The Phantom Returns!

Well I'm very excited, I was in the city yesterday and a tram went past advertising some great news...The Phantom of the Opera will be returning to Melbourne in July of this year! Although my favourite musical is Les Miserables, Phantom draws a close second, and I will finally be in the right place at the right time, it opens on 28 July, two weeks before I return to Sydney! I better start saving my pennies now, tickets do not come cheap but I consider such large production theatre well worth the money.

Daycare turns women into "birthing machines"?

I'd be very interested to hear your comments on this story and whether you think the bishop is right or wrong in his comments. Not condemning the good work of child care centres, I do wonder about the long term benefits of placing one's child - during the most formative years - in the hands of someone else (or many others). What does it say about the essential need for the mother child relationship? I understand what he is saying goes against modern Western thinking perhaps, but there seems to me to be wisdom in his words as a principle. Please do make any comments at the bottom of this story. I'd like to hear what others think.

Today Cath News reported on a German Bishop Walter Mixa who has caused a storm with comments condemning a government plan to expand childcare facilities as degrading women and turning them into "birthing machines" who quickly have to return to work.

Describing government proposals to expand childcare facilities in Germany "harmful for children and families", Bishop Mixa said the plans enticed women with federal aid to entrust their children to state care shortly after birth, degrading women to "birthing machines."

Germany's Minister for Family and Youth, Ursula von der Leyen from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wants to significantly increase to 750,000 the number of places available at day-care centers for children under the age of three by 2013.

It is the latest step in an attempt to boost the German birthrate, which at 1.36 children per woman is one of the lowest in Europe.

But Mixa said von der Leyen's plans gave "top priority to recruiting young women as labor reserve for private industry."

"We need to create family-oriented jobs, not job-friendly families," Mixa told German breakfast television on Friday.

The minister's family policies elevated double-income marriages to a downright "ideological fetish," Mixa said.

Minister Von der Leyen, who is herself a mother of seven, said early learning in daycare facilities by professional educators was beneficial for young children.

But Bishop Mixa argued that the "real professionals" were a child's parents, especially the mother. The Catholic Bishop made no mention of the role of the father in his controversial comments.

Politicians from across the political spectrum - including the Christian Democrats - criticised Mixa's remarks. Christel Humme, the family policy spokeswoman of the Social Democrats, said childcare was no "work of the devil."

According to Deutsche Welle only Cologne Cardinal Joachim Meisner said he agreed with Mixa.

"In the bible, nurseries are actually just a temporary solution," Meisner told the Catholic radio station Domradio. "If you turn it into a permanent institution, quasi as an alternative to the family, then this is a misguided development." He said daycare was only necessary for emergencies and exceptional cases.

But Mainz Cardinal Karl Lehman said he supported the government's plans to improve daycare options and choice for parents.

KFC asks for papal blessing for new burger!!

Thanks dad for pointing out this very amusing story:

LOUISVILLE, KY (Catholic Online) – The head of the company internationally known as a fast-food chicken vendor has made an appeal to Pope Benedict XVI to bless its new fish offering.

In a statement released Feb. 18, Ash Wednesday, KFC said its president, Gregg Dedrick, sent a personal letter to the pope asking for a papal blessing for the KFC's new Fish Snacker Sandwich, noting that the fast-food item “is ideal for American Catholics who want to observe Lenten season traditions while still leading their busy, modern lifestyles.”

The company’s statement noted that Vatican officials confirmed receipt of the request concerning the $0.99 (USD) sandwich, adding that KFC “is hopeful to get the pope's blessing this Lenten season.”

"People can enjoy the flavor of the new Fish Snacker any day of the week, but we believe it will be especially popular on Fridays," said James O'Reilly, chief marketing officer for KFC.

Goodbye to another dissident catholic

Some interesting news today that Francis Kissling is retiring as head of the anti-Catholic pro-abortion group Catholics for a Free Choice. What a sad tale of an angry but very talented woman who has spent a good portion of her productive years - in her words - trying to overthrow a government (the Catholic Church). Still, some sense that she is coming our way and may end up pro-life. She is still young, 62. We should all pray for her every day.

