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The excuses we make

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I’m starting to fall significantly behind with my blog. I have a large number of posts in draft, but very few have recently been published.

Anything Worth Doing…

G. K. Chesterton said “Anything worth doing, is worth doing badly”. I think the point he was trying to make is that if something is important, it’s worth giving it a go, rather than endlessly procrastinating. There is a temptation to leave a task until some undefined, almost mythical, point in the future when you finally feel qualified to attempt it.  “Perfect is the enemy of good” might be another way of expressing the same sort of idea. Given my personality, there’s a real danger that all the entries currently sitting in my “drafts” folder will remain there, forever to be tweaked and tinkered but forever found unsatisfactory and remaining unpublished.

I’ve therefore resolved to be a bit braver and to publish more of my thoughts on this blog, even if they’re not formed to my level of satisfaction.

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IC XC

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This past weekend I was visiting a friend in Washington State and, at the church we visited, saw the following cross hanging above the altar:

Cross at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Yakima

…and this reminded me of something else which I came to understand through studying Greek that I had meant to share…

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Covered By The Cross

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I recently told this story to a friend of mine.  As I was driving home afterwards, I thought that it might be worth sharing here too…

When I was living back in England, my parish had a Hospital Visiting Ministry with which I was involved, run by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Every Saturday we would hand out free newspapers, identify the patients who would like to receive Holy Communion the following day and spend some time speaking with them. This would be done by two different people every week, each covering half of the hospital.

Out of all the wards we visited, the one I hated visiting the most was the ASU, where stroke victims were treated. I think I disliked visiting this ward more than any other because it was often a very frustrating experience.

I’ve always placed a very high premium on communication, and those in the ASU usually had difficulty with speaking, a common consequence of suffering a stroke. It frustrated them not being able to make themselves easily and fully understood and it frustrated me in not always being able to understand them.

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Favourite People: Fr. Robert Barron

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In a previous post I spoke about one of my favourite people, Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I spoke about how I came to discover him, his sermons and writings, as well as try and describe something of the impact he had upon me.

I think it is appropriate therefore, that in this next entry, I’ve chosen to talk about someone whom I’ve often heard referred to by other people as “The Next Fulton Sheen”.

This person is Fr. Robert Barron.

If Sheen Had YouTube…

Fr. Robert is a priest who lives near Chicago in the United States. I first came across him on YouTube while I was still living in England.  He is a published author (I finished his book “The Eucharist” this week), but he has also embraced the new media and is using it to extend the reach of his ministry. It is in this sense that he is like Fulton Sheen – he’s a superb communicator and uses all means available to proclaim the faith, although in terms of style he and Archbishop Sheen are very different.

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Byzantine Back and Forth

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This week is Holy Week and as the LifeTeen band isn’t playing this weekend, it means I can spend Easter at my favourite church, an Eastern Rite (Byzantine) Catholic parish near to where I live. Alleluia!…well, almost 😉

Christ_is_risen_21

One of the things I love about the Byzantine Rite is the standard set of greetings and responses which take place during the year. For example, when I first attended the parish I got there very early on in the morning and heard the priest greet a parishioner with the exclamation: “Glory to Jesus Christ!”, to which the parishioner responded “Glory forever!”. This seems to me like a wonderful way to begin any conversation! 🙂

These responses change throughout the liturgical year.  At “Nativity” (Christmas) it becomes:

“Christ is born!”
“Glorify Him!”

We will shortly be entering the “Pascha” (Easter) season when it will change to:

“Christ is Risen!”
“Indeed He is Risen!”

And at certain blessings, such as at the end of Great Vespers or at the Kiss of Peace:

“Christ is among us!”
“He is and will be!”

 These all seem wonderful ways of proclaiming the faith! Glory to Jesus Christ…

Symbolism: What is the significance of "IHS"?

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As I mentioned a while ago, I’ve started teaching myself New Testament Greek.  This endeavor has already started bearing some rather fruity tidbits. In the first few lessons I learnt the Greek alphabet and, even with this basic information, certain things which had previously mystified me, started to make sense. Today I would like to share with you one of my first “aaahhhh…” moments 🙂

For those Catholics reading this, it’s time for a pop quiz!  Often in churches, you will see the letters “IHS” (it’s even used on the Reformation Wall in Geneva). You see these letters on books, altars, baptismal fonts, communion hosts etc, but what does it mean?

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"Oh that today you would listen to his voice…"

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An extract from my travel journal while in England:

23rd March 2011 – Reading, England

My tour of the UK begins today. This morning I gathered my things and went to the train station. After collecting all of the tickets for my upcoming journeys (the total cost of which  should really entitle me to my own private train), I set off for Leamington Spa to see a sign-language society friend from University.

While on the train I prayed Morning Prayer. Although I often find travelling very tedious, there is also something about it which I find draws my spirit to God. As the English countryside sped past my window, I prayed the opening Psalm of Morning Prayer:

“…Oh that today you would listen to His voice! Harden not your hearts!” – Psalm 95

 I don’t think it was by chance that the Church chose *this* psalm to be the opening prayer at the beginning of each new day. Before we face the world, with its troubles, trials and temptations, we need a reminder. We need to be reminded to attend to the Lord’s voice, both before we begin the day, and also to listen for it attentively, hidden amongst the noise and clamour of a busy world.  A heart, if it is to remain beating and life-giving, must not become stoney or calloused by time spent with the world.

As I begin this tour of England to see friends and family, I realise that I’m walking into a lot of situations where, quite frankly, I’m way out of my depth. What am I to say? What am I to do?

“Oh that today you would listen to His voice, harden not your heart” – Psalm 95

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