Mister Berns

New Website

2011-03-28T22:05:00.004+11:00

From January 2011 all posts will be made on my website www.bernardtoutounji.com Hope to see you there!

When Life is Like an Ipod

2010-05-23T16:15:00.002+10:00

As I write this I am sitting on a train and the girl next to me is listening to her iPod. She is flicking through her playlist to find a song that she likes, however it seems that just because she starts a song does not mean she will finish it. Some songs get ten seconds of play time, some get a minute, but it seems she is not satisfied with the level of enjoyment she is receiving from her playlist (which I assume is made up of songs she herself selected).

This inability to be satisfied is not limited to this young lady nor is it limited to iPods. This is an age which had a general inability to commit, but perhaps more to the point; this is an age that must be continually entertained.

Commercial radio believes that any piece of music needs to be three minutes or less for fear that we will not ‘commit’ to the song; one day cricket is becoming increasingly popular at the expense of test matches which require several days of investment; the TV remote control reminds us that there might always be something better on the next channel.

The problem is that when the highest value in one’s life is immediate gratification we lose the ability to persevere. After all, why spend the afternoon cooking over a hot stove when we can simply reheat a frozen meal in the microwave?

Life however is not a microwave, nor is it an iPod or a remote control. Life will not always entertain. There will be times that are joyous and there will be times that are difficult. Life will not always give, so that we can simply lie back and receive.

If we have an inability to look at the bigger picture of life and understand the overall good, then every inconvenience, every suffering, every second listening to a song we do not like, become moments to be avoided at all costs.

Now of course this is not to say we must delight in everything we do, but we do need to have an awareness of when we are becoming too quick to ‘change songs’. Life is full of ups and downs, they cannot be avoided.

What happens for example, when two people who are always used to ‘changing the channel’ get married? What will happen when the inevitable trials of life come upon them? Will they have the ability to see the greater good and sacrifice immediate self-gratification for the greater good of the other person or the relationship as a whole?

Once we have become serial ‘channel changers’ we find that nothing satisfies. There may always be something better; there may always be more fun to be had elsewhere.

Real and lasting joy however can only come through perseverance and commitment to the task and duties before us. Would Sir Edmund Hillary have reached the top of Mt Everest and been able to appreciate its views if he was seeking immediate pleasure every step of the way?

So go on…think about getting yourself in training. Go for a long walk in the mountains; bake a cake from scratch; listen to an entire symphony. Experience the fullness of the beauty in the world around us. And most importantly; stop flicking though the songs on your iPod!

Theology of the Body

2009-03-05T11:39:00.004+11:00

If you have read my posts below on the Theology of the Body course I undertook in the USA in January you will realise how much it blew me away. I was such a transformative expereince that I really want other Australians to have this rich expereince and bring it back home. So a few interested people from around Australia are getting together a group to travel to the US and participate in the one week intensive course in January. Watch our little video below...if you're from Australia, join us, if you're from somewhere else, join us anyway! And spread the word. More info in the video...

Home at last

2009-01-14T13:54:00.002+11:00

Well it has been an amazing and blessed month. I saw a sampling for so many places in Europe and the USA, so many places of spiritual and historical significance. I met some wonderful people and some interesting people. One thing I did realise is that whereever you go, people are people and they all desire the same thing, they wish to raise their families and live their lives in peace and harmony.

Some of my favourite places include Assisi in Italy, Vallendar in Germany (Schoenstatt) and Lourdes in France. New York was a loud and fascinating place, it was the America of the movies but even that I realise is but a small part of it.

The course that led me on the trip in the beginning was absoultely amazing. I have written a fair bit about it but much of it is beyond words. It was a real time of grace and blessing for me and I pray I will keep what I learnt close to me, not only as a begin to write the thesis to finish my Masters but also as I move through life. I will hope to return there again to undertake further courses and also bring others with me.

I have just uploaded some of the photos to Facebook and you may be interested to have a look at them here.

I have to say though that as wonderful as travelling is the best part is returning home. When I got out of Sydney airport and took a breath I realised that I was home, the air is different, it is Australia. I think that leaving your home make one appreciate it even more.

So I feel that the way to end with this song because it is the one that stikes me as saying what I would like to say. God bless the world and God bless Australia!

Powerful Thoughts from Theology of the Body

2009-01-10T14:36:00.004+11:00

For the the Theology of the Body week was transformative. I knew what TOB was but spending this week in Pennsyvania where the theology was so integrated with the heart (sacraments, prayer etc) really had a powerful effect. I wish I could bring everyone on this course, the teaching the TOB and understanding ourselves as God created us is so healing and powerful. I wanted to share some of my notes from the week (I have 20 pages) so have narrowed down some of the points and tried to sort them into rough headings. I know I am not doing these comments real justice by throwing them in like this with no foundations but some of the ideas spoke very much to my heart so I hope some of them might speak to you. This is not even the beginning, I really desire to be able to get TOB known in Austraia more. I encourage you to google 'Theology of the Body' or check out this page with articles by Christopher West. It is profound stuff!

LOVE…

The culture says that love is not possible, that we are not worthy of a love that dares to encompass us, just settle for the food in the dumpster. The culture tells us that there is no banquet…but as Christ said, ‘in the beginning it was not so’. Christ died and rose to restore creation to the purity of its origins. The Immaculate Conception is the sign that redemption worked, perfectly given and received. To say that we cannot overcome our lusts is to say the cross did not work, the journey is difficult but it will lead to resurrection. Living true love is a journey that is totally sustained by grace.

The love of man and wife is redemptive, the love they share is meant to be a symbol of Christ’s redemptive love. A man who truly loves will be able to heal the hurts of his beloved and the woman who loves will be able to heal the wounds of her beloved

It is written into a women’s heart to yearn for a man who will love her like Christ loves, someone who loves her as if she were the only women who would only exist. Not only is it women though who desire this sort of love but men actually desire to die for their women. It comes out in music and in film and art. The man however can doubt that he has this ability and the woman can also be led to believe that there is not really any man out there to love them unconditionally or they feel unworthy of hey meet someone who desires to love them in that way. This being said, as desirous as we are to live these ideals we will always fail from time to time, we are fallen and wounded

Listen to the novels, the movies, the music…every good story tells this story; everyone is longing for love. That love we are aching for though is beyond ourselves, we are seeking for the infinite exchange of love. When we seek the answers in finite things it results in addiction. Addiction demonstrates we yearn for something that never ends, that is a good yearning. When we sin we are looking for something good but sin is less than what will satisfy us

MAN AND WOMAN…

GOD THE FATHER…

Many of us carry a ‘father wound’, we mistake the love of God the Father and see him as a tyrant instead of the origin of every good gift. All of stand before the Father with one of two postures, receptivity to the gift or grasping at the gift. Mary is the model of receptivity towards the gift. If we don’t believe God is a loving Father, we will reach out to take what we want for ourselves.

Since the fall we have all taken the posture of fear before God, we have become spiritually naked. The Lord wants to remove the stone, like he removed the stone from the tomb of the dead Lazarus. There was the scent of death but from that the Lord brought forth life. We must all know our need to remove the stone.

SHAME…

A woman will cover her body if someone bursts into the bathroom, why is this? It is because she does not want to be seen by someone who may not see her for who she is. She carries an echo in her heart that she is not to be used. Adam and Eve covered themselves because they were not totally depraved, the felt natural shame, a good shame. Nakedness without shame is what we are called too and we can taste that to some level in an authentic marital relationship, we can also see that in art. We are not ashamed of the body but of the concupiscence through which it might be viewed. Marriage is the place in which shame is to some degree taken away, shame is absorbed by love.

CHASTITY…

True chastity is not perfected by never being alone together before marriage, a couple need to practice to control themselves. If a couple do not, they will not be able to exercise true chastity within marriage. We remain in chains. If we are slaves to sin we will see freedom as indulging in our desires to sin. We can walk on water if we keep our eyes on Christ.

Women do not want a man who cannot control his sexual desires. If he cannot say no then his yes means nothing; woman just becomes an outlet for him to indulge his lusts. On the contrary women need to be careful to not see their husbands as merely a means to fulfil a desire for children

MARRIAGE…

If you think you can never be happy unless you are married then you will always be disappointed. Those who are not married can be truly happy. Married people will never be completely happy in this life, they will never be able to fulfil all their spouses desires, as ones ultimate happiness can never come completely come from their spouse. Couples must learn to let go of the idolatry and expectations that they need to fulfil all the needs of the other person. Marriage is an icon, not an idol. Marriage and procreation is the historical dimension of the desire for heaven. The sexual union and communion of marriage is meant to point us to the communion of heaven.

The marital embrace is the opportunity to bring about the creation of another human being. All sexual sin is the attempt to grasp at the ecstasy without the agony. This is not to condemn anyone but to be awakened to the depth of grace we are offered. The dissatisfaction that so many marriages suffer is at the most basic root the rejection of the explosion of sexual love that is meant to be. Contracepted sexual union does not heal anything but it pours salt on the wounds.

Christ wants to enter a marital relationship with us; if we miss that we miss it all.

GOD’S LOVE…

We yearn for forgiveness of sins but that is not the end, it is only the beginning, what God wants is to have us sit down with his at the banquet. Even though we have offended God we are constantly invited not just to sit down with Him to a meal but to become part of His family.

SEXUAL UNION...

Sexual union is meant to proclaim the whole depth of God’s mystery, from creation to redemption. When spouses proclaim the language of their body, they perform an act of prophecy, they point to the communion of the Trinity. The question is as to whether or not the couple allow their union to have the character of a truthful sign. The Church imposes nothing on us when she says sexual love is meant to last forever. The Church wants all people to experience the love they long for. Do not give yourself sexually to another unless they have given themselves to you forever and that is…marriage. We are all looking for true love and when we don’t find it, it rips us apart.

Everything the church says about sex is this; don’t settle for less than what you really desire. The Church does indeed have a high view of sexual love and that can only be lived out by correspondence with grace. Through Christ there is always the possibility from error to truth and from sin to chastity, always an expression of a life lived according to the Holy Spirit In our world sex has become our religion, our idol. But there is a deeper hunger, what the world really wants is union with God but it is disguising it with an attempt at sex

THE SONG OF SONGS (SCRIPTURE)

My Sister, My Bride (Song of Songs 4:9-10). We are too quick in our culture to ignore the importance of having the fraternal theme beneath a relationship. To call a woman ‘sister’ before calling her ‘bride’ has a particular eloquence, it shows the man’s desire is not one of lust but of love. We can see it also when a woman sees in her lover a brother first and foremost, she would not treat her brother as merely a sperm bank or for the sake of financial security.

While there is much vulnerability on the hearts of women, there is much vulnerability on the parts of men initiating the gift. It is a very delicate exchange. If the lover is to enter the garden he cannot knock down the door or manipulate the woman in surrendering the key. The man must entrust himself to her freedom, for she might refuse. The is the risk the man has to take. In total freedom (the Lord will never force us) the beloved will say yes, in total freedom she says ‘I belong to my lover”.

A woman should have a sense of her own mystery and men must respect that mystery, tragically though, the free sex generation has caused many women to no longer appreciate their own mystery as it has been violated and many men to forget their role as true lovers. Forgiveness is needed towards those who offended and used us. The love shown to our violators will be the healing that will allow us to take on our role as men and women and find and live out the love the Lord calls us to

CONTRACEPTION…

If we understand ourselves as mere biology then tampering with our fertility will be no different to clipping our toenails; our sexuality though is meant to be a reflection of the love of God. We can compare any sexual behaviour to God’s love which is free, total, faithful, fruitful and see if that behaviour is authentic. Adultery, masturbation, homosexuality…are these acts that image God’s love? No. Is this meant to condemn anyone…no! It just means we are missing the mark and all of us in our fallen states miss the mark in some way. The important matter is not what our particular wound is but rather if we are willing to let God’s love heal us. We can ask the same about Contracepted sex, does it echo God’s call for free, total, faithful and fruitful love? The answer again…no. Contracepted sex turns the marital act into a lie when it is supposed to be the greatest moment of truth between couples. The thing is modern culture does not really like sex, it is scared of sex. What does our culture like? It likes orgasm. It likes the pleasure, but if we really loved sex we would not seek to alter it at such a fundamental level. There is a scene in ‘Will and Grace’ where a coule are trying for a child and the man says “Now we get to have sex for real”. There it is, right in modern culture, Contracepted sex, is simply not real sex.

NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING…

The Catholic Church has never, never, never taught that a couple must have as many children as is possible. This is where true responsible parenthood comes in. Having established that we cannot tell a lie with our bodies, what can we do? What most of us are doing right now…abstain. After all, God himself has not made a woman to be fertile all throughout her life, he is giving us the means for couples to space their families.

Contraception was not invented to prevent pregnancy, we already had a way to do that. Contraception was invented so we don’t need to abstain. Even the feminist Germaine Greer has recently says ‘The pill has called women into call girls to be readily available for meaningless sex’.

The only method of birth control that is in keeping with human dignity is self control. If you cannot say no then your yes means nothing.

The moral responsibility of the number of children a couple has rests in the shoulders of the parents and no one else. This decision must be made in truth before the Lord but it always be carried out using moral means.

The problem with birth control is not that it is artificial. It is not artificial vs natural. We need to talk in regard to contraception vs abstinence. With modern natural family planning methods a couple can be 99% sure about when they are fertile.

Some people say what is the difference between waiting and contracepting? Think then about what is the difference between killing grandma and waiting for her to die. It is the same difference between euthanasia and natural death. In euthanasia and contraception we take the power of God into our own hands. But many now do not even see the problem with euthanasia and that is because they accepted the story of contraception. When one becomes fuzzy on beginning of life issues one also becomes fuzzy on end of life issues.

What is the Theology of the Body??

2009-01-09T10:55:00.001+11:00

So the Theology of the Body…what is it? The 'Theology of the Body' is Pope John Paul II's integrated vision of the human person - body, soul, and spirit. As he explains, the physical human body has a specific meaning and is capable of revealing answers regarding fundamental questions about us and our lives:

• Is there a real purpose to life and if so, what is it?

• Why were we created male and female? Does it really matter if we are one sex or another?

• Why were man and woman called to communion from the beginning?

• What does the marital union of a man and woman say to us about God and his plan for our lives?

• What is the purpose of the married and celibate vocations?

• What exactly is "Love"?

• Is it truly possible to be pure of heart?

All of these questions and many more are answered in Pope John Paul II's 129 Wednesday audiences, which were given between the years 1979 and 1984. His reflections are based on Scripture (especially the Gospels, St. Paul and the Book of Genesis), and contain a vision of the human person truly worthy of mankind. John Paul II discusses who man was in the beginning, who he is now (after original sin), and who he will be in the age to come. He then applies this message to the vocations of marriage and celibacy, in preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Theology of the Body is the answer to the ache that exist in the heart of modern man. It is not about rules but about discovering who we are and in that way it speak to ever person that desires joy, love and truth in their lives. It is such a blessing to be here taking this course, I really would love to bring others on this same course…perhaps a bit of an Australian pilgrimage here in 2010?

My TOB week

2009-01-09T10:26:00.001+11:00

The week here has been so amazing, it has been more than a week of lectures but really an immersion in the Theology and an opportunity to change hearts…mine in particular. The content of the lectures has been exactly like a regular intensive lecture series with six hours of talks a day but this is theology taught the way theology should be taught. The Institute has been given permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament so effectively we are studying in a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament watching over us. There is also a team of ‘pray-ers’ who come to the conference centre and pray before the Blessed Sacrament in another room. They are interceding for those on the course. We have Mass each day as well as confession and adoration time.

Last night we had a penance service. The Theology of the Body TOB team set up one of the rooms full of lit candles and we had exposition of the Blessed Sacrament while eight of the priests on the course heard confessions. We also have some talented musicians (including a classical pianist) who played some beautiful hymns while we were at prayer. For me the time of prayer was a rich time. I don’t know why but I did feel the presence of the Lord which I don’t recall feeling like that for a long time, in fact I don’t recall experiencing His presence so closely since perhaps even before I went into the seminary! It has been a blessing that this course has been set in the midst of a retreat. World Youth Day really wore me down and if it is possible to work too closely with Church related matters then that 12 months was that experience. It was a phenomenal opportunity to help plan the largest faith event in Australia’s history but it took a very deep faith toll on me.

One other things we did yesterday which was a little different was watch the movie ‘The Truman Show’. It really is an powerful movie that shows the strength and created power of human freedom to seek out the truth and also the desire of other forces to keep us trapped in our ignorance. The Christian/anti-Christian symbols are strong and we all had a good discussion after the movie.

I must add a note about how blessed a presenter Christopher West is. He is such a gifted speaker, I would love to be able to captivate people the way in which he does. And oh my gosh the man has a MASSIVE repertoire of music and movies in his head. We will be going through a part of the TOB text and all of a sudden he will launch into a pop sing that speaks so clearly about the particular theme he is on about. He calls all these secular artists ‘twisted mystics’ and if you ever spend a week on this course with Christopher West you will see why. He is all for taking the popular art of the culture and using it to explain the mysteries of Christianity. It is the way Christianity has worked since St Paul used the altar to the unknown god to tell the pagans about Christ.

Post Script

2009-01-07T09:13:00.000+11:00

I should have added in the post below that the teachings of Theology of the Body (or indeed Christianity in general) are not meant to condemn anyone. Christ offers his teachings to us as the way to complete joy and we are free to accept them or not, and as much as we desire to accept them we will be given the help to live them out.

God knows that we are a wounded people and it is often difficult to let go of those things which may very well offer us the only certainty and comfort we know. However, it is only in letting go of the half eaten bagel that we are able to use our hands to reach out and partake of the banquet that the Lord has prepared for us.

Everyone is need of redemption, everyone is wounded, one person’s sin may not be another’s but everyone has something that they need to let go of. Let us not hold onto our woundedness, redemption awaits!

Theology of the Body

2009-01-07T06:38:00.001+11:00

It is Tuesday afternoon at the Blackrock Conference Centre in Quarryville Pennsylvania. This is day three and we have now had four three-hour sessions. The reason for my overseas trip was this week here; undertaking a one week intensive course in Pope John Paul’s Theology of the Body (TOB). The course is led by Christopher West who for the last 10 years has been travelling the world teaching and popularising that catechesis given by Pope John Paul between 1979 and 1984. The TOB catechesis is made up of 129 general audiences that were given at the Vatican and forms the first major teaching of his pontificate. The course here is being offered through the Theology of the Body Institute

I came here to learn more about the Theology of the Body and to build upon what I had learnt at the JPII Institute in Melbourne. Theology of the Body is what first led me to Melbourne, as I saw (and still see) in TOB the way to reach out to the current generation of Christians, non Christians and atheists. TOB is essentially a catechesis on what it is to be a human person and because of that it is a lens through which to respond to all the questions of the human heart, who am I, why am I here, how can I be happy etc. It is the lens through which to see the entire Catholic faith.

This is not just another lecture series though; it is called a ‘Head and Heart Immersion Course’, that is, the course is about education minds but also transforming hearts and then changing lives. These courses have been running here for a few years. There are people who have come again who have been before and it really has changed lives. One of the things Christopher said at the beginning is that many of us come here with a Petrine (St Peter) attitude, that is to take the message and evangelise the world with it (that’s me) but more importantly we must come to this with a Marian (Mary) disposition, that is, to be in a mode of receiving the gift. After a few sessions though I can begin to see that especially for me I need to be open to receive these messages instead of just compiling more knowledge which is my specialty.

Christopher West is a dynamic speaker in the way of those very charismatic American speakers that you see on TV. They have their message and they believe in it with their whole being and want to share it. West is one of the most sought after catholic speakers in the world today and is akin to Anthony Robbins in his delivery.

