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Showing posts from February, 2009

No Apologies #65 - Church Fathers and the Eucharist

Irena Sendler, a Catholic hero

Back to Blogging

Just back from a relaxing break in Southampton with my sister and family; went to see Gran Torino - excellent film with Clint Eastwood who also directed and produced the film with the theme of redemption, though somewhat predictable had some fine acting in and beginning and ending in a Catholic Church - recommended - some 'language' - it's a 15. Went round the art gallery - some great exhibitions, oil paintings and some religious art including an altar piece.

That was NOT my Mass 2

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Pictures from Sunday at the Cathedral: http://kennethtanner.typepad.com/photos/sunday_at_the_cathedral/liturgical_dancers_iii.html

That was NOT my Mass.

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Praise and Worship at church on the Way on Campeche includes "Praise Dances" with streamers and tamborines : http://www.flickr.com/photos/americatan08/2965293627/

The Oratory School celebrates its 150th Anniversary.

This one is for Jackie as I know she would have posted it if she was on line! The Oratory School, founded by Cardinal Newman, has a programme of special events to celebrate the 150th Anniversary. It started on Saturday with Choral Vespers and Benediction . For further info on the programme of events and to learn more about the school go here: http://www.oratory.co.uk/

Duffy - Rockferry

My favourite - because I am a Rock Ferry girl - of course!

Early Morning Rain - Peter, Paul and Mary

Leaving on a jet plane- peter, paul and mary

CAFOD

Please sign the petition to support the people in the Philippines.

Family Values 2

Carol Sarler wrote in the Daily Mail on Thursday February 19th 2009, that she would have covered for her son, lied in order to save him from 'justice presumably' if he had committed a murder. I fail to see what this message sends out to parents with a generation of children that already hang around estates (and other places) looking for trouble. I think if someone fails to report their child for committing a crime and encourage them to take repsonsibility for it, then they are just supporting the bad behaviour and the sort of crimes we see every day - knife crime in particular and senseless aggression which often leads to murder. Carol says that "God forbid I would raise a monster" but that is exactly what she would be doing if she supported her child in committing a crime especially one of mindless aggression and violence and even murder. Let's hope that the sort of parents who support mindless violence don't find themselves on the other end of it in the

Family Values

If you are interested in making a difference to some of the policies that affect family values then go to: http://www.number10.gov.uk/ where you can sign petitions that other people have started or if you don't see one on a subject that you are interested in you can start your own. Go to - communicate - epetitions. http://www.number10.gov.uk/communicate/e-petitions One example for instance is loan parents being forced to sign on for job seekers allowance when their children are 12 and they start the process when the children are 9, 10 and 11 to 'break' in the parents. Personally I think a 12 year old still needs looking after and teenagers need you more sometimes than toddlers. Do the government really want to see more youngsters on the streets and able to get into trouble. Don't we have enough youngsters involved in drugs, knife crime and according to the latest newspapers - getting preganant at 11. The government is slowly eroding family values. Please think abo

Traditional Latin Mass: Feast of the Sacred Heart

Word for the Day

Philippians: Chapter 2 v 14 - 15 "Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining and questioning and doubting. That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse (wicked) generation, among whom you (we) are seen as bright lights (stars) in the dark world." Amplified version Someone gave me this verse a long time ago and it still holds true for us today. That we should be an example in whatever we are doing - a light in the darkness, a sign pointing the way, that the light of Jesus should shine through us to the people we meet - like Mother Theresa who let the light of Jesus shine through her to the poor and needy people as she ministered to them. We are called to be lights and guideposts.

FOCA - Radical Abortion Bill Is Not Freedom Of Choice

Foetal stem cells cause tumour.

"A boy treated with foetal stem cells for a rare genetic disease has developed benign tumours, raising questions about the therapy's safety.", so reports BBC's website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7894486.stm The boy had brain and spinal tunours with suggestions that they came from the foetal stem cells as the tumours where on the same sites as where the injections had been given. There are safety concerns over the use of experimental stem cells including the possibilities of passing on other diseases or viruses. You can read more about it on the link above.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

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MyHeritage : Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Bennett Look-alike Meter

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MyHeritage : Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Bennett Look-alike Meter

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MyHeritage : Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

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http://www.myheritage.com/collage MyHeritage : Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Peace at Last?

For those misguided voters who voted for Obama because they thought he would bring peace must be disappointed at the news today that he is sending 17,000 troops to Afghanistan. He has just shifted the focus from Iraq to Afghanistan. No surprises there then! "It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;" Ezekiel 13:10 "They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace." Jeremiah 6:14

Baby born alive and left to die at Florida clinic

Petula Clark - You're The One

Cool dancing!

