On Old Men and Wizards

Some young people are not happy with the old Gandalf, (who will be much older in the next two films), and the old Radagast. This is simply a symptom of the Westerners growing lack of respect for age. In the Eastern cultures, especially pre-Marxism, the ancient ones are revered.  That young viewers want young wizards is odd to me. The Istari are ancient anyway, and so who cares if they look old.  It is a serious lack of sensitivity to want wizards to look 35 or 40 and be super strong. That is not the point of a wizard to be a superhero, but to watch, wait and give advice.

Sigh, old is good.

On those who claim they have no dogmas....

Dogma is actually the only thing that cannot be separated from 

education. It IS education. A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply

 a teacher who is not teaching. There are no uneducated people; 

only most people are educated wrong. The true task of culture

 today is not a task of expansion, but of selection-and rejection.

The educationist must find a creed and teach it.

G. K. Chesterton and there is a link on his name for more good stuff....

Lying about vocations

Why are so many Catholics in the pew lying to themselves about the future of their own parishes and access to the sacraments?

When I hear that in my home diocese in 2015, only 15 priests will be available to minister to 110,000 Catholics or so, I am concerned. When I hear that some dioceses in England and Wales have only two to four seminarians in the process of becoming priests, I am concerned. When I see hundreds of parishes closing in the States and know that such a plan to close parishes is underway in Europe, I am concerned.

Those who suffer most will be the elderly, who now walk to Mass or take a bus, or somehow get to the closest church weekly. Those who have been most faithful will suffer most.

But, here is my dilemma, my question--why are their not vocations coming out of the Traditional Latin Mass congregations? I know of several groups of TLM parishes where perhaps one young man is considering the FSSPs or the Institute of Christ the King. I know of several where there are no young men considering vocations. None. Why do not the TLM young men consider the diocesan priesthood, where the TLM is becoming more accessible and where they will be able to say such a sublime Mass?

Why? Why is it that the TLM is not calling forth the numbers of priests one would expect from such parishes or chaplaincies?

Reader feedback, please.....

Adoration and Holy Communion

Before and after receiving Holy Communion, the laity must be doing only one thing. Adoring Christ.

In the NO, this is almost impossible with the constant movement and lack of respect, as well as banal songs, which mark so many parishes.

I suggest that liturgical leaders recognize that silence or a simple organ instrumental piece allows the faithful to pray and adore God both before and after receiving Our Lord.

The amount of distractions causes many pain. But, the reality is that the angels and saints fall in adoration at the Eucharist.

As to the laity, the position of adoration opens our hearts and minds to God.

If you are in a position in your parish to create an atmosphere of adoration, please help us all in this regard.

The Night Sky in December

Iowa, where my family lives, has had snow. Five inches with ice underneath means that many older people have trouble getting about..



Here, the weather has turned colder and the raindrops are large and cold. The few balmy days around Christmas seem to have turned. But, January is on the way.

If one can be in an area which is clear, a spectacular heavenly event may be seen. Jupiter is next to the Moon in the early hours of the morning providing a great reason to either stay up or get up early.

I mentioned the Summer Circle earlier this year and now I draw your attention to the Winter Circle.

Two nights ago, despite some clouds, I could see the brightest of these stars. I suggest a look. Orion is up and huge, the constellation of Christmas, the Hunter, called Strider, and therefore, as I have noted before here, a reference Tolkien put into his character of Aragorn, one of the three Christ figures in LOTR.

Remember that stars twinkle in the sky and planets do not. The full moon is tomorrow and this is a great time to look at the Winter Circle if you can look south to south west, then west, over the hours of the night.

Check out this site on a regular basis

http://www.persecution.org/2012/12/25/gunmen-kills-at-least-six-christians-at-church-service/

The Hobbit

I saw The Hobbit this evening and I shall not spoil it for anyone, but here are some interesting notes from my point of view. Happily, I got a discount.

First, it is more like Tolkien, in that the pace is slower and more like a book.

Second, the character development is better than in LOTR  most likely because it is a smaller book divided into three movies.

Third, it is violent and children should not see it under 12 or 13.

Four, it is not a chick-flick, but aimed at men, which is also true to Tolkien in some ways, although the book was written for children.

Five, the ads and trailers for other movies are horrendous and inappropriate for kids.

Six, the music and songs are true to the book and add a lot to the story.

