Tempus fugit . . .

Apologies for the long silence - caused both by Christmas 'busy-ness' and lack of inspiration!

We always joke about time seeming to go faster as we get older. Another 'old chestnut' is that once the Christmas Sales have finished, the shops start putting out Easter eggs.

This was brought home to me yesterday. After having had my hair cut, I went to make an appointment for my next visit, a week later than usual this time, and was told it would therefore be 17th February. Looking in my diary, I found it was Ash Wednesday. I couldn't believe that Lent is just 'one hair cut' away from Christmas. I think I've found a new way of measuring time!

Easter is just '2 hair cuts' away from Christmas.

Almost there . . .

Our crib's been blessed, the shopping's done, the presents wrapped and we're just off to have a drink with our neighbours followed by an hour's peace and quiet before we go to Midnight Mass, so there's only one thing left to do . . .

I wish you all a very Happy, Holy and Blessed Christmas.

Our Crib is up! . . .

Yay! Our crib is out of it's wrappings and displayed in pride of place in our sitting room - all ready for the big day - or should I say the big night, as we always place the infant Jesus in the crib as soon as we get back from Midnight Mass.

We had a lovely Sunday again today. We enjoyed a delicious meal with friends last night in their home which was beautifully decorated for Christmas which really set the scene for us. This combined with the very seasonal weather and the fact that we'll all be together again shortly as a family really makes it a Super Sunday.

This morning's Mass was great with a very good homily and the children's nativity play at the end of Mass which is always guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye. We spent a relaxed afternoon decorating the tree and putting up a few decorations. I was going to say 'tasteful decorations' but then they're not really. We still tend to belong to the school of putting the same up things every year which have become part of our family tradition. When it comes to the tree, it's a case of 'pile it all on' with no regard for colour scheme, or any other scheme come to that!

Maybe one year, we'll have an adult tree with a tasteful theme which will be echoed in the other decorations but I've a feeling that day is quite a long way off.

Finally, Number One Son and I lit the fourth candle on our Advent wreath at 6pm and prayed the Angelus together - it doesn't get much better than this! God is very good!

'Snow on snow' . . .

The view from our front door this morning . . . Very pretty but a very hazardous journey to the main road which luckily was clear. When you get to the 'slopey bit' at the end of our road before it joins another quiet un-gritted road, the power of prayer really comes into its own!

When I got back from work this afternoon, I found the Pater Familias up a ladder putting up the outside lights, aided and abetted by Number One Son and the tree had been brought inside from the back garden where it had been resting for a few days. With a CD of carols playing in the background, I'm finally feeling a little bit more 'Ho! Ho! Ho!' and less 'Bah, humbug!'

Number Two son is expected home tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to decorate the tree together and put up a few decorations around the house here and there.

More importantly the crib has been unpacked and is now in situ (minus the infant Jesus of course and the Kings). All ready to blessed in the next few days, I hope.

Frazzled . . .

So sorry folks, no time for a proper post. Maybe we'll get snowed in and then I'll have a good excuse to forget about all the shopping etc. that still needs to be done.

Have you noticed everywhere you go, you see women walking around looking 'shell-shocked' muttering to themselves, 'never again . . . I say this every year' ? Meanwhile the men look on with bemused expressions as if to say, ' I dunno what all the fuss is about - a bit of extra shopping and a glorified Sunday lunch?- it's a piece of cake' !! :-)

Update (13th January 2010)

Oh dear, I've just realised what I said! Me and my big mouth - fancy actually wishing to get 'snowed in'.

Sing and shout for joy . . .

Gaudete Sunday - a day of rejoicing in the middle of a more sombre time of penitence and preparation for the coming of Our Saviour.

I wonder, was your parish priest wearing one of these today?


. . . or did your PP process out of church looking more like this? (Minus the mitre, ferula and pallium of course!)


Here's what Catholic Online has to say about Rose vestments, quoting from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal;

'Rose may be used, where it is the practice, on Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent) and on Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent).'

And from Redemptionis Sacramentum;

'The purpose of a variety of colour of the sacred vestments is to give effective expression even outwardly to the specific character of the mysteries of faith being celebrated and to a sense of Christian life's passage through the course of the liturgical year. '

So, it's OK to use Rose vestments if you have them and the practice has not been discontinued.