Since the late 1960’s for a whole host of reasons there has been a massive amount of dissent from the Church’s teaching on sexuality and morality. The Church’s teachings were nothing new but when the sexual revolution was proclaiming a new Gospel of selfish pleasure and denial of the value of sexuality the Church continued to say that sex is good, holy and beautiful. In 1968 Pope Paul VI re-stated the position that contraception violated the language of the sexual act and was therefore never something that Christians could accept. Until 1930 every Christian church had proclaimed this same truth but between 1930 and 1960 every protestant church changed their position. The Catholic Church however is the guardian of truth and not the inventor of it so she held fast, even though many Catholics, for the first time in the history of the Church openly dissented from the authority of the Pope. Now the Church lives in a position in which many practicing Catholics think contraception is ok and it is a free choice that they are able to make. Not necessarily through their own faults they have been conditioned wrongly and not been led to see the reasons for the Church’s moral position. Many people and the media get very bitter towards the Church’s sexual teaching but we only get bitter against God’s laws when we desire to break them. Perhaps the solution that is not considered is to ask for our hearts to be changed?

John Paul II knew this and hence he gave to the world the Theology of the Body. The brilliance of the TOB is that it is starts with the human experience of what it is to be created as male and female and to sense loneliness and unity in our lives. John Paul uses the words of Christ and returns ‘to the beginning’ to the experiences of our first parents and how they viewed themselves and their sexuality before the fall from grace.

It is amazing as Christopher goes through the presentations how often the participants (there are about 100 of us) can see it as directly talking into their own hearts. There is a modern notion among people that their personal story and yearnings are somehow different and no one else could understand but that is just the individualism that we live in. In truth, men and women share the same longings and have done so since the beginning of time. We are all made in the image of God and this means certain things will always be the same. We will always ling for love and for truth.

The most basic example Christopher uses is to hold up a blank piece of paper and say ‘this is an image of male and female before the fall’. He then crunches it up and says ‘this is an image of male and female after the fall’. There are a number of responses that people make to the crunched up ball of paper; many of us believe that that is what it is meant to be, the frustration between the sexes, the misunderstanding and abuses are what is it like, as good as it gets. In that case just make the most of it and get out as much as you can. Other well meaning (often Christian teachers) have looked at the scrunched up paper, our fallen humanity and sexuality, and taught that it is bad and we should try to free ourselves from the body and live only spiritual lives. Pope John Paul however, in his TOB, looked to the scriptures and the words of Christ and the great mystics and saints to take the scrunched up piece of paper and actually UNFOLD it! Unfold it with the grace of God. We are a wounded people but the good news is that Christ has come to uncrunch the paper and help us live in freedom. This is why this is such a refreshing and unique teaching. This is not repression and this is not acceptance of our state but this is true redemption. It is the only way to live in true freedom.

The modern culture says that love is not possible, that we are not worthy of a love that dares to encompass us. Many of us are taught to just settle for the food in the dumpster, not to believe or hope that there is something better. There are many men and women out there who are too scared to give and to scared to receive, there is a great fear in the hearts of men and women…and I am talking about ‘good’ men and women! We are told there is no banquet or real joy in life so best we cling onto the pithy reality that we have, after all, at least it is real! It is like saying, best to chew on the half eaten bagel instead of looking to the feast that is being offered! But…in the beginning it was not so. Christ died and rose to restore creation to the purity of its origins. To say that we cannot overcome our lusts and selfish desires is to say the cross did not work. Yes the journey is difficult but it will lead to resurrection if we make it in honesty. Ours is a journey that is totally sustained by grace. This is where the message is totally opposite to secular culture, we do not say, I can do all things I put my mind to, but rather, I can do all things with God’s grace!

Our creation as man and woman is a window into heaven, it is an icon, it gives us the vision into understanding and living in heaven. When the image of man and woman is so distorted though Satan leads us to believe that we cannot reach the beauty of heaven, we run the other way. Both men and women are called to drink in the love that Christ offers to us and to allow him to clear out the dirt that coats our hearts. The dirt that clogs our vision can stop us from seeing where it is we are being led and it can stop us seeing the great gifts that God wants to give to us his children. We need to trust that we have a heavenly Father who loves us and wants to lead us to that love, he does not want us to grasp at things, but when we fear we are not loved, we tend not to wait for the good and instead, grab at what we can. The good news is that the echo of who we are still exists in our hearts. We are only a wounded people, not totally depraved. We need to listen to the divine echo that rests within us all. In that echo lies the path to the happiness we long for. Let us leave the half chewed bagel in the gutter and raise our eyes to heaven and cry out to God for the feast!

New York

2009-01-05T01:47:00.001+11:00

Massive, huge, colourful, noisy, food, TV, non stop!

(More on this later)

Going now to Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral NYC before we drive to Pennsylavia for my Theology of the Body one week course with Chris West.

Germany

2009-01-05T01:42:00.003+11:00

Now this has to be super express as I have to leave in 10 minutes.

So we spent three days in Germany and the first hightlight visiting Vallendar, a small village outside of Frankfurt where the original Schoenstatt Shrine is. It is a little shrine which has become a huge pilgrimage place with replica shrine all around the world where the movement has expanded including two in Aus). We were personaly led around by Sr Angela. We saw not only the original Shrine but the adoration church where the founder Fr Kentenich died and is buried and also a number of other shrines belonging to various branches. I was also able to meet with my friends Maria, Kerstin and Teresia who are from Germany but spend a year in Australia prior to WYD helping with SChoenstatt's preparations. This is one place that I must return.

From there we drove down to Munich and spent some time with my freind Sandra and alos with her family. Had a bike ride through Munich and also most unformtunately caught a stomach bug which tossed me around right into New York (esp on the plane over).

A wet day in Rome

2009-01-05T01:33:00.002+11:00

It's been so busy I haven't even had time to blog (I'm not sure if this effects a readership of 3 people or 3000 people but either way, my apologies). Better make this the express version.

On Tuesday 28th we had a day in Rome and the attempt was to see the Vatican Museum as well as St John Lateran's and St Mary Major's. It was pouring rain and we lined up for 3 hours in a slow moving queue but just as the gate was finally in sight what should hamper us but...the Italian siester! What a joke! An international museum and the whole line is dismissed so they can all go home for a piece of pizza and a brief sleep! Oh well. As that day also happened to be a free day they did not open after the siesta so there would be no museum :(

We did make it to the above mentioned basilica's though which were all beautful in their own rights.

That night I prayed a final rosary in St Peter's Square, waved goodbye to lights on in the papal apartment and went back to our accomodation.

Venice

2008-12-28T10:24:00.002+11:00

We finally arrived into Venice around 11.20pm that same night. It was a long trip from Assisi and the train was hardly the Orient Express so we were both glad to say goodbye to that one. (After that stunning first class train ride from London to Paris it will be hard to travel on a regular train ever again!) We had to catch a vaporetto (a water bus) from the train station to our accommodation but of course the vaporetta only took us half way and it was 50 minutes before the next one came, and it was freezing! We found shelter in a small restaurant and ordered a hot drink although we were told we could not stay long as were only ordering a drink (I don’t see the problem, it’s not like they were beating back the customers at that hour and I would figure better to get 10 Euros from us than 0 Euros from an empty chair but perhaps that is why I am not in business). I was very impressed though that finally here was a place that knew what a hot chocolate was! I had tried in other places to order this apparently exotic drink as all I ended up with was a flat white. This hot chocolate though was one of those really think hot chocolates, like the Spanish ones you can get at San Churros (a choc place like Max Brenners).

So we drank our drink and got back on our way, by the time we found our accommodation though and actually got to bed it was after 1am so it was a well deserved sleep. We were booked to stay in a religious house but it is right across the way from a hotel that looks after the accommodation at the religious house and since that was full they put us up in the hotel which was very nice, it had damask walls! (I didn’t know what a damask wall was until I got there but I quite like them, basically it’s like a fabric padded wall paper…very regal!

Venice is a place that sells truly different things. From handmade paper and glass products to handmade masks and baroque style lamps and cushions, there are some very beautiful items available. In fact if you want to decorate your house in style, I would advise you to get a ticket to Venice! Around every corner and up every little alley way is another store selling something original and just a hint, never think that the store you are in will be the last one to sell that particular item!) I did meet one particularly lovely lady who was helping us in one of the stationary shops we went into, but the problem with meeting someone in Venice is that there is little point asking them out for coffee as you’ll be 14000kms away when it comes time for a second date! So we paid for our items and left the girl from Venice in Venice.

Of course the other reason people come to Venice is to experience the romance if the canals and gondolas. The little canals are particularly photogenic but we decided against forking out for a gondola ride, Fr Richard had been on one before and my life would go on without one. Actually, it just occurred to me! I should have asked stationary shop girl on a gondola ride! Oh well, I’m typing this on the train and we are moving fast towards Rome…next time I’m in Venice!

Shopping, canals, gondolas and of course St Marks square, so named for the Byzantine styled St Mark’s Cathedral. The cathedral from the outside is attractive but the inside is a bit dark and in need of a clean but it certainly was worth dropping by to admire the mosaics and pay a visit to the Lord.

I think I’m going to end this one here, I have a headache and I might try and close my eyes before we get back to Rome.

Until next time.

Assisi and Saint Francis

2008-12-28T10:24:00.001+11:00

Friday the 26th was Boxing Day and Fr Richard and I were scheduled to make a two day trip to Assisi and Venice. We left Rome about 9:30am and three hours later the train pulled into Assisi. There was some beautiful mountain scenery from the train but I think this was the coldest place we had been too so far, it was very very chilly!

Assisi is of course the birth place of the great saint Francis and the birth place of the Franciscan spiritual family. The mission of St Francis is one that continues to touch the hearts of many and vocations to the friars have continued when many other orders experienced vocational droughts. Before going up to the actual town of Assisi on the mountain we walked over to the Basilica of Mary of the Angels. This Basilica is built right over the top of the little chapel in which St Francis was given his vocation from God and where he began to receive friars. The little chapel sits right in the middle of the basilica and would once have been surrounded by forest. We shuffled in to kneel where the saint would have kneeled, and asked his intercession. The basilica itself is beautiful. It has a different feel to the many churches that we have visited in Rome. Each one of the churches we have visited has its own beauty but this one seems more peaceful. It has stunning frescos on the walls like the other churches in Rome but I don’t know what it was, it was just a special place.

We then got a bus up the mountain to the town of Assisi. I don’t know how you differentiate, it is all Assisi but the area up the mountain is like the Franciscan heart of Assisi. The town is more than just churches, there are hotels and houses and restaurants but it all operates in the shadow of the Basilica of St Francis. In this Basilica, in the crypt below the main crypt lays the tomb of this simple saint. The altar and dome of the basilica sit directly over his tomb in the same way that the altar sits over the tomb of St Peter in Rome. It was really great to be able to see his tomb, it is basically a stone coffin which looks like it lies in the space of a cave and you can walk all the way around it. In the niches of the stone many people place photos of their loved ones, asking for the intercession of St Francis. One can’t light a votive candle before the tomb but instead you bring an unlit candle to the front and put it in a basket where the friars light them as the altar candles on the altar which sits against the tomb.

There is also the opportunity to visit a couple of pivotal places in the life of Francis. One is the rose garden. The story goes that in the midst of a particular set of temptations against purity Francis threw himself into the rose bushes and was granted the gift of purity from that moment on. One can now take a leaf from the rose bush attached to a little holy card and people have found it to be a help and reminder in their own times of trial. A little further down is the cell in which Francis died. When he was dying he asked to be placed in the lowest and simplest place and so his fellow friars brought him to this cell which is partially below the ground, it is only about a metre high but he died there in the way he had lived, simple humility.

Like all the other religious places there are a thousand souvenir shops and we stopped into see what they were selling. There are some cute little statues of St Francis with the animals and there are also coloured tiles of various scenes as the times are the specialty in that part of Italy.

We only had five hours in Assisi before we were back on the train headed for Venice so we unfortunately did not have time to get to San Damiano church or the church of St Clare but I really liked Assisi, it is a deeply spiritual place.

A Day in Paris

2008-12-28T10:23:00.005+11:00

Monday was our day in Paris. The place we were staying was the monastery of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers which is very close to the Arc of Triumph and the Champ Eleyeese which is the ritzy shopping strip of Paris. We wandered down this street and on into one of the major parks (I realise this is terrible that I am not giving any names but naturally they are all in French and I can’t recall what they are called, sorry).

We saw the standard French sites such as the Eiffel Tower but also beautiful Catholic places such as the Notre Dame Cathedral and the chapel that was built by King Louis to hold the relics of the Passion, pieces of the cross Christ was crucified on. The relics were no longer there but the main attraction now is the architecture which is really stunning. It was build at a time when they had just discovered how to make use of more glass in buildings by transferring the structural support to outside pillars and this chapel is absolutely amazing as it is almost all stained glass. It was overcast the day we were there but when the sun is shining through it must be absolutely amazing!

Getting from London to Rome that evening was an ordeal. We flew so as not to waste time but I think now that when it comes to short flights it really is easier to drive…there are no metal detectors and no flight delays! We had to catch two planes, London to Zurich and one hour later, Zurich to Rome (I can now say I have been to Switzerland). Every airport seems to have its own regulations regarding security, some we have to take the laptop out and some we don’t, we had never had to take shoes off but at London we did. I mean what is the point of taking them off before the machine has gone off? They have everyone undressing when very possibly many of them would have been able to go through. I wonder if they just like the power of being able to reduce everyone to barefooted and beltless individuals; for the time at security, no matter who you might be, you are at their mercy! I had to take my shoes and belt off at London and then again at Zurich but at Zurich he still was not happy so took me behind the curtain and frisked me for any weapons I may have been concealing. And the more I told him we were late (our flight from London was an hour late in leaving) the slower he went! I didn’t even have time to dress after that, so with shoes and belt and jacket in hand I ran all the way to the boarding gate and onto the plane!

The Eternal City

2008-12-28T10:23:00.002+11:00

Buon Natale from Rome! Apologies for being a bit late on the blogging about Rome, at first I had trouble finding an internet café and then realised we have a computer right where we are staying, apart from that though…I’ve been busy seeing the sites!

We arrived into Rome late on Monday night and as we came up the Via della Conciliazione the dome of St Peter’s Basilica was immediately before us. At night I think it is even more impressive with the lights positioned to highlight the architectural features. The dome comes out as a blue glow which complements the gold cross on top and the white stone pillars. As our taxi whizzed past the lights in the papal apartment were still on and it was somewhat consoling to know that the Vicar of Christ was still up working while the city of Rome went off to sleep.

Tuesday was our first full day in Rome and we spent most of it in St Peter’s. We were in the basilica at 7.30am that morning as many priests come in to say private Masses between 7 and 8am. As soon as we walked in the door who do I spot also walking in but Monsignor Millea who is one of the papal MC’s. I met him in the preparation for and week of World Youth Day so it was really nice to be able to chat with him again post event.

After breakfast we returned to the basilica for a proper visit. Fr Richard led me through a very thorough and interesting tour of the largest church in the world. I have to admit though; I really thought it would be much larger inside but I am told the perspective is designed in such a way that it gives the impression of being smaller than it actually is. When you do look up and see the rail where people walk around the inside of the dome it becomes a little clearer how massive it really is. This is the church of all Christians and there has been a church in this spot since the 3rd century. The current basilica is about 500 years old and it replaced the one before which got demolished as it was too small (it was still massive but just not as massive as this one). The basilica and the Vatican sit atop what was once a cemetery and it was in that cemetery that St Peter, the first Pope, was buried. In the afternoon we were thankfully able to take the scavi tour which takes you beneath the high altar of the basilica right to what they confirmed in 1950’s were most likely the bones of St Peter. The current high altar is the fourth on top of St Peter and in the tour we saw and heard the story of how the small grave that St Peter was in gave rise to a monument in his honour and then eventually the church that stands in that place today. It was amazing to see crypts that were 2000 years old and then to see the place that St Peter was buried.

One other very noticeable thing about the Vatican is the people that come to visit and pray there. Every race, culture and age comes to Rome to enter into the heart of the church. It has been a moving experience to encounter the faith of so many people, especially during the Christmas midnight Mass. I got down to the Vatican about9pm to line up for midnight Mass and I reckon I would have been about 1000th in the queue. They line us up in one big circle round the square (ironically the ‘square’ is a circle) and about 10.15pm the doors are opened and everyone, young, old, nuns, brothers and priests all run for the entry. You do have to have a ticket to enter but I think they print off more tickets than there are seats! I was happy though, I got about half way down the basilica. Mind you the Mass is a bit of a tourist attraction and an opportunity to see the Pope so the entry procession is more like the red carpet at the Oscars, cameras everywhere! I think it wouldn’t hurt to ban cameras at the midnight Mass as it might have the effect of getting rid of the tourists so that there is more room for that faithful and it becomes the truly spiritual occasion it is meant to be. It was however a beautiful liturgy and I am very glad that I was able to attend.

Christmas Day in Rome was overcast and cool. My first appointment of the day was with the Holy Father as he gave his ubi et orbi address (to the city and to the world). I have yet to download the English text from the Vatican website so I’m not too sure what he said but I believe it was pretty good. I was seated near the front of the square when he gave his address from the logia (the balcony) and I was amongst hundreds of very excited school students from Ireland.

The rest of the day was an easy one which was nice. I went back inside the Basilica and was going to spend some time in the Blessed Sacrament chapel but it was unfortunately closed so I had another look around. Really the whole place is one big prayer and to walk around with that in mind brings about a different experience to going around with a camera. The basilica now holds the incorrupt body of Pope John XXIII (+ 1963) which was recently moved from the tombs of the Popes down in the crypt so a lot of people stop before e his earthly remains to ask for his intercession. Speaking of the tombs of the Popes, we also visited the crypt and stopped before the tomb of John Paul II who lay in the spot John XXIII did before he was moved. After the tomb of St Peter, John Paul II attracts the greatest number of visitors and has two men standing guard in front of his tomb all day long. Three is a place where you can stop and pray though and I asked for the intercession of John Paul the great for the many intentions people have asked for and those within the hearts of my family and friends.

Christmas day also saw me walk over to the famed Trevi Fountain where I threw my two cents in over my shoulder (I have been told since the wish is so that you return to Rome, I thought at the time you could make your own wish, oh well we’ll see which happens first). I also had some gelato which seemed like the thing to do there as there were so many gelato shops open. The Trevi fountain sure is a popular place though, the people just pack in and photos are being taken all over the place. I noticed that the fountain was built by one of the Popes so it must have some sort of church-related history attached to it as well.

Return to Paris

2008-12-25T04:10:00.001+11:00

Sunday evening saw us back in Paris and yet again Fr Richard had some great plans of what to do with the evening. First we caught the metro (extensive underground train network) out to have a look at the famed Moulin Rouge. It seems many people do the same thing, all standing across the road from the windmill snapping themselves and their friends in photos.

We were only there a few minutes and then got back on the subway to see the church of St Madeline which is built in a style of an ancient Roman law court with grand stone pillars all the way around. This church was just around the corner from the Paris Opera House so we stopped for a photo there as well. The opera house is very beautiful with gold statues along the top, a very imposing building. We had a very exquisite dinner across the road from the opera house at a place named Café de la Prix (it’s certainly no café). By the time we got home it was after midnight and we had certainly packed in as much as we could into that Sunday.

Lourdes

2008-12-25T04:06:00.003+11:00

Today (Saturday) Fr Richard and I headed to our first pilgrimage destination – Lourdes. Lourdes is a small village about eight hours out of Paris and its claim to fame is that in 1858 the Blessed Virgin appeared to a young peasant girl Bernadette. Our Lady asked Bernadette to come there over a period of time and told the girl that she was the ‘Immaculate Conception’. This title also confirmed the dogma that had been proclaimed four years earlier of Mary being conceived without the stain of Original sin.

