Tuesday, 18 October 2011

You can have an abortion but no ear studs!

The good old Welsh Assembly is poised to commit yet another classical piece of hypocrisy as it starts to move towards making it illegal for under 16s to have body piercings. But, of course, you may have the ultimate body piercing of a baby removed from your womb - no problem! no laws broken, except for Almighty God's and who these days cares about that?

So,  we in Great Britain (and especially Wales) can congratulate ourselves that we have modelled a society that makes it illegal to buy fireworks, cigarettes and alcohol below the age of 18 and to have body piercings below the age of 16 but...wait for it.......you can get an abortion under the age of 16!

I guess not many people will have watched the Welsh Assembly in action on television......but, should you switch on at such a moment let me assure you that it is more dynamic and inspirational to watch stones move.

Strep crep et frag....

You need to be an Ogden Nash fan to understand that heading, what I really mean is -  here are a few odd ramblings.....

Can an atheist get insurance against 'acts of God?'

There are 3 religious truths:

Jews do not recognise Jesus Christ as the Messiah
Protestants do not recognise the Pope as head of the Christian faith
Baptists and Methodists do not recognise each other in the off licence (liquor store)

...and for the queries file.....

When did the Protestant Church canonise a saint?

and....

Is the New Mass translation available in the Adamawa or Hiri Moto languages - Latin was just so inclusive wasn't it?

And.....recognise this language?...and the prayer?... first correct answer gets the LOTH Award for Obscure Knowledge...


Avvon d-bish-maiya, nith-qaddash shim-mukh.
Tih-teh mal-chootukh. Nih-weh çiw-yanukh:
ei-chana d'bish-maiya: ap b'ar-ah.
Haw lan lakh-ma d'soonqa-nan yoo-mana.
O'shwooq lan kho-bein:
ei-chana d'ap kh'nan shwiq-qan l'khaya-ween.
Oo'la te-ellan l'niss-yoona:
il-la paç-çan min beesha.
Mid-til de-di-lukh hai mal-choota
oo khai-la oo tush-bookh-ta
l'alam al-mein. Aa-meen.


Monday, 17 October 2011

If you were a car what sort of a car would you be?

Maybe a charismatic car?..............

Hmm.....not good at holding the road and
high on fuel consumption


Or a modernist car?.....
Styling stuck in the 1960s and poor acceleration.
Limited vision means that
it cannot see other cars on the road
(or the road itself)



How about an ultramontanist car?.......



Excellent vision and all round performance,
combines the best elements of engineering
with state of the art technology

There's a lot to be said for an SSPX model......


Pretty safe model that can shrug off
any scrapes with other road users
but now has a rarity value



You could try the Sedevacantist car....if you enjoy being cramped up....



Trouble is, no seats! Also lacking one wheel
as well as other vital components


But there is certainly something about a traditional model...

Guaranteed to get you to your destination
safely and comfortably. It combines
all that is traditional with cutting edge
precision and quality - extraordinary vehicle!

"This is the image of our Queen......"

Photo: Canterbury Tales

Desecration in Rome as anti Wall Street mobs ransack a Catholic Church, ripping a crucifix from the wall and smashing a statue of Our Lady.

Words are not needed here but prayer is.....and penance in reparation.
As reported in The Guardian, Daily Mail and on Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall.

Worth noting that the media described the demonstrators as 'peaceful'

The Fatima prayer of reparation:

O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners. Amen.


Sunday, 16 October 2011

A blog new to me and very powerful!

Catholic Lifeguard is a blog that packs a punch and it is the work of a young American (?) woman. It is well worth a visit and thanks to The Little Way for showing the way.

Here is Catholic Lifeguard's post on the Rosary:

15 Promises of Our Lady to Those Who Pray the Rosary
(from St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche)


1. Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest Graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant Mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men [and women] from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

6. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself [herself] to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the Grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.

9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Did Archbishop Nichols really write this letter?

Archdiocese of Westminster,
motto: "Could do better"

This passed me by at the time, Archbishop Vincent Nichols letter to secondary school students sent out on 5th September in both video and text format by Westminster's Director of Education, Paul Barber.

One might even suspect that the good Archbishop never ever wrote it and that it was written by a person of the Diocesan Education Department.

