you want to buy a book.

Westminster Cathedral Appeal

Westminster Cathedral is in need of repair. In total, £3million is needed to help with the repair bill.

I was in the Cathedral just after New Year, and I will be going back in a couple of weeks as I participate in the Rite of Election.

The Cathedral is a magnificent building, and work needs to be done now to ensure that it will stay open to the public. It is expected if we do nothing now, within ten years the Cathedral could be closed to visitors on safety grounds.

I'm sure various fund raising events will take place to help reach the total required, but we can all make a personal donation if we wish to the fund. The Cathedral receives no support from the government, and does not charge an entrance fee for visitors. The every day running costs of the Cathedral are immense, already, any help offered to the Cathedral for the repair fund will be gratefully received, I'm sure.

I don't know, exactly, how many Catholics there are in the UK. But, as ever with these things, if all made a small contribution the final result would be large indeed.

If you would like to make a donation to the fund to enable the work of these urgent repairs, you can do so by clicking this link to the Westminster Cathedral Appeal site

Please, where possible, Gift Aid your donation.

New Bible

I picked up a new bible the other day from the Church shop. From CTS, it is based on the Jerusalem Bible, which is the translation we have in Mass.

The CTS Bible is well laid out, I find the text easy to read, although it is slightly small. The headings are useful, and there are some introductions to the books which is very useful. I've always wanted a good Bible with decent notes and the CTS Bible is better than my RSV Bible in this regard. At the back of the Bible there is a list indicating which readings are taken on which day through the three year cycle, again a nice touch and very useful.

I'm not a Bible scholar, so I can't really comment too much on the translation quality of the text; for me the fact that it is the same as that used in the Mass is a plus. In Luke 1:28 the verse reads "Rejoice, O highly favoured" When I prefer "Hail, full of Grace." which is how my RSV translates the verse. But then, for example, I personally prefer the way the CTS presents the verses from the second letter to Timothy, 4:2-4 than the way it is translated in the RSV.

I've learnt that there is no such thing as the perfect Bible. There is just one issue I cannot accept and that is the use of inclusive language. Thankfully, the new CTS Bible doesn't seem to use it. Overall it's a nice Bible, well put together, sturdy and stout. It has that feel of a good book when you hold it in your hand. I got this for just £10, which is a very good price.

You can get more information on the CTS Bible from here, where you can also download pages extracted from the book in .pdf format.

Nativity scene

This is the nativity scene at my Church, Our Lady of Lourdes in Harpenden.
Picture taken on an N82 and posted from the N82 via email.

Merry Christmas

Today we celebrate Christmas. It is a day for giving, when we give gifts, we give our love, and we give of ourselves to others. We also give thanks, thanks to God for the greatest gift of all, His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas to all.

Remembrance Day

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Commemorating the time the guns fell silent across Europe after the first World War, this is when we remember all those who have given their life in war. Those who died to give us the freedoms we have. Those who died on the opposite side, too. War is a nasty business, and it effects so many people, family and friends of those who die, the lives of the losers in war and the lives of those who win.

I don't like war, I don't agree with war, but I respect those who give their lives and risk their lives and often receive life altering injuries doing something I don't think I could do.

To all who have lost loved ones, to all who came back injured, to all who just came back, and especially to all who gave their lives in war, both past and present, I will remember you in my prayers today.

All Saints Day

Today is the feast of All Saints. So here, in no particular order, is a list of 5 (of many) Saints I admire:

St Joseph
A prayer to St Joseph:
O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector
of thy chaste spouse, the virgin Mother of God, I choose thee this day to
be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor thee all
the days of my life. Therefore I humbly beseech thee to receive me as thy
client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction,
to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus,
and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen



St Teresa of Avila
A prayer of St Teresa of Avila:
O my God! Source of all mercy!
I acknowledge Your sovereign power.
While recalling the wasted years that are past,
I believe that You, Lord,
can in an instant turn this loss to gain.
Miserable as I am,
yet I firmly believe that You can do all things.
Please restore to me the time lost,
giving me Your grace,
both now and in the future,
that I may appear before You in "wedding garments."

Amen.


