Hair Update...

I had a few requests to show my "new" hair colour... and since I'm quite pleased with it, I thought I'd post the photo I took...

What?? You wanted to see the hair colour! I don't need to show the rest of me!

Lune Valley Thinking in Blackfen

Fr. Paul Harrison came to Blackfen this morning for a little visitation. Unfortunately, I completely forgot my mobile phone this morning, so didn't manage to snap a photo for the blog. He and Fr. Tim tootled off somewhere nice for lunch, so I hope that Fr. Paul's absent gallbladder didn't impinge on the menu options available...

Quiz Time Again...

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Twitch of the mantilla to Ttony of the Muniment Room

Confession

I am very lucky: Confessions are available in my parish at a time which suits me very well, and my PP is good when it comes to hearing Confessions and dealing with the issues which arise.

I haven't always been so lucky. I have had comments which have discouraged me ("Do you always go to Confession this often?") and comments which have been completely off the wall ("It's not good to be alone. You should get married!") It is also disconcerting to be told to confess only one sin, and to ignore the others.

Despite plenty of practice, easy availability and a good Confessor, I still find it very difficult to go to Confession: I don't really like to admit that I've been in the wrong. So it's helpful to look at the Sacrament in detail every now and then, in order to ensure that things aren't being skipped over too lightly.

Fr Zuhlsdorf has, very helpfully, put up a re-post of his 20 rules for penitents. And Fr. Ray Blake has taken the opportunity to post a few recommendations for priests hearing Confession. Definitely well worth a read.

Wooohooo !

Half term holidays have begun. Not a moment too soon - I was perilously close to oversleeping this morning!

I haven't really planned very much for this holiday, knowing that I need all the sleep I can get.

I Love Teaching...

...Something I really missed last year: the sheer enthusiasm of Year 7 kids! These are the 11-12 year-olds who started at "Big School" back in September.

Today I taught them how to make a microscope slide with onion epidermis. Each group had to set up their own microscope, extract the layer of onion epidermis, put it on the slide, add iodine, put on a cover slip (avoiding air bubbles) and then have a look at their slide down the microscope.

"Proper" science stuff. The kids loved it, and were terribly excited when they actually saw the results - and then went round looking at everyone else's slides. Suddenly all the stuff in the textbook became real for them.

Lucky For Me...

...Very lucky indeed, that I have found a hairdresser who understands what I mean when I describe the hair colour I want to achieve. After falling asleep during a staff meeting this afternoon, (well, it was very tedious!) I went on to fall asleep (briefly) in the salon while waiting for my hair colour to develop.

My hair looks pretty good (even if I do say so myself!)

It might, however, be a good idea for me to go and have a very early night.

Half-term cannot come quickly enough!

Idle Speculations...

It would appear that a few fellow bloggers have weighed in on the Westminster Sweepstakes with the consideration of Fr. Ray Blake for the top job!

Fr. Ray, true to form, has thrown down the gauntlet by publishing his very own "to-do" list if such a miracle ever came to pass. Of course, the list is such a good one that he has totally scuppered any chances he may or may not have had...

Several friends of mine have muttered for years that Fr. Tim Finigan (of Hermeneutic fame) would make an excellent Bishop... IMHO, for what it's worth, this is another case of flying pigs... I think that Fr. Tim would be far too frightening a prospect for the current Bishops' Conference to countenance such a move. And I suspect that, after reading his list, their Lordships will immediately put Fr. Ray into the same category...

As for the proposal to put me in charge of RE teaching in schools, I demand to know what I have done to deserve such a poisoned chalice... I thought Fr. Ray liked me...

UPDATE: Through some careless mistake, Fr. Ray forgot to appoint Karen H. as his Campaign and Publicity Co-ordinator. Luckily Karen accepted the job anyway. Check out her excellent campaign material HERE.

Dinner & Dance...

I needed a little light relief this evening: I've been immersed in exercise books and red pen for several days (apart from weekends: I'm trying not to bring home books, just lots of lesson planning... still, every little helps!)

Anyway, I could have phoned out for a take-away, but I felt I needed a change of scene. Added to which, I fancied a glass of wine with dinner, and didn't have anything suitable in the flat. I hate to open a bottle of wine when I know that I'm just going to have a single glass and then nothing for several days... So I ventured out into my local neighbourhood, as there are a few eateries along my local High Street.

The nearest one to me was closed for refurbishment, so I was forced to go a little further afield.

The restaurant in which I finally fetched up was one I hadn't visited before, and it was a bit of a shock. There was a doorman, dressed completely in white (including a turban) looking remarkably like one of the Indian servants from "It Ain't Half Hot Mum." I was fascinated: he spent the entire duration of my stay by the door, almost like a nightclub bouncer. Come to think of it, given the fact that there are some very roudy teenagers who go round in gangs near where I live, that could be his actual role...!

There were a few other diners in evidence, but the place was mostly empty: not surprising for the middle of the working week. I had brought a book, and settled down to enjoy my lamb pasanda with a glass of very good house white.

To my surprise, even though it was mid-week, there was live entertainment. Apparently it is different each night. Tonight we had a belly dancer. Not a real one - the young lady concerned had the sort of figure favoured by Western culture, and there wasn't much "belly" although her abdominal region was very much on display. A friend of mine from a few years back trained as a belly dancer, and watching her abdominal muscles gyrate was quite an eye-opener... this evening's dancer didn't attempt anything of the sort, but there was much waving of arms, legs and chest.