We made our way early in the morning via taxi to the airport to take a small plane to Lourdes. As we were only staying overnight we packed all our things into a small backpack each and planned to just take it on as hand luggage. Once we had checked in we went through customs but our bags were sent onto the ‘problem’ conveyor belt and when the staff opened them they told us (actually they don’t really say anything they just do what they want) that some of our items would be confiscated as they were too large. I had a new tube of shower face wash and also a new tube of shower body wash which I just got as a gift and Fr Richard had a new bottle of shampoo. We did not have time to go back and check in our bags so they went into a big bin that said ‘These items are destined for destruction’, just a little melodramatic I thought! So anyway, not overly pleased, we moved onto the plane.

Arriving in Lourdes just after 11am we found a taxi with a couple of others heading into the town and got on our way. David the taxi driver dropped us off at our hotel which is just a 5 minute walk from the sanctuary of Lourdes. Lourdes is an actual town and it is where Bernadette lived. The apparition occurred just a little distance from a river and it is on that site that now sits a massive basilica and to the left of that is the small cave grotto where approximately 5 million people (9 million this year for the 150th anniversary) come each year to see the spot where heaven came down to visit earth. When you enter the forecourt of the basilica it is immediately impressive, it almost looks like the castle that is used at the beginning logo of Walt Disney films. It has a massive ramp either side that leads to the top basilica and beneath that is a small crypt and beneath that again in the larger basilica with its beautiful mosaics.

Seeing such beautiful churches that clearly have been designed with such love and devotion it made me think that half the structures we call churches in Australia should be torn down. It’s not just that these churches are so much more intricate it’s that one can see that the church was made to lead people to God. We build churches in Australia that are simply functional buildings; they are halls and contain little or no wonder or awe of the design. It has been a real grace to be able to see such beautiful churches, and I have only seen a couple so far!

Anyway so back to Lourdes, it is an amazing place. It is indeed a Marian place of pilgrimage but it is more so a place of the sacraments, the Eucharist and Confession. On the Saturday we went into the crypt which is structurally the heart of the entire basilica and on the main altar was a beautiful monstrance with a small crowd of people in silent prayer before the Lord. One can really feel the prayers that have been prayed at that spot for so many years. One other beautiful thing is the thousands of small marble plaques of thanksgiving from people all around the world. They are plaques of thanksgiving and may say something like ‘In thanksgiving for assisting my family, 1904’. These plaques date back to the 1800’s when the basilica was being built and are a tangible sign of the graces that have been received from this place.

As beautiful as the basilica is it is the small grotto that drawers the crowds, it is the reason that the basilica exists. The cave would be no more than 10 square metres and when you first see it, can easily think is this it? There is the spot where Our Lady told Bernadette to dig a stream from which flowed the miraculous water (the source if the water is not so miraculous though, it runs from an underground stream from the river), and just above the grotto is the place where Mary appeared and in that place now is a life size statue of the Virgin with the words ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’ In front of the statue back on the ground is a massive votive candle stand in which people place their candles to be burned as a prayer to God.

Candles are a HUGE part of Lourdes. There are thousands of them in kiosks where people make an offering and take a particular size from 30cm to 1.5metres! Just down from the grotto there is a whole row of shelters where people can also place their candles. These shelters have the words ‘this candle continues my prayer’ in many languages. It is indeed that very beautiful catholic tradition of lighting candles as a continuation of the prayer of petition or thanksgiving. I lit my candles for the intentions of family and friends. Catholicism really is a faith that encompasses the whole person, it is not just about the spirit as so many of our protestant friends whole but we seek to make the whole person pray, we have water and candles and incense and bells and oil and bread and wine.

After spending some time there, Fr Richard and I went to have some lunch at one of the open cafes (80% of the shops are closed for the winter) and then bought some items in one of the catholic shops. These are amazing in themselves. There are hundreds of catholic trinket shops selling, rosaries and statues and bottles to fill with Lourdes water and books and holy cards. It is amazing, like some sort of Catholic Westfield! As with the cafes most of these shops are closed but there were still enough open to feed anyone’s religious shopping desires.

Saturday night we returned to the grotto (in the freezing cold) in silence with the few others before the grotto. Even though it is so quiet it is good in that usually one would even have trouble getting a vantage point. I have been able to spend time here praying for family and friends and bringing forth some of the intentions that people asked me to take with me.

Sunday at Lourdes was a little busier that it had been on the Saturday and the streets had noticeably more cars. We attended Mass in the grotto in French in the early morning with about 50 others. We had not had breakfast yet so after Mass found a small café, but as I have since discovered European cafés for some reason only serve food at certain times and on this instance we had fallen outside of these times so we ordered a coffee and a croque which is a piece of bread with cheese and béchamel sauce on top, tasty but not something that would be on the Weight Watchers menu!

One would not want to spend less than two days at Lourdes, there really is so much to soak in and it is a real blessing to not only pray at the grotto oneself but also watch the strong faith of the other pilgrims who have come from every corner of the globe.

London to Paris

2008-12-21T08:54:00.001+11:00

Friday 19 December saw us moving from London to Paris via train. We were booked to get the Eurostar at 1100 but no one had told us that that train had been cancelled so along with a number of others we were upgraded to first class on a train three hours later. We decided to use the time to go back into London and see Harrod’s department store (I just remembered we didn’t see the shrine to Diana and Dodi) and also the Brompton Oratory church. This was the most beautiful church I have ever been into in my life. It was designed in a Roman Baroque style and looks very much like St Peter’s Basilica in its style. It is run by an order of priests called the Oratorians who are renowned for their liturgical ability. In fact during the shipwreck of liturgy that was post Vatican II, the Oratorians continued to offer Mass ad Orientem (facing East with the people) even though the Mass was in English. In that practice and many others they became a light for the new liturgical movement which has aimed (and is having success) in bringing the liturgy to the level that was desired by the Fathers of Vatican II (which did not involve guitars, banners or scented candles).

So anyway back to the station after that, boarded the train (just in the nick of time) and began the journey to Paris. And what a delightful trip it was! I recommend first class train rides. It was so peaceful. We watched the country side pass by, picture perfect little villages all with a little church and steeple in the centre of the village. They also served us lunch which was very tasty (I had the pumpkin risotto).

Because we were three hours later than expected though we got a taxi straight to the Blessed Sacrament Fathers house where we are currently staying (as I write this anyway). We got into our rooms and have not left since. It was just nice to be able to sit down and rest after the constant movement that has been the last couple of days. So Fr and I had chat, he offered Mass, and now I am going to bed so I will leave it there but will be happy to take any questions later :)

Old London Town

2008-12-21T08:53:00.001+11:00

Spending so much time on Jim has distracted my from the events of London so since I won’t get this up until Monday if I don’t post it now I better list very briefly the places we got too on Thursday : Buckingham Palace, Westminster Catholic Cathedral, Westminster Abbey (Church of England – it was Catholic for several hundred years until it was stolen during the reformation), Big Ben and the Parliament (very impressive) and finally a Broadway show! We saw the ‘Sound of Music’ with my friend Monica from Melbourne. The only thing was that Fr Richard completely slept through the first half and I consistently nodded off throughout the whole show. It wasn’t the show that was a problem but the fact that my body thought it was 7am and was wandering why I still had not slept. (It had been a long day and we were still in the same clothes we had put on Wednesday morning). We stayed with a family friend’s house in South Ealing which was also nice although the visit was very short as we were off the next day to Paris.

Sydney to Bangkok and Beyond

2008-12-21T08:52:00.003+11:00

The day has arrived, Wednesday 17th January, Bernard becomes an international traveller! Our flight was not 1640 so I figured I would have the entire morning to relax and enjoy the morning and mosey on over to the airport rejuvenated and relaxed, lull. I did certainly get to the airport on time but it wasn’t the relaxing morning I thought it would be. I had packed the night before but there were a thousand last minute things to do plus the day before we found out we would need to get an international drivers permit to drive overseas (initially we were told it wasn’t necessary) so that involved last minute passport photos and rushing to the NRMA twice but I did get the permit so all was well.

Mum and Dad drive me to the airport and we found the Thai Airways line and began to queue to check in the bags. As we arrived, my travelling companion, Fr Richard also arrived with his mother and sister so they joined us in the queue. Fr Richard is a friend from the seminary and is also a seasoned European traveller so it will be great to have (a) company and (b) company who knows what he is doing overseas.

So we checked in, handed over our bags and soon found ourselves at the all emotional customs entry point. Through streams of tears, we bid farewell to our parents and we crossed the threshold into customs (that was a joke about the tears). Soon we had taken our place in the central isle and were welcomed aboard, in both Thai and English.

I am not used to flying long distances, most of my trips have been Sydney to Melbourne, so you take off, they serve the food and you land. When I went to Perth it was a bit odd in that they served the food and once I had eaten we still had two or more hours to go. The initial leg of the flight to Bangkok was 9 hours and needless to say that is along time when your usable space consists of your seat only. I was impressed however with all the stuff to watch on the screen in front of you. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that all the movies free! And also free were all the drinks! If you were so inclined one could sit there and enjoy any of the alcohol or spirits on offer and all for free (well I guess the plane ticket cost a fair bit but it still seems like a bargain when you are sitting there.

We got straight into the movies, I watched ‘Batman Begins’ which I really liked and Fr Richard watched ‘Get Smart’. If they are going to offer a movie in which thre are sequels they really should offer the other parts as well, so when I get back home I will have rent ‘Batman Returns’. In between watching the movie they brought us dinner, which now two days later I can’t seem to recall but I remember it was nice, I was quite happy with the food we received. It was very filling which is good when you are hungry but not so good when the only way to walk it off is by doing laps of the isles. Trying to get the body used to what was going on we stayed awake during the entire flight and planned on sleeping on the second leg as we would get into London early in the morning with a full day planned. I did watch a few more shows but I found that by the end not even the wide variety of audio visual entertainment was enough to keep me from looking forward to getting off the plane!

Our first stop was Bangkok at 2200 and we had now moved into our first time change. We had three hours to spare before our flight to London took off so we wandered the airport shops (which were still open). I still don’t know how it happened but we ended up doing a massive circle and came out where we began but such is life. This airport is newly built and it is very impressive, a lot of glass and curved concrete, looked to me like somewhere one would film a James Bond film.

After we enjoyed a drink and plate of fries at the very reasonable price of $20 (clearly airport prices are universally the same) we moved to board the next flight to London. This was a 12 hour flight so that 9 hour one we just got off was only a warm up. We again found our seats but we only just sat down when we were told there was room in the aisle if we wanted to move. Thinking the leg room would be a good idea, Fr Richard jumped at the chance and I followed. It was certainly a good idea, the feet room was great but it did bring us into contact with the socially deficient chap on my left more on him in a sec). According to Bangkok time it was 0015 when we took off so I really wasn’t interested in dinner (in fact I don’t even remember the take off, I feel asleep straight away, after all my body was saying it was 4am and wondering why I was still up). Never the less dinner was served so at 4am in the morning the stewards wheeled out some sort of pork noodle dish which I would have slept through completely except the smell was not pleasant, especially at that time in the morning.

After breakfast/dinner was served however the lights were dimmed and everyone went to sleep to digest their Asian feast. Everyone went to sleep except one person and that was…that’s right…the guy on my left. I slept solidly for two hours before I woke up and by that time the lights were off and the place was silent. The guy on my left however (let’s call him Jim) had his reading light on and was reading through the Sun newspaper (it was the same newspaper he was reading when we arrived but I didn’t make anything of it…yet). So this reading continued and after I had gone back to sleep and woken up again and found his reading the same articles in the same newspaper he was reading before I started to get quietly annoyed; after all his reading light which lit up out entire row and the row behind, was the only light on, every other person on the plane had their light off and was sleeping (or at least looking at the chair in front of them in silence). I got up to go to the toilet and have a wander when he finished the newspaper and finally turned the light off but as I was coming back I saw his reaching over to get a magazine and the light came back on and he began to read that! Grrr, I really wasn’t happy and was thinking up all the lines I could use such as ‘got an aversion to sleeping mate’ or ‘you really like to read hey’.

I kept my cool however and sat there in silence moving from dozing to waking. Finally he finished the magazine and turned the light off. Yay! He sat there in silence for a few minutes before reaching for the headphone and plugging them in. Good luck to him he can do whatever he wants as long as it happens in the dark and doesn’t disturb me. However…the music only lasted a few minutes and then he got up, walked to the newspaper rack, found and newspaper and was returning to his seat. I could see where this was heading and I braced myself for a comment because this was now just rude (I haven’t mentioned that during the second reading of the newspaper earlier to opted to dine on a sandwich and tea). So he sat back down reached for the light and as it came on I let out with a very frustrated ‘ you have got to be kidding me’ to which he came back with ‘ what, what’s your problem, I am not a good flyer’ (Of course I don’t care how well he flies, I only wanted him to sleep!) The stewardess was heading in our direction and I said to her that this was ridiculous, everyone was asleep and he would not stop eating, drinking and flicking through the newspaper which was stopping me and Fr Richard from sleeping. Jim could clearly see no problem or that he was socially rude but the stewardess offered us a blindfold for sleeping which did help, even though his thumbing through the newspaper continued. Hours later, as everyone began to move about and wake up, Jim decided he would then put down the paper and have a sleep so I have no idea what his problem was. If he was going to sleep anyway why didn’t he sleep when everyone else was instead of being a nuisance? Oh well that was an experience. We managed to get through it though and we enjoyed breakfast before we landed while Jim decided to read through the Sun newspaper for what by then was actually the fourth or fifth time (bizarre).

I don’t know how that part got so long but that was the story of Jim and the flight to London. At the end of it all though we touched the ground in Heathrow at 0620 on Thursday 18 Dec and were ready to see the sights!

The Itinerary

2008-12-21T08:46:00.000+11:00

Our final itinerary is certainly a whirlwind but I think we have a good trip planned that will give us a sample of many places. Of course when you are planning a trip in European every other country is ‘just next door’ so while it is tempting to just pop in here there and everywhere we have to drawer the line somewhere so this is basically what we will be doing while we are away.

18 Dec – London

19 Dec – Paris and Lourdes

23 Dec – Rome, Assisi and Venice

29 Dec – Frankfurt, Schoenstatt and Munich

1 Jan – New York

4 Jan – Quarryville, Pennsylvania for TOB course

9 Jan – New York

10 Jan – Los Angeles

13 Jan – Sydney

A trip is born

2008-12-21T08:45:00.000+11:00

It surprises most people I tell that I have never travelled overseas before but I haven’t really had a chance, my life in summary has been as follows: Born > School > Vocational discernment (includes seminary) > Melbourne studies > World Youth Day > present day. So as you can clearly see, life has been pretty full, there just hadn’t been the time or the need to go overseas :) After WYD I was planning on travelling with my friend Joanna but I made a slight financial miscalculation and didn’t really have the funds to send myself anywhere.

In September though I received an email from the Theology of the Body Institute in the USA about a one week intensive course on Theology of the Body (TOB) in January 2009 and I stopped and considered it. I usually don’t actually consider such conferences but for some reason I did and realised that I would be able to save the necessary funds and also take the couple of weeks necessary to do the course. Being in that part of town though (the Northern hemisphere) I began to consider that perhaps it would be a good time to see some of the world on the way to the USA. Fr Richard also began to consider travelling with me so we were soon planning our trip.

Six days to go!

2008-12-11T22:13:00.001+11:00

Wednesday 17th of December will see me jetting off overseas for the first time!! How exciting!! Stay tuned as I traverse the big world that is out there :)

The Papal Motorcade

2008-09-09T23:42:00.002+10:00

The presence of the Holy Father sees a very large motorcade but it is good to see that a country shows such honour to the successor of Peter and the vicar of Christ, it is as it should be.

The Pope meets the animals

2008-09-09T23:36:00.002+10:00

Another nice video on the Holy Father's meeting with our Australia animals at the end of his days of rest at Kenthurst.

WYD You Tube video

2008-09-09T23:27:00.002+10:00

Hello, I am still alive, it has taken some weeks to recover and I really want to de brief on my experiences of the week as they were amazing. But in the meantime I was looking on YouTube and came across this little video done by one Francsican group on their WYD experiences, there are some good images and I especially like the footage of father giving blessings one by one to the pilgrims. I am loving all he YouTube footage as I am seeing everything I missed which was just about everything.

Pope's Australian Itinerary

2008-05-31T23:43:00.002+10:00

More exciting news! The Holy Father's Sydney itinerary has just been released (it's a busy schedule) and I include the whole article here from Catholic News Service:

By Dan McAloon

SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will have an intimate lunch with 12 of the young people attending World Youth Day in Sydney, and will hold a special meeting in the city with disadvantaged youths and those recovering from addictions during his July visit to Australia.

"His Holiness has a very full schedule on his first visit to Australia," said Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, World Youth Day coordinator. "He has requested specific meetings in order to connect with the full range of Australian youth and the youth of the world."

Bishop Fisher spoke about the papal itinerary just before the May 30 Vatican release of the detailed schedule of papal events in Australia July 12-21.

Although the schedule provides minute details about the timing of the pope's public movements, it provided no clues about the location set to host the pope for three full days of rest July 14-16 to allow him to recover from the long flight and change of time zones.

The public portion of the trip includes a Mass with Australian bishops, seminarians and candidates for the religious life, an ecumenical and an interreligious gathering and meetings with government officials, but its focus is on young people, especially those celebrating World Youth Day.

In addition to a Sydney Harbor welcoming ceremony and cruise and the traditional World Youth Day vigil and morning Mass, Pope Benedict also was scheduled to offer a prayer during the first station of the youth gathering's traditional meditation on the Stations of the Cross.

The pope will preside over the first station on the steps of Sydney's St. Mary's Cathedral in the evening July 18.

Eight separate locations around Sydney -- from the cathedral to the Opera House and on to Barangaroo -- are being used to stage the meditations, which will be broadcast around the world.

Immediately before the World Youth Day closing Mass July 20, the pope will board a helicopter to survey the crowds gathered in Centennial Park and Royal Randwick Racecourse.

Here is the detailed schedule released by the Vatican. All times are local, with Eastern Daylight Time in parentheses. Although Sydney is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, Darwin, where the pope's plane will stop briefly to refuel, is 13.5 hours ahead.

Saturday, July 12 (Rome)

-- 10 a.m. (4 a.m.) Departure from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport.

Sunday, July 13 (Darwin, Sydney)

-- 9:15 a.m. (7:45 p.m. July 12) Arrival at Darwin air force base for refueling.

-- 10:30 a.m. (9 p.m. July 12) Departure from Darwin air force base.

-- 3 p.m. (1:00 a.m.) Arrival at Sydney's Richmond air force base.

-- 3:15 p.m. (1:15 a.m.) Transfer to private residence.Monday-Wednesday,

July 14-16, private time.

Thursday, July 17 (Sydney)

-- 7:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. July 16) Mass in private in the Chapel of St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 9 a.m. (7 p.m. July 16) Welcoming ceremony at Government House. Speech by pope.

-- 9:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. July 16) Transfer by car to the Mary MacKillop Memorial.

-- 9:45 a.m. (7:45 p.m. July 16) Prayer visit to the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel.

-- 10 a.m. (8 p.m. July 16) Transfer to Admiralty House.

-- 10:05 a.m. (8:05 p.m. July 16) Courtesy visit at Admiralty House with the governor general and meeting with the prime minister.

-- 11:05 a.m. (9:05 p.m. July 16) Transfer by car to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 11:30 (9:30 p.m. July 16) Arrival at St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 2:20 p.m. (12:20 a.m.) Transfer to Sydney's Rose Bay pier. Brief welcoming ceremony with traditional aboriginal dances and song.

-- 2:45 p.m. (12:45 a.m.) Board the "Sydney 2000" cruise boat and travel along the harbor to the Barangaroo East Darling Harbor pier.

-- 3:30 p.m. (1:30 a.m.) Arrival at Barangaroo. Welcoming festival with young people. Speech by pope.

-- 4:45 p.m. (2:45 a.m.) Transfer by popemobile to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 5:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m.) Arrival at St. Mary's Cathedral House.Friday,

Friday, July 18 (Sydney)

-- 7:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. July 17) Private Mass in the chapel of St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 9:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. July 17) Separate private audiences with the governor of New South Wales, the prime minister of New South Wales, the mayor of Sydney and their families in the reception hall of St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 10:25 a.m. (8:25 p.m. July 17) Walk to St. Mary's Cathedral.

