4 Peace...

Friday, December 21, 2007
We could all use a little peace at Christmas... Here is something I was sent in an email a while back, which I just came across yesterday... I hope it's helpful, especially at this time of year, which can be very hectic and chaotic for some.

Wishing you all a very peaceful Christmas. :-)

Just in case you've had a rough day, here's an 8 step stress management technique recommended in the latest psychological texts. It really works....

1. Picture yourself near a stream.

2. Birds are softly chirping in the cool mountain air.

3. No one but you knows your secret place.

4. You are in total seclusion from the hectic place called "the World".

5. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.

6. The water is crystal clear.

7. You can easily make out the face of the person you're holding underwater.

8. See, You're smiling already.

1 Blog Blessing Award




I got a Blog Blessing Award from Dana.... Thanks, Dana! :-)

Here is the blessing that Dana bestowed upon me...



You can go here to read about the blogging blessings that were started by Deb at Ukok.

The idea… it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for 3 blog friend. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you recieve a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!


I want to bless the following bloggers:


1: Éamonn from Peregrinus Hibernensis

Éamonn has been an incredible blessing to me throughout this last year and has made me the happiest and most blessed girl on the face of the planet... So, naturally I want to bless him!! I might do something a bit more concrete than posting it on my blog though... Oh, if I could only think of what to do... ;-)


2: Dana from Umm, where am I?
(It doesn't say you can't bless the person who blessed you!!)

Dana has been amazing over the last couple of years and has been a wonderful support through my aunt's death and all sorts of other trials. She's always been at the other end of an email, or rather, a "PM" on DCF, with advice, prayers, laughs, hugs... just whatever is needed at that time! And she does happen to have two of the cutest children I've ever seen in my life...


3: Margreet from Margreat's Blog

Margreet is one of my dearest friends, and I want to bless her because:
(a) she's been a huge blessing to me over the last few years,
(b) she's had a rough year and I think she could certainly do with the blessing!! and
(c) it's an excuse to see her update her blog!!!
Seriously though, I consider Margreet to be one of my "nearest and dearest", and I still haven't quite gotten over the fact that she isn't as near as she used to be, now that she's not in Belfast anymore. :-( This girl is one of the few individuals out there who really has the knack of making me quite literally "LOL" when I'm really down. She's had her fair share of practice, in all fairness! ;-)


A prayer for Éamonn, Dana and Margreet...

Lord I thank You for all You give to me. I especially thank You for the friendship I receive from Éamonn, Dana and Margreet. I pray Your blessing on all of them everyday. Grant them strength, peace and joy. For they let You bless me with these things through them every day.

GLORIA Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

2 An Irish Ghost Story

Monday, December 10, 2007
I got this from a friend and thought I would share.....


This story happened a while ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a storm.

The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car slowly come toward him and stop. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door... only to realise there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on!!

The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the wheel. John, paralysed with terror, watched as the hand repeatedly came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.

Shortly thereafter John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road, so, gathering strength, he jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had. A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying and... wasn't drunk.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two other people walked in from the stormy night. They, like John, were also soaked and out of breath. Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other...

"Look, Paddy... there's that flipping idiot that got in the car while we were pushing it!!"

1 Smells & Bells!

Friday, December 07, 2007
I spotted this over on Fr Z's blog... who in turn got it from The Roman Sacristan!

"Smells & Bells"
(to the tune of "Jingle Bells")

Processing into church
It’s the TLM today
Doing liturgy right
Chanting all the way (Glo-ri-a!)
Bells at the sanctus ring
Raising our spirits high
Oh how great to have Mass and tradition back in line!

Smells & Bells
Smells & Bells
Liberals cough and fuss
Oh what fun it is to serve in cassock and surplice
Smells & Bells
Smells & Bells
Hippies start to fume
Thanks to the 16th Benedict for Summorum Pontificum!

3 8 Random Facts Meme

Tuesday, December 04, 2007
I have been tagged by Ivar over at Musings on the Divine...

... Here’s what you do:
~ Each person starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves and post these guidelines.
~ At the end of the post, choose 8 people to be tagged and list their names.
~ Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they are tagged and to read your blog. Have fun!

1. I have a degree in computer science and work in IT, though I have virtually no interest in it and haven't a clue how to fix a printer...

2. I'm a fussy eater who won't eat things that I don't like the look, smell or thought of... and I think peanut butter is eeeeeeevil.... I do love chocolate, however. Lots.

3. When I was younger, my favourite foods were apple and Mars Bar sandwiches (don't knock it until you've tried it!) and banana sandwiches. However, bananas have since headed the same direction as peanut butter.

4. I have a wonderful collection of books that I have never read and will probably never get around to reading. I always insist I am not going to buy another book until I've read the ones I've got, but that never happens. ;-)

5. I am a total coffee snob. I absolutely hate instant coffee -- only ground coffee will do! If I am in a café, or even at someone's house, and am not sure if the coffee is going to be instant or not, I will order tea rather than take my chances. In saying that, since meeting Éamonn, I've turned into a bit of a tea snob too... Earl Grey tea leaves all the way!!!

6. Every time I eat a bag of crisps or a bar of chocolate or anything like that, I always fold the wrapper up into a little square. I don't know why, but I've been doing that since I was in my teens and the world just doesn't seem right if I don't!!

7. I'm claustrophobic and tend to get rather upset with people invading my personal space when in busy places, like shopping for example, especially when I'm tired. I get really cold when I'm tired, too. Actually, it's probably best you just stay out of my way altogether when I'm tired, lol! Unless your name is Éamonn and I am engaged to you, of course.

8. I am really looking forward to spending Christmas with my wonderful fiancé... (I'm looking forward even more to spending next Christmas with my husband...) :-D

I tag:
Éamonn (now that was totally unexpected!)
Lilder (who has probably been tagged already!)
Bonaventure (who hasn't even GOT a blog!)
The DCF blog ring (if there is anyone left that hasn't yet been tagged by someone else)

8 people is a bit optimistic, hehe!

P.S. I've just noticed that half of my answers are about food or drink... Hmmm... I don't have an obsession, honest!! I'm just a bit hungry right now... ;-)

6 Hmmmm......

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

3 For my millions of American readers out there....

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
... I know I'll forget to post this tomorrow, so thought I would get it in a bit early...

Happy Thanksgiving.









3 Running away

Friday, November 16, 2007
Thanks to the Curt Jester, I now have this running through my head again....



1 The rejected mysteries

I spotted this over on the Shrine of the Holy Whapping...

