Please don't smoke

In you mercy please pray for my Uncle who is dying of lung cancer now complicated by leukaemia. He is 58.
He was diagnosed 2 months ago and things have progressed very quickly and I don't think he has much longer to live.

He is my mum's brother and this is a very difficult time for my family in Italy because they are all still aching from my other Uncle's sudden and unexpected death last November.


Have Mercy Sweet Lord.

'Birth Control, Naturally' article

Here is a very good article on Natural Family Planning that is, for once, unbiased and factually correct (as opposed to the horrendously biased and inaccurate articles one normally finds in the press about NFP).

I thought it was a very informative read and I would encourage you to read it too!


(although I don't know why the article had to quote the organization "Catholics for a free choice" who are about as Catholic as Henry VIII or Luther....
You can tell how 'Catholic' this organisation is by going to their homepage....it's all about condoms and how important it is to disobey the Church's teaching and challenge the Church to conform to the sins and perversions of society. And, very strangely for a Catholic organization, there is not ONE image of a cross, crucifix, Mary, any Saint or Pope ANYWHERE on their site. I think that alone is a bit of an insight into their level of their Catholicism. )

Brilliant Music Video

There's a great music video on www.nickcannonmusic.com with a fantastic PRO-LIFE message.

(click on 'watch the video' on the right of his homepage)

It gave me the shivers, so if it doesn't leave a tear in your eye you're a hard nut!

Compromising the Truth

To compromise is a sure sign of not possessing the truth. When a man gives way in matters of ideals, of honour or of Faith, that man is a man without ideals, without honour and without Faith.

– St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #394

Strapless Brides

Interesting article about strapless bridal-dresse

The Eucharist

"...This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19

"Since Christ Himself has said, 'This is My Body' who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?" -St. Cyril of Jerusalem

~

The Eucharist

The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Catholic, Christian life. Jesus Christ “is present in the sacrifice of the Mass both in the person of his minister, ‘the same now offering through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,’ and most of all in the [consecrated bread and wine]. . . . He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in church. Lastly, he is present when the church prays and sings, for he has promised ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them’” (Par. 7 Decree on the Sacred Liturgy, Vatican Council II).

Congratulations...

Above; March 2006; Chris is 5th from the front (not counting the Cox)

Below; Chris is stroke (position 1)

Congratulations to Chris & the rest of his rowing crew! They have just come back from a grueling 4 days in London training for a big rowing race which took place yesterday.
They came in the top 11%, which is pretty good considering there were almost 500 boats competeing including international teams who are at Olympic standards!

They really wanted to come in the top 10%, but were 3 seconds too slow! To me that seems like nothing, but apparently in the world of sports it is quite significant!

~

Left; Rowing on the Thames. Chris is 3rd from the front.

~

Below, Chris is at the back on the Right (standing to the Left of the boat)

Criticisms

Certain comments can hurt only those who consider themselves to be affected. That is why, once you are following the Lord with all your heart and soul, you can accept criticisms as purification, and as a goad to make you lengthen your stride.

– St. Josemaria Escriva, Furrow, #925

The Annunciation

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
– St. Gabriel, Archangel

Yesterday, Saturday, was the feast of the Annunciation; Mary's humble 'yes' made our salvation possible.

---

Lk 1:26-38The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,“Do not be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with God.Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be,since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply,“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be bornwill be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,has also conceived a son in her old age,and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

----

Hail, Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed in the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen

Pope JP2 Rose

Aww! How lovely! An Oregon company has created arguably the most elegant memorial for the late Pope John Paul II; a rose in honor of the Pope, who died a year ago April 2. Company representatives worked with Vatican officials over a period of several months to designate the rose.

In addition, the company will put 10 percent of sales at the disposal of the Vatican; church officials have designated the poor people in sub-Saharan Africa as the recipients.

The Vatican chose the pure white rose, which its creators are calling luminous. The color is reminiscent of the late pope's white garb, and the description brings to mind the five luminous mysteries the pontiff added to the rosary in 2002.


Read the article

Visit the company's website

Implications

There is a very tragic case in the news at the moment here in England:

A two-year-old girl wandered off from a nursery. After a few hours of searching for her, the nursery staff couldn't find her and so contacted her parents who immediatly joined in the search.

The little girl's mother recognised her daughter shoe floating in a backgarden pond and jumped in to get it.
But when she grabbed it she felt the toddler's leg and realised what had happened....the girl had drowned.

