Crannóggy Island

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.

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 o...

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 eve...

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 distracti...

  What to make of Pope Francis eleven years into his pontificate?  We need to understand the pope and figure out how to read and react to his words. We are a sound bite culture that is quick to react and overreact. The key to “getting” Pope Francis is his first  Apostolic Exhortation   Evangelii Gaudium. Evangelii Gaudium  prefigures much of what has been witnessed over these past eleven years in terms of the themes Pope Francis has chosen to prioritise.  It is a pastoral document,  written around the theme of Christian joy in order that the Church may rediscover the original source of evangelisation in the contemporary world. "EvangeliiGaudium"  is a long document – 50.000 words!  Pope Francis opens it with: “The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In th...

Our very own Japanese young lady,   雲水, aka Lain,  asked on the previous post: "What's going on at the Vatican?"  The subject of this post may help shed some light on this. A Catholic outlet based in Italy called  The Daily Compass  published an  open letter  written by someone claiming to be a cardinal of the Church in collaboration with other cardinals and bishops.  The article, titled  "A Profile of the Next Pope " criticises the pontificate of Pope Francis as a “catastrophe.”  The author decries the pope as an autocratic ruler who accepts no dissent and blasts him for using papal authority at his discretion. They encourage other cardinals to get to know each other to understand one another’s perspectives better before the next conclave.  “The Vatican Tomorrow” also acknowledges the strengths of the Francis papacy: “the added emphasis [Francis] has given to compassion toward the weak, outreach to the poor and marginalized, c...