-- 10:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. July 17) Ecumenical meeting in the crypt of St. Mary's Cathedral. Speech by pope.

-- 11:15 a.m. (9:15 p.m. July 17) Walk to the Chapter Room of St. Mary's Cathedral.

-- 11:20 a.m. (9:20 p.m. July 17) Meeting with representatives of other religions. Speech by pope.

-- Noon (10 p.m. July 17) Walk to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 12:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. July 17) Lunch with young people in the reception hall of St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 2:55 p.m. (12:55 a.m.) Walk to St. Mary's Cathedral.

-- 3 p.m. (1 a.m.) Prayer at the beginning of the Stations of the Cross in the square in front of the cathedral. The pope will recite the prayer at the end of the first station and then will follow the rest of the ceremony by television in the crypt of the cathedral.

-- 6:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.) Transfer by car to the Church of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame University.

-- 6:45 p.m. (4:45 a.m.) Meeting in the Church of the Sacred Heart with a group of disadvantaged youths and those recovering from addiction. Speech by pope.

-- 7:45 p.m. (5:45 a.m.) Transfer by car to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 8 p.m. (6 a.m.) Arrival at St. Mary's Cathedral House.Saturday,

Saturday, July 19 (Sydney)

-- 9 a.m. (7 p.m. July 18) Walk to St. Mary's Cathedral.

-- 9:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. July 18) Mass with the bishops of Australia, seminarians and novices and consecration of the new altar in the cathedral. Homily by pope.

-- 11:45 a.m. (9:45 p.m. July 18) Walk to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 12:15 p.m. (10:15 p.m. July 18) Lunch with the Australian bishops and the papal entourage in the reception hall of St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 6:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.) Transfer by car to Royal Randwick Racecourse.

-- 7 p.m. (5 a.m.) Vigil with young people at Royal Randwick Racecourse. Speech by pope.

-- 9 p.m. (7 a.m.) Transfer by car to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 9:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m.) Arrival St. Mary's Cathedral House.Sunday,

Sunday, July 20 (Sydney)

-- 8:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. July 19) Transfer by car to the Victoria Barracks Heliport.

-- 8:45 a.m. (6:45 p.m. July 19) Arrival at the Victoria Barracks Heliport. Board a helicopter to fly over the young people gathered in the Southern Cross Precinct (Centennial Park and Royal Randwick Racecourse).

-- 9:15 a.m. (7:15 p.m. July 19) Transfer by car from the Victoria Barracks to Royal Randwick Racecourse. Ride in popemobile around Centennial Park and Royal Randwick Racecourse.

-- 9:45 a.m. (7:45 p.m. July 19) Arrival in the sacristy at Randwick.

-- 10 a.m. (8 p.m. July 19) Celebration of the Mass for the 23rd World Youth Day. Homily by pope. Followed by recitation of the Angelus and a speech by the pope.

-- 12:15 p.m. (10:15 p.m. July 19) Return to the sacristy.

-- 12:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. July 19) Transfer by car to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 1 p.m. (11 p.m. July 19) Arrival at St. Mary's Cathedral House. Lunch with papal entourage.

-- 6 p.m. (4 a.m.) Meeting with the benefactors and organisers of World Youth Day in the reception hall of St. Mary's Cathedral House and then in the Chapter Room of St. Mary's Cathedral. Speech by pope.

-- 7 p.m. (5 a.m.) Walk back to St. Mary's Cathedral House.

Monday, July 21 (Sydney, Darwin, Rome)

-- 7 a.m. (5 p.m. July 20) Private Mass in the chapel of St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 8:35 a.m. (6:35 p.m. July 20) Farewell at St. Mary's Cathedral House.

-- 8:45 a.m. (6:45 p.m. July 20) Transfer by popemobile to the Domain.

-- 8:50 a.m. (6:50 p.m. July 20) Meeting with World Youth Day volunteers. Speech by pope.

-- 9:10 a.m. (7:10 p.m. July 20) Transfer by car to Sydney's international airport.

-- 9:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. July 20) Farewell ceremony at Sydney's international airport. Speech by pope.

-- 10 a.m. (8 p.m. July 20) Departure from Sydney's international airport.

-- 1:50 p.m. (11:20 p.m. July 20) Arrival at Darwin airport for refueling.

-- 3:05 p.m. (12:35 a.m.) Departure from Darwin airport.

-- 11 p.m. (5 p.m.) Arrival at Rome's Ciampino airport.

Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden at the Vatican.

Register for World Youth Day...

2008-05-31T23:09:00.002+10:00

...right now!!

Registrations are about to close and if you have not registered to participate in World Youth Day (and especially if you live in Sydney) then now is the time!

World Youth Day is not just a day, it is not just a Mass, it is not just a chance to meet the Pope. It is a chance to encounter Jesus Christ and be in strengthened in faith by so many young people from around the world. It is for Catholics and for non catholics. We do so many things in life for this life but how often do we really go out of our way, go beyond the mere obligation of Sunday Mass to really encounter the Holy Spirit, to think about life after this life? WYD is not just about planning for eternal life though, it is about living this life more fully because we are more aware of the reason we live.

From Tuesday 15 July to Sunday 20 July the week is full of events and opportunities to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to have fun and to meet new people. It would be such a shame if you decided to miss out for the sake of the mundane, such as work (that's what holidays are for). Or maybe you've been reading the bad press we get in the media and think it just isn't going to happen. Believe me, this is going to be an amazing six days...look here for a basic outline. The Church has had bad press since a group of people decided to crucify Jesus. Get away from the negative vibes and get into the excitement. Don't miss out! I can't stress enough how great it will be. I just wish you all knew as much as I did and saw first hand the way everything is coming together and how powerful an experience this is going to be.

The thing is, we can put on the greatest youth event in the world and the Holy Spirit can touch the hearts of those there...but nothing will happen if you don't take the leap of faith and actually turn up! If you are turning up, that is great, are all your friends coming?

If you need to register...hit this link.

In the meantime...watch another video and get excited!

Off to Randwick Racecourse

2008-05-27T20:16:00.003+10:00

Last Friday the Liturgy Team finally got out to do a site visit at Randwick Racecourse, which is of course the site of the closing Mass with the Holy Father.

Seven of us packed ourselves into a van and headed off to the WYD site office at Randwick. At this point even though we do not have exclusive access yet (another week or so to go) construction and work is underway. The ‘toilet city’ is well under construction (you can see it in the green fenced area in the photos below) in what will be the main axis aisles and the area of the stage/sanctuary is being cleared of scrub (immediately below) in preparation.

We were driven round to the sanctuary area and stood at a height of about 9 metres to see what the Holy Father would see, even though the sanctuary will be a few metres higher. It will be quite a site to look out to this vast area and see it filled with jubilant young people as they arrive on Saturday, sleep there Saturday night and swell in numbers on Sunday for the final Mass.

It was good to finally actually site the Racecourse as this will be the location of that huge logistical task of distributing Holy Communion on the Sunday. And in regards to that I am very happy to let you know that we have brought on board three Franciscan brothers to coordinate the process, organising the personnel and fine tuning the procedures at both Barangaroo for the opening Mass and Randwick for the closing Mass. It is such a blessing to have them join us as they will be able to devote their energies into this mammoth job. No doubt we will be back to Randwick a number of times again very soon to walk the distances and see further progress unfolding.

On the way back we drove through Centennial Park which is the second part of the Southern Cross Precinct. We are expecting an overflow crowd of up to 200000 in this area. They will watch the Mass take place via huge screens and be able to receive Holy Communion from the Park.

Jesus Christ You are my Life

2008-05-24T12:12:00.002+10:00

52 Days to Go!!

I'm surprised it took me this long to put up one of the many videos to 'Jesus Christ you are my Life', the song which has surely become the classic WYD theme song.

It is a beautiful inspiring anthem of the beauty of being a follower of Jesus Christ. The images on this particular video are also particularly poignant, the Apostles, the Priesthood, the Eucharist, the Church and the Youth.

Turn up the volume and enter into the joy of living in the way of Our Lord and Saviour.

Mister Berns on Google

2008-05-24T12:08:00.002+10:00

Don't forget to let your friends that they too can follow the build up to WYD08 by checking into Mister Berns every so often.

It is as easy as Googling 'Mister Berns' (two words) and it's the first entry that comes up.

Barangaroo

2008-05-22T13:52:00.005+10:00

54 Days to Go!!

On Monday the liturgy team made a site visit to Barangaroo, the location of the opening Mass on July 15, the papal arrival via boat on July 17 and also a major site for the youth festival activities each afternoon/evening. (It was a glorious day down there, warm with clear skies and a slight breeze, the exact weather we are praying for during the week). Barangaroo has been known for many years as wharf 8, a working port, but those days are now over and it is earmarked to be transformed into residential and commercial property. Providentially for WYD we get to use the site in the interim…and what an amazing site it is, the long property sits right on the harbour with very close views of the harbour bridge behind it. It will look spectacular when 150000 young people crowd in to greet the Holy Father (where will you be?)

Last time I was down there was months ago when the wharfing sheds were still standing but now not only are they gone but the actual ‘pods’ in which the pilgrims will be arranged have been marked out with low fencing. Our purpose was to simply see the site and walk it from end to end to gauge an idea of the size of the place (it is as you can see, rather long, taking over 10 minutes to walk from the north end to the south end).

My interest was most certainly to start thinking about the way in which we will distribute Holy Communion to the pilgrims at the opening Mass. I mean we have known for a long time how we will basically do it but when you are actually on site it really helps to get a feel for what will work the best.

The major building happening on the site at the moment is the building of toilets…yes that’s right…toilets! I thought that you’d start with the whole stage area but I am told that will take very little time and the most time consuming part is the facilities to make the site meet health department standards (good thing I’m not in charge of the project). And these are not your standard port-a-loos but purpose built structures, what will be rows and rows of them, built in specific lines from the altar so as not to block any lines of sight…all very clever really!

After we had walked the site and were back in the stage/sanctuary area discussing various things we had a nice surprise and saw the Sydney 2000 sail past so I snapped a photo for you. And what is the Sydney 2000 you ask? That is the boat in which the Holy Father will be travelling down the harbour in as he approaches Barangaroo for the Papal welcome. Now if you are not registering to be at WYD as a pilgrim you and your family should certainly be lining the shores Thursday afternoon for what will be a spectacular day on the water!

Stations of the Cross Rehearsals

2008-05-21T11:27:00.004+10:00

55 Days to Go!!

So much to write but so very little time to write it!

Part of the areas in the Liturgy Team is the production of the 14 Stations of the Cross (SotC) which will take place on Friday the 18th July in the afternoon. SotC is one of the major public events at past WYDs and this one will be no different. The event will be staged at major landmarks of Sydney, from St Mary's Cathedral to the Art Gallery to the Sydney Opera House. Everyone will have the opportunity to see one station live and watch the rest on the screens where they stand (it would obviously be impossible to move 225000 people through the city). This will be one of the events that will really captivate the everyday Sydney-sider and be very moving. For those who don't know SotC is a very old catholic devotion that follows in 14 steps the suffering and death of Christ.

So I decided one night last week to wander over to the location where the rehearsals are taking place. A cast of about 80 has been selected from the auditions of hundreds and for those of you who recall, the media followed the casting quite closely and highlighted the eventual choices fo Jesus and Mary, two young Sydney Catholics as seen in the photo.

The rehearsal was really good to see as I have had little to do with the stations of the cross. Fr Franco Cavarra is the director and he hails from a very long career in opera direction before he entered the seminary some years back. The rehearsal goes through each station from 1 to 14 and their movements are shaped and stylised to bring about something that is really beautiful and moving. Not to mention the spectacular music that will support the drama. I took some great photos of the scenes taking shape but I don't want to spoil the surprise for you...so make sure you are in Sydney on that Friday afternoon!

Construction at Randwick moving along...

2008-05-20T09:22:00.002+10:00

56 Days to Go!!

From the Press Office of WYD:

Construction work is well underway at Randwick Racecourse as Sydney prepares to host World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08).
The iconic venue will host the final two events of WYD08 on Saturday 19 July and Sunday 20 July. Those events are the Evening Vigil (Saturday) and the Final Mass (Sunday morning) - both in the presence of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
More than 300,000 people will be accommodated within the racecourse for the Final Mass and a further 200,000 or more will participate from Centennial Park - united for the event as the Southern Cross Precinct.
WYD08 Chief Operating Officer Danny Casey said organisers were delighted with building progress and the final designs for the joint precinct.
"All our work at the precinct is progressing well and to plan. Attendees at the Vigil and Final Mass are in for a very special experience," Mr Casey said.
"Everybody is welcome to attend and share in what will be two very memorable events," he said.
WYD08 Director of Event Planning and Operations, Ian Steigrad, said workers have already built around 1300 of the 4000 toilets required for the precinct.
"The materials used - including the toilets themselves - will be re-used after WYD08. The toilets will be cleaned and shipped back to the manufacturer, while the melamine boarding will be reused locally," Mr Steigrad said.
"They're being built in blocks of 16 in the positions they'll occupy during the events.
"All work is being carried out in accordance with our agreement to keep off the race tracks until mid-June; no construction is occurring on racing and training areas.
"We're also working around the racing schedule to ensure training and competition continues during this phase of construction.
"The pace of construction will step up five weeks before the event when we get exclusive access to the site."
Mr Steigrad said workers will also install 35 large video screens and more than 60 lighting towers throughout the precinct.
Mr Casey said the Holy Father will pass through the entire precinct on the morning of the Final Mass and communion will be distributed to all parts of the precinct.
Sydney will host the 23rd World Youth Day from 15-20 July. Hosted by the Catholic Church but open to all, it will also mark the Holy Father's first visit to Australia.

Corpus Christi 2008

2008-05-19T11:07:00.002+10:00

This Sunday is again the revived and growing Corpus Christi Procession from St Patrick's Church Hill to St Mary's Cathedral...as a pre WYD event we will be expecting an even bigger turn out than the thousands who atttended in previous years...for info on the event click here.

And in the spirit of being more tech-savy Bishop Porteous has youtubed his invite this year and then below is a you tube on the actual event.

See you there!

Sydney, WYD is good for you

2008-05-16T20:54:00.002+10:00

The Coordinator of WYD08 Bishop Anthony Fisher has written an excellent article in today's Australian, calling Australian's to really move on from the doom and gloom predictions and get in the spirit of what is going to me a completely amazing and spirit lifting event for the nation.

I really hope people take head and I think it is starting to happen.

WYD Ambassadors Announced

2008-05-16T18:05:00.003+10:00

60 Days to Go!!

Fresh from the WYD Press Release...

Nine prominent Australians have been announced as official Ambassadors for World Youth Day Sydney 2008 (WYD08).
The Ambassadors have generously volunteered their public profile and time to help promote WYD08 around Australia in the lead-up to the July event.
The WYD08 Ambassadors are:
· Carla Zampatti, Fashion Designer
· Jared Crouch, AFL Sydney Swans player
· The Delezio family - Ron, Carolyn, Sophie and Mitchell
· Matthew Hayden, Australian cricketer
· Amelia Farrugia, Opera Singer
· Mark Bresciano, Socceroo Player
· Stephen Moore, Wallabies Hooker
· Jimmy Little, Musician
· Dr John Herron, Former Ambassador to the Holy See and Ireland, and Chairman of the Australian National Council on Drugs
The Archbishop of Sydney and Chairman of the WYD08 Local Organising Committee, Cardinal George Pell, said he was honoured to welcome aboard such a wonderful group of people as Ambassadors for WYD08.
"Our Ambassadors represent a variety of fields and have celebrated remarkable achievements in areas as diverse as sport, fashion design, charity work, musical performance and diplomacy," said Cardinal Pell.
"Their demonstrated abilities and history as impressive Australian role models make them ideal choices as the faces of this international celebration.
"I know that they will help us encourage all Australians - young and old - to get involved in World Youth Day and reap the myriad rewards that this magnificent event has to offer," he said.
Sydney will host the 23rd World Youth Day from 15?20 July. Organised by the Catholic Church but open to all, WYD08 is expected to attract 500,000 people to the Final Mass before Pope Benedict XVI on his first visit to Australia.

We're now on TV

2008-05-16T17:03:00.001+10:00

This Sunday, WYD08’s new television commercial will be on air in the Sydney market on SBS, Channel 7 and Channel 9.

Over the next four weeks it will appear on these stations, on a range of programs including:

Channel 7: AFL, Sunrise, Today Tonight, Home & Away, All Saints,

Channel 9: Today, National Nine News, Nightline, Morning News, 20 to 1, Two and a Half Men,

SBS: Les Murray’s Football, The World Game, Mythbusters, Food Safari, World News, Top Gear

And incase you miss it there...here it is,

WYD vestments are on their way!!

2008-05-16T10:05:00.003+10:00

Photos just in from Italy of our 700 bishops' chasuables and 3000 priests' stoles boxed up and ready for the trip to Oz...let's pray that St Christopher guides them with safe travel.

101 reasons to go to WYD

2008-05-15T13:16:00.002+10:00

I think this is great...click here

How many have you thought of??

yBenedict

2008-05-15T13:01:00.002+10:00

yBENEDICT is a news website specifically established to serve pilgrims across the world in the lead up to WYD2008. The site will provide DAILY reports on all the excitement as the young people of Australia and the world prepare to gather with Pope Benedict. Check it out!

The website has been set up by various catholic groups including Catholic Youth Services, the Catholic Weekly and the New Springtime group which incorporates the catholic young students and adult movements.

yBenedict is also building toward the big WYD rego party on May 24 in Sydney which is sounding like the place to be. If you haven't registered yet it's getting to that time when you want to get you name and place down!

This is the video that greets those who drop into the yBenedict site:

Post #100

2008-05-14T13:31:00.001+10:00

Well it would seem appropriate to drawer your attention to this the 100th post since the Mister Berns blog began in January of 2007. Mister Berns was born one warm Melbourne afternoon as a result of my desire to procrastinate and not focus on my essays as part of my studies at the John Paul Institute for Marriage and the Family (a top place by the way if you have ever had desires to study theology). Back then I was very faithful to the old blogging but since I came home to Sydney in July it sort of got pushed on the backburner until recently when I was inspired to bring to you the events and happenings from my current life at World Youth Day.

I wonder if we will get to 200 posts by the time July rolls round, but never the less, why don't you enjoy an extra Tim Tam with your coffee this afternoon to celebrate the first hundred!

A summary of WYD in the print media

2008-05-13T21:38:00.002+10:00

The official secular newspaper of World Youth Day is Sydney's Daily Telegraph so just thought I would include the link to their WYD In Depth Section. It's a collation of many of their major articles on the event which is being updated as time goes on. It's good and bad news but it's one way to keep track of the media vibe in Sydney.

The WYD program

2008-05-13T21:26:00.004+10:00

Finally a more detailed program has been released for the WYD week from 15 - 20 July.

The program is certainly more detailed than what was available but even with what is there, there is still so much missed. You have to trust me that this week in July is going to be completely amazing...from the festival before the opening Mass in Barangaroo until the last chord is played at the closing Mass at Randwick.

That's why it's disappointing to hear about some Sydneysiders who are only coming to the weekend event or worst yet...nothing! This is WYD...what else is on?? I mean the weekend will be great as the climax but the heart of WYD is the catechesis and youth festival events held each day.

So anyway check out the program here...and if you haven't registered for the full week, apply for time off and change that registration and do it pronto!

Bishops rebuke one of their own

2008-05-13T16:44:00.003+10:00

This is not to do directly with World Youth Day but I was glad to see (not glad that they had to do it) that the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference have officially issued a warning against the some what popular book by retired Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus.

Rightly so they acknowledge the good work of Bishop Robonson but must point out to the faithful that his book is simply incorrect and misleading in many of its propositions. Have a read of the statement here.

