Bob's Blog

Extract from my Grandfather's WW 1Diary

2012-01-06T16:29:00.001Z

4:7:1915

A matter of about a hundred yards away from the line of trenches in which we were was the village of St Jean, which was practically ruined. The Church and cemetery around had been shelled, but the Church tower was still standing.

At 7.00 pm the Germs started a systematic shelling of this tower, and from my little "dug-out" I watched them trying to bring this tower to the ground.

Their shooting was really splendid; but even though they fired about 50 shells, they had to give it up, for the tower had very thick walls, and was most substantially built.

The cemetery attached was quite small, yet every shell fired either hit the Tower or Church, or else fell among the graves, and as the Bosches were firing from a distance of four to five miles (estimated by the time between hearing the report of the gun and the bursting of the shell) this performance was quite good.

Unfortunately the wind was blowing in the direction from the Church to our trenches, and the smell was really terrible, and actually necessitated our wearing gas helmets. Apart from this, however, it was a very interesting sight to watch from so near a point of vantage, and it gave us an opportunity of betting on whether the "next" shell would hit the Tower, or fall in our own trenches. (3 to 1 was the limit obtainable).

The Brigade Telegraph wires ran through this village of St Jean, and the shells had broken them. As soon as the shelling had ceased, a Brigade Signaller was ordered to carry out the necessary repairs, and as another man had to go with him for safety's sake, I volunteered for the job as I had not been into the village, and wanted to see the results of the shelling.

We crawled along by the side of the wires, keeping below the level of the hedge, (for we were well within the range of being seen, and bullets were plentiful), and eventually found the break, and mended it.

We then walked round the Church, and the first thing that came to one's notice, was a large crucifix on the outside wall, which he had escaped without damage.

The wall at one end was completely down, and that the other end were gaping holes where shells had passed through. Near the centre was the porch with the tower above, and on the wall, by the side, was a crucifix about 10 ft long, by some 6 ft wide, and the wall behind this crucifix was absolutely undamaged, although the wall on the other side of the Church, as well as the entire roof, was raised to the ground.

We then looked around the cemetery, and saw many graves opened by shell fire, bones, wood of coffins, tomb stones smashed, but noticed that several tombs stones made in the form of a crucifix, although the stone work comprising the cross had been damaged by shrapnel, the figure was still intact and unhit.

The Brigade Signaller with me as regards religion was "nothing" although designated for army purposes as "Church of England", but he also remarked on the wonderful preservation of the crucifix, and mentioned to me, that although he had not been to Church for many years, beyond attending Church parades, "there must be something in it", and we enjoyed, on our way back, quite an interesting religious talk, and it is very likely that good may result to both of us by what we saw this evening. One realised at this time how true is the expression "God's ways are not as our ways".

May you be Blessed this Christmas

2011-12-24T10:55:00.000Z

We sing the Christmas story,

A wondrous tale to tell.

A King born in a stable,

Our Lord Emmanuel.

The Lord of Lords eternal,

Made man for all to see,

That man might now be able

To live eternally.

The prophets saw his coming,

And called us all to heed

The love of God made mortal,

to fill man's greatest need.

The angel spoke to Mary,

A woman full of grace,

To ask if she was willing

To give the human race -

Good Joseph kept his promise,

For Mary now to care,

And loved the Sweet Lord Jesus,

Born in this happy year.

The shepherds, kings and angels

Attended at his side.

All worshiping the baby

Who in a manger laid.

May we now join the praises

Of all this happy throng,

Whose love of God was steadfast,

And for his son did long.

1999

Lewis & Lewis "Down To The Farm"

2011-12-08T23:04:00.000Z

The lunacy of same sex marriage put to music!

Hallowe’en, Halloween, and the call to sainthood :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2011-10-27T09:20:00.000+01:00

Hallowe’en, Halloween, and the call to sainthood :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

I found this interesting.

Ann Widdecombe: UK aid policy should help persecuted Christians :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2011-10-24T16:45:00.000+01:00

Ann Widdecombe: UK aid policy should help persecuted Christians :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Thank you Ann

Blessed John Henry Newman - Ora pro nobis

2011-10-09T10:28:00.000+01:00

Were it not a Sunday, today would be the feast of John Henry Newman.
It appears that my great, great grandfather was received into the Church by him and so without him I may not have been born a Catholic.
At times that society appears spiritually desolate it is worth remembering that God nurtures many saints (who we often don't recognize), and that their unity with the Divine reaches out for the good of the whole of mankind.
Faith, Hope & Love.

Spanish cardinal recommends that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue

2011-07-29T22:17:00.000+01:00

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/spanish-cardinal-recommends-that-catholics-receive-communion-on-the-tongue/

I couldn't agree more!

Thank God for Priests

2011-06-20T09:10:00.000+01:00

I thank God for the ordination to Priesthood of Fr David Connor from our Parish of Dunoon last week and pray that his Priesthood bring him deep Joy in the years to come.

RIP

2011-06-07T17:44:00.000+01:00

I have just returned to Scotland from visiting Family down south. I heard at Mass that Fr Michael Smith of Tonbridge had died and ask for your prayers on his behalf. I remember him fondly as he had the misfortune of being in the room next to me at the Seminary at Wonersh and was very tolerant of my peccadilloes.
May he rest in peace.

A voice of dissent?

2011-05-17T10:33:00.000+01:00

Taken from the CNA News bulletin:-

'The practise of abstaining from eating meat on Fridays is to return in England and Wales later this year.
"I think Catholics will welcome this," said Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops Conference of England & Wales.
The decision was made by the bishops of both countries this week and announced to the media May 13.
"What we have sought to do in this decision is to establish a shared practise, a shared habit, because habits that are carried out together are better learned and are stronger -- we give each other mutual support."
"So that's why there's a simple, across-the-board expectation that this will be something that Catholics will do." '

***

Isn't this a case of 'closing the stable door after the horse has bolted'? Or, having thrown out the baby with the bath water, not bothering to find the baby before starting to refill the bath?

I am not saying that I disagree with Friday abstinence, but does this define us as Catholic?
To the World this will be seen as just more proof that Catholicism is just like any other religion and can be changed at a whim!

Surely what defines us as Catholic Christians is the fact that Our Lord Jesus Christ is Truly present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass also residing in the Tabernacles of our Churches and that through the successor of St Peter the unerring Truth of Doctrine is guaranteed. - This is what we want the World to know and to appreciate more deeply ourselves so that we can grow in Love and Worship.

So let's start with showing the World our deep reverence for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament by:
Bringing back the use of the Communion Plate
Replacing Altar Rail in all our Churches
Kneeling for Holy Communion
On the Tongue
Genuflecting Reverently
And leaving our secular conversations for outside the Church.

Proclaim to the World that 'He is Risen' and lives in our hearts and in His Body - the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church!

He is Risen!

2011-04-24T11:11:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter!
May the Risen Christ renew us all through His Holy Church.

Hope

2011-04-23T10:04:00.000+01:00

Just as 2000 years ago, the world thinks that God is dead and buried - But we wait with Faith and Hope!

Amazing facts

2011-04-11T09:39:00.000+01:00

Thanks to one of my friends who emailed this to me.

I don't know why this was originally compiled, but it is great fun and for me emphasises that the chance of our existing without an intelligent creator God is NIL!

http://dingo.care2.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf

Vatican official at UN decries 'attacks' on Catholic beliefs :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2011-03-23T15:32:00.000Z

Vatican official at UN decries 'attacks' on Catholic beliefs :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

March 19th

2011-03-18T13:19:00.001Z

St Joseph - Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Protector of the Family - Example of Chaste Love!
We need you more than ever!
Ora pro nobis!

Life V. Money!

2011-03-17T10:32:00.000Z

Aside from any questions about ordinary or extraordinary means, this is simply callous!

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/health/article-1366801/Premature-Mothers-22-week-old-son-dies-arms-doctors-refuse-treat-revival-policy.html?printingPage=true

Are we being enveloped by the Forces of Evil?

2011-03-16T10:23:00.000Z

This is very sobering!

http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2011/03/uk-government-funded-international-pro.html

Christian couple warned not to appeal decision barring them from foster care :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2011-03-07T16:19:00.000Z

On this the Feast of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, the possibility of martyrdom in this 'modern' world seems less remote! *** Christian couple warned not to appeal decision barring them from foster care :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Christians corrupting children by not promoting homosexuality!!!!!!

2011-03-02T16:28:00.000Z

Further to yesterday's blog - here is the CNA article.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/british-court-says-christian-couple-cant-adopt-due-to-beliefs/

The hermeneutic of continuity: High Court judgement: Christian belief inimical to...