I noticed that she ventured round to a couple of tables when there were male diners in evidence, but she sort of lost interest and stuck firmly to the dance floor once they'd left. It occurred to me that dancing round the tables could actually be quite intrusive. I'd be interested to hear what my male readers thought about this sort of thing...

...And It's Only The Start Of The Week...

I have been busy today. While teaching about polymers (*big yawn*), I've been getting my Year 10 classes to make "silly putty" out of PVA glue and borax solution.

...but this does not make for a peaceful and uneventful lesson...

...the stuff bounces...

...and now I'm pretty much pooped! No more blogging for today... I'll be back tomorrow.

When Kitty Wants Breakfast...

A friend sent me this by email, and it was just soooooo like Sylvester's morning routine that I just had to upload it to YouTube...


...now if I could just train Sylvester to wake me at a specific time...

How To Spoil A Good Book...

...Jesus dies on page 1126 !

There May Be Trouble Ahead...

Not content with the furore over the MMR jab (which, IMHO, could have been avoided simply by allowing parents to opt for immunisation with three separate jabs for measles, mumps and rubella - it was the triple jab which occasioned the autism controversy), the Department of Health wants to bring in a new jab: the plan is to give jabs against the human papilloma virus (HPV) to all girls in Year 7 (that's the old First Year of secondary school for any middle-aged readers from England, and 11-12 year-olds for the rest of you.)

The Daily Mail has an article on it (I was in the garage a long time), though either they got the age-range wrong, or the Year Group for whom the immunisation programme is planned. Year 7's are 11-12 years old.

There are (surprise, surprise!) questions as to how safe this vaccine is.

Dr Szarewski [a researcher from the Wolfson Institute, London, who researches the effects of HPV] said safety data showed vaccination caused very few side-effects apart from a sore arm and some people who experienced flu-like symptoms.

But Jackie Fletcher of the vaccine awareness group JABS said: "We're worried about side effects reported in the U.S. including Guillain Barre syndrome, fainting spells and short seizures."

HPV is, of course, spread through sex, and the more partners a woman has, the more likely she is to contract HPV. Is it just me who finds it odd that no-one is mentioning abstinence as a sure-fire way of avoiding the virus?

...and how much do you want to bet that these 11 year-olds will be handed out condoms by the school nurse, to accompany the jabs... just to be on the "safe" side?

One To Watch...?

While waiting for the car tyres to be replaced, I amused myself by reading a paper... not something I do very often, as I usually get the news from the internet and (*sheepish grin*) the radio.

So I was interested to see in today's Daily Mail, a double-page spread alerting readers to a television programme next week. The programme, Channel 4's Dispatches, will give details about what actually happens to a foetus when it is aborted. The article was concentrating on the number of late abortions which are carried out in the UK, far later than allowed elsewhere, and highlighting the fact that modern medicine calls into question the idea that a foetus doesn't feel pain before 26 weeks' gestation.

The journalist who wrote the article, Deborah Davies, gives the impression that she is very much in favour of a woman's right to choose, but she is clearly unhappy with the number of abortions which are performed after 12-14 weeks' gestation... and obviously shocked by what medical staff have told her about the procedures used for such late-term abortions. I can't agree with her description of abortions in the first 12 weeks needing only a "simple" suction procedure - it's all pretty gross when you consider that a human life is at stake - but I'm interested to read that more and more people are beginning to question where a foetus is considered to be a "baby" in the making.

The article headline certainly made me sit up: "It's the great abortion taboo: what really happens to an unborn baby when a doctor terminates its life. Next week on TV, a surgeon finally breaks that silence. His words will shock you, but they need to be heard."

The article is also available online HERE. The Dispatches programme, "Abortion: What We Need to Know," is on Channel 4, Wednesday, 17th October 2007 at 10:40pm.

It's Been One Of Those Days...

I was a real cross-patch this morning. Last night, our parish sacristan had phoned to say she was feeling ill, and wouldn't be there to set up for Saturday morning's Mass and Benediction. So, no Saturday morning lie-in for me! Bleary-eyed, wet-haired and thoroughly disgruntled, I drove in early. Luckily, there is something soothing about preparing the sacred vessels for Mass. By the time I was able to sit down to pray the Office, I had regained a little composure, and was feeling slightly ashamed of my bad-temper. On the plus side, living alone means that I hadn't actually taken my temper out on anyone, but that wasn't the point.

I then found out that the wedding booked for this afternoon was actually a full-blown Nuptial Mass.

And then I was told that there was a Baptism between the wedding and Benediction.

And Sunday Mass after the wedding... I helped set up for the Baptism and prepared what I could for the Nuptial Mass, and then decamped... leaving the rest for the Deacon.

(I have no idea where Fr. Tim gets all his energy. I wish he'd bottle the stuff - I need some!)

Meanwhile, a friend of mine pointed out that one of my front car tyres was seriously flatter than the other. She offered to get her son to get it pumped up, but I said I'd go to a garage to get it checked out. I was sure that I'd had the tyres checked quite recently...