WYD volunteers to meet Pope!

2008-05-13T15:32:00.003+10:00

If a cool WYD uniform, meals, transport and the joy of serving the young people of the world was not enough to entice you to volunteer for World Youth Day then perhaps this latest announcement...hot off the press...will do that.

Volunteer today...catholic or non catholic, tall or short...your country needs you!

What fabric will impress 225,000 people...

2008-05-12T21:00:00.002+10:00

....plus Jesus in the Monstrance?

Obviously a big part of World Youth Day (infact the main part) is an encounter with Christ...and the most real encounter anyone can ever have with Christ is in the Most Blessed Scarament where the Lord is present body, blood, soul and divinity under the form of bread.

To facilitate this ongoing encounter with Christ this WYD as other before it will have a number of adoration sites both in the CBD during the week and at Randwick during the weekend. Now we want the altars on which the Monstrance sits to be beautiful, to express to all people our faith in the presence of the Eucharistic King. I wanted then to decorate these altars more than our commercial catechesis venues so was able to get an allowance for altar frontals to be made.

On Sunday mum and I popped down to Spotlight then to see what would make a good frontal for our altars. Obviously they don't sell the type of liturgical fabic I would have liked as a preference but I think we selected one that is quite beautiful as I hope you agree from the picture. The think panel that mum is holding was just a test, we did not select a separate panel colour but we did buy enough of the gold fabric to cover the altar front and will continue to look for a panel colour that works, perhaps one that pics up a bit more gold.

It was a fun little expedition and humbling to know that you are making choices that will enhance or detract from the visual faith experience of so many thousands of people. As people of body and soul what our body takes in through the senses is imporant, nay, essential. This is what the liturgical minimalists forget, that we are not angels but rather people that require beauty to lead us to the beauty of God.

Any room at your place?

2008-05-12T20:51:00.003+10:00

Have you any room at your place for two or more Pilgrims during WYD in July?

HomeStay is asking for your incredible Aussie hospitality and generosity.

We need your place for pilgrims to rest their weary heads at the end of their long days 14-21 July.

All we are asking for are sleeping spaces (floor is great) and room for sleeping bags & luggage, a fresh towel, bathroom access & cold or hot breakfast every morning.

So…please extend the invitation to friends, relatives, neighbours, local business people, acquaintances, countrymen…catholic or non catholic...only a generous heart is needed!

Plus...if you host two or more pilgrims you and your immediate family get access to the final Mass in the actual Racecourse with direct line of sight to the snactuary instead of having to be in Centennial Park. Now that is a good deal!

We are just a click or phone call away and we really need you – 1800 993 7939 or www.wyd2008.org/homestay.

A visit to the Papal Chef

2008-05-12T20:14:00.003+10:00

64 Days to Go!!

I have to admit I am a few posts behind, I have been so busy with WYD that I have had no time to blog about WYD! But I did want to mention a visit I made out to St Joseph's Convent in Croydon late last week.

A couple of months back it hit me that we were going to need some kneelers (all good catholic events involve kneeling) so I began calling around some religious communities to see what might be hidden under the stairs. I got in contact with Sr Lyn from the Josephites who has become the sort of Josephite property archivist and she had a couple of garages full of excess kneelers which she was most happy not only to lend to us but let us keep! Needless to say she quickly became one of my best friends and we sent the good people from logistics out there to pick up the dozen or so matching kneelers plus some other random kneelers...so that solved my kneeler problem...yay...one issue down, 2597 still to deal with.

And to make matters even better Sr Lyn told me that she also had a repository of tabernacles, chalices and other suck sacristy knick knacks that would impress and sacristy manager. Last week then I made an appointment to go round and see what was actually available for us to borrow (I have a register of everything I will need to borrow for the major Masses and while most of it will come from St Mary's Cathedral, there are some things I need to find elsewhere).

And here comes the part that relates to the Papal chef which might have had you confused. While I was in the lovely St Joseph's Convent (which used to be an orphanage for dozens of children) SrLyn (left in photo) introduced me to Sr Mary (centre in photo) who seemed to be in charge of the smaller items like the chalices, cruets and even cruet spoons (yes the little spoon that the priest would use to put the water into the chalice...I think the Holy Father will like that!) As they had so many items which came from such a selection of convents and Josephite Communities I thought it would be nice to use these items for the chapel which we will set up for the papal household in their residence. The Papal Household is the group that travels with the Pope and they are the people that organise the matters that directly surround the Holy Father and it also includes the 'goverment' of the Holy See such as the Archbishop Secretary of State...so it's an important group of people and I don't want to put out a pottery cup and bowl on their altar (not that I would allow that on any altar). It is a nice connection to use all these items as there is of course the obvious connection to Blessed Mary MacKillop and we will make sure we let the Household know the basic history of the items. The sisters were very honoured to know that the items would be used in such a way. Sr Mary even lent us a beautiful silver single candle holder, the type that used to be carried before the Blessed Sacrament as Holy Communion was delivered around the hospital...I just need to think of where we could use it!

(Maybe I'll get to the papal chef in thie section)...so I'm having a delightful time selecting vessels with Sr Mary and I ask her what sort of work she does and did and she tells me that she has actaully cooked for two Popes on two previous papal visits! Well needless to say I was very impressed. It turned out that Sr Mary cooked for Pope Paul VI in Australia in 1970 and also for Pope John Paul II on his visit in 1997 to Beatify Mary Mackillop. She told me that in the late 1960's she was actually cooking at the nunciature and that is where the Pope stayed so she prepared meals for him, the Papal staff told her that she did not have to cook anything special as what she made regualrly was perfect. And with Pope John Paul she had a bit more of a listing of the Pope's favourites. I asked if she remembered what she cooked and she told me she still had it all written out in a folder upstairs. Sr Mary was so happy to be able "to do her little bit" in this forthcoming papal visit as well. I thought that was just a delightful little story, it just shows the wonderful stories that people carry within, sometimes we just need to ask.

Behold the Cross

2008-05-11T12:58:00.003+10:00

66 Days to Go!!

Below is a beautiful song by Gary Pinto, who helped co-write the WYD theme song with Guy Sebastian...tell me this is not a beautiful song with equally moving images. This song will certainly be performed at the big concerts during the week which is all the more reason to make sure you have registered for the whole week. You need to move mountains to get to the whole week of World Youth Day...we are moving mountails here to make it spectacular!

Pope to text the WYD pilgrims

2008-05-07T21:22:00.002+10:00

The following media release was issued yesterday about the exciting way technology will be encompassing this World Youth day more than any other.

Telstra answers the call – Pope to send daily text messages to young people during World Youth Day
In a World Youth Day first, Pope Benedict XVI will send text messages of hope and inspiration directly to pilgrims, reaching young people in their social space.
The service will be made possible by Telstra, announced today as the official telecommunications partner of World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08).
“We wanted to make WYD08 a unique experience by using new ways to connect with today’s tech-savvy youth,” said WYD08 Coordinator, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP.
“Our partnership with Telstra will help us do that.”
Telstra will provide voice, data, mobile, broadband and broadcast services to WYD08, connecting 8000 volunteers, 2000 clergy, 3000 media and an anticipated 225,000 pilgrims to more than 700 locations around the greater Sydney area.
“Telstra’s involvement will ensure that WYD08 will be the most innovative World Youth Day to date,” Bishop Fisher said.
One-of-a-kind Telstra services planned for WYD08 include:
- Daily inspirational text messages from Pope Benedict XVI - Digital Prayer Walls at event sites - Hosting the official WYD08 online social networking site, XT3.com - Telstra precincts - on the ground interactive centre’s including wireless internet, green screen studios, commemorative WYD08 photo messaging and music downloads. - Next G™ Regional Catechesis webcasting
Mr Michael Rocca, Telstra Group Managing Director Telstra Networks and Services, said Telstra was the only provider in Australia with the proven size, scale and innovation to deliver these services to WYD08.
“Just as we did for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, 2003 Rugby World Cup and the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Telstra will bring participants closer to the event through new media and telecommunications services, allowing youth to interact with WYD08 events,” he said.
“We are thrilled to be a part of this major global event and we are happy to be providing world class telecommunications to WYD08 participants and organisers,” he said.

And to top it all off Cardinal Pell hit youtube in an interview about it all,

WYD team at afternoon tea

2008-05-07T09:35:00.004+10:00

I forgot to include our photos in the post below of our afternoon tea with the papal nuncio...here is some of the fantastic WYD team!

Inviting the 'bloody globe'

2008-05-07T09:18:00.002+10:00

IN what I thought was just a brilliant statement reported in another negative WYD article yesterdays Sydney Morning Herald, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney Tony Pooley was quoted as saying "I don't think we can pretend to be a global city unless we occasionally invite the bloody globe here". Now that is one of the funniest lines I have ever heard. If you have already looked at the link to the artcle you would have seen it is reporting on how Hyde Park , across from St Mary's Cathedral, may have parts closed for months while the turf is revived after the trampling of 225000 pilgrims on top of it.

While the article is of course billed as a negative it is the mayor and deputy mayor who are quoted as saying all the inconvenience will be worth it. I can just imagine Deputy Lord Mayor Pooley sitting in a press conference and getting so frustrated with it all that he follows on from the Lord Mayor's reference to Sydney as a global city with his award winning statement. I don't know why they didn't turn it into the headline! So if you have a minute why don't you congratulate Deputy Lord Mayor Tony Pooley on his wit and wisdom, send the man an email! It's not often enough that we get statements of such support and humour from politicians. Good job Tony!

Like the engine room of a great ship...

2008-05-07T08:48:00.007+10:00

69 Day to Go!!

On Monday the WYD staff had a visit of very short notice from the new Papal Nuncio Archbishop Giueseppe Lazzarotto (pictured). The Nuncio is of course the national representative of the Holy Father and the Holy See and he resides in Canberra similar to the other foreign ambassadors.

His excellency was in town for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference plenenary which is happening at this moment and he wanted to visit the WYD office and greet us all. He celebrated a Mass for us a 3:30 in the Polding Centre Chapel (that's right we have Jesus in the building...a great blessing!). The Archbishop preached off the cuff for 10 minutes or so and I found his words very heartening and spirit raising. He deeply thanked everyone for their work and assured us that he was only echoing the thanks of the the Holy Father.

His excellency spoke of our work like that of a engine room within one of the old great luxurious liners that would sail the world. As great and beautiful as a liner may be it can go no where without the hard work, the heat, the coal and often the stress of those in its engine room. He spoke with great description and as a real father and one could see his great sincerity and joy to be with us. He also referred to us as an army, but not an army for distruction but indeed for the opposite, for building up something very beautiful for God and for the world.

After the Mass the Archbishop joined us for afternoon tea and he again spoke very encouragingly as you can see in the video below.

A good article about our WYD linens...

2008-05-03T09:43:00.006+10:00

73 Days to Go!!

And following on from my post about the ways that the media twists the good stories about World Youth Day here is an example of a good news story that features yours truly and those wonderful ladies who did our linens.

It may be a bit to small to read but unfortunately it didn't get posted online but it made page 16 of the real Daily Telegraph which is one of Sydney's two major papers.

It was quite a fun little thing to do, the journalist and photographer came into the Polding centre and we did it all in the Catholic Women's League offices in the building. The photographer must have taken at least 100 photos many liken the one that made it in but then other that had more ladies in it. It's just a whole lot of smiling and laughing but the whole exercise would have taken about an hour just in the office.

You will see some red that they are holding and a splash of red behind the ladies, that is actually out WYD vestments. Due to all the while the photographer wanted to throw some extra colour in. All in all I think it came out well, mind you that pile only shows less than half the linens, the rest are still in Melbourne hopefully close to completion.

Pope to holiday in Sydney

2008-05-02T17:31:00.006+10:00

It has just been announced that the Pope will arrive in Sydney three days his official activities for World Youth Day begin. Which means he will be in Sydney from Sunday 13 July to Monday 21 July. During those three days he will be staying at a "beautiful, serene" location where he will able to rest and ready himself for the big few days. It will be very exciting to have the Holy Father resting and kicking back in Oz. It is already getting coverage in the Australia press but here is the official press release (news without the bias):

Pope Benedict to holiday in Australia before World Youth Day
The Vatican has confirmed that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will spend three extra days resting in Australia before heading to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08).
The trip to Australia will be the longest journey the Holy Father has ever undertaken. The Holy Father normally takes leave at this time and he has decided to spend several days preparing for his encounter with young people from 17-21 July this year.
The announcement by the Vatican confirms that the Holy Father will spend eight days in Australia, five days of which will involve World Youth Day activities. “His Holiness will leave Rome on 12 July and arrive in Australia on Sunday 13 July,” said Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.
“He will fly out on Monday 21 July,” Cardinal Pell said.
Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, Coordinator of WYD08, said he was pleased the Holy Father would have some private time to rest and prepare for the World Youth Day.
“We are delighted that the Holy Father has chosen to arrive early and spend more time in Australia,” Bishop Fisher said.
“We were asked to nominate a suitable location for his stay and have recommended somewhere serene, beautiful and suitable for the leader of the world’s Catholics.
“He will have the opportunity to see some of Australia’s beautiful flora and fauna.
“We cannot, of course, disclose the location; he is a Head of State seeking private time and has asked that that privacy be respected.
“Australia joins a very exclusive club in July; we will be only the third nation (outside Italy) to have been visited by each of the three ‘travelling’ Popes – Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and now Pope Benedict XVI.
“The other two countries are the United States and Turkey.”
Cardinal Pell said appropriate security arrangements would be in place throughout the Pope’s visit.
Pope Benedict will be officially welcomed into Sydney in a harbourside ceremony on Thursday 17 July and will take part in WYD08 events until Sunday 20 July.

May he have a delightful time!

Getting Jesus to the masses (excuse the pun)

2008-05-02T12:47:00.005+10:00

74 Days to Go!

The last couple of weeks have been all consuming for me in the processing of those who have offered to assist in some way in the distribution of Holy Communion to the 150000 pilgrims at the opening Mass at Barangaroo and the 500000 pilgrims at the closing Mass at Randwick Racecource/Centennial Park. The faithful at the closing Mass have to be split due to the fact that our great city of Sydney dose not have an area large enough and well catered enough in the way of transport to hold 500000 people in one open space. So even though we will have huge numbers of priests conclebrating we will still need laity to assist us as acolytes, extraordinary ministers and escorts in distributing Holy Communion to the far reaches of the precinct.

Initially we popped out an email to all the national groups and movements but I soon got flooded with emails asking every question under the sun so we set up a spreadsheet and resent that out to all our people which makes life a little easier. The volunteers I am capturing are different to the 8000 volunteers that WYD still needs to help with everything from logistics to communication to lunch distribution. So if you are able to volunteer your services during the week don't forget to log on and put up your hand here.

So yes back to my volunteers...the task continues. Once we have all the people we need to need to work out the logistics of getting the good Lord out in 2000 ciboria to the faithful who have come to Mass and try and do all this within 30 minutes! It makes me wonder about Jesus feeding the 5000 men (not to mention probably 15000 women and children). Not only did he work that miracle of multiplying the loaves and fish but they managed to pull off the logistics of getting the baskets of food out and back! I think however they would have needed to commission some more disciples and baskets, I did the math on 12 apostles and distribution to 20000 people and based on six seconds per person (the distribution time we base Holy Communion to each person on) it would have taken them over one and half hours! Perhaps however they would have been a bit more patient than todays Catholic crowd.

The miracle of the media

2008-05-01T11:16:00.005+10:00

75 Days to go!!

It is truly amazing how skilled the media is at turning what is a neutral or positive story into what comes across as completely negative. let's take two examples:

A couple of weeks ago a news story appeared here in which the headline read "Pope knocks back Youth Day Vestments". Now that seems to be a very serious claim as we currently have all the vestments in production and it makes us sound like we are totally working at odds with the Holy Father. In reality though when you read the article there was no actual reference to the Pope knocking back anything. They took a quote from a new book about the Pope by Dr Tracey Rowland which stated that the Pope doesn't like rock music in church or symbols in vestments that aren't explicitely Christian (and that last part wasn't even given as a quote!). Well none of that is any revelation to those who know the Pope and those who have followed what has been coming out of Rome for some time now, ie for all time really. The symbol on the back of the WYD vestements has been publically announced to be an aboriginal painting of the Holy Spirit and a Southern Cross image on the front so I would hardly say they are pagan. Now they may not be to everyone's liking and no one is saying they are the most beautiful vestments ever made but they certainly carry a dignity and beauty that is obvious (and they certainly beat in my opinion what was used in Toronto in 2005!).

Of course the article didn't bother to mention that the vestments for the clergy in the upcoming World Youth Day had been approved long ago in Rome.

Now the second article appeared today as a response to a press release put out by WYD. Now first of all, have a look at the press release:

123,000 pilgrims confirmed to attend WYD08 – and counting
Almost 123,000 pilgrims have confirmed they are coming to World Youth Day Sydney 2008 (WYD08), with registrations well on track to achieving 225,000 registered pilgrims. WYD08 organisers say 85,000 individuals have so far registered online, including some 30,000 Australians.
Additionally, WYD08 has received financial commitments from several large national Bishops Conferences, including the Italian Bishops Conference (11,000 pilgrims); the Polish Bishops Conference (3,000); the French Bishops Conference (3,800); the German Bishops Conference (3,000); and an additional 17,000 from the widely followed Neo-Catechumenal Way who are still in the process of completing their online registrations.
The total to date is 93,000 international registrants and 30,000 domestic registrants.
A significant number of paper applications are also currently being processed. “We are excited to welcome the youth of the world to Sydney for this magnificent occasion,” said Danny Casey, WYD08 Chief Operating Officer. “We are on track to achieve our estimated number of overseas pilgrims,” he said.
The top 10 countries by registration are: Australia, the USA, Italy, Germany, Philippines, New Zealand, Spain, France, Mexico and Canada. “Our advice from Rome is that the typical scenario of past World Youth Days is that the majority of pilgrims register in the last few months,” Mr Casey said. “Our official tour operator, Harvest Tours, has bookings for 48,000 pilgrims.”
Mr Casey said the Department of Immigration and Citizenship has processed some 21,000 visa applications, with 4,000 applications awaiting approval from the Department and an additional 25,000 have commenced their visa process through the WYD08 website. “About 30% of all pilgrims will not need a visa, including those from New Zealand. “We are encouraging all pilgrim Group Leaders to complete their registrations to avoid processing difficulties for the Department. “Our one message is – don’t miss out on the event of this lifetime! Register to attend at http://www.wyd2008.org/ and join the youth of the world in this great celebration.” Sydney will host the 23rd World Youth Day from 15 – 20 July this year. Organised by the Catholic Church but open to all, the event will mark the first visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Australia.

Now to me that is a pretty upbeat and encouraging press release, but by some marvel of editorial magic what came about was this story entitled "Miracle needed to save the Day". Need I really say more! Now of course not all the WYD media has been bad but let's keep praying to St Francis de Sales to Patron saint of journalists for more good encouraging coverage.

Purifiers, palls, cloths and corporals

2008-04-30T13:15:00.004+10:00

76 Days to go!!

During the week of WYD our 225000 pilgrims will be attending what are called 'catechesis' in one of roughly 300 locations across Sydney. Catechesis is part of the heart of WYD and will happen each morning between Wednesday 16 and Friday 18th. At each location one of the world's bishops (and we have hundreds of bishops coming) will lead a teaching/Q&A session which will be followed by singing, prayer and Mass...and Mass is where I come in.

Now 250 of these sites are churches and chapels but 50 or so of them are commercial venues which means they need from Mass, from altars to candles and crucifixes right down to a box of matches. Much of my time in the first months I was here was taken up with organising the ordering of these items which all included the matter of the linens.

