Yippee!

I've just finished teaching. Normally I have another lesson, but that particular class is on work experience this week, so I finish slightly earlier. And somehow or other I haven't got any meetings scheduled after lunch....

...so effectively, I'm on my half term holidays...

Yipeeeeee!

The down side (and there's always a down side) is that I have lots and lots of marking to do, a scheme of work to create and next half term's lessons to plan. So I guess the week-long trip to the Caribbean is off !!

Courses

I was right... the course was somewhere near Euston. Not very near, but close. Same city...

;-)

It was actually very good, and well worth the hassle of setting cover work for the day. It always amazes me as to the lengths the Exam Boards will go to to get students through the exams (yes, you read that right... the Boards actually want students to pass!)

For example, the textbook endorsed by the Exam Board has lots of mistakes in it - and I don't mean typos or grammar. Things like describing how the prisoner in Plato's analogy of the Cave escapes and makes his way outside... in fact, he is forcibly dragged out, and this rather changes the emphasis of the analogy! The Chief Examiners very helpfully pointed out that, since the Board had endorsed the book, the students could not be marked down for reproducing the errors.

...Unfortunately I don't think a covering note from me explaining that I'm responsible for any errors the students might make so can they please not mark the students down will cut any ice with the Board...

H'Euston, We Could Have a Problem...

I pride myself at being reasonably well-organised (at work, anyway!) I try to file away all important documents as quickly as possible (I like a clear desk) so that I can retrieve them quickly and easily when needed.

For example, tomorrow I am booked to attend an exam board course to hear the examiners' comments about students' performance on the AS and A Level Theology exams this summer. These courses can vary greatly in how interesting or useful they are, but the ones run by the Exam Boards themselves are generally good.

I received confirmation of my place on the course about three weeks ago, read the venue details briefly (this particular Exam Board saves time and effort by sending a whole booklet of their most commonly used London venues, and indicating the relevant one in the confirmation letter) and promptly filed the documents away.

I had quite a busy day today: lessons in the morning, a lunchtime meeting, a line management meeting with one of my colleagues, a strategy meeting to discuss Psychology exam coursework requirements with another colleague, and a twilight INSET on interactive whiteboards. I told myself firmly that the last thing I should do was forget to retrieve my confirmation letter and venue booklet...

...and sure enough, just before leaving, the last thing I did... was to forget to retrieve my confirmation letter and venue booklet...

Aaaaarghhhhh!

I have absolutely no idea where I am supposed to be going tomorrow morning! I seem to recall that it is somewhere in the vicinity of Euston (hence the awful pun in the post heading... sorry, couldn't resist!)

So much for my sneaky plan to have an extra hour in bed... I shall have to go and get the letter in the morning!

*sigh*

Online Humour

Here's an example of the sort of thing I would get sent by email and then pass on to all my friends... basically now they've got to come and get it!

It's a giggle... the LINK is here if you want to find out more! But just a snippet as a taster:

You may be a truly modern Catholic if you think that...

...Fulton Sheen is a kind of pantyhose

...the "three-strikes-and-you're-out rule" concerns divorce

...the baptismal font is a new typeface in Microsoft Word

...an icon is something on your computer screen

Enjoy! H/T to Ironic Catholic

And Another Blog Added to the Roll

I have tried to update my blogroll (a little) to reflect which blogs I check most frequently (saves me having to scroll down too far)... it's not necessarily an indication of how much I like them: I have a very old computer, and blogs with too many frames, videos or pictures just take too long to load!

However, I noticed a few important omissions (Joee Blogs being one) and while investigating, I discovered a blog from Dad With Noisy Kids...

He has a theory, according to one post, that there is a vast right-wing/drumstick/thigh Catholic conspiracy to take over the world... and some of his evidence is convincing! Check it out HERE.

Rosary Crusade Update

As I suspected, Father Tim of the Hermeneutic of Continuity has posted his sermon from yesterday's fantastic Rosary Crusade of Reparation, which he delivered at the London Oratory. Just in case there is anyone who is reading my blog who hasn't read his already (unlikely, I know), then you can read the full text of the sermon HERE.

I found his use of the phrase "my dear people" very moving: it quite brought a lump to my throat. We still address our priests as "Father" but we don't often hear the pastoral concern reciprocated quite so clearly. Terms of address like "my child", "my son", "my daughter" or "my people" are found often in the sermons of such great preachers as St. John Vianney and St Francis de Sales. Maybe we need to bring them back to remind us of our priests' pastoral role.