A terrible tragedy. But then as if this story isn't horrific enough, a few hours before the little girl's body was found, a van driver said he passed her toddling down a country lane by herself....but he didn't stop to pick her up because he was worried he might get accused of attempting to abduct her if he dropped her off at a police station.

The outcome of this tragedy could have been so different if only he had stopped and picked her up.

For me, this incident shows the importance of love in God's plans and it has reinforced the importance of loving your neighbour and the cosmic implications this can, and in many many cases does, have.

True charitable love puts the needs and the overall good of others before oneself, regardless of the perceived implications for your own well-being.
Look at Mary's unselfish 'Yes' to God; through her loving submission and denial of self, despite the potential problems, Our Saviour entered the world!

We should never stop ourselves from acting out of true compassinate love for another because of fear for ourselves of what the consequences might be. Before we do anything we should always consider whether the choice has been made out of love for God and out of a desire for the true good of our neighbour, or whether we are letting fear and darkness control our hearts.
Not acting because of fear, is not trusting in God's Providence.

Love shown to another, is love shown to Him, and He controls all things.

Today..

*found this & thought it was inspirational*


Today I am tired... but I will try to act as though I am not.

Today I am worried... but I will try to put my worries in Christ's capable hands.

Today I am sad... but I will put on a happy face because I know if I try hard enough my smile will triumph.

Today I will focus on my blessings, which are many despite my trials which, in comparision to my blessings, are few.

Today I will act grateful until I feel grateful.

Today will be difficult but I will face it one minute at a time with Jesus and Mary at my side.

Insanity!

I am now back from the hospital 1.5hrs from my house! 5 weeks certainly passed quickly! I am in the Clinical School computer room of my local hospital about to head up to the library to do some revision before my supervision at 5:30pm (10 days & counting till my E.X.A.M.S!)

I was just randomly surfing the net & found this article (see below).
Some people have some VERY..erm...unusual ideas! (to put it mildly!)

(Mohammed Fayed is the father of Dodi Fayed who died with Princess Diana a few years ago).

enjoy...

Fayed to tell the time

Harrods boss Mohammed Fayed wants to be mummified when he dies and made into a clock.

He wants his body embalmed and made into the hour hand of the massive timepiece on the roof of his Knightsbridge store reports The Sun.

Fayed's artistic director Bill Mitchell said: "This project is certainly a lot of fun for us.
"Becoming the hour hand of moving clock would be his last grand gesture. I think he was very tickled by the idea of becoming a timepiece.
"He's planning on being mummified and attached to a rotor so he can slowly inch around the clock and be used to tell the time for years to come.
"Yes, it sounds like a mad idea but he's a showman and loves this sort of thing."

~ST. JOSEPH~

Today is the feast day of the foster father of Our Lord

"GO TO JOSEPH" (Genesis 41:55)

I have a great love for St. Joseph and he has interceed for me and helped me & my family out in numerous situations.

From my own life I can vouch for the truth in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas:

"Some Saints are privileged to extend to us their patronage with particular efficacy in certain needs, but not in others; but our holy patron St. Joseph has the power to assist us in all cases, in every necessity, in every undertaking"

St. Theresa of Avila also said:
"To other Saints Our Lord seems to have given power to succor us in some special necessity-but to this glorious Saint, I know by experience, He has given the power to help us in all. Our Lord would have us understand that as He was subject to St. Joseph on earth-for St. Joseph bearing the title of father and being His guardian, could command Him- so now in Heaven Our Lord grants all his petitions. I have asked others to recommend themselves to St. Joseph and they, too, know the same thing by experience..."


I would urge you all to foster a love & devotion for St. Joseph because he showers graces and many Saints have suggested that, after Mary, St. Joseph especially honored in Heaven:

"I saw Heaven opened and St. Joseph sitting upon a magnificent throne. I felt myself wonderfully affected when, each time his name was mentioned, all the Saints made a profound inclination towards him, showing by the serenity and sweetness of their loos that they rejoiced with him on account of his exalted dignity." - St Gertrude.

So I enourage you all to have a great confidence in his intercession.

There is a pious custom often followed by Catholics to attach to an image of St. Joseph a little note with one's petitions written on it. The note serves as a continual petition to St. Joseph, much like a lighted candle before a sacred imagine. It also makes concrete, and thus strengthens, our confidence in St. Joseph -- and confidence obtains all.
There are many stories of Nuns who needed food for orphanages who obtained in abundance what they asked for in their petitions written to St. Joseph, and again I have experience of his wonderful help in all I ask.