Each location would require an altar cloth (to find the altars that the catholic schools would be building for us), as well as a corporal, a pall, a chalice veil, lavabo towels and purifiers. So for weeks I was consumed with learning all about linen types and weaves and fabric prices (this short sentence may incorrectly give the impression that task was easy). Finally the order was placed and our hundreds of meters of fabric were delivered to the fabric cutters and then brought back here to HQ where I boxed it up and sent out round the country. Thankfully the good ladies at the Catholic Women's League (CWL) had offered to make up many of the items with the Society for Eucharistic Adoration (SEA) helping and also a group of ladies in Melbourne (I should add that the SEA is also making up the set of papal linens for the closing Mass which is very exciting!) We also have the Branches Project (a small charity begining educational outreach into India) making up the chalice veils in Perth. Just last week all the linens from the CWL arrived so that was a great moment! Then I took then home to my good mother Anne who embroidered them all for us with a selection of beautiful red and white crosses as you can see...

When all the linens are back and embroidered and ready to go there will be over 800 pieces which is several hundred metres of fabric. Although most people will not know the time and effort and dedication that so many people have put into these sacred linens for the people who had something to do with it, is there offering to almighty God, knowing that they will serve to contain on the altar the King of Kings.

Welcome to the Office...

2008-04-29T13:00:00.008+10:00

So you can really get a feel of where I am coming from here is a very brief tour of World Youth Day headquarters and my little pod up on level 12 with the liturgy gang.

When my 6.57 train (or the 7.27 if I just couldn't do the early train) arrives in the city and I walk to the building, this is what greets me...the Polding Centre...

The Polding Centre contains most of the agencies and offices for the Archdiocese of Sydney. Names after the first Archbishop of Sydney, the Polding Centre is a very comfortable place to work. Slowly but surely World Youth Day has taken over every free space that existed here. In fact they built a special compound on what was the level five outdoor break out area which now houses most of the operations team. I was there for a while but we thankfully had to move. Some call it the terrace suites which others call it the bunker, and I affectionately refer to it as the chicken coup! The ceiling is very low and it has that portable building feel.

When I began I was up on the floor with the WYD directors and communications staff, then spent a short stay in the chicken coup but now we subsist on level 12 which was once the Catholic Mission office (not sure if we kicked them out of they moved but here we are none the less. I am very pleased to have a ceiling that is higher that 6 feet even though my window does not offer the bext view of the city...

I am hoping between now and July that brick building will collapse but that may be a prayer in vain.

My little pod is comfortable though, with my plant and surrounding papers...

If you are savy you might just see my red WYD mug in front of the computer for my daily chai tea and toas....mmmm (the toast goes on a plate though).

As I mentioned we moved into the old Catholic Mission office and someone rather cleverly made the place our own by the addition of a word to the Catholic Mission sign...I wouldn't say our task is impossible but short of organising the second coming it is the biggest thing we will probably do in this life time.

Ok better head back to work now. I must report later on the saga that was altar linens!

Why Australia should be subsidising WYD

2008-04-28T22:53:00.003+10:00

This event is worthy of government support for reasons unrelated to religion:

1.It will be the biggest event ever held in Australia in terms of participants. It will draw 125,000 international visitors – more visitors than the Olympics

2.These visitors are mostly young adults who will return to Australia if they enjoy their visit

3.The NSW Government has said it will inject $231 million into the Australia economy.

4.The major events will be broadcast live around the world – a chance to showcase Sydney and Australia to the world!

And some facts about the event:

1. The pilgrims themselves are paying for about half the cost of staging the event through their registration fees

2. The Church in Sydney (and in the preparatory events, the church throughout Australia) is making a very considerable contribution

3. Corporate partners are providing important services and cash

4. Federal and State Governments are also important partners and are contributing cash and services. But they have committed much more to smaller events in the past. For example, the Victorian government spent more than $600 million on the Commonwealth Games and the Federal Government spent nearly $300 million on top of that ($293 million)

So compared to other major events we are getting much better value per dollar spent...bargain!

Bad press for WYD...surprise surprise

2008-04-28T22:42:00.002+10:00

It really is becoming almost imposssible to avoid WYD now, we have the main electronic signs on the motorways counting down, ads in the newspaper anouncing the event and a continuous stream of media reports on the event. While there are good articles, there are still too many that are so blatently bias and negative.

Take for example yesterdays Sun Herald which ran a double page spread on the costs of WYD and in true democratic style that polled a selection of the community to reveal that 47% of Australians thought that WYD was costing too much. Now how many people do you think they polled? 100000? Of course not. 10000? Far from it. 1000? Keep going. 360 people...they polled 360 people which is less than 0.0018% of the population yet that supplied them enough to write a double page spread. I have 352 facebook friends! Come on! Surely they could do better than that!

Lucky no one takes the media too seriously...or do they?

World Youth Day

2008-04-28T22:31:00.004+10:00

78 DAYS TO GO!!!!!

Everyday at work someone is annoucing how many days there are to go and I must say it is getting sacrier and scarier but it is also getting more and more exciting. My role as sacristy manager is going to allow me to be in the very heart of the liturgical activities of World Youth Day (it is even allowing me select the type of furniture we will place in the sacristy of the Holy Father) so indeed it is a great blessing!

It occurred to me on the weekend that there is so much happening that I would really like to share what I can with whoever cares to read about so this will be my attempt to document the goings on in the World Youth Day office especially from a liturgical point of view. There are so many wonderful things that will be happening in the week and are happening now as we prepare that it would be ashame to keep it all to myself.

The Family...

2008-02-26T12:58:00.003+11:00

Here we all are and little Joshua who has just passed the six month mark....

Website recommendations for December!

2007-12-05T23:21:00.000+11:00

This is the first time this segment has appeared on my blog but I wanted to let you know about some small new businesses because here at MisterBerns we support new initiatives...and these ones I can guarentee personally!

Raymond Toutounji Photography is my brother's new business (called 'Capture the Essence')which specialises in conference/event photography and family portraits...I have seen his work and I really was impressed! Christmas is the time to get those family portraits done and he has a great Christmas rate so do have a look at his website and spread the word.

Invitations to Impress is the work of my good friend Catherine who designs personalised invitations for every occassion (have you got you Christmas cards yet??) She can get your invites done within 24hrs, and have the file emailed back to you or can have them professionally printed on photo paper and mail then. Another great website to have a look at and remember.

My other brother Richard and his wife Joanne are about to hit the healthy families market big time real soon. Their first book 'Please mum don't Supersize me' (see the cover on the publisher's website) is due out in January and you will be seeing them on all the breakfast shows as they tour round the country. They are also launching a host of audio e-books on keeping healthy familes...infact they have a free offer online now...check it out here!

There really is so much talent out there! I hope you find one or all of these sites helpful :)

Walking with Love...supporting women after abortion

2007-12-05T22:58:00.000+11:00

Everyone know that the Catholic Church condemns abortion but it is not condemning for the sake of it, is in condemning because abortion hurts regular mums and dads and of course their babies. More than wanting to condemn, the Church wants to be there for women to support them and to help them. The Church desires to create a culture not where abortion is so much 'illegal' but rather where abortion is unthinkable. It desires a culture that loves life but more importantly is there to really support a woman who feels alone and scared through an unplanned pregnancy. The 'pro-choice' lobby is really not pro choice at all because studies show that 85% of women who had an abortion would not have had one if they felt support from family, friends etc. Out society needs to be built into one that loves and supports and so importantly...forgives. Abortion is never a loving option, not for mother, father or baby.

In light of all this the Australian bishops are currently holding symposiums around Australia to get the conversation happening about the real need to be there for woman who are considering or have had an abortion. It is not about accusing or condemning but about being there in all ways possible. They have set up the initiative called "Walking with Love" and last week held the first symposium in Melbourne, you'll want to have a look at the website for the symposiums in Sydney and the other capitals.

Part of the website includes the specially made 3 minute video (below) as part of the resources to be distributed to parishes and schools in the future. So have a look at the clip and let us keep in our prayers those at this moment who are considering having an abortion and those who struggle in living with what has already happened. Abortion is something that our society is too quick to sweep under the rug...if we are to build a culture of life and love we need to be there for the one in four women who have felt they have had no choice but an abortion. A society which loves its women would never allow that to happen...

Is World Youth Day worth it??

2007-12-03T13:10:00.000+11:00

For those who don't know I have started a new job (third week) with World Youth Day 2008 (WYD) as the Sacristy Manager, it is a huge job, a huge responsibility and a huge honour. Basically my task is making sure that all the Mass sites (about 300) are equipped and that we have the people in place for the massive task of the distribution of Holy Communion to an approximate 500000 pilgrims in the final Mass. The entire event is absolutely massive, on every level there are people working so hard to make this coming World Youth Day come together, they all really need your prayers. Maybe you could pray the WYD prayer each day.

Now there are many people with many varying opinions of WYD and whether it is good, bad or a waste of time and money. Most of your garden variety pagans (such as in the media) don't really get what the Church is trying to achieve so I'm not even going to bother commenting on them here. There are good catholics though who really question the effectiveness of such an event and I think there point does require some thought (atleast as much as I can give it during this lunch break).

It is true that WYD is very very costly and it is a massive drain on the resources and finances of the Church in Australia and most especially in Sydney. In Sydney there are many good people who seem to be over it all before it has already begun. To me though WYD is a response, a very large response to the call of Christ to go out and preach the Good News. I see it very much like the parable of the sower, we are going out and casting seed far and wide, some will fall on good soil and yield a rich harvest, some will produce temporary results and some will fall on bad soil and have no effect. WYD will be a spring board for many people to get back into their faith and see Jesus in a whole new light, as their Lord and God. WYD is not the only way to spread the message of Christ, individual contact and guidance will always be the best way but as a Church we need to keep looking for new ways and methods to spread the word and WYD at this point is time has become an effective vehicle for many people. Remember the Church and all her resources exist to save souls...that is her preeminent task.

At Mass today Father made a very good point. He was encouraging us to always keep going regardless of the challenge, regardless of those who mock or try to get in the way of the message. He spoke of Noah...here was this man who God asked to build an ark in the middle of the desert! Now if anything was going to look like a waste of time it was that. If we do our end, if we build our ark, God will do his end, he will do the impossible.

So in regards to WYD I say we push on, we keep doing the possible, we plan the biggest single gathering of young people in Australia and we pray that God will come to the party and touch the souls of those there present.

One very happy child

2007-11-25T15:04:00.000+11:00

Perhaps you should watch this after 99 balloons video below as that will make you cry. The child in this video has such a contagious laugh I had to put it up here...laughing is good for the soul.

Now I must return to my essay...

99 Balloons

2007-11-21T22:58:00.001+11:00

This is such a sad but beautiful video...you have to watch it. Human love is such a touching thing...and well it should be, when we love we reflect the love of God for us...

Prepare to cry...

John Paul II Relics Available

2007-09-23T13:04:00.000+10:00

People who want to receive a relic "ex indumentis"- from the clothing - or a holy card of Pope John Paul II, may do so by writing to the Vicariate of Rome.

The Vicariate of Rome is accepting requests via mail, fax or e-mail for the religious items. The petition should be sent to "Holy Cards and Relics Service," and should indicate a shipping address.

The holy cards contain the prayer to obtain graces through the intercession of the Servant of God John Paul II and can be requested in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish and Portuguese.

Though the vicariate is not charging for the holy card, donations are accepted to cover the printing and mailing expenses.

For more information, visit the official multilingual Web site of the postulation of the cause of beatification and canonization.

Reflections on a morning at an abortion clinic...

2007-09-15T18:04:00.000+10:00

Well the break from blogging has been long but now I am back in Sydney I felt it was time to begin again and this mornings trip to the abortion clinic in Annandale has given me plenty of food for though to do that.

For those who don't quite get what I mean I joined the Helpers of God's Precious Infants in their weekly prayer vigil outside the abortion clinic/mill. Basically what happens is we begin with Mass at 8am from there we process to the clinic praying the rosary and then stand across the street from the clinic praying another three rosaries, the stations of the cross and singing hymns (we are there for about 1.5 hours). On the clinic side are the counsellors who take every opportunity they can to speak to couples going for an abortion and generally anyone walking past. This is not a protest but a prayer vigil, we are there to bear witness to that fact that lives are being lost in that place, just as one would stand at the bed of a dying person even though it will not bring them back, we stand with these babies who are being murdered. We pray for them and for their parents and for all those involved in the tragedy that is abortion.

I have to say I hate going to these places. I have been to such vigils before but not in a while. Everytime I am going there I feel ill. It is something though that all catholics, that all people who believe in the objective value of human life, should attend. It makes you see the reality. As I was standing there praying and as the occasional person drove by and yelled taunts such as 'losers', 'get a life', 'go to hell' (I found that one ironic) I sort of understood what it was like for the apostles when Jesus was led to Calvary. I understand why they fled. Jesus was no longer the popular man but now the one who was out of line, he had been rejected and he was now hated. When we stand outside that clinic, we are out of line with society, we are pricking the consciences of people, we are interrupting their ways of thinking. The abortion clinic has been called the modern day calvary and it is true, here the innocent die and here some stand at the foot of the cross to be with them. It is not many though who come to pray, for it is hard to stand out from the crowd. Believe me I feel that myself. Today we were just 25 people praying, it has been as high at 200 and it has been as low as 2, but still they go to witness to the world.

Sometimes there are protestors and sometimes not (it's always interesting to see the protestors, they are just so angry and they get even more angry when all we do is pray, they just don't get it). I admire those who go not just every week but every day to pray for the sin of abortion. Sometimes being a Christian is too easy, we go to our church and sing our hymns and even receive the very body of Christ but it is all in our private church, our christian 'space'. Every so often (and perhaps more than that) we need to draw on the strength we have received from our faith to stand up and proclaim it. Not in protest but in prayer as is in this case.

It is very surreal when you stand outside such a clinic for the first time and watch what happens. The first thing you notice is the look of the clinic, they are usually bland and barren looking buildings (the same as the woman's womb when she leaves). There is nothing beautiful there, even the staff when they open the door for 'clients' seem angry and bitter. This particular clinic in Annandale now has a sign, there used to just be a street number, now it is proudy part of the 'Marie Stopes' corporation of death or as they prefer to claim 'reproductive rights', although the only 'right' happening inside is the right to have your baby sliced up. I remember going to my first vigil and it is only when you see a couple come in and leave an hour or so later that you grasp the tragedy of what is happening, they went in with a child and came out with none. I felt like I had to alert the media and the prime minister but then I realised that they all knew about it and condoned it as someone's personal 'choice'...as if we ever had the choice to kill another human being.

Today at the clinic about 10 or 11 couples went in while we were there (all though often they are not couples, just one lonely woman). They were pretty much all good looking young people , one guy driving a car with a 'P' plate on it. All normal people yet all with the seemingly same goal.

While standing there praying it occurred to me that while it is necessary for such vigils to happen more regularly and in greater numbers we are there because of the end result of a much bigger problem, that is the problem of chastity (well chastity isn't the problem but rather the lack of it). I don't know the stories of those people that went in but I do know one thing, they are not happy because their sexual act did what it was designed to do - produce a new life. They desired to separate the procreative from the unitive in their sexual act and it didn't work work. So now instead of accepting the life they have produced they seek to kill it. I'm not saying they all do it in malice, many are confused and lonely and lost but I really believe deep down mothers know what is happening. That is why we have the growing and very real problem of post abortion syndrome.

While studies show that most Australians feel that the 100 000 abortions per year is too many how many people are saying anything about the fact that their children are involved in sexual relationships outside marriage? How many are speaking up against contraception and pornography and masturbation and every other activity that makes people think the sexual act is all about gratification? More importantly who is standing up for chastity? Chasitity is not celibacy but rather the right ordering of our sexual drives according to our state in life, married or single. We all know that we can't pursue every desire we have, that is the beginning of chastity. Chastity is also about realising that the sexual act is always open to life and bonding between the couple. To destroy one is to destroy both.

Why do we so often do things that are not good? For some reason many people deny the fact that we live in a fallen world yet it is the one doctrine I don't know how anyone can deny. We strive to do the right thing yet we fail. We know what we should do, yet we struggle. Everyone is looking for love but how many know how to find it? How many teenagers and young adults and fully grown adults are looking for love and union in all the wrong places; in the back seat of a car, in a hotel room with someone they barely know, in a defacto relationship that is not really open to true love because it closed off to life? How many marriages even exist within a world of contraception where every sexual act say 'I give you everything of myself...except my fertility'. No, there can be no doubt that we are living with some sort of problem. I call it, as does Christianity, Original Sin, hence the need for Christ's saving death but call it what you will, there is something wrong.

Christianity has always taught that sex belongs in marriage alone but that does not only mean the actual act of intercourse, it means the whole thing, intimate touching, intimate kissing of any kind and every sort of other sexual act. Why is that? Because all those things naturally lead to the union that we are built to long for and that union leads to children and those children need a loving mother and father. This is why God created marriage.

So instead of considering what sex means we block the thought out and use contraception thinking that will solve the problem of possible pregnancy, has it, no. Those people at the clinic today thought that, most abortions in Australia are as a result of failed contraception. Those who do get scared off by the threat of pregnancy (or who wish to leave what they think is real sex for marriage) may resort to other sexual acts or just kissing and touching but they are all missing the point (plus opening themselves up for a raft of now extremely common sexual diseases). Part of our fallen nature is our tendancy to live very legalistic lives. People (Catholics included) will often ask the question, 'how far can I go' before it is wrong? This is the wrong question, we should be asking how much can I truly love this other person created in the image of God? Thinking about this today I was once again I was struck by the Beatitudes...

When Jesus was preaching his Sermon on the Mount (which we read in Matthew's Gospel chapter 5-7) he takes the law to a new level he wants us to get away from the legalism that ties us down, the legalism that makes us proud and self-seeking people. These are called the Beatitudes. Jesus says...'you have heard it say do not kill...but I say to you do not even be angry with your brother (or sister)' and my favourite 'you have heard it said do not commit adultery...but I say to you do not even look at a woman (or man) lustfully'. This is amazing stuff. Christ knows our hearts and he wants to set them free. He knows that if we just try to 'avoid' adultery we will fail, he calls us not to avoid sinning but to become pure in heart, that is why he says don't even look lustfully. He is inverting our reality! The Catholic Church isn't legalistic, it's trying to free us from it! People who live to just avoid becoming pregnant often fail because as was said in Jurrasic Park 'nature will find a way'. We can't keep living our lives to avoid preganancy or lonliness or guilt or even sin. Jesus wants us not to live in the negative 'thou shall not' but the positive, to be pure and just and merciful and peacemakers. None of this will happen by doing the bare minimum.

It is hard to be pure, not hard, almost imposible and without God's Grace, I think totally impossible but as Jesus said 'for man it is impossible for God, all things are possible.

Abortion, divorce, contraception, pre-marital sex etc etc will not stop until we embrace the call of Christ to be chaste and we will not be able to do this until we use the means he has given us, primarily the sacraments of confession for when we fall and Holy Communion so that Christ can live in us and help us. Plus we need to be praying people, not just when something is going the way we don't like but always. We need to ask for a pure heart, ask and it will be given, seek and you will find. In a society that doesn't believe someone can do something morally wrong we also need to pray for a sharpened conscience so that we truly see that our sins and our acts of impurity really do damage us as people and offend the Lord because it uses the beautiful gifts of sex as an object for gratification. Even if we do not 'feel' guilty it doesn not mean our impure act is any less wrong, feeling come and go. Hitler may have felt just fine executing Jews, but as we all know his feelings don't change the reality.

So that was what struck me today at that clinic. Abortion is a huge problem but it is the end result of something much bigger, the lack of purity. Nothing will ever change unless we ourselves keep striving to be more pure people and believe it or not that purity will lead us to the love we desire and long for.

Perhaps to end let me quote the late great John Paul II who understood the human person and the mystery of sexuality far better than probably anyone living today:

“Chastity is a difficult, long term matter; one must wait patiently for it to bear fruit, for the happiness of loving kindness which it must bring. But at the same time, chastity is the sure way to happiness ... Deep within yourself, listen to your conscience which calls you to be pure ... a home is not warmed by the fire of pleasure which burns quickly like a pile of withered grass. Passing encounters are only a caricature of love; they injure hearts and mock God's plan.”

