The Pope's visit to England

His Holiness Pope Benedict is due to visit the UK later this year. As with the previous Pope he appears to be staying away from Northern Ireland. There is a lot of argument over who should be paying for this visit as some taxpayers money is to be used for issues such as security.

Given that the current incumbent of the Holy See has not exactly gone out of his way to make nice with people of other religions and none these costs might be justified. The Pope's actions should also be seen in the light that he was the head of the rebranded inquisition, the Office of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Bishops of England and Wales have asked the laity to stump up money to pay for the pastoral costs involved. Based on the evidence of the collection at our church this morning the laity aren't too keen on this idea. We live in tough times as we did when the previous pontiff visited these shores in 1982. However, the British arm of the Catholic church is particularly good at not paying a blind bit of notice to what its leaders want just because they ask for something. I was expecting the collection to be low due to the fact that church was barely half full this morning but I wouldn't have been surprised to see a couple of buttons in the plate when I saw how low the congregation is.

Our bishop isn't desperately popular in many parts of the Diocese for a whole variety of reasons. He has only just asked for more money from the laity to get his books straight. If he hadn't invested in the stock market so heavily he might have had more money. In our country asking for money from the congregation never goes down well. Also the laity have a lot of issues with the church hierarchy and the way it runs the church. Also the fact that the Catholic church is worth billions of pounds tends to say to people if you want to put on events you can damn well pay for them.

The Church doesn't appear to learn lessons and seems unwilling to countenance change and so the more socially militant end of the spectrum which encompasses a large proportion of western catholicism (the bit with all the money) refuses to pay. The Reverend Ian Paisley is rumoured to have once sent the collection plate back round one church saying that 'The Lord is not satisfied with your offering'. Unfortunately the clergy here are not as popular as he was with his congregation.

Singing in church

Greetings fellow travellers. This weeks rant is all about singing in church and universality. This morning when we got to church the priest came round and handed out a new version of the Gloria. I say new, I was aware of this version, but it was new to our church. Here in wonderful Cleckhuddersfaxwaite we are in the Diocese of Leeds. The bishop, I make it clear that I am not a fan of his, decreed some years ago that the Mass should be, where possible, entirely sung.

When this decree came round it was greeted with enthusiasm by the priest and deacon at the church which we attended at the time. The Bishop in his infinite wisdom decided to shut that church down and merge it into one of two 'super-parishes'. We went up the valley to the most far flung of the parishes. I was at the time in a state of flux with my faith and was on the verge of becoming a Buddhist. As it stands thanks to the priest at this far flung outpost and the attitude of the congregation there, my departure was somewhat delayed. They held the liturgy, by and large, in the same way that I had grown up with it in the 1970s and 1980s before the rise of the laity and the now ubiquitous folk group with their Czechoslovakian guitars. The liturgy was spoken and was simple.

Unfortunately due to illness, this priest was retired on health grounds and the new parish priest, yes you've guessed the one from the old church, has wasted no time in trying to drag our little corner of the parish kicking and screaming into the new world order as decreed by the bish. The beauty and simplicity of the spoken liturgy when a prayer is said and spoken with meaning has now been replaced by musicians and countless unnecessary variations on a theme.

The move to have the Mass in the vernacular following Vatican 2 meant that now unless you actually spoke the local language you struggle to follow the Mass when you go abroad. It has allowed for folk groups and other such abominations and the Mass is no longer universal and, by definition, neither is the church. Local variations now add to the confusion. In some places where you would stand in others you would kneel.

The Church would do well to consider a reconnection with its liturgical past but unfortunately that would seem to be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has not only bolted but run out of the yard down the lane and hurdled a couple of fences.

The Catholic church has never had much of a grasp of simplicity and the beauty that comes with it. Why do you need to sing Amen seven times and not mean it when it would be better if you spoke it once and meant it with your whole heart.

In Catholic terms this 'puritanical' approach to liturgy sets me at odds with the majority of the church which is generally anything but. However, if you believe in the rightness of your cause you must stand up for it and rail against 'Colours of Day' and 'Kum Ba Yah' and Taize chants and remind everyone of the simplicity of the fact that your relationship with God is simple and all you need to do is speak with him ( or her) in simple terms and he will understand.

Go forth and find your connection with God and the universe on a simple level and remember most of the rules of the Church were created long after Jesus died and rose again and he didn't get much of a say in them. Also the church is notoriously inconsistent and slow to recognise simple facts.