Homily Dedication

A while back I did a post (linked HERE if you're interested) on our responsibility to avoid occasions of sin as well as the sins themselves. In (respectfully) suggesting that we needed to hear more sermons on this subject I mentioned St Teresa of Avila and St Catherine of Siena who were my role models in that they also (respectfully) told a few clerics to pull their socks up...

While not needing to challenge my favourite blogging clerics in quite the same way, I think it's helpful to indicate that not all Catholic laywomen are mad feminists who don't want to hear anything about Humanae vitae, abortion, reserving the priesthood to men, etc. etc. because our sensibilities might be upset. Too often, the only female voice heard in the Church (and certainly the only one listened to by the English hierarchy) is that of the all-too-vocal minority who, in my humble opinion, can hardly be classed as Catholic anyway because of their dissent from Church doctrine...

...but I digress (I'm beginning to feel a rantette coming on, and I don't want to burst my nice cosy Sunday morning bubble)

Anyway, Fr Stephanos, one of the four priests I challenged has actually done a short homily on St Teresa of Avila and dedicated it to me, which was sweet! You can read it HERE.

...I've never had a homily dedicated to me before!!

Out of the Mouths of Babes....

I heard an absolute classic at the SPUC lunch in our parish today. Trust me, it actually happened - but it deserves to go down in history as one of those apocryphal tales that end up doing the rounds via email.

The young daughter of one of my friends approached our table with a book of raffle tickets. She'd already snaffled me, so she decided to try and sell a few more to her father.

"Daddy, do you want to buy a raffle ticket?"
"No thanks, I'm ok."
"Oh, okay... Can I buy a raffle ticket?"
"Well, yes, if you want to."
"Oh good... Daddy, can I have some money please?"

It was priceless!

Rosary Crusade of Reparation

I was in two minds as to whether I'd make the effort to go along to this... I've been feeling under the weather this past week, and I knew that my ankle wasn't going to be able to hold up for the actual walk (not unless I wanted to be off work for a week!!) And another factor to consider was that we had our SPUC parish lunch today as well.

I decided to compromise... I went to the lunch first, but left before the talk started (I shared a table with the speaker - a brother from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal: these chaps are "awesome" - and I was therefore able to explain my early departure!) and then I drove down to the Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge, London. I'd originally intended to go by tube from North Greenwich, but heard that there were engineering works... I didn't actually need much of an excuse to drive - I find it very relaxing.


The journey took an hour and a quarter (most of the last 20 minutes was searching for an available parking space, so going round and round some side roads) and then I went in to the Oratory. Believe it or not, it's the first time I've actually been inside the church. I've been to a few events held in the rooms next door: just never made it to the church.

My first reaction was "WOW"!! Let's just say that there is little room for doubt that this place is a Catholic church... if it wasn't covered in marble, it was painted with cherubs or religious scenes. Michelangelo eat your heart out. And statues everywhere.

The Oratory is deceptively big: it doesn't take up much room on the Brompton Road, but inside it just seems to go on and on. Wonderful place.

I arrived well before 3pm and after having greeted an old friend, Lizzie and promised to catch up with her at the end (she's been studying with the Community of St John somewhere in France for the past few years) I settled down to pray a rosary and to await the arrival of the procession.

We knew that the procession had arrived because of the flashing blue lights of the police motorcycles which had accompanied the procession from Westminster Cathedral (in Victoria - yes, London is a confusing place!) and the cheer which went up to thank the police escort. Then hundreds of people started pouring in to the church. In a most un-Catholic manner loads of people made their way to the front. After a minute or two the reason became obvious: the church was full. Many people were standing, some sat on the bases of the marble pillars, and the side chapels all had their seats fully occupied. I'm not good at numbers, but there must have been close on two thousand people present.

Then the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was brought in by the Catholic Police Guild - this had led the procession through the London streets. We sang Marian hymns with gusto, and recited prayers, and there was a sermon given by Fr Tim from the Hermeneutic of Continuity. Hopefully he will post the full text, because it was a real corker.

