Category: Catholicism

Pope writes another great blog entry

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No, not that Pope. There is a priest in Washington DC whom I have long regarded as my Virtual Chaplain, completely unbeknownst to him!

Virtual Internet Pastor

During my years of wandering I lacked a spiritual director or even a regular parish (this blog isn’t called “Restless Pilgrim” for nothing!). During those wilderness years I had a three month stint in Washington DC and, towards the end of my time there, I discovered Msgr. Pope’s parish.

I greatly enjoyed my visits – my exposure to gospel music until then had been limited, but I loved the enthusiastic singing I heard there. What impressed me most though was the preaching…

Msgr. Pope’s homilies were of good length, exegetical, impassioned and practical. I had often been critical of the standard of homilies in the Catholic world and hearing this kind of preaching was a breath of fresh air.

After my visa expired I left Washington DC and continued my wanderings around England and the USA. Fortunately, I soon discovered Msgr. Pope’s blog, together with his homily recordings and podcast feed. This meant that whether I was living in London, San Diego or somewhere in between, I received the same teaching. It was like having a regular pastor again 🙂

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Peter Kreeft on Islam

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I actually had this post scheduled for mid-November, but I thought I’d post it a little early because of the recent media storm concerning pressure over classroom crucifixes from Muslims at a private Catholic University. In this entry I have a video of a debate Peter Kreeft had on the subject of Islam. He tells a story at 35:09 that I think is particularly relevant to the current controversy.

I have devoted quite a lot of time to studying Islam and probably read in total about a third of the Qur’an. Despite the fact that Islam is a major world religion, I often find awareness of basic Muslim beliefs rather lacking among Christians. A little while ago I produced a series of posts about Islam in an attempt to provide a basic introduction to the religion.

I often have rather animated conversations with another member of the Catholic community here in San Diego on the subject of Islam. A lot of these conversations revolve around how Islam should be viewed by Catholics. I was therefore delighted the other day when I stumbled upon a debate Professor Peter Kreeft had on this very subject…

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Disturbing numbers

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Today I looked up the number of abortions which happen worldwide in the space of a year. The number was truly shocking:

42 Million 56 Million

42….million…that number is just far too big for me to even try and wrap my head around. How about the number just in the US?

1.37 Million 638,169

1.37….million… Even that number is too large for me to even attempt to visualize… What would that be per day?

3,700 1,748

Over three and a half thousand abortions a day in the USA… To put that into context, September 11th, the event that shook the world, claimed approximately 2,977 lives…

I recall hearing a soundbite on TV of a certain politician defending the current abortion laws and saying that he wanted abortion to be “safe, legal and rare”.

I’m sure there’s constant medical progress towards protecting the mother’s health during the abortion procedure.

Abortion is certainly legal.

But rare?

With great accent comes great responsibility

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While we’re on the subject of great power and responsibility, I just wanted to share with you a recent post I saw over at “Stuff Christians Like” entitled People who pray with British accents:

“When I hear someone pray with a British accent, they sound like it’s coming out of their mouth in cursive…”
– John Acuff

Having an English accent in America is something of a blessing and a curse.

It’s constantly assumed that I’m from Australia. I’m regularly asked to repeat myself while on the phone because people can’t understand what I’ve said. I’m often asked if I know so-and-so who lives in London. I regularly have to explain the difference between England, the UK and Great Britain.

On the plus side, people assume that I’m more intelligent than I actually am… 🙂

Sunday Lectionary: Power and Responsibility

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Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 30, 2011

The Readings this week focus around the relationship between power and responsibility. It answers the question: what does the Lord demand of a leader?

In the First Reading, the Prophet Malachi speaks out against the Levite priests for abusing their position of power. They did not honour their privileged relationship with God. King David sings in the Psalm about the attitude which they should have had: humility rather than pride.

In the Second Reading we gain insight into St. Paul’s relationship with the Church in Thessalonica. Although Paul had founded that church and although he had legitimate authority over them as an Apostle he speaks tenderly to them and lovingly, as one might expect a good father.

Not so with the Pharisees! In the Gospel Jesus condemns them for not practising what they preach, for placing heavy burdens on the Children of Israel and for constantly seeking public adulation.

Jesus then turns the concept of leadership on its head. If you want to be great in the Kingdom, he says, you must humble yourself and serve. As a great man once said, with great power comes great responsibility…

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