Lenten Almsgiving Ideas...

Almsgiving is one of the three areas we are required to address during Lent. We cannot all donate money - though, sometimes, giving our time can be more valuable, but for those of us who wish to make some financial sacrifice, the issue can be a little fraught. Events such as Red Nose Day get a lot of attention from the media, but one cannot always be sure where one's money will end up. Several charities support work which is in opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church: supporting abortion, euthanasia, human embryo research and so on.

SPUC has a charities bulletin which helps to identify whether a charity engages, supports or promotes activities of this sort. It isn't exhaustive, but it's a good place to start, helping one to identify that, for example, that MacMillan Cancer Relief is actively involved in palliative end-of-life care whereas Cancer Research UK has used cell lines derived from embryos resulting from IVF treatment.

However, if you want to take the easy option, I can suggest a few good options...

First of all, if you want something personal, Beatrix, a little girl in the parish, wants to donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust (helping children who have lost their own hair) and thought it might be a great idea to be sponsored to do so. The money she raises will then go to Mary's Meals, an excellent charity I have mentioned before.

Then again, there is the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative, run by the Sisters of the Gospel of Life. At the moment they are in desperate need of baby buggies and prams (you can always buy them from Amazon, and get them delivered to 104 Albert Rd, Crosshill, Glasgow, G42 8DR) but I am sure that cold, hard cash would not be refused! (And you can donate directly from HERE.)

The Good Counsel Network does similar work to the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative. It is possible to donate online, though not via PayPal as yet, but they accept cheques too - click on "Donate" on the website for details of where to send it.

Finally, do consider donating money to SPUC to help them continue to do their excellent work on pro-life issues.

Obviously, this isn't an exhaustive list, by any means! Have a happy and holy Lent!

Felix Fidei Defensor (Part II) ...

A few months ago, Monsignor Furretti showed her true traddie colours when she shredded a copy of The Catholic Times while leaving The Remnant unscathed.

At the time, there was more than a little speculation as to what the clever little Monsignor would make of The Suppository (aka The Bitter Pill.) I explained that, as I had a moral objection to paying for The Suppository, I would have to wait until someone donated a copy for me to use. Given that most of my friends wouldn't be seen dead with a copy in their possession, this follow-up experiment didn't look like it would be happening any time soon.

However, a priest of my acquaintance (none other than Fr. Briggs, Parish Priest of Chislehurst) discovered an abandoned copy at the back of his church: I offered to dispose of the offending item for him.

In order to make it a "fair test" (something all schoolchildren are having hammered home, ad nauseam) I realised that I had to provide a more traditional alternative, to see which one the kittens would choose to destroy. I realise that, technically, it isn't totally fair, because I now have two Monsignori rather than just the one... however, both kittens have been blessed...

Anyway, I decided to present my Monsignori with the choice between The Catholic Herald (far and away the best British Catholic Weekly, IMHO) and The Suppository.

I give you my word of honour that I didn't rig the results...

I put both papers down, and the kittens started to explore...

There was a bit of pouncing and skidding about, as the paper was quite shiny...

Then there was some exploration of the pages themselves...

I now have bits of The Bitter Pill all over my living room floor... a small price to pay, I think, for peace of mind as to my furry felines' orthodoxy...

Adopt-A-Priestess...

Life is getting busy - what with Confirmation preparations, a few extra Masses, parents' evenings, reports and such like. Blogging will be sparse for the next two weeks (nothing new there, then!) However, I thought I'd draw your attention to this idea of Larry D's: in the wake of the recent conversion of wannabee-womynpriest Norma Jean Coon, Larry suggests that we each take responsibility for praying for an individual womynpriest.

As he (so eloquently) says:

"Here's how it will work: I have a list of the names of 75 women, taken directly from the website of Roman Catholic Women Priests. They are from the US, Canada and a few from Europe. The list will get longer, as I am sifting through a similar roster from the Women's Ordination Conference site (I'm checking for duplication). If you wish to participate, I will assign you one of the names - or more, if you so desire, just let me know. I'm asking you to pray for that woman's conversion and return in full communion to the Church. How you do that is entirely up to you. Masses, rosaries, Divine Mercy chaplets, adoration, fasting - whatever devotion or means that works for you. If you're a priest, and you want to participate, perhaps you could say Masses for that woman (a few for the success of this project would be cool, too!)"

Larry also points out that,

"Please - prayerfully consider taking part in this project. This movement can be defeated, one woman at a time. It won't be won through argument or persuasion (least of all snarky blogposts), but only through the power of the Holy Spirit, invoked through prayer and sacrifice. Conversion doesn't happen in a vacuum - as Catholics, we must stand in the gap and assault heaven with prayer. We might not see tangible results, but God answers every prayer in His way, in His time."

Do go over to his post and volunteer!