I think one of the most moving parts of the experience was when the statue of Our Lady was carried to the chapel of St Mary Magdalene: we sang "The thirteenth of May at the Cova d'Iria" and apparently there is a tradition in Fatima of waving goodbye to the statue with a white hankie. A few people were prepared, but the rest of us waved our white prayer sheets during the "Ave Maria" chorus. Hundreds and hundreds of white prayer sheets all being waved as the statue was carried away. Another of those "wow!" moments to treasure.

Outside I couldn't find Lizzie, but bumped into Dan Cooper (a stalwart of the Faith Movement from when it started up in the John Fisher School, Purley), and then Jamie Bogle (husband of Joanna who has such a lovely blog - Auntie Joanna Writes) and finally bumped into Joanna herself and her mother Ursula.

It was especially heartening to see the number of mantillas in evidence! And finally, it was wonderful to see so many young people and young families give up their Saturday to go on a procession through the streets of London in reparation for sin and blasphemy. I'm with the Holy Father on this one: the Church is alive, the Church is young...!

Another Blog Discovered

I may find myself with a blogroll as long as my arm, but I'm determined to expand my blogging horizons in a vain attempt to get to post some news while it still is news.

...I have also decided that I'm not going to tell Fr Tim about any more interesting little snippets over a pint in the Parish Club because he is shameless about going straight up to his computer to put the posts on, and I have to drive home first. Hmmn. I wonder if he'll go for a Parish Internet Cafe Club....

But anyway, I found Diane's blog over at Te Deum Laudamus (a pretty neat name for a blog!)

Being Trad in the Modern World

I was interested to come across the following advice for how to be a traditional Catholic in a Novus Ordo world. As I said in my last post, I'm not actually anti-Novus Ordo myself, but quite a lot of what I read in this article struck home: things like observing the Friday abstinence rule (which although no longer compulsory, hasn't been outlawed), observing an extended fast before Communion, or (my favourite, natch!) women wearing veils in church...

...plenty of food for thought, especially with the season of Advent fast approaching.

Mantilla-tip to Ma Beck of the WardWideWeb for this one.

Classical Rite Latin Mass

An interesting little snippet came my way via the blogosphere: a post circulating the latest rumours about the Classical Rite Mass on Credo.

I shall nail my own colours to the mast here. I like the New Rite Mass (yes, I fully expect to be blasted to smithereens on the spot for daring to utter such views) but in true "sitting-on-the-fence" mode I will add that I only like it when it is celebrated with reverence and decorum, and according to the rubrics.

I do not like the Novus Ordo Mass when the priest decides to play fast and loose with the words of the Mass, or tries to make me feel included by becoming politically correct ("sisters and brothers" is clumsy and downright patronising), or, under the guise of not being too caught up in details, cuts corners in the choice of sacred vessels, vestments and altar linens, etc. etc.

Under these circumstances, I am generally to be found gritting my teeth, scowling, and remaining in my seat only because, once the words of consecration are uttered, my Lord and God is present on the altar. And if I am in a state of grace then no crummy liturgical abuser is going to get in the way of me receiving Holy Communion (I un-grit my teeth at that point!)

I had better also make clear that my own Parish Priest does not muck about with the liturgy. It would be interesting to do a time-and-motion study to gauge whether my suspicions about his gradual introduction of eastward-facing Mass are true (I think he's on about a 5mm turn each week) but other than that he's fine...

;-)

Lately (the past couple of years) I have been exposed occasionally to the Classical Rite Latin Mass. The difference literally took my breath away: I found myself afraid to breathe at the Consecration and at the elevation of the Host in case I disturbed the solemnity of the moments.

I don't speak (or read) Latin, although I occasionally follow the words of the Mass in a Missal with the English translation next to the Latin. But usually I just sit quietly and pray (sometimes the Rosary, sometimes from a prayer book and sometimes just silently in my own words). I can tell pretty easily what part of the Mass has been reached. I never feel as if I'm being excluded, or am not praying. And because of the silence and the ageless symbolism of the gestures I feel the presence of the angels and saints, and I feel privileged to be there, united with the whole Church throughout time...

I now understand my father's horror when, coming back to the Church after a long absence, he returned home one Sunday declaring that it had all turned "Protestant". I thought he was over-reacting to the use of the vernacular, never imagining in my wildest nightmares that the glories of the liturgy which had been celebrated, fought for and died for over the centuries could possibly just be discarded on a whim.