Why?
Because it is, in my view, a pretty dire piece of English purportedly expressing a Catholic message that is so wrapped up in gobbledeygook it might just as well have been a Tablet editorial.

It takes 12 paragraphs of gut wrenching copy before religion or God enters the picture at all. It is badly written and it does nothing to inspire or show the dynamism of the faith.
It talks inanely about self respect; it patronises and it condescends.
It is so bad that I am beginning to feel that it is me that has got it all wrong. My Catholic education (admittedly light years ago) majored on self humility, not self respect and I knew the basic principles of right and wrong when I was four years old.

If I was (let us wildly imagine) a 15 year old student that managed to read the Archbishop's message through to its conclusion (no mean feat by itself) I would feel less than enamoured of a faith that spoke to me in such terms; in fact, I would seriously consider that I might be on the wrong train!

Here is the letter.....I have commented sparingly in red, one could comment on almost every word.
 Note that it is addressed to 'Secondary School Children' not a good start.........

The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster’s message to Secondary School Children in (am I being picky or should there be a 'the' here?) Diocese of Westminster

5 September 2011

Today I want to speak to you, to each student in our secondary schools, as you begin this new school year.

I hope you have had a good summer. Some of you may have been on a family holiday. Some of you will have got your exam results. Some of you may have had a difficult time. It’s not always easy being a teenager, (ermm, secondary education begins at the age of 11) knowing what to do or who to follow. All of you will have known about the riots in our capital city. (Yes, your Grace, but what about them?)
Now you come back to the patterns of school and college life with the demands they make and the opportunities they carry.

Here you learn again about being part of a community that is far wider than your family. Central to what you learn is the need to show respect for each other and have some responsibility for each other if you are going to make the best of the opportunities given to you here.

These lessons of mutual respect and responsibility went out of the window for those few days of rioting and looting. I know that many of you were upset at what you saw.

Since then much has been said about young people today. But I am confident that you do understand the issues involved: that we owe respect to others in every circumstance; that theft is wrong; that we are easily tempted in the spur of a moment; that the actions we take always have  their consequences.(If I was a secondary school student I might suspect the Archbishop of painting me as part of the riot mob).

But it is a deeper truth that I want to stress, one that underlines all these other points. It is this: the respect we have for each other is rooted in the respect we have for ourselves. Your respect for yourself is so important. Self-respect is what helps to set the standards by which you live.

That might sound simple. But profound and true self-respect is difficult to achieve. So many influences can sway you this way and that making you feel confused about who you really are and what you really want.

Self-respect is something you grow into gradually, as you come to accept and appreciate the abilities and character you have been given. You learn of it through those who love you. You can lose sight of it when you feel dejected or misunderstood.

When you truly respect yourself then you set yourself high standards of behaviour especially in the company of your own age group. You are not afraid to be different. When you truly respect yourself you also have high achievement targets. You want to do your best and be your best.

As you get older, you come to understand for yourself the differences between right and wrong. You learn how to be generous with what is right and how to say ‘no’ to what is wrong. Gradually you seek and find true and lasting values, not just those promoted by fashion or celebrity.(celebrity what?) Gradually you acquire the habits and routines of good behaviour, so that you know how to behave even when no-one is watching.(I can't believe this twaddle - it is aimed at those in the age bracket 13 to 19 is it not?)

But what is the deepest foundation of this self-respect?

When you look at yourself in a mirror who do you really see? A child of your parents, certainly. A person liked by their friends. And a face anxious about its appearance. (You mean...it can't be...acne your Grace?) But you see someone more.(More?, should that be 'else'?)

What you see is someone expressed in this truth, on which you can rely: ‘Before you were born God called you. From your mother’s womb God pronounced your name.’ (Jer.49.1)

There it is. You are a child of God. That is who you see each morning in the mirror. It is God’s life that is within you, the supreme gift that you have received. When you understand this, everything changes. This is why you have such respect for yourself, in every aspect of your being, and in your future. This is also why you have respect for your family and for every other human being for they too have the same dignity as you, as sons and daughters of one heavenly Father. We share one life together.

This truth lies at the heart of the life of your school community. I trust that in this coming year you will continue to learn more about the greatness of human living and achievement, about your faith in God made visible in Jesus Christ who is your friend and companion, about your own abilities and true potential. I hope that as you grow and learn you will see the importance of giving good leadership to others around you and the importance of contributing to your local community to build a just and compassionate society. What you give, the service you offer, helps others around you, but it really helps you to grow in self-respect as well.