Mind you it's probably a good idea to make sure you always refer to these vestments as being 'rose'. Some people are quite uncomfortable with the idea of a priest wearing pink in church - I can't think why! ;)

Gaudete! . . .

I watched several versions of this beautiful mediaeval carol before I eventually decided on this one. There's nothing like the clarity of a boy's treble voice for this sort of carol, I think, and the setting with the background of the Holy Land just swung it for me. Mind you, I also found some lovely versions of the song with beautiful slideshows using pictures of the nativity too.

Hope you enjoy listening.

Update:

Oops, silly me! Of course it's not the Holy Land. The atmospheric background is actually St Bartholomew's Church in London. (Not even close!) It's still beautiful though.

All honour to you, Mary! . . .

Well, it may not be a Holy Day of Obligation in England and Wales but we certainly had more than usual at our morning Mass today, and we were fortunate to have our organist available to play for us and we sang two beautiful Marian hymns. It really felt like a Feast Day.

The first reading today of the fall of Adam always makes me smile to myself. I expect that's probably not the expected reaction but it always makes me think of young children in the playground. When challenged for doing something they shouldn't, the first child says, 'it's not my fault, he made me do it' and this is repeated by the next child and so it goes on . . .

What a contrast between this reading and the Gospel telling the story of the Annunciation. A reading that is so familiar but never fails to move me whenever I hear it.

Sorry, this post is rather disjointed, I just wanted to try and put down in words some of my musings on today's feast. I hope you all had a Blessed Feast Day.

St Nicholas and 'Knecht Ruprecht' . . .

Poor old St Nicholas missed out again this year. As always happens when 6th December falls on a Sunday, we hear no mention of St Nicholas whose feast day it is today.

I always think it's a bit of a shame that we don't make more of St Nicholas as they do in many other European countries. I feel Santa Claus is very much an American invention and Father Christmas, our English equivalent bears little resemblance to St Nicholas.

When we lived in Germany for a while when our children were small (yes, a long time ago!) I always enjoyed seeing the the shops full of Christmas goodies and of course the tradition of children in the family leaving their shoes out for treats from St Nicholas on 6th December is a lovely idea. What I especially liked was that it wasn't 'over the top' - probably a few sweets and a small toy.

The other difference between St Nicholas and Father Christmas is that St Nicholas would be accompanied by 'Knecht Ruprecht' carrying the goodies for the children who'd been good all year. But Knecht Ruprecht also carried a bunch of twigs to punish those children who had not been good! Can you imagine how that would go down here today? Funnily enough, it didn't seem strange to the German families we knew and all the shops would have bundles of treats for St Nicholas' Day with a miniature bunch of twigs attached.

Calm before the storm . . .

We had a lovely, peaceful Sunday today, which is just as well as it's been a busy week and I've a feeling it's going to be another 'Manic Monday' tomorrow.

After Mass which of course is always a great start to the day and has a wonderful way of injecting peace and calm into our otherwise busy lives, our PP came home to bless our Advent wreath. Yes, I know it's been in use a week already but better late than never!

Part of the brief form of blessing he used was that beautiful reading from Isaiah which we hear at Midnight Mass:

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light;

on those who live in a land of deep shadow

a light has shone.

You have made their gladness greater,

you have made their joy increase;

they rejoice in your presence

as men rejoice at harvest time,

as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils . . .

. . . For there is a child born for us,

a son given to us

and dominion is laid on his shoulders;

and this is the name they give him:

Wonderful-Counsellor, Mighty-God,

Eternal-Father, Prince of Peace.

Wide is his dominion

in a peace that has no end,

for the throne of David

and for his royal power,

which he establishes and makes secure

in justice and integrity.

From this time onwards and for ever,

the jealous love of the Lord Sabaoth will do this.

We've always had an Advent wreath at home as we did when I was a child. It's a wonderful way to remind us what Advent is all about and also to focus on preparing well for Christmas, and I don't just mean making sure we get the tree and the turkey organised in good time (though they are also part of Christmas and nothing wrong with that, in my book!)

We leave the Advent wreath out after Christmas day with the other decorations and add a large white candle in the centre to represent Christ. It's always commented on by our non-churchgoing visitors, along with our crib and I'm often surprised at the interest they show in the symbolism of things like this.