St Anthony of Padua
Prayer to St Anthony of Padua:

Good Saint Anthony, in God's providence you have secured for His people many marvelous favors. You have been especially celebrated, good Saint Anthony, for your goodness to the poor and the hungry, for finding employment for those seeking it, for your special care of those who travel, and for keeping safe from harm all who must be away from home. You are widely known also, good Saint Anthony, for securing peace in the family, for your delicate mercy in finding lost things, for safe delivery of messages, and for your concern for women in childbirth. In honoring you, Saint Anthony, for the many graces our Lord grants through your favor, we trustfully and confidently ask your aid in our present need. Pray for us, good Saint Anthony, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. May it be a source of joy, O God, to your Church that we honor the memory of your Confessor and Doctor, Saint Anthony. May his spiritual help always make us strong, and by his assistance may we enjoy an eternal reward. This we ask through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

St Peter
A prayer to St Peter:
Blessed Apostle Peter,
to whom God has given the keys of the kingdom of Heaven,
and the power to bind and loose,
grant that we may be delivered through the help
of your intercession from the bonds of our sins.
O, Holy Shepherd,
Prince of the Apostles,
pray for us that we may be made worthy
of the promises of Christ.

Amen




St Francis of Assisi
The prayer of St Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Ave Maria

Every once in a while, you find something special on the web. I found this clip on the Alive and Young blog. It is a video clip of Bobby McFerrin, leading the audience in a rendition of Ave Maria. I wonder where the event took place, I'm impressed enough people in the crowd knew the words to sing.

Enjoy.

When is an unborn baby not an unborn baby?

In 2006, an average of 530 unborn babies were killed in the UK, every day. I blogged it here.

Today, I read an article at the Daily Mail online, about how 1,000 unborn babies die unnecessarily each year due to a shortage of midwives. You can see the full story here.

Each story is an absolute tragedy. The preventable, needless loss of life in both situations is very upsetting.

The difference in the two articles is in one, the unborn baby will be called anything but, to allow society to accept the senseless slaughter of innocent life. Whilst in the other, all of a sudden it *is* an unborn baby, to allow the article to carry emotional weight and a political slant.

After all, what person wouldn't be upset at the needless loss of unborn babies?

Pope to make climate action a moral obligation

The Pope is expected to use his first address to the United Nations to deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a "moral" cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following.

The New York speech is likely to contain an appeal for sustainable development, and it will follow an unprecedented Encyclical (a message to the wider church) on the subject, senior diplomatic sources have told The Independent.

It will act as the centrepiece of a US visit scheduled for next April – the first by Benedict XVI, and the first Papal visit since 1999 – and round off an environmental blitz at the Vatican, in which the Pope has personally led moves to emphasise green issues based on the belief that climate change is affecting the poorest people on the planet, and the principle that believers have a duty to "protect creation".

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in the UK, said last night: "This is a crucial issue both today and for all future generations. We are the stewards of creation and we need to take that responsibility seriously and co-operate to care for the created world."

A Papal tour of America will be particularly potent during election year in the US, where Catholics number around 73 million, and is being discussed in Rome after Pope Benedict accepted an invitation from the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. For the Pope to take his climate-change message to the high-profile UN platform will be considered hugely influential to the fifth of the world's population who are Catholics, and will act as a rallying call for action in Africa and Asia, which have seen a rise in Catholics in recent years.

News of the speech comes as Vatican City has become the first fully carbon-neutral state in the world, after announcing it is offsetting its carbon footprint by planting a forest in Hungary and installing solar panels on the roof of St Peter's Basilica in Rome.

It also follows a series of interventions by the Pope on the environment. On 2 September he told a 300,000 youth audience: "Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions that reflect knowing how to re-create a strong alliance between man and the earth." On 7 September, he said there was a "pressing need for science and religion to work together to safeguard the gifts of nature and to promote responsible stewardship".

UK diplomats have held a number of behind-the-scenes meetings with Vatican officials on the environment. A Whitehall source said last night: "Benedict is the spiritual head of 19 per cent of the world's population and a highly respected figure. If the Pope's words are taken on board by his community that is one big constituency for change and could well turn the tide on climate change and environmental degradation."

Source

Pope in 'freedom' blast at Islam

The Pope has again risked provoking the wrath of the Islamic world, by criticising its treatment of Christians.