In the words of Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda:

"The children of the world are ignorant regarding the privileges and rights which the Most High has conferred on my holy spouse, and the power of his intercession with the Divine Majesty and with me. But I assure you, my daughter, that in Heaven he is most intimate with the Lord, and has great power to avert punishment of Divine justice from sinners. In all trials seek his intercession, because the Heavenly Father will grant whatever my spouse asks."

She continues

"On the Day of Judgment, the condemned will weep bitterly for not having realized how powerful and efficacious a means of salvation they might have had in the intercession of St. Joseph, and for not having done their utmost to gain the friendship of the Eternal Judge."


Finally, St. Joseph is the Patron of a Happy Death; what better a patron that one who himself died in the arms of Jesus and Mary?!
As St. Alphonsus Liguori says: "Since we all must die, we should cherish a special devotion to St. Joseph, that he may obtain for us a happy death."

So entrust your earthly worries and needs to St. Joseph: "Jesus Christ love him not only as a friend, but also as a father, and on this account his mediation is far more efficacious than that of any other Saint". - St. Alphonsus Liguori.

good article to St. Joseph

" Oh St. Joseph, whose protectuon is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires.
O St. Joseph, assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me all the spiritual blessings through your foster Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer thee my thanksgiving and homage.
O St, Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thine arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.
St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me. "

No contrast between Christ & His Church

Pope Benedict begins his first teaching series: no contrast between Christ
and His Church

VATICAN CITY, March 15 (CNA) - Exactly one month after completing a catechetical cycle begun years ago by his predecessor John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI today began his own series of catechesis, which will focus on the mystical relationship between Christ and the Church--left in the hands of the Apostles.

The Holy Father announced the new theme during his general audience today,
during which some 30,000 people had gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear
him.

"The Church", he began, "was constituted upon the foundation of the Apostles as a community of faith, hope and charity."
This project of God, he continued, began "when certain fishermen in Galilee met Jesus, and allowed themselves to be conquered ... by his invitation: ...'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men'."

Benedict told the crowd that "after Mary, pure reflection of the light of
Christ, it is the Apostles, their word and their testimony, that convey the
truth of Christ to us.

"Yet theirs", he said, "is not an isolated mission, it is part of a mystery of communion, one that involves the entire People of God and takes place in stages, from the old to the new Covenant."

The Pope pointed out that Jesus' message "is completely misunderstood" if it is separated "from the context of the faith and hope of the chosen people." This, he said, is because "Jesus addressed Himself first of all to
Israel in order to 'gather them' together in the eschatological time that
had arrived with Him."

"Jesus' preaching," he said, "like John's, is both a call of grace and a sign of contradiction and judgment for the entire people of God."

Benedict continued, saying that although the preaching of Jesus is "always a call to individual conversion, ... to interpret Christ's announcement of the Kingdom in individualistic terms would be unilateral and groundless,"because in biblical tradition and despite its novelty, "it is clear that the
entire mission of the Son-made-flesh has a community goal."

He went on to point out that the choice of twelve Apostles is a number that recalls the tribes of Israel. This, he said, "reveals the significance of the prophetic-symbolic action inherent in the new institution."
"Choosing the Twelve, introducing them to communion of life with Him and rendering them participants in His mission of announcing the Kingdom, ... Jesus wishes to say that the definitive time has arrived in which God's promises are fulfilled."

He stressed that "the twelve Apostles are the clearest sign of Jesus' will concerning the existence and mission of His Church, the guarantee that there is no contrast between Christ and the Church."

In this light, Benedict said that the slogan which became fashionable some years ago: 'Yes to Jesus, no to the Church,' is completely irreconcilable with the intentions of Christ."

"Between the Son of God made flesh and His Church there exists a profound, unbreakable and mysterious continuity, by virtue of which Christ is present today in His people, and especially in those who are the successors of the Apostles."

In February, the Holy Father completed the catechesis series begun by John
Paul, which explored all the Psalms and canticles which are contained in the
Church's Liturgy of the Hours prayers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Chris' birthday was on the 16th, but this is the first opportunity I've had to blog about it...He's 24, so there have been many jokes about how he is an old man now...hehe!


HAPPY BRITHDAY CHRIS! I'll still love you when you old(er) & grey!

*prayers*

A while ago I mentioned a young Catholic girl suffering from skin cancer....well sadly she passed away a few days ago.


Please pray for her soul and her family during this difficult time.