...and then realised that "recently" was somewhere in the region of three or four months and all I had done then was a check on the tyre pressure. It turned out that I needed all four tyres changed: three had degrading around the rim, and the fourth was balding on the inside. I thought I'd get the wheel alignment done while I was at it...

I'd hoped it could be done pretty quickly (I mean, how long does it take to change a tyre or two?) but a glut of customers also waiting for tyres to be sorted meant that the whole thing took about 2 hours... car garage waiting rooms are not the most comfortable of places...

Oh, the joys of car ownership!

21st Century Science?

Ok, this is a long post, and I warn you that I'm having a rant. Not quite such a major rant as the ones I have on pc language and heretical hymns, but close. Feel free to ignore this post, and come back tomorrow...

Although I trained as a Science teacher, I found myself straying into the Humanities for a couple of years. This September, I found myself back in the heart of the Science Curriculum. I'm now teaching 21st Century Science (the rather pretentious name given to the new GCSE courses.) The textbooks look very attractive at first glance (lots of glossy photos) and there is an impressive set of notes and lesson plans for teachers to use, with PowerPoint presentations and worksheets...

However, having explored the material for the past month and a half, I have to say that it's rather disappointing. The PowerPoints are uninspiring - no real attempt at interactive stuff, just larger copies of the words and phrases from the textbooks - and the worksheets assume easy access to the textbooks - very few schools, in my experience, would be able to fork out the money for each child to have a textbook to take home - which means that the worksheets are useless as a homework resource. The questions in the textbooks often assume that computer access is readily available, and suggest "research" to find out the answers...

...but that is just the mechanics of the course. And any new course is going to have teething problems as it's applied to the real classroom.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem is the content... or, to be more specific, the lack of content. I'm teaching the Chemistry Units: the first is "Air Quality," the second is "Material Choices" and the third is "Food Matters."

Air Quality is concerned with the main gases in the atmosphere, and pollution. Combustion is the main chemical reaction, and it is used to explore what pollutants are produced when fossil fuels are burnt. The effects of pollutants on health, and the use of technology to improve air quality are also considered.

Be still my beating heart... the excitement is almost overpowering...

I'm currently teaching Material Choices: you can't have all the groups doing the same topics at once because of equipment availability. Material Choices is all about choosing the right materials for a particular purpose, with the emphasis on polymers and plastics. Oh, and the disposal of polymers and plastics. Recycling features here.

Note that the full extent of technical knowledge of the whole of Organic Chemistry has been distilled (pun intended, sorry) down to polymers being long chain molecules, monomers being the molecules which make up the chains, and hydrocarbons being chemicals obtained from crude oil.

The final Year 10 Chemistry topic is Food Matters. How food gets from the farm to the plate. Farming methods and their effects on the environment. Natural and artificial chemicals in food (including food additives.) Possible links between obesity and diabetes.

Quite apart from the fact that most of the fun stuff in Chemistry appears to have been ditched, the amount of scientific content which the students need to learn is laughable.

I've nearly finished the first topic. I explained this to the students, who were aghast at how little they felt they had learned. So, to reassure them (and myself) that I wasn't missing out half the course, I checked the exam paper for the topic which was set in January 2007.

I wanted to cry. The questions were a variety of multiple choice (A, B, C, D etc.), connecting boxes with straight lines (eg. "wool" in one box and "sheep" in another needed to be connected to show wool comes from sheep) or filling in missing words or phrases (a choice of words and phrases was given.)

No explanations. No elaborating. No description.

And not much Science.

How To Help A Fellow Blogger...

...The American Papist has ended up as a finalist in some scholarship award or other. The winner is the blog with most votes. There is no registration process, and it takes all of two minutes to cast your vote HERE. By the way, American Papist is "Thomas Peters", and he's second from the bottom...

Mantilla-twitch to Newhousenewjob (who is busy copying my dream-reality-confusion trick!)

Rosary Crusade 2007

"Isn't time fun when you're having flies?" as one frog said to the other...

No, I haven't lost my marbles... I just cannot believe that it's already a whole year since the last Crusade. Re-reading my post from last year reminded me how very much has happened in a short time.

Anyway, the next Crusade is this Saturday, 13th October. No doubt this will be a "biggie" as the 13th October is the 90th anniversary of the final apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal, when the miracle of the sun was observed by thousands of onlookers.

The procession will start outside Westminster Cathedral at 1:45pm and finish up at the Brompton Oratory. Fr. Julian Large will be preaching. Photos of last year's Crusade can be seen HERE.

Quiz Time

What Kind of Cross are You?

You are the San Damiano Cross: Rich in symbolism, this cross was first painted in the twelfth century gathering images from the Gospel of John. Christ is the central figure and is surrounded by the angels, the apostles and the Virgin Mary. The cross became well known because it was the cross in front of which St. Francis was praying when he received the call to rebuild the Church.
Take this quiz!








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Twitch of the mantilla to Thorn in the Pew.

A plea For Help...

...this has appeared on the Sisters of the Gospel of Life blog: they are on the scrounge for any soundbites from people such as Cardinal Winning, Blessed Mother Teresa and so on, for inclusion in a PowerPoint presentation which they're busy putting together...