Which reminds me, I hope our PP will also be able to spare a few minutes to come and bless our crib for us later . . . perhaps some mince pies and a seasonal drink ?

Quadruped with crimson probiscus . . .

I'm sorry for the long silence - no excuse apart from the 'busy-ness' of this time of year which other bloggers seem to take in their stride and still manage to post something just about every day. How do they do it?

Lest my few readers, give up on me, I found this Christmas quiz on the web and thought it might give you a few moments' amusement until I get around to writing something a bit more serious and appropriate for Advent.

NAME THAT CAROL!

1. Quadruped with crimson proboscis

2. 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. without noise

3. Minuscule hamlet in the far east

4. Ancient benevolent despot

5. Adorn the vestibule

6. Exuberance directed to the planet

7. Listen, aerial spirits harmonizing

8. Monarchical trio

9. Yonder in the haystack

10. Assemble, everyone who believes

11. Hallowed post meridian

12. Fantasies of a colorless December 25th

13. Tin tintinnabulums

14. A dozen 24-hour Yule periods

15. Befell during the transparent bewitching hour

16. Homo sapien of crystallized vapor

17. I merely desire a pair of incisors

18. I spied my maternal parent osculating a fat man in red

19. Perambulating through a December solstice fantasy

20. Hey there! The announcing celestial beings carol.

21. On commencement of Yuletide my honey bestowed upon me.

22. Decorate the passage with branches of evergreen sprigs.

23. O scared darkness, the asterisks are brilliantly shimmering.

24. O approach, y'all devoted happy and victorious...

25. Ourselves bid yourselves a joyous Noel and a cheerful neoteric 365 days . . .

If you got stuck on any of them, you'll find the answers here along with other Christmas trivia. I missed out some of the questions that were using lines from the middle of carols or were not that well known.

The 'Chocolatisation' of Advent . . .

Brian Pedley, writing in The Times on Friday, has come up with a fantastic word to describe how commercial interests and the secularisation of our society have taken over the Christian tradition of Advent calenders for children. He talks about the current trend of chocolate-filled Advent calendars featuring cartoon characters or children's TV programme themes as the 'Chocolatisation of Advent'. You can read the full article here.

He has another great line, 'Among so many overexcited, chocolate-charged children and chihuahuas, the expectant Virgin Mary is presumed missing, last seen in the New Testament.'

He then goes on to describe an initiative by the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland to reclaim Advent through their 'Advent 2009' course which uses readings, prayers and scriptural references to explore Advent themes.

“I really think that we have the whole thing out of perspective,” says the Roman Catholic theologian Dr Patrick Logan, a former adviser on social responsibility for the Diocese of Southwark. He has worked with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI), to reclaim Advent “as a time of journeying in preparation and hope for Christmas”.

I enjoy chocolate as much as anyone - some would even say more than most! Luckily, when our children were small, chocolate Advent calendars just being introduced and it was still possible to find an Advent calendar in the shops featuring a Nativity scene. I'm quite happy for children to have treats but if all they associate Advent with is having a chocolate each day then something is amiss I think.

In looking for some pictures of Advent calendars, I've discovered that you can now buy religious Advent calendars that contain chocolates - maybe that's the answer.

Advent - almost upon us . . .

Nearly there . . . I nipped out into the back garden this afternoon (and it was decidedly nippy!) with my trusty secateurs and here is the result.

I approach the creation of the Advent wreath much as I do cooking, first thing to do is assemble the ingredients - you can tell I must have read all the right books! We have plenty of 'greenery' in the garden but not much in the way of berries so I cheat a bit by adding a few artificial bits of colour.


Taa-daaa! Not quite Jane Packer but in candlelight it doesn't look too bad!

Preparations . . .

Advent is amongst other things, a time of preparation; a chance for us to examine our lives and make ourselves ready (or as ready as we possibly can be) to greet Our Lord on the wonderful Feast of the Nativity.

Of course there is a lot to be done to prepare spiritually. Around this time in our parish, and in many others, we have a Service of Reconciliation with an opportunity for Confession. These services are generally well attended and a great help in getting us into the proper frame of mind for Christmas.

More on the spiritual preparations later, when Advent begins on Sunday. . .