From C-Fam:

After 25 years as president of Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), long-time abortion advocate and one time abortion clinic owner Frances Kissling is stepping down from her post after failing to achieve her most important goals. Kissling has been an outspoken opponent of Catholic Church teachings on contraception, abortion, gay rights and stem cell research, but has failed to change any of them. By far her largest defeat was the effort to oust the Holy See from its status at the United Nations.

While publicly insisting that she is still a Catholic in good standing and painting CFFC as a Catholic organization, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has twice condemned the organization and in May 2000 issued a statement that CFFC does not speak with an “authentic Catholic voice” and that the group’s activity is directed to rejection and distortion of Catholic teaching about the respect and protection due to defenseless unborn human life."

Under Kissling’s tenure as president, CFFC became best known for the “See Change” campaign to challenge the sovereign diplomatic status of the Holy See at the United Nations. The “See Change” campaign was launched in 1999 to advocate that the Holy See be thrown out of its official “Observer” seat and downgraded to a non-government organization like CFFC.

Several years after its launch, the CFFC campaign has gathered only 650 groups that agree with the initiative. In contrast, in only four months a campaign in support of the Holy See gathered the names of more than 4,000 groups including the largest Protestant and Muslim groups in the world [the campaign was launched and led by C-FAM]. In that year the US Congress came within one vote of unanimously endorsing the Holy See at the United Nations.

The “See Change” campaign ended in final and complete failure two years ago when the General Assembly unanimously confirmed the status of the Holy See. Aside from endorsing the Holy See’s permanent observer status, the GA extended new privileges to facilitate increased participation in GA activities.

Under Kissling’s direction the organization has raised millions of dollars from American foundations eager to counter the influence of the Catholic Church in the debate on abortion. Included in her donors have been the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Packard Foundation, and the Buffet Foundation. Kissling has never been able to build a large grass roots base, however. And since the defeat of the “See Change” campaign, CFFC’s activities at the UN have dwindled.

According to a New York Times reporter Kissling is thinking about writing a book, and is building a house in Uruguay [Kissling’s salary has been more than $250,000 per year for many years]. She will be succeeded by her long time assistant Jon O’Brien.

Unfortunately she will no doubt be replaced by an equally bitter and angry individual.

The day of the ashes

I like Ash Wednesday. It is one of the few days left where Catholics (well those who practice anyway) visibly act united as Catholics. While Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation it is a day of fasting and abstinence from meat so today we have to go out of our way to live our faith and that is a good thing. Good Friday, Easter and Christmas also fall outside the regular Sunday Mass routine but in this country we are still hanging onto them as national public holidays (although one wonders how long for).

There are now only two days of the year (apart from Sundays) when is obligatory that Catholics in Australia do something for their faith. The feast of The Assumption which is a Holy Day of Obligation and will fall on a Wednesday this year and also today, Ash Wednesday, when Catholics will receive the visble mark of ash on their forehead but will abstain from meat and fast in a public act of somber penance.

One mistake that I believe was made in the past 40 years of change in the Church was the cancelling of the obligation for Cathoics to abstain from meat every Friday. While the obligation to do an act of extra prayer or penance still does exist every Friday (though unknown by most Catholics) I do believe we lost something. The Church is well within her rights to make that change as it was only ever a Church law but from those who remember those days I am told there was something almost patriotic about being a Catholic because we were in the struggle together. The whole society was well aware that Friday was fish day because a quarter of the population would not be eating meat that day and it adjusted accordingly. It was the exterior mark of being catholic, Mass on Sunday and fish on Friday. Any group has to treasure the things that unite them and while of course all Catholics are united in Christ and his Church, that Church exists in the world and must give visible signs to the world through the actions of it's members. Abstaining from meat is not the be all and end all but it was one way, and that way does not seem to have been replaced by anything notably visible.

Growing up in my family we continued the practice of no meat on a Friday as that was our family act of penance. It is a practice that I know still exists in other catholic homes and it would not be a bad thing to have it spread out once again. Abstaining from meat and fasting from certains foods is a time honoured practice spoken about and practiced by the early Christians. It helps us to master our wills and can serve to remind us that our faith is not just something we do in private, we do it as part of the Mystical Body of Christ.

