"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
This Wednesday was “Ash Wednesday” and, therefore, we are now in the time known as “Lent”. This is a traditional time in the Church for prayer, fasting and alms-giving. In order to be liturgically correct, this Friday we turn to the Monty Python monks of the Holy Grail for inspiration…
…and so another month is torn off the calendar and we have now entered March. Time for a New Year’s Resolution check up!
1. Spend 30 minutes every day in Scripture: I’ve not done as well with this as I did in January. I’ve spent a good bit of time in the Word, but it really hasn’t been devotional reading. Summary: “Could try harder!”
2. More dancing: Hmm…really failed at this one in February. I had great plans but they were consistently scuppered by forces outside of my control. I really have to get on top of it this month…
3. No more rushing: Still doing well with this one. I’ve been pretty good at keeping my timetable balanced and reasonable.
4. No chocolate: Still haven’t touched a single piece. It’s getting hard though. A couple of times I’ve been at a café and I’ve very nearly bought myself a pain au chocolat without thinking. I can really sympathize with the Vicar of Dibley on this one:
5. Get into the best shape of my life: Not bad, but could still do better. I’ve got into the habit at work of doing push-ups and pull-ups each time I go downstairs to go to the bathroom or to get a drink. My diet has remained pretty modest. I still haven’t got back into the regular way of exercising though… :-/
6. At least five minutes of guitar practice every day: Still going great. I’ll probably start playing at the LifeTeen Mass soon.
7. Keep proper track of finances: Much better. I now have a “finance guy” who is badgering me to get things sorted. Things should be probably settled after I get back from England.
8. Get back to England for a couple of weeks: All flights are booked and the majority of people are now organised.
It has been a busy month. I’ve also taught teenagers to Foxtrot, started learning New Testament Greek, requested a Social Security Number, passed my Californian Driving Test and finished a Bible study on the Epistle of St. James. All in all, not bad…
When musicians, artists and writers are interviewed, they are often asked about their influences.
Now, although I’m no Bono, something I’ve been meaning to do ever since I started this blog is to share with you some of my own influences. These are the people who have made a profound impact upon me and substantially contributed to the person I am today.
In this post I would like to briefly talk about someone who has had an impact upon me and my faith fairly recently. In fact, up until nine months ago, I had never even heard of him. The person I’m talking about here is Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
I first saw today’s video years ago. In fact, it was so long ago it was pre-YouTube (Yes kids, that’s right, there was once a time when YouTube didn’t exist – we actually had to do work at the office instead…)! Many Friday mornings I searched for this video, but to no avail. That is, until now…
So get yourself a coffee, set the video to full screen and hit play. Oh, and be sure to watch the credits 🙂
“Sacrifice for the family…”
“….but not sacrifice the family…”
Okay, I know this title is an incredibly obvious pun (and far below my usual, high standards), but I thought I would make it now before anyone else did. 🙂
As most of my friends know, I’ve been wanting to study New Testament Greek for some time. However, this has been easier said than done. For a start, my geographical wanderings in recent years have made committing to a course of study difficult. Also, finding somewhere that teaches New Testament Greek is not such a simple task as one might imagine and finding one which is cost-effective only adds to the fun…
When I began my “Introduction to the New Testament” course about a month ago at the Pastoral Center I asked the instructor for suggestions as to how I could bring this desire to learn Biblical Greek to fruition. He suggested that I:
1. Contact Bethel Seminary
2. Learn using a self-study course
The other night I had a meeting with some of the Young Adult leaders in the Diocese. We shared dinner together and were offered a reflection by a Miles Christi priest.
The evening was opened with a meditation by the recently beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman. Newman is someone I’ve like for some time. I haven’t read any of his works in their entirety (yet), but I’ve always enjoyed the excerpts I’ve come across.
One thing I’ve always admired about Newman was his single-minded determination to follow the truth where ever it lead him and to serve Christ whatever the cost…
God has created me to do Him some definite service;
He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission, I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.
In previous “Friday Frivolity” segments I have covered some of the best pick-up lines the Catholic world has to offer. Well, this week’s offering comes courtesy of Catherine. If you haven’t seen Mad TV’s skit “Can I have your number?” it’s probably a good idea you watch that first otherwise this’ll make no sense: