THAT Time Of Year Again...

I completely forgot that British Summer Time starts tonight...

And the clocks go FORWARD so I lose an hour's sleep. Rats. I'm finding it difficult enough to get up in the morning as it is!!

How Very Remiss Of Me...

Things have been a little hectic of late. In particular, coursework season is upon us... this means that teachers have to try and figure out how to get their students to complete coursework and hand it in, but in such a way that (a) it is not a word-for-word copy of what the teacher has prepared as guidance, (b) it is not a word-for-word copy of what their friends have done (more difficult than it sounds, as they are, of necessity, working together and discussing ideas!) (c) it is not the work of their parents, (d) it is not cut-and-pasted from the Internet, and (e) it fulfils all the exam board's criteria.

I loathe coursework. It has to be read, suggestions for improvement made, (most of which will be ignored) marked, handed back for tweaking and then re-marked. It is tedious (there are only so many experiments possible in school laboratories) and painful for both student and teacher. And the mark schemes produced by the exam boards are tortuous, which makes marking the wretched work a real chore... There were rumours that coursework was going to be scrapped completely. Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be the case...

Anyway, I haven't been blogging properly. The odd post each day. But I haven't been exploring...

So I've only just found Mother's Pride - a blog written by Jackie, who calls herself the Mother of this lot. "This lot" turns out to be five daughters.

I also discovered that Adrienne (of Adrienne's Catholic Corner) has a wonderful habit: she collects holy cards (buying them off ebay), and puts them in a bowl. Having noted that many of the beautiful cards are from the funerals of people many years ago, and working on the assumption that these people may have no-one left to pray for them, she proposes setting up an "Adopt a Bowl Person" campaign. You send her your details and she sends you the details of a soul to pray for. Truly a work of mercy. You can find out more HERE.

James Mawdsley had a thoughtful post on how our attitude to Christ on Calvary is demonstrated by our attitude to the Church - his body.

De-Stressing With Bubble Wrap...

I love popping bubble wrap. There is something almost compulsive about getting those little plastic bubbles popped...

Well, now there is virtual bubble wrap. There is an endless supply, just ask for a fresh sheet. And have a go in "manic mode."

Mantilla-twitch to Fr. Zuhlsdorf.

Prayers Needed Please !

I have just had it confirmed: I am to be an auntie for the second time!

My sister says she's due about October 10th. However, she had quite a few problems with the last pregnancy (and especially the labour) and she's bleeding again this time, so any prayers you can spare would be gratefully received!

Awards...

Well, ok, I didn't win. And I was only nominated for one category... and I only got four votes... but, to be fair, being up against such mega-bloggers as Fr. Z and Fr. Finigan meant that I had less than your average snowball's chance in hell...

However, Carolina Cannonball has decided to redress the balance, with the 2008 Cannonball Catholic Blog Awards (honouring the great 'obscure little guy' blogs.)

I was delighted to note that I didn't get nominated for the "More Catholic than the Pope" award (it's not possible to be more Catholic than the Pope and remain Catholic!) I did, however, scoot in with one nomination for the Best Church Militant Blog...

Woooooooooohoooooooo !

Carolina is inviting further nominations HERE. Voting will commence on April 1st. Hmmmn. That date seems strangely familiar...

Not Wishing To Be Pedantic, But...

Hillary Clinton seems to have contracted foot-in-mouth disease. Previously she claimed to have arrived in Tuzla in 1996 under sniper fire, and reported that she had to run from the plane for cover.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton, the cameras were rolling... and enterprising newsies have exhumed the footage... which shows the First Lady being greeted by a smiling 8-year-old and calmly walking away from the plane.

Mrs. Clinton told a Pittsburgh radio station: "You know I have written about this and described it in many different settings and I did misspeak the other day. This has been a very long campaign. Occasionally, I am a human being like everybody else."

Only occasionally???

What is she the rest of the time?

I Hate To Say "I Told You So!" But...

I said some time ago that girls on the Sanctuary serving were a bad idea. We are too darned efficient. A lot of it is intuitive, because it does sort of depend on what Father decides to do next (at least it does in some parishes), but we are able to work it out by studying body language, several steps ahead, and then we muscle in and organise everything. And, on the Sanctuary, it's difficult to say what you need to do next because you'll be heard, so it's easier to do it yourself than to explain to that rather cloth-eared and painfully slow boy exactly where to go and what to do...

And the girls take over...

...and so the boys flee.

However, only boys can serve the Extraordinary Form of Mass. It's less intuitive, because it's all laid down exactly in the rubrics... and so it can be learnt. And there are no girls present to make the boys feel awkward and self-conscious...

...and surprise, surprise, the boys come back. In droves...

Not just in Blackfen either. The Boston Herald has noticed (and reported) the same trend... A twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Zuhlsdorf who adds his own commentary...

Oh, Mr Prime Minister, You Are Spoiling Us...

It would appear that Mr. Brown is feeling generous. His "generosity" leaves me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.

Gordon Brown has decided to drop the whip on parts of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill. Labour MPs will be allowed a "free" vote. Just on three clauses, mind you. Generosity is not to be over-indulged. Once those three clauses have been either accepted or rejected, he says that Labour MPs must back the Bill.

At least one MP, Claire Curtis Thomas, has indicated that she has no intention of backing any bill which does not square with her conscience. I hope that more MPs will refuse to give in to such a patronising compromise which is, in truth, no compromise at all.

I cannot understand why the media are reporting this as a "climb down" by the Prime Minister, who only allowed the free vote after it was made clear by the whips that the Bill had enough support to pass anyway.

Four Candles...

As I was helping our Sacristan to set a few things up for the Easter Vigil, I commented to another helper that we needed four candles.

"Don't you mean fork 'andles?" was the response which had both of us grinning from ear to ear. I guess you have to be of a certain age for the phrase to mean anything, but for those of you too young to remember, I did a trawl through You Tube and was not disappointed...

Writing To MPs

Leutgeb (she of the spotty Welsh Bread) has been writing to her MP. She gives a very useful link which allows you to find out who your MP is, and their email addresses. It isn't quite as straightforward to negotiate as the link I have given previously, but it does have rather more information about the Members' interests, working parties, majority at the last election and so on.

She has also put up an excellent post on Cardinal O'Brien's sermon... though, as the extract she posted is so long, it is a little difficult to work out where the sermon ends and Leutgeb's own comments begin...

...partly because of the virulently yellow background, which makes it painful to read! I understand that Leutgeb likes her liturgical colours, but something a little gentler on the eyes next time, perhaps??

I'm also intrigued by her comment on Professor Winston...

It might be worth noting that SPUC recommend writing letters to MPs rather than sending emails. SPUC has a great deal of experience in Parliamentary lobbying matters, and so I'd be inclined to follow their advice... or write and email !

May You Live In Interesting Times...

... The title of this post is, apparently, an ancient Chinese curse. I think that the times in this country are getting to be very interesting indeed. There is more and more persecution of Catholics: not, surprisingly, from Muslims, or even from other Christian denominations, but from the secularists who want to smash any mention of God, aided and abetted by lapsed liberal Catholics who cannot bear the idea that there is such a thing as objective truth or objective morality.

More and more, we can see that the teachings of the Church are being attacked in legislation. To me this is very redolent of the Elizabethan and Jacobean laws which made it a matter of treason to be a Catholic priest or to give shelter or assistance to a priest. I find it shocking that, in a recent attempt to clear the statute books up a bit, the House of Lords called for several "old" laws to be removed... but no-one mentioned the law which forbids the monarch to marry a Catholic.

It is illegal to discriminate against a homosexual person. Discrimination is wrong, no doubt about it, but under the SOR legislation it is wrong to present heterosexual marriage as "better" than homosexual civil partnerships. This means that the Catholic Church, with her clear teaching on matters of morality, is on a hiding to nothing. It is only a matter of time before the first Catholics end up in the dock because they tried to pass on the Faith.

I believe that we are in for a time of persecution...

...and this might be just the wake-up call that is needed for Catholics in this country. I think we have become a little too comfortable with the status quo, attempting to fit in with the laws and regulations of the land. The fact that it has been possible to consider whether Catholicism should push for the same sort of status as the Church of England demonstrates this.

Bishop O'Donoghue of Lancaster Diocese being harangued by a Parliamentary Select Committee was an indication of how unpleasant things will probably get.

People are beginning to realise that we cannot just keep quiet and hope we'll be allowed to live our own lives quietly as long as we don't upset the apple cart: we can't even teach the Catholic Faith in our own Catholic schools - the MP who said openly that Faith schools were ok just as long as they didn't take the faith too seriously made that clear.

Anyway, I was delighted to hear the kerfuffle over Cardinal Keith O'Brien's Easter sermon criticising the Government's Human Fertilisation and Embrology Bill... when the BBC and the chattering classes start condemning a Church leader for speaking out on matters of morals, we know that he must be doing something right. And in the same vein, Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue has condemned anti-life legislation such as the HFE Bill and the laws which allow euthanasia by withdrawal of food and fluids.

Our Church leaders might just be beginning to wake up. And not a moment too soon!

New Blog

A friend of mine has recently started a new blog. Called "William on the hill" he claims that it is composed of writings and musings on life, the Catholic Church and things that make him laugh.

He's been rather poorly over the past few days, and missed the Triduum, so pop on over and say hallo to cheer him up...

Easter Sunday

As promised, here's a photo of the altar at Blackfen, all dressed up for the Easter Sunday High Mass. Hilda, our Sacristan, worked incredibly hard over the Triduum to make sure that everything was as beautiful as it could be. It's at times like this that I feel sorry for evangelical Christians (and liberal Catholics) - they don't believe that the externals are necessary. However, we are body and soul, spirit and matter... and God became incarnate for us to communicate with us more fully... so the material must matter... which is why we strive to give only our very best for the worship of God: the most beautiful buildings, the most beautiful artwork to adorn those buildings, the most beautiful and precious materials for the sacred vessels and altar linens, and the most beautiful vestments...

We are so lucky in Blackfen: after a gruelling Triduum culminating in a very late Easter Vigil, the choir were back on Sunday morning to sing. Our altar servers were also pretty amazing, and sacrificed the opportunity of a lazy Sunday morning (they had all fulfilled their Sunday obligation at the Vigil Mass) to come and serve Mass again. At the end, just after I had made my thanksgiving, I was nabbed by Father and the lads - though how they knew I'd have my phone camera to hand escapes me...