An Armchair Pilgrim . . .

Photo Credit: Madrid11_en

I've been so busy following World Youth Day on Social Media and the live streaming on the Internet, I haven't had time to blog about it at the same time.

As one who is well past 'Youth' I nevertheless found it an amazing experience. It was so uplifting, so encouraging and so energising to see so many young people from all around the world who are enthusiastic about their faith.

I found all the liturgies very moving in different ways; from the exuberance of the opening Mass to the amazing closing Mass and of course the Vigil and Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. To see over a million youngsters in the aerodrome at Cuatro Vientos and the transformation from a jubilant carnival-like atmosphere having welcomed Pope Benedict, to a sea of silently adoring youngsters on their knees as the Blessed Sacrament was exposed in the amazing monstrance was a truly incredible sight.

I could go on and on . . . The beautiful Stations of the Cross with the transportable Pasos; the Holy Father struggling against the buffeting winds of the storm at Cuatro Vientos (it looked as if all four winds were making their presence felt); the young people so happy to be there with Pope Benedict that they seemed quite oblivious of the downpour; the beautiful singing of the Gospel at the Welcoming Liturgy by Ordinariate Deacon James Bradley etc. etc.

There are many videos, photos and blogs of the whole World Youth Day event in Madrid but it's interesting to hear some of the statistics now in the calm which has descended.

2,000,000 participants . . . 14,000 priests . . . 800 bishops . . . 192 nations . . .

Feast of the Assumption . . .

Time for a video, I think. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

I saw this quote from Pope Benedict XVI on the website Women for Faith and Family.

"By contemplating Mary in heavenly glory, we understand that the earth is not the definitive homeland for us either, and that if we live with our gaze fixed on eternal goods we will one day share in this same glory and the earth will become more beautiful. Consequently, we must not lose our serenity and peace even amid the thousands of daily difficulties. The luminous sign of Our Lady taken up into Heaven shines out even more brightly when sad shadows of suffering and violence seem to loom on the horizon.

"We may be sure of it: from on high, Mary follows our footsteps with gentle concern, dispels the gloom in moments of darkness and distress, reassures us with her motherly hand. Supported by awareness of this, let us continue confidently on our path of Christian commitment wherever Providence may lead us. Let us forge ahead in our lives under Mary's guidance".

— Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience at Castel Gandolfo Aug. 16, 2006

I don't think I could improve on what Our Holy Father has to say so I'll leave it at that!

Hostia - A great video

I was lent a copy of the new video 'Hostia' from St Anthony Communications and, as I woke early this morning, I took advantage of the extra half an hour or so to watch it quietly before my day began.

Well, what a great start to the day. It really is an excellent video on the Eucharist.

Like the earlier videos from St Anthony Communications, it gives a very clear explanation of the Church's teaching on the subject. The commentary is accompanied by beautiful video clips of the the Mass very reverently celebrated by Fr Bruno Witchells.

I was particularly taken by the comments towards the end of the video, on adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during Adoration and Benediction.

It's odd how a remark made by someone about something you're already familiar with can make you see things from a different perspective, or at least emphasise something that you hadn't really thought about before.

I hadn't really looked at it like this before, but of course it's obvious when I think about it . . .

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Monstrance during Benediction is an extension of the moment during the Mass when the priest elevates the Host.

During the Mass we only have a glimpse of Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament at this moment, whereas when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Monstrance for a period of Adoration, we can really gaze at Jesus truly present in the Host in prayerful Adoration for an extended period of time. How fortunate we are!

If you have an opportunity to see this video, do take it. Perhaps you could put it on your wish list for a Birthday or Christmas.

The Invisible Woman . . .

Just received another great video link from Sr Anastasia. I'm sure many of us can identify with a lot of this! Great sentiment.

A reminder to us when we're wondering why we're rushing around like maniacs trying to do look after the family, home and often a job too; and feeling perhaps a little under-appreciated . . .

He notices!

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning . . . !

What a fantastic day it is today. I love waking up to sunshine. I feel so energised I can't wait to get going with the day.

Early-ish Mass at nine o'clock followed by Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; then a lovely stroll locally through the heath, up to the pond to say hello to the ducks and back via the coffee shop - perfect. As I walked along the footpath, it was such a beautiful morning, I felt like singing, and the obvious choice of course, the song from Oklahama.

I know the words don't exactly match the photos I took this morning of a glorious Spring day in the UK but you get the general idea, I hope.

What are the practices of Lent . . . ?

One of the great things about Twitter, to me at least, is the way that it alerts you to things that in all probability you would never even know existed. This might be a link to a news item, a photo, a blog post or an interesting video.

A very good example of what I mean is this excellent video featuring Fr Barron on the subject of what we should aim to be doing during Lent.

Thanks to @catholicseeking for linking to her blog post and for posting the video there.

Miserable weather but Sundays are never miserable days . . .

A miserable wet day here in soggy Surrey but Sundays are always sunny in many ways.

The Pater Familias arrived home safely from his latest business trip. Interesting that his plane left two hours late but managed to arrive only an hour and a half behind schedule. How do they do that? And is it legal? They must have been over the speed limit to make up half an hour! What is the speed limit for a jumbo jet, anyway?

It was too late for a family lunch so we had family supper instead which meant a lovely restful time after morning Mass before anything important needed doing at home.

After catching up with a few jobs and having a peek at Twitter, Our Eldest and I made our way back to church for Rosary and Benediction. I know I say this nearly every week but is is becoming one of the highlights of my week.

