Alisdair Mcintyre Newman Lecture 2009

This is the 2009 John Henry Newman lecutre on "The very idea of a university: Aristotle, Newman and us." This is on of many parts of the video on youtube. The lecture is put on with the support of the Catholic Herald. Prof. MacIntyre wrote the classic book 'After Virture.' It is one of the most significant moral and political philosophers writing today.

Safe sex myth exposed

This fascinating article by Physicians for life demonstrates the total lunacy of the safe sex message.

One study reveals that a large number of sexually active young adults do not use condoms properly. Dr Diane Civic studied 779 sexually active unmarried women aged 18-24. 19% reported that the condom slipped or broke during intercourse. 59% waited until after initial penetration for the condom to be applied. ["Ineffective Use of Condoms Among Young Women in Managed Care," journal AIDS Care (2002;14(6):779-788); Orange County Register, 1/22/03, by Jane E. Brody]

Very few people know that condoms do not prevent most STDs. The US National Institutes of Health reported in July 2001 that of eight major STDs [HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, chancroid, trichomoniasis, genital herpes, & human papillomavirus (HPV)] examined by the panel, condoms were not found to provide universal protection against any of these STDS.

The panel of researchers found just two areas of condom effectiveness, both of which were significantly limited:

* the heterosexual transmission of HIV and…
* the female to male transmission of gonorrhea

This in total constitutes just 2% of all STDs happening in the U.S.

Congressman Tom Coburn, a practicing physician, has long criticized the CDC and Planned Parenthood for misleading the public about the effectiveness of condoms. "As a medical doctor, the best prescription I can give to avoid infection with a sexually transmitted disease is abstinence until marriage and a life-long, mutually monogamous relationship with one uninfected partner," Coburn said.

Availability of condoms statistically increase promiscuity and risk of contracting HIV according to medical experts. "20 years into the pandemic there is no evidence that more condoms leads to less AIDS," stated Dr. Edward C. Green of Harvard's' Center for Population and Development Studies.

Promotion of the "safe-sex" message has reportedly increased numbers of sexual partners. The spread of HIV is a behavioral problem, according to Green, who said that "having multiple sexual partners drives AIDS epidemics. If people did not have multiple sex partners, epidemics would not develop or, once developed, be sustained." He continued, "over a lifetime, it is the number of sexual partners [that matter]. Condom levels are found to be non-determining of HIV infection levels."

The Ugandan government, which promoted abstinence and faithfulness, helped bring about a 75% decline in HIV prevalence among 15-19 age group, 60% in the 20-24, and a 54% decline overall by 1998.

Safe sex and marriage

The perpetual and exclusive bond of marriage strengthens and consecrates the spouses for the duties and dignity of their state by a Sacrament. The consent the spouses give is sealed by God himself. By this grace given by God, every married person is to grow in the holiness of their married life and be open to welcome and educating their children. Christ gives us the strength to forgive one other, bear each others' burdens and love one another with supernatural, tender and fruitful love (CCC 1638-42). If there is any place for safer sex, it's marriage where we live God's plan for life and love.

How has God revealed himself in history?

(photo: Guecino - incredulity of St Thomas).

God sent his only son, Jesus Christ to fully reveal man to himself. After living a public ministry of about 3 years bringing healing, miracles, hope and faith, he was captured and sentenced to death. He was crucified, died and buried, but rose from the dead, bringing victory over death. Before his death and resurrection, Jesus founded an institution, called the Church with which his work would continue throughout human history, which the powers of hell would not prevail against. He gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven to the Apostles and commanded Peter to head the Church, to go to ends of the earth to preach the good news to every creature. Thanks to the gift of the Priesthood, sins are forgiven in his name, demons are driven out and the body and blood of Christ is given to us in the Eucharist, which he commanded us to celebrate in memory of him. Jesus even gave us his own mother, so that we might never be left unaided if we implored her help or sought her intercession.

God inspired the writers of Sacred Scripture to write a book about himself and his transforming grace throughout history. Henceforth, the history of salvation is clearly articulated from the beginning of time. He sent his Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of believers to build up the Kingdom of God. He sent us Saints who would inspire countless generations, bringing people closer to God. He intervened in history with miracles, defying the laws of nature. He even gave us the gift of self consciousness, reason and intellect so that we might come to know him and love him.

There are people who are too sceptical to believe any of this. They are normally the ones who do not even have the effort to look up in their local directory where the nearest Church is to hear about the Good News that God has brought us.

What good has the Catholic Church done in history?

(photo: Fr Angelico - St Lawrence distributing alms).

A key component of evangelisation is being able to articulate what is so wonderful about our faith and how it brings life, love and transforming grace into the world. The skill of speaking of the great blessings and gifts of the Catholic Church is indispensable in our age that can think that religion is either bad or wacky. In fact, the opposite is true. A true analysis of history sees the Catholic Church as a shining beacon of hope. Many thanks to Catholics come home for this excellent summary.

Our family is made up of every race. We span the whole globe with sinners and saints. With God’s grace, we started hospitals to care for the sick. We are the largest charitable organisation on the planet and bring relief to those in need. We educate more children than any other scholarly or religious institution. We developed the scientific method and founded the college system. We defend the dignity of human life, uphold marriage and family. Cities are named after our revered saints who navigated the sacred path before us, guided by the Holy Spirit. We compiled the Holy Bible. We are transformed by Sacred Scripture, and a tradition that has guided us for 2,000 years. There are 1 billion in our family. Through the Sacraments and fullness of our faith we have prayed for you and our world. Through the Holy Father, we are led through an unbroken tradition of leaders in this confused and hurting world. Despite chaos, hardship and pain, our faith helps us remain true and strong in love for all creation.

We are the Catholic Church.