~Eternal Rest Grant Unto Her Oh Lord, May You Light Perpetual Shine Upon Her.
May She Rest In Peace.
Amen~

Bridesmaids 2

Well, the long search for bridesmaid dresses is FINALLY over! (phew!)
I decided not to go for this dress in the end because the girls didn't seem too enthusiastic about it, and as the dresses cost 100pounds per dress anyway, I thought we might as well look for something as expensive, but which they actually like!!!

Well, St. Joseph helped us out un the end! (as he always does):

We've gone for the pink dress in the middle. It has a matching shawl which they will wear for Mass to cover themselves up!

Like I've mentioned before, I believe it is seriously seriously inappropriate to go to Mass half-naked with shoulders uncovered (I've even mentioned it in my wedding invites to the guests that they should not have uncovered shoulders or skirst shorter than their knee!), but I'm also not a great fan in general of the shoulderless style of the dresses above (even though they do have little straps). So ideally I would've liked the bridesmaid dresses to have permanent shoulders, so they will be modestly dressed even during the reception, and not just have a covering shawl for the Mass, but I have searched high and low for a dress with shoulders for them and there simply aren't ANY!!!!

Shops just don't supply dresses with sleeves any more, and online the only English-based website I could find was the one with dress that the bridesmaids weren't too enthusiastic about!

So I figure at least if they are decently covered up for the Mass, that is the most important thing,

We could've had the dresses made, but, between us, the bridesmaids & myself live in 4 different places, so coordinating seamstress visits etc etc wouldn't have been possible!

anyway, the deed is done!

aaaaaaargh! only 4 months & 12 days!!!!

The Davinci Code

In my humble opinion, the book 'The Da Vinci Code' is poisonous trash. Here is a website, called 'Jesus Decoded' launched by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that disputes central points of this best-selling nonesense.

Sex outside of marriage

As I haven't posted about sex before marriage for a while (see last post on it), here is a snippet from an email conversation I am having with a friend:

My faith teaches that, just as language is meant to convey truth, and telling lies is an abuse of language, the 'language' of the body is also meant to convery truth.

Sex is 'body language'; you are physically unifing yourself with one other person. There is nothing more, physically, that 2 people can give one another. It is a total giving of yourself to another person. And in turn, the other person gives themselves to you.

It's not just meaningless actions; you are speaking with your body, saying "I am yours freely, totally and faithfully".

So it is a body language between two people, and is meant to physically express something true between those two people.

That 'something true' is the state of their relationship.

The body language between two people is a reflection of the relationship between those two people. This is true in every interaction of our lives, and likewise is true for sex.

That means that two people can only authentically express physical 'free, total and faithful' love (i.e. sex), in a context in which the two people involved have a relationship in which they are freely, totally and faithfully commited to each other in a life-long union.

This can only be marriage.

The bond of marriage is invisible, but sexual intercourse is the real and physical expression of that bond. So sex is the language of the marriage bond, the language of the wedding vows. It is where the words of the wedding vows become flesh.

I truthfully believe that sex outside of marriage doesn't do sex any justice. If your body is saying, "I give myself totally, faithfully and freely to you", but your relationship state with the other person doesn't say the same thing; then the sex is, essentially, a lie. It isn't authentic. The sex is LESS that what it is meant to
be, and is just a cheap counterfeit for what our hearts truly desire. Why choose a faint shadow of something, when we can have the actual thing, which is incomparably superior?

Sex is meant to be an inreadibly glorious act, physically expressing a love between two people who are bonded together in a life-long martial union. Each person giving their whole entire selves; both physically and in every other aspect of their lives, to the other person.

To me, the thought of that is so breath-taking! And that is one reason why I have never had sex before marriage, because it wouldn't be what it is meant to be, and I know it would leave me feeling empty.
(added: In addition to the teachings of Sacred Scripture, which I didn't mention to her as she wouldn't accept that as convincing anyway)

So that is why I am sorry that you had the sexual experiences, because I really care so genuinely for you and I want only the very very absolute best for you! ...and I know that it wasn't the best, because the sex wasn't an authentic expression of your relationship with him...because you aren't married to each other.

----
This conversation could be supplemented to explain why artificiail contractption invalidates the authenticity of the marital union;

As sex is meant to be the full gift of self in an imitation of Christ's full gift of self to His Church, then anything which stops the full giving of self from one spouse to another (ie artificial contraception) twists the act into something unmarital; and not what it is meant to be. Self giving becomes self taking.

(In addition, one could discuss how the intentional and direct separation of two things God Himself has united (sex & babies) directly contradicts His command; "What God has joined, let no man separate". )

---

Humility

Rather than commit a fault against charity, give in, offer no resistance, whenever you have the chance. Show the humility of the grass, which yields without needing to know whose foot is stepping on it.