2011-03-01T10:06:00.000Z

Persecution in this country is so devious that by the time you realise what is happening it can be too late! Thank you Fr Tim for bringing this to our attention! ***** The hermeneutic of continuity: High Court judgement: Christian belief inimical to...: "Experienced foster parents Eunice and Owen Johns have been told today that their beliefs are inimical to the interests of children. They we..."

The Mass in English

2011-02-20T17:55:00.000Z

Every time I attend Sunday Mass and see how few Catholics seem to attend compared to the potential number in the local community (and this is true almost everywhere), I am more upset that we now have a reasonable translation available but not in use!
While I also remember the 'old Mass' with much affection and would gladly attend on occasions if it were available here, a good reverent 'new' English Mass with the reintroduction of Altar rails, Communion on the tongue and the Tabernacle veil would I believe naturally instruct us all in the truth and wonder of our Faith.
'They' were quick enough to change to the 'modern' Mass 40 odd years ago without bothering to 'instruct us first' then. PLEASE can't we simply start using the more faithful translation IMMEDIATELY!

This burning fire: Said Musa, a living martyr

2011-02-15T17:15:00.000Z

If you haven't already seen this - Please read it and pray for this incredible man and his family! This burning fire: Said Musa, a living martyr: "I Am In Awe of Such Faith Share by Matthew Archbold Monday, February 14, 2011 10:40 PM An Afghanistan Christian and father of six, is impr..."

Millstones & Bishops

2011-02-08T13:05:00.000Z

Scandal and lack of sound leadership destroys Faith. Regarding some of our present Bishops - I hope God has plenty of Millstones.

THE DASH - THE DASH: DIVINE SENSE OF HUMOUR?

2011-01-27T13:27:00.000Z

I have always thought that God must have a sense of humour! THE DASH - THE DASH: DIVINE SENSE OF HUMOUR?: "This is a true story about the pastor of a certain church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to co..."

Trisomy 21

2011-01-24T13:21:00.000Z

Just in case any of you don't regularly follow John Smeaton's Blog, I would like to draw attention to this:

http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2011/01/dna-blood-test-for-downs-sends-out.html

Having nursed at a large Mental Handicap Hospital over 30 years ago (RNMS - Mental Subnormality in those days). It appals me that some in society reject their intrinsic value. My time spent with these wonderful people was probably the happiest and most fruitful of my life!

Abby Johnson reveals details of pro-life turnaround and Catholic conversion :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2011-01-13T17:47:00.000Z

Abby Johnson reveals details of pro-life turnaround and Catholic conversion :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) We welcome you back to the fold. Thank God a ray of Hope!

Divine Office

2011-01-01T15:34:00.000Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I noticed that the widget on my site isn't always complete, so here are a couple of other web pages you can use to pray the Divine Office online:

http://divineoffice.org/
http://www.universalis.com/index.htm

The hermeneutic of continuity: My mum forced me to clean my teeth

2010-12-30T11:06:00.000Z

Thanks to Fr Tim for this! The hermeneutic of continuity: My mum forced me to clean my teeth: "I am heartily sick of the protest 'I don't go to Mass because my parents forced me to go when I was young.' OK Son, what else did your paren..."

Happy Christmas

2010-12-24T17:30:00.000Z

Wishing you a Joyful Christmas Celebration

And Many Blessings throughout the Year

Seasonal TV

2010-12-24T10:32:00.000Z

Last night I watched the 'Tonight' Programme which was a heartwarming account of conjoined twins reaching their First Birthday eight months after their surgical separation.
Then I saw the beginning of Robert Winston's Top Ten scientific advances. It started with the pill!
As I can't be bothered to watch lying propaganda, I didn't watch any more - If he continued logically, the next one would have to be the nuclear bomb!

The hermeneutic of continuity: IDS holds up St Joseph as a role model

2010-12-21T13:43:00.000Z

A spark of Joy in the run up to Christmas! Gently corrected by Fr Tim, it appears that Ian Duncan Smith has opened a chink of light in the secular black-out. The hermeneutic of continuity: IDS holds up St Joseph as a role model: "Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has written an article about St Joseph for the Daily Mail today. See: Histor..."

AIDS, Prophylactics And What The Pope Really Said

2010-11-29T13:28:00.000Z

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this excellent article via 'Faithnet'

AIDS, Prophylactics And What The Pope Really Said
by Fr Dylan James, 28th November 2010 Lecturer in Moral Theology, St John’s Seminary, Wonersh

Last weekend saw many inaccurate media claims that the Pope had taught condoms were sometimes permissible in the fight against AIDS. This is not what he said. Below I have briefly quoted him and explained his comments in the light of his previous words. If we want to understand him, we need to read him in the context of other things he has said and in the context of the standard Catholic moral theology he is articulating.
(1) The Pope said that condoms are not “a real or moral solution” to the fight against AIDS:
(a) Condoms are not a “real” solution because they are not effective at a simple practical level
While condom use can reduce the risk of infection it does not prevent it. As the Durex Company itself warns: 'No method of contraception can give you 100% protection against pregnancy, HIV or sexually transmitted infections.' As a consequence programs that distribute condoms may slow the spread of AIDS in a population but do not prevent the spread of the disease.
AIDS campaigns that promote the use of condoms frequently mislead people into thinking they can ‘safely’ engage in promiscuous sexual lifestyles when in fact they are exposing themselves to risk. In addition, such campaigns encourage sexual promiscuity among the youth at a younger and younger age and thus hasten rather than slow the spread of a great many sexually transmitted diseases.
Telling people that they can safely engage in promiscuous sex is a lie. Promiscuous sex, with or without a condom, is not ‘safe’ even though a condom reduces the risk.
(b) The Church has a real solution it offers: abstinence and faithfulness
Any ‘real’ solution is not going to be easy. The Church notes that the only effective way to avoid infection involves discipline and self-restraint –something that the modern world avoids. The only way to safely avoid sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sex if you are single and be faithful to your spouse if you are married. The Pope said in his 2009 trip to Africa: "The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS."
Those countries in Africa that have promoted abstinence programs instead of condom programs have statistics that show their success. “Recognition of the value of promoting abstinence, instead of just relying on condoms, came in a commentary published in The Lancet Nov 27 [2004]. Written by a group of medical experts, and endorsed by a long list of health care experts, the article noted that when campaigns target young people who have not initiated sexual activity, ‘the first priority should be to encourage abstinence or delay of sexual onset, hence emphasizing risk avoidance as the best way to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.’”
(c) The Church does a lot of work caring for AIDS sufferers
Did you know that 25% of AIDS care worldwide is provided by Catholic organisations? As the Pope’s recent book-interview The Light of the World said: “Someone had asked me why the Catholic Church adopts an unrealistic and ineffective position on AIDS. At that point, I really felt that I was being provoked, because the Church does more than anyone else. And I stand by that claim because she is the only institution that assists people up close and concretely, with prevention, education, help, counsel, and accompaniment. And because she is second to none in treating so many AIDS victims, especially children with AIDS.
“I had the chance to visit one of these wards and to speak with the patients. That was the real answer: The Church does more than anyone else, because she does not speak from the tribunal of the newspapers, but helps her brothers and sisters where they are actually suffering. In my remarks I was not making a general statement about the condom issue, but merely said, and this is what caused such great offense, that we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms. ...We must stand close to the people, we must guide and help them; and we must do this both before and after they contract the disease.”
(2) What then did the Pope say about condoms that was mistakenly claimed to be ‘new’?
The Pope spoke about what can sometimes be a “first step” towards moral living, even when this first step is something that is nonetheless still sinful. He said, “perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.”
When the Pope was asked in response, “Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?” It was then that the Pope said, “She [i.e. the Church] of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution” but only a possible “first step” towards a moral life.
In noting that the “first step” towards morality is often something that is still sinful the Pope is articulating standard Catholic moral theology. In commenting on the Pope’s words the moral theologian Professor Janet Smith used the example of theft to illustrate what the Pope is saying: “If someone was going to rob a bank and was determined to use a gun, it would better for that person to use a gun that had no bullets in it. It would reduce the likelihood of fatal injuries. But it is not the task of the Church to instruct potential bank robbers how to rob banks more safely and certainly not the task of the Church to support programs of providing potential bank robbers with guns that could not use bullets.
Nonetheless, the intent of a bank robber to rob a bank in a way that is safer for the employees and customers of the bank may indicate an element of moral responsibility that could be a step towards eventual understanding of the immorality of bank robbing.”
(3) Why then has the media misinterpreted the Pope’s words?
Different reports have said various things - no doubt for all sorts of reasons. Some seem to have reported what they’d wished the Pope had said rather than what he actually did. Others have misinterpreted the Pope because they are unfamiliar with his other writings and with Catholic moral theology.
In conclusion, nothing the Pope has said is new or changes the fact that:
“Use of condoms … is not a real or moral solution” to the fight against AIDS.
*****
http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/light-of-the-world/excerpt.htm accessed 26/11/2010
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=60827 accessed 23/11/2010 . To see some other secular reports backing the science of what the Pope has said about abstinence and faithfulness being the only effective way to prevent the spread of AIDS, follow links at: http://www.tldm.org/News13/AIDSexpertReaffirmsPope%27sCommentOnCondomsWasRight.htm accessed 23/11/2010
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/227110/saint-peters-square-harvard-square/kathryn-jean-lopez, among many other reports on this point see: http://www.lifesitenews.com/?/news/harvard-aids-expert-says-pope-is-correct-on-condom-distribution-making-aids accessed 26/11/2010
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=60827 accessed 23/11/2010
http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/light-of-the-world/excerpt.htm accessed 26/11/2010
Ibid
http://www.catholicworldreport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=220:pope-benedict-on-condoms-in-qlight-of-the-worldq&catid=53:cwr2010&Itemid=70 accessed 23/11/2010
http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/light-of-the-world/excerpt.htm accessed 26/11/2010