Surprise!

Remember you are dust and unto dust you will return

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday which signifies the start of lent, that ancient period of prepartion for Easter; an opportunity to become closer to Christ through fasting, prayer and works of charity. Ash Wednesday itself is a day of fasting and abstinence from meat. The ashes we will receive on our foreheads at Mass on Ash Wednesday remind us how temporary this life is and not to put material possesions and worldly pursuits ahead of our pursuit of union with God, as He is where our eternal destiny lies.

Each of us must form our own lenten renewal resolutions but the three basic practices are all linked. Praying will strenthen us for fasting and deepen our charity. Fasting will soften our heart for charity and quieten ourself for prayer. Performing works of charity will give our fasting purpose and focus our prayer.

We also may wish to offer our lenten resolutions over the next 40 days for a certain person who may specially need to know the love of God. God is never outdone in generosity, what we offer to Him is returned one hundred fold.

I pray that you and I will make the most of this Lenten time to recommit ourselves to our vocations and to our God.

Chocolate and contraception on US campus

This story really impressed me. What an original idea to get people thinking about what contraception really says:

Feb. 15 /Christian Newswire/ - Yesterday, on hundreds of college campuses nationwide, students were handed a Hershey’s kiss with a free condom. This “Condom and a Kiss” campaign has been going on for several years and is a way for students who practice contraception or support it to spread their message and their products.

But yesterday, a new player entered the field. At the University of Mary Washington , a public university in Virginia, a group of students, called Project Plus, have been actively spreading a message opposed to this mentality via posters and articles in the school newspaper.

Contradictory to the normally sexually spurred activities of Valentine’s Day, these students reached out to their peers with a message that “True Love is worth more than Contraception”. With full sized Hershey’s Chocolate Bars with that message on the front, they passed out 360 bars in less than 2 hours, they still had lots of good conversations and both positive and negative responses.

The theme of the chocolate bar give-away was “Without Contraception, you get so much more”, an analogy pertaining to the tiny Hershey’s Kisses that the “Condom and a Kiss” campaign hands out with condoms, compared to full sized Hershey’s bars. Inside the candy wrapper it read, “It makes sense that condoms are handed out today with nothing more than a tiny chocolate kiss. This reflects how little love you can express while using one. Using contraception tells your lover, ‘I don’t want to share every part of myself with you.’”

Attending World Youth Day...Priceless

I was sent this YouTube video which is a take off of the Mastercard commercial with a World Youth Day twist, it's actually very well done, do have a look.

It's getting closer now, World Youth Day is next year, starting on Tuesday 15th July and culminating with Mass with Pope Benedict in Sydney on Sunday 20th July. Mark it in your diaries! Catholic, protestant, athiest, just curious, everyone is welcome...this will be the event to be at!

It will be a marvellous opportunity to encounter fellow believers, the Pope and Christ Himself. As the Vicar of Christ, the Holy Father is coming to the young (and the not so young) to set them on fire with the love of Christ. So next year get ready to burn! Spread the word and keep the excitement building and don't forget to pray for the success of WYD. This is not just a week long event, it is to shape the direction of the Church for the next 20 years and beyond.

(PS I love the song that backs that little video above, 'Jesus Christ you are my life' was used at previous World Youth Days and you can here the whole thing right here.)

The 2007 Catholic Blog Awards have come and gone...I didn't win

Now I bet that most of you didn't know that for the last few years there have been the catholic blog awards. There are a number of very interesting/funny/spiritual catholic blogs out there that are worth looking at from time to time. I would like to think that my little blog is (or will become) a quasi catholic blog but it's no where near most of those that got nominated for the 2007 Catholic Blog Awards.

So if you've checked out everything of interest on my blog and you still have half a morning tea break to kill, you might like to check out the different categories and see what's on offer in the Catholic Blogosphere.

Just a nice scene

You know when you just see something and it really lifts you spirits and puts a smile on your face...

Yesterday I was walking home from the gym, it was about 8pm and a really pleasant afternoon with a few people out walking, riding and enjoying the weather. As I approached one house I saw a young father and mother laughing and kicking around a soccer ball with with their young children (around 6 years old). The father picked up his son and swung him around while mum looked on.