Seven, Martin Freeman steals the show, hands down.

Eight, Galadriel is more like the character in the book, simply because the actress is older and was too young for the first three movies, as Galadriel, as we know, is an elf with a past and should act older and wiser.

Nine, the world of Middle Earth seems less mythical and more like a real world, as Tolkien intended.

Ten, the images are scary and again, not for children under 12.

Nostalgia and Music Two

In my thoughts about concerts I had attended in the 1960s and 1970s, I remembered hearing John Denver, going with one of my brothers to a homecoming concert, and mortifying him as everyone thought I was his date. I did not mind, as I was/am eight years older and having fun.

John Denver died in a Rutan Long-EZ experimental plane, which he probably could not handle. He was alone and the accident was horrible. As you all know, the singer was relatively young when the accident happened. "Stay in the state of grace", my Grandma T. use to say. She was right. If he were living, he would be coming up to 69 at the end of December.

Purity of heart and how we see others.

If one does not understand the evil in one's own heart, one cannot pursue perfection.

"Every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain. You need me, or you're nothing."

―Moriarty to Sherlock "The Reichenbach Fall".

I mentioned before the Sherlock series. I want to note the last episode of the previous year, as it is a study in evil. This is the episode wherein Moriarty and Sherlock meet "on the falls", in this case on top of a building.

But, the study in evil is what builds up to Moriarty's suicide and Sherlock's apparent demise, which we all know, is orchestrated.

Moriarty begins a campaign very sneakily to undermine Sherlock's reputation as a good person, bringing justice into the world. That the villain succeeds in telling the whole world that Sherlock is a fraud and has set up murders, kidnappings, etc., in order to create a mythology about his prowess is owing to one thing.  The latent evil in others allows them to believe evil of Sherlock. Now, the evils vary, the vices are personal to those who capitulate to Moriarty's Satanic plan.

For one person, it is envy. For another, it is pride. For another, it is hurt and revenge. Dr. Watson is the only one who believes in Sherlock to the end, as he is honest with himself about his own lack of perfection. Only those who are pure in heart can think good of others. This does mean that we do not have discernment. But, it does mean that we judge others according to the evil in our own hearts.

The object of the journey of perfection is purity of heart. If we have discovered God in our own hearts, then we see with the eyes of Christ.

To put on the mind of Christ is our goal. That the evil genius succeeds so easily is why men like Hitler and Stalin succeeded in heinous crimes. Evil cooperates with evil and good cooperates with good.

Urban Foxes, raccoons and other creatures great and small

The London Urban foxes do not look like the smaller country cousin versions. These urban opportunists are as large as a medium sized dog and at this time of year, more grey than red.

I saw one last night here in Bayswater limping with a sore paw. It was at least three feet long not counting the enormous tail. We have taken over the natural habitats of these mammals, just as in America, where the coyotes now come into some cities, as well as wolves, (which I have seen in small towns in Iowa in the winter about 12 years ago).

Men and other animals have had a love-hate relationship for centuries. However, one group is becoming extinct and does not have a replacement rate and it is not the fox family.

I know they like garbage, but I wonder if they eat pigeons?  Like raccoons in the States, these foxes can be dangerous. Animals are wild, as I remind children, not tame. Urban raccoons have lived in my home city since I have been a child. They have horrible claws and can tear up metal siding on houses to create dens in attics. Last summer, my mother was sitting on a garden bench with her neighbour, in the neighbours' back yard when it started raining baby raccoons. The mother was flinging these now weaned ones out of the attic above the ladies, heads and the young ones were flying over their heads, landing on the grass and toddling away. Then came mom....raccoons can weigh up to 40 pounds, and this maternal example was big. This was not the first time the neighbours had raccoons in the attic. Over a four year period, they had replaced aluminium siding, but the animals tore it back to get inside and have babies; and this is a huge old farmhouse.

Animals may sense that as we lose our ability to control out cities, they can reclaim lost territory....

My son was emptying garbage in DeWitt, Iowa years ago and  he was a small eleven year old. He came in and said, "Mum, there are two large, white fluffy dogs over by the dumpster." I knew these were not dogs. The snow had come, was laying about four feet and higher in drifts, and I told him to stay in the house while I went outside. Two beautiful wolves were standing about two feet from the garbage area. I yelled at them and these noble animals back off. Sadly, the pair ended up killed after a huge snowstorm hit the area and semis were in the ditches.. Animals cannot deal with highways or heavy traffic. I saw one dead on the side of the road about a month later and the other shortly  after that.

