Read part one of Is the Pope a Catholic? * * * So who is this liberal, progressive, modernising pope with no hang-ups about sex and contraception and divorce and abortion, who constantly preaches on the value and necessity of the Sacrament of Confession and the reality of the Devil, who came back from studyingContinue reading “Is the Pope a Catholic? (part 2)”
Category Archives: Martha of Ireland
What Is Advent?
We are now in the third week of the liturgical season of Advent. Okay, what does all that mean? What is Advent? To quote from my 1964 Mass missal (from the days when Mass was still said in Latin): The ecclesiastical year begins on the First Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent is aContinue reading “What Is Advent?”
The Feast of All Saints
We’ve finally arrived at the end of October when Hallowe’en is upon us, though it seems to have morphed into a month-long festival – the same way that Christmas gets earlier and earlier in the year, now Hallowe’en seems to be the next candidate for increasing commercialization. Leaving all that behind, thankfully, with the attendantContinue reading “The Feast of All Saints”
Anger, Wrath and Sloth
Wanting to punch people in the nose is probably not a good attitude with which to go around. I’m fairly sure it’s also not a particularly Christian attitude, not if I take the “Turn the other cheek” bit seriously. I’ve been angry lately. I’ve been angry for a while, in fact, and I notice I’mContinue reading “Anger, Wrath and Sloth”
The Importance Of Being A Spear Carrier
We all know them, or rather, we don’t know them but we’re aware they are there. The bit part characters. The ones that fill up the crowd scenes in television and movies. The chorus in operas, where a miscellaneous crowd of villagers or brigands or courtiers ‘tra-la-la’ away in the background (often with the kindsContinue reading “The Importance Of Being A Spear Carrier”
How Not To Be A Disciple
A couple of weeks ago, I read a post on my nephew’s blog that made me rear up and do my best Church Lady impression. It wasn’t what my nephew said, it was the post he linked to that stoked my ire. And boy, did my ire get stoked, to the point where my nephew asked toContinue reading “How Not To Be A Disciple”
Selt Or Kelt?
This is more or less a rant on a personal bug-bear of mine. While I hope I am not quite attaining to the level of nit-picking as evidenced by Lynne Truss’s book on grammatical errors, “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”, I am about to relieve my mind as to why the use – or rather, theContinue reading “Selt Or Kelt?”
Demons Under The Bed
You may have read something in your local or national newspaper about “Pope Francis performs an exorcism”. Even the more sober types over at “First Things” have got in on the act. “On Pentecost Sunday all hell broke loose in Rome. Following Mass that day, the unpredictable Pope Francis laid hands on a demon-possessed manContinue reading “Demons Under The Bed”
Quo Vadis?
Because of the announcement by Pope Benedict XVI that he is resigning from the office of Bishop of Rome and successor of St. Peter, Jeff has asked me for my view of his theology, how that has affected the Church, and how the next pope’s theology might affect the Church. There are very short answersContinue reading “Quo Vadis?”
The Common Teaching of Holy Church
Today is the last of our series on Julian of Norwich. Damaris and Martha have walked us through Amy Frykholm’s book about Dame Julian, as well as exploring themes that Julian introduced six hundred years ago. I hope you’ve enjoyed these discussions this week. JD And yet in all this time, from the beginning toContinue reading “The Common Teaching of Holy Church”
The Internet Monk Archives 