As part of the 40th anniversary events we’re organizing, we’re putting together a number of pro-life slide-shows on different themes. What we’re looking for are sound-bites from people like Cardinal Winning, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI speaking on specifically pro-life related issues. These would be sound clips that we could play over PowerPoint presentations. If you know of good sites on the internet or if you would be able to email clips to us, please leave a comment on this post or email us at info@prolifeinitiative.org

A very worthy cause, so if you can, send the info along...

Aaaaaarghhhhh !

Marking books can be a soul-destroying exercise. I foresee a week of detentions (can't have too many kids in at once) for non-completion of homework...

...accompanied by the gentle hint, "Of course, if you can show me that you've done the homework when you arrive at the detention, you won't have to stay long..."

Sooner or later, the penny drops...

Bad Luck For The All Blacks...

...looks as though my drawing of New Zealand in the Staffroom Sweepstake has sounded the death-knell for the All Blacks. They lost their match on Saturday, and so are out of the World Cup.

*sigh*

While googling the result, I found the following refreshing quote from the New Zealand captain...

"We can't do anything about it now. It's going to hurt for a long, long time. I'm lost for words. We believed we could come out and play well. We didn't play as well as we could have."

Makes a change to hear a team admit that they could do better!

I Must Be Crazy...

Somehow or other, a couple of months ago, in a moment of weakness, I allowed myself to be ambushed by two priests. Taken unawares, I foolishly agreed to give a talk at the Southwark Diocese Altar Servers' Reunion which happened in Gravesend this afternoon...

In reality, I didn't actually agree to anything... I suspect that the priests in question cooked up a co-ordinated pincer-movement attack, and I was effectively presented with a fait accompli...

I've been rather busy and very preoccupied lately. Last night I realised that I needed to rustle up a decent PowerPoint presentation and perhaps some sort of activity. So, I eschewed the blogosphere and settled down to work.

Unfortunately, as I was rather tired, I failed to take my usual precaution of saving things every couple of minutes or so. The inevitable happened. My previously reliable and co-operative computer decided to have a conniption at the very point I wanted to save the whole shebang...

I lost the lot. Not really wanting to face a room full of teenagers without any sort of visial aid, I decided to start again from scratch... and finished at about 2:30am.

The talk I eventually gave was a brief overview of the Rosary. I'm not entirely sure what the kids made of it...

My talk aside, the afternoon went very well. The youngsters had fun playing pool, ping pong and other things, and the majority took the opportunity to go to Confession. After the talk there was a bit more time for games, and we then prayed the rosary in the church and finished up with Mass. There were about thirty young people present: not too shabby given the number of major sporting events which were going on...

How Very Interesting...

Not that I'm trying to claim credit or anything, but...

Back in June, I posted a snippet on what a "kick-ass" Cardinal the Aussies in Sydney had. In addition to the idea of starting a Cardinal Pell fanclub (there are at least two now on Facebook) I also suggested that we might want to petition for him to sort out the Church in England & Wales when Cardinal Murphy O'Connor resigns...

Today's Catholic Herald therefore makes for very interesting reading: Cardinal Pell has been added to the list of possible successors by Paddy Power, the Irish bookmakers. And at 10-1, he's not exactly an outsider...

...excuse me a minute, I just need to go and place a bet...

40th Anniversary (Oh The Shame Of It...)

The 40th anniversary of the passing of the Abortion Act is going to be marked on Saturday 27th October by a rally in Parliament Square, London, followed by a march down Victoria Street to Westminster Cathedral where there will be a service of remembrance, healing and hope. The rally starts at 2pm and the service at 4pm. We need to make sure that there are as many people as possible to draw media and public attention to the pro-life cause.

More information can be found at the Time for Change website.

I Couldn't Resist This One...

Yes, ok, I am showing off...

You paid attention during 100% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
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Twitch of the mantilla to Newhousenewjob...

I Want One...

...I don't care if it's a children's book. I want a copy: the Pope's life story as seen by his cat.

The more I hear and read about this guy, the more I love him. I mean, an "authorised" biography (must be... Monsignor Ganswein wrote the foreward) written from the point of view of a cat. That is just so cute...

Unfortunately I have to wait for the English translation. I wonder if it will take as long as the English translation of the Missal?

Guardian Angels

Another of my favourite feasts: celebrating the fact that we have a Guardian Angel each. It's the Guardian Angel's job to help you reach heaven safely, and so, in times of temptation, or when in doubt as to the best course to take, we should always remember that our own angel cannot lead us astray, and we should implore his aid.

I'm really tired, so this is a short snippet, but I just couldn't let such a feast day go by unremarked: my own Guardian Angel has certainly been working overtime, and he's far from finished... if Guardian Angels had hair, mine would have torn most of his out, and the little remaining would have turned white by now... I also suspect that he'd also have hit the vodka-and-valium cocktails a while back (I must be a sore trial, what with all my wayward wanderings...!)

Oh, and Fr Ray has another excellent post on angels... the writings of St. Bernard, from the Office of Readings for today's feast... I was planning to put in a few quotes, but Fr Ray has done the lot!

Also, I remember posting the lyrics for the hymn to one's Guardian Angel: so I'm linking to it HERE.