CJM Music

CJM Music is run by Mike Stanley and Jo Boyce. They have just visited Banbury and played some beautiful music for the Sunday Mass. CJM is a publisher, a record company and music ministry team. Their vision is to help parishes through the ministry of music, helping teachers, catechists, musicians, engaging skills of young people in the process of liturgical renewal. Their music very much helps the full, active and conscious participation in liturgy that the Second Vatican Council called for. They see Catechesis, Evangelisation and Liturgy as inseperable strands in the life of the Church. Along with Massive worship and musicians such as Matt Maher , they are doing great work in building up the Kingdom of God by beautiful praise and worship music.

They have some free responsorial psalms to download on their website, as well as some great records on sale.

Year for Priests

The Year for Priests 2009 - 2010: Archbishop Vincent Nichols from Catholic Westminster on Vimeo.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols reflects on the year for Priests. Very good.

Tales from modern life

I will never forget a moment walking down Sutton row in Central London. On the right is the Astoria nightclub, a large venue for hundreds of clubbers. On the left is St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, a Victorian brick Church.

In the afternoon a big band was playing at the Astoria, and hundreds of teenagers were queuing round the block to obtain tickets. Some were punks, others had earrings, tattoos or were drinking and swearing, covered head to toe with make up or were so thin and ill dressed one might imagine they were in need of food and clothes. I walked past to enter the Church. In the Church, there was one solitary old lady who was present at adoration of the blessed Sacrament. What a striking image of the travesty of our youth! In one building, the Lord of lords was present in all his glory, soul and divinity, whilst across the road, loud music, extremity and vulgarity had captivated the youth of our age. How sad!

Quirky facts about Chesterton

William Oddie has written an excellent article about Chesterton in the Catholic Herald. After undergoing a period of unhappiness in his earlier years, Chesterton wrote in one of his notebooks, “one secret for life - The secret of constant astonishment.” He was willing to be enthusiastic about the awe and wonder that life could bring. He had a profound gratitude for his own existence.

The following was written on the service sheet at his funeral by Walter de la Mare:
“Knight of the Holy Ghost, he goes his way, Wisdom his motley, Truth his loving jest; The mills of Satan keep his lance in play, Pity and innocence his heart at rest.”

He also said, “It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.”
(Mar. 01, 1921 - from a column in The Cleveland Press).

Inspiring Chesterton Quotes

Thanks to quote catholic, here are some inspiring Chesterton quotes.

Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.

He is a sane man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy in his head.

A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.

It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.

Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.

The modern mind will accept nothing on authority, but will accept anything on no authority. Say that the Bible or the Pope says so and it will be dismissed without further examination. But preface your remark with “I think I heard somewhere,” or, try but fail to remember the name of some professor who might have said “such-and-such,” and it will be immediately accepted as an unshakable fact.

Truth is stranger than fiction because we create fiction to suit our fancy.

To the humble man, and to the humble man alone, the sun is really a sun; to the humble man, and to the humble man alone, the sea is really a sea.

At least five times with the Arian and the Albigensian, with the Humanist sceptic, after Voltaire and after Darwin, the Faith has to all appearance gone to the dogs. In each of these five cases it was the dog that died.

The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.

Love means loving the unlovable - or it is no virtue at all.

The Bible tells us to love our neighbours, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.

So far as a man may be proud of a religion rooted in humility, I am very proud of my religion; I am especially proud of those parts of it that are most commonly called superstition. I am proud of being fettered by antiquated dogmas and enslaved by dead creeds (as my journalistic friends repeat with so much pertinacity), for I know very well that it is the heretical creeds that are dead, and that it is only the reasonable dogma that lives long enough to be called antiquated.

Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.

Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.

Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.

The whole truth is generally the ally of virtue; a half-truth is always the ally of some vice.

It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.

The man who lives in contact with what he believes to be a living Church is a man always expecting to meet Plato and Shakespeare tomorrow at breakfast. He is always expecting to see some truth that he has never seen before.

The comedy of man survives the tragedy of man.

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.

Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. And faith means believing the incredible, or it is no virtue at all.

Chesterton, suicide and the Coroners and Justice bill

At present the House of Lords will debate changes to the Coroners and Justice bill which would legalise giving assistance to terminally ill people to commit suicide. The amendments are unsound, unethical and unnecessary. Please write to peers to oppose the amendments. See the Catholic Union’s website to accomplish this.

Chesterton wrote about suicide. He wrote, “Not only is suicide a sin, it is the sin. It is the ultimate and absolute evil, the refusal to take the oath of loyalty to life. The man who kills a man, kills a man. The man who kills himself, kills all men; as far as he is concerned he wipes out the world. His act is worse (symbolically considered) than any rape or dynamite outrage. For it destroys all buildings: it insults all women…. The thief is satisfied with diamonds; but the suicide is not: that is his crime…but the suicide insults everything on earth by not stealing it.” (Orthodoxy, p57).

On the difference between a suicide and a martyr he said the following words “A suicide is a man who cares so little for anything outside him, that he wants to see the last of everything… The martyr is noble… he dies that something may live. The suicide is ignoble because he has not this link with being: he is a mere destroyer; spiritually, he destroys the universe.” (Orthodoxy, p58).

Chesterton saw suicide as the sin of sins. First it was a suicide against oneself because it involved the destruction of one’s own life. It damages the social order. It is a sin against neighbour because no man is an island and we are all members of the body politic. It cuts one off from the commonwealth of men. It wounds fellow men in a thousand ways because it is a moral disgrace. It is a serious sin against God because no man can bring himself into existence and we are not the masters of life and death. It is a negation of the great act of life. To destroy what does not belong to you is gravely sinful. It fails to marvel at the wonder of the world God created. Aquinas said that suicide was a sin against injustice.

Suicide involves presumption and despair. St Therese of Lisieux’s soul was tormented by temptations to doubt. She endured these doubts and would not violate her loyalty to god. But her autobiography is not about herself but about what God did in her and for others. Every autobiography of a holy person is about what God did in their lives.

