On Thursday, Fr. Tim put up a post about the 2010 Calendars produced by the Transalpine Redemptorists of Papa Stronsay Island. Later that evening, after Benediction, he popped into the Parish Club to show a few of us the calendar... Jonathan can be seen inspecting it in this photo...I liked the calendar so much that I decided to order one from their blog. It's pretty easy - you can either click on the button on the blog's left-hand sidebar to be taken to the PayPal site, or you can send your address (via the message form) and the number of copies you would like, and they will invoice you.
The calendar follows the 1962 Ordo, and it also notes several anniversaries which occur in 2010: for example, St. Paul was shipwrecked on the Island of Malta 1950 years ago. It helps to remind us that the Saints are real, they are not just "nice ideals" of what a person should be, they actually existed, and the Church has a record of when they lived. This is more important than you might realise - especially for the young, who view anyone over 25 as having one foot in the grave. I still remember the terrific jolt I got when I read that there have been 266 popes (including Pope Benedict XVI) and the Church has a record of all their names...
It is important to support this and other religious communities, as they do such stirling work: hidden away from the world, but continuing to pray for the rest of us, all the while offering their lives as an oblation to God. Visit the blog, leave a message of encouragement, subscribe to their newspaper, buy a calendar... and say a prayer for them all.
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