Crannóggy Island

  Happy Jack has decided to take a break until Easter Sunday.  Why? Because it is depressing viewing and commenting on religion and politics at this time. He's looked around for "good news" stories but they are few and far between. The internet is full of doom and woe - and its infectious!  So do post your thoughts and ideas about where we should take this little blog in the coming months. It is good to keep in touch with one another.  Until then, God Bless and here's a Lenten meditation: Lord Jesus, when I am sad and depressed Help me think of you praying alone in the garden. Lord Jesus, when I am fearful help me to think of you being taken prisoner. Lord Jesus, when I am ill help me to think of you being scourged at the pillar. Lord Jesus, when I have a headache help me to think of you wearing the crown of thorns. Lord Jesus, when I am tired help me to think of you carrying the cross for love of me. Lord Jesus, when I am humiliated help me to think of you being str...

  "24 Hours for the Lord": Celebration of Reconciliation (Parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie al Trionfale, 17 March 2023) “Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ” ( Phil  3:7). That is what Saint Paul tells us in the first reading. And if we ask ourselves what were those things that he no longer considered important in his life, and was even content to lose in order to find Christ, we realize that they were not material riches, but a fund of “religious” assets. Paul was devout and zealous, just and dutiful (cf. vv. 5-6). Yet, this very religiosity, which could have seemed a source of pride and merit, proved to be an impediment for him. Paul goes on to say: “I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (v. 8). Everything that had given him a certain prestige, a certain fame...; “forget it: for me, Christ is more important”. People who are extremely rich in their own minds, and proud ...

"May your troubles be less.  Your blessings be more.  And nothing but happiness come through your door."

The Christ Church website has announced their new Dean: The King has approved the appointment of Rev Canon Professor Sarah Foot PhD, Professor Foot is the first woman to be chosen for the role in Christ Church’s almost 500-year-long history. Professor Foot is the Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Oxford University and a priest serving as a Residentiary Canon at Christ Church. Her teaching and research have focused on women in religion, medieval monasticism and the early history of the English Church. She is currently working on a study of the life and work of the Venerable Bede. The Dean designate said: “It is an honour to have been appointed to this role and to work alongside the Governing Body to serve the students, academics, staff, Chapter and congregation of Christ Church. As we approach our 500th anniversary, we can ensure that Christ Church continues to excel in advancing education, learning and religion long into the future. “Together, we must make a success o...

President Joe Biden criticised Florida’s regulation of transgender medical care for children and ban on gender ideology in the classroom, calling these measures "close to sinful." Lawmakers in Florida have introduced bills and regulations to protect children from transgender medical interventions and restrict classroom instruction in gender ideology. In Florida, a ban on transgender surgeries and medications for children, issued by the state’s Board of Medicine, goes into effect on the 16th March. Lawmakers have also proposed legislation banning transgender medical procedures. Florida Govender Ron DeSantis has signed legislation that prevents schools from promoting gender ideology through discussions of transgenderism and sexual orientation to young children in kindergarten through to third grade. The legislation requires such discussions in later grades to be age appropriate. Biden said in an interview on America's Daily Show: “What’s going on in Florida is, as my mothe...

  Gary Lineker's tweets about the Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and his comparison with the current debate about refugees to the language used in Nazi Germany, may show passion but they also show stupidity. The BBC is now facing a staff boycott after the decision to take Lineker off 'Match of the Day'. A number of BBC football shows across TV and radio have been taken off air after presenters pulled out in "solidarity" with Lineker. Final Score and Football Focus were pulled from BBC One on Saturday after their hosts said they would not host their shows. BBC 5 Live's 'Fighting Talk' also did not air on Saturday morning. Lineker is "stepping back" from 'Match Of The Day' until an "agreed and clear position" on his social media use is made, the BBC said on Friday. (Translation: he's been taken off air). Lineker signed a five-year deal with the BBC in 2020 and he agreed to adhere to their impartiality rules. The...

  After 10 years of his leadership, I have to confess to having mixed feelings about Pope Francis' pontificate. This article , in the Catholic News Register, gives a good overview of his strengths and weaknesses: In describing the pontificate of Pope Francis, now at its 10-year mark, cardinals, bishops and lay leaders alike are unanimous: The Holy Father has advanced a vision of the Church that reaches out to the world, with a special attentiveness to those on the peripheries of society. “I think he has brought an awareness that we need to be mindful of those who are forgotten and are not valued: the poor, the immigrant, and those who just feel alienated from the love of God,” said Bishop James Conle y of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, in a comment representative of this chorus. In a similar vein, Cardinal Marc Ouellet said that Francis has generated a new interest in the Church outside of her walls. “That’s the sign of his missionary style,” said the Canadian cardinal, who head...

Good articles here from  Church Militant  and from  Gavin Ashenden . First from Church Militant : "Divine truth is communicated to man through human language. Words convey meaning, without which they are simply empty utterances — symbols pointing to nothing. The word of God, therefore, needs definitive and authoritative interpretation; and this is especially true given the darkening of the human intellect after the loss of original justice (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, II, q. 85, a. 3). "To come to the true meaning of any message, one must know the intention of the communicator. To know the true meaning of the rock anthem "American Pie," for example, one would have to learn the mind of Don McLean himself. By the same logic, only God can interpret the true meaning of His message to mankind. "No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11). "Here we must consider two problems. First, human error is certain...