ROME (HWTN News)--One of the Shrine's moles at the Vatican recently leaked to me a truly extraordinary document from the Congregation for Divine Worship, which indicates that in the lead-up to the unveiling of the Luminous Mysteries towards the end of Pope John Paul II's reign, the CDW's Consumer Rights section beta-tested a number of alternatives to the Pope's proposal. This in itself should be no surprise; the mysteries of the Rosary, along with the stations of the Cross, have historically been rather fluid in content and in number, while the CDW's careful supervision of new Vatican products is well-known after the massive recall of the '04 cherry-flavored "Hieroymus Bosch Blend" incense after the main stock had been secretly adulterated with hallucinogens as a protest by an anarcho-syndicalist guerilla theater group.*

Experts remark that the Luminous Mysteries won out with good reason. But it's still fascinating to see what might have been and why it got rejected. One set, the Parabolic Mysteries, was thought to sound too mathematical, though it dealt with Christ's various parables, some of which themselves proved to be problematic. The Mystery of the Parable of the 99 Sheep and the 1 Lost unfortunately put most test-subjects to sleep given Fr. Cantalamessa's suggestion they pray by counting each one, while the Mystery of the Divine Childhood, based on various apocryphal accounts of Christ's early years featuring Jesus smiting playground bullies and the like, made, in the words of one, "Our Lord seem a bit too much like Damien from The Omen." Researchers soon afterwards discovered the proposed Mystery of the Blue Carbuncle came not from sacred history but the Sherlock Holmes canon, and the whole section on the Father Brown Mysteries seems to have been a long and involved joke on the part of the compiler of the report.

Some mysteries also seemed, like the 99 Sheep, a bit too dull. Take for instance, the proposed Tedious Mysteries: 1: the Child Jesus stars in His School's Hannukah Pageant; 2: The Child Jesus is asked by Mary to take out the Garbage and Doesn't Complain, 3: Joseph hits his thumb with a hammer but does not say his golf words despite a furious desire to do so, 4: Our teenaged Lord suffers silently as Our Lady and St. Joseph show His friends all those embarassing baby pictures and 5: the Child Jesus is teased by playground bullies for being dressed like the Infant of Prague. The problem here is when you are dealing with a family in which the baby is God, the mom is sinless and the dad may well have never committed a sin of his own accord, there isn't too much drama to work with, barring the introduction of a Jewish Eddie Haskell character, and no such archetype appears in the Protoevangelium of James.

Now, if you must excuse me, it's Thursday and we all know that means it's time for a recitation of the Fourth Glutinous Mystery: Our Lord Feeds the 5,000 with Kosher Cinnabons.

*Supposedly Cardinal Arinze knew something was wrong when he attended a solemn high mass where the Gospel, solemnly intoned, began, "In illo tempore, dicite Iesus, Viiiiiiiiiirrrrr..." (Literally: At that time Jesus said: Duuuuuuuuude.")

Thanks to Dawn Eden for providing the idea!

7 I should play the guitar

Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Isn't it just as well I do, then?!

You Should Play the Guitar

You're very independent - both in spirit and in the way you learn.
You can teach yourself almost anything, even if it makes your fingers bleed.

You're not really the type to sit patiently through a music lesson - or do things by the book.
It's more your style to master the fundamentals and see where they take you.

Highly creative and a bit eclectic, you need a wide range of music to play.
You could emerge as a sensitive songwriter... or a manic rock star.

Your dominant personality characteristic: being rebellious

Your secondary personality characteristic: tenacity

4 Tagged indirectly by Therese!

Friday, October 05, 2007
I've been indirectly tagged by Therese for this meme... She saw my weak spot and she exploited it!!! :-P

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

Both! At the moment there isn't a regular TLM in my diocese, so I go there when it is on, plus when I'm visiting my lovely fiancé, I would go to St Audoen's (soon to be St Kevin's!)... The rest of the time, I would go to the Novus Ordo.

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

Either two minutes on foot or two hours by car!!

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

I think I really have to steal Éamonn's answer here... Just Catholic, actually

4. Are you a comment junkie?

Sometimes I can develop comment junkie tendencies...

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

Sometimes... Though often I tend to forget where I've commented!

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

No... I wouldn't say anything that I wouldn't own up to.

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

I don't know... I think I'm on all the important ones already!!

8. Which blog is the first one you check?

Peregrinus Hibernensis
:-)

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?

Four.
I might have been known to meet Éamonn from time to time... (I think I might vaguely remember saying yes to some question he may have asked...) ;-)
From my list of blogs, I have also met Carole, Margreet and Adrian. Not that Margreet or Adrian ever actually update their blogs (it's been so long that I wonder should I even count them)!!

10. What are you reading?

Several things, actually... I have this habit of starting about 5 books at once...

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth -- I tend to dip in and out of this, and it'll probably take me about another ten years to finish! I've also just started At The Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green, am skimming through Saints Behaving Badly by Thomas Craughwell, and have a couple of park-your-brain type novels sitting by my bed that I've been meaning to start too.

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

No! :-(

Okay, I'll have to tag Dana and Joakim, as I can never think of five people who'll answer!

3 Dorky Light-Weight Nerd...

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
... That's me!!! But that's okay... Éamonn has his books and I get to keep my computer... ;-)


NerdTests.com says I'm a Dorky Light-Weight Nerd.  What are you?  Click here!



There ya go... You learn something new every day...

3 Éamonn beat me to it...

Tuesday, September 25, 2007
... so he did...

0 Why Computers Sometimes Crash

Why Computers Sometimes Crash! by Dr. Seuss.

I f a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port, and the bus is interrupted at a very last resort, and the access of the memory makes your floppy disk abort, then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash, and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash, and your data is corrupted cause the index doesn't hash, then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash!

If the label on the cable on the table at your house, says the network is connected to the button on your mouse, but your packets want to tunnel to another protocol, that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall.

And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss, so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse; then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang, 'cuz sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang.

When the copy on your floppy's getting sloppy in the disk, and the macro code instructions is causing unnecessary risk, then you'll have to flash the memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM, and then quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your Mom!

3 Tech Support...

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and
noticed that the new program began making unexpected changes
to the accounting modules, limiting access to flower and
jewelry applications that had operated flawlessly under
Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many
other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.9 but installed
undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0 and NBA 3.0.
Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and HouseCleaning 2.6 simply
crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3
to fix these problems, but to no avail.

- Desperate

Dear Desperate,

Keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package,
while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Try to enter the
command: "C:/ I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME" and install Tears 6.2.
Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications:
Guilty 3.0 and Flowers 7.0. But remember, overuse can cause
Husband 1.0 to default to GrumpySilence 2.5, HappyHour 7.0
or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will create
"Snoring Loudly" wave files. DO NOT install MotherInLaw 1.0
or reinstall another Boyfriend program. These are not
supported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. In
summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have
limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.
Consider buying additional software to improve performance.
I personally recommend HotFood 3.0 and Lingerie 5.3.

- Tech Support

29 Need Motivated?

Friday, August 24, 2007
I just discovered (by the way, it's a bad idea to discover things when you're busy with work...) this site that allows you to make your own motivational posters... I must play about with it sometime when I get a chance. However, here are a few I found out there in the blogsphere that I thought I'd share...