In our house, preparation also involves preparing for Advent by going into our loft and searching out all the materials for our Advent wreath. Generally Number One Son helps out here. Only when I’ve sorted through the boxes and bags and re-discovered the candles, the oasis ring and a few decorations to augment the greenery do I allow myself to even contemplate the Christmas Season.

Anyone who’s been following my musings for a while will remember my difficulty with obtaining pink candles last year. Secure in the knowledge that I now have enough to last several years (!) I shall have an enjoyable stroll around our little garden at the weekend, secateurs in hand, to collect greenery for the wreath and enjoy putting it together in time to light the first candle on Sunday. Pictures to follow, I hope.

Girls' Night Out . . .

I’m off out soon on a ‘Girls’ Night Out’. Not some drunken night of excess but just a chance to enjoy some ‘girl talk’ in the company of other women; enjoy a meal and a glass of wine.

I think that no matter how happily married we are, we all need a little time away from being 'a couple’ occasionally. It’s good to have some time to be ‘me’ not just someone’s wife or mother. Tonight we’ll be just four of us wives from our Team of Our Lady. Coincidentally, our husbands had their ‘Men’s Curry Evening’ last night (‘sauce for the goose . . . etc.).

We’ve been trying to do this once a month for many years now although we have to miss a month now and again as our diaries our so busy. Busy being busy – it’s one of the problems we have with life nowadays which gives us another reason why these evening are so beneficial.

No words necessary . . .

This post is for Number 2 Son.

No words necessary - just look at Jermaine-5-goals-Defoe's expression and Crouch's 'I started it all' grin!

Outings and celebrations . . .

It's been a very 'social' weekend. Number one son and I went to the Monteczuma Exhibition at The British Museum on Friday evening. I have to admit almost total ignorance of Monteczuma before the outing. Like many people, I recognised the name (at least I'd heard of 'Montezuma' at any rate!) and knew he was something to do with the Aztecs. We tended to concentrate on European history at school so the name of Cortez was more familiar to me but for some reason I hadn't realised the connection between the two.

After furthering our education, we had time to go and have something to eat before our coach left at 10pm and we found a lovely little Italian restaurant nearby so it was a very successful trip all round.

Yesterday evening we had our annual Teams celebration in a local church hall. Every year around this time we celebrate the founding of Teams of Our Lady in Paris. This year, being 50 years since Teams began in England, was extra special.

Finally, this afternoon was the last Rosary and Benediction for the Holy Souls in our parish which was a beautiful way to complete our busy weekend.

Feast of Christ the King . . .

Lovely music for today's Feast. Enjoy!

Thou Prince of All Ages (Te Saeculorum Principem)

Help for a fellow blogger . . .

I imagine we're all incensed by the recent 'goings on' in Italy, i.e. the ruling by the European Court of Appeal regarding the placing of crucifixes in public buildings.

Catholic with Attitude has posted recently on a project set up by his tutor Rev. Dr. Robin Gibbons. He has embarked on a blog which is looking at the infringement of religious freedom in the European Union. If you are aware of any articles related to this do please contact Shaun via his email here.

Oh, no - latest 'Word of the Year'! . . .

According to the new Oxford American Dictionary the latest newly-coined word which has been named 'Word of the Year' for 2009 is unfriend. Its meaning, according to the dictionary, is to remove someone as a friend from a social networking site such as Facebook.

Here are some of the other finalists for 'Word of the Year';

"intexicated" the state of being distracted while driving because of sending a text message.

"zombie bank" a financial institution still operating even though its liabilities are greater than its assets.

"birther" which Oxford describes as "a conspiracy theorist who challenges President Obama's U.S. birth certificate."

Oxford's word last year was "hypermiling" the act of conserving petrol by making fuel-saving changes to one's car and driving habits.

If you'd like to be appalled further, or simply amused, you can read the full article here.

One of my pet peeves about new words that have evolved recently is the way that we seem to have had a sudden influx of new verbs which were previously nouns. For example, sporting heroes don't win a medal, they 'medal' in their chosen sport; you don't travel by train, you 'train' it. I think I'll invent a new word to describe it, 'verbify'! I really don't like the way some people verbify words which have always been used as nouns to create new verbs. Mind you, verbify is probably not a new word, after all. I expect it's been in the dictionary for ages :-)

Pattim Home, Mannar, Sri Lanka . . .

