Posts

The Wind that's Coming

By
Image
The first year of ministry after his ordination in 1951 brought Father Joseph Ratzinger to the Munich parish of  Heilig Blut  (Precious Blood). During the Nazi regime, this parish had two lay martyrs, Ludwig Baron Leonrod and Franz Sperr, and two priest martyrs, Hermann Josef Wehrle and Alfred Delp, SJ. They protested the cruelties of Hitler and his minions and had been executed as witnesses to Christ.    Expressing admiration for the brave testimony of these men for the spiritual truth of Jesus Christ over materialistic ideology, o n May 24, 1952, penned the following words in the autograph book of a girl in one of his religion classes in Munich::   However the winds blow You should stand against them. When the world falls apart Your brave heart may not despair. Without the heart’s bravery which Has the courage to withstand unshakably The spirits of the time and the masses, We cannot find the way to God And the true way of Our Lord. ( In remembrance of your teacher of religion
Post a Comment
Read more

Shades of Things to Come?

By
Image
Thanks to Ray Sunshine for bringing this to HJ's attention and apologies for mistakenly deleting his comment.  There were dramatic scenes in Brussels on Tuesday at the "National Conservatism Conference" offering " a harbinger of what a police state in the heart of Europe might look like,"  according to the Catholic Herald . After the conference began, local Brussels police arrived at the Claridge building hosting the conference, and proceeded set up barricades in front of the event venue, preventing any further attendees, journalists or speakers from accessing the event. Eric Zemmous, the French politician, who was due to appear at the conference but was barred from entering when he turned up, said the city’s left-wing mayor had deployed the police like a “private militia” to stop a conservative conference from happening in Brussels. As the situation escalated, eventually Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo felt compelled to speak out: “What happened at th
12 comments
Read more

Dawkins is a "Cultural Christian"

By
Image
(This is a tortuous interview with Dawkins on LBC ... the interviewer being as bad as the interviewee!) Richard Dawkins declares himself to be a “cultural Christian” and believes Christianity is a “fundamentally decent religion” that is better for society than Islam. “I do think that we [Britain] are a culturally Christian country. I call myself a cultural Christian. I’m not a believer but there is a distinction between being a believing Christian and being a cultural Christian and so, you know, I love Hymns and Christmas carols, and I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos. I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense. It’s true that statistically the number of people who actually believe in Christianity is going down, and I am happy with that, but I would not be happy if, for example, we lost all our cathedrals and our beautiful parish churches. It would matter if we certainly substituted any other religion, that would be truly dreadful.” Dawkins says he was “horrified
48 comments
Read more

A Blessed and Holy Easter

By
Image
A Blessed and Holy Easter to all who read and comment on this little blog. Halleluiah!  Lord, Jesus, You have risen from the dead and are gloriously triumphant!   May the glory and the promise of this joyous time of year bring peace and happiness to you and those you hold most dear. And may Christ, Our Risen Saviour, always be there by your side to bless you most abundantly and be your loving guide.
3 comments
Read more

Reflections on the Journey from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

By
Image
The Pillar   interview with Trappist monk, Bishop Erik Varden: Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday. And yet the  long Gospel reading  at Mass that day takes us far beyond that event, describing Jesus’ Passion and death.  Why does the Church tell the whole story (barring the Resurrection) straight away, all at once? Basically, the Church tries to get us to live within the whole   story all   the time, to go beyond a merely linear conception of time. To follow the liturgy is to develop a capacity for synchronicity, the closest we get, this side of eternity, to an experience of living beyond time.  Think of the Midnight Mass at Christmas. One has just heard the Gospel of the Nativity. The priest has given a jolly little sermon. Then, all of a sudden, the manger is overshadowed by Calvary: “On the day before he was to suffer, he took bread…” The Babe of Bethlehem is the Lamb of God.  The mind boggles at this, which is why the Church in all sorts of ways lets us see that, if we stay imp
1 comment
Read more

Princess of Wales

By
Image
This struck a personal note with me. Article in  Aleteia After weeks of oft-hurtful speculation in the media, in online discussions, and even among celebrities, the Princess of Wales  has announced to the world that she has cancer. In a moving announcement that saw a seemingly stoic Catherine address the public, the mother-of-three shared her recent diagnosis and explained that she’d refrained from disclosing her illness in a bid to “shield” her children. However, behind her carefully spoken words, there was a woman whose voice was full of emotion, despite the positive message she expressed. In fact, as any parent can appreciate, the only thought that must be on her mind right now is that of protecting her children and reassuring them that she will indeed be okay. As the princess shared: “As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything t
8 comments
Read more

Lessons From the Passion Account for Palm Sunday

By
Image
Sunday, March 24, is Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.  Mass readings:  Mark 11:1-10  or  John 12:12-16 ;  Isaiah 50:4-7 ; Psalm  22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 ;  Philippians 2:6-11 ;   Mark 14:1-15:47  or  Mark 15:1-39 . I n the Passion account, it is of value to examine the problems associated with the persons in the drama. There are at least five problems that emerge. They are unhealthy and sinful patterns that spring from fear generated by not trusting Jesus’ words that he would rise in three days. The Lord asks Peter, James and John to pray with him. But they doze off, unwilling or unable to deal with the stress of the situation.  A common human technique for dealing with stress and the hardships of life is to drift off into a sort of moral slumber. We may stop noticing or even caring about critically important matters. We can anesthetize ourselves with things like alcohol, drugs, creature comforts, and meaningless distractions. Prayerful vigilance poses too many uncomfortable
2 comments
Read more