In the summer of 2010, in northern Missouri, close to the Iowa border, we saw a black bear. That is the furthest south I had ever seen one, or north, if one had seen them in the Ozarks area. The population is growing. I had seen these in northern Wisconsin, up by Rhinelander and near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. But, to see a fair-sized bear in Missouri, scratching its back on a tree on a small farm by the side of the road was a first for me in that area.

Cougars have been coming into towns and cities in some Canadian and Northwest cities in America, and other cats are making a comeback. Bobcats had seemed to have disappeared since my adolescence in Iowa, but are now seen more commonly in areas where these have not been noticed for years. The movement of animals also has to do with the fact that less people hunt for food and that some animals are protected. Somehow, we need to find the right balance. Bobcats are beautiful animals and solitary. One rarely sees more than two. Can the elk and bison come back as well, I wonder. The deer are plentiful, and we saw them daily in DeWitt or on the outskirts.

I include an older video of Bald Eagles. My son and I have seen hundreds at one time up by Bellevue, Iowa in January. The sight is awesome.

Article states it is not clear what caused this attack

Does the secular world want to ever admit that Christians are targeted for persecution? It is the duty of Catholics to not pretend, either, and pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. The Tyburn nuns here have been asked to set up a convent in Nigeria by the Bishops. Construction of the building has begun.

LATEST UPDATE: 25/12/2012 

- NIGERIA

Gunmen kill six at Nigerian Christmas service

© AFP file photo from Christmas 2011

Gunmen attacked a church in northern Nigeria during a midnight mass on Christmas Eve, killing six people including the pastor, before setting the building ablaze, residents and police said Tuesday.

By FRANCE 24  (text)

 

Gunmen killed six people attending midnight mass at a church in northern Nigeria on Christmas Eve, police and residents confirmed on Tuesday.
“A group of gunmen came into the village at midnight and went straight to the church... they opened fire on them, killing the pastor and five worshippers. They then set fire to the church," said Usman Mansir, resident of Peri village, near Potiskum, the economic capital of Yobe state.
Mansir specified that a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) was the congregation that was targeted.
A senior police official in Yobe confirmed the details to AFP, but declined to be named.
Boko Haram Islamists have carried out several attacks in Yobe, which borders the state of Maiduguri, where the insurgent group is based.
The Islamists are blamed for killing hundreds of people in northern Nigeria since 2009. It was not clear who was behind the latest violence.
While Yobe's population is overwhelmingly Muslim, the commercial hub of Potiskum has a significant Christian minority. Peri is just two kilometres outside the city.

Is this the airport? A Quad-City Tradition and one reason I am in Europe

Snow would have helped the ambiance.....

On individualism and the present generation

One of the things about the present generation of youth is that they do not want to be labelled as part of any group.

They cannot identity with being Baptists, or Aristotelians, or even specific sports fans for a particular team. This is a rebellion against the previous generations' ideals of belonging to groups, which was a natural phenomenon. Two generations back, the Baby Boomers identified with a community, and this group does not, and we saw a value in groups, while this group does not. We had a community spirit in the Baby Boom generation which Gen Xers did not have. I have taught both Gen Xers and Millennials and I have great hope for the Millennials, who not only seem less materialistic, but also more capable of making an individual decision outside of a peer group. Interesting.

The Millennials, believe it or not, are less television oriented. If a community is going to grow, it will probably be outside the gate, o They are casting around for communities, They are trying to build communities from the ground-up owing to the fact that this group grew up fragmented families and non-existent communities.

The Millenials, being human, have a desire for community, but do not have the structures we had.

Any group which now exists must be built up from nothing. This is a shock to so many in my generation, where we took many different types of groupings for granted.

No more.

The virtual communities are important as so many children and young adults are only children or separated from their families.

One from my generation can only imagine what it must be like to not have the grounding of a community. I wrote in the past few weeks of my social experiences as a teen. This seems so foreign to many youth, who have never experienced organized entertainments or the surrounding formal context of such events.

This psychological situation creates both strong-minded individuals and independent minded youth, who are not looking for conformity, nor desire identification in a group.

Therefore, evangelizing this age group must include an engaging of their stark separateness.