Kolbe's Gift

I went to visit a neighbouring parish this evening: the Ten Ten Theatre were performing Kolbe's Gift. It had been advertised in our parish as a Deanery event, and I had been lucky enough to snaffle a ticket before our parish allocation sold out.

I very nearly didn't go: I'd had a long day at school, had missed lunch, was tired and aching (damp weather does this to me) and I was contemplating a meal out instead, or possibly a takeaway, but in the end, curiosity got the better of me.

I'm very pleased that I changed my mind: the acting was superb (and the chap playing Kolbe was uncannily like him to look at) and I hardly noticed the time whizz by. The play was in two acts (I think... I'm not really into the terminology) with the first act concentrating on a brief "biography" of Kolbe and the events leading to his martyrdom. There were one or two scenes with the chap who was saved by Kolbe's heroic act: anyone unfamiliar with the story would have found the changes from one time period to another rather confusing: in my tired and befuddled state I took a while to cotton on, but soon got the hang of it. I am rather hampered by my preference for stories to progress in a linear fashion!

The end of the first act is Kolbe's death... several of the audience hadn't realised there would be an interval, and so when refreshments were announced, we were rather surprised at the abrupt "ending." The second act concentrated on Franciszek Gajowniczek, the person saved by Kolbe, and his reaction to being saved.


This was one of the most moving parts in a very moving play. Quite apart from the amazing story, the bit that brought tears to my eyes was the scene between a journalist and Franciszek. She was very hostile, and asked, in a sarcastic manner, what he'd done with his life since being saved by Kolbe. On finding out that he'd been a civil servant in the local town hall for twenty years ("err, twenty-one years" corrected Franciszek) the journalist asked why he had been saved by Kolbe, when Kolbe was such a great man, with such a fine intellect, and with so many achievements to his name, and all Franciszek had done with his life was to "push a pen around!"

"Why you? What's special about you? He could have saved anybody..."

"That's precisely the point," Franciszek answered: "He could have saved anybody. He chose to save a nobody..."

I spoke to the person in charge of sound and lighting at the interval, and asked for permission to use the pictures on my blog: I also asked if there was a website. The Ten Ten Theatre visits schools and community centres, and they seem to do a couple of pro-life/pro-chastity plays. They have a website, but there doesn't appear to be anything up on it yet... I was also told to check out Ten Ten Productions (but that's similarly afflicted.) I did manage to find a leaflet that gave an email address: office@tententheatre.co.uk

Anyway, the blurb on the back of the leaflet explained that:

"ten ten theatre exists to advance the social, moral, spiritual and cultural education of children, young people, young offenders, prisoners, teachers and the general public through drama and the performing arts.

"We visit schools and community venues throughout the UK and are a non-profit-making company."

I would heartily recommend seeing anything this group put on!

UPDATE: Whatever was wrong with the links appears to have been ironed out, and both of them are now active. Information on Kolbe's Gift can be seen via the Ten Ten Productions link above, or directly from HERE.

New Pro-Life Site

I've just heard that there's a new website to check out: Life. It looks pretty snazzy (though to be honest I haven't had a chance to look at it in any detail, but it was recommended by a friend who's pretty hot when it comes to websites...)

I'll also plug a few more pro-life sites...

First and foremost (it's my first port-of-call for all things pro-life in the UK) is the SPUC website. They also send out email alerts to make sure that you know what horror story is happening next... (the Mental Capacity Act comes into force today: what a disaster!)

Then there is LifeSite (which is another roundup - but a little more transatlantic in its focus)

The Sisters of the Gospel of Life have their blog, of course, but it is sometimes a little slow in being updated (as they're rather busy, I should imagine...)

I used to have a link for the Good Counsel Network, but I checked it, and it appeared to have been taken over for advertising... if anyone knows where their link has disappeared to, I'd be very grateful if you could let me know in the com-box...

Ok, I'm rather tired. That's the lot for Monday! Back again tomorrow, after I've had a chance to go to a play about St. Maximilian Kolbe...

Awards, Awards...!

Heheheheh... I've been awarded a "Mathetes Award" (ha, not just a nomination, an actual, bona fide, real goodness-to-Betsy award!)

No, I didn't know what a Mathete was... I was rather dubious at first, as it sounds altogether too energetic, so not at all my kind of thing. However, my award came from White Stone Name Seeker (to be fair, she got it in first) and from the Catholic Warrior...

Anyway, what is a Mathete when it's at home?

It seems to be a brand new award being passed out. It is the Mathetes Award, created by Dan King of Management by God to recognize those who take to heart the Great Commission and further God’s Kingdom by creating more disciples for Him. According to Dan, mathetes is the Greek word for "disciple".

The rules for the award, as posted by its creator, are as follows: Winners of this award must pick five other "disciples" to pass it on to. As you pass it on, you are asked to mention and provide links for (1)the post Dan King of Management by God as the originator of the award, (2) the person that awarded it to you, and then (3) name and sites of the five that you believe are fulfilling the role of a disciple of Christ.

Ok, not easy, as nearly everyone I know seems to have been "done"... apologies if you get double awards as a result!

1. Newhousenewjob (because she's been doing the disciples stuff for aaaages, in person as well as on blog!)
2. Leutgeb (simply because she is determined to focus on the positive)
3. Fr. Owl of the Remove (he's feeling insecure!)
4. Orthfully Catholic (seminarians definitely fulfil that role, Orthfully does it even more so!!)
5. My favourite Roman Neanderthal because he's cute.