****

The hermeneutic of continuity: Danger of censorship under the guise of crime prev...

2010-11-28T15:40:00.000Z

This makes interesting reading. It is always a concern when free speech may be under threat!

The hermeneutic of continuity: Danger of censorship under the guise of crime prev...: "Are we seeing the beginning of attempts to control the internet if material embarrasses the government? Guido Fawkes' runs a massively influ..."

Today's Holocaust

2010-11-17T18:01:00.000Z

It is tragic that while absolutely correctly people at this time of year condemn the atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust and those who knew doing nothing about it, but how few realise that we are in the same position today where the most vulnerable are exterminated in even greater numbers while still in the womb and experimented on in the name of science.
We have learnt no lessons of History and have no right to consider ourselves any better than our predecessors.
O Lord forgive us!

Remembering the First World War.

2010-11-14T14:23:00.000Z

Today I would like to draw attention again to one of my first posts on this Blog about my grandfather's First World War diary. He was lucky enough to survive the war, but recalls many of his comrades who were not so fortunate. As a young Catholic man thrown into war I find it particularly interesting to see how his Faith is maintained even in the trenches:

http://bobbrookes.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-grand-fathers-first-world-war-diary.html

Blessed Duns Scotus Pray for us

2010-11-08T11:17:00.000Z

Today is the feast of Blessed Duns Scotus. His assertion that Christ was predestined to come to us regardless of sin, with the vision of Fr Edward Holloway RIP founder of the Faith Movement, are what have helped me maintain my faith through life.
I apologise to those who have already read it, but I reprint one of the first articles on this Blog:-

Why being a Catholic makes sense to me.

To me, from the first question about the meaning of Life (Which is NOT 42) to full communion with the Catholic Church is a straightforward progression.
Rather than belief in God being extraordinary, it is Not believing in God that is nonsensical.
There are many observations of life and the world around us which indicate His existence. For me, the very existence of science as we know it is as strong as any. The whole point of science is to investigate the order in the Universe and go some way in revealing the logic and order therein by experimentation.
The point is that the order is there. It is Not haphazard, random or ‘chance’, and where there is order there is mind. Evolution, for example only makes sense as an ordered development which is intelligently directed forward within an overall plan of existence. To come to the realisation that there must be a God does not seem to me to be so much a matter of Faith, but in the realms of the ‘bleedin’ obvious’. Faith is more to do with forming our relationship with Him as a person.
However you arrive at the realisation that there is a God, since He created us as rational beings, it follows that we should expect Him to reveal Himself to us.
Indeed throughout History Mankind has searched for God – It is in our very nature. What is the most perfect way in which God could reveal Himself to us? Surely as Himself in person and also as Man. This we find uniquely in the Judeo Christian Tradition.
Therefore, If Christ is both God and Man, He is the culmination of Truth and the Church of Christ must have His authority to teach the Truth. (Even good and learn-ed men cannot always agree without guidance). There is only one Church which claims this authority – The Catholic Church!
From this realisation through a development of our relationship in Love with God, we can learn to appreciate more and more the majestic sweep of His Wisdom throughout the Old Testament to it’s culmination in Christ and onto the present day within His Holy Church.

*

Purgatory

2010-11-03T09:09:00.000Z

I always think of purgatory rather than being a place of punishment for our sins as being a period where God gently brings us to a fuller realisation of His wonderful Love so that eventually we can enjoy the Beatific Vision in Heaven.
This is a time of deep sorrow as we realise how little we have loved in return.
We see glimpses of this even on earth when we hurt someone we love.

May all the departed rest in peace and we pray that we too may begin to appreciate the incredible love God has for each one of us.

Quiet Blogging

2010-10-25T12:15:00.000+01:00

I am not posting much at the moment.
This is for two main reasons. Firstly, I enjoy following the excellent Blogs that express what I also feel so much more succinctly and eloquently than I can - Please browse the ones I am linked to.
Secondly, on a more mundane level, I am in the throws of selling our present house to retire to something small and sensible. We had buyers who have just pulled out due to problems in this financial climate. (Details of the house are on my own web site).
I pray that the world greed that brought this global recession on can be curbed and that between us with God's help we can reduce the devastating effects on all those who can least afford to ride it out.

Blogging as a debating forum

2010-10-16T10:02:00.000+01:00

I don't know if you have been following Fr Clifton's recent discussions on IVF.
Here is a link to his latest comments, and my own contribution:

http://michaelclifton.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-responses-etc.html

This is proving an interesting discussion.

Firstly, I do feel that it is legitimate (Subject to the Church on Faith and Morals) to use this forum to hold a discussion among Catholics who love their Faith and cannot possibly all arrange to meet together in one place for this purpose.
Secondly, I agree that the end does not justify the means and if life does not bring us what we hoped, we should seek God's will in the circumstances in which we find ourselves - In the end He always knows what is best for us.
Thirdly, having worked with drug addicts, I have agonised over the condom issue as well. It is standard practise to issue clean needles to try and reduce infection rates among addicts while they are unable to control their addiction. Also condoms are distributed.
At first this appears very reasonable - After all, the primary purpose of the condom intervention is to prevent infection rather than stop pregnancy. (Although more condoms are given out to practising homosexuals than to heterosexual couples - Which is totally different from giving needles as a temporary intervention as they are not being counselled to give up homosexual practises).
However, this does not change the fact that condom use is wrong. It allows you to use another person purely as a sex object without 'consequences'.
Interestingly, despite all the claims, condom use is a lottery and a false sense of security encourages greater recklessness, leading to the situation which is borne out in fact, that both diseases and 'unwanted' pregnancy's increase rather than decrease where they are promulgated.

*

Sacred Music

2010-10-11T10:18:00.000+01:00

If I knew how to incorporate this video I would have - But thanks to Fr Tim Finigan for doing so!

This is absolutely spot on. Please watch it!

http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2010/10/discussion-on-sacred-music.html

Two excellent articles

2010-09-30T13:54:00.000+01:00

Firstly, it appears that I am not the only one who thinks that Stephen Hawking is unscientific:
http://efpastormeritus.blogspot.com/2010/09/physicist-sir-roger-penrose-says.html

Secondly, Thank God for John Smeaton. If the Church could change in the ways 'Catholic Voices', 'The Tablet' and some of our errant Bishops would have us believe, it would Not be the Church of Christ God made Man - TRUTH personified,and in the absence of any credible alternative, I for one would be left to contemplate atheism!
http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2010/09/catholic-voices-blog-creates.html

Taliban Catholics of the world unite!

2010-09-23T12:39:00.000+01:00

Thank you to Fr Ray Blake for posting this:

http://marymagdalen.blogspot.com/2010/09/am-i-taliban-catholic.html

He sums up so much that I couldn't agree more with.

Blessed John Henry Newman

2010-09-20T11:59:00.000+01:00

Newman's legesy endures. Without him many of us may not even be Catholics.
Below is my father's summation of this taken from his Parish newsletter this weekend.

*****

I think it is wonderful that Pope Benedict will Beatify John Henry Newman, the only Cardinal in England who has not been Archbishop of Westminster.