Chesterton also wrote a poem called ballad on suicide.

Newman miracle approved by Pope

The healing of Deacon Jack Sullivan in 2001 has been acknowledged by Pope Benedict XVI to be a miracle thanks to the intercession of John Henry Newman. A miraculous healing from a serious spine injury happened following prayers for Cardinal Newman to intercede.

Archbishop Nichols said, “I am delighted to learn this news, which will be warmly welcomed by Catholics around the world. To have Cardinal Newman among the Blessed is an occasion of great thankfulness to the Lord and of great pride to those associated with him in Birmingham and in Oxford. I am sure he will help us greatly in the task of protecting the Faith amidst the difficulties he foresaw so clearly.”
This means that the Beatification is certain to occur.

There has been no Englishman who lived after the reformation who has been made a Saint. Newman is set to be the first!

For more information see Bishop’s conference statement, Newman’s cause website and ZENIT news story.

The Disciple’s Prayer by Cardinal Newman

O Holy Spirit of God, take me as Your disciple; guide me, illuminate me, sanctify me, bind my hands that they may do no evil, cover my eyes that they may see it no more, sanctify my heart that evil may not rest within me. Be my God, Be my Guide, wherever You lead me I will go; whatever You forbid to me, I will renounce; whatsoever You command me, in Your strength I will do. Led me, then, to the fullness of your truth. Amen.

Complaint estimates homosexual sexual health statistics

Lifesitenews reported earlier this year a complaint made to Canada’s healthcare system of homophobia by a coalition of 6 men, including, Gens Hellquist, the executive director of the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition. Gens said that he was tired of watching his community die. They used the following evidence in their statement:

• Life expectancy of gay/bisexual men in Canada is 20 years less than the average; that is 55 years.
• GLB people commit suicide at rates from 2 to 13.9 times more often than average.
• GLB people have smoking rates 1.3 to 3 times higher than average.
• GLB people have rates of alcoholism 1.4 to 7 times higher than average.
• GLB people have rates of illicit drug use 1.6 to 19 times higher than average.
• GLB people show rates of depression 1.8 to 3 times higher than average.
• Gay and bisexual men (MSM) comprise 76.1% of AIDS cases.
• Gay and bisexual men (MSM) comprise 54% of new HIV infections each year.
• If one uses Statistics Canada figure of 1.7% of GLB becoming infected, that is 26 times higher than average.
• GLB people are at a higher risk for anal cancers.

This is the testimony of David Mcdonald.

Defending the importance of conscience

Attacks on freedom of speech, belief and even thoughts have been gradually ascending in recent times in our political arena. Defending the importance of conscience is of utmost importance at this time. Cardinal Newman wrote a considerable amount about the rights of conscience. He said that conscience was "a connecting principle between the creature and his Creator" ("Grammar of Assent," Chapter 5). Newman’s famous passage in the letter to the Duke of Norfolk is partly quoted in the Catechism (1778). He states, “Conscience is not a long-sighted selfishness, nor a desire to be consistent with oneself; but it is a messenger from Him, Who, both in nature and grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by His representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.” Newman knew that a true conscience recognizes the need for God, who compels us towards some actions and avoid others.

Charles Moore, has recently said that the Equality Bill is “not about protecting the rights of minorities, but a gigantic, bureaucratic organisation of ideological coercion promoting grievance, imposing costs and attacking businesses, charities, schools.” Last year’s Criminal Justice and Immigration Act saw the clause, “incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.” These laws are designed to restrict proper discussion and expression of opinion about sexual ethics and behaviour. Christians must defend the right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.

Also see the latest endeavour forum newsletter, which mentions the defence of freedom.

"Human Project" in Brussels, September 2-6.

The World Youth Alliance are holding an event called the “Human Project” in Brussels from September 2-6.

What do you hold as the purpose of education? What about its content? What are the roles of your family, the civil society and the state? What would you like to say to Europe's leaders about our education and values?

Formal and informal education in the spheres of citizenship and human rights, sexuality, ethics and religion are causing debates all over Europe. New challenges through global and sometimes controversial programs call for new answers involving education that addresses values and the dignity of the person.

In order to achieve the integral development of the individual person and society as a whole, the aim of the HUMAN project is to generate ideas and to promote a fruitful exchange of thoughts and opinions. Young people will address Europe’s leaders and specialists in order to establish an outcome regarding the real challenges that European youth is facing nowadays in the area of education. At the same time this project will help young people to gain knowledge about their realities, their opportunities and the way in which they can make a change and make themselves heard whether they do it through advocacy, cultural activities or social work.

Who? Young people from various cities all over Europe to Brussels, Belgium will meet leaders in policy (new elected Members of European Parliament and Institutions, national governments), culture (education, cinema and arts, NGOs) and education.

Where? There will be 4 routes (departing from Slovenia, UK, Northern Europe and Spain) leading participants from their home countries to Brussels, Belgium.
When? September 2-6, 2009

God's word - changing hearts and history

Archbishop Chaput recently gave the keynote address at the National Catholic Bible Conference in Denver. In his fascinating reflection, he said that to renew the Church and the world we need to begin with ourselves. True reform begins in our own hearts, rather than focused on others and things outside ourselves. He Mentioned St Francis of Assisi who was aflame with the love of God through Scripture and used that fire to rekindle the faith and love of many who had strayed. The Archbishop mentioned, “The best way to evangelize is to burn, like St. Francis did, for the love of God; and to sustain that kind of zeal you need constant contact with the fire of God's Word.” Just as "the Eucharist is the body of the Lord made flesh,” the prelate affirmed, “Scripture is the Word of the Lord made written.”