Goodnight and may your God go with you.

Recent news

Well to those of the family who have asked what the hell has happened since I blogged previously in March here is an up to date edition of the family news.

Thomas is the clubman of the year at his rugby club in the u10 age group. I have subject to final clearance got a place on a PGCE to be a teacher and will be a student again from September. The only worry there is will there be jobs when I come out.

Alison came to a rugby match and didn't implode. Met up with some friends that we hadn't seen for ages.

Been to Edinburgh. Bought a cassette converter which will save me £500. Will be doing some rugby training myself in a couple of months. Carried on doing Marriage Preparation classes.

Jenni has glasses and will possibly be wearing a very fetching eye patch by the end of the week.

Got Skype and know how to use it. Found a new speccy emulator.

New government. Some quarters should see the cuts as an opportunity rather than a problem.

That about covers everything of note.

On a lighter note

I have recently started to read books and watch programs about science. At school I was average in my scientific ability but since leaving school I read books about quantum physics, watch television programs on vulcanology and astrology. This phenomenon is not restricted to science but also to things like history.

Currently I am reading Hyperspace by Dr Michio Kaku, in addition to my fiction by Eric Van Lustbader. I first discovered Dr Kaku when he presented a series called Time, on the BBC. His style delivers the subject in an enthusiastic way. This engages me on an interest level in the subject but also from a professional interest as I am about to train to be a teacher. I often ask the question about people like Dr Kaku " Why couldn't you be my teacher?". Another scientist who has this enthusiasm is Professor Brian Cox who recently presented the series Wonders of the Solar System. Series like Horizon have always gripped my interest when they are on subjects in which I have a passing interest.

In the historical field people like David Starkey, Simon Schama and John Romer have an enthusiasm for the subject which comes across through the screen.

I have even tried to read A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. I think he should stick to The Simpsons because I lost the will to live fairly quickly once I had started.

Science and history, in fact any subject, need not be boring or unapproachable if you have an enthusiasm for the subject. I hope to take some of this enthusiasm into the teaching profession

Living life to the full

At Mass this morning our priest gave a sermon about how mankind spends its time trying to accumulate wealth power and possessions in a futile attempt to stave off the ultimate outcome of this existence. He remarked on how people fear death. This particular priest is an excellent preacher, he used to be a teacher, and is usually right most of the time with his observations of the human condition.

Whenever, I listen to his sermons I always come away thinking. I am very sanguine about death this is because I have a condition that can at a moment's notice cause my death. The condition of itself is no more fatal than actually being alive, which is 100% fatal in all cases unless I haven't been paying attention recently. How has this knowledge affected my life? Do I live each moment as if it's my last?

I have to admit that I have not managed to crack the second question yet and am still searching for something. My vices are music, films and books. It might have been nice to give sex, drugs and rock n roll a proper go but when I was still young enough to appreciate them my condition held me back. I don't do drugs because I have to take them every day until the day I die. I was allowed to sample alcohol under controlled conditions and along with my medication never saw the point of getting drunk. As for rock n roll I had a passing flirtation with bass guitar more as an academic exercise than as a real attempt to play seriously.

The turning points that helped me control my condition were twofold. Firstly on a BBC science program called QED which showed a fellow sufferer who refused to let his condition master him or let anybody else tell him how he should live his life because of it. The Rev Lionel Blue described the condition as like an evil cousin who visits occasionally and causes havoc. The second turning point was a teacher at my secondary school who on discovering my condition, which he shared, advised me how to deal with it.

The condition is epilepsy and you can live a normal life with it. As long as you take reasonable steps there is no reason to let it hold you back.

Back to the point of the post. If you can live your life to the fullest and being a Catholic does not have to mean living a diminished life in search of the eternal goal that we believe in. My advice to one and all is embrace life as you only get one go at it. Death is merely part of the process. The best we can hope for is that the death is peaceful or has purpose. To my friend who is having problems at the moment all I say to you is do not go quietly into that good night.

TTFN

Shopping at Aldi

Well hello again and welcome to any new readers to my mind numbing blog. In the village where I live we used to have a supermarket. It was part of chain called Kwik Save and latterly Somerfield. To international readers, these names will no doubt be meaningless unless you have spent some time in this septic isle.

This is something of a generalisation but you always felt like you needed a shower after you came out of the store as it was grubby and generally unfriendly. I must add that this wasn't the reaction just coming out of our local emporium but of all of the ones in these chains that I ever went into. It was very much a case of stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap.