Goodbye and Hello

2007-08-06T17:49:00.000+10:00

Well my time in Melbourne has come to an end and before I pack up my computer I thought I'd write this little post...

I have been in Melbourne only 18 months and during that time I have thankfully had the time (praise God) to complete most of my Master of Theology course which was the reason I came here (I return home with enough essays and study to keep me busy for the next year). I have worked many enjoyable shifts at the Central Catholic Bookshop and made many good friends - see Ann, I will miss you all ;). I have also made many good friends at the John Paul II Institute and been immersed in the Catholic Culture of Melbourne which has been great. (In the last 6 weeks I have been up to my eyeballs in intensive lectures and work so I must apologise for my complete slackness in keeping in contact with people).

Initially it was very hard to move to this new place not knowing anybody but now I leave having made many new friends and knowing I will probably miss the life I have enjoyed in the Southern state. I think when I am back in Sydney I will begin to appreciate the blessing God gave me in allowing me to be here and study and work for 18 months. Now speaking from experience I can say I do actually believe that Melbourne is the most glorious city if it came down to the Melbourne/Sydney debate but my home and my family is in Sydney and that is where I feel called to be. I will look very much forward to returning to Melbourne and Victoria and exploring all the places I have missed (which is pretty much anything outside the CBD). Thank you to all the wonderful people I have met. I look forward to keeping in contact. God Bless.

To all my family and friends in Sydney I look forward to coming home (and to the warmer weather). There is something about 'home' that even when there is nothing on there is always the comfort of being where you know. The comfort of sitting around your house with your family or going out to coffee with old school friends (out of school 10 years this year ahhh). I look forward to catching up with you all again in time.

As I mentioned I return home with a lot of essays still to do and in fact have a course to begin in Sydney this Friday as part of my studies, so it has certainly not stopped yet. I will hope to continue working part time as I finish everything and next year I will get to my thesis which will finish off this Master of Theology specialising in Marriage and the Family. My desire is to educate in this field, perhaps primarily in the parish/diocesan level but eventually my real desire is to educate future teachers on the beauty and richness of God's plan for life and love and sexulity, a plan that is unfortunately misunderstood by so many Catholic today not to mention the rest of the world (hopefully by then I'll be living in a marriage with a family myself!) So it is a very exciting time, I am looking forward to what God has in store for my life and the direction it will move. I am also looking forward to a good rest when I get home and some time to work on my very undermaintained blog.

Ok well that about sums up my little farewell and hello post. Blessings to you all :)

Anothey day, Another 10 000 visitors...

2007-06-27T10:14:00.000+10:00

I just had to borrow this photo and funny caption below from the American Papist, I guess for the Pope, audiences aren't always as amusing for him :)

"Somewhere between greeting the Little Sisters of the Snowy Lambs and welcoming the Fresno Altar Cloth Society, Pope Benedict realized he would rather be back at Castel Gandolfo."

A random post on KT Tunstall...

2007-06-16T20:56:00.000+10:00

In the spirit of variety on my blog thought I'd just fill you in on a song I have been enjoying hearing on the radio, it's 'Suddenly I see' by KT Tunstall. The song has been out for a while but has re-emerged on the Australian charts again recently, hence why I keep hearing it on the radio (and that is a lot for someone who barely listens to the radio). The song has a real catchy flow. Kate Tunstall is a Scottish girl and I think her voice and music is just a little different, it doesn't have that totally mass-produced feel, she seems to be writing from her real experiences.

So I was reading a little bit about her and looking at some of her videos on You Tube and it turns out her real talent is in live performances which is obvious in the first video below. She uses the loop pedal with obvious flair recording the musical layers fresh in each performance. She hasn't been out to tour Australia yet but when she does I would definately be interested in going along to see her show.

There are two videos below, the first in her live performance of 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' and the one below in one of the clips (three were made) for 'Suddenly I See'. Enjoy :)

Good on Cardinal Pell

2007-06-14T08:43:00.000+10:00

Cardinal Pell of Sydney has coped a beating of late because he has continued to stand up and warn politicians about continuing to receive communion when they hold beliefs contrary to the Catholic Faith. After all Holy Communion is meant to be just that, putting us in a Holy Union with Christ. If we don't believe what Christ's Church teaches then isn't it fairly hypocritical (and sacriligious) to march up for communion on Sunday. It's not just politicians thought who need to search their conscience but all who announce themselves as Catholic but publically and proudly reject key teachings.

I liked some of the Cardinal's choice phrases in this news report from Catholic News Agency:

Catholic bishops have the right and the duty to point out Catholic teaching to the public and to remind politicians, especially Catholics, “that public acts usually bring public consequences,” said Cardinal George Pell of Sydney in The Sunday Telegraph.

The cardinal issued his response after an investigation was launched into the views of Archbishop Barry Hickey of Perth by the W.A. state parliamentary privileges committee for investigation. The case was referred by the speaker Fred Riebeling, who sees the possible application of Catholic discipline as a “threat”.

“Some seemed to suggest that while a football club, a political party or a business certainly could in some circumstances sack or exclude a member or employee, it was totally out of order to suggest a Christian Church might even consider a similar possibility,” said the cardinal.

“A few intolerant politicians want to ban religious argument in public life, so that the only permissible reasoning will be irreligious or anti-religious,” he observed. The cardinal said the debate also raised questions about what it means to be a Catholic.

“A Catholic is someone who believes Christ is Son of God, accepts His teachings and lives a life of worship, service and duty in the Catholic community,” he explained. “Catholics are not created by the accident of birth to remain only because their tribe has an interesting history.”

“All Catholics who continue to reject important Catholic teachings, even in areas such as sexuality, family, marriage, abortion, euthanasia, cloning where “liberals” claim the primacy of conscience rules, should expect to be confronted, gently and consistently, rather than comforted and encouraged in their wrongdoing,” he continued.

The cardinal concluded by saying that every Catholic politician who voted recently in favor of the cloning bill “should think twice and examine his or her conscience before next receiving Communion.”

This Couple Chose Life and received Sextuplets

2007-06-13T14:44:00.000+10:00

Dear visitors from the Daily Kos Blog,
I was overwhelmed this morning to see 300 hits overnight on my humble little blog about the Morrison sextuplets. If I'd known all you people would be droping in I would have stayed up to serve chips and drinks! Well welcome to those of you who are dropping in to see the terrifying "religious right". I have to say I am fairly amused that I was chosen to be the religious right, I'm just a simple catholic who tries to grow in his faith and practice it with joy. I guess it all depends on where you are sitting as to what appears as the religious right. From my vantage point Daily Kos seems to be the anti-life, secularistic left?
I put the Morrison story up simply because I thought it was something encouraging in a world where there is so much misery (including 40 million abortions per year). I did not put it up to advocate either way for the couples choice to use the fertility assistance drug Follistim. While from a Catholic viewpoint, without knowing any of their personal details (which the writer of the Daily Kos doesn't either), their choice to use the drug would seem to objectively morally acceptable as what it is doing is simply stimulating follicle growth when Mrs Morrison was most probably not able to produce FSH naturally.
This is very different to in-vitro fertilisation where egg and sperm and united in a laboratory and inserted as an embryo into the woman. One person left a comment on my blog saying the doctors should not have put all the embryos in Mrs Morrison, they didn't, one of the risks of the drug is possible mutiple embryos and that is a risk the couple took. They as a couple made a choice and it seemed on face value to have been morally legitimate. To choose against abortion was also the right choice as it is never legitimate to take human life.
All couples make choices about how they will have a family and this couple are no different. It's a bit rich for ChuyHChrist to criticise the Morrisons but not have a word to say on homosexuals who pressure governments for the 'right' to 'have' a child or the growing number of couples who choose to abort their children because pre-natal screenings indicate they may be born with a cleft palate!
I do agree that we all need in this technological age to be very careful to remember that children are gifts not rights but to use medical advances in a way that does not destroy the unity of the sexual act and that respects the rights of every person as a human being with innate dignity is very acceptable.
It is sad news that three of the Morrison babies have died, I hope some of you vistors from the atheistic left will be less angry at the Morrisons and perhaps a little more prayerfully concerned for them as they struggle with the three children they have left. They trust in God and their use of that fertility drug did not abolish that trust, we are not made to be stupid, God gave us intelligence and he calls us to use it for the greater good of all the world.
So while you are here who don't you stay a while and check out my other posts at Mister Berns. You may enjoy my posts on '10 reasons to have another child', 'He stands and waits', 'How the pill causes embryonic abortions', 'Do we really trust in God' and many others. Just scroll down and take in some ideas that aren't so leftist.
Ok well I shall leave you to it. Have a good day. God Bless and do drop in again. Mister Berns.

A great stroy from LifeSiteNews.com

A Minnesota couple welcomed the birth of all six of their sextuplets at St. Luke’s Hospital in Minneapolis on Sunday, although the couple’s and their childrens’ story would have been far different if doctors had their way.

"The babies arrived sooner than we'd hoped for, but we are optimistic," father Ryan Morrison said in a statement. "Brianna is doing well. Thanks to all who are praying for our family. We are very happy to be parents."

After 22 weeks, Brianna Morrison gave birth to four boys and two girls just before midnight Sunday. All six remain in critical condition and weigh between 11 ounces and 1 pound, 3 ounces.

The couple named the boys Bennet Ryan, Tryg Benton, Lincoln Sean and Sylas Christopher. They named the girls Lucia Rae and Cadence Alana.

Ryan and Brianna Morrison, both 24, had spent more than a year trying to conceive, until Brianna began taking the fertility assistance drug Follistim.

The story of the Morrison’s six little “blessings”, as they call them, would have been different if they had followed the advice of doctors. After learning Brianna was carrying sextuplets, doctors strongly recommended “selective reduction”, a common euphemism for selective abortion, emphasizing they believed the potential risks were too great.

"However, we knew right away that this is not an option for us," the couple wrote on their website. "We understand that the risk is high, but we also understand that these little ones are much more than six fetuses. Each one of them is a miracle given to us by God."

Back in May, LA Times reporter Dan Neil revealed he and his wife decided to abort selectively two of their unborn quadruplets at 15 weeks on the similar advice of doctors. Neil said the procedure was a “medical imperative” and that they would “have to lose two to keep two.” He held his wife’s hand as he watched the doctor inject potassium chloride into the heart of one son, and then the other.

“As we listened to the sound of those six beating hearts I felt crushed by the weight of the miracle that was bearing down on me,” wrote Ryan Morrison, feeling “swallowed up by a life-changing act of God.”

Despite having just a small 2 bedroom apartment, and only one crib, car seat and stroller, the Morrison’s decided in “those moments of utter confusion” to embrace all their unborn “blessings” and trust in the providence of God.

“Truly God would sustain us in this just as He has sustained us in everything we’ve ever experienced. He will bring the lives of these babies to full health and fruition and everyone will say, ‘Look, God has done something amazing!’”

Those who wish to learn more about the Morrison’s and their pro-life story, or to find out how they can help the young couple can visit their blog: “Morrison 6: Ryan, Brianna, and Six Blessings”

Ten reasons to have another child...

2007-06-07T21:47:00.000+10:00

Before we get to the reasons though, you have to watch this funny and clever commercial, I really like it. It reminded me of Pope John Paul's words once, "What is the best gift you can give your children? I say to you: Give them brothers and sisters". Too often today you see children playing alone, they have no siblings, their closest mate is the family pet. It doesn't help when families are told it costs 1 million dollars to raise a child or whatever it is supposed to be. We really need to encourage families to be generous in sharing their joys with another child...for what greater blessing could there be upon a family?

So now we to the ten reasons to have another child (courtesy of the Population Research Institute)...

Scripture tells us that children are blessings from God. And so they are. But we live in an anti-natal age. The secular humanists have twisted the virtue of childbearing into the vice of overpopulation. Parents often need additional encouragement to accept additional "blessings."

From the Psalms we read "Behold, sons are a gift from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward." (Psalm 127:3)

Reason One:

Have another child to join with God in the creation of an immortal soul.

Parents are given the incredible opportunity to assist God in the creation of an immortal soul. As the late Cardinal Mindszenty said, even the angels have not been given such a grace.

"The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral-a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body...Even the angels have not been given such a grace! What is more glorious than this-to be a mother."
Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

Reason Two:

Have another child to bring joy into your life.

There is no joy like the joy of welcoming another child into your life. You will marvel anew at how perfectly formed your little one is, and over how quickly you will fall head over heels in love with him. You will be enchanted with every tiny aspect of her appearance. The color of her hair, the shape of her nose, and the winsomeness of her smile will occasion endless happy debates about from which side of the family (yours, ofcourse) she got that adorable trait.

The birth of a child will bind you to God more tightly than ever before, in awe and gratitude.

I thought that one dayI would be a famous artist and create great works of art Instead, God made me a mother,and my children are His masterpiece. The design of their lives will live on after me. What is painted on their hearts will last an eternity. Anonymous

Reason Three:

Have another child to grown in holiness and virtue.

For those who marry and have families, children are the primary means God uses to help them grow in holiness and virtue. Children teach their parents patience, perseverance, charity, and humility. They give their parents the opportunity to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They come into the world naked, and we clothe them, hungry and we feed them. Thirsty, and we give them drink. All of the things that we are required to do for the "least of these our brothers," we do first and foremost for our own children.

St. Catherine of Siena once had a vision in which God took her to a roomful of crosses and told her to pick one. St. Catherine went to the largest, heaviest cross in the room and would have chosen it. But God told her that it was not for her: That was reserved for the parents of large families.

Reason Four:

Have another child to help end abortion.

When Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked by a young mother about the best way to proceed with pro-life work, she responded emphatically, "Have a big family. That is the best way to end abortion!"

How this works is not difficult to understand. As children become more rare due to contraception, sterilization and abortion, whole segments of society become less and less familiar with the sense of joy and hope that only babies and children can give. In this climate, contraception and abortion feed on themselves, as the increasingly selfish few further reduce their number.

By having another child, you demonstrate once again to the world that children are God's greatest gifts. "Children build up the life of the family and society," as Pope John Paul II has said. "The child becomes a gift to its brothers and sisters, parents and entire family. Its entire life becomes a gift for the very people who were givers of life and who cannot help but feel its presence, its sharing in their life and its contribution to the common good and to the community of the family."

The more children there are in society, the more pro-life that society will become, and the easier it will be for the great evil of abortion to be eradicated once and for all.

"Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live." Deuteronomy 30:19

Reason Five A:

Have another child so your sons will have brothers and your daughters will have sisters.

Children who have siblings learn early to share. They learn to take turns and to put the needs of others before their own. The bond formed between brothers and sisters is lifelong, and stronger than the bond between the closest friends.

"How good it is, how pleasant, where the brothers dwell as one!" Psalm 133:1-2

Reason Five B:

Have another child so your sons will have sisters and your daughters will have brothers.

Boys who have sisters learn the dignity of women. They learn to treatother girls and women with respect, as they consider how they would like their own sisters to be treated. Girls who have brothers learn the complementarity of men and women, both fashioned in the image and likeness of God.

"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones-the ones at home." Mother Teresa

Reason Six:

Have another child so you (and your parents) won't be lonely in old age.

People who have children don't have to rely upon strangers to care for them in their old age. Children also become the parents of your grandchildren. Grandchildren bring joy, happiness, and laughter, while still allowing you to get a good night's sleep!

"Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their parentage." Proverbs 17:6

Reason Seven:

Have another child because people are our greatest resource.

Humans are blessed with the gifts of an intellect and free will. It is human ingenuity that discovers creative solutions to the problems which confront us. People without children should remember that it will be someone else's child who will become the doctor that performs their life-saving operations. Someone else's child will become the firefighter that saves their house. Someone else's child will become the railroad engineer.

"How can there be too many children? That's like saying there are too many flowers." Mother Teresa

Reason Eight:

Have another child to contribute to the economy.

Families with children are fuel to the economy, purchasing houses and cars and college educations. Without young people to enter the workforce, social security systems fail. Without children to attend school, teachers are jobless. Many industries, from fast food restaurants to toy stores, obviously rely heavily upon business from and for children to stay in business. But ultimately the whole economy does.

"Like a fruitful vine your wife within your home, Like olive plants your children around your table. Just so will they be blessed who fear the Lord." Psalm 128:3-4

Reason Nine:

Have another child to counter global depopulation.

Anyone who has traveled from coast to coast in the United States and seen the vast empty spaces should know that America is not overpopulated. In fact, the entire population of the world could live in the state of Texas, in single-family dwellings with front and back yards. Fertility rates are falling everywhere. The world's population will never again double. If current trends continue, world population will peak by the middle of this century and then begin demographic freefall.

Our long-term problem is not too many children, but too few children. Having another child will help offset the coming population implosion.

"Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth." Genesis 1:28.

Reason Ten (and perhaps the best of all):

Have another child to help populate heaven.

The child that you and your spouse have been generous in accepting from God was created to return to Him, after a life of love, service, and obedience on earth, to spend eternity with God in heaven.

Our Lord Himself said that there was plenty of room for those immortal souls. There is no overpopulation problem in Heaven!

"There are many mansions in my Father's house." John 14:2

Pope Benedict's New Book

2007-05-31T22:51:00.001+10:00

“This book is… my personal search ‘for the face of the Lord.’”

Benedict XVI

For those of you who don't know Pope Benedict XVI has released his first book written as Pope and he has chosen his topic to be - perhaps not surpringly - Jesus.

His attempt has been to salvage the person of Jesus from recent “popular” depictions (such as the DaVinci Code) and to restore Jesus’ true identity as discovered in the Gospels. The Pope is a brilliant theologian and his personal search for the God Man Jesus the Christ should be a very interesting read.

The book is selling extremely well...in its first month of release 1.5 million copies have been sold and it is currently been translated into 30 languages. On Amazon.com his book reached a peak of been the 18th best seller which is pretty impressive considering they must list hundred of thousands of books.

Consider getting your hands on a copy, I know I will. We had 10 come into the shop last week but they all were gone in an hour. I'll have to get into the next delivery.

He Stands and Waits

2007-05-30T23:01:00.000+10:00

"Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)

This is a very simple image which contains a profound message. If you look at the picture, Christ stands knocking at the door. The light shines through the small window of the door - someone is home - but there is something missing, or is there? There is no handle on the outside of the door, it can only be opened from the inside.

This is not a mistake, it offers a message which is that Christ will not force himself into our lives. He wants us to choose to follow him, to choose to love him, to choose to open the doors of our hearts. God created us with free wills and implanted a desire for truth and goodness deep within our souls so that we would choose to follow the good and come to the ultimate good which is God.

Christ does not stand at the door of our hearts ready to condemn us. He stands at the doors of our hearts watching and waiting for us to invite him into our lives. He stands at the door of our hearts desiring to love us. When we fall he invites us to receive his mercy and strength in the sacrament of confession. When we hunger he invites to be nourished by his own Body in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Even though Christ will never stop knocking on the door of our hearts that does not mean we should leave him outside until 'the time is right', until we have cleaned ourselves up or dealt with this or that issue. The Lord wants to enter our lives now, today, all we have to do is open that door and as the scripture says he will enter in and sit with us. Why do we wait, our God is a God of love, fear not.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)

How "The Pill" causes embryonic abortions...

2007-05-29T11:48:00.000+10:00

A lot of men and women are not aware of the fact that the modern contraceptive pill can actually act as an early abortifacient and not just stop ovulation from occuring. This video which I found on the blog of the Pertinacious Papist is actually very informative, simple and helpful in spreading the truth about the problems of the abortifacient contraceptive pill.

Do we really trust in God?

2007-05-18T09:27:00.000+10:00

Last week I really had this desire to post a little bit about trusting in God so now I want to do that plus adda little more...