Ah well. It kept me entertained when waiting for a new software build...

13 Tagged again...

Tuesday, August 14, 2007
... and this time, not by Joakim! Therese wants me to give her five reasons why I love Jesus... Ummm.... okay then...


1. Because He loves me, died for me, forgives me and gives Himself to me anytime I go to receive Him in the Blessed Sacrament... and I love Him because He brought me back to the Church, where I can receive Him in the Sacraments

2. Because He is incredibly patient with me and has never given up on me, even during those times when I had pushed Him away and given up on Him... and that He's always there for me and gives me the grace to work through the difficult stuff

3. Because He doesn't just simply tolerate me and think "Oh no, not her again!", but He loves me and loves spending time with me... And He listens to me, and even though He knows all the itty bitty random details of my day, in even more detail than I do, He still wants me to tell Him all about it... and doesn't get bored when I do (even when I'm at the point where I'm boring myself!) :-)

4. Because He has put so many amazing people into my life whom I don't deserve and will never deserve, just simply because He wants to bless me

5. To "borrow" one of the Curt Jester's answers, because "He loved me where I was at, but didn't leave me there."
Actually, the Curt Jester has some great answers there... I also like "I love the view from his shoulders as he carried me back to the flock." :-)


Okay... Five people to tag... Éamonn (of course!), Margreet, Dan (you can leave a comment!!)... and seeing as Therese has already "stolen" Dana and Joakim (and I don't know who else reads my blog), I would like to tag you for a different meme!

"If you could invite your five favourite saints to dinner, what would you serve them to eat, and why?"

(And you're not allowed to tag me back for that one!!!!) :-P

Good luck! ;-)

5 Another bad joke... ;-)

Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Recently a routine Gardai patrol parked outside a local neighbourhood tavern. Late in the evening the Garda noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk.

The man stumbled around the car park for a few minutes, with the Garda quietly observing.

After what seemed an eternity and trying his keys on five vehicles, the man managed to find his car which he fell into. He was there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.

Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a fine dry night), flicked the indicators on, then off, tooted the horn and then switched on the lights.

He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little, and then remained stationary for a few more minutes as some more vehicles left.

At last he pulled out of the car park and started to drive slowly down the road.

The Garda, having patiently waited all this time, now started up the patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and carried out a breathalyzer test.

To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence of the man having consumed alcohol at all!

Dumbfounded, the Garda said "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station... This breathalyzer equipment must be broken."

"I doubt it," said the man, "tonight I'm the designated decoy".

0 National Airline for the Holy See...

Wednesday, July 11, 2007
From Cacciaguida!


A national airline for the Holy See...

TANTUM AIR-GO

"Ultramontane" was never like
this!

* three cabins: first, business, and preferential option
* all seats in first class are The Comfy Chair
* unjust stewardesses
* MP6 on every longhaul flight; MBJ23 in first class
* airport lounge for our Golden Chalice members
* currency exchange: pray for the conversion of your money
* free headset and rosary
* your captain: Pontius Pilot (kidding!)
* connect to the "Passetto" at Fiumicino for quick ground transport into Vatican City
* direct flights from Boston and San Francisco
* first Catholic plane at Heathrow since Reformation
* service to China expected soon
* confessors available to help with your "baggage"
* emergency procedures include absolution
* Keep in mind that the nearest holy water font may be behind you.
* planes by Boeing; nobis quoque pick up Airibus
* Swiss Guards on every flight, halberds at the ready (we've never seen a hijacker who wanted to be the beheadee rather than the beheader)
* the one true airline!

Call Bonnie Voluntatis or Jenny Torre at EtCumSpirit 220.


3 Cheesy boy band song...

Sunday, July 08, 2007
I was reminded a few days ago of this song that was doing the rounds a while back... It's a great formula for, well, pretty much every boy band song out there... Anyway. I went hunting for it, and discovered it on YouTube! (How cool is YouTube?!)



Here are the lyrics...

Declaration of my feelings for you
Elaboration on those feelings
Description of how long these feelings have existed
Belief that no one else could feel the same as I

Reminiscence of the pleasant times we shared
And our relationship’s perfection
Recounting of the steps that led to our love’s dissolution
Mostly involving my unfaithfulness and lies

Penitent admission of wrongdoing
Discovery of the depth of my affection
Regret over the lateness of my epiphany

Title of the song
Naive expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Enumeration of my various transgressive actions
Of insufficient motivation
Realization that these actions led to your departure
And my resultant lack of sleep and appetite

Renunciation of my past insensitive behavior
Promise of my reformation
Reassurance that you still are foremost in my thoughts now
Need for instructions how to gain your trust again

Request for reconciliation
Listing of the numerous tests that I’d perform
Of physical and emotional compensation

Title of the song
Naïve expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Acknowledgment that I acted foolishly
Increasingly desperate pleas for your return
Sorrow for my infidelity
Vain hope that my sins are forgivable
Appeal for one more opportunity
Drop to my knees to elicit crowd response
Prayers to my chosen deity
Modulation and I hold a high note

Title of the song
Naïve expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song


Mmmmmmm..... yup, it pretty much sums them all up in one fell swoop, doesn't it?!

6 Gloria Gloria Motu Proooooooo-prio!

Saturday, July 07, 2007
Happy days... The Motu Proprio and accompanying letter have been released, at long last... :-)

Like the Curt Jester, I too found it just ever so slightly amusing that as yet, there is only the Latin translation for it up on the Vatican website, while the accompanying letter is available in several different languages. ;-)

Anyway...

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

V. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
R. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.

V. Per singulos dies benedicimus te.
R. Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.

V. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
R. Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.

V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
R. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.


P.S. There's a wee celebration going on over on YouTube, if you wanna go see!!!