It was a really difficult choice... I just went through the blogroll and checked quickly to see if they'd been "done" already...
Enjoy, and spread it around a bit!!

Feast Of The Archangels

I love today's feastday: there is something very "in-your-face" about it...

Most people will accept the idea of saints (even if they don't agree that their intercession is necessary or helpful) because it seems pretty straightforward to acknowledge that there have been some very holy people over the centuries.

However, angels are a different matter. You can't see angels (in the normal run of events, that is) and so can't prove that they actually exist. Some people get quite twitchy if you mention that you believe in angels: you run the risk of being labelled as a bit soft in the head. After all, aren't angels make-believe, like fairies and elves and pixies... No-one really believes in angels nowadays, do they?

Well, you need to decide whether you believe the Bible. They are mentioned quite a lot... and not just in the early Books of the Old Testament where you might be able to persuade yourself that they're only a representation of some human trait or characteristic or something (that's how I used to "explain" difficult Bible stuff to myself.)

They're awesome creatures... about as unlike popular depictions of fairies and pixies as you can get, and by all accounts they don't resemble those cute little cherubs you see on Christmas cards. As it so happens, the Biblical description of the cherubim is rather hair-raising... and of course, whenever the angels and archangels appear, they seem to tell all and sundry not to be afraid... which rather suggests that their general appearance causes some concern... Those great hulking shepherds in the fields surrounding Bethlehem wouldn't be noted for their timidity, for example... but the appearance of angels had them quaking in their boots.

Roman Miscellany has an excellent post on angels, which you can read HERE (I'd quite forgotten that the Feast used to be called "Michaelmas" !) and Fr. Zuhlsdorf has a close-up of an angel (just an artistic representation, so not at all frightening) embroidered on the beautiful vestments he wore for the Mass he celebrated earlier.

St. Michael, St. Gabriel & St. Raphael, pray for us.

Questions, Questions...

Oh boy... I thought the memes and quizzes had died out. How wrong can you be? This was inflicted upon me by Mark of Rise and Pray fame... I like him and his blog, so I shall be good and answer it!

Easy rules: just post the quiz on your blog and answer the questions, then pass it on to five other bloggers, and link to them in your post. Be sure to link back to the one who sent it to you.

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?

Both. I love the Mass. If it's celebrated with dignity and reverence, then that's fine by me. I prefer Mass to be ad orientem whether it is the extraordinary or the ordinary form. And yes, I know that the extraordinary form is always celebrated ad orientem... I have come to a deeper appreciation of the freedom of worship associated with the extraordinary form Low Mass.

I will, however, move heaven and earth to avoid what I suspect will be an overly "chatty" Mass where the priest "engages" with "his" congregation ("audience")... I similarly avoid teeth-achingly awful "modern" hymns and liturgical dance.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?

The extraordinary form of Mass is regularly available at my own parish. It takes me 10-15 minutes to drive (10 mins on Sunday, 15 mins if I travel in the rush hour.)

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?

Roman (ie. faithful to the Pope!)

4. Are you a comment junkie?

Ummm... no, I don't think so... I only comment if I have something to say, or I want to show support or encourage another blogger.

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?

Occasionally - if I asked a question (assuming I remember where I made the comment!!) But not on a regular basis.

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?

No. I don't do anonymous. If I feel it's important enough to say, then I put my name to it.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?

I'm on nearly every blogroll I'm interested in... the exception is Fr Zuhlsdorf's... I'd love to be on his blogroll. However, I'm not a big enough camembert on the blogging cheeseboard, so there's little chance of that happening!

8. Which blog is the first one you check?

The Hermeneutic of Continuity.

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?

Ooooh, yes, shedloads... Fr. Tim Finigan, Fr. Ray Blake, Fr. John Boyle, Fr. Séan Finnegan, Fr. Nicholas Schofield, Fr. Zuhlsdorf, the Dúnadan, Fr. Michael Clifton (only in passing), Londiniensis (who only comments, but under his own profile, and often enough to count as a blogger), Newhousenewjob, Leutgeb, Joanna Bogle, the Sisters of the Gospel of Life, Richard Marsden, Orthfully Catholic, Barbara and George (two more regular "comment-only" bloggers) and probably quite a few more (who will, no doubt, hasten to point this out in the combox!)

10. What are you reading?

At the moment, nothing... this is rare. It will be sorted out soon... once I can locate my pile of un-read books under the piles of exercise books and worksheets which have suddenly swamped my sitting room...

Bonus Question! Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II?

Ummm... is that another blog?

Ok, I challenge Leutgeb at Bara Brith, Newhousenewjobnewfiancé at Just Doing My Best, Fr. Ray at St. Mary Magdalen, Fr. Justin at Nova et Vetera and Faccio La Mamma at Antagonistic Pots and Pans (you may detect a decidedly British theme this time round... fear not, I shall be "sharing" more irritating tidbits with my transatlantic blogging pals all too soon!)

Just A Thought...

Heheheheh...

Fr. Z's Run-Off Poll...

Forget anything you might read about a possible snap election in the UK, or the nominations for the parties in the USA... the really important vote is the one being held over at Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog: What Does The Prayer Really Say?

