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...