2 Either I am incredibly bored...

Thursday, July 05, 2007
... or I have been spending too much time hanging out with certain individuals... I haven't quite worked out which yet!!! Either way... here are some awful lightbulb jokes that have kept me entertained this afternoon... :-)

~~~~~

Q: How many Norwegians does is take to change a lightbulb?
A: Two. One to screw in the bulb and one to tell a long story about it...

Q: How many customer service representatives does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: 5. One to incorrectly diagnose the problem, 2 to repeat the first rep's notes to the customer, and one to inform the customer that the lightbulb changing service is no longer available in that location.

Q: How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: None. It's left to the reader as an exercise.

Q: How many recovering addicts does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: One, but it takes twelve steps.

Q: How many shipping dept. personnel does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: We can change the bulb in 7-10 working days; if you call before 2pm and pay an extra $15 we can get the bulb changed overnight.

Q: How many cats does it takes to screw in a lightbulb?
A: You can throw away your light bulbs. Just douse the cat with gasoline, light it up with a match, and you'll have all the light you need.

Q: How many auto mechanics does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Two, one to screw in all the bulbs he has until he finds one that fits, and the other to tell you he thinks he'll have to replace the whole socket.

Q: How many paranoids does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Just what exactly do you mean by that?

Q: How many lightbulbs does it take to change a dyslexic?
A: One. It isn't too easy.

Q: How many scrabble players does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: I don't actually know, but it's on a triple word score anyway.

Q: How many light bulbs does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Two, the new one and the old one.

Q: How many librarians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: I don't know, but I can look it up for you.

Q: How many chickens does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Two - one to do it and one to cross the road.

Q: How many bailiffs does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: Ten. One to change it, one to hit you in the kidneys, and 8 to stand around such that none of this gets caught on camera.

Q: How many pro-choicers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Two, one to do it and one to assert that the bulb didn't exist before it was lit up.

Q: How many board meetings does it take to get a lightbulb changed?
A: This topic was resumed from last week's discussion, but is incomplete pending resolution of some action items. It will be continued next week. Meanwhile...

Q: How many teenage girls does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: One, but she'll be on the phone for five hours telling all her friends about it.

Q: How many Daleks does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: 1,500,000: To conquer a race than can climb ladders for them.

Q: How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Two, one to screw it almost all the way in and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end.

Q: How many physiotherapists does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: None. They just give the dead bulb some exercises to do and hope it will be working a bit better the next time they see it.

Q: How many poltergeists does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: Three. One to unscrew the old bulb and drop it on the floor, one to put the new bulb in, and one to move a few more things about just for good measure.

Q: How many lexicographers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: Two. One to change it and one to protest that he should have changed it to "light bulb".

Q: How many politically correct people does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: None. "Why should we impose our values on the lightbulb ? If it wishes to be a lightbulb of no light, we should respect its uniqueness and individuality."

Q: How many gay rights activists does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: None: The bulb shouldn't have to change for society to accept it.

Q: How many dentists does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: Three. One to administer the anaesthetic, one to extract the lightbulb, and one to offer the socket some vile pink mouthwash.

Q: How many doctors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: That depends on whether it has health insurance.

Q: How many Evangelists does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: 33. One to do it, 2 to bask in its glory, and 30 to take collections in the bulb's name.

Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: Only one, but the lightbulb must want to change.

Q: How many roadies does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: One, two ! One, two ! One, two !

Q: How many graduate students does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Only one, but it may take upwards of five years for him to get it done.

Q: Do you know how many musicians it takes to change a light bulb?
A: 5, one to change the bulb and 4 to get in free because they know the guy who owns the socket.

Q: How many guitarists does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: 5, one to do it and 4 to say that they liked it but would have done it a bit differently.

Q: How many CD player users does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: One, but the old bulb keeps getting stustustustustustustustustustuck

Q: How many rednecks does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: One, it only takes one person to use a hammer.

Q: How many public opinion researchers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: With what degree of certainty do you need to know?

Q: How many poets does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Three. One to curse the darkness, one to light a candle... and one to change the bulb.

Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the lightbulb itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a maudlin cosmos of nothingness.

Q: How many manic-depressives does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Only one, but they keep changing it back and forth between the new and old bulbs.

Q: How many smokers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: At least five. If they all light up together the lightbulb will do so too.

Q: How many grocery store cashiers does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Are you kidding? They won't even change a five dollar bill.

Q: How many procrastinators does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: One--but he has to wait until the light is better.

Q: How many pessimists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: None, the old one is probably screwed in too tight.

Q: How many system administrators does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: None, they just deny everyone access to the area served by the light bulb in question.

Q: How many QA testers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: None. We just noticed the room was dark. We don't fix the problems, we just find them.

Q: How many Technical Support staff does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: "Well, we have an exact copy of your light bulb here and it seems to be working OK. Can you be more specific about the exact problem ?..."

Q: How many MIS guys does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: MIS has received your request concerning your hardware problem, and has assigned your request Service Number 39712. Please use this number for any future reference to this light bulb issue. As soon as a technician becomes available, you will be contacted.

Q: How many programmers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: None. "It's not a bug, it's a feature."

Q: How many Quality managers does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: We've formed a quality circle to study the problem of why lightbulbs burn out and to determine the best thing we as managers can do to enable lightbulbs to work smarter, not harder.

Q: How many admin assistants does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: None. I can't do anything unless you complete a lightbulb design change request form.

Q: How many computer journalists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Five-one to write a review of all the existing light bulbs so you can decide which one to buy, another one to write a remarkably similar one in another magazine the next month, a third to have a big one come out on glossy paper two months later that is by then completely out of date, a fourth to hint in his/her column that a completely new and updated bulb is coming out, and the fifth to report a rumour that that new bulb is shipping with a virus.

Q: How many witches does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: It depends on what you want them to change it into.

A: One.
Q: How many psychics does it take to change a lightbulb ?

Q: How many Hobbits does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: 1 to complain that the lightbulb isn't working, 5 to hold a meeting to decide what to do about it, 20 to form an expedition to the fabled Lightbulb Mines of Mythrill, 30 to throw a going-away party, 1 to ask Gandalf for directions, 1 to sell into slavery when the directions aren't stuck to, and they end up in entirely the wrong part of the country, and ready cash runs low, 5 get lost through natural wastage (bandits, murderers, monsters, etc,) 1 to be thrown to the Dragon that guards the Lightbulb hoarde, 1 to be thrown to the dragon to cover the retreat, 2 to carry the box of lightbulbs, 5 to find a large, sword-wielding barbarian to escort them home with the lightbulbs, another 30 to throw a safe-return party, 5 to get rid of the barbarian, who in typical style, got drunk at the party, 5 to find an Elf in the neighbourhood tall enough to change the lightbulb, one elf, and 5 to compose ballads of derring-do, heroism, sacrifice and lightbulbs. A grand total of 118.