I'm not calling for the Novus Ordo Mass to be abolished (though it needs some serious tightening up to avoid the abuses which have crept in) but there has to be room for the Classical Rite. After all, we are the Catholic Church.

How Nerdy Are You?

I had a few spare minutes (a rare occurrance) and, mindful that I am under strict orders to post at least once a day, I thought I'd have a go at this little test.

I always suspected that I was slightly nerdy (very nerdy for a woman) because of my early interest in computers (I used to devise quizes in BASIC and teach First Years computer programming when I was a Sixth Form student... and I remember the giant leap forward when Sinclair Spectrums first came out!!)

Well, here is definitive proof: I suspect my score would have been higher if there had been a question about what sex I was...



Mantilla-tip to Fr Tim for this one!

Best of St Blog's UK

Oooh, goody! I've been challenged by 1dayin7 from Blogging the Catholic Church in England and Wales to complete a meme.

He's starting up a new one: the best of St Blog's UK. I have to identify one of my favourite blog posts...

1. From my own blog. Not easy, when I'm such a witty and entertaining blogee (not!)

It's no good: I am just going to have to pick three. I quite enjoyed my first proper post (not counting the "welcome to my blog" post) which was a rant about inclusive language. This was closely linked to another rant on a favourite topic: heretical hymns. And my final choice will have to be my post on wearing the mantilla (so far this post has had the most comments.) Yes, I know I cheated. Be thankful I limited myself to just three...

2. From another UK Catholic Blogger.

Easy: it has to be Fr Tim over at the Hermeneutic of Continuity, but my favourite post is trickier - they're all so good (and no, he hasn't paid me to say that!) Ok, I'll plump for his post on manual work at Parkminster. It was a fascinating insight into the life of a Carthusian monk, and the shots of Fr Tim wielding an axe made me think twice about picking any arguments with him over which hymns I think we should have at Benediction...

3. My favourite UK Catholic Website.

This just has to be the one from the Faith Movement, a group I've been involved with for many years. They have all of their publications available for free download which is simply fantastic. All good, sound stuff, including Faith Magazine.


Right, now I tag Fr Tim, Fr John, Paulinus and Fr Nicholas to complete this meme...

Feeling Neglected

Ok, as I've spent some considerable time reading lots of my favourite blogs in order to catch up, I have decided that I am now going to start sulking...

...I haven't been tagged by anyone for a meme ! Definitely not fair...

:-)

Dressing with Dignity

One of my friends gave me a copy of this book by Colleen Hammond a couple of weeks back: my heart sank when I got it, as right now I don't really need any distractions. Reading material which is nothing to do with either work or my Divinity course right now gets classed as a distraction. So I stuck it in my bag and decided that I'd get round to reading it, out of politeness, but not quite yet.

As luck would have it, I found myself with rather a long wait in Outpatients (I'm finally having physiotherapy on my reluctant-to-heal ankle) and as I'd omitted to empty my handbag for a while, the book was still there. So I started to read...

I showed the book to my Parish Priest - he borrowed it (on the basis that he reads much faster than I do) and he said that he was going to do a post on it. Seeing my one chance at a decent post subject slipping from my grasp, I begged him not to post on it until I had done mine (and shamelessly distracted him with the loan of another book which was more up his street post-wise anyway!) And so, here goes...

Colleen Hammond writes very well - she is a former beauty queen and model who is keen to share her concerns about the way women are forced to dress by the fashion industry, and to encourage modesty in dress. Importantly, she points out that "modest" does not mean "frumpy" and she also talks about femininity and grace, which equally have nothing to do with frills and flounces!

When I started to read the book, I thought that there was little in it for me personally, though I was interested in her views on the driving forces behind the revolution in women's fashions. I thought that, over the years, my choice of clothing had become more modest, especially since my return to the Church.

However, some of what Colleen had written really touched a nerve: I used never to go out without wearing makeup, but in the past few years I had skimped a little on this, with the excuse that I was being vain in making such a fuss, but in fact I was getting too lazy to put the makeup on. Reading Colleen's book made me realise that putting on my makeup (a small amount, nothing excessive) was a sign of respect for myself and respect for other people - neglecting my appearance is not a sign of modesty. And I know that I feel (and act) differently when I have "put my face on."

