Tuesday, March 30, 2021

HOT WEATHER, LOCKDOWN EASING...

 

...and somehow London looks ugly. The dress-code is deliberately-torn  beachwear....for females,  very tiny, tight, ripped shorts and fleshy posteriors. For males, oldish teeshirts and ripped-knee jeans. Very loud rock music from ricksaws. People crammed together along the South Bank, with  litter stacked on walls and on street corners, mostly randomly, sometimes alongside overflowing litterbins. Cans, pizza-boxes, a lot of chicken bones and pizza crusts, discarded chips in expanded-polystyrene containers, more cans.  Plastic bags flapping against bus stops and lamp posts. 

People are very much out and about: lots of crowds. But somehow the mood isn't merry. Will this year have a hot  summer season of riots and anger?

I had spent part of the afternoon pondering History Walks...several new ideas from routes mapped out over recent weeks. The prospect of good company and a sense of cheerful purpose.  But suddenly the idea  seemed stale and dull. London's mix of boarded-up shops and scruffy beachwear gives a gloomy feel.

We are promised cooler weather for Easter, but a very hot summer to follow.

Spent yesterday afternoon on my knees...

 

...at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.   Not praying...cleaning!  Very satisfying work, getting dust out of odd corner at the edges of the kneelers, and - much harder work - polishing the brass plates on the doors of the confessionals!  Every bit of brass in the cathedral now gleams gloriously...

It's a fine building,  designed by Pugin, re-modelled slightly  courtesy of the Luftwaffe in WWII, rebuilt beautifully to original design....it lost its original stained glass but has acquired some magnificent new ones, including a fine East window above the sanctuary, and an equally glorious one at the West end. My personal favourite, however, is the superb stained glass by the Blessed Sacrament chapel, depicting Pope St John Paul administering the Sacrament of Anointing in the Cathedral...it is worth visiting the Cathedral just to see it.  Next year, 2022, will mark the 40th anniversary of the great Pope to Britain...



Saturday, March 27, 2021

A very muddled Cardinal...

 


....poor Cardinal Schonborn seems to be in a complete muddle over same-sex marriage 

What does he think he's doing?

It is tragic. 



Friday, March 26, 2021

LISTEN TO AUNTIE JOANNA...

 

....on Radio Maria England.

You can find out about Holy Week and Easter customs - including things that Auntie and her friends and family will be doing!

Last year we were told it was "an Easter like no other" because of the restrictions due to the China virus.  But alas this year there are restrictions too...though at least we can get to church, provided there is space and we can book in advance.

There is going to be a great need for evangelism in the months ahead, helping people to rediscover the pattern of some regular life of worship and the use of churches...

Monday, March 15, 2021

Lots of news outlets have reported the Church's ban on blessing homosexual unions...

 


...eg this


and this


It needs to be understood that this is Church teaching: it cannot be changed. The Pope and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith not only make this clear, but also explain about it in some depth. 

Rome has spoken...

 

....authoritatively....


The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued a detailed  statement on the question of homosexual unions: they can in no circumstances be blessed.


Read here





Saturday, March 13, 2021

Many a rich, beautiful, successful American actress....



....has proved to be a challenging employer, whom staff find difficult to please. 

Marrying into the Royal Family is not always quite the same as being a rich successful actress, and changing from the latter to the former could be quite a challenge, requiring a great deal of thought and care.

In a world where many are hungry, ill, or victims of war or famine, it's probably worth counting one's blessings if one has a large comfortable home in a prosperous place, lots of money, good health, and an affectionate husband and children.

Thought this worth mentioning.



Friday, March 05, 2021

Gender ideology....

 


...denying biological truth and promoting the mutilation of children, is a real threat to civilised living.

We need to challenge it: read here to get started

Pope Francis has alerted us to the dangers of gender ideology calling it " a great enemy of marriage".  But too many people think "Oh, it's a passing fad...nothing to do with me".   But you are funding it with your taxes. It is important to take responsibility for what is being done in your name.

A good many families are now beginning to experience the misery this new ideology is causing. There is help and advice for parents here