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my occasional references to Sr Anastasia and her work in Sri Lanka. She also sends me links to amusing videos and slide shows which I've sometimes posted here.

Her latest email was in reply to my request for some information on a selection of photos she sent recently.

The photos, as you can see, show the residents of a home run by the Sisters where they care for elderly refugees displaced by the war.

Sister Anastasia writes . . .

'Pattim Home is an emergency extension to our already existing Home for elders in the village of Pattim, Mannar.

We originally had a small home for 24 war destitute in a largish garden. When the refugees flocked to the camps this May the army and the government agents etc after a while decided that those over 65 would be released from the IDP camps and Religious were asked to volunteer to take them in. Now this was impossible in the existing structure and so the Sri Lanka Red Cross constructed some cadjan huts (you see the inside of two of them) and now we have over 200 in these conditions living there.


The dry rations are given us by the Red Cross and the IOM which is an NGO has constructed some bathing facilities and temporary toilets. The old are still being brought in and now we have no room. There is an offer from a donor to buy an adjoining plot of land and to build on this for the people. Hope it happens soon as now the rains have come. In addition I am trying to get them an ambulance or van as the people are falling ill and the nearest hospital is over 8 km away and three-wheelers public bus is difficult to use. And then we have to go to the camps to fetch the people too. Sometimes the elderly just die there.'


It makes heart-breaking reading doesn't it? What is amazing is that the Sisters always seem to manage somehow in incredibly difficult situations.

Sister Anastasia will probably 'kill me' for including this picture! Here you can see her in illustrious company!

Update: The Pater Familias suggested I include a glossary!

IDP - Internally Displaced Person
IOM - International Organisation for Migration
NGO - Non-Government Organisation

The Death of Common Sense?

Pastor Emeritus has an excellent post on the death of Common Sense. Do go on over to his blog here and have a read. It is well written in an amusing way but has a serious message underneath the humour. I'm sure we've all come across examples of political correctness or Health and Safety guidelines taken to silly extremes; maybe we should all all campaign for the return of Common Sense?

All over the world, the Spirit is moving . . .

'All over the world, the Spirit is moving . . . ' Not one of my favourite hymns, admittedly, but the sentiment certainly strikes a chord with me at the moment.

'Is it me? ' . . . to coin another over-used expression. Ever since the news broke of the imminent Apostolic Constitution concerning the Personal Ordinariate provision which would enable existing Anglicans to 'cross the Tiber' yet still retain aspects of their Anglican patrimony, stories have been bubbling above and below the surface in the various news media.

Within the space of about half an hour over the weekend, I read of three conversion stories; one on a news channel, another here and finally here. I'm sure there must be many more similar stories out there. I wasn't looking for them particularly.

We are living in interesting times and surely we are seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in all of these happenings.

Today we can see the details of the provision of the Personal Ordinariate as the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus is published. Whilst all the experts are going through the document with a fine tooth comb, let all of us ordinary folk continue to pray for everyone concerned; Anglicans considering a possible move to Rome, Catholic Church leaders and all those who will be affected.

I finally did it . . .

I did it! . . . I finally took the plunge and signed up for an iPhone.

Here are some of the reasons why . . .

Thanks to @MatthewWarner on TweetCatholic for the link to this Catholic spoof (not new, but fun nevertheless) on the well-known iPhone ad. Matthew is founder of TweetCatholic.com and you might like to have a look at his blog Fallible Blogma too.

I must say among the first apps I added were iMissal and iRosary. I just find it incredible that all these resources are available at the touch of a button (or finger even).

Counting sheep or praying the Rosary . . .

I haven't been sleeping very well recently - too many things on my mind and the PF is away on business.

I know I'm not the only one but it was an odd coincidence to discover that a fellow sufferer at the moment was also someone whose blog I've only recently come across thanks to a link from Catholic and Loving It! Saintos is a Catholic cartoon blogger. Go on over and have a look at Drawn to Catholicism if you haven't done so already.

Interesting too that Saintos also turns to prayer in the middle of the night. I usually pray a decade of the Rosary. Another coincidence - he's a convert too.

I also find counting sheep backwards works for me. I don't know why but I find if I begin with 200 sheep (imaginary ones, we do live in the heart of suburban Surrey, after all!) and count down slowly I never remember getting further than about 80 before I've nodded off.