It made me very happy to see a young family just enjoying the fact that they are just that - a family. Parents out playing with their children has such an essential and wonderful result on their children's development. Time together bonds the whole family and helps them to become, as Pope John Paul called the family, "a community of life and love".

Look at my lounge!!

What do you notice about this lounge? Looks fairly normal doesn't it? Well for the last 5 months it has been covered with clothes to be ironed (see post and photo below from 29 Jan) and today I ironed it all! So tomorrow I will be sitting on it all day to enjoy the fact that it is clear!

Why I decided to leave the meat to one side...

A few people have asked my why I decided to become a vegetarian so here's the low down I gave to Cath...

Basically I was chatting with Joanna, a friend of mine, about this whole vego issue (she is a very passionate vegetarian) and she sent me the link to a short video on what goes in in factory farming.

Now obviously the video showed the crulest people at work and the worst parts of it all BUT the objective reality of factory farming is that animals are being raised in a way that is not proper to the dignity of an animal, who are also a part of God's creation and give him glory by their very lives.

They are raised so fast their legs don't hold them, the only time many of them see sun is on the way to be killed, they are not allowed to care for their young, they are treated most inhumanely. Now I am no animal rights activist and I think there are much bigger issues in the world, like abortion, but I realised we cannot wait for the world to be perfect before we correct another smaller areas of our life. Life requires an attempt at balance at all times in all areas. I am not against us eating animals, I think that is one of the primary motives God gave them to us so technically I am not a vegetarian but more to the point I am not eating factory farmed meat for moral reasons.

At first I didn't know what the correct response would be to such knowledge but the best thing I figured I can do is to simply not eat meat that has come from treating animals like merely a resource to be used and abused. I was a bit concerned about the health aspect but so long as one still has dairy and plenty of grains, nuts, seeds etc everything is covered. It does require one to rethink the way they eat but so far so good.

So basically in a nutshell that is the story.

If you want to watch the video that kicked it all off here it is. I do warn you it is very cruel and graphic in some parts. It is basically a short doco that is voiced over by Alec Baldwin. It is released by a group called PETA and while I certainly would not subscribe to their mailing list I believe the video does raise very worthwhile points about the industry that is factory farming. If you do watch it I would be interested to hear possible other responses to such cruelty.

"Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness." 2416

"God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing..." 2417

"It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly..." 2418

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Happy Birthday to the Holy Father!

From Zenit.

Pope Benedict XVI will preside over a Mass in St. Peter's Square to mark his 80th birthday.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Holy Father's vicar for Rome, sent a letter Friday to invite all the faithful to the celebration on April 15, the eve of the German Pontiff's birthday.

"We pray with the Pope and for the Pope, praying for an abundance of divine blessings for him," wrote Cardinal Ruini, president of the Italian episcopal conference.

The cardinal also asked the faithful to pray for Benedict XVI on April 19, the second anniversary of his election as Supreme Pontiff.

On April 2, Benedict XVI will preside over a Mass for the eternal repose of John Paul II.

May the Lord Bless Our Pope with a long and glorious reign!

How NOT to be a millionaire!

This is so funny...

NEW YORK – Idaho resident Kathy Evans brought humiliation to her friends and family Tuesday when she set a new standard for stupidity with her appearance on the popular TV show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." It seems that Evans, a 32-year-old wife and mother of two, got stuck on the first question, and proceeded to make what fans of the show are dubbing "the absolute worst use of lifelines ever."

After being introduced to the show's host Meredith Vieira, Evans assured her that she was ready to play, whereupon she was posed with an extremely easy $100 question. The question was:

"Which of the following is the largest?" (A) A Peanut (B) An Elephant (C) The Moon (D) Hey, who you calling large?

Immediately Mrs. Evans was struck with an all consuming panic as she realised that this was a question to which she did not readily know the answer. "Hmm, oh boy, that's a toughie," said Evans, as Vieira did her level best to hide her disbelief and disgust. "I mean, I'm sure I've heard of some of these things before, but I have no idea how large they would be."