My first interest arose when I discovered that my greatgrandfather had been received into the Catholic Church by Newman. If this had not occurred, I would probably not be a Catholic now. This led to an interest in the relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church. Newman's conversion showed to me how unspiritual the Anglican Church had become at that time although contrasting strongly with my mother who was a practising Anglican all her life, but made sure that we children were brought up as Catholics, always went to Sunday Mass and said our morning and evening prayers.

Newman was not only a great example in the Catholic Church, but through his work with the Oxford Movement, did much to revive the spirituality of the church of England. Cardinal Manning was Archbishop of Westminster at that time and Lytton Stracey^s book "Great Victorians" is well worth reading. They were two very different characters, Newman the great intellectual and caring Parish Priest and Manning, the great advocate of social justice. Finally, when I married Chrissie, I discovered that she lived in Littlemore (where Cardinal Newman was Priest) where her father was medical superintendent of the mental hospital there. I look forward to the day when Cardinal Newman is canonised.

Bobby Brookes

In a nut shell!!

2010-09-20T11:42:00.000+01:00

If you haven't already read this - It is a must.

Writer blasts secular Britain’s anti-Catholicism in run-up to papal visit :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

U-Tube Eucharistic desecration!

2010-09-11T13:12:00.000+01:00

Thank you to 'Puzzled' for drawing this to my attention:

http://thedash-thedash.blogspot.com/2010/09/catholics-be-very-concerned.html

DESIDERATA

2010-08-31T14:01:00.000+01:00

Does anybody remember when this was a 'pop' song back in the 70's?
I have always liked it, and while some lines need careful interpretation, there is a lot of food for thought.

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.

Be careful. Strive to be happy.

Pro-life groups laud decision to block embryonic stem cell research :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2010-08-24T17:04:00.000+01:00

If you haven't already read this - It is a bit of Good News for a change.
It is about time that Britain followed America in some of it's better policies (Like this) rather than always the worse!

Pro-life groups laud decision to block embryonic stem cell research :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

The Richard Dawkins Delusion

2010-08-22T14:02:00.000+01:00

Last night while watching TV there was an advert for Richard Dawkins' programme later this week 'The God Delusion'.

He stated something to the effect that without Religion, bad men would do bad things and good men good things but that religion makes good men do bad things.

The man is an idiot! Apart from the fact that religion also makes bad men do good things and good men refrain from doing bad things - How can he presume to comment on Good and bad at all?

Without God and Religion there is no good and bad - just behaviour! Who is to say which behaviour is better than any other? It is simply down to social norm and different societies have different norms.

The trouble is that Richard Dawkins is a man of a truly Fundamentalist faith which makes even his status as a scientist questionable. He Believes that there is no God as a fundamental truth regardless of any evidence and therefore manipulates his evidence to support his theory.

Rather than Faith being opposed to Reason, Faith is the fulfilment and culmination of Reason. Even in our every day life experiences this is true. I have never been to Australia and yet I believe it exists on the evidence. I accept that man has indeed landed on the moon on the evidence also that the Nazi Holocaust did indeed occur (There are people who accept none of these). This is a form of faith as a result of reasoned evidence.

The evidence for God is overwhelming, but we still need to believe the evidence to be fulfilled and find Truth!

Aha - There's the problem, people like Mr Dawkins probably don't accept Truth either.

iBreviary

2010-08-16T10:09:00.001+01:00

My Thanks to Fr Ray Blake for posting this.

http://marymagdalen.blogspot.com/2010/08/ibreviary.html

As you can see I have placed the link on my side bar - I cannot recommend praying the Divine Office too highly.
The Breviary itself is very kindly supplied by http://www.ibreviary.com/

Priorities!

2010-08-11T13:32:00.000+01:00

In a world that ignores God and the spiritual needs of Mankind this email does strike a chord!
Thank you to my friend Ann for forwarding it to me.

WE WAS BRUNG UP PROPER !

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE
1930's 1940's, 50's, 60's and early 70's !

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos...

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Nandos...

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on a Sunday, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because........

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O..K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.

We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY, no video/dvd films, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us - forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays, We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet because we didn't need to keep up with the Jones's!

Not everyone made the rugby/football/cricket/netball team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and throw the blackboard rubber at us if they thought we weren't concentrating .

We can string sentences together and spell and have proper conversations because of a good, solid three R's education.

Our parents would tell us to ask a stranger to help us cross the road.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. - They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla' and 'Tiger'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL !

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

St. Lawrence

2010-08-10T10:29:00.000+01:00

Todays feast is that of St Lawrence.

In the late 70's & early 80's I was privileged to nurse at St Lawrence's Hospital (for the mentally handicapped) Caterham.
Although with so many others this hospital no longer exists, I ask your prayers for all the wonderful people (most of who are now dead) who were cared for in this and other hospitals and the staff who used to love and care for them.

The First Faith Summer Sessions

2010-08-09T10:57:00.000+01:00

Having seen the photos of the Faith Summer Session for this year on Fr Tim Finigan's Blog, reminded me that I have some slides of the very first ones.

Does anyone recognise themselves from 1973 at Herne Bay? (I'm sure none of us have changed a bit! - I apologise for the poor quality.)

Fr Edward Holloway RIP

His vision and love of Christ was such that you could listen to him totally absorbed for hours.

Dan Cooper still totally committed.

This is 1974 at Roehampton

Fr Roger Nesbitt without whom the Faith Youth Movement would probably not exist.

Please pray for all past and present members of FAITH

Praying the Divine Office always gives at least one poignant Psalm for the day

2010-07-27T12:41:00.000+01:00

Help 0 Lord, for good men have vanished:
Truth has gone from the sons of men.
Falsehood they speak one to another,
with lying lips, with a false heart.

May the Lord destroy all lying lips,
the tongue that speaks high-sounding words,
those who say: 'Our tongue is our strength;
our lips are our own, who is our master ?'

For the poor who are oppressed and the needy who
groan I myself will arise,' says the Lord.
I will grant them the salvation for which they thirst.

The words of the Lord are words without alloy,
silver from the furnace, seven times refined.

It is you, 0 Lord, who will take us in your care
and protect us for ever from this generation.
See how the wicked prowl on every side,
while the worthless are prized highly by the sons of men.

(Psalm 11)

Favourite Prayers Meme

2010-07-22T13:19:00.000+01:00

Thank you Dorothy for inviting me to join the the prayer meme. Started by Mulier Fortis.

My favourite prayers, like yours are firstly the Our Father and secondly the prayer from the Stations of the Cross which came to mind immediately I received notification of your comment, on my blog.

Perhaps, not what some people would consider a prayer, a phrase I use extremely frequently is simply thank you. When waking up in the morning one of my first thoughts is to say thanks for a new day. Throughout the day, the good and bad and beauty and all the events of the day seem to demand a little thank you. Even when events seem not to be going the way I would wish, I know from experience that God always knows what's best and Thank You is still too made the most appropriate prayer. Sometimes after Holy Communion, the heart races and they are the only words which fill the mind.
Thank you Lord!

Upsetting Anglicans?

2010-07-16T10:17:00.000+01:00

The BBC news last night took great delight in accusing the Vatican of deliberately upsetting the Anglican community by declaring that participation in ordaining women was a grave offence, three days after the general synod voted to ordain women 'bishops'. They linked this to the Pope also upsetting them by making it easier for large numbers to convert to Catholicism.
While I am sure that the timing of this affirmation of our Faith was in no way influenced by what the Anglican Synod was deliberating, it may indeed be fortuitous for those who are considering a return to the fullness of Faith that the authority of the True Church of Christ to teach in His Name has re-affirmed what they instinctively know to be true, making it more obvious where the fullness of Truth lies.

The hermeneutic of continuity: Sacred and secular music: the difference explained

2010-07-11T23:23:00.000+01:00

The hermeneutic of continuity: Sacred and secular music: the difference explained

Thank you to Fr Tim for this. For me both the music itself and the words used are part of the same prayer. We need to ensure that both raise the Mind and Heart to God to the best of our ability.

A BLOG WITH SUBSTANCE AWARD

2010-07-11T15:20:00.000+01:00

I would like to thank Puzzled at http://thedash-thedash.blogspot.com/ for nominating my Blog for this award. Please visit her excellent site!
It is good to know that my limited attempt to share the JOY in the TRUTH of the LOVE of GOD in His Holy CHURCH is of some interest to others.
Please also visit the other Blogs I have links to - They all deserve many awards.

Motherhood

2010-07-08T09:04:00.000+01:00

Let us pray for all mothers who are under pressure to kill rather than nurture their children.