Thank you for listening to me. I ask that you take a copy of this message home to your parents and talk about it with them, too.

One last thought. All your actions are carried out in the presence of God. You can be sure that God never lets you out of sight because God loves you so much that He can never take His eyes off you. God wants to watch as you prosper and truly flourish. You are loved so much. Please remember this in the term ahead.

God bless you all.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols
2 September 2011

So what makes me think that some other person may be the author of this missive? (Apart from the poor grammar and misplaced content).

 Well  this is how it was presented on one school's website (and it was not the Cardinal Vaughan School)

Paul Barber, Director for Education at the Diocese of Westminster, has informed us of a message from Archbishop Vincent Nicholls (sic) that the Archbishop would like all secondary students aware of as soon as is reasonable.
Paul Barber writes,
"As you will have read ... Archbishop Vincent has recorded a video message addressing all students in our secondary schools. He has requested that this should be shown to all students at the earliest opportunity this term. He also wants to share the important message he has relating to the riots last month with parents and families ... The video can be found at http://www.vimeo.com/28512337 or from the diocesan website www.rcdow.org.uk"

I have not seen the video message, I am still minus sound on my pc so I cannot comment on how closely the text follows the video clip.

But one thing is certain, the letter should never have seen the light of day.

Saturday, 15 October 2011

Brand image is important

It is strange that, so often, when I start laboriously composing throwing a post together, some other blogger posts much more eloquently on the subject a mere hour or so before I am ready to click on 'publish'.
That's life I suppose, so fulsome credit to Jeffrey Tucker of
The Chant Cafe for summarising all that I have said in one picture.

There will be some who will not like commercial applications being made to the faith but I hope that this post will not be regarded as being too offensive.
You see, there are times when perhaps, we, or the powers that be, need to take a long hard look at the Church and to try to see it as others see it.

So throw a metaphorical log on the fire and bring your battered armchair closer while I attempt to explain and expound.

Heinz Baked beans is a popular and successful brand. Why? Well, first and foremost the product (the beans and the sauce that they are in) are of good quality. That is, overstating the obvious, critically important.
But we can't see the beans or the sauce when the can is sitting on the supermarket shelf...so how do we make a decision as to whether we want to try a can to see what the contents are like?

Well, tradition plays a role here. Or maybe reputation might be a better word in this context.
 Most people have grown up with the range of Heinz products - from the cradle to the gravy!
It is globally well known brand and, in general, well appreciated. You pay a slightly higher price for it than a non conformist brand but you have to pay for quality in the commercial world.

Next, there is the familiar label and logo - that shouts 'beans' and 'quality' at us. It is also as familiar to us as it would have been to our parents, grandparents and so on. Yes, really. Continuity is everything, the label may have changed imperceptibly every decade or so, just to keep pace with the developing world but it is still eminently recognisable as Heinz whether it is a 1911 tin or a 2011 one.

A little battered and faded but still
recognisable as the same quality product
that begat the beans we eat today
You see, continuity is good, recognition as to what the brand and product is about is good...it leads people into trying it if they have not already done so and it keeps those who know the brand loyal to the brand.

So (and this is where the post takes a sudden turn that, hopefully, you did not see coming) what sort of Catholic brand image do you project to those around you?

Are you instantly recognisable as a Catholic?

Do you have that element of continuity? The Hermenetic of Continuity?

Are you true to the original teachings of Christ?

And as to Holy Mother Church - what sort of image does she project?

I know what sort of image she projects in England & Wales; a dithery, unspecific organisation that, in answer to critical questions just shrugs and says "Who knows what's in the future?" - an organisation that does not seem to hold true to its hermeneutic of continuity, an organisation that is lacking.

Please understand that those comments are not directed at those laity who make a stand for the faith, who pray outside abortuaries or who go on pilgrimages or undertake arduous feats out of love for mankind (well done David Aron for completing 184 gruelling miles).

My remarks are directed at those in authority within the church, the priests who dress in tracksuits to go about their business, the nuns who have forsaken the cross and, of course, the Bishops who, above all others, should be cementing the image and setting the pace.