Evans made the decision to use the first of her three lifelines, the 50/50. Answers A and D were removed, leaving her to decide which was bigger, an elephant or the moon. However, faced with an incredibly easy question, Evans still remained unsure.

"Oh! It removed the two I was leaning towards!" exclaimed Evans. "Darn. I think I better phone a friend." Using the second of her two lifelines on the first question, Mrs. Evans asked to be connected with her friend Betsy, who is an office assistant.

"Hi Betsy! How are you? This is Kathy! I'm on TV!" said Evans, wasting the first seven seconds of her call. "Ok, I got an important question. Which of the following is the largest? B, an elephant, or C, the moon. 15 seconds hun."

Betsy quickly replied that the answer was C, the moon. Evans proceeded to argue with her friend for the remaining ten seconds.

"Come on Betsy, are you sure?" said Evans. "How sure are you? Puh, that can't be it." To everyone's astonishment, the moronic Evans declined to take her friend's advice and pick 'The Moon.'

"I just don't know if I can trust Betsy. She's not all that bright. So I think I'd like to ask the audience," said Evans.

Asked to vote on the correct answer, the audience returned 98% in favor of answer C, 'The Moon.' Having used up all her lifelines, Evans then made the dumbest choice of her life.

"Wow, seems like everybody is against what I'm thinking," said Evans. "But you know, sometimes you just got to go with your gut. So, let's see. For which is larger, an elephant or the moon, I'm going to have to go with B, an elephant. Final answer."

Evans sat before the dumbfounded audience, the only one waiting with bated breath, and was told that she was wrong, and that the answer was in fact, C, 'The Moon.'

What can I add to that??

Behold! I bring you news of great joy...

... a joy to be shared with all the people; for on this day I have finished my last overdue essay from 2006!

What a relief! How happy am I now! Rejoice with me people! Yay!

And it turned out very well I have to say, it was a 2000 word paper on the Motherhood of Mary drawn from the scriptures. For those who sometimes wonder how Mary fits in and why she fits in you might enjoy it.

Actually I'm trying to work out if I can post PDF files on this site but it doesn't seem to be possible. Oh well. If anyone knows, let me know.

Excuse me now, I must dress in my party clothes and go and dance in the streets!

I am no robot...I choose to love

I was working in the shop on Sunday and got chatting with this nice old lady about this, that and the other. I was telling her how it was always encouraging to meet someone who had persevered in the faith so long and I jokingly said to her "you'll only spend a quick time in purgatory!" and then this dear lady proceeded to confidently tell me that the Church no longer believed in hell and punishment, as a God of love would never be so cruel to punish his creatures. (BTW Purgatory is a place of final purification for those souls who need it before reaching heaven). Here we go I thought, rolling the eyes inside my mind but then took it as a great opportunity to briefy re-introduce her to the truth. It was a great little conversation and I look forward to seeing her next Sunday.

Why is it that people think hell is not real, do they take their ideas through to completion? God is a God of love and he wants all people to choose to love him and thus be with him forever in heaven but he isn't going to force us to love him. The greatest gift we have been given is free will, we choose every day if we will live for Him or not for Him. If I spend my whole life purposely saying 'no' to God why should I expect that when I die God will force me against my will to be with him in heaven? He does not force us now and he will not force us then.

If I loved someone and they did not love me in return, I could take a a gun and force them to tell me that they love me. This may well make them say it but am I really loving them by forcing that act of affection? Of course not. Love is only a choice that can be made in freedom and the existence of hell (the place of suffering where God is not) proves that God is a God of love, just as he is a God of justice. God sends no one to hell, people choose to send themselves there, God is not to blame for that. We are not robots and we have the great gift of choosing when and who we will love.

Deus Caritas Est a big seller. Have you read it yet?

From Zenit:

Benedict XVI's first encyclical letter Deus Caritas Est is one of the most commercially successful doctrinal tracts ever written by a Pope.

The document has been reprinted three times in the German Pontiff's own language, three times in Spanish and has sold almost 1.5 million copies in Italian.

For the first time in modern history, the Latin version was also reprinted since the initial run of 1,000 copies sold out in two months. Benedict XVI's first encyclical has also been translated into Russian and Chinese.

It is a great little encyclical but if you want to start with a very brief summary here's one for you.