Another 'ban the crucifix' story . . .

What a sad day for Catholics in Italy. Catholic news sites such as EWTN are reporting on the story of the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that crucifixes in public schools are a violation of freedom, and that an Italian citizen of Finnish origin should be compensated because her children had to attend school in Italy where crucifixes were displayed in classrooms.

A statement from the Italian Bishops' Conference said,

'"It ignores or neglects the multiple meaning of the crucifix, which not only is a religious symbol, but also a cultural sign," a communiqué from the conference stated. "It does not take into account the fact that, in reality, in the Italian experience, the display of the crucifix in public places is in harmony with the recognition of the principles of Catholicism as part of the historical patrimony of the Italian people, confirmed by the Concordat of 1984."

After all, as has been argued, just because a crucifix is displayed, it does not necessarily follow that it obliges a profession of faith.

Congratulations Coleen and Wayne . . .

I'm sure you've all heard that Coleen and Wayne (Rooney) are now proud parents of a bouncing baby boy. Congratulations to them both.

Some of you may have had the same initial reaction as I did when I saw the news item . . . 'Kai???'

The boy's name Kai\kai\, also used as girl's name Kai, is pronounced kye. It is of Welsh, Scandinavian and Greek origin, and its meaning is "keeper of the keys; earth". Variant of Kay. Also possibly (South African) "beautiful". Kai is also a Hawaiian name meaning "the sea". (source: thinkbabynames.com/)

So now you know. I wonder if they know?

Hallowe'en, All Saints, All Souls etc. . . .

Happy Feast Day dear reader and to all would-be Saints.

It was interesting this morning listening to the children's responses as our PP spoke to them about today's Feast. Not all of them sounded too sure that they wanted to be Saints eventually!

I think a lot us of adults listening were much more interested in St Augustine's approach - 'Make me a Saint, Lord, but not yet'!

As a small child I always found these two successive feast days difficult to understand, and trying to make out where Hallowe'en fitted in as well was just too much for me.

I knew that Hallowe'en was really a celebration of the Eve of All Hallows as my mother had explained, but I just couldn't understand why we had a day celebrating witches (as I then saw it) and that this was somehow related to the following day when we remembered and celebrated all the saints! Add to this the idea that we could all be saints one day was just too much for me to grasp.

Now, as an adult, I'm finally beginning to see what it's all about - it's taken quite a while. Put simplistically, I like to think now that when I go to Mass on All Saints Day, my parents have already made it into that number and they in turn will be interceding for me. On All Souls Day, I'm praying for all the faithful departed including members of my own family who might not yet have made it to the Communion of Saints which could also include my parents. Either way, I'm remembering them especially at this time.

Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God,
today we rejoice in the holy men and women

of every time and place.
May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Garden in Autumn . . .

I didn't have time today to go far to enjoy the beautiful Autumn day but I did manage to step outside the back door . . .

When I got back from work at lunchtime, the PF was busy collecting leaves in the front garden, but luckily hadn't touched the back so it was still a beautiful carpet of leaves (well, rug really, it's only a small garden.)

If there's one plant in our garden that really deserves its place it's the fuchsia. This plant has been flowering all summer and is still going strong. Luckily it seems to thrive on neglect too!

My final comment on the garden today - At the same time as the trees are becoming bare and bedding plants are really looking sad if, like me, you haven't yet got around to replacing them them with bulbs or winter bedding, isn't it fantastic to see signs already of new growth in other areas? Just look at the buds on this camellia - even allowing for losing some through frost, I'm looking forward to a good show in very early Spring.

How can you not see God's hand in all this?

Basic hygiene, surely, Frank? . . .

Sorry, I've been quiet on the blog for a while. I've been busy but also haven't felt inspired to comment on anything recently for some reason.

Today, however, I thought, 'now what shall it be? Two bits of news concerning Cardinal Cormac - firstly his lecture on ARCIC and the progress of ecumenism in general, or perhaps, secondly his important appointments in Rome?'

But no, what caught my imagination was something Frank Skinner mentioned in passing in the Times Online today.

Talking about the reappearance of health warnings regarding swine flu and the warning to footballers to stop the disgusting habit of spitting on the football pitch (oh, how I dislike this!), he then moved on to talk about the withdrawal of the chalice at Holy Communion in his own parish as a precaution against swine flu. We have carried on as normal in our parish with Holy Communion under both species and I must admit I haven't notice the congregation decimated by swine flu.