It is to decide what to call the Mass, formerly referred to as the Traditional Rite, the Tridentine Rite, the Classical Rite, or the Old Latin Mass, or a heap of other soubriquets...

Since Summorum Pontificum has made it clear that there is only ONE Latin Rite, though there are two different forms, it becomes rather crucial to know how to refer to the Mass celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII...

Fr. Z held a preliminary poll (which counted as the Primaries) and now there is a run-off between the top three: the Extraordinary form/use, the Traditional Latin Mass or TLM or, finally, the Tridentine Mass. Fr Z asked all bloggers to link to the poll, to get a better feel for public opinion... It is likely that all my readers will already have read Fr Z (and voted), but just in case (and to show willing) you can access the poll HERE.

When Will The Baby-Boomers Realise It's Over??

I saw this over at Fr. Ray's excellent and informative blog. It is enough to make anyone with an ounce of common sense cry.

It is not enough to be a Roman Catholic priest in England and Wales. Catholic obviously doesn't mean universal... see what happens when you ditch Latin? Anyway, the Bishops of England and Wales see the need to run induction courses for foreign priests who wish to celebrate Mass and do other stuff like that while they're over here.

"The three week induction programme, endorsed and recommended by the bishops of England and Wales, aims to provide the priests with practical advice and information that will enable them to integrate into UK life and make effective use of their pastoral skills in an alien culture.

"Students will look at issues affecting the Church in England and Wales in the third millennium – power, authority, the role of women, lay/diaconal ministry, ecumenism and much more. This is important preparation for future pastoral work and liturgical celebrations."

Sorry, but that is just sooooooo 1960s. Like watching one's dad trying to dance and look trendy. Cringe-making!

Interesting...

I see from Fr. Justin at Nova et Vetera that the first ever Catholic Church in Qatar is to be built, dedicated to our Lady of the Rosary. The Emir Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani contributed the land, having been involved in talks with the Holy See over many years.

A common response, when the building of a mosque is mooted, is "Oh yes, they want a mosque, but will they let us build churches over there?"

In many Islamic countries the answer would be "No," so the news from Qatar is encouraging. And I do not believe that the dedication of the church to Our Lady of the Rosary is a coincidence...

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder...

...but then again, out of sight, out of mind! I haven't blogged as regularly as usual over the past week: a conjunction of ill-health (yeurchhhh!) and an up-turn in levels of schoolwork for the new job (*sigh*) have conspired to keep me away from my beloved computer. The computers at school block the blogs... I can read bits of them (but any graphics or videos are barred) but I can't comment, and I can't post. In addition, the network seems to go down at about 4:45pm, so even if I'm working late, I don't really have time to read the blogs...

...And, by the time I get home, I haven't got much time left before bedtime in which to blog: I can just about keep an eye on the comments which come through for moderation, and read a few of my favourite blogs. Actually writing something requires a little more time, energy and inspiration. As the job settles into a routine I should find juggling my time a little easier, but right now things are hectic.

I'm really enjoying my new job. The staff and students are friendly, though my memory for faces means that half the time I'm wondering who exactly greeted me in the corridor: I wouldn't mind, but they seem to know all about me... Even more embarassingly, I was greeted this evening by a pupil who introduced me to his mother... and I had to admit that I didn't know his name... or what year he was in... (although I correctly identified the class once he'd told me the year.) Luckily his mother seemed happy enough with my apologetic explanation!

I'm sure that you will be delighted to hear that I have finally (after three and a half weeks) worked out exactly where the Staffroom is in relation to the Science Faculty Office. I also know where the main photocopy room is, and the small photocopy room. And I know where the English Corridor is, because I do a break duty there each week. I am vaguely aware of the existence of a whole school attached somehow to the Science Faculty, but beyond that, I would require a map. And a compass.

Is It Worth It?

Heheheheh... I saw this little beauty over at Just Doing My Best, and had to have a go...

My blog is worth $39,517.80.
How much is your blog worth?

I have absolutely no idea what it's based upon...

And Here It Begins...

The Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority have begun to consider research proposals for work on human-animal hybrid embryos. Chris Hack alerted the Post-Faith Conference Pro-Life Support Group on Facebook to the fact that the HFEA are putting up the details of the research applications in layman's terms, and they are asking for comments, either by post or email.

I am not sure if adverse comments will succeed in stopping any of the proposed research getting its licence, but we cannot stay quiet in the face of such ghastly experiments.

To say that there is less than 1% of animal DNA present in the hybrid rather begs the question: why allow experimentation on human embryos? Added to which, the human genome is only 2% different from that of the chimpanzee.

At the moment there are only two applications. The first proposal, from the University of Nottingham, involves transfering human DNA into rabbit eggs. That research is based on work carried out already in China. The idea is that by cloning these cells to get stem cell lines, the ethical concerns associated with the creation of embryos in order to obtain stem cells will be eliminated. The scientists totally fail to grasp the idea that creation of human-animal hybrids is morally repugnant to begin with!

The second proposal is from King's College, London. This time the scientists want to combine DNA from humans with genetic neurodegenerative disorders (such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases) with the eggs from cattle and sheep, in order to produce "faulty" stem cells which can be studied in more detail.

