Glimpses of the Wild West

Was asked to include some more of my wild west photos so here they are……as our American brothers and sisters would say…..enjoy!

 This photo is of the Great Salt Lake in Utah

 The mountains were a welcome sight after the flatness of the salt desert

Passionist jailed for protesting the effects of war.

 

 

 

Fr Martin,  a Passionist Priest,  was arrested by police as he was writing: Remember the Innocent; Stop the War and other captions on the wall of the MoD. Six other protesters were also arrested.

Fr Martin was found guilty of criminal damage at Horseferry Road Magistrates Court, Westminster and ordered to pay £660 compensation to the MoD.

Before sentencing Fr Newell stated: “I work with refugees. I see the effects of wars daily. Jesus said ‘whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me,’ and the war in Iraq is killing our brothers and sisters.”

In a statement Fr Newell said: “Herod had the innocent killed in order to maintain his power and control. This US / UK led war is about exactly the same thing: protecting our national interests,, which is to say, keeping control of oil resources, maintaining power and deterring others who may seek to go their own way. And the innocent suffer in ever greater numbers. The latest estimates are of a million people dying and child malnutrition rising fifty per cent since the invasion.

“In the past governments and armies needed young men to go to war for them. But with today’s high technology warfare, all they need is our silence and our taxes. We should refuse them and withdraw co-operation. This is why we have refused to pay our fines. We are calling for an immediate the end to the occupation. We are calling for a step up in protest to and direct resistance to this war. And we are calling on the Catholic Bishops and all church and faith leaders to be at the forefront of the campaign to end this unjust, inhuman and un-winnable war.”

Fr Martin Newell cp, 39, is a member of the Passionist order, and has been missioned to work with the London Catholic Worker. He is 39, and has been a priest for 10 years. He lives in Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Hackney.

Passionist Solidarity with Farmers

 

 

You might like to check this out ….it is a short video clip of a march in the Philippines. The march is in solidarity with poor farmers. As well as passionists many other members of the church were present witnessing in a practical way to the good news of the gospel.  

Click on the link below

Latin….if it was just about an old language

Bishop Luca Brandolini

The great concern for the majority of Catholics is that the nostalgia for the past masks a deep mistrust and disengagement with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.   Without encouraging further rupture,  we need to “speak the truth in love ”  and uphold the teaching of the church as expressed in the Second Vatican Council.
In his response to the decree by Pope Benedict allowing priests to say the old Latin Mass Bishop Luca warns of the danger that the Second Vatican Council’s work of Renewal could be endangered.:

“I can’t fight back the tears. This is the saddest moment in my life as a man, priest and bishop,” Luca Brandolini, a member of the liturgy commission of the Italian bishops’ conference, told the Rome daily La Repubblica in an interview on Sunday.

“It’s a day of mourning, not just for me but for the many people who worked for the Second Vatican Council. A reform for which many people worked, with great sacrifice and only inspired by the desire to renew the Church, has now been cancelled.” (Bishop Mourns Latin Decree… by Silvia Aloisi Jul 8, 2007

Martin Luther

 

We catholics have a wealth of spiritual heroes within our own tradition, however, there exists great heroes beyond our structures as well, take Martin Luther for example.  In more recent times we  have begun to ditch the sterotypical images of Luther as a betrayer, destroyer of the Church etc., and have begun to see a man of great conviction and honour. What follows is a reflection from a Catholic Theologian regarding Martin Luther’s contribution to life and faith.

Catholic Theologian Todd summarized Luther in 1982 by saying: 

“Of Luther himself it is impossible to speak summarily. The complex and remarkable story of his life, the tally of his works, and the witness of a great number of friends, acquaintances and enemies are there. Many loved him, many revered him, some were frightened of him, a few resentful. No one accused him, with any semblance of justification, of double dealing, or of cowardice. My principal image is of a man driven, driven by a passion for the Divine, driven, too, by a horror of evil; convinced of its eventual futility, he was ever conscious of its threat, and his life was one of prayer. His friends remembered him standing by the window of his room praying, often aloud. Under the rumbustious lover of life lay sensitivity, intelligence and imagination, and a failure to come to terms with a world which was never good enough, a failure he found confirmed in the crucifix, but glorified in what followed. At the Wartburg he wrote: ‘They threaten us with death. They would do better to threaten us with life.’

Heading West

Looking through some photos from the past, I came accross this one from a road trip I took. The photo reminds me of  how intense one views one’s experience when travelling alone. I have discovered over the years just how important it is to uproot from the regular routine of life, and venture out to see what else is  there…….. 

OSCAR ROMERO

 

 

 

Oscar Romero was martyred by gunshot while celebrating mass on March 24, 1980. Through his teachings and those who tirelessly continue his struggle for economic, political and social justice, Romero’s spirit lives on, “Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty.”

Hope

 

Hope is the sensation that the last word does not belong to the brutality of
facts with their oppression and repression. It is the suspicion that reality is
far more complex than realism would have us believe, that the frontiers of
the possible are not determined by the limits of the present, and that,
miraculously and surprisingly, life is readying the creative event that will
open the way to freedom and resurrection. (Rubem Alves)

Norbertine Abbey near Bayeux France

 

This photo captures something of the stillness of the Abbey.  Three friends and I recently visited Bayeux in France and came across this Sacred place. It had an impact on each one of us..we joined the monks at different times of the day for their solemn sung prayer.

Hello world!

Welcome to the begining of our exploration of Life… life, in all its newness, complexity, adventure, danger, and challenge. i invite all  to engage in meaningful reflections on issues that engage us on a day to day basis, I welcome in particular those interested in making faith and life connections about the great life/death adventure that we are all engaged in.