Petula Clark - I Couldn't Live Without Your Love (1966)

Nostalgia Time!

Petula Clark - Downtown (1964 TOTP)

Enjoy! I was 8!

Quote for the Day

" To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men." Abraham Lincoln I like this quote that I found on fellow blogger's site:http://thewindowshowsitall.blogspot.com/ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KvTBomTnF1o/SSmiJ4xycxI/AAAAAAAAHJ8/qv_R-wS8gcw/s1600-h/The+Earth+Feared.jpg

Westminster Abbey I Vow to Thee My Country

This is lovely - and sad.

Hills of the north

For a fellow Blogger

12-year-old speaks out on the issue of abortion

Excellent video

Welcome Back Jackie

We are sorry to hear about your mother-in-law and she will be in our prayers at this difficult time but welcome back! We missed you!

What I am reading 2

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Persecuted and Forgotten: LARGELY UNKOWN to the outside world, Christians today suffer physical and verbal abuse, imprisonment and even murder. In the last few years, acts of persecution have suddenly escalated. More Christians are persecuted than any other religious group. You can get a copy of the book off http://www.acn.org.uk/ http://www.acn.org.uk/shop/default.asp

Tiny Bubbles in my Tub make me not so happy actually!

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Cats and stuff on http://www.stuffonmycat.com/

What I am Reading

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The Long Loneliness - by Dorothy Day - the autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist. "We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community." - Dorothy Day Dorothy Day was a convert to Catholicism and founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

Protecting Life

"The hermeneutic of continuity" - http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/ pointed me to an article on The Story of Stanislawa Leszczynska, Midwife at Auschwitz, by Matthew M. Anger - you can read it here - http://www.seattlecatholic.com/article_20050104.html. Reading this amazing story of the life of Stanislawa and her working life in Auschwitz in appalling and inhumane conditions and of the good that she was able to bring in the situation, should make sharpen our consciences to realise why we have no choice but to be pro-life and active in protecting the rights of the young, the vulnerable and the elderly or sick people and no amount of dressing up, like we see on some television programmes lately,should make us support laws like those that people want to put in place for having voluntary euthansia legalised in this country should be given any credence - if only for every one of the sick and suffering souls that were in that camp and for the many who lost their l

What I am watching

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The DVD - Brother Sun, Sister Moon - Director Franco Zeffirelli. Focusing on the early years of St Francis of Assisi. PG 1972. Academy Award winning story of him renouncing his family's riches to seek a life unencumbered by material possesions.

Missing Jackie

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You were a great inspiration and fellow blogging Catholic friend, Jackie, and we are going to miss you. Have a blessed time with your family - come back on line when you retire - though as a mom like me you never really retire as there will be grand children around. Perhaps I will see you one time if I am ever up at Birmingham.

Pro Life

http://www.abortionno.org/abortion_no.html The AbortionNO web project is an animated presentation of the most compelling, anti-abortion arguments and images on the internet. AbortionNO mixes scientific fact, historical examination, and contemporary analysis with the most sobering 1st trimester and 2nd trimester abortion images in existence. Visitors may voice their opinion on our online Message Board or through our online Survey. WARNING: Abortion is an act of violence that kills a baby. The site graphically depicts that reality.

Women Bishops

The debate on whether to appoint women bishops returns to the Church of England's General Synod this month. The parishes of the pretty Kent commuter town of Sevenoaks will send four delegates to the Synod, and Anglicans in the town hold a wide range of views on the women bishops issue.The debate on whether to appoint women bishops returns to the Church of England's General Synod this month. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7866764.stm) The parishes of the pretty Kent commuter town of Sevenoaks will send four delegates to the Synod, and Anglicans in the town hold a wide range of views on the women bishops issue. Maybe more will come over to the Catholic Church. If they hadn't seperated from the Catholic Church then they wouldn't have this problem. After they seperated there became more and more splintered groups with anybody being able to set up a "church". I know one group that was set up by an ex-policeman - where is the 'authority' in that. In the

DMX The Prayer

What's in a prayer?