Benedict XVI attacked Muslim nations where Christians are either persecuted or given the status of second-class citizens under the Shariah Islamic law.

He also defended the rights of Muslims to convert to Christianity, an act which warrants the death penalty in many Islamic countries.

His comments came almost exactly a year after he provoked a wave of anger among Muslims by quoting a Byzantine emperor who linked Islam to violence.

Yesterday, near Rome, the 80-year-old pontiff made a speech in "defence of religious liberty", which, he said "is a fundamental, irrepressible, inalienable and inviolable right".

In a clear reference to Islam, he said: "The exercise of this freedom also includes the right to change religion, which should be guaranteed not only legally, but also in daily practice."

Addressing the problem of Islamic extremism, he added: "Terrorism is a serious problem whose perpetrators often claim to act in God's name and harbour an inexcusable contempt for human life."

Last September, radical British Muslims said Pope Benedict should be executed for "insulting" the Prophet Mohammed.

Throughout the Middle East and Africa, Christians were subjected to violence in retribution for his remarks.

His latest comments, however, come just days after one of the Church of England's-senior bishops warned that Muslim leaders here must speak out in defence of the right to change faith.

The Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, told Channel 4's Dispatches programme of his fears for the safety of the estimated 3,000 Muslims who have converted to other faiths in this country.

A poll earlier this year of more than 1,000 young adult British Muslims found that 36 per cent believe those who convert to another faith should be punished by death.

Pope Benedict is particularly concerned about the persecution of Christians in Iraq since the invasion of 2003.

Before then, there were about 1.2million Christians in the country. But the number has dropped to below 600,000.

Source

Catholic Women Ordained as Priests in Minneapolis

A report here detailing that two women were ordained as Catholic Priests.

Two women were ordained to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church at an event in Minneapolis last weekend. The ordination of Judith McKloskey and Alice Marie Iaquinta marked their addition to the approximately 60 other women who have been ordained nationwide. The Vatican, the Catholic Church's highest authority, does not recognize the ordination of women into the priesthood, and in Iaquinta's case, the ordination could result in excommunication.

The West Bend, Wis., woman's ordination has raised the ire of the Catholic Church in that region. Archdiocese of Milwaukee Communications Director Kathleen Hohl told WTMJ, an NBC affiliate in Milwaukee that they will turn Iaquinta's information over to the Vatican.

"It is our duty and obligation to forward this information to the Vatican for consideration," said Hohl.

Iaquinta says it doesn't matter. "The truth is no one can be excommunicated from their faith. By baptism you are born into Christ, and that's that," she said.

The Vatican's official stance on banning women? They've always been banned, so they will continue to be banned. Pope John Paul II wrote in 1994:

"[The Church] holds that it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons. These reasons include: the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for his Church."


Catholics advocating the inclusion of women into the priesthood disagree with that stance and that version of history.

Michael Bayly, executive coordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, attended the event with more than 200 others. "These women demonstrate that not only do they feel called by God to minister as priests, but there's a long, albeit, suppressed history within Catholicism of women's ordination," he said. "It's that reality that they're reclaiming, believing, as they do, that such reclamation will make the Church a healthier place and a truer reflection of God's all-inclusive love."

Far be it from me to upset anyone, but there are good reasons why Women are not able to be ordained as Catholic Priests. As much as these fine ladies like the idea, they are NOT Catholic Priests. As much as they think they are 'blazing a trail' for others to follow, they are actually doing damage. If they have any respect andl ove for the Faith, they will stop their charade and renounce what they have done.

Somehow I don't think they will. How very sad.

The Life of Christ

I saw this video clip over on the Reformed Catholic blog. I thought I would share it here.

Beaten for turning to Christianity

Story One:
Authorities in Iran have punished a man with 34 lashes after he was unmasked as a Muslim convert to Christianity when a copy of the Gospel was found in his car.

The man, identified as A.Sh. on an Iranian web site representing Christian converts, was arrested after police searching his car, which had been involved in an accident, found the book printed in Farsi.

He was detained at a police station Number 102 in Tehran for two days where he was lashed and suffered "other humiliation", the site said.

Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism are the only religions people in Iran are allowed to practice, however converting from Islam to one of the others is prohibited.

Story Two:
A former Islamic leader in Ethiopia has described how he found faith in Christ after Jesus appeared to him in a dream.

However, the conversion turned out to be the start of intense persecution from those begrudging his newly found faith.

Following Robel’s conversion, militants destroyed his house and stabbed his son with a spear. His life is now at risk, Release International reports, but even though he has been offered riches to return to Islam he has declared his determination to follow Jesus.

Robel was expelled from the mosque he helped to lead in 2003 for asking questions about Jesus, RI told Christian Today.

The morning after he saw Jesus in his dream, he committed his life to the Lord and started attending church.

He testifies: “After my conversion my house and all my property were burned. Several times the Muslims came to my house with a spear threatening us, trying to hurt someone.”

The militants stabbed Robel’s son with a spear, but the boy escaped serious injury, RI reports.

A year later, extremists burned his house again, and Robel was forced to leave the area without his family.

He explains: “I miss my family and my children are very, very small. I also worry about them, how they will live, because nobody is there to protect them. But I trust in the Lord to take care of our needs. One day He will reunite us, and we will be able to live together.”

Since his conversion, Islamists have tried to entice Robel back to Islam offering him the opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia for Islamic training and return to Ethiopia a wealthy man. But Robel refused, preferring poverty and to sleep in trees - with the freedom to choose his own faith still intact.

According to Voice of the Martyrs, Robel said: “People always seek the money and the wealth of the earth, but what I seek is from God."

Despite the pressure in Ethiopia, Christians in neighbouring Eritrea are fleeing there to escape persecution - which is even worse in their own country.

RI’s CEO Andy Dipper said: “Release International is providing practical support for Christian refugees now living in Ethiopia. This includes helping them to set up businesses and find work. Please pray for the strength of believers going through persecution in Ethiopia and in neighbouring Eritrea."

Via Crucis

I've seen this video clip on three different blogs today. It shows the persecution suffered by Catholics in China. Very powerful, very moving. It's so easy for me, I go to Mass every week, I can go to Church during the day, I can pray and I can share my faith, freely and in the open. We need to keep all in our prayers who are persecuted for their faith.

Should you practice the faith to teach the faith?

I saw a story on Telegraph online today. The headmaster of a Catholic school has entered into a civil partnership with a teacher from another school.

As far as I am concerned, to teach the faith you need to practice the faith. How can the headmaster in the school concerned imagine to teach the Church's stance on this issue when he lives the total opposite? It sets the wrong example, and this man carries a level of responsibility with his job. He has already demonstrated he is not up to the responsibility of his role, and therefore should resign.

Seems obvious to me.

New Last Supper Conspiracy

There is a new conspiracy surrounding the Last Supper, the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. Someone has taken the picture and superimposed its mirror image on top of it, and made each image slightly transparent. Doing so has revelead an image of a woman apparently cradling a child standing next to Christ, and also an image of two knights at the table. See images below:










Last Supper, superimposed with its own mirror image.















The 'woman' leans across the group in the direction of Jesus















Two guests appear as knights

All to the enjoyment of misinformed conspiracy thoerists, who see this as further 'evidence' to support the theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child with her.

Just shows that with digital editing you can make an image appear pretty much how you want it to.

Story here

St Patricks Day Moved

Fr Peter Jones, of the Liturgy Commission:

"St Patrick's Day is all about the religious aspect of the feast and mass on the day. It's not about whether it's a public holiday or not, it's not about whether sports events and parades take place,"

Sinead Grace, of Tourism Ireland:

"I wouldn't imagine too many people are aware of the religious aspect."

So next year, St Patrick's Day is being moved from it's traditional March 17th date to March 15th. This has to happen as March 17th is Monday of Holy Week, leading up to Easter. It is always the case that Saints days are moved when they conflict with other more important dates in the Church calendar. Normally, the event is moved to the first convenient date afterwards, but the Vatican has given special dispensation to move the celebrations forward two days to the 15th, which is a Saturday.

I presume this is to allow all the people who are unaware of the real point of St Patrick's Day to continue to abuse it as a reason for getting as drunk as possible.