Vatican expert warns against "criminalisation of religious opposition" to homosexuals

An interesting article in todays Cath News. Isn't it how interesting when God is taken out of a society, in the name of freedom of belief, the ones whose beliefs are first persecuted are those that believe in God:

Noted US Vaticanologist John L Allen has warned against a trend towards "criminalisation of religious opposition to homosexuality" following a UK Government decision to refuse to allow Catholic adoption agencies to bar services to gay couples.

Mr Allen says that the Blair government decision last week is a trend that poses deep challenges to the Catholic Church. "Not only in terms of legal exposure, but its capacity to articulate a positive message on sexuality and the family".

The ruling by the British Blair government means that government-funded Catholic adoption agencies in the UK will not be exempted from complying with proposed new rules allowing gay adoption.

Mr Allen characterises the story as part of a "cultural 'mega-trend' in the affluent North" involving "a collision between the irresistible force of the gay rights movement, and the immovable object of religious commitment to traditional 'family values'".

Citing recent court battles in Sweden, Canada, France and the US, Allen warns that courts may increasingly be asked to hear appeals from Christians who believe they're being discriminated against for their views on gay rights.

"It's not much of a stretch", Mr Allen continues, "to imagine pastors being fined or even imprisoned for statements opposing the rights of homosexuals to marry or adopt."

What a very sad situation it seems we are heading towards. That's what happens when Christians lose their faith and stop standing up for what is right. As the saying goes, 'evil happens when good men do nothing'.

What temperament are you??

I did this little temperament test today and found out what I probably already knew, that I am 75% Melancholic and 25% Choleric. What are the temperaments you ask? Basically the four temperaments, choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic are used to describe an individual's tendency to react and live in a certain way. For example, the choleric tends to react quickly and intensely, and to take action immediately and decisively. The sanguine is your classic "people person," known for their warmth, enthusiasm, and cheerful optimism. The melancholic is deeply thoughtful and analytic, slow to respond, skeptical, sensitive, and idealistic. The phlegmatic is usually a "peace-maker"—slow to react, calm, cooperative, and reserved.

Knowing your temperament is nothing to do with some new age trend. One's temperament is a gift from God, an important aspect of our human nature that brings with it certain strengths as well as weaknesses. It is important to know oneself so that one does not go through life reacting instinctively, but rather acting with wisdom and fortitude. When we begin to understand our temperament, we can identify our natural tendencies and use this as a springboard for growth.

If you have a few minutes why not take the Temperament Test and learn a bit more about yourself. Let us know what you came out as. (If you want to know how to do that look at the post below).

Just how do I leave comments on this thing??

I didn't think leaving comments on the blog was difficult but I have been told otherwise...

Some people have wanted to leave comments on a certain post but just can't work out how to do it. It's very simple. At the bottom of each post are the words '0 comments' (or whatever the number or comments are), by clicking on those words a new box will open up and you are able to view any comments and also leave your own, just select the option 'other', type in your name, type your comment and hit publish and 'voila'...it's done! Then I get an email telling me that a comment has been left, it's all very clever!

Hope this helps all the luddites out there, now I look forward to blog comments instead of emails :)

My little brother Anthony...

My brother Anthony checked out my new blog today and he left me this comment under one of the posts but just in case your don't read all the little comments, I'm posting it here, I laughed and laughed and laughed:

Today I got up and went to the toilet. I felt like I had to do a No. 2 but it didn't happen. So I went out and ate some bran. I then went back to the toilet and tried again still without success although I did manage a bit of a No. 1. I decided to give up on the whole toilet thing for a while. I then went and ate a carrot and I chewed for a little while and then I chewed some more for a little while. Then I stopped chewing and looked at the carrot it had 2 chew marks out of it but I had eaten less than a quarter, and then I thought geees there's a lot of carrot left, I put the carrot down with my left hand. It went plonk. Then the phone rang it went ring ring and then it went ring ring, but I couldn't answer it because the bran that I ate earlier had started to kick in and I felt the urge to go back to the toilet to do a No. 2. After I had finished I went to wash my hands, I wet my hands first then I gave two pumps on the soap dispenser, it went squish squish. I washed my hands and I liked it because it made my hands smell nice and got rid of all those microbacterial germs. So as you can see my morning was pretty hectic. My name is Anthony Toutounji and that was my story.