Q: How many academics does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: None. That's what research students are for.

Q: How many philosophers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: Two. One to change it and one to think deeply and come up with a real gem, such as "Well there you are, standing on a chair, changing a lightbulb. Here we see the difference between a cat and a dog. If you have a cat, it looks up at you, thinks 'What are you doing ?', and walks off. But if you have a dog, it's looking up at you and thinking 'Well, I dunno what you're doing, but I love you anyway.'

Q: How many Ph.D thesis supervisors (advisors) does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Only one; but every time they see a lightbulb they have an irresistible urge to change it!



Okay.... I'll go away and leave you alone now....


11 TLMs, books, Dutch stuff & ordinations!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Alrighty... It's about time I posted properly... So you'll now have the pleasure of "listening" to me ramble on about what I've been up to over the last wee while!

Okay, so, about a week and a half ago, I had the pleasure of attending the TLM in St Audoen's Church in Dublin, where the Lassus Scholars and Piccolo Lasso sang Mozart's Coronation Mass. Great stuff altogether... It was really beautiful, and it didn't feel at all like just a performance or anything like that... A little piece of heaven. :-)




Oh! And I couldn't possibly let the opportunity pass without mentioning that the day before I was in probably the best bookshop in Ireland... Though I will have to go back again, as it was the wrong side of payday and so I had to resist the incredible temptation to buy, well, practically everything in sight... sigh...


I'm so proud of myself, that I actually did manage to leave the shop without buying anything... (we'll just not talk about the books I bought in the other bookshops that day...)

Then, this past weekend, I was in Holland, visiting a good friend of mine (who never updates her blog, but we'll forgive her!) in Aarle-Rixtel, a wee village in the south of Holland. Anyway, we had a great time chilling out, catching up, saying a wee prayer (or three) in the "Mariakapel", watching some great movies, and came home with a suitcase full of stroopwafels (which, for the most part, have already been demolished by the lads in work), speculaas, and hopjes (yaay! hopjes!) and have had to leave the poffertjes for my next visit (though to pacify me, I have had promises of waffles when I visit Norway next month)... Of course, I have unfortunately been denied the opportunity to have any of these yet, having stupidly booked a dentist appointment for a root canal yesterday morning... In hindsight, not one of my cleverest moves, considering the ridiculously late night thanks to delayed flights. (And flights! I will not even START on those! And the obscene price I paid for a bottle of WATER on my way home!!!)





Anyway. While I was away, there was something very important happening back in Ireland... (Well, apart from Fr Owen celebrating 5 years as a priest!) Yep, at the weekend, Deacon John Egan became FATHER John Egan!

Carole has written more about that over on her blog, if you're interested.

We have another ordination coming up this weekend, too... Deacon Philip Kemmy... if you could maybe keep him in your prayers. :-)

Anyway... I'll shut up now before I bore you all to tears... ;-)


P.S. I really wish I hadn't forgotten the majority of my HTML programming from uni... Tis really frustrating when the formatting won't behave itself! :-(
P.P.S. Mind you, I'm probably the only person who'd be annoyed by such things...
P.P.P.S Not to mention the fact that my blog has, what, three readers?!
P.P.P.P.S I really am going to stop with the P.S.'s now...

P.P.P.P.P.S Or maybe now!

3 While I've been threatening to find the time...

Tuesday, June 26, 2007
... to post another "proper" post one of these days, I couldn't resist sharing this joke I got in an email today...

A blonde, wanting to earn some extra money, decided to hire herself out as a "handy-woman" and started canvassing a nearby well-to-do neighbourhood.

She went to the front door of the first house, and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do.

"Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch," he said, "How much will you charge me?"

The blonde quickly responded, "How about £50?"

The man agreed and told her that the paint and everything she would need was in the garage.

The man's wife, hearing the conversation, said to her husband, "Does she realize that our porch goes all the way around the house?"

He responded, "That's a bit cynical, isn't it?"

The wife replied, "You're right. I guess I'm starting to believe all those dumb blonde jokes we've been getting by e-mail lately."

A short time later, the blonde came to the door to collect her money.

You're finished already?" the husband asked.

"Yes," the blonde replied, "and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats."

Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the £50.00 and handed it to her.

"And by the way," the blonde added, "it's not a Porch, it's a Lexus"

11 Bork bork bork

Wednesday, June 13, 2007
In order to congratulate Joakim on becoming a Catholic, I was going to make banana(nanana) split, or some cake, or even some "chocolate moose"... But seeing as I can't cook to save my life, I thought I'd settle for some coffee...



Congratulations, Joakim!

3 Semi serious post, for a change...

Sunday, June 10, 2007
Well, Wednesday past was the first anniversary of my aunt's death. A strange old day, altogether... It's very hard to believe that it's been a whole year since Kathleen passed away -- in many ways it has been the fastest year EVER! Of course it's got me thinking of all the things that have happened in the last year... I'm in a very different place now from where I was 12 months ago... (although I've only moved 5 minutes round the corner, hehe!)

For starters, I'm almost 3 stone lighter, as I've managed to tackle some of the hangups I've had about my weight since, well, forever... Quit smoking, which I have been putting off doing forever... Then there's the swimming lessons, which have helped get rid of -- or at least lessen -- that phobia of water that hand been hanging around since, well, forever! As far as faith is concerned, a year ago, I don't think I'd even heard of the Tridentine Mass, let alone actually BEEN to one... let alone purchased the oh-so-wonderful "Baronius Missile", or even thought about driving in the not-quite-Dublin-city-centre... and, well, I could go on about some of the other wonderful things that have happened, but you get the point... ;-)

But over the last year, when things have happened, I've always felt a little sad that Kathleen wasn't here to see them - to see me fit into her really cool purple cords (which are now actually getting too big), or looking smashing at the Youth 2000 ball, wearing her jewellery and all dressed up and looking girly for a change, with not a baggy t-shirt in sight! (Though I do think she may have disapproved ever so slightly at my change of footwear halfway through the evening... from "nice girly heels" to much more comfy trainers... but hey, at least they matched the dress...) At the same time, I wonder would any of these things happened had Kathleen not died? She must be putting in a good word for me or something....

And how much has changed since this photo was taken of her with her little sister...


Many times throughout the last year I have had cause to think about one of the lines from one of the Prefaces for Lent... "You teach us to live in this passing world with our hearts set on the world that will never end..."

It also reminds me of a great prayer I have discovered recently, about Complete Trust in God...

Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life with fear. Rather, look to them with full confidence that, as they arise, God to whom you belong will in His love enable you to profit by them. He has guided you thus far in life.

Do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all trials. Whenever you cannot stand, He will carry you lovingly in His arms.
Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. The same Eternal Father who takes care of you today will take care of you tomorrow, and every day of your life. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace then, and put aside all useless thoughts, all vain dreads and all anxious imaginations.


~ Saint Francis de Sales


3 My abseil

Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Well, I just did that abseil on Saturday, for Marie Curie Cancer Care, down the amazingly scary 205ft building that is the BT Tower...!! Two words.... SCARY BICCIES!!!!!

(I was going to say, ah no, it wasn't really THAT bad... but... well... actually... ummm... yeah... I'll maybe shut up now.....!)

Anyway, I posted about it over on DCF, and included some photos that were emailed to me today by my brother... I should be getting one sent to me in the next week or two, that was taken from the top, so I will be sure to pass that on once it arrives.

Of course, it was amazing having all the support on the day of some great people who came to watch, but thanks to all of you who sponsored me (both online and off), for helping me raise money for such a great charity, and in memory of such a great woman.

Kathleen... Rest in Peace



13th May 1950 - 6th June 2006



3 Okay, so, apparently I'm Catholic...

... Didn't see THAT one coming....!

