Crannóggy Island

May God receive these three children into His loving arms while their parents are left asking how the evil He permits fits with His Divine Providence.  Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine. Perhaps not the right time for these questions.  There will be blame aplenty apportioned to the various agencies who failed to identify and prevent this horrific murderous attack.  Not to blame them, but any inquiry needs to focus not just on the agencies who failed to pick up on the developing madness of this child. It also needs to look at the mother and father of Axel Rudakubana.   Where are parents amidst all these agencies? Is the State responsible? Given all their previous contact with numerous agencies over years, one is forced to ask what the parents needed to help them contend with and help this young, autistic teenager; an isolated child with evident growing mental health problems. What support were they offered?...

Melanie Phillips , writing last week, observed: There was one immediate and very public effect of the hostage deal that was prematurely reported to have been agreed between Israel and Hamas. No sooner had this news filtered through on Wednesday than thousands of jubilant Arabs poured onto the streets of Gaza brandishing weapons, uniforms and insignia, and chanting that they had won the war. These men were demonstrably well-fed, well-clothed and equipped with smartphones. So much for the libel - the ludicrous calumny that has been amplified from Gaza throughout the length and breadth of the west - that Israel has been conducting a genocide against the Palestinian Arabs. As was bitterly observed by some of those watching the euphoria in Gaza, this must be the first genocide in history where the victims have emerged to declare victory. Those Arabs were ecstatic because they believed that the deal would enable them now, finally, to destroy Israel and the Jews. “Jews remember Khayba...

After decades of silence, a long-overdue debate has erupted about the rape gangs in British towns. A backlash has been growing since GB News reported that the Labour government’s Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips, had rejected calls from grooming gang survivors in the northern town of Oldham for a public inquiry into the abuse they suffered and the way it was covered up. The interventions of Elon Musk, J.D. Vance, Nigel Farage, and Kemi Badenoch have made it difficult to ignore the depravity of organised grooming gang activity in England.  Click for:  Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips' letter. For more than 20 years it has been an open secret that, in numerous English towns and cities, ‘Asian’—principally Pakistani—rape gangs were operating in plain sight of the local police and officialdom.  These gangs were given a free pass to carry on with their monstrous crimes because neither the local nor the national elites were prepared to acknowledge the fact that mul...

  In 2025 let us: Count our blessings instead of our crosses. Count our gains instead of our losses. Count our joys instead of our woes. Count our friends instead of our foes. Count our smiles instead of our tears. Count our courage instead of our fears. Count our full times instead of our lean. Count our kind deeds instead of our mean. Count our health instead of our wealth. Love our neighbour as much as our self. Be Our Light for the New Year Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Risen Christ, be with us today and always. Be our Light, our Guide, and our Comforter. Be our Strength, our Courage, and our Sanctifier. May this new year be a time of deep spiritual growth for us, A time of welcoming your graces and gifts, A time for forgiving freely and unconditionally, A time for growing in virtue and goodness. Come, Holy Spirit, Be with us today and always.

  Ooops ... an oversight ...  Mrs Jack not impressed with her Christmas card!  Share you 2024 experiences. 

  Once more we prepare to celebrate the nativity of Jesus Christ. We rejoice to hear anew the proclamation of the angel: Today in the town of David, Bethlehem in Judea, a saviour has been born to you. A Saviour has been born for us; a Son given to us. Christ, in becoming human allows us to share in the glory of His immortal nature. He frees us from death and the power of sin and darkness. This promise of salvation is ours and so we rejoice in the knowledge that God is now with us. Our world is overshadowed by war, injustice, oppression, division, and selfish concerns, but the Good News proclaimed by Christ continues to offer us salvation and hope. His words speak to us today; they reassure us; and fill us with hope: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. I am the way, and the truth and the life. I am the good shepherd. I am the bread of life. As Christians, whatever our particular 'tra...