As a customer, the staff always seemed to make you feel very unwelcome. It was almost as if you were an inconvenience in the middle of their chat about what happened in last night's soap or what the latest headline was in one of those celeb magazines that are all the rage, allegedly, in this country.

Last year Somerfield were bought out by the Cooperative who already had an established network of small supermarkets. So the site of the one in our village was bought by Aldi. Aldi are one of a number of continental European supermarket chains who sell produce cheaply, avoid big brand names and who also have for sale each week a variety of quirky items. Others of the type are Lidl and Netto. I first came across Aldi a number of years ago when a PC was advertised for about half the price that was being charged anywhere else.

These outlets don't accept credit card payments but take cash and will accept some debit cards. Essentially if you've got the money they will sell their goods to you. In the current economic times this is an exceptionally sensible approach to business.

Since the Aldi has opened here in sunny Cleckhuddersfax I have been down a number of times and have made a number of startling discoveries and revelations. Firstly none of the staff from the previous owners appear to still be there. The new staff are friendly and helpful and smile. This is also the case in the other Aldi shop that I have been into. The aisle where the weeks quirky offerings are kept is a box of delights which contains things that you wouldn't expect in most supermarkets power tools (not just small but industrial sized), skiing equipment and accessories. It is actually a good deal of fun just browsing with nobody pressurising you to make a sale.

Then when you have made your purchases you go to the till and you just put your stuff back in the trolley rather than pack it at the till. The staff are quick and efficient. If memory serves me correctly, on the one occasion I went into a Lidl store (which I won't do again because I didn't like it) the staff knew the price of everything and just entered it onto the till.

If you have an Aldi near you try it you might actually enjoy the shopping experience again. But please try not to come to my shop people are discovering the pleasures of shopping there and the aisles were actually quite busy when I last went in.

Argument, media and other stuff

Well hello everyone.

I was in the chaplaincy at a university today and overheard a conversation between two students. One was a student who was now onto possibly his third course and hadn't liked any of them. Perhaps he is not destined for university and would have been happier on another path. The students were debating as to how they should argue with others about the rights and wrongs of their faith. This struck me as the wrong approach to be taking. People who don't agree with you are never going to be convinced by your position if you argue with them. A priest once delivered a sermon about taking ourselves too seriously. Many people of faith are far too quick to condemn things which they have not actually got any experience of but somebody told them they should be condemning that type of thing.

A classic example of this is Monty Python's Life of Brian. There is a classic clip of John Cleese and Michael Palin in conversation with two representatives of the Church of England. You could almost see the frustration of the two comics at the inability of their adversaries to grasp the central issue of the film which is that it isn't about Jesus. Whenever there is a debate on a matter of morals and faith the radio stations always seem to find the most extreme exponents of a particular faith. When these people are trotted out people naturally assume that all people of faith are like them, which isn't true. The point, which I will get to, is that certainty is dangerous at times. If you have the mindset that I am right and that everybody who doesn't agree with me is wrong then you are in fact part of the problem and lack a certain amount of humility. This applies to scientists as well as those of faith.

On to lighter matters. I tried The Handmaid's Tale and won't be repeating the experience, The book was slow to get going and would, in my opinion, have benefitted from a prologue explaining how we had got to where we were. In films I have watched three new films since I last posted. First is the comic book adaptation, Watchmen. The original author has, as usual, insisted that his name is nowhere near the film. It is good entertainment and if you like that sort of thing you won't be too disappointed. Next is Son of Rambow. This is a fairly gentle comedy set in the 1980s in Britain. I was expecting it to be a little more lively but as somebody who grew up in Britain in the 1980s it did resonate a bit with me. It is a wonderful little film and well worth a couple of hours of your time. Lastly as hinted in my last post I watched Seraphim Falls. It is a slow burner of a Western revenge film. Set after the Civil War in America, the film charts the pursuit of a Union Colonel played by Pierce Brosnan. The posse is led by Liam Neeson who is out for revenge over the death of his family at the hands of Brosnan's troops. The cast is littered with actors who you will go "Oh I remember him he was in....". In particular there are brief appearances from the magnificent Wes Studi and Anjelica Huston, who may or may not be playing Lucifer. Again it is worth a look.

On another issue I would like to commend Dominic Lawson's article about faith schools in the Independent on Tuesday 2nd March 2010.

Toodles