We live in a society that is happy to kill for just a few moments of pleasure - This is hedonism at it's most brutal - And we wonder why rape and predatory sexual murder is on the increase!?!

'Holy Mary Mother of God Pray for us'

Psalm 93 (Extract)

2010-06-23T17:30:00.000+01:00

How long, 0 Lord, shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked triumph ?
They bluster with arrogant speech;
the evil-doers boast to each other.

They crush your people, Lord
they afflict the ones you have chosen.
They kill the widow and the stranger
and murder the fatherless child.

****

Andrea Bocelli clarifies that his message is pro-life, not merely anti-abortion :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2010-06-21T16:51:00.000+01:00

Andrea Bocelli clarifies that his message is pro-life, not merely anti-abortion :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

If you haven't already seen this it is a heart warming must read!

"JUST CHECKING IN"

2010-06-20T14:36:00.000+01:00

My friend Jeff sent me this by email and I thought it was worth passing on:-

*****
A minister passing through his church
In the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
And see who had come to pray.

Just then the back door opened,
A man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
The man hadn't shaved in a while.

His shirt was kinda shabby
And his coat was worn and frayed,
The man knelt, he bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed,
Each noon time came this chap,
Each time he knelt just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his lap.

Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
With robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
'What are you doing here?'

The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power.

'I stay only moments, see,
Because the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is kinda what I say:

'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY.'

The minister feeling foolish,
Told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
To come and pray just anytime

Time to go, Jim smiled, said 'Thanks.'
He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
He'd never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
And met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
He repeated old Jim's prayer:

'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.'

Past noon one day, the minister noticed
That old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim,
He began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,
Learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
But he'd given them a thrill.

The week that Jim was with them,
Brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious.
Changed people, were his reward.

The head nurse couldn't understand
Why Jim was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came,
Not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised, old Jim spoke
Up and with a winsome smile;
'the nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
That he's in here all the while

Everyday at noon He's here,
A dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:

'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM, HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP, AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN. I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY, I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY, AND SO JIM,
THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY.'
*****

Corpus Christi

2010-06-06T10:53:00.000+01:00

As a Child the main difference I saw between being a Catholic and an Anglican was that we had the Wonderful gift of the real presence of Christ Himself as Holy Communion and reserved in the Tabernacle making Catholic Churches truly the House of God.
One of the things which nurtured my faith was the general sense of quiet adoration evident in Catholics who also reached out to Christ there present.
While I do not doubt the notional ascent of most Catholics to the real presence of God made Man under the appearance of bread and wine, it is difficult to nurture this faith in a church where genuflections are either nominal or non-existent and there is constant chattering both before and after Mass.
The removal of the Altar rails was in my opinion the beginning of the slippery slope to the casualisation of the Real Presence. As someone who still receives Holy Communion on the tongue, I know only too well how someone much shorter than myself has difficulty placing the Sacred Host safely and (particularly without the plate) there is a danger of the Host being dropped.
The other big problem is the queueing system which trivialises this Wonderful Gift. While it is possible to genuflect while the person in front receives Holy Communion, you are under such pressure to move on for the next person that you can't even have a couple of seconds for that first rush of love and thanksgiving at the presence of Christ now within before returning to your pew.
I pray that today's Feast is part of a greater return to love of the Blessed Sacrament in our Country.
***

Andrea Bocelli on abortion

2010-06-03T22:57:00.003+01:00

Thanks to John Smeaton for posting this:

http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-womans-choice-was-gift-to-us-all.html

Andrea Bocelli is my favourite tenor.

Abortion Advertising

2010-05-25T20:49:00.000+01:00

For anyone not linked to Faithnet here is the latest practical advise re. abortion advertising:-

Susan Palmer writes:
Here are some quick ways to register dissent for abortion advertising:
petition against channel 4 abortion advert
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/againstchannel4advert/
The ipetitions donation page at the end is optional. If you do not wish to donate just close the page there.
daily mail poll on abortion adverts: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1279816/Marie-Stopes-First-UK-TV-advert-selling-abortion--pro-life-groups-demand-ban.html
To contact the Secretary of State, for Culture, Media and Sport : enquiries@culture.gov.uk or enquiries@culture.gsi.gov.uk Phone: (44) (0)20 7211 6000
To find out the name and contact for your MP go to http://www.spuc.org.uk/mps or directly via the parliamentary switchboard at: (44) (0) 20 7219 3000

******************************************************
Send messages for faithnet to: faithnet@faith.org.uk
Please include [faithnet] in the subject header.

"Jesus Christ is the Masterkey to the meaning of the Universe".

Vanity of vanities - All is vanity.

2010-05-14T10:52:00.000+01:00

I couldn't resist posting this photo I've just taken. It is interesting how this chaffinch can't resist admiring his own reflection. My son's male Budgie exhibits the same behaviour.
Who says it is women who are vain? No wonder the tonsure was normal practise in the church to counteract male vanity!
In our present world where 'Image' is everything it is worrying how many judgements are made purely on appearance. Having watched 'Question Time' last night I was amused at the general consensus that as both David Cameron and Nick Clegg look alike that everything they stand for must also be alike.
All joking aside though, it is the universal anti life policies and 'sameness' of all the parties that made voting so difficult and was demonstrated in the results.
Whatever we may now think of the situation, we must pray fervently that God brings out the best in our new government despite any misgivings we may have.
Keep praying - God does indeed always answer our Prayers. He gives us everything we need - but I get the feeling that He still likes to be asked!
*

Preacher arrested in UK for calling homosexual conduct sinful :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2010-05-04T19:29:00.000+01:00

Preacher arrested in UK for calling homosexual conduct sinful :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Section 5 of the Public Order Act applies to people using 'threatening, insulting or abusive words or behaviour' causing 'harassment, alarm or distress'.
While some practitioners of homosexuality might be alarmed to realise that it is sinful, stating that such acts are indeed sinful is neither 'threatening, insulting nor abusive'. The police officer concerned wants disciplining, and the arresting officer sued for wrongful arrest!
*

Thought for the day

2010-05-04T10:08:00.001+01:00

'See how the wicked prowl on every side,
while the worthless are prized highly by the sons of men.'
(From Psalm11)
How to Vote?!?!?!?
*

Hold Firm and Take Heart!

2010-05-03T10:23:00.000+01:00

Psalm 18

The law of the Lord is perfect, *
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted, *
it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, *
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,"'
it gives light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is holy, *
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth *
and all of them just.

They are more to be desired than gold, *
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey, *
than honey from the comb.

So in them your servant finds instruction,:
great reward is in their keeping.
But who can detect his errors ? *
From hidden faults acquit me.

From presumption restrain your servant *
and let it not rule me.
Then shall I be blameless, *
clean from grave sin.

May the spoken words of my mouth, *
the thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your sight, 0 Lord,*
my rescuer, my rock !
*

40 years in the desert

2010-05-01T12:34:00.001+01:00

It is interesting how Biblical themes repeat themselves!
At last, after 40 years are we going to get the prayerful and deeply theological (Not to mention accurate)translation of the 'New Mass' that it should have been?
For many Catholics these days the Holy Mass seems to be their only Catechises.
It is worth noting that as far as I can see the 'New' New Translation is very similar to the 'Interim' one. Why did we ever have the present one?
While Latin is the official language of the Church and as such guarantees stability of meaning in that it is no longer developing, English can be a beautiful language if used at it's best and linked with the correct liturgical symbolism.
God Bless Pope Benedict.
St Joseph Bless us in all our endeavours.
*

Researcher finds strong link between contraception and HIV :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2010-04-23T17:38:00.000+01:00

If you haven't seen this, here is even more evidence of the unscientific approach of this 'scientific' society! Researcher finds strong link between contraception and HIV :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Bed & Breakfast and the General Election

2010-04-18T14:40:00.001+01:00

*
Our local paper this week (The Dunoon Observer) has put a few questions that local people have suggested to the four main local candidates.

The question that caught my eye was:

With recent media headlines involving a couple refusing bed and breakfast to gay partners, do the candidates think that Christians are being persecuted for taking a Christian moral view?

Here are the answers:

Alan Reid (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
No, the law is m place to prevent discrimination against people on the grounds of their sexual orientation. This particular law prevents businesses discriminating when providing goods and services. Discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation must have no place in our society. If people are running a business they must not discriminate against customers for reasons such as the customers' sex, racial origin, skin colour, sexual orientation etc.

Gary Mulvaney (Scottish Conservatives)
If you are providing a service to the public or running a business, then irrespective of your own particular views or beliefs, that should be done lawfully. If that creates a moral dilemma, then you are in the wrong business and should do something else. Tolerance should be something not just for others but for each and every one of us, irrespective of religion, race, sexuality or beliefs.