The Archbishop mentioned the story of the Ethiopian in Acts who was reading the a passage of Isaiah, not understanding, said, “How can I, unless some one guides me?" (Acts 8:31). He also mentions Augustine who said, the Bible's “plain language and simple style make it accessible to all” (Confessions 12.30). By frequent reading of the divine Scriptures (CCC, 133; DV 25) we can know more about God’s word.

Archbishop Chaput was keen to talk about Josiah and Ezra. Josiah renews the people of God by the discovery of God’s word at a time when the majority of God’s people had assimilated to the worst elements of pagan culture surrounding them. Josiah recovered God’s word and made it available to everyone and read Scripture to “all the people, both small and great.” (2 Kgs 23:2). Ezra led the Jewish exiles back from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

Resources for the Year for Priests

St Patricks, Soho Square have just sent me a couple of resources for the Year for Priests. The first is a way of the cross for Priests, especially those who are suffering persecution and the second is a compendium of resources including prayers, a novena to the Cure of Ars, excerts from Benedict XVI's letter for the beginning of the year for Priests and a suggestions for what to do on a parish level. Well worth a read.

Microsoft Word - The Way of the Cross for Priests

St Patrick's - Year for Priests

Is Europe anti-Christian?

(photo: Rocco Buttiglione who was denied a place in the European Commmission via Anti-Christian discrimination).

The latest europe4christ contains a reflection by Gergely Kovacs, from the head office of the Pontifical Council for Culture in a speech delivered to the pan European union on 2 May 2009 in Germany.

In this speech he remember Geothe who said, “The mother tongue of Europe is Christianity.” He suggests we should fight against the forgetfulness about the true roots and values of the identity of Europe. Otherwise our Cathedrals will become, in the words of Wilhelm Willms “Empty snail shells” full of heartless, absent minded tourists going through without faith.

The second challenge is a return to ethics and beauty. This is to be achieved in the midst of a culture full of superficiality, banality, emptiness and vulgarity. The Christian message can be proclaimed with justice and beauty, truth and love. Kierkegaard said, “It is as if the ship is controlled by the board cooking which does not announce the route for sailing through the commander’s speakers, but tells what we will be eating tomorrow ."

Last we must fight extremism of any kind, including relativism. Dostoyevsky said, “Europe has denied Christ and therefore and only for this reason, it is now dying.” Fundamentalism must be challenged with dialogue. T.S. Eliot writes, "If Christianity disappears, our whole culture disappears with it, even our face.”

Pope Benedict reflects on the meaning of Priesthood

In a recentWednesday audience Pope Benedict talked about how a Priest is a ‘slave’ of Christ. At first this headline took me by surprise- didn’t he mean a servant surely? But then I read on and discovered why…

“Alter Christus, the priest is profoundly united to the Word of the Father, who in incarnating himself, has taken the form of a slave, has made himself a slave (cf. Philippians 2:5-11). The priest is a slave of Christ in the sense that his existence, ontologically configured to Christ, takes on an essentially relational character: He is in Christ, through Christ, and with Christ at the service of man. Precisely because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of all people: He is the minister of their salvation, of their happiness, of their authentic liberation -- maturing, in this progressive taking up of the will of Christ, in prayer, in this "remaining heart to heart" with him. This is therefore the essential condition of all proclamation, which implies participation in the sacramental offering of the Eucharist and docile obedience to the Church.

The holy Curé d'Ars often repeated with tears in his eyes: "What a frightening thing to be a priest!" And he added: "How we ought to pity a priest who celebrates Mass as if he were engaged in something routine. How wretched is a priest without interior life!"

Science that points towards the beauty of faith

1. incorrupt bodies
Mary Pages describes
How some saints at the time of their death or many years later after they were exhumed were found to be incorruptible. That means that their body did not decompose. There are more than 250 incorrupt bodies of Catholic saints.

One such saint is Saint Bernadette Soubirous. She was first exhumed 30 years after her death. On September 2, 1909. Her arms and face were completly unaffected from corruption and had maintained their natural skin tone. The second exhumation took place at the end of the Process on April 3, 1919. The body of the Venerable was found in the same state of preservation as 10 years earlier. This sacred relic was placed in a coffin of gold and glass and can be viewed in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the motherhouse in Nevers (France).

2. Jesus sweats blood

Luke 22:44 says that “In his anguish he prayed even more earnestly, and his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” We must remember that tradition states that Luke was a Doctor and perhaps this is why he is the only Gospel writer to mention this as it would be more of interest to him. Scholars say that the intention of the passage is that it means that he really did sweat blood. A. T. Robertson states that, “We can conclude quite justifiably that the terminology used by the gospel writer to refer to the severe mental distress experienced by Jesus was intended to taken literally—i.e., that the sweat of Jesus became bloody.” (cf. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1930, 2:272).

Apologetics press reports that a medical condition called hematidrosis or hemohidrosis exists. This is when there is excretion of blood or blood pigment in sweat. Normally due to great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can rupture. The extent of blood loss is minimal and the skin becomes tender and fragile.

3. sperm is good for a woman’s body

Pure love club reports that sperm is good for a woman’s body. This is another argument against the use of condoms and cervical caps (apart from the fact contraception is morally wrong). Man’s seminal fluid has at least two dozen ingredients, such as estrogens, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone, transforming growth beta-factor, and several different prostaglandins. During intercourse, the woman's body absorbs these. Researchers have shown how they help the health of the woman, help mature her uterus and even protect the mammary gland from cancer. A woman’s body becomes used to the man’s sperm. A man’s semen offers protection against preeclampsia. This is the third leading cause of woman dying during childbirth. The journal of the American medical association is more than twice as common in women who use barrier methods of contraception.

4. Miracles.

You might wonder what miracles are doing when talk about good science. The Lourdes medical bureau has stated that 68 miracles have occurred in Lourdes. This bureau has a strict medical evaluation and assessment process. But the reality is that there have been thousands of miracles in Lourdes. The 67th miracle involved Anna Santaniello, who said that after volunteers lowered her into the chilly waters at the French Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1952 she was cured of a heart disease and began serving meals to others who had travelled to the shrine seeking healing. The are stories of thousands upon thousands of miracles. How could it possibly be true that they were all nonsense? St. Alphonsus Marie de Liguori, Bishop & Doctor of the Church said, “The Catholic Faith alone produces miracles, which are never seen among heretics. Plants of this sort cannot grow in a soil cursed by God; they can take root only in that Church where the True Faith is professed . . . God cannot sanction the performance of a miracle except in favour of the true religion; were He to permit it in support of error, He would deceive us.”

5. Spontaneous human combustion

Ok just kidding on this one!

The beacon of hope at God’s Golden Acre

It all changed for Heather Reynolds, when she had an encounter with an abandoned, orphaned child in Uganda in 1993. She saw a boy lying on a hut, probably with less than a day to live. His body had a dirty cloth on. She stared into his eyes as they had no common language. Finally, she made a personal resolution. “God, from this day on I will help every child in need, every child that needs a home, every child that crosses my path.”

Originally trained as a nurse, Heather is the founder of God’s Golden Acre, a community care centre for orphaned and abandoned children in KawZulu Natal between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The outreach project cares for and supports approximately 4,000 children in extended families. As a last resort, children are placed in a cluster foster care centre, where 72 children have a safe, loving and happy home.

The situation in the region could not be much worse. 36% of the people in KwaZulu-Natal are infected with the HIV virus. This is the highest percentage of any area in Africa. For many, this community is a lighthouse of hope and rescue from poverty, disease and death. In the next ten years, some 2 million South African children will be orphaned or abandoned as a result of AIDS related diseases. Girls caring for their dying mothers are often sexually exploited because of their need for emotional support. Sometimes they are forced to sell sex for survival. These girls often fall pregnant or become HIV infected, or both. The AIDS related death rate will be 400 a year within the next decade. Ignorance has helped the AIDS virus to flourish. Friendship and the humanisation of sexuality are key components of helping to fight the disease.

Many children are caring for their dying parents at great cost to their own health and emotional well being. Communities cope with poor sanitation, inadequate social welfare and inaccessible roads. 81% of the households in the area are unemployed. Amongst this poverty there has been a dramatic rise in crime, teenage pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, suicide and school drop outs.

Heather began her project in 1994, dedicating their entire financial savings towards fighting the AIDS pandemic. Over the years, with her husband Patrick, she has weathered the storms of potential financial ruin, racial prejudice, indifference, cruelty and an overwhelmed bureaucracy. She has run severely short on resources time and time again, yet, through miracles and providence her trust in God has brought countless dividends. Some of the nearby farmers would prefer that she was not there and she does not have overwhelming support from the local community.

I met Heather at St Mary’s Church, Banbury, where she is conducting a successful, nationwide fundraising tour with a group of Young Zulu Warriors. This is a group of Africans who sing and dance with foot stomping, pulsating and meaningful gestures, telling the story of their lives and homeland. She is travelling round the country with this group in a bus, dependant on the charity and good will of others as ever and injecting joy and entertainment into every town they encounter. The group of dancer warriers was formed at her orphanage in 2000. She is relentlessly passionate about her work and proud and maternal with her group of Africans on her tour. Without her intervention, many children like these would not have had the opportunities in life and perhaps would not be alive to this day. To ensure the upkeep of such a large project bereft of serious financial backers, Heather works extremely hard, often not sleeping more than 3-4 hours a night when in Africa.

Heather spoke to me about the need for new volunteers for her project to dedicate more than 6 months of their life towards the orphanage and the Five pound fund that has been set up to help with the everyday running costs and emergencies that occur at God’s Golden Acre. For just 60 pounds a year (the cost of a meal for 2 in the UK), sponsorship can ensure the continued help of those most devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the valley of the thousand hills where they are located. She shows considerable attention, care and love to everyone whom she meets.

Despite extremely limited resources, the outreach at God’s Golden Acre goes a considerably long way. The relief programme tries to meet the needs of families with relief food parcels, pre-schools, school fees and the maintenance and building of secure houses. A sports programme helps young children to regain self esteem and make healthy lifestyle choices. The arts and culture programmes use crafts, drama and music to provide rehabilitation and empowerment, teaching children to make healthy lifestyle choices. Many of the children are assisted to become well adjusted adults, developing their natural talents and raised in an environment within a framework of Christian values. Participation in team activities helps them play a vital role in healing and development.

Heather has managed to have the support of a considerable number of well known people. Nelson Mandela has said that her role in fighting the AIDS pandemic places her as a “historic figure in the story of the new South Africa.” The king of the Zulu nation states that Heather “has brought hope to devastated part of the land.” Martin Edwards, president of Manchester United states that she is the “Modern embodiment of the Bible’s good Samaritan.” Gordon McInally, president of Rotary international in Great Britain and Ireland, mentioned that she has “been responsible for saving the lives of thousands of children.” Cardinal Napiel of the Catholic Archdiocese of Durban has recognized her outstanding work with children as she is well known to the Catholic Church.

Heather has received numerous awards in the last 10 years. She was presented with the SANLAM bridge builders award in 1996 by Archbishop Tutu. She won the prestigious unsung heroes award in 2006. In 2007 she was awarded the international charity award by the centre for Social Justice and the beacon fellow prize for community building. She has recently been nominated for the “Clarions” most dynamisante woman of the year for 2008.

The book of James describes Heather’s work most succinctly, “Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.” (1:26-7). There is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends and Heather has done precisely that.

For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit God’s Golden Acre, website: http://www.godsgoldenacre.org.uk/

A biography of Heather Reynolds, entitled God’s Golden Acre is available from Monarch Books, priced £8.99

Tobit: required reading for romantic couples

Some passages of the Old Testament highlight the difficulties and dangers of romantic entanglements. Genesis and 1 Sam 1 show that infertility based conflicts can lead to trouble. Job 2:9-10 and Tobit 2:11-14, 5:17-22 show that severe problems (like the husband not being able to support the family) can bring miscommunication, dampen expectations and darkness to relationships.

Tamar (Genesis ch 38) impersonated a prostitute, Rahab (Jos 2;6) was one and Bathsheba committed adultery. All these women were in the Davidic line into which Jesus was born.

But Tobit 8:4-9 is Tobias and Sarah's wondrous bedtime prayer. Inspired by the ideal, dating couples can change the words to suit their own context, ensuring that love and not lust be their incentive.

Tobit 8:4-9 (NAB)

When the girl's parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance." She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.' Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age." They said together, "Amen, amen,"

How dangerous is virginity?

Alice von Hildebrand mentions in her classic book,The privilege of being a woman an amusing anecdote. She states, “Let us imagine how ludicrous it would be if all of a sudden a young person who seemed to enjoy a blooming health dropped dead; according to the laws of certain states, an autopsy must be performed on the corpse. How ridiculous it would be if, after hours of careful dissection of the dead person, the doctor would declare virginity to be the cause of her demise! Everyone know that this does not make sense. But we all know people who die young because they have abused sex and caught diseases that unforgiving nature has linked to these aberrations.” (p94-5).

The absurdity of death by virginity is patently obvious. What a tragedy that the opposite is not the case. Promiscuity is closely linked with disease and death. It has been estimated that 22 million adults were living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2007. (http://www.avert.org/subaadults.htm). During that year, an estimated 1.5 million Africans died from AIDS. The epidemic has left behind some 11.6 million orphaned African children. In Botswana alone, 23.9% of the adult population were living with HIV/AIDS in 2007. The Centre for Disease Control in America estimates that there are 19 million new infections of STDs in America alone every year. (Weinstock H, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2004;36( 1):6-10) This costs the USA $14.7 billion (HW Chesson, JM Blandford, TL Gift, G Tao, KL Irwin. The estimated direct medical cost of STDs among American youth, 2000. 2004 National STD Prevention Conference. Philadelphia, PA. March 8–11, 2004. Abstract P075).

St Thomas Aquinas asked the question of whether virginity is unlawful as it appears to be against natural law (S.T. II-II, q. 152, a. 2). He replies by saying that every single person must eat, but procreation concerns the whole of humanity. The human race must ‘multiply in body but also advance spiritually and both acts are necessary for the human race.’ He also states that virginity is to chastity what magnificence is to liberality. (S.T. II-II, q. 152, a. 3). Fatherhood is possible both physically and spiritually.

A certain modern mentality has placed virginity and fertility to be a form of disease – to be avoided at all costs. Liberation and freedom from these dangerous attributes is required by the foolishness of post modernity. Planned Parenthood has been a principal advocate of propagating this rather distorted view. On some of their Christmas cards, they used the slogan, “Choice on Earth” instead of the angels “Peace on earth.” This organisation believes in the sacredness of choice and that Jesus had pro choice principles. Apart from being sacrilegious, these views bring misery to thousands of people by encouraging them to make bad choices. The opposite of respect for virginity and fertility is the promotion of promiscuity and abortion. With this world view, a culture of death develops where the womb is the most dangerous place to be on earth, as in Britain at present 1 in 3 unborn children are killed before they are born.

As G.K. Chesterton once said, “The worship of the will is the negation of the will. To admire mere choice is to refuse to choose.” (Orthodoxy, p40). Every act of the will is an act of self limitation. When you choose one thing you refuse all others. When you commit you life to one woman in marriage, you reject all others. In this way the “Thou shalt nots” of the ten commandments are intricately linked to the beautitudes because every action involves self sacrifice. When you choose anything, you reject all other things.

Virginity is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give your spouse on your wedding day. To be able to say that for all this time I have waited for you, even before I knew you, is sublimely romantic. If we are not capable of saying ‘no,’ what is our ‘yes’ really worth? It is a diluted, degraded and despoiled ‘yes.’ Despite this, secondary virginity is possible. We can wrap our the gift of our sexuality once again and offer the gift to God. The gift of chastity is more easily lived when relying on the grace of God rather than our own efforts. Christopher Kiesling writes in his book, Celibacy, Friendship and prayer, “The expectations of human love between man and woman are tainted by the standards of a sensate, sex-saturated culture rather than derived from ideals of personal dignity and genuine love. Both answers presume that if a man and woman love one another, they must go to bed together, in marriage or outside of it. Yet millions of men and women go to bed together without any love for one another.” (p155, alba house, New York, 1978).

He continues, “The drive towards it (sex) is so tremendously powerful that it wrecks the lives of individuals, families and society unless it is regulated.” (p187). People are even willing to murder for the sake of genital pleasure. With this in mind, the significance of chastity and virginity can be seen in their proper context: a matter of life and death. But it is not virginity that kills – in fact quite the opposite.

Nobody wants to enter a marriage with a worn out body and a disillusioned soul. The saints guide us towards holiness and the ordering of our passions. The Blessed Virgin Mary is a role model of the exquisite beauty and sanctity of virginity. She lived out the married life and virginity at the same time with her unique call to be the Mother of God. Her receptivity and faithfulness are such that she has been given the title, co-redemptrix by the Church. In her womb she held the Son of God for nine months. A female womb was able to hold the king of glory, who the whole universe cannot contain into the world. Let us pray to her that we may be able to live out the beauty and splendour of a chaste life giving glory to God.

New technology allows parents to hold life size model of unborn child

Earlier I wrote about how technology uncompromising favours the sanctity of human life because it helps to show the unborn as human beings. If wombs had windows, there would be no abortions.

But some great news this week from lifesitenews and the daily mail. Amazing new technology allows parents to go way beyond 3D ultrasounds. A student at the Royal College of Art has created life like models based on pictures of unborn children that are the exact shape and size of a baby in the womb.

Jorge Lopes, a Phd student at the college has masterminded the technique of using data from scans to make life size models in a process called rapid prototyping. An exhibition has just started at the RCA on the 26th June. This is great news for the pro life cause.

A prayer for the little way

Lord Jesus, through the life of St. Therese, you have brought new hope to all who long to open their hearts to you. Teach us the secret of the 'little way' and help us to realise that we can always talk with you and bring you our gratitude, our smiles and our tears. Stay with us, Jesus, so that in the midst of our busy hours, we may turn to You in loving trust. Transform each passing moment of time into a moment of prayer. Fill every troubled heart with the confident faith of St. Therese. In joy and in sorrow, in every circumstance, may our hearts rest in Your peace. Amen.

The relics of St Therese will be in the UK in October, and at Oxford from the 7-8th October at the Oratory.

What is so evil about planned parenthood?

Planned Parenthood along with its sister organisations in IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation) is the largest abortion provider in the world. Jason Evert in a post on his Q&A on his website addresses this question. Cherie Blair was happy to hold an event for them at 10 Downing Street when she was resident.

Essentially, planned parenthood is a business that makes money out of murdering children under the pretext of ‘choice,’ ‘reproductive rights’ and ‘sexual health.’ For every 1 child that planned parenthood refer to an adoption agency, they abort 138 babies! Have a look around the high street next time you are there to see the missing children the FPA (UK division of IPPF) has killed in the womb. In our culture of death, the FPA is responsible for our aging society.

The FPA is responsible for spreading the myth of ‘safe sex’ in Britain. When 1,000 women are dying the country due to Cervical cancer caught from HPV (such as Jade Goody), they have blood on their hands. To die with blood on your hands without repentance is a very dangerous thing to do. Every one of their employees is in this predicament. In the film the mission, Gabriel says to Rodrigo, “If you die with blood on your hands, you betray everything we’ve done.” Anyone who works for IPPF has blood on their hands because they are responsible for the murder of innocent children and the death of young women who have died because they have been fed an untruth about ‘safe sex.’ Over 80% of teens (8 of 10 sexually active teens) are infected with at least one STD, but are not aware of the infection(s). There is currently a 24% Pregnancy Rate for teens using condoms. This means approximately 24 of every 100 teen girls whose sex partners are using condoms will get pregnant. That's almost 1 of every 4 teen girls using condoms.

Planned parenthood provides lies about contraception. They state that contraception is safe yet fail to mention that 21 of 23 studies of women who had the pill prior to having their first child show an increased risk of breast cancer (Chris Kahlenborn, et al., “Oral Contraceptive Use as a Risk Factor for Premenopausal Breast Cancer: A Meta-analysis,” Mayo Clinic Proceedings 81:10 (October 2006): 1290-1302). They say the birth control patch is safe yet don’t say that 23 deaths have been attributed to the patch with thousands of women suing the makers of the device (Associated Press, “Birth Control Patch Linked to Higher Fatality Rate,” MSNBC (17 July 2005); Johnson & Johnson, SEC Filing, Quarterly Report for Period Ended 9/30/07.

Planned parenthood has been known to protect the identity of sex offenders. Because they have lawfully managed to secure a great deal of their work as confidential, some young girls under the age where it is legally allowed to have an abortion have acquired one. For example, in 2004, A sixteen year old girl had an abortion from Planned parenthood in Ohio. She told them the pregnancy was a result of sexual abuse from her father over four years. Because of the silence of Planned Parenthood, she was sexually abused for 18 more months. In May 2007 she sued Planned Parenthood who violated Ohio law by refusing to report the crime. Many recorded phone calls show that this has happened hundreds of times.

Planned parenthood lies to women. Many clinics refuse to give women ultrasound because they might realise the humanity of the baby they are about to murder. They fail to inform women about the emotional consequences of having an abortion. If wombs had windows there would be no abortions. Planned parenthood does not offer age appropriate sex education. They are responsible for the sexualisation of many children offering them lies about their own sexuality.

Last of all, the founder of Planned Parenthood said that “The most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it” (Margaret Sanger, Woman and the new race, p62-3). When your organisation was founded by a eugenicist who would have been perfectly at home murdering patients in Auschwitz perhaps it is possible to see her evil legacy. So with this in mind, it is clear that this organisation is a cancer to our society.

Study shows divorce rate of cohabitating couples at 80%

The Physicians for life website reports some interesting news. The sociology Department of both Duke University and Michigan University interviewed 30,000 couples who married after living together. The sociologists found that 80% of the marriages arising from cohabitation ended in divorce. Would an 80% failure rate indicate that a cohabiting couple actually does not get to know each other very well? Living together offers little or no guarantee of a happy, successful marriage. [“Cohabitation is a dishonest relationship”, Ed Cunningham, The Courier, 5/2002; Family Foundations, Jan/Feb2003]

The website website is also helping to debunk the safe sex message. It states, one in 5 adolsecents currently has an STD. Over 80% of teens (8 of 10 sexually active teens) are infected with at least one STD, but are not aware of the infection(s). There is currently a 24% Pregnancy Rate for teens using condoms. This means approximately 24 of every 100 teen girls whose sex partners are using condoms will get pregnant. That's almost 1 of every 4 teen girls using condoms. [from the Abstinence Clearinghouse]. Safe Sex? No way!

According to the book, Epidemic, how teen sex is killing our kids , "The idea of maintaining sexual freedom, rather than preventing disease, remains the driving force and primary focus of national sex education, and the STD epidemic continues to worsen as long as this remains the focus."

Passion

To be passionate is a good instilled in us by God. Those who are passionless live life as if they were dead. Those who are too passionate are of no use to anyone because they run around like headless chickens. Those who have no control over their passions (such as anger or temperament) end up being out of control. Either we control our passions or our passions control us. On the football field it is important to have passionate team mates. But if they are unable to control their zeal and passion they reduce their usefulness. Eric Cantona who once kung fu kicked a fan after being sent off while Roy Keane was sent off a total of 13 times in his career. Such talented players could not channel their desires purely towards winning the game.

The same rules are applicable to living a pure life. If we cannot control our sexual desires, given to us by God as something good in and of themselves, then we can end up abusing the gift of our sexuality. Rather than receiving the gift gratuitously with reverence and awe, we can end up wanting to take rather than give. If we try to take the gift rather than receive it then we can end up abusing it. You cannot give what you do not possess. Therefore if we are not in control of our sexual desires, by the virtue of chastity then therefore we cannot give this gift. God created man and woman to complement one another in self gift.

When the gift of sexuality is abused, the transition of implications is dramatic. Sexuality includes the capacity to give life. When it is abused it has the capacity to kill (AIDS, abortion and IVF). Rather than bringing a beautiful new life into the world, a culture of death ensures. But from the beginning, God intended that our sexual desires are good and blossom fruitfully when used in the right context. His healing and compassionate love extends to anything that is the product of the culture of death.

Passion without remorse

Recently I was talking to a colleague at a volunteer program. He was talking about the relationship he had just started with his girlfriend. He asked me ‘How far is too far?’ He wanted to know what exactly he could do with his girlfriend without exceeding any boundaries. He was keen to display his love for the girl, but not in a way that would damage her or their relationship.

The book of Song of Songs says, “Do not awaken love before its own time.” (3:5) The book of Proverbs says “Guard your heart” (4:23). We should keep watch over our heart because it is where the wellsprings of life come from. These passages are of great importance when we strive to wait until marriage to give ourselves totally to someone in a faithful, lifelong and committed relationship.

St Paul told husbands that they should “Love your wives as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her and made her holy.” (Ephesians 5:25-6). But how much did Christ love the Church? He was willing to be scourged, whipped, beaten, derided, harassed, humiliated, abandoned, rejected and finally Crucified to empty himself for the sake of his beloved. This is the model we have for how we are to love our spouses. By emptying ourselves we learn how to sacrifice and fully give ourselves to others.

When we get married we take a number of vows and promises to our spouse. These wedding vows we swear to a marriage that is free (through our own personal consent), faithful (a promise of exclusivity), total (holding nothing back) and fruitful (open to the gift of new life). Without one of these indispensable attributes in a Catholic wedding, it would be questionable that a marriage took place. Who here has thought of their future spouse? Maybe they are nearby somewhere. Maybe they are in school right now. Maybe they are in this room.

Women are the most beautiful gift of God in all the world. Above all they wanted to be loved, nurtured, affirmed and treated with dignity, honour and respect. They are princesses of the king of heaven – priceless and created in the image of God. They have the capacity to hold more than 2 or more souls in their body at the same time. If they were having triplets they would have 4 souls. This is incredible! They are the apex of creation and Adam rejoiced when he saw “the flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone” (Genesis 2:23 - when he first saw Eve and rejoiced).

Our aim as Catholic is to reach heaven. In accomplishing this aim, should you choose to accept it, we also have the task of trying to get as many other people there too. Sin gets in the way of our relationship with God and isolates us from who we really are. Our identity is sons and daughters of God before any other identity. But we can go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation in order to receive healing and forgiveness for the sins we have committed. If we are truly sorry we know that God forgives us and we start afresh and anew with him, with nothing separating us from him, for nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35).

Who here thinks that sex before marriage is safe? Out of the 8 most prevalent Sexually Transmitted Diseases, no form of contraception provides adequate protection against 6 of these diseases. The ‘safe sex’ message is now truly out of date. If you were wanting to have sex before marriage you would have to justify exposing your partner to the risk of unwanted pregnancy, STDs, depression, single parenthood, abortion, divorce, poverty, suicide and just to top it off, a broken heart on top (the icing on the cake).

Our Government believes that teenagers are not capable of controlling themselves. They believe that you are not worth the message that you are worth striving for greatness. Therefore you are sold this concessionary gesture that really settle for mediocrity because you are not worth anything else. But today I have a message, that the joys and fruits of chastity are worth more than all the pleasures of the world. Saving sex for marriage brings joy, security and passion without remorse.

If I was delivering a state of the union address, like Barack Obama or Gordon Brown might do, what would I say about issues of sex and marriage? I would probably say the following things.

This year in Britain there have been over 200,000 abortions. During this time, there have also been over 200,000 cases of Chlamydia, 160,000 divorces and 1 in 4 sexually active teenagers has an STD. Teenagers may have seen on average up to 480,000 sexual innuendos, references and images before they finish school. Our national newspapers print soft core pornography while over half of males looked a pornographic website in the last year. This does not suggest our sexual health is really up to standard and that something is radically and deficiently wrong.

Jesus said that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully commits adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). Many people have an issue with looking at pornography on the internet or by other means. In front of a screen it is easy to forget that we are actually interacting with other real people all around the world. Nobody wants to enter a marriage with a worn out body or disillusioned soul. Looking at pornography is one way to train your mind to think of women as instantly sexually available and physically flawless. Bringing these ideas to the real world spells disaster and pornography is one way to greatly limit the chance of future marital happiness. Can you imagine on your wedding night if your bride said to you that to “Prepare for this first night of our honeymoon, I have looked at thousands of pictures of naked men on the internet!” This would be a real turnoff.

God created our bodies and he saw that they are good. He also created sexual desire - God invented sex. He desires that we use this faculty in the correct context – that is within marriage. To answer the question, “How far is too far” I would have to answer the question with my sister or mother in mind. So it is best to save sex until marriage and to wait the time to give yourself away completely.