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.