Mike MacKenzie (Scottish National Party)
We live in a multi-cultural country with several religious faiths and where people choose a variety of lifestyles. We are lucky that we enjoy the freedom to do so, mainly, without persecution. I do not believe that Christians are being persecuted and in terms of legislation I am happy with the status quo with regard to this issue. We must practice tolerance towards each other and legislation cannot easily enforce tolerance.

David Graham (Scottish Labour)
If individuals decide to run a bed and breakfast business it has to be open to everyone. Where would any refusal stop...a couple not married?.. every Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Brown?.. other people with different Christian beliefs?, .people who vote?... the list of discriminations are endless.
Being different is not a crime. In this case it says more about the couple and their inability to accept people, different from themselves.
***

What a lot of arrogance and contempt for people who have a serious question of conscience!

The only one to even consider the actual question asked (Instead of immediately canvassing the ‘Gay’ vote) seems to be the SNP candidate.

Homosexuals who declare themselves so and therefore define themselves by a deviant sexual practice are not in the same category as for example different ethnic groups!

Having done a little B&B, it is interesting to note that you can advertise ‘No smoking’, ‘No pets’ and even ‘No children’ – Apparently this is not discrimination!

A pub landlord can serve or not serve whoever he wishes without having to give a reason – Surely this should also apply to providing B&B in your own home.

However, my own approach is somewhat more pragmatic. Firstly, why should we be drawn into the same Freudian assumptions that the rest of the world makes that everyone who shares a bed to sleep in is immediately going to have sex? If this was the case perhaps we should ask to see a Marriage Certificate before renting a double room.

I prefer to assume that people’s motives are virtuous until proved otherwise.

The simple alternative solution is actually to have ‘Twin’ rooms instead of doubles with two single beds. This is even in my experience commercially viable – On more than one occasion my twin room was occupied and a mother and daughter had to share a double bed. Friends of the same sex wishing to B&B would also find this useful since single occupancy of two rooms is usually much more expensive that sharing a twin. With this arrangement, there is no question of deliberately encouraging or even condoning a sinful act.

I think this may be a slightly more practical solution than for example having a sign saying ‘Gays Welcome providing you attend our aversion therapy session involving a couple of bricks…………..’
***

Abuse, Addiction and Responsibility

2010-04-13T13:42:00.000+01:00

Apologising on behalf of others seems to be the latest fad in this culture of blame.

For example, how can we apologise on behalf of our ancestors for acts of slavery?

If a child tragically dies at the hands of their carers is it entirely the fault of social services and police?

What happened to personal responsibility?

However, in the abuse scandal which is blighting the Church, as with other social tragedies, it is not just the actual instances of abuse that is in question; it is also the personal responsibility of those in a position to do something about it for failing to do so adequately.

Christ took responsibility for every one of our failings and nailed them to His Cross – So it appears apologies may have their place.

However, even where failings have occurred, I do not believe that they were all deliberate and calculated. A lack of understanding of the nature of paedophilia has I believe been also partially to blame.

Part of our belief system is that God forgives anything if we are truly repentant, also that we are able to change our lives for the better. In this context, a sin of sexual abuse could be seen as an isolated act which could be repented of and not committed again.

While I am not an expert in paedophilia, I do have a little experience of assisting those with addictions (Drugs and Alcohol) and I think that paedophilia may well belong to a range of sexual addictions. The behaviour becomes a ‘learned’ habit craving relief, which under some ‘trigger’ conditions becomes extremely difficult to resist. This makes leaving a potential paedophile in a situation of easy temptation a very dangerous thing to do. However, many good people (even if a little naive) including Priests and Bishops, may not realise the power that an addiction can have over a person’s behaviour, especially when they obviously genuinely want to change it. St Paul expressed well the tension between the ‘flesh’ and the ‘spirit’ – For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do (Romans 7:19).

A possible trigger for a recovering heroin addict for example may be tin foil which if innocently come across while cooking can suddenly induce intense cravings. All addiction cravings can even have physical manifestations such as a hollow feeling in the stomach and a dry mouth. Even people who have given up smoking can testify to this. It can also take many years to re-learn a normal response to these ‘triggers’ and overcome the cravings.

There needs to be some sort of system for Priests who identify that their temptations are dangerous to come immediately out of the Parish setting (to say a monastery) before the sins are committed. Where such tragedies occur it is important to realise that those involved cannot be put in a position of trust again for a very long time – if ever, even with support.

*

Westminster 2010

2010-04-06T13:57:00.001+01:00

You may wish to sign this. Our politicians need to realise that they cannot simply ignore our Christian heritage and beliefs.
http://www.westminster2010.org.uk/declaration/
*

Hope

2010-04-03T10:29:00.001+01:00

Holy Saturday - It must have seemed like a time of total despair for Christ's Disciples at the time - And yet it was and still is a time of expectant Hope waiting for the Resurrection.

The Sacrifice for all time is just as much for us all personally and individually as it was 2000 years ago.

We can't help a little flutter of Hope on hearing Christ's words on the cross "Today you will be with me in Paradise".

For me also the fact that Christ's Holy Body was entrusted to 'a secret follower' Joseph of Arimathia and Nicodemus who 'came by night' also gives tremendous Hope. Christ even rewards that little flicker of light that escapes from under the bushel we are cowering beneath.

We pray that we may all gain the courage to follow with integrity and love wherever Christ leads.

*

Truth? What is Truth?

2010-03-31T15:26:00.000+01:00

In case you have missed this Auntie Joanna ( http://joannabogle.blogspot.com/ )has drawn our attention to 'probably' the best commentry on the sexual abuse scandal I have read so far:
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/03/scoundrel-times
*

Lost in translation

2010-03-29T14:21:00.000+01:00

*
Pilate - ‘Are you the Son of God?’

Jesus – ‘You have SAID it’ (In other words YES)
Not ‘YOU have said it’ (No way – That was your idea)
At least the crowd at the time got it!

I just wish that every time (not just occasionally) the Passion was read at church, that every word was weighed up so that you don’t come away thinking that Jesus was trying to wriggle out of the question. Reading is so much more than simply reciting words in the order they appear on the page.

*

Holy Week Papacy

2010-03-29T13:37:00.004+01:00

It does seem that in the world’s eyes John Paul II was the Palm Sunday Pope and Benedict XVI is the Good Friday Pope. But just as it was the same Christ on both occasions, so it is the same Papacy and the same Church. Fortunately, the same Christ also rose from the dead – We look forward to Easter even if things appear bleak at the moment.

Fight the good Fight. Keep the Faith.
*

The Annunciation

2010-03-25T13:13:00.001Z

Avē Marīa, grātia plēna,
Dominus tēcum.
Benedicta tū in mulieribus,
et benedictus frūctus ventris tuī, Iēsus.

Sancta Marīa, Māter Deī,
ōrā prō nōbīs peccātōribus,
nunc et in hōrā mortis nostrae.
Āmēn.
*

A Psalm for our time

2010-03-23T10:09:00.001Z

Psalm 13(14)

The fool has said in his heart:
‘There is no God above.’
Their deeds are corrupt, depraved;
not a good man is left.

From heaven the Lord looks down
on the sons of men
to see if any are wise
if any seek God.

All have left the right path
depraved, every one:
there is not a good man left
no, not even one.

Will the evil-doers not understand?
They eat up my people as
though they were eating bread:
they never pray to the Lord.

See how they tremble with fear
without cause for fear:'
for God is with the just.
You may mock the poor man's hope
but his refuge is the Lord.

0 that Israel's salvation might come from Sion!
When the Lord delivers his people from bondage
then Jacob will be glad and Israel rejoice.

Prayer card

2010-03-20T10:38:00.001Z

I just thought I would like to share this prayer card which I have had for many years.

My Birthday

2010-03-19T11:20:00.000Z

I am very fortunate that my birthday falls on the Solemnity of St Joseph. May He guard and guide all our families.

My early birthday present was the announcement of the forthcoming Beatification of Cardinal Newman.

"Newman belongs to those who seek the truth through the gift of human reason but illumined by the light of faith;......." Fr. Cerrato (Oratory of S. Philip).

Because what we believe is the Truth, Human Reason will always be able to endorse our Faith. It is sin that obscures the obvious intellectual path to God and His Holy Church.

Pleasure V. Procreation

2010-03-15T10:13:00.000Z

The view of society as a whole and the way in which it approaches education, whether people realise it or not, is based on fundamental principles.