Friday, 14 October 2011

A good dish for a meat free Friday

In the 17th Century a certain Bishop of Quebec pronounced that the Friday abstinence could accommodate beaver as this was deemed to be 'fish' on account of it swimming in water.

Well I've visited Istanbul many times but I ain't no turkey! Sorry for the hillbilly phraseology but, you see, I was almost an American or, rather, my father was almost born an American in which case, I believe that I would be able to claim the USA as my fatherland and I rather fancy hillbilly talk.

My grandfather had emigrated to the USA in the 1890s and was joined by his wife. They moved around Boston and Connecticut until, my grandmama declared that she wanted to return to England (they were both first generation English, their parents, in turn coming from Ireland).

I believe that they had taken American citizenship but they certainly set sail for England aboard a US vessel. My grandmother was expecting a baby within a few days of setting off (strange) but the birth was delayed and she did not produce my father until they were back in Blighty. Phew! A narrow squeak!

A nice slice of Beaver? - actually I'll opt for the fish!

This post is going nowhere so cut to beaver stew recipe.....'enjoy' as they say almost everywhere now....first catch your beaver....

BEAVER STEW RECIPE
2-3 lbs 1 inch cubes beaver
Bacon grease
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 medium onions
1/2 lb carrots
6 medium potatoes
2 stalks celery

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a closable bag or 2 quart closable plastic container and shake until mixed. Add beaver and shake until well coated.

Dice onions. Melt enough bacon grease in the bottom of a fry pan to sauté onions and beaver. Sauté onions and floured beaver in bacon grease, adding more grease as needed. Place sautéed cubes and onions in a 4 quart pot with enough water to cover. Add water to fry pan to remove the remainder of the bacon grease and flour. Add this pan gravy to your stew.

Slice carrots and dice celery. Add carrots and celery to your stew and simmer until beaver is somewhat tender (about 30 minutes). Taste broth and add salt or pepper to taste. Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes and add enough water to just cover the meat and vegetables. Simmer until potatoes are done (about 30 minutes).

Now, if you enjoy this dish, a word of caution. If you find that your sentences carry a slight echoing whistle as you enunciate or, if you develop a fondness for nibbling at the trunk of trees - then is the time to stop!

Thursday, 13 October 2011

Hats in the air for the Vaughan!



But not, I think,  a Cardinal's hat....hmm.....

At last the Vaughan Parents Action Group has achieved part of what they set out to achieve in the first place.
Their choice for the post of Headteacher, Mr Paul Stubbings, existing Deputy Head, has fought off stiff competition to be appointed, many congratulations to him!

Now some may ask what all the fuss was about......Vaughan Parents getting in a state over the appointment of a new Head. But...if they had not organised themselves efficiently and held vigils and offered up prayers, would they be celebrating today? I think not.

If you ask me it was the prayer vigil outside the Cathedral wot swung it!

Here is the announcement:

13th October  2011

"The Vaughan Parents’ Action Group warmly welcomes the appointment of Mr Paul Stubbings to the substantive position of Headmaster of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.

Mr Stubbings commands widespread respect at CVMS having served the School with distinction for twenty-two years, most recently as Deputy Headmaster.

As Mr Stubbings takes up his post in this high achieving Catholic school, we offer him our support and prayers.  Parents will work with the new Headmaster to ensure the School remains a beacon of the Catholic Faith, and to sustain its record of outstanding academic, musical and sporting achievements.

The Vaughan Parents’ Action Group is deeply grateful to the elected Parent Governors who have valiantly withstood huge pressures over the last year in their fight for parents’ voices to be properly represented on the Governing Body.

The precious inheritance of the Vaughan lives on in no small part due to the devotion and expertise of Mr Charles Eynaud. As Acting Headmaster, Mr Eynaud has led the School with dignity and skill through two of its most turbulent years.  The debt of gratitude we all owe him is simply incalculable.

We pray that this appointment, agreed unanimously by the Governing Body, heralds a new era of openness and transparency. We expect the Governors to give our new Headmaster the total support the post requires. We hope that the Foundation Governors, in particular, will work co-operatively and reasonably with all the Governors so that the Vaughan’s proud traditions of love and service may benefit generations of Catholic children to come".

And congratulations to the Parents, Staff, Governors and Pupils of Cardinal Vaughan School - Bravo!