The nurse suspended for offering prayer had a big article on her in the "Mail on Sunday" today. I did write in support of the nurse in question as Christian rights are being eroded daily in the workplace and especially in areas like fostering, adoption and education. However, I think I would have liked to have known what the prayer was, what she was praying and how sensitive it would have been to the patient's needs. I have some reservations on reading that previously she had been giving out prayer cards with the 'prayer of salvation' on. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is saying "I am sorry for my sins ... please come into my life and be with me forever." I think I am not alone in thinking that a lot of people could be offended by being given one of these cards, myself included. Something along the lines of "I am thinking of you and praying for you' would have been nicer. It's assuming a kind of 'holier than
A Baby is a baby in encouraging mothers to quit smoking but termed differently in unwanted pregnancies. When the Government wants to discourage smoking it's a baby. John Smeaton has a good post highlighting the way in which the NHS speaks of the unborn child to mothers who find it difficult to give up smoking. "Well done! Quitting smoking is the best decision you can make for you and your growing baby." At the same time, the Government funds organisations that describe the killing of an unborn child as the removal of a pregnancy. See: UK Government depicts unborn as fully human and alive in anti-smoking campaign http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2009/02/uk-government-depicts-unborn-as-fully.html From: http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/

Suicide help misguided

From: http://www.spuc.org.uk/news/releases/2009/february3 Purdy assisted suicide appeal is misguided, says intervenor SPUC London, 3 February 2009 - The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has been granted status as an intervenor in the case brought by Mrs Debbie Purdy against the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who has declined to publish a prosecuting policy specific to assisted suicide. The case is being heard today by the Court of Appeal. Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary, said: "We have great sympathy for Mrs Purdy because of her medical condition, but her legal case is misguided and dangerous. Suicide is a course of action which everyone in society, from individuals to parliament naturally discourages. If we favour suicide for individuals who are suffering, we send a message to all those who are sick or disabled that their lives are not worthwhile. "Naturally, those who are sick and disabled often feel they are a burden on others. That is a burd

Father Guy Nicholl's Thought for the Week

Thought For The Week From: http://www.birmingham-oratory.org.uk/ HEALER AND SAVIOUR In today’s Gospel, St. Mark continues the account of our Lord’s healing work among the Galileans very early on in His public ministry. All that Jesus does: casting out the devil, making the sick well, teaching the people—all this is necessary to make fallen man whole. The fall of our first parents has left us all wounded in our nature, both bodily and spiritually—and Our Lord has come in great love to heal us entirely. St. Mark gives us the impression of a huge throng of people pressing in upon Our Lord, and leaving Him no space or time to Himself. This is why He is compelled to get up early in the morning to find time to be alone with His heavenly Father in prayer. Yet even so, Simon Peter and Our Lord’s other companions come searching for Him, saying that “everyone is looking for you!”. So Jesus replies, “Let us go to the neighbouring country towns so that I can preach there too, because that

ACN on television

Watch Where God Weeps for the latest about the persecuted Church ACN’s television series Where God Weeps is shown at 4:00pm on Sunday afternoons on EWTN (SKY Channel 589). Tune into Where God Weeps for an eye-opening glimpse into the reality of life for millions of Catholics. Where God Weeps tells stories of the suffering Church’s inspiring witness to faith in the face of overwhelming persecution or poverty. ACN hopes the series will unite Catholics in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Produced by the Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) with funding from ACN, the series also features interviews with clergy, lay people and experts who offer informative insights into the suffering Church. Programmes are shown at 4:00pm on Sunday afternoons on EWTN (SKY Channel 589). To find out more about receiving EWTN, go to www.ewtn.com To visit the CRTN website, please go to www.crtn.org

Holy Cards

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"We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God." John Stott This card comes from the site: http://thewindowshowsitall.blogspot.com/ Well worth a visit!

What I have Ordered to Read

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Martyrs of Magadan I have ordered this book off "Aid to the Church in Need" ( http://www.acn.org.uk/ ) As the Soviet Union attempted to crush the Church, hundreds of thousands of the faithful were banished to the gulags to undergo years of forced labour. So many lost their lives. Martyrs of Magadan tells the stories of 15 survivors of a gulag in bleakest Siberia through their own words. With moving colour photos, the book is a gripping and inspiring testimony of faith. Presented here are remarkable tales of human courage and devotion to God.Paperback: 312 pages23cm x 16cm (9" x 6") £7.50 Recommended Reading

Gollies

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I am not sure why the poor golli has gone from household plaything to much maligned representative of all the evils in this country. Of course I am typically White British but I went to a multi-racial school and have friends from all around the globe and all different religions and I don't believe in name calling of any kind - it's just a form of plaground bullying in the grown-up world - they obviously never left the playground. I was subject to the usual name calling in the playground - four eyes and vulture being two of them (ban birds and glasses??) and brain-box was a bit better - that could actually be a compliment! Name calling and insults are what should be ruled out, not the objects themselves. It's about treating each other with respect and dignity. To me growing up in the 1950s it was one of my favourite toys next to doll - or nanny's doll - so called because my nan bought her (she was second hand even then). And I was quite distraught when his red waistcoat

Welcome, Brothers and Sisters in Christ......