To test the veracity of any statement, the simplest way is to follow it to it’s logical conclusion and see what the outcome is. Likewise our actions which stem from our core beliefs.

The sexual liberation which has progressed from the 60’s and 70’s to the present day was, in my opinion, the biggest ‘con’ by men over women in modern history. The various forms of contraception imply that sex is basically for pleasure rather than procreation and erode the Right of a woman to say No by making the fact that she might become pregnant irrelevant.

By making pleasure the main principal of our sexuality, instead of children being the desired result of a loving union between a man and a woman, they become the by-product of lust (Sex for Pleasure). As such, when not wanted, they are worthless and expendable!

This statement may sound shocking, but the acceptance of abortion proves that this is exactly the case. (Incidentally, with the advocacy of euthanasia, all human life is also beginning to be seen as worthless and expendable).

What society believes, it teaches. Thus our ‘sex education’ programmes end up being totally hedonistic and without context – Even at Primary School age.

Fundamentally the logical outcome is to see women as sex objects for men. Then the final insult comes in the form of homosexuality which implies, ironically, that the only thing they are any use for is having babies since another man is more satisfying, and they can even be a ‘family’ as long as a woman will provide them with a child.

Stop the World I want to get off!!!

*

The Jon Venables Debate

2010-03-14T14:22:00.001Z

Am I the only one who thinks that this debate has more to do with Politics than the initial horrendous murder from which it all started? Speaking for myself, I have no interest in what Jon Venables’ present name is, or even what he now looks like. I am interested however in the fact that we appear to have a Criminal Justice System which fails to protect society adequately from some extremely disturbed and damaged individuals who by their previous behaviour are known to pose a potential threat. This includes criminals who appear to be released from prison inappropriately without adequate support and supervision, as well as people with mental health problems who find themselves in a similar situation. I must say that when I saw Jamie’s Mother on the television I was impressed by the fact that she seemed concerned about the other possible victims of the further crimes rather than any notion of vengeance. People are both fascinated and frightened by evil at several different levels so it is easy for anyone with a vested interest to swing the debate back to the horrors of the original crime and the possibility of what the present ones entail. Perhaps the biggest problem with all this for Society as a whole is the nature of evil – Our Politicians wouldn’t want that debate! For there to be evil, there must be good as an absolute value. This would imply (Beyond reasonable doubt) that Mankind is more than just a chance result of the natural selection of matter and that there is such a thing as Truth and Goodness. The trouble is that people want to both have their cake and eat it! The problem is that if you accept an objective right and wrong, you also have to accept among other things that the Church may be right about the function and place of Mankind’s sexuality. However if you do not, then there are no morals, and you have no right to condemn anyone - even murderers and paedophiles. *

Faith Magazine

2010-03-12T14:53:00.003Z

My latest copy of Faith magazine arrived this morning, and as usual some of the articles are exceptional! It is not yet available on their website(http://www.faith.org.uk/ ) but if you can't get hold of a copy in the meantime, I recommend you check regularly until it is. The article by John Deighan entitled 'The Developing Redefinition of Rights and Love' is an incredibly sensitive and thoughtful appraisal of the cases of Gary McFarlane and Lillian Ladele and is a must read.

Improtant petition

2010-03-01T17:48:00.001Z

If you have not already done so Please sign this petition. We pray that it may have some positive effect! * This is forwarded from Mark and Amanda Lewin: http://www.petitiononline.com/cs001/petition.html My husband Mark and myself have set up an on-line petition respectfully asking the Bishops to re-consider the Government sex education programmes which will be compulsory for ALL school children, even in Catholic and faith schools, by 2011. PLEASE sign this petition. The last petition we created gathered over 600 signatories; we need well over a 1,000 for this to be taken seriously! Please send this to everyone you know; if you have a blog/website/business PLEASE add it on! We are placing all our endeavours under the patronage of the the Holy Family- our most perfect example - and St Margaret Clitherow the heroic English Martyr who went to her death defending our Holy Church.

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re NOT out to get you!

2010-02-24T11:30:00.002Z

The Church is now seriously under attack and genuinely persecuted in Britain. Our ability to teach the Truth, even in our Catholic schools, is being rejected under the sanction of the Law. Will Catholic teachers be sent to prison for non-compliance? In the Radio 4 programme ‘Today’ “Ed Balls, the schools secretary, made clear this morning that the intention of his sex education proposals in the Children, Schools and Families bill is to make all schools, including faith schools, teach children how to use and where to obtain birth control and abortion.” (Quote from John Smeaton http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2010/02/commons-vote-for-sex-ed-bill-is.html ). Fr Tim Finigan discusses this latest development on his blog http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2010/02/can-catholic-schools-co-operate-in.html It seems that as at the Reformation many within the Church are liable to fall by the wayside, including unfortunately some of those who should be leading us. Although some may call me paranoid, I am afraid that adhering to our full Catholic Faith in modern Britain will lead once again to persecution.

Feast of the See of Saint Peter, Apostle

2010-02-22T10:53:00.002Z

God Bless Pope Benedict! May the Church be united with him as the successor of Peter and truly shine out as a light of Hope bringing Christ in His fullness to the world!

The hermeneutic of continuity: Catholic schools: have we reached the endgame?

2010-02-21T11:34:00.002Z

The hermeneutic of continuity: Catholic schools: have we reached the endgame? If you haven't already seen this article on Fr Tim Finigan's Blog, I recommend that anyone who is concerned about our children's moral welfare should read it.

Vulnerability online

2010-02-14T11:04:00.000Z

It is interesting that last night on the TV programme ‘The Virtual Revolution’ there were references made to the dangers of giving too much away on the Internet and they specifically mentioned Religion. It may sound paranoid, but I had actually considered this factor before deciding to start Blogging. I realised that “I do not know the man” is a response of weakness and fear and that to “Stand up and be counted”, as a dear friend of mine is renowned for saying was the better option. This morning at Mass, the Gospel reading was the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven………..’ While we are perhaps fortunate that we are unlikely to be martyred for our faith; if we are not as highly regarded as we have come to enjoy because of our faith, then we are only following the Master in our own small way and can be grateful for it. ***

The Universe that happened by Chance...

2010-02-13T10:44:00.002Z

A matter of Life and Death

2010-02-12T18:24:00.001Z

What has happened to the premise that innocent Human Life is sacrosanct? We are living in a society that is so selfish that even other human beings at their most vulnerable are considered secondary to carnal pleasure and therefore expendable. The pro abortion lobby would have us believe that the child growing in the womb is somehow less human. It is this justification that is used even in fantasy (vampires, zombies, werewolves etc.) for killing ‘humanoid’ beings. Fantasy is just where it should stay! The same justification has been used in regimes of ‘racial cleansing’ as in Rwanda or Nazi Germany. When new human life begins is patently obvious. It is when two half sets of chromosomes combine at the point of conception. After this there is no point at which there is any obvious transition. To argue that it is somehow dependant on independent viability is ludicrous. We are dependant on others to survive when we are infants, if we are seriously ill or injured and often again towards the end of our lives. This does NOT stop us being individual Human Beings with a right to life. Thus all forms of abortion and experimentation using Human Embryos is abhorrent and attacks the value of Human Life itself. * Now we are being pressurised to accept euthanasia as well! Obviously one can feel very sympathetic to people in particular tragic circumstances, and as with suicide, which although illegal, for many years the policy has been to help rather than prosecute those people who sadly are driven to try but fail, compassion rather than a custodial sentance might occasionally be the correct decision of the courts for people mistakenly thinking that it is best to help a loved one to die. However, this does Not mean that we should change the law! To say that we should legalise euthanasia because of a few sad cases is as ridiculous as saying that shoplifting should be legalised because there are a few people who can’t afford to buy what they need to live! While I am not personally sure that I think that (although justifiable) it would be right to bring back the death penalty, it does seem absolutely incredible that our politicians can advocate abortion and euthanasia and yet not propose that we execute convicted murders! Without fundamental principals, we have no criteria on which to judge hard cases with compassion and no ideals to aim for on both a personal and social level. There are absolutes and there is Truth! Without these we have no right to criticise anyone - even paedophiles and terrorists! *

Why being a Catholic makes sense to me.