On this great feast of Fatima....

'The Miracle of the Sun'



Make a note of this prayer

If you have a need in this life, if you have a problem concerning yourself or others, if you have a yearning for the abolition of the abortion laws, a desire for world peace, if you are sick or if your children have abandoned the faith, if your soul is in mortal danger – say this prayer – and say it for Thirty Days
Why?
Because it’s The Thirty Days Prayer to Our Lady.
My own Mother said this prayer every day of her adult life, so that all of her seven children would keep the faith…and they did!
Ever glorious and blessed Mary,
Queen of Virgins,
Mother of Mercy,
hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls,
through that sword of sorrow
which pierced thy tender heart
whilst thine only Son,
Christ Jesus, our Lord,
suffered death and ignominy on the cross;
through that filial tenderness
and pure love He had for thee,
grieving in thy grief,
whilst from His cross He recommended thee
to the care and protection
of His beloved disciple, St. John,
take pity,  I beseech thee,
on my poverty and necessities;
have compassion on my anxieties and cares;
assist and comfort me
in all my infirmities and miseries,
of every kind whatsoever.
Thou art the Mother of Mercies,
the sweet comforter
and only refuge of the needy and the orphan,
of the desolate and afflicted.
Cast, therefore,
an eye of pity on a miserable,
forlorn child of Eve,
and hear my prayer;
for since,
in just punishment of my sins,
I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils,
and oppressed with much anguish of spirit,
wither can I fly for more secure shelter,
O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
than under the wings of thy maternal protection?
Attend, therefore,
I beseech thee,
with an ear of pity and compassion,
to my humble and earnest request.
I ask it,
through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son;
Through that love and condescension wherewith
He embraced our nature, when,
in compliance with the divine Will,
thou gavest thy consent, and whom,
after the expiration of nine months
thou didst bring forth
from the chaste enclosure of thy womb,
to visit the world,
and bless it with His presence.
I ask it,
through that anguish of mind
wherewith thy beloved Son,
our dear Saviour,
was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives,
when He besought His eternal Father
to remove from Him, if possible,
the bitter chalice of His future passion.
I ask it,
through the threefold repetition
of His prayers in the garden,
whence afterwards,
with dolorous steps and mournful tears,
thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre
of His death and sufferings.
I ask it,
through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh,
occasioned by the cords and whips
wherewith He was bound and scourged,
when stripped of His seamless garment,
for which His executioners afterwards cast lots.
I ask it,
through the scoffs and ignominies
by which He was insulted;
the false accusations and unjust sentence
by which He was condemned to death,
and which He bore with heavenly patience.
I ask it,
through His bitter tears and bloody sweat;
His silence and resignation;
His sadness and grief of heart.
I ask it,
through the blood which trickled
from His royal and Sacred Head,
when struck with the sceptre of a reed
and pierced with His crown of thorns.
I ask it,
through the excruciating torments He suffered,
when His hands and feet were fastened
with gross nails to the tree of the cross.
I ask it,
through His vehement thirst,
and bitter potion of vinegar and gall.
I ask it,
through His dereliction on the cross
when He exclaimed,
"My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?"
I ask it,
through His mercy extended to the good thief,
and through His recommending
His precious soul and spirit
into the hands of His eternal Father
before He expired, saying, "It is consummated."
I ask it,
through the blood mixed with water,
which issued from His Sacred Side
when pierced with a lance,
and whence a flood of grace
and mercy has flowed to us.
I ask it,
through His immaculate life,
bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross,
at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions,
by the bursting of rocks,
rending of the veil of the Temple,
the earthquake,
and the darkness of the sun and moon.
I ask it,
through His descent into hell,
where He confronted the Saints
of the old law with His presence,
and led the captivity captive.
I ask it,
through His glorious victory over death,
when He arose again to life on the third day,
and through the joy
which His appearance for forty days after gave thee,
His blessed Mother,
His Apostles,
and the rest of His Disciples;
when in thine and their presence
He miraculously ascended into heaven.
I ask it,
through the grace of the Holy Spirit,
infused into the hearts of His Disciples,
when He descended upon them
in the form of fiery tongues,
and by which they were inspired with zeal
in the conversion of the world,
when they went to preach the gospel.
I ask it,
through the awful appearance of thy Son,
at the last dreadful day,
when He shall come to judge
the living and the dead,
and the world, by fire.
I ask it,
through the compassion He bore thee in His life,
and the unspeakable joy
thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven,
where thou art eternally absorbed
in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections.
O glorious and ever blessed Virgin!
comfort the heart of thy supplicant,
by obtaining for me,
(Mention your prayer intention here...)
And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour
doth honour thee as His beloved Mother,
to whom He refuses nothing,
because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour,
so let me speedily experience
the efficacy of thy powerful intercession,
according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection,
and His filial loving heart,
who mercifully granteth the requests
and complieth with the desires
of those that love and fear Him.
Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin,
beside the object of my present petition,
and whatever else I may stand in need of,
obtain for me also of thy dear Son,
our Lord and our God,
a lively faith,
firm hope,
perfect charity,
true contrition of heart,
unfeigned tears of compunction,
sincere confession,
condign satisfaction,
abstinence from sin,
love of God and my neighbour,
contempt of the world,
patience to suffer affronts
and ignominies, nay, even,
if necessary,
an opprobrious death itself,
for love of thy Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Obtain likewise for me,
O sacred Mother of God,
perseverance in good works,
performance of good resolutions,
mortification of self-will,
a pious conversation through life,
and, at my last moments,
strong and sincere repentance,
accompanied by such a lively
and attentive presence of mind,
as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament
of the Church worthily,
and die in thy friendship and favour.
Lastly, obtain through thy Son,
I beseech thee,
for the souls of my parents,
brethren,
relatives and benefactors,
both living and dead,
life everlasting,
from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift,
the Lord God Almighty,
to Whom be all power now and forever.
Amen.