~~~~~


You scored as Roman Catholic, You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you.

Roman Catholic


100%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan


75%

Neo orthodox


71%

Emergent/Postmodern


57%

Classical Liberal


39%

Charismatic/Pentecostal


29%

Modern Liberal


25%

Reformed Evangelical


21%

Fundamentalist


18%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

11 Another meme...

Thursday, May 24, 2007
Seemingly, Joakim doesn't want me to do ANY work this week whatsoever, as he's tagged me again, this time for my top 10 favourite movies, and 21 words to describe me... Oh dear!

Again, guaranteed that I'll leave some out and have to resist going back and editing it... but hey...

Ten favourite movies (in no particular order):

1. The Da Vinci Code (JOKE, people! JOKE!!!!)

Ok, no, seriously!

1. Monty Python & The Holy Grail (like that was such a huge surprise!)
2. Beaches (hey, I'm a girl! It's allowed!)
3. Stand by Me (see previous comment)
4. Running on Empty (see previous comment)
5. The Odd Couple (absolutely hysterically funny)
6. Shrek (plus a lot of other movies along the same lines -- Ice Age 1 & 2, Wallace & Gromit - all except the last one, Chicken Run, etc etc... Is it cheating, putting them all together under one number?!)
7. The Shawshank Redemption
8. Life Is Beautiful
9. Patch Adams
10. Waking Ned

Hmmm. I could go on and on and mention Braveheart, Into the West, etc etc, but I suppose I'd better stop at 10!


21 words to describe me:

Right. Now, this is a lot more difficult...
Actually.... Can I take a raincheck on that one?! My mind's gone a-blank and I have to actually get some work done today! :)

~~~~

So, I'll tag DANA (yoo hoo! Dana! You got tagged!!!!), Therese (once she gets her ISP sorted out), and Éamonn (once he gets back from Chartres, of course)....

5 Brave Sir Robin ran away (bravely ran away, away)...

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Was just randomly thinking about this at lunchtime, so thought I'd share...

9 Three book meme...

Monday, May 21, 2007
Okay, I've been tagged by Joakim for book recommendations... Hmmmmm... I love books, and do read an awful lot, but am pretty much taking a mental blank when it comes to actually picking some to put down... But I'll give it a whirl!

1. Three non-fiction books everyone should read:
Well, I know you'll probably all expect me to put down the Bible, or the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or Morning and Evening Prayer from the Divine Office.... So I'll try to resist that......

However, for the non-fiction category, I guess my choices are still going to be pretty Catholic... I'll go for With Us Today by Fr John Hardon,
The Kiss from the Cross by Ronda Chervin, and Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West.


2. Three works of fiction that everyone should read:
Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Screwtape Letters (the last of which I haven't actually read yet, as such, but have cried with laughter, listening to the audio book, narrated by John Cleese!)


3. Three authors everyone should read:
Although, it's almost impossible to pick only three... I'll stick down my favourite "park-your-brain" fiction authors... I would tend to read stuff by Jodi Picoult, James Patterson, Elizabeth Flock, that kind of thing... Really, they're the kind of books where I can't even really remember what it is even ABOUT afterwards, but they're great for just chilling out, where you can get so engrossed in the story for an evening or two, but just switch off at the same time...


4. Three books that nobody should read:
Oh, don't even START me on THAT topic!!! Grr!! Grr!! Grr!!


.... And then a couple of honourable mentions I thought I'd add in...
I really DO feel the urge to mention two books that I got as a Christmas present from my lovely housemate this past Christmas!!! Firstly, there's Saints Behaving Badly, which is a GREAT book, showing that there's hope for us yet, hehe! Then there's The Incredible Book of Vatican Facts and Papal Curiosities, which is a pretty amusing book with all sorts of Catholic trivia.


All great books, but I'm sure once I start thinking about this, I'll want to go back and edit this post to add a whole bunch more!!!

Right, I'm going to tag Éamonn, Margreet (who hasn't updated her blog in FOREVER, so needs an excuse to do so!), and Mr-DCF-Book-Recommender-Extraordinaire, DAN... but seeing as Dan doesn't have a blog, he'll either just have to start one, or leave his in a comment here!!! Ah go on! Ye will, ye will, ye will!!!

4 Former EpiscoPUSalian gets CATechised....

Wednesday, May 16, 2007



Pus enjoying some light bedtime reading...




Ah, the fun we get up to in our house!!

6 Dog watching

Friday, May 04, 2007
Apparently our cat has taken to chasing dogs lately...



... this is her doing a spot of dog watching.

4 It's in God's hands

Wednesday, May 02, 2007
I was looking for something today, and came across this, which I wrote around this time ten years ago... And I was just thinking how true it is... It would certainly do no harm to remember He's got it all sorted, even if things don't seem to be making any sense sometimes.

It's In God's Hands

Strong and powerful, yet able to comfort
And hold tenderly. The same hands that
Created the tiny daisies and soaring eagles
Are also able to carry the weight of the world.

The one who has already planned our road ahead
Doesn't expect us to travel on our own.
On the contrary, our lives are in His hands.
Only He is in control of our destiny.


"We place our destiny in the hands of the LORD, not in the hands of men, because His mercy is as great as His majesty." (Sirach 2:18)


0 Caption Contest!

Thursday, April 26, 2007
Spotted this on another blog and thought it was rather good....



As for captions, my personal favourites are:


"I once consecrated a Host thiiis big..."

"The…....hills are aliiiiiiive….. "

"He's gott da whole vorld in hiss hands.... he's gott da whole vorld in his haaands....."



... and let's not forget...



"A-le-ehhhhh-ehhy-loo-oooh-oooooh-ia!" (think Easter week...)




Any more to add?? Leave a wee comment.... :o)


4 T-shirts I really must buy...

Spotted a couple of t-shirts that I really am going to have to invest in...




And then my new personal favourite (despite the spelling mistake, hehe)....



These, and a whole bunch of others can be found over in Cafe Press...

3 Rónán Johnston - Songs of Consolation

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
I've just ordered my copy of Rónán Johnston's new album, Songs of Consolation, and can't wait for it to arrive. I've liked Rónán's music since I got my first Emmaus album, Come To Me, back in 1994. Emmaus' music has definitely been hugely influential in my life, as have the members of the band and community.

So anyway, I just ordered the CD and got a response within 10 minutes telling me it's all packed up and ready to go! Talk about service, hehe! Will let you know the verdict in a few days once I get a listen, but as usual when it comes to Rónán, I don't expect it to be anything less than fantastic.

You can buy it on his site at http://www.rojomusic.com

2 Easter in Jerusalem

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A friend of mine, Fr T, is currently out in Jerusalem. He sent some of us this email today, describing his experiences.

Dear all,
In the absence of photos, I decided to send around a bit of circular letter here to let people know what things are like in Israel at Easter. Two of my friends, after their visit to the Holy Land in September 2005, said that the great challenge would be to not talk about it too much. So, here goes the challenge.

Easter here begins with Palm Sunday and all the Christian (i.e. Catholic) groups in the city gather in Bethphage. The geography of the city is basically that the Old City is up on the hill and next to it, facing the old Temple Mount (now the Dome of the Rock mosque) is the Kedron Valley (Jn 18:1 Remember that all hills, by definition, need valleys). Across the Kedron valley is the Mount of Olives and at the top of the Mount of Olives, just over the top of the hill is Bethphage (Mt 21:1).

The procession begins just in front of the Franciscan parish church. The Franciscans, custodians of the Catholic Holy Places in Israel, do a superb job and one thing they have done is construct apartments on the grounds of their church in Bethphage to try and encourage the dwindling Christian population to stay here, despite the difficulties of life between their Muslim neighbours and Jewish state. One of the great things about Palm Sunday is that it gives the native Christians here a day out to show off their identity with pride. Some of them come down from Galilee and some from Egypt for the day.

Exactly as for the entrance of Jesus nearly 2000 years ago, the Palm Sunday procession is still politically charged. Still, each group has brought their music and their guitars and there is a great procession of music and dancing and the biggest palms I ever did see, all the way up again to the top of the Mount of Olives and then down the route that Jesus would have taken the other side, with the Holy City facing you. The Muslims even stood by the roadside, not joining in but enjoying the party atmosphere. Then up in through the Lion Gate to the church of St. Anne, built by the Crusaders next to the "sheep pool" where Jesus cured the cripple in Jn 5. There the Patriarch, Michael Sabbah, gave the address in Arabic and English, appealing to the Palestinian Christians to love their enemies and challenge the oppressor precisely by responding with love. In the context of life here it was quite a powerful speech. Then there was a bit more dancing and then we took off to the Christian Quarter of the Old City (knocking down a dress hanging outside a shop on the way with my palm branch) to see the parade in through the city gate, with the big banner of "Jesus is Alive" or something like that on it. Scouts of French inspiration, playing Scottish bagpipes: very Palestinian!

On Holy Thursday morning a few of us went over to the Upper Room and spent a bit of silent time there reading the account of what was to take place there that evening; after the Mass of the Holy Supper here in the Dominicans, we headed down to Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and sat in the garden there for a bit of silent prayer while the basilica was packed with people listening to the Passion being read in five or six different languages. Then, about 10.30, we made our way along the path from there that Jesus would have been taken after his arrest, up the Kedron Valley and then up the hill into the city, to the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (the traditional site of the High Priest's palace, though archaeologists are quite sure now where the real site was, about 200 yards up the hill from it). The path is the same as it would have been for Jesus, but the paving stones are about 200 years after. The top of the path was lit with candles: really beautiful. Of course, it was full of people from all over who had come to meditate on what took place there that Thursday night when Jesus was arrested and hauled up those steps.

On Good Friday morning the smart people got up early and did the Via Crucis at 6 O'clock. Sorry folks, i was too tired after the night before (getting old), so joined a group at 9.30. Unfortunately, so did every other pilgrim. We got to the 2nd station and then had to turn around because of the crowd and invent our own "Via Crucis". For all that, we ended up some 40 metres from Golgotha by 11.30: right place, right time, wrong year. It can make you dizzy to come face to face with the time and place of the crucifixion of the Lord in a way like that. As my friend said, the danger is to speak too much.

Good Friday evening had the most beautiful ceremony, in my opinion. We went to the Holy Sepulchre basilica, which covers both the place of Golgotha and the tomb. The place where Jesus was crucified was originally a quarry, just outside the city walls, disused about 100 years before the crucifixion. A quarry is useful waste ground for digging tobs in the rock: hence Jesus was buried in the same place as he died, almost (Jn 19:41). Of course, having been disused for 100 years it was somewhat overgrown also, hence its desciption as a garden (Jn 21:15). The 4th century basilica of the Holy Sepulchre covers both sites: truly a wonderful place. There was a procession with psalms and antiphons from the Franciscans' sacristy to Golgotha with a crucifix. On Golgotha they remove the nails and crown of thorns from the statue of Christ. Well, I thought it was just an ordinary statue, but when they removed the nails the arms drooped down by his side and they lowered "him" down just as they would have taken someone off the cross. Essentially it was a dramatic re-enaction of the taking down from the cross. I must say, I was struck to the bone by it. Then they took Jesus down the stairs to the anointing stone and anointed the "body" with perfume and spices and then, placing him in a linen shorud, processed on to the tomb and laid him there.Then they distributed the remained of the perfume and spices. It was a really moving ceremony to see it.