Thanks for your comment Anthony, sounds like you need to start up your own blog! (Actually being a soon to be dad would be a very interesting thing to blog about...go for it!)

The Presentation of the Lord - 2nd February

One more thing...Tomorrow the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. This is when, in accordance with the Jewish law Jesus was taken to the temple by Mary and Joseph to be offered to God (Luke 2:22-40) and it also signifies the purification of Mary.

In the Gospel passage there is the beautiful scene when Simeon is led by the Lord to the temple, he had been promised that he would not die until he had seen the saviour. When he sees Jesus he takes him in his arms saying

"At last all powerful Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation,which you have prepared for all the nations peoples, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to your people Israel"

When I was at the seminary we would pray this prayer every night as part of night prayer and we would have the Lord exposed in the monstrance during that time, I would always love to say that prayer looking at Out Lord in the Consecrated Host realising that I was seeing what Simeon was seeing, the salvation of God for all people.

So have a great feast day tommorrow. If you get to Mass don't forget to take some candles to get blessed as that is the traditional day for blessing candles. Candles of course symbolising Christ as the light of the world, who was revealed to Simeon on that day in the temple.

Tickets, trains and time with Jesus

Missed my train to work this morning...I admit it was my fault though. I forgot to buy my weekly ticket before my other one expired so I was standing at the machine while my train pulled in, and of course it sat there for longer than usual (just to make me think I'd make it) and just as the ticket popped out of the machine, the doors shut and my 8.18am tooted off. I did consider banging on the doors like a madman but decided against it and read my book for my current essay while I looked at this sight for 15 minutes,

BTW The book I was reading today for the essay is Hail Holy Queen by Scott Hahn and it is an excellent book! It is a really easy read, I have just about finished it but it is packed full of scriptural insights as to why Mary is the Mother of all people who call Jesus their brother and saviour. If you want a good read I recommend it or any Scott Hahn books. (We sell them allat the bookshop).

So after work headed to the Cathedral for Six30 which is a weekly gathering of young people at the Cathedral for a Holy Hour of worship before Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament. I really love going, it is just a simple time of prayer and singing with usually 100 or so other youth and a number of priests available for confession.

For those who aren't Catholics (feel free to join!), the Church has believed and taught for 2000 years that at the consecration of the Mass the bread and wine change into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ, not a symbol, not a sign but his real presence under the appearance of bread and wine. Only at the time of the reformation 400 years ago was this truth contested. Scriptually we look to John Chapter 6 when Jesus emphasises several times that those who wish to have eternal life must eat his body and drink his blood and this is fulfilled at the last supper when he takes the bread and wine and says this IS my body and this IS my blood. It is THE gift of Christ to his Church, we are able to receive him in Holy Communion and pray in his Real Presence, what a marvel!

So back to the Cathedral, it is such a great setting at 6.30pm in summer with the sunlight flooding through the yellow glass panes,

There is a different priest who leads the holy hour each week and he exposes and incences the Blessed Sacrament while a hymn is sung, it truly raises the mind to God for indeed God is really present there with us,

After the Holy Hour most of the youth and the priests head down to a cafe on Bourke St for a meal which is a great time to meet up with others. I left early though as I wasn't feeling well so here I am and I think I'll go to bed very soon.

Embryonic research cartoon

This from the American Papist.

— "I died while waiting for a cure to be found by research on embryonic stem cells, and you?"

— "I was that embryo!"

Only six months to go!

It occurred to me today that it is now only six months till my little soiree in Melbourne comes to an end. Wow that has gone so fast! Mind you in that six months I have 7 units to take and who knows how many essays to write but altleast there is an end in sight. Ashame it has taken me this long to actually settle into Melbourne, but now I have grown to quiet like it and I'm sure I will always recall it fondly (ahhh) but I do dream about the day when I can get up and stretch out on the lounge to watch TV (I don't have one here) and then decide whether I will go to the kitchen or the dining room or the lounge room or the family room or the backyard or the front yard...ahh choice!