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

If you are in a state of mortal sin you may wish to memorise this....

.....it will help to guide you......and you there's no need to knock - just   
     come on in!



Rodin's Gate to Hell - a sight to warm your soul!

We've had the Life of Brian but we won't be getting The Life of Mohammed

Monty Python original, Terry Jones, has stated, very firmly, that there will not be a re-make of The Life of Brian parody of Christianity.
Speculation was that the Python team were planning to do a Muslim version but now Jones has said in answer to the question:

"Probably not - looking at Salman Rushdie I suppose people would be frightened"

What a perceptive man this is. He has managed to work out that while Christians were incensed at The Life of Brian, Muslims would certainly issue a Fatwa on all and sundry if they parodied Mohammed in the same way and the Monty Python team would be picked off one by one.

Speaking about the original version, Jones rather pompously says:

"I took the view it wasn't blasphemous...at the time religion seemed to be on the backburner...."

Now let me try to get this straight in my poor befuddled brain. The Life of Brian wasn't (in his view) blasphemous but, the making of a Muslim version would be?

Terry Jones is puzzled by the uproar caused by the film:

"We're still discussing it now" he said. "And I don't know why"

Cue for graphic of an enormous clucking chicken......



Not a little chicken...a big chicken!
 And now for something completely different.....this is fellow Python, Terry Gilliam, giving an interview in 2006:-

Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Terry Gilliam, the former political cartoonist and satirist, has stepped gingerly into the Prophet Muhammad cartoon wars, asserting that someone “from within” Islam needs to take on the fundamentalists in the way that he and his Monty Python colleagues lampooned abuses of Christianity in their 1979 film Life of Brian … Gilliam recalled that the Monty Python team “knew what we were doing” when they set out to satirize Christianity in Life of Brian, a movie that was banned in parts of the UK, Ireland, the US Bible Belt and elsewhere. “We were pissed off at organized religion. We weren’t going to take on Christ, so Christ was treated with respect. But the whole idea of what religion is about and how it works… the sex, the heresy, the persecutions. We knew what we were doing and that was what was so exciting about it.” “Our triumph,’ he said, “was that in Variety magazine, the trade paper, there it was: A whole page devoted to us. Two columns, the Protestants protesting. Two columns, the Catholics protesting. Two columns the Jews protesting. We got everybody evenly.” Still, he noted, the Monty Python team had had the good sense not to lampoon the Islamists. “We didn’t go for the Muslims, did we?” he said, a little self-deprecatingly. “We were smart.”

For "smart" read "cowardly"

We're still waiting Terry Gilliam....looking forward to the premiere!