Are you a non-catholic minister interested in Catholicism? We understand the seriousness of such considerations and the elements of sacrifice that they imply. We've been there. The Coming Home Network International was founded to stand beside you and your family on your journeys of faith. Primary Network Fellowship of current clergy journeyers and past converts Spouses Network (coming soon) "Quo Vadis?" Support for youth of those on the journey. - Are you a non-catholic lay person interested in Catholicism? Our Helper's Network is a fellowship of lay men and women who seek to share and encourage one another on the journey of faith. Helper's Network Fellowship of current lay inquirers and converts. - Are you a life-long Catholic, or already a convert, and interested in helping our separated brethren come home to the Catholic Church? We need you as a partner in our work. Become a Member http://www.chnetwork.org/ The Coming Home Network International

More pondering

"Fides et Ardor", an Anglican who came over to the Catholic Church has this to say:"Becoming a Catholic after one has lived life as an Anglican is not an easy thing to do ..." Read the rest of his blog on ' http://durendal.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/apologia-pro-mutatione-mea-pt-vii/ .

Pondering on Churches

As a Catholic convert, I often contemplate on the merits of the Catholic Church over the Charismatic/Evangelical Protestant Churches (we do have a Catholic Charismatic faction for those so inclined!). Here is a piece from http://gkupsidedown.blogspot.com on a leader who came over to the Catholic Church in 2007: Here's the news:Randolph W. Sly, former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church and one of the early founders of the CEC in 1992, was received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, along with his wife, Sandra, on November 12, 2006 at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia.Sly indicated this decision came from an extended time of discernment for the two of them. “We were at a point last summer personally and ecclesiastically in the CEC where I felt a change was coming. Sandy and I had found ourselves moving deeper into catholic Christianity during our tenure in the CEC. More recently, the draw toward full communion in the Roman Catholic Chur

Keeping up Appearances

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It seems now that I am over a certain age, that getting ready to go out anywhere takes twice as long and I look only 10% better. In fact sometimes I think I looked better before I started! The white hairs are growing faster than I can dye them or pluck them out! And it takes just as long getting ready for bed again! I think perhaps I should just give in gracefully as time is going to take over eventually anyway. And I don't think I am one of those people who would opt for plastic surgery and end up looking like a cat or the stretched skin, Cassandra complete with life support system, in Dr Who (photo from Dr Who exhibition in Brighton). I don't mind the uplifting, rejuvenating and restoring creams but I am not so keen on things like injections which would test my level of pain threshold which unless I had downed two bottles of vodka would be very low. I doubt I would be a martyr unless they killed me quick - anything that involved some form of torture especially to my finger n

Me and my girls

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Christmas 2008

What kind of pancakes?

You Are Buttermilk Pancakes Your prefer traditional, old fashioned foods. You shy away from anything fake, and you like meals with simple ingredients. It's not likely someone would find margarine or diet soda in your kitchen. Instead, someone might find a loaf of homemade bread baking or a soup simmering. - I am pretty homey and I do like cooking and baking. www.blogthings.com

what kind of doughnut am I?

You Are a Boston Creme Donut You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning.

What kind of muffin am I?

You Are a Blueberry Muffin You are a nurturing, domestic, homey person.Of all the types, you are the most likely to make your own muffins at home.You don't like to rock the boat, and you're most content when you're making everyone else happy.You are very loyal. You'll defend your family and friends, even if you secretly disapprove of what they're doing.You tend to be a bit shy and withdrawn. You don't make friends quickly or easily.But once you do make a good friend, the chances are high that you'll be friends for life. - My Favourite - especially if it's a skinny blueberry muffin with a skinny latte!

What kind of cheesecake am I?

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You Are a Brownie Cheesecake A little chunky and a little gooey, you pretty much run on sugar!You take hedonism to the extreme.. And people love you for it.

What Kind of Drinks Am I ?

Find out at http://www.blogthings.com/ You Are a Black Coffee At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable. At your worst, you are: grumpy and stressed Also: You Are a Pumpkin Latte You are always up for a celebration. You are a very festive person.You look forward to every holiday, and you are nostalgic for good times after they're over. You appreciate the small things that make life special. You love little treats. You often look at the world with childlike wonder. There's so much to enjoy! And You Are a Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino Smooth and sweet, you fit in to almost any crowd. No one would suspect you of being a coffee tweaker! And You Are Hot Chocolate Your holiday personality is generous.The holidays are your favorite time to practice the art of giving.You enjoy picking out presents, sharing treats, and making everyone's day a little brighter. And you don't even notice if you don't get anything in return.