To create communities or to seek out existing ones is the challenge of the Millennials.

To evangelize, one cannot appeal to the idea of belonging to a church or a worshipping community, as this is not a value.

To evangelize, one must encounter a need for the personal relationship each of us needs with Christ and preach to that need.

The problem is also that this generation of youth work on line, mostly, and in groups which are on line. To create a real connection to a real group is daunting. Only the courageous takes those baby steps.

End of Christmas Day

Marks and Spencers Christmas crackers are the best. We managed to get an entire desk set of crayons, paper, giant clip and other things, as well as golf tees.

The jokes also are better than in other brands.

We played a game called "Call my Bluff" and I won. It is a word game.

Well, Christmas is over for this year and a good time was had by all.

May you all have a great night with friends or family.

Merry Christmas, Bloggers, and other media grunts...

OK , now I have to get the turkey in the oven......

Merry Christmas to the Heroes

I want to say Merry Christmas to all the heroes:

for the grandparents, who have passed down the Faith in the families;

for the grandparents who pray hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament for their families;

for the dads who sacrifice hours to be with the kids;

for the dads who sacrifice plum careers to put family first;

for the moms who do millions of unsung things for the family;

for the moms who stay at home and choose a lower standard of living to home school the kids;

for the kids who obey and honour their parents;

for the kids who love their siblings more than themselves;

for the single parents, who, through no fault of their own, must be both dad and mom;

for the priests, who work so hard in the holidays, taking on extra confession times and Masses;

for the priests who do not see their families until after Christmas and who sometimes have no place to go;

for the singles, who are good, practicing  even holy Catholics, who are lonely, looking for good Catholic mates, that St. Joseph will hear their prayers today;

for pro-life workers and counsellors, for your love and care and prayers and hours of vigils outside;

for the seminarians, who are entering, studying, knowing they are in the age of the martyrs;

for our military, from America and England on the front lines;

for those who are chronically ill and never complain;

for the prophets, who are not appreciated, and sometimes maligned for speaking the Truth;

for my fellow Catholics across the world suffering for their faith.

For you, and all I have forgotten, a happy day.

Be grateful today

Be thankful, today, that you can drive or walk to Mass, or take the tube to hear fantastic music, or watch a Nativity Play. Be grateful that you live in a country where Jesus is proclaimed as Lord and Saviour without your family being threatened with death, or your employment ended.

Be thankful that the Babe in the manger reaches out to you at Mass today and that you can receive Christ under the humble species of bread and wine, now His Body and Blood.

Be grateful that you can spend time openly with your families, friends and relatives and not needing a locked gate at the door of your church.

Be grateful for freedom of religion to write, read, study your religion.

Be thankful, always, that the bells can ring out on Christmas morning.

Pray for your brothers and sisters in Nigeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Mali, Indonesia, Pakistan, and many other places where Christ suffers through His people.

Supertradmum

True Humility

For some, the cold, like the white moon,

Calls for romance and sleepers' dreams

 For some, the long, dark nights hide sorrow

And the shame of loneliness.

So, too, the crying Child chose the cold

And dark of a winter's night to come

 Leaving the celestial timelessness for time,

The company of Love for danger and fear

So, Joseph struggled with Revelation's Plan

and stoked the small fire for Heaven's Queen

Embraced the mystery waiting beyond hope

For the next humiliation, making room for

Angels, shepherds, kings in one space

          Containing all creation and her Bridegroom.........

As I was thinking of Adam and Eve this week, so too this blogger...

http://www.stpeterslist.com/9072/could-the-soul-evolve-from-inferior-animals-16-questions-on-adam-and-eve/

A Christmas Thought

A newborn sleeps in Bethlehem's stable
cold and tired from the trial of birth

A young mother does what every mother does
and worships the Child, but with a difference

The Mother is not every woman and the Child
not every man, but The Man, perfect, God.

For long moments the Mother watches and wonders
at this Creator Who has become her Son,

She alone understands the Triune God Who
lives with her and in her and now in her arms

She remembers the prophets, the songs of David,
her ancestor of psalms and sings a song of love,

to the sleeping Babe. How many years, she
wonders, does she have to love Him like this

alone, quiet, in the solitude between animals and
shepherds staring at the miracle in the sky.

How many years does she have, she wonders,
to protect Him from the cold and rejection

of His Own People? Not long...not long.