I couldn't find a video which includes all the same settings of the hymns that we sing (O Salutaris , Tantum Ergo etc.) and all of Benediction but this video is beautiful and one of the best I could find of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

Friday funnies - 'Tiddly Pom' . . .

I can't remember exactly what we were discussing over our coffee break this morning but whatever it was, it prompted someone to say that it reminded them of Hinge and Bracket.

It's a long time since I saw any of the performances of this entertaining duo so I had a trawl through YouTube and thought you might like to share in the fun as it's the end of the week, and time to relax a bit.

Four Amazing Days . . .

Sorry, I've been very quiet this week. I'm sure there's no need to explain why!

I've been totally immersed in the Papal Visit. Having been involved at parish level for several weeks it seems to have loomed large for quite a while but nothing could have prepared me for the amazing scenes and emotions of the last four days.

I cannot find the words to express what an amazing, inspirational time it has been. Everything else has been shelved as I've been glued to the TV and computer, following every moment of the visit of the Holy Father. For the first time it's also been possible to follow people's personal reactions via Twitter as the events unfolded, and what a difference that has made. For me this added another dimension to the whole experience.

I didn't go to either Hyde Park or Birmingham myself though Our Eldest went to Cofton Park today and, of course, had a fantastic day. It was well worth leaving in the early hours of the morning (though I'm not sure many would have agreed before the coach left!)

I've put together a slide show of some of my favourite photos from the various news sites, focusing mainly on the pilgrims. I hope you recognise the sound track; Cor ad Cor Loquitor from the CD given to all pilgrims.

Happy Feast Day! . . .

Happy Feast Day everyone!

I'm just off to Mass to celebrate Our Lady's Birthday. I hope to catch up with blogging later today as it's my day off.

Meanwhile, enjoy . . .

An amazing video about an amazing young man . . .

I saw this on a young relative's Facebook. I think it deserves to be shared.

Well, it's one way to pass the time in the Car Wash . . .

I just saw this on Twitter, thanks to @MatthewWarner. It's certainly a novel background for catechesis!

Catholic Car Wash is another enterprise by the creator of LOLSaints. As it says on his web site,

'Catholic Car Wash is a video podcast for Catholics by Jeff Geerling. All videos are recorded while inside a car wash. That is all.'

Click on the photo below for the link to the video. (Sorry, I couldn't find the embed code anywhere.)

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross . . .

Today is the Feast of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Virgin and Martyr and a Patron of Europe.

If you'd like to know a bit more about her life or be reminded if you are familiar with it already, this video gives an excellent summary.

Every true prayer is a prayer of the Church; by means of that prayer the Church prays, since it is the Holy Spirit living in the Church, Who in every single soul 'prays in us with unspeakable groanings'.

The limitless loving devotion to God, and the gift God makes of Himself to you, are the highest elevation of which the heart is capable; it is the highest degree of prayer. The souls that have reached this point are truly the heart of the Church. St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Saint Teresa Benedicta,
holy martyr, philosopher of truth,
defender of the human person
against the evils of this age,
enlighten our minds, illumine our hearts,
fill our lives with the passion
of your love for the Cross.
Amen.

Allons enfants de la Patrie . . .

Happy 'Quatorze Juillet' to any French readers!

For any film buffs, French readers or francophiles, here's a rather appropriate film clip considering today's date. Feel free to sing along!

Well, it's a much more attractive proposition than the England job!

I just heard the good news (for Spurs fans, at least!) - Harry Redknapp has just extended his contract with Tottenham.

I've been waiting for an opportunity to post this video. I enjoyed seeing it live on TV at the time it happened a couple of months ago, and it's still worth watching now. It's great to see the good relationship between coach and players - I can't somehow imagine Capello smiling like this in similar circumstances but then I can't really imagine any of the England squad having the courage to pull a stunt like this either!

Morse Code vs Text Messaging . . .

Here's another gem forwarded to me by Sr Anastasia . . .

So, you see, you have no need to worry if you don't have an iPhone 4G after all!

Dynamic!

I am very grateful to Fr John Boyle for drawing attention to the website, 'Dynamic Catholic'

It is, as the saying goes, 'what it says on the can'. It really seems to have some very dynamic content. My first thoughts were, 'now this is the sort of thing that we need to be showing our young people. It's in their language.'

I've often thought that Catholic sites in America seem to do this sort of thing so well. I was particularly taken with the series of videos, 'The 7 Pillars of Catholic Spirituality'

Here is the first of the series; on Confession. I assume it's just a clip from a longer video but you can get a very good idea what the rest must be like from this excerpt.

The Solemnity of Pentecost . . .

Usually when I post videos, I'm drawn to beautiful images with a background of classical music or chant. This is not my usual style of video at all but the very 'differentness' of it appealed to me and it seems somehow appropriate for today's Solemnity.

Do you love life?

Thanks to Matthew Warner of Fallible Blogma for this great pro-life video created by him.

'If ye love me . . . '

No time for much blogging for obvious reasons but I hope you enjoy this beautiful rendition of Thomas Tallis' 'If ye love me, keep my commandments'. It's a lovely haunting background for meditation during this evening's vigil with Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane.

We began our preparation for the Great Feast of Easter in earnest last night when we attended the Chrism Mass at the cathedral. It's always a very moving experience to see so many of our diocesan clergy gathered together renewing the commitment that they made at Ordination before the Bishop and all those assembled from across the diocese.

The blessing of the oils including the Chrism also makes a great impact and adds an extra dimension to the liturgies in our own parish when the oils are used and we are reminded of this Mass where they were blessed by the Bishop before being distributed to the Deaneries and on to individual parishes.