2010-02-10T19:43:00.000Z

To me, from the first question about the meaning of Life (Which is NOT 42) to full communion with the Catholic Church is a straightforward progression. Rather than belief in God being extraordinary, it is Not believing in God that is nonsensical. There are many observations of life and the world around us which indicate His existence. For me, the very existence of science as we know it is as strong as any. The whole point of science is to investigate the order in the Universe and go some way in revealing the logic and order therein by experimentation. The point is that the order is there. It is Not haphazard, random or ‘chance’, and where there is order there is mind. Evolution, for example only makes sense as an ordered development which is intelligently directed forward within an overall plan of existence. To come to the realisation that there must be a God does not seem to me to be so much a matter of Faith, but in the realms of the ‘bleedin’ obvious’. Faith is more to do with forming our relationship with Him as a person. However you arrive at the realisation that there is a God, since He created us as rational beings, it follows that we should expect Him to reveal Himself to us. Indeed throughout History Mankind has searched for God – It is in our very nature. What is the most perfect way in which God could reveal Himself to us? Surely as Himself in person and also as Man. This we find uniquely in the Judeo Christian Tradition. Therefore, If Christ is both God and Man, He is the culmination of Truth and the Church of Christ must have His authority to teach the Truth. (Even good and learned men cannot always agree without guidance). There is only one Church which claims this authority – The Catholic Church! From this realisation through a development of our relationship in Love with God, we can learn to appreciate more and more the majestic sweep of His Wisdom throughout the Old Testament to it’s culmination in Christ and onto the present day within His Holy Church.

My Grand Father's First World War Diary

2010-02-09T12:17:00.000Z

The full Diary is available on my webpage

Sgt Bernard Joseph Brookes 'Queen's Westminster Rifles' 1914/1915

***

Below is a short extract of his personal experience of the Christmas Truce.

Towards evening the Germs became very hilarious, singing and shouting out to us. They said in English that if we did not fire they would not, and eventually it was arranged that shots should not be exchanged. With this they lit fires outside their trench, and sat round and commenced a concert, incidentally singing some English songs to the accompaniment of a bugle band. A German officer carrying a lantern came slightly forward and asked to see one of our officers to arrange a truce for tomorrow (Xmas day).

An officer went out (after we had stood at our posts with rifles loaded in case of treachery) and arrangements were made that between 10 am and 12 noon, and from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm tomorrow, intercourse between the Germs and ourselves should take place. It was a beautiful night and a sharp frost set in, and when we awoke in the morning the ground was covered with a white raiment. It was indeed an ideal Christmas, and the spirit of peace and goodwill was very striking in comparison with the hatred and death-dealing of the past few months. One appreciated in a new light the meaning of Christianity, for it certainly was marvellous that such a change in the attitude of the opposing armies could be wrought by an Event which happened nigh on 2000 years ago.

25.12.1914 (Xmas day)

During the night two men were reported to be missing and I had to go out early in the morning on my cycle to try to find them. I went to the Dressing Station in Chappelle d'Armentieres a mile or so away, but they had not been there. Later in the day the Bosches told us that two men the night before had walked into their trench in a state which proved that they had "drunk of the loving cup, not wisely, but too well". We asked that they should be returned to us, but they refused on account of the fact that these men had seen the position of their machine guns. They promised, however, to wire to their headquarters, and see what could be done in the matter. Later we were informed that it had been decided to intern them in a Civilian Camp, and not treat them as prisoners of war, so as this seemed fair and the only course open we left it at that.

At 9 am as I was off duty I received permission to go to Mass at a Church which I had discovered whilst hunting for the missing men. This Church was terribly shelled, and was within the range of rifle fire, as was clearly proved by the condition of the wall facing the trenches, and no effort had been made to clear the wreckage, as to attempt this would have been fraught with danger. A priest, however, had come in from Armentieres to minister to the few people who were still living in the district. In this Church which would hold about 300, there were some 30 people, and I was the only soldier. It was indeed a unique service, and during a short address which the priest gave I was about the only one who was not crying, and that because I did not understand much of what was being said.

I returned to headquarters and went on duty from noon to 2 PM, during which time I partook of my Christmas Fair which consisted of "Bully", "Spuds", Xmas pudding, and vin rouge, which latter we found in one of the cellars on the farm.

In the afternoon I went out and had a chat with "our friends the enemy". Many of the Germs had costumes on which had been taken from the houses nearby, and one facetious fellow had a blouse, skirt, top hat, and umbrella, which grotesque figure caused much merriment. Various souvenirs were exchanged which I managed to send home. We also had an opportunity of seeing the famous Iron Cross which some of the men wore attached to a black and white riband. These crosses are very well made and have an edging of silver. The man's name is engraved on one side, and the reason of the award briefly stated on the other. I have also a number of Germ signatures and addresses on a fly leaf of my "Active Service Pay Book" and it was arranged that at the end of the war we would write one to the other if we came through safely.

The Germs wanted to continue a partial truce until the New Year, for as some of them said, they were heartily sick of the war, and did not want to fight, but as we were leaving the trenches early next morning, and naturally did not want them to know, we insisted on the truce ending at midnight, at which time our artillery sent over to them four shells of small calibre to let them know that the truce, at which the whole World would wonder, was ended, and in its place, death and bloodshed would once more reign supreme.

***

CONTEXTUAL SEX

2010-02-08T15:21:00.000Z

Introduction As an archetypal ‘Grumpy old man’ I find myself getting frustrated and annoyed with the ‘wisdom’ of our modern society as thrust upon us by our media especially our TVs. I have come to the realisation that ALL communication is by its nature propaganda (Even this - in the sense that I am trying to encourage others to see what I believe to be a true and helpful perspective of the subject). Words DO matter. Our thoughts and understanding of our relationship with the world around us affects our actions and in this context, the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. We keep being told that teenage pregnancies are rising and that sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase and that the answer is more and more sex education at a younger and younger age. We are expected to believe this despite the empirical evidence that it is not working. What has happened to common sense? What has gone wrong with our society whose youth is defined by drunkenness, aggression and despair? How do we encourage our children to blossom and joyfully grow to their full potential? There is no point in looking at sex in isolation. Human sexuality needs to be discussed within the context of our complete biological and psychological make up. We have to look at the very nature of sexuality and draw our conclusions regarding its context and purpose using logical common sense. Why Sex? What is the purpose of our sexuality? If you direct this question to a group of young people, you will very quickly get the answer ‘To have children’. In other words for procreation! If you watch programmes by people like David Attenborough, he will often emphasise the ‘passing on of genes for the continuance of the species’ when talking about various animals. Why in humans should this suddenly change? Naturally sexual reproduction is pleasurable; otherwise we would avoid it and not survive. However to take the pleasure aspect alone and disassociate it from its purpose actually contradicts our very nature and the way we are made. Common Sense Anybody, not just someone with religious conviction, is capable of observing the basic nature of the world around them and their place in it, and using a little Common Sense (or logic) see what actions fulfil this relationship or which destroy it. We are constantly told that we are affecting global warming, implying that our actions can influence our environment. Yet, the same society tries to claim that we can enjoy our sexuality an almost any form we wish without any thought for the context for which it was designed. Surely, in order to be in harmony with the environment and our own natures and so achieve some degree of true happiness and contentment, we need to explore this context and attempt to live our lives with this in mind. To my mind it is patently obvious that, if the main purpose of our sexuality is for procreation, we need to advocate the best possible way for this to be achieved and maintain this ideal even when our human condition means that it is not always met. Even the most jaded, if pressed, will surely admit that the ideal environment for children is a loving stable committed (married) relationship between their mother and father. What’s love got to do with it? If we take the pleasure aspect of sexual union and pursue that in isolation, it becomes purely selfish and no longer creative (reproductive) as designed. It can actually become addictive and unfortunately, as many of us who have grown up in this present age of ‘enlightenment’ have come to realise, chasing the ultimate orgasm is unachievable and rather than leading to fulfilment, simply leads to misery. Why do we as a society lie to our children and tell them they can have sex without consequences? The context If the purpose of sexual intercourse is primarily for reproduction, it follows that any use of our sexuality separated from this purpose is not in accordance with our nature and will not fulfil us as human beings. Therefore, the use of sexual intercourse in any other situation than 'a loving stable committed (married) relationship between their mother and father' is not ideal. Thus, no responsible parent would want to advocate ‘affairs’ or ‘sex before marriage’ to their children. Also it is obvious that homosexual use of sex is sterile and unnatural. Even the separation of the procreative potential through contraception is pleasure seeking and selfish. This is not to condemn almost the whole of mankind who find the temptation to seek the pleasure of sex in isolation appealing, but to tell the truth with honesty that unless we actively endeavour to use our sexuality lovingly within the context for which it was designed, we will never find true fulfilment and peace. In other words we are created to be in harmony with the environment and our natures so if all else fail follow the instructions! Give our children an ideal to aim for and have a little faith that they might actually achieve it!

***