For many of us we say very easily and without much thought, 'yes I trust in God', but in reality how many of us really do. I love these words from Chapter 7 of St Matthew's Gospel:

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

There it is, the very words of Christ, the Son of God and God Himself. If we cannot believe these words then there are no words we can really believe. These words though are admittedly not easy to follow all the time. They are easy when what we want is what God wants but when our plans tend to differ it is then that so often we turn and walk our own way. I'm not saying that all these turns from God are sinful (although some might be) but it just means that instead of using that opportunity to show our love and faithfulness to our Lord we squander it. And the truth is that so often when we turn our own way, the end result is so much less than it could of been.

We think we know what will make us happy, well actually, we do know what will make us happy, to be loved and to give love in return is where our ultimate joy lies, what we don't know as fully, is how to find that love and how to really give our love to God and to others.

If God really is the personal individually loving God that Jesus Christ told us he was then should we not be willing to hand our lives and it's direction to him? If we don't constantly come back to God as a God of love (for us personally) then we will begin to see him and the teachings of the Church, of Christianity, as rules given by a harsh task master (either God or some 'old men' in Rome or both).

'Why can't I use contraception'? 'Why can't I have sex with my boyfriend/girlfriend'? 'Why can't I do what I want, it's my body, I'm an adult'? These are questions that see God as nothing but a unjust ruler, so in the end we get frustrated and we reject God and the practice of our faith.

For me I consider so many of these questions of trust in the area of sexuality and love:

For those who are single and feel called to marry, it can be very difficult to trust in God. In a world saturated with sex and lust, we can easily be tempted to stop looking for a love that true, faithful, permanent and fruitful (like the love of Christ) and give in for the lesser option. I've heard it said to me a number of times now, 'I know what I'm doing isn't ideal but...'. If we really believe that what God wants is our happiness, how can our only option be to give ourselves physically or sexually to someone who isn't offering a love that is like the love of God? God does not offer us a life that 'isn't the ideal', he offers us true happiness, true joy and true love in this life as a foretaste of heaven. If we don't keep turning to God and begging for grace and strength, a life of true chastity, which is a life open to true love, will seem to us like no more than some impossible dream. Chastity is not saying no to sex, it is saying yes to complete love and no to a false imitation. It is not just the saints who are called to be chaste, the truth is we are all called to be saints!

For those who are married, it does not mean that life becomes a one way ride to God and that we can do whatever we want. Our marriage is meant to be an image of the love of God in the Trinity, a love that is complete. Yet if we don't trust in God and in his plan for our marriage and if we listen to the secualr world telling us that sex is a recreation and to have more than two children is irresponsible then we might think that contraception is the way for us. But what does contracepted sex say, it says 'I can't give you everything of myself'. Contraception says to God, I don't trust you, we will take over from here. Yet the sexual act is meant to image that divine love, it is meant to be an act of complete self giving. If the procreative aspect of sex is separated from the unitive aspect then what is left, sex as pleasure, sex as performance, sex as never really fulfilling us as God meant it to fulfill. This does not mean that every couple must have 20 children but it does mean that they use their gift of fertility to the glory of God. (Knowing and using the patterns of one's fertility is no longer a game of roulette, it is an easily taught science which when practiced is as accurate as any other method and it means that when a couple unite together, they really can renew their wedding vows and give themselves totally to one another. It also helps a couple to achieve pregnancy, so many couples think they are infertile, when the truth is they just don't know how to use their fertility. The Billings Ovulation Method is a leader in fertility awareness).

All this talk though is an unachievable ideal, nothing more than talk, if we don't incorporate the grace of God. This is essential, it cannot be overemphasised. The world says that all you need is within yourself, this is wrong, it is incomplete, we are creatures, wonderfully made creatures but still creatures and ones that are fallen. We struggle to do what we know is right. The only way to perfection, to reach the plan of God for our life today is with sanctifying grace. We can say to ourselves, 'I will be ok, I will just be tough and do what is right', you will fail as certain as the sun will set tonight. The only way to perfection, to happiness, is with the grace of God. We must ask for it every day, we must learn to hunger for it in prayer. There is the image of Christ standing at the door knocking but the door has no handle. It represents our hearts, he stands and knocks but he will not force entry into our lives, we must be the ones to open the door to the Lord, and we can be assured that the second we do, his grace will come flooding in. Primarily in the sacraments do we receive this grace, these are the channels of blessing that Christ left for us. Frequent Holy Communion and frequent Holy Confession will feed and purify our souls. It will make it easier to trust in God. And as one saint wrote, "we must work like it is all up to us and pray like it is all up to God".

Christ said 'be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect'. He would not have set us such a task if we were not given the means to do it. Let us never forget we are creatures of a God of love, a God who loved us so much that he died, not for humanity as some concept, but for you and for me individually. The only way to our true happiness is through God's plan, sometimes God's plan is difficult but there is no reward without a struggle. When we unite ourselves to the cross of Christ our burdens are lifted and we will find the happiness we desire.

St Paul wrote "You must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on a new nature". Let us today stop trying to struggle up the hill alone and stop telling God that we will do it our own way. Pray for the grace to desire, seek and find God's plan for our lives.

Sometimes when life feels like this...

2007-05-18T07:53:00.000+10:00

...all we can do is remember the words of the Lord,

"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)

(Thanks to Ironic Catholic)

So who wants to live in Texas?

2007-05-09T13:14:00.000+10:00

I still hear from time to time the old myth being propogated that the world in overpopulated and that we need to deal with the issue urgently. In truth the problem we now have is underpopulation, with the majority of Western nations are living at or rapidly heading towards a rate of zero population growth (through birth not immigration that is).

A very helpful article I read was "Too Many People" which listed 10 common myths and then rebutted them one by one. We need to have information like this in our heads so that when a comment is made we can actually come back with something intelligent rather than just standing there and allowing another false idea to prosper. So go on have a read, it's an easy short article.

My favourite fact from the article was the information that the entire population of the world could fit into the state of Texas! And not just fit but with about 400 square metres each! Not that we would all want to live in Texas, and not that all the land is probably usuable, but it does show that we are certainly not about to fall off the edge of the planet with overcrowding.

So there is a nice bit of information for the next dinner party you attend :)

Top 10 Catholic Pickup lines

2007-05-09T11:06:00.000+10:00

For those of you who may be still single and not seeming to have any luck (even after an assortment of prayers and novenas) you may like to try these lines, courtesy of Envoy magazine:

10. May I offer you a light for that votive candle?

9. Hi there. My buddy and I were wondering if you would settle a dispute we're having. Do you think the word should be pronounced HOMEschooling, or homeSCHOOLing?

8. Sorry, but I couldn't help but noticing how cute you look in that ankle-length, shapeless, plaid jumper.

7. What's a nice girl like you doing at a First Saturday Rosary Cenacle like this?

6. You don't like the culture of death either? Wow! We have so much in common!

5. Let's get out of here. I know a much cozier little Catholic bookstore downtown.

4. I bet I can guess your confirmation name.

3. You've got stunning scapular-brown eyes.

2. Did you feel what I felt when we reached into the holy water font at the same time?

1. Confess here often?

Now if these beauties still fail to have any effect it may be time to consider the possibility that you are being called to the religious life ;)

Can I offer you this seat?

2007-05-07T22:19:00.000+10:00

I was on the train today coming home and being peak hour the carriage was naturally full with standing room only. I was standing in the aisle and at the next stop a lady came in a stood next to me. She was only middle aged with no visible disability, she was not pregnant and was not carrying heavy bags. There was a man (about 35 or so) who was sitting next to where she was standing and as she came in he offered his seat to her, I was duly impressed. This silly woman though, instead of taking up the mans offer declined and continued to stand. The man repeated his offer but again the women said no thanks.

I was so tempted to turn to her and ask why she didn't take the seat. Perhaps she would have said she felt like standing or perhaps she'd say she didn't want to be treated as someone special. What ever the case, I think she did the wrong thing on two accounts:

(1) The man put himself out to offer her a seat. When someone does something out of the ordinary on a train, it attracts attention, so people were looking at him while he made his offer. When she said 'no', my guess is that he embarrassed. I'm not saying he was ready to cry but I dare say he will think a little longer about offering his seat next time. There are so few men that know how act properly, the last thing we need is men (or women) being discouraged from doing so.

(2) We have a responsibility not just to be charitable to others but to accept the charity of others. Granted, for such a proud and independant people (myself included) receiving is often harder than giving but we must learn to receive the good things that other people go out of their way to offer us. When a person makes us a cup of tea when we don't really want one, or offers us a seat when we would like to stand or waits those extra few seconds to hold the door open for us they are trying to show love in their own way, they are acknowledging us a fellow human being with an innate dignity. Rejecting someones charity (love) when there is no valid reason demeans the person and their act.

If we want a world where people do good things and care for one another, we need to start with thankfully accepting all the little things others do for us. When we can accept love, we will be more able to give it to those who do (and also who do not) deserve our love.

I graduated...

2007-05-05T13:44:00.000+10:00

...but only from my first degree.

I went back to Sydney last weekend in an express trip to finally graduate from the Bachelor of Theology that I completed while in the seminary. Some people thought I was graduation from my degree in Melbourne (a Master of Theology) but that won't be until this time next year.

I'd never been to a graduation before and quiet enjoyed it. There were 300 graduates all graduating from the Sydney College of Divinity of which the Catholic Institute of Sydney is a member institute. It's a very grand occasion in the Great Hall of Sydney Univesity with all the professors in their coloured gowns and caps. We also had the Governor of Sydney Maree Bashir present as well to give the occassional address. It was alos good to catch up with a few of my seminary freinds, both at the ceremony and during lunch at the seminary the day before.

Mum, dad, nanna, gramps and my friend Grace attended the ceremony then we all went back to my brother and his wife's (Richard and Joanne) place for lunch. There my uncle and his family and my other brother Anthony and his wife Erin joined us. And that evening I was whisked back to the airport and was back in Melbourne that night. I would have been nice to have stayed longer but I had to work. Not long now though and I will be back in Sydney for good.

Have a look at the gradutation photos here (thanks GK)

Why am I Catholic?

2007-05-05T13:18:00.000+10:00

I was sent this video 'Why am I Catholic' and I think it is Super!

Sometimes it can be discouraging to be a catholic, especially a young catholic in a sea of doubt and disbelief, it can affect our own faith and cause us to question why we bother.

That is believe will be one of the great graces of World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney. The opportunity to be with tens of thousands of other Catholics and celebrate the beauty of being a member of the Church of Christ!

Hope the video inspires you...Go Christ! Go the Church! God Bless Pope Benedict!

(Don't forget the sound)

The Great Western adventure

2007-04-23T14:07:00.000+10:00

Well I have uploaded my photos and you can now experience parts of my holiday by going to Yahoo Photos.

I was going to do a bit more blogging about the actual trip but even though my blog is dedicated to my procrastination even I have to do some work sometimes! And after 10 days away the work has really piled up :(

I'm back...and watching videos on peanut butter!

2007-04-23T09:17:00.000+10:00

Well actually I got back last Tuesday and have been so busy I haven't had time to write about my holidays or upload my photos but I will do that shortly, in the meantime I found this little video from Alive and Young rather amusing.

Obviously it isn't definitive proof against evolution but I did find it a thought provoking two minutes, even though the world is not a sealed jar of peanut butter.

I'm off!!

2007-04-07T07:19:00.000+10:00

I'm leaving today for Perth for 10 days..yay! Never been there before or flown for that long before.

I'm going to visit friends in Perth and attend a large Catholic Youth Congress called 'Adore'.

Bye!

The Pope Speaks about the Liturgies of the Triduum

2007-04-06T08:47:00.000+10:00

A few hours ago in Rome the Pope began the Sacred Easter Triduum with the Mass of the Lord's Supper and the Washing of the feet as seen above.

At his general audience earlier in the week he spoke of the value of the ceremonies of this week and the fact that they are more than just commemorations of a past event. You can hear a short report on the Holy Father's audience with some good snippets of the actual talk of the Pope on Vatican Radio here (just click on the speaker icon). I found his words to be encouraging and helpful as we enter into the mysteries of these days.

The death of a great man

2007-04-02T19:00:00.000+10:00

Last evening, Sunday 1st April 2007 Dr John Billings died.

Millions of couples around the world owe the knowledge they have have about their fertility and the ovulation method, commonly known as Natural Family Planning to Dr Billings and his wife Lyn.

The Billings' work has enabled countless childless couples to achieve pregnancy and also assist couples who needed to space children without resorting to potentially abortifacient contraception.

Dr. Billings developed the new method of fertility regulation in 1950 after it was found that the calendar rhythm method had a substantial unreliability in terms of being able to avoid pregnancy.

The method tracks fertility by paying attention to the sensation at the vulva and the appearance of any vaginal discharge. This information can be used to achieve or avoid a pregnancy and can be used even during irregular cycles, breastfeeding, or peri-menopause.

Dr Billings, a neurologist, had decided to undertake the research project into the method he developed for only a couple of months. His work in this area instead continued for fifty years. Dr. Billings was awarded and urged on in his work by both Pope Paul VI, and John Paul II.

He travelled the world teaching his methods and only about eight years ago did he and his wife Dr. Lyn Billings stop world tours. They continued however to travel to China and Pakistan until recently.

Rose Heron, the Canadian representative on the board of the World Organization Ovulation Method Billings (WOOMB), shared her thoughts on Dr. Billings with LifeSiteNews.com. "He was a pillar of the international community in regards to women's health," she said. "A wonderful promoter of marriage and family and healthy sexuality," she added.

Speaking of Dr. Billings' work Heron said, "It's been life changing for me and many others, it helps us to live in harmony with the what God intended for us."

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Dr. John Billings and for those who remain, his wife Dr. Lyn and their family. His funeral will be this Wednesday, 4th April at 11:00AM at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.

At the John Paul II Institute where I study, the Billings' are well renowned and respected. In my course on the the Theology and Practice of Natural Family Planning last year we were priviliged enough to have Dr Lyn Billings come in and give one of our lectures.

I only met Dr John Billings once and I didn't even know it was him at the time. This gracious old gentleman came into the bookshop one day early last year and asked me if I had any advice on a good book on marriage and family issues and I recommended and sold him 'Covenented Happiness' by Cormac Burke. He was so kind and sincere, his visit really stood out. Only later did I find out that it was Dr Billings, I was so embarrassed and could not believe the man's humility. Fancy asking me to recommend to him a book on marriage and family issues and here I was extolling the greatness of Catholic teaching to this man! I guess this was the kind of man that he was, simple and unassuming, going about his work for families and the Lord in honest simplicity. May he rest in peace.

The Miracle of Life in 20 Seconds

2007-04-02T12:57:00.000+10:00

This man took a photo of his pregnant wife every other day during the pregnancy then he strung it all together in the video below. A modern compilation on the miracle of life.

Two years already

2007-04-01T20:54:00.000+10:00

This Monday the 2nd of April is the second anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. I find it hard to believe that it has already been two years since the massive events of the last days, death and funeral of this great Pontiff.

Pope Benedict will preside at a Mass in the Vatican to commemorate the anniversary. Last year 100 000 people turned up for the first anniversary Mass so the Vatican is expecting another large gathering. On the same day Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar for the diocese of Rome, will formally conclude the first phase of the investigation in the cause for the late Pope's beatification.

How blessed we have been to have lived under the leadership of Pope John Paul for so many years. He left so much in the way of teaching that the Church continues to digest and live the wisdom he has brought to Christianity.

As a student of the Institite that he founded to teach marriage, family and sexuality I am especially grateful for the life of Pope John Paul and hope to spend my days bringing to catholics the joy of the teachings he left in his catechesis on The Theology of the Body.

Servant of God Pope John Paul - Pray for us.

Fr Stan hits town

2007-04-01T01:13:00.000+10:00

As part of the plan to ActiV8 the youth of Australia for World Youth Day '08, Fr Stan Fortuna CFR has been invited to tour Australia this week giving concerts and interviews.

Fr Stan is a rapping Franciscan Catholic priest who is using his musical ability to glorify and bring people to God. He has become very well known with his own production company, Francesco Productions, and having released numerous CD's which go towards the poor and the Frnaciscan community that he co-founded 20 years ago, they were a new Franciscan order, the Friars of the Renewal, that wanted to get right back to the core of living the way of St Francis.

Last night I went to his concert in Melbourne. I had heard about him long ago and was interested to see what he was all about. I was really impressed he is quite a showman and kept the crowd of a couple of hundred entertained, enthralled and involved.

He performed for around an hour and would mix up his songs with audience participation responding to his rap. At times he sounded like a catholic version of Eminem. Fr Stan deals in his music with big issues like suicide, sex, abortion and the hardness of life all with a continual focus on the love of Jesus. He began the night with a prayer which was a song of offering. He dedicated one song to the lonely souls in Melbourne and ended with his priestly blessing which was clearly straight from the heart of a holy priest. He is a funny man too, he reminded me at times of Jerry Lewis with some of the faces and funny comments he came out with.

I recorded a few bits and pieces on my camera and have turned one of the clips with him warming us up for a song into my first YouTube video which is below. The video under that is the promo video that was put together for his tour. He is one talented priest. Check out the website of this talented worker of the Lord.

When is stealing not stealing?? What's a few nuts??

2007-03-31T22:49:00.000+10:00

So I'm at Safeway today doing some shopping, I'm in the fruit section at the place where you self-serve the cashews, pistachios and macadamia nuts. I'm putting some pistachios in a plastic bag when some chap comes along, politley says 'excuse me' and promptly reaches his hand into the cashews box, grabs a handful and happily goes continues his shopping while munching on the nuts.

What the?!?!

Why is it that people think they have some sort of right to taste test food at the supermarket? I mean this guy wasn't even buying any nuts, he was just helping himself to a free sample. Does anyone connect this to stealing or is it just accepted as a norm of the shopping environment? I was so shocked by Mr Cashews casual and almost normal eating of the nuts that by the time I worked out what I wanted to say he had wandered on.

Usually when I see people happily chomping on grape after grape I glare at them with my 'who do you think you are look' but they look back at me with their 'yeah these grapes are good aren't they' look. I mean is there really a need to taste test the fruit, a grape usually tastes like...a grape!! Maybe if you are buying a whole bunch it would be ok to test one grape but the fruit and vege section is not meant to be some sort of entree department.

Surely safeway doesn't need to put out signs saying 'eating produce prior to purchase is stealing'. Am I just being extreme or is this just another sign of a falling morality in society?

The Philosopher's World Cup

2007-03-31T22:27:00.000+10:00

Those philosopher's among you may find amusing this old Monty Python video of the Philosopher's World Cup between the Greeks and the Germans.

I know that after an intensive two weeks of Natural Law lectures it became lots more fun for me.

475 days to go!!

2007-03-27T23:13:00.000+10:00

475 days to what??? World Youth Day of course! It's always a good time to send out a reminder about World Youth Day. 15-20 July '08 peoples. Mark it on your calendars, plan to be in Sydney to celebrate our faith in Jesus Christ with Pope Benedict XVI and 500 000 others!

If you haven't been to the WYD website of late, check out the new promo video and sign up as an e-pilgrim if you haven't already.

Remember, believers, non-believers, everyone is welcome to WYD, as Christ said "Come and See".

Valuing the disabled

2007-03-25T21:57:00.000+10:00

Have you noticed that you don't see as many disabled and Down Syndrome children that you used to? Well if you have noticed that is because there simply aren't as many around. Why? With the growth of pre-natal testing, doctors, and in turn mothers are being encouraged to abort pregnancies in which the child may be born with such a disability. This is modern day eugenics, it is the same sort of race cleansing that the Nazi's were involved in, it shocked the world after WWII but it has reappeared under the questionable umbrella of 'family planning'.

This week many people are celebrating World Down Syndrome Day. It's a good opportunity to ponder the new eugenics of trying to eliminate all disabled people before they are born. Jenny Bockerstette, mother of a Down Syndrome child, has written a short but touching piece for the occasion on MercatorNet which you may like to read here.