That's not, however, what I was referring to earlier. It was his reference to not usually bothering to wash his hands after visiting 'the little boys' room' - for want of a more delicate expression.

I would just like to say, it's not just about what germs you might pick up Frank, it's also about what you might spread to others .

I must remember, in the highly unlikely event that I ever bump into Frank Skinner just after he's been for a 'comfort break' (gosh, you could write a whole post on euphemisms for visiting the loo!) that I must avoid shaking his hand or accepting any food he might offer in his unwashed hands!!

I do enjoy reading his very down-to-earth comments though.

Interesting statistics . . .

I'm the sort of person who finds a graphical representation of something a great help. If I see a picture of something I almost instantly 'get it'. Whereas if I'm faced with a long article, I often need to read it several times to understand it.

Of course we need both words and pictures to understand anything fully but whilst looking around the web today, I came across these pie charts in a BBC article and thought, 'now that's interesting' so I though I'd share them with you.

First of all the situation in the UK and Ireland:


. . . and the situation in the world:

I'm not trying to make a point, I just found it interesting to see it like this.

Update:
Following Epsilon's comments, she has since added her own charts and comments on her blog. Do go on over and have a look.

6 points regarding the recent provisions . . .

Luke Coppen of the Catholic Herald has an excellent post on his blog concerning the recent provision for personal ordinariates. (Thanks to Londoniensis for the RT on Twitter)

Summarising what Archbishop Vincent Nichols has to say, he outlines 6 points that we should understand about the new provision.

1) “It is a response, not an initiative, by the Holy See.”

2) “This is a response to those who have declared that they share the common Catholic faith and accept the Pope’s ministry as something Christ willed for the Church.”

3) “Much work now opens up, not only for those who hold such faith and will have to consider carefully the formal response of the Holy See, but also for the Catholic community.”

4) “This response does not alter our determined and continuing dedication to the pathway of mutual commitment and cooperation between the Church of England and the Catholic Church in this country.”

5) “We also need to appreciate what this moment makes clear about the mind of Pope Benedict XVI.”

6) “The Holy Father clearly believes that legitimate diversity does not threaten the unity of the Church.”

See Luke Coppen's blog for his comments on these 6 points.

The Ukraine's got talent! . . .

Another interesting video from Sr Anastasia.

The quality is not brilliant but it's worth sticking with, I think. These children are amazing. It certainly makes a change from all the negative images we see of so-called 'feral' children roaming the streets looking for mischief.

Everybody's talking about it . . .

It's all over the 'blogosphere'. Everyone is talking about the News Conference this morning with Archbishop Vincent Nichols and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

This was timed to take place at the same time as the announcement in Rome from the CDF. Thanks to The Hermeneutic of Continuity for the link and for the tip off that something very interesting was expected this morning.

After Mass this morning, I tried various news sites for details and couldn't find anything but got a link from Twitter (amazing how quickly news gets around by 'tweeting').

As a former Anglican myself, it is heartening to hear any news concerning a possible solution to the difficult question of how to integrate into the Catholic Church those Anglicans who wish to be received into Full Communion with Rome whilst still retaining some of their Anglican traditions.

Now I have to go and look up all these 'long words'! 'Ordinariates', 'Apostolic C0nstitution' . . .

Aahhh - Beautiful Benediction . . .

I've not long since got back from Rosary and Benediction.

I always enjoy this devotion. N0 matter how busy a Sunday or weekend it's been, it provides a little oasis of calm in the middle of the afternoon and I come away calm and refreshed, ready to tackle the rest of the day.

Today was extra special as our organist was able to play for us and we sang O Salutaris; Tantum Ergo;and Adoremus in Aeternum - you can't beat a little bit of Latin now and again!

Afterwards no-one is ever in a hurry to rush you away and as our organist quietly played Schubert's Ave Maria, the altar servers reverently cleared the altar and many people stayed behind to continue praying. Ah, bliss . . .

A little more serious - honestly! . . .

Oh upside down pudding
your troubles never stop,
‘cos upside down pudding,
your bottom is your top!!