On the way home I visited the fifth station on the Via Crucis to thank God on behalf of a German friend who had wanted a prayer said for all the "Simon of Cyrene"s who had helped her in her life. That was a nice prayer to say.

On Saturday the Easter Vigil takes place in the morning: because the timetable between the different Christian denominations (i.e. Greeks, Latins (us) and Armenians) was set in the 1700s it couldn't be changed after the Easter Vigil was moved from morning to night in the 1950s. But...I didn't go. One vigil is enough. Instead I made an attempt to get to the Greek ceremony of the "Sacred Fire" where the Greek Patriarch goes into the tomb of Christ and emerges with fire out of "nowhere" which is then taken around Israel and even to Greece. However, the crowds were unpassable and we were rammed by a group of Russian priests (I joke you not). Then we ended up on the roof of the Holy Sepulchre, which was useless for anything, so off we went home.

In the evening we had the vigil here in St. Stephen's (St. Stephen was buried in the Dominican church until the first Muslim takeover, when his remains were brought to Rome for safety). The fire was the highlight, caught by big winds it was blown a metre in every direction, swinging around as people tried to light the candle from it: a great symbol of the Holy Spirit.

When the Vigil was ended we went off to the Holy Sepulchre again to celebrate with the Lord, reading the Gospel there and singing our Alleluias up and down the street. On Easter Sunday morning we went to the Franciscan church right next to the Upper Room (the Upper Room isn't a church anymore, so can't say Mass there) for a wonderful Easter Mass and then called into the Benedictines to hear the Gregorian chant hymn "Resurrexi" : I am risen and am with you again, Alleluia. You placed your hand on me, Alleluia. How wonderful is this knowledge of you, Alleluia.

It was really easy to feel the delight of the Lord in Jerusalem that day. Last week we went off to Galilee for an archaeological tour. Well, the Lord really chose a beautiful part of the world for his homeland, for sure. Even today it is full of forests and fields and animals and flowers. Our house, owned by the Emmanuel Community, was overlooking the lake, so you could spend a few minutes every morning just taking it all in. We also had tours all over, including to Caesarea Philippi (Mt 16:18), Nazareth, Magdala, Tabgha (the traditional site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and now with a wonderful Benedictine abbey), etc. The Holy Land is really a place of great grace, coming face to face with the reality of the Lord. It's a real sign of the basic truth of our faith: it's all about Him, and He's what counts. Speaking of which, I'd better run off to say my prayers.

1 Potentially stupid idea...

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
OK. I've just signed up to do an abseil down the BT Tower in Belfast in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. And before I had time to find out how tall the building actually is and chicken out, I set up a fundraising page for people to donate online. So in other words I'm committed. Or maybe I should BE committed... Hmmm...

Anyway. While you're over there sponsoring me (hint, hint) be sure to check out the cheesy photo of me! I don't think I'll be grinning quite as much closer to the time...

3 Liturgical Anonymous

Friday, April 13, 2007
I don't know if any of you read the Curt Jester's blog... If you don't, you really should, it's hilarious! Anyway, I came across this on my travels, which really did make me 'LOL'... I've posted some parts of it below, but visit the site to read the whole thing.

Over the last century many support groups have arisen for substance abuse, alcohol abuse, and other addictions. But until now one much needed organization was missing. What about liturgiholics who abuse the liturgy? People drunk on power to change the liturgy in their parishes to their own visions divorced from liturgical history have had nowhere to turn to. That is until now.

Introducing Liturgical Anonymous (LA) an international, spiritually oriented community of liturgical abusers who meet in local groups to help each other end this destructive addiction to changing the liturgy as one wants. Liturgical Anonymous follows a 12 step program and not one of the steps are a dance step.



Once a liturgical change addict admits they have a problem they are ready for Liturgical Anonymous. My name is [Insert Name Here] and I am a liturgical abuser. Welcome you are on the road to recovery.



Many of our members also require help to throw off the vapidness of most modern liturgical music. Most find that a too rapid introduction to Gregorian Chant for instance is too much beauty to handle so quickly. Thus are program slowly weans them off of the music of Haugen-Daas with a drug equivalent of music Methadone. This drug with a high sugar content is slowly reduced over time to allow a tonal rearrangement in the subject. For priests we have a special program called "Seeing Red: Rubrics are your friends." With liturgical dancers we helped to teach them that the only acceptable dance at Mass is attendance.



Our headquarters for Liturgical Anonymous has a 24 hour hotline staffed by liturgical counselors. If you ever feel tempted to deviate from the norms give us a call and we will help you to overcome this temptation. Alcoholics can go cold turkey and avoid bars, but the liturgical abusers must learn to be attend the Mass with full, conscious and active prayerful participation without thinking how they would have done it different or how they would have redesigned the sanctuary.



Here are just some of the testimonial of successful members of Liturgical Anonymous:

I'm John [Last name withheld] the former clown altar server. I served at many Masses especially in the seventies. I saw no problem with it at the time and even served with priests also dresses as a clown. In Persona Bozo presented no theological difficulties for me. I thought I was just bringing joy to the people, I mean what could be wrong with that?



There is no disgrace in facing up to the fact that you have a liturgical abuse problem. So why not join now before some parishioners stage an intervention.

Remember "Friends don't let friends abuse liturgy."

2 Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur

There was a post on DCF recently that reminded me of all the millions of Latin phrases I found a couple of years back... I had my Dominican friend (that's a Dominican priest, not someone from the Dominican Republic... Just in case any of you thought any different... ADRIAN!!!!) tortured with funny quotes I'd find online, and would regularly sneak one into my email signature at work to see how long it would take my boss (or our American colleagues) to notice it and comment on it... I used to have them all on my computer somewhere (WHICH computer is the problem!), but have no idea where they're at now. But I can still remember some of my favourites...


Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
(If you can read this, you're overeducated)

Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes!
(If you can read this sign, you can get a good job in the fast-paced, high-paying world of Latin!)

Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur
(Oh! Was I speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out.)

Sola lingua bona est lingua mortua.
(The only good language is a dead language.)

Bene, cum Latine nescias, nolo manus meas in te maculare
(Well, if you don't understand plain Latin, I'm not going to dirty my hands on you)

Certe, toto, sentio nos in kansate non iam adesse )
(You know, Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore

Estne tibi forte magna feles fulva et planissima?
(Do you by chance happen to own a large, yellowish, very flat cat?)

Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum europe vincendarum
(Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe)

Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus
(Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries)

Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant!
(May barbarians invade your personal space!)

si in animis habeatis scidam latrinariam in domo mea ponere, vosmet rogate si possitis velocius currere quam saxum quod vadit cum celeritate nonaginta milia passuum per horam
(If you’re thinking of putting toilet paper on my house, ask yourself if you can outrun a ninety-mile-an-hour rock.)

audite: modo de colosseo rationem interfectorum recentissimam cognovi- Leonibus triginta duo Chrisitanis nihil clepsydra addita ad spatium mortis subitae
(Listen: I just got the latest score from the Colosseum- Lions 32, Christians 0, in a sudden-death overtime!)



Of course, most of these can be found in Henry Beard's books...


And speaking of Latin, I was just commenting to Éamonn last week, how after 3 years of studying Latin at school, all I can remember is one of the first sentences from our first year text book, which was "Cornelia est puella Romana quae in Italia habitat..."

And speaking of Éamonn... (Hehe! This is where I get my own back...) At his invite, myself and my friend (who some of you DCF-ers would know as Norwegianblue) went down to Dublin last Friday for the Stations of the Cross and the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday in St Audoen's Church, which was, by all accounts, really powerful stuff. The music was incredible, with Allegri's Miserere being a highlight for me... (You can read more about it on his blog)

Anyway. I had asked Éamonn, when getting directions to St Audoen's, "Is it possible to avoid the city centre?", seeing as I had this great phobia of driving in Dublin City Centre... To which I was told "Yes, just about." Not realising that this was a very precise truth, and St Audoen's was, oh, a whole QUARTER OF A MILE from Dublin City Centre (!!!), I therefore decided to drive! In hindsight of course, it was a very good call, as I probably would have not gone, and therefore missed the whole thing (plus as an added bonus, I'm not quite as terrified of driving down there now... but not quite ready for O'Connell Street just yet!)... But I have now learned that if I am ever going to ask Éamonn anything ever again, to listen very carefully to his response and not to leave anything open for interpretation!!!

Wow. This has actually been a proper post after all... That wasn't my intention... Hang on and I'll go back and delete it!

2 Which airline...

Wednesday, April 11, 2007
A guy sitting at Bar at Brussels Airport noticed a very beautiful woman sitting next to him. He thought to himself, "Wow, she's so gorgeous she must be a flight attendant. But which airline does she work for?

Hoping to pick her up, he leaned towards her and uttered the Delta slogan:
"Love to fly and it shows?"

She gave him a blank, confused stare and he immediately thought to himself,
"Okay, she doesn't work for Delta".

A moment later, another slogan popped into his head. He leaned towards her
again, "Something special in the air?"

She gave him the same confused look.

He mentally kicked himself, and scratched Singapore Airlines off the list.

Next he tried the Thai Airways slogan: "Smooth as Silk."

This time the woman turned on him "What the h*ll do you want?"

The man smiled, then slumped back in his chair, and said,
"Ahhhhh, Easy Jet!"