The next step for the second proposal, logically, would be to inject these faulty stem cells into whole animals, because petri dishes cannot demonstrate memory loss or muscle wasting. This is not scare-mongering: I was at the Institute of Psychiatry when they were pioneering work on foetal tissue transplantation. I've taken part in this work. It will not stop here.

(Oh, and before you try the "if you had a seriously ill relative you'd take a different view..." line of attack, I would just like to point out that one of my grandmothers had Parkinson's disease, and one of my Grandfathers has Alzheimer's. And I still don't think it's morally acceptable to experiment on human embryos.)

And don't say that the embryos will not be allowed to go beyond 14 days. Scientists always push the envelope...

This is only the start.

You can email the HFEA at: regulationofresearch@hfea.gov.uk

or write to them by snail mail at:
The Regulation Department (Research),
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority,
21 Bloomsbury Street,
London WC1B 3HF

There is an excellent document by the Linacre Centre which summarises why such research is morally repugnant. If you need help on how to phrase your letter to the HFEA, you could use a few points from this summary, but please don't just cut-and-paste.

The closing date is 1st November 2007.
All holy angels and saints of God, pray for the unborn, pray for us.

Blogging From The Kitchen Stove...

I've noticed through a shameless plug in my combox that Faccio La Mamma has started her very own blog, Antagonistic Pots and Pans. I am happy to make the plug more prominent because she gave some very good advice on remaining in a drug-induced haze for the duration of my cold...

La Mamma is from the UK, and was in accountancy (doing something or other... she was keen to correct me and say that she was not an accountant.) She is now the mother of twins. It will be interesting to see how her blog develops (how has she got time with two new twins to cope with????) - pop over and say hallo!

Lots of people suggested various remedies: people on the blogosphere have come to know me well - most of the suggestions involved alcohol. I think my favourite had to be the one from Londiniensis:

"Try a good measure of whisky in hot water with a teaspoon of honey and a dash of lemon juice, plus a soupçon of ground nutmeg and/or cinnamon. Works every time. Alternatively, ignore the water, honey, lemon juice, nutmeg and cinnamon."

Just In Case You Missed Them...

I'm feeling really dreadful. Not bad enough to be off school (setting cover work is such a hassle!) but bad enough for the technicians to tell me they've seen better-looking corpses (I refrain from telling them that so have I: St. Bernadette knocks spots off me even when I'm feeling great!)

So you're not going to get much in the way of blogging from me today. I am encouraged by the number of bloggers who, solicitous for my wellbeing, have encouraged me to take to both drink and drugs. Believe me, I am following this advice faithfully...

In the meantime, there is this very amusing piece from the Curt Jester about a new GPS system: Grace Positioning System, that is... designed to prevent backsliding and to keep you in the narrow way, I think I really could do with one of these gizmos.

Sister Roseann has hit the mainstream news media: she is interviewed by the Financial Times no less. The author, Rob Blackhurst, also visited the Friars of the Renewal, and reported on the general state of monastic and conventual life. And there was I thinking that the FT just covered money matters. Well, whaddya know...

Ok, I'm off to drown my sorrows (or at least to attempt to drown the bugs!) - more tomorrow!

The Dreaded Lurgy...

I have fallen foul of that beastly bug which so torments teachers... yes, I have contracted the dreaded lurgy! Symptoms include a red, runny nose (which feels ten times its normal size and is tender to boot), streaming eyes, an aching head, a running temperature (but feeling cold at intervals), a gravelly sensation in the throat, and, most disastrous of all, a loss of power in the vocal cords...

It is a well-documented fact that children are highly effective little incubators for just about any micro-organism you care to mention. I remember being warned at King's College (where I was doing my teacher training) that it takes approximately two years to set up immunity to a new school population...

I am feeling very, very sorry for myself!

Celebrating...

This weekend (24th Sunday in Ordinary Time) is the anniversary of my return to the fold. It has been fifteen years (and feels like yesterday!) As Fr. Z remarked, "I guess you're pretty much settled back now?" and I was able to confirm, with something approaching glee, that the Church hadn't managed to get rid of me yet...

I do not know why I was privileged to experience my conversion: it was a bolt from the blue which completely overwhelmed me. Many souls remain out in the wilderness, seeking happiness in their lives, not realising that, made to be with God for all eternity, we are not truly happy until we lose ourselves... and find Him.

I am thankful that I had the chance to make like the prodigal, and find my way back home.
Deo gratias.

(And yes, it was Year C when I returned... with the Gospel about angels rejoicing over each and every repentant sinner. I guess they had quite a party fifteen years ago...)

The Problem With Blogger...

...has reminded me of this little gem which did the rounds by email for a few years.

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze furst plas.

Wirklich sonderbar...

Has anyone else noticed that Blogger seems to be going all Euro on us?... Half of the instructions seem to have been put up in German...

Lunch...

Yet another exclusive... but only because Fr. Z and Fr. Tim are having technical difficulties... Anyway, I got to meet Fr. Z for lunch: even more entertaining in person than on his excellent blog. I hadn't realised that he'd read my blog, but he pointed out that I had mis-quoted his sermon in a previous post... I'd better put that right: I don't want to end up having my blog "fisked" !!