Colleen's comments about dressing smartly also struck home. Dressing for comfort is fine inside the house, but outside needs a little more attention. And what we wear to Mass is also important: sure, the externals shouldn't concern us too much, but what I wear shouldn't be a distraction to either myself or to others... and dressing in a sloppy, careless manner can draw attention to yourself just as much as being overdressed.

Hmmn. I feel a shopping trip to Bluewater might be in order...

Time to Draw Breath

Well, here I am again, at last. I realised that I've been so busy lately that not only have I not been keeping my own blog up-to-date, but I haven't even been checking out any of my favourites...

The new job is partly to blame - it doesn't matter how well you know your stuff, a new job always takes up more time and effort as you get to grips with the way things are done (invariably it is different from any other place you've ever worked in!) So by the time I have finished lesson planning and preparation, marking, chasing up absences, attending meetings and so on, I haven't got much time for anything else... And then, I actually have to add teaching to that lot!

This week has been particularly fraught: it started badly as I was away for a Residential Weekend at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham. In my spare time I'm studying for a BA in Divinity, and the Residentials are part of the course requirement. It's probably not a good idea to start my studies again along with the new job, but I've started and stopped a few times now, as each year something seems to crop up. Last year it was breaking my ankle at the end of the summer holiday and then having a major car crash just before Christmas. So, working on the basis that something or other will always happen, I decided to take the bull by the horns and just get on with it...

The week then took a downward turn with the arrival of Section 48 Inspectors. This is the Catholic Church's version of OFSTED inspections. A bit like the Inquisition, only less friendly. Actually they weren't too bad. One of the Inspectors assured me that you have to do something really awful to fail. I had one lesson observed, and luckily for me my students didn't clam up and just sit there (this nightmare scenario did happen in one inspection I went through a while back: the class were pretty silent all the way through, instead of being their normal, boisterous selves. When challenged the next day they protested that they wanted to be "good" for me in front of the inspector!) Anyway, we passed. So now I can breathe again...

However, I notice that readership of my blog is right down: I am under strict orders to get my act together and post at least once a day - and when you get an instruction like that from a successful blogger like Fr Tim (of the Hermeneutic of Continuity), well, you just can't argue with that!

Materialism

Teaching is a very rewarding occupation. The students I get to interact with each day are intelligent and witty (well, usually) and it's a rare day when something they say doesn't make me smile.

But it is a real puzzle to find out just how many of them don't believe in heaven. Quite a few are into the concept of reincarnation, but there's no sense of a final destination... and of course, many are convinced materialists, absolutely sure that when we die that's the end of the matter (literally!)

It will be interesting to see how their ideas develop over the year...

Anniversary

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been rather too busy to do much in the way of blogging lately. I have even neglected reading other people's blogs, which means it's serious neglect - especially for an email and blog addict like myself!

So a retrospective post... I was delighted to have to update my profile slightly: last Saturday was the anniversary of my return to the Church, and I am absolutely astonished when I consider that it has been fourteen years. It feels like it happened yesterday.

I don't remember the date, but I noted that it was the Saturday evening Mass on the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. Having gone to Confession and been reconciled with God, I was so moved that I spent most of the Mass in (thankfully silent) tears. I do recall that the sermon seemed to be directed personally at me... obviously it wasn't, no priest would do such a thing to a penitent, but when I came to look back at the Mass readings, I realised that the Gospel was on the theme of repentance: There is more rejoicing in heaven over one repentent sinner...

...It's nice to think you've been the cause of a major party!!

Pastures New

I have been neglecting my blog over the past couple of weeks. I started a new job at the beginning of September and the first week was totally manic: confusion over subjects, timetables, rooms, resources, plus the added stress of trying to figure out a new building layout and new staff meant that I have had little time to think let alone blog. Things were only made worse when I saw what I would actually be teaching - Philosophy of Religion, General RE, Psychology and Biology, plus I'm a Personal Tutor (to about 20 students)...

The students finally started lessons on Monday morning, and I have begun to feel more settled as a result - put me in front of a class, and I can't help it: a captive audience brings out the exhibitionist in me! Even so, getting the hang of my timetable is going to be tricky.

So the increased workload as I get to grips with all the different exam board requirements will restrict the time I have available for blogging, and my posts will be fairly erratic for some time to come. Spare a prayer for me (and my unfortunate students) as we start the new academic year!