The homily at the 10am Mass today was directed at the children and our parish priest spoke about the human tendency to wish for or even expect to be rewarded for our good behaviour (the Gospel, you remember, was about James and John asking to be seated on Jesus' right and left in heaven)

Fr was explaining to the children how Jesus turned the world upside down with his teaching and that his answer was that none of us should expect to be rewarded in this way but rather we should follow Christ's example and serve others.

I gather that at the earlier Mass, Fr had used the example of the 'upside - down pudding' to explain how when Jesus came he turned the ways of the world upside down - what looks like the top of the pudding, and is very ordinary- looking, is turned upside down to reveal a delicious and attractive topping. In the same way, when we follow Christ's example rather than the 'ways of the world' we see the very best way to live our lives.

It reminded me of the silly rhyme the Pater Familias always quoted when I used to make this pudding years ago (sadly, we're all watching our figures now and such puddings are now rare in our house - strictly high days and holidays only!)

I couldn't remember the rhyme so had to email the PF as he's away on a business trip in foreign climes. He replied straight away but said to make sure I credited the source!

Mmmm . . . . I'm feeling a little peckish now.

A bit of light relief . . .

You Are a Bit of a Procrastinator

You tend to get things done in a timely manner, but you can't help but put off tasks you hate. You have no problem getting the fun or easy stuff done. You generally enjoy taking care of responsibilities. However, if a task arises that you dislike, it might get shelved for a long time. And even though it's human nature to procrastinate, your procrastination is hindering your productivity. Take a look at the things you are putting off doing. Do they really need to be done? Complete any task that's important. The other stuff you're procrastinating is probably not worth doing.

Are You a Procrastinator?

No prizes for guessing who was messing about on the computer today doing a quiz when they should have been doing some work/ironing/gardening/tidying up etc. etc. . . . ?

I think I'm actually a little more than 'A bit of a procrastinator'!

News from afar . . .

Occasionally on this blog I’ve posted amusing stories which I’ve been forwarded by Sister Anastasia.

Today, I thought I’d share something received recently from her of a more serious nature.

Sister Anastasia who is based in the capital Colombo, has recently been to the North of the Country to visit others of her community in the area and to see what progress has been made since the ‘end of the war’ and to assess the situation for herself.

I was moved by the letter she sent and thought I’d share a few extracts with you.

‘It was nearly a year after my last visit to Jaffna. On that occasion, the war was over in the east, and the Sri Lankan military was battling it out in the north. Late in the night we could still hear the thunder of artillery firing in the distance. There were hardly any visitors to Jaffna. The tension in the air was palpable and the people melted from the streets by 5 pm.

On this occasion when I visited Jaffna the war had been over more than four months. The streets had people on them well past 9 pm and the tension was much less with the sound of thunder being only caused by lightning . . . .

One of my purposes in travelling to Jaffna was to find out how life there had changed with the end of the war apart from being with the sisters.. The first encounters, however, were not favourable ones . . .

In a manner that was similar to the physical travails of travel to Jaffna, the outer appearances in Jaffna were also unfavourable. There was the appearance of a run down town with ramshackle roads and the fearful scars of past battles in the form of massive physical destruction of buildings.

On the positive side, conditions also have improved. There has been a reduction in the level of tension, and people feel more secure about their safety. The last time I went to Jaffna people showed me where someone had been shot and another had been abducted. That was a time of great tension when half a dozen or more such incidents could occur in a day. This had all stopped . . .

The resilience of people was to be admired with the Saraswathi pooja being celebrated the schools and the children had daylong programmes for a week. It was a happy time for them. Also catechetical day fell during my stay. All the young ones are being encouraged in many ways but one cannot forget the cloud that hangs over them from the past and the long awaited bright future.

So, some signs of hope at least, thanks be to God, but oh boy, doesn't it make you think? It's reading things like this that puts it all into perspective for me. How fortunate we are with not much more to complain about than the weather and the price of our weekly supermarket shop!

The photos above are of Holy Family Convent in Jaffna.

Parlez-vous français? . . .

Fascinating!

I was just having a look at my site meter today (the way you do . . .) when I noticed that a reader in France had translated my blog into French - mind you, I don't suppose it makes a lot more sense in French, than in English!

However, I found it fascinating. I do speak a bit of French and was very interested to see how it read. If any Francophiles out there would like to have a look at the French version of 'Melange d'Musing' click on the link here.