- St.Josemaria Escriva, Furrow, #277

Trust

Trust & Honesty go hand-in-hand don't they?
You can only really feel you can trust someone if you believe they are being honest with you.
If they love you, and desire only your ultimate good, then how much more should we trust the person who is honest?

Dis-honesty is a sin. As God is incapable of sinning, he would never, could never, be dishonest with us.


God loves us, more than we can comprehend. He IS love, and can be nothing but pure true love, and He desires only and always for our ultimate good. He only does what is good for us. As was so perfectly expressed by Jesus in yesterday's Gospel reading;

Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
(Mt 7)

Regardless of our perception of what is happening to us, we have to trust God, over and above everything else. No matter how things look, we have to keep our eyes focused ahead on Christ on the cross, the ultimate sign of God's love for us.

The following story I tell, not to judge or condemn those involved, but rather as a be example which, though it tears at my heart, has taught me a lot, and may be of value to others.
In addition, I invite you to pray for the girl as she approaches death.

I know someone in her early 30s who, last year, got a diagnosis of skin cancer. It has spread, and is now all over her body. Incurable. She is married, and Catholic.

Eight years ago she had an abortion.

Some might look at the situation now and say " Thank goodness she had that abortion! Imagine now, there would be a child, barely 10 years old, who soon wouldn't have a mother!"

Others might say, "Perhaps that gift God gave her was sent to be her life-line. Perhaps, because of that child, her lifestyle in the last 10 years would've been different, and so she now wouldn't have the skin cancer..."

I guess what I am trying to illustrate is the importance of trusting God with what He sends us, because He DOES love us and DOES desire only our good.

The way we percieve the things that happen to us, often is not the way He does!
We have to trust Him, and recieve with joy what He has chosen to give us.
Because it may be through that, that we have life.

May You Holy Will, Oh Lord, Be Done in All Things.

Bridesmaid Dresses

This is the dress I am thinking of getting for my bridesmaids (in the lilac) (click on it for a better picture). I sent it to them to see how they like it, and none of them have replied (this was a week ago!), so I''m not sure whether they approved (all 3 are teenage girls!). But I really like it anyway! Plus it already have little shoulders which is just what I wanted! No need to mess around with a shall or anything.

----
update: we didn't buy this dress in the end, but have gone for this one instead

Soft Drinks & Cancer..?

Soft drinks found to have high levels of cancer chemical
according to The Times

*WARNING DEPRESSING POST*

Phew! Another week down...!
It's been quite a tiring and emotionally draining week; I saw some very very sad cases in the hospital; a poor man who, a few years ago, had a malignant melenoma (skin cancer) in his eye, and had to have his eye removed in the process. Last week he came to the hospital because he wasn't feeling quite right and on examination he had a huge liver....meaning that the melenoma was, almost certainly, still there and spread to his liver.....6 days later he died. It was so sad because every day his family was there by his bed-side with red and puffy eyes, hoping for some good news when the doctors came round....and they could never really give them any, and then, he just deteriorated...and that was it.

And then in the A&E Department ('ER' for the Americans), a young-ish guy came in (probably early-50s) with his wife and daughters about my age, because he'd had some double vision for a couple of weeks when looking to one side.....
and his brain scan showed a large area of shadowing..
....meaning he has a brain tumour.
and his family & him have no idea
and noone really told them (they were sending him to a more specialist hospital to do some more definitive tests before breaking the horrific bad news). (but his story and the time-course of the double vision fits the growth of something like a tumour, rather than say an infective abscess).
and they could sense it must be something serious because the doctors said they had to keep him in hospital till he was transferred to the other hospital.

and his prognosis is very very poor.

oh, it was so sad.

It makes you realise the fragility of life, and the importance of every moment that is given to you as a gift by God.
We have no idea what is round the corner. One day everything can be fine, and then the next, you are fighting for life. It's shocking how seldom society on the whole considers daily the only certainly in life.....death, and how little effort is made to store up riches for the eternity that follows.

How fitting a reminder the words on Ash Wednesday; "Remember that dust you are, and to dust you shall return" - "Repent and believe in the Gospel".


Something perhaps to consider doing during Lent.....if you pass by a hospital, a nursing home, an ambulance, PLEASE PLEASE pray for the person(s) inside; for mercy and for their conversion. So few people seem to consider God while they are dying.

Progress

Let each one remember that he will make progress in all spiritual things only insofar as he rids himself of self-love, self-will, and self-interest.

– St. Ignatius of Loyola