Wearing the cross or bearing the cross?

Actually, I am not a great fan of women, or men for that matter, wearing a cross as an item of jewellery.
But I would fight tooth and nail for all to have the right to choose whether to wear a cross or crucifix.

                                 You may have the T Shirt but do
                                          you have the Faith?

There is a danger that in all of this kerfuffle, we lose sight of what is at the core of our Faith; it is not publicly professing our faith by items of dress or adornment that is important, what we should be concerned about is how we give witness to the fact that we are Catholic by our actions, words and deeds.

Do we publicly make the prayer of Grace before meals? Abstain from meat on Fridays? Live the Catholic Faith in the workplace?

Those are some of the more public actions we can take that, arguably, will make more of an impact on our friends and colleagues than wearing a cross chain will do.

More privately, and for the sake of Our Lord, we may make more discreet actions and sacrifices.

Who will know? Who will be influenced by these private deeds?

Well, of course, Almighty God will and that is the most important factor of all.

Yesterday, while on a busy 3 day visit to London I found myself within walking distance of Tyburn and the convent chapel where an enclosed order of Benedictine nuns pray for 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year before the Blessed Sacrament.

Outside the frantic world of commerce and social activity scrabbles on in ignorance of what is taking place in that convent chapel.

Few are aware of the momentous activity within - but it is made even more momentous by its anonymity.

Tomatoes banned from the workplace?

Recently, Fr Tim Finigan posted on an extremist Muslim move to ban the sale of tomatoes on the grounds that, if cut crossways, they reveal the shape of a cross.

Extreme you say?

Well, what is extreme is the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that the wearing of a brooch, necklace or badge featuring a cross in a place of employment is not allowed.

So, Sikhs may wear their turbans, Muslim women their headwear but the poor old Christians are banned from any public display of their faith.

But what happens to the atheist employee who wears a brooch that has a cross motif woven into it?

Or the garage mechanic who has a 'love' cross tattooed on his knuckles?

Or, the French emigre with a cross of Loraine stitched onto his satchel?

It seems to me, that in Cameron's Marxist Britain, all we have to do is state that the crucifix around our neck or on our lapel is 'not a religious statement' - that would render us in compliance with EU legislation.

The only trouble is, it places us in the shoes of St Peter in our denial of Christ and we can't go down that route.

My solution, for what it is worth, is that we should all adopt a slice of tomato as a badge of our Faith - it may be a little messy but at least it leaves our souls pure.